Happy New Year my peoples! I sure hope whatever holiday you've been celebrating has been wonderful!
I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in the saddle, so to speak. I've had a terrific little break and I've spent a lot of it reflecting on this past 2011 as well as picking my New Year resolutions for 2012.
This week I'm going to be sharing those because, like most of you, I think it's important to see where I've come in a year, and where I'm headed...or at least, would like to be headed.
Before I get into that, however, I would be remiss if I didn't first rattle off some of the many blessings I received over the holiday break. And as I share them, I think it's important to note that before some of them became blessings, they started out as nightmares. Thats' life though, I suppose.
My Blessings
1) I realized how completely supportive my family is about my writing when, for Christmas, I received not one, but two laser printers and a trip to the LDS StoryMakers conference in May!
2) Twenty pages from finishing the third edit of my novel, my computer crashed. I didn't know what I was going to do...until a new lap top showed up on my front porch. Literally! Querying agents in February is still a go!
3) The night before Christmas Eve, my seven year old daughter woke me up with the 24 hour puking bug. I spent the entire night holding her hair back and rubbing her back. In those wee hours of the morning, I realized how completely blessed I am be able to love and comfort my children when they need me.
4) This is the first year, in many, that we live close to family and didn't have to kill ourselves travelling from one place to another with loads of luggage.
5) I love my family and they love me. Probably the best blessing of all!
What about you? Amidst the goal setting, and reflecting on the past, have you taken the time to count your many blessings? If so what are some of them?
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Deana Barnhart 2011. Powered by Blogger.
About Me
- Deana
- I am a thirty-something writer and mom of two. I write YA fiction and am repped by Sarah Lapolla of the Bradford Literary Agency. I love, in no particular order: Watching my kids sleep, reading anything that will take me out of real life for a bit, spending time with my family and sharing this writing journey with fabulous people like you!
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22 comments:
I agree. Having a loving family is the number one blessing :)
Having your health is another biggie. My cousin was recently diagnosed with Brain Cancer (recovery is going VERY well!) but it makes you think about the brevity of life and how important our health is.
Great blessings, Deana. It's so great to reflect on what we have and what we're thankful for. I usually think back over the year and do the same.
I'm glad your family is supportive of your writing. You deserve it!
What a great idea to write these down! I think I need to do the same before I write my goals for 2012 :) I feel blessed for the writing community I have found, for any time I get to write, and for my supportive and loving family that I base my life around. Ah, I'm a lucky girl!
Why do you need two laser printers? One seems like enough and then with the rise of ebooks and electronic submissions, the need for all that printing is really on the decline. It just seems a little wasteful.
Great blessing to count.
It's so wonderful how supportive family can be with our writing. You are blessed.
You are blessed! I loved that most of your blessings centered around your family. :) So are mine!
I'm excited you are coming to LDStorymakers! Hopefully I'll see you there! And best of luck with your February querying!
So sorry your little one suffered a bit of a bug, but you're right, it's a blessing to be there with them when they need us.
You've been very blessed and I am blessed just reading this. You express such positivity and it really comes through.
I wish you the best of success in your endeavors and hope you have a blast at the writer's conference.
For myself, I spent the holiday writing and spending more time with my daughter, really reminded me of how blessed I am to have other her and a healthy passion for words.
There's no greater "mommy moment" than comforting our cubs. My kids are older, but those "need a hug" times still light up my day. Family is always at the top of my blessings list. Happy New Year, Deana.
Without a doubt, Michael, two it too many. I was just telling that to show the support I get from my family. Two different people thought about me and my writing fro Christmas and I was very appreciative to them both:)
What a great 2011...I can only see good things in the your future for 2012 *rubs crystal ball and rabbit's foot*
What a great post and you do have a wonderful family for giving you such fabulous gifts!
I have a lot to be thankful for as well. I am blessed with a mom that has grown more supportive of me as the years go on. I believe she would do anything for me. I have an amazing co-author- who is my best friend and the biggest cheerleader I have. All I have to do is call her and my spirits are lifted. I also am in good health!
Wishing you the best of luck in 2012.
~Jess
http://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.com
Great blessings, Deana. I love reading the good things in others' lives. It always makes me smile.
And I can't wait to hear what unfolds for you this year. *sprinkling lucky querying dust your way*
I'm so glad you posted this. I've been feeling a bit blue all day, and this was a great wake up call. I really have been blessed! Like when I was worried and depressed about spending Christmas alone for the first time ever and then received a random phone call from a new friend inviting me to join her family for Christmas dinner. I hadn't even told anyone how I felt, and it was so nice to know that I'm being looked out for.
Happy 2012!
Oh, what a sweet post! I need to spend more time being thankful in 2012... super awesome about the new printers, conference and laptop!
You are coming to Utah in May?! How exciting. I still need to get my tickets, but I hope to see you there :)
Family is definitely right up there at the top of my list. Their support means the world to me!
These are all great. I did my blessings at the end of the year too and they definitely included my family and all the support. Also, my bloggy friends:)
Deana its so great to see you. and I'm so inspired to read about your blessings and you're making me relook at my own year that was full of pitfalls.
I have to follow you with my review blog as well so I can make it here as well.
http://fabulosityreads.blogspot.com/
I also blogged about what I was thankful for . . . great minds think alike:) I admire how supportive your family is of your writing!!! My hubby wavers between being supportive and being really lonely while I try to do this crazy thing called writing. It can be difficult as a full-time teacher and all the extras that job already demands. My 7-yr-old only wants mommy to land a big publishing deal so we can put in a pool, lol. My 11-yr-old is sooooo supportive that when I finished reading aloud my current YA to her, she said, "Pretty good, Mama . . . but I think I could write a better one." HA! Keeps me humble, that one:):):) ~Cheers
I'm so excited you're coming to Storymakers! I hope to see you there!
What a lovely blessed life you live :)
Looks like we'll be query buddies come February!
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