Thursday, January 5, 2012

More or Less

Amy Sonnichsen won the picture books! Congrats, Amy! You can thank Gwenyth for choosing your number. :o)

So, 2012 just happens to be the year of the dragon, and I just happen to be . . . a monkey.


Okay, not really. I am a dragon (What are you?), but by Larry's reasoning, a dragon could be a monkey. So far, this year is looking better than 2011. Dragons make everything better. Nope. I'm not prejudiced. It's true. ;o)

At the beginning of the year (or the month, week, or day) I usually make a to-do list to give me direction. I don't beat myself up for not crossing everything off. It helps me prioritize and evaluate how different areas in my life are going. For instance, last year, I crossed off nearly all of my writing goals, but I didn't do so well in the health area. Because of this, I'm taking a more aggressive stance on exercise (which apparently I can't spell when I'm tired), diet, hydration, and especially sleep. Not getting enough sleep is my worst bad health habit. I'm something of an insomniac (with kids and a day job).

I started brainstorming and came up with something I've never had as part of my "New Year's Resolutions" before. It reminded me a bit of playing "What if?" Only, I kept it simple. I compiled a "More or Less" list, and it looked something like this (but longer):

More music
More poetry
More reading aloud
More gardening
More playing with my kids
More exercising
More sleeping
Less internet
Less sugar

You get the idea. I could write whole posts explaining each of those, but I won't (not this month). I won't be on the internet as much this year (if I'm sticking to my resolutions). I'll still be around. I'll still post, but I may schedule a month in advance to let myself play hooky. My writing brain (especially the part that writes poetry) and my blogging brain don't always get along. Also, I've noticed that my kids all want more Mom Time than they're getting, and I need to do something about it. Internet time isn't essential. It just feels that way, especially when I'm tired.

You might not even notice a difference (other than I'll only be posting MMGMs once a month), but hopefully I will.

May your 2012 be filled with More (whatever yours might be).


6 comments:

  1. Whoo hoo! I'm so excited! Thanks, Myrna and Gwenyth. My kids and I are thrilled. :)

    I am a snake. My sister is a monkey. I don't think we have any dragons in our immediate family. We're rabbits, tigers, dogs...

    I totally understand about the blogging thing. I hope you reach all your goals this year, Myrna, especially the really important ones!

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  2. If I had been blogging when my kids were at home, I would have had to do the same.

    I'll just enjoy your posts when I see them!

    =)

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  3. Congrats to Amy! So lucky!

    I'm a goat. Agghh!

    Kudos to you on making those resolutions. Hope you really do enjoy more of everything this year. And I totally understand about the blogging. I took a few long blogging breaks in 2011 and it helped. Your kids will appreciate it. Good luck!

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  4. Love your More and Less Resolutions. That Veggie Tales got my teenagers around me; I guess we never outgrow Silly Songs. ;)
    Catherine Denton

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  5. I like your More or Less list; it seems easier to follow and more optimistic than a list of Resolutions. And I LOVE Silly Songs with Larry, so thank you for that :) I had to cut myself off from the Internet in late November because of school and grad school applications and my quest to get more sleep, too. I wish you all the best with your list, and I may make one myself :)

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  6. Oh, great idea! I definitely need LESS Internet time!

    And less sugar.

    An more exercise.

    In fact, I should just take your whole list!

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