Goals for 2016

Way back around New Year's, I wasn't planning on making any New Year's resolutions.  I haven't had much luck keeping my resolutions in previous years, and I decided it was too demoralizing to make resolutions you don't keep.

My non-resolution didn't last long, though.  I caught myself saying I wanted to ride my horses more in 2016, and then I saw the Goodreads reading challenge for 2016... and those who know me know I can't turn down a reading challenge!

And now with the changes in my nanny job and my living situation, I've been thinking about the coming year in a totally different way.  I'm thinking it's time to make some resolutions after all.

New beginnings: Change #2

I recently blogged about some significant changes in my life and freelancing career, and then I announced one of the bigger changes, that I'll soon be leaving my part-time nanny job.

The other change isn't entirely a change for me, but will come as a surprise to many of my readers.  Although I never announced it (aside from some vague mentions of changes), I've been separated for nearly two years now, and have been going through a divorce since summer.  We're in the home stretch now, though, and the divorce should soon be final.  Although living on my own won't be a change, the divorced status will be, and there are some other, related changes, too.

New beginnings: Change #1

I announced in my last post, when I returned to blogging a week ago, that I am undergoing some major changes.  Both will have a significant impact on my freelance career, although in vastly different ways.

Change the First: In another week, I will be ending the chapter of my life that I began over four years ago, when I started working part-time as a nanny for V. and A.

Hello, can you hear me?

After months of silence on my end, I'm back to announce some significant changes in my life, both current and upcoming, and what they mean for me and my freelance career.

But first: My first November as a NaNoWriMo ML was relatively successful, although in retrospect I wish I'd had more time to spend on ML-type things.  I did, however, set up and attend lots of write-ins.  I also set up the TGIO party, although it wasn't as well attended (and usually isn't anyway).

NaNoWriMo news!

I've neglected my blogs badly lately, much worse even than I did over the summer (although my goals for Camp NaNoWriMo did keep me pretty well on track during July).  My schedule didn't actually get easier once school let in, as you might have guessed -- a client of mine, a disabled single dad whom I've been cleaning and running errands for on and off over the past five years, has had some changes in his diagnosis that have changed his assistance needs.  As a result, I've been increasingly busy, although that should be coming to an end within the next few weeks.

I'm looking forward to finally having more time to work on my freelance work and my writing.  The timing should be good, too, as NaNoWriMo 2015 is coming up here in only a little more than a month.  Can you believe it?

Which brings me to my big news.  I found this out a few weeks ago, actually, but since I haven't been keeping up on my blog, I forgot I hadn't announced it yet.

Happy Labor Day, writers!

I hope all my writing friends have had a good Labor Day -- relaxing, if you took the day off, or productive, if you spent it working in some fashion.  I've done a little of both: I slept in and got caught up on sleep, and this afternoon I did chores at the barn.  Now I'm home, and -- having cooked and done laundry -- am getting ready to buckle down and write a little before bed.

Thanks to Facebook, lately my source of information about science and the world, I learned something new about Labor Day today.

Back to life as normal

I'm back on my fall schedule, as of yesterday.

Yesterday was lovely.  I stayed home until it was time to pick up the kids from school.  I got caught up on dishes, cleaned up my kitchen, did laundry, and -- of course -- worked on freelance work.  After a couple hours with the kids in the afternoon, I ate dinner at home, and then headed out to the barn to do chores.  It did mean a late evening, but since it was a fairly relaxing morning, that was okay.

Today will be a little different.