It’s time for my annual New Year’s Resolution’s post. If you are part of my life or have read my 2019 wrap-up, you’ll know that it has been a hell of a year for us. Life was more complicated than usual and I lost sight of many of my resolutions, including keeping a consistent blog schedule. Luckily, the last month has brought a lot of calm and I have a great feeling about 2020.

Let’s take a look at the goals that I set for myself in 2019.

1. Create a writing schedule with a focus on the revisions for my novel. - Semi-successful. For several months during the first half of the year, I kept on track with writing in the mornings. I made a lot of progress. I owe much of this to a new habit that I created. I began to write a list of small goals on a sheet of paper and leaving it on a clean desk with my computer, so that I was ready to work in the morning. I plan on going with this strategy in the new year.

2. Attend a Writing Conference = I was registered and had begun to travel to the AWP Conference in Portland, when we found out that my mother-in-law was critically ill. We canceled our plans and fly to England. I was disappointed to miss the conference, but family comes first.

3. Maintain a blogging schedule=Semi-successful in the early part of the year and then it fell apart. This was one of my worst blogging years, since I have started “Always Packed for Adventure.” Thank you for sticking with me, it will get better!

4. Read 60 books or more = Big fail. I only read 26 books this year. Unbelievable and so out of character. I didn’t count literary journals or magazines, which I also read. I also recently discovered audio books and those are not included. Michelle Obama’s Becoming was fabulous to listen to in her own voice.

5. Track food and get to a healthy weight = Lasted three months and lost some weight, but then put it all back on and then some. This was made extra difficult by all of our traveling and moving.

6. Track steps and be mindful about exercise -See above.

7. Visit a new country, state or major city = Traveled a ton in 2019- Sweden, England (twice), the Big Island of Hawaii…I had been to all of these places. I did add Colorado and New Mexico as new states. I also visited different parts of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. In my home state of California, I visited Death Valley National Park and Yosemite National Park for the first time. We also went to Sequoia National Park, which I had not visited since I was five. I spent a total of 107 nights in hotel rooms last year! That sounds nuts, until I realized that my husband, with all of his work trips, spent over 200. I love traveling, but more nights in our new home, is what I’m aiming for in 2020.

8. Scan in old-family photos and documents-Success! I’ve done about 80% of this and I’m really happy.

9. Continue to work on family Genealogy project = Success and I look to work on this more deeply in 2020.

10. Work More, Save More, Spend Less = Semi success. I think this will be much easier to achieve in 2020.

I’m fairly happy with what I achieved, especially with all of the upheaval in 2019. Now the fun part: setting goals for 2020. Many of them are the same, with a few additions and tweaks.

1. Maintain a creative writing schedule: Work on novel and other non-blog writing for a minimum of five hours a week. If I know I am traveling, make sure to work ahead to meet this goal. The ultimate goal is to finally begin looking for an agent.

2. Blog: Commit to two blog posts a week and catch-up on old book/travel reviews.

3. Attend a Writing Conference

4. Read a Minimum of 50 books.

5. Start my Youtube Idea: Keeping quite for now, but I have a business idea for YouTube, which ties into my tutoring job.

6. Start my Podcast =. I have the equipment, I have a name, and I have a solid plan. I hope to get this going in the the first quarter of 2019.

7. Maintain Going to the Gym =. Dan just bought us gym memberships and I’m hoping that we can get this to become a routine. We both need the exercise and to shed a few pounds. I’d also like to get better, build up to a longer, more intense cardio workout. I love strength training and pilates, but I currently avoid cardio.

8. Maintain Food Log = Be aware of what we are eating and focus on eating more sensibly. This always works when I need to focus on my health.

9. Achieve and Maintain good Blood Test Results = Earlier this week, my annual blood test came back with high triglycerides ( a problem I’ve had throughout my life) and prediabetes (a new and scary diagnosis.) I need to do my best to focus on healthy eating and exercise to change these issues. This is definitely the most urgent and vital resolution of 2020.

10. Visit a new country, state, or major city.

11. Finish Scanning photos and documents - this should be easy to accomplish. It just feels great to know that precious photos are backed up on the computer.

12. Add several new recipes to our repertoire. We can throw a great dinner party meal, but we usually resort to the same tricks..I’m looking at you, English roast dinner! I’d love to expand and be more creative in the kitchen.