Tag Archives: New Year

Jan2

22 Wishes for You in 2022

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Happier , healthier New Year to you!

Here are my 22 wishes for you in 2022, my little raspberry torte:

1. May your socks be like the macaroni penguin and mate for life.

2. May you identify the healthiest combination of foods for you and feel no need to mention it (in detail) to anyone with ears at every single meal.

3. May your inner critic become so utterly self-obsessed she ignores you.

4. May you find satisfaction in small accomplishments.

5. May your whole wheat toast land cheeseburger side up.

6. May you recall names, passwords and punchlines with equal ease.

7. May your To Do List be deposed as your daily dictator.

8. May you be the hero for posing the question everyone else is too afraid to ask.

9. May you roll with interruptions like Tina Turner on a river.

10. May you acquire the patience of a Zen oyster.

11. May you come to relish wrinkles as face garnish.

12. May you judge others as often as you would have them judge you.

13. May you laugh before Noon daily, even if it’s at yourself.

14. May grace be your new brand standard.

15. May you binge watch squirrels on the weekends (and bonus points if they return the favor).

16. May you never dream you’re eating marshmallows and wake to find your earplugs missing.

17. May you be known as an entrepreneurial expert for minding your own business.

18. May you acquire at least one new friend (bonus points if that friend is yourself).

19. May compliments be your first language.

20. May you create something so magical, uplifting, hilarious and poignant even you can’t believe you did it.

21. May you become a world class hugger.

22. May you realize a new level of contentment whatever your circumstances may be.

If you are a dreamer, come in,

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…

If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some fla-golden tales to spin.

Come in!

come in!

~ Shel Silverstein
Dec23

Season’s Greetings!

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Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one. ~ Brad Paisley 

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language 
And next year’s words await another voice. ~ T.S. Eliot

Dearest Readers,

My warmest wishes to you for a joy-filled holiday that lifts your spirits, gives you happy memories and provides you with time to be with those you love best.

We can look forward to welcoming in 2019 together. Let’s fill it with creativity and courage to try new things. And, as always, we’ll give each other encouragement all the year through.

Cheers, my little snap dragons!


I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever. ~ Neil Gaiman

Dec31

“Rung” in the New Year

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frog-and-toad-and-the-cookies

From “Frog and Toad” by Arnold Lobel

When you’re up high, let’s say on a tall ladder, people always tell you–Don’t look down! But do me a favor, will you? Take a minute to glance over your shoulder. That’s right, look down the ladder the today. Here’s why . . .

When your sole focus is looking up the publishing ladder as you clutch each rung, it’s easy to feel like you’ll never reach the top. But let me encourage you to hold the rung a second.

Pause.

Even for a moment.

Stop craning your neck upward.

Look back down that ladder.

You began at the bottom.

Now, see how far you’ve come!

Today, before you uncork some bubbly or sing that silly “Auld Lang Syne,” make a list. Nope, not a mental list. Compile a REAL list on paper or screen–of all you’ve accomplished this year toward your writing goals. You have so much to be proud of. (I know, I should have said, You have so much of which to be proud, but that sounds kind of snooty for my purposes, and using proper grammar wasn’t one of my goals for 2016 anyway.)

Sure, there’s a lot more you want to do (same here), but treat yourself to a moment to appreciate how high you’ve already climbed. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the view!

What’s that? You say you submitted your work this year, but only have a stack of rejection letters to show for it? Well, that’s VERY rung-list worthy. (Honest. I’m not just saying that to give you something to put on your list.) You submitted your work. (It’s virtually impossible to receive a letter of rejection otherwise.) You wrote, revised, researched publishers and took the leap to share your work for consideration. Okay, so you didn’t get the desired response–this time–but you’re now ready to narrow your search and target other houses for submission in the new year. That’s great. Rung it up!

Happy New Year, my little sticky buns! Let’s “rung” it in together.

Umquam porro. Ever forward, Friends. Ever forward. Rung by rung.

A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs it while playing a violin. ~ Edmond de Goncourt