New Year's Eve

Wow ... I'm so glad 2011 is over, can I just say that? Don't get me wrong - some really wonderful things have happened, but also some pretty difficult things have happened. Thankfully, the healing from those difficult things is already taking place, so as we move into 2012, we should be edging closer to solutions. Knocking on wood, right?

Let's take a look back at 2011, and then a look forward at 2012. It seems like a very New Year's Eve kind of thing to do.

January -

I had a slip and fall down and go bump on the ice. Let's click here for the artist's rendition.

I released Dearly Departed, the second novel in The Secret Sisters Mysteries.

This was also the month that I nearly ran into a school bus when the brakes on my van went out. Here's that awesome story, in case you missed it. And then got such a bad case of bronchitis, it was almost pneumonia, from walking through a blizzard to get help ... that was fun.

February -

It was a mostly quiet month - I was on a few panels at Life, the Universe, and Everything, a sci-fi/fantasy convention here in Utah, and that was a lot of fun.  I also continued with chiropractic treatment for my slip and go fall on the ice.

March -

I did the flowers for my friend's wedding - you can see some pretty pictures here.

Oh, and it was my birthday, too.

April -

This was a pretty quiet month, too.  I was so blessed, and didn't even know it ...

May - 

In May of every year is the fantastico LDStorymakers Writers Conference.  Here's how it went for me this year.

June - 

Wow ... this is the month that literally changed my entire life.  We met Dr. Craig Blamires, learned that we were experiencing some severe health problems, and completely changed our lifestyles.  June was the last time I indulged in chocolate-covered cinnamon bears or gummy peach rings or Zingers ... or anything thereunto related ... but we instantly started seeing results, for my whole family, and I lost six pounds that very first week.  (Now 67 at the time of this writing.)

I also released my low-sodium cookbook ... hooray!!  That was a project long in the making.

It was also in June that Dearly Departed was given a slot in Costco.  Whoohooo!!!

And I got to go shooting for the very first time.  That was awesome.



July -

I spent most of July doing signings at Costco.  Here is my guide for signing at Costco - although the tips will work for any signing, anywhere.


August - 

My third Secret Sisters book, Hang 'Em High, was released in August, and I saw it for the first time at LDSBA.  Good times!


September - 

I had my last book signing at Costco in September, and I also kicked my health care up another notch when we had a wee bit of a scare with my heart, at Costco.  That was majorly fun.

October - 

I really started to talk about my weight loss journey.  I knew that people would want to know what I was up to, how I was doing it, and I also wanted that extra level of accountability.

November - 


I hit 53 pounds lost, hosted a sugar-free Thanksgiving for my sisters and their families, (I hope they've forgiven me for no pie) and did lots of editing. I also started writing a cookbook with my doctor, which will be available soon.

December -

And this was the month I entered the Twilight Zone.  It all started on the 2nd, when I was in a car accident with a semi. I've spent the last month at the doctor's office three days a week doing physical therapy and having adjustments, and I really haven't gotten a whole lot else done, I'm sorry to say.

I also did a lot of book reviews this year, and this was the year that my editing business really took off.

So, you can see, a lot of wonderful things happened in there, even though there was also a lot of upheaval and drama.  I'm not so much a fan of drama. That's why I only skimmed the highlights here and didn't go into every little escapade ... that would have taken way too long.

Above all, above all the scariness and drama-filled stuff, I'm grateful, so very grateful, for all of my blessings.  We have been protected and watched over and guided and loved, and I know my Heavenly Father has been there for us this year, just as He is every year.

A Look Ahead

I have a lot of wonderful things planned for 2012.

I'm going to continue to heal from the car accident and get totally well.

In January, I'm releasing Targets in Ties, the fourth novel in The Secret Sisters Mysteries. I'm also teaching at the very first ever iWriteNetwork Winter Workshop - I was asked to be on the board of directors for iWriteNetwork, and I'm having a great time.

In February, I'm teaching at Life, the Universe, and Everything, as well as being on a few panels.  Then I'm appearing on a cooking competition web show with Josi Kilpack.  I'm pretty sure she's going to kick my trash, but I intend to have a whole lot of fun with it.

In April, I'm teaching at the Write Here in Ephraim event down at Snow College.

In May, I'm teaching at the LDStorymakers Writers Conference. Right around this point, I will have lost all my excess weight.

In June, I'm presenting for the Utah chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

As for my writing goals for 2012:

I will finish the cookbook for The Secret Sisters Mysteries, called Drop-dead Delicious, and submit it by the end of January.

I will finish the cookbook I'm writing with my doctor, called To Your Health, and we'll be publishing it through CreateSpace shortly thereafter.

I will finish the nonfiction book about finances I'm writing with Brett Kitchen and Ethan Kap, and we'll have that available not too long after that.

I will do the final self-edit on the fifth Secret Sisters, Till Death Do Us Part, and get it submitted in late March.

I will finish polishing and self-editing my first YA contemporary, Turning Pages, and get it submitted this summer.

I will finish writing the first book of my new series, Tulips and Treason, and get it ready for a self-edit early in 2013.

I will also finish writing the book that is being published on Big World Network, Taking Out the Trash.

Lofty goals?  Absolutely.  But I've learned I need to push myself a bit or I don't feel like I'm growing, and I have to grow or I feel like I'm wasting my time.

So, that will do it for the year's recap and my New Year's goals.  It certainly has not been, nor will it be, boring.