2010 Goals - How are we doing?

Last year started off so hectic I didn't even write down goals until June. This year, I started thinking about them in January, but tweaked them for a month. And the tweaking continues.

Things I want to do in 2010 (priorities are in blue)
1. Finish novel: write missing scenes, fix timeline and facts, add descriptions and background, and revise and edit.
Thanks to my nanowrimo friends, I work on this at least once a week. I've added lots of the missing scenes, but I feel overwhelmed at all the other things I still need to do before I even let anybody read it.

2. Declutter. Hah! Ahem, well...
3. Get published in a magazine.
I sent out my first query in years, but forgot to follow-up when I didn't get a reply.

4. Make a Storybook for a relative who has a big birthday this fall. That includes scanning Daddy's negatives from the 50s and getting names and information.
I haven't even started on this! But I still have months to go.

5. Make a Storybook of my trip to Ireland.
I labeled the photos and made some notes. The good thing is, I have a June deadline to get one of these books done because I have a prepaid certificate. Deadlines are good for me.

6. Index the 18th-century church records from the meeting in Ireland.
I made good progress on this until the past month, about 160 pages done. This also helps with my novel, which is based on the people in the records.

7. Run in a 5K.
This got dropped for schedule conflicts, but now it's back on - in two weeks!

8. Go on a mission trip.
I got to do this in March. We went to Jean Lafitte, Louisiana to build a house for a family still in a FEMA trailer from Hurricane Katrina.

9. Other items: Blog and network (I've done this, but it's very time consuming). Market and sell my first book (Got a review, but haven't done much). Scrapbook back to 2004 (haven't).

I love alliterative goals (inspired by FlyLady). I tried Monday minutes (indexing church records - this went well until last month)
Tuesday tweets (fell by wayside)
Tuesday taxes (very useful. The rest of year, this means business paperwork)
Wednesday walking (in full force)
Wednesday weed-out (decluttering - forgotten)
Friday finances, Freelance Friday and Saturday sales (business) mostly fell by the wayside.
An early "Nine-o'clock Novel" turned into the Morning Write, 1 to 3 days a week.
Sunday scrapbooking/scanning/see people (made progress on visiting older relatives)

Some of these went well, like Monday Minutes, until my work schedule changed, I went away on a trip and then I had meetings every night for three weeks. Hopefully I can get back to my own goals and routines now.

It's Sunday. I'd better start scanning. How are your goals coming along?

Tweets from Louisiana trip

Signing off for mission trip to Louisiana. Will tweet by phone, but can't read nor respond. #travel #katrina #fb 10:06 PM Mar 6th via web

Driving thru New Orleans at night. #fb 8:21 PM Mar 7th via txt

45 people in 2 bunkrooms, have to sleep in dining area. #fb 10:46 PM Mar 7th via txt

Built walls, covered in sawdust and rain. Trusses on house in La. #fb 8:19 PM Mar 8th via txt

Standing under few sheets of roof, pouring rain, lightning. Good time 4 lunch. 12:01 PM Mar 9th via txt

On 2-story ladder today, hammering, arms like noodles. #fb 9:10 PM Mar 9th via txt

Hardware errands, white & blue herons in bayou. #fb 12:56 PM Mar 10th via txt

started vinyl siding. Roof sheets on. Thanks, God, 4 holding off rain! #fb 9:45 PM Mar 10th via txt

Roughing it is not just sleeping on floor, but w so many people, get woke up hourly. #fb 6:45 AM Mar 11th via txt

Cafe au lait, warm beignet, laughing at powdered sugar mess n New Orleans #fb 12:38 AM Mar 12th via txt

Installed insulation, sheetrock today. Leave La. Tomorrow. 8:29 PM Mar 12th via txt

Home, laundry, real bed, my pillow. Long ... hot ... shower.
#fb about 3 hours ago via web Sunday morning

Hittin' the road

I enjoyed reading the genealogy blogs this week, and would like to visit even more of them. However, I realized that I didn't spend any time working on my own blog. I did write a few paragraphs for my historical novel. With about 77,000 words in the file, I'm at the stage where I need to write more missing scenes to add transitions, add description for people and places, research some of those missing scenes (genealogy) - and then cut, cut, cut.

This week I also helped a cousin work on an "emergency family history" for her vacation next week. We may work on it some more later - our family history of bird dog trainers and hunting in the Piedmont, N.C.

I reluctantly lay my genealogy aside for the coming week - but only for another trip! This time I'm traveling light, going with a group of volunteers to Louisiana, where people still don't have homes in Hurricane Katrina-affected areas.