November 2026 Resolutions Part One

Start putting together a comp list for my eighth grade story and start assembling a book proposal	Go to the gym before I start getting involved in my day	Every day put a slip of paper in the gratitude box/ jar	Read to my American girl dolls on camera (more about this tomorrow)	Find leggings/ pants like the kind I had in eighth grade
Pick a title for my eighth grade story	Finish Story of Hope revisions	Work on knitting every day (I’m still on casting on!)	Try not to wear sweats anywhere except the gym	Don’t be afraid of attention
Get —, —--, —--, and —--- their birthday presents	Help Mom with Thanksgiving	Free Space:	Vote	Keep close touch with —---
Finish all nine books I’m in the middle of	NO energy drinks	Do five songs on the piano every day	Do laundry twice a week instead of once	Send a birthday card to Alice
Women’s Conference at the church	Read the Tao of Pooh with Mom	Start reading my poetry again (open mics)	Wear my new lipstick to every poetry event	Color scheme of black, red and dark purple

November Resolutions:

• I am going to try and publish my "eighth grade” story under a second assumed name. This time I’m going to try to publish it the traditional way with an agent and publisher. To do that I need a list of comps. Comps are books similar to yours that will show an agent how well your book could sell. Yet at the same time your book also has to  be unique. My eighth grade book, despite adult themes, is probably YA (young adult) and I haven’t read YA in years so I got catching up to do.

• I do need to call it something besides “my eighth grade story”.  Unfortunately for you I won’t tell you what that is because the story is so personal I’d feel better if no one knew about it. 

• Still catching up on the fall birthday presents just in time for the holidays

• I doubt I’ll be able to finish all the books but the primary books I want to finish are Ministry For the Future (for Larisa’s book club), The Personal Librarian (my book club) and Flowers in the Attic (for my enjoyment and the fact that it makes me severely uncomfortable). 

• Every year me and my bestie Wendy go to a women’s conference at one of the local churches. It’s really enjoyable. The choir sounds beautiful and the keynote speakers they invite are really engaging and relatable. Its a day that brings me closer to my Lord and I value those.

• In the morning I used to have coffee, journal, read, have breakfast and then go to the gym. Now I go as soon as I get up (which is a production as I am not easily woken up), one of my parents will bring me over to the gym. I’ve worked out a routine involving cardio, machines and weight lifting. After losing four pounds last week I’ve made a renewed commitment to my diet and health (and fashion but we’ll get into that tomorrow). I want to feel beautiful again.

• Because I left out two chapters while editing my book i had to pay extra money. But at least I got an extra month for revisions.

• This year Justin is coming for Thanksgiving again as he sometimes does. Maybe we can bake a dish together. Justin is really savvy in the kitchen (His dad is a chef after all but some stuff he learned on his own). Although we will have to be out of the kitchen in time for the big day because my mom gets major turkey stress (all her other dishes like the stuffing, gravy and and mac and cheese turn out great without fail but she always worries she’ll mess up the turkey and ruin Thanksgiving)

• Was tempted to get one Halloween night…..but I didn’t! That would have been really scary

• We are still finishing up Liane Moriarity’s The Last Anniversary and then we will embark on Pooh

• I have two little boxes I made in the hospital to put little gratitudes in. I’m going to keep doing this in the month of November as well as writing down my accomplishments per my psychiatrist’s request

• Done with casting on. Unfortunately that was the easy part.