September Resolutions Part One

Write five book reviews	Enjoy a family vacation	Go for a canoe ride	Schedule a book launch for Story of Hope	Take a line dancing class at the gym
Create ten buttons	Figure out what to do about my job	Make thank you cards after birthday/ birthday party	Speak to library about doing story hour for kids	Have a personal training birthday session at the gym
Enjoy Justin’s surprise	Brainstorm ways I can give back (Rockland Literacy?)	Free Space	Use more journalism and cover current events in my blog	Discover three new favorite Youtubers
Host a birthday party	Work on publishing Story of Hope	Play more games (like Dominion)	Work on  inking comfort books	Do something cool with my hair
Attend a wedding weekend	Work on my five novels (one a week)	Start a Winnie the Pooh knitting project	Convince Justin to see Resident Evil	Wait until my actual birthday to open cards and presents

Here it is. My favorite month. It’s always been my favorite month but not just because it’s my birthday. I love fall colors, the crispness of the air, snuggling with a cup of warm tea in the chilly afternoon. I like the bittersweet goodbye to summer. I also used to really like going back to school. Yes, I was that nerd who got school supplies painfully early. I loved learning (still do) and socializing and for me school didn’t just mean work it also meant dances, school plays, debate team, school newspaper, youth group and afterschool activities at the library. Once I got to college I was even more excited for school to start, carefully penciling each item on my syllabus into my planner. My planner was my lifeline. 

This year I have a big September. It’s like being at the beach and riding waves of happiness in, one after the other, grinning on the other side. So here are some things I want to accomplish this September:

To clarify my goals:

• Write five book reviews. Somewhere down the road I will publish all these book reviews (I have between thirty and fifty, usually a page long). I try to hit all genres- crime, thriller, romance (though I’m not a fan of romance), literary fiction, even some (gasp!) sci-fi, and personal essay/ humor (which might be my favorite). 

• For those of you who didn’t know, I asked for a button maker for my birthday. I  am so excited to make buttons for the people I love and for myself. I have already started clipping words and pictures out of books and magazines so I can create collages on the buttons which is what I learned to do at my friend’s party. I predict I will do way more than just ten buttons in September (I’ll probably do ten buttons on my birthday alone) but I don’t want to have too much of a good thing. 

• Justin has collaborated a bit with my mom to plan a birthday surprise. I am completely in the dark. Which is good. I love surprises because it’s less anxiety that way. I am so excited for whatever it is he has planned. In the past, he has done such great stuff like taking me to Melting Pot (fondue) and Hershey Park. He told me this surprise will be extra special because I’m turning the big 30.

• I am having a birthday party. We are still in the planning process but there will be dancing and karaoke and the party is Winnie the Pooh themed (naturally). I have planned out a showstopper dress. The only hitch is being skinny enough to fit in it. The dress was tight on me when I tried it on at the store and I’m worried gaining even a few pounds might put me over the edge. Only  one thing to do: get that appetite in check.

• Two of my best friends are getting married. They are getting married on a Sunday. Justin and I are driving up on a Friday and staying at an Air BnB (just the two of us) for three nights. Three nights of privacy. It’s not our wedding but the nights might feel like one. There is a dinner the night before the wedding and then the day of the wedding there’s the wedding, cocktail hour, reception and an afterparty. I can’t wait to celebrate two of the people who have been so loving and accepting in my life.

• Next week I’m going on vacation. I’m going to Maine with my family (my mom, dad and little brother). Our trips in September have become kind of annual. We usually stayed at an Air Bnb or cabin. Last year we’d start the day by a game of ping pong in the basement. My brother would usually start a fire in the stove after dinner and I’d roast marshmallows. The year before that I had a bed beneath the window and I loved falling asleep in the moonlight and waking up to a yawning sun. I haven’t decided if I’m bringing my laptop/ blog on vacation. I’m leaning towards no because I just want some time to journal/ read/ be with my family.

• I will figure out my job situation. Probably not today though.

• If I don’t go back to my old job I would still like to help people. Before I got a job at the assisted living facility I almost had a volunteer position at Rockland Literacy. I might give them a call back. I think working with somebody one on one would be much easier than dealing with a roomful of people who are disrespectful or have special needs. Plus I’m comfortable with literacy.  I’m a big reader.

• I submitted my book The Story of Hope to a company that will allow me to self-publish it. Currently we are working on the formatting and then they will submit a cover to me for approval. Then I get a month to work on corrections. And then you can purchase it yourself.

• Every week I’m going to work on one of my five novels. This week I’m working on Witches Under Watch, a story about a young witch who is in hiding because she is under persecution from the federal government. Her family has closed ranks around her but unfortunately that is not enough. It’s going to take a lot more than that.

• I just want to go for a canoe ride on  our vacation. I love looking down into blue water and then, black as we go deeper and it’s choked with seaweed. I tease myself by worrying that we might capsize and I’ll be thrown into that  murky water. I’m not sure why I do that.

• I love making thank you cards. My cards are sincere and I try to put heart into every card and make them personal. My family and friends are just so amazing. It goes beyond material gifts. It’s their love and support in tough times. It’s the way I know I’m loved.

• Recently my dad and I  have been playing a deck building game called Dominion and it actually helps with my anxiety just like Rummy 500 does and Settlers of Catan does too. Immersing myself in the game allows my trouble to melt away and leaves me focusing on the task at hand. 

• I’m almost done with my current knitting project. On Ravalary.com (an amazing website with patterns for crochet and knitting projects) I found a pattern for a small Winnie the Pooh, that would fit into your hands so you don’t have to stuff it. I’ve never made a stuffie before. I’d like to have it join my crew in time for the New Year.

This post has gotten long enough. I’m gonna wrap it up tomorrow.