Average Jane Faces the New Year

I wasn’t really sure how to approach a New Year’s blog entry right now.  I started by reading what I had to say last year.  My prediction that 2005 would be better for me than 2004 was largely accurate.  There were a few rough spots, but I think the good days more than outweighed the bad.

My "favorites" list in 2004 was all media-related, but the highlights of my life in 2005 were all experiences.  Here are some of the most notable ones:

• February 28, 2005 – My nephew was born.  Now he’s crawling everywhere he goes and wearing clothes in 18-month sizes.
• In March I went to my first roller derby event.  It was the first bout of the season and I ended up going to all of them.  I can’t wait until the new season starts this spring.  My goal is to have my band play at one of the matches.
• In June I went on my second ever camping/canoe trip.  Now that I know how much fun it is, it’s hard to believe I went so much of my life without ever going camping.
• June was also when I joined the band I’m in now.  Over the next several months, I took up lyric writing and by the end of the year we had started recording our first five original songs.
• Oh, and speaking of June, that was also the month when I was made president-elect of my local Soroptimist Club.
• I spent my birthday (July 7th) and several days after that in New Orleans.  If I’d had any inkling of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina would wreak just a few months later, I’d have tried to see more of the city.  Still, I have some amazing memories of the trip.
• I went to the BlogHer Conference at the end of July.  What a wonderful chance to meet some of my favorite writers!  It may be a strain on my finances and available vacation time to attend BlogHer 2006, but I’m determined to make it happen.
• In September, I got a firsthand look at the world of gay cowboys well in advance of the opening of "Brokeback Mountain."
• Also in September, I learned the hard way that I never want to make my living harvesting grapes.
• In November, I failed to write so much as a single syllable for NaNoWriMo.  However, I managed to get a lot of other things accomplished that month (notably, a good deal of songwriting), and I fully intend to make novel writing a part of my 2006 plans – perhaps even before NaNoWriMo ’06.

I’m looking forward to 2006 with even more enthusiasm than I had in greeting 2005.  Here’s hoping that all of you feel the same about the coming year.