I don't do resolutions. No one sticks to them anyway. I do, however, do goals. I have lots of goals. No, really. I have a "you-know-what" load of them. And every December I create ones for the upcoming year.* This year's goals, a little late, are as follows:

• Writing 10,000 words a week. This will finish the current novel and get a solid start on the next. Of course, that doesn't count blog posts, which I also plan to be better at.
• Six new web design clients. This is what allows me to buy all the yarn and books I want.
• Practice a healthy lifestyle. I'm really tired of trying to loose weight, but I do want to be healthy. That means I'll do yoga daily and use my wii for more than just Netflix.
• Homestead my land. Yes, I have land. Yes, I want to do a garden. And hubby likes to hunt. So that's probably going to be among the easiest of my goals.
• Spend time on my hobbies. I want to have a new knit or crocheted or sewn project completed each month. I also want to learn to play the guitar.
• Get serious about my spirituality. My beliefs are eclectic, to say the least. But they are mine and I need to make the time to connect with them.
  

So there you have it. My goals for 2011. Wish me luck!

Me

*Yes, I'm aware of how much that sounds like a resolution. But it's not. Because I said so.

I'm not a superstitious person. I've never done the whole "lucky T-shirt" thing or understood why a person would want to knock on wood hoping something happens.

I don't take a lot of stupid chances, though, either. I won't walk under a ladder—something could fall on my head. I don't care if a black cat crosses my path, I'm just on the lookout for it's friends or whatever is chasing it.

This week, however, hasn't been a good one. My kid was rear-ended on her way to school. The accident actually involved four cars and she was pushed into the car in front of her. Sandwiched between car one and three. It looks like her small truck will probably be totaled. That was our most reliable vehicle, too. Then my nephew spilled hot cocoa on himself and ended up with second-degree burns. As my mother said "This week has not been good to my grandchildren. I do not approve."

If I were superstitious, I'd be wondering what the next family tragedy will be. These things come in threes, don't they?

Or do they? You can make numbers say whatever you want them to. That's the fun of statistics.

Rather than wait for the third shoe to drop, however, I have a better plan. (Or at least a "better for my own peace of mind" plan.) I'm going to figure out what the lesson is. I know that the Divine Creator of the Universe will not give a person more than he or she can handle. Is that a tough thing to remember? DUH! Even Mother Teresa had trouble with that: "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." And trust me, I'm no Mother Teresa.

But there must be a lesson. There must be a blessing within these accidents. I can't believe that there isn't. For my kid, the blessing is that she wasn't badly injured. She was truly in the wrong place at the wrong time and nothing she did or didn't do could have prevented this. Yet if she hadn't been there, a very large pickup (previously referred to as car number 3) could just as easily hit the small hatchback which was stopped (previously referred to as car number 1). And there was a preschool girl in the back of that car. She wasn't injured....but could have been. Maybe my kid was in that place at that time to "bumper" that little girl. Who knows.

Maybe the blessing with my nephew is that he wasn't burned more than he was. Maybe it is that my sister is a bit of a hippy and he was wearing natural fibers that didn't scar his skin. Maybe the angels had to pick between a "small" burn on him or something much more serious. Who knows.

I don't. I just know that there has to be a reason....a lesson. There must be something good to come of these events, even if we lowly mortals can't find it or grasp onto it.

It's what I believe with every fiber of my being.

Me

OK, I'm bored. So I think I'll write out some more of my 2007 goals.

Around the house, I plan to organize my office and organize the kitchen. I am going to paint the kitchen this year and create a weekly cleaning routine.

I have goals for my hobbies, too. I plan to do 5 geocaches each month; embroider 6 bookmarks each month; do more quilting; keep knitting and crocheting; keep making soaps and candles; write my pen pals within seven days of getting their letters; and learn to play my guitar.

Finally, I am going to keep going to church each week (singing in the choir and teaching Sunday school make that happen!); continue my daily devotions; and "meditate" more.

Well, that's it. No more goals.

Now to make them all happen!