Goals

 

I had two surgeries in 2019 on my leg and spent the first few months of 2020 with crutches and a wound-vac. Ugh.  I'd been using a FitBit since 2014 and had never missed a 10,000 step day until then. My surgeon got to know me over our months together and when I finally got the ok to start walking without crutches, he said, "One hundred steps a day, Holly. You can add 100 more steps every day." LOL I loved that he got me. (I think he had a clue when after my first surgery I scolded him that he started an hour early and I hadn't got to 10,000 yet. LOL)

Over the last year, I worked to get back to my pre-surgery walking. I walked my way through the pandemic lockdowns and found my way back to a 10-15,000 step daily average. This month, one of my daughters and I started a Fall Frenzy walking challenge. I set my goals at 300K by November 15. I think I got this.

I thought about setting my goal for 500 kilometers, but opted to set it lower. Something that was a challenge, but wasn't unattainable. I prefer setting realistic goals. Things that push me, but are attainable.

Every New Year I set a word of the year because so many people pick a New Year goal and never meet it. One word...I can build a year around that. 2021's word was Patience. That's not my strongest suit, but I've made inroads as I continue to try to strengthen my weak leg.  

I've been reading AWOL on the Appalachian Trail. I'm hoping to hike a few segments of the trail in the next few years. But it sounds like a long walk. And as much as I like walking a good chunk of the year on a trail might not be my gig. I did a long up-and-die trail at Ricketts Glen this spring. Up and down were tough on my leg but I did it.

I was excited to discover this weekend part that a new Erie to Pittsburgh trail  was dedicated here in Erie.  The trail's not complete yet, but when it's done it'll be 270 miles. I'm really thinking that a month (or under) on a trail is doable for me. Especially since I could do it in segments near my home  (Pittsburgh is only a couple hours from Erie). So that's a new goal.  It will be a challenge, but I think doable.  If you read my books, you might suspect how much I love my hometown and this region! I've set most of my books in the Erie area (like my Hometown Hearts series...the last book, A Hometown Christmas came out last week!) and Briar Hill Road was set in Pittsburgh. I'm really looking forward to exploring my area in a new way!!

This is a longterm goal, but I'm sure you'll hear about it as I go along! 

In the meantime, if you want to check out Erie, the links to my Hometown Hearts series are below! Each book stands alone, so you can pick one up and not worry about missing info. 

Holly

Here's the list of the entire Hometown Hearts series!

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story 
Amazon

A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8
Kindle 
Nook
AppleBooks
Kobo

 

Free!!

View from my doctor's office.

Yep, with a view like that, I almost don't mind going to the doctor's...almost.

It's been 9 months since my first infection in my leg. I had surgery in August, then another surgery in December. They took out 16 screws and two plates out of my thigh. That helped the infection clear up, although I was left with a holey bone. The minions and I started referring to it as my Swiss Cheese Leg. Well after months on crutches and then limited walking in the house, I was finally given permission to start walking for exercise again.

Yesterday I walked around the block! It was in the twenties. I had to pull out my cold-weather-walking-coat, but I didn't mind because I'm FREE!

Fitbit here I come!

Seriously, I was years of never missing a 10,000 step day. The day of my first surgery, I was trying to get my steps in before my surgery. They came for me early and that was the first day I missed my count.

Now, I won't be back to walking 8+ miles a day today or even tomorrow, but I'm going to start working toward it...one step at a time. I'm hoping in a couple weeks I can creep up to at least those 10,000 steps and keep adding to that.

I think that's a good reminder to myself...for all of us. Change can happen, but it doesn't have to happen all at once. Small changes can grow into bigger changes. A walk around the block can grow into a couple miles. The kernel of an idea can grow into a novel. A piece of clay can grow into a ugly-face jug! LOL

One step at a time.

Literally in my case!

That idea of change is a good one to explore. For me, I'm changing from a couch potato back into a walker. Maybe there's some change you've been thinking about? Maybe it feels too big and cumbersome. Well, take a page from my book and take it one small step at a time. Yesterday I went around the block...who knows where I'll be walking today!

I'm so jazzed that as spring arrives I should be almost back to normal. (Normal being relative in my case!)

Holly

PS Speaking of one step at a time, another Hometown Hearts story is out in a couple weeks. You can preorder it now at your favorite online bookstore! Thanks as always for the support!

OUT NOW: Crib Notes

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Preorder: A Special Kind of Different

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Preorder: Homecoming
Amazon
iBooks
Nook
Kobo

The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Suddenly a Father will be out in September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!

Patience—Word of the Year

I started picking a word of the year long while back.

I don't like resolutions. If you break them then you feel like a loser.  Goals are better. Something you're working toward, but still if you don't achieve the goal, there's an element of failure to it. A Word of the Year is better yet. They're goal-esque. But they're also a foundation to build a year around. They're something to weave into the fabric of your year. Something for everything else to spring from.

I know I'm early, but I've already picked my Word of the Year for 2020...Patience.

Being laid up with crutches means I'm relying on others more than I am accustomed to. Himself has been amazing. He's been trying to take care of me. Trying is the big word. I am not easy to take care of.  LOL But I'm working on my patience. (Maybe it's not just patience but a certain humbleness I require. It takes a humbleness to ask for help. I'm going to mull that over now that I've thought of it.)  I have figured out how to get my own drinks (travel mugs shoved in sweatpants pocket) and even a bowl of lunch (office chair used as a rolling table) but I didn't do either this weekend...I've asked Himself for help.  He's been infinitely patient with this less than patient patient. LOL He's picked up the slack for me.

So I'm working on my patience with myself.

I have always been the caretaker. When I was young, I took care of my brothers, including a baby brother twelve years younger than me. I've taken care of my kids, my extended family, neighbors. That's the role I'm used to. Caregiver. Care-ie...not so much.

In that last blog post I said every obstacle comes with a gift in its hand. And it does. I'm hoping one of the gifts these crutches have brought me is patience. So there's a gift.

Sometimes my word of the year isn't difficult. One of my favorite words of a year was Glee...I tend to have a lock on that. And come to think about it, I've found glee even in the midst of all this. But patience...yeah, I've got some work to do this year! And maybe that's not such a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to have some work to do.

Every obstacle comes with a gift.  I suspect that learning to be more patient isn't going to be this particular obstacle's only gift.

How about you? Are you thinking about a word for 2020?

Holly

PS The first two Hometown Hearts books are available for preorder!! Yes, A Special Kind of Different is up too!! Crib Notes is out in January, A Special Kind of Different in March!!

Crib Notes:
Amazon
Nook
Kobo
iBooks

A Special Kind of Different:
Amazon
Nook
Kobo
iBooks

Procrastination

 I spoke to a local group last night. Their theme for the meeting was procrastination.

It's not something I have a lot of experience with. I work for myself.  My only boss is me. I am probably my most exacting taskmaster. 

How do I get everything done?  I think the fact that I don’t have a lot of time helps.  I squeeze writing in between family and extended family and now school. It’s a tight space. There’s no time for writer’s block. There's no time to procrastinate. So when it’s time to write, I write. Even if it’s utter crap. (In writing that’s called a crap draft.) Here’s the thing, you can fix crap, you can’t fix a blank page. That same sense of get it done applies to more than just my writing. It's pretty much how I get through life in general. I wanted to put my thoughts on avoiding procrastination in concise terms for the talk. Here's what I came up with.

Love What You're Doing: I started a discussion about procrastination with my pottery professor. He said something very profound. Paraphrasing here…Artists don’t procrastinate because we love what we do. So maybe that’s something to think about. If there’s something in your life you’re always putting off, maybe it’s time to ask why? Some things just need done. Cleaning. Cooking. Chores. But life should also be filled with things we love. Things we feel passionate about. Maybe if your life is a series of putting it off as long as possible it's time to find something you love and can't wait to do. You'll get through the things you have to do faster in order to get to the things you love doing.

Nike…Just Do It: This isn’t just for the writers out there. It’s for life in general. Most of you follow my new love of pottery and have read about my promise to make 50 bowls—which grew into 100 bowls—for an Empty Bowl fundraiser.  My first bowls are inelegant, but the later ones were so much better. I set a deadline for myself and just did it. But even in the midst of it, there was a sense of accomplishment. I learned so much. So if you’ve said you’ll do it, or you have to do it, do it.

BUT Know your limits and set priorities.  When I started writing, I prioritized my life and my time. Family first, writing second, everything else after that.  There was this mom at school that constantly bugged me to come to salad bar days. Now, I volunteered often at school. When the kids wanted me there, that was my priority. They didn't care if I was at salad bar. So I went, but not often.  When this mom made a crack about me just sitting at home all day, I didn't justify my writing career. I just smiled and said, I don't chop lettuce and left it at that.  It might not always seem like it, but I know my limits and I try to avoid biting off more . . . uh lettuce than I can chew. I also know where my priorities are. That helps. For me it was always family first, then writing. Now it’s family, writing, pottery.

Set realistic goals. If you say you want to write a novel/build a rustic log cabin/run a marathon by the end of the year, you’re setting a lofty goal. I think goals of that size seem insurmountable and make it easy to procrastinate. But something more reasonable…write a chapter a month/find some wooded land to buy/run a 5K...those are doable. Breaking a large goal into smaller components helps.  When I'm writing I don’t think about the 300 pages. I think of it by the day. 10 pages.

Newton’s first law says a body at rest will stay at rest unless some force acts on it. Maybe that’s a boss or a spouse, but I think the most worthwhile source is internal. So maybe the best way to fight procrastination is to ask yourself why you’re putting something off and find a solution. Carve our more/specific times. Or even don’t do it. It's okay to decide something isn't working for you.

Perfection: I've already mentioned writing crap drafts. The lesson there is to allow yourself to not be perfect. Allow yourself to realize failure is an option, but not trying isn’t.

Pressure: My friend Susan and I were talking about procrastination. She works best under pressure. I do not. Realize how you work best and use that to get it done.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating, I hope you take a moment and ask yourself why. . . then find some solution.

Holly

Briar Hill Road

Between the Words

Able to Love Again

PTA Moms: the Collection

The Moments

Find my books at:

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Radish Fiction

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BAM

PPS. Have you missed our most recent Trippin' with Holly and Susan? You can catch up with them all on YouTube.

Setting Goals: My Novel Freshman Experience

 Setting Goals.

When I first started writing, I treated my attempts like work. I set a goal and did everything I could to meet it.  I treated my writing like a business before it was a business. And that commitment worked for me and my vocation.

So as I'm starting my pottery avocation, I'm doing the same thing.  My big goal for the term is to get better.  I want to throw better (and better than not good should be doable.  LOL) and I want to get better at the things I'm already happy with (my Santas and log mugs). And I want to learn more studio skills.  

But I wanted a bigger goal.  There's a group at school that does Empty Bowls Dinner in the spring...it raises money to fill empty stomachs. Guests have a simple meal of soup and bread...and you get to keep a handcrafted pottery bowl.  They need a lot of bowls.  So I said...I'll do fifty.  Since I am so new to throwing, this is a hefty goal.  But  I'm hoping it improves my throwing and glazin. I'm hoping to learn to throw a shape and size consistently. And I need to find a design I like. And I like the idea of all that learning ultimately feeding people in need.

I made three smaller, wider bowls (on the left). They weren't bad, but I tried a taller, deeper bowl. I think that's a better design.  I made three of those, then tried one a bit taller.  

So seven.  I'm seven bowls into my goal.

Now, along the way I threw a very small, bad bowl.  But rather than let it go to waste, I tried my underglazing on it again.  Another poppy. It'll make an acceptable change or key bowl.  

Goals.  They're a way of moving forward in a vocation or avocation.  They SHOW you what you can do.  Uh, yeah that was a lead-in to today's Trippin' with Holly and Susan. We're talking about Show Don't Tell.  Yes, it's kind of a writerly topic, but even as a reader, understanding how a book goes together can enhance your reading experience.  So check it out...

 

A viewer (how cool is that to say or write?) wanted us to talk about Show Don't Tell—so here it is. And we discover Susan gets "tangry" and Holly might be a bit of a smart a$$. LOL Hope it gives you Monday Glee!
Holly

PS There's a new episode of Able to Love Again out on Radish today.  What's Radish? An app for your phone so you never run out of books to read.  You can check out The Moments for free there as well!

PSS

Polished Off

Don't forget my new release Polished Off: A Maid in LA Mystery is out! Check out Quincy's newest adventure!

And there's a salespalooza this month. Check out:
Just One Thing
Hold Her Heart
Everything But...series

Don't want to miss any new releases in the future? Subscribe to my Newsletter!! I'll keep you up-to-date and I frequently have something special for subscribers!

As always, you can find my ebooks, paperbacks, hardbacks, audiobooks and available through Kindle Unlimited.  They're also available in a lot of other languages. I hope there's something for all of you!

Find my books at:

Amazon

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Radish Fiction

iBooks

B&N

Google Play

BAM

Audible

In Erie, you can find my books on the shelf at Werner Books! Stop in, check them out and tell them I said hi!

Book Stories: Confessions of a Party Crasher

Mothers and daughters.  It's a dynamic that's always fascinated me.  In Maid in LA Quincy and her mother have a rocky relationship...one that's really fueled by misunderstanding.  They love each other, but they don't understand each other at all.  I had five books (well four right now for you, and five in June when Polished Off is released!) to not only explore their story, but let it develop.

I know you're scratching your head say, I thought this Book Story was about Confessions of a Party Crasher.  LOL It is.  I was just setting the MOM stage.  Quincy's mother was a physician and all business...at least from Quincy's point-of-view.  Party Crasher's mom, Annabelle...is not.  She's in trouble frequently.  

Oh, I had so much fun with Annabelle and Morgan.  Morgan was a complex character to write.  She knows what she wants.  She makes plans.  She works hard.  I admire all those traits.  But this book was in a way a reminder to myself that things change and goals can change with them.  (I remind myself about many things in the books I write.  Really, writers don't need therapists, we just need to write another book.)  As much as I loved writing Annabelle and Morgan's relationship development, it was Morgan's journey that really fascinated me.  Finding what she REALLY wanted, not just what she thought she wanted—what she'd planned on wanting—was the big journey of the book.
 
I think that's the big lesson for me...and hopefully for readers.  Life changes...and we change along with it.  Plans and goals are all well and good (I love lists and plans) but sometimes they're worth reassessing.  It's worth it to channel your inner-Annabelle and remind yourself that sometimes what you think you want isn't what you want at all.  And like Morgan, maybe you'll find you are exactly where you want to be.

Oh, I know, I didn't blog at all about the romance in this book.  And really it is a romance.  The hero's journey is actually similar to Morgan's.  He needs to discover that sometimes what you think you want isn't what you want at all.  Maybe that's another lesson of the book...we all are always on a journey of finding where we should be and what we should be.

I hope you'll check out Confessions of a Party Crasher if you haven't already.  I set this one in Pittsburgh, PA.  My daughter was in school down there and helped with all the descriptions. I know most of my books are set in Erie, but occasionally I take a trip.  Speaking of which, I'm leaving today for Philadelphia.  I'm giving a talk tomorrow for the Valley Forge Romance Writers.  My handouts are printed, my bags are packed...yes, I put grownup clothes in the suitcase.  I'm ready to drive across this state I love.  I'm sure you'll hear all about it next week!  

Have a great weekend!

Holly

Reviews for Confession of a Party Crasher:

"...a funny tale of falling in love when you least expect it, best friends, and off-beat mothers..." We Write Romance

"...a sweet, entertaining romance..." ~RT Bookclub

"Hilarious situations, deep emotions, and lots of love make this one party you won't want to miss." ~Cat Cody, Romance Junkies

"Confession of a Party Crasher is an entertaining frolic. I know whenever I see Holly Jacobs name on a book I can be guarantee that I am are going to have one laugh after another..." Lydia Funneman, Writers Unlimited

"Confessions of a Party Crasher is a book about relationships and life. As always, Holly Jacobs uses plenty of zany humor to enhance the story and make it dazzle." ~© Kelley A. Hartsell, May 2006. All rights reserved. 

"CONFESSIONS OF A PARTY CRASHER is a charming romantic story, where love is made even more special with laughter." Amelia Richard, cataromance.com