Looking back at 2008

In the spirit of entertainment, I revisited my goals for 2008. In summary, I hoped to:

1. Keep sending out Marks of Repentance (now renamed Majai’s Fury). After awhile, analyze whether the novel and/or the query package need another revision.
2. Complete revision of Quest to be Queen, get it out to critters and hopefully into submission in 2008.
3. Revise the opening chapters to Chloe’s story (romance) and The Girl Who Cried Squid and submit both to the Genesis contest in April.
4. Revise both novels, send to critters.
5. Write something. Maybe two somethings.
6. Keep critting
7. Keep up with moderator duties at Forward Motion

How did I do?
1. I did keep sending out MF, but not nearly as much as I could/should have.
2. I completed the revision of QtBQ, sent it out to critters, and now have more work to do on it.
3. Of the two openings I planned to enter in Genesis in ’08, I only entered one (TGWCS), but I did place third in my category for it.
4. But did not revise it.
5. Did not write two somethings or even one something. I did make reasonable progress on two separate projects, though, so I’ll pretend that counts!
6. Critting? Well, that depends on my buddies having novels to swap. This year I critted two of them.
7. Mod duties at FM grew this year with the addition of the highly successful workshop program.

But in reality, many of the highlights of 2008 for me weren’t related to my writing dreams, although some certainly were. The best things about 2008?

1. My hubby getting a local job again after 2.5 years of the nasty commute to his four-on, four-off job at the coal mines.
2. A two-day writing seminar in Couer d’Alene, Idaho, in April with Randy Ingermanson and my two new buddies, Bonne and Viv.
3. A great *Girls* trip to Victoria in May with my daughter and daughter-in-law. Even though the car broke down.
4. My daughter and son-in-law spending four months with us this summer–an unexpected but wonderful interlude.
5. A puppy, Brody. Some days he’s not the best thing ever, but some days he is.
6. My walking buddies at Walking to Somewhere, with whom I have (virtually) logged over 1200 miles, and for my husband and the pup, who have been my real companions for many of those miles!
7. As part of the local hikes, we explored a lot of our local area and discovered some of the history with the native pictographs, etc, and got started in geocaching.
8. Placing third in the Genesis contest with the opening pages of my novel, The Girl Who Cried Squid.
9. My in-laws’ celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September, which was a great excuse for a family party and a time to honor them.
10. A great one-week trip to Lake Tahoe with Margaret in December, with lots of hiking and laughing.
11. Spending Christmas in Victoria with our kids and their spouses, spending great family time together. And surviving the nasty roads to and from.
12. No major flare-ups of degenerative disc this entire year!!!

That’s a pretty spur-of-the-moment list, but definitely things I’ve been thankful for this year.

What are the highlights of 2008 in YOUR little worlds? Let me know if you’ve posted a list or recap!