what lies ahead

I'm sitting in my den in my pajamas watching the Vols play some half-way decent football in the Outback bowl, and updating my blog and Facebook. Nice, leisurely way to ring in the New Year. Being a good Southern gal, I'll have my black-eyed peas and turnip greens (standard New Year's Day fare) in a little while.

Here are my creative intentions of 2008:

Reading. In years past, I set some pretty ambitious reading goals and did a decent job of keeping up with what I read through the year. I'm going to do that again in 2008, with a goal of 40 books. That puts me at just over 3 a month and seems to be an achievable goal. I have my friends Megan and Craig to thank for inspiring me to set a reading goal and keep a record of it. Thanks, y'all.

Writing. I'm setting a personal goal of writing 5 days a week, or 20 days a month. Shooting for about a thousand words a day. I'll have to see how editing fits into the equation.

Photography. Learn PhotoShop. Take a jillion pictures. Figure out a decent way to organize them. Print more. Enter more shows and contests. Develop the Plastic Jesus series. Take some creative risks.

And I want to drop a few pounds, get my money's worth from my Y membership, simplify, and just be a little more free.

What about you? Would love to hear what you are hopeful about in 2008. And what's on your reading list, if you have one.