If you like the layout, check in with Slocum Design Studio — they’re the wonderful folks who designed and created it for me.

Well, I’ve managed to accomplish my last two New Year’s resolutions. Of course, they were rather vague and not very specific. For that reason, however, they allowed some flexibility and managed to be not only reasonable but also attainable.

For many years, I actually quit making New Year’s resolutions because I always failed to lose weight or acquire large sums of money. Our of sheer desperation one year, I decided I really needed to take care of myself … instead of everyone else: family, clients, even strangers in line at the grocery store who had far fewer items to check out and were really in a hurry.

Why do so many of us actually believe other people are busier than we are, live more stressful lives, and face more challenges? Well, I got over that. We all have 24 hours in our days. Most of us have parents, siblings, children, co-workers, bosses, employees, friends, neighbors, strangers, etc. who bring joy to our lives and/or manage to seriously mess with them.

Two years ago, my New Year’s resolution was to take better care of myself–as in, every single day I thought of something I could do to take care of myself. I accomplished that goal by putting a sticky note on the bathroom mirror (Take care of yourself today!). I accomplished a lot more thinking about taking care of myself than actually doing it, but the point is I truly thought about my own well-being each and every day. And managed to take better care of myself in 2010 than in previous years.

I began 2011 with the goal: Be Selfish. This was the result of 2010′s goal being too vague. Being selfish is a lot more specific. Or so I thought. About a month into the year, I realized selfish was too harsh a word. (Of course, I should have looked it up in the dictionary before making my resolution.) According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, selfish means “concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others.” Since I’m a writer, I decided to take poetic license with the definition and, for my purposes, simply eliminated the “without regard for others.” It worked for me and I did a terrific job. Resolution accomplished.

So, there I was on December 31, 2011, and I still hadn’t come up with a New Year’s resolution. I admit it’s tough coming up with one that beats those of the last previous years. And, being the over-achiever I am, I really do prefer to keep beating past records. Instead, I decided to pitch my competitiveness (even with myself) and go a little deeper with my goal of taking care of myself.

So, here’s my New Year’s resolution for 2012: Do something for myself each and every day that improves my personal well-being.

Yes, it’s posted where I can read it every day–although not on my bathroom mirror. And I’m more than happy to share it with you. Feel free to take it for yourself.

If you have one, what’s YOUR New Year’s resolution? How did you arrive at it. If you don’t have one, why not?

Regardless, here’s wishing you good health, weight loss (if you want it), large sums of money (if you get them and don’t want them, feel free to donate to the Linda Fund), and much happiness in 2012.

Somewhere along the line, however, most of us begin to believe our dreams are not only far-fetched but unattainable. According to Webster, a dream is a ”strongly desired goal or purpose.” But our parents, or brothers and sisters, or teachers, or friends tell us we’re nuts to think we’ll ever hit number one on the country charts … or the New York Times bestseller list. They lay out the odds, in explicit detail, against us becoming the first-string quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

We buy into all the ”good advice” about how we’re being unrealistic and immature and selfish when we plan to skip college to join a rock ‘n’ roll band or submit our applications to NASA.

My job here today is to tell you that all that “good advice” is bullshit. And those people don’t know what they’re talking about.

Doris McHenry

How do I know? Because I began living my dream on 11/11/11–which would have been my mother’s 78th birthday if she were still alive. Which is ironic, since she was one of the biggest supporters of my dream … while also being one of those people who nagged me to put my dream on hold while I attended to the responsibilities of living in the “real world.”

I always wanted to be a published writer. As in: a writer who supports herself with her writing. Yes, part of that dream was being a bestselling author of fiction–which hasn’t happened yet. But I am supporting myself with my writing. Exclusively.

Am I doing it exactly as I’d dreamed? No. Am I doing it as quickly as I’d dreamed. Hell, no. But am I doing it? Yes. Imagine how quickly I could have done it if I hadn’t allowed myself to believe all the garbage…

Then again, maybe this is exactly the way it was supposed to be. Maybe the lessons I learned along the way– and the patience I acquired and the flexibility and adaptability that are so much a part of my professional repertoire–were an essential part of the journey.

Here’s the lesson: don’t give up on your dreams. Even if you have to put them on hold while you live your life in the “real world,” take them out and examine them on a regular basis. Do what you have to do to fulfill those dreams. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Because if you do, your dreams will come true.

Emily Stone is hot on the trail of an abducted child and the clues take her to the beautiful island paradise of Kauai.  It doesn’t take long for her to get thrown into the middle of murder, mayhem, and conspiracies.  A serial killer stalks the island, taking women in a brutal frenzy of ancient superstitions and folklore.  Local cops are stumped without any clues or suspects. 

Can Emily find the killer before it’s too late?

Scheduled release date: November 21, 2011

Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Y6V0RfvFQ

Blog: www.authorjenniferchase.com/
Website: www.jenniferchase.vpweb.com/
Crime Watch Blog: www.emilystonecrimewatch.wordpress.com/
Book & Crime Talk: www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-chase/
Books: Compulsion = Dead Game = Silent Partner = Screenwriting

In this martial-arts fantasy, a young girl is raised by the assassins who killed her family.  When she comes of age, she becomes their next target.  Eiko follows a dangerous and fascinating journey as she grows from child to young woman, along the way experiencing a world few could understand.

Eiko was released on October 1, 2011 and is published by GrayBooks, LLC. It can be found at http://graybooks.net/aisleseatbooks/eiko.