Fare thee well 2017!

As 2017 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about all of the things that happened this year, the highs, the lows, the friends made, the books read, the goals accomplished, the Netflix binged. There were some truly great, amazing, zowpopbang moments, a couple not so great and downright scary ones, and a lot of days that were just good.

Because I’m both a stage manager AND a Type A Person, I adore making lists, so here’s my Top 5’s of 2017 in a nice, neat, bullet point form!

BEST MOMENTS:

• Watching my daughter crawl, then stand, then walk, then run, then dance for the first time. Holy cow is she speedy and curious! I hope she always has an inquisitive nature and never stops looking for things to make her gasp and belly laugh.
• Becoming a part of the online writing community. I’ve now got a handful of friends who are more than beta readers or critique partners. They’ve become my TRIBE. They’re writers and wives and mamas and amazing human beings and I’m so sad we can’t all live in the same town because I know we’d be over at each other’s houses all the time, having fun and laughs.
• Spending part of the summer AND fall in Michigan. I love Memphis and am so happy to call it home but there’s just something about the pull of the Great Lakes. I cherish the times spent with my family, running in the waves with my mom and sister, going for walks with my dad and his pup, and getting to talk and be present with my grandmother (she turned 90 this year!), aunts, uncles, and cousins. It makes my spirit feel whole and gloriously full.
• Getting THE EMAIL to schedule THE CALL which led to THE AGENT. I’m utterly delighted to be represented by Sarah at Sterling Lord Lit. My words are in safe hands with her and I can’t wait to go on submission in the new year and see what my future holds.
• Getting to live all of these moments and more with my Handsome Husband. There’s no one I’d rather wake up next to, figure out parenting, laugh, and share cups of coffee and tea with. He works so hard for our family and even after nearly eight years together, I still have to pinch myself to believe he’s really mine!

FAVORITE BOOKS READ:

• Melanie Benjamin’s The Swans of Fifth Avenue
• Helen Ellis’ American Housewife
• Stephen King’s End of Watch
• Sarah Lotz’s The White Road
• Marisha Pessl’s Night Film

FAVORITE #BABYCRAIG BOOKS:

• The Monster at the End of This Book
• The Bunny Rabbit Show
• All of Baby Nose to Toes
• Plant a Kiss
• You Are My Little Pumpkin Pie

FAVORITE TV SERIES:

• Manhunt: The Unabomber
• The Crown
• Star Trek: Discovery
• Homeland
• The Middle

FAVORITE MOVIES: (none of which were seen in theaters– going to the movies is one of my goals for 2018!)

• The Beguiled
• Beauty and the Beast
• Annabelle: Creation
• 1922
• Moana

BEST AROUND MEMPHIS MOMENTS:

• Grizz games with Handsome Husband and #BabyCraig
• Walks around the lake at Shelby Farms
• The giant bunny rabbit Intruders exhibit at the Brooks Museum
• Trips to the zoo– we LOVE Winnie the baby hippo!
• Watching the Solar Eclipse! On Handsome Husband’s birthday! In the rain! The sun came out just in time and we were at 97% totality and I will NEVER forget that afternoon. A-MAZ-ING!

BEST ACQUISITIONS:

• The Shark Duo-Clean Vacuum. You guys, you know my love it serious when a vacuum tops the list. This thing is the Rolls Royce of house cleaning.
• A bright red Le Creuset tea kettle for Handsome Husband for Christmas. It’s so cheerful and I LOVE a whistling kettle!
• Tieks– I’ve lusted after these colorful ballet flats for years and was surprised with a pair of fuchsia ones for my very first Mother’s Day! They. Are. GLORIOUS!
• Standard Issue Supplies’ ballpoint pen in sea green. That thing is a beast and I feel like every word I write with it is weighted in importance!
• Scrub Daddy Sponges. We LOVE watching Shark Tank and these are the best things that have come out of it.  Gets pans clean in no time and last way longer/don’t stink like a regular sponge. Plus, they smile. Like, how stinking cute?!

Part of the fun of New Year’s Eve is the looking ahead, the scheming and dreaming. I’ve got great, great, great expectations for the new year! Some of my goals are:

• Do a better job of self care. I recently cut my hair for the first time since I was pregnant and it’s silly, but I feel SO MUCH more put together because of it. Just because I stay at home with my daughter all day doesn’t mean I need to forget about looking nice– for her, for my husband, for myself.
• In that vein, I want to get into better shape. I LOVE going on walks with #BabyCraig in her stroller but she’s starting to want to walk with me too and oh boy, is she fast! I want to be able to chase her all around the playground without getting out of breath.
• Have a totally awesome and amazing fifth wedding anniversary with Handsome Husband. If you’re reading this, Dude, let’s find a babysitter and have an M&M date (Mexican & Movies) that night, please?
• Go on submission with Of Salt and Sorrows and hopefully (fingers crossed!) sell it! Get a publication date! Acquire hoards of fangirls. 🙂
• Spend more time with this gorgeous cast of characters and finishing writing Of Roots and Ruin.
• Start another book. Maybe that creepy woods one. Or the reality TV show gone wrong. Or the Luddites. Or the…
• Hopefully see the Grizzlies make a decent draft pick or two because there is no darn way we’re playoffs bound this year!

What were some of your favorites from 2017? What are you most looking forward to in 2018?