Ladies & Gents:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
How long can we say that? How long, in making small talk, do we say something referencing the existence of 2016? How long can I write "hope your new year is going well" at the top of pitches? I put away Christmas on January 2, so perhaps it has a shelf life into the weekend. Maybe. I won't be opening next week's newsletter with it, I can promise that.
A couple of announcements for 2016. First up: My blog is back! I've decided to blog about training for the New Jersey Marathon, which will be my sixth marathon. I'm going to add a regular "from the blog" feature along with bylines and what I'm reading and watching. If you found me because you read this story about me losing 25 pounds and wanted to know how I did it, make sure to look at the blog links below. I finally wrote some of it out (or you can just click here).
Second: my book is done. I've said that before, right? As an author friend told me, there are so many stages to being done that it never feels done. Done in this case means I've made the very final revisions to the manuscript, so if I find anything else, too late. I thought I'd feel extreme anxiety about it, but instead I felt the opposite: at some point, I had to let it go, and I'm glad that day has come and gone. I'll have some fun news about pre-orders (including how to pre-order personalized, signed copies to be shipped to readers not in the South Jersey region) in a future newsletter.
Third: I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but I do have some (modest) goals. I want to break four hours in the marathon (or at least PR), break six minutes in the road mile, and maybe run a trail marathon in the fall. I'm setting this year's word as "value" to try to rethink about how I use my dollars (for the good of the local economy and my bank balance). I also bought a new cross stitch project for the year. Yes, I cross stitch, and I have for some time. I have about a half dozen unfinished projects in my spare room but figured I'd go with a fresh slate and a new challenge that hopefully will be hanging in my dining room by 2017.
Recent Bylines
"6 tips for how to start running" for the Philadelphia Inquirer
"How fake users are impacting your business…and your wallet" for CIO.com
"Man on the Run: Christopher McDougall faces a busy January" for the Philadelphia Inquirer (there's been technically glitches with this story but should be fixed soon if not already)
"Where do mobile apps fit in the world of enterprise software?" for CIO.com
From the Blog
"Week 1, The kick off: to the Little Free Library and Back"
"The Best of my 2015"
"Losing 25 pounds this summer: my weight lifting routine"
What I'm Reading
I finished A.J. Jacob's The Know-it-All for my last book of 2015 and am now onto Sarah McLean's The Rogue Not Taken for my first book of 2016. I learned a lot of little facts in The Know-it-All, and it also introduced me to four-color notebooks. I ordered one. We'll see how it goes.
What I'm Watching
There's been a bunch! While working around the holidays, I watched That Touch of Mink, which is a more than slightly ridiculous 1960s sex/rom com, especially since Doris Day was 39 when they made the movie and was meant to be much younger. I also watched White Christmas while wrapping presents, like I do every year. Even though we're beyond that holiday, I highly recommend reading Tom & Lorenzo's take on the movie. My mom and I also watched Ant-Man, which wasn't a bad way to spend $5 (we got an SD version on demand). As for TV shows, on TV or streamed, I watched Rosemary & Thyme, which is the most british show I've ever seen. It's about two middle aged gardeners who solve crime – and make beautiful gardens! No one questions why these women are present for so many murders, but I don't think it's supposed to be 100% accurate to real life. And of course: Sherlock. I need to watch it again because I don't think I got everything that I was supposed to get. I haven't decided what to watch next. I need to watch last night's Downton Abbey first!
Okay! Are we good? Ready to roll into 2016 with a bang? Or maybe a whimper (and I'm more on that end because jeez I had a busy "holiday" of work. But I'm taking two weeks off soon so I hope to be mowing down deadlines until then).
Until next time,
Jen A. Miller
jenamiller.com
twitter.com/byjenamiller
instagram.com/jenamillerrunner
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