New Year's isn't a day that I normally use to stop and take a breath. I typically spend the day planning out my strategy for the next six months, reviewing accounts, and such. In essence, it's just one of many days that I spend working.

This year is different. The past month has been both busy and fruitful, but mostly busy. After several years of beating on the doors and getting enough rejection letters that they'd probably be hip deep if I printed them all out, three of my poems were accepted and published in the latest Fib Review. (I'm actually more excited about these than I am about anything else I've done in the past year. Sad, isn't it?)

I also had a completely random moment, wrote a little tweet about a father telling his son a blinking red light was Rudolph, sent it in to Thaumatrope because their tweets seriously make my day, and had that published too. The inspiration for this one was my father who used to tell us that the light at the radio tower was Rudolph. I was seven before I noticed that the light was there year round, but even then it never failed to send both of us running for our beds. (And some of you are probably wishing I'd posted this little tip before Christmas...)

I finished the deadline knitting. And for the record, loosing your chart, having to recreate it from the sample, and then screwing up badly enough to have to rip the whole thing out after you've finished 2/3rds of it, isn't fun. It's done. It's gorgeous, in my not so un-biased opinion, but it's a miracle I still have any hair left.

Then my father got a cold and promptly gave it to everyone in the family as a Christmas gift. I got sick two days before Christmas and I'm still not over it. It was bad enough to interfere with my last minute knitting, which means his Christmas gift is still in my basket.

I'm still busy with secret projects and the Newsletter, which will launch on January 5. The Newsletter is a new step for me, but I think it will be a good one. It features a monthly drawing, and I'm experimenting with a Ravelry notebook ad to build interest. If anyone wants to mention this month's drawing ($25 WEBS gift card) on your blog or tweet it, let me know. I'll be happy to reciprocate. If you've already signed up for the newsletter, you are automatically entered in the drawing.

Here's hoping this year's better than last!

Kristle