A Roaring Good Time: 2023 in Review

Snow_Globe_Champagne_Drinks

Bear sightings increased by 100% this year, which was not a goal the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Team expected to set, but we hit it!

One or two bears wandered into our neighborhood this fall and continued to wander around other neighborhoods, parks, and the Safeway lot.  (See the picture below, which someone from our neighborhood took. It does not appear to be near our house in particular, but wow!)

Bear_in_Neighborhood_on-Facebook_Neighborhood_Page

And, if that wasn’t enough, we boarded a boat in Tofino to see if we could spot them on shore, from the water—and we hit that goal, too! (See the photo below, which is not nearly as impressive as the neighbor’s photo, but oh well.)

Bear_Sighting_Tofino

We have not seen any more bears for quite some time now, so hopefully they’re safe and back where they should be, but we have heard an owl hooting. (It hoots like it has seen some things. Not sure what. Not sure we want to know.)  We’re also not sure if we should set a goal for spotting any other animals in 2024, but I am secretly always hoping for a spectacular stampede of flamingos, carrying penguins on their backs—and of course, an orca. (Still no orca sightings.)

But did I achieve the goals I actually set for 2023? Here is a recap of those two goals and the progress I made:

  1. Attempt to organize the closets: If pushing things around and stuffing them into hidey holes to make room for other things counts, then I did it!
  2. See what purple hairspray looks like on my head: I tried blue and red (which should make purple). Both colors blended into my dark hair, so I didn’t notice the color at all. I was kind of bummed, so I’ll make a note to never set that goal again.

Other Things I Did:

–Celebrated two years as a copywriter at Funko.

–Wrote 52 flash fiction stories, which were sent to various literary magazines for publication. I received over 60 rejections and 32 publications.

–Received my first Pushcart Prize nomination.

–Published a book! (You can buy it here on Amazon.)

–Helped three new authors from Running Wild Press get their manuscripts ready for publication.

–Proofread around seven stories per week for Flash Fiction Magazine.

–Took lots of walks with Nate and Alex.

–Soaked in the hot tub.

–Increased the amount of board games I played by 50%. (Last year, I played board games twice. This year, I did it four times.)

A Thing I Attempted:

–Drumming: I started with a YouTube video and some pencils and my desk. I lasted two minutes before getting bored. I am not a drummer and extremely thankful I didn’t buy or borrow an actual drum set.

Goals for This Year:

–Post a wild LinkedIn title and promptly remove it. (Example: Hooman writer. Proof of qualifications: Pictures in squares three and four contain traffic lights that are red, and I am the best, which can be backed up with the aforementioned evidence.)

–Wear more pink clothing. Pink is such a happy color.

Cheers and warm wishes for a fabulous year. Put the roar into 2024!

Your Turn: What did 2023 bring you?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

31 thoughts on “A Roaring Good Time: 2023 in Review”

  4. Kudos on your writing and publishing accomplishments! Very, very impressive. I finished the manuscript for a collection haiku and photographs, and I wrote the second and third drafts of The Last Poor Farm, my novel-in-progress. Writing books sure eats up a lot of time!

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  7. I retired effective 1 January 2023, and had planned to paint and create art (my passion), but was sidelined until July. Since then, I have been working on a series about an hour every day. Now, I feel I need to step up my game and diversify- work in different mediums and spend more time.
    Ironically, the older I get, the less likely the chances of achieving success with an exhibition, a gallery or the like.

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    1. I was always inside when the news came about on our Facebook page–hours after the sighting–and then we’d just stay indoors a bit longer. I’m so glad I no longer run outside (it’s boring to run inside on the treadmill, in the garage–but I’ll take it.) Happy New Year!

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  11. “Put that roar into 2024” is brilliant. This, however, is my fave: flamingos, carrying penguins on their backs. What a goal! I like this general idea of setting goals for the year and looking back on whether you’ve accomplished them. You learn stuff about yourself. (I’m kind of curious to try pencil drumming now and see how long I last.) Cool/uncool about the bears. We saw one, in the road, in our lane, coming around the corner of a middle-of-nowhere road, late at night, on our way to Sequoia National Park. So grateful hubby had sort of a premonition about wild animals on the road, and was purposefully driving slower, esp around curves. Yeesh!

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