Why do sane adults make New Year's resolutions?

by Olivia Starke

This is the question I ask myself each year, and each year I make a list which I’ll most assuredly break within a week. I’ll eat more of this, less of that, be nicer to people who are showing they only have two active brain cells, blah, blah, blah.

And as I puzzled over a new list to break for ‘12, the light bulb went off—resolutions are the positive promises of the year to come and not a way to set ourselves up for immediate failure.I hadn’t seen it in that light before, and this gives me hope. So I racked my brain trying to think of what resolution I could make to keep that positive outlook for the year.

I watched the Nutcracker ballet in December, and was astounded by the grace in which the dancers moved. Effortless, their bodies non-resistant in any way they chose to use it. Even after a dancer took a hard fall, she was back on her feet in a heartbeatand danced on in perfection with the rest. All were simply the most beautiful poetry I could imagine moving in human form.

With that I thought grace! I’m making my resolution to learn grace. Okay, grace isn’t something that comes naturally to me. I plow through life. And when I say I plow through life I mean—if there’s a wall I’ll plow into the corner of it, if there’s a low table I’ll plow into the corner of it, if there’s an open door I’ll miss and plow into the corner of it. You get the idea.

Yes, I hope to attain some sense of where my body is in proportion to the space around it, but I’d like to take grace farther. I want to keep that effortless view with the world, despite all the turmoil and drama it holds. Sure there are hard falls out there, but whether I run off stage and except defeat or continue to dance and bring beauty to my own world—and the world around me—is up to me.

And in ’12, I plan on dancingJ

Share your New Year’s Resolutions with an email for a chance to win Sweets & Swag (contest if for US residents—darn those customs but I love you all!)

Olivia Starke

www.authoroliviastarke.comhttp://romancingthepentoday.blogspot.com

Familiar Desires

Blurb: 

Ashley Adams signed up with the 1NightStand service in hopes of stirring up some cougar passion in her lackluster life. When she meets tall, dark, and oh-so-sexy Justin, the sparks fly. But something deeper lies in their magical connection, something she isn’t prepared for. Will a casual one-night stand change her life forever?

Excerpt: “You’re more beautiful than your picture.” He reached past her shoulder and hit the emergency stop. Her breath caught in her throat when the elevator jolted to a halt.

 “What are you doing?” She darted a glance up at the security camera.

 The way his mouth curved at the corners made her knees knock. “Your profile said you liked to be adventurous.” The tip of his tongue stroked over his bottom lip as he watched her through heavy-lidded eyes.

“I—I meant trekking through the wilds of Africa, sky diving, that sort of thing.” Her heart beat so loudly, surely he had to hear it. He stepped forward—his finger traced her jaw line before he tipped her chin up. She swallowed.

“Skydiving?Can’t say I’d have the guts to try that, though I’d love the chance to kiss a pretty girl in an elevator.”

A corny come-on line if she’d ever heard one, but spoken with a whiskey-smooth Kentucky drawl—damn, it works for me. That’s what she’d come for, to have an unforgettable night with a hot hunk to stir up her humdrum life. After all, she’d dished out the funds for the flight, half the price of the hotel room, and the 1Night Stand fee.

He moved in close, and a wonderful, heady mix of musk and spice filled her nose. Her insides somersaulted in anticipation, wicked intent written all over his perfectly chiseled face. They could be kicked out of the hotel, or worse—arrested and appear on one of those dumbest criminals shows. The elevator wall pressed into her back, but when he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers, all the reasons they shouldn’t be doing this in the elevator evaporated.