Luckily I found an old copy of Animal Farm by George Orwell. At only 128 pages, it was just the right length.

This book is the reason I don’t like literature. There is no resolution. The bad pig wins. It essentially says that animals (people) can’t handle power and will become horrible beings to keep it. Isn’t that what Lord of the Flies was about?

It starts out fine and interesting. It made me think of Charlotte’s Web or the movie Babe. But eventually, the animals stage a revolt to get a better quality of life, and get rid of the drunken farmer Jones. For a time they are able to run the farm and live in harmony. They have rules like no animals can live in the house or sleep in beds, or walk to two feet (birds have wings which give them 4 limbs). The simple sheep chant “Two legs are bad, four legs are good” (which is what made me think of Babe with the Mu Ram U sheep).

But human (or pig) nature sets in and when things can’t be resolved democratically, lies, deception, and violence are used to take control. Snowball is ousted, Napoleon takes over. And like every bad dictator he’s a hypocrite (he moves into the house and sleeps in the bed).  He changes the rules to fit his “new order”.  For example, the pigs can sleep in beds, just not with human sheets.

The animals are now working harder and have less food than with farmer Jones, but the propaganda tells them that’s not true. And when it comes time for old Boxer (the hardest working and most loyal of the group) to retire, he’s sent to the glue factory.

I’m sure there are all sorts of lessons to be learned from this book, but in the end I found it depressing. If I want to know about evils of politics or human nature, I can watch the news. And therein is what make’s Orwell’s Animal Farm a classic…it has a timeless story.

In January my goal was to not go back to bed when my kids got on the bus for school.  This challenge only counted on school days, which makes it seem like its not such a challenge at all since the kids only had 17 days of school in January. Until I figured that out, I thought I’d done pretty well. I did have one day in which I lounged on the couch until 8 a.m. and the last day (Friday) I couldn’t get up until 8:30. But all other days I was at my desk by 7:30 am.

Getting up before 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. feels like a real chore to me. But I have to admit that getting to work by 7:30 and being done by 1 p.m. was pretty great. I had time for lunch and a nap. I even had time to run errands. I really like that. But at 7:00 a.m. I’d don’t like it more than I like sleep.

So the question is…do I stick with the early to rise and early to nap or do I go back to my later to rise and no nap?

This one is equally if not more challenging. In February I will exercise every day. You fitness experts out there are probably saying, “Everyday is too much. Your body needs at least one day of rest a week.”. That is true. I have decided that on the rest days, I’ll take a little walk, stretch or do gentle yoga. Something that involves moving, but isn’t strenuous.

This is a good time for me to take this challenge because its the middle of winter. My instincts tell me to eat and sleep in equal amounts. The result is that I’m gaining a little too much pudge around the middle. My current 3-4 day workout per week isn’t enough to keep the weight in check. This goal will force me to keep moving even if I still eat and sleep too much. And by spring, when I do feel like eating better and getting out of the house again, I should be well on my way getting the weight back off.

Today I think I’ll start with TurboJam. Or maybe P90x plyometrics.

I probably should have turned around. That would have been the smart thing. But I’d run past this dog before (it was usually safely restrained behind invisible fencing), so I thought it should be okay. But as I got closer and the dog got bigger, I wondered about the wisdom of this thinking. He was, after all, playing chicken with a car. Maybe he was hungry. I eat well and would likely be tasty.

Looking behind me, I saw that a car was approaching. I determined that it would get to the dog about the same time I would. If I could run along side the car, with the dog on the other side, maybe I’d be safe. So as the car pulled along side me, I picked up the pace. The driver and passenger looked at me and I waved. I noticed then that the car slowed down a bit and stayed with me until well past the dog. Somehow the driver realized what I was doing or maybe she just realized the situation and acted as my body guard. How nice was that! I waved again when she slowed to pull into her drive and went safely on my way.

But next time though, I think I’ll just turn around.

I think that’s true for me. Its too easy to life live the same each day. To do something different, I need to know what I need to do and figure out how I’m going to fit it in my life. One thing I’ve tried is getting new planner. But its not to keep my calendars. Instead its filled with notebook paper and divided into sections for each of my blogs and other projects. One reason I struggle with writing and working on projects is that when I have time to sit work on them, I don’t know what to say or do. But throughout the day I think of great blog ideas or scenes for my book or other project tasks. With this planner, I’m able to jot them down and refer to them later. I’ve also found the recorder feature on phone so I can give myself a voice message. But I’m not sure if I’ll remember to refer to it as easy as checking my planner.

So how am I doing on my goals?  I haven’t been perfect, but I haven’t given up on them either.

Goal 1: Blog more – I haven’t blogged as much as I planned, but I’ve blogged much more than I had been.

Goal 2: Get on national TV – I still haven’t been on national TV, but I did do an interview with an AP reporter (I’m working my way up).

Goal 3: Finish mystery novel – I’ve made real progress there! Its not done, but my goal is to have the completed draft by the end of this month.

Goal 4: 12 30 Day Challenges – My first challenge – don’t go back to be when the kids go to school- has been my biggest challenge. I’ve had at least 2 mornings in which I nearly gave up on that one. While I laid on the couch a little longer than I should have, I’ve been at my desk and working by 7:45 each workday so far.

Goal 5 : Read one classic a month. I’ve already read Push, which isn’t a classic, but surely must be literature. I’ve picked up Jane Eyre, a book full of works by Poe, and the first Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie. I’ll finish one of them by the end of the month.

Miscellaneous – These are the goals set every year and the ones that I usually don’t achieve to any great effect. I haven’t lost weight, but I have made a little more money.  As far as the weight goes, its very hard for me in the winter because I don’t get out much and want comfort food to keep me warm. But I did order a copy of Turbo Jam just so I could get a new workout option that might be fun.

I chose the word classics to define my reading goals because I’m not sure that Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, or Sir Conan Doyle would be considered authors of literature. Jane is the original romance writer. And of course Agatha and Conan Doyle are mystery writers. But they are revered. Their books are “classics”. You get a different response from people when you say you’ve read Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) as opposed to The Return of Rafe McKade (Nora Roberts). The same is true in mystery. Reading an Agatha or Conan Doyle book seems more impressive than JD Robb or Janet Evanovich. (BTW… I love Nora/JD, and Janet). So perhaps to seem smarter or just to see what I’ve missed, I decided to read some of the classics.

Today I picked up Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte).  I love the old movie with Orson Wells (he was a looker once) playing the brooding Mr. Rochester. I know it ends well and its a romance, but its Charlotte Bronte so it’s literature or at least a classic, right?

I just finished reading Push by Sapphire which has to be literature. It was just released as a movie (Precious), but I don’t think I’ll see it. It was a very difficult book to read. Its gritty, raw, disturbing, and sad, and yet inspiring too. It’s hard to say how it ends. Its not “bad” because you get the feeling that Precious is going to make something of herself. At the same time she has a serious problem (you can read it to find out what that is) that will affect her life. The hard part in reading the book was in knowing that her story was a reality for many young girls.  If you can get through the book, there is much to think about (another purpose to literature?). But I found myself having to put the book down at times because it was just too intense.

So what is literature? I still don’t know. For me, it’s like that other thing that you can’t define, but you know it when you see it.

I have to say that is was a good feeling to have completed 5.5 hours of work when at 1 pm I left my home office to take Hannah to the orthodontist. If I can stick to this, I can be done working by 1 pm everyday!! Then I can eat lunch and take a nap. It sounds wonderful right now. But I know that at 6:30 am tomorrow, sleep will be more appealing than working.  But I’d made a challenge and I’ve publicly announced it, so I can’t let myself down, right? And its just for 18 more days (just weekdays). I can do anything for 18 days, right?

This year my goals are:

1) Be a better blogger. Its not that I don’t have stuff to write about. Instead its other activities take precedence and by the time I can blog, I’m so sick of sitting at my computer the idea of blogging, no matter how clever my post might be, is not something I can manage. So all blogs – Work-At-Home Success, Pajama Mama Living, Better Living on the Web, Moms At Home Success, and Busy Mama Weight Loss – will have at least 3 posts per week (except for Work-At-Home Success, which will have 5 daily job posts plus at least 3 additional posts) starting January 4, 2010.

2) Be on national TV as a work-at-home expert. Part of me thinks this is too ambitious. After all, I’m a pajama wearing mom in the middle of rural Virginia. On the other hand, I was on a national morning show (The Daily Buzz) in 2009 (not in person but by phone…that counts doesn’t it?). So Oprah, Regis and Kelly, Whoopie, Barbara and gang, Matt, Meredith and the Today Show crew, and even Stephen Colbert (although I’m not sure how well my fragile ego might do with Colbert), if you’re reading I’m available. We can talk scams. We can talk Pajama Mama Living. We can talk about how working at home can help someone keep their house and feed their children. Call me!

3) Finish my first mystery book AND sell it. The finishing part should be fairly easy as its nearly done as it is. It needs a good edit…and possibly a good writer. After that, selling it will be up to the publishing Gods. If only I could have a good dream and karma like Stephanie Meyer.

4) Complete 12 30-day challenges I’ve set up for myself. January’s challenge is to not go back to bed when the kids get on the bus each morning. Other months will include no t.v., exercise everyday, etc. I don’t actually have 12 (one for each month) figured out yet. But I decided this method would be a great way to mix things up and meet goals. I can do anything for 30 days…right?

5) Read one classic a month. I generally pick current genre fiction mostly because I know it will end well. Literature too often ends badly. No redemption. No happy ending. And sometimes they end in death. I don’t want to invest my free time in that. But not all “literature” or classics end badly. On my list to read are books by Jane Austin (I’ve already read P&P, but I haven’t read any others), Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre), Sir Conan Doyle (I’ve never read a Holmes book), Agatha Christie, Bram Stoker (Dracula), Twain (something that wasn’t required in school), Flaubert (maybe not, Madame Bovary ends badly) , Poe,  maybe Dumas, and Orczy (I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel. I think I’d like to read Eldorado about the Pimpernels rescue of the Dauphin) .  Of course, I retain the right to change my mind and add or remove authors or books from the list.

I also have the traditional lose-20-lbs-double-my-income- goals like everyone else. Boring, I know.

So here’s to another year! What sorts of goals or resolutions do you have?

But when I start to wonder about the state of the world, I come across a moving story that suggests all is not lost. This was sent to my daughter from my mother and its a must see!