March 31 2017

Fear of Finishing

I have only recently figured out that a good part of the reason I have yet to finish one of my novels is because if I finish the first draft, I will actually have to figure out how to edit the thing. Now one would think that knowing this is an issue would be a big part of overcoming the fear and doing something to fix the problem. Yes, I am willing and able to admit it IS a problem.

I felt marginally better after hearing the keynote speaker at a recent writer’s conference acknowledge that it is a common problem among writers. He said it was kind of like while you are writing the book, writing is your job, so when you finish it is like losing your job or being fired. Once you finish the book, you have to tackle a new job, that of being an editor. Hopefully, an editor who will finish revising the first draft into something worth reading. It is a huge commitment. Continue reading

Category: Fearless, Learning, NaNoWriMo, Writing | 1 Comment on Fear of Finishing
March 23 2017

What is your Time Suck?

What is your Time Suck?

I’m not sure if a time suck is considered a real thing or not, but I can tell you there are a few of them hanging around our daily lives. I kind of fell into one this morning while I was supposed to be getting ready for work. Let me explain.

My phone dinged, so of course, I had to see who was texting me. It turns out it wasn’t a text at all but a notification that Kid 2 had posted something to Facebook. I am always curious to see what the kids think is worthy of sharing or posting to their Facebook feeds. So I paused my morning routine long enough to take a look. Unfortunately, I saw something that caught my eye just below what Kid 2 had posted, so I scrolled down and saw the cutest cartoon called Fowl Language drawn with ducks as the main characters and it was all about parenting. Now I am quite sure I am the last person to learn about this but keep in mind that I do live under a rock most of the time, or as hubby used to tell me, I am culturally deprived. Continue reading

Category: Learning | Comments Off on What is your Time Suck?
March 16 2017

Travel Tips for Parents and Everyone Else

Travel Tips

We have done a fair bit of traveling as a family and I have learned these travel tips along the way.

For Everyone:

Pack basic snacks, preferably healthy ones, for the road trip. I suggest baby carrots, celery sticks, bottled water, cheese sticks, and pretzels. This will help cut down on costs and the number of stops. Eating healthy can also help offset the extra calories we all tend to eat on vacations, just because it IS vacation and we know we deserve to treat ourselves.

When you are planning a trip, unless you already get some sort of member discount for booking hotels, you might want to consider getting a membership to your local AAA Auto Club. This can often save you at least 10% off the cost of hotel rooms or attraction tickets. The savings from one trip could well pay for the cost of the annual membership and you would still have the benefit of the roadside assistance and towing to use the whole year which can again save you to cost of the membership if you ever need to have your car towed. Continue reading

Category: Family, Money Saving, Organizing, Parenting, Planning, Travel | 2 Comments on Travel Tips for Parents and Everyone Else
March 9 2017

Visit Your Friend’s Bookshelf

On your next stay-cation, consider asking a friend of you can visit their bookshelf. Visiting a bookshelf that is not your own is an adventure to behold. Each book is a window to a new world just waiting to be opened and explored. Where will it take you? Who will you meet? What sort of adventure will you have?

Will you explore the reference books? Maybe an encyclopedia so you can explore new countries and see what sorts of things that country is known for producing. What does the flag look like? Do they dress differently than we do? What sorts of foods do they eat? Continue reading

Category: Learning, Reading | Comments Off on Visit Your Friend’s Bookshelf
March 7 2017

It’s Finally Here!

The day we have all been waiting for is here! Today. My friend Abby released her newest version of her Building A Framework Blogging course today. I have been using her course to learn to set up this blog and use Word Press and I believe in it so much I became an affiliate.

If you have ever wanted to start your own blog but didn’t know where to start, this is the place. Here is the affiliate link to get the course. If you click it the price will be the same for you, but I may earn a small commission from the purchase you make.


I know this blog isn’t perfect, but I am working my way through the course and wouldn’t be this far if not for her great tips and advice.  I still have so much to learn but I am tackling things one chapter at a time and it has only been a little while since I took my leap of faith, bought my own domain and started in on the course, so I think I have done pretty well in one short month. Now that things are kind of set up, I am focusing on things like building my email list and writing posts. It has been so much fun learning something new and seeing where it goes. Check in on Thursday nights to see what I have written for that week’s post. I occasionally get inspired to post at other times but late on Thursday nights is when you can expect to see a new post here. If you have something you’d like to see a post on, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Category: Blogging | Comments Off on It’s Finally Here!