October 29 2017

31 Days of 5 Minute Free Writes Challenge (completed 10/29/17)

This post is part of the 31 Days of 5 Minute Free Writes Challenge. Scroll down for the links and the graphic showing the prompts for the month.

It will be pinned to the top of the page until the end of the month. Check back for updates on the prompts. I may write several at a time and update just a couple of times a week. I seriously considered not posting any at all until all 31 were written. But that seemed like a long time to let myself possibly get behind. So I will post at least once a week. FiveMinuteFriday posts will be posted separately as they have been. Continue reading

Category: Five Minute Friday, Writing | 2 Comments on 31 Days of 5 Minute Free Writes Challenge (completed 10/29/17)
October 27 2017

Overcome (Five Minute Friday)

The word this week is overcome. It is tough some weeks to know what to write. This week I decided to get some back up from The Bible.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 | NIV

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 | NIV

I never thought of myself as having overcome anything in life. Then I began to think about the very real fear I used to have about flying. I realized last week I am calm when flying. I know everything will be alright. The fear is gone, I have overcome it. I’m not crazy about the stress of dealing with crowded airports and strict timetables, but I am not afraid. This year I chose the word Fearless as my word of the year. It was amazing to realize that I have been able to apply that word to one more thing this year, flying. There are other fears I have overcome this year, but that is a post for another day.

Tell us in the comments below something that you have overcome.
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Overcome
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.

Category: Fearless, Five Minute Friday | 5 Comments on Overcome (Five Minute Friday)
October 21 2017

Discover (Five Minute Friday)

The word this week is discover. We don’t know what we can do until we try something new. Then we discover hidden talents within ourselves we might never have known existed. I didn’t really know I could be a writer until I attempted and won my first NaNoWriMo in 2013.

I didn’t know I could crochet until I took a class about 25 years ago, and then forgot how to finish the rug project I began in that class. It wasn’t until I got up the nerve to ask my aunt Mary to help me relearn one Thanksgiving that I discovered I could finish the rug. I promptly gave up crocheting again until one day I discovered something called Tarn (T-shirt yarn) and that it could be made of old t-shirts and crocheted into rugs. I knew I could make a rug because I had before so I discovered I had the confidence to find out more and let YouTube help me figure it out. After that second rug, I knew I was in over my head and needed live and in-person help.

So I searched the library website and discovered a group that would help me and met practically right around the corner from my house. I went to the first meeting even though I was scared and nervous. The ladies there were very welcoming and helped me figure out where I had gone wrong and how much I had to take out and redo (most of it). A couple of meetings later they announced they were going to make hats for charity. Not wanting to be left out I agreed to try and they agreed to help me by teaching me to read patterns. The rest as they say, is history because I discovered a new pattern or two online and began making hats. I’ve made a few scarves and even a triangle shawl, but I discovered I really like making the hats the best and from now on that is most likely all I will make.

What have you discovered you can do by trying something new?

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Discover
The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write.

Category: Five Minute Friday, Learning, NaNoWriMo | 2 Comments on Discover (Five Minute Friday)
October 19 2017

3rd Quarter Goal Check-in

Way back in January, I shared my 2017 SMART Goals. Three quarters of the year have flown right by and it is time to see how I am doing on those goals. In the past, I have made goals, written them down, shared them with a group, and then forgotten all about them until the end of the year when it was time to make new goals for the coming year.

That system wasn’t working for me at all. Then only goals I got done were the ones that were accidental, never because I planned to get them done. Usually, when I found the list again, I was pleasantly surprised if I managed to get any of my goals accomplished. This year, I am trying something different and if you are reading this, I could really use your help. I need you to ask me about my goals and check in with me from time to time to see if I am getting them done. This is the piece that was missing in the past.

Here are the goals I set at the beginning of the year:

FAMILY FUN GOALS: (2/3)
1) Do a cabin weekend DONE!
2) April trip DONE!
3) Annual Hockey Trip for the kids’ birthdays (November)

FITNESS GOALS: (meh, but ongoing)
1) Get 6 hours of sleep a night (127/273 = 46%)
2) Drink 6 cups of water a day (212/273 = 77%)
3) Continue using MyFitnessPal app (I enter my weight each day, have been trying to enter most of my meals and I fell off the green smoothies wagon a while back )

HOUSE GOALS: (1/3)
1) Clean out my home office (3/4 done with pics to prove it!)
2) Declutter the landing DONE!
3) Declutter my clothes (1st pass done)

PERSONAL GOALS: (1/3)
1) Do some genealogy (Does looking through old files count?)
2) Take three writing classes DONE!
3) Read for thirty minutes a day (Consistent)

SPIRITUAL/CHARITY GOALS: (2/3)
1) Pray daily (Consistent)
2) Read 15 inspirational fiction books (DONE! 27 read so far, I think)
3) Crochet 26 hats to donate to charity (DONE! As of 7/9 have actually finished 35 so far) Do you want to see photos?

WRITING GOALS: (ongoing)
1) Finish one of my previous NaNoWriMo novels (1st edits done)
2) Publish something (DONE! Guest Post on NaNoWriMo Blog 8/21)
3) Participate in NaNoWriMo (planning in Oct and WILL win again)

OK, I know I am making progress. I have finished 9 out of the 18 goals I set! The other 9 goals are ongoing or have made significant progress on them.

How are you doing on your goals for 2017? What have you learned about goal setting? I learned that I need to set more measurable goals and goals that are not ongoing. Those ongoing goals are nice enough, but unless you do them every day for the whole year you feel like you failed at least a little.

Category: Goals | Comments Off on 3rd Quarter Goal Check-in