May 7 2017

Busy as a Bee

Do you ever find yourself flitting around from one thing to the next, always busy but rarely finishing anything completely? Yeah, me too. We find so many things to do that we are constantly busy. We find ourselves working on first one task then another task pushes in and interrupts us, so we try to give the new task some attention. Before either of the tasks can be given enough time and attention to get them completed, we find something else that demands our time.

Have you ever watched bees flying around? They seem fairly focused most of the time and if something chases them off task, they come right back to it. I recently found the time to sit still and just watch the bees around the cabin we stayed in for a week. I found myself fascinated and almost mesmerized by them. I decided to try to take some video of them. I was shocked that I didn’t mind having them fly around because I am usually afraid of bees because I am allergic to bee stings. These bees didn’t seem scary at all. They rarely came near me, but always seems to be plentiful around the exterior of the cabin.

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April 13 2017

Quarterly Goals Checkin

Back in January, I told you all about my 2017 SMART Goals.

Well somehow the first quarter of the year has come and gone and it is time to see how those goals are coming along.

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

FAMILY FUN GOALS:
1) Do a cabin weekend  DONE!
2) April trip DONE!
3) Annual Hockey Trip for the kids’ birthdays (not scheduled yet)

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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

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

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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

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