These Photos are for Fun

I. READING –

A. Daily goal

1. Read two other blog posts a day. I think so.    

2. Read in at least one of the three books I am reading.  No, I don’t think so.   

B. Weekly goal

1. Do research on my novel. Noooo . . . .    

2. Start research for my next novel. Noooo . . . .     

C. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished reading five books. This week has been a blur. I think I am getting close to finishing another book. And of course I started yet one more. I think I am reading five right now. I know, what is wrong with me?   

  

II. WRITING

A. Daily goal

1. Work on something for two hours a day. No, probably not.   

a. Write on my novel. No, I am so sorry to say that I didn’t look at my novel all week. I did however do more editing on my devotional. I had promised my publisher I would get it to him this week. I am going to have to get in some late nights to accomplish that.  

b. Write my blog posts. Yes, on schedule.

c. Work on paperwork for the nonprofit organization. The daughter set up a organizational meeting for the nonprofit, so that is the next step. .   

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished my novel.  Hey, I still have a few weeks, right?    

2. Have finished all of the paperwork for the nonprofit. There’s no chance.

III. REACHING

A. Weekly goal

1. Comment on two other blog posts. I did this.   

2. Research markets for an hour.  I found a few markets on line to submit short pieces to; now I have to submit!    

3. Keep up on social media, spending not more than a few hours a week on it. I seem to have wasted more time this week, so maybe I am wasting it here. I don’t know where to fit this in, but in July one of my best friend’s from high school lost her dad, so I spent time then catching up with her on line. Last week, believe it or not, the father of another good friend from high school passed away, so I have been getting in touch with her. And lastly, totally out of the blue, yet another friend from high school found me on Facebook, so we have been sending long rambling messages. I have got to get my focus back, but without people in our lives, what is it all worth?    

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have submitted three pieces somewhere. I have submitted two things so far this round. A group of three pictures to a calendar contest, and last week a short piece of creative nonfiction to “Midwest Prairie Review”. As a side note, I submitted a devotion to an online magazine last September. I got an email today that they will not be publishing my piece. Really? After eleven months? I know it can take that long, but I generally write you off after six months. Life is just too short.   

2. Book signing at a local library. I had a wonderful time with Ann on Saturday finalizing our plans for this event. I have started publicizing it. I hope we have a good turnout.

3. Have survived my speaking engagements at two writers’ conferences. DONE

4. Set up an author website. I have started this, it just seems more time-consuming than I had thought it would be.

IV. PERSONAL (goals by the end of the round)

A. Running

1. Have run in the 5K on July 4. DONE.

2. Continue running a few times a week just to improve my time and stay in shape. I am still doing one mile a couple times a week.

B. Family

1. Have settled my mom into better housing.  DONE. She’s in her apartment and the sale of her previous home will be final tomorrow.

2. Have planned that vacation with Hubby in September. Yes, I need to finish up on this.  

C. Nonprofit

1. Have submitted all of the required paperwork. We are still waiting to hear about the Articles of Incorporation, then it is on to the next step.    

V. GOALS BY THE END OF THE YEAR

A. Tumaini Volunteers, Inc., has become a 401(c)3 nonprofit organization. I’m thinking still a pretty lofty goal, but we will see.

More pictures from our photo shoot on Saturday.  

Please vote for your favorite photo

So here is the short list of what I have had going on the last few days.

I submitted a creative nonfiction piece to "Midwest Prairie Review". I worked on my website; I hope to roll it out in the next week. My daughter set up an organizational meeting for our nonprofit organization. I fit in there because I have promoted the meeting. I helped my mom move some more stuff into her apartment, and unfortunately, brought more stuff to my house.

And the greatest part of the week was getting together with fellow author, Ann Andrashie, to discuss the September Tea which a local library is hosting for us. On September 8, another author, Barb Philleo, Ann, and I will give a presentation on our books, followed by a book signing and refreshments. After Ann and I got our game plan finalized, we went to the park to talk new pictures to promote ourselves. It was a beautiful day and I was with two beautiful people. After all, we had to bring a friend along to take those pictures.

Our photographer, Joyce. 

She is just a wonderful person, someone you want as your friend. 

I think I can, I think I can

I am pretty excited that some of these goals are actually being met. I am starting to think that I can make this. Time to do some highlighting.

I. READING –

A. Daily goal

1. Read two other blog posts a day. I think I did this most days.   

2. Read in at least one of the three books I am reading.  No, I definitely did not do this in the past week. Just too much else going on. I did naturally add more books to my “to read” list.  

B. Weekly goal

1. Do research on my novel. I am still slacking on this one a lot. I just need to get on it.  

2. Start research for my next novel. I will put the pictures at the end of the post. Maybe not genuine research, but certainly inspirational.   

C. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished reading five books. When did this Round start? I may be at three books; I have lost track.  

  

II. WRITING

A. Daily goal

1. Work on something for two hours a day. No, probably not.   

a. Write on my novel. Worked on the novel for a full hour one day.

b. Write my blog posts. Yes, on schedule.

c. Work on paperwork for the nonprofit organization. The daughter set up a Facebook page, so I did a little bit on that.   

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished my novel.  Man, I don’t know.   

2. Have finished all of the paperwork for the nonprofit. There’s a chance.

III. REACHING

A. Weekly goal

1. Comment on two other blog posts. I did this.   

2. Research markets for an hour.  I picked up a lot of information on markets at the Green Lake Writers Conference earlier this week.   

3. Keep up on social media, spending not more than a few hours a week on it. Doing OK.    

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have submitted three pieces somewhere. My publisher was at the Writers Conference on Monday. I rode up in the elevator with him and he asked when I would be submitting my next book to him. I told him about my idea for the devotional series. He sounded fairly interested so I hope to email that this week.  

2. Book signing at a local library. Ann and I have been emailing back and forth on this and are getting our presentations together. We are meeting on Saturday to finalize some stuff.  

3. Have survived my speaking engagements at two writers’ conferences. I can cross this off my list. I have survived both speaking engagements on my journey towards publication and have gotten mostly all positive feedback. Lisa, who did the talk with me on Monday, and I have a lead to speak for another writers group.  

4. Set up an author website. I am probably making this a bigger deal than it is. I just need to do it.

IV. PERSONAL (goals by the end of the round)

A. Running

1. Have run in the 5K on July 4. Done.

2. Continue running a few times a week just to improve my time and stay in shape. I am still doing one mile a couple times a week.

B. Family

1. Have settled my mom into better housing. Yes! It is finished! She still has some work to do, but she is in her new apartment. Yeah, Mom!

2. Have planned that vacation with Hubby in September. It’s still just on paper. I need to get those  reservations.  

C. Nonprofit

1. Have submitted all of the required paperwork. We are still waiting to hear about the Articles of Incorporation, then it is on to the next step.    

V. GOALS BY THE END OF THE YEAR

A. Tumaini Volunteers, Inc., has become a 401(c)3 nonprofit organization. I’m thinking still a pretty lofty goal, but we will see.

Here are the pictures which I promised earlier. I have wanted to visit this place since 1975! I had just turned 13-years-old! That is a long goal to hang on to. Man, the stories this ruin could tell. 

Click on these links to learn about where these pictures were taken. 

http://www.alexianbrothers.org/index.php?src=directory&view=history&refno=8&srctype=history_detail

http://americanurbex.com/wordpress/?p=2313

Short and Sweet. And Speedy.

Yesterday was my brother's annual picnic for the family. I can't remember how many people were there (maybe 17 adults and I have no idea how many little ones). Which only means that yesterday should have been a wasted writing day, but after I took a morning run, I actually worked on my novel for a while. Then I worked on the website I am trying to create. Last night I finished reading the novel I was plowing through. It's no wonder I am exhausted all the time. I even worked on the nonprofit for a few hours yesterday. I definitely need to start sleeping in on the weekends. What is wrong with me?

Sometime yesterday my husband even asked me if I was on speed. I gave him a blank look and went back to whatever I was doing.

Anyway, in just a few hours, I leave for the writers conference in Green Lake. I love it down there. And am even more excited that on Monday I am speaking about my publishing journey.

Even though I can't attend the conference for the entire week, I am hoping that the two days that I am there will rejuvenate me. Get back my focus. Inspire me.

How can a person not be inspired by a place like this? 

So Close . . .

I wasn’t feeling so productive until I wrote these up. I think I once again did all right.  

I. READING –

A. Daily goal

1. Read two other blog posts a day. I might be close.  

2. Read in at least one of the three books I am reading.  I think that I have been slacking on this one. Man, there is no time left in the day to read!  

B. Weekly goal

1. Do research on my novel. Not, much. I did talk to one of my friends about adoption, but that conversation quickly got sidetracked. Maybe if I email her, she can stay focused.   

2. Start research for my next novel. Really? My head is already going off in too many directions.  

C. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished reading five books. I’m still on the two book mark.

  

II. WRITING

A. Daily goal

1. Work on something for two hours a day. It’s a stretch, but I can say yes.  

a. Write on my novel. Ah, no.

b. Write my blog posts. Yes, on schedule.

c. Work on paperwork for the nonprofit organization. So, the daughter and I worked on this for several hours on Saturday. She just cracks me up.   

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished my novel.  Seriously?  

2. Have finished all of the paperwork for the nonprofit. There’s a chance.

III. REACHING

A. Weekly goal

1. Comment on two other blog posts. I am sure that I did this.  

2. Research markets for an hour.  I found another website for posting the ebook version of my book.  

3. Keep up on social media, spending not more than a few hours a week on it. Doing OK.    

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have submitted three pieces somewhere. This is coming along quite slowly.

2. Book signing at a local library. The meeting we were supposed to have last Saturday was cancelled, but we rescheduled to the 24^th. There has been some advertising for it.

3. Have survived my speaking engagements at two writers’ conferences. The first writers’ conference went well and the other one is next week already. I do need to practice my talk some more.  

4. Set up an author website. Still researching my options.

IV. PERSONAL (goals by the end of the round)

A. Running

1. Have run in the 5K on July 4. Done.

2. Continue running a few times a week just to improve my time and stay in shape. I am still doing one mile a couple times a week.

B. Family

1. Have settled my mom into better housing. We start moving her TOMORROW!

2. Have planned that vacation with Hubby in September. It’s on paper. I should make some hotel reservations soon.

C. Nonprofit

1. Have submitted all of the required paperwork. Monday I did submit our Articles of Incorporation. I think that only takes a few weeks to get back and then we can move on to the next thing.   

V. GOALS BY THE END OF THE YEAR

A. Tumaini Volunteers, Inc., has become a 401(c)3 nonprofit organization. I’m thinking still a pretty lofty goal, but we will see.

More baby steps, but getting there.

Need some dishes? This is only the most recent load of stuff Mom has sent home with me. Not sure yet what I am going to do with it all.

I'm not really a poet and I know it.

Sunday's post, a short one at most
Can I continue this rhyme, you bet, anytime
But I think I must concentrate, or a good score I wont' rate.

I don't know where that came from. The possessed poet inside of me. That or this has been the week that I didn't get any sleep and I am just brain dead. (I sleep at night every other week and the other weeks I pretty much toss and turn all night. Wednesday's blog attests to which week it was.)

What have I accomplished since my last post?

I was supposed to meet with two area authors to plot an author's tea we are hosting in September but one of them had to cancel. We are going to try again in two weeks.

On the plus side, my daughter and I worked for hours yesterday on the nonprofit. So much to do! But she is so amazingly organized. I kept looking at her last night and asking, "who is this person? Certainly not my daughter, who flunked out of college, has been in oh-so much trouble over the years, is my strong-willed child (i.e. the difficult child)."

I have also been researching the creation of a website. I've tried a few website designers and have put a few things together, but am not happy with any of it yet. I will keep working on that.

Until next time we meet, stay happy and stay sweet!

Chugging along towards goal success

And with no introduction, here is my week at a glance.

I. READING –

A. Daily goal

1. Read two other blog posts a day. Still averaging one blog a day.

2. Read in at least one of the three books I am reading.  Have been reading the books and have added some to the reading list.  

B. Weekly goal

1. Do research on my novel. No, can’t say that I have.  

2. Start research for my next novel. Well, kind of, I found a new setting for a new novel. I hope to visit this place in two weeks. Where is it? That’s a secret.

C. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished reading five books. I’ve finished two books, “All That You Can't Leave Behind: A Rookie Missionary's Life In Africa “ and “Jesus’ Feet”.

  

II. WRITING

A. Daily goal

1. Work on something for two hours a day. Oh, I would say yes.  

a. Write on my novel. Yes, finally!

b. Write my blog posts. Yes, on schedule.

c. Work on paperwork for the nonprofit organization. Now that the daughter is home, she is calling the shots on this productivity.  

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have finished my novel. OK, I have had a major epiphany regarding the novel. I have been thinking for a while that all the characters and plot lines have gotten away from me. I have pretty much decided to break this one into two novels and hopefully get a bright idea for a third one in the series. If I can pull this off, maybe most of the writing is done for the first novel; I just need to do lots of cutting and pasting.

2. Have finished all of the paperwork for the nonprofit.

III. REACHING

A. Weekly goal

1. Comment on two other blog posts. For the whole week? This seems like a wimpy goal. I am sure that I did this.  

2. Research markets for an hour.  I found a new website to list myself as an author. They haven’t posted me yet, but I am watching for it.

3. Keep up on social media, spending not more than a few hours a week on it. As I kind of suspected, after I built enough of an audience, others tend to find me and ask to be my friend or to follow me, instead of me always doing the hunting. The social networks have all grown in the past month with very little intervention.   

B. Goals for the Round

1. Have submitted three pieces somewhere. At two this morning, when I couldn’t sleep – you know how sometimes the brain just will not shut down – I submitted three photos to my employer’s annual calendar contest. Maybe not writing, but creativity just the same.  And even though it was three photos, it was to one place so I realize this counts as one submission. I am not yet that desperate.  

2. Book signing at a local library. This Saturday I am meeting with the two authors I am working with on this. We hope to get our program finalized, then I will begin broadcasting it.

3. Have survived my speaking engagements at two writers’ conferences. I had my speaking engagement at Country Memories Farm Writers Conference this weekend. It went well, I think. Now onto the next one in two weeks.

4. Ok, here I go, being crazy again, adding a goal in the middle of nowhere. I have been happy with my two blogs being my internet presence for a while now, but I think it is time to get an actual website. I have started looking at my options and different templates and such. I think it would be reasonable to have this up and running by mid-September.

IV. PERSONAL (goals by the end of the round)

A. Running

1. Have run in the 5K on July 4. Done.

2. Continue running a few times a week just to improve my time and stay in shape. I haven’t gotten back up to three miles since the 5K, but am doing one mile a couple times a week.

3. Maybe run another 5K if I find a convenient one.  Can I scratch this off my list? This just is not going to happen.  

B. Family

1. Have settled my mom into better housing. This is such a story. I would like to share, but have promised myself that Mom’s business is her own. All I can say is that you will definitely hear about it when this is achieved.      

2. Have planned that vacation with Hubby in September. I put in for this vacation last March, and believe it or not, the supervisor just yesterday approved it. I am still giving Hubby different options. We are only going to go away for a few days, but we need to get out of town together and go SOMEWHERE! Tonight he revealed what his problem is with some of these plans – again it is a story I am not at liberty to share. Don’t worry about us, though, we will get out of town.   

C. Nonprofit

1. Have submitted all of the required paperwork. Again, just waiting on the daughter.  

2. By September 20, have become a 401(c)3 nonprofit organization. OK, there is no way whatsoever that this will happen now. Once the paperwork gets submitted it is in the hands of a government agency, so is out of our control. Maybe I will shoot for the end of the year on this one.

It looks like I have made some progress. These goals seem more and more attainable.  We are almost halfway through this Round, but I think I might make it.

One of the pictures that did not make the cut for submission to the calendar. A beautiful picture, but don't you think that a hundred and eighty-four people submitted a similar picture? I tried for something more original. The theme was trees and water, so if you have ever seen any of my pictures, you know I have an ample supply. 

One thing off my list

This will be another short post. I think that on Sundays, because I try to get so much done on the weekends, I will just jot down a quick update and give you the full blown list of goals and accomplishments on Wednesdays.

Yesterday, I did mark a biggy off of my to-do list. I spoke at Country Memories Farm Writers Conference. I shared all the steps it took to get my memoir from randomness in my computer to an actual published book. I had an hour and a half to speak and in practice, came in at just an hour. I hadn't anticipated so many questions. But I think that questions are good; it means that they were interested in my topic and engaged in what I had to say. Whenever I saw someone taking notes, I wanted to say, "knock it off, nothing I say is important enough to write notes about." But it was a good feeling. I did OK.

Me and my book display

Me talking with my eyes closed. My eyes were closed, I think in all the pictures that my friend Debby Erdmann took. The poor girl didn't have a chance at getting a good picture.

My class. Aren't they pretty people?

This guy wanted to join us but general consensus was no.