gravy

First of all, my poison ivy is pretty much cleared up. There is still on spot on my left elbow, which spontaneously starts to itch at random times. If I ignore it, the itch goes away. If I start to scratch it, I can’t hardly stop until I practically have it bleeding. This eruption of itching is getting less and less each day though.

Since it is the end of the month, and we are two-thirds of the way through with this Round, let me revisit my goals from the beginning of the Round. As usual, green highlights are accomplished, yellow highlights have been worked on and red type is a failure.

Writing –

1)  My novel

a. Do one more edit, typing up an outline for each chapter as I go. Spend one hour a day on it. Finished.

b. Spend three hours per week working on a pitch for publishers and agents. Have maybe averaged one hour a week for the last few weeks.

c. Decide on a title. These were the contenders, with the winner highlighted:

The Way Home

Finding the Way Home

Where the Sky Meets the Sand

When Family Happens

Returning Home

Family Matters Most

A Mother Like That

2)  Blog twice a week here. Have done that most weeks

3)  Blog three times a week on the Dino Chronicles. Almost every week.  

Reading –

1)  Finish reading three books - “Little Bee”, “More Than a Story” and “My Maassai Life”. Finished “Maasai Life”, but don’t even know where the other two books are. Oops. Right now I am reading “War Brides”, so need to finish that yet and one other book, currently undetermined.   

2)  Read three ROW blog posts twice a week. Usually.  

REACHING –

1)  Update my website once a month. This is a big NO..

2)  Submit three pieces. Ha! I can solidly announce that this goal is on-track. I submitted a piece on 8-11, which was already rejected. This week I submitted another piece and have already heard back from the publisher that they received it and it is in the running. So, one more piece in the month of September, and I am there. Now, just so something gets accepted.

3)  Once a week post something promoting my books or myself on each of my social media. Hmm? Really cannot count the piddling I have done on social media.

Personal –

1) Physical

a) Lose ten pounds. Have lost five, so not quite on track, but not a failure either.

b) Stop eating junk food and stop snacking between meals. Pretty tough to measure and that’s all I’m going to say.

                      c) Work out more faithfully

1- Exercise four mornings a week -  close

2- Lift weights and/or run four nights a week – not too close

2)  Spiritual

a)  Read my Bible every night – maybe an average of three times a week

b)  Read a devotion every day – probably averaging four times a week

NONPROFIT –

1)  Start planning our next trip. Yes, but my daughter has been working on this harder than I have. She has a meeting scheduled for next weekend and six or eight people she has met plan on coming to it to get more information.

2)  Sign up for the fall round of craft shows as fundraisers. This one is so close that I have to count it. The form is filled out; I just have to get it in the mail Monday morning.

So what have I got to do in the coming month? To make it short and sweet: 

1)      Finish the query/proposal for “Where the Sky Meets the Sand”.

2)      Choose a publisher for it (there are three in the running right now).

3)      Send out that query/proposal (some publishers want a query and some a proposal).

4)      In my spare time, start writing the next novel, working title “The Noviatate”.

5)      And the rest is gravy which will fill in the cracks of my days and nights. 

I didn't have any pictures of gravy, so supper cooking on the stove when we were camping earlier this month will have to do.