where am i at

Where am I at:

1) Continue to work on my power-point presentation for the medical people - nope

2) Write 1,000 words on the second memoir - nope

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles - on track

4) Promote my books on social media once - nope, not really, unless I can count that I did mention my memoir on my other blog

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - yep and actually are one-third of the way to our goal

6) Send out five letters or e-letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring - I think I have messaged one person so far

7) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day - just once

8) Get serious about watching what I eat - yea, right, not hardly

We had a death in the family on Monday, and though it wasn't someone close enough to disrupt my day to day stuff, it still sent me into a tail-spin. Just haven't been able to motivate and do much other than talk on the phone and look up random stuff on-line. Like, it took me way too long to figure out just what year this girl's father died (he was my cousin, who I used to be fairly close to, so I feel bad that I was off by four years on the year of his death).

And of course, with the funeral coming up this Friday, which is my usually most productive day, well, it doesn't matter, because the family is the most important thing. Second most important thing, or will be this week, is that I am taking my Kinship kid shopping on Saturday. Again, other things are more important than eight items on a list. 

Hope you all are having a better week than I am!

All the cousins and a few spouses. Dear sweet Erin, the lamb who just passed away, is in red. 

Chipping Away

Wow, last day of January and we are not having our typical winter weather. It was in the 30’s yesterday and drizzling. Supposed to get some snow today. We will see.

I am on my way to church to do my presentation of my trip to Kenya last fall. I thought about posting this after I got home and letting you know how it went, but this way I will have something to share on Wednesday’s check-in, right?

Last week’s goals were:  

1) Practice my presentation for church – done, and if not, too late now anyway

2) Put together my power-point presentation for the medical people – done, pretty much

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles - done

4) Promote my books on social media once – nope, not at all 

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring – nope, am running out of updates to make, or at least worried that I am boring potential donors. Will work of this maybe later today

6) Send out ten e-letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring – yes, and I think it was more than ten, actually, and I have received donations from three, with promises from two more

7) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day - done

So what do I need to get done in the coming week:

1) Continue to work on my power-point presentation for the medical people

2) Write 1,000 words on the second memoir

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles

4) Promote my books on social media once (I keep thinking I should give up on this, but just don’t think I should)

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring

6) Send out five letters or e-letters to prospective donors for our trip in thespring (I am starting to run out of people!)

7) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day

8) Get serious about watching what I eat

Ever since Christmas, I have been telling myself that I need to quit eating all the chocolate and other sweets, and then yesterday, all I had for lunch was chocolate covered peanuts. Argh! I really need to get serious and lose that five pounds which found me in the last few months.

Other than, not much new with the goals. I will keep chipping away.

At the "Concrete Park" in Phillips, coz it was the first picture that I grabbed. 

Making Plans

My goals for the week were:

1) Practice my presentation for church on Sunday - not

2) Put together my power-point presentation for the medical people – worked on it about an hour

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles – on track

4) Promote my books on social media once - not

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - not

6) Send out ten e-letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring – sent out nine, jesh, you think I could have done one more

7) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day - twice   

Once again it feels like I have gotten nothing done. Yet there is all the yellow, for goals I have worked on, which is all anyone should ask for half-way through the week. Green, of course, is for goals accomplished, but I think that will happen by the weekend.

The thing that has been consuming most of my time, however, is that I got my vacation time approved at work, so now I am plotting and planning how to use that time, meaning I am doing a lot of web-surfing of all the places I want to go to this year. The only concrete thing so far is that tickets have been bought for Lifest in July.

Man, I love having things to look forward to. How about you? Are you making vacation plans for the summer (or spring, or fall)? And do you sometimes get carried away with those plans? 

My husband with his girls at Lifest 2013

A New Project this Week

First of all, this is where I ended up for the week. Kind of.

1) Write 2,000 words on the second memoir – close, 1,884 words

2) Type 2,000 words on “No Body Found” - none

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles – yes

4) Promote my books on social media two times - yes

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - yes

6) Update the nonprofit’s website – yes, but I need to stop taking credit for this, as my daughter is doing all the work and I am just giving her my input

7) Send out ten letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring - yes

8) Walk/run on the treadmill three days for 20 minutes each time – yes  

I say “kind of”, because it just doesn’t feel like I even came close to my goals last week.

I powered through work on my memoir last night, and have hit the wall with it. Everything I have so far was taken from the journal I kept when I was in Kenya in 2013. After writing my day’s adventures in my paper journal, I would type it up on the laptop at night. Until the last few days, when I slacked off on the typing, figuring I would catch up when I got home. Until my paper journal was stolen the last day there. I have that whole escapade written down, as though there would be any detail of that day which I would forget, but I still have lost two entire days. I remember some of what we did those two days, but not enough to explain 48 hours. So I might leave that chapter or two blank for now and move on.

Except that I have a new project which needs to consume me this week.

Next Sunday I am doing a powerpoint presentation at church, and though I have it ready, I should still practice as well as get my Kenyan crafts inventoried once again so I can sell them after my talk. Then twice in February I am giving a revised talk to health care professionals. Because this talk has been approved for one CEU by the AAMA, the presentation needs to show the effects of poverty on people living in America and not just in Kenya. For the presentation the end of February, Denise is joining me and we are talking for a full two hours, so I am going to her house this Friday to try to finalize it. Which means I need to put it together this week. And that will be enough for the week, I think.

So this is how my goals look:

1) Practice my presentation for church

2) Put together my power-point presentation for the medical people

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles

4) Promote my books on social media once  

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring

6) Send out ten e-letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring

7) Walk/run on the treadmill three days for 20 minutes each time   

My talk at my clinic after I was in Kenya in 2013. 

This time

It doesn’t take much to fall completely off the wagon. This is all that I got done on my goals so far this week:

1) Write 2,000 words on the second memoir - Not

2) Type 2,000 words on “No Body Found” - Not

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles – Ok, this is on schedule

4) Promote my books on social media two times - Not

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - Yep

6) Update the nonprofit’s website - Not

7) Send out ten letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring – Sent out five, so that is half-way there

8) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day – Actually twice  

Ok, so maybe when I look at it all color-coded up, the list doesn’t look so bad. We did however accomplish the one big thing that we needed to for the week. My daughter booked the plane tickets for her and our three other team members to return to Kenya in April. She found good connections and a great price. It was only $3100 for all four tickets, roundtrip. I’m pretty excited – though disappointed that I am not going with, but someone needs to hold down the fort. 

Val, Denise, and Matt get to go to Kenya, while Rachel, Judy and I have to stay behind. This time.

Time to Up the Ante

Today I am headed to my daughter’s for a meeting of the nonprofit. We plan on buying the plane tickets for our four volunteers to head to Kenya the end of March to start our first chicken project. We also need to brainstorm ways to raise the $6,000 for the trip. Our newest member, a young man with a degree in film who is going to produce a short documentary of our work, is going to be coming to the meeting to meet us all and find out more about Tumaini. Also a woman who has worked our business plan is joining us. Hopefully with all these newbies it will be a productive and upbeat meeting. Lord knows we need some good news. On top of the nonprofit, my daughter has a list of stressors and I fear she is going to have a nervous breakdown. All I can say is that I taught her to be ridiculously strong and independent, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a curse.  

At least I am getting something done. My goals for last week:

1)         Write 500 words on the second memoir – done, and then some. Wrote 1498 for the week, having written 5896 total.

2)         Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles – done

3)         Promote my books on social media two times – done

4)         Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - yep

5)         Update the nonprofit’s website – done, but still have to work on it.

6)         Write the letters to donors from 2015 for income tax purposes –done

7)         Start typing up my story “No Body Found” – typed 1540 words.

Though it is good to see all that green, good that I am reaching my goals, I think I need to up the stakes. Obviously this has been too easy so far this Round. So, here is what we are going to try for this week:

1) Write 2,000 words on the second memoir

2) Type 2,000 words on “No Body Found”

3) Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles

4) Promote my books on social media two times

5) Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring

6) Update the nonprofit’s website

7) Send out ten letters to prospective donors for our trip in the spring

8) Walk/run on the treadmill three times for 20 minutes each day (I’ve been doing this pretty much since the first of the year, but maybe if I write it down, then I am committed to it.)                   

 I know that’s not upping the ante much, but let’s shoot for baby steps. 

I don't know what this picture has to do with anything, I just thought it was cute. Baby Alice, my kitten, yelling at me. 

Go after those goals

Once again I outdid myself.

Weekly goals:

1)         Write 500 words on the second memoir – done, wrote 903 words

2)         Blog twice here and three times on the Dino Chronicles – on schedule at one and one

3)         Promote my books on social media two times – only once, but it is only Wednesday

4)         Update the Gofundme campaign for the nonprofit’s trip to Kenya in the spring - yep

5)         Update the nonprofit’s website – nope, have to get down to the daughter’s house to work on this with her

6)         Write the letters to donors from 2015 for income tax purposes – Yep, got them done

7)         Start typing up my story “No Body Found” – typed 500 some words. It’s a start, and that’s all the goal specified.

Ok, but this is where I smoked it. I submitted a poem to Wilda Morris’s Monthly Poetry Challenge. So stoked. I am sure I won’t win, because I just don’t get poetry. I write what comes to mind and there it is. If people don’t like it, that is too bad. And because I have nothing else to do, this challenge challenged me to write an entire book of poetry about my sister, her life and her battle with cancer. For a long time, I’ve wanted to write her story as a memoir, but maybe poetry is the way to go. Or not. I’ll have to see what happens I guess.

How about you? Are you going after those goals with an ax? or with a broom? Either way, you have a long ways to go in the Round, so you can get it all done!