Something new for all of us...

Status Update from September 1, 2012

"Had the weirdest dream last night...so of course I will share it with you all. This is going to be a longish status update so you can go refresh your coffees now if you want...

So in the dream there was a mutant monster that was destroying the world by sucking the life out of it piece by piece. I was part of a team that was assigned to stop it. We did it by finding a girl who could absorb the monster's powers. Well of course when she absorbed his powers she became a little power mad herself and starting calling herself Dyrt. (yes, dirt with a Y, we made fun of it in the dream as well) so part of her thing was she thought she was going to make the world a better place by diverting the Earth's resources and making certain areas into paradise. The problem with this, of course, is the areas that she took the resources from were left with nothing. And the people that were left there were left to try and survive Mad Max style...

Oh, and I did I mention she could do all of this by travelling through time? And if she held on to you and you held on to someone else you could travel with her? Well yeah, there was that as well, so she was travelling through time reshaping the Earth and since I was on the team the created her I felt like I had to stop her as well. My partners and I discovered that if you could find something Dyrt had touched if you touched it as well you could travel back to the last place she had been and try to undo her stuff before it took firm hold...

Okay, so while all of this was going on there were also key people that needed to be kept safe because when you are messing with the fabric of time and the entire ecosystem of the world you need to have your "cornerstone people" kept constant or the whole thing will collapse on itself. During three different sections of the dream I went to check in with my cornerstone person to make sure he was okay and get advice on how to stop Dyrt and save the world.
Who was my cornerstone person?

Well it's obvious right? It would and could only be someone this, THIS important to matter....

John Waters"

And that my friends is how the story Practical Magic got started. It went from there and took a few turns and now sits half (maybe half) finished on my computer. There were a few short pieces posted here, then it became my NaNoWriMo project a year later. And during that writing fest it fell apart in the middle. And that's where it has been ever since. I can't bring myself to do the work on it that it needs to come back together. So for September I'm going to work on it again.

Which means I am going to ask you all to read it. Again. And give me feedback. And possibly even have to jump around the story with me while I try and figure out how to get it back where I want it to be and if there is anything good still there.

Up for it? Ready for it? 

Okay, expect a post about the story, or the actual story a few times a week. Feedback appreciated. Be honest, but be kind. This one is fragile for some reason. I feel like it's made of spun sugar and spider webs. It could be really beautiful by the end but it could all wash out before we get there.

Here we go...

I resolve to....

You all know I don't generally do New Year's Resolutions. Spring, Birthday and Fall seem to be my biggest times for changes. This year though I am thinking about some changes and they will happen to line up with the new year so I guess they count.

You know I love my challenges. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. Just now finishing up my third round of picture a day challenge. This last time I used a cued shot list from Fat Mum Slim. It's been interesting and a new way of looking at things. Different than the last two shot a day challenges I did where I could just take a picture of whatever struck my fancy. Now I still did a bit of that with the cued shot, I just had to get creative on how it fit the theme. She is doing lists for 2013 and I have looked but I think I will pass this year. 

The six month fit challenge from last year wasn't successful in a traditional way but I count it as a success because I did get a lesson out of it all. The lesson being that I am old. Okay, that's a little harsh, but the lesson was that I cannot push my body to do something beyond what it can do and expect good results. Because I am old. Wait, let me try that again. I'm not as young as I used to be and now I must be smarter about how I take care of myself. Moderation is even more important than it used to be. Swinging to extremes used to be something to test out, now it's something to avoid. It also was a good reminder for me to keep an out on my eating. Skinny bitch is there just waiting to pounce at any moment of weakness. I have to make sure I am not playing the "if I ate exactly my calories yesterday let's see if I can go half that today!" game. I also got back in to exercising on a more regular basis and so even if I'm not doing the crazy schedule I started with I am still more active than I was and that means a healthier me. Now this year I just have to keep repeating the "I don't need to lose weight, I just need to stay healthy" mantra.

Writing challenges are always a repeat on my cycle. Writing a new blog every day. Or every week. Writing a piece of fiction every week for you all to read. I go back to those again and again. And every time I do I think, this time it will stick and I will be more consistent with my writing! And I am...until I'm not. There are a lot of things I am still working out in my head with my writing. What do I want to do with it all? Should I do another push at getting something published? Should I self publish? Do I need to publish in any other format than this one or does this give me what I need? Money isn't a big motivator for me (obviously) and generally when something becomes actual work or a job I lose interest in it fairly quickly. I like to do things for the sake of doing them. And right now writing is firmly in that category. But I also like to have what I've written read. So publishing would push it towards that area more. I'm not sure yet. So I think I will do a few more challenges where writing is concerned and see what I discover.

Facebook. You all know I starting cutting back in August. And I have. Sort of. I am ready to cut back again though. I've noticed that if I log on in the morning then I will lose hours of my day. Brent says "Are you enjoying it?" and I am. So he says, "Then why change?" Well...because I think I am missing something. I'm not sure what just yet, but there are other things I want to do and they take time. So Facebook will get another time culling here in the new year. Which is why I won't be doing the 2013 picture challenge. One less excuse to "have to log on."

And here are some of the things I will fill my time with: 

More writing. You knew this was going to be on the list right? I am trying to work out in my head how to challenge myself to get a book done without the end game being getting it published and see how that goes. I have a collection of short stories I've been working on for years that I think will make a book. I just need to actually focus on them and get them done. Then there are two series on here that I've put out there for you all that I want to work on as well. See where they lead. So that's three fiction pieces that need time. Along with all of the other ideas that will pop in here and there, as they do. As well as the nonfiction things. I have a piece about politics/guns/critical thinking that I have been mulling in my head that needs to come out soon.

Cooking. I know right? This one is a shocker for us all but I want to cook more. I have fought it and fought it and fought it. But when I did the two week challenge last summer I actually enjoyed it, and I discovered that I would rather eat my own cooking than go out. Going out is just easy. So this is one that is going to take a shift in the way I run my life. Brent is fine with going to the grocery store so instead of feeling like I have to do this task on my own since I'm the housewife we will do it on the weekends just like when I was working outside the house. And then most days during the week he can have the car. I have what I need here at the house, my workout room is downstairs, my writing desk is right here, my kitchen will be stocked and if I need something the grocery store is within walking distance. So unless I have an errand I have to run he can drive and I will have time to cook. 

Working out. Still on the list. Just instead of twice a day 6 times a week we are looking at a good decent solid week being once a day 5 days a week. That's enough to keep my weight stable while I eat what I want and to keep my heart and brain healthy.

And the last thing I will be working on this year is deciding if I want to stay a housewife. I find myself thinking about going back to work more and more. I'm just not sure as what. I have a list of what I don't want to dos, but I really don't have a list of what I want to try nexts yet.  But with C's college loans coming due soon and thinking about selling this place and moving downtown it might just be time to close out the stay at home mom who stayed at home when her kid left challenge. Maybe. Or who knows, once I get in to the full swing of more writing and cooking I might decide I don't want to change a thing...

Yeah, right.....

Latest potential obsession....

Okay, so anyone who knows me and knows how I tend to make decisions knows that I am a muller.  Ideas hit me all of the time and I grab some and discard them quickly but the ones that seem like they might have potential I mull over for awhile before I decide. And then I usually set a future date to start to make sure I am prepared and that I really want to do it before I start. So the latest thing came to me the other day and I am in the mulling stage right now. I've mentioned it out loud to Brent once to see if it sounded ridiculous coming out of my mouth and I've started thinking about what it would look like in my life on a daily basis as well.

So you know when you are watching movies and the actors are all in such fabulous shape? Or the latest trend (which actually makes me nuts and I will rant about it if you bring it up so you probably don't want to) with female celebrities getting their "bodies back" just a few months after giving birth? Every time we see something like that Brent and I both say, "well, it's their job." Because it sort of is. Looking good is part of the skill set they have to keep current to keep working. Learning lines, getting cast for parts, working out. Those are all parts of their jobs. And depending on the movie or TV show they are in they have to devote more or less time to the part of their job which is keeping in shape.

So last week while I was pondering my latest round with weight and what to do about it I thought to myself, "What if it was my job?" Which then led to thinking about what if I took 6 months and treated it like it was my job? What changes could I make in my body? What benefits could I get? How seriously could I treat it? Not getting too skinny, which is a problem. Not letting myself off the hook completely, which is another problem. But really and truly treating it like it's an actual job. Food, exercise, all around health.

Now, of course, the biggest road block to this is motivation. How do you keep motivated every day to work out? I'm not one of those people that love to work out. I work out so I can eat and not be the size of a house. And how do you motivate yourself to make the dietary changes everyday when your six months covers Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Bowl Games? Yes, Bowl Games are food holidays in my house, you have your celebrations I have mine. Not to mention Beaverton Bakery nights at the hockey games. And for me how do you do the dietary changes like that without going too strict, as I have been known to do more than a few times.

So these are the parts that I am mulling right now. When I brought it up to Brent he said "Go for it, make it half your job. You write for half, you work out for half. That way when you do your book tours you look the way you want to." Have I ever mentioned how much it makes me smile that my husband just assumes I will be successful in what ever I choose to do? I have enough self doubt at times for three people so it's nice that he is pretty sure what ever I set my mind to I will be fabulous at.

So I am mulling. And starting to think of plans. Where would I start? What would I add and when to keep things moving along? How many hours a day would I devote to this? How much planning (meal and workout schedules) would I need to do? And where would I do that? I am a pen and paper planner. It makes people laugh that I still have a calendar I carry and write things in. I've tried the electronic, but I don't care for them. You only use what you like and what works for you right? Electronic just doesn't seem to be for me in this arena.

It fits nicely in with the limiting down my Facebook time. Which is going along slowly but consistently less and less, thanks for asking. If I have a weight in each hand I can't really be checking my phone for Facebook updates now can I? And it works with writing,  but everything works with writing so that's not a huge stretch. But I am thinking, breakfast, drop Brent off, first work out of the day, clean up myself, write, lunch, house chores, second workout, pick up Brent, dinner, relax....pretty easy schedule with flexibility depending on what chores and errands need run. Potential for combining second work out with errands on days that the errand is going to the store.  Weekends would be a little trickier, maybe pick back up hiking and make Brent hike with me since he likes it as well. Hmmm....things to think about.

So what do you think? Realistic challenge or pipe dream? And am I just mulling this because Fall is always my season of change so I am just following my own personal rhythms and it will fade in a few weeks on it's own?

What things are you mulling over right now? Any potential new obsessions on your horizon?

And done....

Well there you have it, the end of June is here and so the Blog a Day in June (that would have been better in May wouldn't it?) is over.

Not too terrible really. There were maybe three blogs that were "OH no! I've got to get something up!" blogs and the rest actually were real and true bloggy blogs.

A few things I learned:

I have discovered that I need to go back and update my past blogs with labels. As I am writing and I want to link to a past blog I have to really think hard about what time of year I wrote it and what I might have titled it. Now I could solve this by using more descriptive titles that match what I am actually writing about, but that wouldn't amuse me as much so that's not going to happen. So I need to get better about using the labels. And also going back to the beginning of my blogs and adding labels to those.

I am still really bad about adding the extra space at the end of the sentence. Years and years of typing with the double space is extremely hard to break. I go back in and take them out when I notice but I don't always notice. And this sort of makes me feel old. Because it used to be a "thing" and now it's just a sign that you learned to type when it was a "thing" and now it's not.

I prefer to write free flow. Even with fiction. That's not something I just learned, I've always known it, but I reinforced it this month. I tried a few times to make an outline for future blogs or fiction pieces and they would stump me. I would get partway down the list and nothing. Any idea that had been in my head was now gone. But if I took the same ideas and just starting writing then they would word vomit out of me. This is a real challenge for me when I am writing longer pieces. Sometimes you just NEED that outline to keep you on track. I am experimenting with a hybrid outline word vomit formula right now. Just putting ideas in as place holders without the formal feel to it. We will see how that works.

I really like feedback on what I write. I know you write because you have to, and I have plenty of stuff that doesn't see the light of day because I just wanted it out of my head for the time being. But it pleases me when I know that people actually read what I've written. Even if the feedback is just, "hey, I read that and you are full of shit" at least I know someone read it!

And...as it's June 30th and the last day of the month I know I am owed one more fiction piece from My Caffeine Fueled Muse so I consider that the reward to the end of my challenge.

What's next, happy campers? What should we do for July?