Hi, everyone!
After a week hiatus, let's start this week off with a MASSIVE UPDATE!
First, for updates on baby and house "stuff", head over to How to Have a Baby and check out my 29w2d Update post.
Second, check out that I've actually update my 101 in 1001 post with some of our recent accomplishments. Yahoo!
Third, I have several new projects to announce very, very soon. I've been hired by a major blog network for a really nifty blog topic, and am also nearly ready to launch (or, in a couple cases re-launch) a few blogs on topics near and dear to my heart. One is another personal blog with a narrow topic and the others are on informative topics that I know a lot about...but will be writing on objectively instead of personally. Towards the end of several 101 in 1001 goals, I'm still working to expand my freelancing and its related income...and this is a part of that. Through ongoing clients, I've met many of my financial goals already in 2008, but am always looking for ways to expand.
And finally, and on a very somber note, I'd like to ask you to pray for my father. (I know - some of you are probably still praying since I initially asked you for your prayers last November and again this past March.) Dad took another huge downturn late last week and is now no longer able to get out of bed at all and is being fed 100% mechanically. At the advice of the nursing staff at his care center as well as the hospice that is overseeing his case, he was given Last Rites last evening around 5 PM. We decided not to go up to PA over the weekend because (a) I had a big doctor's appointment and testing this morning and (b) we're already scheduled to fly up Wednesday evening because of a pre-planned trip. If something happens sooner, then we'll travel sooner.
Mom puts her phone up to his ear whenever she calls so I can talk to him. Beyond that, unfortunately, there's nothing anyone can do beyond what is already being done. The nursing staff assures us he's resting comfortably, and of course the priest is full of assurances of better things to come. (Which, somewhere in my heart, I know. But I've really struggled with being incredibly angry at God for keeping my Dad in this awful state for so long over the past few months and as a result, haven't even regularly attended the church that I normally adore in about six months.) We've lined up all funeral arrangements, from pre-writing the obituary to having pallbearers to actual details with the funeral home, church and cemetery. When the time comes, we'll just need to finalize the memorial cards and service handouts, the readings and music (which I've already mostly picked...just need to convey the info, really...this, unfortunately, ain't my first funeral by far), his suit, and a coffin. We will not be doing any kind of lengthy viewing or any eulogies...first, it'll be a closed casket because we don't want anyone to remember Dad as he now is, so withered away and unlike his former self, and second because neither Mother nor I care to be on display. I wish I could play my violin for him at the funeral, but I just don't think I can handle that...it's something I've done for other friends and family at their funerals and I don't know how I ever kept it together then. In this case, I think it'd be almost impossible.
So right now, we're again in a holding pattern...needless to say, I'm not exactly sleeping well and my heart stops every time the phone rings. Not exactly a great state to be in while pregnant, but who can control the pace of life? Again, the prayer is that Dad goes quickly and painlessly...he's been living on borrowed time for almost six months. Thank you!
Hope you all have good weeks! I'll be back with a Tuesday Travels post tomorrow!
Tiffany
Showing posts with label Weekend Wrap-Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend Wrap-Up. Show all posts
Weekend Recap and Goals 06/16
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Goals
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Weekend Wrap-Up
Oy! I grandly overestimated what actual "free" time I'd have this past week and so goals? HA!
Let's see...my weekend, first.
It started a bit early, on Friday. I'd had a very busy work week (see below) and so my boss suggested I work from home on Friday. That gave me the ability to "sleep in" for an extra HOUR (that would normally be spent getting ready for work and commuting) and then I simply worked my email and organized some project files until midafternoon. Yahoo for working from the couch!
On Saturday, we had a lazy sort of day, rising late and heading to the Waffle House for nourishment before heading home for an agonizing afternoon of...relaxing. I've already shared with you my fun times spent with Glenn Miller on Saturday night, and after that, I spent time strategizing a few writing and other work plans before heading to bed fairly late.
On Sunday, I got an awesome present: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the NASCAR race in Michigan. This was his FIRST WIN since May 6, 2006 - which was, incidentally, the day I got married! Since I had a silly reception (ha!) to attend that evening, I missed seeing that win - and so even though this week's win was due to a wreck during a green/white finish, I'm enjoying the heck out of it! We also got a lot of work done around the house on Sunday - finished tearing apart the last upstairs bedroom in order to lay hardwood. We have a deadline: our niece arrives July 1st for her month-long summer stay, and currently, none of the three upstairs bedrooms is able to accomodate a guest. Time to get crackin'!
As for the rest of last week, let's see: I spent Monday in project mode, getting ready for the rest of the week and not leaving my office until 8 PM; I spent Tuesday in San Jose and had the awesome privilege of flying home in First Class!; I spent Wednesday and Thursday delivering all-day training to new internal consultants, not arriving home each night until fairly late; and that brings us back to Friday.
So yeah...whew! Fast week! This week will go by quickly, as well...I'm in the office today, tomorrow and Wednesday and then leave to go back to San Jose just after lunch on Thursday, returning home Friday evening. Then, on Saturday, we fly out to spend a few days in PA and won't be home until next Wednesday morning. Ye Gods, where is June going? Just four days after that, Chris leaves to fly to Calgary to pick up our niece and fly her back two days later. OH MY GOD. I need an extra week to be inserted into this month!
Goals for this week:
Let's see...my weekend, first.
It started a bit early, on Friday. I'd had a very busy work week (see below) and so my boss suggested I work from home on Friday. That gave me the ability to "sleep in" for an extra HOUR (that would normally be spent getting ready for work and commuting) and then I simply worked my email and organized some project files until midafternoon. Yahoo for working from the couch!
On Saturday, we had a lazy sort of day, rising late and heading to the Waffle House for nourishment before heading home for an agonizing afternoon of...relaxing. I've already shared with you my fun times spent with Glenn Miller on Saturday night, and after that, I spent time strategizing a few writing and other work plans before heading to bed fairly late.
On Sunday, I got an awesome present: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the NASCAR race in Michigan. This was his FIRST WIN since May 6, 2006 - which was, incidentally, the day I got married! Since I had a silly reception (ha!) to attend that evening, I missed seeing that win - and so even though this week's win was due to a wreck during a green/white finish, I'm enjoying the heck out of it! We also got a lot of work done around the house on Sunday - finished tearing apart the last upstairs bedroom in order to lay hardwood. We have a deadline: our niece arrives July 1st for her month-long summer stay, and currently, none of the three upstairs bedrooms is able to accomodate a guest. Time to get crackin'!
As for the rest of last week, let's see: I spent Monday in project mode, getting ready for the rest of the week and not leaving my office until 8 PM; I spent Tuesday in San Jose and had the awesome privilege of flying home in First Class!; I spent Wednesday and Thursday delivering all-day training to new internal consultants, not arriving home each night until fairly late; and that brings us back to Friday.
So yeah...whew! Fast week! This week will go by quickly, as well...I'm in the office today, tomorrow and Wednesday and then leave to go back to San Jose just after lunch on Thursday, returning home Friday evening. Then, on Saturday, we fly out to spend a few days in PA and won't be home until next Wednesday morning. Ye Gods, where is June going? Just four days after that, Chris leaves to fly to Calgary to pick up our niece and fly her back two days later. OH MY GOD. I need an extra week to be inserted into this month!
Goals for this week:
- Maintain sanity.
- Give feedback for the latest draft of a work in my critique group - yeah, I'm way behind on this. I'm going to aim to do this from the hotel Thursday night, if I can't get to it beforehand.
- Finish short story - didn't happen last week. Used plane time as sleep time. But I have ELEVEN hours of plane time coming up later this week, so between that and train time for work, it ought to get done, and leave me with the last week of the month to revise, edit, and enter my contest.
I think that's all I can conceivably manage for this week - what's everyone else up to?
Weekend Recap and Goals 06/09
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Goals
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Weekend Wrap-Up
Not much to recap, quite honestly. I started getting sick the middle of last week, and despite my best efforts at rest and the medication I'm allowed to take, it's still getting progressively worse. Unfortunately, I have a trip to CA that I can't put off on my calendar tomorrow, but I'm afraid that the last place I belong is on a plane. Hopefully, I can just sleep...
What I accomplished last week:
What I accomplished last week:
- I got 21 of my backlogged books reviewed over at Read and Release - I'm only behind by 10, now, 4 of which I actually finished last week. Feel like I have a load off just to have accomplished that much! Nice to see that my new posts have brought in new readers, as well! Love it!
- Added about 3000 words to the short story I'm working on for a contest. Not as much as I wanted, but good progress and I still have some time.
- Implemented new design to 2 of my blogs - yay!
- Still have those 10 books to review...and I'm busily in the midst of a new one, Yeager, right now. I love Chuck Yeager! Have I mentioned that?
- Critiques would be nice to do...still have a few chapters I need to get through. Can't critique well when I can't see straight, so hopefully this sickness goes away so I can be productive!
- Finish short story - a couple hours on the plane tomorrow ought to get me within striking distance of the end.
- Get well!
- That whole big announcement thing...coming! Promise!
Weekend Recap and Goals 06/02
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Goals
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Weekend Wrap-Up
It has been a long time since I've posted a weekend recap blog, also outlining my goals for the coming week. Too long!
So...restarting a great habit in a new month, let's get started with this week's weekend recap and a list of what I want to accomplish before next Sunday rolls around!
First, my weekend recap. You've already seen my teaser posting on our mini-vacation from Saturday...and a much longer photojournal posting is coming this evening. Beyond that, we spent Sunday getting things done around the house. After a nice hour-long phone chat with our niece and nephew, we headed out to the garden to pull weeks for a few hours.
With frequent breaks to account for the heat and our desire to see what was happening with the NASCAR race, we ended up spending about three hours on our knees. The result? Almost the entire lawn-clippings cart full of pulled weeds, and a much nicer looking garden. We concentrated on the back left corner, which is the biggest portion of the English garden, as well as the plotted garden around one of the pecan trees. The bulbs that we planted back in March in the back left corner of the English garden are coming up (pun intended) with mixed results. Some have flourished nicely; others don't seem to have done a thing. The result is quite a bit of empty space in the middle of the largest bed, which measures around 6 ft deep by 12 ft long. We'll be looking for other plants to settle there for this summer and beyond.
We completely cleared the bed around one of the pecan trees, and we'll plant fillers there - just for some color. It was the site of last summer's strawberry garden...which was a collosal flop. I think it'll look much prettier with pansies planted.
The filler plants we have in the ground surrounding one of the other pecan trees are doing well, thank God, considering we planted like six dozen little plants. The weeds are fairly well under control there, too, so that's encouraging.
In our veggie garden, the onions are flourishing, and three nice-sized tomatoes are busily growing. We've already picked and used the first crop of jalapenos - tasty! It seems that the asparagus and cucumbers aren't doign anything - we'll call those a loss. Strawberries aren't coming up either. Another loss. We're batting .500 here. I don't think we'll reattempt strawberries or asparagus, but we'll plant some replacement cucumbers most likely.
The rose garden is doing very well - lots of colorful blooms! The weeds continue to be a huge hassle there, however. We're basically pouring nuclear-winter-strength stuff into the ground and they still keep coming back. ARGH!
Out in the front yard, things are nicely groomed these days and well under control - some weeds need to be picked from the tall decorative grass, but for now, they're blending in nicely.
All-in-all, we're having a much more successful growth summer this year than last - yahoo! I'll post pictures of our pretty yard later! It sure is a lot of work keeping up with a property that measures almost 3/4 of an acre, but the end result is awesome!
We topped off last evening by spluring on pizza (my whim) and watching a few shows that our DVR had recorded. Nice evening, all around! I even got some crocheting done and added on about three inches to one of the blankets I'm making. PLUS, I organized all of the books that I've read but haven't yet reviewed for my book blog - more on that in my goals!
Now, on to the fun stuff: THIS WEEK'S GOALS!
I have a lot of ambition for this week, but am trying to temper that versus the reality of the time I have available. So here we go:
So...restarting a great habit in a new month, let's get started with this week's weekend recap and a list of what I want to accomplish before next Sunday rolls around!
First, my weekend recap. You've already seen my teaser posting on our mini-vacation from Saturday...and a much longer photojournal posting is coming this evening. Beyond that, we spent Sunday getting things done around the house. After a nice hour-long phone chat with our niece and nephew, we headed out to the garden to pull weeks for a few hours.
With frequent breaks to account for the heat and our desire to see what was happening with the NASCAR race, we ended up spending about three hours on our knees. The result? Almost the entire lawn-clippings cart full of pulled weeds, and a much nicer looking garden. We concentrated on the back left corner, which is the biggest portion of the English garden, as well as the plotted garden around one of the pecan trees. The bulbs that we planted back in March in the back left corner of the English garden are coming up (pun intended) with mixed results. Some have flourished nicely; others don't seem to have done a thing. The result is quite a bit of empty space in the middle of the largest bed, which measures around 6 ft deep by 12 ft long. We'll be looking for other plants to settle there for this summer and beyond.
We completely cleared the bed around one of the pecan trees, and we'll plant fillers there - just for some color. It was the site of last summer's strawberry garden...which was a collosal flop. I think it'll look much prettier with pansies planted.
The filler plants we have in the ground surrounding one of the other pecan trees are doing well, thank God, considering we planted like six dozen little plants. The weeds are fairly well under control there, too, so that's encouraging.
In our veggie garden, the onions are flourishing, and three nice-sized tomatoes are busily growing. We've already picked and used the first crop of jalapenos - tasty! It seems that the asparagus and cucumbers aren't doign anything - we'll call those a loss. Strawberries aren't coming up either. Another loss. We're batting .500 here. I don't think we'll reattempt strawberries or asparagus, but we'll plant some replacement cucumbers most likely.
The rose garden is doing very well - lots of colorful blooms! The weeds continue to be a huge hassle there, however. We're basically pouring nuclear-winter-strength stuff into the ground and they still keep coming back. ARGH!
Out in the front yard, things are nicely groomed these days and well under control - some weeds need to be picked from the tall decorative grass, but for now, they're blending in nicely.
All-in-all, we're having a much more successful growth summer this year than last - yahoo! I'll post pictures of our pretty yard later! It sure is a lot of work keeping up with a property that measures almost 3/4 of an acre, but the end result is awesome!
We topped off last evening by spluring on pizza (my whim) and watching a few shows that our DVR had recorded. Nice evening, all around! I even got some crocheting done and added on about three inches to one of the blankets I'm making. PLUS, I organized all of the books that I've read but haven't yet reviewed for my book blog - more on that in my goals!
Now, on to the fun stuff: THIS WEEK'S GOALS!
I have a lot of ambition for this week, but am trying to temper that versus the reality of the time I have available. So here we go:
- Add six books per day, Monday-Friday, to my book blog: Read and Review: Tiffany's Tomes.
At that rate, I'll catch up with the TWENTY-SEVEN books that I'm currently behind by, as well as the one I'm nearly finished and the next that I should finish by week's end. Yahoo! - Add 1000 words per day, Mon/Wed/Thur to a short story I'm composing for a contest. Add 2500 words on Tues/Fri.
At that rate, I'll complete the story by week's end, since my target is around 7500 words. That'll leave me several weeks to edit, revise, and submit to my critique group, ahead of the July 1st contest entry deadline. More words expected for Tuesday, because I'll have four+ dedicated hours on the plane flying to MSP and back. More for Friday since it's week's end and Chris'll be at work that night. - Complete critique of remaining chapters for a critique partner's work in progress - 1-to-2 chapters per night, Monday-Friday.
I have, I believe, 6 or 7 chapters remaining. - Blog here at Breakfast at Tiffany's seven more times before week's end.
- Apply for Guide job at About.com that is totally and completely up my alley.
- Finish implementing design change to Breakfast at Tiffany's.
- Announce BIG NEWS and reveal THE HIDDEN BLOG.
- Sleep. Yeah, I need to do that, too!
Those are my goals for the week - what are yours?
Thanksgiving Weekend Recap
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Weekend Wrap-Up
Hi, everyone!
Sorry to have missed out on sharing my Thursday Thirteen and Friday Feast with you this past week - it was low-key all the way, and I've been off the computer and doing stuff around the house since Wednesday night - LOVE IT!
Thanksgiving was great at our house - we so enjoyed having everyone over! I, of course, enjoyed cooking and fussing. I'll let the pictures do my talking for me! (With captions, of course!) (No touch-ups, by the way...just don't have time to do that right now!)
We had a ton of fun cooking...our alarms went off at 7:30 and we didn't stop moving until food was on the table for a 2:30 dinner! We did take about 45 minutes at 11:00 to shower and pretty ourselves up, though...how do we look?
Going around the table...the empty seat in the top left corner is mine, then clockwise from me is Kristen (friend), Karen (mother-in-law), Don (Chris' uncle, Patti's husband), Patti (Chris' aunt, writer extroidonaire), Zachary (alrighty, so you can't see him, but he's there...his bouncy was on the floor), Anne (Chris' cousin, Patti's oldest), Jamie (Chris' cousin, Patti's middle), Becca (John's fiancee), John (Chris' cousin, Patti's youngest), and Chris (my husband - duh!). We were joined later by Charlie (Jamie's S.O.) and friends Timo and Kay, just in time for desert. As a special treat, my brother-in-law, currently serving a 15-month stint in Iraq, called for about 20 minutes and got to talk to all of us in turn, and his kids, our niece Julia and nephew Aubrey, called to talk to us all as well as soon as they got home from school. (They live in Canada, but lived in the U.S. up until a year ago.)
Since Zachary wasn't really in the last picture, here he is later in the day, being babysat by our Chihuahua, Naya.
By ourselves again, at the end of a long day. (Ignore my red eyes...too much wine and I got emotional.)
And now, for Christmas!
This is what it looks like when an 18-pound cat named Frankie decides to cram himself into a holiday decorative card holder that measures 12 x 8 x 6.
Our tree...
With Audrey busily contemplating how to climb it! (And yes, Audrey is named after Audrey Hepburn...kudos if you can guess Frankie's namesake!)
Hope your holiday was wonderful as well, and for my friends outside of the U.S., hope you had a terrific and relaxing weekend!
Tiffany
Sorry to have missed out on sharing my Thursday Thirteen and Friday Feast with you this past week - it was low-key all the way, and I've been off the computer and doing stuff around the house since Wednesday night - LOVE IT!
Thanksgiving was great at our house - we so enjoyed having everyone over! I, of course, enjoyed cooking and fussing. I'll let the pictures do my talking for me! (With captions, of course!) (No touch-ups, by the way...just don't have time to do that right now!)
We had a ton of fun cooking...our alarms went off at 7:30 and we didn't stop moving until food was on the table for a 2:30 dinner! We did take about 45 minutes at 11:00 to shower and pretty ourselves up, though...how do we look?
Going around the table...the empty seat in the top left corner is mine, then clockwise from me is Kristen (friend), Karen (mother-in-law), Don (Chris' uncle, Patti's husband), Patti (Chris' aunt, writer extroidonaire), Zachary (alrighty, so you can't see him, but he's there...his bouncy was on the floor), Anne (Chris' cousin, Patti's oldest), Jamie (Chris' cousin, Patti's middle), Becca (John's fiancee), John (Chris' cousin, Patti's youngest), and Chris (my husband - duh!). We were joined later by Charlie (Jamie's S.O.) and friends Timo and Kay, just in time for desert. As a special treat, my brother-in-law, currently serving a 15-month stint in Iraq, called for about 20 minutes and got to talk to all of us in turn, and his kids, our niece Julia and nephew Aubrey, called to talk to us all as well as soon as they got home from school. (They live in Canada, but lived in the U.S. up until a year ago.)
Since Zachary wasn't really in the last picture, here he is later in the day, being babysat by our Chihuahua, Naya.
By ourselves again, at the end of a long day. (Ignore my red eyes...too much wine and I got emotional.)
And now, for Christmas!
This is what it looks like when an 18-pound cat named Frankie decides to cram himself into a holiday decorative card holder that measures 12 x 8 x 6.
Our tree...
With Audrey busily contemplating how to climb it! (And yes, Audrey is named after Audrey Hepburn...kudos if you can guess Frankie's namesake!)
Hope your holiday was wonderful as well, and for my friends outside of the U.S., hope you had a terrific and relaxing weekend!
Tiffany
Weekend Recap and Goals 11/19
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Goals
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Weekend Wrap-Up
Hi, everyone!
In a nod to the holiday week, I'm going to go low-key on my wrap-up and goals this time around. For last week, here's my recap:
Got Patti's interview and new PR done; still working on Isabel's.
Worked through exercises for parts 1 and 2 of DSDB, chatted with Patti re: results last night for like 30 minutes.
Nothing for NaNo - well, ok, a few words, but it's just not been a priority.
Got more writing apps out AND landed a new gig - I will now be blogging for The Pitstop Report on 451Press. I start later this week.
Web site ain't up - I'm going to take Patti's advice and stop fiddling with it and just post it. I can continue revisions once it's up.
Got a few FL articles done, but not 10. Again, I'm not pressuring myself...last week had enough stress as it was.
Blogging - nailed it. Had my 10 posts well ahead of time.
Dad's not here - ya'll know the story of that already. Talked to Mom this AM and they rejected him from both the in-hospital rehab program AND the rehab center program due to his mental state because of the Alzheimer's. Sometime tomorrow they'll be transferring him to a full-scale nursing home, instead. That just breaks my damn heart...I hate to think of my Dad stuck in a "home". I can say, at least, that Mom picked a good one - of all the ones I worked with when I was working at the Hospice in high school, the one she chose was nicest. With Medicare and his BC/BS supplemental, they'll cover a total of 100 days. God willing he only needs 40 or so and can then come to my home down here.
I had an ok week - not a great week, but I survived it, so it qualifies as ok. Hopefully this week will be better - really looking forward to Thanksgiving and hosting everyone. Looks like we'll have 12...that's a good number for me!
I discussed this week's goals with Patti last night, but I'm not going to list them all out here this week, as it's my first week really following the suggestions of DSDB, so after this week is up, and I've assessed how I did, I'll go back to posting here.
Have a great week, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tiffany
In a nod to the holiday week, I'm going to go low-key on my wrap-up and goals this time around. For last week, here's my recap:
Got Patti's interview and new PR done; still working on Isabel's.
Worked through exercises for parts 1 and 2 of DSDB, chatted with Patti re: results last night for like 30 minutes.
Nothing for NaNo - well, ok, a few words, but it's just not been a priority.
Got more writing apps out AND landed a new gig - I will now be blogging for The Pitstop Report on 451Press. I start later this week.
Web site ain't up - I'm going to take Patti's advice and stop fiddling with it and just post it. I can continue revisions once it's up.
Got a few FL articles done, but not 10. Again, I'm not pressuring myself...last week had enough stress as it was.
Blogging - nailed it. Had my 10 posts well ahead of time.
Dad's not here - ya'll know the story of that already. Talked to Mom this AM and they rejected him from both the in-hospital rehab program AND the rehab center program due to his mental state because of the Alzheimer's. Sometime tomorrow they'll be transferring him to a full-scale nursing home, instead. That just breaks my damn heart...I hate to think of my Dad stuck in a "home". I can say, at least, that Mom picked a good one - of all the ones I worked with when I was working at the Hospice in high school, the one she chose was nicest. With Medicare and his BC/BS supplemental, they'll cover a total of 100 days. God willing he only needs 40 or so and can then come to my home down here.
I had an ok week - not a great week, but I survived it, so it qualifies as ok. Hopefully this week will be better - really looking forward to Thanksgiving and hosting everyone. Looks like we'll have 12...that's a good number for me!
I discussed this week's goals with Patti last night, but I'm not going to list them all out here this week, as it's my first week really following the suggestions of DSDB, so after this week is up, and I've assessed how I did, I'll go back to posting here.
Have a great week, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tiffany
Weekend Recap and Goals 11/12
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Goals
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Weekend Wrap-Up
Good afternoon, everyone!
I'm a little late this Monday in getting my stuff posted - my apologies! Today at AA is nothing but meetings, meetings, meetings. Added to my overall physical soreness after 4 hours of cleaning/hauling wood/weeding from yesterday, and it's just been a doozy of a morning.
Something not on last week's checklist that I accomplished is reading the lecture notes to Margie Lawson's Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior class, cover to cover. I've identified Patti as my Change Coach (and she's agreed to the role!) and so you'll find steps towards beginning the journey outlined in Margie's work in this week's goals.
Here's a recap of my goals from last week, and the results. Patti was prophetic when she wished me success in achieving 50% - I hit about 70% - which, although not ideal, is better than nothing!
1. Swap out furniture/decorations, pick up new furniture - check!
2. NaNoWriMo - Heck, no! I'm even further behind now! ARGH! I've written an EVEN MORE agressive catch up plan, however, and by God, if it kills me, this WIP is going to get finished.
3. Patti's interview/review - Yeah, didn't hit this either. Dang it. It MUST get done between today and tomorrow, since her book now releases on WEDNESDAY!
4. Blogging - Check! I posted a bunch here, once on my other blog, and created a new editorial blog for myself to boot. Yahoo!
5. Press release, Isabel - Check! We spoke by phone on Thursday - it will be finished this week!
6. Applications - other writing jobs - Semi-Check - still a few to go.
7. Writing - 10 freelance articles - Semi-Check. Got a few, not all.
8. Welcome my mother-in-law to my house! - Check! She's settling in well.
9. Work out final details for dad traveling down next week. - Check! If my mother changes anything at this point, I'll be fit to be tied.
10. Have a great week! - Check!
Now for this week:
1. Part 1: Write updated press release for Patti's novel, The Daddy Spell, to be released by The Wild Rose Press on 11/14/07. MUST BE DONE MONDAY NIGHT. Part 2: Finish writing Patti's author interview and book review. MUST BE DONE BY TUESDAY NIGHT.
2. Part 1: Finish writing Isabel's press release for her novel, Johanna, to be released by Awe-Struck on 11/22/07. MUST BE DONE BY TUESDAY NIGHT. Part 2: Finish writing Isabel's author interview. MUST BE DONE BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
3. Begin working through exercises from DSDB. Set first review session with Patti.
4. NaNo - I need to be at 15k words by 11:59 PM on November 15th, so 2500 words per day between now and then. ACK!
5. Writing apps - still a few in progress. Must close out.
6. Web site - I've fiddled with the damn thing so much that I'm starting to hate it and it isn't even posted yet. Must get it up. Like now.
7. Freelance - 10 articles.
8. Blogging - total of 10 posts between my three blogs (not including Fredericksen blog, but I'll try to get something up over there as well).
9. Pick up dad/uneventful trip home from PA to establish him in my household.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you do the same!
Tiffany
I'm a little late this Monday in getting my stuff posted - my apologies! Today at AA is nothing but meetings, meetings, meetings. Added to my overall physical soreness after 4 hours of cleaning/hauling wood/weeding from yesterday, and it's just been a doozy of a morning.
Something not on last week's checklist that I accomplished is reading the lecture notes to Margie Lawson's Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior class, cover to cover. I've identified Patti as my Change Coach (and she's agreed to the role!) and so you'll find steps towards beginning the journey outlined in Margie's work in this week's goals.
Here's a recap of my goals from last week, and the results. Patti was prophetic when she wished me success in achieving 50% - I hit about 70% - which, although not ideal, is better than nothing!
1. Swap out furniture/decorations, pick up new furniture - check!
2. NaNoWriMo - Heck, no! I'm even further behind now! ARGH! I've written an EVEN MORE agressive catch up plan, however, and by God, if it kills me, this WIP is going to get finished.
3. Patti's interview/review - Yeah, didn't hit this either. Dang it. It MUST get done between today and tomorrow, since her book now releases on WEDNESDAY!
4. Blogging - Check! I posted a bunch here, once on my other blog, and created a new editorial blog for myself to boot. Yahoo!
5. Press release, Isabel - Check! We spoke by phone on Thursday - it will be finished this week!
6. Applications - other writing jobs - Semi-Check - still a few to go.
7. Writing - 10 freelance articles - Semi-Check. Got a few, not all.
8. Welcome my mother-in-law to my house! - Check! She's settling in well.
9. Work out final details for dad traveling down next week. - Check! If my mother changes anything at this point, I'll be fit to be tied.
10. Have a great week! - Check!
Now for this week:
1. Part 1: Write updated press release for Patti's novel, The Daddy Spell, to be released by The Wild Rose Press on 11/14/07. MUST BE DONE MONDAY NIGHT. Part 2: Finish writing Patti's author interview and book review. MUST BE DONE BY TUESDAY NIGHT.
2. Part 1: Finish writing Isabel's press release for her novel, Johanna, to be released by Awe-Struck on 11/22/07. MUST BE DONE BY TUESDAY NIGHT. Part 2: Finish writing Isabel's author interview. MUST BE DONE BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
3. Begin working through exercises from DSDB. Set first review session with Patti.
4. NaNo - I need to be at 15k words by 11:59 PM on November 15th, so 2500 words per day between now and then. ACK!
5. Writing apps - still a few in progress. Must close out.
6. Web site - I've fiddled with the damn thing so much that I'm starting to hate it and it isn't even posted yet. Must get it up. Like now.
7. Freelance - 10 articles.
8. Blogging - total of 10 posts between my three blogs (not including Fredericksen blog, but I'll try to get something up over there as well).
9. Pick up dad/uneventful trip home from PA to establish him in my household.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you do the same!
Tiffany
Weekend Recap and Goals 11/05
in:
Goals
,
Weekend Wrap-Up
Hi, everyone!
Hope ya'll had a great weekend and are enjoying a good start to your new week! Halfway through my Monday, I thought I'd share my recap of the weekend and last week, and my goals for this week!
First, let me just say that NASCAR weekend was just awesome. Perfect weather, good friends to share the races with, awesome neighbors in the campground - just goodness all the way around. Ended up having a little disagreement with the hubby (long story, but I was pretty ticked) but I think we've resolved it and are moving on. Still had a good weekend at TMS and can't wait until the next!
Now, a recap on last week's goals:
1. Attend Fall Leaders Conference - check!
2. NASCAR races - check!
3. NaNo starts on Thursday - I wrote on Thursday and just a teeny bit on Friday. Didn't so much work out to write at the track while camping for NASCAR - too much else going on. Check out my goals below for my catch-up plan.
4. Patti's press release - Got it posted to several sites, and she's experienced a 300% increase of hits to her web site - awesomeness. The timeline for releasing her author interview is below in my goals.
5. Blog 5x for writing blog, 2-3x for non-writing blog - check and check!
6. Finish reading The Daddy Spell galleys for Patti and write/post book review - Still reading - will complete soon! Added to this week's goals!
7. 10 freelance articles - Not quite...just simply ran out of time. Dang it.
8. Apply for a few identified ongoing freelance opportunties - I didn't get to the application phase on these, but have gathered all of the information and done all of the pre-work necessary to move forward. Added to this week's goals.
9. Plastering on staircase; more organizing upstairs; finish rebuilding desktop. No, partial, partial. Getting there, getting there! Finding out that a second parent would be joining us for the winter definitely changed what had to be done in my house last week.
10. Have a great week! CHECK!
So, I was partially successful - can't win 'em all, but I'm happy with what I did get done. On to this week's goals:
1. Swap out some furniture/decorations in upstairs bedrooms; pick up bed and glider purchased from craigslist; pick up television purchased from eBay; pick up mirror frame with new mirror glass installed - Monday evening. (This will finalize our preparations to get ready for Karen and Dad. Total spent on furniture and mirror replacement: $145. Not bad. I love craigslist/eBay!)
2. NaNoWriMo - catch up time, already! This week: the goal is 2000 words per day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, plus 2500 on Saturday and Sunday...and for Tuesday, it's catch-up time - 5 hours on a plane to MSP and back for a 2-hour meeting (the logistics of my travel amaze me) equals 3000 words, I hope! :-)
3. Part 1: Author interview - Patti - post final version to AC after getting Patti's approval - Thursday. Part 2: Book review - Patti - post final version to ArsC - Friday.
4. Blogging - 5 posts here, 2 posts on other blog.
5. Press release/marketing - Isabel - phone conversation pending her schedule.
6. Applications - other writing jobs. MUST get done this week. We'll say Thursday night.
7. Writing - 10 freelance articles. Saturday/Sunday mornings.
8. Welcome my mother-in-law to my house! She arrives late Wednesday evening.
9. Work out final details for dad traveling down next week.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you all have a great week as well! :-)
Tiffany
Hope ya'll had a great weekend and are enjoying a good start to your new week! Halfway through my Monday, I thought I'd share my recap of the weekend and last week, and my goals for this week!
First, let me just say that NASCAR weekend was just awesome. Perfect weather, good friends to share the races with, awesome neighbors in the campground - just goodness all the way around. Ended up having a little disagreement with the hubby (long story, but I was pretty ticked) but I think we've resolved it and are moving on. Still had a good weekend at TMS and can't wait until the next!
Now, a recap on last week's goals:
1. Attend Fall Leaders Conference - check!
2. NASCAR races - check!
3. NaNo starts on Thursday - I wrote on Thursday and just a teeny bit on Friday. Didn't so much work out to write at the track while camping for NASCAR - too much else going on. Check out my goals below for my catch-up plan.
4. Patti's press release - Got it posted to several sites, and she's experienced a 300% increase of hits to her web site - awesomeness. The timeline for releasing her author interview is below in my goals.
5. Blog 5x for writing blog, 2-3x for non-writing blog - check and check!
6. Finish reading The Daddy Spell galleys for Patti and write/post book review - Still reading - will complete soon! Added to this week's goals!
7. 10 freelance articles - Not quite...just simply ran out of time. Dang it.
8. Apply for a few identified ongoing freelance opportunties - I didn't get to the application phase on these, but have gathered all of the information and done all of the pre-work necessary to move forward. Added to this week's goals.
9. Plastering on staircase; more organizing upstairs; finish rebuilding desktop. No, partial, partial. Getting there, getting there! Finding out that a second parent would be joining us for the winter definitely changed what had to be done in my house last week.
10. Have a great week! CHECK!
So, I was partially successful - can't win 'em all, but I'm happy with what I did get done. On to this week's goals:
1. Swap out some furniture/decorations in upstairs bedrooms; pick up bed and glider purchased from craigslist; pick up television purchased from eBay; pick up mirror frame with new mirror glass installed - Monday evening. (This will finalize our preparations to get ready for Karen and Dad. Total spent on furniture and mirror replacement: $145. Not bad. I love craigslist/eBay!)
2. NaNoWriMo - catch up time, already! This week: the goal is 2000 words per day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, plus 2500 on Saturday and Sunday...and for Tuesday, it's catch-up time - 5 hours on a plane to MSP and back for a 2-hour meeting (the logistics of my travel amaze me) equals 3000 words, I hope! :-)
3. Part 1: Author interview - Patti - post final version to AC after getting Patti's approval - Thursday. Part 2: Book review - Patti - post final version to ArsC - Friday.
4. Blogging - 5 posts here, 2 posts on other blog.
5. Press release/marketing - Isabel - phone conversation pending her schedule.
6. Applications - other writing jobs. MUST get done this week. We'll say Thursday night.
7. Writing - 10 freelance articles. Saturday/Sunday mornings.
8. Welcome my mother-in-law to my house! She arrives late Wednesday evening.
9. Work out final details for dad traveling down next week.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you all have a great week as well! :-)
Tiffany
Weekend Recap and Goals 10/29
in:
Goals
,
Weekend Wrap-Up
Hey, ya'll!
It's only technically Monday at this point - middle of the night Monday - but I'm trying to get a head start before heading to bed on recapping last week and getting ready for this week. So here it is...
Last week's goals:
1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
Like I just told Patti today, it's completed...I was waiting on a friend of mine to give me a link to her site and she hemmed and hawed and finally said she'd prefer not, so now I just have to post what I've got. Not sure why I haven't yet...it's not hard. Just haven't. Will work on this coming week. (Not adding to goals list, just will get the dang thing done!)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
Got it.
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
Got it, to the extreme! Chris and I worked our butts off on this - 2 hours on Saturday, 90 minutes on Sunday. Not only do we have a FABULOUS outline, we also have character development and plotted out plot points. It rocks. Chris is awesome. I can't wait to start!
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
In progress. We're down several boxes and have thrown a lot away. I'm thinking one more good night's work will finish us off. For the office, I still have to rebuild a desktop but everything else is coming back into place well.
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
Kinda...I did a bit of writing for each, but not quite a thousand words. I did, however, re-read all writing on both and make a whole bunch of edits.
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
Didn't quite hit on Monday, but just posted today! Yay, Lindsey! Fun story!
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
Again, didn't happen on Monday, but got done on Saturday. All that remains for the stairs is plastering over the boo-boos that the carpeting hid.
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
Yeppers. No line, either. Primo spot. Near potties, but not toooo near.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
Yeppers. Sold to Chris' new rookie partner. Glad it'll be someone we know.
10. Have a good week!!
Sure did. I had an excellent week.
What else I accomplished: press release for Patti and marketing plan leading up to her book release. Author interview with Patti, to be posted later this week to Associated Content. Started reading galleys for The Daddy Spell to post a review to ArsCompendium as well as possibly Associated Content. Girls night went well. Paid for and received Margie Lawson's Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior Lesson packet...looking forward to beginning to work through. Identified a few long-term freelancing opportunities to pursue. Like I said...it was a good week. Blogged 6 times in 5 days to my writing blog; 3 times in 5 days to my non-writing blog. Re-read two great books. Prepped for a very busy upcoming week at work.
Speaking of...this weeks goals:
1. Attend Fall Leaders Conference - every fall, American Airlines has a week of conferences for managers of a certain level and up. I'm one level too low on the totem pole and have no direct subordinates, so I ordinarily would not be able to attend, but because of my department and my boss, I'm not only going for one session, but all three! Setup Monday, prep Tuesday morning, first session kick-off Tuesday PM, last session wrap-up Friday AM. Then it's NASCAR time, baby!
2. NASCAR races - two times of year I live for. We're camping only Friday and Saturday nights this race...I have to be at work on Friday during the day, so we'll just head out Thursday night to stay a bit for quals and then head back out to set up our campground and get into the mania of it all Friday after lunch.
3. NaNo starts on Thursday - have I mentioned I'm excited? For this week, the goal is to write on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Sunday off for NASCAR. (I'm already prepped...have 3 spare batteries full charged so I can be up and running...probably won't find internet out there, but I'll be able to write!)
4. Post Patti's press release to a variety of free press release sites; publish Patti's author interview after rewriting from somewhat disorganized notes. (Oh, I'll admit I was just typing everything I heard so it's a mess right now and needs to become WAY more cohesive...my fault, not Patti's...I wasn't pre-prepped with questions, so the disorganization is on my end.)
5. Blog 5x for writing blog, 2-3x for non-writing blog. No weekends unless the spirit moves me.
6. Finish reading The Daddy Spell galleys for Patti and write/post book review.
7. 10 freelance articles.
8. Apply for a few identified ongoing freelance opportunties, including (fingers crossed!) About.com. (Excellent pay, mucho credibility)
9. Plastering on staircase; more organizing upstairs; finish rebuilding desktop.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you'll all have excellent weeks as well!
Tiffany
It's only technically Monday at this point - middle of the night Monday - but I'm trying to get a head start before heading to bed on recapping last week and getting ready for this week. So here it is...
Last week's goals:
1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
Like I just told Patti today, it's completed...I was waiting on a friend of mine to give me a link to her site and she hemmed and hawed and finally said she'd prefer not, so now I just have to post what I've got. Not sure why I haven't yet...it's not hard. Just haven't. Will work on this coming week. (Not adding to goals list, just will get the dang thing done!)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
Got it.
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
Got it, to the extreme! Chris and I worked our butts off on this - 2 hours on Saturday, 90 minutes on Sunday. Not only do we have a FABULOUS outline, we also have character development and plotted out plot points. It rocks. Chris is awesome. I can't wait to start!
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
In progress. We're down several boxes and have thrown a lot away. I'm thinking one more good night's work will finish us off. For the office, I still have to rebuild a desktop but everything else is coming back into place well.
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
Kinda...I did a bit of writing for each, but not quite a thousand words. I did, however, re-read all writing on both and make a whole bunch of edits.
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
Didn't quite hit on Monday, but just posted today! Yay, Lindsey! Fun story!
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
Again, didn't happen on Monday, but got done on Saturday. All that remains for the stairs is plastering over the boo-boos that the carpeting hid.
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
Yeppers. No line, either. Primo spot. Near potties, but not toooo near.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
Yeppers. Sold to Chris' new rookie partner. Glad it'll be someone we know.
10. Have a good week!!
Sure did. I had an excellent week.
What else I accomplished: press release for Patti and marketing plan leading up to her book release. Author interview with Patti, to be posted later this week to Associated Content. Started reading galleys for The Daddy Spell to post a review to ArsCompendium as well as possibly Associated Content. Girls night went well. Paid for and received Margie Lawson's Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior Lesson packet...looking forward to beginning to work through. Identified a few long-term freelancing opportunities to pursue. Like I said...it was a good week. Blogged 6 times in 5 days to my writing blog; 3 times in 5 days to my non-writing blog. Re-read two great books. Prepped for a very busy upcoming week at work.
Speaking of...this weeks goals:
1. Attend Fall Leaders Conference - every fall, American Airlines has a week of conferences for managers of a certain level and up. I'm one level too low on the totem pole and have no direct subordinates, so I ordinarily would not be able to attend, but because of my department and my boss, I'm not only going for one session, but all three! Setup Monday, prep Tuesday morning, first session kick-off Tuesday PM, last session wrap-up Friday AM. Then it's NASCAR time, baby!
2. NASCAR races - two times of year I live for. We're camping only Friday and Saturday nights this race...I have to be at work on Friday during the day, so we'll just head out Thursday night to stay a bit for quals and then head back out to set up our campground and get into the mania of it all Friday after lunch.
3. NaNo starts on Thursday - have I mentioned I'm excited? For this week, the goal is to write on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Sunday off for NASCAR. (I'm already prepped...have 3 spare batteries full charged so I can be up and running...probably won't find internet out there, but I'll be able to write!)
4. Post Patti's press release to a variety of free press release sites; publish Patti's author interview after rewriting from somewhat disorganized notes. (Oh, I'll admit I was just typing everything I heard so it's a mess right now and needs to become WAY more cohesive...my fault, not Patti's...I wasn't pre-prepped with questions, so the disorganization is on my end.)
5. Blog 5x for writing blog, 2-3x for non-writing blog. No weekends unless the spirit moves me.
6. Finish reading The Daddy Spell galleys for Patti and write/post book review.
7. 10 freelance articles.
8. Apply for a few identified ongoing freelance opportunties, including (fingers crossed!) About.com. (Excellent pay, mucho credibility)
9. Plastering on staircase; more organizing upstairs; finish rebuilding desktop.
10. Have a great week!
And I hope you'll all have excellent weeks as well!
Tiffany
Weekend Recap and Goals 10/22
in:
Goals
,
Weekend Wrap-Up
Good morning, y'all! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. We were busy - we spent some time on Saturday working in the house and running errands, I demonstrated at a Pampered Chef party Saturday night while Chris was at work, we visited with my Pampered Chef director for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon, and then got to the Fort Worth Air Show *just* in time to see the Blue Angels! That, in itself, made my weekend complete - boy do I love to see them fly! Came home, grocery shopped, cooked dinner together, hung out and then Chris headed to his off-duty job while I worked to - *gasp* finish my Web page!
Yes, that's right, the dang thing is done. Finished. Finito. Unfortunately, it got done at about 3:23 AM, and my alarm was set for 7 AM this morning, so it's done but not posted. Tonight, tonight! YAHOO!
That's the perfect lead-in to this week's goals - writing and otherwise.
1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
10. Have a good week!!
And I hope you'll all have good weeks as well.
Smiles,
Tiffany
Yes, that's right, the dang thing is done. Finished. Finito. Unfortunately, it got done at about 3:23 AM, and my alarm was set for 7 AM this morning, so it's done but not posted. Tonight, tonight! YAHOO!
That's the perfect lead-in to this week's goals - writing and otherwise.
1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
10. Have a good week!!
And I hope you'll all have good weeks as well.
Smiles,
Tiffany
