That’s A Wrap

April is going to be a busy month.

I have 3 editing jobs sitting on my desk that need to be completed.

I signed up for Camp Nano – which begins tomorrow. I have no idea what the final word count will be,  but I have 30 points to work from.

I signed up for an AtoZ challenge on their website –  but I don’t know how to add the badge.

I can add it as an image, but it’s supposed to be a badge over there on the right side. this will be a new thing for me – photography. Bear with me because I’m not the most talented in photography.

I’ll explain more tomorrow when I post the first  one.

Wrapping up March –  I hit my goal of blogging 15 times! YAY.  I hit my goal for the year of having 1200 followers – holy freaking wow! (that is including publicize)

I did not reach my goal of having Valkyrie’s Curse ready to send to my beta readers. DARN IT! Soon, though, very soon.

I mailed out prizes for the most recent online event that should arrive next week.

Meanwhile, I am scratching my head wondering where the month went to, while planning out the next month in my bujo.

Fresh month, a fresh start, and a fresh story!

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

Satisfaction

There are times when you need a good push. This is why coaches are an invaluable resource. They push you to the goal line. They push us when our lazy nature wants to quit.

Humans by nature are lazy. we all are. It’s easier to go with the flow and let nature takes its course than fight against the wind or waves or whatever storm is happening in our lives.

Discipline is doing the things that you don’t enjoy doing in order to obtain the results that you desire. 

But that sort of laziness leaves you unfulfilled, empty and hollow.

It’s a sick feeling in your gut to realize that you’ve sold yourself short and all those people that said you had more potential were right. You haven’t given it your all,  you’ve sold yourself short.  You’re the one that is responsible for being sidelined in your own life.

It’s not the  illusions that you see in media, not the  glamorous lifestyles portrayed by Hollywood. It’s  reaching your own potential,  your own dreams, crossing those small goals off of your to-do list until you cross the big goal off with a sense of satisfaction.

What are you selling yourself short on?

What dreams have you shelved?

Are you living up to your potential?

I know for me the answers to these questions aren’t a simple encompassing yes or no, but a  range from zero to 10 in different aspects of life. For instance,  in parenting I would assess an 8 or 9, always giving my best for my kids.

In the area of personal growth, I would assess myself a 4 or 5.

It’s just my opinion, but I think moms are notoriously givers and are prone to  forget themselves especially after years of doing so. It becomes a habit. So much to the point that when someone tells you to think about your own dreams, it seems odd and even selfish.

This is an unhealthy view. What good are we to anyone else if we let ourselves fall through the cracks?

It’s time to make yourself a priority. It’s time to invest in your well-being and pursue your dreams with relentless abandon.

Come on,  you’re worth it!

Give yourself as much as you would give to others.

It’s not too late to pick up the pieces and start making progress in the right direction. It’s time to believe in yourself.  You may have to discard some pieces of old puzzles that don’t fit into the hopes for your future.  You may not have every piece to see the finished picture,  but embrace the partial vision that you have. As you get closer to the finish line, everything will come into focus.

Start believing in yourself. Start moving in the direction of your future.

Good things can happen to you!

Invest in YOU!

Write on my friends, write on!

~~~

Ellie

 

 

Prepping for Camp

Camp NANO is one week away!  I’ve been preparing for this since December.

I’ve spent the majority of March  revising Valkyrie’s so that I can get it to my betas.  That is going to be delayed about a week from my original plan because  there is more that needs to be tweaked.  I’m not going to call it finished until I feel that it is at least completely baked.

So . . . Camp NANO.  This is going to be an entirely different project for me. I’ve done fantasy – Kiss of the Dragon which still needs to be revised; I’ve done paranormal – Faere Warrior, Passion’s Price; (which I haven’t given up on.  After my former coach advised me to write the backstory,  I realized just how much of the story revolved around the backstory and the first book needed to be that story, not Keegan’s story.) I’ve done romance – Red Wine & Roses.  This time, I am working on a project that is very personal. It’s a nonfiction about emotional healing, dealing with the things I have taught in the counseling classes.

I may share snippets from that one, but not sure. In order to  keep myself on track with this and get my editing done,  I have  made use of my . . . wait for it . . . . you know it’s coming . . . . my bullet journal!

I’m managing to  squeeze the last few days out of my first  one. A couple things that I already know I need to do differently in the new one: a bigger calendar, one with squares that I can write stuff on, because I’ve been in the habit of scheduling on my calendar.  The month at a glance –  I made it a two column page. A monthly tracker  although this month I haven’t kept up with it.   I won’t be using as many stickers,  it’s much faster to just draw squares around my todo list. I’ve added a few doodles here and there.

My  BuJo has been all sorts of colorful fun, getting to play with my pens in a new way but for the rest of the year,  I will stick to  one main color per month unless it’s a highlighter and highlighters don’t count, right? For March my color has been green, for April I will be using light blue. Not that  it matters to anyone, but I think it will be a cleaner look. Here’s a last look at my first bullet journal.

First bujo cover – This is the 33 cent comp book. Notice the tabs, these are necessary for me.

One of my colorful days – I couldn’t focus this day. It was miserably cold out and I was wishing we were back in the Bahamas, can you tell?

As you can see I haven’t finished my entries for today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve already  started preparing my new journal. This was a gift received from a lovely lady in Holland.

Say hello to my new BUJO! and it’s red! Also, this fountain pen is amazing.

My year at a glance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March calendar

 

 

 

April

 

 

 

 

Some quotes that I have carried over, and a doodle. *shrugs* I added a dutch door which is a “week at a glance todo list.

I haven’t decided yet  how I’m going to track my new project, other than in Scrivener, but it’s at the top of my todo list for every day.

I am hoping to share soon some of my craftiness for another business venture, but  life has presented some urgent matters that need to be attended. Such is life.

I won’t be posting a snippet on Sunday as it is Easter, so Happy Easter!

 

 

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

Level Up!

Thanks to Lavender from Pens and Paper -I reached my goal for 2016 for followers!  YAY!!

Lavender, if you contact me –  I have a prize for you! 

What do you do once you achieve a goal? How do you reward yourself?

For me, my reward for this goal was a new book. With so many books already,  it’s really hard to justify more books, especially brand new books.  I made myself all sorts of deals.  I will share it with my husband. I’ll let the kids read it.  I’ll share it with friends.  I’ll apply it to my life. 

Once the book arrived, I immediately cracked it open and started reading. Yes, I know I have other books I need to finish.  Yes, I know the library books are due and I haven’t’ finished them. But it’s new and crisp and . . . OH.  I really need to DO what this book says.  I need to apply this book to my life. I didn’t realize that this book was going to be work. I thought it was going to be another good read but it’s so much more than that.

I have been working on a project behind the scenes that  is completely different than anything that I have done to date.  It is a nonfiction. Talk about changing direction!  This is more akin to the  course workbook that I put together for the counseling class. It is cathartic and painful at the same time. Although I have ben tempted to quit already, I can’t .  I have to get this out. I have to go through the process.

We often hear the line ‘everyone has a story to tell’. Well, this is mine.  This isn’t  a story ideas for a novel. This is my story, my life, my “There and Back Again” tale.  It’s deep – a level that I rarely go to with anyone outside of my intimate circle.

I can only tackle this in small doses, sort of like this other book that I’ve been reading called Boundaries. I’ve been taking small bites of that one  since the first of the year. Between Boundaries and my personal project, it’s been edgy. This has brought all sorts of emotions up to the surface which requires me to take a step back and redirect my attention elsewhere.

It was in one of these redirect moments when I  checked my stats because it’s on my Monday TODO list, that I discovered I had reached my magical number that I had been hoping for. After a horrendous weekend with  bad news piled on top of more bad news,  this was exciting.

Today, as if the Universe felt sorry for me, or letting me have a moment I got free books! One is brand new, one is a hardback crafting book to help with my repurposed and refinished furniture, and the other is a copy of Laurel K. Hamilton’s Obsidian Butterfly. I haven’t read that one yet so it’s new to me!

Instead of giving into the negative thoughts that I mentioned yesterday,  I fought them.  I forced myself to  tackle my list and speak positive affirmations.

Something good is going to happen to me today!

And it did! The Law of Attraction works –  you get what you expect. To top it off,  one of the financial bills that was going to cost us $1600 is now cut in half. WOOHOO! Now  if the other things would realign themselves that would be just peachy!

Instead of giving into the negatives,   give yourself a pep talk. Be your own coach. Start expecting good things to happen. Start expecting more from yourself. Nobody cares more about your success than you do. Be your  own advocate instead of your worst enemy.

Stop saying “Why me?”  and start thinking and saying “WHY NOT ME? Why not me who wins, who achieves, who crosses the finish line, who karma favors?  Why not me who gets the prize?”

Inspiration doesn’t show up until you do.

Start practicing discipline.  Discipline is the ability to make yourself do the things that you don’t want to do in order to  get the results that you want.

By working towards your goals and speaking positive  things about yourself you’ll get there faster. Everyone stumbles from time to time so pick yourself up, dust yourself off, bandage up the  wounds and go kick some ASS!

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

 

A.N.T.S

I want to address an issue that has really been bothersome  to me lately.  ANTs –  Automatic negative thoughts.

ANTs –  Automatic negative thoughts.

ANTs are those things that we revert to on autopilot when we are not actively engaged. Everyone has negative thoughts. Some of us entertain them less than others, some of us through a fricken ANT party.

When your mind goes to the worst case scenario, that is an ANT. When you eliminate everything short of the worst case scenario, you are giving the ANT top billing.

Every time that you give credence to a negative thought you reinforce it. Your brain releases chemicals that literally forms grooves in your brain so that next time,  the thought already has an established path. After a while, it becomes a trench.

The more time and energy that you give to ANTs, the more they will take over and torment your mind.

How do I stop ANTs?

Here are 3 ways to stop your ANT infestation:

1. Write It Down.  This will help you to clearly identify them. Sometimes in writing them, you may realize how ridiculous they sound.
2. Investigate.  OK, so what if the worst case happened?  What would be the results? Research what the cost would be. If anything besides the worst case scenario happens, then you should rejoice!
3. Talk Back!  By writing them down and researching the scenario you will find that this ANT is fear based not factual based, and  you need to speak the facts!

Before you can write them down, you have to be able to recognize the negative thoughts. If they have taken over your mind and seemingly laid waste to your life and functioning, professional help may be needed.

For a cute acronym, ANTs are indeed a serious matter. I am not making light of this.  This is a real issue that everyone deals with, but some seem to handle it better than others.

Nobody wants to be around the negative Nellie or be the Debbie Downer in your group. If you wonder if your ANTs are affecting you, asking your friends is a good start.  Trust the people that love you and care about you.

Don’t let ANTs steal your joy or your future.

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

 

Sunday Snippet – The End Is Near

Courtesy of VL Locey

Last week’s schedule went from normal to off the charts in 3 hours time. Amongst the other items on my todo list, we discovered termites. GAAAAAHHHH!

Priorities – this suddenly became first and foremost on the list. We can’t have our house come crumbling down around our ears. Once that was addressed, it was time to drive south to pick up our daughter for Spring Break. Drive time is a good brainstorming time. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any way to write my thought down while driving.

I’m just about to the point  of sending this to my Beta readers. I’m going to do something that I swore I would never do – share the ending.  This part doesn’t give away the ending, exactly, . . in that sense  . . . but I am pleased with this bit that leads into  the second book.

 

Aella knelt on the dewy grass, brushing his hand over the thick green carpet. He’d forgotten how good it smelled, how soft it could feel, the vibrancy of colors. His senses were overwhelmed with everything at once. A lone tear trailed down his cheek, his jaw clenched in the realization of the time he found himself in.  The ache in his heart grew into a painful chasm: a chasm beyond time, beyond reality or the dreamworld, beyond his comprehension. Clutching his sword against his heart while bowing his head, he  knew he was truly alone.  

The Valkyries  that stood beside him, the men that were gathered there were strangers to him. Foreigners  in his land but  ones that rescued him from the Netherheil. He swallowed hard, tasting the bile that rose from his gut while at the same time tasting the salt air. The flood of memories washed over  him, nearly causing his knees to buckle. Slowly he rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on the water’s edge below.  With a great heaving sigh, he moved forward accepting whatever his future held.   

“Aella! Where are you going?” Helena took a few steps towards him.  He’d been surly, angry, a pain in her backside but  he was now a part of her circle.  He had the ancient knowledge that she needed and as much as she hated to admit, he’d grown on her. She knew that she  could help him adjust to this time. He couldn’t just walk away.  

Aella stopped,  staring out over the fjord before slowly turning towards her. “I have a debt I wish to repay. A debt of honor.”  

As the group turned  to watch him, Aella trudged down the hill towards the water’s edge.  Fate had spared him this time.  

You can skate on over to VL Locey’s sinful pleasures  with hot hockey players on and off the ice at VLLOCEY and then skip on over to Cathy’s Romance, where you can find your next book boyfriend, then check out Author Misty Harvey‘s latest!

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

 

Beaujeaux

Recently in the Bujo Journal Junkies group, a discussion came up about what we call our Bullet Journal. My snark immediately rose to the surface and said FRED! Which I thought was funny until a member named Fred said, “I don’t get it.”

The initial post was something to the effect that the person didn’t understand why we called it BuJo. The thread has since been removed because someone got offended. I never let a little offense stop me, so I am going to sum that discussion up here.

Ready?  Be sure to have your sense of humor with you, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle while it is in motion.

Alright, so the first argument – why don’t we just call it our BJ?

*levels eyes* 

OK, so we’re not junior high girls given to giggle fits, but seriously . . . NO.

“What are you doing?”

“Writing notes for my BJ.”

“What? You have to make notes? I think maybe a little hands-on practice might work better. Here, let me help.”

However fun the hands-on practice may be, it will not help me to track my to-do list, or  track my water intake – don’t even go there, or keep me on track for the next day. Unless you are keeping track of how many times you give/receive a BJ  and if so I don’t want to know.  I have kids. Kids that can read. I don’t need to track  those things!

BuJo –  short for Bullet Journal – seems to be the  majority vote for the acronym. There was still a great amount of giggling as a few mentioned that now they wouldn’t be able to not think of the similarities to BJ.

I commented that when I pronounce BuJo, it comes out as if it were a French word –  beaujeaux.  One commentor laughed and said –  OH! a french BJ. Even better. Another said –  Ooh La La! The discussion spiraled downward from there to cosplay, French maid costumes, code names  until eventually someone was highly offended by a comment that referenced scheduling sex for the truly OCD.

Look, if that is what you need to put into your bullet journal – knock yourself out!  It’s a system for YOU to keep track of your day, to plan ahead and get more accomplished.  Maybe more intimacy is something you need in your relationship then by all means!

Remember that the bullet journal is a tool in managing your day and making progress towards your goals.

Either you run the day or the day runs you. 

 ~Jim Rohn~

My comment of Beaujeaux seems to have caught on as I see multiple posts  with the beaujeaux tag. See?  I’m a mover and a shaker! I’m an influencer and world shaper! It’s just a start in a small little sector of a Facebook group but it’s influence never the less. I’ve influenced a segment of the group to use my pronunciation when in fact,  I was merely being a smart ass.

Le sigh! 

Oh well, it’s better to be a smart ass than a dumb ass!

Write on my friend, write on!

Ellie

 

Liebster Award 2016

Liebster Award

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by aatigogo from MyThinkOut.  Thanks aatigogo! I enjoy reading your faith filled words!  Also by Violetta Echo over on Organized Chaos.

 

This is how it works:

• Thank my nominator  -aatigogo  and Violetta you both rock!
• Share the award on my blog – tada- see the image above!
• Answer the 10 questions asked of me, or in my case I’ll be answering 20 ish. 
• Ask 10 questions of 10 new nominees
• Notify them

 

I was asked 10 Questions by MyThinkOut:

Why did you decide to blog?  

When the newspaper that I used to write for closed,  I  wanted an outlet for my writing. My online friend Cassidy  encouraged me to start a blog and even walked me through the setup.

Who is your biggest blog fan?

Hmmm, that’s a good question. I’d have to say probably  my friends Cathy, Vicki, and Misty.

What is your favorite blog to read (besides your own)?

A Terrible Mind, Chuck Wendig. I don’t read every day,  but most of the time.

What is your favorite movie?

It’s a toss up between Excalibur and  The Fifth Element. I may have to go watch them both again to try to decide.

Who is your favorite author?

Currently Michael Hyatt. His latest book really hit its mark with me.

If you could travel anywhere, where could it be?

The Caribbean! Hands down!

When was the last time you laughed so hard that tears begin to come out of your eyes?

Yesterday! We had stopped at Steak and Shake for dinner after walking through an antique mall for hours. We were discussing which churches  that the director over our CS class was going to attend and my husband mentioned that the one in Texas would be in April and we were trying to remember the pastor there and I said it was Jim Morrison. He immediately cracked up by my mistake.  The pastor’s name  is Robert Morris, Jim Morrison  was the lead singer of the Doors. DOH!

Yeah, everyone stared as I snorted Coke. Through my nose from laughing. Coca-cola, not  cocaine.

Who inspire you the most?

There are many people that encourage and inspire me. Nick Vajaysic is probably the  person that I would have to say inspires  me every single time.

What are the two most things in your life?

I’m not sure I understand the question. The two most  . . . . . things.  I’m going on a limb here and fill in the blank with important.  That would be my laptop because it holds all of my books, photos, notes . . basically everything. The second would be my car because I live out in the sticks and I need it to get anywhere.

I’m going on a hunch here so If I was wrong,  forgive me. It does say things, not people –  so I went with things.

What is your goal for your blog in 2016?

To hit 2000 followers, add my books available, and add podcasts.

I was asked 10 Questions by Organized Chaos:

1. How did you decide on your blog name? Quotidian was the word of the day when I decided to take the plunge. Quotidiandose means daily dose so it worked.
2. Who is your biggest blog fan? Same as I stated above, I’d have to say probably  my friends Cathy, Vicki, and Misty.
3. What is your best piece of advice to anyone considering blogging? Go for it! Utilize the tools available to you such as  other bloggers, WordPress Academy, the spellcheck tool up there, and any other resource you have available.
4. What is your favorite blog to read (besides your own)?  Terrible Minds and Michael Hyatt.
5. If you could meet three historical people from any point in time, who would they be? Winston Churchill, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Agatha Christie.
6. How do you manage your blogging time? Not very well! I would like to blog every day. Sadly I don’t manage that. I have been doing better since I started using a bullet journal. Well, with the exception of this past week when I couldn’t keep my head above water.
7. Where do you get inspiration for your posts? Everywhere. In conversations, in the news, something I read, something I’ve been pondering, an idea that is germinating in my head, an idea that I wrote down and came across, something one of my kids said, something I saw; — you name it!
8. What is your favorite movie? A duplicate of above, It’s a toss up between Excalibur and  The Fifth Element. Now I definitely need to go watch them.
9. What is your goal for your blog in 2016?  To hit 2000 followers, add my books available, and add podcasts.
10. Do you blog for pleasure or profit? Wait, I can do this for profit? Anyone care to let me in on how to do that?

 

I nominate:

Author Misty Harvey

The Story of My Life

Cathy Writes Romance

Vicki Locey

 The Girl in the Little Black Dress

Metal Angel

Paula Acton

cafebookbean

Third Time Lucky!,

Shandraeats

 

 

My questions for these bloggers are:

1. Why did you decide to blog?
2. Do you have themes that you blog about? (Such as  food, writing, sports, psychology, etc.)
3. What is the typical length of one of your blog posts? (word count)
4. Are you part of a bloggers network? If so, how has it been beneficial?
5. How many times a month do you post  on your blog?
6. Who were the last three followers to your blog?
7. Where do you get the inspirations for your posts?
8. What is your goal for your blog for 2016? For the next 5 years? 
9. What rewards do you have in mind for reaching your goals?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck everyone!

 

Writing is Like . . .

Writing is like crocheting.

You start with  raw materials.

 

It’s up to each individual what they create with their raw materials.

Each one is a unique  creation, even though several may start with the same resources.

It takes time to build row upon row until you have  a finished product whether it’s a scarf or afghan, or a novella or novel.

At first it is slow to take shape,  then it can get tiresome doing the same thing over and over again, in a monotonous routine that makes slow progress.

Then one day, the end is in sight! It has taken shape and just needs a few finishing touches.

Finally, when it’s completed there is a sense of accomplishment, elation, and of course the critical eye of the creator taht sees every flaw and error.

Whether it’s an afghan or a novel, the  creator/author is always the most critical of their own work.

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

Prize- apalooza!

Yesterday my good friend V. L. Locey had a release party for her latest book – Twirly Girl. 

Wow does she know how to throw a party!

Although I was nervous about doing it,  I had an absolute blast! The turnout was amazing!  I even connected with some new readers that are fairly close to me- BONUS!

Today I am sharing the prize winners from that event.

5 Review Prizes:

An e-copy of Red Wine & Roses; signed rack card, wine charm, and hand-crafted bookmark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winners are:

Michelle Graham, Christine Combs Mead, Jean Torgeson White, Amanda Avakian, and Kristine Radgman. Congratulations!

3 Contest winners:

Cup cozy, signed rack card, and wine charm.

Winners are: Kris Saluga, Mindy Velasquez, and Michelle Graham.

Congratulations!

My Grand Prize  – Signed copy of Red Wine & Roses Rack card, a wine charm, and custom designed earrings.

Goes to: Elizabeth Hensley Roney!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Thank you, V. L. Locey, for including me in your  event and thank you to everyone that participated. Now I have to get back to work on my next book – Valkyrie’s Curse: The Awakening.  I’m so close I can almost taste it!

This Sunday will be the last snippet I share from it and I’ll have to figure out where to go from there.

Write on my friends, write on!

Till next time

~~~~

Ellie