Sunday Summary & #ROW80

Not a lot to report this week. It’s been one of adjusting to me leaving before, and getting home after, the wee beasties. It’s been one of coordinating progress meetings for 2 of the 4 boys as we near the end of school. It’s been one where Beastie Girl is rather put out with me for taking her to that nasty place for her Bordetella boaster. She’s weighing in at 71 pounds! The little pig. Yet she’s far from being overweight. And it’s been one of me catching up on my DVR recordings

On to the ROW80 part of this program.

Writing/Editing:

• Morning Pages for a minimum of 250 words or half hour, whichever comes first, every day. Yeah, not a word.
• Fiction, either 250 new words (new or existing WIP) or 1 hour of editing each week. Not yet.
• Post three times a week here on the blog. Yep. We had Whew…What a Week on Sunday, our mouths drooled a bit on Tuesday with Staging For the Day Job, and we meet the Ten of Earth (Pentacles) on Thursday.
• Finish Margie Lawson’s Deep EDITS lesson packets. Not yet. In fact, I’m going to remove this for the balance of the Round. I just don’t see it happening with all my brain power focused elsewhere.

Reading:

• A minimum of 8 books to stay on track for 100 books this year. I actually got Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) by Helen Harper and Irish Eyes by Annie Jones in this week. Hey, I’ve got a lunch hour…
• Update Goodreads at least every other week. Yep.

Support/Social Media:

• Visit and comment on 5 blogs, at least three times per week, for a total of 15 blogs each week. 12 this week.
• One non-blog related post per week on Facebook and Twitter. Nope.
• One share, re-tweet, whatnot per week on Facebook and Twitter. Nope.

Non-Writery Stuff:

• Exercise three times per week. Nope. I over extended or irritated an old knee injury last weekend and spent most of the week hoping my knee wouldn’t give out from under me.
• Complete The 30-day Diabetes Cure in April. I’m feeling really good about my progress with this. I’m calling it a win for the month even though I’ll be wrapping it up next week.
• Family day, no working and time with family, one day per week. Yep.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers HERE.

Whew…What a Week

A tired Bugs Bunny after his first hop using his new harness and leash.

I promise NOT to bore you to tears with my whole job situation but I have to share this…

I arrived Monday for my first day

to

FLOWERS and a welcome aboard card.

Coolness, or what?!

I can relate to Bugs this week.

For obvious reasons, the ROW80 part of this post is rather red. I’ve been learning new programs, new terminology, new processes. The mind is fairly spinning with information.

On to the ROW80 part of this program.

Writing/Editing:

• Morning Pages for a minimum of 250 words or half hour, whichever comes first, every day. Yeah, not a word.
  
• Fiction, either 250 new words (new or existing WIP) or 1 hour of editing each week. Not yet.
• Post three times a week here on the blog. Yep. There was What a Difference a Week Can Make on Sunday, Hiking with Beastie Girl — the ham — on Tuesday, and Ten of Water (Cups) on Thursday.
• Finish Margie Lawson’s Deep EDITS lesson packets. Not yet.

Reading:

• A minimum of 8 books to stay on track for 100 books this year. Not this week.
• Update Goodreads at least every other week. Not this week, but I did say every other week.
  

Support/Social Media:

• Visit and comment on 5 blogs, at least three times per week, for a total of 15 blogs each week. 14 this week.
• One non-blog related post per week on Facebook and Twitter. Nope.
• One share, re-tweet, whatnot per week on Facebook and Twitter. Nope.

Non-Writery Stuff:

• Exercise three times per week. Yep, I got out with Beastie Girl three times.
• Complete The 30-day Diabetes Cure in April. I’m up to day 15, still a little behind, but am feeling really good about it.
  
• Family day, no working and time with family, one day per week. Yep.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers HERE.

What a Difference a Week Can Make

Not wanting to lose the interview momentum of last week, I sent out a new round of resumes Monday. It netted an application packet being sent to me for one position and an interview on Tuesday for another position.

I never got around to returning the application packet.

Because.

The company that called me in for a second interview last week, called me in for testing (writing :snicker: and personality). I was informed they’d would be calling my references.

Had a bit of drama when I found out my main reference was no longer with the company I’d worked for. Some scrambling ensued. But I found a second, then a third contact at the company.

No longer am I sans job.

Yes, much squealing and Snoopy dancing commenced.

On to the ROW80 part of this program.

Writing/Editing:

• Morning Pages for a minimum of 250 words or half hour, whichever comes first, every day. 1915 words and all but Saturday (at least at the time of scheduling this post.)
• Fiction, either 250 new words (new or existing WIP) or 1 hour of editing each week. Not yet.
• Post three times a week here on the blog. Yep. There was Holy Interviews Batman on Sunday, Tuesday Book Talk on Tuesday, and Ten of Fire (Wands) on Thursday.
• Finish Margie Lawson’s Deep EDITS lesson packets. Not yet.

Reading:

• A minimum of 8 books to stay on track for 100 books this year. Yep. Crazy for Cowboy by Roxy Boroughs, Her Immortal Love by Diana Castle, and Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassin, Book 4) by Jennifer Estep (I know, a bit of a contradiction to my Tuesday post but I had to read this baby as soon as it arrived in the mail) read this week.
• Update Goodreads at least every other week. Yep, did this yesterday, even fixed the widget here on the blog.

Support/Social Media:

• Visit and comment on 5 blogs, at least three times per week, for a total of 15 blogs each week. Only 10 this week but I’m giving it the green because it’s more than half.
• One non-blog related post per week on Facebook and Twitter. Yep, on both Facebook and Twitter this week.
• One share, re-tweet, whatnot per week on Facebook and Twitter. Yep, on Facebook. No, on Twitter.

Non-Writery Stuff:

• Exercise three times per week. Yep, I got out with Beastie Girl twice and did yoga once.
• Complete The 30-day Diabetes Cure in April. I’m up to day 10, a little behind, but am feeling really good about it, except for those darn fast carbs.
  
• Family day, no working and time with family, one day per week. Yep.

Pets the GREEN.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers HERE.

Holy Interviews Batman

One always hopes the sending out of resumes will generate interest which will, in turn, generate interviews and that dream job offer.

As always seems to happen, I spent months — months I tell you! — sending out resumes, tweaking cover letters, and sending out even more resumes with nary a response.

What was in the water last week? Not that I’m complaining…

Seriously, though. Got a call Thursday morning for an interview that afternoon which I had to turn down as I was walking out the door with the wee beasties for some Spring Break fun. And a dam broke.

Two interviews scheduled for Monday, one for Tuesday, and two (well, kinda three) for Wednesday. On top of that goodness, one email requesting further information, a phone interview, a SECOND interview, still another I need to call to schedule, and yet another scheduled for tomorrow.

Exhausted? I am.

Then there’s all that interview etiquette to follow up with. You know, the thank yous. A great chance to sale yourself but I’m so not the tipping of my own hat kinda person and these are hard for me to pen.

I had Thursday off, but did I do anything other than put my house back in order? Nope. Allow me to sit back and catch up on my DVR recordings, please. Thank you very much.

Have you ever had a whirlwind week of interviews?

Sadly, still sans job. I did have an offer but declined it. However, here’s hoping the momentum continues this coming week

On to the ROW80 part of this program.

Writing/Editing:

• Morning Pages for a minimum of 250 words or half hour, whichever comes first, every day. 1965 words and all days but Friday.
• Fiction, either 250 new words (new or existing WIP) or 1 hour of editing each week. Not at the time of scheduling this post.
• Post three times a week here on the blog. Yep. I had Stepping up to Another Round of ROW80 on Sunday, Dress for Success on Tuesday, and Happy Birthday Blog on Thursday.
• Finish Margie Lawson’s Deep EDITS lesson packets. Not yet.

Reading:

• A minimum of 8 books to stay on track for 100 books this year. Not yet.
• Update Goodreads at least every other week. Not yet

Support/Social Media:

• Visit and comment on 5 blogs, at least three times per week, for a total of 15 blogs each week. Only hit 8.
• One non-blog related post per week on Facebook and Twitter. Twitter, yes. Facebook, no.
• One share, re-tweet, whatnot per week on Facebook and Twitter. Twitter, yes. Facebook, no.

Non-Writery Stuff:

• Exercise three times per week. Only got out with the dog once this week and no other activities.
• Complete The 30-day Diabetes Cure in April. Doing well with the Day 1 assignment of cutting all sugars for 10 days. Finding the other daily assignments more of a challenge, perhaps I wasn’t prepared enough in the kitchen for the changes. However, I am sticking to the plan as best I can and next week will be better!
• Family day, no working and time with family, one day per week. Yep

You can find and support other ROWers HERE.

And how was your week?

Stepping Up to Another Round of #ROW80

And this one will be better!

After all, balance is my word for the year.

Writing/Editing:

• Morning Pages for a minimum of 250 words or half hour, whichever comes first, every day.
• Fiction, either 250 new words (new or existing WIP) or 1 hour of editing each week.
• Post three times a week here on the blog.
• Finish Margie Lawson’s Deep EDITS lesson packets.

Reading:

• A minimum of 8 books to stay on track for 100 books this year.
• Update Goodreads at least every other week.

Support/Social Media:

• Visit and comment on 5 blogs, at least three times per week, for a total of 15 blogs each week.
• One non-blog related post per week on Facebook and Twitter.
• One share, re-tweet, whatnot per week on Facebook and Twitter.

Non-Writery Stuff:

• Exercise three times per week.
• Complete The 30-day Diabetes Cure in April. (No, I’m not diabetic. My father is. He just completed this program and is off all meds! Between this and Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health my parents are healthier in their late 70′s than they’ve ever been and if that isn’t a testament, I don’t know what is.)
• Family day, no working and time with family, one day per week. (Thank you Julie Glover for this one!)

You can find and support other ROWers HERE.

What are you looking forward to this next quarter of 2013?

For those of you who celebrate it, I wish you and yours a wonderful Easter.

#ROW80 Round 1 Wrap-up

In the spirit of Kait Nolan’s Fix Your Focus post, I’m not going to beat myself up for a less than stellar Round.

I DID write on my Morning Pages most of the days of the Round (250 words or a half hour — whichever came first — going over word count more often than not).

I DID write over 6K on a dream idea that might become a story. I’ll have to get back to it and see what develops.

There was even a tiny bit of editing early in the Round.

I DID get about half way through the Deep EDITS lesson packets. I’ve found myself looking for and using the rhetorical devices I’ve learned so far.

I HAVE sent out resumes, more than I can count at this point, and continue to send out resumes. I’ve had a few interviews as well, and one job offer (which I turned down). And while the hunt is frustrating, I’m confident I’ll find something that is a good fit for my skill set and family.

We replaced the family truckster with a new-to-us van.

I DID chaperon #2′s field trip to Red Rock, help at #3′s Valentine’s party and #4′s Easter party, stay up until the wee hours of the morning helping #1 with a paper roller-coaster assignment, and see Craig Ferguson with That Man.

That Man and I received a compliment on the wee beasties while we were out to dinner the other night. Color us stunned. I admit, they were uncharacteristically well behaved. What an awesome thing for that woman to take a moment to say, “Well done.” Parenting is tough, rewarding but tough. It’s too easy to focus on the negative. I will definitely be paying this one forward!

I’m on pace toward my goal of reading 100 books this year.

How’d the first quarter of the year go for you?

You can find and support other ROWers here.

Which Way Did the Week Go?

Seriously.

I was sorta prepared to lose an hour last night but an entire week?!

Thus there really isn’t anything to report for ROW80 this week. I can’t remember how many days I hit Morning Pages. I didn’t even crack open the Deep EDITS lesson for this week. I certainly failed to hit blogs this week.

Sigh.

On the other hand, I am once again hunting for a job. Something that fits my strengths better. Something that pays better. Something with LIVEABLE hours. I did have one interview this week and have another scheduled for Monday. It’s a huge mental resource suck. Crossing fingers it will be over sooner rather than later.

Beastie Girl had her first guest post — the ham.

Hope y’all had a more productive week!

Sunday Summary a #ROW80 Update

• 250 words per day: averaged 233 per day over the last seven.
• Deep EDITS lessons — the Lesson Five worksheets and assignments were:
  1. Review WIP and complete Hyperbole and Oxymoron Worksheet. Check.
  2. Review WIP and complete Allusion Worksheet. Check.
  3. Review WIP and complete Eponym Worksheet. Check.
  4. Review the PINK info from Lecture 3. Using the five chapters of WIP printed out, highlight the pure visceral responses in PINK (from last week). Finished.
  5. Using the five chapters of WIP printed out, highlight tension and conflict in the margins in ORANGE (from last week). Finished.
  6. “Analyze what you’ve highlighted. What do you need to do to strengthen some of your scenes?” I’m still in the making notes stage here.
• Comment on at least 5 ROW80 blogs: I think I hit this. I know I had one day where I got some blog visiting/commenting in but I didn’t track which were ROW80 blogs.

This week:

• Write 250 words (or edit for an hour) every day.
• Complete all the worksheets and assignments for Lesson Six of Margie Larson’s Deep EDITS lecture packet.
• Comment on at least 5 ROW80 blogs.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers here.

Back in the Saddle

• 250 words per day: averaged 314 per day over the last seven.
• I didn’t get any new words on the dream/story WIP but did manage to plot, and I use the term loosely, out the next segment. I have high hopes of at least starting that today.
• Deep EDITS lessons — the Lesson Four worksheets and assignments were:

1. Review WIP and complete Hypophora Worksheet. Check.
2. Review WIP and complete Conduplicatio Worksheet. Check.
3. Review the PINK info from Lecture 3. Using the five chapters of WIP printed out, highlight the pure visceral responses in PINK. Started.
4. Check for White Space. Make White Space. Check.
5. Using the five chapters of WIP printed out, highlight tension and conflict in the margins in ORANGE. Started.

This week:

• Write 250 words (or edit for an hour) every day.
• Complete all the worksheets and assignments for Lesson Five of Margie Larson’s Deep EDITS lecture packet.
• Comment on at least 5 ROW80 blogs.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers here.

And Two Steps Back

Sometimes, accountability is a bitch.

I was completely derailed this week. Sigh.

I received some major news last Sunday. While the news isn’t/wasn’t devastating to my family, I ache for the people involved. The news, however, opens a possible life-changing opportunity for my family. SO much to think about, work through, and make a major yay or nay decision.

I’m sure that had a lot to do with my failure this week.

Then some proverbial shit hit the fan Monday and Tuesday between That Man and me. Even MORE to think about, work through, and make decisions on.

I guess it isn’t surprising this week was a ROW80 fail.

However, I did keep up with my Morning Pages.

• 250 words per day…I averaged 403 words per day as Morning Pages six of the last seven.

• Deep EDITS lessons — Lesson Four…didn’t even crack open the file to read.

This week’s goal is to get back on the wagon with:

• Write 250 words (or edit for an hour) every day.
• Complete all the worksheets and assignments for Lesson Four of Margie Larson’s Deep EDITS lecture packet.

How was your week?

You can find and support other ROWers here.