A Journey to the Center of the Earth
ROW Check in!
The To Do List:
- Finish First Draft of Women’s Fiction Piece – Write at least 4x week and complete 4-10 pages at least each day.
- Read On Writing by Stephen King– First book of my Catch up on Craft Initiative
- Read 2 Fiction Books a Month– I have 3 books going right now, so I need to skedaddle!
- Prepare for Summer Vacation – Joe and I are planning a road trip out west in two weeks, so I will need to get blog posts prepped ahead, stock up on sunscreen, do the laundry that is mounding in my closet, and corral all the camping gear up in the next weeks.
- Read Suze Orman’s Women and Money– I’s working on my savings!!! *jingles piggy bank*
- Be a Role Model and Cheerleader in my ROW80 Sponsor Role
The Rundown:
I’ll completely fess up that the whole page count goal and specific titles to read did not happen. Not for lack of want, but just other interferences. You might let me off the hook if I told you I led 4 full day trainings, made two trips out of town and worked a 15 hour day to complete a Fine Jewelry reticketing project. Basically when I got home, I ate and then fell asleep on the couch in my work clothes.
I promise to have new pages to show by the next check in. If I don’t, you have permission to publicly flog me.
What I Did Accomplish:
- I was reading! I finished both Blessings by Anna Quindlen and Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich. Got 2 entries in my library’s adult summer reading program! Made great headway on These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf and started American Rose by Karen Abbott!
- Also managed to cross off one more thing on the Summer Bucket List! Joe and I visited Niagara Cave in Harmony, Minnesota!
Look how excited I am!!!
Excuse me, your flow rock is invading my blog post…
- I am working on blogging ahead so when Joe and I are on vacation you won’t forget me! I’ll be able to read and comment from my phone easily enough, and with 5 hours in the car, I’ll have time to hit up more blogs, which means more ROW cheerleading!!!
- Other big news for the week is my fangirl dreams came true when New York Times Bestselling author Karen Abbott agreed to do an interview with me on my blog! I would love for you guys to pop over and meet her; she’s been fabulous to work with! Plus, she’s offering a FREE copy of her new book American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee! Leave a comment here and enter to win!
Your turn! How have you kept busy this past week?
Girl Gets Butt Kicked, Remedies with Sandwich
Hello Readers, and welcome to the Happiness Project. It’s been a particularly stressful day following a particularly stressful week involving closing my credit card because it was stolen and used fraudulently, driving sales day in and day out only to be pushed back in the negative sales plan by a blizzard preventing business, state budget protests, financial concerns, and zero time to write creatively or even read more than a few pages before falling asleep with the little LED booklight poking me in the eye.
But, Jess, you say, we come to you to provide us with the ever-positive, try again and try harder, funny outlook from a new writer! All together now…”We shall overcome, we shall overcome…”
Right, right, we’ll kumbaya later. So what is it that’s getting me through the end of the day this time? A bologna sandwich and chardonnay.
My looming pile of books and writing ideas to get to, topped with the last few bites of my bologna and mustard sandwich and a cold glass of Chardonnay!
Time to make a manageable list, and I emphasize manageable. Flashback to the store today, I think I spoke into the radio system something like: “Jess to Leadership Team, I’m stepping off the floor for a few minutes. I just need to cry in a stockroom update the scoreboards.”
Pity party check in: Me. Check! Junk food. Check! (I admit half a can of Pringles was downed before I made the sandwich.) Looming deadline for two writing contests I’ve sworn to enter. CHECK! To Do List? *rifles through some wine glass coaster papers, smooths out wrinkled edges*
- Quit whining.
- Take a sip.
- Take time to journal 5 things to be grateful for today.
- Get the bottle out of the fridge, swig! No one’s watchin’.
- Finish reading Pope Joan, 60 pages to go, and one upcoming book review from yours truly.
- Designate time in your week’s schedule for writing devoted time to work on entry submissions.
- Freewrite a new section of your story-in-progress. Deadline: Saturday.
- Send out love, support, and kudos to your fellow writers!
How do you deal with meltdowns? What sparks the creative juices in you when your life’s got you down? What are your current happiness projects this week?
P.S. Did I ever mention every Tuesday night is band practice at my house? I find it strangely ironic that they’re learning Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” while I write about my crumbling grip on sanity. You know what they say, you can’t make up real life. Happy writing!
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 