Sliding into Autumn

I've made a decent amount of progress this weekend. I've noticed that whenever I make use of my planner, I tend to do better on my goals. Part of the problem has been that it would get misplaced during the reno, so it was hard to set shorter term goals. I tend to use Trello for my long-term overarching goals.

I also made a change with my chores. I have a schedule, but I was initially trying to get everything done in a whole room and that wasn't working. Instead, I'm keeping the schedule, but my goal is to do whatever I can in 30 minutes or so. I'm seeing a lot more progress on my declutter this way and it's less stressful. Now it doesn't feel like I have a mountain to climb. And it's motivating me like nothing else has lately in regards to getting caught up around my home.

For awhile, I thought about going back to school for a Master's degree, but I've realized that the last decade has been too full for me. I've had little time to relax and little time to spend on the things I love most. So I'm making a change that I've been thinking about for a long time. I'm letting go of one activity, so that I will have more time for the activities I love more. I want more time for music, writing, skating, and reading.

Speaking of skating, I haven't gotten out much lately. This summer has been too warm for me. My allergies were also bad. I'm happy we're approaching the autumn now.

Tomorrow is Election Day in Canada. I voted in the advance polls because the line moved quicker. This means I can spend the day focusing on other things.

I'm still chipping away at Chapter 5. Once I get passed it, the rest of the editing will hopefully be smoother.

Well, back to work tomorrow, so I need to get going.

2020 Vision

Mostly, I’ve been planning for the new year, but I discovered I know Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It was a recollection under the influence that brought this to light. I also discovered I still suck at drawing, but I’m okay with that. I used to think I had to be good at everything, and I’ve realized that’s just not so. Some friends and I recently hit up a local board game pub. It was a pretty fun night. The first game was Balderdash and I was terrible at it. Because I was the writer in the group, some of my friends thought I should be more embarrassed about it and hide the fact that I don’t spend all my free time learning advanced vocabulary. But I’m not upset about it. Why? Two reasons: 1. I now know what I don’t know. 2. If one takes a close look at the top selling novels on the market, the level of the language used is not the level of many of the words in Balderdash. Not that I’m comparing my own work to those, but audience is what matters in writing. To me, it is far better to e...

Fortifying Friday - Rejection

Yesterday, I received my first rejection from an agent. It stung. It wasn't that it was bad. It was worded in a way that it may have even been personally written. Regardless, rejection never feels good unless you were secretly hoping to stay home and do nothing when a friend made plans with you. Then it feels great! I might be an introvert ;) Anyway, it hurts a bit extra when you have other things going on. Between the worries of the state of the world and being unemployed, it felt much like being kicked while I was already down. The agent said she couldn't connect with my book though she really wanted to. She also said not to take her rejection as any kind of sign that I should give up. It was nice as far as rejections go. So, I lay there for a bit. Then I let my friends know via social media. Several said that I had hit a milestone and I should try to collect as many as possible this year. Rejections, they said, were a badge of honour awarded for putting myself out there. See...

Thoughtful Thursday - Dental Access

I haven't made use of it yet as I discovered it only this week, but there are free dental screenings in Ottawa for people who have a low income. I'm not sure what happens at these things, but I imagine they're rather like the once or twice yearly visits we had in grade school from the health unit where they checked our teeth. Anyway, I thought I'd mention that in case anyone is in need. There is a schedule with the locations listed and I'm guessing it's hard to get there early enough to get seen, but I'll check it out soon. I've been using dental products that are supposed to repair and whiten. I'm unsure they are working, but I figured they were worth a try. Also, I hear if you add activated charcoal to your toothbrush before the toothpaste, it helps whiten too. It makes a hell of a mess, but I tried it. I think it might take a while to whiten, but my teeth are definitely cleaner, so I think it really does help with plaque. Activated charcoal is als...

Rae Roy

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