I'm so proud of myself this week! I made it into the office every day except Thursday. It wasn't always for very long, so I didn't make as much progress on Madamn as I would have liked, but I did finish several projects that were just on hold. 

It is amazing how much more energetic I feel, I'm even waking up before my alarm in the morning ready to get out of bed. 

I actually dreamt of going to my office last night because I was so excited to go this morning and get some work done! 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to jump right into the novel work!

Trying Something New

Life can get pretty overwhelming at times. I am amazed at how often I find myself wishing for more time in the day, or even in the week.

Yet I also know it is entirely my own fault. 

I'm so nervous and excited to publish Madamn and to release it into the world that I've been putting other things in front of my time to write. 

I stay later at work, I schedule things on my day off, I make an extra mess cooking that takes extra time to clean up.

Sometimes it's not entirely my fault. I will get asked to help with various projects for church or by friends that I want to love and help and support...

The funny thing is, that's in big part why I wrote my fourth book, Hard Earned Lessons Learned. I was asked to help so many with writing and publishing books that I put it all in a book so I could have time for writing. 

That's a bit harder to do with things like singing at funerals, or making dinner for someone whose house has flooded. 

BUT, despite the chaos that life holds, I am going to spend some time every day in my office.

My super supportive husband is going to hold me accountable. I'll also report here how I'm doing with that goal and make sure I'm making progress on Madamn so I'll have updates there as well.

Life Lesson This Morning

 Today when I got to my office before I started working, I did a bit of study time. I love studying and learning various topics and often study from both my scriptures and another nonfiction book that can vary. 

Sometimes they seem to overlap. Today both books taught me a pretty powerful lesson in humility. 

I grew up fiercely independent and proud of how much I am able to accomplish and do in my day-to-day life. And sometimes I am stressed and overwhelmed at how I am going to accomplish everything. 

Apparently, I tend to bite of more than I can chew. At the same time, I always manage to complete all the important tasks and eventually recognize I was making mountains out of a few molehills. 

I find myself fortunate to believe in a higher power. Even more wonderful, that higher power is a being that I can trust and depend on.

Whether I have too much to handle on my own, or things aren't going my way, or a myriad of other things, I can take a step back. I can take a deep breath. 

Then I can continue working while trusting that everything will work out for the best, whatever that means and whatever that looks like. 

It feels kind of vague, but the point is that I need to be a bit more humble. The more I stress over meeting a deadline, making payments on time, or whatever else life throws at me, the less faith and trust I show in God. 

It's kind of a prideful act, thinking that we have to do everything ourselves and we are depending entirely on our own power to accomplish these great feats.

But the more I look back on my life, the more I realize that every big accomplishment came with help. Whether by divine intervention, or angels who are willing to help and support me. (Angels being both living people like friends and family, as well as invisible servants of God.)

I'm not really doing justice to how profound this experience was for me, but it was a good exercise in trying to share!

Spring!!

It is finally here! I don't know about you, but I am simply thrilled!

This winter has been a long and rough one for me. I feel like I barely escaped with my sanity.

Fun fact about me, I'm solar-powered. The more sunshine I have, the more energy I have and the more capable I feel. Now that I have longer hours and am recovering from a car accident back in January, I am going to be able to do so much more. 

It may not always be writing-related. I have a lot of responsibilities at home, with family, and at church, too.

It's just that now I feel like I can handle it all instead of needing lots of naps and hibernation breaks. This warm weather is just so invigorating!

Maybe I'll get this book finished by my deadlines after all!

Feeling Official

 I have some exciting things happening in my life. One more update before I get back to the tic stories and writing updates.

I have an office!!

I found a place here in town where I can write to my heart's content without being distracted by laundry and dishes and all the things.

There is a desk and comfy chair and a place for my bookshelf (singular, the others I keep at home) and filing cabinet.

There's even a window! I am solar-powered, so this is essential for me. 

I just finished moving in, so there aren't many book updates as of yet, but I'll let you in on a little secret... I'm working on some merchandise for Madamn while it is with beta readers and edits. I'm so excited for these to launch and I'll let you know as soon as I have things up and running!