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What would you do if you opened your front door on a Sunday afternoon and found your two best friends who you haven’t seen in over a year?

I’ll tell you what I’d do, because I did it last Sunday. I screamed, I hugged, and then I started to cry. Some surprises are down right fabulous. Last weekend I survived celebrated another birthday and my prince of a husband contacted my two besties and asked for something he knew I wanted. They both live a couple hours away and I hardly ever get to see them. It was one of the best days ever. We talked and laughed for over five hours. We reminisced about our crazy teenage years, experiences we’ve shared and missed over the years, and we supported each other.

Those two girls have my back and I know they always will no matter what. Not much can lift your spirits than knowing something like that for certain. I’ve made some good friends through the years and many of them I’ve met over the past year since starting this blog. Thank you for being here, I appreciate each of you.

When I started this journey I set many goals for myself. We all know anything worth fighting for is worth waiting for. There is no better time to remind yourself of that than when you come up against a hurdle or when you get knocked down. I’ve come a long way in the past year, but I have many hurdles and hoops to go.

The next hurdle I come to, I’m going to remember my two friends, remember how they have my back. I’ll keep picking myself up and I’ll keep going. At each hurdle I’ll take the time to figure out if what I’m doing is still putting me in the path towards my goals. If not, I’ll change my path, but I’ll keep going. This is my promise to me, my birthday gift to me.

Have you had a happy surprise recently? How do you push past hurdles put in your path? Have you made a promise to yourself lately?

The Goals – week-9 results

My goal this week was to look on the bright side.  Yesterday I turned another year older, the annual event I’ve come to loathe. Oh, I know it’s just a number. I even tried to play a few games with it. I tried not to think about it, that didn’t work. I tried to stall, but the calendar kept moving. I tried to convince myself I was 10-years younger  I’m too smart for that one. Figures.

If I have to turn older then we can all eat cake,

Photo Credit: Lynn Kelley Author

looks like someone’s already eaten half of this one. Bet it was yummy.

While I was trying to ignore my impending dooms day, I dove into edits. Last week I had a hard time getting the ball rolling, but this week the wheels started to turn and I finished the first (for story) and second (to fix passive voice, remove unnecessary words, and add in all kinds of visceral responses) read throughs. I’m going to give it one more read through and then I will send it to the CP. I will.

I survived my birthday and I cruised through a week of edits <– bright side. Look at me. I’m a champion. 🙂

What have you championed lately? Tell me your happy endings and let’s celebrate together.

The Goals – week-8 results

I had fun this week and a bit of adventure too. Here it is the end of February and I remembered to live out one of my New Year’s Resolutions. Do you remember yours? Dig them out, it might bring you a very happy day like it did for me.

One of my resolutions: Find time for the things I enjoy outside of books and Nia, like downhill skiiing…Take time each week to make sure one of these things is on my calendar.

We are coming to the end of ski season here in Michigan and, until recently, we weren’t getting a lot of snow. This week I faced an important decision: take advantage of the week and do something I enjoy or stay home and work on the lengthy to-do list. Hmm. It was a harder decision than it should have been.

it’s actually been two-years since I’ve skied. I know, terrible. Last year, I let the season slip by, but not this year. Luckily, skiing is much like riding a bike, your body’s muscle memory can remember what to do. Of course, the more often you ski the better your muscles will be at remembering.

Interesting!

After all the prep work of layering, gathering supplies, driving to the hill, getting on the boots, lugging my stuff in, getting my lift ticket, trekking to the lift, skis on, and butt in the chair…lift ;), I starting seeing many similarities to a writer’s life.

The more often your butt is in the seat the better you’ll be at your craft.

So, there I am at the top of the hill, such a pretty view, but I was not looking out at the view, nope. I was looking down at what looked like an icy terrain. Crap. My local hill is usually groomed so nicely, but the weather really hasn’t been cooperating this year with all the snows and melts and snows. So many things out of my control <– sounds like a writer’s life, doesn’t it. I reminded myself, I knew what to do, knees soft, weight forward, turn to slow down. Eek! I went for it.

That first run was terribly shaky, the icy slope didn’t help. I wanted to hit the delete button and try again. I got back on the chair lift and went to a different trail. I tried something different, but I had the same results, another icy slope and a shaky run. It didn’t work for me. Again, I tried a different trail. On the chair lift, I remembered I had yet to put in my ear buds. What a difference music makes. The third trip down, I tried another trail, with the help of the music and finally a fluffy, un-icy terrain, I started to get my groove back. Over the next couple of runs, my confidence appeared, I gained speed, shifted better into my turns, and I flew down the hill. So much fun.

It took effort and determination. I had to put faith in my abilities. When it wasn’t working, I tried something a little different. I kept at it. I held on to my foundation and built on it. I didn’t give up. When it all came together, I had the time of my life. The runs became effortless.

For the next hour and a half I went up and down the hill and I had so much fun. The whole experience was an excellent reminder of what we live everyday with our writing.

And the bonus analogy: Taking off your boots feels so good it’s like… (I’ve heard some dirty endings to this sentence, but I’ll go a different way) the pure bliss to be found when you type “The End.”

Of course my to-do list is ugly now, but it was worth it. So, tell me, have you had an adventure lately or something that reminds you of the writing journey?

Also, have you had a chance yet to see my Most Romantic flash? The link is below if you want a look see.

The Goals – week-7 results

I have some fun news to share. Did you know that Siobhan Muir holds a flash fiction challenge every Thursday, called the #ThursThreads Challenge? I entered for the first time this past Thursday and won Most Romantic Story!! 😀 I’ve been smiling ever since. To make it all the sweeter, one of my favorite authors was the judge this week, Sandra Bunino!! <– Love her books. Be sure to come back on Tuesday, I’ll be sharing my winning flash and the photo that helped inspire the words.

Toot Toot!! 😀 Okay, now onto the ROW80 post…

Any journey is filled with ups and downs, triumphs and struggles. We know this. We’ve heard the very true saying:

“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for.” ― Author Unknown

But do we know it down to our bones or do we have to remind ourselves? I took a look at the tiles of my last 5-ROW80 posts: A New Routine, Something is Working, Can I Get a Do Over?, Starting Fresh, Slow and Steady, Perseverance. Hmm, interesting. I see the ups and downs of the last 5 weeks right there.

I dug out that famous quote to remind myself, like I keep doing and will keep doing. I want this journey. One thing I know that will help: I’d like to become my own best friend, my own personal cheerleader. Some weeks I’m better at the personal friendship bit than others. I love supporting my friends, so why not me too?

My goals are worth doing and I want to do them well. They are so worth fighting for. I don’t want to just live day to day, I want to experience the journey. I want to push past my fears and keep trying. That’s why I’m here.

I’ll continue to mold my routine to keep me moving forward. I’ll remember some weeks will see more progress than others. As long as I keep trying, I’ll keep moving forward. Sure, I want success yesterday, but it is worth waiting for.

Are you your own best friend? Please share your tips with this newbie.

The Goals – week-6 results