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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/tuozzo/sort_by/entry_order DESC, entry_creation_time DESC/page/11
Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1411600
The Good Life.
I am a professional musician  , worship leader  , small business owner  , songwriter  , aspiring author   and freelance nonfiction writer   with a chemical engineering degree  .

But that's just my resume.

My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress.

Merit Badge in Music
[Click For More Info]

  To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*

Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*  Merit Badge in Organization
[Click For More Info]

I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^*  I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is.  Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your  [Link To Item #1474311] Merit Badge in Leadership
[Click For More Info]

For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.
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December 28, 2011 at 6:28am
December 28, 2011 at 6:28am
#742670
My extended family arrived late last night from Maryland to visit and help us with our remodel. We have big plans for today, and they don't involve writing goals. I'm so excited! Can't wait to upload pictures.

Peace.
December 24, 2011 at 6:35am
December 24, 2011 at 6:35am
#742480
I'm only in Chapter 2. The book is called "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers, and a friend "loaned" it to me via Kindle (you can do that now.) She insisted I would love this author, and that this is the first of many books she intends to loan me.

The book has potential, but it feels like the rough draft. What author and editor would allow a published work to announce that "the men were furious and they shouted in fury"? I almost didn't find the potential, because Chapter 1 was so cumbersome. It starts with (one of) the (many) fall(s) of Jerusalem, in which Roman legions take the city from... um... various competing factions including Jews, Christians, zealots, and... uh... some other groups. In the first few pages, we met all these groups and their leaders, and for the life of me, I couldn't keep them straight. When they Jews set fire to their own temple to burn the Romans they'd just lured inside, I couldn't figure out who was inside, who was out, who set it on fire or whose temple it was. It was only later, when we finally met one protagonist, that I understood what had happened. I figured it out right after the part where the protagonist was taken captive by a Roman, into whose head we jumped just as he raised his sword to kill the protagonist, which is lucky - otherwise, I would have never known why he chose to take her captive instead of killing her.

Of course, our protagonist didn't know why he chose to do this. But we knew. Because we jumped into his head.

I intend to keep plugging away; now that I've met both protagonists, one a Christian from Jerusalem, and one a Germanic chieftain leading a rebellion against the Romans, I suspect they are destined to meet, and I'm intrigued. I just think this book needed a once-over by a good editor. *Pthb*
December 22, 2011 at 12:13pm
December 22, 2011 at 12:13pm
#742348
I remember when I made this blog public. I was keeping it as a private journal to track my goals, thinking nobody would be interested in reading such a thing. Well, they were - I had a lot of readers when I first went public. Now, I have much fewer. In my observation, that changed right around the time I stopped scrolling.

Moral of story: The more visible your online presence, the more people want to read you.

So visibility is key. But at the same time, I'm afraid to inundate Facebook and Twitter with junk. I want a witty, entertaining public presence, and I'm just not always in a witty mood. To build a celebrity brand online these days takes a lot of work and planning. Or maybe natural talent, of which I have a little, but not enough to crank out daily witticisms that keep readers coming back. This is why I teach and sing.

Renovation
Work scheduled next week. By "scheduled" I mean that me and a group of helpers are finishing the room and making it look nice. That's all the farther I've planned.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
A few walk-ins this week. But 275 is pretty much not gonna happen.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile per day: No.
One fiction contest entry per day: No.
One original song per week: No.

Count points:
No, are you kidding? How many points are in Christmas cookies and candy and no-bake bars?

December 19, 2011 at 8:52am
December 19, 2011 at 8:52am
#742108
I'm getting worried. This is a replacement laptop (black and bulky), sent because my first laptop (hot pink and tiny!) had a bad video card that kept eating motherboards and hard drives. The warranty on my original (pink) laptop, which transferred to the replacement (black) laptop, expired August of 2011. So it figures that my (black) replacement, which was a refurbished computer when they shipped it, would die right now. And in the last couple weeks, it has several times randomly rebooted itself and announced that no operating system was found. *starts thinking about backing up hard drive contents*

My next laptop will be tiny again. And not from Dell.

Renovation
We renovate the back next week. Currently an unpainted, concrete-floored storage area, the room will be converted to half computer lab and half office. We aren't erecting any walls - we haven't submitted drawings or pulled permits. We're just finishing the walls that are there, painting, laying a floor, and arranging the furniture for now. It's a trial run for the computer lab.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
Recitals were a blast. The University stage was perfect, and we still managed to maintain a light-hearted, fun atmosphere. And I'm sooooo glad it's over. On the enrollment front, we're still hovering around 230.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.
One character profile per day: No.
One fiction contest entry per day: No.
One original song per week: No.

SCOPE CREEP HERE. I've been trying to transfer all my WDC data to Kindle, just to get it all in once place. I'm starting to think it's a bad idea, because Kindle is not that easy to navigate. It's great for its intended purpose - reading books. But snippets and things? It just takes too many clicks. Which puts me back at Square 1 in organizing my in-progress writing. And I have a laptop that may day any moment.

Count points:
No.

Today, I have a worship planning meeting at church, work, and possibly to sub for two acting classes. Besides that, I may play video games or fart around on Facebook and Pinterest all day. Even at work.
December 18, 2011 at 7:31am
December 18, 2011 at 7:31am
#742016
I knew this would be a long weekend because of recitals and proximity to Christmas. Yesterday, I had to bounce from praise band practice to work to recitals to Walmart as it was. But then I forgot that my praise band drummer is out, and I have a tween sub who doesn't know the songs well. Also, since the regular drummer is out, we couldn't go over songs for Christmas Eve, which is *next Saturday* (!!!) So I didn't get done what I needed to get done at yesterday's practice, and it stressed me out. Then I got to work, and Karen, the receptionist, had to leave in a hurry because her father was in the hospital for a possible stroke (!!!), and I was counting on her for a number of reasons. And it stressed me out more. And because I had a fever for three straight days earlier this week (!!!), I failed to properly communicate my desire to take the recital programs and get them printed somewhere instead of printing in-house, which takes forever. So Karen printed all day Friday and Saturday, but there still weren't enough. We were fine for yesterday, but there are more recitals today. So late last night after Walmart, I ended up making an emergency trip to get more printed at a print store.

So.... after all that... I forgot to write at 750Words.com.

Not only did I blow a three-month streak, but I'll also be on the "Wall of Shame" because I committed to writing every day during the month of December. I'm numb. I think I'll sit on it before I do something rash. I've cycled through every response from delete my account to just start over with the writing streaks. Now, I'm sitting somewhere in between, because lately, many of my entries have sounded like, "I can't believe I'm wasting my time with this, but here we go..." because I have too many other things going on. It would be better to just write when I have the time and clarity to do it properly instead of forcing myself when I'm not in the zone. But I've never been one of those people who does things in moderation. If I start over with the streaks, I'll do it every damn day regardless of the crap I'm cranking out. I'm afraid I'll end up in the same place again - bitching about it instead of using the tool wisely.

Yes, it's just a tool. If I were smart, I would use it to write fiction, or to develop characters, or even to write publishable nonfiction like blog posts or performance evaluations. In fact, I've used it for all these things, just not consistently. Because all these things take some amount of forethought and organization, which means work outside of the twenty or so minutes it takes to crank out 750 words. I have to plan what I'm going to write if I intend to use the tool that way.

So I don't know if I'll use it again, but I'm too busy to be pissed about missing yesterday. I have my first of two worship services to lead in about two hours. The first service will have a tween guest drummer, and the second service will have a skit that I barely skimmed over once and have to personally lead. Then I'll go straight to recitals again. By tonight, when I'm home and relaxed and thankful that it's all over, I'll probably be pissed about missing yesterday's entry.

PS: I did at least add some cool "Buy Now" options to the MTMS   website this week, if I didn't get much else done other than stare at the Christmas tree in a feverish stupor. *Thumbsup*
December 10, 2011 at 4:14pm
December 10, 2011 at 4:14pm
#741461
OMG. The 10-year-old is having whiny weekend. I was just saying how pleasant she's been since we invested in gymnastics, and how it was so worth the money. Now we're in the middle of a random meltdown over the fact that we wouldn't go to McDonald's after practice, and that her dad and I got Starbucks drinks without her (while she was at gymnastics), and how her dad didn't buy her fruit gushers and similar junk at the grocery store today. It started yesterday when I wasn't home after school, which meant she couldn't go outside and play (I was at work.)

I'm looking forward to working at church and getting out of the house tonight.

Moving and Renovation
We're moving a bunch of heavy items - the stage, mostly - to storage tomorrow. The rest is scheduled over Winter Break (last week of December.)

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
I don't feel like looking, but it's 230-ish.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.
*Bullet*One character profile per day: No.
*Bullet*One fiction contest entry per day: No.
*Bullet*One original song per week: No.

I did start working on a novel review for "Invalid Item .

Count points:
No.
December 9, 2011 at 8:30am
December 9, 2011 at 8:30am
#741383
I had a nightmare last night. I waited until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts, thinking I would go out on Christmas day and do it then. It never occurred to me that all the stores would be closed. So my only option was to give everybody Chinese food for Christmas. *runs to Amazon.com*

Moving and Renovation
I got quotes on computers for all the rooms, which I plan to implement as part of the renovation. However, to justify the purchase, I need to create the electronic systems that we plan to use in the rooms: lobby sign-in, lab sign-in, teacher sign-in, and maybe schedule. Hurry up, Google Docs. I'm waiting for your database app.

OMG! Just after I wrote that, I opened Google Docs to get the data for the goal below (229 students) and saw "Google Fusion Tables (beta)" in the "Create" list - I am spending my whole day playing with that today. Sorry, writing goals. You lose.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
Current student load is 229. *kicks* Bump back over 230! We were in the 230 clear! Bleh. *Pthb*

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.

One character profile per day: No.

One fiction contest entry per day: No.

One original song per week:
*Bullet* Mon: Compose lyrics.
*Bullet* Tue: Polish lyrics.
*Bullet* Wed: Set to music. NOPE.
*Bullet* Thu: Polish and record. NOPE.
*Bullet* Fri: Launch. No activity. I didn't even start a song this week.
*Bullet* Sat: Snippets/brainstorm.
*Bullet* Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.

...but I did write the first of sixteen performance evaluations. Go me! It didn't even take that long. I cranked one out in my 750 words entry. So theoretically, I can write one per day and be done before we close for the last week of the year, starting 12/24.

Count points:
So far today:
(2) Coffee
(4) Bfast Lean Pocket

Dinner last night consisted of one Raising Cane's chicken finger and about a half dozen strawberry oreos (OMG... they taste like Neopolitan ice cream, when you run the scooper through the strawberry and chocolate together...) I imagine that wasn't the healthiest of dinners. But on the plus side, Keith and I walked again this morning, after a two-day hiatus.
December 6, 2011 at 8:57pm
December 6, 2011 at 8:57pm
#741216
Sad. I haven't managed lyrics or contest entries so far this week. I've barely cranked out 750 words almost to the word every night right before falling asleep. I haven't published a blog post in three days. My dog is having a hell of a housebreaking setback, and I don't have the time or the inclination to go out in the cold weather with him and retrain him on the word "potty" and the requirement that it be done "outside." I haven't even started the performance evaluations I've had on my to-do list for three months.

But the closet is in, the back room in the studio is clean and the upcoming winter break renovation is scheduled and organized, so that's good. And just as I was feeling like a total slacker who can't accomplish the most reasonable of goals, I ran into a calendar from a few years ago that listed in the future planning section: "Retire" (from Abbott) by the end of 2011 and "Open a studio" in 2012. And then I felt better.

Quick weirdness: My ex contacted me today about guitar lessons for his daughter. That would be awkward. Besides, I think it was an excuse to hold a conversation (albeit via text.)

I would talk more about that, but right now, I'm tired and have 750 words to write before bed. If I'm smart, I'll write them about my employees and get these evaluations started. Or I'll write lyrics or a contest entry. But I won't be smart. I'll probably just spend 752 words bitching about how I'm too tired to do this, and how it feels like homework.

Peace. (Listen to what I say, not what I do.)
December 4, 2011 at 8:29am
December 4, 2011 at 8:29am
#741040
I published this link in my previous post:

ARTICLE: When eBooks attack, mass paperbacks die  

But then I continued to research the publishing market. {e:bugeyes}

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000664761
Did you know that Amazon is now a "traditional" publisher? Not only that, Amazon apparently has the big six (and other smaller publishers) worried.

Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article...

CNN Money: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/27/technology/amazon_publishing/index.htm

NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/technology/amazon-rewrites-the-rules-of-book-p...

They're like the WalMart of the publishing industry. *Pthb* Russell Grandinetti, one of Amazon’s top executives, said in the NY Times article above, “The only really necessary people in the publishing process now are the writer and reader. Everyone who stands between those two has both risk and opportunity.”

And more about the future of print versus eBooks:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/891561-264/new_statistics_model_for_book.h...
Growth of Trade eBook sales.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/doc/can-print-on-demand-save-the-book-industry/2087
An article about a print-on-demand machine in bookstores for titles not in inventory (DPR: Digital-to-Print at Retail)

http://www.economist.com/node/21528628
Commentary about what publishers need to do to survive in the eBook era.

And just for fun:

http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm
Fascinating general statistics about publishing.


December 4, 2011 at 6:55am
December 4, 2011 at 6:55am
#741036
ARTICLE: When eBooks attack, mass paperbacks die  

Moving and Renovation
No activity.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
No activity. Well, a withdrawal yesterday.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.

One character profile per day: No.

One fiction contest entry per day: Yes.

One original song per week:
*Bullet* Mon: Compose lyrics.
*Bullet* Tue: Polish lyrics.
*Bullet* Wed: Set to music.
*Bullet* Thu: Polish and record.
*Bullet* Fri: Launch. No activity.
*Bullet* Sat: Snippets/brainstorm. I brainstormed snippet ideas.
*Bullet* Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.

Count points:
So far today:
(1) Coffee
(4) Turkey sausage

I swear I'm going to do better. Weight gain is making me ill and grumpy.
December 3, 2011 at 10:17am
December 3, 2011 at 10:17am
#740989
Moving and Renovation
Got the back more organized, and now you can walk through. *Smile* It's a weight off my shoulders. Soon I'll be able to sit at the desk and work back there again. Processing payroll on Wednesday took ALL DAY because I had to do it out in the open where people could see me and talk to me.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* 236.5

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes.

One character profile and background story per day: Yesterday, but not yet today.

One fiction contest entry per day: Yes, I entered "The Writer's Cramp [13+] with a story about the character I created yesterday. It worked really well, so that's my new daily goal:
1. Use a contest prompt to write a background story about yesterday's character and enter the contest with the story.
2. Create a new character for tomorrow's contest entry.

Meanwhile, I got this nerdy idea to create a characters database, so I could later query the database when I need a stock character who fits a certain profile. Like, I could sort or filter on age, gender, etc. I prolly won't do it, though, because that sort of technical organization shit is the kind of stuff I do to procrastinate instead of actually writing.

One original song per week:
*Bullet* Mon: Compose lyrics.
*Bullet* Tue: Polish lyrics.
*Bullet* Wed: Set to music.
*Bullet* Thu: Polish and record.
*Bullet* Fri: Launch. No activity.
*Bullet* Sat: Snippets/brainstorm. Today, I plan to organize more snippets and pick a topic for Monday's lyrics.
*Bullet* Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.

Count points:
No. *Frown*
December 2, 2011 at 10:42am
December 2, 2011 at 10:42am
#740926
My mother: "Congratulations on being homeless."

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: No progress. Payroll was due yesterday, and the mess drove me crazy. No place to sit and work.
*Bullet* Renovation: Gah. To be fair, I erected some shelves and organized the closet. But that's just where customers can see. The back is a wreck.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* Good day! We enrolled like five new students yesterday. We lost a couple, too, so we're still in the 230's.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Yes. I keep trying to link it at Facebook, but I forgot to set the meta data when I first hit "Publish," and now Facebook won't pull up the new data (specifically, the photo and description.)

I revised the rest of my writing goals:

One character profile and background story per day: Not yet.

One fiction contest entry per day: No, but entered a poetry contest. ?

One original song per week:
*Bullet* Mon: Compose lyrics.
*Bullet* Tue: Polish lyrics.
*Bullet* Wed: Set to music.
*Bullet* Thu: Polish and record. Well, no, since I started in the middle of a cycle. I started re-reading and organizing works I've previously begun.
*Bullet* Fri: Launch.
*Bullet* Sat: Snippets/brainstorm.
*Bullet* Sun: Snippets/brainstorm.

Count points:
No. *Frown*
December 1, 2011 at 5:10am
December 1, 2011 at 5:10am
#740836
I closed on my house yesterday. Bittersweet: I no longer have a mortgage, but I also no longer have a house. On the other other hand, a ton of stuff just fell off my to-do list, so I can focus on new goals.

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the garage: Obviously this goal can go, since I gave the garage door opener to the new owner.
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: Just need an orange tote for the Halloween gear. Also need Keith and the trailer to move out the stage and other large items.
*Bullet* Renovation: The back office / future computer lab is a MESS. But I finished organizing the closet in the classroom, which is an area exposed to customers. The back can wait until Keith can bring the trailer over.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* It's withdrawal week (a.k.a, my tuition is due, and I decided I'm not going to continue and therefore not going to pay for December even though we require two weeks' notice to withdraw), and we're at 232.5. Not shabby. I'm vying for 250, which is my next pay raise, and then 275, when the receptionist goes to full time hours. 275 by the end of this month might be unreasonable. The most we've ever climbed in a single month was 47 students, and that wasn't in a holiday month (we're closed the entire last week of December.)

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: Pending.
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: I hereby eliminate this goal in favor of the following.

New writing goals:
*Bullet* 30 minutes of songwriting per day: Pending.
*Bullet* One fiction contest entry per day: Pending, and possibly the most ridiculous goal I've ever set for myself.

Count points:
No, and I'm starting to feel ill from overeating and fast weight gain. I've got a group talking about a competition in January, with an entry fee, where the winner takes the pot (or the top three winners split the pot.) Details pending.
November 30, 2011 at 7:32am
November 30, 2011 at 7:32am
#740725
{e:whisper}I'm closing on my house this afternoon...{/e:whisper} (Shh... I don't want to jinx it.)

I just don't have any news that trumps that today.

Peace,
Michelle
November 29, 2011 at 8:50am
November 29, 2011 at 8:50am
#740668
Leading worship Sunday was a breeze. I find myself teaching with a conversational style, asking lots of questions. I guess I could do that again.

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the garage: YES! READY FOR CLOSING TOMORROW.
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: We hung Christmas decorations and took the totes and empty boxes to storage. *Thumbsup*
*Bullet* Renovation: Closet and sink are done, so we (1) were ready to open for business, and (2) have another room nearly ready to be converted to a lesson room. It's currently a teacher lounge, and we'll have to move all the stuff out first, which requires us to clean up the office area in the back first, but it could be converted without shutting down for construction, which is key.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* We're in catch-up mode with the paperwork, so I'm not sure where we are.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: *Check*
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: N/A in November. *Check* I did write my 750 words.
*Bullet* 2,000 NaNoWriMo   words per day: DONE.

I. Want. More. Hours. In. My. Days. Why can't I work on a song, a fiction piece, a WDC blog post, a music blog post, perform AND run a business all in the same day every day? We have our natural talents, but we excel at those things we practice on a regular basis, and although you don't forget how to write or play an instrument, you do lose that edge of excellence. I want more practice at everything.

Count points:
No, but on a related note, I made a turkey pot pie and turkey noodle soup yesterday with all kinds of leftovers.
November 27, 2011 at 6:39am
November 27, 2011 at 6:39am
#740490
I finished NaNo, so I was going to establish songwriting goals for December. Then I considered running a songwriting challenge in either December or January. Did a bunch of research on possible exercises to help develop the art of songwriting and result in an arsenal of actual songs, and had a lot of fun plotting and planning. Then I did research at WDC for my target market.

There are 209 items designated as "lyrics" in all of Writing.com.
There are 13 items with the word "songwriting" in them.

Not much of a target market. It makes me wonder if I could run a 750Words - style website related to songwriting. But 750 is so easy - you just write. I managed like 4,500 words yesterday alone, just because I was brainstorming about the financial state of my business (read: avoid discussing the financial state of my business with me unless you want an earful.) How would you establish reasonable goals around songwriting that are easy enough to actually accomplish, and what kind of rewards would there be? I was thinking some sort of mandatory reviews would be helpful. Or coaching? Maybe MTMS can run an online course with feedback from coaches.

I dunno. *shrug* A one-month challenge at WDC seemed like the way to go, because it works so well for Prep. It's the perfect time and frequency - everyone gets psyched for it, because it's only once a year, and it's a month-long intense activity. More often would be too much. Songwriting seems like the same situation. It takes a lot of effort to journal / brainstorm / compose / edit / set to music / record songs, so you would need intermediate goals.

Maybe I should just stop with the scope creep and write my own songs.
November 26, 2011 at 9:11pm
November 26, 2011 at 9:11pm
#740463
I have to lead worship at the new service Sunday, as in, teach and everything. By myself. I don't remember this being part of the job description.

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the garage: YES! Except for the cracked window (repair scheduled Monday), I'm ready to close on Wednesday.
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: No progress.
*Bullet* Renovation: HUGE progress. *Heart*

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* No activity.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: *Check*
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: N/A in November. *Check*
*Bullet* 2,000 NaNoWriMo   words per day: *Check* Well, I won NaNo, and I also finished my novel. I might go back and polish, and maybe develop a few chapters better, but not today.

Count points:
Hell. No.
November 24, 2011 at 8:48am
November 24, 2011 at 8:48am
#740230
I've done a lot of home-related work the last two days.

Tuesday:
*Bullet* Went grocery shopping
*Bullet* Did a load of laundry
*Bullet* Took two loads to storage
*Bullet* Took a load of kitchen stuff to my current house
*Bullet* Went to two different Walmart stores to assemble the Corelle set we settled on
*Bullet* Hauled a microwave cart up a flight of stairs by myself and set it up in the kitchen
*Bullet* Completely reorganized the kitchen
*Bullet* Took several boxes of old dinnerware out to the Jeep for donation


And THEN... just as I'd showered, gotten into jammies and buckled down on the sofa to crank out my last 700 words for the day, I got a phone call. "Michelle, are you on your way?" Oh, yeah. I was supposed to lead music at a worship gathering Tuesday night. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." GAH!

Yesterday:
*Bullet* Took two loads to Goodwill
*Bullet* Moved another load from my old house to storage
*Bullet* Set up shelves and organized the shit out of the storage garage
*Bullet* Three loads of laundry
*Bullet* Made deviled eggs, veggie tray, cubed cheese and cream cheese celery (what can I say? I'm a domestic goddess.)


Pretty sure I burned a couple calories doing all that, so I'm ready for dinner today. *Bigsmile*

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the old house: One load left for storage, one for Goodwill.
         ...but I never scheduled the movers to get the big, heavy entertainment center! {e:panic}
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: No activity. I haven't been to the studio in two days.
*Bullet* Renovation: Keith and awesome helper Roy worked more on this the last two nights. *Heart*

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* No activity.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: *Check*
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: N/A in November. *Check*
*Bullet* 2,000 NaNoWriMo   words per day: *Check*
         ...at least, up through yesterday. Goal for today: 48,000. I'm at 46,022, and I will write more today.

Count points: NO, damn it. It's Thanksgiving.
November 22, 2011 at 10:16am
November 22, 2011 at 10:16am
#740131
On the list today, in addition to the ongoing goals: grocery shopping and laundry.

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the garage:
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio:
*Bullet* Renovation: We didn't get any work done last night because Keith had to work late. So we're trying again today. The wall and door frame for the classroom closet are erected. We need to hang the door and drywall, and frame and drywall the back of the closet, closing off the current opening between the classroom and the back room (which will eventually be divided up into an office, an additional lesson room, and the new computer lab. Then we have to clean and paint and move the lab. And maybe buy computers for all the lesson rooms? It's on the list... just not sure if it will happen this iteration of the renovations.

Knitting:
I gave up and instead hung Sammy's "I need to go outside" bells from a bunch of paper clips all connected to each other. *Thumbsup* It took all of sixty seconds (compare to the days I've spent knitting.) Work smarter, not harder, people.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* Since we're closed this week, I don't expect it to move much away from our current number of 234.

I'd like to implement some process improvements:
* Allow online class enrollments (currently we only have this set up for samplers)
* Allow online payments (not sure how to let the customer enter the amount)
* Electronic timekeeping for employees
* Performance evaluations - several months overdue!

I think I've abandoned the database project, at least for now, because Google Docs is working so well for us. It's still awkward for planning out more than two or three weeks (like when a really proactive customer says I need to be out Feb. 3rd), but it happens so rarely that it's not worth the time to develop an application (I've done this for hire, and I charge several thousand dollars - if that gives an indication of the time involved.) But when Google Docs develops a database application, I'll be hitting it.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: *Check*
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: N/A in November. *Check*
*Bullet* 2,000 NaNoWriMo   words per day: In progress. Today's goal is 44,000. I'm at 43,368, but I have the whole day ahead of me. (Famous last words.)

Count points: 2
So far today:
(-2) Walk/jog
(1) Coffee
(2) Yogurt
(1) Granola bar

I always start my days off on such good footing. Then I find candy or ice cream or chips or something.
November 20, 2011 at 9:27pm
November 20, 2011 at 9:27pm
#740040
I'm no longer ahead of my NaNo goal, but I'm also not behind. *Smile*

Moving and Renovation
*Bullet* Move crap out of the garage: No activity.
*Bullet* Move crap out of the studio: No activity.
*Bullet* Renovation: Looking great. *Smile*

Knitting:
I did some of this. I'm regretting making the stitches so small. It's taking forever, and the ribbon is unnecessarily thick.

Reach 275 students at MTMS   by 12/31/11.
*Writing* 23x-ish.

Writing:
*Bullet* Blog at MT.com   by the end of the month: *Check*
*Bullet* 30 minutes of daily freestyle writing: N/A in November. *Check*
*Bullet* 2,000 NaNoWriMo   words per day: *Check*

Count points:
No.

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