Life in progress


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Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 9th, 2023

Welcome to another daily prompt! Today is your ninth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Destiny. Thank you, Destiny! Please be sure to visit Destiny’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 9th 2023, is “endurance.” Use the word “endurance” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Monday, January 9th, 2023.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


15 Comments

#JusJoJan the 8th/23 – Friendship

I’d like to say thanks so much to Jezzie G. for his awesome prompt of the day, “friendship.”

I read somewhere once that I’m a typical Aquarius in that I’m able to remain friends with people even if I don’t talk to them for years. And for the most part, it’s been true. I can easily pick up where I left off.

Take my best friend, for instance. Okay, so he’s an Aquarius too—his birthday is the day after mine—but we didn’t talk to each other for, like, ten years at a time. We drifted apart after high school and met up for dinner about ten years later, then there were another two ten-year or so gaps when we both kinda fell off the face of the earth, then he moved to a house around the corner from me about ten years ago and we’ve seen each other regularly ever since.

Except with COVID. He came over for breakfast yesterday for the first time in almost three years. Breakfasts together were a daily habit when he first moved here.

But aside from that, he’s one of my only friends … Until I get together with someone else I haven’t seen for ten years, I guess.

Is that weird?

 ***

This friendly type post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Jezzie G.! Thanks again, Jez, for the great prompt. Please be sure to check out his blog.

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/08/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-8th-2023/ It’s fun!


34 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 8th, 2023

Hi! I’m back again with the daily prompt! Today is your eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by JezzieG. Thank you, JezzieG! Please be sure to visit JezzieG’s blog to read his post and say hello. And follow him while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 8th 2023, is “friendship.” Use the word “friendship” any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Sunday, January 8th, 2023.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


10 Comments

#JusJoJan the 6th/23 – Sweet spot

Thanks so much to Ritu for her delectable prompt of the day, the word “sweet.”

I’m going to write about how busy I am—yes, again—because A) it’s what’s on my mind, and B) if I start talking about sweets … Let’s just say there’s an unopened tin of Quality Street chocolates upstairs and I’m trying to not tempt myself into opening it until I’ve completely digested my holiday dinners.

On point “A,” I’m discovering (today—this is an observation I’m just making today) that if I’m only a little bit busy, meaning I’ve got nothing currently on my plate to get done on a deadline, I get less done of what I need to do and more procrastinating done than if I was busier.

It’s the mindset of Oh, I can get that done in five minutes! I can play a game or scroll through my Facebook feed first … what do you mean it’s four o’clock already?!?

It’s as destructive a mindset as, say, opening a tin of chocolates and eating all the orange ones … *slaps self*

My point is, there’s got to be some kind of sweet spot where I’m busy enough to convince my brain that yes, I have to get some work done today, and no, it’s not okay to waste an entire day doing nothing, or on the other face of the coin, being so busy I just want to crawl under the bed with the cat and go to sleep instead of digging in and getting it done.

And if there’s no sweet spot, how do I create one?

The answer is, of course, discipline. Not chasing after that shiny bit of string (apparently I’m easily influenced by the cat) like Facebook when I could be getting the few things that need to be accomplished done first.

Writing everything down in a planner is helping. Being able to see my to-dos without having to remember them (or conveniently forget them) works well as long as there aren’t too many gaps in my schedule.

Maybe I need to find a way to concentrate all my tasks into a set time. Like, say, 9 to noon and 1-5, and then take my scrolling time after those hours.

Now there’s a concept.

I’ll have to contemplate that over some chocolate.

 ***

This proactive post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Ritu! Thanks so much again, Ritu, for the sweet prompt. Please be sure to check out her blog.

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/06/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-6th-2023/ It’s fun!


36 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 6th, 2023

Oh look: it’s the daily prompt! Today is your sixth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Ritu. Thank you, Ritu! Please be sure to visit Ritu’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 6th 2023, is “sweet.” Use the word “sweet” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for Friday, January 6th, 2023.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


16 Comments

#JusJoJan the 5th/23 – Cancer research

Our prompt word of the day today is “cancer.” My thank you goes to Lauren for her profound suggestion.

I’m one of the lucky ones who hasn’t been touched directly by the unfathomable and unfair nature of cancer, though I do know those who both have been and currently are. To them, I wish nothing but peace, love, and happiness.

In the meantime, I’m doing what I can to provide help, if in only the most distant of ways. And though it feels somewhat tacky, I want to tell you about a book.

It’s not just any book. And I don’t stand to gain any money from its sale, though I have a story in it. All proceeds, in fact, will be directed to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

I bring to you, Love and Other Kerfuffles.

Is Cupid a lover or a fighter?

This Valentine’s Day affairs of the heart wind their way around workplace flings, turning enemies into romance, friends into lovers and shooting his darts at a certain best friend’s brother.

Kerfluffy is on the rampage, making cute ‘n’ fluffy appearances throughout this collection of romance stories bringing love and laughter to every Happily Ever After.

Over thirty titillating stories from USA Today best-selling and award-winning romance authors in a rom-com collection curated by The New Romance Cafe, with ALL proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

If you enjoy reading romantic comedy, I do hope you’ll consider donating to breast cancer research by buying this wonderful anthology. It’s available for pre-order, for release on February 7th. And please tell your friends!

 ***

This hopeful post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Lauren! Thanks again, Lauren, for your heartfelt prompt. Please be sure to check out Lauren’s blog here.

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/05/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-5th-2023/ It’s fun!


26 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 5th, 2023

Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your fifth prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Lauren. Thank you, Lauren! Please be sure to visit Lauren’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 5th 2023, is “cancer.” Use the word “cancer” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 5th, 2023.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!


47 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday & #JusJoJan the 4th, 2023 – Courage

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”
― William Faulkner

Photo: Moonrise with a pink and blue sky over a lake, taken in autumn when the trees are bare of leaves.


If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure.

Here are the simple JusJoJan Rules:

1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

2. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). The prompt will be the word in quotation marks in the title of my 2am post. You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

2 a) The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

Badge by Laura @ riddlefromthemiddle.com

3. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.


17 Comments

#JusJoJan the 3rd/23 – Solos

First, I want to say thank you to Dar for her awesome prompt of the day, the word “solo.”

Back in the day (you know, back when I walked uphill both ways to get to school), I was in the school band. I tried out the trumpet at first, but I sucked at it. Eventually I settled on the clarinet.

I was interested enough in playing that I got into my high school concert band. But I was never good enough to be invited to play a solo. That honour usually went to my best friend, Tracey.

I’m not bitter. Really, I’m not.

Still, though I was never good enough at the clarinet, I’m glad I finally found something I am good at.

And now, in both my writing and editing careers, I’m nothing but solo.

The good news? I’m always the number one employee!

Go me!

 ***

This one-woman cheering section post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Dar! Thanks so much again, Dar, for the great prompt. Please be sure to check out her blog.

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/03/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-3rd-2023/ It’s fun!


32 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 3rd, 2023

Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your third prompt for Just Jot it January 2023, and it’s brought to you by Dar. Thank you, Dar! Please be sure to visit Dar’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 3rd 2023, is “solo.” Use the word “solo” any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list, you can find it HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 3rd, 2023.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.

4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.

5. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

6. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.

8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

9. Have fun!