Life in progress

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#JusJoJan the 13th/23 – Reversals

Our prompt word of the day today is “reversal.” Thank you to Sadje for such a challenging prompt!

I’ve spent the entire day trying to figure out what I could write about reversals. Finally, I looked it up in the dictionary, and it was the example sentences that made me realize why I was having such a difficult time applying the word to anything in my life.

Here are some of those examples, from Merriam-Webster online:

    • In a sudden reversal, the mayor has decided not to run for reelection.
  • a surprising reversal in the value of the stock

It was the “sudden” and “surprising” that clued me in. Because so many changes in life happen gradually, and the ones that happen suddenly are often negative, I think I may have blocked them out. Unless you suddenly win the lottery and have a reversal of fortune, fortune tends to come slowly due to a goal or a dream. We usually have to work for the good things in life.

Maybe that’s why that damned nightmare of being in a car that’s moving backwards and won’t stop no matter how hard you press the brake is so … nightmarish.

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This contemplative post is brought to you by Just Jot it January and Sadje. Thanks again, Sadje! I wish I’d thought of this prompt word myself. 🙂 Please be sure to check out Sadje’s blog here!

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/13/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-13th-2023/ It’s fun!


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#JusJoJan the 1st/23 – One resolution

I have one resolution for 2023 and that’s to organize my numerous goals.

Now, I’m sure you’re like, what the heck, Linda? Isn’t having goals just a subset of having resolutions?

Nuh-uh. It’s better than that.

I’ve spent the better part of the last year failing at most of the things I wanted to accomplish on a personal level. My freelance editing business is going very well, and I always manage to get projects done on time, if not early. But the stuff I wanted to do that isn’t on a deadline, i.e. writing my own books? Not so much.

So rather than resolving to write and publish, say, two or three of my own creations this year, I’m going more granular, by organizing my time so I can see what I can reasonably get done in the space of 365 days.

It’s easy to think “I’ll just scroll through Facebook and get to work on my own novel—the one no one is holding me accountable for—later.” But then five minutes on Facebook turns into hours and then I think “It’s okay, I’ll do it tomorrow!”

It’s the rinse and repeat that never ends.

Unless I organize myself.

So yeah, that’s my resolution. Set timers, work when I know I’ll have a chance, organize my time, figure out how long each step takes, and rinse and repeat that instead.

Sounds like a solid plan, right?

I’ll let you know how it goes.

P.S. I looked through my resolutions/bucket lists from past years and there’s one item I’m still striving for. In 2016 I said I wanted to spend a weekend alone in my home. Since then, I don’t think I’ve even had an hour alone. I’ll get there, though. Watch out for the boot, kids! 😉

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This determined and mildly threatening post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/01/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-1st-2023/ It’s fun!


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My 2018 and my 2019 – Jot #1

Is it bad that I have no idea what I’ve been doing for the last year? Yeah, probably.

I know I’ve been working a lot. Writing a bit, and spending far too much time sitting. My FitBit is threatening to leave home without me.

On a positive note, I did give away a stunning 25,000 copies of The Magician’s Curse. That number still astounds me.

And my kids are all still here with me, which is something I am grateful for every minute of the day.

I think I’ve already mentioned that I’d like to publish at least three books in 2019, and I hope to learn how to effectively sell them. I want to get off my butt and get more exercise … catch up to my FitBit before it finds a more active wrist to attach itself to.

And I’d like to hang on to my kids. Even if they decide to move out, I’ll be happy as long as they’re still in the world with me.

This post is part of Just Jot it January! Click the link to find the rules and see how you can join in the fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/01/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-1st/


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Repeat after me – Wooohooo!

Ms. Sassy has almost reached her goal!!
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Sass and Sauce

When I had only just started blogging, and I had something like 30 followers,  I came across Wes’s blog – Nearly Wes. I loved it so so much and right then I decided to put this on my bucket list – “To garner 125 followers on WordPress”, because that was the number Wes was on. I’m pretty sure he’s moved waaaay ahead now, but the 125 has stuck with me and still remains my goal.

Today I realised I am just 25 followers away from getting a check on my bucket list. Yes, I have one hundred WordPress followers 🙂 Woohoo! Yippee! Yay!

And who knows I might wake up tomorrow and find 25 “New Follower” notifications. Fingers crossed so bad that they are now entangled 😛

PS: Another reason to say Yay – Just 9 days to go for my engagement partyyyy!

PPS: In case you need another…

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Speaking of Masochism

Why do I set such high goals for myself? Okay yes, it feels great when I achieve them, and usually I do because I don’t like giving up on a challenge I set for myself. But the downside is that I end up getting stressed when I have too many things to do.

The latest goal of course is NaBloPoMo – write a post every day during the month of November. Together with Nano Poblano which gives me the extra challenge to make my posts spicy, I’m thinking by the end of the month my posts will be unreadable garbles of swear words. That should be fun!

Yet there’s something extra I’m contemplating to drive myself crazy reach for, and that is to extend my Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right series to 365. An entire year. I’m working on getting ahead of myself to cover the period in December when I won’t be around. They’re already scheduled a day or two in advance, so what’s two weeks? Nuthin’! My eventual goal with the series is to turn it into a calendar. I’m not sure exactly how that would work as an e-pub, but I’m sure I can figure something out. The idea came up a while ago, and I spoke to another blogger about possibly animating it, but that sorta fizzled out into nothing. So far. I should re-visit the idea and see if there’s any interest, though the 365th episode is still 300 away from being completed.

Any thoughts? Anyone who’s reading it think it might be a good idea? Click here for a link to one of the scenes that stands alone (meaning it has no back-story nor any follow-up so far) if you’ve never read one. You may just be amused.


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Goals for Stream of Consciousness Saturday

I’ve been receiving a lot of positive feedback for SoCS in regards to it not only being fun to participate in, but also for the new connections that are being made between bloggers. However, without advertising it on HarsH ReaLiTy, the word doesn’t seem to be getting out that fast. And after all, the more new bloggers participate, the more new bloggers we have the chance to meet and follow and have follow us.

In light of this fact, I’ve decided to set up some goals:

1. Write a blog post (probably close to or on Friday this week) and ask people to reblog or copy and paste to hopefully encourage each of our “outer circles” to join in.

2. Set up a contest for the design of a new SoCS badge that we can all display on our blogs and/or display in our weekly posts. The winner will of course have their badge on display with their website name on the badge for all to see. Judging will be made public.

3. EVENTUALLY, when and if SoCS gets big enough, set up its own WordPress site and invite other bloggers to come and set up the week’s prompt and watch over the proceedings.

If you can think of ways to promote SoCS, please let me know in the comments.  The more, the merrier!