#IWSG - #WithGritandGrace - May 2016

The Insecure Writers' Support Group is the brainchild of writer Alex J. Cavanaugh and in the fall of this year, they will have been around for 5 years!  WOW!  If you click on that link up there, you will go to the dedicated site, where you can find out more about the group and see if it is something for you!  You can find a lot of writers who are also "Insecure and Proud!"

~~~oOo~~~

It's been so long since I wrote anything on my WIP, "All Gallow's Eve", that I don't even remember the story line I had worked out.  I don't even have Scrivener on the computer right now, because it's been lost in one or the other reformats.  (Hubs is a computer whiz, though, so if it can be retrieved, he will get at it.)

My question is:  Should I try to find and rework what I had or just start over?

On the one hand, if I wait until I find things, I may lose writing time (assuming, of course, that I actually spend time writing) that I could be doing right now.  Or should I just start with the title again, re-outline the entire story, begin to write again, and if/when the old programs and files show up, piece those in as necessary?

Does that even make sense? *lol*

~~~oOo~~~

This is my first time participating in this linkup.  Click on the button up there to go to a page where there are links to lots of other bloggers participating.  You can even sign up for the link-up yourself.

PERSONAL

• go to the dentist (I've been putting this off because I have dentistophobia bag.)

MARRIAGE

• celebrate our 19th anniversary on the 9th!

FAMILY

• trim the number of furry family members by at least 5.

SPIRITUAL

• choose one of the nearby churches to attend

PROFESSIONAL

• learn to start a virtual book tour company/site.

WRITING

• dedicate some time to writing each day and stick to it at least 4 days out of every 7.

~~~oOo~~~

So, are you insecure and proud too?

What are your goals for the month of May?

54 Buckets

Today is my birthday.  By one year from today, I want to have accomplished the following things that are or could possibly be on my Bucket List one day:

1.  Publish at least one fiction book.
2.  Publish at least one non-fiction book.
3.  Plant a big enough garden to have one home-grown item every day for a year.
4.  Attend a blog conference.
5.  Open an Etsy shop.

6.  Have a booth at one of the many nearby festivals.
7.  Participate in a live theatre performance. (acting or writing).
8.  Be an Independent Director for Mary Kay.
9.  Find homes for the puppies.
10.  Finish remodeling/decorating the living room.

11.  Host an outdoor barbecue for friends and family.
12.  Raise chickens.
13.  Find homes for the kittens.
14.  Learn basic car maintenance.
15.  Make a bookcase and decorate it with wood carving and burning.

16.  Print an article in the local paper.
17.  Have a column in the local paper.
18.  Participate in karaoke again.  (I do a killer BTO.)
19.  Restore Mamaw's old desk.
20.  Attend a writing workshop.

21.  Design a card for each book I review.
22.  Get one guest post per month.
23.  Do one guest post per month.
24.  Quit smoking.
25.  Attend church regularly.

26.  Read the Bible through.
27.  Read the text of a different religion.
28.  Work up to a 1/2 hour walk each day.
29.  Have a head shot taken for business/blog etc.
30.  Start and build our food storage.

31.  Start and build our emergency preparedness supplies.
32.  Fix the table and get enough chairs so that we can have meals together as a famly.
33.  Document family history back to ancestor who fought in the American Revolution.
34.  Decorate the four posts that support the patio roof.
35.  Plan a trip to Scotland.

36.  Not have to drive straight through on our trips to Texas.
37.  Get a piano in the house.
38.  Beef up area recycling.
39.  Help with a local benefit/fundraiser.
40.  Get a roto-tiller.

41.  Get a grain mill.
42.  Gather and sell the walnuts from our yard.
43.  Get my mess @ SCC cleared up.
44.  Try one new recipe each month.
45.  Attend a UK Wildcats basketball game.

46.  Convert old dresser into a bookshelf.
47.  Have each child plan, shop, prepare and clean up one meal per week.
48.  Make a quilt.
49.  Gather family stories.
50.  Get/make a garden window for the kitchen.

51.  Have an herb garden.
52.  Make/get a potting bench.
53.  Learn how to spin (towards making cloth).
54.  Make polymer clay beads/art weekly using different techniques.

Blogathon Bash June 2014 Goals

LIST OF POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES FOR DA BASH:

1.  Catch up on book reviews.

2.  Print blog planner pages.

3.  Use blog planner pages.

4.  Set a blog post writing schedule.

5.  Set a blog business (non-writing) schedule.

6.  Enter at least one challenge.

7.  Participate in at least one chat session.

8.  Set up three incoming guest posts.

9.  Set up three outgoing guest posts.

10.  Start setting up sponsors to attend a blog conference in 2015.

Also sharing with my friends at:

I Cannot Fail

  

TONI ASKS, "WHAT WOULD YOU ATTEMPT IF YOU KNEW YOU COULD NOT FAIL?"

I would write my magnum opus stage play, take it to New York and/or London, star in it, and donate a portion of the ticket sales to charity.

From the time I was young, I wanted to be a stage actress.  My parents were not particularly supportive, as theatre was not a profession where it was common to make a lot of money.  I did not realize until later, of course, that their childhood circumstances made having enough money seem to be a really important thing.  (My father was the son of a poor farmer, and my mother was the child of an alcoholic.)

Being an introvert seemed to conflict with my desire to be an actress as well.  Even thinking about going to an audition used to give me an anxiety attack.  It was so tied up in my wanting to be liked, loved, or validated.  I had a horrible self-image.  Now, of course, with more than a few plays under my belt, it's not such a bad thing.  And even "successful" actors and actresses (in terms of consistency of work and money) get attacks of anxiety like that from time to time.

I guess I'm what most would call a 'character actor'.  That used to bug me because I thought that meant that people did not think I was 'good enough' to carry a play.  Now...that's not so important.

I haven't been in a play since before my first child was born ... a little over 17 years ago.  I've dabbled in playwrighting.  My best work was about a family of moonshine-brewers.  Go figure.

But rural south-central Kentucky is not exactly a hotbed of avant garde live theatre.  There is the Actor's Theatre in Louisville (about 1.5-2 hours away from here).  And if they can build one of the premiere US Shakespeare Festivals in Cedar City, Utah ... who knows, maybe I can build some kind of theatre festival in my neck of the woods.

Things that make you say, "Hmmmm."

What would YOU attempt if you knew you could not fail?

I'm Not Doing Resolutions This Year

Toni at One Chocolate Box asks, "What are your resolutions this year? How do you plan to achieve your goals?"

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I'm not 'doing' resolutions like I usually do.

A few days ago I came across a blog post "Resolutions Stink:  And What Works Better for Me" at NicoleOnTheNet.com.  She had gotten an idea from a post at ChristineKane.com titled, "Resolution Revolution:  A Better Way to Start Your Year".  She advocates the use of one word as kind of a guiding principal for the year.

The word that chose me was "order".  Actually, it had to beat up another word that was vying for my attention too.

Last year, I was blessed to have Melanie at "Only a Breath" make me a button with my word for 2013 (abundance).  A couple hundred other people were blessed as well, and I think she wore herself out.  This year she offers a free template on her blog.

Save the blank template to your hard drive, then upload it to PicMonkey.com to add your own "one word" in the font and color of your choice, just like I did.

VVVVVVVV

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While my "one word" replaces resolutions, it does not replace goal-setting.

I found a free book on Amazon.com (free as of 9pm Eastern US time on 12/29):

If it's not free by the time you read this, you can go to DailyActionLog.com and get the first chapter and a download of the worksheets for your email address.

A partial list of my 12-month goals (by December 31, 2014) would be:

Financial

1.  We have rebuilt our savings after purchasing a house in 2013, and have 3 months emergency funds.

2.  We raised a large garden this year, and supplied 50% of our fresh fruits and vegetables.

Business/Career

1.  I have run a successful Kickstarter or Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

2.  I have an Etsy shop up and running.

Health/Fitness

1.  I will have gotten my blood pressure down to 120/80.  

2.  I get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3x per week.

Relationships

1.  I will have documented my family history back to the ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War.

2.  My husband and I take turns planning at least semi-monthly date nights.

Overall Happiness

1.  I will have read the Bible and the Book of Mormon cover to cover.

2.  I volunteer personally (and with my family) at least one time per month.

Celebrate the New Year by leaving a comment with one (or more) of your goals for 2014.  Let's work together to ROCK THIS YEAR!!!

Blogathon2 Wrap-Up Post

Accomplishments During Blogathon2

* I have completed Mini-Challenge #1:  How To Create a Blogging Planner on the blog A Jewel in the Making.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #2.  Give to Get on the blog  Holy Splendor.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #3.  Grammar Police, also hosted by Holy Splendor.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #4:  Blog Brand Consistency on the blog Newlywed Survival.

I have printed out a 2013 blog calendar for each of my blogs.
* For Back Porchervations, I am using the calendar associated with Mini Challenge #1 (see above), adding copies of selected pages as needed.
* For Prayers for My Marriage, I am using a blog calendar located at Confessions of a Homeschooler
.
I created 4 new posts.

I have entered the first month of ideas on the Prayers for My Marriage calendar.
* I created the blog "Prayers for My Marriage" after participating in Matrimonial Monday, a blog hop hosted at A Proverbs 31 Wife and Exceptionalistic, on the 23rd of this month.  I used ideas from a set of prayer cards from Time Warp Wife, starting on that date.  I anticipate finishing that series of entries on the 22nd of February.

Facebook followers sent from 31 to 36.

Twitter followers increased from 616 to 657.

I'm in 58 Google+ circles, up from 51.

I have started moderating comments, so that I can be more responsive to my readers.

I started hosting my very first link-up: Mental Health Mondays.

I have a new page on my blog, with buttons to the link-ups in which I currently participate.

*+*+*+*+*

Did I get everything done that I set out to do.  Not by a log shot.

Am I feeling pretty danged proud of myself anyway?  HECK YEAH!

I'm going to miss my new Blogathon2 buddies, but I subscribe to most of them now anyway, so even that's not so bad.

Have a great week blogging, y'all!

Blogathon2 Update 2

I've been updating my Blogathon2 kick-off post all weekend in order to keep track of my progress on my goals and mini-challenges.  I think it has taken on a life of its own.  Normally, I would not post something as gargantuan as this post, but sometimes a look into another's process can be a learning experience.  And there are a bunch of links to some pretty great posts, blogs and bloggers.

If I could ask one thing of you today, could you follow me on a couple of the social media sites?  I've got buttons in the sidebars that are linked to my profiles on various accounts.  I would be honored.

If I could do one thing for you today, I would promise to follow back and answer any comments on this post..

So, into the fray....

Updated Goal List of Blogaton2
Goal or challenge completions are indicated by crossing them off the list.
Goals or challenges which are in-process are shown in italics.

1.  I will participate in at least 3 mini-challenges; this works out to a rate of at least one per day.  My choices of which challenges in which to participate will be random.

* I have completed Mini-Challenge #1:  How To Create a Blogging Planner on the blog A Jewel in the Making.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #2.  Give to Get on the blog  Holy Splendor.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #3.  Grammar Police, also hosted by Holy Splendor.
* I have completed Mini-Challenge #4:  Blog Brand Consistency on the blog Newlywed Survival.

2. I have printed out a 2013 blog calendar for each of my blogs.
* For Back Porchervations, I am using the calendar associated with Mini Challenge #1 (see above), adding copies of selected pages as needed.
* For Prayers for My Marriage, I am using a blog calendar located at Confessions of a Homeschooler
.
3. I will write a week’s worth of entries for Back Porchervations. 2 down, 5 to go)

4. I have entered the first month of ideas on the Prayers for My Marriage calendar.
* I created the blog "Prayers for My Marriage" after participating in Matrimonial Monday, a blog hop hosted at A Proverbs 31 Wife and Exceptionalistic, on the 23rd of this month.  I used ideas from a set of prayer cards from Time Warp Wife, starting on that date.  I anticipate finishing that series of entries on the 22nd of February.

5. I will increase the number of my blog's (Back Porchervations)  Facebook followers from 31 to 100; 
* I have used the "Build Audience" tab in the Admin Panel to send individual messages and make a post to my personal FB page.(where it will show that thanks to mostly farm games I have 4400 "friends"). UPDATE: I have 34 followers.

I will increase the number of my blog's Twitter followers from 616 to 700;
I joined Twiends and Tweetbig in order to add some momentum to my Twitter business.  Too many links to follow from this Squidoo lens.
UPDATE:  I have 645 followers

I will increase the number of Google+ circles to which my blog belongs from 51 to 100.
I googled "how to increase followers on Google+" and picked the site WonderHowTo for ideas.
UPDATE:  I have 54 followers.

7. I will start moderating comments on both my blogs in order to increase my responsiveness to my readers.

8. I will get domain names for each of my two blogs.

9. I will have one incoming guest post (a post on my blog by someone else) and one outgoing guest post (a post on someone else's blog by me) for each of my two blogs.

10. I will host one blog hop each day at Back Porchervations

11. Back Porchervations will participate in at least one blog hop (hosted on another blogger's site) for each day of the week.

12. Both of my blogs will feature one giveaway per month.

13.  I will participate in the "101 in 1001" meme.

14.  I will do more  shoutouts to help build up by friends' blogs.

Blogathon 2 Kickoff

     I'm so blogxcited right now I can hardly stand it.  If you haven't signed up for the blogathon, you can still participate by going here.  There are 105 of us so far and this is definitely a "the more the merrier" kind of thing.  Kathleen Garber, aka Mother Blogture (my term) has a w-e-a-l-t-h of information on the site, accessible by the button above.  Go there.  Now.  I.  Am.  Serious! Little bit about me:  My name is LuAnn.  I am an Invisible Woman of God, a Wife, a Homeschooling Mother of 3 (male-16, male-14, female-9 but making out her 10th birthday wishlist for the big day 8 days from now), a Wordcrafter.  I have a quirky sense of humor.  Originally I had put "writer" in my little list, but wordcrafter is a better choice, because not only do I like to use words...I like to make them up!   I made up the word "porchervation" for this blog, to mean an observations made on a porch.  I'm also counting blogxcited and Mother Blogture; I was hoping for wordcrafting as well, but that apparently has already been spoken for.   Some goals I have for this Blogathon2 include:

1. participate in at least 3 challenges (arbitrary choice of one per day)
2. print out the 2013 blog calendar x2 (one for this blog, one for my new blog (Prayers For My Marriage).  Unfortunately one of our computers needed reformatting, and the other one is occupado, so I need to find out which one I've squirreled away the file on.
3. write a week's worth of entries for Back Porchervations, because that's probably how long I'm going to sleep after 8 am ET on Monday.
4. enter the first month of "Praying for My Husband" card topics on one of the above calendars.
5. 250 Facebook (currently at 31), Twitter (currently at 616), and Google+ (currently at 51) followers; OK. It's obvious those numbers need some tweaking...so how about 100 FB, 700 Tweeps and 100 Googlers?
6. Have a finished blog button for both blogs.
7. Start moderating comments in order to be able to respond to each one in an easier fashion.
8. get 2x domains for my 2x blogs.
9. line up 1 incoming (on my blog) and 1 outgoing (on a friend's blog) guest post x2.
10. set up one blog hop for each day of the week on this blog.
11. participate in one blog hop (from a friend's blog) for each day of the week.
12. set up one giveaway per month 2x
13. 101 in 1001
14. more shoutouts for outstanding blogs, bloggers, comments/commenters etc etc etc 

OK.  I'd love to put more and make a post so long that I would do nothing else (sometimes I prepare a little too well), but I'm going to go out (figuratively speaking because it's C-O-L-D outside) and get blogging!

Have a super Blogathon2, y'all!

I Have a Dream ... Too

This post is inspired by Selena's "Are You a Dreamer" entry at Blissfully Domestic.

I actually first read Selena's post last night, and I needed to put on my thinking cap for a while. At first my dreams didn't seem big enough. Then I thought ... our dreams are what we need as individuals to grow from where we are to a world where our dreams are realities.

So, onto my dreams:

I dream of a world where no children go to bed cold or hungry (including my own).

I dream of a world where 'common' sense and 'common' courtesy are the rule ... and not the exception.

I dream of a world where people who are 'different' are treated with respect and as equals.

I dream of a world where people actually take the time to stop and smell the roses.