by Tish MacWebber | Feb 26, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
In Weeknd Warrior #53: Multitasking for the Win, this weekend was busy and not. All at the same time. I had baking to do Friday night, for a bake sale on Saturday. I participated in some writing sprints. So I wrote for an hour, then made Macaroons. Then after I got them in the fridge, I entered into the second hour of writing. In that time of writing, Friday, in both sessions, I started a new fictional story about the cats in my book. It will have a time and a place for release. It was fun to write a what if story about them. It is going to be something special when I am ready to share it.
Saturday I got ready and picked up some bottles at work for the Bottle Drive. The event that I was baking for Friday night was a three part event. It was for Boston Terrier Rescue Canada, and I am a volunteer with them, so I pitch in when and where I can. This event was made up of the bottle drive, a bake sale, and a local grooming business was offering nail trims for donations as well. I had the job of watching the Bake Sale Table when I arrived.
I thought about bringing my laptop to use wi-fi while I was there. It was going to be a few hours, and I debated the idea. I decided to print out the partial manuscript of my book and work on the editing while I was between customers at the bake sale. It worked out well. I was able to convince another volunteer to take a picture of my multitasking at the event.
Volunteering for Boston Terrier Rescue Canada while editing my first book. Multitasking win!
I wrote some more of that story I was working on Saturday. I didn’t make the earlier session but I managed to get to the second one. I spent the day writing and napping Sunday. I tried something different Sunday morning, and it was tough to write, and I don’t know if I will ever do anything with it. It was really personal, and it made me cry. Sometimes writing is just for the Author. Other times it gets to be shared with the world. I actually went back to the other story in the morning today and finished it. For the last hour of writing this weekend, I started writing my second book. I want to finish the editing on my first book before continuing to write it. I am worried that I am going to be repeating myself, and then I will have more work to do. So that is what I was up to this weekend. Volunteer work and writing. Not a lot done around the house, but a productive weekend, in other areas. Time to get ready for Monday.
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Feb 23, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Me and my Chin. My chin is something that I am focusing on a lot these days. It is puffy. I almost wish I could blame it on having the mumps, but nobody wants to have the mumps. Although as I am sitting here, I am noticing that my glands may be a little swollen…lol. Nope, not the mumps. Fluid retention is much more likely what I am dealing with. I don’t know anymore if it is a 12-pound chin anymore. I do know that it is not a chocolate chin. I am not indulging like I was before. That being said, things do sneak in, and I have less willpower when it comes to certain sweets. I am working on that. I am going to have to ask someone to stop bringing so many home. If they aren’t here, I won’t be into them.
It has dissipated, some. It is not affecting the shape of my face as much. I know that what I am doing is working. I did some prep cooking last week, and I ate my healthy lunches for most of the week. I slipped today, but have lunch planned for tomorrow to get back on track. It is OK to be human, and go off the plan on occasion. It is not good to do it all the time. That is how someone like me gets into trouble.
I had a change come over me last week, and it was for the better. I was trying again. There was a week or two where I just wasn’t trying, and now I have this chin problem. I am very aware of it, and it is something I want to disappear. I want it to not be puffy. I need to refocus again this week and think of my chocolate rewards. Chocolate diamonds.
I think I will weigh in before next week, to see where I am at. I either weigh a lot or avoid the scale. I have been avoiding it of late, so I think it is time to see what is happening. I have made my fresh start, and there is nowhere to go but…down. I refuse to go any higher on the scale. I hope it is nice when I take the step onto it. If not, well, that really won’t be too much of a surprise.
I haven’t been to Zumba as regularly as I have wanted to be lately. Transportation issues are the main reason, sometimes if I have the car there is a storm. I don’t like asking for rides when the weather is so iffy. I will be asking more in the spring. I am really hoping that we can swing another car soon.
I wouldn’t be lying if I said that I wasn’t excited about a discussion I had with my husband earlier in the week. He is finally ready to consider getting a dog after our vacation. I really hope that it works out because I need a reason to become more active. Sadly, I am not motivated to do it if it is just for me, I need a reason. A dog would be that reason. I would have to go for more than one walk a day. That would help me to become healthier. It would fill my heart. Finally, it would make me happy to do something I have wanted to do for a long time. Have my own dog. Even though I am certain that it will like Roy more than me. He has a way with animals. I just love them like my family.
I will let you know if the scale was good, bad, or ugly next week.
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Feb 21, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Treasure Seeker Tuesday #20 Dealing with criticism and learning something new is what is on my mind this week. If you are following this category, then you know I am sharing parts of my creative journey here, to let you know a little more about me, and maybe even to inspire you to chase your own dreams. That is what I have been doing for the last 15 months, now.
At the start, I didn’t know what my dreams were planning for me. I have kept working, and I am still not sure where the path is going to lead me next. I am confident that I am on the right path, though, because it has plenty of twists and turns.
I have been working towards designing my own book cover. I might have it almost done, I have worked really hard at figuring out what I want it to look like. So as I have been doing all along, I shared it for people to help me figure out which one is best. I have had more people voice their opinions, and they weren’t all nice. I can’t please everyone, that is the impossible dream. However, I had to take a step back and try to digest the latest round of constructive criticism.
In the midst of all this, I had a new friend offer to help. So I am waiting to see what they can suggest. Maybe a collaboration will be the answer I need. Maybe it will be the way to get the balance of what I envision to be more translatable to the general public. Maybe I will stick to my own designs and keep going in the same direction that I am heading in already. We are chatting online, and I am open to new ideas. Spoiler Alert: I may be starting the cover all over again, or not as close to being done as I thought it was. This would be the second time I start over if that is what I decide to do.
I do understand the point of what the critics are saying. They are trying to make me think about the cover of my first book as the art section. I am the writer. I will need an editor, so to some people, it would be logical to also need a cover designer. I am not ready to let go of that responsibility. Not yet. I may have to go back to the theoretical drawing board and accept help, but I am not ready to let it go. I have time to make it. I am still writing the book.
Then I reached out to a publisher friend that I really seem to get some genuine support from. This is the online chat that had me working through my frustrated, misunderstood creativity tears. Criticism is hard to take sometimes, especially when it is about something that is right from your heart. I can bottle things up, and this round made me upset. It snuck out when I was sharing my experience with my friend. Then she explained something to me.
My cover doesn’t have to be a mainstream cover. I am not writing a mainstream book. My book is personal, funny and touching. It is being written in honour of someone that was very much on my mind when I was inspired to write it. Why does this all matter? It matters because my friend explained to me that this is a special type of book. A type of book that I never thought I would write. She said my book is a Memoir. She said that because it is different, it may be the best formula for me to keep going in my own direction. In a strange way, this makes sense to me. I am in my own lane with this book, alongside others in this genre. I don’t want it to fit in. I want it to stand out.
So, to keep the common thread of me going my own way, and forging my own path, I will continue. That doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind, or accept help to point me in the right direction. When I need help, I will decide when and who to ask. Until then, I am going to keep working on my book writing goals, and growing new friendships in the writing community. Some people get me, and what I am trying to do. Those are the people that I am going to trust when it is time to ask for help. Those are the people that I want in my corner, cheering me on, and letting me know when I can return the favour.
Did you learn anything new this past week?
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Feb 19, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
Weekend Warrior readers, a weekend of fun just happened. It was a mellow sort of fun, with friends. We kept things low key. I didn’t do anything this weekend that wasn’t supposed to be fun. Except for sleeping, which is necessary.
Saturday started slow. I slept in both days, but today was a little different. I am getting ahead of myself, though. Saturday started in the mid-afternoon with errands. If you follow me on Facebook, on my personal page, you would have seen that in my video. I review coffee and wine in my live videos, mixed in amongst other things.
We went to a craft supplies store. Okay, I did. Roy went to the pet store for plant food. All the plants in his fish tank are live, and he keeps them all happy. I found some supplies for the Cat Tales Jewellery Collection. That made me very happy. I need to start designing this as I gear up to finish the book writing.
We also came home, had supper and headed out for a game night. We played Firefly, with 7 expansions and a map. I do not have any pictures, as the guys didn’t seem keen on the idea. I lost. I enjoyed a bottle of wine. I was happy to get out of the house and go play board games. I decided to just do something fun, and that carried over into today.
Today I woke up fairly early, grabbed my laptop and started working on an upcoming submission for an ezine. I am on a deadline, with a topic and a focus. I took an hour this morning to get it started. I am hoping that the first draft and self-edit is all that it needs. I want to get it as polished as I can before the first deadline, in the hopes that I won’t need to work on it after I submit it for review. This is where it all starts new for me, and I am up for the challenge.
We went to see the new Black Panther Movie. I had a gift voucher, so we got in for less money than if we had to buy the tickets, for sure. It was long. It was good, I enjoyed it. The guys I went with were not as impressed. They found it generic and predictable. I enjoyed the music, the traditional music.
I am continuing the book cover design quest. I am getting feedback, and people are encouraging me to work with a book cover designer. I don’t know what to think about that, yet. I know I will need an actual editor, once I do the self-editing. I don’t want them to do the easy work, the typos and things I can pick out myself. The internet is full of people with opinions, and I have to be selective on what ones I choose to agree with. Constructive criticism is fine, but sometimes hard to take. We will see what another week brings.
This weekend, I won, but totally on the having a legit weekend with no chores tackled. I am hoping that I can get that back on the plate next weekend.
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Feb 16, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
Trust Your Gut is Starting Fresh this week! As you might know, if you read my Blog post yesterday, I had a bit of bad news, and I was struggling to deal with it. I was upset and had my moments to deal with it, and like I wrote yesterday, I focused on the good things in my life, rather than dwelling on the bad news. I am happy to say that it worked. Did it ever!
The old me would have dwelled in the negativity. The old me would have scrounged the house for junk food or anything that remotely resembled junk food. The old me would have wallowed in a pity party for one, and she might not have even let a new day snap her out of it.
With that one story yesterday, I changed my attitude. I had 4 pounds of ground beef in the fridge, and a whole chicken, all ready to cook. When I am trying to do better, I plan to cook, and sometimes the food spoils before I get to it. I decided yesterday was going to be a cooking day.
Roy, my husband, does not always like to eat on plan with me when I am making healthy food. It is challenging, as sometimes I have to cook different things. Sometimes we compromise, like when I make spaghetti sauce, he has regular pasta, and I now prefer spaghetti squash. I really do, because I do not get sleepy like I do after eating regular pasta. I like eating food that is healthy and tastes good. Trim Healthy Mama, or THM, is a plan that has an abundance of recipes for making healthy food that tastes good.
I am still drinking the Shrinker 5 days a week. I need to make some GGMS for the weekend. I need to have something other than pop to drink. I like the Shrinker. The last batch I made did not get consumed quickly enough. I have a glass pitcher with a spout to make it in. That is another plan for the weekend. If it is easily accessible, I am more likely to drink it. I have shared the recipes before, and the originals can be found at the THM website, under the recipes tab. There are also quite a few food Bloggers for THM, and Pinterest is loaded with THM recipes.
I cooked all of that meat last night. I took my disappointment, frustration, and discouragement, and turned into something productive. I cooked 1 pound of the beef and made Hamburger Helper for Roy. He had that last night for supper and today for lunch. I cooked the other 3 pounds together. I cooked it with a package of onion soup mix. (So good!) I scooped about a pound and set it aside for Big Mac Salad. I took the remaining 2 pounds and made Cheeseburger Pie. Before I started this, I used my favourite rub to get the chicken in the slow cooker. You can find it here. Tonight, we will be eating chicken for supper. It is ready to go! Roy will probably make a chicken sandwich for work tomorrow.
I have leftovers to heat and eat, for the next few days. I am proud that I did something productive last night. I needed to distract myself, and I did just that. Most of what I made is on plan too, with a few compromises for Roy to have something to eat as well. All in all, I think I am on my way to snapping out of the winter blues as a result of it. It is lighter in the morning and the evening, and it is making a difference in how I feel. Bring on Spring! This is why I called this week’s story a Fresh Start! I am ready to get things going in the right direction again!
#TrustYourGut
