by Tish MacWebber | Aug 27, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Happy Weekend to you! I am here on Sunday morning, using my AGENDA to figure out this busy day. Friday I started a new challenge. It is another five-day, free, online challenge, and since I had such a successful run at the last one I did, I signed up for the next one. The first one taught me about how to Brand myself, as an Artist and an Author. The current Challenge is about Tribe Building, and that is a logical thing for me to learn tips and tricks for, also. Both of these subjects need to be worked on, constantly, because the audience of today may be a different audience a month from now, six months from now, and onward. Not that the core audience should be changing itself, but the needs of the audience will change and refocus over time, and I need to stay relevant if I am going to level up as an artist and author.
The homework for today, Day 3 is making me hesitant to answer. It looks easy, because of launching the contest, I think I am already figuring out the next step for me. I am actually going to delay answering today until after the video for the challenge is posted. I want to be sure that my answers are well thought out because I am Always Thinking…and I need to get the most out of this challenge that I can, which means sometimes I have to think about the answer, not just slam it out onto the keyboard.
I am really inspired from taking these challenges. I ran a contest for people to check out different online projects I have on the go, and I picked a winner. Today I need to create the prize, after having a consultation with the winner, yesterday. I will be delivering the prize tomorrow, as she is someone that I work with.
Yesterday should have been an easy win for the cleaning and prep cooking. It wasn’t. I actually spent the whole day writing on the blog and working on my social media presence, as well as completing day 2 of the GYT Challenge. I made the video, and I wrote two stories for the blog, one has been published, and the other one has been written in draft format. It is waiting for approval on some links before I publish, as I want to be sure that I have gotten permission from the sources before sharing the links. (I did get permission already for the one shared here.)
You may think that it is not hard to spend the day in front of the computer. In one sense, you would be correct with that assumption. On the other hand, I am working on many things at the same time, most of the time with writing as the main event, either here, on the blog, or writing my book, elsewhere. I enjoy the social networking, and I have friends that I interact with online. I also try to share only the best, most clever tweets. I have not branched out far in the Twitterverse, but I do check in daily. It is something I am getting the hang of how to use.
If I am writing, and that is working, then yes, there is a fun factor there for me too. I really enjoy writing, and I do want to work hard at launching my trilogy to be a success. I am trying to learn as I go, and do as much of this as I can by myself. I know my limits, though, and will be in need of an editor when I have the manuscript and my initial editing completed. I will need help in different areas, but I just took a Facebook quiz, and it said that I will be a millionaire in 2019. If that is correct, I am going to be a successful published author by then. I don’t really believe that it will happen because Facebook said so, but it is something that could happen if I work hard to make it so.
Today I went to a movie with my husband. We went to see The Nut Job 2, and it was cute and funny. Full of puns! Not a lot, alright, but there were a few. Then I rushed home to put a roast in the oven for supper. Then I ran out again to help a friend buy what she needed for her store to create a new display. We were both a little off, maybe tired from being busy, so we decided to go get some iced coffee. We both had the sugar free vanilla. I really enjoyed it, and it was just what I needed to pick me up. We also sat down for a bit to have a chat. Sometimes it is good to make time to just catch up. The down side of this is that I had to turn down a visit with another friend today because I had already committed to the first friend yesterday. The timing just wasn’t working out to do everything, and I still have homework and earrings to make.
When I publish this I am going to finish making supper, watch the video for my challenge, do the homework, make the earrings, and empty the dishwasher so I can fill it up again. If I get REAL ambitious I’ll throw a chicken in the crockpot for tomorrow’s prep cooking adventures. I LOVE Roast beef sandwiches, so lunch tomorrow will be a treat! Tuesday I will need something prepared, and I am going to make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole. Hence the need to cook the chicken, tonight or tomorrow. It is a simple recipe so it can be done in the morning. Then all I will need to do is steam the broccoli, grate some cheese, and mix the recipe together and pop it into the oven. If I get that far. Right now, I could seriously go for a nap. What does that mean? I win this weekend! I even conquered a hard avocado last night when I was making nachos for supper. It never stood a chance. What did you do this weekend?
by Tish MacWebber | Aug 27, 2017 | Events
Tish before Makeup or hair styling was done.
A few months ago, I shared a story about makeup. Makeup: A Purge and Purchase Story was fun to experience, and fun to write about. I was surprised by the comment thread my makeup questions spurred on my Facebook page. Quite a few people had opinions, and some joined me on my shopping trip.
This morning I woke up and decided I would do my hair and makeup for my Facebook Live video. I was announcing the winner of the Scavenger Hunt Contest I had going on all week. I didn’t just want a “like and share” contest. I wanted people to follow links to my different areas of expertise, one page for my jewellery making business, Tish’s Treasures, another my Facebook Author page, Tish MacWebber’s Author Facebook Page, and here, on my blog.
People showed interest, but not everyone participated. Some tried to do all of the steps, and others liked the pages. I made my first Facebook live videos this week. I found that the one I made from my personal Facebook page was the one that had the most interaction, so I am learning as I am trying new things. I have watched them after recording, just to hear what I sounded like, and to learn. I will keep working on them, as they are another way to reach out to people that might not want to spend their time hunting for different pages.
That being said, at some point in the future, I am going to make the leap from this Blog page to my own website. That will be a new step for me, outside of my comfort zone. I want to combine the Bling, Blog, and Books I am creating on to a website. I will be looking for help to do this, and I know that people in the communities I am involved with in my social media circles will point me in the right direction so I can figure it all out. I am doing all of the work myself, since this page launched for the second time. I had help at the start and took over when I was ready to take the reins. It has been a bumpy ride at times, but so much fun.
Now for the makeup. I am going to share a series of selfies I took this morning while getting ready for my video shoot. That sounds bigger than it was. It was less than five minutes long. I am still not used to how things are flipped on the laptop. It is another thing to work at until I am great at it.
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Before I started. No glasses selfie.
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This is what my Evil Twin looks like. I “flipped” this pic. My sisters are twins. This is as close as I can get.
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Foundation, blush and eyeshadow applied.
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Foundation, blush, and eyeshadow applied on the evil twin. I know it is a selfie. and I have MY glasses off, I wish it wasn’t blurry…
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Now with Mascara
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With Mascara, on the Evil Twin.
Close up! Lips have been found! I hardly recognize myself!
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Hair done.
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Hair done, and glasses back on.
Ready to shoot my video!
This happens to be the second tube of mascara I have tried. I miss my wonder-curl mascara, they don’t make it anymore. I will give them each another try before blogging my thoughts. I also tried a new eye makeup remover. I have not found one that completely cleans mascara from my lashes, ever. Any tips will be appreciated with this in mind. I asked about this today on my personal Facebook page, and it became quite a thread. I am always happy to see another person’s point of view. 😉
by Tish MacWebber | Aug 6, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
If you have ever wondered why I picked the “Angry Tomato” pic for this series, there are a few reasons. One is that it made me laugh, out loud. I reacted to it, so I decided it would work. Another is because I am fighting my way to living a healthier lifestyle, and I wanted a kitchen themed picture for this series. I try to do the cooking and cleaning on the weekends, I find it had to work at during the work week. I have had some success this year in my spring cleaning challenge, but as of yet, I have not finished. I choose not to dwell on what I have not done and try to move forward because of what I have done.
I am planning my day out, dreading the return to work tomorrow. I am a firm believer that there should be less week and more weekend. I do not have the power or the budget to sustain a lifestyle that does not include a day job, so the reality is, I have to keep the day job, even if I would rather devote all of my time to being creative and writing.
Which brings me to my books. I have started them, yes. I have had an idea (finally) this morning about where to continue as I plan to write some more today. I don’t know if I will succeed in writing enough to complete the weekend challenge I joined, but I am going to see what I could do. That is how I entered. This doesn’t count, as it is not progressing on my book. I will add it to the word count as a side project, because it is writing, nonetheless. I do have deadlines with my blog, too, though and I have to do my best to keep up with it here for myself, and for my followers. Thank you to those who are taking the time to read my Blog, and welcome to any people who are new here. I write at least twice a week, and this is one of my regular categories. Me vs the weekend. 🙂
Yesterday I got up early, bought and delivered a birthday present to a friend. Her birthday had been the day before, and I wanted to make sure I got to see her. We had a good talk, but as she was working it wasn’t the same as a real visit. I am going to try and pop over again today, as I think it would be nice.
I then tackled some indoor gardening projects. I have read online that spiders and other bugs do not like mint plants. A few weeks ago, I had bought six different mint plants, and my husband replanted them into new pots for me. I have noticed that they were drying up. I am still trying to figure out a watering schedule for them. I watered them from the top yesterday when I was finished, and just before I started writing I watered them from the bottom. I will have to do some online research. While I was working yesterday I found a green “leaf eater” bug, which my husband buried in the dirt saying that it is a leaf eater, that should be the end of it. I have my doubts. I also found an inchworm in another one, and that was successfully relocated outside on a leaf from that plant. Late last night I got him to move a ladybug back outside for me. The ants and spiders are not found as frequently inside, so that is a bonus. I am hoping it works and more bugs stay outside.
Something else was a little confusing. There is a spearmint plant amongst the varieties I bought, and around the base of the pot on the shelf that I have it on are a lot of hard, black dots. It is either droppings from a critter or the plant went to seed because it was so dry. I am not sure, the black bits are no bigger than granulated sugar pieces. They may indeed be little seeds. I may gather them up and plant them, to see what comes up!
My husband worked a few extra hours yesterday. He has been doing that on one of his days off to help with our budget. I am not going to write about my work here, at least not this week, I had a frustrating week. I am going to leave it at that, and it is also the reason I did not do any over time at my work this week. Sometimes I do. This week it just wasn’t going to happen.
After he was done, we picked up a few groceries. He made us subs for lunch and he barbequed some wieners for supper. We then headed out to spend time with some friends. He had a guys gaming night, and I watched a movie with another friend and called it a ladies night. Sometimes it is important to plan activities apart. Other times, like today, we will spend more time together. It is OK to not spend every single minute with your significant other when you have free time. It is healthy to have different friends, hobbies and activities. There is still a common ground for the things you enjoy doing together, but a little break here and there is something we all need.
For prep cooking today I am making Bangin’ Ranch Drums. It is a Trim Healthy Mama recipe. I love it, and my husband is OK with it in the rotation, but like with all of the THM recipes, he doesn’t want it all the time. We also got buns for barbequed cheeseburgers and sloppy joes. I have some THM sloppy joe mix already made in my freezer. He likes Manwich. On this, I am OK with him making his own supper. If I am to be on plan when I eat it, I will have it with salad, not on a bun. I may make some green bean fries this week too, as I do enjoy them as a side with the chicken. I am still working on everything all at once but trying to be realistic at the same time.
Today I will be continuing the cat sitting job. I also did some plant care there yesterday, they have one houseplant and it needed TLC. I don’t know about the plant boxes on the deck, though. They look like they have had a rough summer, and I am not sure if they can be rescued. I may try, just to surprise my friends when they come home. I will see how the day goes. It is very dry, there is a no fire ban here province wide. If I do work on the outdoor plants, I will have to remember to water them. If they don’t read this, it will be a nice surprise. If they do, I make no promises. It may be beyond saving.
I am a member of the Fredericton Science Fiction Society. The FSFS gets together a little less frequently than it used to, but today we are going to meet up at a local ice cream shop. My husband is a member too, and the group usually has potluck events year round. With a ban on fires, we decided it would be better to go have ice cream instead of an outdoor BBQ at a local park today. Air conditioning may or may not have been a deciding factor in this plan.
We have to do some cleaning. While I was working on my indoor gardening yesterday, my husband was trimming the lawn. He didn’t mow it yet. It is still very dry so there may not be a rush for that. He is amused that I think we should water it with the garden hose. It is turning brown. I just want it to be healthy, and not be so dry it is at risk for burning. There was a thunderstorm last night, but we need more rain to remove the risk of fires, sooner rather than later.
All in all a busy weekend, but thankfully, it has been going at a slower pace this week. It is a holiday tomorrow, and I look forward to the holiday pay that I *may have* already spent yesterday. It is OK. I will forfeit it to the budget since I went ahead and bought some extras. It’s all about compromise and doing what you can to make life enjoyable with what you have to work with. Weekends are supposed to be fun and relaxing. I think I snuck a little of each in this weekend, so it is a win for me! What did you do this weekend?
