by Tish MacWebber | Feb 7, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Last week I wrote about the book cover design quest I started, in Treasure Seeker Tuesday. This week I can say that I have continued the work and asking for opinions. Which are very helpful in making changes, and getting ready to make a final decision. It is my first book cover, for my first book. It is a big deal.
I have been pushing myself in a few areas since the new year started. I already achieved a personal goal at my workplace. I sent an email, and what I asked for was granted. If I review my list of things that I want to get accomplished in 2018 to make it a SUCCESS, I am making progress. I launched the website. I am continuing to work on it. I am keeping up with my blog, writing consistently three times a week. I am happier at work with the lateral position change. I really needed a change.
I am forgetting something. I do enjoy all of the things I am working on. Yes, I do love writing and telling stories. I love being able to listen to my music lists on Spotify while I am at work. I am pushing my limits and keeping the momentum going. I am forgetting to just stop doing what I have to do every once in a while and just doing something for fun.
I am scared to stop. When I cut myself some slack, I generally go off the rails, and maybe I don’t find my way back. If I stopped writing and working on the website, I might just do what I do and stop. With every intention to get back to it, and never finding the gumption or the time. That would be a real shame.
Writing and being creative are the things that keep me going, with the coffee and vitamins. I enjoy writing and getting comments about what I have written. I don’t want to stop. But in a way, I did, a little. I have put down the book I started writing.
I stopped in December, and have looked at it once. I am in the part of the year where I sometimes do nothing because of the guilt I have about not doing what I think needs to be done instead of what I want to do. So I do nothing. It is not a good place to be stuck in and it certainly isn’t a place I can just walk away from.
It is inside my head. I know I am hard on myself, but it is a part of what makes me tick. I am my own worst critic, and that is not an easy standard to live up to. I strive to be the best at what I do, and when I don’t succeed, I am really hard on myself. Every once in a while, I have a good cry, release the emotions, and I move on. It is also a part of my coping mechanism. In the last year, it has happened a handful of times. It is how I deal. I spring a leak, and then I patch it up until the next time it breaks.
I am working towards finding a balance, and a way to do all of the things that are productive for me to do. In all areas. I think I need to give myself a break. I have accomplished so much in 14 months. I know I am doing well. I know I am finding my way. It all comes down to perspective. And sometimes, a person needs to take a step away from what they are working on, take a break, and think about it in the back of their mind to gain a different perspective before moving forward again. Even me.
I have taken a break from writing my first book. But you know what? It isn’t going to write itself, and it needs my attention. I am so excited about using my imagination to write this book, and when I share a little, people genuinely react well to what I do share. I am going to scale back on the social media platform and the website just a bit, to make time to finish my book. I have to prioritize it and make the time. That is how I will get it finished. I just needed to give myself space to get a new perspective. It is time to get back to writing the book. Starting tomorrow. It is late, and I still have that day job that pays the bills…
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Feb 2, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
Trust Your Gut this week is going to focus a little on Type 2 Diabetes. Sometimes, I don’t feel well. When that happens, I take a guess at what is going on.
Let’s take today, for an example. I stayed a little later after work to run to the grocery store and to get some wine. Then I got a ride home. I shovelled the driveway, steps and walkway. There wasn’t a lot of snow, it wasn’t heavy, and it wasn’t too cold or windy. Half an hour later, I come inside. I take off my layers and am I glistening. Yay me for doing some exercise. Then I noticed that I was perspiring from my scalp.
That is not good. I had a reason, but from my scalp usually means a low. So I was going to treat it, but I thought, well I should know how low it is so I know how to treat it.
It is a good thing that I Trust My Gut. I wasn’t having a low, my blood sugar was high! I was surprised and glad that I checked. I knew I didn’t feel confused. I wasn’t weak, or faint. I was a little out of breath from exercising with the snow and shovel.
The lesson this week is that it is ALWAYS better to check first. I could have been adding to the problem, instead of solving it. I did have carbs at lunch, and that was what was going on. So it makes sense, even though I thought that it was the opposite. I had been exercising, and I was overdressed, so I was really warm.
Tonight I am going to make burgers. I am craving burgers, and this way I can control what I am eating. There is no extra junk in a burger if you make it at home, just a tasty meal that helps to avoid the lazy route of getting fast food. Now don’t get me wrong, I am still working on the plan, but sometimes it is good to have a regular meal. I got some buns, and cheese slices. I haven’t made homemade burgers in a while. I also grabbed frozen fish burgers last week, and I will keep 2 buns for the last 2 fish burgers. Just to have something different to eat.
Cheeseburger pie and Big Mac Salad will always be in my meal rotation, now. I have decided to make taco salad for SuperBowl Sunday. We ate chili last week, and I suspect the Nacho Queen (yours truly) will make some nachos over the weekend. I love to have a plate of nachos as a meal. When I don’t know what I want, there had better be nachos I can make. I am eating the blue corn nacho chips these days, sometimes even the organic ones if they are on sale. They are great with an avocado dip I get as a treat sometimes. I go on kicks and eat them every other day sometimes, and other times I go a month or two without them. When I have all the ingredients, it is an easy, filling meal to make.
Well, I am off to make supper, Roy will be home soon. I want to get ahead of the prep cooking someday and get some cheeseburger pie in the freezer. It is a really good idea to have it ready for that next burger craving when you don’t want to go off the plan…
#TrustYourGut
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 31, 2018 | Treasure Seeker Tuesdays
Treasure Seeker Tuesday is going to focus a little bit on a project that has taken over my free time the last few days. Someone in a writing group was looking for feedback on their cover. I shared mine, and I too was given feedback. It sent me on a quest. My first book cover design quest. This is something I never planned on doing. I had designed a cover that I was quite happy with a while back. Then someone offered an idea.
Well, 15 more covers later, I am still narrowing it down. Here is what I learned so far.
People will comment on things. I like this. It is how I ended up with the Logo I designed for the website. It is helpful to have the opinion of people in the industry, but also from friends and family. There are strongly positive and negative reactions.
Purple was the one colour that I knew I had to keep when I was choosing colours for my Brand. That was an adventure. I started with blues and purples. I was told it all looked the same. It didn’t to me, but that is how I ended up looking for the brand colours that you see today. I wanted purple, and other colours that were nothing like it. I spent hours on a website narrowing down my choices. One palette became the one I started comparing to the rest. I knew that was the one I wanted.
Exotic Fruits Color Palette – My Brand Colours
This website is where I found it. I didn’t create it, but it quickly became my favourite, and I am using it throughout my website and social media platform. I see choosing my palette as the first step in what you are looking at today.
Naturally, my book cover was going to be purple. That purple, right up there. I tried different colours and got a little help with my picture, and came up with this.
From Where I am Sitting A Collection of Cat Tales by Tish MacWebber
I was asked a few questions, and then I started playing in canva. I came up with several variations, with the picture, and the colours above it. Then I tried something I wanted to do, but I am still not sure that it will be practical. I added the tartan that I designed from the colours above at this tartan designing website. I am really liking the tartan.
I took tonight off. I even designed the back cover of the book in my dreams last night. I have been immersed in this project. I am not yet done, so I will show a few of the favourites so far. If you have any comments, I am open to constructive criticism. If I am going to change it, I might as well have fun with the process!
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Whimsical White and Purple
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Creative Colour combo (Stories should be Tales)
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A twist on colour
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Pop Yellow
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Pop Peach
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Pop Pink
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Pop Green
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Peach on tartan
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Purple on tartan
That is what I have been up to this week. Trying new cover ideas. When I make a decision, I will share that with you as well.
#TreasureSeekerTuesday
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 29, 2018 | Weekend Warrior
Weekend Warriors, I kept things low key this weekend. I had Thursday & Friday off. I also had today off. My weekend is going to align with the real weekend, starting next weekend! I am only really having today as a real day off. It is late, and almost tomorrow.
I relaxed all day with my computer. I worked on social media, and I also played with designs for my first book cover. I did a little work on the website last night. Another category, Trust Your Gut has no more duplicated posts, and they are all there. One large category all set up. I have to go through each category and do the same thing, I think. Any missing posts were in the uncategorized list, so I have a way to find them.
I made a significant decision this weekend. I am going to change the way I do things. I started this category, Weekend Warrior, as a way to keep track of my spring cleaning challenge, and any fun things I had going on. Well, I am severely lacking in the accomplishments, both in what I need to do, and what I want to do. It is time to change my tactics.
I still need to do the cleaning, and try to plan fun activities. I am going to make a significant change this year. Last year, I planned 6 months of cleaning and 6 months for writing. I got as far as I could with that plan in 2017. This year, I am aiming for Success. What that means is in a previous post. Treasure Seeker Tuesday #11 has a list of what I am going to do to succeed in 2018. It doesn’t say how. I am going to be working on that throughout the year.
I have realized that just like I need to work on my cleaning challenges, I also have to work on being creative. I am still figuring out how to implement the plans I am coming up with. I just know that inaction is not helping me to get things done, and I still have a lot of things that need me to do them.
I did laundry today. No big deal for most people. But it is the clothing that I have to hang up, and not just put in the dryer. I have a clothing rack, so everything is hanging to dry. I have been putting off that laundry load for 2 weeks. It’s going to be nice to have my sweaters all clean to wear again. It’s not that I don’t know what I have to do. It’s that there is so much to do that I get overwhelmed.
Remember the Overwhelm Elephant I wrote about in Trust your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 32? Well, it had been giving me a stress headache for the last few days. I had been putting too much pressure on myself to get everything done. I can only do so much. I am working on a plan to get things done reasonably, and effectively. I need to fit in the creativity, or I’ll have a meltdown. Those are never pretty.
I also have to learn to go with the cleaning bug when it strikes. Although if I wait for it, that may never happen. I have to start somewhere. I know I am going to have company in June, so I have a deadline. I do not want to leave it that long, it is too hot and uncomfortable to clean in June. So I am trying to get myself started by working on the house for an hour every day. Then I need to focus on being creative for an hour every day unless I am having a productive cleaning day, in which case I will keep going. It isn’t rocket science, but on the days that I don’t want to clean, I can time it, and still get it done.
I am really glad that the living room furniture rearrangement is done. I still have tidying to do, but there is a lot less to do because we worked in this room already. My office is also in the living room. So it has double duty. I still haven’t finished organizing my office, either. It is a lot better than it used to be, and I have done a little here and there, but the finishing touches have not all been applied. It is something I am waiting to feel like doing.
Tomorrow after work, it is time to reclaim my living room. I have Christmas decorations to unpack and store until next year. It is time that I took that step. I can then create my Launch Pad in the living room, by my front door again. I need to reclaim that space. Then I will start in the kitchen. I still have 4 lbs of ground beef to cook up. I just wasn’t feeling like it today. Tomorrow is a new day. And next weekend is a real weekend! Yeah!
#WeekendWarrior
by Tish MacWebber | Jan 26, 2018 | Trust Your Gut
Trust Your Gut this week is going to be positive. I got on the scale again, and I am down from my trip in the wrong direction. I was down a pound less than since the last time I checked and was going the right way again. It went a little wrong there, for a bit. I am finally starting to get things going in the right direction, again.
I think it does have to do with me packing more lunches and eating at home more. Not that I always eat the healthiest things, but there is more control when you are making things for yourself.
I am probably starting to adapt to my new schedule. Well, that goes out the window on Sunday. The good news is that I am going to be back to my regular schedule. For now. That can change, and it is one of the things that I will have to adapt to if it does, but I really hope that it works out well for me.
I am figuring things out creatively and using my brain to get results. I have more self-confidence because I am finally starting to believe that I can make the changes I need to change what is happening in my life. I will not change everything all at once, but I notice that I am making a larger effort to do the things that matter again.
Maybe the Shrinker is helping. Ooh, cayenne. Sometimes there is a little too much, and it is hard to make myself drink it. But I force it down if it is too spicy, because it still mostly tastes good, and I do think it is helping. I was also happy to find a new type of chocolate chai tea to add to it when I run out of the tea bags I had in the back of the cupboard. I am starting to use the recipes and knowledge I had learned when I started THM, and I am confident that if I don’t go too far away from it, I will start losing more weight.
Speaking of losing weight, I am kind of upset about one thing. The first place I see it is on my chin when I am retaining fluid, but you will never guess where I seem to lose it first. My fingers, of all places. My ring slid on a little easier today. Now if you remember, being able to wear the engagement ring and my wedding band comfortably on my ring finger is a Non-Scale Victory that I am working towards, and I felt a little bit closer to that goal this morning. Small blessings are not to be taken for granted, even if they seem annoying when you look at the big picture.
#TrustYourGut
