Welcome back!

Here were my goals for the month of February:

1. Donate blood. — Accomplished!
2. Finish formatting “Specialton.” — Accomplished!
3. Publish at least two Book Reviews. — Accomplished!
4. Celebrate Valentine’s Day! — Accomplished!
5. Catalog at least 25 American Girl items in my inventory. — Did not accomplish yet.
6. Participate in a P.E.O. membership panel. — Accomplished!
7. Reorganize my office. — Semi-Achieved.
8. Send donations to Trey’s Dolls. — Did not accomplish yet.

February and March were both a blur and a marathon.

I was able to donate blood for the first time in a year, nearly a year to the day, in early February.

I finally finished formatting “Specialton” on March 29th. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I thought it was going to take me a lot longer. It’s 99 chapters. I sent it to my social media manager and my editor. They are excited, and so am I.

Valentine’s Day was really sweet and special. I love spending as much time with Al as possible.

I’ve made a lot of progress with my office. I finally cleaned off and dusted my desk. I filled a kitchen garbage bag with stuff that needed to be thrown away months ago. I set up my mechanical keyboard that Al got me for Christmas! I have more things to do, but I’m really happy with the cleaning and organizing that I’ve done recently.

I published two Book Reviews! You can read them here:

• Book Review #105: “Meet Isabel and Nicki”
• Book Review #106: “The Night Swim”

I have two huge boxes to send to Trey’s Dolls, but I’m waiting for Vicki to return home before sending them.

Come back tomorrow to see my April Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here are my goals for the month of February:

1. Donate blood.
2. Finish formatting “Specialton.”
3. Publish at least two Book Reviews.
4. Celebrate Valentine’s Day!
5. Catalog at least 25 American Girl items in my inventory.
6. Participate in a P.E.O. membership panel.
7. Reorganize my office.
8. Send donations to Trey’s Dolls.

What about you? Do you have any goals for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here were my goals for the month of December:

1. Continue incorporating my editor’s suggested edits into a more polished draft of “Specialton.” — Semi-Achieved.
2. Prepare to market, promote, and publish “Specialton.” — Semi-Achieved.
3. Publish at least one Book Review. — Did not accomplish yet.
4. Celebrate Christmas! — Accomplished!
5. Continue working on my American Girl inventory. — Semi-Achieved.
6. Schedule regular blog posts. — Did not accomplish yet.
7. Reconcile my thoughts about NaNoWriMo. — Accomplished!

I decided to push back the release of “Specialton.” I’ve made a lot of progress with the suggested edits and formatting, but I’m not ready to release it yet. Making this decision was tough, but I immediately felt better afterward, which tells me it was good decision.

We had a nice, quiet Christmas. We loved being with our parents and celebrating Addy’s first Christmas.

I’ve decided on the format that I want for my American Girl inventory in Excel. I just need to dive in and execute the plan.

I reconciled my thoughts about NaNoWriMo in a recent post. This was a hard one to write. You can read it here: Commentary #120: Thoughts on NaNoWriMo

Come back tomorrow to see my goals for February!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

I’ve been away from the blog for several months. One major reason is that I found out I was pregnant at the end of March! We found out we were having a girl during Memorial Day weekend. Her original due date was December 4th, but I had some complications due to preeclampsia, so our baby girl officially arrived on October 22nd. She needed some time in the NICU, but she’s home now and doing well! We have enjoyed loving on her and taking care of her. Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it’s totally worth it. She’s small but feisty.

Thanks to everyone who continued to read my posts during my months-long absence. I’m excited to be back!

Here are my goals for the month of December:

1. Continue incorporating my editor’s suggested edits into a more polished draft of “Specialton.”
2. Prepare to market, promote, and publish “Specialton.”
3. Publish at least one Book Review.
4. Celebrate Christmas!
5. Continue working on my American Girl inventory.
6. Schedule regular blog posts.
7. Reconcile my thoughts about NaNoWriMo.

What about you? Do you have any goals for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here are my goals for the month of June:

1. Begin incorporating my editor’s suggested edits into a more polished draft of “Specialton.”
2. Publish my Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023 recap post.
3. Enjoy the 2023 P.E.O. Virginia State Convention.
4. Celebrate Father’s Day!
5. Continue working on my American Girl inventory.
6. Prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo July 2023!

What about you? Do you have any goals for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here were my goals for the month of May:

1. Begin incorporating my editor’s suggested edits into a more polished draft of “Specialton.” — Did not accomplish yet.
2. Publish my Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023 recap post. — Did not accomplish yet.
3. Publish at least one Book Review. — Did not accomplish yet.
4. Celebrate Mother’s Day. — Accomplished!
5. Spend some time away at the farm. — Accomplished!
6. Continue working on my American Girl inventory. — Did not accomplish yet.
7. Prepare for the 2023 P.E.O. Virginia State Convention. — Accomplished!

I’ve been so busy this month that a lot of writing projects have been put to the side. But, I’m determined to work on one project per month going forward!

Mother’s Day was really nice. Al and I took Chinese food to my parents. There’s a great place near our house called Dragon City. Their portions are huge! My parents got at least four separate meals out of what we brought!

We enjoyed a long Memorial Day weekend away at the farm. Look for a new Adventure Time post coming soon!

I’m very excited for the 2023 P.E.O. Virginia State Convention. Instead of co-chairing the convention, I get to be a visitor this year and enjoy it. I’ll also be participating in the annual memorial service for those women who have died in the past year, along with a fun skit to encourage new ideas and strategies for membership.

What about you? Did you have any goals for this month?

Come back soon to see my June Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here are my goals for the month of May:

1. Begin incorporating my editor’s suggested edits into a more polished draft of “Specialton.”
2. Publish my Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023 recap post.
3. Publish at least one Book Review.
4. Celebrate Mother’s Day.
5. Spend some time away at the farm.
6. Continue working on my American Girl inventory.
7. Prepare for the 2023 P.E.O. Virginia State Convention.

What about you? What goals do you have for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here were my goals for the month of April:

1. Donate blood. — Did not accomplish.
2. Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023. — Accomplished!
3. Incorporate edits for “Specialton” from my editor. — Did not accomplish yet.
4. Continue work on my office. — Semi-Achieved.
5. Finish my Stranger Things LEGO set. — Did not accomplish yet.
6. Make progress with my American Girl inventory. — Did not accomplish yet.
7. Celebrate Dad’s birthday! — Accomplished!
8. Publish at least one Book Review. — Did not accomplish yet.
9. Keep my desk at home clean. — Semi-Achieved.

April was a whirlwind!

I wasn’t able to give blood at the beginning of April, but that’s okay. There will be other blood drives! It was great to volunteer like always.

I had a fantastic experience with Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023. Look for a recap post on that very soon.

I’m actually going to start incorporating the edits for “Specialton” in May. One project at a time.

Most of our weekends were full of family visits, in between getting estimates for house projects. The joys of home ownership!

I’ve started to read again, chapter by chapter. I’m currently about eight chapters into re-reading Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Super excited to see the movie adaptation very soon with Lane!

What about you? Did you have any goals for this month?

Come back soon to see my May Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Welcome back!

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Donate blood.
2. Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo April 2023.
3. Incorporate edits for “Specialton” from my editor.
4. Continue work on my office.
5. Finish my Stranger Things LEGO set.
6. Make progress with my American Girl inventory.
7. Celebrate Dad’s birthday!
8. Publish at least one Book Review.
9. Keep my desk at home clean.

What about you? Do you have any goals for this month?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂