Monday Mug 26
This week flew by much like all the weeks in my life lately. So many things have happened since I last checked in with you. There were beautiful things and events that have been very difficult, so sit down with your mug because I have some things to talk about.
The Farm
Things on the farm have been in high gear as it is Spring which seems like a busy time long with Summer. But we had to put improvement projects off because of the constant rains. We did sort cattle, and in the process, I was almost taken out by heifer.
I was safely on the outside fence with a hole in it, but we really didn’t think anyone would try to jump through because the hole was barely big enough for a cat to fit through. Well, we had a pretty wild heifer, and she didn’t like being moved from one pasture to another, so she jumped through the fence right at me. Now I tried to get the cow to go back in the holding pen at first but then realized being trampled by a cow wasn’t worth it that day.
We also have a calf we call Houdini that keeps escaping in new ways almost daily. I was outside talking on the phone at dusk and saw a calf down in a field it shouldn’t be in. I thought it was our neighbor’s calf. After asking my brother about I realized it was, in fact, our little escape artist. My brother and I walked down to the field and searched for him in the growth around the creek. We looked for about an hour seeing places where he had gone trying to track him from location to location. To no avail, we didn’t find him.
As we came back up the hill, our homes sit high on top, surround by our cattle. There was Houdini in the field eating grass like everyone else. He is such a trickster. Both of us rolled our eyes and slowly trekked back up the hill.
The Plants
Yes, I want my plants to have their own section. I have picked up gardening over the last few years. I worked in a garden center for a while, and my mother has always loved plants. It took me quite a few years, though, to get into it myself.
I have some hanging baskets I planted before mother’s day. I planted marigolds which I’m not too fond of the smell of, but I love the bright yellow and orange. The other baskets have geraniums in them, and I have found geraniums do well in these baskets.
I still have a lot I need to plant, but I haven’t chosen the flowers I’d like to see this year. If you have suggestions, leave them below. My indoor herbs are doing well. I have lavender, sweet mint, and cilantro. I haven’t done herbs inside previously, but this has been a cool spring, so I thought I would give it a try.
The Writing
There are so many things to share. I have been attending a writing meeting at least once a week since January it has helped me a lot this year. It is structured and helps ease my mind when listening.
I have been sharing my very rough free writing with people. This has been something I never thought I would do. I have insecurities like any writer. I recently came across an article about doubt in The Writer magazine. I am also reading Jeff Goins’s book You Are A Writer.
The article shared these ideas about why a lot of writers have self-doubt. It was refreshing to see that even professional writers have doubts and deal with different fears that all of those in the field deal with. One of the doubts that stood out was negative feedback can make a writer lose interest in writing. The comparison game was also an aspect talked about in the article. I have been guilty of this in the past until my writer friend started telling me how she would go over a poem or story multiple times to see what jumped out and how it worked. Seeing how a story worked is more productive than envy.
I have learned Jeff Goins’s book so far is being a writer is all about practice. It is not the first time I have heard this advice. It is the way that people demystify the world of art. Whether this is dance, music, writing, or art, to name a few disciplines, the general conciseness is that many people are thinking that you have to be talented to be a writer. In real life, though, most people have found it is a lot of just practicing and repeatedly writing to improve your skills. I have enjoyed the book so far because he is very straightforward and tells you how it is. I appreciate the honesty.
Until the next mug, just write.
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Monday Mug 25
Hello, my writer people! I am so happy to be back. It never seems to fail that my February goes by so quickly each year. This year I lost a couple of weeks to the bitter cold, snow, and ice. There are many things to do on a farm in this type of weather and none of it in a heated area. I am sitting here with my mug of coffee because now it apparently puts me to sleep. (I never saw that one coming.) Though I think this speaks to the lack of sleep in my world lately.
Something I want to talk about tonight is the things we once used, which might work again. No, I’m not telling you to get back into that lousy relationship, so don’t go there. I am talking about planning. I’m a bit obsessed with planners and all stationary. I had using this daily planner for a couple of years now to keep my stress levels lower. When I saw a day at a time, it was wonderful because I was just focused on that day. It kept me more in my present moment.
However, I started to put some of my daily tasks off to the next day, not realizing how full the next day was. I realized this year I needed to go back to a weekly planner to make sure I wasn’t overloading myself. A planner I used to love and use often was a passion planner, but I had a couple of bad experiences. I was too picky when it came to size and bleed-through. There was nothing else on the market that would meet my needs, so I got a passion planner this year, and it was amazing! There was no bleed-through with my zebra highlighters. I absolutely love it, and I continue to feel more accomplished!
My writing is going great right now because I am taking the pressure off myself to be perfect. I have decided to come back to the art of playing with writing so my inner child can have some joy again. The scheduled I am on right now is writing every other day for 10 minutes to an hour. The writing I have been doing has been all prompt-based as of late because of the isolation I am still living in. When I was going to the office and out in society daily, many events sparked ideas for me, but I find prompts working for me now. I get these prompt through Instagram and share a lot of what I find on my page. You can find them here. I finished The Artist Way, and I felt so much better as an artist.
Writing groups I am involved in right now are Story A Day and a Patreon group for Tammy B. In both of these groups, I am learning from other writers and learning about writing in general. Tammy’s group has great education around publishing, being a writer, and fun prompts. Story A Day had conversions about what is going on in the short story world and focused on community. It is nice to be able to answer questions and to ask questions. There is so much knowledge out there, and it is nice to bounce the information off other writers. I would recommend anyone not in a writing group or who doesn’t have writing connections to reach out and find some.
The big event I am attending this month is going to the AWP Conference virtually. I was so excited about going to this event in person because it was scheduled for my state this year. However, I am even more excited about the virtual option because I won’t miss a word of what is being said. I hope you are having a great year so far, and like always, just keep writing.
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Monday's Mug 24
I am sitting down with my mug of hot chocolate tonight to just share with you a few of my thoughts. First, I would like to say Happy New Year! I am so happy that 2020 is over and we didn’t start 13/1/2020. I felt great on the 1st day of the new year and had a lot of hope for what the future could hold. It was also snowed that day, which was terrific.
But maybe you are not feeling great about 2021 right now, and I know what that is like. For the last 3 years previous years, I have struggled with hope. It was a big reason I took some time off. I knew that if I didn’t work on myself and get through some of this crap, I was never going to be the creative I was meant to be.
Community
I started to heal myself was by reaching out to friends who were real friends, and it took me a while to find them. I knew I needed people in my life that would allow me to talk because when I need to process things, I need to talk.
Many people don’t know how chatty I can be once I start to open up. I had been hiding who I was for so long I needed to be authentically me, not the one with a cloak or done up face. There was no need to perfect, and with that came the ability to cry or laugh or just be random.
Are any of these people living within a 100-mile radius of me? Nope. I think you can find friends all over the world, but I would stress to be cautious. I am not advising you to be friends with everyone you met online.
YouTube, TikTok, and Books
The second way was working through The Artist Way. I had an accountability partner for the duration of it this time, so I would be sure to finish. I told them what chapter I was on and the parts that were speaking to me.
I attribute a lot of my success to the morning pages that have transformed themselves and me over time. I continued to read books in the areas I struggled with, like self-discipline.
YouTube is a great place to find motivational speakers like Tony Robbins, Tom Bilyeu, or searching for inspirational videos. TikTok has a lot of great videos as well. Just search for inspired, positive, or affirmations. What these videos can do is give you positivity when you might be surrounded or talking to yourself in a not so lovely way.
Where do I find community?
So as we come into this new year, there are many places to look for the community, especially for writers. Not only are there podcasts, YouTube videos, social media accounts, and tons of positive people on TikTok, there are groups out there forming.
NaNoWriMo has writing groups all year long.
StoryADay has a community on its website and has a membership that opens at the end of April.
Stop Writing Alone has Facebook groups and usually hosts a Happy Campers group during Camp NaNo in April.
The Accident Inspirationalist has a Patreon for the community as well as workshops.
Let me know if there are any another writing communities you would like me include on my site.
(This blog has affliate links and as Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Monday's Mug 023
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking hot raspberry tea. I have enjoyed the cold chill in the air lately. Things have been pretty peaceful this last week, but I will share about my quiet week.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had been experimenting with soups lately. I love soup and made taco soup for the first time ever. I can’t handle many spicy foods, so it was the perfect opportunity to make it to my family’s taste. A wonderful mom that became a friend over soccer practices this year shared the recipe with me. While on this subject of food, I made pumpkin bread and cupcakes this last weekend for our treats. I watch The Great British Baking Show and enjoy baking as well as learning about it.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you my Artist Way progress. Morning pages are becoming more of a priority for my life. While I have been handwriting them for the last two months, I will be typing them in November. I have been pushing to make my writing more of a priority. Writing is essential to me than I realized, and being a writer is far more important to me as well. Through my morning pages, I have worked through some religious beliefs and political frustrations. These pages allow me to vent and get everything off my mind to start my days fresh. Due to our recent time change, I am waking up earlier to do writing in the morning. I never thought this would be possible for me because usually, I am a late-night writer. While my creativity does still peak in the evening, I find the morning time great to relax and get my writing groove on.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more about my writing, in general, this week. I was able to be part of a sprint this last week. It was only 30 minutes of writing, but I can accomplish my goals last week by getting that 30 minutes in. I have also decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. While this has been a more challenging year for my writing, I finally feel like I understand what I am doing. I think I am seeking out the creative life I have been looking for and encouraging friends to thank for it. This is a way a writing community can change your life. This is how your life changes because you let people in and allow them to speak life into your problems.
Just keep writing.
Monday's Mug 022
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am loading up on my pumpkin spice coffee. Yes, I am a lover of fall and almost all things pumpkin. The weather here has been all over the place. It is hot, and it is cold. The only thing consistent is the lack of rain. The family is picking up black walnuts and hoping to get them turned in by this weekend.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had to take an extended break again. It has always been difficult for my mental health when I take time away from writing. I picked up a couple of websites and social media accounts I am running. These have been an excellent experience for me outside of my comfort zone. These different accounts also took away some of my writing time until I got the hang of posting regularly on the sites. The busy times for these businesses are winding down, so I am also excited about the slow season.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, I started doing The Artist Way. For those who do not know what it is, you know how exciting it can be to complete this book. For those of you who may not know what this book is all, it helps you heal yourself as a creative. There are ways the author gives you to work through creative blocking emotions. It took me a lot of time to finally do The Artist Way. I read many blogs about morning pages because when anyone talked about the Artist Way, they mentioned them. Morning pages seemed to be the only thing people focused on. This book is deep and makes you do some serious reflection. My process, though, hasn’t always been easy, but I‘m excited about writing again. I am doing the morning pages as well. These pages have helped me implement the work personal work I needed to do. Morning pages become like a friend and are a great place to experiment with your creativity as well.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more this week about my novel. I have decided after this partial book has been sitting for almost two years, I am ready to start writing on it again. I am starting work in November. Currently, I am reading through my draft. Soon I will create a reverse outline thanks to the help of a friend’s advice. I have been going over different novel structures and finding a plan I would like to follow. I don’t like the idea of a super structured outline; however, this will help me stay focused.
Just Write Today.
Monday's Mug 021
Hello, Writers of the World.
I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. The weather last week was still hot, but it is still summer here, and I should expect nothing less. Why do I talk about the weather because I am a farmer? If you didn’t know, it always makes it important? Things are dry here, and we are hoping for a little rain. We want to get more hay put up before fall hits, but we don’t control the weather, so we wait and see type of game.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I am trying to savor this last week before school starts. I have not missed the buzz of the school season. However, I do love to shop the stationery. There is always homework to be done, papers I am trying to remember to send back, and things I am trying to remind my child of. Even though it has been hot this summer, we have been spending time outside, at least an hour, if not longer, hanging out in the swing or the hammock. I feel like it is important to be in the moment when I can.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, and I have been closing myself off this week. My social media project is in full swing, and I am finding it is taking a lot more energy than I had originally thought. I am trying to get into a routine of posting on socials. When there are so many things going on in life, socials are some of the things I let slip.
Would you like to refill your mug? I need more water today.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you ideas around mindset have come up again this week. Podcasts and Youtube videos are continuing to cross my path about this. I have been things in particular about the ideas of productivity versus rest, especially this last week. Although I have been taking the time to spend with my child during the week, I don’t allow myself time off on the weekends. Not only are the weekends when I run a lot of errands weekends are typically when I am working on side projects as well. I am doing housework and planning for the following week. I tried an experiment where I did absolutely nothing on Sunday except fed us. It was great and something I felt my body and mind needed, but I was kicking myself Monday because I had so many things to catch up on. Perhaps next time I will no more Saturday.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, I haven’t been anywhere, and it is driving me crazy this week. Of course, I do not travel like I used to, but I miss it so much. I love living in the country and have learned to sustain myself for weeks on end without leaving. I miss people said the introvert shockingly lol. I miss being around the good friends I have in my life and going to the museum. Okay, I said it finally. Now back to business as usual.
Until next time just write.
Monday's Mug 020
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking mint tea with honey. I love the refreshing smell of mint. The family spent a lot of time outside this last weekend, getting the farms slicked up again and mowing the yard. I pulled weeds out of a flowerbed, and I’m trying to get it ready for planting. This evening was mild. We spent time outside again tonight playing with our cats and dogs. I has been a good week, and I am still hoping for a little cooler weather. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I don’t remember a lot about last week. In fact, there were a lot of things I forgot about last week. I forgot errands, events, and what other people were doing that would affect my day. I’m a severe planner and write everything down. There were some minor things I couldn’t recall. I think a lot of it has to do with journaling. I haven’t been journaling as much, and it helps me empty my head daily. Do you enjoy journaling?
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, and I am continuing to build relationships with other writers. Not because I am expecting anything from them but because it is nice to have some writers in my life. It has been fun getting to know them better, some for longer than others. I find myself opening up more to the writing community, much like a kitten coming out from under a hiding place, wondering how safe it is. I am finally a few more steps out now that I have started to interact.
Would you like to refill your mug?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I have been thinking a lot more this week. I’ve been listening to different podcasts this week. I have been jumping around a lot. I used to listen to podcasts the way I watch a Netflix series. I had the impulse to listen to the podcasts in order. I quickly gave up on the order mindset and even more recently decided to look at it like reading. I have started dozens of books but never finished because I didn’t want to go any further. I feel this way about listening to podcasts now. I will only keep listening if I am really interested, not because I think I need to finish it.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, and I am trying to celebrate my life more. I have been influenced a lot by the StoryADay podcasts because their theme this month is a triumph. I haven’t been good about celebrating in any way my life aside from a couple of birthdays. This stems from my high expectations concerning my work and how it changes the world. However, slowly I am still trying to celebrate my writing. I am celebrating my downtime too. I say yes to many things and, at times, more than I should be, so I’m celebrating when I complete tasks as well lately. I have to say it has been helping me get out of my COVID funk. I am excited to see what celebrating my life long term will mean for my joy. What are you celebrating?
Until next time just write.
Monday's Mug 019
Hello, Writers of the World.
Welcome back to Monday's Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch you up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking water because it has been sweltering and humid here these last few days. All my fall feels are being pushed to the back burner, and summer has decided to show she means business. August usually is the hottest month we have, and sometimes I seriously consider moving further north. Do you enjoy the weather where you live?
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you last week was especially busy I had four meetings this last week. I haven't had that many in a couple of months now, but they were all exceptional. The first one was with StoryADay SuperStars. We usually have an online get together once a month, and this time I actually got to attend. It was excellent to interact with some writers I haven't before. I appreciate listening to where everyone is and what their interests are. Towards the end, I really started to open up more about things going on in my life and who I am. As quiet as most people think I am when I feel comfortable enough, I won't stop talking. Is there something about you people assume but are wrong about?
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you, I was a part of a write-in a friend hosted. This event was online at night, and it totally up my alley. We had a little prompt, and I created a short children's story—afterward, we did some writing sprints and had breaks to talk to each other. There were writers I had never met before. Still, it was fabulous to meet new people and expand my writing community. It made me feel great to see my friend stepping out for me and helping me by writing in at night to help me get back in the groove of writing. When it comes to writing, there were a lot of things I have been struggling with. Being able to find a write-in at night has been one of the items at the top of my list. Is there something you have been struggling with a lot this year.
Would you like to refill your mug? I know I need to.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you I had a meeting about social media. I have been educating myself about social media for a while now. I enjoy helping others navigate the platforms and to share the knowledge I have learned. There was a day trip to the lake yesterday, but I didn't go swimming or go out on the water. Actually, I make myself ill driving to the lake house. It was a great day of sharing and building relationships with a team I am a part of for a single mom's group I help out with.
While we sip from our mugs, I would share with you the thrill I have had for writing has started to grow again. There are days now I can focus on writing, and I am picking up more story sparks. I am trying to work on my consistency and keep promises to myself about what I am ready to accomplish. There has been a lot of mindset changes underway, and there are so many times now throughout the day, I am excited about writing a new story. I am so thrilled about this because my mind has been under construction for me a lot this year. Is it easy for you to keep your promises to yourself?
Let me know how you are doing in the comments below.
Until next time just write.
Monday's Mug 018
Hello Everyone! Welcome back to Monday’s Mug! I always love to be drinking from my mugs daily, but Monday is the day I like to catch up on what has been happening since we last talked. Tonight I am drinking an herbal mint tea and loving it. So, tonight we would definitely be outside enjoying this mug because it is colder weather here and I love it!! Have I ever told you Fall is my most favorite season of the year? What is your favorite season?
While we sip from our mugs, I’d tell you it been a long time since I checked in with everyone. July was a busy month with family medical issues. It was stressful waiting for answers only to have more tests to be run and more waiting. Even now, a month later, we still have no answers about what is going on. I know I am a little cryptic here, but I need to work on my patience is the moral of the story.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you have been doing a lot of reflection these last couple of weeks. I have been talking personality test, which I love and reflecting on myself as the person I have become now. I was marked as an INFJ, which I have been for years that really didn’t surprise me. I took an enneagram test and found out I was just as much a 1 as I am a 4. These all made sense about who I am as a person. I am a perfectionist striving to be creative. I have not quite figured out that path. It isn’t like I base my life on what these tests say; it helps to understand who I am more. Do you ever take tests like these?
While we sip from our mugs, I’d tell you I haven’t been writing much. Not writing is driving me crazy. I have been redoing websites, and while it has been a creative outlet for me, it is not the same as writing. I love creating a website to be visually pleasing. Write though has been my lifeblood for so long that it has been strange without. It’s like I am walking around without the watch I wear daily or whatever you have daily, and you forget it at home. I was on a kick at the start of July writing. I had gotten back on my favorite site 4thewords.com and was busting through the ceiling of what I was trying to do just get the words out.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you haven’t got to be part of writing groups much lately. I have had internet problems a lot this last month, so tonight was the first night I had gotten to see by StoryADay people in like two months. It was great to see people’s faces and to get to know them better. I think I talked a couple of people’s ear off towards the end of the call. I miss talking to people, but my favorite way is one on one.
While we sip from our mugs, I would tell you right now I don’t know where my writing is heading. I still want to be published, but I haven’t been making any process towards that. It is like saying I will run a 5 k, and I only walk 10 minutes a day. Again I think I am too hard on myself because I have to process many life events, and then I wonder if I am too easy on myself. Perhaps soon, I will find a balance and overcome my struggle.
Until next time just write.
Monday's Mug 017
Hello friends! Welcome back to my Monday Mug. It is hot here in the Midwest, and summer has arrived. It is excellent outside before 7 am and after 7 pm, but without a breeze, the daytime temps can take it out of you. Our weather has been strange this year we had a lot of rain in May. I am settling down with my cup of tea tonight. I will get you some if you would like.
If we had a mug, I’d tell you I feel like I am being tested this year in what I know about my limits. I volunteered to do something outside of my comfort zone when it comes to social media. Doing media in this way was a risk for me to see what I could produce and what type of progress I could make for this client. It made me see how much I could be there for someone else. I loved helping them with the successes of their business. It was a victory for me in more ways than one, and I hope it will lead to future endeavors.
If we had a mug, I’d tell you about doing the NYC Midnight Challenge for micro-fiction in May because we haven’t spoken since in a while. It was so much fun and a lot harder than I expected. I was given an action, a genre, and a word to use. I enjoy prompts, and because I have been a prompt addict for a long time, so this was perfect. The part I didn’t realize would be so hard is cutting down my word count. I focused on every word I used and what purpose the term served to my story.
If we had a mug, I would tell you how great superstars for StoryADay have been. People were talking all the time about writing, which was terrific. I live in a more isolated area where there are not many writers locally, and with Covid-19 restrictions, a lot of groups have been going online. I love that StoryADay exists for the community to writers all over the world. There are writers all over the world. It is exciting to meet new people.
I have been learning about myself this last week and how I haven’t been there for myself in a real and loving way. I want to accomplish many dreams, and I know I’m in my way. I have learned I will go to the moon to encourage someone else and help them believe in their dream, but I haven’t believed in my own. It is time for a change.
In the meantime, just write.
Monday's Mug 016
Hello Friends! Welcome back to my Monday Mug. I am sitting down on this very rainy day in my living room on my fluffy couch. I will be drinking some green tea again because I am still loving it.
I can get you a coffee or tea if you would like?
Last week was a blur. I feel like lately, I am busier with doing all these things at home than I was when we were out and about in the world. Now don’t get me wrong I am in no rush to get out and about with this pandemic going on, but sometimes I just want to feel more relaxed in my own home.
Do you have this feeling too?
I work at home, and I am incredibly grateful to be able to do this, but my work/home balance is really off right now. I think it is because my office is in my living room, which worked fine when it was just my writing desk, but now it is my daytime working desk too. 14 hours at one desk is a little too much for me. If I am on the couch, then I am still looking at the work desk that reminds me of work, not writing. In fact, I have had to take most of my writing in my bedroom to get it done.
I find myself on more zoom meetings than I can count because it is educational, community, or school stuff for my children. Now I enjoy a good zoom meeting, but there is only so much screen time I can take. I am homeschooling my child, something I had only ever dreamed of but have been doing full time for about a month now. Our relationship at home couldn’t be better aside from the days when we are exhausted, and cabin fever is getting to us.
Camp Nano is going great. I am meeting my word count goals, and I am writing a lot. I am not getting a lot of poetry done, but I am writing in general.
The days I cannot get poetry to flow, I have been working on different aspects of my writing. Currently, I am working on dialogue and trying to get a more realistic feel for it. As well as allowing the character to really shine through. It is not as easy as I thought it might be. I am on the hunt for more exercises for dialogue if you have one for me leave it below or email me.
The struggle of this stay at home life has been hard. It was only a couple of weeks ago I was able to focus long enough to finish reading a book. I have been keeping a journal of what is happening and when I feel overwhelmed.
Being overwhelmed for me usually happens when I am on social media too much. Sometimes being overwhelmed is because maybe I was foolish and turned on the news in the morning while I got ready for work.
I would recommend keeping a journal of what is going on in your life. You never know when you might use these experiences for a writing piece later.
So until next time, just write.
Monday's Mug 015
Hello, writers and friends welcome back to my Monday’s Mug. There are so many things in the last week that have been crazy, disappointing, and just strange. Staying home in some ways is lovely, but I miss seeing people. I am back to drinking tea again. I found this excellent spice shop about an hour from me. I believe it has closed now, but before it was, I was getting a fabulous green tea that was called Moroccan Mint. I am not an avid green tea drinker, but I love mint-flavored tea. I had drunk it almost daily, but my supplies are getting low, and with the virus, I am not sure how to get more right now.
How has your week been?
Are you going to a workplace or working from home?
Have you lost your job entirely because of this mess?
I am sorry for any of the situations above. It is not easy, and each one comes with its problems. I was lucky enough to get to work from home for this last week. It was a wonderful week, and I am genuinely grateful. I struggle with not being able to see people and leave my house. I live in an isolated area anyway, and I can’t even see my neighbors go outside, but I still long for human interaction. I want hugs.
This week I have picked up my pen more steadily to write out what is happening in my head, the fears I am having, and the disappointment. There was a surprise I had set up for my child’s birthday this next month, and the concert was postponed. I hadn’t told her yet, and I am glad I didn’t, but not being able to surprise her with something I know she wanted to do hurts. I had signed her up for sports this Spring as well, but they were postponed as well. I know in light of those who no longer have an income, these are silly things to be upset by, and I understand that.
When I haven’t been writing, I have been watching some Marvel movies to take my mind out of the current events. I turn them on late at night when I can’t turn off my mind. It has been hard for me to relax at home now that I work at home. I got outside as much as I can, and I would encourage you to do the same. It has helped keep me stay calmer as I continue this new journey.
I am going to sign off, for now, don’t forget just to write.
Monday's Mug 014
Welcome back to Monday’s Mug. There have been a lot of changes in the world since we last talked. I am snuggled up with a cup of tea tonight, and it is chilly outside. I hope you will join me and I will get you some tea as well. Would you like honey or milk?
January was such a productive month for me. I completed a contest and was writing nearly every single day. I wasn’t always writing creative fiction, but I was getting morning pages done. By the time I came into February, I felt like I was no longer making progress in my writing through the use of morning pages. My book had been lying dormant for a while now, and I wanted to start editing it finally. However, even though I was given many suggestions from my writing community, I still felt like I needed downtime.
In February every year, I help with a non-profit to put on a banquet for single mothers on Valentine’s Day. It was a busy month with family events going on as well. I found there were a lot of moments I was thinking about writing, but then nothing was ever done about it. There was a spiritual blog I used to run, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to start committing to another blog at this point. I had many discussions with my trusted advisors about it.
I was excited about March it has always been a month I have to enjoy because I love flowers. Yes, I love them. I don’t plant as many flowers as I used to, but they are something that brightens my day. I love Spring. It is my second favorite season.
The writing, in March, was something else I was looking forward to. I was going to start writing on a new platform and publish daily. However, here I am a couple of weeks now into March, and I have been dealing with a lot of emotional family things. People are moving in and out of my life. My parents’ health hasn’t been greatest lately. In many ways, I have felt good, but dealing with these events has been difficult.
Then my world was suddenly turned upside down in a matter of days here. I am sure many of you can say the same. I left work on Wednesday, and by the time I returned, the places in our community started shutting down. Schools and events were canceled. It was shocking, and to be honest, it filled me with anxiety, which I finally had felt like I was getting a handle on this year.
I have realized that my writing helped deal with the start of the year, and I was able to vent to a blank page when I couldn’t get out of my head. Do you feel like that too? Kind of stuck in your head at times?
Let’s get some more tea, and enjoy the slowness of things now.
I have to say many good things are happening with this stay at home order. The pollution is down, and people are connecting. In my world, the company I work for allows us to work from home during this time. My house is cleaner than it has been in a while. I have lunch with my child every day. I have all my furry sidekicks by my side all day long. I am saving money on gas, and of course, I am not eating out. I am trying not to freak out, but there are moments in the day where I let the cabin fever get the better of me. I need to get back to the new normal.
My goals for this week are to breathe and just write.
Hang in there, writers.