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 011

Welcome back to my Monday Mug. There are so many things to catch up on, but I will hit the highlights of the last month.

 Did you bring your favorite mug tonight? I have one I found again from unpacking. I love picking up mugs at craft fairs. This mug has a butt. It is one of my favorites because it is funny looking and makes me smile. 

December was a crazy month for me. I am not sure about you. Aside from the business of the holidays, my car broke down, and my toilet stopped working. I have learned to appreciate indoor plumbing and the magnitude of how it can affect your day to day. I don’t want to go back to the alternatives for bathroom spots. My holidays were great I got a dancing llama toy from my mother because well I like llamas and she thought it would be hilarious. It is funny and who doesn’t need more laughter in life anyway. 

It has been warm here this year. It is odd to have a Christmas season in shorts in Missouri, but this year it happened. I think with more temperate weather, it was nice to get out in nature more and go on walks with my family of dogs. Everyone around here was really enjoying the warm weather, but it made Christmas seem like just one more day on the calendar. 

I have continued writing in December, but it has primarily been journaling and things of a personal nature. I totally bombed NaNoWriMo this last year, which was new for me because I had been improving over the previous few years. I think it came down to my planning. I really wanted to start a historical fiction book. Still, I was not prepared for the magnitude of writing in that genre when I haven’t previously. I am usually a dystopia or sci-fi girl.

I am going to get more tea, would you like some? 

Things have been strange this year. I have dealt with panic attacks this year and various other conditions I have never had to deal with before. However, I am finally feeling like I am getting back to a better place. It might just be because the toilet is fixed or maybe just the spark of the new decade, but I feel like I can breathe again. 

Within these just a few passing days of the New Year, I am excited to start new habits again. My German review is still going strong. I am happy now to take on just a little more of the things I really want to do this year. 

I am overflowing with goals and ideas for the year to come, but it is getting late. I promised myself to go to bed at a decent hour because I wake up early, even though it isn’t fun for me yet. 

So give me some advice about what is something I could do to make my mornings more fun?