Babbling About Writing Confidence

Sometimes I like it when days go by fast, but other times I really don’t. Today went by really fast, and I got little to nothing done. I did get my exercise in, both strength training and my elliptical. But that’s about it. I really don’t know where the time went. It’s only 3:00 PM, so I still have a few hours left to get things done, but I’m at the point where I really don’t want to. Tomorrow is a new day, and I will get things accomplished. I’m sure the next time I look at the clock it will say 7:00 PM, and I’ll wonder how it got to be that late.

To help me stay on task and be more productive, I’ve been using Window’s 7 “sticky note” feature. I use that as my daily to do list. For the most part, it’s been working well. The only thing I seem to be procrastinating on is writing. I’ve got plenty of things to write, but I put it off for some reason.

In this instance, I’m talking about Demand Media Studios (DMS). This is a site where you can pick and choose what you want to write. You don’t have a particular client that is relying on you (like TextBroker does). You can pick up to 10 articles, and you have 7 days to write it and turn it in. You can “unclaim” the article and “reclaim” it twice. I find myself doing this a lot.

It all comes down to confidence in writing. With DMS, when you submit an article, it goes to an editor. They check your work and make notes on errors or inconsistencies. If you get an article sent back, you have one shot at making the corrections. You have no contact with the editor so you can’t get clarifications. So, you send back the article, and hope it doesn’t get rejected. I’ve had several articles sent back (that’s not a very good feeling by the way), and for the most part, the editor’s instructions are clear.

A few weeks ago, I sent in four articles. Three got sent back. I was not pleased. I don’t know what the deal was, but I got some crappy editors this time around. I had very vague notations for one, one seemed to be very snooty and condescending (I’ve heard of these at this site, but never have encountered them), and the third was just fine. I made the changes for the article with the clearest notations. I made the changes for the vague notations, and hoped for the best (it got accepted), and the last, I let go entirely. You are allowed to let articles lapse after you get them sent back for edits, it’s just a good thing to not let it become habit. So far, I have never had an article get rejected (knock on wood). I was pretty concerned with the vague instructions for the one, but it turned out OK.

When your confidence takes a hit like that, whether it be from a physical aspect or otherwise, it’s hard to bounce back from. I think that’s why I’ve been procrastinating lately with writing articles. I’ve got plenty to write, I just need to suck it up and go for it. If I get articles sent back, I need to learn it’s not the end of the world. It happens. I don’t proofread my blog posts much, and I’m sure there are a ton of grammatical errors, but I do re-check my DMS articles before sending them in. Some editors just like to nit pick you to death.

Get back on the horse and ride. That’s what I need to do. I sit and stew too much sometimes. I end up worrying and not getting anything done. I need to stop that, and just do it. I can say the same thing about my walker usage. I’ve not done that for a long time. Fear of the unknown can play some nasty mind games if you let it, and I have been letting it. No more. It needs to stop.

Obviously, I needed to get some things out there. It helps to do that sometimes, even if it is just writing it down for myself (and those few people who read this).

So, yes, I did my mile, and it went well today. My foot is still achy, so I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. I’ll probably take tomorrow off and used my bean bag heating pads. And yes, I will write tomorrow. I will write like the wind. I’m still looking for that “off” switch for my mind.

Here’s the picture of the day from the Virtual Walk site. Mile 255.4



 

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Didn’t mean to babble, but it happens sometimes.

Update On Tee Land

Things are still plugging along here in Tee Land. I have a few things to update here today. Nothing too spectacular, just little things.

On the fitness front, I'm now using 10 pound weights for my arm routine. I broke down almost a month ago and bought a pair from Amazon, and I'm glad I did.

The first day I used them, there was a big difference. I just did one set of all my arm exercises, and only did 10 reps. I'm now up to one set of 15 reps, except for the lying triceps extensions. I only do 10 reps of them. They're still tough. But I'll get there. I'm not quite ready for two sets, yet. It may be a while, as my arms are pretty much dead after I've done everything. It does feel good to lift more weight though.

My elliptical routine is going well. My left ankle is OK. I've done some more research online, and instead of tendonitis, I have muscle knots. That makes sense, because I can actually feel the knots. Stretching before and after my elliptical workout is helping, plus I use my new gel pack as a heating pad and that helps.




I love this ice pack. It gets freezing , but when you put it in the sleeve, it doesn't seem all that cold. When you take it off 20 minutes later, you realize just how cold it gets. Always use it in the sleeve, you'll get frost bite otherwise I'm sure. You can use it as a heating pack also, which is what I've been doing lately. It gets super hot, and the sleeve is a must or you'll burn yourself. It's definitely been a good buy for me.

Not sure if it actually does anything, but I'm using Icy Hot spray in my lower leg. I was expecting this stuff to go ice cold, and then heat up. It is cold going on, but I don't feel any heat.

I'm back up to .8 mile on my elliptical. I plan on aiming for .9 tomorrow and then a full mile next Friday. I like upping my distance on Fridays, because it gives me the full weekend to recover. I took last week off because I didn't like how my ankle muscle was feeling, and when I got back on it Monday, my endurance was still up there. So, taking time off is definitely a good thing now and then.

Once I get back up to one mile, I plan on doing .5 mile on my “off” days. I'd like to get back to doing a mile six days a week, but we'll see. I'll get there eventually, as long as I have no issues. Need to remember to heat or ice my muscles afterward. I can't tell which helps more, an ice pack or heat. I think heat works best on muscle knots, at least for me anyway.

On the writing front, things are still going well. I still have the person I write for from TextBroker. He sends me about 13 topics every two or three weeks. This is an “off” week right now, and I'm being a lazy bum. There's a lot of writing I could be doing, but I'm not. I did pick up one topic from Demand Studios and I have a week to get it written. I need to write more about that site soon, to give you a better idea of how I came to write there.

For now, I should probably end this, and get a snack. I've been a bottomless pit lately. I think it's because of my elliptical workouts. I seem to be hungrier when I'm more active. I see some sliced peaches in my near future.

Update On Tee Land

Things are still plugging along here in Tee Land. I have a few things to update here today. Nothing too spectacular, just little things.

On the fitness front, I'm now using 10 pound weights for my arm routine. I broke down almost a month ago and bought a pair from Amazon, and I'm glad I did.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=keemovtee-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000I1BR7Q&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

The first day I used them, there was a big difference. I just did one set of all my arm exercises, and only did 10 reps. I'm now up to one set of 15 reps, except for the lying triceps extensions. I only do 10 reps of them. They're still tough. But I'll get there. I'm not quite ready for two sets, yet. It may be a while, as my arms are pretty much dead after I've done everything. It does feel good to lift more weight though.

My elliptical routine is going well. My left ankle is OK. I've done some more research online, and instead of tendonitis, I have muscle knots. That makes sense, because I can actually feel the knots. Stretching before and after my elliptical workout is helping, plus I use my new gel pack as a heating pad and that helps.


http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=keemovtee-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0027CU1EY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

I love this ice pack. It gets freezing , but when you put it in the sleeve, it doesn't seem all that cold. When you take it off 20 minutes later, you realize just how cold it gets. Always use it in the sleeve, you'll get frost bite otherwise I'm sure. You can use it as a heating pack also, which is what I've been doing lately. It gets super hot, and the sleeve is a must or you'll burn yourself. It's definitely been a good buy for me.

Not sure if it actually does anything, but I'm using Icy Hot spray in my lower leg. I was expecting this stuff to go ice cold, and then heat up. It is cold going on, but I don't feel any heat.

I'm back up to .8 mile on my elliptical. I plan on aiming for .9 tomorrow and then a full mile next Friday. I like upping my distance on Fridays, because it gives me the full weekend to recover. I took last week off because I didn't like how my ankle muscle was feeling, and when I got back on it Monday, my endurance was still up there. So, taking time off is definitely a good thing now and then.

Once I get back up to one mile, I plan on doing .5 mile on my “off” days. I'd like to get back to doing a mile six days a week, but we'll see. I'll get there eventually, as long as I have no issues. Need to remember to heat or ice my muscles afterward. I can't tell which helps more, an ice pack or heat. I think heat works best on muscle knots, at least for me anyway.

On the writing front, things are still going well. I still have the person I write for from TextBroker. He sends me about 13 topics every two or three weeks. This is an “off” week right now, and I'm being a lazy bum. There's a lot of writing I could be doing, but I'm not. I did pick up one topic from Demand Studios and I have a week to get it written. I need to write more about that site soon, to give you a better idea of how I came to write there.

For now, I should probably end this, and get a snack. I've been a bottomless pit lately. I think it's because of my elliptical workouts. I seem to be hungrier when I'm more active. I see some sliced peaches in my near future.

Caffeinated Tea To The Rescue

Is anyone else having trouble adjusting to the time change? It's been almost a week since we set our clocks forward an hour, and I'm still not adjusted. I normally wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 AM. I would love to get up by 6:00 AM, and am making that my ultimate goal eventually. I always feel like I get a lot more accomplished when I wake up super early.

But, this year, the time change is more annoying than it ever has been. Without the alarm clock, I'm waking up at 7:30 or 8:00. Not late, but later than I'd like. So, we've been setting an alarm clock to help us wake up. The hard part, is getting out of bed. It's so easy to just roll over and go back to sleep. But once I force myself to sit up and actually get out of bed, I'm fine.

I still find myself dragging in the morning, even after my two cups of green tea. So I've been making a mid morning tea that has been somewhat helpful. Guayakí Yerba Maté.




My mother-in-law gave it me a long time ago. I didn't read the instructions properly the first time, and didn't let it steep long enough. So I thought it just tasted bland, and basically tasted like hot water. The instructions say to let it steep for 3 to 10 minutes. That's a very wide range of time, and I think I did it for the minimum the first time around. I've since been letting it steep for 10 minutes, and it's much stronger.

I'm not sure how much caffeine is in it, but it seems to be much more than my normal green tea. It's a maté tea, which is said to have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Fine by me. I've learned a lot about teas from Tevana.com and plan to make a purchase there in the near future. I've got a few of their teas written down to try out. Some caffeinated, others not. I love tea. It makes the perfect snack if you've got a sweet craving.

So, I'm sipping on my tea, and it's already making me feel more alert. And the other thing about caffeinated tea is it doesn't leave my stomach feeling bad afterward. A while ago, I was contemplating  going back to drinking coffee, but after learning more about the various teas out there, I've made the decision not to go back to coffee. Tea for Tee all the way.

I've been keeping up with my strength training workouts so far this week. Feeling strong and feeling like I'm able to do a bit more. I may add another set of 15 reps to my arm routine. Maybe. If I had 10 pound weights, I might up it to that. But my heaviest weights are 8 pounds, so I'll just add more reps instead. I may eventually look into buying 10 pound weights, but not quite yet. I think 10 pounds will be the max I ever lift, but you never know. There are certain exercises that are getting really easy now with the 8 pound weights. Arm curls and chest flies just to name two.

Still waiting on my ankle to get to 100%. It's getting so close. The only time it hurts at all now is if I put excessive weight on it, like going up stairs. Now and then, I'll go up a step with more effort than normal, and it'll twinge. But not bad at all. I need to keep using ice. I think that has really been the key to getting it to heal up finally. It's been since late December that I've done any cardio.

I mentioned last week that I got offered to write about 20 to 30 articles a month for a person at TextBroker.com. I've not received any assignments yet, but I'm sure I will soon. I've been reading blogs and articles in the meantime about residual income, and am looking into a few content sites to put up my own articles. I already belong to AssociatedContent.com and eHow.com, but I don't have much on them yet. A few blogs I've read said that people can make $1,000 dollars a month in residual income at these sites, particularly eHow.com. How the heck? They must have a ton of articles posted. I have about 10 to 12, and have made about $4.00. Total. Hehehe. I need to get writing.

I seem to get more writing done when I write for someone else, and have an actual deadline. When I just write for me, I tend to put it off. I need to set myself a deadline and get it done. That's the plan today. Work on a few articles for eHow and upload them. I can do those types of articles while I wait for the TextBroker assignments to come in. I'm wondering if I should email the guy and ask him when to expect them. Nah, I'll be patient. They'll come eventually. He wouldn't have asked if he wasn't going to send anything right?

Update: Ask and you shall receive. Well, my instinct to be patient on the writing assignments was a good thing. I just got a boatload of assignments sent to me. I've got 13 articles to write and they're due by next Wednesday. He's very nice and said to let him know if I need more time. Shouldn't be a problem though, but it's nice that he's so flexible.

See what happens when I'm caffeinated? I write a lot. Gets my brain awake, and things just flow. Caffeinated teas are the way to go for me. No bad after effects, and it gives me the boost I need.

Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Have you considered trying the other option? If you drink tea, are you willing to give coffee a shot, and vice versa?

Caffeinated Tea To The Rescue

Is anyone else having trouble adjusting to the time change? It's been almost a week since we set our clocks forward an hour, and I'm still not adjusted. I normally wake up around 6:30 or 7:00 AM. I would love to get up by 6:00 AM, and am making that my ultimate goal eventually. I always feel like I get a lot more accomplished when I wake up super early.

But, this year, the time change is more annoying than it ever has been. Without the alarm clock, I'm waking up at 7:30 or 8:00. Not late, but later than I'd like. So, we've been setting an alarm clock to help us wake up. The hard part, is getting out of bed. It's so easy to just roll over and go back to sleep. But once I force myself to sit up and actually get out of bed, I'm fine.

I still find myself dragging in the morning, even after my two cups of green tea. So I've been making a mid morning tea that has been somewhat helpful. Guayakí Yerba Maté.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=keemovtee-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0001CXRLG&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr


My mother-in-law gave it me a long time ago. I didn't read the instructions properly the first time, and didn't let it steep long enough. So I thought it just tasted bland, and basically tasted like hot water. The instructions say to let it steep for 3 to 10 minutes. That's a very wide range of time, and I think I did it for the minimum the first time around. I've since been letting it steep for 10 minutes, and it's much stronger.

I'm not sure how much caffeine is in it, but it seems to be much more than my normal green tea. It's a maté tea, which is said to have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Fine by me. I've learned a lot about teas from Tevana.com and plan to make a purchase there in the near future. I've got a few of their teas written down to try out. Some caffeinated, others not. I love tea. It makes the perfect snack if you've got a sweet craving.

So, I'm sipping on my tea, and it's already making me feel more alert. And the other thing about caffeinated tea is it doesn't leave my stomach feeling bad afterward. A while ago, I was contemplating  going back to drinking coffee, but after learning more about the various teas out there, I've made the decision not to go back to coffee. Tea for Tee all the way.

I've been keeping up with my strength training workouts so far this week. Feeling strong and feeling like I'm able to do a bit more. I may add another set of 15 reps to my arm routine. Maybe. If I had 10 pound weights, I might up it to that. But my heaviest weights are 8 pounds, so I'll just add more reps instead. I may eventually look into buying 10 pound weights, but not quite yet. I think 10 pounds will be the max I ever lift, but you never know. There are certain exercises that are getting really easy now with the 8 pound weights. Arm curls and chest flies just to name two.

Still waiting on my ankle to get to 100%. It's getting so close. The only time it hurts at all now is if I put excessive weight on it, like going up stairs. Now and then, I'll go up a step with more effort than normal, and it'll twinge. But not bad at all. I need to keep using ice. I think that has really been the key to getting it to heal up finally. It's been since late December that I've done any cardio.

I mentioned last week that I got offered to write about 20 to 30 articles a month for a person at TextBroker.com. I've not received any assignments yet, but I'm sure I will soon. I've been reading blogs and articles in the meantime about residual income, and am looking into a few content sites to put up my own articles. I already belong to AssociatedContent.com and eHow.com, but I don't have much on them yet. A few blogs I've read said that people can make $1,000 dollars a month in residual income at these sites, particularly eHow.com. How the heck? They must have a ton of articles posted. I have about 10 to 12, and have made about $4.00. Total. Hehehe. I need to get writing.

I seem to get more writing done when I write for someone else, and have an actual deadline. When I just write for me, I tend to put it off. I need to set myself a deadline and get it done. That's the plan today. Work on a few articles for eHow and upload them. I can do those types of articles while I wait for the TextBroker assignments to come in. I'm wondering if I should email the guy and ask him when to expect them. Nah, I'll be patient. They'll come eventually. He wouldn't have asked if he wasn't going to send anything right?

Update: Ask and you shall receive. Well, my instinct to be patient on the writing assignments was a good thing. I just got a boatload of assignments sent to me. I've got 13 articles to write and they're due by next Wednesday. He's very nice and said to let him know if I need more time. Shouldn't be a problem though, but it's nice that he's so flexible.

See what happens when I'm caffeinated? I write a lot. Gets my brain awake, and things just flow. Caffeinated teas are the way to go for me. No bad after effects, and it gives me the boost I need.

Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Have you considered trying the other option? If you drink tea, are you willing to give coffee a shot, and vice versa?

Long Time Again...Update

It has been way too long since I've posted an entry here... again. There are few things I have updates on, my workouts, writing, and my ankle.

I've been doing OK with my working out. I've keeping up with strength training this past week. Last week I took off entirely, and it ended up being a good thing. Sometimes the body needs a break to get energy back to be able to keep going. It also gave my ankle a chance to improve. I believe I have tendinitis in my ankle, but that's strictly undiagnosed. Taking last week off was a help, because on Monday I did not feel any aches as I did my routine. Normally I would feel an ache in my ankle as I did "manly pushups", but on Monday I didn't feel anything.

Because I took last week off, I decided to test my ankle on the elliptical. I didn't have a really high hopes that I'd be able to do much of my elliptical workout, but I wanted to see how it was doing. I went for about 30 seconds and decided that it wasn't where I wanted it to be yet. But it is getting better. I'd say about 90% of the time I have no aches and pains in my left ankle. The other 10% I feel an ache, and that only if I step oddly. I used to be able to find an area on my ankle where I could push on an exact spot, and it would feel like a bruise. I can't find that spot anymore, no matter how hard I try. I'd say I have another two weeks and I should be OK. But I will take it one day at a time and not get my hopes up. I know eventually I'll be able to get back on my elliptical.

Now for the writing update. Back at the end of January I received, a few Direct Orders from a client at Textbroker.com. I believe I received four topics to write on and, I got those in on time. Last Tuesday the same person sent me 10 more Direct Orders and again I got them in on time. And again it wasn't too difficult in terms of the subject matter. Then yesterday I received two more articles to write from the same person. This time he sent me a note saying that if I was up for it, he would send me 20 to 30 articles each month. After I did a happy dance for about a minute or two, I sent back and note saying that I'd be up for the challenge. So I've got two articles to write today, and we'll go from there. I was hoping that eventually I'd receive an offer like this, and it's happened. I'm happy that the topics are all health related. I feel like I'm knowledgeable about health topics as I've been learning more and more about health and fitness in the last three years.

Speaking of health, I celebrated my third year on SparkPeople.com on Monday the 8^th. It was actually back in February 2007 that I decided to get my butt in gear and get healthy. I didn't find SparkPeople until the beginning of March. The last three years have really flown by, and I think that's because I have more energy, and I am able to do more than I used to. I don't even want to think about where I would be now if I didn't find SparkPeople.com. That's kind of scary to think about actually.

So that's where I am today. Thought I would update everyone that reads this blog, since it's been so long. I'll do my best to post an entry more often. I know I've said that before, that's why I say I'll do my best, LOL.

The rest of my day is going to consist of working out, writing, laundry, and other housework. Do you all have plans for the weekend?

Long Time Again...Update

It has been way too long since I've posted an entry here... again. There are few things I have updates on, my workouts, writing, and my ankle.

I've been doing OK with my working out. I've keeping up with strength training this past week. Last week I took off entirely, and it ended up being a good thing. Sometimes the body needs a break to get energy back to be able to keep going. It also gave my ankle a chance to improve. I believe I have tendinitis in my ankle, but that's strictly undiagnosed. Taking last week off was a help, because on Monday I did not feel any aches as I did my routine. Normally I would feel an ache in my ankle as I did "manly pushups", but on Monday I didn't feel anything.

Because I took last week off, I decided to test my ankle on the elliptical. I didn't have a really high hopes that I'd be able to do much of my elliptical workout, but I wanted to see how it was doing. I went for about 30 seconds and decided that it wasn't where I wanted it to be yet. But it is getting better. I'd say about 90% of the time I have no aches and pains in my left ankle. The other 10% I feel an ache, and that only if I step oddly. I used to be able to find an area on my ankle where I could push on an exact spot, and it would feel like a bruise. I can't find that spot anymore, no matter how hard I try. I'd say I have another two weeks and I should be OK. But I will take it one day at a time and not get my hopes up. I know eventually I'll be able to get back on my elliptical.

Now for the writing update. Back at the end of January I received, a few Direct Orders from a client at Textbroker.com. I believe I received four topics to write on and, I got those in on time. Last Tuesday the same person sent me 10 more Direct Orders and again I got them in on time. And again it wasn't too difficult in terms of the subject matter. Then yesterday I received two more articles to write from the same person. This time he sent me a note saying that if I was up for it, he would send me 20 to 30 articles each month. After I did a happy dance for about a minute or two, I sent back and note saying that I'd be up for the challenge. So I've got two articles to write today, and we'll go from there. I was hoping that eventually I'd receive an offer like this, and it's happened. I'm happy that the topics are all health related. I feel like I'm knowledgeable about health topics as I've been learning more and more about health and fitness in the last three years.

Speaking of health, I celebrated my third year on SparkPeople.com on Monday the 8^th. It was actually back in February 2007 that I decided to get my butt in gear and get healthy. I didn't find SparkPeople until the beginning of March. The last three years have really flown by, and I think that's because I have more energy, and I am able to do more than I used to. I don't even want to think about where I would be now if I didn't find SparkPeople.com. That's kind of scary to think about actually.

So that's where I am today. Thought I would update everyone that reads this blog, since it's been so long. I'll do my best to post an entry more often. I know I've said that before, that's why I say I'll do my best, LOL.

The rest of my day is going to consist of working out, writing, laundry, and other housework. Do you all have plans for the weekend?

New Page Feature On Blogger And Other Things

Thank you to Google, and to Blogger for adding an "About" page to their layout! And thank you to the Absolute Write forums for pointing this out! I've now got an actual "About Tee" page instead of a blog post that I used to link to in my info section (over on the right by my pic). I've been wanting an About Me page ever since I started this blog. So thank you, thank you, thank you, for this new feature on Blogger!

The weather in the southern CA desert has been really strange the last few months. Cloudy, and rainy. I'm not sure if it's rained at all here today yet, but I think it did early in the morning. It's cloudy, that's for sure. I'm loving this weather. Highs are still nice, in the 70s, and I'm enjoying that as well.

On the writing front of things, it's going very well. For one of my ghost writing sites that I write for, I got a few Direct Orders. A Direct Order is when someone who wants an article written sends the order directly to you and not to the public section for anyone to pick up. I was really surprised when I got the e-mails letting me know I had Direct Orders waiting for me. I actually did a double take. I was giddy for a few hours following that. Direct Orders also mean I get paid more for the articles, and that's a big incentive to keep writing. I got all three articles written and turned in last night and they've been accepted, so that's a great sign. I let the customer know that I'm available if they need anything else written (it's good etiquette to follow up with a customer to keep the work coming your way).

As far my exercising goes, well, I'm slacking. I skipped most of last week, mostly because I was lazy, but I was still a little under the weather (still have an annoying cough that won't seem to leave). But come Monday, I'm back at it. Oh! I just realized, with the new page section on Blogger, I can set up a page strictly for my workout exercises that I do. I was just planning on writing a post, but I may as well get up an actual page for it. Much easier for people to access it, rather than digging through posts to find it.

How's your weekend going? Do you have wild weather where you live?

New Page Feature On Blogger And Other Things

Thank you to Google, and to Blogger for adding an "About" page to their layout! And thank you to the Absolute Write forums for pointing this out! I've now got an actual "About Tee" page instead of a blog post that I used to link to in my info section (over on the right by my pic). I've been wanting an About Me page ever since I started this blog. So thank you, thank you, thank you, for this new feature on Blogger!

The weather in the southern CA desert has been really strange the last few months. Cloudy, and rainy. I'm not sure if it's rained at all here today yet, but I think it did early in the morning. It's cloudy, that's for sure. I'm loving this weather. Highs are still nice, in the 70s, and I'm enjoying that as well.

On the writing front of things, it's going very well. For one of my ghost writing sites that I write for, I got a few Direct Orders. A Direct Order is when someone who wants an article written sends the order directly to you and not to the public section for anyone to pick up. I was really surprised when I got the e-mails letting me know I had Direct Orders waiting for me. I actually did a double take. I was giddy for a few hours following that. Direct Orders also mean I get paid more for the articles, and that's a big incentive to keep writing. I got all three articles written and turned in last night and they've been accepted, so that's a great sign. I let the customer know that I'm available if they need anything else written (it's good etiquette to follow up with a customer to keep the work coming your way).

As far my exercising goes, well, I'm slacking. I skipped most of last week, mostly because I was lazy, but I was still a little under the weather (still have an annoying cough that won't seem to leave). But come Monday, I'm back at it. Oh! I just realized, with the new page section on Blogger, I can set up a page strictly for my workout exercises that I do. I was just planning on writing a post, but I may as well get up an actual page for it. Much easier for people to access it, rather than digging through posts to find it.

How's your weekend going? Do you have wild weather where you live?