Taking a Break

          Whew!  It has been a hectic week!  I meant to get this post written and put up by Monday, but that obviously didn't happen.  Three weeks ago, at work, we had someone who quit and her replacement has not yet completed the hiring process.  For the past two weeks another coworker and our pharmacist manager have been on vacation.  And two days this week, someone was sick at home.  There were some terrible, busy days, and I am starting Day 6 of 6 in a row today.  Hopefully, when the vacationers get back and the new person starts, things will calm down and my schedule can get back to normal.  For now, I am taking a short blogging break until the Insecure Writer's Support Group post and possibly the Question of the Month in October.  Until then, I'll miss you guys and I hope to catch up on your posts next month.

Verse I need to keep reminding myself of this month: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13 (KJV)

Question of the Month

                Happy Labor Day, everyone!  I will try to make the most of it, which won’t be easy since I have to work :(  I like September’s Question of the Month, so I thought I would participate.  The Question of the Month is a bloghop that occurs the first Monday of each month and it is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined.

Here is this month’s question: What’s the best job you’ve ever had?

                I would have to say that my favorite job was actually through a work-study program at my university.  It was called America Reads and we tutored first graders in reading for an hour after school on Mondays-Thursdays.  I enjoyed it because I love helping kids learn.  I love it when they get that “ah-hah” look on their faces and knowing that I was able to help them reach that goal.  Reading is especially fun because there are so many activities I can do with them to learn letters and sounds.  America Reads was also fun because we were able to work together one-on-one which is how I like to teach; that or small groups.  This is the reason I quickly burnt out when I taught kindergarten, because I had fifteen students and only had help for about an hour a day.  With all of my students at different levels, it was impossible for me to help all of them and that made me sad.  So, being able to focus on one student per semester was a great experience.

                I thought I would also include my second favorite “job”, which I would love to do for a living, but I don’t think there’s enough of a demand for it in my area.  In recent years, I have had a few opportunities to dog-sit for two different couples in my church.  I would go to their homes after I got off work, feed the dogs and other various chores, and stay the night.  I have stayed from three nights all the way to two weeks and it is kind of fun to pretend I live somewhere else, although I did get a bit homesick during that two week period.  I have enjoyed some pleasant babysitting experiences over the years as well.

One of the dogs I cared for, Slink, who has since passed away :(

IWSG: Overcoming Writer's Block

              Time for another posting with the Insecure Writers Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another.  IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.  The co-hosts for September are Julie Flanders, Murees Dupé, Dolorah at Book Lover, Christine Rains, and Heather M. Gardner.

             I said last month that I would give an update in this post on how I did with time management and keeping up with this blog. Well, I did not really take into consideration the fact that I had gum graft surgery in mid-August and how tired I would feel. I did manage to get one good day in for responding to my comments, visiting those who left a comment, and even catching up on a few others I follow. So, that's better than only catching a few followers sporadically throughout the week! My main insecurity at the moment is with my gums, which I have already written about in my last two posts. I just pray that the surgery has done its job and the new gums will take, but only time will tell.

              Since I'm not feeling particulary insecure in my writing, I thought I would share something that has helped with writer's block moments and just clearing my head. Emails or notes to a friends have helped inspire ideas. If I share some advice or a train of thought with my friend, I sometimes see how I could expound upon it and turn it into a blog post or an addition to my book ideas. Writing letters to various people in my life (like roommates, bosses, crushes) has also helped. Most of those letters are never actually given to the adressee, but venting out frustrations or feelings on paper can help bring some ideas to the surface. I have also written out prayers, especially in moments of distress over my circumstances or worries of the future. When I look through my prayer journal entries, I realize how much writing it out can help me calm down and bring out some revelations to the surface. I have seen it in my regular journal/diary entries as well; there was even one time that I started writing with so much frustration and venting about a horrible day and I ended up turning it into a prayer of thanksgiving. Writing has definitely proven to be a great tool for focusing and calming my mind. So, if you are feeling stuck, just keep writing, usually something good will show up!

            Besides letters or journals, I enjoy writing prompts from time to time. I came across this article recently and thought it had some fun prompts: 30 Days of Writing Prompts