A Journey Into Enlightenment (Part II)

Here we are in Tennessee, on our third official sit as a couple (and my fiftieth or so as an individual).  It has been a whirlwind of a fall and we are both looking forward to hunkering down for the winter up on Signal Mountain.

Now that I am finally and fully embracing the wonders of blogging and social media in general, I find that I can be more distracted than ever if I am not careful.  In the past I have had specific job duties, like mixing drinks or selling soaps or entering data…now I am mainly accountable to…me.  Yikes. 

Time to retrain my brain.  Time to walk down a different street!  If I want to make a living online, I need to be super organized and results-driven.  I need goals, and I need to accomplish them.  I can’t simply wait for someone else to tell me what to do, whether it be work related or otherwise.

So, each month I am going to hold myself accountable to not just me, but to all of you as well.  Each month I am going to post a goal (or four).  I know we are almost halfway into November, but I have been working hard on the following and feel the need share now, so here goes:

November Goals:

Blogsville: I am currently working with Lisa Sabin-Wilson (author of WordPress for Dummies) on this blog.  It is being completely restructured in order to be more user friendly and interactive.  You will see the new look this month (can’t wait to show you)!

Other Social Media: You can now find either myself or Caretaking Couple on twitter and Linked In as well as facebook.  I am not sure if I will be adding to or subtracting from this list – I am just going to have fun with each and see where my time is best spent.   Do you have a favorite?  If so, please share.

My Writing: Most of you know that I am taking writing classes and working on a book.  I have eight chapters outlined and three written.  I will finish Chapter Four by the end of the month. How many rough drafts does one woman need to write, anyway?

Health and Fitness:  I am looking into becoming a Beachbody Coach.  There is still a bit of research to do with regards to this.  I am considering Beachbody because I have seen the results in people who are consistent with it, and it is something I can do from anywhere in the US.  And it will hold me accountable!

The goals above are more challenging than I thought they would be but there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now.  Except for maybe going for a bike ride and getting to know the new neighborhood…another benefit of working from “home”.

Thank you for reading this, our 100^th blog post here at Caretaking Couple!  As always, I would love to hear from you.  Enlighten me ; ) Just leave a comment on any of my 100 posts between now and December 1 and I will enter your name into a drawing for a special CC gift from Tennessee!

Keeping In Touch

Here it is, another Sunday.  Paul is off to pick up a newspaper and some bagels.  I am sitting in the living room with Milo, who is enjoying his second nap of the morning.  It is the day of rest, after all.  My plans include reading the paper, taking down the Halloween decorations, doing a bit of cleaning, hanging with the dogs (Ty comes home today!) and writing letters.  Yes, writing letters.  Pen on paper.  I’ve always said I love receiving letters…especially tucked into a card that has been picked out or sometimes even made (thank you, cousin Jenna) just for me.  I have three big boxes full of letters and cards, and wedding invitations, and birth announcements that have been sent through the years.   No, I am not a horder in general – just in love with all things handwritten.  Old photos intrigue me also.  Sadly, I haven’t had to buy a new letter box for over a decade…which is around the time we all started taking this whole e-mail phenomenon so seriously.  There are many ways to keep in touch nowadays…still, I miss the handwritten letter.  Do you?

Last night, I signed back onto Facebook after several months on the wagon.  I wanted to see pics of my friend Suz’s new house and all of the Halloween costumes I knew would be posted.  Hours later, I thought here I am again, feeling like an addict, unable to pry my face away from the screen.  I love the concept, it is just overwhelming and time consuming with all of the extra stuff.  I want to keep in touch without feeling obligated to answer interview questions and get poked and quizzed and join everyone’s cause and on and on.   I know one is supposed to be social media savvy these days, especially when one owns her own business, etc.  It just seems like a bit much.  Twitter, I feel, would only add fuel to my ADD fire.  Linked In seems a bit stuffy.  Am I missing something?  

In my perfect world, all of you would have a blog.  I love blogs.  They allow me to really get to know a person/entity at my leisure.  They oftentimes entertain, inspire, and sometimes even motivate.  I know not everyone fancies themselves a writer or a techy-type, but I honestly find blogging to be simpler than all of this other stuff (WordPress for Dummies might have had something to do with it, too) .  And it doesn’t have to be along the lines of Shakespeare (obviously).   Setting up a blog is easy and free, in most cases.  Are you thinking of starting a blog?  If you already have a blog, would you share it with me please?  Perhaps I will get around to writing letters to all of you.  In the meantime, feel free to read my blog.  If you comment, I will comment back.  It’s fun!