August, 2022 – The Month of Juggling

good morning, cyberspace!

And just like that, we’ve entered August. I’ve put a lot of time and consideration into how I want to go about this month. There’s so much that needs done, so much I want to accomplish, and so much that’s simply happening in my little corner of the universe–most of which is unfortunately outside my realm of control–that I’ve debated whether or not to just give up on blogging entirely, shave my head bald, and become a lowly goat herder out in the Himalayas. The other side of the debate is rather convinced that we’re entering a midlife crisis, and therefore I have kept my locks and haven’t yet packed up my things for the big move.

So alas. I’m still here, still thriving, and finally sitting down to write a blog post about August. It’s taken some time, but I’ve narrowed my lengthy list of To-Do’s down to three main creative projects for the month, as well as cushioned the rest of my time with “work” work. We’re entering a heavy training period at the coffee shop, which means it’s an all-hands-on-deck sort of situation all month long. And since I’m the Director of Training, my hands are going to be on that deck a lot.

I’m excited, though. This will be a good season. I’m determined for it to be, lol.

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AUGUST 2022 – THE MONTH OF JUGGLING

As the title of this post and our intro suggests, there is a lot of juggling going on this month. Creative pursuits, actual work, time with family and friends, deadlines, birthdays, events… It’s all happening this month, friends! I’ve got a timeline. I’ve got a Trello board (or three), and I’ve got a whole lot of dreams that I’ve been concocting! And this is the month for it all–which means juggling. All of the juggling. so much juggling

Let’s take a look at it all, shall we?

THE CREATIVE PROJECTS

Project Sunset…

Obviously, I’ve been working on this book for… way too long. XD However, I am still loving this book and all that it has to offer, and I’m learning so much about my editing process and what it takes to revise a manuscript. It’s all learning curves and speedbumps for this project, but it’s a wild ride I’m excited to be on.

The deadline for this book has been pushed back sooooo many times, though, and I’m starting to get a bit grumpy about it. So the determination for it to be finished this month is high. I’m squeezing writing sessions into every single day of August, and if this book isn’t done by September, I will be requesting a refund.

The Goblin Story…

Also known as The Girl and The Goblin King, Welcome to Inkwell, and Project Goblin. Weirdly enough, I still haven’t found a name for this book, which is ODD for me, guys. Typically the name is the first thing to manifest. And here I am with an idea and a cast and nothing to tether it to reality. Ah well.

The goal for this month is to get this book reoutlined. I fast drafted this whole thing, and as far as I remember, it was a disaster. So I’d like to start off the redrafting process in September with a solid, structurally sound outline. Or as much of an outline as this happy plantser can pull out of her noggin. I plan on brainstorming quite a bit, utilizing my newfound love of scene cards, and–you guessed it–creating a Trello board.

i’m only slightly obsessed, okay

The Blog…

To be quite honest with you all, I really don’t know what’s in store for this blog this month. My hope is to start posting again, but with everything going on outside of writing (which we’ll get to in a moment), I fear that my free time may be eaten up by writing actual story content. An unfortunate side effect that I’m forced to be okay with, since the goal is, first and foremost, to write the books. #priorities

However, I’m still going to try and blog this month! I love my blog. I don’t want it to be so dusty and covered in cobwebs. And eventually I would like to have so many experiences and resources in my pockets that I’ll be able to share them all with you guys! That’s the end goal, at least. And I guess it all begins with keeping things consistent. (something I’m decidedly inept at currently) But for now, posts will probably be sporadic. It’s the best I can do with what I’ve got, and my hope is that it will be good enough for you guys, too. <333

The Life/Work Balance

As always, I’m trying to figure out a healthy balance between Life and Work. Both of which tend to be… exhausting, to say the least. XD And there is a lot happening between the two this month!

Work…

Oh goodness gracious, there’s a lot happening at work this month! From training a bunch of newbies, to celebrating our store’s first birthday under new ownership, to developing and finishing the training manual I’ve been revising, to preparing for a new coffee season, to attending the yearly BIGGBY Nation Summit conference at August’s end… There’s just a lot, guys. So much. XD But I’m leaning on God to get me through it, and I’m determined to live each moment to the fullest. Life is good and insanely short, and I’m not going to wish myself an easier path than the one I’ve been given.

Perhaps I’ll have more to say on the subject of where I’m at work-wise in the future, but for today, that’s all I’ve got. <3

Life…

And now the fun part…

THERE ARE BIRTHDAYS HAPPENING THIS MONTH, FRIENDS! Two of them, in fact. (well, three, if you count the BIGGBY birthday, but anyway) And one of them is MINE.

mwahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA! Y’all I’m so excited for this, you can’t imagine. I’m turning a number that I’ve been obsessed with for YEARS, and I just have so many hopes for this new chapter of my life, okay? So many. It’s probably unhealthy. But I’m excited to spend the day with my family, excited to eat a ton of cake, and excited to just have one whole day where there isn’t any sort of stress or panic or sense of responsibility. It’s going to be wonderful, and I am here for it.

Also on the Birthday Agenda is Smudged Thoughts’ 6-Year Blogiversary! Which, if I wasn’t lazy, I would try and fit up under the Blogging section of this post. But I AM lazy and I’m talking about birthdays down here, so it’s gonna stay. Currently, I have no ideas for how we’re going to celebrate this blog’s birthday, but I’m hoping to put something out, lol! I guess we’ll see what happens closer to the actual date.

Aside from birthdays and all that jazz, I’ve decided to invest in some writing classes from Masterclass! I’m probably going to start closer to September (potentially even IN September, considering), but I’m still really excited about it, and I’m using this month to save up for it! I definitely want to start with Neil Gaiman’s class, but there’s a new one by the Duffer Brothers that just came out, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was intrigued. I’m sure whatever I choose first will be much cause for discussion, so I guess we’ll see how that goes, too! For now, I’m using these classes as an incentive to finish Project Sunset by the end of the month. XD

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All in all, I’m excited for this month! It’ll be crazy. It’ll be exhausting, but it will be good. I may be making all these plans without any sense of how the month will actually go, but I do know that whatever God’s got in store for me will be even better than anything I could plan. And I’m eager to see what that looks like, in whatever capacity.

talk to me, peasants!

• what are you most excited for this August? anything fun on your radar?

Let’s talk about ALL OF THE THINGS down in the comments below! And until next time…

* flings cookies in the air and disappears *

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