It’s been busy here, which is why I haven’t had a chance for coffee the last few weeks. My biggest news is that I’m now the Chicago Protestant Examiner for Examiner.com. So I’m getting the hang of reporting and actually covering things that are happening now and talking to living people instead of researching things that happened over 2,000 years ago and interviewing people in my head. It’s a change. 
I am feeling really good. Joining the gym has really helped. Swimming and practicing yoga just sets me right. I love how both are a melding of meditation and movement. My time with my personal trainer is good as well, but I don’t get the spiritual practice on the machines the way I do in the water and yoga poses.
My biggest thing right now is time management: figuring out when and how long to work on various writing projects: The Book, Examiner, other freelance work, and being an editor on The Christian Godde Project (really need to get back to translating Luke), not to mention all the research that goes with each. Plus all the daily life stuff: running errands, cleaning, laundry, showering, eating, sleeping, etc. etc. Not to mention The Hubby appreciates it when I talk to him on occasion. 
My in-laws and a nephew are coming to see us in June, so that means we have a lot of cleaning out, organizing and cleaning up to do in the next few weeks. They’ll be here during the Printer’s Row Book Fair (every bookaholic’s best dream and worst nightmare), and I will be preaching at church that Sunday. My father-in-law wants to hear me preach. I’m a little psyched about it, but I’m sure it will all be fine. The Old Testament passage for that Sunday is Jezebel. And I love Jezebel. Wondering how much fun I can have with her even in a liberal Episcopal Church. We’ll see.
This weekend is pretty quiet. Tomorrow is cleaning and writing. I also need to make a trip to the grocery store for odds and ends. Then Sunday is Pentecost. I’m looking forward to that. Ooh, that reminds me: I need to start reading Acts 2:1-21 in the Greek, since I will be doing that Sunday morning. We will have the Acts passage read in several different languages in the service: English, Spanish, German, French, and Greek, and who knows what else. Last year each person started reading a few verses full voice, then read quietly while they walked through the sanctuary, then the next person picked up and read then walked. By the end of the reading, they were people reading the passage in different languages all over the congregation. It was so powerful. I’m not sure that’s they way we’ll do it this year, but I’m sure it will still be powerful.
I hope everyone has a good weekend and a blessed Pentecost!
Sphere: Related ContentYes, Company Girls, you heard right! Today is my birthday! As of 10:06 a.m., I’m 40. My Mom called and made my day. My Hubby woke me up with kisses and wishing me a Happy Birthday. The Cat just wanted to be fed. I’ve had a nice lazy morning, and I have decided I will do what I want today. What is the point of being self-employed if you can’t enjoy your birthday? Which means, instead of working on all the non-fiction stuff I’ve been working on lately–I’m going to work on fiction today! Because it’s been forever since I wrote any fiction, and I want to!
Tonight The Hubby and I are getting together with Lainie at Juicy Wine Company and celebrating with wine and all sorts of wonderful cheeses, cured meats, sauteed mushrooms, and incredible applewood smoked bacon.
My review of N. T. Wright’s After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters is up for The Ooze Viral Bloggers (thanks for the free book!). Yay!
It is a beautiful sunny day here in Chicago, and I am loving all of the sunshine pouring through my windows. The maid service came earlier this week: I have a clean house, so no housework today! (That is a birthday gift in and of itself.)
The Matisse exhibit is open at The Art Institute. I am thinking of going and looking at all the wonderful Matisse paintings and write poems or stories about them!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Sphere: Related ContentI know it’s been at least a month since I got in on Company Girl Coffee. I was determined to play today, which means I had to do a little copy and pasting. Havi has a Friday ritual too called The Friday Chicken where we all chime in on our weeks: what was hard and what was good. So here is my week in review, The Hard and The Good:
The Hard
I have not slept most of this week due to the evil, demonic entity known as insomnia. The rest of the hard stems from that. I’m way behind reading a book I’m reviewing, I’m way behind on the sermon I will be preaching Sunday, I’m way behind on writing projects and finding paying writing gigs. I’m way behind.
The Good
Hiring the personal trainer was a really good thing. I need the accountability to take care of myself through physical exercise. Plus I was feeling like crap yesterday when I went in (see evil, demonic insomnia above), and by the time we were done, I felt great. And I felt good the rest of the day. Getting up and moving does help me feel better. Now I need to find the same sort of accountability for my writing.
Columbia College’s Story Week Festival of Writers was just tremendous. I went around and heard authors read their work and talk about the craft, and it was marvelous. David Morrell (his books include First Blood, The Brotherhood of the Rose, and The Shimmer) totally rocks, and it you ever get a chance to hear him speak go. Change whatever you have to, reschedule whatever you have to, sell the dog if you have to, if you’re a writer and get the chance: GO! His love and dedication to writing is phenomenal. He is very blunt about how hard it is, but it’s also very obvious how much he loves what he does. And he has lots of good practical advice. I’ve just ordered his book The Successful Novelist. (Sorry for no links for the books, I don’t have the time right now. I’ll try to get them in later.)
I was sent a free book to do an advance review of by one of my favorite theologians! (N. T. Wright in case anyone was wondering.) And it is a very good book, and one that the Western Protestant Christian Church needs to hear. I’m not sure how much I can say before the reviews start going up, but I’ll let you know when I post the review.
I have set the number of pages I need to write a day on The Book Proposal. Like David Morrell said yesterday, I will write them everyday, no matter how long it takes. He made the point that writing is a perishable skill, and if you don’t use it everyday, you will lose it. That my friends, is one of my problems: I write a couple of times a week and am constantly reteaching myself the basics. To move on, I am going to have to write everyday. I had never thought about it before, but he’s absolutely right. Just like playing scales on an instrument, if I’m going to be a virtuoso at what I do, I am going to have to practice everyday.
Now I have to get ready to head to yoga then on to Trader Joes. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Wait! Before I go here is the literal, photogenic view from my window:
We are having a beautiful day in Chicago, and I am going to enjoy it. It’s supposed to snow this weekend. You gotta love Midwest weather.
Sphere: Related ContentYes, that’s right Company Girls. I made progress on Career Women of the Bible, and it doesn’t suck as much! It’s not good, but there’s not the gnashing of teeth and pulling out hair that was normal for oh-so-long. Oh yeah, it’s a good think I have enough hair for 8 people to begin with, so I’m not bald. I spent two good afternoons working at the library this week, and it is really starting to take shape. I’m happy.
On the not so good side, I made a bad financial decision. It’s not an all bad decision, but the timing with our finances are not good, and I should’ve waited. I’m looking for freelance writing, editing, and proofing jobs for additional income. Looking for freelance work means I need to update the resume. Ugh. Hate it. All sorts of stuck and fear on this one. But yesterday I did find a resume that wasn’t to icky but did a very good job of telling what the person could do for you. Using that as a model. I also need to update my About Page on my site because it sucks. More stuck. More fear. More ugh. But I will get there. I am hoping to have both the resume updated and a new About Me page done this weekend and all bright, shiny, and new to roll out next week.
OK back to the good side: I joined a Toastmasters Group to get better at public speaking, and expand the speaking part of My Thing. The group seems really cool, has fun, and provides good feedback. Think I’m going to like it.
My best friend, Lainie’s, birthday is today, and I’m feeding her tonight! Beef bourginon and risotto with leeks and fennel. Lainie loves cheese and honey for dessert, so dessert will be fresh baked bread, goat cheese, brie, honey, chocolate, and almonds. (Because you can’t have a celebration with chocolate.)
I was voted onto the Vestry at church, so I’ll get to see what happens behind the scenes and help make very big decisions. I’m also preaching on March 21 and leading an Adult Faith Discussion April 11 on the Women at the Resurrection.
Today’s agenda is to go to yoga class, hit Trader Joes’, and do a little cleaning.
I hope everyone has a good weekend, and make sure you go visit other Company Girls!
Sphere: Related ContentHey Company Girls! Sorry I’ve missed the last couple of Fridays, but things are have been crazy busy. First I am making headway on The Career Women of the Bible Book Proposal! Which is really, really sweet. The sample chapters are coming along nicely, and I have a good feel for how many pages each chapter needs to be to do what I want to do. I’m very, very happy. I am also back to regularly posting blogs. My poor blog will no longer be neglected. A minimum of three posts will be published each week. I am happy to be making some headway on the writing front. Who knew doing what you love to do the most for a living could be so hard?
As the title say, I joined a gym this week. I decided that if I was ever going to slim my very ample backside down, I would need some motivation, and paying a gym membership is very motivating. (I hate wasting money.) And it’s so easy to get to: I go out the back door of our building across the alley, into the back door of the building behind us, and gym. So I can’t use getting there as an excuse not to go. They have a pool, and I love to swim. Plus they do not use chlorine! They use some sort of sea water filtration system to keep all the germy things at bay, so no toxic smells and red eyes. The jacuzzi is beautiful: it’s on different levels and has waterfalls. A beautiful place to relax after swimming a few laps. They also have yoga classes, and I am happy to report they are actual yoga classes and exercise classes disguised as yoga. After I finishing up blogging, I will be heading over to get my swim in.
I also got together with a friend and brainstormed some ways I could start making money and networking more to get my name out there. So that was good. Now I just need to work on my inferiority complex by taking really, small baby steps as I step out in the whole networking, getting my name out there. I will definitely be working with my stuff on this one. And I’m sure there will be a sorts of stuckification, but I will work with both and on both and make sure my first steps are really, really tiny, so I don’t freak myself out too much.
It’s been a good week, and for that I am grateful. Last week was really hard, and I am glad for a week to catch my breath and get on firm ground again. Now I need to wrap this up so I can go swimming! Don’t forget to see what the other Company Girls are up to!
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