At my age, I’m pretty good at juggling. I have personal and professional goals and a bunch of errands and projects that I need to tackle. There are a lot of balls in the air, and I like to make lists so that nothing drops. And once I make that list, there is nothing better than checking things off it!

So, I thought I’d kick off the Ultimate Blog Challenge with my July to-do list. As you will see, it is chock-full of big-ticket items and things I’ve been putting off but need to deal with soon. So, without further adieu, here is what I’ve got so far:

• Support my daughter, Jenna, as she begins her senior year of college and thinks about her post-graduation life. As a history major, I’ve been there before. A liberal arts degree is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t always provide a straight path to success. There are lots of twists and turns and still so much “finding herself” that she has to do. But, there are plenty of options out there, and I know she will find them.
• Shop and pack up my youngest child and recent high school grad, Andrew, for move-in day at Drexel University
  • Follow-up item: Emotionally prepare for his move-in day and begin to envision my life as an empty nester. Playlist suggestions and helpful mantras are welcome!
• Plan our upcoming vacation. That’s right, I am about launch two healthy, kind, and intelligent children into the world, and become an empty nester. What am I going to do next? I’m going to Disney World!
  • That reminds me…find a podiatrist and make an appointment to see them about my most recent medical development – plantar fasciitis. Ouch! Also, schedule my 3rd COVID-19 booster and first shingles shot.
• Catch up on my Goodreads goal. Currently, I am three books behind schedule. Also, make a solemn pledge not to buy any more books until I read through the ones I already have on my bookshelf, Kindle, and Audible account. Then, let out a maniacal laugh, and pick a day to visit my local indie bookseller.
• Interview candidates to be my new associate at work. Say a little prayer every night that I hire an amazingly qualified person who is a perfect fit for our organization.
• Research and purchase a new ring light for my home office – preferably one with a built-in filter that makes me look ten years younger.
• Order a tube of “Fresh Breasts” – a revolutionary product that alleviates sweat and stickiness in the under boob area. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about, right?! It even comes in a fragrance-free, quick-drying formula. It received excellent reviews, but G-d only knows what subsequent recommendations I will receive after I place my order. Oh, and do I want to sign up for their company newsletter? I do not.
• Reorder supplies for my CPAP machine so the sleep apnea police stop stalking me with endless reminders via email and text. They are annoying and relentless.
• Finish the list of questions I want to ask my parents for the memoir I’m writing (more on that later). Note to self: Remind mom to book a hotel room for our family trip to Boston next month.
• Write my daily blog post for the Ultimate Blog Challenge!

For those who don’t know, the Ultimate Blog Challenge is an online community of bloggers participating in a month-long writing challenge. I am not a first-timer, but I’m also not a regular. I’ve only completed this challenge twice in my tenure. Writing 31 consecutive posts in 31 days is definitely a challenge, but I am up to the task! I’ve decided that this month’s theme will focus on the pros and cons of middle age. I’ll also drop in some summer book reviews and random off-topic posts when the mood strikes me.

Anyway, I have plenty of stories to share, and I hope you enjoy them. Also, I LOVE it when people comment on my posts. It lets me know that I’m not just writing for myself or into the endless pit of cyberspace.

Let’s do this!

XO,

Elisa

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The Ultimate Blog Challenge is now over, and I succeeded and failed. The challenge is to do 31 blogs – one post per day for the entire month. I failed the challenge because I wrote 26 out of 31 blog posts. But, it’s okay. The days that I didn’t write were days that I had more important things to do.

One night, I finished work late and still had a blog post to write. But, my son passed his board of review for Eagle Scout, and people were going out to celebrate. How could I miss that?

I couldn’t. So, I didn’t.

I had many successes in last month’s blog challenge. Many more ups than downs. Here are some of the things I got out of it.

• 26 Blog posts  – I am proud of that number. I wrote 24 more blog posts in December and 23 more than I wrote in November. My goal is always to complete the blog challenge, but if I don’t make it – at the very least, I have a new daily writing habit.
• New Subscribers – Welcome to my new subscribers and those who found me on Facebook. I’ve been at this for a long time, but I don’t have much of a following. So, I greatly appreciate it when people sign up to receive an email from me in their inbox on a regular basis.
• A supportive writing community – I participate in this challenge with about 40 other bloggers. I don’t know the exact number, but each is incredibly talented and passionate about their families, businesses, communities, and hobbies. I learned so much from everyone, and their support means the world to me.

The best thing about these writing challenges is that when they are over, I still love writing. I never tire of it; I’m inspired to keep going. Even though it can be lonely to sit in front of my laptop trying to come up with something to say, I feel amazing when an idea comes to mind. And when that idea turns into a post, I am excited to hit publish and put my voice out into the world. And when you like, comment, share, or text me to say how much you liked what I wrote, it’s an incredible feeling.

So, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more.

XO,

Elisa

• 4 comments

I was hoping to be incredibly productive on the writing front today, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I took two naps, listened to a few chapters of my book, and did some laundry. I also went through a large stack of papers that I’ve been shuffling around for months. There was a lot of trash and also a few gems that I am filing away for another day. Here are some of the things I found:

• Class notes from a digital marketing class I took last year. There are many tips and tricks that could make my work life a lot easier to manage.
• A list of writing prompts from January 2019. At one point, I must have made a list of things I wanted to write about. Some of them are no longer relevant, and others are evergreen. It’s a good list to keep around.
• A holiday card from my writing coach turned friend. She wrote, “thank you for believing in me as much as I believe in you.” Love her!
• Membership cards to Longwood Gardens. I will need those as soon as this cold weather breaks and the flowers start to bloom again.
• Bed Bath and Beyond coupons – you can never have enough of them!

Maybe my day was more productive than I thought. I managed to fill up my recycling bin with papers I no longer need, which is always good.

And maybe tomorrow I’ll have a better writing day.

• 3 comments