But that's okay. We played a variety of board and video games. And the weather the day before (Monday)--when we went to a local luau--was very pleasant. The Smith Family Luau was so much fun. Beautiful grounds, great food, and a fun show. Just a few sprinkles--the lull before the storm.
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| This is us with the family of one of my son-in-law's coworkers. |
Having received some awards lately, I figured it was time to acknowledge the wonderful givers.
I've received the Great Commenter Award twice, once each from Nancy Thompson, Leigh Covington, and J.A. Bennett.
Earlier this week Kelley over at Between the Bookends gave me the two awards below, and Sara at Live to Write...Edit When Necessary gave me the Versatile Blogger. J.A. Bennett gave me the Versatile Blogger, too.
I'm supposed to provide trivia about myself, but I've bored everyone stupid with tidbits about myself in previous posts so I'll pass this time.
I wish I had the time to track down a list of some bodacious bloggers out there who deserve these. However, things are crazy right now, so I'm merely going to acknowledge the awesome ladies who were kind enough to think of me. I invite you to visit their blogs and encourage you to follow them if you aren't already.
Seriously, speaking of crazy. How the heck did I end up on the boards of three different writing associations? I have eight years before I can retire, so I work full-time (plus).
Don't misunderstand. These really are wonderful networking opportunities, and I love the people I'm working with. But when am I going to have time to write?
Do you find yourself getting in deeper than you probably should, making commitments you worry you won't be able to fulfill? I hate doing things halfway.
At what point do you have to step back from some things?
I've fallen into that trap before, of taking on too much than you can chew. This is one of the reasons why I don't take art commisions at the moment. One blogger, nice chap, asked me about a year ago to do the artwork for his comic. I jumped at the chance. His ideas were fantastic, but I never got the time to finish it, and then I felt my passion for art was becoming more of a chore and the enjoyment was swept away. I couldn't leave him dangling, waiting for my next installment, so I had no choice but to pull out. Ever since then I've turned people down because they deserve much more than I know I'll give. It's sad really. I love drawing and more than capable...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the awards, well deserved.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
I had to step back recently. I hated not being able to do everything and felt quite a bit like a wimp. I mean, everyone else seems to be able to do everything right? But I realized I was missing my kids and when I was around them I wasn't a good mom. I was too preoccupied and worried. So I had to reprioritize.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your award! You're trip looked fun...storms and all. A trip away from the routine is always nice.
ReplyDeleteAs for biting off more than I can chew...I always do that to myself. Right now I'm inches away to publishing my first book. I'm going Indie and have the beta readers reading and an editor waiting for the MS. I wan it to be right. I've read so many articles on bad Indie writing.
Your last question speaks volumes to me at the moment. I've had to rethink some priorities recently for exactly that reason.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your awards and on your recent request!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, I'm finding myself getting behind at the moment (no post for me today in an effort to catch up).
I was asked to judge a regional writing contest recently but had to say no. I've got enough writing and critiquing of my own to do right now. So yay me for saying no (because I was really tempted to say yes).
Glad you had a great time in Hawaii, rain and all.
Congrats on your Awards, they're always fun ...
ReplyDeleteI'm careful with my time commitments and learned a long, long time ago to not overextend myself. It's worth it in the long run, as you're able to give 100% to the commitments you have.
Vacation looks like it was great but probably WAY too short.
ReplyDeleteI'm completely commitment-phobic. My full-time calling herding cats keeps me running. Fortunately, I don't sleep well, so I write in the wee hours (yeah,I edit a lot). It's taken me along time but I've finally learned to 'just say no'(then,of course,I wallow around in guilt for a few days).
I'm sure you TOTALLY deserve those awards.
Congratulations and glad you've had a good time on vacation. I'm just beginning to wonder when it's too much myself...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your awards, and YES, I have so fallen into the trap of saying YES! I get so excited about stuff - blogfests and social networking and online writing classes and forums...and then there's everything at home. For example, I jumped right into the PTA...and I'm not so sure I should have!
ReplyDeletecongrats on your awards!
ReplyDeleteI think this is actually a huge problem for writers. I see it happening online, and I think, "with all your networking and everything you're doing, are you actually WRITING?"
ReplyDeleteThat's why I made this rule for myself: if I'm not writing a thousand words a day (two thousand most days) then I'm not being a writer. I find that if I stick to that rule, then I'm staying on target. I don't do much online or with networking, but that's okay with me because I think I'm doing the thing that matters most. Plus, I have this theory that the most effective way to network is to succeed. If you write a good book and get it published, people will network with YOU and you'll find yourself plenty hooked up in short order.
Awards abound at your grounds. Yeah I fallen into that trap a time or two. Best thing to do is unplug. If you aren't there to see, no one can bother thee.
ReplyDeleteI start cutting back when the most important things begin suffer.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the awards! I hope you had a great trip home. :)
ReplyDeleteAll of the writing stuff can get overwhelming--which is why, honestly, I haven't joined writing associations. I think sometimes that I really should, because they are wonderful networking opportunities, but I just don't have time. Between homeschooling and writing and editing and blogging and prepping books for publication (whether I'm doing stuff for my publisher or doing it myself), trying to remember to tweet now and then, I have my hands already very full. This is why I don't edit for others as much as I might like to--I love editing for other people, but I have a REALLY hard time writing when I'm editing (like, it's pretty much impossible) so I don't do it very much.
Whenever you're published, it might get even more overwhelming. You'll have more editing (whether it's from a publishing house or you choose to self-publish) and prepping the book and reviewing proofs. There's marketing and trying to find a balance in marketing--wondering if you're doing enough or if you're doing too much and you're going to annoy everyone.
It's really hard to find a balance, but sometimes it comes down to deciding how much you can reasonably do and still keep other balls rolling.
I think that a lot of women fall into the Super-Woman roll. THey feel like they can do it all, and then realize that they can't.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to stop before you get to that point. I think you just have to do your best, and not feel bad if you say No to something.
YOu can find time to write Donna, I know you can!
Yay for the award! Awesome :) And yay for game night too, lol.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to allow yourself some adjusting time too. Most of the time you can do it all, it just takes some time to figure out how. Don't be too hard on yourself.
And when it becomes too much, step back. Do what you need to, then take a break for a bit :)
Congratulations on your award. Yes, I do tend to take on too many things, although I'm getting better at "passing" on a few.
ReplyDeleteI stop writing when schoolwork sucks the life out of me, or while I'm at Outdoor School or summer camp. I know my own limits and very, very rarely push myself beyond them.
ReplyDeleteI find that I'm a 'I can't say no' person. Because EVERYTHING sounds like SO MUCH FUN!! Such a great experience!!! More, more, more!
ReplyDeleteThen you realize you can't handle more. You couldn't handle more a few mores ago...haha
Congratulations on the awards! :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes. And when I do, I feel really bad about doing something subpar or faster than I should have. I try to step back when I every little thing starts feeling truncated.
Congrats on all the awards!
ReplyDeleteAs for being crazy busy, it stinks to be so loved. : )
No, really, you're wonderful and everyone wants a piece of you, and it's okay to give it to them, but it sounds as though you're realizing you should say "no" more often. It's hard, but if your writing benefits from it, then I say it's the best thing for you!
Congratulations on your awards. You are a very popular blogger, but I know what you mean about taking on too much at once. I did exactly that between November and the New Year and then when my husband had his heart attack I felt like my entire world fell apart.
ReplyDeleteSince you are feeling so overwhelmed, it is probably not a good time to ask you to participate in my first blogfest (at least that is the idea -if I can figure out what the heck I am doing.) Your comment in this post, "I wish I had the time to track down a list of some bodacious bloggers out there who deserve these." prompted me to mention it to you.
The grand prize is the choice of either a Kindle fire or a two hour plot consultation with the remarkable Martha Alderson. This prize is for someone who basically does what you just said. Maybe not "track down", but the winner will be the person who finds and helps mentor a new, struggling or undiscovered blogger and writes a post about what they did to help.
I just thought I would mention it.
Take care
Melissa
Congratulations on the awards, and safe travels going home! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the awards.
ReplyDeleteI dislike that monsoon-like rain. We get it down here, too.
I stepped back from many things two or three years ago. I didn't want my time being eaten up during my publishing journey. Also, I had to stay sane.