Someday, I may get back to the long, rambling essays I often write for these updates.

Today, though, is not that someday, and here’s why:

• I have a headache.
• I have a living room filling up with miscellaneous camping supplies. The children and I are attending the Always Learning Live May Symposium in Massachusetts this weekend; our first camping trip of the season). First trips always seem to involve more chaos than those later in the season, as we transition…

• I have photos to add and a story to write.
• I have hometending, packing, and organizing awaiting me.
• I am more focused, right now, on the actual goals, and our weekend plans, than on deep musings. It’s getting to our active season, and I don’t want to still my busy mind long enough to get all pithy.
• I have lots of clarity dawning, but….it’s not ready, just yet.

So, for now, I am just going to run down my progress, and add some pictures….

Round 2 Goals:

Reading:

• Read at least as many books as the number of the month (4 in April; 5 in May; 6 in June) from my To Be Read piles.
• 
  
• The Shelters of Stone: p 737 of 896.
• Tuesdays With Morrie: Completed.
• I have read 4 of 5 books for May.
  
• Read at least 3 articles a week from my To Be Read files on computer, and categorize those I choose to keep or share.
• I have read Birth of a Homeschooler.
• I have read 1 of 3 articles needed to attain this goal for the week.

• Read at least 5 blogposts a week (not including my own), and like, comment, and/or share as I am moved to.
• I read My Day? Mabee not… ,and commented.
• I read Small Talks, and commented.
• I read Open Wounds, and commented.
• I read ROW Check-in #12, and commented.
• I read Book Review Monday: One Hundred Names For Love , and commented.

•  Submit at least 10 pieces of flash fiction or poetry this round.
• I submitted my flash fantasy fiction story, “Sarjyn and the Kingdom of Man Above” to the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.
• Within several hours, I received back what appears to be a form letter, and which has me puzzled, as it was an attempt to sell my a writing workshop, and contained no acceptance, rejection, or any specific references to the piece I submitted….

• I am in the process of investigating a few other markets for flash fiction:

1. Digital American
2. Diagonal Proof
3. Anobiumlit.com
4. Fix it Broken
5. Monkeybicycle

• I have submitted 2 of 10 pieces for this goal.
• I will continue to investigate the five publications above over the coming days.

• Submit at least 5 essays or lists this round.
• I have a rough draft of my guest post for Elizabeth Anne Mitchell‘s blog,  (a little long at 993 words, I think).
• I will let this piece rest for a day or three, and revisit/revise before offering it to Elizabeth.
• I have separated the very long (2500+ word) essay I wrote as my Cooperative Catalyst guest post into four distinct philosophical threads.
• Next, I will refer back to the letter from the editor (which I have yet to answer -oops!), and check on suggested word lengths as well as the other places he suggested I explore on the blog.
• I will be using this information to polish the thread I offer as my first guest blogpost there.
• I hope to be ready to submit to Cooperative Catalyst by next week.
• I I have revised my 773-word Anything Goes post to a tighter and within the word limit 572 words.
• I am much happier with this version, but will let it sit for a bit before looking at it over again, then submitting.

• Continue submitting to hops, challenges, fests, etc.; at least 3 each month.
• I am continuing with the Story a Day May Challenge.
• Thus far, I have written a story each day, most of them loosely connected.
• I have not yet written today’s story….first, a hot shower!
• I have written each story just as it comes, and most in about a half-hour.

Organizing:

•  Edit all 2009 posts on  The Unfettered Life.  Consider layout and design changes.
• I have edited the text for my post, Outside with Annalise.
• In order to watermark the photos as a batch, I needed to download them to my Picasaalbums, then reset the syncing feature to include watermarks.
• The photos are synced to my Picasa Web Albums, with watermarks, and I have edited and updated Outside with Annalise.
• I have also updated the post Birthday Party Weekend – Part One.

• Take clips from first Penzu notebook.
• I have taken all clips from the December 3 and 4^th writings.
• I have begun taking clips from Dec. 5 and 6^th.
• This leaves 9 posts left to clip for this ROWnd.

• Input Chameleon’s Dish to Scrivener.
• I have input original Chapter 9, into Scrivener.
• I have found the next three chapters, and done a quick edit/reformatting of Chapter 10 (which will become Chapter 3), and Chapter 11 (which will be Chapter 4). It is now ready for inputting to Scrivener.
• I have added Chapter 3 to my Scrivener Chameleon’s Dishbinder.
• I have rough edited and reformatted Chapter 12; it is prepared for its future addition to my Scrivener binders.

• Create story arc for Blood and Breath.
• I have added Chapters Eight and Nine to the story arc.
• As I suspected, the reconstructed version is drifting from the direction I know the last draft took. I’m a little sad about it, but accepting. It’s like a semi-rewrite, and I imagine the story will end up better for it.

• Clean up computer downloads, documents, photos, and other clutter – move it or lose it!
• A few weeks ago, I placed all my writing-related files in a folder labeled Writing Bullpen.
• This was a definite improvement over searching through all my document files for them.
• However, there were dozens of files there, and they were not organized.
• I have deleted redundant or unnecessary files, and organized the rest in subfolders.
• My Writing Bullpen is now a well-organized home for all the writing projects I currently want close to hand.

Marketing:

•  Explore marketing articles on my Facebook Writer Page.
• I read What Mascara, Thai Food,and Julia Child Can Teach Us About Social Media Success.
• Add useful articles to my shanjeniah Marketing Articles  page.
• I have added the above article to my page, and will be returning to read more here.
• Use this information to help define my direction; adjust as needed.
• I feel new awareness and ideas spinning and coalescing; I believe, by the end of the next ROWnd, I will have at least the framework of a marketing plan!

Self-care:

• Add JOY to every day!
• Monday: Easy family day; allowed myself to express my feelings when I needed to.
• Tuesday: Again, stated my needs and honored myself by doing so; time alone in a reasonably clean house.
• Wednesday: Mowed the front lawn with new,self-propelled mower, easing calmly into packing for our weekend camping trip. Breathing.

• Add movement to every day, too!
• Monday: Puttery hometending; packing.
• Tuesday: Hometending.
• Wednesday: Hometending; mowed front yard; began gathering camping supplies.

• Add more of my passions to each day, in as many ways as I can manage.
• Monday: Family time; writerly stuff.
• Tuesday: A few hours of sweet solitude!
• Wednesday: Mowing; walking around the yard in the early morning; photographing nature and family life; attending a snake show.
• Add all these for my beloved others, too!
• Jeremiah: Snuggles, tickles, and spelling help; deep conversations; photo ops; lots of second chances; and saying yes to him using the brand-new mower.
• Jim: Honesty; even when it was hard; appreciation; conversation.
• Annalise: Seeing her as she really is; attended and photographed her snake show; time with me in my room; saying yes to her own tent for this weekend’s camping trip; snuggles and spelling help.

So there are my accomplishments for the last three days. I may or may not do a Monday check-in (it won’t be Sunday, as we will be returning home then, and, after two days camping in the company of other unschoolers, I know from experience that we will all be blissfully exhausted.

I will not have regular (and perhaps no) internet access over the weekend, so I won’t be as visible as I generally am. I have structured my writing so that I can focus on things that can be done offline suring the weekend. Although this is a symposium, and there will be speakers I want to hear, activities I want to participate in, children to be with, and social gatherings to attend, I know that there will also be the freedom to read and write.

I’m planning to write my Story a Day (in a notebook or in LibreOffice); to finish The Shelters of Stone if I haven’t before then; to begin a book review or two (I have a growing stack of books waiting for their turns); and to work on the children’s quarterly reports, which are due on June 1. I may do some, all, or even none of those things.

May the rest of everyone’s week be joyful and productive!

Namaste!

Why not  visit the other ROWers?

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