tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56530001773338871292024-03-21T19:45:11.053-05:00A Good Enough LifeThe Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-34008088988237480052024-02-06T15:34:00.000-06:002024-02-06T15:34:54.040-06:00 My conversation with Winter, God and Coffee<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIczjGpM8V3ZJPr3KyHdCnD_gO6NUXsktY8H2Dwrz8i30rLtNFjRQbK3KvPvyxr9TTdBbqT-g1ztMSAvIpKA0e_1Ug-PUeparI3Y_APih47B_g9j6ItPb2qrml3c44f6p7MhxLw6dSmR-c8e4D5SMpE5Q4f8FRLvxOo24CJ7Q-kEPVmj5IyLIwM5Y/s4032/7D7F9146-2885-4AD1-A26D-8E9BB9BDEC07.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIczjGpM8V3ZJPr3KyHdCnD_gO6NUXsktY8H2Dwrz8i30rLtNFjRQbK3KvPvyxr9TTdBbqT-g1ztMSAvIpKA0e_1Ug-PUeparI3Y_APih47B_g9j6ItPb2qrml3c44f6p7MhxLw6dSmR-c8e4D5SMpE5Q4f8FRLvxOo24CJ7Q-kEPVmj5IyLIwM5Y/w640-h480/7D7F9146-2885-4AD1-A26D-8E9BB9BDEC07.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My family on a hike near Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Circa 2015 </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">Hi Winter, I see you. Heck, how can I not. I've done my best, but it's time to admit something really, really scary. You're bigger than me, you're meaner than me, though on a day like today when the added gob-smacking of sleep deprivation (Auntie Menny- as in Menapause missed the memo that she could skip her visit this week) and well, time to face facts. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"> I just cannot deal.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">You see I used to be able to tough it out. The photo depicts me doing just that. On an impossibly cold day here I am behind 4 out of 5 of my family members, plus Chuckles our dog. Missing that day was our oldest son. It was the kind of cold that cuts to the bone, most days here in January, February do just that. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">I agreed to go for this "hike" with our family during Christmas break, my mom guilt hovering steady in the "make sure there are good memories" pressuring myself. Our oldest and only daughter, Juliette, was a student at Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas which is about 5 hours away. She loves to hike, as does my husband, and younger sons Joseph and Martin who were high school and middle school age weren't actively protesting outings with their folks at this stage for some miraculous reason. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">Palisades State Park is along a river, so the "hiking" is more a less whatever upward slanting rivers do to have water flow. I'm not a hydraulics expert, so that is the gist of my explanation. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">All I know is that it never once occurred to me as a Californian moving to the Midwest how much I took for granted the endowment nature bestowed to my native Golden state, and how strikingly lacking in it the poor Hawkeye State is.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">Back to my admitted defeat over winter. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">This January 2024 in Cedar Rapids was the worst on record, though record keepers might dispute that. I literally didn't leave my home for the better part of 3 weeks, including missing Mass on the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. I had drawn up a new set of boundaries for myself, and when wind chills are negative 30, AND ice is still on the roads, I stay put. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">That was when I had to admit defeat. Winter had won, and Jenny had lost and there was nothing to be done about it. Yes I had the usual teary eyed rants on full display for my patient but weary husband about "can we just decide already to move to a warmer climate." My lingering sleep problems that plague me added to this sense of weakness, turning eventually into moods I was having trouble keeping in check. I am no stranger to depression, having had my first full blown diagnosis in 1997 after the birth of our second child which fell on the dawn of my parents' divorce. I know what not coping looks like. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">Last October, I signed up for a low-cost membership to an online Catholic Wellness community. Their weekly optional bible study meetings (Lectio Divina) were staffed with kind, non-judgemental and well studied in their craft Catholics. Once a week I found myself staring into the faces on Zoom of fellow wellness-seekers, of different ages, backgrounds and challenges they were all humbly laying at the foot of the Cross. Over and over again, the message of the community came out in kind exchanges. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">"Jenny, stop relying on yourself. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">Christ, the Divine Physician, wills your good and wants you to be fully alive in mind, body, spirit and soul." </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">This small beginning last fall carried me during some tough stretches of 2023's end: the death of our beloved Chuckles, ongoing estrangement from my family of origin that I feel more acutely during the holiday season, the inner pang that is my still adjusting heart to empty-nesting, having been a SAHM since 1996. My heart had so many holes in it, and combined with the push of middle age, and the "loyalty" of menapause and it's myriad of lingering surprises, I was in over my head, and in need of true healing.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">And then came the one-two punch of January, and I found myself spiraling once again. But it wasn't permanent, and with the resources I had amassed from my better understanding of Christ at the center of wellness, I reached for more help. And as always, The Father answered. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">This blog will now be repurposed to focus on that ongoing effort, progress, and graces accumulated through our beloved God.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">I'm happy to say I feel better already. It's been over 10 years of migraines, sleep issues, mood swings, and milestones galore. But I know better than to try to tackle more mountains in one trek. So I start with that first sip every morning, and resume asking Him to meet my needs...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituUowJK6DqzKdDi2BDmu0SsUdbLKrG6uAPAwCLOvlmrHhE4Sb70q6RERSCtrjX8Lw8pzmGdnbeO7LHpEE2I66BOHg2bQoVX3b_xHnRN0jVvqo6KtGBV6jYhvwxTjB685wrQVTjGDWX01ap8Exid8A62hwWPK86R7uq9YqWgXkIyItPH4dBH1qICUh/s4032/B55C9E9E-A7EF-4212-908B-7A8E3AB99CF4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituUowJK6DqzKdDi2BDmu0SsUdbLKrG6uAPAwCLOvlmrHhE4Sb70q6RERSCtrjX8Lw8pzmGdnbeO7LHpEE2I66BOHg2bQoVX3b_xHnRN0jVvqo6KtGBV6jYhvwxTjB685wrQVTjGDWX01ap8Exid8A62hwWPK86R7uq9YqWgXkIyItPH4dBH1qICUh/s320/B55C9E9E-A7EF-4212-908B-7A8E3AB99CF4.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">"Hello Father, it's me. Jenny, you daughter.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">Thank you for (gratitude list), and would you guide me today on (worry list)? Ok, I'm listening...."</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">"Daughter, Your faith has saved you," Gospel of St. Mark, Chapter 5 </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">If you're new to this blog, welcome. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">If you're curious about wellness from a Catholic perspective, check out: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">https://cmfcuro.com/how-it-works/</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">Until next time, be assured of my prayers for you. Best, Jenny B💖</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></h4><div><h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div>The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-62769465228383116222023-04-16T07:00:00.277-05:002023-09-13T20:54:41.601-05:00Stop complaining about the weather, Jenny<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Good morning and Happy Divine Mercy Sunday. </span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Today is April 16, 2023 and I am sitting at my desk in our still-new-to-us home in the quaint town of Robins, Iowa. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's gonna be crap weather today, thank you fake Midwest spring. We had a week of teasing, "see this is how to be normal" spring weather, with a summer heat wave inserted. I broke out shorts, flip flops. We even started running the a/c. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And today, the high will be 38. Good grief Iowa, just when I think I can "accept" you, you turn on me. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> Yesterday was an entirely different deal. Sunny, warm, and also "Opening Day" for the lawn mower. That's like, a seriously big deal when you live in the Midwest. You get to put the snow blower in the most rear-location in the garage, and say "buh bye," for the season. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">Then you hope the the lawn mower start, which is not an easy thing after sitting idle for a long winter. My dear husband succeeded, however, in getting it started and he disappeared for three hours into "This is My Land" bliss. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But today we're on a frickin' "freeze watch". Seriously? April really is the cruelest month. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">That's the plight of a California girl who has lived in the Midwest past her expiration date. </span></span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;">They do say that everyone complains about the weather, no one does anything about it.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;">Oh yeah, and for Lent, I "gave up" complaining. That doesn't leave much for conversation lol! I keep trying..</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;">Talk soon and please say a prayer for me.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: large;">Jenny B </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></span></div></div>The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0Robins, IA, USA42.0711084 -91.666844413.760874563821154 -126.8230944 70.381342236178853 -56.5105944tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-50475779857747920492013-04-30T09:50:00.000-05:002013-05-07T09:25:09.149-05:00<h3 style="text-align: center;">
What else should we "redefine" for the sake of equality?</h3>
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The marriage debate continues on in the United States, we will hear this June how the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the matter, possibly overriding the state of California's passage of Prop. 8, which defines marriage as one man and one woman.<br />
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<u><em>Infertility </em></u>is also in the baby steps of being re-defined. California is introducing legislation, AB 460, that would mandate insurance coverage for same-sex couples who wish to undergo fertility treatments to conceive a child of their own. Check out <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/08/CA-legislation-insurance-gay-infertility">http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/08/CA-legislation-insurance-gay-infertility</a>.<br />
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<u><em>Birth certificates</em></u>, specifically the terms "mother" and "father" are also being redefined. I first heard about this going on in France, my husband's native country, and figured "that can't happen here".<br />
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I was wrong. Iowa is looking at doing the same. <br />
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<a href="http://thegazette.com/2013/05/03/iowa-supreme-court-rules-both-lesbian-spouses-names-should-be-on-childs-birth-certificate/">http://thegazette.com/2013/05/03/iowa-supreme-court-rules-both-lesbian-spouses-names-should-be-on-childs-birth-certificate/</a><br />
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Hollywood is perhaps the most vocal advocate in the pro-gay marriage campaign, but I wonder what they would think of special interest groups trying to pass laws that would re-define their cherished institutions. <br />
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"Hello....Motion Pictures Academy? Yes it's me, Jenny Bioche, the freelance writer. I'm calling about your commitment to equality. The Academy Awards are coming up and I want to be nominated for an Oscar. The name of my movie? I've never made a movie. What? No I've never written a screenplay....but you can't discriminate against me. I'm a writer, an artist. This is about <em>art</em>."<br />
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Then we could invite or rather incite the comic book authors, novelists, poets and anyone else who has picked up a pen demanding that they be afforded the "same privileges that married, sorry- <em>Oscar </em>people get". That would be the coveted table at (the super expensive, trendy LA restaurant) Spago's. Brad Pitt on Speed Dial, and so on.<br />
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That could lead to other "redefinitions" in the name of equality. High school show choirs and college marching bands could start campaigning for Grammy Nominations. Kindergartners' Christmas pageants could be added to Tony Award categories. Grandma filming her cat jumping off a porch could make a great Emmy nominee. To leave out these "artists" would be discrimination.<br />
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Tearing down institutions is difficult, and it doesn't happen over night. If you are shrugging your shoulders in indifference, then you might also be ok with a college intern getting your promotion at work in favor of "equality". Maybe you'd like to see Minor league Baseball teams playing in the World Series, or a D average student giving the keynote at your son's college graduation. Powder puff teams competing in the Super Bowl?<br />
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What are your cherished institutions? Maybe nothing is sacred.<br />
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Hollywood finds many a thing sacred - their red carpets, their "best dressed" coverage in People magazine, the ratings on the evening of the Oscar broadcast, the pomp and circumstance of it all. And we viewers gather with food in front of the TV, hoping some of the glitter will rub off on us. And that's actually a good thing. <br />
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We need special occasions and special tributes, but it doesn't mean including everyone, if it did, those awards would be meaningless.<br />
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Hollywood keeps calling for being inclusive, yet they are the most exclusive club in the country. <br />
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They are asking for non-discrimination when they practice - as they should - artistic discrimination every day. The institution of marriage has done the same thing: it discriminates against the under-aged, it discriminates against those already married. <br />
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Redefining marriage is really about saying that "anything goes" in marriage, as stated vehemently by homosexual activist Masha Geesen. <br />
<a href="http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/29/lesbian-activists-surprisingly-candid-speech-gay-marriage-fight-is-a-lie-to-destroy-marriage/">http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/04/29/lesbian-activists-surprisingly-candid-speech-gay-marriage-fight-is-a-lie-to-destroy-marriage/</a><br />
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Discrimination, in some context, is a good thing. Re-defining marriage equates to chaos for our future. <br />
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The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-84240464263333986342010-01-13T13:30:00.000-06:002010-01-13T13:37:33.870-06:00Good Morning Writers!Good Morning Writers! If you're like me you fall into a rut sometimes with writing - I have had that same problem for the past couple of days, for some reason the "thrill" is gone and writing feels just like a chore. It has not stopped me from being productive. For example, today on Demandstudios.com, a website where approved writers can select assignments and write for pay, I took on "fentanyl citrate" and did just a 30 word blurb.<br /><br />This was helpful because it was a small, doable assignment and allowed me to feel like I was accomplishing something. Fentanyl citrate btw is an anesthetic used on for pain management in cancer patients, and also as a general anesthesia in operating rooms, or at least I think that's right.<br /><br />In any case - I posted the finished piece and am waiting for approval. Then I went on to "where is Godiva chocolate manufactured?" Food? Yes ! So I then went on to do the research - never as easy or as straight forward, Google or no Google and again, I learned and completed another short blurb for publication. For example, Reading, Pennsylvania is where the U.S. plant is located (Brussels manufactures for the rest of the world), a city just north west of Philadelphia. I enjoy learning about places and where they're near.<br /><br />So - if you are in a rut - start small and build up and OUT. Keep writing, it's for your own good!The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-83484491000332303022010-01-06T21:04:00.000-06:002010-01-06T21:09:46.430-06:00The Almost Rejected WriterToday the mojo had drained. I didn't want to kill myself researching and writing an article "SCUBA resorts in the Florida Keys", and man the editor sent it back to me with more red ink than imaginable. He/she could have just rejected it - I got lucky that way, as these are spec jobs and if it's no good then you've just worked for nothing.<br /><br />I guess I got greedy wanting to stick with my goal of writing two pieces a day, so I skated through it hoping they wouldn't notice the flaws. I was wrong.<br /><br />Then again, my friend Mary today said that I had been worried too much about perfectionism. She's right.<br /><br />Tonight I made my beloved pork roast again with apricot glaze and cranberry shallot sauce. Devine with mashed potatoes now made hands free in the new electric mixer my father the great chef <em>du jour</em> gave me for Christmas<em>.</em> I'm now on the prowl for the right appetizer to feed a group at church this Friday night. Don't want to over do it, but it is tempting....The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-11657396891560299762010-01-05T14:44:00.001-06:002010-01-05T14:48:42.283-06:00Well today was a day of learned lessons. Writers are typically writing lessons, and today I had to learn about perseverance. My computer was dragging all morning, then I lost a document as it was almost ready to send to the editor. I spent over an hour redoing it, but it was accepted and to date, I am doing pretty good with demandstudios.com in submissions vs. rejections.<br /><br />I have found my articles archived after they get posted on the various websites. One I've been writing for a lot is <a href="http://www.ehow.com/">www.ehow.com</a> so check out my list at <a href="http://www.ehow.com/members/ds_bda9bd95-f50a-4b75-88e0-65116a3b4201.html">http://www.ehow.com/members/ds_bda9bd95-f50a-4b75-88e0-65116a3b4201.html</a><br /><br />It's like a mother showing off her children. Speaking of - off to pick up mine. It's not even zero outside. Brrrr.<br /><br />Today I wrote "Motels in Quesada, Costa Rica" and "Motels in Sunbury, PA". Still want to hear back about that more permanent travel writing position. That would be amazing......<br /><br />Writers- the more you get discouraged, the more you have to write, write, write. My only limitation is that I have to sleep! Alrighty - bye for now.The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-22354863569637347702010-01-04T14:45:00.001-06:002010-01-04T14:46:11.683-06:00<a href="http://www.travels.com/destinations/caribbean/best-jamaica-all-inclusive-resorts/">http://www.travels.com/destinations/caribbean/best-jamaica-all-inclusive-resorts/</a><br /><br />Ok - here it is, my first travel piece written on line exclusively for online content.<br /><br />More later - running out the door into 3 degree weather to pick up kids from school.The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-34459112430258891282009-12-31T10:32:00.000-06:002009-12-31T10:39:07.413-06:00Happy New Year Writers!As I sit here dreading the cold I must brave to do my dinner shopping for tonight's feast of apricot pork tenderloin with cranberry peppersauce, mashed potatoes with butternut squash, green beans and something store bought for desert, I am still a published writer, still a rejected writer, still a writer.<br /><br />My mother, an intelligent attorney from Southern California, was here for 5 days for Christmas, I miss her!<br /><br />Ok, tangent.<br /><br />Writers do that. Our thoughts go from A-Z sometimes, but sometimes C to P to M plus 12. It's just the life of an artist. Speaking of, my friend HW Dugeon has the most amazing blog, I will post it one of these days - very inspirational.<br /><br />Demandstudios.com and I are still getting to know one another. At least they are still publishing my pieces, but I can't seem to find them on line - and this is a great missing link as writers love to see their final work as a reader would. It's like losing your great lost love to a competitor if you can not hold it in your hands yourself.<br /><br />Good news, via demandstudios.com I have found a posting for travel writers needed. I do not have many travel pieces archived, so I have to get to work digging and clipping.<br /><br />Alrighty - off to the shower, the store, my kitchen - hooray!The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-17629394601219298932009-12-27T20:56:00.000-06:002009-12-27T21:10:30.875-06:00Hello fellow writers! Well, I started out great, then took the lazy way out, which given that today is Sunday seemed fitting. I was up with the sun at 6 am, with coffee, and an hour and a half into researching my next piece and drafts, I bailed.<br /><br />There are two pieces I have in to my publisher, DemandStudios.com, and they seem to be in limbo, which is probably due to the holiday week-end. I'm guessing they'll be approved and I can look forward to payment on Tuesday in time for New Year's, but until then, I'm not going to kill myself to produce new material.<br /><br />I had a newspaper that was really slow to pay, and thanks to a few of my mentors, some of them established writers I knew personally, others I just read about said "First rule of writing, of course after writing every day, is to insist on timely payment." Or just to insist on payment in the first place. Which brings me to a new feature on this blog: <br /><br />For new writers - TIP OF THE DAY:Do not write for a publication unless payment is agreed upon first. Do NOT write for free "just to get published". It makes it tougher for the rest of us writers, and is also disrespectful to your craft.<br /><br />So as the morning dragged on I realized that I could only get so much done, as the kids were waking and the day beginning, plus the last editorial comments I received instructed me to "re-read all editorial guidelines before submitting anymore articles,". Ouch! I needed a day to rest.<br /><br />Today is the feast day of the Holy Family - I'm Catholic, and I figured getting frustrated over how my kids were "interupting" was not in the spirit of things.<br /><br />It turned out to be great inspiration for other passions. I'm learning to cook, found a great new food website - <a href="http://www.delish.com/">www.delish.com</a> and got all excited about a yummy mashed potato and butternut squash recipe. Even dashed off to Wal-Mart to get the needed food processor. Like writing, I can get obsessive with new loves.<br /><br />Alrighty - tomorrow is skiing with the family, so I will be up at dawn hopefully to write, research, and earn, earn, earn.The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-40239376446618232212009-12-26T21:13:00.000-06:002009-12-26T21:25:00.804-06:00First Rejection of the WeekOh man, maybe I spoke to soon, braggin about the cha-ching of my PayPal account. Today, I got up before dawn as planned, coffee automatically greeted me, the house was deliciously quiet, snow laid out nicely outside, but all cozy inside-perfect writing weather. I planned on tackling "Wheelchair Accessible Hotels in Vilamoura", and low and behold - an easy, 30 word filler I had submitted to DemandStudios.com was rejected as my source didn't have enough weight.<br /><br />I completely understood their point of view, but ouch, getting a bounce over 30 words really stuck. I then suddenly felt afraid as I looked at my draft of "Wheelchair" and thought "am I crazy? I had never even heard of Vilamoura!"<br /><br />Two hours later, I was still editing, it was 8 am and the house was stirring. A panic swept over me as I was worried that now this one semi-decent piece would be shelved for the next several hours. Somehow, I pulled it off, in between kisses from my youngest son, 6 and questions from my other son 10. Still seething from my rejection, I read then re-read the piece and figured "ok - here we go."<br /><br />The first reply from an editor I got back a few hours later read "good article- just a few queries." Hooray. Tomorrow - I'll see if the corrections got me an "accepted" post or my second rejection. Either way, the article, about this drop dead gorgeous resort area of southern Portugual, has re-ignited my interest in travel. Currently it's 18 degrees in Cedar Rapids, so writing about a warm sunny place did my heart good. Tomorrow, goal is to be up at 5:30. Coffee machine has been reprogrammed to greet me. The article : The best all includsive resorts in Jamaica. Yummm....The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-87919516466429018942009-12-25T19:16:00.000-06:002009-12-25T19:46:59.988-06:00Going out (with your pen) on a limbWell here it is Christmas Day and I am stuffed from food and fun with the family. But the real source of my joy is seeing my <a href="http://www.paypal.com/">PayPal </a>account fill up for the very first time, thanks to some new on-line publishing I've fallen into. The funny part is how out of my comfort zone the topics are. That I think is the mistake I made as a new writer, I didn't want to take on projects unless I was an expert in the subject. Didn't leave much.<br /><br />So with a more open mind, I've been on <a href="http://www.demandstudios.com/">demandstudios.com</a>, a website where you chose your assignments which offer a fixed fee, and away I went into "how much does it cost to build a three stall garage" to "Bird control devices". By being willing to take on topics I'm not familiar with, I'm broadening my knowledge, experience and pay scale.<br /><br />Now the research is needed, but the word counts - some as small as 50 words, some 400 mean I'm not writing a novel on the topic. So I can brave a topic I know little about, and find something that suits the publisher.<br /><br />I want to encourage you to try the same thing. If your niche is "sailboat launching for teens" and it's not selling, maybe it's time to change your audience. It's good to write about sailboats to hone your craft, but perhaps you're being called to write about skydiving, even if you've never done it.<br /><br />Tomorrow after the holiday, I want to get up before the children and continue researching another assignment "Wheelchair accessible hotels in Vilamera" (as in Portugal). If I can find just two more sources I can finish the article and submit it for review, which almost always means payment is just a day or two away. Wish me luck!The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5653000177333887129.post-8766496647021654362009-12-24T21:00:00.000-06:002009-12-24T21:06:41.227-06:00Welcome all would-be published writers!Welcome to the first blog of The Published Writer! Are you an aspiring writer who wants to be published but can't seem to get anything but rejections? Are you a published writer in a rut and looking for a new audience? This is where writers can come together and create goals, share tips, and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">maneuver the world of publishing. </span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">I have been writing, receiving rejections, and getting published in various markets since 1996 and I've learned a thing or two along the way. During this time I had a literary agent shop around a non-fiction book proposal (it was rejected and I've shelved the project for now), written for newspapers and magazines, and hosted a once weekly radio show. I love media and am currently trying out new internet publishing sites with great beginner's success.</span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"></span><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">So write in, post your dilemnas, and remember -keep writing! Best, Jenny Bioche</span>The Published Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09466760141055522468noreply@blogger.com0