Life of A Writer

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah (which ever you celebrate)! Now we have the New Year to look forward to, and as always, most of us make our annual resolutions for the New Year. Sure, we may not meet them all, but at least we try ;) After all, what is New Years without resolutions? :)

I've been thinking about my resolutions for this New Year, and I've come up with a list of resolutions related to my writing. This year my resolutions include finishing the second edition of "On the Net Resource Guide for Writers" (already in the works), start "Fair Catch" (a romance novel), publish at least 50 more articles, get published in a few popular national magazines, and finally, find another regular paying writing gig. I know this isn't a long list of resolutions, but this small list is sure to keep me busy for at least half of 2007.

Not only do I have resolutions to start on, but I'll also be re-working my annual writing goals, and of course, figuring my taxes for this year; we have to keep Uncle Sam happy. ;)

So, what are your New Year's resolutions for 2007? Post your comment and share them with me.

If I don't post again before the year ends, I would like to take this time to wish you and yours a very safe and happy New Year! Remember to drive sober or give your keys to a sober friend. Don't have a sober friend, call a cab or stay the night.

Never give up on your dreams--work toward them,
Misti Sandefur, freelance writer/editor

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Boy, how time flys! Christmas is almost here! It seems like we just celebrated Thankgiving, and now Christmas is fast approaching. I remember when I was younger, it seemed like it took forever for Christmas to arrive, and now that I'm older and much wiser (yea, right...LOL) time flys :) Mom told me when we get older time does seem to fly by, and she's right.

Christmas may be sneeking up on me, but I'm ready this year. The kids and I had a good time setting up our Christmas tree tonight, and I can honestly say over 50% of my Christmas shopping is done and has arrived to my front door on time. In fact, I done all my shopping at Amazon.com this year (over $500 worth). They should really love me right now :)

I still have a few more things to get for my kids, but for the most part I'm done. I wanted to get the kids some clothes this year, so I decided to shop locally for those. I think it would be best in case I have to make exchanges for bigger sizes (kids grow fast). I didn't want to do this on the Internet, because to make those exchanges I would be stuck with paying return shipping fees, so I figured the best option for the clothing department would be shopping at a local department store.

Change of subject: I said a while back ago that my husband and I were going to put a hold on our house shopping adventure until fall, because those double wides were pretty durn hot in the summer months. Now that fall has arrived and winter is almost here, we stopped by Clayton Mobile Homes in Marion, Illinois today. I must say, the homes were much cooler during this season. I can handle cool homes better than I can hot ones. Plus, my asthma treats me better when it isn't as hot inside :)

The homes we looked at today were higher in price than previous ones we viewed. They had one 4 bedroom and 3 bath home priced at a little over $70,000. The salesman told us it was a bargain because it was a return. He said because it was a return it would be sold as is. This meant we would be responsible for the delivery and set-up. Needlesstosay, from the previous homes we viewed, this was NOT a bargin. One, I found a really nice one I LOVED, and the price on it was about $4,000 more than the one I just mention. That price included deliver and set-up, plus a warranty. Two, the home I LOVED was in much better condition that the home sold "as is." The "as is" home needed some repairs and had a broken window. My husband said we'd be better off -- if we went that route -- to pay the extra $4,000 for the nicer home, and it included delivery and set-up. I have to agree with him on that one... boy, I thought I'd never say that ;)

Other than the "as is" home, their other double wides were much higher in price than previous ones we had viewed, and the homes were pretty much the same. So I know we won't be buying a double wide from the place we stopped at today.

Well, that will do it for my weekend chit chat. Until next time, take care and God bless you and yours!

Hugs,
Misti Sandefur

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I not only LOVE to write, but I enjoy working from the comfort of my home. However, there is one downfall to working from home... family and friends think you're available anytime because you work for yourself. I can't begin to tell you how many times someone has called to ask me to help them, and when I say I'm working they just don't understand. You can explain until you're blue in the face, but they still fail to get it. Some of my family and friends do understand, but some still do not. The way I look at it is I still have a job to do and I pay my taxes like everyone else with a job, the only difference is I do my job from home.

I remember when I worked outside the home (before I made writing a full-time career), family and friends wouldn't call on me as much, but once I began working in the home my phone doesn't stop ringing at times. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand emergencies, and I will drop everything I'm doing if it's bad; I would do this at a job outside the home too. But when I work in the home I still do kinda have a boss to answer to... my clients. My clients depend on me to write their articles, updates, news articles or etc. -- and I have deadlines to meet -- but a select few can't understand. They believe I'm my own boss, but truthfully, once you build clients and begin working for them, you can get fired just the same as if you worked outside the home.

I hate to turn my loved ones down when they need me, and there are times when I have went ahead and helped them because I feel guilty for not helping, but I just wish some could understand that a job is a job no matter where you work.

My mom does understand, and most of the time she doesn't bother me until she's certain I've met my deadlines, but there are times when I think she hints at me helping her clean her house, but because of my "job" I just don't have the time during the day to do that. (I barley find the time to do my own housework :), and I do this on weekends.) Some may wonder why I can't of an evening, but the answer is simple, my husband is home of an evening and I have to fix dinner and like to spend time with him. Plus, by this time I'm usually tired too, and like to rest. I've found a solution to this problem though. Because I do feel bad that I can't help my mom with her housework all the time, I have told her to find out what the lady she has in mind will charge her to clean her house, and since Mom is on disability and can't afford to pay a housecleaner, I told her I would pay the lady to clean her house if the price wasn't too outrageous. Hopefully this will help Mom out when I can't.

Can you relate to my situation? Tell me about it. I'd love to hear so I'll know I'm not alone :)

Hugs,
Misti Sandefur

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