Hailey Hudson's Blog, page 14

September 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up

September was crazy. There was so much going on–mostly fun stuff, but my body did not like it.

Mid-month I took a week off work and enjoyed a staycation catching up with friends.

Then I went on a solo writing retreat in the North Georgia mountains, which was basically the best four days of my life.

I was welcomed back to real life with an ER trip (lots of rough medical + health stuff going on this month, as always). Then I stayed at my parents’ for a weekend while they were out of town…

…and wrapped up the month with a Lizzy McAlpine concert (where I got super sick).

This month I’m…

Reading: Golem Girl, Riva Lehrer. The Land of 10,000 Madonnas, Kate Hattemer (reread). The Radius of Us, Marie Marquardt (DNF). Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, and Betsy Was A Junior, Maud Hart Lovelace (rereads). The Lion of Mars, Jennifer L. Holm (reread). The Line Tender, Kate Allen (reread). The Moth Girl, Heather Kamins (DNF). You, Me, and Our Heartstrings, Melissa See. The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, Nizrana Farook. These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends, Chloe Gong. 13 total.

Listening to: My September playlist (The Secret of Happiness from Daddy Long Legs kind of sums it up). Wicked. Alessia Cara’s In the Meantime album.

Watching: YouTube–The Frey Life; Jordan Bauth; Shelby Church vlogs; Kelly’s Life; and Dance Moms compilations lol. Movies–Encanto; Nim’s Island (rewatch); Hugo; The Secret Garden (2020).

Writing: I officially 100% finished Things We’ve Lost on my writing retreat… and then started querying it. Y’ALL. I AM SO EXCITED. Also, I sent my first ever agent queries from a bed in the ER, which I feel like is so on brand. Anyway, I also used my retreat to outline and begin drafting my next book, a middle grade called Butterfly Island which is such a fun story of my heart. And as always, I wrote songs; volunteered with People Hope (lots of addressing envelopes); and volunteered with the Diamonds Conference (lots of designing carousel posts).

Buying: Winter dresses. Fall candles. Fun thrift store finds, like $6 black boots in my size that I’d been looking for! Lots of used books. New port covers. Glitter eyeshadow. A slushy cup.

Grateful for: Exciting new library books. Deaccessed showers. Chapel service. Finally getting home health set up. Kittens at church. Fellow spoonies trusting me to tell their story. Talking with Joshua. Finally getting my professional website up again. A slow work week.

Wow I took a ridiculous amount of pictures this month. How was your September? What did you read and listen to? Let me know!

How I Designed My Dream Solo Writing Retreat (plus, meet my next novel!)

When I wrote out my 2022 goals at the beginning of the year, one of my goals was “go on a 2022 north Georgia writing retreat by myself.” I didn’t really have a concrete plan for this; I just thought it sounded like a dream to run away to the mountains, unplug, and scribble away at a new story for a weekend. Well, fast forward to September and I went on that solo writing retreat this weekend–and I am now back to report that it was, indeed, an absolute dream.

I left Thursday afternoon and got back on Sunday afternoon. While I was gone, I put the final touches on Things We’ve Lost so it’s completely ready to query (!) as well as brainstormed and outlined my next novel, a MG book titled Butterfly Island. Here’s how my writing retreat went down!

Location

I wanted to go somewhere that was far enough away from home to feel like a vacation, but not more than a couple of hours’ drive, for health reasons. I ended up about an hour north of where I live.

I booked this Airbnb in March. It was a cute little cabin with both a front and back porch, and a creek that flowed through the backyard. It was also just a couple of miles from the real-life historic site that Things We’ve Lost is based on–there was literally artwork of that historic site up in the loft. Magical!

Besides maybe writing at a coffee shop, I initially had zero plans to leave the house once I got there. My plan was to hunker down and focus all of my energy on bringing this new story to life.

Media

The media I chose to consume throughout this week was maybe the most important aspect of this entire process for me. I unplugged from social media and strategically chose movies, books, and music that have inspired bits and pieces of my next novel. I wanted to create an immersive experience that was ideal for brainstorming this new story. As I watched or rewatched and read or reread these stories, I kept a notebook nearby that quickly filled up with all kinds of thoughts and ideas.

The movies I initially watched to watch this week were:

Encanto (my first time watching it–recommended by a friend when I told her, six months ago, about the concept of my new book)Nim’s Island (this is one of the movies that majorly shaped me as a kid, and I’m drawing on this film a lot for Butterfly Island)Swiss Family RobinsonPossibly Dolphin Tale or Where the Crawdads Sing

I ended up not rewatching the last three and adding Hugo (which I loved) and The Secret Garden (2020 version–meh).

The books I wanted to reread or at least reference this week were:

Nim’s IslandJess (American Girl)Swiss Family RobinsonThe Girl of Ink and Stars Calpurnia TateBotanical Art TechniquesThe Girl Who Drew ButterfliesThe Line Tender The Lion of MarsWoven in MoonlightSome nature poetry (Keats, Wordsworth)The Twenty-One Balloons

Although this isn’t exactly a media item, I also chose my candle scent for Butterfly Island (amber and leather–I wanted something woodsy) and took it with me to my Airbnb to burn while I worked. Attaching a specific, relevant scent to each of my novels is really helpful to me.

Schedule

I didn’t really create a schedule for my retreat. I more or less just planned to relax, going back and forth from brainstorming, researching, or writing to reading, watching a movie, or napping. Since I was strategic about the reading material I brought along, even lying flat on the couch with a book when my body needed it could still be productive because I was consuming stories that had a direct impact on my brainstorming for BI! However, once I got up there, I did find that I wanted to get out of my Airbnb and explore as much as my body would let me.

Thursday

When I arrived on Thursday, I sat on the back porch (which was absolutely glorious–it was covered in a canopy of tree branches, and a stream ran through the backyard) and did some good work on TWL. Then I watched Nim’s Island.

Friday

After a leisurely morning in bed (I slept up in the loft, even though I struggled with the steep staircase, because it was just so much more romantic), I sat on the couch and dug into Butterfly Island characters while I ran my IV. Early afternoon I went to a nearby used bookstore (I’m never again patronizing a bookstore that doesn’t have a cat).

Then I went to a coffee shop and sat on the porch working on TWL and beginning to outline Butterfly Island. I love writing novels in coffee shops, but that’s something I don’t typically have the energy for in everyday life, so this was glorious. In the evening I watched Hugo and FaceTimed a friend.

Saturday

Saturday I slept in; then I worked on Butterfly Island while doing an infusion. In the afternoon I went back to the same coffee shop and sat on the porch to work on both BI and TWL. I watched The Secret Garden in the evening.

Sunday

On Sunday I had to check out of my Airbnb by 11:00. I went back to the same coffee shop and sat at the same spot on the porch for the third day in a row; I drank honey lavender tea again and COMPLETELY FINISHED Things We’ve Lost (if I hadn’t been in public, there would have been LOTS of squealing and jumping around). I worked on Butterfly Island too before heading home (windows down, Alessia Cara’s In the Meantime album up).

Deliverables

(Yes, I’m trying to be off work, yes, I still used the word “deliverables.”) My goal was to come home with the following materials either ready to go, or at least with a solid start:

An outline that follows the Save the Cat structureA character cheat sheetA map of the island and enough research on it to get started (my island is fictional, but based on the Cook Islands)Word count goals and possibly figuring out a new schedule of when to writeA concise back cover summary of the story

While I didn’t completely finish each of these items, I made enough progress on them to start writing. I ended up working on TWL more than I’d planned this weekend, but that was okay because it really needed to get done.

Meet My New Novel

And now… the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I’m extremely excited about the next novel I’m writing. It’s actually a MG, not a YA, and it has so many special, sweet, nostalgic elements (it’s dedicated to my grandpa and draws on my memories of growing up in the Nature Center by his house). Here is the current summary of Butterfly Island (and here is the Pinterest aesthetic board):

My goal is to have a 40K first draft completed by the end of the year. I’m SO excited to dive into this new world and mentally live on a remote island for the next few months! I’m considerably less excited about going back to real life tomorrow, but the magic of this weekend is going to carry me for a long time–and I’m already planning my next writing retreat!

What would your dream solo writing retreat look like? Let me know in the comments!

August 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up

August wasn’t the greatest month. I was majorly struggling with medical stuff and felt very rough. I had lots of appointments, some of which culminated in having surgery to place a port at the end of the month. However, there were definitely good spots in the month, too–like digging into TWL edits, going to a cat show, my grandpa visiting, and going to a wedding.

This month I’m…

Reading: Pacifica, Kristen Simmons (reread). The Night The Lights Went Out, Drew Magary. People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry. Salt in my Soul, Mallory Smith (reread). Always, Clementine, Carlie Sorosiak. Boston Jane, Jennifer L. Holm (reread). One Shot at Forever, Chris Ballard. The Shape of Thunder, Jasmine Warga. The Fountains of Silence, Ruta Sepetys (reread). The Last Mapmaker, Christina Soontornvant. Gallant, V.E. Schwab. Sitting Pretty, Rebekah Taussig. Breathe and Count Back From Ten, Natalia Sylvester. 13 total.

Listening to: This relaxing musical theatre playlist. My heavy-hearted playlist. Spotify’s Morning Coffee and Night Light playlists. My August playlist. Oh Wonder. The Manuscript Academy podcast and the Heart & Hustle podcast.

Watching: YouTube–Jordan Bauth, The Frey Life, Kiara Madisen, Katie Mack, Chronically Maz. Movies–Onward; A Hidden Life.

Writing: Despite feeling awful and having so much medical admin to do, I somehow made an impressive amount of money in August. Outside of work, I started doing some serious work editing Things We’ve Lost and workshopping my query letter; it’s been challenging, but I can see the progress I’m making. I also wrote songs, volunteered for the Diamonds Conference and People Hope, and played with a new novel idea.

Buying: Clothes (why do I keep doing this). A new phone (I’d had an iPhone 7 for about four years, and I went up to a 12). A flapping shark toy that both pets are scared of. Stuff for my port, like button-down pajamas, dry shampoo, and shower covers.

Grateful for: Grab-as-you-go clients. The feeling of moving my body in the water. Everything transferring to my new phone. Time with a friend who left for college this month. The clouds. The support of my church family. Great nurses. Minimal port pain.

What did you do in August? Let me know in the comments!

Movies I Watched in 2022: Part Two

This year I thought it’d be fun to keep track of my thoughts on all of the movies I watch. You can find part one here with the first ten movies I watched in 2022, and now it’s time for part two! Again, this post does contain some spoilers for the movies listed. Let me know if you’ve seen any of these, and your thoughts on them!

Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of GrindelwaldFantasy/adventure, 2018 (rewatch)

This actually should have gone in my last post–Joshua and I watched it Easter weekend, I think–but I forgot to include it. Sadly, this was a disappointing rewatch for me; I’d thought it was one of my all-time favorite movies, and while it was still good, I just didn’t feel quite the same magic.

Avengers: Age of UltronAction/adventure, 2015“The world is a big place. Let’s make it smaller.”

Somehow I never watched this when I did my initial Marvel watch-through a few years ago. I had a heavy sad day and just needed to escape into a favorite fandom, at a point when everybody was alive and well.

Captain America: The Winter SoldierAction/adventure, 2014 (rewatch)“The world has changed. None of us can go back. All we can do is our best.”

I loved my Winter Soldier rewatch. It was so good–I really enjoyed it! I shrieked at the iconic “before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” and definitely teared up when Cap told Bucky, “To the end of the line.”

What About Bob?Comedy/farce, 1991

A friend mentioned this movie so I thought I’d watch it. At first I was enjoying it, but the ending was stupid. There were some funny parts, but overall I wish I’d watched something else (but my dad likes it too and I can see why–it reminded me of Elf).

Love and GelatoRomance/drama, 2022

My mom and I started this Netflix original, but didn’t finish it. I thought it was boring and cheesy, with subpar acting, no chemistry, and a storyline that didn’t stick to the book (I found this article while looking for a gif and it made me laugh).

Black WidowAction/adventure, 2021 (rewatch)“Tell me. How did you keep your heart?”

I’d been wanting to rewatch Black Widow for a while now and ended up watching it exactly a year after originally seeing it. I was a little nervous because I’ve had bad luck with rewatches lately, but man, this is still one of my top favorite MCU movies and movies, period, of all time. It. Is. Absolutely. Epic.

I was sobbing by the time the girls whistled to each other at the end. The film was also very helpful in making me think about how to write character relationships.

This time around, the main theme that stuck out to me was free will–being able to make your own choices, and choosing to do the right thing.

Also, I was definitely googling “how to do Yelena Belova hairstyle” after this. Braided crowns are in.

Where The Crawdads SingMystery/drama, 2022

I wasn’t going to see this movie; I haven’t read the book and didn’t know much about it. But my friend invited me to go and I ended up really enjoying it (the film got better as it went along). I loved the visual aesthetics and the way the light shone through the marsh; reminded me of OBX, and also of my own island story WIP. And while I don’t want to give too much away, I thought it was really interesting that we are never shown or told details about a major event in the story–so that kept my mind working after the movie was through.

The BooksellersDocumentary, 2019“A book is the closest thing there is to a human being.”
“The library will endure. It is the universe.” – Jorge Luis Borges

I went on an Amazon Prime deep dive after my sleep schedule got screwed up from being in the hospital, and found this documentary on the world of rare booksellers in New York. I cannot DESCRIBE how much I loved it! The documentary covered everything from the psychology of rare book auctions; to details on dust jackets, signed editions, and bindings; to the importance of print culture and archives in an increasingly digital world.

I still can’t quite wrap my head around how this business survives when both the supply and demand are so limited. Some parts of the documentary were discouraging about the future of the book trade, although it ended on a hopeful note. But anyone who will spend over a million dollars to structurally reinforce their apartment for their bookshelves is my kind of person. Also, I now want to write a novel about Book Row.

OnwardFamily/adventure, 2020“Long ago, the world was full of wonder.”

I don’t really like animated movies, but I’ve been interested in seeing Onward ever since the trailer snagged my attention in early 2020. Two and a half years later, I finally got around to it, and it made me ugly cry (I probably only cried so hard because I was sleep deprived) (but also, we love a good sibling story).

It was very creative! The two themes I loved the most were how the people lost their magic because they didn’t practice using it, and how the main character had what he wanted all along. His growth by the end, to give his brother the last few minutes with their dad!! This film taught me a lot about story and character. Pixar movies are good at that (not that I watch many of them, lol).

A Hidden LifeWar drama, 2019“This is what happens when a world dies.”
“You must remember what you knew at a better hour.”
“When have our prayers not been answered?”

A friend recommended this movie a few months ago, based on the true story of an Austrian Christian who refused to fight for the Nazis. It was three hours long (unnecessarily, I was zoning out by the end). There was little dialogue (much of it as narrated letters, or in German) and it was filmed in an with interesting shots–beautiful and raw–but I did sometimes struggle to understand what was going on. However, the Austrian scenery was breathtaking and the film made me think about a lot of big topics like good and evil, integrity, and doing what’s right.

And those are the next 10 movies I’ve watched so far this year! It’s the end of August and I’ve watched 20 movies this year. Have you seen any of the ones in this post? If so, what did you think of them? Let me know in the comments, and tell me what I should watch next!

July 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up

July was A Month. I worked a lot and had a lot of places to go. I also did a fair amount of fun stuff (minor league baseball game, Mean Girls Broadway tour, cookout for the Fourth, etc), but felt pretty awful during most of it from pushing so hard… and then I rounded off the month with two ER visits and a nice little hospitalization (sarcasm, it was awful and we are burning my “lucky” medical socks).

This month I’m…

Reading: Tokyo Dreaming, Emiko Jean (DNF). Beetle Bunker, Robert Elmer (reread). Changeling, William Ritter. The Thousandth Floor, These Dazzling Heights, and The Towering Sky, Katharine McGee (rereads). Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber. Everything Sad Is Untrue, Daniel Nayeri. We Were Dreamers, Simu Liu. Before Takeoff, Adi Alsaid (DNF). Winterhouse, Ben Guterson. Mosquitoland, David Arnold (reread). The Phantom Tolbooth, Norton Juster (reread?). Book Lovers, Emily Henry. 14 total.

Listening to: Podcasts–the Unpublished podcast; The Manuscript Academy podcast. TSITP soundtrack. Come From Away. Heathers. The 5SOS Youngblood album and Sabrina Carpenter’s new album. See my full July playlist here.

Watching: YouTube–The Frey Life. Movies–What About Bob; Love and Gelato (DNF); Black Widow (rewatch); Where the Crawdads Sing; The Booksellers (documentary).

Writing: I sent Things We’ve Lost off for a round of professional edits, and I’ve also been researching agents and workshopping my query letter, which is so exciting!! I did volunteer work with the Diamonds Conference and People Hope. I also wrote songs, wrote letters to pen pals, and toyed with the idea of opening my own healthcare content agency.

Buying: Clothes (lol oops). A cute port cover. More neutral color claw clips.

Grateful for: Getting caught in a summer storm. Fresh produce from the church garden. Good conversations with our People Hope volunteer team. Seeing a chipmunk. The neighborhood kitty visiting me. Piano time. Space to “do nothing” creatively. The sheepdog at the hospital. Seeing my favorite nurses.

What did you do in July? What have you been reading lately? How are you feeling about August?

Good things are happening.

These days, I barely notice the little blue index card in a corner of my living room. It’s dusty, a little tattered, and covered with cat hair (just like everything else in my house). Perched on top of a crate of notebooks, the card reads:

Good things have happened. Good things are happening. Good things will happen. Trust the process.

I don’t remember exactly when I scrawled out the words, but it was probably sometime in early 2018, when I was committing to my career and trying to figure out where my life was headed. I think I was trying to encourage and motivate myself with freelance writing–telling myself that if I kept working hard, I couldn’t help but succeed. (This turned out to be true, but whether it’s true in every situation is up for debate.) (Yes, I am in fact an enneagram three. How did you know?)

I’m not in the same season I was back then. I’m no longer trying to scrape out a living, painstakingly building a business from scratch. Life is still hard, but in different ways, and for the past few years this little blue notecard has just been part of the furniture.

But tonight it came to my mind and I realized someone else might need it. Like the friend I sat with barefoot on the couch, talking about the housing market and how much house we can afford and when to buy. Like the friend who applied for the internship that’s perfect for her, but she doesn’t expect it to happen. Like the friend who’s floundering after college, dipping her toes into a little of this and a little of that because she has no idea where she wants to or will be able to go next.

If you feel that way too, I want to remind you to have faith. Good things have happened in the past. Good things are happening right now. And good things will continue to happen.

These may not be the good things you have in mind right now. I went on a deep dive through my blog tonight, trying to find something specific, and along the way I came across this introduction in my first ever post from 2016 (no, I am not linking to said post):

In the future, my hopes/plans are to play college softball, get a degree in I-don’t-know-what (probably something to do with writing), be a missionary in the U.S. working with kids through sports, and be a foster parent.

Not a single one of these four things happened. Because of chronic illness, I was unable to go to college; I can no longer play or coach softball; and I can barely care for my cat some days, let alone a human child.

But even so, good things have happened in my life. Good things are happening. Good things will to happen. And tonight I want to remind you of that for your life, too. That there is so much good in the world–and even if it feels like life doesn’t balance out all the bad at once, it will in your lifetime, and you will look up one day and realize you’ve made a home for yourself in this story without even noticing.

What’s meant for you will come. Work hard. Have faith. And just trust the process.

Cheers to yet another blog post inspired by Grace Anne’s Tuesday Letter of the week–subscribe to her here!

June 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up

Wow, June was a busy month! I spent the first week of the month in Mississippi to celebrate my grandpa’s 90th birthday with extended family. It was such a sweet and special time. I also enjoyed going to a Ben Rector concert with my family, and having Grace Anne come spend the last weekend of the month with me. It was a whirlwind month–as soon as I recovered from one big event, it was time to get ready for another one–but so much fun.

Reading: This May End Badly, Samantha Markum. Malamander, Thomas Taylor. Again Again and Genuine Fraud, E. Lockhart. The Sea in Winter, Christine Day. Forging Silver Into Stars, A Curse So Dark and Lonely (reread), A Heart So Fierce and Broken (reread), and A Vow So Bold and Deadly (reread), Brigid Kemmerer. Buses Are A’Comin: Memoir of a Freedom Rider, Charles Person. My Mechanical Romance, Alexene Farol Follmuth. Mark: Free to Follow Jesus, David Hewitt. 12 total.

Listening to: Ben Rector. Elena: Little Women EP. The Summer I Turned Pretty soundtrack. Lips Are Movin’, Meghan Trainor. Cruel Summer, Taylor Swift.

The Receiptify don’t lie

Watching: YouTube–Natalie Barbu. Movies–Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. TV shows–The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Writing: Outside of work (where I hit a new income record), I finally freaking finished the first draft of The Art of Staying (it was very anticlimactic? And the draft overall is an enormous mess). Then I started another round of edits on Things We’ve Lost. I did volunteer work with the Diamonds Conference and People Hope; wrote songs (listen here to an original song); and wrote letters to pen pals. I also really enjoyed being interviewed on Nathan Collier’s Content Marketing Lounge podcast–listen to my episode here.

Buying: A Natasha Romanoff shirt. PENS (I only use one kind of pen and it was literally falling apart, but now I have THREE). Bathing suits.

Grateful for: Going swimming for the first time in three years. Catching up with a friend on the phone. My career. Grass under my toes. Feeling so creatively inspired. My favorite infusion nurse.

What did you do in June?

Work Week in My Life: Freelance Writer and Content Marketer

This week I thought it would be fun to track all of the work I did and share a work week in my life! If you’re new here or unfamiliar with my career, I run my own business working from home as a freelance writer and content marketer. I work “full-time” in the sense that this is my only job, but I don’t work full-time hours because of chronic illness. I work primarily with clients in the healthcare and digital marketing industries, and sometimes the education and pet industries, too. Last week I counted up my clients and I had 25 current clients, which is way too much and a little insane, but I typically work with more like 10-15 clients each month.

This post was inspired by CarrieBlogger on YouTube. I love her day in the life videos, and I could’ve sworn I watched a week in the life video from her recently–but when I went to link it here, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Regardless, I definitely recommend checking her out (even though I would personally never use Fiverr to find clients).

Every work week and every workday is different for me, which is something I enjoy. But my weeks and days do tend to have a similar structure. Typically, I’ll work for a few hours each weekday in the late morning and early afternoon. Then, depending on my schedule and on how I’m feeling, I’ll spend the rest of the day:

RestingSeeing a friendGoing to a medical appointmentWorking on personal creative projects, such as going to voice lessons or working on my novel

With all that being said–here’s how my work week broke down this week. Make sure to stay tuned to the end for statistics like how many hours I worked, how many words I wrote, and how much money I made!

(If you want to know more about how I initially got my freelance business off the ground before you read this post, check out this article.)

Monday

I just got back in town yesterday, so today isn’t necessarily a “typical” work day–it’s more about resting, doing a heck ton of laundry, and generally getting my life together. Late morning, I send a bunch of emails (including dropping five clients, although I end up keeping one of them when they ask if I would stay with them for a higher rate). Then I spend a couple of hours writing web copy about sleep apnea for a dentist website (via a marketing agency).

Midafternoon I have a meeting with my virtual assistant. My VA works for me about 8-10 hours a week and is so helpful! I share my screen to walk her through a new process, and then we talk about both of our upcoming schedules. I usually send my VA an email each week on Sunday evening with a few projects that I could use help with during that upcoming week.

Late afternoon I write some quick social media + email copy for another agency client, and briefly prep a healthcare piece for SEO optimization. I also sit down and fill out my daily planner with work for the week. I’d normally do this on Sunday evening when I email my VA, but again, I was traveling yesterday.

I don’t know why it looks so dark here, it was only 5 PMTuesday

I’m dragging this morning, but I get started at 10:30 and work for two hours: starting a blog post on networking for a personal development client (via an agency), and continuing work on the sleep apnea web copy.

I typically work in Google Docs, but this client recently started using an SEO content editor called Surfer that I’m actually really loving

Early afternoon, on my way to get an infusion and run errands, I go on an adventure to find a copy of this magazine. I rarely, if ever, write for magazines anymore these days–but I do the Pets column for this local pub and thought it would be fun to go find a copy. So I go to an intimidatingly fancy realtor’s office… but they give me the wrong issue, I don’t notice until I get back in the car, and I’m not about to go in there again.

When I get home late afternoon, I push through an oncoming migraine to work for about an hour and a half on some healthcare SEO optimization pieces.

Wednesday

Today I work from 10:30 to 3:00, which is a pretty “normal” work day/schedule for me. I make progress on four projects:

Uploading optimized healthcare pieces into the client’s WordPress (this involves teaching myself about HTML anchors, so that’s a fun skill to have)Finishing and submitting the sleep apnea web copy pageFinishing and submitting the networking blog postBriefly starting work on an Instagram marketing blog post before I have to go out

I also have a quick phone call with an agency client to clarify expectations on work volume and turnaround times.

Thursday

I have an afternoon meeting that’s going to take a chunk out of my work time today, so I make my tired body get to work at 10 AM. I update and submit a piece on home health testing kits. I start writing an education piece on how much physical therapists make. I finish the Instagram marketing piece I started yesterday (which is about how to use Stories for ecommerce). Finally, I work on expanding a healthcare SEO optimization piece about ADN programs (I’m not usually someone who has a million tabs open at once, but this one will do it). For some reason my left hand is really bothering me today, so I’m not typing quite as fast as usual.

My meeting is at 2:00. It’s with an education/career company I work with–they’re leading a seminar for their writers on how to find, interview, and quote SMEs (subject matter experts). A lot of it is review, but it’s still helpful. I make myself tea to drink during the meeting because I have to rush out the door for my voice lessons as soon as it’s over.

Friday

I overdid it yesterday and am feeling pretty rough this morning, but I have two pieces I absolutely have to submit and one that I’d like to submit before I have to leave the house early afternoon. So, I:

Finish and submit the education piece on how much physical therapists makeWrite and submit a tech piece that’s a roundup of the best PC video games for kidsStart work on a healthcare SEO optimization piece, although I don’t have time to finish it

This leaves me feeling like I’m in a good place to end the week.

Week At A Glance

Curious about exactly how my week turned out? I was, too. As close as I can figure, here are my stats from this five-day work week:

21 hours worked (including meetings, emails, and other admin tasks as well as writing)12,000 words written (not counting emails… lol)$1,895 earned$90 per hour (on average–I don’t charge per hour)3 meetings (although one was with my VA and another one took five minutes lol)Content written for 7 clients (plus some emails and meetings with other clients)

All in all, I’d say this was a pretty average work week in my life–although I did have more energy than usual, and I feel like my pacing and balance was better than usual.

Tracking my work this week left me feeling so, so thankful for my business and my career. With my health, it would be impossible for me to work any other kind of job–and I’m so freaking grateful that I get to sit on my couch and write blog posts for $100 an hour. I have worked very hard to build my freelance business and I do not take it for granted that I have a job that 1) I enjoy; 2) that’s very lucrative; and 3) that’s adaptable for my chronic illnesses. It’s really cool and I’m really thankful.

And now it’s time for a weekend involving a concert; energy to work on my personal creative projects (hopefully); and lots and lots of rest!

Do you have any questions about my career or my schedule? Feel free to ask them in the comments! And let me know–what do you do for work?

Just adjust the sails.

I’m sitting in Hartsfield-Jackson in the coziest, most perfect little corner of a gate–the end of a row of chairs, blocked in by walls on two sides, with a huge floor-to-ceiling window on the third side showing me the fluffy clouds in the pale blue sky. I just answered all of my emails and still have a solid hour until my flight boards. (Am I a person who answers my emails and schedules meetings in an airport? Apparently I am, and it feels good.) I talked to my grandpa on the phone, sitting here on the floor, because he texted me to call him when he meant to text my mother. (This happens all the time and it makes me smile.) I’m stressed and tired and excited and I *should* be working on my novel or doing actual work or taking a freaking nap, but somehow I found myself opening up the WordPress composer on my own blog instead of a client’s.

There has been so much on my mind lately, I don’t even know where to start with attempting to cobble it together into a cohesive post. I’m really struggling with not having the capacity to invest into relationships like I need or want to (or into anything, honestly, but I’m feeling the disconnect here the most). One of my major goals this year was to focus on people over projects, because I’m a very task-oriented person and I think (I know) I prioritize projects too much. But now it’s May–it’s June–and I’m just exhausted. Medical stuff and work stuff and life stuff… I just can’t see any one friend or even talk to them on the phone on a regular basis. The people I spend the most consistent time with right now are the nurses at my infusion center. I feel guilty that my capacity is so low, but I’m tired. I’m just really tired and sometimes (a lot of the time) I don’t know how I can keep going. And the state of the world doesn’t help.

I think it was when Russia invaded Ukraine that I first started thinking about the concept of bearing witness. Because you feel helpless; we all did, watching this war play out on our Twitter feeds. But the least we can do–the most we can do–is to not scroll past. Look. Watch. See. There’s something sacred in that. I thought it then, and I thought it when I stood outside an abortion clinic praying with friends this spring. I thought it when I pulled over by the side of the road to let a funeral pass by. I thought it last week, the heaviest week of the year so far, when the corruption in our church systems finally came to light and when schoolchildren in Texas had to smear themselves in the blood of their dead friends and play dead to survive.

Bearing witness. Seeing. It’s the first step to doing more, to learning and donating and working. But it’s also meaningful, important, in and of itself.

And this, too, a phrase that came into my head and keeps coming over and over, pushing at me whenever I open the news to yet another mass shooting: No more moments of silence. We’re screaming.

It’s heavy. The betrayal of our church leaders–the systemic gun violence that no one wants to take actual steps to stop–the pain in my own body that leaves me non-functional in bed for days at a time. It’s all so heavy. But we still have the light slanting through the window and the way my kitty sleeps with her paw over her eyes and the girl on the train who told me she liked my braid. And on days when both your own life, and the world at large seem covered with clouds, we have to cling to these little slivers of good where we can get them.

My body is struggling and life is a lot, but sometimes I have a minute to breathe. And when I do, I am going to live those moments for all they’re worth. I am going to rewatch a Marvel movie that makes me laugh, I am going to write a song, I am going to go to a fairy garden with my friend, I am going to start reading the thick Bible Women: All Their Words And Why They Matter textbook I got on Thriftbooks, I am going to wear my magical green dress that I love and spin around so the skirt flares out. I guess what I’m saying is best expressed by Shauna Niequist: I am learning to make a home for myself in this story.

I saw a cheesy Facebook quote last week (you know the kind–awful graphic, curly font, posted by one of your mom’s friends) that actually really spoke to me. I’ll spare you the over-the-top graphic design and give you just the words:

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” –William Arthur Ward

That’s been my outlook on life with chronic illness for a long time, and this put into words. Somehow this simplifies it–just adjust the sails. It calms me down when I’m starting to panic about all of the things I don’t have the capacity for. I’m learning to adjust the sails. Trying to measure my days in different metrics. Repeating the mantra to myself that I adopted for this year, courtesy of Grace Anne–there is always more time than you think there is.

Just adjust the sails.

I bought some night sky postcards (my ultimate aesthetic) at a stationery store last weekend. I plan to tack them up around my room, to surround myself with the vastness of the cosmos. Sometimes I need to be reminded there’s a big world out there. In one of the postcards, a man takes a cautious step next to a crater on the moon, his face hidden by his helmet.

Do you ever feel like you’re on the moon? A new lunar region. Trying to outfit yourself with everything you need, but you don’t even know what the right equipment is because you’ve never been here before. And it’s silent, and deserted, except for your footfalls on the dirt. Do they call it dirt here? On the lunar dust.

Another postcard depicts an illustration of the Great Comet of 1819; another, the Great Comet of 1881. What did people think about those small solar systems warming to our world? They’d never seen anything like that before. Maybe they thought the world was ending. But it turned out to be a thing of great beauty.

I don’t really know what any of this means. Sometimes I think I’m good at everything and good at nothing, that maybe my only talent is seeing poetry in everything. The clouds have moved and my flight is about to board and I’m dizzy (physically, not in a good way) and ready to go. Ready for something new. Will we ever get there? Everything is the same, but everything is different. But little bit by little bit–infusion by infusion, Goodwill thrifting trip by Goodwill thrifting trip, Ben Rector song by Ben Rector song–I’m making a home for myself in this story. And you can learn to make a home in yours, too.

Just adjust the sails.

May 2022 Monthly Wrap-Up

May wasn’t the greatest month? I spent a couple of weeks doing very badly health-wise, and the other couple of weeks stressed about life, and there was a lot of heaviness going on in the world too. But I enjoyed going to end-of-the-year baseball games, a graduation party, and recitals (including a voice recital where I performed onstage for the first time in three years–hard on my body but so much fun). (Enjoy these pictures which are mostly just mirror selfies of me on my way to the hospital 30 minutes away where I now get infusions twice a week. Fun times.)

This month I’m…

Reading: Sisters of Night and Fog, Erika Robuck. Secret of the Andes, Ann Nolan Clark (reread). Being Mary Bennett, J.C. Peterson. Strawberry Girl, Lois Lenski (reread). The Hundred Dresses, Eleanor Estes (reread). Surprised by Oxford, Carolyn Weber (reread). Love Decoded, Jennifer Yen (DNF). Full Flight, Ashley Schumacher. All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir. A Spindle Splintered, Alix E. Harrow. Nowhere Girl, Cheryl Diamond. Paper Wishes, Lois Sepahban. Family of Liars, E. Lockhart. This Golden State, Marit Weisenberg. I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet, Shauna Niequist. Radar Girls, Sara Ackerman. 16 total.

Listening to: My May 2022 playlist. Ben Rector. Abbie’s stargazing playlist. Harry’s House album. Lament Songs by The Porter’s Gate. Not in a Huff with Jackson Huff podcast.

Watching: YouTube–The Frey Life, Life With Stripes, Monica Church, Kiara Madisen, Jordan Bauth, Joyish, Carrie Blogger. TV shows–Boy Meets World season five. Movies–Avengers: Age of Ultron; Captain America: The Winter Soldier (rewatch).

Writing: I wrote ~6,000 words in my novel The Art of Staying, trying my hardest to push through to the end. I did a lot of work on our Diamonds social media marketing strategy and began making lots of Reels, as well as volunteering with People Hope. I also did a lot of songwriting (“Crystal,” “Summer First,” “[redacted]”) and wrote letters, too.

Buying: A new backpack and a new laptop case (these have been great, I love them both). I replaced all of my makeup and found the sandals I’d been wanting. I also bought a comically big scrunchie, and went a little overboard at the stationery store.

Grateful for: Izze sparkling water, the clementine flavor. Good books. Sparkly gold nail polish. Benadryl. An opportunity to expand my business in a direction I’ve been wanting to go for a while. A lady at the infusion center who let me use her hotspot. Unexpectedly seeing old friends. My sweet kitty cat. That one friend who has a sixth sense about when I need someone to check on me. Receiving a handmade prayer shawl.

What did you do in May? I’m heading to the airport tomorrow, the last day of the month, for a flight–stay tuned for next month’s wrap-up to hear more!