J.J. Devine's Blog, page 37

Down to the wire...

Good  morning, everyone!!!

​Of course it is down to the wire and I still have a million things to finish before the month is up. I didn't get my newsletter finished, so I decided to hold off on it until April. Seeing as there is still so much left to get done this month.

​I still have National paperwork to finish up, my Lake House story to finish up, my national renewal to finish up, the agenda to set and print off for this Saturday's meeting, then I'm hosting a party after the meeting on Saturday so there is a house to clean and snacks to prepare :) So yeah, three days left to get it all done.

​Why am I blogging with all of this to do? Well of course, stalling, procrastinating, just plain avoiding it all LOL. It's all good. It will all be completed and I will be thrilled to have this month behind me.

​The day job has been insane with so many people off work. Everyone is doing extra hours just to cover shifts. Hopefully we can get a few more people hired soon to help out.

​Anyway, my story for the lake house is coming along, I just have to finish it up. Everything else will fall into place I just have to do it.

​Sure, right now I feel a bit overwhelmed. It exhausts me to think about at times, but in the end I know these are my choices and I need to make them happen. Which I will :)

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

​Blessings to all!!!



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In true J.J. Devine fashion...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Well in true J.J. Devine fashion I've changed up my story for The Lake House and I'm behind on my newsletter. However, I'm hopeful to get the newsletter done and out by the end of the week.

​My insane work schedule did two things. One it exhausted this old body switching from all night shifts back to early morning shifts. Two, it threw my creative juices back into full light :) I just have a little more than a thousand words to go on my Lake House story. YAY!!! 

​Trying to push the mark with two full time jobs is really confusing sometimes, but it does have it's advantages :) Such as those weeks where I do switch up my normal and then the creative juices come alive in full force. However, the downfall to that is also trying to live real life and still maintaining two full time jobs. Sometimes things suffer a bit such as my housework.

​So today after work one of my main goals is to clean my messy kitchen. That poor room has suffered more than any of the rooms in my house, sadly. I made cupcakes for my oldest granddaughter's birthday party for Saturday morning. Cute little things, rainbows with pots of gold at the end of them :) She is after all a St. Patty's Day baby :) So instead of a clown at her birthday party, we had a leprechaun :) It was wonderful.

​This week the boss is on vacation and I am determined that we will handle the store the best we can. So far we've already had a week long call off due to this nasty flu bug in our area. I wasn't sure we would be able to handle things there but we did manage it with minor issues :) We're already down two people for this week but thankfully we're close knit with another store in our area and managed to fill all our spaces.

​Ahhhh, such is life...

​I am truly excited about my new story. It is one I've been toying with for awhile. I have the beginning and know how it will end. So it is just the middle I have to finish up :) The newsletter is coming along, but still needs to have all it's parts put down on the newsletter itself. So things are pushing forward I just have to get it done. I am off tomorrow and plan to take my laptop with me on a road trip with hubby to Kentucky to work on both the newsletter and my story. This was I don't lose time on my writing job :)

Well it is that time again. I need to get ready for my day!!!

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!



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And so it begins...

Good afternoon, everyone!!!

​Yes, I slept in later than I normally do, but that is in preparation for the rest of this work week. I tried staying up a little later last evening but only succeeded in falling asleep with the tv on. I guess I should have tried binge watching one of my shows, LOL.

​I am working on my newsletter today to hopefully finish it up and be ready to release it tomorrow. I figure I will take advantage of today and get some things done seeing as tomorrow I am pretty sure I won't be up so early :) I want to get the newsletter completed and The Lake House story well underway and almost completed by work tonight. I'm so glad hubby got me a Surface for Christmas, it should help me take my story with me each day and hopefully get some things down I need to :) That is if I have time with all the other things I have planned to get done these next four days :)

​I'm actually looking forward to this work week. Strange I know because I really feel I'm much too old to be doing third shifts these days. However, it will be nice not to have the customer traffic I normally have and give me time to do the things I really need to get done around the store.

​Today will help me get a few things done around the house I want to get accomplished before starting this venture as well. Like making that big pot of beef and noodles that just sounds so yummy :)

​Yes, as you can tell I have big plans for my day. So far I've been up two hours and all I've accomplished is a couple of cups of coffee, facebooking, and this blog :) But I am going to say that's a good start :)

Well I guess I should get to work on the newsletter so I can get that done.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!


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Life just got crazy...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Life has yet again taken another twist. With the prolonged absence of on my coworkers our schedules have taken a rare twist. My own schedule is all over the board for the next several weeks, which is fine. I don't mind working other shifts because it allows me to see how things are going on these shifts.

​This week I'm mostly thirds, which I don't mind really, because this allows me the alone time I need to focus on some of the things I like to get done that during the day I'm too busy to do. :)

​I have a newsletter to get out in two days that I plum forgot about until this morning. So I will use my down time the next two days to get this done. I have a short story for The Lake House to have completed by the end of the month, so I will use the rest of my down time this week to get that completed.

​I've been researching places to go for vacation to take the grandchildren. This has been fun for sure :) Their ages make it a bit challenging because of the range of their ages, but I do believe I'm onto a few things :) I've also been purchasing new outfits and pjs for the trip for them :) Something that I just enjoy doing :) Hubby came up with the idea and of course I ran with it LOL. And yes, I'm probably overdoing things a bit, but hey, that is who I am :)

​Life is all about twists and turns. I used to let these things get under my skin, but these days I just go with the flow and try to find the meaning behind it. It makes things go so much smoother.

So I guess you could say I'm looking at life over the course of the next few months as an adventure. Something to look forward to. Something to just enjoy even if it isn't all I expect :)

​Hubby and I kept the youngest granddaughter the other day. It has been awhile since we just kept her. I really enjoyed the time with her, getting to know the little person she is becoming. I also love the fact she enjoys cuddling, because once they grow up a little more cuddling is no longer a part of the game plan for kids.

​Yeah, I guess you could say I live for the craziness that this life holds. I'm actually looking forward to all the insane work schedules and summer fun ahead of us.

​Ahhhh, well it is that time of the day where I have to sign off and prepare for my work day. My last early day for a week :)

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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The weight of the world...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​It has been a little while since I blogged but once in awhile I have to let things absorb before putting things down into words. A good deal of the time blogging is one of the ways I release things that I have absorbed.

​It has been an emotional and heartbreaking last week. So many deaths in our area so many emotions being absorbed into my being. The one that really struck deeply was the ten year old boy's suicide.

​Empaths soak up the emotions around them like a sponge. Connect this with personal knowledge of a person and it is worse. It consumes and depletes energy.

​At work I stay busy, keep moving, no down time. It helps compartmentalize the emotions. However, once I get home, the energies that have been taken in have to have their moment, depleting me of all desires to do anything.

​When something happens so tragically, so emotional, you have to allow your brain and heart to know and feel what is. This is what happened this past week. So many in our community was touched deeply by the death of this young boy. The emotions were a whirlwind for someone like me who feels each and every sensation. By the weekend I was drained completely.

​Fortunately, I know this about myself and I also know there is only one way through the emotional turmoil. Rest.

​Today, is time to send these emotions into the cosmos and start moving forward. Sure, there is still high emotions moving through our community, and the father of this young man is part of our daily life at our store. The compassion I feel will always remain as long as it is needed, however, it has been absorbed, taken into my soul, and now can be useful in the manner it needs to be and still allow me to move forward in life.

​People have no idea what empaths go through unless they are one. For years I never knew what this was or even that it had a name. I had no idea how to control it which wasn't a good thing. With the help of meditation and my dearest lady, I am now better able to understand its meaning and purpose in this life and better able to know how to handle it.

​If emotions have worn me down, such as this past week, I give them their time, let them absorb into their rightful place within me. Then I am better able to move forward. High emotions such as grief are very consuming. A broken heart is the hardest to move forward from.

​I believe this ability is given to people to allow them to become more compassionate of others. Compassion is one thing, self inflicted drama is another. Empaths learn the difference between the two and are better able to sort through this because they have experienced both first hand.

​Would I trade having the ability to feel what others are feeling? No. Why? Because it makes me a better person.

​I've learned the difference between true compassion and needy compassion. True compassion comes from emotions that are not self inflicted, such as grief. Self inflicted stems from people always wanting the compassion of others even when they are not going through anything life changing.

​Both can be draining, however, one deserves the compassion, the other needs to learn to grow within themselves.

​Self inflicted is easier to put up a wall (empaths will understand this term) to shield themselves from the emotional turmoil someone is putting themselves through.

​However, true compassion of someone moving into a point in life where their world is altered forever, is much harder to throw up a wall against. Why? Because empaths understand this life change all to well. We are reluctant to throw up a wall in situations like these. However, we also know to move forward with life we must also protect ourselves emotionally and physically. So we absorb the emotions, feel them, allow them to change us, we learn from them, and we move forward slowly.

​Until I learned all of this, I would become an emotional meltdown mess. Today, I understand more how to use this ability to the best of my knowledge and live with it.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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New week...new day...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​It has been a busy month and the weather has been off and on beautiful, which is inspiring to say the least. We've had some warm sunny days which does help with the winter blues for sure :)

​This past weekend, however, did knock me down a notch or two with snow after a beautiful day before. I know I know it's wintertime in Indiana and these things are to be expected LOL.

​The last two weekends have been filled with organization and preparation. I took advantage of the nice days last weekend to wash and hang out on the clothesline all the blankets and my bedding to give the house that springtime fresh smell. This weekend I found a wonderful sale on pork loins so I brought home a few and made up a ton of pork chops for freezing. I also found a great sale on angus burger so made up some burgers and yes, even made a pot of chili and a meatloaf out of it. Now I have a ton of premade meals to pop out of the freezer.

​Yes, it's called procrastination. I am supposed to be writing and yes, my writing mind needs to stay busy so it can create :) When I sit down to write then it just flows.

​With the youngest son now working second shift and my schedule is mostly afternoons, I have a ton of alone time these days. Especially when hubby is out on the road for his ten day stretch. It is just me and the furbies around here. So yes, the writing time I have is amazing.

​I'm doing a book signing this weekend at our local community building. My son and daughter-in-law will also be there to sell their woodworking goodies. I'm so proud of their accomplishments. Check out their website for more info on what they make:

http://hemakesshecreates.weebly.com/

I will be there along with one of my writing friends to sign books and chat up our writing to the public :) So if you are out and about this weekend come see us :)

​Well I should get myself going. I need to get some posts scheduled, check out my WIP, then prepare to head out to work.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

​Blessings to all!!!


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One more day then off for two...

Good evening, everyone!!!

​One more work day at the day job and then I'm off for two days. I'm so excited because this time off I have no plans other than a little bit of housework and then it is time to just write write write!!!

​I am sort of hoping for a nice sunny semi warm weekend. This way I can maybe just maybe get some blankets washed and hung on the line to dry. I know it's only February, BUT, I'm so anxious to have lined dried blankets again...

Ahhhh, spring....

I just adore the idea of having a weekend to dedicate to writing. It just makes my soul happy.

​I've had a productive week so far, so hopefully the rest of it will be just as productive. I love having my little desk in my living room. It seems to be the most peaceful room in the house. Yes, I still have to step over my furbies when I need to get up to grab a cup of coffee in the mornings, or grab a glass of tea in the afternoons, but that's because they have to be close to their momma :) But the peace I find from having this solitude after such a  busy week has me feeling full of energy. I just hope I hold onto it :)

​Tomorrow is another early day with the day job. Plus, I will be training a new person, then we have all our deliveries, so tomorrow is my major workout day :) Lots of walking, climbing up and down a ladder, lifting, and just all around exercise :) I'm pretty sure I'll be worn out by the end of the day though, I usually am on Fridays.

​Well I guess I should sign off and hit the sack, morning does come early :)

​Everyone have a lovely night!!!

Blessings to all!!!


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Moving forward...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​It has been a pretty productive week so far. I've started my story for The Lake House. Yes, I know I know it needs to be in by the end of March, but hey, it's a short story I can do it :)

​It's crazy how so many storylines can swim around in your head at one time. I've been working between two this past month along with working on my newsletter. All I can say is it feels good to be writing productive :)

​I spent some time chatting with writing friends last evening. We had a few bumps in the road and solved some issues. It goes to show you that working together things can happen :)

​I am all about forward motion. Even if you only move an inch a day you are moving forward in your life. To me that is what matters. Keeping the flow going. Making progress even if it is small. So, today, I will move forward, keep pushing the mark, even if it is slow going.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!

​P.S.

​I'm posting a link this morning to my free reads page for anyone who may want to check out Come Home With Me, my story from The Hope Chest anthology :)

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/free-reads/come-home-with-me



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I love when my writing mind kicks in...

Good evening, everyone!!!

​It has been one of those weekends where I have spent almost every given moment of each day trying to mull over my Lake House story. Then between last evening and this morning it came to me :) I love when that happens.

​As I showered this morning, the characters began to speak. By the time I left for the day job I wasn't so sure I would be able to play in the physical world today.

​However, play in the real world I did. All day long my characters have sat on my shoulder, whispering their story in my ear. So by this evening I do believe I am ready to begin writing their story. :)

​I am also finishing up my newsletter to get it out on Wednesday this week :) It's almost finished, just a few finishing touches and it will be ready.

​It feels good to get back to some brain work this week. Last week the carpet was laid in our living room, making that room the first one completely finished with it's makeover :) I really love it. Sure, it has felt like I've organized and messed up and reorganized every room downstairs every couple of weeks for months now, but the end results have been fantastic.

​We finally have the BIG fish tank up and running. When hubby comes home next week we'll be heading to the fish store for some new fin babies :)

​My living room now holds all four elements, earth, air, fire, and water. It makes for a nice room to just relax in as well as write in :) Inspiring for this writer woman :)

​Well I guess I should get myself busy and get some word count in for the night.

Everyone have a lovely night!!!

Blessings to all!!!


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Very little sleep...

Good morning, everyone!!!

I'm running on about three hours worth of sleep today so it is definitely going to be interesting. I'm on my third cup of java hoping that will at least spark some energy :) The shower I will be taking in a few minutes should get me going :)

​My work schedule changed again today, which I knew it would, so I really should have planned accordingly. However, I had things to do last evening so I just did what I had to do and will deal with today the best I can :)

​I did accomplish what I set out to do last evening, YAY!!! I moved everything out of my living room that I could move out myself. All hubby needs to do today is move out the fish tank (with fish), the bookshelf units, the fireplace, tv, the loveseat, and the dog chair. Hopefully he'll be able to manage this stuff alone because I won't be here to help him as planned. But he's good like that :) We both expected the early morning call to go into work for me, so we're not sweating it :)

​The upside of this is my work day will end earlier than expected :) Which is a plus. Maybe I can grab a nap before time to go out to eat with the kids this evening. Also, my new carpet is going to be laid today!!! So that is also a bright side to this day :)

​Sometimes we must deal with people who think solely of themselves and say the hell with others. I honestly feel bad for this person. Because frankly they are sinking deeper and deeper into a world of despair and are cutting off the lifelines they once had available to them.

​Ladies, I want to say something here. I guess men too should hear this. If someone you are with is absorbing every aspect of who you are then this is a relationship about to explode and not for the better. I hate standing on the sidelines watching someone lose themselves in someone else to the point that there is no sign of the person they once were left.

​I feel somewhat experienced in relationships after being married for 31 and a half years. Giving your entire existence to someone is not healthy. You have to hold onto some parts of you. Isn't that why they fell in love with you to begin with? Sure, we all change over the course of time and yes, sometimes those changes aren't for the better. However, your partner is the one steadfast person in your world that helps you see the light. They remind you of who you are and what you're about, bringing you back to the right track versus destroying your world all together.

​In my time on this earth, I have seen more women than not, giving themselves over to a relationship and ending up the worse for it. If you can't go five minutes without speaking to a person you're in a relationship with it might not be a healthy relationship. Sure, we miss them. Sure, we want to spend every moment with them. However, we have responsibilities to ourselves and those dependent on us which should take priority.

​Maturity in relationships come when you can take your responsibilities seriously and have a partner who loves that about you. Smothering one another with a constant presence is not love, it is a time bomb waiting to happen and what breaks more relationships up. Everyone needs space and time even those in relationships.

​All this does is implant distrust in a relationship. I watched someone once who couldn't even put clothes on in the morning until their partner picked out their clothes all the way down to their underwear. Every moment of every day they were not together they were on the phone with one another. The relationship soon fizzled because there was nothing left but distrust, even though they were in constant contact.

​It's called suffocation. A fire cannot burn if it has no air. We cannot breathe if we smother ourselves.

​Something I've always encouraged the young girls whom I've had contact with is to find yourself. Don't think that because you have some you time doesn't mean you love the person you're with any less. Find your own hobbies that make you happy. Find comfort in your alone time. Because someone else is not on this earth to be your sole purpose of happiness. At some point, you will find yourself alone. At that point what will you be seeking? Look for what makes you happy in this life and it will make your partner happy. Be yourself because you are loveable just as you are. Don't change yourself for the worst just to make someone like you, because that is not real love and it will fade away.

​Relationships are hard work don't suffocate it before you have the chance to put in the hard work. It is worth it when you find someone who will help you become the best possible person you can be.

​Just a few thoughts...

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!


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