Overachiever

So, somehow in the past few months I have agreed to and/or recommitted myself to the following major projects:
- completing my degree
- getting our yard/house in shape to sell
- professionalizing my blog

Any one of which could easily eat up all of my spare time (spare time being defined as "any time that Gwen is asleep and I am not at work"), and of course in typical fashion I have decided to do ALL THREE of these things. This is not at all an unusual pattern for me. At this time last year, I had agreed to and/or recommitted myself to:
- Being a member of Church Council
- Being a member of Church Call Committee (this is the group responsible for finding, choosing, and hiring a new pastor for the church)
- Going back to work full time after a year's maternity leave
Starting a new course with Athabasca University

Since the remainder of 2009 saw me suffer approximately 1,486,392 overcommitment-related panic attacks and nervous breakdowns, I SWORE this year would be different. SNORT, GUFFAW. Well, I guess it kind of is, in the sense that the projects I am committed to this time around are of my choosing; and my family, rather than any outside party, are the ones to whom I am responsible in these goals. They are much more likely to cut me a little slack when I inevitably have difficulty in balancing everything.

There is a saying I came across some years ago that has stuck with me, and I really do believe it. "You can have ANYTHING that you want in life. You just can't have EVERYTHING that you want." Despite my strong belief in this, I repeatedly try to do everything at once, and drive myself crazy while doing it. I have no idea how I am going to awesome-ify my blog AND finish my degree AND become a master gardener AND continue the excellent standard of wife-and-mothering that my family has come to expect (SNORT, GUFFAW). Either way, you - my faithful readers - come out the winners: either you get to be part of an awesome online community or you get to laugh at what I'm sure will be the incredibly amusing antics I'll be performing along the way. Anything to entertain, that's me.

So, look for some interesting changes here over the next couple of months. I've bought my own domain and have hired a web developer to pretty it up for me since I have no idea how to do that myself. I'm going to learn how to get hooked up with decent ads so I might actually make some money. I'm going to try to post at least 3-4 times a week and keep up with standard of quality content that you are all used to (say it with me: SNORT, GUFFAW.)

If you'd like to help, there are a few things you can do. You can recommend this site and the Facebook fan group to your friends. You can drop me a line and tell me what you like or don't like, what you want to see more or less of in the future: I'm very open to that type of feedback. If you have any skill with graphic design or marketing, or know someone who does, PUH-LEEZE let me know - I'm especially looking for someone who can work with me in designing a logo. Oh, and you can click on the ads. That would be kind of awesome, and takes no time at all. You might even find something you want, who knows?

It's kind of a weird place for me to be in, mentally. I have been writing here consistently for nearly three years, I've hit 500 posts, I have a small group of loyal readers. Lately, a lot of people I know in real life have gone out of their way to tell me how much they enjoy the blog. And I'm starting to get online comments and followers from people I've never heard of, people from faraway places, people who've stumbled across the site, enjoyed themselves, and let me know. That makes me feel validated: that maybe something that started off as a place to record my journey as a mother and then my daughter's life through my eyes has taken on a life of its own and is reaching people in some way. It's still a leap of faith for me to put on my big girl pants and say, Yes. I believe my writing is good enough to earn some money. It's really hard for me to write this entry and publicly say this, because if I fail, it will be obvious to all and I HATE THAT. But sometimes you've got to take a leap of faith.

My wildest dream is that I will be able to earn enough money to take one or two days off work per month so that I can finish that degree. That's the brass ring, and I have no idea if it's possible. But I won't know unless I give it a shot. So wish me luck. And, you know, click those ads. I'll keep you posted.