A Big Month Ahead
Wow, is it really October already? Life has gone by so fast this year, I can't believe it. I've been pretty swamped with my offline life, but I figured I should at least let you all know what I've been up to.I was close to accomplishing the 30 articles in 30 days challenge, but not quite. I was about 5 short. But I still think that 25 articles in 30 days is pretty awesome, considering how many of them were published on sites others than my own. One of those articles on Divine Caroline was featured in the Body & Soul Category. That's pretty cool.
31 Days of Make Believe kicked off yesterday. If you don't know what that is, check out the original post on it. And yes, you can still sign up. In addition to being here on Unexpected Art, I recently just launched A Month of Stuff, which will feature BlogParties like this all year long! Get featured for free. What could be better?? So head over there and see what's coming up that you might be interested in. And be sure to check back when it's time for the Hall of Fame voting too!
It's October, and any of you that have been following this blog know that I am big supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness. I completed my first Breast Cancer 3 Day in Cleveland back in August with my mom, who is a survivor. A-MA-ZING. Well, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I've signed up for next year's. Which, of course, means fundraising. More on that in a minute.
Also, since it is BCAM, I've decided to not only talk about Breast Cancer and get a bit more educated, I've decided to really dedicate the next 30 days to my health. They say it takes 30 days to make or break a habit. I'll be focusing on trying to make some good ones in the next 30 days. Things like taking my vitamin everyday, exercising a couple times a week, drinking more water, eating better... you know what I mean. All the little things that we tend to forget in the busyness of life and being a mom. Plus, I want to get educated about my health. I just want to be informed. Whether it's reading articles and getting the facts on my actual risk level for developing breast cancer (or other ailments prevalent in my family), watching news stories, etc. I just want to have a better understanding of some things as it comes to my physical health. I have two beautiful children. I want to be here for them for a looooong time.
So, back to the fundraising. My goal, for the month of October is to raise $1,000 for my Breast Cancer Walk in 2009. It's 1/3 of my goal. If you think about it, that's only 10 people giving $100, 20 people giving $50, 40 people giving $25, or 100 people giving $10. I think you see what I'm getting at. So, will you consider helping me out? I appreciate it.
What else is going on? Let's see. Oh! This will blow your mind! Did you know that as of today, there are only 84 Days Until Christmas. I know! How do I know that? Because Jennifer over at 100 Days Til Christmas told me so. She has tons of fun giveaways (Christmas presents foryourself or others), fun ideas (to get you in the mood), and great tips (to keep your stress low).
Christmas always seems to creep up on me and I realize we're not even to Halloween yet, but I love the whole season from now until Valentine's Day (minus the ridiculous snow we get in NE Ohio). Christmas for me, means the following stuff:
- A crafting frenzy as I try and make gifts for my loved ones
- Christmas music concerts in my car
- Outdoor fun and indoor hot chocolate
- The anticipation of giving
- Family
- FOOD!
- The warmth of the holiday spirit as my husband and I continue to teach our kids the true meaning of the season
Makes me want to bake Christmas cookies!
Onto the books! I just finished a book by Kate McLaughlin that was amazing. It's called Mommy, I'm Still in Here. It will totally touch your heart. I will be reviewing this book on my column on Moms in a Blog, but I wanted to let you know that Kate will be having a Virtual Book Club Meeting this Tuesday, October 7! I "met" Kate through the Mom Bloggers Club in the MBC Book Club. Join us! You know you want to.
So, yes. I have an incredibly busy month ahead. Not to mention all the writing that I want to do now that I'm fired up from the success of the 30 in 30 challenge. And, October means that National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) is right around the corner. I have signed up for this two years in a row. I didn't write a novel, but I at least signed up. It's all about baby steps (right Mary?) and that's a step for me. Right now, it looks like the site is down (they have crazy traffic this time of year) but I'm sure they'll get it worked out ASAP. So sign up and join all the writers that have dreams of a published book. Like me.
Now, it's time for me to cracking on all this work I told you I was going to be doing. Drop me a note and let me know what you're up to!