Hi there! Welcome to my blog! I love, love, love talking about all things metaphysics, writing, and blogging. My hope is that you leave here feeling much better than when you came. It's great to see you!
I’D LOVE TO…
It’s FRIDAY. And for some of us, this also means it’s payday. Most of us consider this to be a great thing. And while I had an early start to the morning, hoping to accomplish something that didn’t end up translating to “accomplished”, I am still dancing on tip toes because it feels good to be human. So much so, that after a six week drought of no new anything, I bought myself a few new things (pictured above). And I didn’t feel bad about it. Because treat yo self.
After finding an unrealistically perfect parking spot that only God himself could orchestrate, I settled into tonight by lighting a candle, putting on some music, and pouring myself a nice glass of chardonnay. I love living alone so much it almost hurts to talk about it. Friday goodness aside, I wanted to share with you a few things!
First, you must check out this fabulous blog I recently discovered, called Fierce Fabulous Free by Nisha Moodley. I discovered it through Facebook, of all places. Someone posted about how they were currently crushing on that blog, and I fell in love with it myself. It’s all about liberating yourself from daily self sabotage, and giving yourself the freedom to live fiercely and fabulously. I may be butchering the actual message of the blog, but that’s what it meant to me, and it made me fiercely happy. Anything that makes me fiercely happy is good enough to share.
Next, I have a couple of mini achievements to disclose. One, this is my 15th blog post this month! That is the highest number of blog posts I’ve ever posted in a single month, and is now a new record high for A Novel Quest! It’s not 100% jump out of your seat exciting, but I think it’s pretty cool, given the amount of time I allot for it, which often times isn’t much. Next? A little Analytics achievement. This month the blog had the highest page views ever! I’m not sure what was goin’ on with May, but I got 1315 page views and 574 unique visitors. I don’t even care how small that is compared to bigger sites, I see this as an awesome little achievement, and I didn’t even plan on it. All I can say is thank you so much for reading and stopping by. It makes my heart swell.
Lastly, I must tell you. I’m going to Palm Springs this weekend to visit the boyfriend’s family for the first time ever. I’m beyond, beyond excited. We’ve been dating for almost two years now, and I am such a family gal, I’ve been looking forward to this moment for what feels like forever! And now it’s happening. Not to mention, I’ll get to spend some time chilling by the pool and watching the Kings game with him. And since he’s like, my favorite person ever, it’ll be like Disneyland. Only far less expensive, cause love is free.
I’m also busy creating my very first landing page for the Passion Series. In my efforts to spread the word about this series and reach new bloggers, I realized I didn’t have much to pitch with. All I had was a post on the blog sort of describing the series, but I didn’t think that would be enough to hook people in. So I’m creating this landing page that describes what the Passion Series is all about, an area that shows bloggers who have been featured in the past, and an area where people can sign up for it. I’m almost done, just sort of fine tuning it. I’ll obviously post the link to it when it’s done so you can see, and potentially share with bloggers you think would be interested!
With very much warmth, happiness, wine, and love, I hope you have a safe and relaxing weekend. June is but a few hours away, and will no doubt bring endless opportunities and possibilities for mystery and inspiration. Plus, I’m going to Australia!
More on that later 
This post is part of a weekly feature called the Passion Series…enjoy!
I met Crystal through a fairly new social network called Kumbuya. She responded to my request to feature bloggers in this series, and is just like me in too many ways to ignore. Her specialties include writing, blogging, social media, photography and design, as well as video editing. Her blog, That Girl Crystal, is a colorful combination of her portfolio, resume, social media case studies, and just day-to-day awesomeness.
While her and I have a lot of creative hobbies in common, there are a lot of things she’s done that I aspire to do in the future, like public SPEAKING. Because of her theater background (did I mention she has a theater background), she is very comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people (enviably so). She’s also held actual writing jobs for popular web communities like Ning and Wet Paint (enviably so). And aside from all of the awesome, she’s funny. Just listen to the way she talks about her husband.
People say that watching TV all the time won’t get you anywhere, but my TV obsessions got me a husband (indirectly) and a job with Wetpaint in 2006 that became a new career.
And about her functionality.
I function in binary. Example: if you ask me for advice, I’ll either never get around to it or send you a five page manifesto with links and spreadsheets within 24 hours. There is no in between.
Here’s what she had to say.
Has blogging helped you in any emotional or creative way?
When I started blogging, it was back in the days of OpenDiary and it was very much a substitute for old school diaries. It was cringe-worthy, but I feel like we should all have those pre-teen, teenage, and twenty something feelings written down for posterity somewhere. Looking back on it now, I can draw a clear line between the person I was then and who I am now… what experiences shaped my personality, what life lessons particularly schooled me, and what mistakes I knew I wouldn’t repeat. In a creative way, I’ve always been a writer; you can ask my elementary and middle school teachers. At first, I thought that switching to journaling and then blogging was a shift away from the creative stories I used to write when I was younger, but then I realized that it was just a primer for writing about the life experiences I hadn’t had yet.
Has blogging daily/weekly helped you achieve any personal goals?
My weekly columns are so unloved right now (thanks to a couple of job developments and the resulting time crunch), but setting those weekly writing slots for myself was a goal achievement in itself. Giving myself a reason to write…to collect my thoughts and get them in the computer every week is something I’m not so good at left to my own devices. Setting a deadline makes it happen more reliably.
Does the ritual of daily/weekly blogging give you motivation to pursue things you are passionate about?
Not only the motivation, but it helps me process my passions, as well. I got thrown into the community management and social media world around seven years ago, but it’s only in the past year or so that I’ve really started talking about my experiences… blogging, attending meetups, networking with other community managers. Often, I’ll blog about an event after I attend it, and during that process, I revisit the information learned, sometimes taking new things out of the same material. Always having that incoming flow of knowledge just makes me want to get out there and learn more.
To find out more about this awesomely creative gal, visit her blog. Give it a peek. She’s sweet and ya might learn something. Also, she was cool enough to link to A Novel Quest in her side bar! Probably the second blog or so that has ever linked to me. Excuse me while I get cracking on my reciprocation.
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This post is part of a series on bloggers who have found direction or passion through blogging. If you would like to be featured in the Passion Series, please contact me through this form with responses to the above questions, and share your passions. Thanks!
See all Passion Series posts >>
(Photo credit: Benjamim Silva)
The title of this blog post is a quote by Mary Engelbreit, and it is one more thing that makes me feel better. Other things that always make me feel better, as far as quotes are concerned, are the ones below:
We are not humans having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings, having a human experience.
– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I am a visitor here. I am not permanent.
– The Postal Service
This is not a ‘spiritual’ blog, I know. But it’s one that documents nearly every feeling I have whilst on this very human journey to be ‘something great’. More and more I am starting to traverse down this path with feeling, versus thought. I am less inclined to use the words ‘plan’ or ‘goal’ when thinking about my future, and more inclined to look at my future as something simply unknown, and to do what I’m most passionate and in love with in the present moment. The fact that we have bloomed into existence with minds and hearts capable of taking us to wonderful places, and remembering always that there is something bigger than us–our plans, our routines, the people we choose to spend our time with, the cars we drive, and what society dictates as right or wrong, cool or ugly–is comforting.
To be alive, feels like a miracle sometimes. A simple inhale is all I need to be reminded of this fact. And to ‘bloom where you are planted’, makes me feel closer to the earth, the trees, and the dirt. It makes me feel grounded and beautiful. Like nothing separates us. And when I get bogged down about the minutiae that is sweeping the living room, spending a fortune on gas, or trying to get someone you love to do something they simply won’t to do, I remember always to look at the sky, an ever present reminder that bigger is always out there, and that I got the chance to bloom on this lonely planet, to love, and feel small. It’s an amazing feeling.
Happy three day weekend! I’m looking forward to writing, learning, and blogging all day long tomorrow. How are you spending it?
This post is part of a weekly feature called the Passion Series…enjoy!
“It is amazing what undercover talents and abilities we have we when believe in ourselves.”
This quote comes from Christine Tolhurst, on her blog Saved by Grace. It reminds me of that age-old Ghandi quote,
Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.”
Blogging helped Christine believe in herself. I chose to feature her tonight because I am sucker for people whose lives have improved through blogging (as you can tell). It touches my heart.
In her interview, she talks about how blogging gave her the confidence to get back into the workforce, and overcome mental illness. Mental illness! That’s amazing. And looking at her blog, you can tell she loves it. She’s got everything neat and organized, and a classy design to boot. Here’s what she had to say.
Has blogging helped you in any emotional or creative way?
Blogging has been an amazing journey of self discovery for me. I suffer from mental illness and I am on disability. Up until I started blogging, I had always believed I was a failure and would stay that way. I never believed in myself or my talents and abilities. I don’t remember the exact reason I started blogging, but I do remember how great it felt to get my words out there, and start a journey to being productive. I have now been blogging for almost a year and a half. Pretty good for someone who seemed to always fail and give up on herself!
Not only has blogging made me realize I am a good writer, but it has also helped me focus, make goals, stick to goals, and push through, even when it gets hard. In fact, I hadn’t held a job in over 5 years until 3 months ago (outside of blogging of course!) and blogging gave me the confidence to jump back into working part time. I knew that if I could stick with my writing, I could and was capable of so much more. It may seem silly, but blogging really opened me up as a person, writer, and even a friend. I learned I am capable, I am, not as useless as I once thought and I am worth it!
Has blogging daily/weekly helped you achieve any personal goals?
Blogging daily has helped me feel like I have a reason to get out of bed. I have a purpose and a skill to share with the world! It has helped create structure in my life as well as gain confidence in my abilities and skills. For someone like me, who suffers from mental illness, it creates the structure I need to succeed. It has been an amazing journey and I am so alive now that I have found a passion and purpose. In fact, the structure I have gained from blogging not only forces me to push on, but forces me to learn about myself and the world around me in a whole new way I never thought possible.
Does the ritual of daily/weekly blogging give you motivation to pursue things you are passionate about?
Daily blogging has made me finally do what I love and get started on those projects we all want to do, but never seem to have time for. I have learned that there is time, and all I have to do is make it.
I love featuring passionate bloggers like Christine. Every Wednesday I am able to step in someone else’s shoes, hear a new story, and learn how the sheer act of writing daily has given bloggers all over the country something to look forward to, and be passionate about.
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This post is part of a series on bloggers who have found direction or passion through blogging. If you would like to be featured in the Passion Series, please contact me through this form with responses to the above questions, and share your passions. Thanks!
See all Passion Series posts >>
(Photo credit: Stasia Burrington)
If I could compare the blunt force tedium and frustration of the last two hours to anything comprehensible in this generation, it would be something like trying to upload a new profile picture to Facebook, except every time you hit ‘upload’, it gave you a blank page with a big, fat, red X. Worse. It would be like a big, fat, red X in your profile photo area, your cover photo area, AND all over the areas in your feed meant to display pictures.
What I’m trying to say is I made a new “Art” section for you to enjoy (one of the black buttons at the top of the page), and it took me two hours to figure out how to get it to display right.
I cried when it finally worked. Lord Jesus, we’re talking grand scale frustration. All I wanted to do was make the pictures in this new Art section overlay across the page when you clicked to view them. It’s called ‘Lightboxing’. I won’t get into the amount of times I tried to adjust plugin settings or the number of YouTube tutorials I watched, but lets just say perseverance and I have reached new heights.
But now, ladies and gents, I can go into the details of this new category. It’s called “Art”, but it might as well be called “Love”, because that’s what it was made out of. All of the art featured in the new Art section will be a combination of my pictures, writing, and art (the trifecta of love, where this lady is concerned). There’s not too much professional looking design involved yet, but it’s more just a chance for me to express myself visually in a way that I’ve been meaning to do for some time. I can’t be afraid to produce something that’s not ‘awesome’ or ‘professional’ looking, and I’m not ashamed to admit that’s what usually holds me back.
I don’t want to die knowing that I had ideas for my pictures, writing, and art, but never threw them together for fear of them coming out like crap. Life is bullshit when you’re afraid to show the world some beautiful thing you’ve created, for fear that it won’t be liked. Of course it won’t be liked, but you didn’t create it so people would like it in the first place, did you? You create things (writing, art, videos) to get ‘it’ out, whatever ‘it’ is. Or at least that’s why I create them. And even though I’m still trying to figure out what ‘it’ is, in the meantime, I’m getting ‘it’ out in a healthy fucking way.
The pieces currently in the Art section of the blog are just things I threw together a couple nights ago that made me happy, and I wanted to share them with you. Eventually I do want to learn Adobe Illustrator, get better at expressing myself through digital illustration, and, later down the line, maybe even sell some of the prints to anyone interested in bizarre writing and bright colors. This new Art section is also a baby step towards something I want to do in the long term as well, so you can rest assured it is keeping me firmly on the path, and forever on the quest. Let me know what you think, or if you have any cool suggestions!
(Videos by VAN. Watching these videos gives me a few cents,
and a few cents are always welcome.)
What qualifies as a ‘happy’ thing is subjective, but over the past few weeks I’ve compiled a few of the sweeter moments in my life and put them together in one single happy video. It took a really long time. I also found out that my song choice was under 2 minutes, so I had to cut a few things out, but that simply means there will be a ‘happy’ sequel.
I’ve found that I love collecting little tid bits from my life and compiling them as a whole. That’s what this video series is. There are far too many video files stored on my computer, filled with vacations, drunken slurs, acts of randomness, animals, and beauty, to not share them with the world. And if I can put them together in a funky cool way, why not?
I hope you enjoy it, and life as well
I was perhaps too excited about nominating A Novel Quest for a Bad Ass Blog Award on IndieChicks.com last week, but this blog is my baby, and I am too much of a proud momma not to enter it into all kinds of contests. I had a good feeling I might not win for the category I nominated it in, “Best Feel Good” blog, but I thought what the hell. It’s my baby, and my baby is good enough for anything.
It turns out my blog wasn’t even selected for nomination, haha, meaning it wasn’t even selected to get voted on, and I had no idea, other than by casually discovering that my name wasn’t on the list yesterday, and contacting the Indie Chicks via email.
I’m actually a bit more disappointed with the way I found out about it, more than I am about not being selected as a nominee. I had to visit the page myself and in a panic, after not seeing my blog on the runner up list, email them to find out. But upon entering I never read anything about them being selective about the nomination process. There wasn’t even a small note on the voting page letting people know that not all blogs nominated would be given the chance to be voted on. It was one of those weird let downs, where you’re not entirely sad about it, but you’re not entirely happy about it either.
I sound bitter, but I’m not, truly! I think the Bad Ass Blog awards are a great idea, and I’ll admit I’ve always had trouble fitting this blog into a single niche category, so maybe the editors didn’t see my blog as fitting for a ‘feel good’ category. I’m just a little disappointed in the process, I suppose. I think there could have been some disclaimer somewhere, stating that all blogs nominated would go through an approval process before making it to the final voting round.
But this is 2013 ladies and gents, and let’s face it, I’ve had my failures before. It’s just another year that I am changing, failing dramatically, pulling out gray hairs, worrying about cancer, trying new things, writing my soul out, having human experiences, and thinking of getting new tattoos. This is no time for fret. This is time for fight. I’m used to rejection at this point, and those pillow-stitchers are right–it’s not about what you fail at, it’s about how you fail at it. And I don’t come away from failure failing at it.
I come away from failure like hungry fire.
(Hence, blogging, SEOing, and writing at 12am). Thank you for being my therapy.
This post is part of a weekly feature called the Passion Series…enjoy!
All the single ladies! (All the single ladies). This week I am featuring writer and single lady Courtney Nicole from Table For One, a blog she started to maneuver through the ups and downs of singledom.
But Table For One is more than just about being single. Being single sucks (the majority of the time, and I can certainly attest to that), but Courtney’s blog isn’t just a bunch of posts about how she mopes around depressed, or about how the world is out to get her, or that all the good men are snatched up. No, what I like about Courtney’s blog is that it’s about a journey–a journey of self discovery along the way to finding someone to love. Sure she has some painful downs, and some terrific ups, but she takes them as they come–one at a time, like monster-sized vitamins–knowing that life is not solely about finding one thing, or one person, but experiencing a whirlwind of terrifically bad and terrifically good that eventually sets you down in a pink kiddie pool of content.
And even when it doesn’t set you down in a pink kiddie pool of content for very long, you can at least have a margarita before you go.
Has blogging helped you in any emotional or creative way?
Blogging has drastically helped me both emotionally and creatively. After being abruptly thrown into “The Single Life” I needed a new start. I needed to figure out the best way to heal from the pain I felt after my breakup, so I started to write. At first it was just for me, but as I began to heal, I wanted to share my “therapy” with other women. Table 4 One (T4O) has turned into more than stories about my single life; it’s become a written documentary of my journey.
I am so grateful for my words. As my audience grows, I have been challenged to go further with my posts, to dig deeper, because at this point it’s about more than just me. I have to think on a broader scale and not so selfishly. It has definitely challenged and sharpened my writing skills. I am grateful for what “Table 4One” has evolved into…It’s become so much more than stories about “The Single Life”… It’s encouraging, empowering, and thought provoking…
Has blogging daily/weekly helped you achieve any personal goals?
Absolutely! T4O has made me more responsible, more accountable as a writer. I know that I am obligated to have the posts available for my readers. Procrastination is NOT an option for a weekly blogger! Because I have several tabs on my site I have to stay on a schedule so that I can keep every portion of the site current. It is definitely a commitment, but all worthwhile!
Does the ritual of daily/weekly blogging give you motivation to pursue things you are passionate about?
My answer to this question may be a little different from the average blogger: I write about my single life and the ups and downs of it all. It motivates me to stay hopeful; it motivates me to become my best self so that I will be ready when the right person enters my life. Right now, I am very happy with my life and how Table for One has evolved. And although I would love for Table 4 One to expand and develop into much more, if it never becomes any more successful than it is right now I am still grateful for its success. The fact that it has allowed me to “write” myself into a joyful life will FOREVER be enough!
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This post is part of a series on bloggers who have found direction or passion through blogging. If you would like to be featured in the Passion Series, please contact me through this form with responses to the above questions, and share your passions. Thanks!