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Jan 1, 2013

Ultimate Blog Challenge!

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January

January (Photo credit: Deadly Tedly)

The Introduction

Happy New Year!  Welcome to the The Daily Woman.. a blog dedicated to living sober and giving life all you got!  I signed up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge just in time for 2013… The month of January is dedicated to living life sober, getting help, working the steps and tons of other useful information and links.

My goal is to post each of the 31 days.  :D

A lot of us wrapped up in alcoholism and addiction have made resolutions (or goals) of sobriety for 2013.  Most of these will be broken if the right help is not sought.

Now, I am not a doctor and I don’t even play one on TV, but I do know what has worked for me and hope to do some sort of twelfth step work through my blog. I have reached a point in my sobriety that what keeps me sober is doing the next right thing and putting my hand out to the next still sick and suffering alcoholic/addict.

Thanks for climbing on board and Happy New Year to you all.

Filed Under: AA, addiction, alcoholism, Darlene Steelman, goals, happiness, Health, Healthy, just for today, Living, mental health, positive thinking, postaday2011, postaweek2011 · Tagged: ,
Jul 15, 2012

ROW80 – Getting Down and Dirty

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So, I have been going to A LOT of meetings.  I even started going to Al-Anon, because hey, I am from a long line of alcoholics, so it makes sense.  And, as I go to these meetings (six a week) and I meet new people and hear new stories, I am finding out many things about myself.

Honestly, I can’t change me or my circumstances without rigorous honesty and self-awareness.  If I keep living in an imaginary bubble and pretend my life is just the way I like it, my life is going to stay exactly the way I don’t like it.

That is lame.

I went to the library Saturday and took out two books: “Make Your Creative Dreams Real” and “Become a Personal Trainer For Dummies.”

I know I am a good writer, and I love to write.  My dream has always been to be a best-selling author touching people’s lives, all the while living in an amazing house up the mountains somewhere.  However, what I am realizing is this:

I really love people.  I love talking to people, I love making someone’s day and, most of all, I love helping people.  People fascinate me.  Their mannerisms, their behavior, the things they say and especially the way they project the way they think.

And for some reason, whenever I journal or reflect on what I REALLY want to do with my life, it always comes back to helping people.  Specifically, it always comes back to becoming a personal trainer or an addiction counselor.

So that is where I am at.

My goals:

  • Write synopsis and query letter for “Bound and Broken.”
  • Come up with some flash fiction stories (I had NO idea what to write for this past Friday – sorry everyone).
  • Continue with meetings.
  • Do a mind map of goals, tools and resources to get on the right path.

That’s it for me!  :D   Where is everyone with their progress?  Do you ever find new goals as you tackle current ones?

Have a great week…

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, alcoholic, Darlene Steelman, dreams, goals, life, people ·
Jun 3, 2012

ROW 80 – Things Are Getting Funky

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Ya know, sometimes I wonder what the heck life is all about really.  Sometimes I feel like it is one big joke of oxymorons, coincidences and irony. I really do try to gather the positive out of every situation, however, I am in a situation now and I am laughing because it is so sad. I won’t go into detail on my blog here, but let’s just say, WTF?!

Okay.. thanks for letting me share.

I have continued to review/edit my current WIP. I am up to page 50 of 188.  If I do five pages a day over the next 30 days I will finish by July 4th!  Also, I put a shout out to anyone who wanted to beta read it for me.  The work is a crime drama with sex, murder drugs and language.  So if anyone is into that or isn’t offended by such things, shoot me an email at ninjagal@comcast.net.

In other news, my ATV injuries are healing well with the exception of my left shoulder.  No biggie… it will be where it is supposed to be eventually.

On With The Show

  • continue to edit WIP. Five pages a day.  Finish this!
  • Continue to read/comment blogs (I have slacked on this immensely, I am truly, truly sorry).
  • Triberr:  Three times a week.
  • Read Shay Fabbro’s Dangerous Reflections! It sounds very interesting.

That’s it for me… what say you?  How are you coming along with your goals?

Peace…

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, Darlene Steelman, goals, positive thinking, postaday2011, postaweek2011 ·
May 13, 2012

Row80: When Life Gets in the Way – Push It Aside

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I thought life was supposed to get more simplistic as age came along… no? Not in my life.  I am sure there is still hope.

I digress.

My life is more amazing these days than it was this time last year and the year before that, and so on.  Who knows what is in store?  Only God knows.

Exciting.

In writing news, I started back up with my Friday Flash Fiction segments.  I posted the first one last Friday.  It kind of pales in comparison to some of my earlier work, but it turned out just the way I hoped.  If you want to check it out, you can do so by clicking here.

In sobriety news, I will be hooking back up with my sponsor at some point this week.  I hit a meeting last week and will hit one this week. My six-year anniversary is in two weeks.

In life news, I am really doing some soul-searching as to what this life holds for me and where I can tweak it to maximize my usefulness and potential.

I am faced with interesting dilemmas and decisions as far as living arrangements and mental health.  Funny how the two seem to be coinciding.

I was excited to finally get back into editing my WIP today.  I had the whole day to myself, Saturday!  It was great.

So… for this week:

  • continue to edit WIP.
  • walk 20-30 minutes a day.
  • get to an al-anon meeting.
  • continue to look for a reasonably priced car (my car is dying).
  • journal, journal, journal.  I have been doing this a lot and it is really helping me find out about who I am and what I want.

I hope everyone had a great week and that this coming week will be even better than the last.

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, 750words.com, Darlene Steelman, goals, journaling, penzu, Writing · Tagged:
Apr 22, 2012

ROW80 – Funny Farm or Bust!

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The last twenty days have been a complete roller coaster of physical. mental and emotional whack-ed-ness. Tax season is over (yay!) and I can finally get back into focusing on my goals. Between family, writing like crazy and dealing with work, I was contemplating checking myself into a nice little padded room for a few days.

Luckily, I made it through the last two weeks (three and a half months) unscathed.

My goals remained unaltered for the most part, but I totally bombed on Script Frenzy.  Yeah, I won’t be entering into any more so long as I work at an accounting firm.  Something about trying to write three and a half pages of script a day and dealing with tax deadlines resembles milk and orange juice.  They just don’t jive.

Trust me when I say, giving up on something is never something I do with shrugged shoulders.  It pains me to admit that I cannot continue Script Frenzy, but I must be realistic.

The A – Z Challenge will be over in eight days.  This one I will finish. It has been a lot of fun finding random words associated with positive mental health to blurb about.  It has been even more fun visiting other blogs.

I have been getting in more exercise. I stopped walking in the park after my co-worker passed away last year (they needed me at the office)  and I quit smoking in November.  You know what that means!

Yep.  I put on A LOT of weight. Not cool.   They day after tax season, I decided I was going to walk in the park for at least twenty-five minutes a day (M-F).  I have done it so far. As well as made it a point to go bicycling at a local park for an hour an afternoon.
Modified goals to go forth with:

1. continue to read/comment blogs
2. pull out WIP and begin edits
3. continue Flash Fiction Friday
4. thirty – forty minutes of cardio a day
5. review budget (I need to save for a car)
6. re-organize menus for the day – get rid of sugar loaded foods! (yogurt pretzels are not good for me!)

That is it for me my fine friends…
How are your goals coming along?
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! :D

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, A - Z Challenge, Darlene Steelman, goals, mental health, postaday2011, postaweek2011 · Tagged: ,
Apr 8, 2012

ROW80 Update – ROW80 Overload!

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Good day all my ROW80 friends! I hope everyone is having a great April so far… I will be happy when April 17th comes and goes because that means tax season will be over and I can resume life as normal.

I am staying steady with my goals.

A – Z Challenge

I am in on the A – Z Challenge which is a lot of fun writing and reading the other interesting ideas people come up with in terms of Alphabet Posts.

Script Frenzy

I am in on Script Frenzy which is nerve-racking, but I hate losing or admitting failure, so I am keeping with it.  The nerve-racking part was formatting the script, but I have since decided to just write the darn thing and work on the formatting later.

Bound and Broken Editing

I am about half way through.  I changed up a few things and will be looking to find some beta readers in a month or so.  Bound and Broken is a Crime Drama.  So if that be your thang, hit me up, yo.

750words.com

So I was writing on 75owords today and I was like, *ding* I can use 750 words to write up some of my A – Z posts as a rough draft!

Blogging

I have to say.. I stopped The Walking Dead posts until the new season rolls around.  There just isn’t much to talk about until then.  I skipped a Talk About It Tuesday last week because I have so much other stuff going on.  Like I said, April is just hectic with out all the writing.  In light of recent events (and my lack of meetings recently), I am thinking of doing a sort of AA/NA post a week.  I have to map it out first.

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, blog, Darlene Steelman, goals, Writing · Tagged: , ,
Apr 1, 2012

A – Z Challenge ~ A is for Adversity

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Impossible odds make achievements even more satisfying.

Adversity: making or breaking people since the dawn of time.

How much have you overcome in your life?  After you get to know someone and quit the sappy, chitter chatter of small talk, what do you tell them about yourself? Maybe you are fighting cancer, going through a nasty divorce, battling addiction or maybe you have inner demons you can’t quite figure out and you see a doctor to help you with those demons.  None of this makes a bad person.  It makes a human being and it makes you beautiful.

I try to put some of the adversity I have overcome into my writing.  Truth is much more fascinating than fiction, no doubt.  Some of the adversity I have put (or will put) into my writing:

  • Alcoholism/drug addiction
  • Being a teen parent
  • An abusive marriage
  • Growing up poor

Isn’t it interesting that those tribulations we do overcome, that adversity, it makes us stronger and gives us layers.  Imagine if everything went the way we wanted consistently… how freaking boring would that be?

Think about our writing, your writing.  There is adversity in good writing.  There is an obstacle to hurdle, a task to complete, a mystery to solve.  A good story has a protagonist that must overcome adversity to get to the goal.

Adversity makes life.

Filed Under: #ROW80, A - Z Challenge, adversity, April, Darlene Steelman, goals, life, Living, postaday2011, postaweek2011 ·
Mar 18, 2012

It’s ROW80 Time!

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It’s ROW Time!  Yeah, This week I basically set up my goals for the upcoming April.  I signed up for Script Frenzy which is totally freaking nuts because I have never in my life written a screen play.  I have to do it this way, however.  I lack some sort of internal motivation at times and I need a fire lit under me a lot. Slacker Syndrome? Well, I do come from a vehemently long line of slackers.  I know vehement and slacker don’t really intertwine, per say, but my family had a lot of “I will eventually” in it.  I am determined to break this mold.

I am being hard on myself.  I have broken this mold and will continue to crawl out of its nasty shell and make a name for myself.  This past week I read a lot of blogs and commented on them.  I also started listening to podcasts on my iPod.  I love music, but I feel like I need to listen to more “cultured” stuff.  So I listen to music when I am in my car except on my way to work.

a) I am learning stuff

b) it distracts me from the idiots in surrounding cars.

A good one is “This American Life.”  There are fascinating stories of life in America that people may not otherwise realize.  Check it out.  Good stuff.

On to the goals:

  • read/comment blogs -  I toned it down a little, but manage about 10-15 a day.
  • manuscript – I continue to edit and revise.  I am up to page 74.  My goal is to finish before 3/31.
  • Script Frenzy – get an idea and outline going for this new challenge coming in April.
  • A-Z April Challenge – Blog a topic from A-Z in April.  Need to get some posts scheduled for this.
  • The Walking Dead – Move my weekly posts to Monday for next season.

So I continue to push myself which is good. I kind of faltered on the fitness goal, but have been to the gym at least 3x this week.  Still, need to get going on that. Next Wednesday is the end of the Round! I don’t check in on Wednesday’s so this post is a fond farewell and see you next round!

Got some goals to share, click here to submit your link!

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, blog, Darlene Steelman, goals, postaday2011, postaweek2011, Script Frenzy ·
Mar 11, 2012

And ROWing Right Along… ROW80 Update

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Ah, good old ROW80… I have been keeping up on some goals while others found a piece of driftwood and floated out of my reach. I am loving all the blogs I have been reading.  I am not one hundred percent sure if my blog reading/commenting is a problem or not.  I really think I just love to read other blogs and comment on them. Is that so wrong? Is it?! I didn’t think so.

I reprinted my manuscript with half the edits I made.  It was a difficult decision, but the other manuscript (print version) was so befuddled that I had a difficult time concentrating on it.  So out of disgust and confusion I would stare at until I became cross-eyed and then throw it on the floor.  Yeah, not going to become a big time author that way.  So I started from my personal version of scratch.

In new news, I restarted my Parenting Blog.  I had this idea last year that with the homecoming of my sixteen year old daughter (after being estranged for five years), I would keep a log of how things went and do a daily journal of sorts. Well, things did not go according to plan (do they ever?) and I let it hop on that piece of driftwood.

The other day after getting into it with my teenage dream I was very frustrated and decided to hash it out on my Parent Life blog.  If you are interested or know someone who might be, you can find it by clicking The Parent Life. Like I said, it is kind of new and I only have one follower on the blog.  Maybe some other mommies or want to be mommies might want to swing by.  Or, if you are looking for a deterrent on parenting, it could behoove you as well. ;)

Revamped ROW80 goals are as follows:

  • Read/comment blogs – I am doing at least ten a day.  Not too shabby.
  • Triberr – was going strong for a while.  I stop by at least once a day.
  • Facebook – I am on there way too much (damn that Words With Friends!).
  • Twitter – I do a lot of my tweets through Triberr, so I am not on there as much as before.  Aim for once a day.
  • Health/wellness – I am officially back to the gym! Squee!!  I am digging it and already have visions of me being bikini model ready by June.
  • MANUSCRIPT – Will dedicate thirty minutes or ten pages a day editing (which ever comes first).

So that is it for now.  How are your goals coming along?  Looking forward to seeing everyone’s progress.. :) Check out fellow ROWer progress or link your own here!

Happy ROWing!

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, Darlene Steelman, goals, postaday2011, postaweek2011, Uncategorized, unknown, write, Writing ·
Mar 4, 2012

Rowing the Slow Sea – Row 80 Update

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Rowing along at such a slow pace, you might think that I was snail powered.  I am getting things done, just not at a pace I feel comfortable.  I am editing my WIP at a painstaking rate.  I am keeping up with all of my blog posts (love the scheduler).  I am reading/commenting blogs. Many blog writers are using time-saving, free article writing services to help with their blog. Thanks to some very helpful advice, I learned a way to read/comment a decent amount and then be done with it.  I picked 10 – 15 blogs a day to read/comment.  I always make sure I fall within that range.  Sometimes if I am caught up on stuff, I allow myself to go over.

Modified goals for the week are as follows:

  • continue reading/commenting 10 – 15 blogs a day.
  • continue to write up scheduled blog posts.
  • thirty minutes a day on Triberr.
  • figure out how to drive traffic to music/motorcycle blog.
  • edit WIP – 15 pages a day.
  • get back into the gym at least four days a week.
  • Use Penzu for private journaling.
  • Use 750words.com for brainstorming ideas.

There you have it folks!  the long-awaited, highly anticipated ROW80 goal list of yours truly.  Alright, I am exaggerating (grossly).  One thing I did start doing more of this week is picking up my Kindle and reading.  I get so wrapped up in writing and everything else I forget how important it is to read and I forget how much I enjoy it).

How is everyone else doing on the ROW80 Gist?  Share your progress here.

Filed Under: #ROW80, 2012, Darlene Steelman, goals, life, postaday2011, postaweek2011 · Tagged:
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