Nov 14, 2016 |
Cooking. Crafting. Scheduling. Podcasting. Editing. TV fall premieres.
Everything but writing.
That’s what’s had my focus lately. That, and Paradise Bay’s Tradefest.

Tradefest Level Seven, baby!
Oh, like y’all don’t play games on your phone! Get over it!
Here it is, mid-November. Say whaat? Is that even real? Didn’t we just start this year? And yet, I know that can’t be true because I’m getting ready to put up my Christmas tree this weekend working on next year’s award-winning media presentations already.

More Media Mojo!
In case you missed it, I’ve been back in touch with Winco. Yes, that Winco. The Winco of my food post dreams. Guess who’s on the list to create some fantastic new (or at least revamped) recipes? Yup, that’s right. That would be This Girl.
And I have some new budgeting tips for my overcoming debt posts. A few editing projects just completed, and a few more lined up for the new year. I thought I told you all this already, yes? No? Oh, honestly, dear. We simply must start getting together more often, shouldn’t we?
It really all stems from my word for next year. Which I can’t tell you yet, because it’s not next year. I can tell you, I didn’t seek it. It found me. Here I was, writing feverishly editing intensely watching MacGyver when I realized what was needed was a change-not-change. How’s that for a tease, a hook, a keep-’em-coming-back-for-more statement?
Did I mention I have plans to blog far more frequently than the current, soon to be previous, year? Will that make you happy?
Because, after all, if you’re happy, I’m happy. Aww, we work well together, yes?
We’re talking some sweet Scarlett O’Hara stuff. A regalia of recipes. A plethora of podcast posts. I double-dog dare you to say any of those five times fast.
Oh, and did I tell you I have the ending to NOLA all figured out? Guess what I’ll be doing the next six weeks . . . ! [By the way, for a sneak peek, check out the video on the top right corner of this blog page. Turn up the volume and watch my YouTube video: Meet Momma Tristan.]
So buckle your seatbelts, love. This Girl’s getting back in the driver’s seat.
How do you like them apples?

“Give them a reason to care about you. Then they’ll care about what you write.” ~ Molly Jo Realy
With an open book and a mug of sweet tea,
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
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Jun 3, 2016 |
You know that old phrase, “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”?

Lemons
I’m not sure who coined that phrase, but I’m pretty sure he must have been pelted by a few lemons when he said it.
But then he probably made enough lemonade that the throwers decided it wasn’t all bad and they probably drank some of it.
Everything works out in the end, yah?
I’m in between the getting-hit-by-lemons and making-lemonade-out-of-it stages.
Babycakes, my precious MacBook Pro of over eight years, is beginning to fail me. She no longer has the software or capacity needed to do what I need her to do for my social media clients and my writing/editing.
She overheats more than she used to, and it ain’t the California desert that’s doing it to her.
And you thought I wasn’t blogging just because I was too busy. I’m never too busy for you, my Swarm!
But Babycakes, well, I have to be gentle with her. Gone are the days of easy newslettering, fast posts, and faster photos.
And I don’t mind telling you, business has picked up since Blue Ridge. I can’t afford to have my computer slow down.
So after much prayer, and nudges from several people unaware (“You should start a GoFundMe!”), here I am.
I’ve made a list, ran the numbers, and I think I’ve come up with a decent game plan.
My goal is incremental:
- Replace laptop
- Purchase external optical drive
- Purchase office software
- Replace mic/headphones
- Purchase carrying case/backpack
- Purchase protective sleeve/skin
In just four days, I’m nearly 25% funded, which is very exciting. It’s so exciting, in fact, that I want to give something back.
But what to do?
Lo and behold, my Swarm has the answer. What would I use a laptop for? Writing, editing, social media, and photography.
How would you like a sampling of all of the above?
You would? That’s awesome!

NOLA, Chapter One and Other Writings
I just put together a 64-page digital download that includes
- NOLA, Chapter 1
- Four short stories
- Ninja Bee Social Media Tips
- Two poems on Faith
- Three recipes from The Unemployment Cookbook
- A dissection of Jeremiah 29:11, NIV
- A few photos
- My thank you letter
This is a free offering to everyone who donates to my Molly Needs a Mac campaign.
Here’s the kicker. I just spent a good two hours inserting hyperlinks into the document and saving it, only to find my Word software isn’t updated and the links won’t work. There’s no small irony in the fact it’s 2:30 am PST and I’ve been working on the download and this blog post for over six hours. Which just proves my point that I need a new computer as soon as possible.
If you would like to receive your free copy of NOLA, Chapter One and Other Writings, just visit my GoFundMe campaign and make a donation of any amount. Once I receive notice of your donation, I’ll email you the PDF within 24 hours.
And please share this post and the campaign with anyone you think might enjoy a good read.
With warm wishes and cold sweet tea,
~Molly Jo
Oct 5, 2015 |
Last month, I took Ursula to the shop. She’d not been driving right for a while but like a person without health insurance (hey, even in this day and age, it happens), we postponed the mechanic’s diagnosis until I was afraid the visit would be more of an emergency than a check up.

Diagnosis, please.
I was wonderfully surprised, then, when the call came that Ursula could come home with nothing more than a fluid flush and new power steering fluid reservoir. Sure, it wasn’t the band-aid price I was hoping for, but it was still a lot cheaper than, say, a transmission overhaul.
I was impressed with how much better she ran in such short a time. What had I been afraid of? She didn’t look any different, but boy, howdy! does this baby drive better. A little time, a little investment, and my nearly ten-year-old car received that much desired mechanic’s statement, “You have an excellent car.”
It right there and then squashed my desire to purchase a Chevy Equinox (although I wouldn’t turn one down as a gift. Just sayin’.).
Does that ever happen to you? You think you need a replacement, when all you need is a check up? A little look under the hood, a little TLC to get things back on track? Yeah. So, we’re not gonna count how often that happens to me, okay? Let’s just say this once was the trigger for something else.
I’ve been pretty disorganized for a while now. Pretty afraid to get into the dirt; afraid I might not make it out alive. I’ve been pretty chaotic now and then. At home, with the editing, with the writing. My peeps are always telling me I have too much on my plate. Aaron’s always offering to get me a new plate. Go figure.

MoJo Chaos
In the back of my mind, I knew how to get things straight, but couldn’t make the leap. Happily, it happened a few weeks ago. One thing led to another and instead of rabbit-holing into more chaos, I discovered the one puzzle piece I needed to fit the others around.
It all started with moving my treasured cedar chest into the living room, and moving the computer desk out. I’ve designated about forty square feet in my living room as my writing space. There’s my writing desk and chair, reading chair, rug, bookshelf. I’m set.

MoJo Writes
I was inspired. As soon as the living room and writing space were complete, I realized how easy it would be to finally conquer the room that shan’t be opened the room formerly known as Dot’s. It’s been closed off since she left in February. Until now, I’d not been able to bring myself to go in there and clean it out. Sure, she took care of most of it before she left. But I couldn’t go into that half-empty room and face the reality that my daughter moved out and I was alone.
I could, however, face the reality that I had an extra room in my house to fix up the way I wanted. And that’s what I clung to. I opened the door, surveyed the not-so-messy mess, and got to work. With Mom’s help, in just two days, the Narnia Spar Oom and the room now known as the Peacock Room are in order. One is my library. The other is my crafting/activity/game room. The changes are subtle, but empowering.
So naturally it doesn’t stop there.
I’ve been controlling more of my schedule instead of letting things flow. This has opened doors for me to take on new projects and clients, as well as continue the work I’m already doing. Writing. Editing. Social Media. I can do it all, and do more of it, now that I’m organized physically and mentally.
But then there’s this.
I’d been unhappy with the Blog for a while now. Frustrated. And for the better part of three weeks, it wasn’t working right. I couldn’t post. I thought about just giving up and going with a whole new blog. Is this a midlife crisis about to happen? All this let-go-and-move-on-to-something-new way of thinking? Let’s hope not.
With guidance from my webmaster, I decided to take a look under the hood. I spent all of last weekend streamlining pages and categories and fixing photos. That’s no joke. 834 posts. A crazy amount of tags and miscellaneous input. After several restless months and seriously thinking of a change, I like love LOVE Frankly, My Dear . . . and don’t want to leave it.
Remember this?

Field of Dreams
When my webmaster revamped FMD a few years ago, the response was staggeringly favorable.
And my looking under the hood this weekend brought back that original excitement. I like what we’re doing here. All we needed was a little check up.
So look up at the top menu. You’ll see new Page tabs, and new categories. We’re moving forward, but that doesn’t mean we’re moving. Just like cleaning up Dot’s room, a few things moved to storage. You can search “archived” for all the older, unrelated posts. Everything else has been reviewed and retagged for easier finding. There are a few new sections, too.
Sure, it doesn’t look much different. A little spit and polish is all. But the work under the hood? That makes all the difference in the world.
I hope you’ll stick around for another five years. And more. After all, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. Am I right?

Keep moving.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!