November recap

I have not been the best blogger the past few months. This writing for a living thing sure drains me. By the end of the day, I’m usually mentally exhausted! Which means I never feel like updating my blog. Today, though, I’d much rather write here than write the article I need to write about parrots. Bleh!

So I guess what I’ll do is a quick recap of November:

First, the not happy.

• I had a client tell me she didn’t like one of the articles I sent her. I know, freelance writers must develop a thick skin, but I don’t have one yet! In fact, I think my skin started out much thinner than most people’s, anyway (ask John!). So I’ve been a little down the past few days.

• I didn’t make as much money in November as I had hoped. Don’t count your freelance writing gigs before they’re hatched.

• We still haven’t decorated our house for the holidays. 😦

• I don’t want you to judge me for this, so be kind: I haven’t felt like doing dishes in over a week. So I haven’t. And nobody else has either. We are down to our last utensil.

The happy stuff!

• John and I basically get a three week vacation – one week together in Athens (dubbed Holli-Johnny week), one week in Arizona, and one week in Nevada, with a little Utah possibly thrown in. Yay! We definitely need the break.

• I’m making new friends. There are so many nice people in our church ward, and I finally feel like I’m getting to know some of them. It’s nice. I’m going to a friend’s house tomorrow for some crafting fun.

• I reconnected with old friends during Thanksgiving. John and I went to Rome, GA to see a couple of my college friends and their family. We played the James Bond game (I’m so opposed to it, but there I was, shooting the bad guys until my fingers hurt!) and had fun with the kids and cats. And we ate yummy food.

• I’m going to revamp my business model for the new year. I’m going to have a website and do things a little differently. I’ll show the site to you when it’s done. I know I can make the freelance thing work, but I’ll have to do it differently from the way I do it now.

• I have a wonderful husband who is so amazong and sweet. That’s not specific to the month of November, but I needed the happy stuff to outweigh the not so happy stuff!

Anyway, happy December! I hope your month is a good one.

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this is a lot harder than i thought it would be

I’m feeling a bit down today. I hate worrying about money. The money I’ll make from freelancing this month will be more than double what it was last month, which is exciting. But it still doesn’t cover all our expenses for the month, which is the depressing part.

And I don’t yet have health insurance. I should have taken care of this a long time ago, but there are times when I just don’t have the ability to deal with unpleasant things, so I push them from my mind and let it go until a problem occurs and I’m forced to deal with it.

So that time is now. I’ve called around for quotes on health insurance, and I honestly started crying on the phone. No, the insurance agent didn’t know it. I’ve never been self-employed before, so I’m used to the benefits of company sponsored insurance. To get insurance for myself, I had to submit to a battery of personal questions about my health that I didn’t feel were any of their business. I answered most of the questions right, but I don’t have perfect health, so that will up my premium.

When one guy quoted me $200-$300 per month on health insurance, I panicked and started crying. I already don’t have the money to cover all our bills. How am I going to come up with $300 extra? Not to mention that Georgia is a lame, backward state and doesn’t cover mental health treatments.

I’m frustrated and worried and I wish our country cared more about its citizens than it cared about the bottom line, which is a big fat dollar sign for the pharmaceutical industry. I’m sorry to make this post a ‘poor me’ post, but I know I have readers who care about me. And it makes me feel better knowing that you’ll think good thoughts for me. Thanks for listening. I’ll be back to posting happier thoughts soon.

xoxoxo
Holli

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October recap

So October has been busy. I became a freelance writer, I babysat several kids, we flew to Arizona and back, I interviewed for a job I wanted but didn’t get, and I helped John with a Trunk-or-Treat party.

My first month as an official freelance writer went fairly well. I didn’t make as much as I had hoped to, but I did gain experience and more confidence in my writing. I received several compliments from clients that made me feel great.

The freelancing lifestyle requires a lot of work – first to find the jobs and then to actually do them. I feel like I’m constantly at the computer looking for writing gigs, researching, or writing. It can get a little tiring. But so far, it’s been worth it. And once a better income is coming in, it will definitely be worth it! Just because I’m so proud, I’ll recap the highlights of this month.

*I finished my first writing project
*I sent my first invoice ever!
*I wrote some articles about flower gardening (I am now an expert!)
*I received my first ever paycheck from writing!
*I am writing some personal development articles for someone’s blog
*I wrote articles about bankruptcy (and now know more than I care to about how companies prey on the financially weak)

That’s mostly what I’ve been up to. And I’ve been serving as secretary of the women’s organization (Relief Society) of my church. That’s a lot of work too, but I love helping women and being involved, so the secretary thing has been good.

And life is just plain good.

*****

Check out my other blog: Evolving Blueprint

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freelance writer

I’ve been dying to share this news all week but have been too busy to post. (Me, busy?! Doing what?)

Well, I’ll tell you. I landed my first freelance writing gig last Friday. Yes, you read right. I am a freelance writer! I get paid to write. I have a job. I get to work from home. I was beyond excited when I got the job. And then I jumped right in and started on Monday. What I’m doing right now is creating web content for school websites in Arizona. And the pay isn’t bad, not to mention that I am building my portfolio.

I’m working to find more clients, though, because I have officially decided to pursue a freelance writing career and make it a profitable business for me. (So if you know of anyone looking for a freelance writer, let me know.) I’ve been working on this for the past couple of months, trying to make it a realistic thing. I think it can be. Our finances aren’t awesome right now because I don’t have a full-time salary, but John has been more than wonderful in his support and encouragement. (He’s the best!)

I’m not at all sure about the legal and ‘business’ aspects of this, like whether I need to register my business, how the taxes thing is going to work, how to get myself some health insurance – you know, just the important stuff! But I’m trying to educate myself as I go along.

I’ll try not to bore you too much with this new freelance writing thing (I’m still so excited to be able to call myself a freelance writer), but writing has always been my passion. And now it’s my job, too.
……………………….
My other blog: Evolving Blueprint

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