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About This Author
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La Bene Vita
I am a professional musician  , worship leader , small business owner , songwriter , aspiring author and freelance nonfiction writer with a chemical engineering degree .
But that's just my resume.
My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress.
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NEW GOAL: Work on music instruction books for fifteen minutes per day.
Fail. I might work on this today, but rather try to record my new song.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
 Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Pending for this week, actually, despite what I've said the previous few days. (Oops.)
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Goal met.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
Fail.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress.
Reach 140.0 lbs by 8/21/2009.
Weight: 151.4
I'm headed the wrong direction. Although I realize that I'm just retaining water, thanks to Mexican food two nights in a row and a night of heavy drinking, I still need to start taking this shit seriously. The beach awaits!  I'll do better today and tomorrow, because I won't eat any meals with Keith.  Not that it's his fault, mind you, but I haven't learned how to control my food intake when we eat full meals together, versus the granola bar here and there system that's been working for me for over a year. I'm in training on this new process! And eating tortilla chips and drinking margaritas... (yummeh!) *drools*
Meals:
8:00am Coffee (1) and apple ZonePerfect bar (3)
9:00am Six nuts (1)
10:00am Coffee (1)
11:00am Coffee (1)
1:45pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
4:30pm Chai (1)
5:30pm Banana ZonePerfect bar (3.5)
8:00pm Twelve peanut butter pretzels (3), six caramel creams (2), and chili cheese Fritos (3)
11:30pm Tortellini with sausage (10)
Dinner of Champions! Yummeh. |
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NEW GOAL: Work on music instruction books for fifteen minutes per day.
Fail.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Goal met.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Goal met! Good heavens, I wrote fourteen articles yesterday, worth a total of $65. Go me! That makes up for missing one last week.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
Fail.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress.
Reach 140.0 lbs by 8/21/2009.
Weight: 148.4
Meals:
8:30am Fiber cereal (2) with milk (1) and coffee (2)
10:30am Two mini cookies (2.5)
2:30pm Skinny roast beef sanwich (7), chips (3), half a Sheila's Dream Bar (which was, disappointingly, not all that dreamy) (3? it was a small piece, but the #1 ingredient was butter.)
6:30pm Chips with salsa and queso (?)
7:00pm Steak fajita quesadila minus the tortilla (?) and guacamole salad (?)
Yesterday was so, so, so bad. It was at least 40 points, probably more. |
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NEW GOAL: Work on music instruction books for fifteen minutes per day.
Fail.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met.
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Goal met.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Fail.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
Fail.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress.
Reach 140.0 lbs by 8/21/2009.
Weight: 145.1
Meals:
9:30am Slice cranberry bread (2), two mini cookies (2), brownie (2)
11:00am Coffee (2), two eggs (4), blueberry crepe (6?), two slices bacon (2)
2:00pm Ice cream (4)
5:00pm Twelve nuts (2)
7:00pm Jazz & Rib Fest!! Sausage, pork, beef, half a hamburger roll, two bites potato salad, french fries. Oh, and a little bit of exercise, because we had to walk to and from the car! |
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NEW GOAL: Work on music instruction books for fifteen minutes per day.
Fail... I slept in today. I really needed it.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met. See the next goal. 
Write one new original song per month.
Goal met. I printed a bunch of potential lyrics from my in-progress songwriting portfolio. I've been sick, so I've been playing some instrumental guitar, and more than once, I've thought it would be nice to have some words to fart around with. Yesterday, I printed several potential songs (lyrics only) and took with me to Potbelly. I made up a chord progression, sang the song in my head, and then launched it. So, I basically wrote a song on the fly, thereby meeting two goals at once. 
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Goal met. Next week, I'll be launching my newest song, "It's So Easy."
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Nah.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
Fail.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Fail, again, because I slept in.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress. Occasionally, Potbelly customers either drop a business card in my tip box, or they ask me for a card. Well, one such patron actually called me yesterday, reminding me that I'd given him my phone number at Potbelly. He owns a pizza place and would potentially like me to play for him on Saturday nights - regularly. Tentatively, we're scheduling one night to try it out.
Reach 140.0 lbs by 8/21/2009.
Weight: 145.4
Meals:
10:00am Coffee (1)
10:15am Four mini Nutter Butters (1)
11:30pm ZonePerfect bar (4)
2:15pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
3:30pm Chai (1)
6:00pm NutriGrain bar (2.5)
6:30pm Chai (1)
10:00pm Chai (1)
11:45pm Twelve nuts (2)
12:15am Peas (3) and chips (3) |
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NEW GOAL: Work on music instruction books for fifteen minutes per day.
Goal met! I forgot about this goal, but when I saw it in my blog template, I ducked out of my post for fifteen minutes and worked on it. This is an easy goal! I love it.
Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending, though with my voice barely hanging in there, I've been playing through a few new songs just to try them out on guitar. I might have a new song in me yet this week.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending. I've been listening to a lot of music lately, and I keep thinking, I could have written that. I have vacation planned the last week of August; maybe I'll crank out a few songs that week.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Goal met. I posted today.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Nope, and it's a shame, 'cuz there are a ton of possibilities, and have been for over a week. I'd just rather do other things...
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
Duh... FAIL. Did I miss that 6/30 deadline all those times I wrote, "In progress."?? None of my faithful readers called me on the failure. Since I have plans to write "Andromeda Sings" for NaNoWriMo this year, I should maybe finish "Poor Witch" before November, eh?
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress, and still on track.
Today is a milestone on my long-term budget plan: I'm sending in my last Jeep payment on my 2007 Compass! And I just paid off my furniture and laptop. That just leaves a student loan and my mortgage, which hardly count as debt, because they're tax deductible (or, will be once I leave Abbott; currently, they pay me too much to deduct the student loan.)
Sweet.
Reach 140.0 lbs by 8/21/2009.
Weight: 147.0, but I weighed after breakfast. *shrug* Still, yesterday was BAD. At least I'm keeping track again.
Meals:
7:00am Toast with cheese (3), Fiber cereal (3), coffee (1)
9:30am Four mini Nutter Butters (1) and six nuts (1)
2:00pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
3:30pm Chai (1)
4:30pm Chai (1)
6:30pm Dried apples (1)
7:30pm Italian sausage (5?) and funnel cake (10?) |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
On hold until I get my voice back.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Fail...
Write one Textbroker article per week.
I let last week's article go, so, fail.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
On the topic of publication, I had The. Most. Ingenious. Revenue. Idea. Ever. Here's the plan: I am going to publish a series of music instruction books for piano, guitar, bass, drums, and voice. Then, when I teach private lessons, I'll sell my own books to my students instead of some other publisher's books. I can do that, because I'm the teacher! I can make them buy whichever book I want them to buy. I already have the software to do it, too.
Brilliant.
I'll start with the guitar and bass books, because I'm teaching Keith how to play guitar and bass!  He's practiced for a couple hours every day for the last several days. That's so fun.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Fail... okay, fine, so I left all my books at my house. I dug through Abby's room and broke out a handful of Junie B. Jones books. Hey, they're books in print! It's all educational for a writer. In fact, these Barbara Park books are really popular. I read them with my ex's daughter, Julia, and she adored them.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
I'm saving, I'm working, I'm plotting.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Weight: 145.8 Yay!
Meals:
9:15am Seven mini Nutter Butters (2)
9:30am Coffee (1)
10:30am Waffle (9) with butter (2) and syrup (5), and three sausage links (3)
1:30pm Half skinny roast beef sandwich (3.5)
3:30pm Six chips (1)
5:00pm ZonePerfect bar (4)
8:30pm Four peanut butter pretzels (1), two caramel creams (1)
8:45pm Chai (1) |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending, but it probably won't happen this week, either. I'm still sick, so I'll be breaking out my low tunes, designed for voice conservation.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Fail. I haven't posted in two weeks.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Fail for last week, though I have one in progress.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Fail.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
I'm not sure what to say about this. I deal with some drama at the studio where I teach lessons, and it's getting on my nerves. It doesn't pay much, especially for the work I put in, and I'm just not sure it's worth it. Meanwhile, my boss at Abbott is being really supportive of my desire to work more day shift hours and take on projects, and it suddenly seems that my job has the potential to be fun again.
I'm going with it for now. Life is throwing me... something... and I'm waiting to see what I can make with these new ingredients. All along, I've been thinking that my job teaching lessons at the studio was supposed to give me the additional income I needed to finally leave Abbott. Now, I'm wondering if I wasn't just supposed to meet Keith there. Am I supposed to leave Abbott and teach at the studio? Start my own business? Publish that epic novel? Land more music gigs? Stay at Abbott longer? I'm not sure anymore. I know that my recipe for happiness is changing, and I'm adapting to the changes as they come, with my eyes as open as they can be. Meanwhile, I'm still working toward my financial freedom, so that my options will be flexible.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Weight: 148.2
Meals:
9:00am Slice swiss cheese (2) and fiber granola bar (2.5)
10:30am Twelve "deluxe" nuts (2)
1:00pm One  regular PopTart (4) Cherry! Yummeh.
2:30pm The other cherry PopTart (4)
5:30pm ZonePerfect bar (3.5)
7:15pm Pork chops (4) and mashed potatoes (2)
7:30pm Seven mini Nutter Butters (2)
8:45pm Twelve potato chips (3)
9:45pm Six nuts (1)
Sure, I'm meeting my weight goal, but I don't like how quickly I'm gaining. I'm addicted to food! I just decided that I officially have a new goal... I have five weeks until I leave for vacation. I will lose one pound per week, with a target weight of 143 before we hit the road. |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
I called out sick again today.  I think I started to get my voice back a little this afternoon, but I've been so tired. It's been two hours productivity, two hours nap, two hours productivity, etc. and then maybe ten hours of sleep last night. Just. Getting. Nothing. Done. But I did clean out my closets of all my larger-sized clothes, catalogued them, and finally hauled them off for donation, so yay! I'm trying to simplify and eliminate clutter from my house.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
F-A-I-L. I wonder if people have noticed? Maybe I should just post without an embedded video, just so people know I'm still alive.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Pending, or fail, or something.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Fail, unless you count the several hours of reading I got in the last two days.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
So, I talked to my boss about working a split shift, and he said he'd rather I just take on projects and adjust my hours as necessary. That's good and bad, but really smart on his part. First, it will force me to get more engaged in my work, and I'll probably find myself enjoying my job again. Also, it allows me the flexibility to change my hours as needed, without worrying about sticking to formal hours or getting pre-approval. In other words, I work whenever the hell I say I'm going to work, and there you go. On the flip side, it forces me to... you know... work, and unless I pile myself with projects, I'll be switching my hours back and forth all the time, which may wear me out. I need to evaluate some project ideas and devise a strategy that meets all my needs while still being good for the business.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Weight: ?
Meals:
10:00am Coffee (1), scrambled eggs (2), two pieces bacon (2), half bagel w/butter (5)
2:30pm Culver's fish sandwish, maybe ten cheese curds, and half small sundae w/fudge |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Dude, I've called out sick two of five days this week. This isn't like normal jobs where you get sick pay, either. But I obviously need the rest, and I couldn't sing if I tried.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Pending/fail.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Pending. I started to write one, but I just wasn't up to it. 
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met. This is one easy goal when you're sick. I finished my book. On a related note, I have officially mastered Guitar Hero III's "Slow Ride" and "Talk Dirty to Me" on expert level.
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress. On a note related to this one, I'm trying to get to day shift. Chances are good it will happen in the next month or two, because the day shift supervisor is applying for a position that he's got a good shot at getting, and I'm lined up to backfill him. But in the meantime, I've planted seeds with my boss about a desire to get more day shift exposure, and I may propose an adjusted schedule that at least splits my shift.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Goal met. Weight: ? I just don't feel like stepping on the scale.
Meals:
7:30am Half bagel with butter (5)
9:00am Coffee (1)
11:30am The other half of the bagel (5) and more coffee (1)
1:00pm Chicken noodle soup (2?)
4:30pm NutriGrain bar (2.5)
8:00pm Mexican!!! Yikes. And then peach ice cream, too. |
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The funeral was yesterday. I lost my grandfather. Sad, yes, but he's been waiting since we lost my grandmother a year and a half ago.
Meanwhile, I managed to fly to Baltimore, drive to southern Delaware, see my extended family, attend the funeral, drive back to the airport, fly back to Columbus, and come down with a sinus flu complete with stuffy head, cough, sore throat, and fever. The works.
No goals for me yesterday or today. Maybe kick this fever, that's a good goal.
I'm wearing myself out, obviously. So I'll be cutting back on some activities, primarily lessons, some goals, and online activities. Gotta keep my health.  |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Pending-ish, in a flexible, I've-launched-enough-songs-to-last-all-year sort of way.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Pending.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
Pending.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met.
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail. Not sure I even remember what this story was about.
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress?  That's generous.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Goal met, and then some. I'm catching up (with this goal, anyway!)
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress... sort of. Right now, I'm just trying like hell to get to day shift. After that, we'll see.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Goal met. Weight: 147.0
Meals:
7:00am Coffee (1)
8:00am Coffee (1)
9:00am Cheese (2)
11:00am String cheese (1) and Myoplex shake (2.5)
1;45pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
3:30pm Tall, nonfat white mocha (6)
I'm about to hop on a flight back east for a funeral. Crazy busy, so I'm just not hitting those goals. After a year or more of hitting them hard, life started to catch up with me, starting with the boy. I mean, house hunting (and other activities) can keep ya busy... 
By "other activities," I meant going to concerts in the park with the kids. That's what you thought I meant, right? |
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About reading yesterday: I was well-intentioned, really. I even picked up the book at least three times. But Keith's 8-year-old daughter, Abby, to whom I've been teaching piano lessons for the last eight months or so, and who recently started learning guitar from me as well, introduced me to the most addictive, awesome, amazingly fun activity ever known to man:
Guitar Hero.
Dang it. There goes my productivity.
And in case you're wondering, Abby won every, single time. Yep. There's poetic justice for ya. She beat her guitar teacher at Guitar Hero.
And also in case you're wondering, no, "Hot For Teacher" isn't in the list of songs you can play. Maybe it's a bonus song you can play if you're good enough. I'll just have to keep trying. |
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Launch one new Potbelly song per week.
Goal met, in some fashion or another. Although, I do have some plans to learn a couple requests.
Write one new original song per month.
Pending.
Post at WordPress at least once per week.
Fail/pending.
Write one Textbroker article per week.
In progress on an article that is due tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.
Submit one short story/article per month.
Goal met. Yep, I submitted "The Butterfly Stone" again. I should consider polishing another short story or article for subs elsewhere. It's been awhile since I wrote any new fiction, although I've been tearing through the nonfiction market and actually making money at it. Plus, I have so many fiction pieces that just need to be edited, not the least of which is .
Work for fifteen minutes on "Poor Witch" [E] every day.
Fail. When I get back to this, it will be with very, very fresh eyes. 
Complete and edit "Poor Witch" [E] by 6/30/09.
In progress.
Read a book in print for fifteen minutes every day.
Fail. Hmm... what did I do with that book?
Resign from Abbott by 12/1/09.
In progress.
Maintain a maximum weight of 150.0.
Goal met. Weight: 146.4
Meals:
9:30am Fiber granola bar (2.5) and coffee (1)
1:45pm Skinny roast beef sandwich (7)
Today will be a good eating day. ...even with the Starbucks I'm considering. I'm also pretty psyched about my weight. Not as bad as I thought. I can't swear I'm back on track, because Keith likes to grill, and he makes - you know - whole meals with sides and stuff. It's just a new routine that I have to figure out. |
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Even better if she can whistle to the tune of Mozart or something. 
Comment • View 1 comment 
, also known as Michelle Tuesday, is a musician, educator and writer hailing from Columbus, Ohio.![Merit Badge in Music
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To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*
Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif)
![Merit Badge in Organization
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I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^* I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is. Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your [Link To Item #1474311]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Organization-1150.gif)
![Merit Badge in Leadership
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For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Leadership.gif)
