Cattle Rancher

Sure, it’s been a while since my last post. A few of you may be like, what happened to Susie? Has she given up? Too busy for writing?

Yup, yup, and yup. I am too busy for writing, but I’ve learned that every writer is. So take that excuse out, kick it around, toss it in the garbage and let’s move on!

In short, I’ve become a cattle rancher.

A beautiful image from a beautiful blog, VeederRanch.com.

Let’s envision these posts as actual fenceposts for a second. Picture a hardy cattle rancher, clad in well-worn blue jeans and stiff leather boots, an embroidered Western style shirt and a big-brimmed ten-gallon hat. Bueno. That’s me, and let me tell you, I look awesome in that outfit. Ok, ok, sidebar aside, that’s me in the sense that these online posts are the fenceposts. I’m slowly going around the fields of activity, marking new moments and milestones as I attempt to define what’s going on. Sometimes I’m just not going to be building the fence; the important activities are what’s going on inside the fence.

Here are a few of the horses I’m breaking and cattle I’m taming and crops I’m raising:

Breaking that wild mustang, Book Reviewing – she’s a particularly fun horse to break. Currently I’m reading “Strong is the New Skinny” by Jennifer Cohen and “Gifts of Sight” by Bruce Shields, and I hope to have these reviews up on this blog in a few days.
Planting seeds for a new crop of NaNoWriMo – Yes, today marks the second day of National Novel Writing Month! I’ve decided to undertake this exciting goal for the second year in a row. This year’s novel plot was co-brainstormed with my husband David, and it’s a new adventure to have someone to bounce ideas off of as I write. The goal is 1,667 words per day until you hit 50,000 by November 30!
- Last year’s efforts successfully grew “Wedding 3000,” which is just 50 pages away from being fully edited by my talented Writers’ Group. I hope to publish it! For real! It’s happening!
Branding a graduate-level instructional design course through NC State – trying to leave my mark on this material and absorb it into my daily work. This course has proven heavy with academic readings, new perspectives on instructional design, and a great sally forth into the possibility of becoming a graduate student. I’m wrapping up my application now, which is due in February, which means if I were to be accepted I’d start the PhD program in August 2015. Still on the fence about whether this program will take away from my writing…prayers on this big decision are appreciated!
Helping the community – Volunteering with The Junior League of Greensboro as Editor to produce our magazine, The EverGreene, which comes out in March.
Preparing for winter – the many joyful tasks of creating Christmas gifts for friends and family, mainly through crocheting and shopping.
Taking care of my fellow rancher – keeping my husband fed & happy; nearly 8 months into marriage, and we are enjoying being together more than ever!
Giving glory to the Creator – God has blessed us through a gorgeous summer, flourishing fall and now the excitement of winter. Recently our Bible study challenged us to ensure that we are being as vocal about our amazing Lord online as we do in person.