Finding Your Mojo

January 16, 2023 Carol Ann Erhardt

It is so easy to lose my mojo when it comes to the things that occupy my time during the day. I love to color and listen to audio books. It is a way for me to relax and find happiness in a finished project. But there are days when coloring doesn’t appeal to me at all. I’ll look through books and not see a single picture to inspire me. And so, I put them all away and look for something else to occupy my time.

Jigsaw puzzles are fun. I have one on my kitchen table now, partially worked. This is something I like to do when Finnegan, my cat, is sleeping or having his quiet time…usually when his tummy is full. I can only work on a puzzle for limited time or my upper back begins to bother me. Sometimes I look at the puzzle and it is daunting so I just walk away. it doesn’t interest me.

I enjoy reading but most of my reading is done on my iPad and I choose Christian nonfiction books. But, like reading my Bible, I have to stop and absorb/think about what the author is telling me, so I read about a chapter at a time.

Then there is writing. I have established a writing schedule which is after dinner, leaving my daytime hours flexible. I write until I reach or surpass the daily word count to finish the book on schedule. Sometimes I stare at the blank page with no idea what comes next. If I don’t stick to it, I can easily lose my mojo.

I’ve learned over the years, I’m a person who needs routine. If I stick to my daily schedule, I’m a happier person. But if I miss just one day of writing, or reading, I can easily lose my mojo and become unsatisfied and in a confused state. Not sure if you can relate to this or not, but if you can, I want you to know it’s important not to completely lose your mojo. If you have to miss a day due to life interruptions, don’t quit! Be gracious to yourself and embrace your routine on the next day. It will only happen if you want it to happen.

Seniors Need Goals, Routines, and Challenges

September 9, 2022 Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

Everyone knows I stopped doing the 75 Day Soft revised challenge I set for myself, mostly because of the exercise and because my brother was coming to visit, so I knew I wouldn’t follow the plan. On Sunday, I’ll start over again. I know that with God I can do this. Since I’ve been exercising for the past two weeks and following most of the rules already because of established habits, I need to motivate myself to stay on track with eating, drinking water, and exercise for health benefits. I want to get back into reading nonfiction on a daily basis, too, and spending at least 5 minutes in close prayer and communion with God.

Now I need to also establish a daily routine for writing and hobby time. This probably sounds silly to those who are writers and already spend a portion of their day doing what they love. For me, my mind wants to plot and write books, but my goal for this year is to complete a book of my early life to gift my family for Christmas. It’s not as exciting as fiction writing! As for hobby time, I want to get back into the habit of doing something relaxing like coloring or diamond painting on a daily basis. I DO NOT want to become a television addict, which could easily happen. There are so many other fun and stimulating things to do. I want to get back to allowing a max of two hours for television entertainment.

Does this let you know I am a creature who enjoys structure in my day? I admit it is true. Living alone with no daily commitments makes it easy to fall into a routine of being lazy and doing nothing to stimulate my brain. So, I need goals, routines, and challenges! I may be growing older, but I don’t have to fit into a stereotype old lady who knits, watches television and rocks in her chair. My arthritic fingers won’t let me knit any longer anyway! LOL! Though I do like my rocking chair!

Author's Life · hobbies · Senior Life

Taking a Break for Some Coloring

June 10, 2022June 10, 2022 Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

What a beautiful morning it is! The sun is shining, and the blue skies are clear. We’ve been having moderate temperatures during the day, which I so enjoy. I love letting the fresh air into my home and sitting on the front porch on sunny days. I Skype with my daughter on Friday afternoons, so am hoping to do that on the porch today.

I finished coloring a picture I’ve been working on for a few weeks. With the editing process on Katy’s Heart, I had little energy left to color. Since Amazon has both the ebook and paperback versions now available for purchase, I’m giving myself a brief break from writing to relax and color.

From Worlds Within Worlds by Kerby Rosanes

Since I had time left in the day, I decided to pull out a book and my Pitt Pastel pencils. I haven’t used this medium for coloring in a long time. It was fun to spend a couple hours playing with them and coloring this picture.

Coloring is a creative outlet which relaxes me. I’m usually listening to an audiobook in the background. I’m giving myself three more days of relaxation before I get back to work on the nonfiction piece I’m writing as a legacy for my family, titled The Child I was. I will also be thinking about the next novel I’ll write, lining up the characters and plot in my mind before I begin the outlining process.

For now, I’m going to sign off and head to the grocery. I’m sure I’ll be shocked again by the rising prices of food. The price of gasoline is now over $5.00 USD per gallon where I live in Ohio. Praying for our country and all countries around the world.

Author's Life · hobbies · Senior Life

Vacations, Relaxing Projects and Book Update

May 23, 2022May 22, 2022 Carol Ann Erhardt1 Comment

Writing this before bedtime. I’m so excited and hope I will be able to sleep. I haven’t been on a vacation for a many years. Tomorrow I’m heading to NC to visit with my daughter and son-in-love. What fun I’ve had packing. I did make a list of everything I would need so with luck I won’t forget anything.

All the edits were completed on the book on Friday and it is out to a beta readers now. When I return I’ll make any changes based on feedback, make one more run through my editing service, and do a final read through. All is on schedule for release by mid June!

I’ve spent the weekend doing fun things. Finishing two coloring pages and working a jigsaw puzzle.

Forgive the glare from the camera on the puzzle!

I Enjoyed coloring this pretty girl and adding the sparkles!

All these projects were very relaxing. I worked on them in the evening after spending the days on editing and decided to spend Saturday and this afternoon finishing them. I’m taking a coloring book with me to NC as my daughter is a colorist too, and has all the coloring things I might need! Looking forward to seeing the horses across the road, the goats on the hills in the back and conversation! I sure miss conversation.

This afternoon my middle daughter called and we talked for about an hour. It was great to see my close friend today and have lunch after church. She has been sick for a couple of weeks. Life sometimes gets a little lonely now that I don’t have my cat Templeton to talk to! Unless a receive a phone call many hours might pass when I don’t use my voice at all. Then when I talk I might sound like a frog croaking! LOL!

All in all, I am very grateful for the life I lead. I’m grateful for each breath I take, grateful for my salvation, and grateful for my relationship with Jesus. God has been so loving over all these almost 79 years, especially when I didn’t realize it or appreciate it! Never take for Him for granted.

I plan to keep up my blog while I’m on vacation, so expect to see pictures!

hobbies

A Repurposing Success

March 25, 2022 Carol Ann Erhardt2 Comments

My colored pencils give me pleasure in the beautiful array of tones and shades on the gray, dreary days where outdoor colors are muted. I’ve been working on a double page spread in my newest book for two weeks. Since I’ve added a 3-year Bible study reading plan, verse mapping, and writing a new manuscript I spend less time coloring than a year ago.

This newest coloring book’s pages cannot be done in one or two sittings. There is a lot of detail work. These pages are perfect for my smaller window of coloring. I uncovered a tool my daughter made for me to use when I was crocheting and I’ve repurposed it to hold the pencils I’m working with.

Today I’ll be Skyping with my daughter in NC. I’m hoping to make more progress on the belongs to pages I’ve shown before. This week I put some work into coloring the animals. I have finished a lot of the double page spread, but there is a lot left to color. The pencils above are the ones I used for the animals. I believe there are 16 colors. My work is achieved by layering colors. It is fun to watch the new blended colors take on new shades. This is what achieves the dimensional look to the picture. Here is the latest progress picture as of last night.