Lemonade: ROW 80 Check In

I came across a lovely blog recently, Jodi Rosenberg's 100 Smile Challenge Blog. It's uplifting and asks the reader to reevaluate setbacks and focus on achievements and positive thinking. Mondays are Mindset Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are General Smile Generators, Fridays are Fabulous... just to give you an idea.

Last week I seemed to hit wall after wall, starting with the crash of my computer Tuesday. With each day, the stress was building and my shoulders were inching up closer to my ears. I kept forcing them back down, but soon would feel them rise again. Rosenberg's post yesterday about National Lemonade Day turned my week around. Her directive: Today's Simple Smile Igniter is to make lemonade.

During my six hour drive back to Maryland today, and blessed with children happy to watch movies, I kept thinking about making lemonade. Life handed me a basket full of lemons last week, and the sourness ate away at my creativity. I posted on Wednesday that I wasn't going to let it, but I did. Lesson learned, say what you mean and mean what you say!

I accomplished very little, and even had a rousing pity party about it. Actually, two. Mom guided me through the first one and my husband through the second. But today, lemonade. My husband managed to save ALL my files!! Didn't lose a thing.

No updates today. I wouldn't have much to say, although I did keep up with my blog most days. I learned a lot from my setback, so it wasn't a complete wash. And I do have all my files, so I'm ready to go.

Goals this week:
* Review the five chapters of WIP, revise as needed to fit in Mom's chapters, and write chapter six. Figure out how to integrate the three other chapters I wrote ahead (and thought I lost!).

* Blog daily.

* Finish two books by Friday and write two reviews for Mom in Love with Fiction.

* Start Dorothea Brande's Becoming a Writer. Many thanks to Tara at Two Hands and a Roadmap for recommending (and I won the book on her blog giveaway).

* Edit five pages a day.

Thanks for sticking with me through my pity party. Hope everyone else is making lemonade this week!

How do you make lemonade?

Please take a minute to check out my fellow ROW80 participants here: