The Summer of New

This is certainly the Summer of New. New location, new air to breathe, new experiences to share, new people to know...new promises.

I have spent my days decompressing, adjusting and relishing in the nothing and yet the everything. It has been quite lovely...quite new.

All of this new "ness" has fostered such a sweet and sincere sense of happiness and content in my heart, and I feel the like the luckiest gal on earth.

I have wondered in the midst of all this bliss...will there be something to write about? Something to say? Or will I sound all mushy and ....mushy?

And my answer is... well, it's ...What's wrong with mushy? Of course, I will be able to write. In fact, I have two book ideas in mind...One has been started and the other will be formed into words very soon. I have these two ideas and at least one solid plan;)

What can be better than this?

N o t  a  s i n g l e  t h i n g.

That's why it is the summer of new. Summer of new faces, new experiences, new words, new ideas, new plans and new promises.

Love,
Me
Jenny R.

Sweet Summer Bliss. x

Revising "About Me"

April Break came and went and Annabelle sat still, ignored in my closet at the bottom of the pile.

My life got in the way.
Got in the way again.

Had some troubled dreams this week. Had some for lack of a-less-of-a-cliche-word..."inspirational" dreams. But when I wake up, I am troubled all over again. moreso.

Why? because I have been planning these big actions and setting aside a large number of articles in a folder called Marketing to read, analyze and apply to my book.( have been filing these away when my personal life became different...The "About Me" began its change.) AND NOTHING has been done. Not a thing.

Does this happen to many authors... writers? Am I truly a writer? Why can't I find the time to do more for Annabelle? How should I or could I? manage my time more wisely to fit it all in? Because my heart is breaking- breaking for my love of writing ...my love for my first baby, Annabelle.

Which brings me back to waking up even more troubled... I decided to take out one article from the folder and read it while I took care of another to-do " getting back in shape" and it started from here...read it, reviewed my Annabelle weekly page update...needless to say it looked depressing and decided I needed to rant and rave or in this case whine.... Things only got worse when I saw my "Occupation" title line and saw "Writer/Educator/Photographer".

It should say many other things I feel... Writer? Maybe not now. The "About Me" doesn't even resemble me much anymore. That too will need to be revised. ASAP.

So does this rant and whine make me feel better? any better?

guess I will see. but for now I remain waiting to be revised.

Having everything.

When I look back at old journal entries, blogs, writing pieces, pictures or other, I am often reminded of how my life felt incomplete...how I felt incomplete. Incomplete...not having everything.

I remember distinctly filling that void with other. Regrettably, some of the other I cannot change now. Some of that other I cannot forget or forgive still it seems.

Somehow, somehow, somehow...

despite the void and the wrong decisions, I took on a dream and made it come true.

"Annabelle's Love" was this dream.

Now...
My life feels complete, I feel complete...I have everything. My idea of everything...

And guess what?

The empty has been filled by love I could have never imagined
and the dream has been fulfilled by me...and still I feel that even with having everything, I can still have more...so much more.
Because although I cannot change my past decisions and actions, I know I can change my future...make other dreams come true...many other dreams.

And this time my future actions and dreams won't be accomplished to fill a void. But accomplished to only add more happiness and pride to my idea of having everything... love, E. and health.

I'm ready and set...truly happy at last!

In 10 Minute Intervals...

Hey, everybody!

It has been three weeks today to be exact. Three weeks since this amazing, tiring, fulfilling and scary new chapter in my life started. And, it has been exactly that...amazing, tiring, fulfilling, scary and more more...!

My life now can be measured by 10 minute intervals...for those experienced in this area, you know the how and the why it is measured in matters of 10.

I have 10 minutes to do the left and then the right and to squeeze in a shower and to check emails, pay bills, have a conversation, look in the mirror, admire E, admire E, admire E.

I wouldn't change this new life for a second..not one second. I just am in awe at how I often I wonder and ponder on this single thought... "how I am going to do it all now?" 

For example, I am excited to announce that Annabelle and I have been invited to attend " A Night with Local Authors" at a cute little book store in Larchmount, New York called The Voracious Reader on Friday, December 9th (see link below) and all I wonder about is ..." Well, can I bring E? How will I manage with E?" ...basically, "How does this all work now with E?"

And this is how it is now. I am a new me with a my new E. But, I still have so much of the old me focused on Annabelle and her message and all the goals I have for Annabelle... none that have been forgotten but perhaps delayed a bit. You see what I mean? How do I do all of this now?

I guess in the end, I will figure THIS all out... although I fear that some people or things may be set aside in order for me to do it all. (sad face here)

My goal then is to combine the new me with my new E and, of course, the old me without losing too many friends or other and that should be brilliant... but we will see. We will see.

Guess what? My 10 minutes are up now... so I am off to enjoy the newness of E and me.  Like I said... wouldn't change it for the world.

Cheers then.
x
Much Love,

JR

http://thevoraciousreader.com/index.htm

p.s. I will be sure to have more details about NY visit soon.

Checking in with my first year...

Getting to the point...

About one year ago today, I was made aware that Annabelle's Love was officially published and available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I, of course, experienced crazy emotions consisting of inexplicable pride, anxiety and more.

I then embarked on what I thought would be the easy and fun part of this entire process- marketing my book. Boy oh boy... I can now see I had no idea what this actually meant to someone with no experience, no fan base, no nothing....It is A LOT of work!

And, it continues to be a lot of work... It would be ideal if I was able to solely focus on marketing this baby book but reality,  my reality of work, school, family, friends and life in general, won't allow this at all. Still I have tried my best. I can definitely admit that I could have done better, but my heart was always in the right place for my baby book and for me....

SOOOOO, in order for me to not feel like I failed myself, I accepted what I could do with the little time I had left. I set smaller goals, such as marketing or setting up book signings and readings at least once a month. I think I have done okay- not great! but okay!

So, here I am one year later... and my life is about to take another major, major turn in which I am sure I will once again experience inexplicable emotions of pride, anxiety and more! It seems my baby book will be joined by yet another baby... one I can cuddle with and hold. One in fact, that has already inspired an idea for my second book.

Yes!!!! Annabelle will continue on with E... and many of the words I so long to share with you all have already been written on my ceiling every single night.

I guess what I am getting to the point in saying here is that Annabelle is not forgotten- she won't be forgotten...I have big plans for her... They may only consist of once a month experiences but hey.... that is reality- my reality!

So, to those of you who continue to ask, how we are..this is it! Still here and still there... hopefully, for a long time... hopefully, forever.

x

Holding my baby book for the very first time. x

A new kind of tickle in the tummy...

My tickles in the tummy of the past were caused by my Annabelle and her adventures in being shared with many.  These sensations all encompassed some hard-to-breathe moments in my chest, some flaring-red cheeks, some unusual perspiration and, of course, that good ole' familiar tickle in the tummy.

I know all of these tickles are caused by my nerves and by my hopes and wishes to be liked by all. And, I know they are completely normal to experience so I gave up in trying to fight them off and remain I suppose calm and stoic...cause I  mean really.. I look like a tomato. So, I became and am still accustomed to them. They are now part of each and every call I make for Annabelle. They are part of every reading-every discussion- every single little email I send. No biggie. They are now a part of me and this journey I started last year.

Well, wouldn't you know that life has a funny way of making those small tickles turn into large roller coaster loops and dips that can no longer be associated with nerves and that can no longer be considered imaginary???

Yup,

Nowadays, the whole tickle in the tummy has been triumphed by some very real bumps, elbows and kicks? And, and, and .... I have to say these are the very best sensations yet.

This new kind of tickle in my tummy is caused by a new journey I am on. A new one that started this year, 2011. I told you all... 2010 was just the introductory chapter of my 2011 adventure, and I couldn't be happier or more nervous or more red in the face!

 So, I salute you, new tickle, and welcome you with open arms! I am so glad you joined my side each and every day. I only feel now more blessed, more driven, more inspired and more humbled than I have ever felt before. You serve only to further remind me of why I wrote Annabelle's Love, and why I want to share its message with all the little once-tickling boys and girls of the world!

Thank you for the reminder and for what I consider the best giggles in the world.

All my love,
Jenny RH

Working for Annabelle= Great Rewards

So, today was the first day I was free from my typical obligations regarding my Master's which meant many, many things.
It meant I could slowly browse through my emails without feeling guilt
and I could sip my coffee while staring into space...
and stretch for as long as I wanted.
You know, do pretty much anything I desired because because
 I didn't have THAT work looming over my head!

And.... the feeling was and is great!

 Perfect timing I feel because I could actually focus on my 2010 accomplishment...Annabelle's Love.

Yes! Yes! TODAY I caught up on some paperwork and prepared for my visit to the library tonight to share Annabelle and her message. Yes, today I was finally working for Annabelle!

What lovely work it was... I found myself tracing and cutting hearts. I created my own "What I love about ME" heart  (a project the children will also do tonight after my reading)... and,
 in the process reminded myself, what I love about myself! (BIG SMILE here) which ranged from silly small things like these chubby cheeks on my face because my mom has them too and her mom had them before her and now my new nephew has them and well, I can go on....

 But, I also listed some bigger things- like my writing and my love of photography and my heart ...

In short!, while I was working for Annabelle, I was working a bit on me as well. It was quite a simple thing to do.."this listing things I love about myself project"... but also very much rewarding 

So, in the end, I guess what I am saying today to you in this very long-awaited blog is go out and try it. Try listing your personal loves today, tonight, tomorrow but soon!

 You may find that you will walk away smiling and feeling all sorts of accomplished and impressed with yourself... and that is way better than anything... you know, finding out that you are quite talented, and quite lovable, and quite fantastic at times? great feeling.

So, try it.
You will see.
It works.
Trust me
and trust in Annabelle's message:

Your own true love sits right inside your very own self. It has always been there, this true love, and always will be.

x

JRH