Time Flies!: May 2016 (Plus, An Important Announcement)

/ saraletourneau

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Welcome to the latest edition of Time Flies! It’s my version of a monthly update, where I recap the past month’s accomplishments and articles, share news and random things from my offline life, and hint at what may be coming in the month ahead.

Good morning, everyone! (Or good afternoon or evening, if it’s that time for you right now.)

Welcome to Isengard

I’m going to keep this month’s intro short. We have a lot to cover, especially some upcoming changes to my blogging schedule. So, let’s get right to the recap:

This Month’s Posts

Interviews, Guest Blogs, and Columns

A Blogging Announcement

Starting in June, I’m reducing my blogging schedule to once or twice each week (usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I’m planning to keep series or memes such as Chronicling The Craft, the Character Evolution Files, and Beautiful People. Others such as 5 on the 5th, Odes, and possibly Time Flies will be going away. Also, now that I’m down to two more tea samples, I’ve decided that my next two tea reviews at A Bibliophile’s Reverie will be my last.

The reason for all this? I don’t have as much time for blogging and social media now that life offline will be busier for the foreseeable future. You may have already noticed this, since it’s taking me longer to respond to blog comments. But it’s also cutting into how much time I have for writing blog posts, too.

Part of this is because I’m visiting my parents every other weekend now that they’ve moved further away. Plus, I’ve altered my after-work routine during the week to allow for more time to edit my WIP. Neither is a change for the worse. In fact, I’m very excited about both! It’s just that they’re occurring at the same time, and I’m still adjusting. And add those in with working a full-time job, trying to maintain a blog, staying on top of social media, and keeping other commitments… and it’s no wonder I’m not getting enough sleep. 😦

r2d2 tired

I hope you understand why I’m making these changes. My biggest fear as a blogger is letting readers down by decreasing my output. But I’ve been so overwhelmed and exhausted because of staying up late to catch up on things…  and it made me realize that my current online “life” is no longer sustainable. So, I need to set stronger limits and be more mindful of my biggest priorities (the WIP, and taking care of myself). And if you don’t have your health or sanity, how can you function well in other areas of life?

So, June will be a month of experimentation. Fewer articles on a more relaxed schedule, with a stronger focus on writing and reading. My “Theme: A Story’s Soul” column will still run on DIY MFA, too, so don’t worry about whether I’m leaving that site. 😉

I hope you’ll come back whenever new posts go live, and we’ll continue to interact here, at your blogs / sites, and elsewhere. You are the biggest reason why I enjoy blogging so much.  ❤

Offline Happenings

Despite the stress, May was a really good month. I visited my parents at their new house for the first time and spent a glorious weekend on Cape Cod. I had lunch by the water (at Sesuit Harbor Cafe – highly recommended!), went to the movies with my brother, and enjoyed spending time at their (still somewhat discombobulated) new home. It’s weird when you’re used to seeing family almost every day for years, and then have that routine change to every other weekend. But between these visits and several phone calls in between, we’ve found a way to make our new “normal” work.

Now that I think about it, I traveled quite a bit this month! I visited my relatives in Maine over Memorial Day weekend; and on another Saturday, I went with two friends to Boston’s North End to check out spots for another friend’s bachelorette party. The North End is known as Boston’s Italian district, with SO MANY restaurants. Pasta, steak, seafood, pizza, desserts – you really can’t go wrong! We ended up eating a late lunch / early dinner at Pizzeria Regina (not a party choice – we just wanted pizza), dessert at Caffe Vittoria, and tea and cappuccinos at The Thinking Cup. And, we stopped at the new Boston Public Market – and almost never left because of all the wonderful things they sell there. See for yourself!

So, May was a month of traveling and food. As well as editing my WIP, adjusting to a new routine, and getting my heart ripped out, trampled on, and set on fire by TV shows. Seriously, do any other Game of Thrones and Orphan Black fans feel that way about the current seasons?? GAH!

DaniUpset

I feel your pain, Dany.

Of Superheroes and Strange New Worlds

So. Captain America: Civil War. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fascinating end to the Cap’s arc. It’s also the first superhero film I’ve seen where, apart from a minor character who catalyzes part of the plot, there’s no real antagonist. Instead, the Avengers are torn apart by internal conflict – and you can symphathize with all sides. Even if you think you know whose side you’re on (I was #TeamCap), you end up hurting for everyone. I think Winter Soldier is still my favorite Captain America film, but this was still thrilling and heart-rending.

I also watched Coraline, the stop-motion film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novella. I haven’t read the story yet, but I really want to now that I know I liked the movie! It’s about a young girl named Coraline who’s disgruntled about her new home, her parents, changing school systems – and then discovers a door in their flat that leads to a strange, enchanting alternate world. I won’t say much more, except that it’s whimsical, creepy, and ultimately heartwarming.

Song of the Month: “Moonlight Koto Medley” by Massage Tribe

I first heard of Massage Tribe when Yoga Friend played it during one of her recent classes. And now, their CD Reiki, Massage and Zen Flutes is one of my favorites to listen to at work. It’s so soothing and peaceful. The songs nature sounds, keyboards, Tibetan bowls, and Oriental instruments – but the flutes are the stars of the show. So if you enjoy this track, you’ll love the rest of them, too.

How Quickly Does Time Fly?

If I decide to continue Time Flies, it will post on Thursday, June 30th. Regardless, I hope all of you have a lovely start to your summer. 🙂

41 thoughts on “Time Flies!: May 2016 (Plus, An Important Announcement)”

  1. I completely understand, Sara – particularly when I looked down your posts and saw just how much you have posted this last month. Not only that – many of your posts require a great deal of preparation and research. With your family now living further away there is no point in running yourself into the ground:). I’ve really enjoyed our interactions and I will be continuing to make a point of visiting your blog. In the meantime, take care. Your wellbeing must come first.

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    • Thank you, Sarah. 🙂

      Yeah, I can’t seem to write short posts – or rather, posts that don’t require a lot of thought or research. *lol* But I think that’s the kind of blogger I am. And like a couple of my writer friends told me on Twitter recently, quality is more important than quantity. I’d rather sacrifice the frequency of my posts than the quality of the content.

      And I’ll still be visiting your blog, too! I’m especially excited about seeing Running Out of Space and its sister books released – when they’re ready, of course. 😉

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  2. No worries Sara 🙂 It’s completely understandable. Our time is never really our own. Life often finds a way of creeping in. Take care of you! That’s what is most important. You have my support always 🙂
    I haven’t gotten around to Orphan Black yet, but GOT is currently killing me. Honestly!
    Hope June is a wonderful month for you ❤

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    • Thank you, Faith. 🙂

      Yes, real life has a bigger impact on our online lives than we might think. But I was talking to a couple writer friends about my decision on Twitter recently, and we all agreed on two things: 1) Quality trumps quantity, and 2) Only you can take care of you, but you have to give yourself the time to do so.

      OMG, Orphan Black has been NUTS this season. It’s as crazy as Season 1 so far, but with so much more emotion because the stakes keep getting higher. Let me know when you get a chance to start catching up on it!

      As for GoT… well, Hodor. *sniffles*

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      • I can’t wait to watch it!
        Honestly, that whole last scene just broke my heart! I still haven’t watched Sunday’s episode, but I think something’s been spoiled for me 😛
        Those are smart realizations. Especially the 2nd one. I learned that when I was going through a hard time – you can’t care for/help/love other people if you don’t care for /help/love yourself first.

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      • Don’t stop watching GoT now! I was heart-broken over Hodor, too, but Sunday’s episode was a welcome rebound. I won’t give away much, but overall… No one died (*gasps*), a couple characters who we haven’t seen in a while returned, some questions are answered, new questions come up, and… well, a lot happens, especially on a character-driven level. 😉

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  3. First off, yay for Cape Cod! It sounds like you had lots of fun travelling. And second, please don’t worry at all about cutting down. I respect your decision and can relate to it a lot—I’ve had to do similar things in order to preserve my health. You haven’t let us down, and we’ll all still be here. I look forward to whatever you can post, and I hope this summer is a refreshing, joyous one for you.

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    • Thanks, Aberdeen! Yes, all of the travels went well, and were fun in their own way. I’m especially looking forward to spending more time on Cape Cod with my parents. Though I’m not keen on the increase in tourist traffic for the summer…

      And thanks so much for understanding. I wanted to be honest with readers and let them what was going on and why I need to do this… and everyone’s support so far has blown me away. 🙂 I’ll be around – and I’ll be visiting your blog, too, when I have a chance!

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  4. Completely understand! The “online life” takes a lot of time commitment, and with all the stuff you have going on in your real life you have to make adjustments. Plus, you put so much work into your posts, they’re always so detailed and well written, I know that can eat into your time as well so I sympathize with your decision to decrease the number of articles per week 🙂

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  5. I don’t think you’re letting your readers down, quite to the contrary: you’re starting to focus your energy and time on things you really want to achieve, at the same time maintaining the blog, just at slightly slower pace.
    I’m more than happy to read that you’re slowing down because of all the good things happening in your life, not because of some issues coming. As long as you’re around, be it once a week or once a month, I’ll pop back in to check! 🙂

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  6. I understand your need to cut back on blogging. You’re not letting us down, so don’t worry about that. You have to take time for yourself first, keep health, and work on editing. Quality over quantity, I agree with your other writing friends. 🙂
    I loved Coraline when I saw it!
    Still need to see Civil War. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
    I hope you have a lovely June, Sara. 🙂

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    • Thanks, E. *hugs* It’s been tough, because I want so much to keep up with everyone and produce posts more often. But I realize now that I can’t… and now that I’ve made peace with that decision, I feel a lot better about it.

      Yay for Coraline! Have you read the novella, too? Or just seen the movie?

      GO SEE CIVIL WAR. (*oops, sorry*) But yes. Go see it. It’s a lot of fun, and so different from other superhero movies because of how it tears the Avengers apart.

      I hope you have a wonderful June, too! 🙂

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      • I’m realizing I need to cut back a bit too, or rework my blogging schedule. I wish I could post more often and keep up with reading every blog, but it’s not realistic for me. I get what you mean.
        I saw the movie, which was great! I’m not sure about adding more to my tbr pile, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it once you read it. 🙂
        Yes! I must see it then! I’m glad to know it’s good, and I always like a different superhero movie!
        Have you seen the new X-Men? I’m thinking about seeing it.

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      • I’m not as big of a fan of the X-Men films as I am with the Avengers-related films. It’s hard to explain… They just don’t appeal to me as much. So, I probably won’t see it. But I’d like to see the new Alice In Wonderland movie.

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      • Yes, the new Alice in Wonderland looks great too! I’m not sure what got me into X-Men. Maybe because I was a teen when the first movie came out, and I’d never seen people using powers like that before, so it drew me in? Not sure. But I definitely loved the Avengers’ first movie! I hope they make more like that one.

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  7. There are only so many hours in the day. It’s too easy to sink all that time into blogging. And twice a week is still a huge commitment to your readers. This is a good thing! Do it and don’t look back for a second.

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    • It is. Sometimes you have to force yourself to step away so you can remember to take care of other things. So, thank you for understanding, Robin. And trust me – I don’t regret it. I’ve actually felt a lot better about blogging since I made that decision. 🙂

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  8. Two times a week sounds super manageable, and hey, that means that I might actually have time to READ all of your posts, so that’s exciting! I don’t like missing any of them. 🙂 Life sounds busy but productive, which is very good. Happy editing…. but hopefully, even though you won’t be reviewing tea on the other blog anymore, you’ll still give us your tea crafting updates here. 🙂

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    • GAH. The tea-crafting! :S That’s been on the backburner because of all the craziness over the past couple months. But I put in another order of samples yesterday, since I’m finally ready to get back to it. I’ve got one more TKC tea to figure out, and a couple with adjusted recipes that I want to try again. So… I might be almost done with that project. Wow.

      Hmmmm… maybe I should have a Tea of the Month feature with each Time Flies, to compensate for ending the tea reviews. What do you think?

      “Two times a week sounds super manageable, and hey, that means that I might actually have time to READ all of your posts, so that’s exciting! I don’t like missing any of them.”

      *lol* Awww, thanks, Alex. I’m sticking to Tuesdays and Thursdays for the new schedule, since a) they seem to be my highest traffic days, and b) they’re the easiest days for me to stay caught up on comments. I hope the new schedule is convenient for you, too!

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  9. Just looking at your blogging schedule made me exhausted! I can’t believe you did all that and held down a full-time job. No wonder you’ve decided to cut back. We reduced our posts at WOS and it hasn’t hurt our traffic at all. Plus, we have tons of posts in the Archives, so at this point Robin and I felt it was better to concentrate on quality over quantity. And I’ll be honest – the well of ideas was getting low! Anyhoo, this is all to say don’t worry about posting less.

    Speaking of being behind, I need to catch up on the last two episodes of Orphan Black!

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    • I don’t blame you for feeling that, Heather. *lol* Tbh, I’ve felt a lot more relaxed since making the decision to cut back on the posting schedule. And like you said, cutting back on frequency doesn’t compromise the quality of your posts (and your and Robin’s WOS posts are as awesome and informative as ever) and allows you promote older posts more often. I should definitely think about the latter, especially for some of the older Character Evolution Files…

      OMG, the past couple Orphan Black episodes epitomize the “emotional rollercoaster” idea. You need to watch them NOW!! *lol*

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  10. Aw I’ll miss the frequency of your posts, but I see your reasons. I hope you can eventually squeeze Time Flies back in because I like hearing about progress and such. I’m glad you had a fun time traveling. ^ ^ Visiting family is always fun. Best wishes!

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    • I think I’m going to save Time Flies, actually. It’s a good opportunity to talk about life outside the blog and writing. Plus, I might add a Tea of the Month section to make up for ending my tea reviews at ABR. What do you think?

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  13. That is a lot to keep up with. I hope the new schedule works well for you. I recently got a bit overwhelmed and though all I do is blog and don’t even tweet much but work got busy and that made me so exhausted at the end of the day, I couldn’t read other posts much less write one so my output slowed.
    Sometimes we really need to take it slow though.

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    • So far it’s working out pretty well. I’m working on blog articles at a more comfortable, relaxed pace. And with fewer balls in the air (so to speak), I don’t feel so overwhelmed. That will be the case even more so once I write my last tea review. (I just finished my second-to-last one this past week. *sniffle*)

      I hear you about post-work exhaustion. Are you feeling better now? Have things slowed down at your job yet?

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      • It’s slowed some since summer is here (my fav time of year!! :D) so I think I should be able to keep up with blogging and reading posts. I could use a vacation though. I week or two of staycation.

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  14. Well that is exciting nonetheless! Good changes, I’d say—keeping up with editing and visiting family are both a plus, I’d say.

    Plus, I take forever to get around to responding to blog comments (…and reading other’s blog posts, hence my lateness here) as well, so I totally understand that.

    I’m looking forward to seeing Civil War, although I was a little worried about how dark the trailer seemed…

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    • Thanks, Morgan. 🙂 Yes, most of the changes are positive, and I think that’s why everyone has been so supportive of the cut-back on my posting schedule.

      Yeah, I’d say that Civil War is the darkest of the three Captain America films, but there’s still some great humor and LOTS of tugging on the feels. I recommend it, if that helps. 😉

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  15. Pingback: More Changes Are Coming to the Blog (Plus, Why I’m Excited About the “New” Direction) | Sara Letourneau's Official Website & Blog

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