It’s not the first of the Year, and there is a switch off

Hello, and welcome to my last post of 2018.  Usually, I would try to do a recap of my top posts and reminisce the fun I had in writing each one of these posts.  Not this year.  Why?  Because I have stop and started a consistent schedule so many times on this blog (as well as on the other blogs) until I am driving myself crazy.

Today IS the last post of 2018, but I took this past week off to reflect on myself (and my business) and I am coming up with some ideas that not only will help me but help you as well.

First off, I am changing my schedule for Wednesday.  It is no longer going to be writing Wednesday for just journaling ideas.  That will still be there.  I am switching journaling to Thursday (I hate #TBT (Throwback Thursday)).  Instead, What I want to do is have written for everything that I represent, which includes Ghost Writing, Non-Fiction writing, and research to name a few. 

Thursday will look like this:  Journaling.  I like this non-rhyming day because I do not know what type of journaling you do.  I may have topics that allow you to do a throwback Thursday moment.

Friday is still a social media day.  I will have tips and I will have blog tips as well.

Monday will be still motivational Monday, but I am switching it to every other Monday.  On the days that I do not have a Motivational Monday, I will be working on blog posts for my other blogs, At Home with Tricia's Baskets and P. Lynne Designs. Hopefully, this is also one of the days that I will be listing something new on my Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, and soon to be completed website.

Tuesday is still Tip Tuesday, but the tips will be for only writing and anything that is written in this blog.  Other tips that I have done will take their place on At Home with Tricia's Baskets and P. Lynne Designs. Hopefully, I will be doing videos as well on my YouTube Channel.

Speaking of YouTube, the highlights of videos will be on this blog, since every time I post one it also appears on this blog.  I will share tips of my adventures with that as well.   I recently had to erase a video I was editing because the audio was not syncing with the rest of the video at all, so I tossed the whole thing.  So, I have no videos for the month of December.  Hey, it happens sometimes.  Could I have re-recorded it?  Yes, I could, but in this case, I had already put my haul into circulation, and not everything is where it should be.  If I find them by the time I create my next video, I will probably squeeze them in.  It was on my Erin Condren haul of the latest mystery surprise box and my new planner.

Saturday will be a catch all day.  This means if there is something that I forgot to mention on the blog during the week, it will be mentioned on that day.

Sunday is a day of family, church, and in the evening, tying up the loose ends.

So, this is a short post to wish you all a very blessed beginning to 2019.  My thoughts and prayers are that you make this new year something that brings you joy, peace, inspiration, new beginnings, and new relationships.

• Joy. Find the joy inside of you.  Joy is not something that can be bought in a store for that joy is temporary.  Joy to me is something you think about and immediately a smile comes over your face.  You may give a little giggle and people ask you what’s the joke you are thinking about.  Joy may be a person you see, perhaps your children when they get excited about something they just did for the first time.
• Peace.  Peace to me is a feeling of calmness like everything is going to be ok. Peace is needed, but you cannot ask the next person to help you find that peace.  Like joy, it has to be found inside of you, even when the world is in chaos.  You can find physical peace, such as a relaxing bath, a massage, or even in a beauty routine.  Peace helps you get started for the day.  For this is why I do not turn on the news.
• Inspiration.  Inspiration or to Inspire is to me joy and peace put together.  Inspiration is a divine thought, word or deed.  Inspiration is creative and creation within itself, something that is of God.  So, is creating a painting, a song, a dance, or a spoken or written word inspiration?  It can be, if it makes someone happy, brings joy, and/or offers peace to all who see or hear it.  Be an inspiration to those who need it.
• New Beginnings.  Often times we make a resolution to become better than the year before.  Why is that?  Is there something you did not like about yourself in 2018?  This is when we write out or tell someone that there are changes coming for 2019.  What I wrote for you at the beginning of this post is a resolution or goal for this blog.  When we say resolution, it is sort of a kick in the gut of something that you have been promising yourself all year.  Why not call it a goal?  Goals are nicer, and it does not have to be for a year.  Make them long-term and short-term goals with no date in sight. 
• New Relationships.  This part is a little tricky for me because this is reserved for At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  Since that blog deals with the relationship of the family.  I am talking about relationships with strangers, the people who you do not know, and who may view your works, should you decide to become an author of a published book.  It can be possible, especially when you put your mind to it.  I never dreamed of writing on a blog almost every day, but I am.  Finding a new relationship can be as simple as a love of writing or any hobby. 

OK, I said that this was short and sweet, and it ended up over 1,150 words. (Yes, I have a word count on MS Word) and I love it.  My niece cat, Gizmo is going ham on my keys and her ball and having fun just batting on them and rolling it around. Watching her and writing this gives me something to do while I am waiting on my sister and her daughter to get here.  (The cat is actually my nephew and girlfriend’s cat).      

Well, like I said, Happy New Year, and may God richly bless you in this coming year.

And the Survey Says….

No, first off, I did not just finish binge-watching Family Feud with Steve Harvey.  I love that show, and when I was little, it was Richard Dawson as host, but personally, Steve is the best host Family Feud has ever seen.  Plus, Richard Dawson would get a harassment suit today, since he used to try to kiss the ladies. That was then, this is now.

No today, the survey says that taking surveys, as a form of earning extra money, can be beneficial, and earn you thousands of dollars ($$$$$$) ß Yep, Those things. Not only that, you can earn other things, such as gift cards, trips around the world, cars, boats, houses, and free products.  As a person who does surveys, I am going to ask you to read this before you fill out one application.  This is Tip Thursday, and this is my tip for today. By the time you read this, it will be Friday, Sorry for being late.

What are surveys?

Surveys, in its true definition, is basically, “What is your opinion or your review of a question we (an establishment) had on our mind.  It can be in the form of a Q&A, Essay, or a Cause and Effect.  Most times, it is a company who is trying to put out a filler on what a group of people thinks about a new or improved product.  Another name for a survey is a poll.  You may have seen a few in your lifetime.

Well, someone thought it would be a good idea to pay for other people’s opinion, and the idea spread like wildfire.  In some cases, sadly, it is not a good idea, and I will get to that further down the article.  But first, these are my views and tips on making money off Surveys

Tip # 1: Diversify your streams of income

I say this all the time.  Just like they tell you to diversify your financial and stock portfolios, if you are into investing, you should do the same for earning income.  What does this mean in terms of taking part in surveys?  Not all surveys are alike, and to depend on taking surveys as your only means of income or extra income can be dangerous. Survey taking does not always guarantee you the big prize, money and other rewards, sometimes they put you into a pool of other survey takers, draw a name, and if your name is pulled from hundreds of other names, you will get the money.  In other words, it is like pushing a button on a slot machine at a casino.  Sometimes you may get all 7s giving you the big payout, but mostly, you are feeding the piggy bank for someone else to win.

In addition to taking surveys, do affiliate marketing, write and freelance articles and graphic designs, offer your expertise on a skill (course selling), sell your best art and other handmade products, do direct selling, invent that new or improved product, babysit, walk dogs, or take on that second job or gigs.  All of these can guarantee a faster payout than just doing surveys.

Tip #2:  Not all surveys are the same

Some surveys have different rewards, and if you are looking for just the greenbacks (money), you may be out of luck there.  Most surveys pay in gift cards and/or product.  In other words, you may not be able to pay for your utilities with the earnings you get from surveys.  Really there is a way to do it, but it means to find a website where they will take the value of your gift card, and turn it into cash, but they also may be scammers out there who will do the same thing.  Best thing to do is if the card is to your favorite store, use it in good faith, and enjoy the item you bought.

Tip #3:  Do I smell a trap?

Unfortunately, scammers and hackers today use surveys to gather your information.  Do not take this as a sign of not doing a survey.  Remember, I am still doing them.  What I do before giving out my information is search the survey company. 

Today, for instance, I was sent in my notifications on my computer about a survey site called MySoapBox. Their payout is in gift cards and other rewards.  Right away I went to Google and typed, “what is MySoapBox?  The first entry is the one I always read first, which was by SurveyPolice, a website that tells you about a reviews survey sites by telling you if it was worth you going to that survey site.  It gives MySoapBox 3 stars out of 5.  Not bad, but I wanted more.  So, next, I backed out of it and went for another result called Work at Home No Scams.  This site tells you if the survey site you are about to visit is legit or not. It tells me that MySoapBox does not payout real money, but points to redeem for gift cards and vouchers, and if you do not want that, you can give those points to charity.  I have to wonder about the charity part.  They also say that in order to “cash out”, you need to earn about 1000 points, which is about $25 USD.  The person doing the review points out some of the bad points about MySoapBox, which is my problems with surveys overall, and I will get to that in a moment.  Overall, if you want to give MySoapBox a try, which is what I am going to do, follow the links provided (not sponsored).  If not, consider this a very good example on what to do when getting ready to sign up for a survey site.

Remember this:  If a site is too good to be true, it usually is, so do not give out any information that you do not want others to scam you for (Your name, address, phone, financial, children, and most certainly, your Social Security Number or TIN (if you are a business), and your birthday).

Why I hate surveys?

Remember a while ago in this article I said that you are not guaranteed in getting the money or the other rewards?  Chances are that you are not guaranteed that you will get to take the survey either.   Let me explain:  when a company sends out a survey, they are looking for one SPECIFIC group of people, and these people have to match the demographics that the company is looking to attract.  This could be a new product, moving to a new location, embarking on a new marketing concept, anything.  The problem is when you tell them “yes” to the survey, you are not aware of who they are looking for to take it in the first place. Let me give you an example.

A copy of an Outpost Survey note I got
When I clicked on it.  Note: I do surveys with Outpost.
Screenshot by P.Lynne Designs 

I am an African-American Female in her early 50s, and Kellogg is thinking about a new cereal concept that targets people over the age of 60.  They send out a bunch of emails, but they do not tell me who they are looking for to take the survey.  I get the email, click on the link and start taking the survey.  It is set up like a multiple Q&A (Question and answer).

Now, I am taking the survey, and it ask me a series of questions like, “What is the highest education you have completed?” “What is your income before taxes?” and “Do you have any children?”  For the education and income question, there should be a button that says, “Prefer not to answer”.  If not, back out, and do not go past go.  I do not care how legit it is, do not go any further.  I really do not feel comfortable in answering what is my birthday, but believe it or not, children and teens try to take surveys, and it is to weed them out.  In fact, the whole question portion is to weed out any outliners that may send the results in a wonky way, and analysts do not like wonky numbers, LOL.

Once you have answered the questions, the results may be in the form of “you qualify for this survey” or you do not qualify for this survey, do you want to take another?”  This is the survey site’s portion. Next, if you pass, you will get the survey right away.  Now, you got to answer the companies weeding answers.  Sometimes, they will let you take the survey questions, THEN you answer the weeding out questions.  If you meet the company’s approval, you get your reward (money, points, card, jewels, (maybe not the jewels-one can only dream, LOL)).

That’s it.  You are done.  If you get this far in the process, you have done good, but not so fast, darling, I hope you did not give out the information that makes the scammers and hackers happy that THEY got a payout.  Remember you need to do your homework and research this site before getting approved to take the survey.  It is up to you to keep your information safe.

Takeaway Tip (the final tip):  Remember:

-          Not all surveys and survey sites are the same

-          Diversify in your streams of income, especially if you are not working outside of the home.

-          Do your homework and research each survey website, for researching is your friend.

-          Do not give out information that you do not want to put out there

-          Scammers and hackers are out there watching and waiting for slipups.

If you like this post, please comment and share.  Have fun looking for surveys and be well. God Bless.  Peace

Motivational Monday Holiday Prep or How Not to Stress During the Holidays

(Disclosure:  This post contains links to which I may or may not be affiliated with.  With these links, it allows me to earn a commission.  This allows me to pay for things such as blog fees and other business items.  You are not obligated to make a purchase.  Please the Disclosures page for further explanation. Thank you.)

I am in awe of Black Friday.  It has never been my thing to get up at the crack of dawn, get dressed, drive with flyers in hand, and go to snag a deal.  You all seen the news:  fights and squabbles over basement bottom deals than any other time of the year seem too good to be true, yet we, as a western civilization do it every year.  I first noticed it when the Cabbage Patch Dolls first in 1982.  I wanted a Cabbage Patch Doll and begged my mom for one.  Then I watch the news.  Dolls were thrown like footballs, and women grabbing them left and right.  Some were sent to the hospital.  I finally got my doll, 6 months later.  My mom was not going in the dead of night to get a doll for me, but she and my dad promised that

I could have one.  The price was not the same, but I got my doll.

Nowadays, Black Fridays have been mostly about how to get television dirt cheap.  Computers, phones, and even the Amazon Echo Dots.  Some people have a whole ritual around Black Friday.  You do not have to stress like that.  Deals and cash backs are given every day, especially on sites like Ebates, Swagbucks, and Be Frugal. I will show you in my other blog, At Home with Tricia's Baskets.

Today, I want to talk about your mental health during the holidays.  Everyone knows that if you are not careful, the holidays can turn a happy time into a sad one, especially for those who lost loved ones before and during the year.  No one is expecting you to be cheery during this time.  They say the first year is the hardest, and it gets easier as the time goes along.  I miss my grandparents, and yes, I had a hard time of not receiving a gift from my grandmother in Alabama, who did not have to send presents to all of her grandchildren, but she did.  I miss how my grandfather was during the holidays.  As I got older, it seems easier to go on with life.  If you lost someone this year or cannot seem to go on with life after that lost from years past, talk to someone.  Also, find a person to connect to.  It may be a family member or friend, volunteer in a soup kitchen, help with a toy drive.  Find something, anyone that allows you to connect.  I am not an expert in grieving, but I have seen what it does for someone in need.

Now, let’s talk about your decorations and other things in the house.  I will talk more about it in part 3 on my At Home with Tricia's Baskets blog, but for the mental part, do not feel like you have to decorate to the nines.  If this is the way you have to decorate, that is fine.  I am not telling you how to decorate your home, but if you get to the point where it is stressful for you every year, slow down and take a pause.  Breathe, and ask yourself why are you doing this?  Maybe this is the year where you take a look at other people’s decorations.  Maybe this is the year where you get invited to enjoy family outside of your home. Maybe this is the year where you and your family give one present instead of 20.  Take a break from the annual Christmas party at your house.   

I am not saying do not decorate, give presents, or eat until you feel like a stuffed turkey. 2019 will be here, and if you are blessed to see a 2019 holiday, maybe plan in June what you are going to do for the holidays in December. Do not apologize either.  Everyone deserves and needs a break. 

Finally, let’s talk about planning.  I started a new Wednesday segment called journaling, and the holidays is the perfect time to start a little journaling.  This is what I call, Project Journaling. The holidays is a project, so why not do a planning journal on the experience.  This way, when it comes to planning next year, you can look back, so the same plans or tweak it a little.  The way I plan it I write out the even in Erin Condren life planner, then I get a journaling book (hardcover or soft, you can get one from Erin Condren or at DollarTree) and label it Holiday planning or something like that.  You can even jot down your feelings during this time.  When the holidays are over, express how you truly felt about the holidays, what you did right, and what you did wrong.  On what you did wrong part, do not beat yourself up about it, but talk about what you would have done differently and what you will do differently next year.  Not all holidays are perfect.

As I said in when I talked about grieving for a loved one, always make sure you put someone first, but also take care of yourself as well.  Destress with a bubble bath, a good book, devotions, or even volunteer.  There is always someone in need.  Give to a clothing drive, to declutter and make room for your new clothes, give away your old appliances to make room for the ones in the kitchen. Make your children part of this as well.  Any gently used toys could go in a toy drive.   Also, make plans for the new year as well.  It is always a good time to set some new goals.  Do not beat yourself up if you did not achieve the ones in 2018.  Incorporate them into 2019.

Have fun, but do not stress out.

Peace on Earth.

Preparing for a huge project.

Merry Christmas!!!

Yes, it is that time of the year.  Do you have your decorations in order?  Do you know what gifts you are getting your family and friends?  What about a tree?  Is it an artificial or a live tree?  Do you have your cards lists and handmade cards ready?

“Hold it one minute, The turkey has not fully digested, and you are asking me about my Christmas plans?” one might be saying.  “Wait a minute, I’m Jewish, I do not celebrate Christmas”, another person may be saying.  Still, another may be saying, “I celebrate the birth of Christ, so no Santa, elves, and mistletoe in my house”.

That’s fine, whatever, however you celebrate is fine, as long as you are not:

-    Overwhelmed

-    Fighting long lines for presents

-    Going with the status quo

You will be fine.  Trust me.  You will.  I am not an expert in this department, but I have news for you.  You do not, I repeat do not have to go through this alone. 

This Monday, December 3, 2018, I will have a 3-part guide of prep work to do for the big day.  It is a start, but I have one little catch, to view this guide, you have to read all three, and it goes like this:

•    Part 1 will be in the My Ambiance Life blog.  This is my writing blog.  Monday is usually where I motivate you in your writing and other subjects, and I have chosen to motivate the holiday you.  My purpose for you is to destress during holiday prep.  Life does not stop for the holidays.  I know because as I am writing this, I am also preparing for a craft fair at a school for next Saturday and finishing translating notes for a church meeting on this Saturday (December 1).  This is on top of everything I have to do for my business and my home life.  The holidays are just part of it.  I am sure you feel the same way.

•    Part 2 will be in the P. Lynne Designs blog.  This is my crafting blog.  I get back into the swing of things after a year of absence.  This is post will be about preparing for making cards and getting supplies together for that big day when you are making and distributing gifts.  I also have things for those of you who do not craft because everyone is not a crafter.

•    Finally, part 3 will be in the At Home with Tricia's Baskets blog.  This was my blog when I sold Longaberger products, and since they closed back in the summer, I have turned this blog into a home decoration, organizing, and family blog.  There is a little bit of travel in there too.  This post will be about prepping the house and family. Getting out a list of things to do, not only for the house but with the kids when they are out of school for the winter break.  There will be things you may want them to do to, especially if they are older.

So, your next question is, “do I have to read all three?” The answer is “no, you do not”. This is my mini gift to you as you are stressing about what to do next in your preparation for the holidays.

This is my first time doing a guide across all three of my blogs, and yes, I will be doing some follow-up starting with what I do to prepare for a craft show.  This is my first craft show with handmade products, but I have been in crafts show with Longaberger products, and I must say that I do admire the crafters and artisans that seem like they have everything together with their booths.

So, there you go, a huge project called holidays.  All I ask you is to enjoy the ride and relax.  You got this.

Peace on Earth.

Hauls from Hobby Lobby and Michaels| Got my Hair done

Blog Journaling: How-To write personal online

Hello, It’s Me.

Today’s Topic:  How much do you want to share with the world.

Last week, I concluded the series on beginning journaling.  In the series, I went over the beginning points of journaling.  These topics included:

• What is Journaling
• The difference between online (digital) and handwritten journaling
• Tools of the trade (types of books, software programs, pens, and decorating) of your journal.
• Types of Journaling (personal, bible, project, and Mixed Media) for starters.  There are all types of journaling you can do.

Now it is time for the series the end but this is really only the beginning of what I hope is a weekly guide of sorts to your journaling.  I am not telling you what to write, but I will be giving you pointers of what I have learned in my various stages of journaling.   To be upfront about this section, that will come about Every Wednesday or Thursday (I am late), this is yours to take and make use of.  I am a semi-expert on this subject, meaning I know what works for me and another person may take this section of my blog and make it something else.  What I will never do, unless it is required by law, is to tell you that you must write about this topic when I give you writing prompts, tell you that you must use this product, or tell you what to say in your journal.  That is the beauty of journaling.  It gives you the freedom to express yourself.  So, if someone ever tells you to feel this way or write this way in your personal journals, send them my way, and I will professionally try to steer them in the right direction, expert or not, LOL...

This leads me to my topic:  Sharing is Caring, or is it?

Unless you are a child or have been living in some secluded place where you do not have any contact with people. (Deserted island, anyone?)  You may have heard that the moment you post something on social media, you have put a bounty on your head for anything you say, no matter how private you think it is.  Employers can look up this information, as well as parents, partners, even your 3rd grade teacher if she really wants to find out about you.  In fact, it has been said that if you do not want to be found, stay “off the grid”. This means, do not signup for any social media accounts.  So, what does that mean if you have an online journal?  It means, do not share your personal thoughts and do not put your journal on the “interwebs” (Internet).  For example,

I have an online journal that is only accessible by Office 365 (Ms. Word).  It is called “My Next Journey”.  I have it on my computer, but if I want to access it on my Ipad or on the OneDrive (Online) because I feel like writing at the library, I can get to it.  It is password-protected (meaning you need my userID and password to get to it.  Is it really protected?  Not really.  Hackers can hack into my account, bypass my userID and password with a program and get into my computer and look at it if they really want to.  I think this is one of the reasons why many seniors do not want to own a computer.  The news media and Hackers have scared them so much until it is not funny.  The other part is they are scared of the technology itself.  I am getting off the topic, so, let me reel myself back in.

I do my best to protect my journal of prying eyes of my family and the world.  If it is worth sharing I will do so on this blog like I am now, but it has to be worth sharing.  You cannot share something that is not relevant to the topic you are writing about.  That is plain common sense in the writing world.  In other words, if you are sharing a piece of your soul, make it relatable to the reader, or you will lose them.

So, what are some relatable topics?

I am not sure, but some topics I have seen on other blogs have been:

• Remodeling Journals- If you have a bathroom that you are remodeling, you may want to talk about your budget (no personal finance information like the account number to your loan-hackers love that sort of stuff), the type of workers you are looking for (first names only, please), or the style you are looking for in the completed project.  You may want to post pictures of the before and after.
• Moving journal – This works the same way as the remodeling journal.  Tip:  if you share this online, say “the city we are considering to”, “not far from where we currently live”, or “out of the country” when mentioning the location.  It is the safer route.  You can actually start a house hunting journal and move from that point to a moving journal.
• Pregnancy Journals- I am seeing this more and more.  You want people (especially women) to read about your thoughts, happiness and pain, and all the moods that come with being on track to becoming a mommy.  Journaling this online gives other women a chance to say, “yes, this is me too, to sympathize, and to “ooh and aww” at the results (a beautiful baby).
• Weight Loss Journal- I am at a loss on why would anyone would share a weight loss story until I thought about my weight gain story.  Not proud of it, for sure, but it is good to know that when someone is doing the Keto Diet, for example, there is someone else who is going through the same diet you are going through.  We all should strive to be healthy, and this is one way of doing it, to journal it, so others can learn from it.
• Travel Journals- another perfect example of “take the reader along for the ride”.  Even though these journals are turning into video journals, either way, you can picture yourself on the Chocolate Hills on the island of Bohol in The Philippines, as the blogger pens away their thoughts on a hot July morning.  If you give good descriptions of the place, you may have that reader booking the next flight to that part of the world, which was the idea the whole time.

So, while it may not be good to share your, “mad at the dog, who bit the cat, who scratched the furniture” type of day with a personal online journal entry, it is good to share those moments where you are not the only one who is going on a once in a lifetime adventure to see the Northern Lights in December. 

Put it together: Conclusion to Journaling

So, now we are at the end of this series, but there is so much to cover and so much more to learn.  To recap, let’s go over some ground rules:

There are no ground rules

Photo By P.Lynne Designs
(c) 2018

You can write or produce anything, and it is your journal.  There is no journaling police, even though there are some people who claim that there are.  I often answer questions on a website called Quora, and in the past couple of days, I have been taunted by a couple of people who basically said to stop writing and live.  To those who think that journaling is wrong, you need to get a life yourself.  I live my life and at the end of the day (before I go to bed), I recap my day.  This how I choose to live my life, and if you do not like it, though. I am living it for me, not you.  you have a right to your opinion, and so with that being said, please live your life and I will do the same.

(sorry for the little rant, let’s carry on)

Journaling is only a little capture of this big thing called life.

Please recap your life.  This is an advise I share with all.  Yes, write it down, but as I said in the “There are no ground rules” section, I recap my day, good or bad.  The good ones are days of rejoicing that things, ideas you had, or experiences you had were wonderful, the heavens opened up, and God himself said: “yes, I approve”.  The bad ones are the days, where the dog bit the cat, The cat messed up the floor, and the mop was so dirty, until you had to buy a new one, only to find out that when you tried to buy a new mop, the store ran out or you had no money in the bank.  God could only say, “I got your back, lesson learned.”

Make any kind of journaling

You can do the following with a journal:

• Write one
• Draw in one
• Do mixed media in one (crafters know what I mean on this task)
• Be grateful in one
• Be soulful in one
• Track your health in one
• Turn it into a planner
• Track your baby’s growth in one
• Business plan in one
• Party plan in one
• Track inventory in one
• Track your spending in one
• Track your projects in one
• Handcraft one
• Travel with one
• Plan teacher lessons in one
• Go on a spiritual journey with one

And the list goes on and on….

There are all sorts of tools out there for Journals

From the type of book, you want to use (notebooks to hardcover types), to the type pens, embellishments, and other do-dads you can find.  You can also do it online with a program such as MS. Word to Journaling online for the world to see (or you can keep it private).  Many scrapbooking, planner, and card making supplies can go into a journal, generalization stickers as well.  If you find them a little pricey, you can always make them yourself or hire someone who has an Etsy shop. 

Gone are the days of Dear Diary….

Children start with “Dear Diary, I had a bad day” or “Diary, guess what?  I finally got the part in the school play, and I will have a few scene with Mitch, my Mitch, and he is dreamy” (or whatever they describe a hot boy today). As adults, we have more sophisticated ways of starting out an entry.  Use that.  I will not judge. (See There are no Ground Rules).  Make it as plain as you want or dress it up.  Put the entries in a book, binder, or online.  Give it whatever name you choose (my latest title is My Next Journey).  Add paint, glitter, or anything.  This is your book, your journal.  It is as private as you want it to be or as public.  It could be about you, your spirituality, your health, your children’s health, your dreams, your ambitions, Your hopes, your travels, and your business.  This is a record of what is going on in your life and no one has a life like yours.

This is the conclusion of this series, but the beginning of something new.  At the end of the first journaling post, introducing journaling to you, I explained that this will be a new section for Wednesdays.  Most bloggers have wordless Wednesday, but I cannot keep up with that, so I have to do something that speaks to me, and hopefully to you too.  At first, I thought of having you submit something, but I forgot this first rule that journaling needs to be very private if you want it to be.  I am not proud of my latest entries to My Next Journey, they are lessons learned.  Maybe one day, when my father will not be reading (he has a Facebook account, and got on me for posting something that I did not post and warned me about the idiots out there).  For now, I will keep it private. 

In the meantime, enjoy Writing Prompt Wednesdays on My Ambiance Life.  Your first one starts next Wednesday.

Update Why I have not been on YT, No Swaps, and Types of equipment

More on the written journal, tools to use, and other goodies Day 4

Please Note:  Patricia is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I will refer to some products in this post and many of these products contain links to companies that I may or may not receive a commission on.  You are not obligated to make a purchase of these products, and these products are only a suggestion.

Welcome back to day 4 of Journaling.   If this is your first time viewing this post or you are starting to journal, may I suggest you read the first three in the series before reading this post?

-          Day 1 is an introduction to journaling and how you may go about journaling.

-          Day 2 talks about where and when to journal.

-          Day 3 talks about the different types of journaling

Today’s topic is about the tools of the trade for a written journal.  I may touch briefly on digital journaling since so many people use their phones, laptops, and tablets in 2018.

Getting started with the right tools

Since I was 12, I always loved stationery products.  Maybe this is one of the reasons why I started a scrapbook company that later turned that into a stationery design company.  I still do scrapbooking, but times have changed and with the digital age, I am afraid that not too many people like the traditional method of scrapbooking as much as they did in the 1990s to early 2000s.  Maybe this is the reason why the store and company I used to work for from 2005 to 2010 closed the brick and mortar stores in 2014, and the online website shut down in 2017.  So, a switch was needed.  This does not mean that I still do not make books.

What does this have to do with journaling?  Part of scrapbooking a page is to journal, even If it means one little sentence about the event, and who is in the picture.  So, for you scrapbookers, who are reading this right now, you can easily transform your albums into a journal, add pictures as needed, and write a complete story around that picture or several pictures.  Not too many or it will be more like a scrapbook album than a journal.  Who am I to judge and besides that, you are in control of your journal.

Start with a good base….

You need to find yourself a good base to start journaling.  It could be pieces of paper, but where to put that piece of paper when you stop writing.  For a business journal, I use the Linen Notes Spiral Journal Book by Recollections, which is Michael’s brand.  In this journal, I can write down key notes of things I did, purchases I made, and payments made. The pages have a worn look to them, and it feels like I am writing in an old ledger.   The other feature (which many people do not notice) about the journal is the paper is thick, about a 110lb paper, but slightly less than that. (thicker than 80lb).  If I feel like writing with a marker, which I very rarely do, it does not bleed through.

You can use a planner.  I use them for notes of things I did on the date.  Those of you who have been with me for a while know that I use the Erin Condren Life Planner and have been since 2015.  I like this planner for things such as writing down dates to documenting what I did that day.  I use two of them.  One Life Planner is for personal and business (Although I will be getting a separate one for my business next year, increasing to three), the other is to write down when I do projects, blog posts, and videos, who these projects are for, and when is the due date.  I know that what I use may not to your taste, but there are several other companies that you may find better to your liking.

Notebooks/composition notebook

Some people write in a spiral notebook or a composition notebook.  The difference between the one I refer to and a plain, ordinary notebook is the price.  The one that I write in is $9.99 (Clearance price is $2.99) and has two hardcovers with the word “Notes” on it.  One to 5 subject notebooks and composition notebooks can go for as cheaply as $1 at Dollar Tree.  You can also get Journal notebooks at Dollar Tree as well.

That’s it for the paper, let’s move on to your writing instruments.

Pens

For pens, I use the PaperMate InkJoy Gel Pens.  They are a fine point.  I have also used any type of pen with a medium point, in a pinch.  I keep my pens in pencil holders from Dollar Tree. They are just as good as the $5 plus holders you can find at Staples and other places. 

What I like about the InkJoy Gel pens is they glide through any type of paper, so I use them in both the business journal, as well as the Erin Condren Journals.  In addition to the InkJoys that use in my Erin Condren, I do use her Fine Tip Wet Erase Set for the Whiteboards on the inside of covers for quick notes and reminders.

Pencils and color pencils

I do not recommend unless you are drawing something in your entry.  You want to use a pen for something that is more permanent, and you can go back years later to read.  Pencils smear a lot, which is why teachers recommend that children use pencils in their school work.  If you do use one in your journal, make sure you use a mechanical pencil.

As for color pencils, use them only for drawing or typography.

Other products…

I have a saying, which I kind of adopted from Chef Carla Hall of The Chew fame, and that saying is, “let your freak fly throughout the cosmos”.  What does that mean?  You can decorate however with whatever your heart desires.  The only thing that I ask you not to do is go overboard because if your intent is not to make your writing journal into a creative journal, you have a problem when you decide to write something in it.  You will not have any room to write.  So, for my crafters out there, you can use your medium gels and other “artsy” products, just tone it down a little.  I will discuss art journals at another time in my other blog, P. Lynne Designs.

In the meantime, you can use:

-          Stickers

-          Paint

-          Sayings and write what this saying means to you (hint, hint)

-          Little Buttons

-          Stamp on it

-          Die cut shape and talk about it. Oops, write about it

-          Use gel Mediums, but not too much.  Again, this is a writing journal, not a creative, art journal.

And so much more.  Use different color pens that you do no write with.  One final thought on pens, make sure they do not bleed through the next page, you want to be able to read what you wrote.  Test several pens out.

Entering the digital age….

I know that there is a generation out there who shun the old ways of writing.  If you are of that generation or not, this section is for you.

(raises hand), I keep a digital journal and have been for several years.  This is how I actually got started.  The only thing I advise you to do is to get a good program for either your computer (I use Ms. Word).  The disadvantage is you cannot decorate your pages if you decide to get creative.  This is one of the reasons why I started documenting in an actual journal for my business.  I do have parts of my journal in digital form, but not all of it.  If I am drawing something for a new line, I cannot turn to it (or maybe I can), but it is starting to feel natural to me to pick up a pencil and start drawing my ideas.   I will see with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Anyway, I will discuss digital journaling at another time.

(fluffs pillow)—It is time for me to turn in, and I hope that you do explore the many types of tools you can use in your journaling.  Remember my motto: Let your freak fly throughout the cosmos, meaning you can use anything in your journaling.  Just remember that you have to be able to function in that journal and read it years down the road.

For day 5: We are going to put it together and I will give you my final thoughts on the subject of starting and writing in a journal.  This is where the fun begins.  If you have started keeping one, congrats, if not, you get to go shopping after this last post.  If after you read the final post on the subject of journaling, and you find that this is not something you are interested in right this moment, or not at all, that’s OK too. At least you know what it is and how to get started.   I will also give you some hard truths on what I have found out, and that is not every entry you make is going to be sunshine and lollipops. 

I may have a little announcement at the end of this final post as well.

In the meantime, If you have any questions about this post or any of the previous posts, comment below or shoot me an email at plogan721@att.net.  

God Bless

Facebook Week Part 2: Groups

Hello, and welcome to part 2 of Facebook and the ins and out of one of the world’s biggest (and sometimes the baddish) social media in the world.  It is so popular until television shows will have Facebook-type social media for their show’s platform.  For example, the soap, Young and the Restless, calls it FacePlace, because maybe they have not gotten Facebook’s permission to use the name, Facebook. Another subject for another Friday.

Anyway, last week, I introduced to some and reintroduced to others, Facebook, and gave the lowdown of the social media and how to conduct yourself on the site.  Sorry, if I stepped on some toes (maybe even broken a foot or two, LOL), but I had to say this to sort of getting it off my chest because I have seen a lot of ugly stuff lately on this site, and frankly, I am not too happy about it.

Now, today, I will be talking about groups.  I am talking about groups before pages because this is where the most interaction a person without a business is going to get, other than from friends.  Now, I am going to put this out front this disclaimer, and this is: YOU DO NOT NEED A GROUP TO INTERACT ON FACEBOOK.  You are perfectly fine with a business page and that’s it.  I will tell you later in next week’s post.  There are three things that Facebook groups are, and that is:

1. Menu 2. title to the group
(c) 2018 Facebook.com

1)      They are a community of like-minded people who like the same thing.  Say you are a crafter, and you work with a Cricut Electronic Die Cutting Machine.  You have a question about how to print then cut on the machine feature because you have been having some problems with this feature.  Now, you can ask this question on your normal newsfeed, but how many of your friends are going to know what you are talking about.  If you have friends like my Facebook friends, no one hardly crafts, and do not know what an electronic die cutting machine is, let alone know how to use one.  You can always call Cricut customer service, but who has the time to sit on the phone or in Live Chat to ask one possible, simple, little common question.  This is where a Cricut group on Facebook can help.  Some of the members are online right now to answer your questions, you can cut and paste the answer for future reference (I like to use MS Word and make a file of the answer), and you can continue with your project, some craft group member like to show off the project they have made. If you have a hobby, a business, or a lifestyle, there is a group for you  If not, you can always create one.

2)      You can make new friends.  I see what you are thinking, “Great, just what I need, more friends.”  Think back to the first one.  It is a community, and if you are in the right group, meaning that the administrator does not get flippy on you, should you decide to talk about what your two-year-old did 5 minutes before asking your question or replying to someone else’s post, you can kick off your shoes and relax.  There are some groups who are not that catty about other things besides that subject.  Follow the instructions on the group leader or owner, called an admin, and you will do fine.  Just do not post before your comment or post, “ I hope it is OK to post this here” or my personal favorite, “Admin, please delete if this is not appropriate”.

3)      They cause you to think about your hobby, business, or whatever you are into.  You are not alone in this situation.  Someone has had a similar situation like yours, and this is how they solved it.  Back to the community thing.  So, you are not getting views to a new recipe you wrote about two weeks ago.  In a blogging Facebook group (and I am on several), the administrator or another member of the group can give you pointers on how to get those numbers up and popping to where you see revenue from your blog if you want to.  So, they are also a problem solver.

Keep these things in mind if you are thumbing your nose to the idea of not joining a Facebook group.

Can I complain in a group?

The answer, my friend is simple, NO, and here is why.  Although the purpose of an administrator (or admin from now on), is to keep peace in the Middle East or to make sure everyone is happy.  Other things that an admin does are:

·         Maintain the membership

·         Invite people to the group (you do not have to accept the invite)

·         Remove ugly-acting members (keeping the trolls at bay)

·         Approve the membership (I like you to stay and play with us)

·         If they are the owner, issue rules and regs (regulations)

·         Approve other admins

·         Control the group (I threw that one in since I owned a group)

The group I had two years ago (It’s been that long-yikes), was a direct selling group.  On this group, a member could advertise their business, providing that you were a consultant for a direct selling company.  I was, of course, an Independent Longaberger Home consultant at the time, and I did not like some of the direct selling groups I was part of.  Some of the groups basically forced you to buy from each other, and if you were not interested in the company or you did not have any money to buy a product from that consultant, you were kicked out from some of these groups and considered a flaker. They came up with ladder games to get you to buy (such as the $100 group, meaning your order had to total $100 or higher before sales tax and shipping). 

Anyway, I did not like that concept.  I wanted customers who were not forced to buy a Longaberger basket or pottery.  Yes, I wanted sales, but not that bad.  I did not want someone to be stuck with a purchase they did not want to make in the first place.  This is why I created the group.  There were games, but I was only going to issue that game once a month, and it was not the basis for joining the group, either.  Stick to the end of this post to find out the problems that lead me to close this group.

This leads me to explain to you the don’ts of being a group member.  Keep this in mind as you decide if joining a Facebook group is right for you.  I have learned some things, both as a member and as an admin, and I think you will be happy when you read them.  Some of them are:

Sidebar:  1. Menu
2. Title to group
A group will have either
Closed to new members.
Secret to new Members or
Open to new members.

1.       Read all rules and regs BEFORE you join a group.  Do not let “sticker shock” hit you in the face.  Admins and owners of these groups prefer that you do not join, instead of you writing them back with the “I did not know” message, trying to get back in the group.  The little Nastygram that I was going to issue on my Facebook status back in August would have been one of those “I did not know, well guess what I really think of your so-called group” messages.  It would have kept me banned.  The best way I handled it was the “I will wait until I am able to be a willing participant in the group”.  I can always rejoin at a later time.

2.       Please be a willing participant in the group.  Even if you are replying to a post of another member, you are participating.  No question is stupid, and no answer is stupid either.  It is a matter of opinion, and as long as you exercise the right to “agree to disagree”, then there should be no problems. If there are challenges to do in the group, check to see if you have to do them in order to stay connected with the group, if you do, see if you have the time to do them.  Spending a lot of time in groups can be a time waster if you let them.  If you do not have the time, leave the group and rejoin when you have time to spend in the group.

3.       No Nastygrams in the group, and most definitely outside of the group.  I am going, to be honest with you.  No one wants to hear your beef about how the admin banned your post.  So, what? Get over it and move on.  You are lucky you were not banned from the group.  Keep the peace and you get to stay longer.

4.       If the admin says no ads, no means no.  Please, do not slip a little blurb about your once in a lifetime deal for 4 lipsticks for $1 if this is not a sales group.  However, if the admin allows ads, only put them in the group that day, that week, or only under that thread.  In other words, follow the rules.  This includes NO SPAMMING!  Post once and only once.

5.       Be mindful about your posts.  This goes back to #3 and 4.  Do not back mouth a member, call names, talk about a race, nothing.  It goes back to my post from last week.

The future of groups

I am only telling you what I heard.  It is not written in stone.  Facebook is trying out a new feature in groups where admins could make some money off members.  It is a subscription service, and it allows members to get a VIP status in the group (such as files if you are a crafter or exclusive videos).  Again, it is not written in stone, and it is just a test or a thought.  At any rate, I am not too pleased with it.  If anything comes of this new feature, you will hear about it here on this blog.

The problem with groups.

If you stuck with me this far, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.  As an admin, I had my share.  Of course, I had to approve every member, but I also had another admin, who was not good at all.  I did all the work.  First, everyone who wanted to join, and the first thing was you had to be a consultant of a direct selling company.  So, no direct-owned companies.  So, as the owner of P. Lynne Designs, I would not get approved. I really did not want a travel agent to be approved to this group, but for some reason, one snuck on, by the person who I approved as an admin.  If you sold for companies like Longaberger, Tastefully Simply, Stampin! Up, Pampered Chef, those direct companies, yes you would be approved.  Second problem:  I only wanted one from each company.  Having this rule allows a person to be exclusive and have clients, without competing against a team member.  It never worked that way.  Tip Tuesday was a problem because no one had any tips to help each other grow their business.  I did not have enough members to issue Consultant of the month, where that consultant gets all the sales for that month.  I also realized that I was doing exactly what I did not want to happen in this group, forcing people to buy if they did not like the company, the products, or had no money that month.  Finally, I did not have enough time to devote to this group.  I felt like I was forcing myself to be in this group I created.  When that happened, I shut down the group and I let the members know that I was shutting it down and thanked them for being a member of the group.  So, there are some cons to be an admin to a new or established group.

Same with being a member.  If a group wants you to connect to them once or twice a week and you do not have the time, do not join.  An admin would rather you decline the invite than have you be an inactive member of the group if participating is mandatory.  I feel like that was the reason I was released from my membership of the blogging group.  When I am ready to rejoin, I will ask again.

Nuggets of information:

I hope I gave you lots of food for thought when it comes to being a member of a Facebook Group.  Again, this is not mandatory for your membership on Facebook.  Call it an extra bonus.  You need answers to your crafting needs, advice on how to start a blog, love Disney, need a new devotion, or simply need to combat global warming (no I do not belong to a global warming group), join a Facebook group.  They are free for now (I hope forever, but knowing what Mark Z has done in the past, I would not put it past him), you can make new friends who are like-minded, talk about your topic of choice, without your friend from the 8^th grade saying, “Yuk, are you still into that Disney stuff?  That is so, 2^nd grade”.  You can get answers to your questions, that would make a 10-minute wait for customer service look like 10 seconds.  You have to be mindful when posting to groups.  Be on your best behavior (ugh, I am sounding like my mom), and do not sweat the small stuff, if you find yourself outside of the group.  Move on.

Next week, I will talk about pages and maybe hit on games on Facebook.  Until then, God Bless You. 

Types of journals and what they are best for- Day 3 (Journaling)

Welcome to day 3 of learning how to journal.  If this is your first time viewing this, please take this time to go back to day 1, which covers an introduction to journaling and day 2, which covers how to journal, where to journal, and when to journal.

Today covers what to journal and how that journaling impacts on your actual styling and so forth. 

There are so many different styles of journaling out there until I will start by saying that I will not be covering all of them, just the major ones that people tend to start.  There are journals for every mood known to mankind, and the very first thing is to figure out what your mood is and why you want to journal. 

Generalization Journaling:

If this journal is for you and you alone, find out what is it you want your future self to remember about you in the present.  Perhaps you want to grow from your situation.  Is this a teaching moment for you and your child?  What do you want the world to know about you?  These are all good journals to start, and they are a generalized journal.  The goal of this journal is to teach and learn from the past or the present in hopes for a better future for you and those who you want to teach.

The journal I write in almost every day is a generalized journal.  The end goal is for me and my child to learn and to grow from any situation that I have to throw out, including things such how I feel about my present situation, love life, having and adopting children, and financial matters.  I throw in a little spiritual because I am a Christian, and it must have that meaning for me to understand what God wants in my life.  I also throw in when I am angry because life is no bed of roses.  I want me and my future child to know that.   There was a portion of my journals where I mention my child specifically because I wanted to let her know that when she gets here, in my presence, that she was well loved before I even met her. In my last three incarnations of my journal, I am not so child-focused because I have not adopted my child yet.  Once I get the process going, I will start up again.  This is when I will have this type of journal:

Gratitude Journal

What is being grateful?  You are grateful for everything that has ever been given to you, allowed to see, and allowed to experience.  This is a daily journaling practice to show you just how lucky you truly are, no matter what you are going through.  You can combine it with Bible Journaling (description below) to get a real effect on your life.  The purpose if to find yourself in the gratefulness, and never complain.

Birth or adoption journal:

In this type of journal, it is focused on you and your child, and how you are doing before the child arrived.  It may start out with “the day I found out that I will be a mom/dad”. (yes, men, you can have this type of journal too.) It has an end date, and that end date can be anywhere from, “The day they placed you in my arms for the first time” to “The day you left for College”, “The day I gave you away in marriage”, “the day you had your first child”, or even, “the day I had to bury you” (sorry to morbid on the last title, but some parents do go through that).  The point is that it has a start date and an end date. 

This can apply to the day you decide to adopt. You can call it a life book.  This is a book that foster agencies give to kids when they move from house to house.  My foster sister had one.  It is a type of memory book, but you can easily adapt it to your birth child as well.

On my wedding Day:

You can journal about your wedding plans.  You can start with the proposal up to your wedding day.  Make this more of a creative-type of a journal.  You can place in things like a photo of your engagement ring, your china pattern, your colors for your wedding, a sample of your invitation, who you want to invite, and even receipts from the cater and other vendors.  Write about how you felt the day of your wedding and who was there to rally with your intended.  Go further to talk about your honeymoon, where was it, and how it felt to be newly wedded. Also, talk about your first place as a couple.  I am sure you have stories to tell.

Project journals:

Is there a specific project you want to work on?  Journal it.  Startup business, building a home, remodeling, even a trip all qualify as writing down how you felt when this event happened.  Write down your research if you are doing some.  Talk about the cost of the project, when you will start it, and when you plan on finishing it.  Talk about the setbacks, the problems, the headaches, and what happened when you had to start over and rethink it out. Even talk about if you had to abandon the project for some reason.

I have been planning a trip to Walt Disney World with the family for years.  I started journaling this trip because to me since we are not from Florida, but Ohio, it is no easy trip.  It takes money and time to go to Walt Disney World.  I started without journaling in 2010, and since I had so many setbacks, I decided to journal those setbacks and the “Yeah, I made the reservations”, and the “Oh, I have to cancel because of this problem and that person was pregnant, and this person did not want their child to experience Disney at this time”.  Yes, it was all there.  The “nail in the coffin” time was this year, when we had a family reunion in Orlando, and thought, “perfect timing”, but it was not for a couple of reasons, and I had to give up for a moment.  Now, I am back, journaling about this, but not in my everyday journal.  I have a new journal that I am starting and again will talk about the ups and downs of planning a trip for maybe 10-20 people (I will be asking my cousin if he and his family want to join us for 2019).

But the point I am making has this type of journal ready for anything, the good and the bad.

Food, weight, and other personal goals:

This next type of journaling determines how your health is affected.  Some doctors may ask you to keep a food journal of what you ate and how much.  This is good for weight loss, how certain foods react to your body in the case of diabetics, high blood pressure, or allergies.  You may do it yourself to figure out how much caloric intake your body needs to maintain a certain weight goal. 

While I am in the neighborhood, if you are hit with a specific diagnosis (i.e. MS, Lupus, Cancer), you may want to start a “This is how I feel today” journal.  Because you cannot predict how your day is going, you can hash it out in your journal.

A few years ago, I was going through some symptoms unknown to me and my body.  After self-diagnosing myself with an online medical guide, which I highly recommend that you do not attempt, even if you have a medical degree, I thought I had Lupus.  This was around 2003.  I talked to my doctor about it, and she determined that I might be stressed, but I before I talked to her, I documented it in my journal and my feelings on what would happen if I had the disease.  Years later, around 2013, I was sent to a kidney doctor by mine because the lab results showed that I had protein in my urine.  Another time to journal it. Then when he said one of the possibilities was Lupus, I freaked out, and again, I journaled it.  The test turned out to be negative, but each time I put it in my general journal.  No need for a special journal for it.    

Bible Journaling

The latest trend in journaling is bible journaling, or what I would like to call, “what your faith speaks to you about”.  This is a “find yourself” type journal.  This is inspirational passages, scriptures, and things you see God in.  I am covering the Christian version of this type of journaling, but I see any religious or spiritual person using this technique to get into the Koran, Torah, or any book you are studying at this time.  My suggestion is not to journal when you find yourself in a bad situation then write about it.  Do it when you are filled with joy and happiness.  Yesterday, in a group discussion after church, I told my group that I do journal when I am down, and I am not sure what to do. 

To me, journaling and when adding scripture to that journal, it helps you see things clearer, and it strengthens your faith as well.  You know what to do next because you found it through scripture.  Also, do not be afraid to mark up your bible.  Add notes to it so if you find yourself in the situation again, you know where to go, and how you got out of it.  It is the devotional you need in good times and bad.

Business Journaling

This is a specific type of journaling for your business.  It takes special care to do this type of journaling because you are documenting everything you do for your business.  If you are not planning to start a business, I would suggest that you have one for your job, or document anything that you have learned so you can get another job. 

What goes in this journal is your research for your type of industry, the start-up costs, the skills you need, the name of your business, a copy of your vendor’s license from the state and any other government documentation, such as your tax number to name a few.   You may want to put in your journal whenever you hire someone or do business with someone.   This also where you can put your ideas about a new product, service, or concept. 

My business journal is for the event that I start to hire employees and so I do not forget how I made a product. I am in the stationery design business, and my journal is one big folder on my computer on a cloud.  One day, when I have ½ of it finished, I will switch to a three-ringed binder.  For now, I am confident that my system will not go down.

Conclusion:

I know this section is long, and I have not even touched the surface of the plethora of journals a person can start.  Some are more like a list of things (bullet journaling which I have not touched on), while others are documenting lives, events, and projects, such as the examples I gave above. The constant theme I keep stressing is there is no wrong or right way of journaling.  This post if to give you ideas on what can you touch on without the journaling police coming after you.  Well, guess what, there is no journaling police to give you a written citation on the type of journal you can have.  I even heard of angry journals, where a person can journal about anything they are angry about.  I personally do not recommend it, but again, it is your journal, and if that is what you want to write about it, go ahead, but everyone needs a little happiness in their life.

If you have any questions at this point in the series, let me know by emailing me at plogan721@att.net, you can also make suggestions on what you want me to cover further. 

Next on our road to journaling:

I will cover the written journal in depth.  This is where you have to deal with your handwriting and love it or hate it, it is your handwriting.    I will also cover the types of notebooks to use, different sizes depending on what you are journaling, and even the type of pen you use makes a difference.  Until then, God bless you.