healthy and beauty, How To, humor, self-help, sleep, Uncategorized, Writing Stuff

Get Your Nails Did! Or don’t…

We have been taking some inventory as to where we are taking Rita Slanina into this new decade and well? I’ve got nothing. IMG_2572

Not a clue. No idea. Not one iota of a thought.

Seriously.

I’ve grazed through all the old blog posts, youtube videos, music albums, thespian ventures and book projects and it seems the way to somewhere… vacant with possibilities. And yet, so many possibilities, I’m thought-adjacent vacant.

Huh?

With 2020 forging on, I can’t help but feel that I’ve made sure to take a look back at yesteryear and really take pride in the new skills I’ve learned and shared with you all, offer up book suggestions that I’ve enjoyed and/or learned from, and really take an overall interest in what the future should look like for me and us here at ritaslanina.com.

I would like to venture into some fun videos this year. Yay! A few shopping hauls, another book list (naturally, said the author), and some writer and actor tutorials for you guys as well. Woohoo! Maybe even a couple vlogs from some upcoming trips planned for this year. You know, that inside peek at what I run around doing. So BOSS. As, I compile the massive list of “OMG – I. MUST. DO. IT. ALL”

IMG_1395The reality is, I just cannot do it all. Nope. At least, not with a family and all that in tow. As women, we gotta choose you know. No you don’t! Yes. You do.

*hears gasps and rejections erupt

I can’t say I’ve done nothing. But, I can say that I’d wish I could do more. MORE. MORE! How much more can you get? As much more as I want, elephant pants!

Maybe sacrificing that wonderful sleep a bit is where it’s  at… hmmm, thoughts abound.

 *insert opposing scenarios here*

HOW IT SHOULD PLAY OUT: She’s bright-eyed and bushy tailed, every moment that’s called upon her. Sleeps 3hrs/night and never has bloat face. She’s SO happy it makes everyone around her nauseas. Accomplishing goals so fast, she has time to spa day, chill on the beach, and brunch with the girls. *Garcon! Pelligrino for the table, si vous plait. Room temp.

HOW THAT ACTUALLY PLAYS OUT: sleep deprived, she wanders into her office, hair falling out of the half-assed bun she put together as she filled an overflowing third cup of  coffee before 6AM. Spills the cup. Then refills while cursing the cracked carafe of the coffee pot she has yet to replace. She sits at her laptop to get in some work on her manuscript. A case of writer’s block conveniently arrives – decides to move onto emails. Oh, wait, check casting notices… Moments later, hubby walks in on her passed out on the keys of said laptop. 

So, what does this all mean?

Sadly, not much. Argh. I know. There’s also this other side of me which wants to just kick pexels-photo-1030973back and chill. *sings, “Do you like pina coladas” as loud as possible. Re-align with my inner chi or some ish. Ohm. But, doing that would require a pullback from all things professional, I suppose. NO! Don’t! It be great to integrate that into ritaslanina.com but that’s just not part of this company’s M.O. Or is it?

Enough. 

I’ve decided pulling back the reigns a bit and re-harnessing my energies will be the best strategy going forward. Let’s see where that yellow brick road takes me!

IMG_5206Our first video of the year is up NOW on my channel. Check it out! It’s a lifestyle DIY video on doing your own acrylic nails. I started doing my own nails as more of a curiosity as to how easy/difficult it would be. And? And, it just wasn’t as difficult as I thought it be. The time it took me to do my nails vs. sitting at a nail salonwas about the same. However, the cost of doing them myself vs. sitting at a nail salon was far worth it. There are kits available everywhere and great deals. The amount I have spent on tools and products to accomplish this feat was approximately the same as one salon visit! And it has paid for itself 4-fold now. I have enough product to last me for quite a bit of fills and full sets.

If I haven’t convinced you to attempt this at home yet, watch the video below! Remember to like, comment and subscribe!! hugs!

Please take a peek at our sponsor for this post, they have great products and if you want a good starter kit, they have one! Oh, and check this  out… there’s a spring sale happening right now too! Ya’ll know I love saving that cheese!

Drill Kits  Acrylic Start Kits Glitter Gel Polish Kit 

Acrylic Powder & Brush Kits

How To, humor, NaNoWriMo, self-help, Writing Stuff

Cheats & Eats 4 NaNoWriMo

Is it cheating if you planned it ahead of time?
Unknown-2

No.

I guess its all in how you look at it, really. Not really.

Nevertheless, She Persisted Dot Matrix Notebook, A5 size

If planning ahead means I’ve saved myself time, energy and gave myself an extended writing period then…

Hell yeah!

Call me a cheater!

*slaps forehead

FiveStar
Smash the Shop Now to buy!

I cannot express enough how planning ahead and scheduling your success can mean for your writing goals! I know…

  • It’s tedious!
  • It’s time consuming!
  • It sounds too hard!
  • There’s no time!
  • Where do I even start?!

I can make these excuses just as much as the next guy. But, you know what? At the end of the day, we all have twenty-four hours and how we use it is ultimately up to us. If you don’t have time, you simply didn’t make it a priority.

jeff-immelt-quote-there-are-24-hours-in-a-day-and-you-can-use-all-of.jpg

I know, I know. This is too harsh. But, I’m hard on you because I care!

This preptober week,  I show you how I get organized at my desk for  NaNoWriMo!

**just in case you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is**

NaNoWriMo is an online writing challenge inviting you to write 50k in 30 days and it happens in the month of November. Holy smokes, that’s just around the corner! I know, so we gotta get prepared and get ready NOW! 

I believe snacks and meal planning are a vital component to keeping your writing goals on track. Why. Uh, because we need nourishment to keep our energy up, silly, and in doing so, we can KEEP plugging away toward that 50k! And we need to find ways to limit our interruptions. I find that I will either forget to eat or pop up and head to the kitchen so much, my distraction level is so high and, ultimately…  no words make it to the page!

Boo! 

I know, right!

So, take a peek inside my NaNoWriMo Survival Kit for some ideas of your own!

NaNoWriMo Survival Kit
PrepTober

Meal Planning Checklist

   

 ~~~~~Food Items~~~~~

RESOURCES & AFFILIATE LINKS:

SNACKS & MEALS:
Quest Bars:

SodaStream USA, inc
click BUY NOW to shop

rel=”noopener”>https://amzn.to/2nJchia
Rx Bars: https://amzn.to/2VKiuHt
Bumblebee Tuna Packs: https://amzn.to/2B9W491
Starkist Tuna Packs: https://amzn.to/2MeFgUu
Water: https://amzn.to/2VJydX3
Crock Pot Recipe Book: https://amzn.to/2Bf7F6A
The Happy Healthy Plant Based Eating Guide:
https://bohobeautiful.life/product/plant-based-guidebook/

 ~~~~~Non Food Items~~~~~

These items, I imagine you can grab anywhere or you already have on hand:

Pens, Markers, Highlighters
Sticky Pads
Notebooks
Google Calendar
NaNoWriMo BUJO
Storyboard for your novel (If you have one)

If you want to see how I plan my dinners for the month, how I stay hydrated, or just want to see me babble on about Preptober… Check out this week’s episode on YouTube!

***visit our sponsors and shop til you drop! 

Also… I will leave you with one last thought. Oh no. Oh yes. I heard this the other day and it has just “stuck.” I hope it resonates with you the way it has with me!

Interruption is the thief of creativity.

Book Entry, How To, humor, self-help, technology, Writing Stuff

Preptober Pumpkin-head

 

Unknown-2.jpeg

Hello writer friends and family!

This week we venture into preparing for our next hay-maze adventure…

PREPTOBER! PREPtober… preptober.

was that supposed to be an “echoing” example?

assorted_frosted_orange_and_harvest_white_artificial_pumpkins_medium.jpgYes. So, please re-read that so that we are on the same page, thank you… With a thespian-backed dialect if possible.

Seriously?

Did you re-read it?

Ugh.

Read it!

With the joy of the stage in your heart!

Fine.

Okay, perfect!

*slaps forehead

It is October and it is time to get ready for NaNoWriMo 2019! *insert catchy music here and cheering ~ The online writer’s Unknown.jpegretreat for authors of any expertise to get working on those books! If you are a wannabe writer; this is wonderful to get you mapping out ideas, learning how to format and really just sit your cute bottoms down and start writing! If you’re an expert; then this is a great challenge for you to try to write your next bestseller in 30days! The average word count goal for this 30 day writing challenge is generally 50k words; however, if you find that your total word count for your book will be more or less, then that is fine too.

Go to nanowrimo.org, sign up and add me as a friend. We can author together! Share our ups and downs throughout our writing journey for this challenge! Dig into their online resources as well! So much to learn and soak up!

 

FiveStar
click image to visit sponsor

But, before you run off to carve pumpkins together in celebration, check out this week’s accompanying video on my youtube channel.  (Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell) This week I show you how I get ready to write my next book. How I organize my month and writing efforts. I feel that setting myself up with a plan helps me step closer to the ultimate goal. Finishing the first draft of the next book!

IMG_2999As I mention in the video, I am preptober-ing for a non-fiction book I am working on. I am so excited about this endeavor and it is a topic I have been feverishly notating for much longer than a year and have realized for all my years on this earth. I’ve wanted to take on the self-help world for some time and taking on this challenge has been so inspiring for me because I know I will be helping so many with this next release!

And it’s been a learning annex too! A what? Formatting is different. How so? Angles. Like geometry? Personal discovery and experiences. Oh, please no. Keep those to yourself. Hush.

All new influences compared to writing fiction. Don’t get me wrong. I have many more stories in me and more fiction to come; but, taking a break from it to write this is going to be super!

Unknown-1.jpeg

What are you working on right now? What makes your heart sing? What stories do have welling up inside of you? Get one of those great stories out in NaNoWriMo this year!

I can’t wait to see you there!