My October 2018 Goals

October is a big busy month for me and I already feel slightly behind. Hopefully #Blogtober will help keep me on track with my goals this month. 31 Days, 31 Blogposts. I decided to come back to blogging last month and this everyday posting schedule should be great motivation for me!
 
On top of my busy month, I'm a marketing analyst by day and deal with the weekly ads in your local newspapers, therefore we are already preparing for the extended holiday workload. Lots of busy work, long hours, and mental burnout. Self care is definitely going to be key this month.

When I feel overwhelmed I sit down and write everything out. I probably spent too much time today organizing my bullet journal but I honestly feel better and made sure I had plenty of space for everything in my very minimal October weekly spread. Space is key for me!

First Week of October Weekly Bullet Journal Spread

I'm actually glad I took a "Before" picture because this pretty clean bullet journal page is no longer clean & pretty.

 Alright, let's get started on the my goals for October.

Thursday Thoughts

Made using Canva

Today I need to hit the ground running...literally. I have a lot of work to do at my day job, we are hoping to find out the results of the blood work on my cat Angel to see why she could have gone blind, I'm off tomorrow for doctor's appointments, and I have to be out of the office today by 5:30pm. Yup, a little crazy Thursday to finish out week.
 
 So here's a quick little Thursday Thoughts post about some things I'm doing and using until my favorite blogging day - Friday! 

 

Blogging Tip: 
Canva

If you've been blogging for a while you might have heard of Canva. Canva has free images, fonts, layouts, and a variety of other usual tools to create pretty, crisp, and appropiate images for blog posts! Using Canva has completely changed my blogging life, eliminating the stress of taking that perfect picture for a blogpost during the day, especially when you are an almost daily blogger. It's very user-friendly too. Did I also mention its free? You can choose to upgrade to a paid account, but I'm very content using the free services. There is enough variety of free things to use if you hold out on the paid one.

Better Late than Never...I'm back!

Have a vision. Be Demanding. 

Once in a blue moon you get a fortune cookie that resonates with you and changes everything. Yup that happened to me as well as a myriad of other things. Some were good and others not so great, but reflecting back, it was one hell of a summer. 

Like in TV Shows...Here are a few things you might have missed.

The unexpected departure of a co-worker caused my 9-5 job to became utterly swamped. Even that is an understatement. This shake-up changed how my job operates and finally it has returned to a new manageable normal.

I finished and submitted my first manuscript to book publishers. I think my writing hurdles series will need to turn into "My Writing Journey Series"...I will definitely be posting more about this in the weeks to come.

 I'm obsessed with my Bullet Journal...Literally.

I traveled to Disney World and the my favorite place ever Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

I saw Weezer in concert (I recommend if you're a fan!) and Evanescence with Lindsey Stirling and wow...what a concert!

I turned 33! Gulp. August was seriously just whiplash.

I'm absolutely excited for Fall and of course everything pumpkin. I'm more excited to get back into the swing of things here. I missed sitting here and writing.

The decision to put my focus into work and editing my first novel for the summer was a hard one, but I can't wait to share about the above and more.

Have a great night!
Until tomorrow... 

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Better Late Than Never! We're Back!!

Created using Canva!

Finally, I'm back! I've been waiting so long to say those two words!! For the longest time I knew something was missing. During the past 8 years I've blogged on and off through several blogging projects and Toots & Dill is the latest and greatest! 

So Who's Toots? Who's Dill?

I'm Toots and my husband is Dill aka Melanie and Craig. Craig got the nickname Dill from middle school and Toots well, he graced me with that nickname about a year into our relationship. I fought the Toots, but now I embrace it and wouldn't think of changing it ever.

What can you find here at Toots & Dill?

This is a lifestyle/personal/daily musings blog.
I hope to create an interactive space that is welcoming and inviting across a broad range of topics.

A little more about Me & Craig

 I'm your typical dreamer who is aspiring to be a writer one day. Writing has always been a hobby of mine and then of course daily life chimes in sidetracking everything. Finally I've wedged in some time for myself and finished my first novel. Which is only Step One of the Process. I'm so excited to start the next steps.

By day I'm a marketing analyst, a wife, an avid book reader, a movie nerd, fan girl, and I'm always on the hunt for ways to save a little extra money. I also teach a cupcake decorating class and I love to share my creations.

My husband Craig is a banker by day and a rock star by night. His band Dig A Revel, find them on Facebook, has gained some traction and has a whole list of shows lined up for the spring and summer. Each week he plays guitar at my favorite place to write, the Defiant Brewery. There's nothing like kicking back a beer, writing your heart out, and listening to my husband's punk serenades.

I am the main writer of the blog, but he is my favorite co-pilot for most of my adventures and hit or misses.


On Sunday I'll be back, pushing full speed ahead!

 I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day!