Posted in authors, books, cowboys, desert, deserts, Fiction, grammar, Jansen Schmidt, love, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, On Solid Ground, reading, romance, short story, travel, words, writers, writing, tagged Arizona, author, authors, book writing, cattle rance, creativity, Flagstaff, ideas, novel writing, novels, settings, writing, writing process on February 7, 2022| 6 Comments »
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about my books or writing in general. Since I am a published author, I guess I should probably talk about my books on occasion, right? Today is that day. I thought I’d share with you some of my ideas and how my creative process works when I’m writing.
Posted in Baer House Inn, Christmas, eating, Family, food, friends, Holidays, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, love, toys, travel, Vicksburg, writing, tagged Christmas, Christmas cheer, creativity, happy holidays, holiday poems, holiday season, holidays, merry Christmas, poems, poetry, Southern Living on December 20, 2021| 6 Comments »
I’d like to take the credit for the poem below, but alas I cannot. In fact, my creative well has been a bit low lately and finding the right words to express what’s in my heart right now has not been easy. So, I spent some time on the internet trying to find the exact sentiment that I can share with you this holiday season.
(more…)Posted in authors, blooms, Family, Fiction, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, names, reading, short story, weird, words, writers, writing, tagged articles, catchy headlines, creativity, editing, editing mistakes, editors, headlines, mistakes, news, news story, newspapers, play on words, random on June 28, 2021| 11 Comments »
Have you ever read a headline and thought: “I really need to read this article?” Or have you read a headline and said to yourself: “Self, it’d be a waste of time to read any farther?” Headlines can make or break a story. Like back cover blurbs on a book, a headline has to grab attention and elicit feelings of wanting to know more.
(more…)Posted in Disney, eating, food, humor, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, money, resolutions, success, trivia, weird, writing, tagged alternative fashion, amazing, artists, clothing, creativity, fashion, focaccia, focaccia bread, Germany, green fashion, Guiness World Records, inventions, inventors, longest train melody, milk, model trains, musical trains, odd things, sustainable clothing, trains on May 10, 2021| 4 Comments »
Do you ever see something and wonder, “who thinks up this stuff?” I know I do. I’m a fairly creative person when it comes to certain things. But other times, I’m just clueless about how to make something happen. I think that’s why I love Disney so much. Everything Disney does just amazes me with the creativity and the engineering and the use of colors and music. But sometimes I see something and think, “why?”
(more…)Posted in blogging, goals, gratitude, health, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, love, motivation, pets, positivity, social media, travel, vacation, writing, tagged blessings, businesses, cats, creativity, faith, focus, forgiveness, God, kittens, museums, nursing cats, open for business, prayers, praying, rest, safe travel, sleep, thankful, weaning kittens on May 25, 2020| 8 Comments »
Like so many other people these days, I’ve had a lot of heavy issues taking up space in my brain. Most are about survival, both physically and economically, and some are about discipline as it relates to staying focused and positive. Trying to be creative right now has certainly been a challenge for me. And avoiding the negative is downright impossible if you spend any time on social media. (more…)
Posted in authors, blogging, Family, Fiction, friends, goals, gratitude, gratitude journal, humor, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, love, motivation, positivity, resolutions, success, travel, writing, tagged abundance, adventure, create, creativity, happiness, inspirational, inspire, kindness, life, motivate, motivation, travel, wellness, Youtube on February 24, 2020| 2 Comments »
Hello friends. This week I’m out in the world focusing on the good, trying to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. I’m exploring and refilling my creativity well. Nothing like a little adventure to lift your spirits and clear your head right?
But, because you all know I’m a giver, I’m not going to leave you hanging here with nothing this week. You’ve come to expect greatness, silliness and just plain weirdness from me so I’m not going to disappoint now.
Since you took the time to click on over here to the Edge of Eternity, I encourage you to talk amongst yourselves, share your own positive energy in the comments below and enjoy this amazing video.
Until next week, remember: You are your greatest investment. Take care of yourselves. Be kind to yourself and others. Be the best version of yourself you can be.
How do you spread kindness? Any words of advice to keep the positivity flowing? I’d love to hear about your daily devotionals or what inspires you.
Word of the Day: Zax
Fun fact about me: Every day I drink at least 2 cups of unsweeted green tea. Not sure how “fun” that is, but it’s definitely a fact.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, February 2020. Images by Pexels. Video courtesy YouTube (Motivational Madness)
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Posted in Autumn, Baer House Inn, blogging, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, vacation, writing, tagged baggage, creativity, downstairs, elevators, heavy baggage, historic homes, historic inns, luggage, old houses, random, staircase, stairs, suitcase, technology, upstairs on October 7, 2019| 6 Comments »
In case you haven’t figured it out already, I own an historic home. It was built in 1870, which means, it has stairs. It also means it has no elevator. Because, guess what? There were no elevators in 1870. The first electric elevator didn’t come into existence until 1887. (That’s your history lesson for the day.) (more…)
Posted in authors, blogging, Fiction, food, goals, humor, Jansen Schmidt, resolutions, success, vacation, words, writers, writing, tagged being flexible, breakfast, change of plans, creativity, day planner, dirty dishes, energizer bunny, flexibility, innkeeper, interruptions, laundry, planning, schedules, social hour on March 21, 2016| 15 Comments »
Things are hopping here at the inn and I’m not just saying that because Easter’s right around the corner. And, I am in no way complaining. Keep them phones a ringin’ and keep them doors opening.
Since we’ve been here, my husband and I have developed somewhat of a routine that seems to be working. At least we’re not tripping over each other as often as we were. We’re able to work as a team to get done what needs to get done.
But the other stuff, the other important stuff, like writing, often falls by the wayside when days go sideways, which happens quite often. I’ve tried really hard of late to make writing a priority and to sit down at my computer every single day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Every minute puts me closer to the end of the project.
However, I don’t do well in the writing arena when I’m interrupted. I’m interrupted quite a lot these days, which makes for some frustrating writing sessions. Most times the interruptions are in the form of inn related stuff, which makes them a priority. When the phone rings, you have to answer it or you risk losing income. That can’t happen. When guests are in the house, they often wander and wandering brings them into my office, which doubles as the gift shop. I want them to browse the gift shop, so . . . I deal with the interruption.
Yes, I know I can take my writing elsewhere, but it’s not always a good thing to leave the house empty. I don’t want guests to wander that much. If they want ice, I need to get them ice, since the kitchen is an “off limits” area here. If they need extra towels, I need to get them extra towels because the laundry area is another “off limits” area. And the list goes on. I’m working on finding a different set-up for my writing, but I love my office and I have it all set up the way I like it and I’m comfortable.
Let’s just say, I’m still making forward progress on my book, but it requires a good deal more patience then I’m used to.
I’ve also had to hone my flexibility skills as an innkeeper. Stuff happens. Things change from hour to hour, schedules are only suggestions at this point. As long as it all comes together at the necessary time, that’s what’s important. It can be challenging though.
For example, yesterday morning I planned on serving breakfast for 2 this morning. I shopped and planned my menu accordingly. By 8:00 last night, I needed to completely throw that plan out the window because I now had 11 for breakfast.
We also planned on moving some furniture around and doing some painting yesterday afternoon, but at 10:00 the phone rang and someone wanted a house tour. So much for painting yesterday. And I had prepared to serve appetizers for one couple during social hour; turns out the folks who originally said they’d be arriving late, arrived right at 5:00 when social hour started. Back to the kitchen I scampered, threw on my apron and whipped up another batch of goodies.
And then I forgot about the napkins. I had about a dozen clean ironed ones left in the drawer. Do I have enough for these extra people or will I now have to do laundry. And, ooops, I didn’t run the dishwasher yesterday because there was still room in it for today’s breakfast dishes, too. Well, that was when I was only serving 2. With these added folks, there is now not enough room in the dishwasher for all of the breakfast dishes. And the list goes on.
It’s fun to be hopping around like the energizer bunny on steroids, but it requires a lot of patience and sometimes creativity. I only wish I could harness that energy and creativity for those quiet moments when I sit down to write and my brain shuts off.
Oh well, another opportunity to be flexible and switch gears. It’s a rewarding challenge.
What do you all do when plans unexpectedly change? Are you prepared to handle last minute switch-ups? Are you good and dealing with interruptions?
Word of the day: Epilimnion
Fun fact about me: I’m a much better cook than I ever thought I was.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2016. Photos courtesy Google Images.
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