UPDATE: The winner of the GC is…Cindy!
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Another month flew by! How does that happen? And while I accomplished a lot in April, I dragged my feet on a lot too! Which will make May a very, very busy month for me!

April

Work-related:

1. I compiled the boxed set of Danger Zone stories, and I published it! (I hope you got your copies! For now, it’s FREE in KU!)
2. I’m 3/4 of the way through my Silver Soldiers short story.
3. I, along with the other Silver Soldiers authors, have been posting “Getting to Know” blogs on the Collections website to get readers ready for the release on May 9th!
4. I began work on Cold Hard Cash.
5. I completed only 3 editing projects for other authors in April.

Health-related:

1. My hand is mostly healed from the recent break. I still have some nerve problems and have to do physical therapy to improve my hand’s function.
2. I had an ultrasound and EKG done of my heart. Not great news there. I have Moderate Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (a thickening/stiffening of the heart muscle), which is likely caused by my high blood pressure.
3. I restarted Weight Watchers in the latter part of this month to help with my heart and blood pressure issues and have severely limited my salt intake. I managed to gain weight back, but after my diagnosis, there’s not any room for procrastination. I’m down 3.9 pounds as of today.
4. As for physical activity, I’m still not doing enough. I’m feeling tired all the time. Which I know has to do with my weight, my heart, and inactivity. All my issues are interrelated. I just need to get my fat ass off this chair and move more often, along with the dietary changes…

Happiness-related: 

1. The family is trying to do fitness-related outings, which include me. We hiked a local trail to the bluff overlooking the river. It wasn’t a long trail, but we all enjoyed it very much. We also did a couple of shopping/flea market outings, which helped with steps.
2. I am still participating in the #the100dayproject online art challenge. As of today, I’m on Day 66. Here are a few of my April pieces…

May

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete my short story for the Silver Soldiers anthology.
2. Publish Silver Soldiers on May 9th!
3. To complete and publish Cold Hard Cash, the first of the We Are Dead Horse series.
4. To complete 4 editing projects in May!

For health related, I plan:

1. To continue counting those points for my Weight Watchers diet and hopefully shed at least another 5 pounds, remembering, as always: Slow is good!
2. To continue to reduce salt, processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas, red wine).
3. To continue working on getting the pool ready for swimming!
4. To begin walking and counting my steps.
5. I’ll re-dedicate myself to doing more housework, too, because my art room is a disaster. And cleaning is exercise, ahem.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To attend the 18-year-old’s high school graduation!
2. To continue producing some small piece of art every day as part of #the100dayproject. I’m volunteering several times a month to sit in the Art Center to keep it open.
3. To blog about art (on my Emerald Casket site) just to keep myself honest!
4. To work toward re-opening my Etsy store! I just about have enough art to do so!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read in May…
Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!