Hey there!

I’ve been trying all week to send you a post. I got a HUGE emotional and creative boost from @PamSlim‘s workshop, so I have lots and lots of ideas…but none that will fit within 700 words. Yet.

That big boost was followed by a consuming need to read, so I’ve also got a thrillion unexpressed sidenotes on stuff I found in posts, tweets, etc. …but most of it’s too small for a post and too big for a tweet. Humph!

So in the spirit of @Havi‘s nifty Item! posts, I’ve gathered up some sidenotes to throw in the pot. We’ll stir ‘em up at the end and see how it comes out. Here we go…

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Looking Forward to Reading…

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Giving Up On Your Dream
(via @TimBrownson via @BeMeaningful)
I feel an urgency to deadhead—as in: flowers, not as in: Garcia!—my work and life and focus on growing a few important things rather than work 40 acres without a mule. I wonder what my answers will be…

102 Proven Social Media Headline Formulas
(via @JonathanFields)
I hate writing headlines. Hate it. It’s probably another manifestation of my packrattedness…I don’t even wanna cull words. So this could be great…102 headlines is 2 a week for almost a year. How’s that for a writing prompt?

What it Takes to Go Big
Not sure how I came across this one, but I love the site’s layout and it looks like fun. I tend to be cautious and hesitant with my plans, so maybe this will inspire some bigger thinking and swifter action for my tiny business.

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Planning to Buy…

The Strategy of Not Being Strategic
(from @havi and @pistachio)
I just like Havi’s take on things. She has a way of taking Triscuit topics and transforming them into Extreme Nachos. But vegetarian. With lots of zany salsa. I have no idea who Pistachio is, so I’ll get to hear a new voice, too.

The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks, 2nd Edition
(coming later this month from @sitepointdotcom)
Thrilled to see an update for this CSS treasure. Way happy I can buy it in both PDF and paperback. I poked around the SitePoint bookstore and discovered three things: 1) They will email a sample of any book, 2) The book samples are exactly what and how book samples should be, 3) The sales pages are, too. Perfect execution, IMO. Expect a post (or two) that lays it all out.

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My Take-aways From…

Washington D.C. Escape from Cubicle Nation Workshop
I need to get out more. Creative energy is contagious. I love hearing people’s business ideas. I love my ideas for coaxing stuff into The Real. And I really love it when our ideas add up to something bigger and better than the sum of their shiny parts. And I need a conference budget. And a coach.

Jen & Charlie’s Work Party
My desk is sacred space. I can’t divide my Self between my day job and my dream job—I can only share. And not for too much longer. If something’s within reach or within view of my chair, it needs to have an inspiring or neutral impact…painful, distracting, irritating things gotta go. Don’t guiltify or shittify my work and plans with Shoulds. Say “No”. A lot.

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Coming Up Next…

Headway Themes
After reading every bit of info on this new release, I bought it. I’m looking forward to the easy-peasy drag-and-drop features and the bare-bones-from-the-ground-up design potential. We’ll see what I end up with. Sidenote to the sidenote: The wagon circling and urgent scrambling by their Thesis “competitors” was fun to watch. The nastinesses that surfaced in blog comments was not. Neither was the hashtag hijack by Headway fans.

Mondo Beyondo: An Online Class About Dreaming Big
This sold out a few hours after I signed up, so I’m glad I didn’t hesitate. It’ll have recordings and colorful art, Yay! The only supplies are my “best journal and favorite pen”. And the Internet. It will be mighty fine to hear Chris Guillebeau’s interview. Though—as Marvin Gaye and Tammi crooned—ain’t nothing like the real thing (Baby).

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Stir it up,

p.s. Was this helpful or interesting or useful or fun to read? Lemme know down below…