Little Accomplishments of the Week

(Simple but rewarding)

#1) I have finally gotten back to my normal weight this week! It's the start of the weekend, so I may not be able to say this on Monday. But I have lost three and a half pounds as of this morning. How can three pounds make such a difference in how I feel? I don't know, but they do. Friends laugh at me when I say I've gained three pounds and I feel miserable. But I have always felt my best between 129 and 132 pounds. At 127, I feel downright slinky. And although I love that feeling, I am not terribly motivated by it these days. My mom used to tell me: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." Well, I just don't always agree with that statement. I want to be healthy, I want my clothes to fit comfortably, AND I really enjoy good food. So I will always be engaged in a struggle not to gain weight.

However, I have worked harder lately at making healthier choices (most of the time) in the foods I'm eating. This is partly from a desire to lose weight, but also because I can tell I don't have a steel tank stomach like I used to. My body "protests" in various ways when I eat poorly. I know I have to pay more attention to what I'm eating than I had to when I was younger. I'm exercising about the same as I always do. And finally I have gotten back to my normal weight after letting those extra pounds gradually creep on. Hopefully I will not do too much damage over the weekend. (But I AM really looking forward to dinner at Parthenon Grille tonight after church.)

#2) I cleaned and reorganized my closet yesterday! It took hours, and I still need to go through all of my hanging clothes to get rid of stuff I don't wear, but the floor is cleared and vacuumed, the shelves are neatly organized, a large bag of trash has been discarded and a stack of things are ready for Goodwill donation. As previously mentioned, I am not as task-driven as I should be and this is a task I have put off tackling for a long time. (My closet floor was such a mess that I dropped a screw-back to a diamond earring and could not find it for days.)

And last but not least...

#3) I have had quite a few people ask me why I didn't have an option on my book's website for multiple book orders. Numerous readers have wanted to buy additional books for others. The way I had it set up previously, you could only buy one book per order, with a $3 shipping fee added for each. I tried to figure out a way to set up the PayPal button with options, but I couldn't quite figure it out. If I tried to use their drop down menu for shipping costs, it seemed more complicated than I wanted to deal with. So I'd just point readers to Amazon where a purchase of $25 or more includes free shipping or have someone mail me a check without using PayPal. But yesterday I finally figured out an easy way to offer multiple book options through PayPal. I used the drop down menu that is normally for different sizes and colors. Once I figured out how to set it up this way, it seemed fairly simple to do. I wish I had figured this out sooner! But I am a novice at this stuff.

Anyway, although Amazon has put the price of my book back to $17.99 (list price), I am offering signed copies on my website at $14.99 for one book, $24.99 for two, and $35.99 for three. I will cover the additional shipping costs for multiple book orders. Several of you have insisted on paying full price and full shipping on multiple orders because you have wanted to support me and the book. Thank you. I think you know how much your support has meant to me. From here on, I will discount multiple book orders as my way of saying thanks for sharing the book with others.

My only real financial goal for this book was to cover my investment. Because of a generous donation from friends in addition to the cover designer so graciously donating her time and work, I was able to do that with the first printing. There is a substantial financial investment in self-publishing. I took the risk that I would lose money doing this - and it was a risk I was more than willing to take because I believed God could use my testimony to help others. If book sales ever exceed my expectations, I plan to donate a significant portion to charity.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thank God you took the risk of writing this book
Shari said…
Thank you. The feedback I have received has meant more to me than if I had made a million dollars.