The Check Is In The Mail

Indulge me in a bit of celebration!

I said before that I only had one goal for 2008: learning to love and accept myself more. Technically speaking, that was true. But I do have a little paper with other mini-goals-that-I-probably-won't-be-able-to-reach on it. Only one of these stuck out strongly in my mind as both very desirable and completely unreachable:

* "Get published and paid for a piece of writing"

Who would have thought I'd reach that goal a few hours shy of February 1st?

Granted, it's not the New York Times. Or even the Pleasant Grove Times. But I reached my goal and I'm proud of myself.

A friend of mine from a local message board is trying to start a new business, the Utah Baby Guide, to compliment her existing business, the Utah Baby Fair. It's a free magazine that you can download on your computer any time. And I'm excited to have written the feature article for the first ever issue. Incidentally, I also did the layout/design of the article. (I used to be a desktop publisher "back in the day.")

Top three reasons to go check it out:

1. You've got to be wondering what kind of writing style belongs to someone who thinks in Jane Austen speak but talks like a Valley Girl (and, like, stuff like that.) The answer is: I write in whatever style is appropriate. But don't take my word for it. Go read for yourself. It's the article titled, "How to decorate your nursery on a budget." (This is ironic since my twins bedroom is literally one toddler bed, one toddler mattress sitting on the floor and... oh wait, that's all. They have systematically torn apart everything else to the point that we removed all non-necessities.)

2. The article centers around my dear, dear cousin-in-law, Melody Aanderud. She is a dream come true! She is a fabulously talented interior designer, who used to design clothing stores before becoming a stay-at-home Mom. She is also one of the kindest, most sincere people I have ever met. Her love for other people oozes out in a tangible way. And she did her entire "Design on a Dime" nursery remodel for under $200 since her husband is in his third year of medical school. They've had no income for three years--and had two children during that time. She continues to amaze me each year. Even if you don't look at my article, please go visit her blog which features the most beautiful artwork: http://melodyaa.blogspot.com/ You can own your own Melody Aanderud print or custom name painting (like I featured in the article) for a very reasonable price.

3. The last reason is purely capitalistic/selfish. If this magazine takes off and becomes popular, I'll be able to write more articles! I love writing and this would be a great way for me to hone my skills and build up a resume in case I want to query some bigger magazines at some point. (Little known fact about Juliana: one of my favorite classes at BYU was titled, "Magazine Writing" and was all about how to get published in magazines.)

If #3 is unconvincing, which I wager it is, go check out my article anyway. I'm so proud of my accomplishment (Over 1,900 words and seven pages, folks, all written in under 12 hours while caring for needy kids! Then seven pages of desktop publishing the next day... it was a workout) that I just can't help sharing it with my friends.