If I’m angry to the point of tears, then I cry. If I’m angry to the point of action, then I clean house or write. Since I prefer writing to cleaning house, I usually do that. I have a habit of being passionate about some causes; specifically, the mistreatment of our wild horses and other animals. I’m also, for the most part a conservative Republican, with some Democrat tendencies…if you can figure that one out, you’re smarter than I. And I try not to use my anger at world events against those who don’t believe as I do. Anger used in a useless manner, lashing out physically or verbally, does nothing but feed itself.  Anger, used in a constructive manner, can sometimes move mountains. I fight for the wild horses, the dogs and cats who are cruelly abused, and other little helpless animals who cannot fight for themselves. I’ve also been known to stand up for the underdog in any battle. But I fight with words, because, as the old saying goes, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

I finished the Squidoo 31 lens quest yesterday, Thursday, September 15th, 2011. My niche was lighthouses, and I tried to write about them from many different story lines, instead of just going through each lighthouse, its description and points of interest. My lens,  Lighthouse Loving Lensography has the complete list of these niche lenses. If you’re interested in any of them, all you have to do is click on the title of that lens,  in order to read that story.

I’m feeling good about the challenge…I just received 1,000 points for finishing the quest, which I did about a month and a half before the deadline, which is October 31, 2011. Now I can move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas lenses without having the pressure of completing the quest in the back of my mind.

I’m still learning and navigating Squidoo…there’s so much many of the other lensmasters do with graphics, borders, bold face and colored font, I sometimes despair at ever learning all of it. But the main thing is, Squidoo gives me a place to use some creative skills, which had been sadly lacking in a couple of other sites where I’ve written. I’m not the most technologically savvy person, but I love writing and feel the “fit” at Squidoo is comfortable, while at the same time I can earn and learn.

A few weeks ago, I began a lens called A Tattoo for Granny, all about my desire to have a ladybug tattoo with the birth date and the passing date of my beloved sister. The reason for this is that my sister and I were the last two left of our original family, out of seven children. My sister was known in her town in Indiana as the “Ladybug Lady” because she collected everything ladybug. Many of the items were things I had sent to her. So, this was my way of remembering her and having part of her with me. If you’d like to read the story, go to Squidoo.com and search for A Tattoo For Granny, or go to this site:  http://www.squidoo.com/a-tattoo-for-granny.

Nothing like miscounting, when you need to reach a certain number, but at least the miscount was in my favor. I actually have 23 Squidoo challenge lenses done, not 21 as previously stated. So, with 8 to go, it looks like I’ll make it with a squeak of room to spare by deadline on October 31st. My Squidoo friends have been very helpful to me in this quest, two have gone so far as to send me photos I can use for my lighthouse lenses. There are online “friends” and then there are online “good friends,” and I am blessed with an abundance of the latter. Will keep this blog posted about my challenge results from time to time.

I have just finished 21 of the 31 lenses challenge on Squidoo. I’m so happy I’m moving right along with this challenge. But I’ve noticed that as I finish each lens, the next one seems  harder to do. Maybe I’m getting burnt out on the niche, or maybe I’m just running out of new information (although I don’t believe it is that!) I finished two in one day a couple of days back, and have been working on one since then that I can’t quite get a handle on, the way I want to. Today Squidoo is a little wonky, and I can’t seem to get there from anywhere, so I’ve just done research for my subject, and goofed off on FB. Not feeling really ambitious today, so it’s just as well that Squidoo is being naughty, as that gives me a good excuse. Oh well, perseverance pays off in the long run, and of that I have an abundance. I do not plan to work over the Labor Day holiday, so I must get cracking on the rest of these to finish by October 31st. I now have 80 featured lenses…when I get to 100 I can move up to Mammoth Squid rank, which should follow not too far behind the finish of the challenge,  so I’m looking forward to that too. More on this later.

I just finished my 9th lens of the Squidoo 31 lens challenge…double digits will feel good…onward and upward to number 10 plus!! When I’m finished, I’ll list every one of them here…just ’cause it will feel so good to look at them!

I’ve completed 6 of the Squidoo 31 challenge plus I’ve completed another challenge for what I really, really want for Christmas. Who knew I could be this busy and love it so much? Squidoo, what was I thinking when I didn’t latch onto you the very first moment my friend Virginia gifted me with a lens? Obviously, I wasn’t! Thanks and more thanks Virginia, for your encouragement and support. I LOVE SQUIDOO!

Moving right along, I just finished my fifth lens in the 31 lens challenge issued by Squidoo. All 31 must be completed by October 31st. If I can keep up this pace, I should be finished well before then…knock on wood!! Think I’ll work on the one for Christmas and get away from the other challenge for a break.

Today I have finished and published four of the 31 lenses in the Squidoo challenge. Now there are 27 to go…and I hope they are good enough to put me closer to Mammoth Squid (100 lenses). At the same time, Squidoo must have felt  31 lenses by October 31 wasn’t enough of a challenge, so they’ve now given me another challenge…to write about what I would most want for Christmas before August 17. Whew! There’s one thing about all this, it’s certainly keeping this old gal busy and I guess I must be a glutton for punishment, as I enjoy every bit of it!

Squidoo has challenged me to come up with 30 new niche lenses, plus lensography before October 31st, and I have taken the challenge. Right now, I think it is just what I need. A good challenge to make me reach outside my comfort zone and stretch a little. Once  I’ve actually accomplished it, it is such a good feeling!

Many times in my life, I’ve had to get my thinking “out of the box” and take on something I never dreamed I’d do…the Women’s Army Corps was one of those things, and the challenges I met and conquered during my term of service gave me a new confidence in myself.

As the years have gone on and I have met the challenge of raising four children, of working and making a living for them, and of learning to know myself better, I’ve conquered several challenges along the way.

Professional writing was not an extreme challenge, because I loved it from the moment I began writing for the newspaper I worked for in the 1970′s. But I wanted more knowledge about constructing and writing down my ideas…so I took English 101 and 102 at the College of Southern Nevada (known at that time as Clark County Community College.) That was a challenge I thoroughly enjoyed, and I learned so much from my Professor about catching the reader’s interest.  I also felt satisfaction in knowing my work merited high grades, and that I was able to help others in study groups after class.

So here I go…off to the Squidoo challenge! This one is a doozy, and I will be quite occupied, probably until the very last day, in getting all these lenses done. Oh well, whistle while you work, ……..!!