It seems that either something has changed at WordPress, or the information I received was incomplete.  As I started to set up my website, I got to the page where they want you to select a plan, and the only thing the free plan offered was a blog!

Someone recommended going to Fatcow which, as it turns out, is running a promotion of $40 for the first year.  BUT, then you have to install the actual web designing software.  They do integrate with WordPress, but there still seems to be a cost for that as well, with a choice of two options

Their starter version which excludes security and “super speed”, and only offers minimal support goes for $3.75 a month.  If you want the whole bag of goodies, you have to pay $6.95 a month.

However, if you use Fatcow’s web developer, it appears to be included in the annual fee.  As I have not spoken with anyone who recommends their web builder, but have spoken to several who speak highly of the WordPress one, I’m back to square one.  I don’t want to spend a ton of money on this right now, but it’s starting to add up very quickly!

Now, it appears that everything else is included, but being the skeptic I am, I find it hard to believe that their support team will help me build the website at no extra charge!  Those guys just don’t come cheap!  What’s in it for Fatcow aside from a yearly fee?

A rose by any other name still has me confused!

So here I sit with 8 domain names for #SheriConaway and #SheriLevenstein, and no place to call home.

OK, admittedly, I’m focusing more on finishing my book, getting through the copywriting course and setting myself up on a bunch of social networks I didn’t even know existed, but at some point, I’m going to need to start the process of setting up my website (and hopefully, sooner rather than later) and I need to know where to go!  (OK, I’m sure there are several people out there who would be quite happy to tell me where to go, but I doubt it would give me any help with my website and its eventual home.)

Does the rest of the world find it this difficult, or am I making mountains out of mole hills?  I actually came up with a theme for my website which will, ultimately, require a lot of research on my part in order to write the articles and blog.  Of course, the next question I ask is: Then why can’t I come up with a title for my book???

Yes, my life is filled with entirely new challenges these days and it all started in October during my A.R.T. class when I was put on the spot and asked what I really wanted to do with my life.  Despite the financial implications which I know are only temporary, I don’t have any regrets about the decision I made.  I do need to take myself by the scruff of the neck and get more diligent about pursuing the dream I promised myself, and the number of months which have already passed with less progress than I’d hoped is rather daunting.

Even today, the intended scrubbing of floors was superseded by a search for the extra house keys.  (I did eventually find them in the first place I’d looked, but it took completely emptying the drawer to actually find them hidden beneath an excessive number of both working and non-working writing implements.)  It wasn’t all for naught, though, because I cleaned out some purses and reorganized my storage bin.  I also cleaned and reorganized two drawers in my desk.

My Twitter and Tumblr accounts are now set up, and I ended up researching instead of setting up my WordPress account, but when all is said and done, it was all things that are going to be necessary, if not right this minute, in the very near future.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to declutter I go!

Each step in my decluttering process has taught me that the more organized I can make my immediate environment, the less time I will waste trying to get what I need together when I start taking on those paid writing jobs.  My research material and all of the other tools I might need will be at my fingertips and easily accessible.  In fact, I’ve already begun to realize the benefits of my previous efforts.

As the title indicates, I’m taking two steps forward and one step back right now, but as that still means I’m making progress (or enjoying a lovely cha cha), I guess I’m ultimately heading in the right direction!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful that I can maintain a positive attitude and above all, FAITH, that everything will eventually come together.
2. I am grateful for supportive friends who offer their experiences and expertise to get me over my latest challenge.
3. I am grateful for my resident ghost (who a friend confirmed today was, indeed, my recently deceased cat, Scooby) who is helping keep everyone calm in spite of a plethora of explosions distressingly close to my house.
4. I am grateful for a sense of humor as there are times when I either throw up my hands and wail, or laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
5. I am grateful for things which keep me moving like keeping my environment neat and tidy and dancing, because my brain definitely functions better when my body is getting some exercise.

Love and light.