The heavy pressure of the past several days has ebbed, and you're able to go about your business with a lighter heart...And so began my horoscope for today. It continues:

Don't be shy today about expressing your self. You'll feel better if you do. Speaking of feeling better, it would be a good idea to pay more attention to your body and start some healthier habits, too.

It's the last day of IRON NODER XVI: MORE STUBBORN-HARD THAN HAMMER'D IRON and I sit here trying to process the last month. It has been a most educational month for me, kind of like taking grad courses as one attends multiple writer's workshops in different genres while working at three different professional conferences on unrelated occupations, or so I imagine. It didn't go as I thought it would back on November 1. I didn't take advantage of the logs I mentioned then. I tried but the words just weren't there. Part of that is the day logs are the place I notice the disparity between my scribblings and the writing of all the rest of y'all. I find them to be some of the most engaging reading here. But, I enjoyed my self and am the better for it. I got to thirty wus, read and voted on almost all of the entries and will get to the rest soon enough. I witnessed more of how this place works as it occurred in a compressed time frame. Was reminded of some of my challenges, and can do better moving forward. Still looking for my voice here and have found a few areas I'm comfortable in and have assigned my self projects so as to focus my resources. Also, pacing and preparedness are good. Obsessing and ignoring real life are bad.

Thank you one and all for being part of this. Gratitude goes out to those who came before; to those present now, and to those who haven't found their way here yet. Thank you for the opportunities, thank you for the experiences and the xps, thank you for the feedback and guidance, thank you for being you. Erudite, exquisite, and etiquette are the words that most come to mind when I think of this community. I am most appreciative of all I have received here. Oh, and thanks for the C!s!

And now back to organizing chaos (or at least spreading a little), sprinkling magic, and snacks. And soft links, always another soft link.