Advice on Maintaining Copyright over Blog Content

Though I am not one of the first to embrace the loads of overwhelming unsolicited advice that gets thrown my way, such as: if the twins are waking up at 4 am, try making their bedtime later; or, if you're having trouble getting a job in what you were trained to do, think outside the box. It isn't that I am too proud for advice or that I already know everything. I will be one of the first to admit that I know very little; I am a little like Socrates in that way - I know that I do not know and I will not make many more knowledge claims than that. Let me attempt to offer just a few explanations, since this is not the focus of my post.

Regarding the attempt or the desire for the twins to wake up later than somewhere between 4 and 4:30 am, let me start by saying that the twins are not my first children; neither is either twin my second child. The twins are my third and fourth children. I take my job as a mother pretty seriously, and I attempt to be as observant of them, as they change and grow, as the diligence and dedication that is needed for a person to complete her or his Doctoral studies.

Of course, I have tried making the twins' bedtime later and made this effort more than once  or one time (for several days in a row, up to close to a week). Instead of getting the desired result of the twins waking up later, they still woke up at the same early time, got less sleep as a result, and remained cranky and irritable for the better portion of that day. Not so fun for me.

What about the unsolicited advice of thinking outside the box in looking for a job? Let me preface my comments by saying that I am not offended by the kind intent and concern behind such a statement. Such a statement was offered by many close to me. With a PhD in my respective discipline, the only realistic line of work that fully utilizes my education, is in academia: teaching college students. However, the job market is extremely tight with a super high supply (not to mention people who have insanely long C.V.'s, detailing numerous publications and including many more years of teaching than I have) and a depressingly low demand for jobs. Add to that the fact that I was a stay-at-home mom for half a decade and that I am a mother of young children, and we might as well bludgeon a nail in the coffin of my career in academia. So, yes,  I had better think of a plan B and a plan C. But, as a single mom of four young children, there are some career limitations. I sole financial provider for my children; the father of the children has shown himself to be unreliable and quite possible incapable of helping with the children's basic necessities (but it baffles my mind that he'll dish out the money - credit card debt? - to buy the older two children's affection, whether by buying a live rabbit or purchasing a Wii or taking them to the movie theater). Anyways, I cannot work jobs, like retail; because that money would barely cover childcare but most certainly would not cover a roof over our heads, put food on the table, or clothe our backs.

This post is turning out to be a bit long-winded. My apologies. Let me now get to my point.

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I am working on writing a book, a book that will be of interest to the general public.

Here is where you come in, if you can offer any assistance. I would love to include my writing in my blogs, but is there anyway to copyright my writing or protect my writing from getting stolen? Though I have spent years blogging, I have seen more plagiarism than I would like, whilst teaching; and I am very fearful of intellectual property being stolen. Cyberspace or the internet is a particularly difficult place to protect intellectual property, such as photographs or writing. What think ye?

Becoming a handy person? Maybe not, but I'll take the pat on the back

The other day, anxiety caught me by surprise. I had put off putting out applications for jobs for the 2014-2015 year to focus on my NaNoWriMo writing, and a couple of days ago, at just over 20,000 words, I realized I wasn't going to be able to cross the finish line, no matter how hard I try. I don't think the realization itself, that I wouldn't finish created the anxiety, but the sheer weight of responsibility I feel in trying to provide for my four children, no matter what, brought on the panic. I took a huge risk in focusing on writing exclusively, and perhaps I feel like I failed. The heart of the contents I poured into writing was supposed to be part of a monogram, a book, some day. So, I thought I would benefit from this writing challenge, even if I couldn't complete NaNoWriMo this year. I do not know how the book is going to happen or when, but I have to continue working hard on it and have a little faith. Until then, I need to start putting out applications for teaching positions in philosophy in an abysmally bleak job market, where my situation (I had been a stay-at-home-mom until a year or so ago) does not make me look any more marketable. My stomach is turning and restless just typing these words.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and not feeling so crappy about myself, I am going to hold my head up high and proclaim that within the last 72 hours, I accomplished one of those things I did not ever imagine learning to do: plumbing work. The other day, I repaired a leaking toilet upstairs, and tonight I repaired a leaky faucet downstairs. I am thankful for having a dad that taught me and teaches me things. I now feel more officially like a home-owner. And I am sort of, kind of, becoming a handy person, one task at a time. I may not be hired anywhere to be a plumber or a handy person, but I'm learning the ropes of taking care of my own house!

50,000 words by Nov 25th, when I didn't join until Nov 5th? Send help!

Five days into November, I decided I would try the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), wherein 50,000 words (roughly 200 pages) would be written between November 1st and the end of November. That is roughly over 2,000 words per day.

I have been writing ideas down for a book for awhile, now. So, I tried to convince myself that I wasn't coming up with all new stuff and that somehow this would be doable. Truth be told, I am pretty nervous and STRESSED.

How in the world am I going to get this writing done? I am a single parent of four small children, ranging from 2 years of age to seven years old. Two of them are potty training, so they are on potties every 3-4 hours. The same children also eat 4-6 table food meals a day. I spend 4-5 hours on the road per weekday, getting the older two children to and from school. There's the usual responsibilities: cooking, dish washing, book keeping, washing clothes, buying groceries and other necessities. Oh yes, I probably should eat somewhere in there. I won't belabor you with details of the hectic schedule we keep once the older two are home from school: getting the twins ready for bed (getting them on their potties, giving them table food, putting pajamas on them, nursing them), whilst getting the girls to work on homework, helping with violin practice, and making dinner. Oh, and did I mention that I work? Right now, I am teaching two (college) online classes.

By the time the last two children (the oldest two) go to bed, I oftentimes pass out (and fall asleep), too. Oh wait! I am not supposed to fall asleep when all the children are in bed; I should be writing. Can I write when I have fallen asleep, by process of osmosis?!