Weekend Wrap Up...on Monday...

I started to post about four times yesterday but kept getting distracted. 

Got to see my kid this weekend, which was awesome. It's been well over a month since she's been home. She cooked dinner Saturday night and it was so, so good. She's been perfecting her fried chicken recipe and I'll tell you what, she's got it down. She and The Boy hung out with friends and chilled, and we also chilled while getting stuff done. 

Talked to K3 for a long time, too, which was also awesome. And That Man's sister stopped by to catch up. Always a pleasure. 

Still dealing with issues on the new vehicle, but hopefully they will be sorted this week. It's been frustrating on a lot of different levels, but the dealership is doing their best to help us out. 

Taxes - ugh. Do I need to say anything more? I think I've decided to do them by hand this year. I'm having issues paying a lot of money for the same result. (And yes, I do know what I'm doing)

Upcoming plans - This weekend is a sibling gathering at our sister's. We've been trying to plan it for months. Last time, snow stopped us, so I'm hopeful it'll actually happen. It's been a long time since we've all been together. 

That Man and I have our annual alone trip coming up soon and I am so excited. Lists are being made and components gathered. The house sitter has been secured and the work tasks are in the process of being distributed. 

The new book is coming along. I sent the first section out for critique and am almost done editing the second section. Once I get the critiques back, I'll make the changes to one, make sure things flow into two that I might have missed and get that out. Then start section three. It's in my head, so hopefully I won't have too many issues getting it down. 

And that's it...

Behave! 

Post Retreat Update

Yeah, it's Wednesday. I said I was going straight back from retreat to regular life. Yep. 

I said I got halfway through my new story. I'm excited. To make sure I stay consistent with the story threads and overall pacing, I'm pulling back to edit the first two sections and send them off for critique. I'm halfway through that now and, so far, it's holding together. 

On the last morning of retreat, I discovered my plan for the rest of the sector books! I'm going to do them in shorts like the current work in progress. They'll be in one book, like an anthology, and each sector will have it's own story. I have the premise for 3 out of the 4 and I know the last one will fill in as I go. 

So that's exciting. 

We did plan our summer retreat. Awesome. 

Anyway. I'm back in real life. Exhausted. A little overwhelmed with everything going on, but there's good stuff in there too. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three - PM

Winding down now.

I am officially halfway with this new story which is amazing and wonderful. It's going well and I am happy with it. It's coming together like I want it to. 

But I am fried. My head is killing me and my back hurts from the most uncomfortable couch in the world. (That I've been planted on pretty much all day, despite a failed attempt at a nap)

This has been an amazing and awesome retreat. Probably the best yet, and we are hoping to plan another one this summer. We'll hope and see if that works out. 

And that's all I've got.

There won't be a wrap up post tomorrow. I go from here right back into the real world.

So there you go! I'm going to bed! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Three - AM

It snowed!

Looks like maybe four inches so far, but it's still coming down. And it's blowy, so it'll be hard to tell how much we actually got soon. 

Everyone is in their spots and the writing is commencing. I've had my breakfast and shower and am on my third cup of coffee, so I'm ready to roll. 

Diving into part two of four now. 

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - PM

 It's rocking! 

I'm making fantastic progress on my new project. It's four sections each with a unique subplot, and I am done with section one. Whoot.

It's going well and I'm happy with my progress. 

Now it's going to snow overnight, which is awesome. It's late and it hasn't started here yet. 

But even with my awesome nap today, I am done in. 

So that's it, folks! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two - AM

Good Morning! 

It's the first full day of retreat! Wooo! And of course, on a day where I can sleep in a bit, I was up before my regular time. Oy! But that's okay. I can nap later. And believe it or not, I slept pretty good, and I usually don't on my first night away from home. 

The sunrise was gorgeous and the coffee is flowing. Bills are paid. Organization is underway for the homefront. I'll work on that in little bits over the next day or so. 

The new story is going pretty darned good. I have words and more than just a few. I have a plan and have done some really great brainstorming this morning. So in a few I'll be ready to rock and roll. 

After more coffee and a bagel. 

Later!

Behave!

Retreat: Day One

Here I am tucked away in the middle of Amish country for retreat! It has been far too long! 

It's been a hell of a week so far, so this is even more needed than previously! 

First off, the greenhouse event was fantastic! I had repeat readers, which is always amazing! 

So what else?

On Tuesday, on the way to the day job, we hit a patch of slush and black ice and wrecked my Jeep. It's pretty bad, but not unfixable. So it'll be our project going forward. There is no way I'm letting my Jeep go. We were both unhurt, except for the seatbelt bruises I'm sporting. The people at our work are amazing though. The guy I'm administrative assistant for got us a tow truck, and That Man's boss picked us up from the side of the road. By the time we got into work, every single person knew what happened and were so caring and concerned. 

At the same time, we'd taken the new vehicle back to the shop so they could address some of the issues. Which were addressed to our satisfaction, so that's good. Now we're just waiting to see if they'll help us with the unexpected bill for the wheel bearing. The nice thing is that the mechanic brought it to us, so we didn't have to get a ride to pick it up after work. 

Also, my cousin passed away this week. And one of my best friend's mom also passed away. 

So that's enough of that for now. 

I am here. I am in my comfy pants and gingerbread man fluffy socks that Little B got me. I have a nice cup of coffee and there's lots of talking, which is the norm for the first day. 

Getting ready to go to town on the new story. So we'll see how it goes! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Hey! It's Friday! 

And it's February! Yeah, I know it's been for over a week, but...

Here's the list:

1. Tomorrow is the annual greenhouse book signing. It's always a fun day regardless of how many books get signed. 

2. Sleeping in tomorrow. 

3. Having a lovely time away with That Man for his birthday. The mountains were beautiful and the relaxation was too. 

4. Getting stuff done - the critique is finished, the planning for the next book is going. The short however is not finished. 

5. Retreat coming up in less than a week! I'm excited! It's been a year since I've been on a writing retreat!

6. The work week flying by. 

7. The weather being gorgeous today!

And that's about it!

Behave!