Feel Good Friday

I'm so glad the rain finally stopped. I love rainy days, but that was a little much! 

Okay, so here's the Feel Good list: 

1. Today is Friday. 

2. Sleeping in a little tomorrow. Which is good since I've been up and moving since 4am. 

3. Cooler temps.

4. Even though I've made little progress on my story this week, I feel good about the decisions I've made. 

5. Spending last Sunday with the grandboys. We carved pumpkins, played, and watched weird tv. It was a good day. 

6. Weekend plans. They aren't crazy, but they're good. 

That's about it. I'm sure there's more, but my brain is literally broken. 

Don't be surprised if I don't show up for a few weeks. I think I need to take another social media break. I'm weary, so I'll be on hiatus for the next month or so. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

Okay, enough with the rain already! I think I'm growing moss! 

In reality, I don't mind it so much. We did need it, and my plants are loving it. 

Anyway. Here's the list:

1. Living through the work week. It was a long one. 

2. Sleeping in a tiny bit this morning. It definitely wasn't long enough, but I did take a nap this afternoon. 

3. A phone call I've been wishing for. 

4. Realizing the old lady story needs something. Except even though I know what now, I'm not sure how I want to do it. Sigh. 

5. Getting stuff done around the house. 

6. Maybe sleeping in a little tomorrow. 

7. Having the boys tomorrow. We're going to carve pumpkins and hopefully do some plant rearranging. 

8. Mr. B winning his soccer game today, and him scoring every goal in the game and taking the title of the most goals in his league. 

9. Naps. Oh wait. I said that. 

10. Chicken Rice soup for dinner. 

That's all. I should try to figure this old lady out. 

Behave! 

New Beginnings...

I mentioned about my publisher closing down a few weeks ago. I'm still sad about this, but at the same time, I know it's time for me to spread my wings a little and go a different direction. It's been brewing for a little while now and things happening the way they did kind of feels like the push I needed. 

None of my books will be available after the end of the month. Though I will have my full rights back to each. I also get to keep some of the covers. I don't know what I'm doing with them yet though. Yes, I can self publish them, but that's a lot of effort that I could be putting towards other things. I'm still thinking. 

A few years ago, I had an idea while on vacation. It was definitely not typical of what I usually write. It was a story about the struggles, love, and life of a couple that met when they were teenagers and are now at the end of their lives. That's the Old Man story. Then, I wrote about an older woman re-finding her first love. The Old Lady story, which is what I'm currently editing. And now I have at least four other ideas for these types of stories. 

So that's what I'm doing at the moment. It's a very different direction and I find I'm super comfortable with it. I still love the post apocalyptic stuff and can't say I'd never write another one, but for now I'm writing what I guess you could call "family saga" or just women's fiction. 

And there you have it...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

 Yay for Saturday! 

Here's what's good. 

1. Sleeping in this morning! It was much needed after a really bad night of sleep Thursday night. 

2. Living through the work week. It was a rough one. 

3. Fall being here! Finally!

4. Getting stuff organized. 

5. Having most of my weekend chores done already.

6. Moving on to editing the Old Lady story. 

7. Lots of stuff going on, but feeling like I have a handle on things. 

And that's about it!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Yay for Friday! It has been an insanely long week! 

Here's the list: 

1. Managing to make it through the work week despite crappy sleep and overburdened schedules. 

2. Ticking off a few big things from the "to do" list. 

3. That Man's truck running again. 

4. Plans tonight to meet friends for dinner. We used to be neighbors and we saw each other every day. We talked on the phone every day even though we lived a yard apart. Our kids grew up together. H*ll, we grew up together. They moved away and we miss them. So we're meeting them for dinner tonight, which should be a blast. 

5. Saturday plans. They are necessary and organizational, but they should still be fun. Even though there is no food plan at this point.

6. Having the boys on Sunday. We have a surprise for Little B. After him riding my great niece's bike at camp, we managed to find him his own bike. He has no idea. And I can't wait to hear how school is going for both. 

7. This is not feel good, but waking up this morning to find unauthorized charges on my debit card. What a freaking pain! And what the h*ll is wrong with people? It's being resolved, but it has created a bunch of frustration for me. 

8. Finding time to write this week even though it was short and spotty. I'm getting there. 

That is all! 

Behave!

Oh Hi, September!

Yay for fall! I mean, it's not really fall yet, but it's coming! 

We had a good time at camp. We had both grandboys all weekend. We were tired--well, tired is an understatement. Little B did pretty good, especially since it was his first time at camp without his parents. And it was his first time away from home for that long. And no, he did not eat marshmallows all weekend. More like chicken nuggets. Ha! I took my little air fryer, and it was the best decision. 

The other big news is that my publisher is closing down. It was a shock. A very sad shock. I've been with them for ten years. I absolutely love my editor. I've learned so much from her and really enjoyed talking with her. It's going to be weird going forward. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my backlist yet, but I'll likely self publish them. I'm working on my plan. 

In the meantime, I am finishing the Old Man story. I've gone through all of my critiques and now just have my own notes and then a final read through. I also have the Chaos book to figure out what to do with. 

I'll get there. 

That is all. 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

I know it's been a while. The month is almost over! No excuses!

So what's been going on? 

Ha! Pretty much the same chaos as usual. 

Chaos is submitted and the Old Man story has been critiqued and is waiting for me to input the changes. I have two critiques to do first though, but I hope to get to it quickly. And then I have three ideas to write and another story of mine to edit(actually two more, but...). I'm getting there though. It really felt good to finish two books so close together. 

Camp is coming up! We'll have both grandsons for the weekend. It'll be Little B's first time for more than one night. The only thing he'll tell me he wants to eat is marshmallows, so this should be interesting. Ha! Most of the family will be camping, so it should be a good weekend. I still have no idea what to make for the picnic, but I guess I'll figure it out soon. I'm hoping the weekend will be cooler than this week is supposed to be! 

Nothing else new here... the day job is busy with no signs of slowing down. We had an epic company wide kickball game a few weeks ago and it was an absolute blast. Next up is planning for the Christmas party, and then my boss's retirement party...along with everything else. At least I'm not alone in the party planning. There are three of us to get stuff done. 

And that is all... Sunday is winding down, which means Monday comes too soon. Boo! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Thursday!

Yes, we're mixing things up a bit over here! Ha!

I just happen to be off from the day job today, so I figured I'd stop by and say hi!

I've been busy... washed the sheets and remade the bed, ran the vacuum, made a birthday cake for work tomorrow, and I have done a whole bunch of editing. 

But I'm also waiting for both the gas company and the water company to come and do whatever it is they need to do with our meters. That's why I took a vacation day today. That and I needed a mental health day. 

So here's the list:

1. Going back to bed this morning. I got up with That Man and after he left and the dog went potty, I crawled back in. That was nice. 

2. Being super close to the end of this book. I need to add some words, but the amount is dwindling. 

3. The quiet. I have had a few work related things pop up, but I knew the day was going to be like that and it's fine. 

4. Getting the laundry done. I mean, I would have done it tonight if it was a regular week, but it's nice that I don't have to now. 

5. Wearing a sweatshirt! Yeah, I have shorts on, but still. The fact that it's cooled off this much makes me happy. I even had socks on earlier and I shut the air conditioning off. 

That's all for now! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

It's hot again. What the hell? 

Anyway. Here's the list:

1. Making it to Friday. It was a long, long week. 

2. Air conditioning. 

3. Bringing back birthday cakes at the day job. People love it and we get cake!

4. Buy one, get one deals. 

5. Our grandson doing great with his eye surgery. 

6. Relaxed weekend plans. (I hope)

7. Sleeping in tomorrow. I need that. 

That's all... It's been one of those weeks. 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday!

Yay for Friday! It's been a long week! 

Here's the list:

1. Finishing and submitting the book. Now I wait. 

2. The heat subsiding even though it's only for a few days. 

3. An easy weekend? I think? We have nothing on the calendar. Which is good since the weeds are threatening to take over the back yard. Mr. B is supposed to come over and help so he can earn some cash. 

4. Sleeping in tomorrow. It feels like it's been forever since I've had the chance. 

That's about it for now. Ha! 

Behave!

Random

My intentions are good, but I never seem to find/make the time to post here!

Here's a random list of random things: 

1. I am sick of the heat. The last few days have been better, but still. I'm ready for fall. 

2. Finally meeting up with K5 to take her out to eat for her birthday, which was almost a month ago. That kid has been running all summer. We had a fun dinner. 

3. Watching Mr. B play soccer. He's amazing and I'm not just saying that as a proud grandparent. He now holds the record for the most goals in a season for his soccer club, and he came away from the tournament with 9 goals under his belt. 

4. Getting to hang out with Little B. He's such a crack up. He's now calling his pappy "grandfather". And he says it all fancy too. He makes me laugh. 

5. Being days away from hitting submit on my horsemen story. I have a few things to do and then it's ready. Then I'll round out the one I began editing on retreat. That one is close as well. I need to add a few more words, edit it, send it for critique, and then I'll be ready. 

6. I'm tired of our calendar. I thought we'd be in the "not busy" zone by now, but heck no. I would love a weekend at home to get stuff done, rest, and chill. It doesn't look like that's on the books for quite a while though. 

That's some of it! 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

I know you don't want to hear it because everyone is saying it, but I'm freaking sick of it being so hot!

It's impossible to get anything done outside. We had so many plans this weekend--tackle the weeds that sprung up while we were gone, work on the truck, clean up around the shed. We did none of that. 

Instead I worked on the horsemen story. Sent the last section out for critique and started reading through the story from the beginning. Made a lot of progress today. 

I mean, it's productive for sure, but it doesn't help the weeds in the backyard. 

That's all... 

Behave! 

Back Again!

 I'm back! Again! This time I was out of state! Like several states away from home! 

We went to see our aunt and uncle who live in the midwest. It's a very long drive! This time, however, we got a hotel room both on the way there and on the way home and that made the trip not as exhausting (thought it's still hella exhausting). I'm too old to drive straight through anymore, plus my hip hurts too much to sit in a car for that long. 

Anyway. 

We get up Sunday morning from our mediocre and slightly scary hotel, do our thing, and head out. Got a few miles down the road when the battery light came on in our big blue truck. Found an open auto parts store and grabbed an alternator. Debated about putting it on in the parking lot, and decided to soldier on due to lack of some of the tools we needed. The last two hours or so of the trip was hairy--winding roads and a quickly dropping battery--and no cell signal. And absolutely no place to pull over, not even a parking lot or gas station. 

We pulled in and everything just died. We had enough juice to barely put the windows up. Oy! But we had the part and putting it on was relatively quick. Except we didn't do that until Monday. 

It was a relaxing, but super hot, week. We basically did nothing but talk, eat good food, and talk more. Oh and we did some tasks our aunt hadn't gotten to yet like clean the hot tub, replace some door knobs, and fix the toilet in our space. We did go to the corner store a few times, and out to lunch and out on their boat on the 4th, which was nice, but so very hot. Almost lost the uncle to heat stroke, but we got him cooled down before he jumped into the lake. 

Left yesterday morning, hit a hotel with psychotic air conditioning and a room at least a mile away from the only entrance last night, and arrived home late this afternoon. The ride home is always far worse than the ride there. 

Our puppy was as happy to see us and we were to see her, and our orange cat who had gone a little nutso during the week is fine, so there's that. 

Now I'm just waiting for our air conditioner in our room to make it's magic so I can go to bed! Ha!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

We're back from the Wilds!

We took Mr. B camping this weekend! We were supposed to have K5 and him, but K5's schedule is out of hand so we had to settle for having her last week. 

But, damn, it was hot! Thankfully the camper has air conditioning. And thankfully, Mr. B has some good sense and decided not to be a "foil baby" in his tent. He crashed in the air conditioning with us, and it was good. He slept in and so did I! It was just the three of us in the Wilds and it was so much fun! 

Met up with J to pick him up outside of the mega-mart Friday night. Ended up shopping at the mega-mart because I needed a new air mattress. (Did I post about that?) We finally got out of there, came home, and ran around like crazy people trying to get everything and the dog packed. (The rv and the truck were packed like wild monkeys packed them)

Got to the Wilds late, made dinner (sausages), and got set up enough to sleep. Saturday was our friends anniversary/pool party. Which was a blast! Got to see friends we haven't seen in a while and swim. Mr. B got to hang with his friend who will be in middle school with him, and the anniversary part of the party was so sweet. (Think wearing your wedding dress for the first time in 25 years sweet!) The pool was also sweet and I got in with my regular clothes on and I have no regrets! (I forgot my suit)

We got back to camp late, made some food because there was nothing Mr. B would eat at the party and they had a ton of food. (Even though all he does is eat! I'm not kidding!) The dog fell off the bed while B and I were playing Rummy (he beat me so hard), and there was a lightning bug in the camper. 

After breakfast this morning, we packed up and came home. Did Mr. B's laundry because there was a lot and they don't have a washer and dryer. Dropped him off at home. Got back and started editing the old man story. 

Managed a lot of pages and added a lot of words. Got the laundry done. Took a shower. And now am prepping for the work week. Oy! 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday - On Saturday

It's a beautiful day out there! Actually, the weather this week has been very nice and I love it. Not looking forward to the high temps next week, but...yeah...it's summer. 

Let's get to the list:

1. Living through the work week. It was a brutal one. 

2. Having K5 overnight. She wanted to go to work with us and since her schedule is as crazy as ours, we made it happen. She helped Pappy with some stuff and earned some cash. We had a nice dinner the night before and she even got up on time. It was fun, but definitely not enough time. 

3. Sleeping in this morning. Man, I needed that. 

4. Making progress on my story. I just got through the whole thing again. I need to add a bunch more words, so hopefully I can make that happen on this next round. The story needs some empty places filled in, so fingers crossed. 

5. Plans with friends we haven't seen in ages tonight. We've had this planned for a long time. Except I forgot and kind of double-booked us, but we figured it out. He's already got the meat on the smoker and we put together some veggie kababs to add to our meal. 

That's about it for now!

Behave!

Retreat: The End

Things are wrapping up now. 

It's been a very lovely weekend. We have had lots of laughs, lots of serious, and not so serious, conversations. (There's a teepee in this house for kids, and we might have taken pictures in it) The writing, editing, and brainstorming we've done has been immense. Every single one of us has made fantastic progress. 

The family that owns this house lives right across the street and they stopped over this evening to say hello. They are the nicest people and we had a very nice conversation. Their kids are adorable. At first I was a little annoyed when I found out they like to say hi to their renters, but after meeting them, I'm glad to have met and talked with them. 

I did get through the entire manuscript and am over halfway through a second run. I had to cut quite a few pages of repetition and things that didn't fit, well, it was a lot of pages, so I need to add about twenty thousand words now. Which is fine. I still love the story and I'm so happy to be back in it.

I think I'm done for this retreat though. I'll be packing up and hitting the road in the morning, so I highly doubt I'll post again.  

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three

 
Last full day! 

I slept in, which was awesome. It's a gorgeous day. 

After I finished my book yesterday, I thought I knew what I was going to do next. Turns out, I didn't. 

I putzed around with a short story I'd started before last retreat, started working on the Sector series, but it was not going well, and I ended up opening the "old man" story. And that's what I need to be working on right now. 

I'm five chapters into editing and so far it's going well. I know it gets rough coming up, but that's okay. I don't know if I'll finish the edit this weekend (see previous about rough), but I do love this story, so...

Here's some pics of our view:

Lovely, right? And Cows!

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - Done!

The book is done! Whoot! 

I even took a nap, though it was a brief one. 

I will let this sit until I return home and then edit this last section to send for critique. I need a little space from it so I can edit with a clear head. 

The work stuff I thought would affect my time today didn't happen, so that's good. I only had a little bit of day job stuff compared to the parade I expected. 

I have titles for the newly completed book and two other projects waiting to be edited. And now I will move on to the next thing on my list! 

That is all! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two - First Full Day

Woohoo!

I slept pretty good and I slept in, which was amazing. That's not to say that I wasn't up a lot during the night. But it's fine. I can nap if I need to and I probably will, more because I can. Ha! 

I made good progress last night. I got a lot of words! I will finish this book! Maybe today? And then I will decide what to do next. I have an idea of what needs to be done, so there's that. 

I also need to get some titles nailed down, but that's on our agenda list to take care of, so I'll get there. 

It's a glorious day so far. The sun is shining. It's not super hot. The view here is incredible. I'll try to post a picture of that later. We also have a visiting kitty. We've named her "Debbie". She's very cute and dramatic. And obviously someone's pet as she's well cared for. 

And that is all for now!

Behave!

RETREAT! Day One!

Finally! 

I am here in a lovely home surrounded by my writing friends! We have unloaded our cars, chosen our rooms, put away our food, and chosen our spots in the living room. And now it's the talking part...

I will finish this book this weekend!

Tonight is our traditional "Nacho Dinner" and I am looking forward to sleeping in a little tomorrow. The bed looks super comfy!

That's it for now!

Behave!