My Week in Review: Nov 27 - Dec 3

Well, I can say I am honestly feeling a lot more in control of my feelings this week. I'm still using my cloak of invisibility, so I think that helps. I hide out and away, although I have been venting some feelings out into the twitter world.

So what am I thankful for?
  • Getting all things Christmas-y done. We put up our tree on Sunday and decorated up our living room. I addressed and started mailing out Christmas cards! First year I've had this done before December 1. Although I did get a twinge of sadness and shed a tear or two (or more) at having to NOT send my grandparents a Christmas card with pictures of the kids. They don't receive cards in Heaven, and Grandma's still in the hospital, barely holding on. 
  • Haircuts for the kids. Such a simple thing, really, but them getting haircuts makes me feel better. Like I'm doing the responsible parenting thing, and making them look respectable instead of kids with rat's nests on their heads. 
  • Helping my son with a Christmas project. Each year, as we have for the past couple dozen years, we draw names within my family and MAKE a present for that person. This is the only gift we open on Christmas Eve. With a family of ten (my parents, brother's fam and my fam), it's always an exciting challenge to create something that hasn't been already done. My youngest wanted to sew his project, so the two of us shopped for the right fabric, made the measurements and cut. Then I guided him as he sewed it together. I must say I'm truly impressed. And so is he - as he announced to everyone he's finished his project. I, on the other hand... 
  • The cover for my soon-to-be released novella - That Summer - is ready. It's sitting in a holding pattern until the final edits are done. But early feedback is very positive, so that's a great sign. I'm excited for it, and the direction it's going and how it will shake things up for the third book. :)
  • An afternoon at Gamer's Lodge. Took the kids there and spent the afternoon playing a couple of new games, drinking some iced tea, munching on popcorn and just hanging out together. Lots of un-plugged laughter.
  • A full tank of gas, windshield washer fluid changed out for the heavy-duty winter stuff good to -45C, and the emergency kit in the truck. The temps have been plummeting all day, and the outlook for the week is COLD. But we're ready. Bring it on - lol - not really. Just let the sun shine already! I foresee lots of hot meals, and snuggles under the warm blankets. 

Thanks for reading - have a great week everyone and stay warm! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Magical Orbs

Image
My son and I love to do crafts - the messier, the better. Today we decided to make Magical Orbs. We got the idea from a blog I bookmarked called How To DIY: Yarn Orbs We gathered up our supplies -Dollar Store Yarn -End of the school year glue , which wouldn't likely see September - balloons - Cornstarch - Water - Small container - Scissors - well protected area (the messier the kid, the larger the area) We mixed: 2 ounces of white glue 1/4 Cup of cornstarch 1/2 Cup of water Blew up the balloons into the sizes we wanted. Then we let the FUN begin. Dipped in our cut yarn into the milky substance and wrapped away. Figuring out what to do with them while they dried proved to be a challenge. So... I found some old chopsticks and binder clips. I clipped the neck of the balloons onto the chopsticks and took them outside to hang off the side of our BBQ. Hey, it worked. The sun and breeze dried them out. After supper, we were ready to slowly deflate the ball
Read more

Duly Noted - Chapter 1

Image
Chapter One The laughter died in a split-second. No one saw it coming. Metal snapped, scrapped and twisted. The air reeked of something salty and mercurial. Life changed forever. May 24. 10:17 p.m. The rain poured down, blanketing everything in its path with a cold wetness that chilled to the bone. The dark sky blew up with arcs of forked lightning, lighting up the area for miles. In the distance, sirens wailed, getting louder on approach. Gasps and inaudible sounds came from the onlookers who stood around drenched yet watching. Unable to help. Unsure of where to start. *** Aurora drove through the pounding rain, with her momma in the passenger seat, and Carmen behind her. Normally Carmen would drive, as she attended the University there, but tonight she let Aurora take the wheel. They enjoyed a perfect girl’s weekend– eating more than normal, staying out late and shopping. Laughing, and singing off key to an old country song on the radio, they headed back to their
Read more

The original ending went like this...

Image
Back when I first typed out SERVING UP INNOCENCE, and long before it had a title or was even thought to become part of a series, I finished the ending in a less than ideal way. Shayne didn't get the guy she really wanted. She ended up not growing and made decisions that ended up being better for everyone else. It wasn't right and it didn't work. Rereading the original ending on a second and third pass, I knew it didn't fit her character as there was no character growth. I gave my own book a 2 star rating at that point. LOL. There wasn't even a real Happy Ever After, which if you write Romance, is expected (just like finding the killer is important to murder mysteries but more on that later). Reading the original ending, I knew what was going to happen... it was clear as day to me. So, why not then change the ending to reflect that? And in three short clicks, the ending was cut out and re-filed into a folder where I store my cut material (it makes for some inte
Read more