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Being Proud of Yourself

Feb5

I was out and about, getting ready to come home and really needed some coffee. I’d had to have a fasting blood test done, so…. Imperative mode activated. Thought of McDonald’s, but didn’t want the drive thru lane. Then I thought hey, what about Casey’s? Good coffee, GREAT breakfast sandwiches, and the podcast I listen to mentions them so often!

And then I thought…. Hey. How about you be proud of yourself, go home and make a pot of coffee and your own breakfast sandwich.

The thought stopped me. Tripped me up. Being Proud of myself. I don’t often think about it, about progress made, things I’m proud of. I’m just getting through the day.

At the end of 2025 I made a plan for 2026. Picked out a word of the year, even. It’s Live, for those who are wondering. I got too into hermit mode again, and need to get out more and do more

It  means I’m cooking again. I don’t enjoy cooking, but I cook once and eat for 3 days. Salads almost every day because I enjoy them. It means spending the night once a month with my sister. It means doing crafts while on a video call with my niece. And decluttering on video call with one of my besties.  It means doing easy, beginning workout so this summer I can walk to the parade route and not have to worry about parking. Just take my chair and go. 

I’m not writing as much, but nothing fiction wise stuck. I am writing letters. My Coffee Epiphany happened at the post office, where I had dropped off 6 letters with family photos and sent them where they belong. I’m writing the letters for care home residents, they’ll be ready to go tomorrow. I am writing, just not the way people feel I should. 

Mostly, I’m taking control. Instead of tucking in and reading a book, I’m crafting, writing letters, redecorating , de cluttering, getting healthier and and and…. And I’m still reading.

But if I hit 464 new books in a year again, I don’t know that my body will recover. And that total– that’s only the new books, not the re-reads. I’m still reading, just also living.

I’ll be back to Fast Fives soon.

What are your goals for this year?

Fast Five Goal Catch Up

Sep29

Oh my goodness! It’s been a minute!  But summer is well and truly over, and it’s time to knuckle under again 😳 Heres a really quick update on the goals I had for this year:

  1. Reading goal has been crushed three months early according to Good Reads. I don’t know why this irritates me– but it does. I have days of re-reading old favorites, but I don’t count them. So I think the goal was appropriate, just… I feel let down that the goal was accomplished early instead of closer to the end time.
  2. ARCs are still a thing I love. I’m happy to report that I’ll have 2 upcoming for you. One, I’ve already read and am just collecting my thoughts. The other I’m awaiting with bated breath.
  3. Writing has been different (see below). I haven’t been writing as much, as my writing buddy and I seem to have taken the summer off. The poem a day is so far behind and I’m not sure if I want to resume it or not.
  4. I still doodle around with my fiction. I say I have several stories that I keep hopping around in, but they are all built in the same world so I’m not sure how good or bad that is. I’m having fun and that counts..
  5. I have been keeping up with writing for the Ladies of Horror Picture Prompt. You should go and read some of these amazing stories and poems! If you’re more of an audio type person, there are reading in YouTube done by the lovely Elaine Pascale, The Godmother of Horror here

Ta for now, my lovelies! Let me know if I got the links wrong and I’ll get them long form lol

5 Things to do when not writing

Mar6

So… There are lots of reasons why we don’t write. Sometimes it’s scary like a writing block (OH NO! Will I ever write again?). Oftentimes, it’s just life. You’re sick. You had to go to Aunties house for whatever reason. Sometimes, our brains just hurt. It’s easy though, while not writing to lose the habit of writing.

The following five help boost my creativity and still have an element to help with writing in them.

  1. Art Begets Art. I will die on this hill. Whether you go to a museum and view works of art or make your own– art helps us access our creative side. That goes for painting, drawing, music– all sorts. Want to exercise that writer’s brain? Write a story based on a picture. Or, write a rebuttal to a song. It worked for Miley.
  2. Read. This one seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised. But I’m not just talking about your own genre. Read non-fiction and learn something new. Read poetry that touches your soul. Read a mystery or a romance or a collection of humourous historical facts. What ever tickles your fancy. You never know what will spark.
  3. Go outside. This one is hard for me, personally. I’m an indoor girlie. But I feel better when I go outside. And Mother Nature? She knows how to soothe our souls. The peace that wishes over me in the forest, when I’m able to just breathe is precious.
  4. Play. Play a game. Seriously. Make it something fun, though. Enjoyable. Not a time waster. I use solitaire with a deck of cards and it allows my brain to empty.
  5. Write. Write letters. Write stupid poems or stories. If you go to the zoo, is that zebra kinda shady? How would a giraffe tie their bow tie? Write lists. Write in your journal.

What kind of things do you do to reclaim your creativity? Your writing?

Things I Never Thought I’d Say

Dec17

I got a KU subscription and… I like it. There’s a wide variety and no wait time like with Libby. The app glitches on me all the time, but I’m figuring that out (it puts me back, page wise, in the book so I have to find my place again. It’s workable.)

Yes, I still buy books. Ahhh, don’t tell anyone tho. But it feels good to be able to dip in and see if I like an author or not, a book or not, and return it with no hassle or financial hit. And I am finding that I’m a voracious reader lol.

Second thing… I am severely disappointed in both Net Galley and St Martin’s press. I had emailed Net Galley, asking what their position was on the whole St Martin’s press boycott going on (boycotting reviews on their titles until they address the actions of a marketing employee who has not only said atrocious things, has also picked through ARC copies as to who was approved and who wasn’t). Other people explain it more eloquently over on the Klock App. I read an ARC that comes out in January and is a St Martin’s book… And as of right now I won’t be posting anything on it. And that sucks for the author. For all authors publishing within that company. I know I’m small potatoes. That’s ok. I’ll still abide. It would have been nice to get a response from Netgalley, tho. Any response.

Since starting this, I saw an ad for that company on the Klock app and saw one of the authors was Nora Roberts. It makes me sad, so I found a reader email for her and sent an email. But as I said, I am small and she is huge. But I always thought of her as one who would stand up against that type of hatred. All the comments under that ad on the Klock app had to do with the boycott & the marketing employee.

And Booktok is weird. And I love it. First, no it is not all smut. There are accounts that are dedicated to fantasy, mystery, general fiction, sweet romance, spicy romance, all of it. It’s just that what you interact with you see more of. So if you can’t help yourself and keep commenting on genres you hate… It’s going to keep showing them to you. If you scroll on by, they’ll eventually drop off. You can find like minded people there… Even when you read a wide variety. The search bar is your friend lol.

Booktok also holds authors accountable. One just spiraled so far out of control they lost their publishing deal AFTER cover art had been released. They even had a special edition box edition signed. Gone. All because they tried to harm other authors release ng at the same time as them. I can’t imagine NOT supporting other authors. The ones I’ve met have always been so helpful and kind to a baby author like me.

So is there anything else I never thought I’d say? Well yes

Merry almost Christmas from the Midwest.

Nano 2019

Nov30

So I attempted Nano 2019, with provisions.

There are always provisions lol.

It won’t be a novel, because I don’t write long anymore. It will be a collection of short stories. I can do this!

And then I cheated.

But that was ok, because I made up those words and deleted the rewritten story! I was doing this!

And then I got sick.

Call into work for 3 days, my poor kid making me dinner sick. (He’s 13, don’t feel too bad for him lol). It’s still lingering a few weeks later, and it’s kicking my hiney. Nano became no no for me.

So was it was a loss. Or was It? I wrote words…. lots of words that can be cleaned up and sent out. I learned that I work best in the early morning on Saturrday or Sunday, sitting out in mine and rays cave (more on that in a later post). I put my Christmas tree up Halloween night, and having the lights on with Christmas music playing on Pandora and the words just fly.

And I also learned it is entirely possible to finish one story and start another right away. No tears (well maybe a couple, it was a sad story).

Now I just need to get back into writing.

Ta, my lovelies!

Plans go awry

Jun15

I have the house to myself.  The Princeling is with his father, and my father is off on a road trip. This almost never happens. I don’t think I’ve been alone in the house for this long of an extended period in…. well. Since becoming a mom.

I had plans. 

Grand plans.

Writing and crafting and this ingredients and thating.

Instead, I’ve been binge watching Say Yes to the Dress on Hulu (nope, no plans to ever get married lol). And sleeping. I fell asleep at 7pm last night. I wake up at 4pm, so that’s not as bad as it sounds.

But I haven’t been writing. I’ve been perking and idea, and I’ll have to start it soon. I have an essay or 2 that I want to write, and a market I want to submit Sins of the Mother to. 

Part of it all is just getting back to it. I know I do better, mental health wise, when I’m busier. I’m OK right now, but I’m trying to keep the darkness at bay. I had a Scentsy party and thought to myself I can do that. But I prefer Partylite Candles. The reasons are a whole other post worth, but they are important to me.

Thankfully, I know a Partylite consultant who has a team (hi Christie!). She is the mother of one of the Princeling’s very best friends. So I’m gonna get myself busy with a product I love, meeting new people and also getting over my fear of public speaking. She tried to get me to sign up right after the holidays, but I was in the middle of my rough patch. It would have helped, but I was too far in to see that.

Yes. I am a walking contradiction. The busier I am, the more I write. With the Princeling going with his father more often… I need something to keep myself busy so my brain will wake up. If I can get a product I love, meet new people and get a little travel money to boot?

Yah. We’re going to try this. 

 

Ramblings about Writing….

Nov7

So. I haven’t written any fiction since I finished my last one, Broken. I’ve written poems, and short nonfiction… but no fiction. At all.

There for a while, after my dad’s  stroke, I felt I needed to strip away that extra layer of protection. Fiction has always been me playing with ideas that bother me. Broken was written because I missed two of my friends dearly, and wanted to feel closer to them. It worked. But when dad had his health scare? I just couldn’t put that barrier up. I needed for it to be me and the words.

Right now I’m at a crossroads. I haven’t written even a poem since… well, since we went camping up in the Santa Cruz mountains. I’ve written letters. I’ve written a few blog posts… but the other stuff? Poetry and non fiction and fiction? Not so much.

Broken needs some work on it, and it will be December before I can ask, very sweetly and nicely, for my favorite editor to help me. I have a response from a publisher on it that tells me what they think I need to fix. And they weren’t wrong. So while my favorite editor pits herself against Nano Wri Mo, I may try to do some of it myself. Maybe not. Maybe I’ll take the characters out to play, write a new story.

I miss my imaginary friends. That sounds silly, but… it’s true. I also miss poems, and making the cards that I posted on Facebook…and writing my little travel stories. So many things, and the only thing holding me back is…

me.

The Princeling will be with his  father tomorrow. All I have planned is to run down and throw stuff on layaway for Christmas. And the library (our library is AWESOME in that it is open on Sunday’s too!). I also have 2 stories that I’ve promised feedback on. I don’t do line edits, but I do pretty decent content editing. And then… well…

I’m going to set my butt in the chair and write.

#Lifehappens

Apr22

Wow, it has been a while. Last we spoke, I was gearing up for a shot at Nano Camp, and boy howdy did I get derailed. First, I was sicker than a dog, which happened to bring to light another problem (silver linings), got that all taken care of. Then…

My dad got hurt. He hurt his back, actually broke something between L1-L2. Which I think is his butt. I’m sure one of you will tell me which it is. My dad is 89, and the boy and I live with him & his wife. So I’ve been stepping up, doing more cooking and cleaning, shopping, etc etc.

And actually, yesterday I pulled the boy child in the kitchen with me and started teaching him to cook. He loved it! And he is so impressed with our skills he wants to open a restaurant (not sure that one will fly, as we use premade sauces LOL). But the change in the boy child is dramatic. He is helping to clean— started washing pots before we even started cooking. Taking out the garbage with no complaints. Making his own drink this morning. All signs that he’s growing up, growing into himself. I like it.

My writing, tho, it has suffered. I haven’t been writing very much at all, although I did discover twitter! Kept seeing the hashtag #amwriting and it’s makes me feel … well, guilty. Like I should be using the hashtag #notwriting #lostmymuse #lostmymind. I need to get on that. I can feel the need, itching to get out. It’s just under the skin, begging to be released. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I have some other things that are starting to pop along nicely. As soon as I can, I’ll let you in on the secret too!

Ta my lovelies! Talk to you soon!