This I know for sure...

Like everyone else at this time of the year I'm trying to eat healthier. My doctor would like me to lose between 20 to 25 pounds so that I'm in the middle of the weight range for someone of my height (5'10").

I've always eaten fruit every day and sometimes twice a day. I eat whole wheat or multi-grain bread. I eat a lot of vegetables and only eat meat once or twice a week. I also have Greek yogurt three to four times a week.

Given how I eat on a regular basis, you must be asking how can I be overweight. Well, I love bread. Not sandwich bread, but good crusty loaves of bread from a bakery. Oh my give me a loaf of sourdough bread and I'm in heaven. I don't even need anything on it.

My other downfall? Cookies, not store bought cookies though. I have no problem leaving them on the shelf, but homemade cookies...I can't leave them alone. Did I mention I love to bake? I usually make some type of cookie a couple of times a month and I'm also usually the only one who eats them. The rest of my family will have one or two when I first make them, but that's about it. They'd rather have pretzels, popcorn, or Cheez-Its.

How about you? Do you have a certain type of food that you'd rather eat than anything else? Yes, mine is bread, though cookies run a darn close second. :o)

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress):  I've started the second round of revisions of my manuscript tentatively titled Honor Bound.

Quote of the week: “Do what feeds your soul, what you’re meant to do now. There is never an ideal time.” ~ Ana Suarez

What I'm reading: This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak. I believe this is the eighth book in the Whiskey Creek series. I am loving this book. I hate having to put it down and I'm staying up way too late at night reading it.

Random things:  I finished crocheting the blanket I've been working on since over the summer. I used it on my bed for the first time last night. I guess it was a good night for it, we woke up to snow this morning.

 Random Photo of the Week:

 Somebody enjoys playing in an empty box almost as much as he enjoys playing with toys.

Revisions Round Two

With the start of a new year, I'm back to revising my manuscript in earnest. I wasted a lot of time the last part of 2015 playing at revising this book. I've already done one complete revision but it needs at least one more and then I'll send it out to a couple of people who read manuscript and let me know what they think.

My first quarterly goal is to have this book completely revised, sent out to readers, and ready for submission by the end of March. I plan on having all of the revisions done by the end of February.

During this second round of revisions I'll be looking for continuity, plot holes, secondary characters that appear and then disappear just as quickly, that the timeline of events makes sense, cliches, and character stereotypes. I'll also keep an eye out for any misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words, and overuse of certain words. Two of my favorite words that I use way too often are "just" and "that." I've gotten better with "that" but "just" still sneaks into my work way too often.

I bought some colored ink pens yesterday while I was out shopping. I revise on paper so each color will stand out against the black ink. One color will be for dialogue changes/additions, another color will be for timeline issues, etc.

This I know for sure...

Powerball fever is sweeping my area. The last I heard the jackpot was over $600 million dollars.

Am I going to buy a ticket? Yes, at least one, maybe two but no more than that. We talked about it at work yesterday, saying what we would do if we won. Some of us would travel the world, some of us would start our own businesses, all of us said we would help out family members. One of us said she'd start her own church ministry.

It's fun to dream about what we'd do if money was no longer an option or a daily worry. I'm even willing to share the jackpot with other winners. I don't need that much money, but it's sure nice to think about what I'd do if I had it. :o)

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress):  I didn't do any writing or revising last week. I spent time with family. I'm spending time this week doing the same thing before the last of my relatives head back to their sunny homes. (Yes, I am jealous of my Southern relatives.)

Quote of the week: "...What you can do or think you can do, begin it." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What I'm reading: Thrill Me by Susan Mallery. This book is part of the Fool's Gold series. While I've enjoyed all of the other books in this series, I'm having a hard time with this one.

Random things:  I took the plunge and stepped on the scale this morning, the first time since the week of Thanksgiving. I ate a lot of Christmas cookies and enjoyed every bite so I was expecting to see a 5 pound weight gain. Imagine my surprise, when the scale showed only a 1 pound gain. I don't know how that happened, but I'll take it.  :o)




Random Photo of the Week:

Petey doesn't usually like to be covered up, but he was all cuddled in his blanket this past Monday when the high for the day was 10 degrees before the wind chill was factored in.

A New Beginning

I'm starting this post by wishing everyone a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous 2016.

While I always feel that September is the start of a new year instead of January, I'm looking forward to the beginning of 2016. I have high hopes and strong goals for this year, both personally and in my writing career.

It feels like I have a fresh start. A way to put the past year, which wasn't horrible by any means and in fact from June onward was pretty great day job wise, in perspective. Yes, I didn't meet all of my 2015 goals, but I learned from those I didn't and I learned why I didn't. I kept that in mind when I set my goals for 2016.

I feel incredibly optimistic for 2016 and I haven't felt that way in quite a while. Here's to a fantastic year for all of us.