My family has too many birthdays in July. I know birthdays aren't exactly planned, but I wish some of them were a little more spaced out. One of my older sisters has a birthday on 7/25. I have birthdays for nieces and nephews on 7/27, 7/28, 7/30, and 8/1. That is just too many birthdays in a row. 😀
Friday, July 31, 2020
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I worked on a better ending last week. Some of my beta readers didn't like part of the ending the way it was written so I decided to rework it. I plotted out the revised ending, did some writing of it in long hand, and then transcribed that on to the laptop.
Quote of the Week: It's never to late to be what you might have been." ~ George Eliot
What I'm Reading: I started "Fallen" by Rebecca Zanetti this past weekend. It's the second book in the Deep Ops series. I didn't realize this book had human trafficking as part of the story. I try to stay away from books with this subject matter. So far though, it has been portrayed in a broad brush stroke kind of way which I appreciate. I hope that continues to be the case or I may have to set the book aside and not finish it.
Random Thoughts: It's the end of July and my squash plants are starting to get blossoms. While I've been able to keep the squirrels from digging in the plants (so far), I don't think we'll get much in the way of vegetables since it's pretty late in the season and we're just now getting blossoms. I also haven't seen any bees around this summer to do pollination.
Random Photo of the Week:
In keeping with last week's picture, this is Mrs. Green looking for her share of chicken McNuggets.
My Current WIP (Work In Progress): I worked on a better ending last week. Some of my beta readers didn't like part of the ending the way it was written so I decided to rework it. I plotted out the revised ending, did some writing of it in long hand, and then transcribed that on to the laptop.
Quote of the Week: It's never to late to be what you might have been." ~ George Eliot
What I'm Reading: I started "Fallen" by Rebecca Zanetti this past weekend. It's the second book in the Deep Ops series. I didn't realize this book had human trafficking as part of the story. I try to stay away from books with this subject matter. So far though, it has been portrayed in a broad brush stroke kind of way which I appreciate. I hope that continues to be the case or I may have to set the book aside and not finish it.
Random Thoughts: It's the end of July and my squash plants are starting to get blossoms. While I've been able to keep the squirrels from digging in the plants (so far), I don't think we'll get much in the way of vegetables since it's pretty late in the season and we're just now getting blossoms. I also haven't seen any bees around this summer to do pollination.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, July 27, 2020
Apologies
No post today. I'll be back on Wednesday with my usual "What's Up Wednesday" post information.
Friday, July 24, 2020
This I know for sure...
I
wear a mask whenever I go out. I also have to wear a mask at work when we
have clients in the office. Since I plan on wearing a mask for
some time, I'm going to purchase material this weekend to make fall and winter themed
masks. I figure if I'm going to be wearing a mask, I might as well have fun with
it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
What's Up Wednesday
This week:
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I wrote 20 pages of new material for the book I'm revising. The new pages helped smooth out a transition from one scene to another.
Quote of the Week: "The secret to getting ahead is getting started." ~ Mark Twain
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading "Death by Dumpling" by Vivian Chien. It's the first book in the Noodle Shop mystery series. I should finish the book this evening.
Random Thoughts: My vegetable plants are doing well. I haven't harvested anything yet, but at least the squirrels are leaving them alone...so far.
Random Photo of the Week:
I'm a Minion fan so I had to go get a Happy Meal so I could get the Minion toys in them.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I wrote 20 pages of new material for the book I'm revising. The new pages helped smooth out a transition from one scene to another.
Quote of the Week: "The secret to getting ahead is getting started." ~ Mark Twain
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading "Death by Dumpling" by Vivian Chien. It's the first book in the Noodle Shop mystery series. I should finish the book this evening.
Random Thoughts: My vegetable plants are doing well. I haven't harvested anything yet, but at least the squirrels are leaving them alone...so far.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, July 20, 2020
What Happens When You Procrastinate
One of the things I'd planned on doing in the first quarter of the year was to get a DBA (Doing Business As) to use for anything I self-published. I procrastinated going to the county office building to file the paperwork and pay the necessary fee because I was waiting for the worst of the winter weather to be over. The office building is located in the heart of the business district where I live which doesn't allow parking on the streets and the parking garages aren't really within walking distance in terrible weather.
The Covid-19 Pandemic shut everything down in my state in mid-March so that put my plan on hold. We are now in the final phase of re-opening, but some of the county offices are still closed to the public. They are tentatively going to start allowing people into the buildings within the next couple of weeks by appointment only.
Now my goal is to get the DBA paperwork filed as soon as I can get an appointment. I'm hoping to have it taken care of by the end of August at the latest so I can plan my release schedule. One of the good things to come out of my procrastination is that by the time I'm able to get the DBA, I should have nearly three books completed so I'll be able to release them pretty quickly one after the other.
The Covid-19 Pandemic shut everything down in my state in mid-March so that put my plan on hold. We are now in the final phase of re-opening, but some of the county offices are still closed to the public. They are tentatively going to start allowing people into the buildings within the next couple of weeks by appointment only.
Now my goal is to get the DBA paperwork filed as soon as I can get an appointment. I'm hoping to have it taken care of by the end of August at the latest so I can plan my release schedule. One of the good things to come out of my procrastination is that by the time I'm able to get the DBA, I should have nearly three books completed so I'll be able to release them pretty quickly one after the other.
Friday, July 17, 2020
This I know for sure...
The squash and cucumber plants my nephew gave me are doing well. I have some tiny blossoms on all three plants though they haven't flowered yet. The squirrels haven't tried to dig up the plants or bury things in the planters either. Well so far anyway.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I had a bunch of things pop up last week that killed my writing time. I only managed to edit about 12 pages all week. This week should be quieter with things back to normal (fingers crossed).
Quote of the Week: "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." ~ Henry Ford
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading "Hidden" by Rebecca Zanetti. It's pretty good. I'm finding hard to put down.
Random Thoughts: We were in the early phase of having a drought due to lack of rain. Well, we got so much rain on Saturday that we are no longer in danger of having a drought and now have a higher than normal average of rain for this point in July. There was a lot of flooding along local roadways, but luckily not too many people needed rescuing.
Random Photo of the Week:
We've had Somebody for five years now. It's hard to believe he was ever this tiny.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I had a bunch of things pop up last week that killed my writing time. I only managed to edit about 12 pages all week. This week should be quieter with things back to normal (fingers crossed).
Quote of the Week: "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." ~ Henry Ford
What I'm Reading: I'm currently reading "Hidden" by Rebecca Zanetti. It's pretty good. I'm finding hard to put down.
Random Thoughts: We were in the early phase of having a drought due to lack of rain. Well, we got so much rain on Saturday that we are no longer in danger of having a drought and now have a higher than normal average of rain for this point in July. There was a lot of flooding along local roadways, but luckily not too many people needed rescuing.
Random Photo of the Week:
Monday, July 13, 2020
Half Year Review
With everything that's been happening with Covid-19 and such, this year seems to be dragging on and on and on. Personally April and May seemed to last forever, but June sped on by so it's hard to believe we're already half way through 2020.
I did a six month goal check in last week with myself. I'm not doing too badly. I'm where I should be in most cases.
I'm only a little behind in a couple of goals:
1.) I wanted to lose the 5 pounds I put on over the 2019 Christmas holidays and lose 5 more pounds by summer. Well, I haven't done either of those things yet. I guess the good thing is my weight has been holding steady, just not at the weight I want to be at. To be honest, I haven't been really strict with my eating plan either. I eat a healthy breakfast (usually yogurt with fruit and granola or oatmeal with fruit and nuts or one scrambled egg with cheese in a tortilla wrap) and eat a healthy snack type lunch (usually fruit and cottage cheese or fruit and hummus with celery or pepper strips). Since it's usually about 3:00pm when I'm eating lunch, I try to keep it light as we usually eat dinner between 6:00 and 6:30pm. It's the dinners that aren't so healthy, especially in the really hot, humid weather we've been having. Since it's usually too hot to cook, we've been having a lot of turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, different pasta salads, paninis and tossed salads. We've been eating a lot of popsicles and fudgsicles and frozen fruit bars as well.
2.) I wanted to have my next book plotted by the end of this month and start writing it in August. I need to finish the last few revisions suggested by beta readers on the current book I'm working on. I'm thinking it will take me the rest of this month to do that. I still hope to squeeze in the plotting of the third book, but I may have to push that to August and start the writing in September.
With a little more discipline (and maybe a few less fudgsicles), I should be back on track when I do my quarterly goal self check in in October.
I did a six month goal check in last week with myself. I'm not doing too badly. I'm where I should be in most cases.
I'm only a little behind in a couple of goals:
1.) I wanted to lose the 5 pounds I put on over the 2019 Christmas holidays and lose 5 more pounds by summer. Well, I haven't done either of those things yet. I guess the good thing is my weight has been holding steady, just not at the weight I want to be at. To be honest, I haven't been really strict with my eating plan either. I eat a healthy breakfast (usually yogurt with fruit and granola or oatmeal with fruit and nuts or one scrambled egg with cheese in a tortilla wrap) and eat a healthy snack type lunch (usually fruit and cottage cheese or fruit and hummus with celery or pepper strips). Since it's usually about 3:00pm when I'm eating lunch, I try to keep it light as we usually eat dinner between 6:00 and 6:30pm. It's the dinners that aren't so healthy, especially in the really hot, humid weather we've been having. Since it's usually too hot to cook, we've been having a lot of turkey and Swiss cheese sandwiches, different pasta salads, paninis and tossed salads. We've been eating a lot of popsicles and fudgsicles and frozen fruit bars as well.
2.) I wanted to have my next book plotted by the end of this month and start writing it in August. I need to finish the last few revisions suggested by beta readers on the current book I'm working on. I'm thinking it will take me the rest of this month to do that. I still hope to squeeze in the plotting of the third book, but I may have to push that to August and start the writing in September.
With a little more discipline (and maybe a few less fudgsicles), I should be back on track when I do my quarterly goal self check in in October.
Friday, July 10, 2020
This I know for sure...
I came across this quote and couldn't believe how appropriate it is right now.
"In these times, you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you wake in the morning." ~ Carl Sandburg
"In these times, you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you wake in the morning." ~ Carl Sandburg
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): No writing related work done last week. I'm back in editing mode this week.
Quote of the Week: "Time is the coin of your life. You determine how it will be spent. Do not allow others to spend it for you." ~ Carl Sandburg
What I'm Reading: I started "A Bad Day for Sunshine" by Darynda Jones Sunday evening. I haven't had a lot of time to read this week, so I'm not very far into the book. I enjoyed her Charley Davidson series so I have high hopes for this new series.
Random Thoughts: I look forward to summer all winter long and then when summer gets here with it's high 80 to 90 degree weather and humidity, I look forward to cooler weather. Too bad there's no place in the US where it's about 75 degrees with little to no humidity year round.
Random Photo of the Week:
The container garden that I wasn't going to do this year now has flowers as well as the vegetable plants from my nephew.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): No writing related work done last week. I'm back in editing mode this week.
Quote of the Week: "Time is the coin of your life. You determine how it will be spent. Do not allow others to spend it for you." ~ Carl Sandburg
What I'm Reading: I started "A Bad Day for Sunshine" by Darynda Jones Sunday evening. I haven't had a lot of time to read this week, so I'm not very far into the book. I enjoyed her Charley Davidson series so I have high hopes for this new series.
Random Thoughts: I look forward to summer all winter long and then when summer gets here with it's high 80 to 90 degree weather and humidity, I look forward to cooler weather. Too bad there's no place in the US where it's about 75 degrees with little to no humidity year round.
Random Photo of the Week:
Friday, July 3, 2020
Happy 4th of July
I'm a little early, but since I don't do posts on Saturdays, I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July. There will be no post on Monday, 7/6 but I will be back with a new What's Up Wednesday post on 7/8.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
What's Up Wednesday
This week...
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I did 22 more pages last week. I will not be doing any work on my WIP this week. My mom's birthday was yesterday so we spend Monday and Tuesday doing things she wanted to do. I have one last appointment for my hand after work today. My nephew is stopping by tomorrow to bring my mom a new rosebush for her birthday. We are going to stay on the porch while he plants it in the yard. This way we'll be able to visit with him, but maintain social distance.
Quote of the Week: "Keep the promises you make to yourself" ~ from a Dove Promises chocolate wrapper
What I'm Reading: I started reading "Cross Her Heart" by Melinda Leigh Monday night. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Leigh. I'm not very far into it yet, but I'm liking it so far.
Random Thoughts: My mom and I went to our local library last Friday. I can't tell you how much I missed going to the library. The library is limiting the number of items you can take out to 5 books per member. That was hard because we both usually get out between 8 and 10 books each. I had to decide which book I wanted to read more than another. I do understand the limit though as they are putting every book that is returned into a quarantine room for three days before it's checked back in and available for someone else to borrow. Our library is pretty busy so I can't imagine how many books are going into quarantine on a daily basis even with the limit of 5 books per member.
Random Photo of the Week:
I planted some old unlabeled seeds in a tiny clay pot I had just to see what would happen. It's actually growing. I just don't know what I'm growing.
My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I did 22 more pages last week. I will not be doing any work on my WIP this week. My mom's birthday was yesterday so we spend Monday and Tuesday doing things she wanted to do. I have one last appointment for my hand after work today. My nephew is stopping by tomorrow to bring my mom a new rosebush for her birthday. We are going to stay on the porch while he plants it in the yard. This way we'll be able to visit with him, but maintain social distance.
Quote of the Week: "Keep the promises you make to yourself" ~ from a Dove Promises chocolate wrapper
What I'm Reading: I started reading "Cross Her Heart" by Melinda Leigh Monday night. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Leigh. I'm not very far into it yet, but I'm liking it so far.
Random Thoughts: My mom and I went to our local library last Friday. I can't tell you how much I missed going to the library. The library is limiting the number of items you can take out to 5 books per member. That was hard because we both usually get out between 8 and 10 books each. I had to decide which book I wanted to read more than another. I do understand the limit though as they are putting every book that is returned into a quarantine room for three days before it's checked back in and available for someone else to borrow. Our library is pretty busy so I can't imagine how many books are going into quarantine on a daily basis even with the limit of 5 books per member.
Random Photo of the Week:
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