Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't get anything worth mentioning written last week. Between unexpected visitors, an unexpected project that turned out to be much more time consuming than I thought it was going to be, and life stuff in general, it was difficult to even get to the laptop to do any writing. Unfortunately, some of that will carry over into the first part of this week but I am hoping to get some writing time in on Thursday and Friday. 

Motivational Quote:  "New month. New Blessings." ~ Francheska Medina

What I'm Reading:  I just started The Third Grave by Lisa Jackson last night. It's the most current book in the Reed/Gillette series but I am told you can read it as a stand alone.

Random Thing:  It's been a very rainy spring at least here in upstate NY. We've had rain on both days every weekend since the first weekend in April with the exception of May 10th and 11th. I understand that rain is necessary, but I feel like we've gotten our fill. I'd be happier if it rained during the overnight hours and was sunny and dry during the daylight hours. It'd make commutes, grocery shopping, and running errands a lot easier.

Random Photo:

Blueberries were on sale at our local farmers market so I bought a couple of containers. I froze most of them for later use, but I used some to make blueberry muffins yesterday afternoon.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I worked on Garrett's book. I was able to keep to my writing schedule but didn't quite make my 12k goal by the end of week. I'm about 500 words short. I don't have any appointments etc this week so I'm hoping to get a significant amount of writing done to get back on track to meet the deadline to have the first draft written.

Motivational Quote:  "Courage, determination, and a single minded vision. These are the qualities the biggest achievers have in common." ~ Shah Rukh Khan

What I'm Reading:  I'm currently reading Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros. This is a contemporary romance.

Random Thoughts:  Even though the official start of spring isn't for a few more weeks, I'm starting my annual spring cleaning chores. I have a few additional tasks this year. I want to go through our cookbook book shelf and donate any that we don't really use.  

Random Photo:  

                                           Homemade Chocolate Brownie Muffins  

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: Nothing really new to report here. I'm still working on revisions and edits for Mississippi's story.

Motivational Quote: "Stand back. Stand back, far enough so you can see your own mountaintop, then head straight for it knowing it will disappear from sight for most of your life as you meander the hidden forest trails that lift you ever higher even as sections force you to drop down into the mountainside pockets of disappointment or even despair...but you will be climbing again soon enough." ~ Arno Rafael Minkkinen

What I'm Reading: I started reading Second Shot by Cindy Dees in the middle of last week. I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm less than one hundred pages in because I keep falling asleep while I'm trying to read when I go to bed.

Random Things: It's supposed to be significantly cooler this coming week. While I'm looking forward to do some baking now that it won't be too hot to put the oven on, I am dreading the coming end of summer. 

Random Photo:

A picture of the blueberry muffins I made last spring when it was still cool enough to put the oven on. I'll probably make zucchini bread or muffins when I bake this week because my brother gave us a bunch of zucchini from his garden.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I wrote more last week on Mississippi's story than I did the entire month of February. I had last week off to help my mom recover from her hand surgery so I had a lot more time than I usually have to write. I tried doing 25 minute writing sprints but they didn't work for me because I felt like I was just starting to get into the flow and the timer would go off. I did discover that 45 minute sprints work really well though so I'm going to try to incorporate them into my writing sessions on a regular basis.

Motivational Quote: "It's better to go slow in the right direction than to go fast in the wrong direction." ~ Simon Sinek

What I'm Reading: I started reading Steeped in Secrets by Lauren Elliott yesterday. It's the first book in her Crystals and CuriosiTEAS cozy mystery series. 

Random Things: My mom is recovering well from her hand surgery. She can't use her left hand right now. Her post-op appointment is this afternoon to have her stitches removed. We'll find out then what the next steps will be. She's hoping she'll be able to use her hand a least a little.

Random Photo:

                                   More muffins I made while stress baking