Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  The first part of 2025 has not been good to me writing wise. I had hoped to have Garrett's book released into the world in April. It's now the 2nd week of June and I'm still writing the first draft. Between my old laptop dying a slow death (for which I'm thankful because it gave me time to transfer everything off it), back related health issues, unexpected guests and/or events popping in or up, and life in general, trying to get this first draft written is turning out to be a much longer process than I planned. 

Motivational Quote:  "We are all worthy of love and connection. Even in those moments where we feel that we perhaps aren't. Even those moments where we feel like we're the only one who might be struggling." ~ Vivek H. Murphy

What I'm Reading:  I didn't end up reading The Third Grave by Lisa Jackson.  There were some things that made the book not a good fit for me.  I started reading Rituals by Kelley Armstrong last night. This is the fifth and final book in the Cainsville series.

Random Thing:  You ever buy something for yourself or your home because it's something you need or need to replace? You don't think too much about the item, just that it's a necessity so you go purchase it and it ends up making you feel better or happier than you expected? Well, I did that last week. I bought a new broom. That's right, a broom. I can't tell you how happy this broom makes me. It's ten times better than the old one and makes sweeping and clean up so much easier. 

Random Photo:

                                   Here's my new broom that makes me happy. 😀
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Writing is going slower than I'd hoped, planned, or like. My trusty laptop refuses to show more than a black screen so I've had to transition to an extra laptop that was my mom's but that she rarely uses. It's taking some getting used to and it didn't have Word or Excel on it so I had to bite the bullet and purchase the monthly subscriptions for those programs. My old laptop was from 2018 so when I purchased the software for it back then, it was the pay one time version. 

Motivational Quote: "You don't have to be an overachiever every day. Sometimes just waking up in the morning and not giving up on yourself is a huge accomplishment in itself." ~ Muniba Mazari

What I'm Reading:  I'm about halfway through Betrayals by Kelley Armstrong. This is the third book in the Cainsville series.  The series is more in the fantasy genre than I expected from the first book. I don't normally read fantasy but it's holding my interest enough to keep me reading and there is only one more book in the series.

Random Thoughts:  I didn't realize how many websites I had bookmarked that I lost when my old HP laptop screen bit the dust. Most of them were writing research related so I can easily find them again through a search but I did have a few sites saved for other purposes. Thank goodness I keep everything important backed up to the cloud so I didn't lose anything important.

Random Photo:

                      Mrs. Green and Somebody enjoying the late afternoon sun yesterday.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I've hit a major plotting snag in Garrett's book. I'm going to take this week to go back through my notes and plot points to see if I can figure out how to get myself out of the corner I've written myself into. 

Motivational Quote:  "If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building or do you change the nail? ~ Rwandan and Burundian proverb.  I thought this was particularly apt this week considering the problem I'm having with Garrett's story right now.

What I'm Reading:  I finished Omens by Kelley Armstrong so while I'm waiting for the second book in the Cainsville series to be sent to my local library through the inter-library loan service I've started reading Where the Creek Bends by Linda Lael Miller.

Random Thoughts:  Nearly all of the trees on my street either have small leaves or buds of leaves except for the tree in my front yard. It's still completely bare without a hint of even the tiniest bud in sight. It's always the first one to lose all of its leaves and always the last one to get any. The thing is I'm pretty sure it's the same type of tree that lines most of the street. 

Random Photo:

Somebody practicing his new trick. He will balance a small toy on his head for a treat or two.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't hit the 12k mark I was aiming for, but I did get 10k done so I'm happy with that. I'm hoping to get at least that much done this week but I'm having family in town two days this week plus I need to do a bit of baking for the upcoming Easter holiday so fingers crossed that I'll get a decent amount written. 

Motivational Quote:  "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another." ~ Walter Elliott

What I'm Reading:  I'll be starting Omens by Kelley Armstrong tonight. It's the first book in the Cainsville series. This is an older series that was recommended to me by one of my sisters. I borrowed the book from the library probably a year or so ago with the intention of reading it, but never got to it before it had to be returned. I'm determined to read it this time around.

Random Thoughts:  Oh my goodness! Where is spring? It's been cold in the 30's and snowy or a wintery mix of snow and rain for most of last week. I'll put a picture below of what it looked like outside my living room window last Tuesday.

Random Photo:

           It was still snowing when I took the photo, but you can't really tell in the picture.

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I had a productive week last week. I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of finishing the rewrite of the ending of Ivan's story. I'm pretty sure I'll only need to write another 70 or so pages.  

Motivational Quote: "He who waits for chance may wait a year." ~ Yoruban Proverb  (I want to add "Or longer.")

What I'm Reading: I started reading Omens by Kelley Armstrong yesterday afternoon. It's the first book in the Cainsville series.

Random Things: I've been squeezing in time on Sundays to make cards for family members who have birthdays at the end of this month. We have 4 practically in a row. My sister's birthday is 07/25, one niece's birthday is 07/27, another niece's birthday is 07/28, and the first niece's husband's birthday is 07/30. Crazy, right?

Random Photo:

                        Mrs. Green lounging on the bed mocking me as I go off to work.