Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  The book is going well. I wrote 12,500 new words last week. I should have no problem hitting my goal of 40k by the end of the month. I'm also working through the edits/changes suggested by my editor. I've been able to send her each week's pages every Sunday so she's basically editing it as I'm writing it. 

Motivational Quote:  "Find the good. It's all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you'll start believing in it." ~ Jesse Owens

What I'm Reading:  I'm reading Blast From The Past by Lucy Score. It's the third book in the Riley Thorn series. It's a humorous mystery type series though sometimes it seems like the shenanigans of the characters overshadow the mystery part of the story. 

Random Thoughts:  I thought I'd give an update on my sweet potato vine. It was growing so fast, I had to move it to a bigger pot already. The vine grew so tall, I put it out on my back porch and tied string round the porch railing and support post for the vine to twine around. I'm hoping I'll get at least a couple of blossoms soon. 

Random Photo:

                         The sweet potato vine in its new home on the back porch.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  As I mentioned in my last Monday post, I'm doing my own Camp NaNoWriMo this month. I feel like I had a good start. I need to write at least 10k a week to make my goal of 40k by the end of the month. I ended the week with 8k which is slightly less than the 10k goal, but it was an incredibly busy week with appointments three out of the five week days that took up my usual writing time. It should be easier to do the 10k this week as I only have one physical therapy appointment. 

Motivational Quote: "You can't go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending." ~ James Sherman

What I'm Reading:  I'll be starting Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong tonight. This is the third book in the Rip Through Time series. I'm not usually a fan of time travel books, but this series is the exception. 

Random Thoughts:  I rooted a sweet potato in water about six weeks ago to see if it will grow into a flowering vine since sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory family. I planted it in a pot about 2 weeks ago and it's growing like crazy. I put a picture of it below.

Random Photo:

                                            Here's the planted sweet potato.

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Camp NaNoWriMo is held in April and July. I participated in the camp in April and didn't quite make my goal. I want to push really hard this month and finish Caine's book so instead of doing Camp again in July, I'm doing it this month. I figure I've got about 40k left to write if I follow my plot outline. That should be doable this month if I don't waste time and write when I should instead of doing other things. 

Motivational Quote: "When you're given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things. ~ Taylor Jenkins Reid

What I'm Reading: I'm about halfway through Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins. I'm feeling kind of ambivalent about it and hoping it gets better in the second half. I usually enjoy Ms. Higgins' books, this one, not so much as of right now.

Random Thoughts: I'm going to have some extra free time so I'm hoping to get a lot of small projects done this summer. I started a list of things I want to get done (mainly things around the house) and ended up with 25 items on my list. Thankfully, some of them are quick, tiny projects that I can knock out in 30 minutes or so, maybe less. I just couldn't seem to find the time to do them. Now that I have an actual list of things I want to take care of, it'll be easier to get them done, I hope. And I'll have that sense of accomplishment as I cross each completed project off. 

Random Photo:

   I find Mrs. Green cuddled up with the strangest things...like the cord to my laptop.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Still working on Caine's story. I didn't meet my Camp NaNoWriMo goal, but I did write 20k in April so I'm okay with not meeting the goal. I wasn't too far off considering I had some unexpected things crop up. 

Motivational Quote:  I'm repeating the quote from a couple of weeks ago since I have a lot going on this week and am not sure how much writing I'm going to get done. The quote is a good reminder that some words written is better than no words written. "Always look for the thing you CAN do, with the energy and focus you DO have. Little wins pay the way for bigger wins. 1% beats 0%." ~ Glenn Patrick Doyle  

What I'm Reading:  I started Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score this past weekend. I'm liking it so far, but I'm only a few chapters into the book.

Random Thoughts: Ugh! Can I complain about the weather? I try not to, but we've had so much rain lately. We had more rain in the month of April than we've had in years. Unfortunately, May looks like it's going to be the same way. I'm hoping a change in the weather pattern will move all the rain out of my area for at least the next few days. 

Random Photo:

                         Mrs. Green intently watching the birds outside the window.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: Ugh! I am doing terrible at Camp NaNoWriMo. I was hoping to get between 20k and 30k written this month. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to hit the 20k goal. I won't get much writing done as both my mother and I have appointments that will eat into my writing time three days this week.

Motivational Quote: "Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not...Habit is persistence in practice." ~ Octavia Butler

What I'm Reading:  I just finished my last book so this week I'll probably just look through a few magazines one of my sisters brought to me. I need to go to the library.

Random Thoughts:  I picked up a couple of journals/notebooks last weekend while I was out doing errands. I have at least ten to fifteen that I haven't even opened, much less used but I bought two more anyway. If I see a new journal or notebook that's cute and reasonably priced, I have to buy it. It's like a compulsion.😁

Random Photo:

                             Here are the two new journals/notebooks I purchased.
   

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Had an okay week writing wise. I'm going to do Camp NaNoWriMo this month. It officially starts today, April 1st. I'm hoping by participating, it'll help me get between 25k and 30k written in April. 

Motivational Quote: "I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a...furious optimism." ~ Sylvester Stallone

What I'm Reading: I finished The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong last night. It's the second book in the Haven's Rock series. I'll start a new book tonight but I haven't chosen one yet. I have four books I borrowed from the library so it'll be one of those. 

Random Thoughts: My cat, Mrs. Green, likes to sit on my lap in the evenings. Usually when I'm trying to do something that makes it difficult for her to sit on my lap like crocheting. When she does settle in and get comfortable, I hate to disturb her. It's become a joke among my family that I can't do anything if the cat is on my lap. Change out "dog" for "cat" and I could be Charlie Brown in the picture below.

Random Photo:

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I'm doing Camp NaNo this month. It's a little more loose in structure than NaNoWriMo that's held in November. For the Camp version, you set your own goal that you want to meet instead of writing the 50,000 words required in the formal NaNoWriMo. My goal is to write 25,000 words this month. That will put be back on track to finish Missisippi's story by the end of May.

Motivational Quote: "There's no growth without a lot of hard work and a little risk." ~ Gloria Estefan

What I'm Reading: I started reading The Sweetheart Fix by Miranda Liasson last Wednesday. This is a contemporary romance and is the second book in the Blossom Glen series.

Random Things: Last week I posted that I was craving cookies and would probably bake some. I held off the craving and didn't do any cookie baking. I did make carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert for Easter Sunday. I will admit the cream cheese frosting came out of a container (Pillsbury). I haven't managed to master homemade frosting yet. It's either too sweet or the consistency is weird so while my cakes are made from scratch, the frosting will be bought from the store for the foreseeable future.  

Random Photo

       Carrot cake - I use walnuts in place of raisins in the cake because, well, I hate raisins.