Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't work on anything writing related the last two weeks. We had family from out of town visiting. We don't see them often so we spent as much time as possible with them. 

Motivational Quote:  "Know what you're doing. Take time." ~ Rhiannon Giddens (American musician)  I saw this quote and felt like it was talking directly to me considering how long it's taking me to edit Garrett's book. I still feel like I have a long way to go before it's ready for publication. 

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Not What It Seems by Lisa Jackson over the weekend.  This is the fifth book in the Savannah series. I would classify this book more as a mystery/thriller than romantic suspense but I'm enjoying it overall.

Random Things:  I can't believe it's practically the middle of July already. My mom will sometimes say that the older she gets, the faster the years go by. I must be getting to that age when the years start to go by faster. It seems like it was just early spring and we're already halfway through the summer. Although it does seem like summer always flies by while winter drags on for forever. Probably because we have nice, sunny weather for about four or four and a half months then it's cold, wet, and snowy for the other 7 to 8 months. 

Random Photo:

I took this picture of the sunset from our backyard while we were outside enjoying the evening.
 

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 had hoped to write at least fifty pages this week plus pick up a few of the pages that I'm behind to get myself back on track for NaNoWriMo. I failed abysmally. Not only did I not write any of the pages I was behind, I didn't get the fifty pages I needed to get done this week. I have two doctor appointments this week so I'm already stressing out about not getting the fifty pages I should be doing this week. 

Motivational Quote: "Don't shortchange the future because of fear in the present." ~ Barack Obama

What I'm Reading: I started reading The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson on Saturday. I'm having a hard time putting it down to do things I should be doing. It's okay if I don't wash the cat bedding this weekend, right?

Random Things: I made cookies for the first time since the spring. I tried a new recipe - Gingerdoodles. They're a mash up of gingerbread cookies and snickerdoodle cookies. They came out pretty well. I put a picture of them below.

Random Photo:

                                                    Gingerdoodle Cookies

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I made really good progress last week on Ivan's story. Unless something unexpected crops up, I should have the revisions wrapped up in the next 2 to 3 weeks and then it's off to my beta readers for one last read through.

Motivational Quote: "Anyone who is moving forward is going to falter at times; that's part of the growth process. Forgive yourself and keep going." ~ Unknown

What I'm Reading: I'm reading Tell Me by Lisa Jackson. She is one of my favorite romantic suspense writers.

Random Things: Yesterday I made the cinnamon swirl bread I mentioned in last Monday's post. I made two loaves and froze one. They came out pretty well. I've posted a picture below of the cut loaf so you can see the swirl. I'm really happy with how the swirl came out. 

Random Photo:

                 My cinnamon swirl bread (ignore the tip of my finger in the corner.😀)

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I finished revising/editing the pages I had written in the second book in my series so now I can start writing the remainder of the book. I also nailed down the title for that book -- Promises to Keep.

Motivational Quote: It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can." ~ Sidney Smith

What I'm Reading: I'm reading You Betrayed Me by Lisa Jackson. My mom recommended the book to me so I'm giving it a try. I find Ms. Jackson's books are hit and miss with me. Some of them I really like and some of them, I don't. 

Random Things: Now that we've hit the official start of spring, I'm hoping we've seen the last of the snow for the winter season or at least not enough to need to shovel it.

Random Photo: 

                                  A Sure Sign of Spring: Blooming Crocuses