Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I had a good productive week and am on track to finish this first draft by the end of the month. I'm hoping to get some extra writing in this week since the following week will be Thanksgiving and I'll lose a couple of days of writing time due to the holiday and doctor appointments for both myself and my mom.

Motivational Quote:  "You'll have bad times, but it'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to." ~ Sean (played by Robin Williams) from the movie Good Will Hunting.

What I'm Reading:  I'm a little less than halfway through We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter. This is the first book in her new North Falls series. It's a good book. I'm finding it hard to put down. 

Random Things:  We're getting a new stove delivered today. Buying a new one wasn't planned. I turned the oven on to pre-heat to bake bread and when I went back into the kitchen to check that it was up to the correct temperature, there was a noticeable gas smell and the oven had only heated to 150 degrees despite being on for 30 minutes. Needless to say, I immediately turned the oven off. My nephew who is a firefighter for our city came over to make sure there was nothing wrong with the gas line connection. There wasn't so rather than risk blowing up the house, we went shopping for a new stove the next day. I baked the bread dough I had ready in the toaster oven. It came out pretty well. It's the first time I ever really baked something in it. We usually use it for things like toast, melting cheese on something, or making hash brown patties and such.

Random Photo:

   Mrs. Green likes to sleep on my house shoes whenever I take them off to sit on the sofa.
 

 

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 started writing the first book in the Eden's Crossing series. I'm going to refer to it as Garrett's book going forward because I rarely come up with a title until after the first draft is written. I didn't set a word count goal for last week but wrote a decent amount considering I had a lot of other stuff going on and the first few chapters usually take me longer to write than the rest of the book. 

Motivational Quote: "Do what you can do." ~ Mary Oliver, American Poet  This is good advice in general and for anyone feeling overwhelmed.

What I'm Reading:  I'm reading Track Her Down by Melinda Leigh. This is the 9th book in the Bree Taggert series. If you like suspense with a little bit of romance, I highly recommend this series. 

Random Thoughts:  Last week I mentioned getting a bread cookbook. I made the Vermont Cheddar Bread recipe yesterday. I didn't have high expectations because I've tried a number of different cheddar bread recipes and have always been disappointed. Either the cheese melts into the bread and can't even be seen, much less tasted, or the bread itself is really dense. This recipe came out well. I've posted a picture of it below.

Random Photo:

                                          The Vermont Cheddar Bread I made

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I didn't get a lot of writing related things done. We had a few appointments that ate up my writing time and I'm still working on the formatting issues. I hope to get those ironed out this week. 

Motivational Quote:  "No matter how well prepared you are in life, you're gonna fall down a hole. And if you can fix the frayed ends of things, then you're better off." ~ Fiona Apple  I thought this quote was pretty appropriate given the formatting issues I'm trying to get taken care of.

What I'm Reading:  "I started A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison Saturday afternoon. I'm not very far into it at this point (about 75 pages in), but I'm finding it slow going. I'm hoping the pace will pick up soon.

Random Thoughts:  I've been really cold the last two days. We're keeping the house heated to the same temperature we always do in the winter but for some reason, I just can't seem to warm up. I've been wearing a sweater along with fingerless gloves and extra heavy socks. (My feet and hands are always the first things to get cold.) Given that I'm already freezing, I'm dreading the next few days. The temperatures are going range between 14 degrees to minus 5 degrees in my area the first 3 days of this week. I have an appointment on Wednesday and I'm already dreading being out in the bitter cold. At least on Thursday when I do the grocery shopping, it'll be a warm 24 degrees. 

Random Photo:

                     This is how I'm feeling this week. I'm already dreaming of summer.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  While I did meet my weekly writing goal last week, I was only able to make up a few of the pages I was short the week before. I'm hoping to get those last pages caught up with this week's writing goal.

Motivational Quote: "I don't always stay energized or hopeful--that's the reality...But I do believe that the struggle is valuable." ~ Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg

What I'm Reading:  I started reading Hide and Seek by Mary Burton yesterday evening. This is the fourth book in the Criminal Profiler series.

Random Things: Can I say I can't believe it's November already? While I'm not ready to start decorating for Christmas, I am looking forward to making my holiday cards that I mail to friends and family and doing the baking for all of the cookie boxes we give out. I just need to finish the book I'm writing in the next couple of weeks so I can focus on all things holiday. My goal is to get my book turned in to my editor by the week of Thanksgiving.

Random Photo:

                              My sisters stopped by for a visit on Halloween. 😄
 

Monday Check In

 Last week...

Writing Related:  I did okay writing wise last week. I didn't hit my weekly goal of 12,500 new words but I did manage to write 7,750 new words so I'm about 19 pages short of where I should be at this time. This week should be quieter so I'm hoping to be able to make up most if not all of last week's shortfall along with this week's writing goal.

Motivational Quote: "So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-- It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit." ~ Edgar Guest

What I'm Reading: I'm about halfway through State of Affairs by Marie Force. This is the first book in the First Family series which is a spin off of the Fatal series. Both are a suspense or romantic suspense type series.

Random Things: It's been cold (highs in the 40's) for a few days then it warms up to the low to mid 70's then back to the 40's so I've been doing a lot of baking on the colder days. I've made cheese bread, tiger bread, shortbread cookies, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The problem with baking is that I've been eating all the things so no more baking until it's time to start the holiday baking. 

Random Photo:

These are the chocolate chocolate chip cookies. They taste like a cross between a cookie and a really fudgy brownie (which is my favorite kind of brownie).
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I hit the 200 page mark in the current book I'm working on. I settled on a title - Coming Home. This is the last book in the Echo Company series and is Jimmy and Callie's reunion story so the title seemed very fitting. I think I should be able to wrap the book up in about 100 to 125 more pages. I'll have to see how things go.

Motivational Quote: "Life is changing every day, things come and go, but always be yourself and stay focused on your dreams." ~ Tilda Moyo-Karizamimba

What I'm Reading: I started reading Catch Her Death by Melinda Leigh yesterday afternoon. This is the 7th book in the Bree Taggert series. 

Random Things:  We did go to the pumpkin farm last Friday. I bought a pumpkin to carve and two smaller, almost gourd like, ones. We also bought a few acorn squash. I'll probably carve the pumpkin next weekend and bake the seeds at the same time. I don't want to carve it too early. I'm not so worried that it'll be moldy or rotting by Halloween as I am that the squirrels in the neighborhood will have it half eaten by then. 

Random Photo:

Here's a picture of the pumpkin I bought. It's pretty good sized, not that you can tell from the picture. The farm we went to doesn't charge for their pumpkins by weight. Every pumpkin is $5.00 or less depending on the size. I paid $4.00 for this one.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I finished the final edits and revisions on One Last Chance (Caine's book) on Saturday. My editor is taking one last quick look at it and then it will be ready for publication. Whew! At times I wondered if I'd ever get it out into the world.

Motivational Quote: "I am a pessimist with a lot of hope." ~ Mia Couto  This quote describes me perfectly.

What I'm Reading: I started reading This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter yesterday afternoon. It's the latest book in the Will Trent series. The first few chapters were slow going, but it's gotten much better. Now I hate having to put it down to do other things.

Random Thoughts:  I'm going to be a great-aunt three times over. Three of my nieces (one is a niece-in-law) are pregnant and all of them due at the end of September, early October. One couple is expecting a boy, one couple is expecting a girl, and the last couple chose not to find out the gender so it will be a surprise. 

Random Photo:

I came across this on Facebook. It resonated with me because it's really accurate (in my opinion).

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I received feedback from my beta readers so this week I'll be incorporating their remarks and/or suggestions into the manuscript. There isn't too much that they marked up so I'm hoping to have everything completed by the end of the week.

Motivational Quote:  "I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." ~ Groucho Marx

What I'm Reading: I started reading Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose last night. It has 594 pages! Needless to say I won't be finishing it in a couple of days.

Random Thoughts:  School supplies are on sale. I've already purchased a couple of binders that I needed. While I don't need to buy any, I find myself perusing the notebooks, folders, and pens. I'll probably pick up a package of pens because you can never have enough pens. I'll also get a few one subject and composition notebooks because I use those for plotting and journaling. I do a journal for each book while I'm writing it. 

Random Photo:

 Last week was an exercise is frustration and patience (which I never seem to have enough of). Believe me when I say there weren't enough cookies in the grocery store to make me happy.

Monday Check in

Last week...

Writing Related: I'm still tinkering with the blurb for the back cover. I have a couple of different versions but nothing that I'm 100% happy with. I'm also waiting to hear back from my beta readers. I should get the last of the feedback by this coming weekend.

Motivational Quote:  "When you're younger, it's easy to underestimate how fleeting the days can be. Each choice matters. Each day matters. When you're older, it's easy to underestimate how much opportunity you still have. Don't talk yourself out of it. It's never too late to start." ~ James Clear

What I'm Reading: I started reading Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz last week. I've read a lot of her previous books including those written under her Amanda Quick pseudonym. I hate to say it, but I'm really struggling to get through this book. 

Random Thoughts:  As much as I'm enjoying watching the Olympics, I'm also looking forward to them ending. I'm finding myself watching various events when I should be doing other things. 

Random Photo:

                  Mrs. Green and Somebody sharing the window while watching the birds. 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Had some unexpected things pop up last week along with a doctor appointment so I didn't get as much writing done as I'd hoped. This week should be a quiet week (unless something else pops up) so I hope to get a lot of writing done.

Motivational Quote: "It doesn't matter how small the action is, if we all do the little that we can, it will make a difference." ~ Wangari Maathai

What I'm Reading: I finished reading Cut and Run by Mary Burton last night. I'm not sure what I'll read this week. I still have a couple of books from the library to read before they have to be returned.

Random Thoughts:  While the sky was cloudy in my area during the majority of the eclipse, it was fascinating the way everything became so dark and quiet and then lightened back up and the birds started chirping again. We stood on our back porch to view it so there wasn't any noise from a crowd reacting to what was occurring like in some places. 

Random Photo:

After the first orchid we received died soon after it was given to us, my sister gave us another one. We've had much better luck this time around. As you can see, it's currently blooming. This is the 3rd year we've gotten blossoms.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I didn't get any writing done last week. I contracted a stomach bug that was so virulent that I ended up in the hospital due to dehydration and low electrolyte and magnesium levels. I was discharged Wednesday afternoon, but it took the next three days for me to completely recover and get back to my normal self. 

Motivational Quote:  "There is no royal and flower strewn road to success, and if there is I have not found it for what success I have obtained is the result of many sleepless nights and real hard work." ~ Madam C. J. Walker

What I'm Reading:  I'll be starting Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong this evening. This is the first book in the Haven's Rock series, but in my opinion, it could be considered a continuation of the Rockton series.

Random Thoughts:  The last few weeks have been a test of patience. I am sincerely hoping I'm done with heath issues and other things that have been keeping me from the things I want and/or need to do.

Random Photo:

Our few crocuses have blossomed. Our daffodils and tulips are growing tall and should blossom soon.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I sent off the revised manuscript for Mississippi's story to my editor and a couple of beta readers to check over the revisions I made. Other than that, I didn't get a lot accomplished. I had a couple of appointments after work that ate into my writing time.

Motivational Quote: "I draw on strength gleaned during those hard times to forge my way through life with love, compassion, understanding, openness, and grace." ~ Paul Tran

What I'm Reading: I just started After That Night by Karin Slaughter last night. It's the latest installment of the Will Trent series that just came out this month.

Random Things:  I never put much stock into the whole Mercury being in Retrograde thing until recently. The last retrograde was from August 23rd through September 15th. I had all kinds of bad crap happen, especially at the day job during that time period. On Monday, 9/18, I went out to go to work and my car battery was dead. My car is only 2 years old so you would think I wouldn't need a new battery but I did. So even though the retrograde ended 3 days earlier, I figured the Universe had decided I hadn't had enough to deal with so it gave me one last thing. 

Random Photo:

 

                       I thought this was appropriate given the last few weeks I've had.

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'm working away on revisions and trying to fix that sagging middle problem in Mississippi's story. I feel like I made some good headway, but there's still a lot the needs to be done.

Motivational Quote: "If we want to transform our reality, we begin with ourselves." ~ Alejandro Jodorowsky

What I'm Reading: I started reading Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag yesterday afternoon. I picked it up from a new Little Library in my neighborhood. I read quite a few books by Ms. Hoag years ago so when I saw this one, I couldn't resist taking it home. Once I'm finished, I'll put it back in the Little Library along with a couple of contributions of my own.

Random Things: Ugh! The leaves are starting to fall from my neighbor's tree already. The leaves are small and blow around quite a bit. I don't mind so much that they fall in my yard, it's that they are starting to fall already. It's only the middle of August. I'm hoping that's not a sign that it's going to be a harsh winter in terms of snowfall. 

Random Photo: 

My sister shared a Boston Cream pie cake she purchased with us. I'd never had it before. It was pretty good, but I prefer the Boston Cream doughnut version.
  

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I didn't get as much written last week as I'd hoped. I'm trying to be optimistic and tell myself anything written, even if it's less than I planned, it's still moving the story forward and brings me closer to finishing the book.

Motivational Quote: "Sometimes you just have to be willing to flow." ~ Alicia Keys   Considering how my writing went last week, I thought this quote was pretty appropriate.

What I'm Reading:  I'm reading The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter. This is the 8th book in the Will Trent series. There are only 2 more books published in the series but the 11th book is being released later this year.

Random Things: I haven't baked anything in a few weeks and I'm craving cookies so I'll probably end up making some this week. I have everything to make either gingerbread chocolate chip cookies, which I love any time of the year, or chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I'll just have to decide which ones to make. I also have a lemon blueberry bread recipe I want to try, but don't have any lemons so that might wait until next week.

Random Photo:

         A picture of gingerbread chocolate chip cookies the last time I made them.
 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: Still moving forward on Mississippi's story. I'm only about 60 pages behind where I should be. I was behind nearly double that amount. I did struggle a bit last week but I think it was because I was trying to work in a sub-plot that really wasn't related to the story. I ended up going back and deleting it so my page count was a little less than I'd hoped for after those pages were removed.

Motivational Quote: I'm repeating the prior week's quote because it helped me stay the course last week. I hope it helps you with your goals as well.  "Inspiration is highly overrated. If you sit around and wait for the clouds to part, it's not liable to ever happen." ~ Chuck Close

What I'm Reading: I started reading Unseen by Karin Slaughter on Wednesday, but am only a couple of chapters into the story. Not a lot of spare time for reading last week and I didn't read before going to bed like I usually do. Unseen is the seventh book in the Will Trent series. 

Random Things: The weather has been crazy in my area for about the last week going from sunny and in the fifties one day to snowy with temperatures in the thirties to a wintery mix of snow, ice, and rain with temperatures in the forties and then back to the fifties. This has brought on a lot of changes in the barometric pressure. Unfortunately, I'm one of the people who are sensitive to those changes. I've had a near constant headache ranging in intensity from just being a nagging enough headache to let you know it's there to the pounding, you can hear your heartbeat in your head type. I'm looking forward to spring settling in so that we don't have such drastic changes in the weather.

Random Photo:

                                   A random photo of my cat, just because.😀

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: Still moving forward on Mississippi's story. I was able to get quite a bit written this past weekend. I'm still behind, but I feel like I'm getting closer to getting back on track.

Motivational Quote: "Inspiration is highly overrated. If you sit around and wait for the clouds to part, it's not liable to ever happen." ~ Chuck Close

What I'm Reading: I started reading Criminal by Karin Slaughter over the weekend. This is the 6th book in the Will Trent series. I'm not sure I'll like this book because it flashes back and then forward in time. I'm not generally a fan of those types of books.

Random Things: It's been spring like in my area the last few days. Warmer than usual for this time of year and more rainy than usual. I'll take the rain over snow any day.

Random Photo:

                                  Crocus starting to bloom in the yard already.
 

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I actually managed to get 20 pages of new material written last week for Mississippi's story. Not a lot by most standards, but more than I've been able to get accomplished the prior couple of weeks. It should be a quiet week this week so I'm planning on getting a significant amount written.

Motivational Quote: "The most profound question I believe we must ask when walking through a storm, which we all do, whether we are president or a street sweeper, is: 'What have you come to teach me? What is this situation pushing me to change in my life?' " ~ Susan Taylor

What I'm Reading: I started reading Broken by Karin Slaughter late yesterday. It's the fourth book in the Will Trent series. 

Random Things: My mom had hand surgery last Friday. I've been dealing with the stress of her injury and related pain and now surgery by baking. I've made two kinds of cookies, three different kinds of muffins, and two loaves of cinnamon swirl bread in the last week.

Random Photo:

                        Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I made early last week.