Category: ME

Phoenix Discoveries…

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I spent last week in Phoenix visiting my parents. My daughter came too (of course!) and had all kinds of fun being spoiled by her Nana and Poppy. We’re paying for the over-indulgences now, but it’s all good. The sun, the swimming, the ice cream, and the family time make it all worthwhile. Turns out I learned a few things over the course of my stay in the Valley of the Sun. Here’s what…

-My daughter looks great in orange. Also, she’s extra adorable when giggling.

-It is far too hot in Phoenix to run outdoors. At 6:30 in the morning it was 87 degrees. I tried once, then wised up. The next morning I hit the air-conditioned fitness center.

-Almond milk is yummier than regular milk. It also has fewer calories and more calcium. Who knew? (Thanks for introducing me, Mom!)

-Three novels and a nonfiction are too many books for five days. I did get through two though (Room and Bird by Bird). They were both excellent.

-CBS’s Big Brother is better when watched with people who are ready and willing to slam it. (Ugh… am I the only one who hates Rachel? Am I the only one who watches even though I’m super embarrassed about it?)

-A girl can never have too many swimsuits.

-Dairy Queen’s Peanut Buster Parfaits can be made at home with vanilla ice cream, good hot fudge, and Spanish peanuts.

–Naartjie carries the cutest kids’ clothes ever. Why oh why can’t there be a store closer to me? (Actually, it’s probably best there’s not. :))

-Parents flying with preschoolers should not expect to get any legitimate work done. Instead, prepare yourself for loads of coloring.

-Editing is way more fun when the comments in the review field are funny/spot-on/complimentary/honest/thoughtful/helpful/sprinkled with smiley faces.

-I didn’t actually discover this while in Phoenix, but it’s worth repeating: My daughter is my very favorite person. She constantly makes me smile.

What have you discovered this summer?

Ahh… Summer

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So, we’re most definitely in the throes of summer around here. Back in May I was kind of dreading this season, thinking it would drag on forever, what with the preschool break, my husband’s deployment, and the long daylight hours. In fact, so far it’s flown by, and I’ve been very busy.


There’s been lots of work–both revising (Where Poppies Bloom) and rewriting (Cross My Heart–you know you love my color-coding). I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel in the revision department. The rewriting… not so much.


There’s also been lots of time spent with this little cutie pie. Holy cow does she keep me busy! (I’m currently staring at this picture and wondering when I started looking so OLD… Eek. Time to up the SPF, I think.)


My kiddo and I have spent lots of time exploring our lovely Puget Sound “beaches.” We’ve found crabs and broken seashells and pennies and bits of jelly fish. Sadly, there’s been no swimming.


Don’t worry though–when it gets too hot, we risk our lives on backyard toys like this.


In quieter times, I’m been prepping for a very Tangled 4th birthday bash. So far I’ve got the kingdom flags, hair flowers, invitations, and a costume fit for a Princess (there’s a tutu too!). If only I could wrap my head around food, activities, balloons and party favors.


I’m also trying to put a dent in this insanity. (Don’t judge. You know your To-Read pile is out of control.) It’s hard to make the piles shrink when I just keep buying books, but hey, I suppose as far as vices go, this one isn’t too terrible. Any recommendations on what I should read next?

There’s also been running, cleaning, library trips, play dates, baking (Death by Triple Chocolate Brownies–yum!), yard work, a local Peter Pan play, pedicures, and time with family… whew!

On Wednesday my kiddo and I are headed to Phoenix to visit my parents and bake ourselves to perfection at 110 degrees. Should be lots of fun! Unfortunately, my blogging will probably slow (or stop) during the next week, but I look forward to returning refreshed and rested. 🙂

How’s your summer shaping up? Any fun activities you want to tell me about?

Time Management (Or Not)

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Lately I’ve thinking a lot about 2006. It was a weird year. I was living in Tennessee about two-thousand miles from my family and lifelong friends,my husband was deployed, and I was childless. Since I’d had a roommate or lived in a sorority house all through college and my husband and I got married two weeks after graduation, 2006 was my first experience with living completely alone. It was cool. I could eat whatever I wanted, watch whatever I wanted on TV, sleep whenever I wanted, go wherever I wanted. Granted, I was teaching full-time, but from about 4pm to 11pm, I could do as I pleased.

Now, whenever I think about 2006, I ponder with equal parts bewilderment and annoyance the following questions: WHY THE HELL DID I WASTE ALL THAT FREE TIME?! WHY DON’T I HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW FOR IT?! WHY WASN’T I WRITING SERIOUSLY BACK THEN?!

Lately, there just does not seem to be enough time in the day. Thanks to yet another deployment (the fourth of my eight year marriage, in case you’re curious), I am essentially a single parent. Luckily, I have a sweet, well-behaved, awesome-to-hang-out-with child, but holy cow does she keep me busy! I feel like I’m running her all over Western Washington (ballet and swimming and play dates and Spanish) all day everyday, and when we aren’t rushing to one of her activities, there’s grocery shopping and lawn mowing and house cleaning and bill paying and dog walking… plus, I’ve recently decided to run an organized 5K, so there’s exercise to fit in to the day as well.


Did you notice that I didn’t list writing on my above list of activities? That’s because by the time my kiddo goes to bed, I’m too exhausted to sit up straight, let alone add to my WIP word count. Still, I’m trying hard to fit it in. I’ve got three different projects in varying stages of crazy completion. Where Poppies Bloom is close to being “done” and hopefully on submission, Cross My Heart is being replotted and rewritten (I’m REALLY excited about where it’s going!), and Bus WIP is… well, very much still a WIP.

I’ve come to the realization that I’m going to have to do some serious prioritizing to ensure that I’m getting everything I need to get done DONE, and that includes writing. But for me, there are a few things that will always come before I sit down at my computer to work:

~Family. My daughter (and my husband, when he’s home) come first.
~My health, including exercise and nutrition (I will never be one of those people who’s working so hard that oops, I forget to eat).
~The cleanliness of my house. I simply can’t clear my head enough to write when I’m surrounded by clutter.
~Reading. I consider it professional development, plus, I really enjoy it.

And there are some things I’m more than happy to let go of in order to get the words down on paper:

~TV, Movies, Magazines. Thank goodness for DVR and Netflix. 🙂
~Hobbies. Once upon a time, I fancied myself a quilter (no, I am not eighty), but that little pastime has kind of gone by the wayside over the last few years.
~My Social Life. If you don’t have a four-year-old who my daughter likes to play with, I’m probably not spending a lot of time with you. Sad but true.
~Sleep. Overrated.
~Social Media. This is a hard one because often it goes hand-in-hand with a successful writing career. BUT, there’s no writing career if there are no complete manuscripts.


So, I’m curious… how do you prioritize your time? What are you willing to sacrifice for writing? What comes first for you?

RTW: Fleeing the Flames

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Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where the ladies at YA Highway post a weekly writing- or reading-related question for participants to respond to on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: Your house is on fire and you can only grab FIVE things before you flee. What are they?

Well isn’t this an uplifting question to ponder…

Even if we assume my husband, daughter and dogs are safe, there just aren’t that many material items I care much about. In the end, the five things I’d choose to save hold some sort of sentimental value or have a particular memory attached to them:

Image Credit

1) My daughter’s baby book, full of pictures, newborn memorabilia, and journaling I did during her first year. Irreplaceable.

2) My jewelry box–not because I own tons of expensive pieces, but because each piece was given to me by my husband and marks a certain significant event in our lives.
 
3) My laptop, for obvious reasons.
 
4) My wedding photos, because I got married so long ago I don’t have them on a disc. I don’t even like them much, but I imagine my daughter might want to see them someday.
 
5) My daughter’s big basket of Princess figurines. She LOVES to play with them and would be lost without them.  
 
So, if your house was burning, what would YOU save?

Eight Years ♥

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I have been married EIGHT years today. How time flies! My husband is an amazing man, the world’s best daddy, and I adore him.

This is how we rolled in 2003… 


Not much has changed in 2011. Except, you know, parenthood…


Very few men can pose with Spidey (wearing an Ewok t-shirt, no less) and still look hot.

What’s not to love?

RTW: First Smooches

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Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: Compare your first kiss with your favorite characters’ first kiss…

Eek… I’m sort of sad to admit that I can’t even remember the name of the first boy I kissed. I do remember the experience though, and the sentiment behind it, and it was quite similar to the first kiss of Callie and Tucker from my story Where Poppies Bloom:

            He leans in, drawing me closer with a gentle hand on the back of my neck. “I’m gonna see you tomorrow morning, right?”

            I shrug. “If you’re lucky.”

            He drifts closer, his mouth curling into a lopsided smile. “Oh, that’s how it is?”

            I’m about to reply when he cuts me off with the press of his mouth against mine. It’s tantalizingly drawn out, and it comes with the mind-blowing, Holy hell! realization that Tucker Morgan is kissing me. I let him lead, his mouth moving slow, feather light and full of restraint, teasing me until I’m almost bursting with the untapped energy between us. When he pulls away, I’m breathless.

Yeah, mine was sort of like that, what with the tentativeness and nervous energy. Now that I really think about it, every kiss I’ve ever written shares something with one of the stand-out kisses I’ve had (mostly with my husband… love ya, babe! :)). Funny how my real life experiences find their way into my writing, often without me being conscious of it.

 What about you? How does your first kiss compare to that of your characters’ or your favorite characters’?

The Versatile Blogger :)

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Yay! The lovely Sophia Richardson (of My Fleet-Footed Self) has passed The Versatile Blogger award to me. I’m honored and excited–my very first blog award! 🙂 Thanks so much, Sophia!

Here are the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award (of course!).
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason.
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

So, um… seven things about myself. Why do I feel so much pressure to be entertaining?!

1. I started out a reluctant blogger. Basically, my critique partners applied some gentle pressure (okay, they may have hounded me) to which I finally succumbed. That was about a year ago. Somehow, I’ve morphed into an enthusiastic blogger–so much so that sometimes I’m blogging when I should be writing.

2. I’m an unapologetic Disney-aholic. I’ve passed on my love of the parks, the characters, and the movies to my daughter. Now, we’re a team capable of hounding my husband into watching Princess movies on Friday nights and taking multiple trips to Disney World when he swore he’d only go once a decade.  Yeah, right.

3. I’m a country music freak, and I absolutely love going to concerts. There’s nothing better than seeing Kenny Chesney or Tim McGraw or Sugarland perform live. My obsession began when we lived near Nashville, and has only grown since. Next on my must-see list? Zac Brown Band.

4. I’m most inspired by the writing and storytelling of Jandy Nelson, Melina Marchetta, Gayle Forman, Judy Blume, JK Rowling, Curtis Sittenfield and Ken Follett.

5. Michael C. Hall is, in my humble opinion, the best actor EVER. Loved him as David on Six Feet Under, adore him as Dexter.

6. I’m reluctant to the most trivial kinds of change. I eat the exact same breakfast every day. I drive the original route I learned to get someplace, even if I later learn a quicker or easier way. I hate starting new books and getting to know new characters . I plan my days, weeks, and months in advance as carefully as possible. I’ve always been this way, but I think my “condition” has been exacerbated by my constantly changing Army wife lifestyle. When your husband gets shipped out on a moment’s notice and you’re forced to move every two or three years, you learn to grasp on to the little things you can control.

7. I used to teach fifth grade. At the time, I loved it and poured everything I had into it. Now, I have absolutely no desire to go back. Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve stopped caring about other people’s children. Is that terrible?

And ten fantastic bloggers I’d like to share this award with:

Heather Howland
Jessica Love
Katharine Owens
Amie Kaufman
Caroline Tung Richmond
Tracey Neithercott
Erin Bowman
Rebecca Behrens
June Goodwin
Brenda Drake

RTW: Scarred for Life

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: What is the story of your best scar?

Gosh, I wish I had a sensational or courageous or funny story for this one, but truth be told, my scars are pretty boring. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has never turned his wand of evil on me. While I’m fairly clumsy, my escapades more often result in bruises and broken toes (I’ve fractured two) than flesh wounds. (“‘Tis but a flesh wound!” Geez. Thank you, Monty Python.)

I do have one gnarly scar on my wrist, a result of cutting TOWARD myself with a box cutter during my oh-so-glamorous stint as part-time manager of a Bath and Body Works. My boss had to drive me to the hospital where I then had to convince multiple doctors and nurses that no, I definitely was not trying to hurt myself. My stupidity resulted in a few stitches and a big I TOLD YOU SO from my husband, who had often lectured me about cutting away from myself. Truth be told, I still cut toward myself from time to time; apparently some life lessons take longer than others to sink in.  

What’s the story behind your best scar?

Tales from the Trenches: KEEP CALM and WRITE ON

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So, today my über talented and supremely generous cousin, Carla Essen*, sent me an enigmatic DM: What’s your favorite color? I’m making you something. My curiosity was immediately piqued, so I replied with: Pink or red, then I waited. A short while later I found this gem** in my inbox:

First, I’m so glad she chose pink for me. Second, how cute is that crown on top?! And third, I’ve taken the above statement on as my new mantra.

This industry has too many stresses that are too easy to get caught up in, especially if you’re stuck in the query trenches (like me!) or trudging down the long submission road (so I’ve heard!). I often find myself so keyed up about query etiquette, social networking, the perfect pitch, blogging and blog reading, the unforeseeable future of publishing, who’s gotten how big an advance, and (insert any number of trivial things here), that I forget my main goal: Write and write well.

So, from now on I’m going to KEEP CALM and WRITE ON. You should too!

*Carla has an amazing talent for photography, among many other things.
**You have Carla’s permission (and mine!) to lift this graphic to use on your own blog if you’d like. 🙂