Category: Randomness

Happy Veterans Day + Five on a Friday

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Happy Veterans Day!

As a proud Army wife, I encourage you to take a moment today to show your appreciation and gratitude to our nation’s Veterans, both past and present. My husband has served in the Army for nearly nine years and is currently rounding out his fourth deployment. Both of my brothers and my father-in-law are Veterans as well. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that they have all faced plenty of adversity and frustration during their deployments. Yet they never complain and each has accomplished amazing things while overseas. I am so very proud of and thankful for all who serve, but especially my incredibly selfless husband, my two courageous brothers, and my wise father-in-law. Thank you, Veterans!

With that said… I can’t believe another week has come and gone. How is it already mid-November? How is Thanksgiving only two weeks away? And Christmas… Must. Finish. Shopping! Regardless of my pre-holiday panic, I’ve got a good old-fashioned Friday Five for you today–all kinds of random about what’s going on in my life…

ONE – Though I’ve schooled my husband repeatedly on the realities of the book submission process, the statistics of a person actually selling a book, reasonable debut advance amounts and how they’re doled out, he continues to ask me this annoying yet slightly endearing question: When you sell a book, are you going to buy me a boat?

I honestly think he pictures our lives turning into a scene from Captain Ron, only insert an image of little ol’ me sitting on the boat’s bow, toiling away on my laptop, writing Best Sellers and earning bazillions of dollars. Don’t get me wrong–I’m obviously all for sailing the seven seas without a care in the world except for writing, but I can’t help but think his expectations might be the *tiniest* bit high. Please tell me I’m not the only aspiring author with a husband full of visions of grandeur!

TWO – Somehow a catalog for My Twinn dolls found its way into my mailbox, and then promptly into the hands of my daughter. She. Is. Smitten. Anytime someone asks her what she wants for Christmas, she mentions the Twinn dolls. I, however, am slightly less than horrified. Long story short, you can customize these things to look exactly like your child (down to hair texture and freckle placement) and they are NOT cheap (like, $140 for the BASIC doll!). And… they’re weird. I mean, feast your eyes on the creepy:

See! Weird, right?! Do I really need another doll taking up space in my house? One that has the EXACT same features as my daughter? One who is poseable in freakishly human ways? One whose eyes follow me around the room? Um. No, thank you, I do not.

THREE – Speaking of my daughter… We went to the most adorable Mad Hatter Tea Party last weekend! It was hosted by our local bakery (which always carries a full selection of to-die-for-amazing yummies), and we took my husband’s mom along with us. Such fun, and so well-themed! The little bottles of juice had stickers that said Drink Me! and there were cute little cookies (among MANY other treats) that said Eat Me! The bakery plans to host themed tea parties once a month. I can already proclaim with confidence that we’ll be attending all of them!

Love our local bakery!

Such an adorable theme…

Cheshire Smile Cupcakes!

Cutest girl ever! 🙂

FOUR – It’s official: Bravo has seduced me with yet another show. Work of Art, The Next Great Artist is a reality competition that’s right up my alley. Eccentric, highly emotional contestants? Check. Heaping doses of creativity? Check. Over-the-top challenges with nearly impossible deadlines? Check. Much like Top Chef, another of my favorites, Work of Art is the perfect combination of drama, talent, and completely unapologetic kookiness. There’s actually a participant who has graced himself with the moniker SUCKLORD. Like, for real. Wednesday nights, 9:00pm, Bravo. You simply must tune in!

FIVE – Pinterest. Oh, Pinterest. How I love you. I really, really do. Thanks to you, I’ve scored tons of tasty recipes and craft ideas that I’ve tried and loved and recommended to others. And, I’m getting ready to make a board full of images specific to the WIP I’m mentally preparing to rewrite. Yay for visual inspiration! But lately, Pinterest, I’ve found myself pinning pictures and links to items I adore, but don’t exactly need. I feel a little like my daughter with her Toys R Us Christmas catalog and black crayon. For example:

Herb Sheers… So cool, but a necessity? Maybe not.

A ring, which I LOVE, but probably can’t afford–not that I’d ever buy myself a diamond. That’s what husbands are for. 🙂

Boot socks! How cozy do these look? And the tops, made pretty to peek out from tall boots. I know it’s nearly winter and all, but can I honestly claim that I can’t live without these? Not really.

Smart Phone Gloves… These are genius, but can’t I just wait until I get inside to use my phone?

Aqua Notes = Coolness. Now this one… I *might* be able to justify this one.

Anywho… I’m certainly happy to see the weekend! I’ll be spending mine with my girlie and an eGalley of Kimberly Derting’s new dystopian The Pledge. As a self-proclaimed super-fan of The Body Finder series, I’m pretty excited about reading this book. Look for my Bookanista review next week!

So, what are you reading this weekend?

Pardon me for getting deep…

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This year I’ve been making grand attempts to ditch my comfort zone, and not just with my writing. I’ve read books in different genres. I’ve branched out socially in my “real life” and in the way of social media. I’ve altered the way I eat and the way I exercise. I’m even (slowly) reorganizing my closets and kitchen cabinets. Anything to make life different or healthier or easier or… fuller, if that makes sense.

Call me crazy, but I think the magic really is happening. I can genuinely say that I feel better: more relaxed, more accomplished, and, simply, happier. I also feel motivated to continue stepping out of my comfort zone. I mean really… what’s the worst that can happen?

I’m curious: How have you left your comfort zone lately?

A Halloween Recap (and Awesome News!)

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My girlie and I had a fantastic Halloween! Her costume was a hit, and she scored more treats than she’ll be able to finish in the next YEAR. As promised, a few pictures from the big day…

Headed out to the Preschool Halloween Bash.

Jack-o-lantern pizza… fun!

My girl wore her blonde wig for the official trick-or-treating, and I dressed up as Hermione. My scarf is obviously from Hogwarts. 🙂

Ready to hit the streets…

Treats!

Checking out the haul…

During the above candy count/inspection, I was checking my email (as all good writers frequently do). Well, imagine my surprise and excitement when I read a note from  The Bookanistas asking me to be a part of their amazing group!

Here’s a bit more about The Bookanistas:

We are a group of writers in various stages of the publishing process who have banded together to recommend/review the special books of our peers. Combined, we reach over 10,000 followers. (Crazy right?!) We recommend and review all kinds of children’s books, but focus mainly on YA, middle grade and now, picture books. (yes picture books too! Shocker!). As fellow writers, we have decided to only recommend books we absolutely LOVE, therefore, we do not post anything negative! Yes, that’s right! We give nothing but love! We post every Thursday covering a variety of book topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, diamonds in the rough, classics, and even dish out some cover love from time to time.

How awesome is that?! I’m thrilled, of course. The Bookanistas write fantastic book reviews, and I’ve wanted to be a member for months. And now it’s official! I want to extend a big thank you to all of the Bookanistas for taking me on, and especially Carolina Valdez-Miller and Jessi Kirby for their help and  support when I approached them about the group. You girls are amazing!

So, what does it all mean? Well, you can expect an influx of Thursday book reviews right here on my blog, plus links to reviews and posts from all of the other Bookanistas!

Win-win for all of us, I think. 🙂

So, here’s to November! Let’s hope this month continues its journey down the road of positivity, especially for my blog friends who are participating in NaNo… Good Luck, and Happy Writing!

Happy Halloween!

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Halloween is one of my daughter’s favorite holidays, so of course we’ll be getting our celebration on all day AND well into the night. My cutie pie is dressing as Rapunzel (are you surprised?) and I’m going with my Hermione Granger stand-by (because I already own a kickass Gryffindor scarf AND I can wear my hair easy-curly–yay!). We’ll be busy all day with a preschool Halloween party, then preparations for a little party we’re hosting for friends and family tonight. On the menu? Jack-o-lantern pizzas and Halloween-inspired cupcakes. Then, we’re off to trick-or-treat throughout the neighborhood. Fingers crossed for pleasant weather! Of course I’ll post a few pictures after the big events, but for now, here’s one of my girlie and me at the pumpkin patch last week…

Hope your Halloween is all kinds of spooky and fun!

Friday Fun: Fives (x2!)

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Happy Friday, Friends!

First, a Friday Five from Paper Hangover, a fantastic group blog offering writing tips, book reviews, weekly blog topics, and teen interviews. Here’s today’s prompt:

What are the FIVE best ages of your life and why?

1. Zero to Twelve – This might be a bit of a cop-out, but yeah… I had a lovely childhood full of wonderful people and experiences. There’s not one particular age I can pinpoint as the BEST of my childhood, but I can say that somewhere just after twelve, preteen anxiety and awkwardness set in. It was all down hill from there.

2. Nineteen – High school was, all in all, a pretty tragic experience. Though I had some great friends (a few I’m still friends with!) and was athletic, I was painfully shy and always obsessing about what people thought of me. I didn’t date or go to dances because I was majorly lacking in confidence. But by the time I turned nineteen and started college (Go Cougs!), I came into my own. At nineteen, I nailed down a career path (teaching, which turned out to be fairly temporary), joined a sorority (you can’t help but be social in the Greek system), and met my future husband (who has always been the life of the party and, whether he realizes it or not, played a big part in bringing me out of my shell).

3. Twenty-Two – A huge, wonderful year! I graduated from college, got married, and moved from Washington to Arizona. Twenty-two was the age at which I became a real grown-up. My husband and I bought cars, rented an apartment, learned to manage money, and figured out how to cook for ourselves. I got my first full-time job (management at Bath and Body Works… thank you, teaching degree), and we also acquired our first “baby,” a mutt named Lucy Pup-perman, who’s still driving me crazy.

4. Twenty-Five – By this point, we were living in Tennessee (loved that duty-station!), I was actually using my degree to teach fifth graders, and we had upgraded from an apartment to a house. My husband was deployed for the first chunk of this year which sucked up and down, but other than that,  life was really great. I had the most amazing class, coworkers I adored, and friends who were loads of fun. I went on a fabulous cruise with my parents and brothers, and got to welcome my husband home from a year in Iraq. Twenty-five was also the age at which I ended up with a bun in the oven. 🙂

5. Twenty-Six to Thirty – I know, I know… another cop-out, but I really can’t distinguish any one year since my daughter’s birth as greater than another. She’s just my absolute favorite person in the world, and she makes even the challenging times (three more deployments, sick family members, stressful moves) more bearable. Plus, it was during the last few years that I started writing with the goal of publication which, despite its extreme highs and lows, has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had.

Oy. I bet you didn’t think you were going to  get my whole life story out of that simple prompt.

Do tell: What were the five best ages of your life?

And, in an effort to stick with the Friday Five theme (for once!), I present you with FIVE writerly funnies…

(Courtesy of Sara McClung!)

Hope your weekend is full of awesome!

Three Things I Love (And You Will Too!)

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I’m not normally a Saturday poster, but I’ve fallen in love with three (random) things that demand sharing, like, right this second:

1) Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me – I’m fairly well-versed in the world of middle grade fiction. I used to teach fifth grade, so I have a decent collection of Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor books, and I’ve read and reread many over the years (The Giver and Island of the Blue Dolphins are among my favorites). Since I started writing YA, I’ve focused my reading pretty much on that level, but when I saw When You Reach Me at the library, I knew I had to give it a go. I’ve seen it recommended up and down, and now I know why. It was AMAZING. Seriously. One of those books that gives you chills, moves you to tears, and won’t let you stop thinking about it. Even if you’re not a big middle grade reader, I still highly recommend you give this one a shot. You won’t be disappointed!


2) This adorable You Tube video, a tutorial on 25 Ways to Wear a Scarf. Even as an enthusiastic wearer of cute scarfs, when I first saw this on Lola Sharp’s Pinterest page, I thought well, that sounds sort of lame. No. It’s all kinds of fun, and quite informative too!

 

3) Dexter Season Six – Now, to be honest, I’m not newly discovering Dexter. I’ve been a super-fan for several years (my daughter even knows who Dexter is… *sigh*), but the first episode of Season Six, which aired last week, had me at religion (also, the creepy black snakes… yikes!). Because that’s what Dexter is exploring right now: God, right and wrong, what to expose his son to, how to incorporate spirituality and morals and ethics and theology into his own nontraditional (okay, warped) lifestyle. These are musings I can relate to (though I’m certainly not toting around a dark passenger), and that makes me even MORE excited for tomorrow night’s episode!


What had you excited this weekend?

Friday Award Fun and Would you rather… :)

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Happy Friday!

Laurie Dennison over at Unavoidable Awkwardness was kind enough to pass on the Liebster Award (isn’t the little award banner adorable?!). Thanks so much, Laurie! I’m passing this one on to five fellow writer/bloggers: Kris Asselin, Sophia Richardson, Kirsten Lopresti, Jus Accardo, and AE Rought.

And, I was TAGGED by Katherine Owens (thanks, Kat!), which means I get to share ten random facts with you, and then tag some more of my favorite bloggers. So, Ten Random Facts:

  1. I’ve been married eight years and have lived in seven different houses during that time.
  2. I’m a dedicated dental flosser. I don’t get non-dental flossers.
  3. I recently cut sugar from my diet (though I do eat fruit). It was hard, but I’ve been feeling so much better since doing it.
  4. I was in a sorority during college. This surprises people. I’m not the most outgoing person, but it was seriously fun.
  5. I much prefer YA literature to any other level/genre out there. (Who doesn’t?!)
  6. I don’t like coffee, but I wish I did. It always smells so yummy!
  7. I’m a neat-freak. My house and yard are always tidy.
  8. I love Disney’s Tangled *almost* as much as my daughter.
  9. I love the ocean and the sun and the sand SO much. I dream of living in a cottage on the beach someday.
  10. I’m addicted to shopping at Target and I’m insanely happy that “my” Target is about to become one of those Targets with a full grocery.
And I’d like to TAG Laurie Dennison,  Alison Miller, Rebecca Behrens, Tracey Neithercott, Caroline Tung Richmond, Jessica Love, and Erin Bowmanto share their Ten Random Facts. Have fun, girls! 

And, since it’s been awhile, a Would you rather…? question to ponder:

Would you rather always lose or never play?

Given the fact that most of us are (or have been) ASPIRING authors, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I *think* I can guess what the common answer for this question will be… 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday Treat: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

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My cutie pie and I made some fabulous Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread yesterday. I adapted the recipe below from the one in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book to make it healthier. While I only had a tiny sample (because I’m not really eating sugar these days), I can confidently say that it turned out to be a perfect autumn treat. If you’re looking for a writerly pick-me-up, give this a shot!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread 

Spray a loaf pan with Pam, and heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In large mixing bowl combine:
1 C Almond Meal (usually found near the corn meal)
1 C Packed Brown Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 t Ground Cinnamon
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
1/4 t Ground Nutmeg 

Add:
1 C Canned Pumpkin
1/2 C Milk (I use nonfat)
2 Eggs
1/3 C Applesauce (or shortening, if you so desire)
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended… 

Add:
1 C Whole Wheat Flour

Fold in:
1 C Chocolate Chips 

Spoon into prepared pan and cook for 60 minutes. Check with toothpick. (I had to cook an additional 10 minutes.)

Enjoy!

7X7… An Award!

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My blog received an award! Coolness!

The deal with the 7X7 Award is to share seven past blog articles that fit the superlative given. Then you, lovely reader, get to go and check out those posts, if you’re so inclined. I’m also supposed to share the award with seven other bloggers.

First, thank you so much to Alicia Gregoire for passing this award on to me. She’s adorable and her blog is all kinds of fun (and funny!). Definitely check it out if you’re not already a member of her Lurkdom.

And, without further delay, I present you with my 7 blog posts…

Most Beautiful: This is a hard one! I’m going with my entry for Campaign Challenge #1 – Last Kiss, a piece of flash fiction I’m pretty proud of.

Most Helpful: Probably my hints On Querying or To Plot or Not to Plot, in which I discussed my views on (duh) plotting.

Most Popular: My How I Got an Agent story… I always love to read these too! Good news, good news, GOOD NEWS!

Most Controversial: Hmm… I’m not really a controversial kind of gal, but I last year I did a post on some Bad Advice I heard at a local writing event. You may or may not agree with my thoughts.

Most Surprisingly Successful: Ha! It’s Cookie Day! My readers love their treats. 🙂

Most Underrated: Probably a Tales From the Trenches post entitled To Be, or Not to Be, which is chock-full of fantastic questions writers might ask an agent during The Call. I spent a good, long while compiling those questions!

Most Prideworthy: An oldie but a goodie: A brief but enlightening conversation about publishing…  And a new post about inspiration, plagiarism, and Making It Yours.

And I’d like to share the 7X7 Award with the following fantastic bloggers:

Katharine Owens
Lindsay Currie
Erin Schneider 
Tracey Neithercott
Rebecca Behrens
Chantele Sedgwick
Kirsten Lopresti

Hope you girls have fun with the 7X7 Award!

A few random-ish things…

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Ahh, the start of a new week… I’ve got a few random things to share on this lovely Monday morning:

Last night I watched Disney’s Prom. I’ve wanted to see it since I caught the trailer ages ago, but I don’t make it to a lot of movies and when I have “free” time at home, I’m usually writing or cleaning or reading. So…


I finally got to spend a full ninety minutes lost in high school melodrama. It was glorious. Honestly, I’m partial to any movie set in a high school (The Breakfast Club, Clueless, The Girl Next Door, Grease, and Ten Things I Hate About You are a few of my favorites), and Prom was fairly average high school fare. A little slow, a little fluffy, but still cute enough to hold my attention and leave me with a tiny crush on Jesse, the movie’s bad-boy-heartthrob and, in my opinion, a baby Johnny Depp.


Tracey Neithercott’s Fall Book Club has officially begun! Click HERE for the official stuff (don’t worry, it’s all easy). Wondering what we’re reading?


Ransom Rigg’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. I started this weekend and yeah… absolutely loving it so far. I highly recommend you jump into the fun and join the Fall Book Club.

I’m revising again, this time with a heavy focus on pacing. I recently read James Scott Bell’s Plot and Structure (thanks for the recommendation, Jessi Kirby and Vickie Motter!) and it has been immensely helpful. Here’s what my copy looks like:


Sheesh. You’d think I’d never read a craft book! But there’s just something about James Scott Bell’s approach, his simple way of explaining what’s already trapped in the mind of any avid reader, that spoke to me. So, I highlighted the heck out of Plot and Structure, then drafted a revision plan that’s working miracles. Yippee!

Over the  last month I’ve become obsessed with this:


Best workout DVD ever. Seriously. I happily hop out of bed a half-hour early each morning to do it. I love Jillian Michaels’ no-nonsense approach. I love how I feel when I’m done. I love that my daughter now knows what “Down Dog” is. And the results! I’m seeing them! It’s so motivating!

And, finally, these photographs beg to be shared:


That’s my husband there on the left–you know, the deliciously handsome one :)–and that’s the Washington State University flag he and his buddy are raising in Afghanistan. Yep, our beloved Cougs are representing half-way around the world. Crazy to think about, right?

And one final, incredibly important thing: Happy birthday, Dad! Love you!

So, how was your weekend?