Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Back to Normal...

The Brown-Eyed Girl and her soul mate have come and gone. Christmas was a lovely low-key success. We ate too much, hung out, and had some fun playing games.

I did a good job of putting aside my disquiet at the disruption of my routines to enjoy time with my baby girl. By the end there, we weren't too far off track with bedtimes. I did have to nap every day though, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. :0)

Everyone loved their presents. The best gift--and completely unexpected by DD--was a Cricut Machine. She'd been wanting one and was planning to get one come next summer, but I came across a sale and bought her one. She was thrilled and very much surprised. So momma done good.

This sticker is her first creation, which she just put on a random container lid. I'll share more of what she can do as she does it, but supplies aren't cheap, so it'll take time to build those up as well as to learn how to do various things.

 DD also got a mini-waffle maker and she made us chaffles Sunday night.


We had cheeseburger chaffles and that one pictured is a pepperoni pizza chaffle.

We have quite a few varieties that DD and I are excited about trying. Since chaffles are keto friendly--this should help me get back on eating plan and provide some fun alternative ways to "cook."
 
* * * * *
 
In other news, I was greeted Monday morning with this message in my inbox:
 
"Man oh man!!!!
I have loved every book in this series, but, Landon and Mads take the cake! ....would love to follow their lives further"
 
Landon and Mads are the heroes in the book I released December 17, Breakaway For Love, and book four in the Face Off For Love series. This is the first time I've gotten contacted directly by a reader and, let me say, it was quite the thrill!!
 
And yesterday morning, I completed the first draft of a novella I'm working on to submit to an online publisher. I even hit the word count goal, which has increased several times as I wrote and realized I couldn't pull off the tale in the original word count goal I specified.
 
Today, I exported the text out of Scrivener and into a Word doc and began revisions. Looking at it in a different format helps to trick the brain a little. I can see typos and missing words or spaces more easily too. It needs a bit of fleshing out and polishing up before I put it  aside to sit and percolate / rest for a couple of weeks before the final revision/polish process.

Once it's resting, I'll be writing the synopsis required for submission and percolating on hockey book 5, called Finders Keepers. :0)

Hope you're having a great (yay, SHORT) week.

See you Friday.


Monday, December 28, 2020

My 2020 Goals: A Review

 

The list is to the right, second widget down...

Of eight items, I fulfilled the spirit or the letter of exactly ONE goal.

Yikes. It sounds bad. It is bad, I suppose.

Let's hit them one by one in order.

1) Writer to my grandma in Denmark.-- I probably hit 7 months out of 12. Not great.

--> DO BETTER JEN.

2) Cook and eat better. -- My intent was to get back to eating healthier with green veggies at least three times a week. That did not happen. But DH went to the doctor and received some warnings based on blood work. So guess what--now I have way more incentive to make this happen and keep him around a bit longer.

--> MUST DO BETTER.

3) Lose 8lbs and 4". -- I started the year at 126lbs and ended it at 118lbs. That is exactly 8lbs. I swing between 115 and 118. The four inches didn't happen since I basically fell off the wagon at Thanksgiving and will be enjoying food through New Years. Four inches--ha. I probably increased by one or two, truth be told.

--> Back on the wagons come January.

4) Publish 2 books, possibly 3. -- Hockey books 2, 3, and 4 came out this year as did a box set of the first 3... bear in mind book 2 was written last year. Books 3 & 4 were written this year.

--> DO IT AGAIN JEN.

5) Complete a household project. -- Yeah, due to covid, that home gym didn't come to its full potential. Don't get me wrong, I have the equipment and I use it. I just wanted to dress the space up with a new TV (so I can watch yoga videos and DH can watch whatever) and some thick floor mats for aerobics or yoga.

--> Maybe this year.

6) Exercise twice daily. -- I traded in the morning workout for more writing time. Yoga before bed was pretty consistent for a while. Then things happened and I stopped.

--> Re-evaluate my needs and my available time and come up with a new plan.

7) Really learn plotting. -- I took a handful of classes throughout the year and I learned that I'm pretty familiar with the plotting process. Most of the classes I took had a goodly amount of sameness. What I did learn is that there's something else keeping me from writing better faster. I'm on a new trail to figuring out what's holding me back. More on that in January.

--> Find the real issue holding me back. 

...and last but not least...

8) Brainstorm characters and plot arcs for new series. -- Yeah. no. Didn't do that this year, but it's already penciled in, in my 2021 planner to work on one character a week. It's a six-book series, so that means twelve characters minimum, because two romantic leads per book, and then there's a handful of characters who will have background story arcs and show up in each book, so they'll need some fleshing out as well. I'm not sure I'll have 53 characters all told, but at least it'll be done. Once I'm done with character arcs, I can work on plot arcs...

--> Carry this one over and, you know, actually do it.

Might have to think about the ones I'm planning to carry over and come up with more of a plan to actually accomplish them.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, however you chose to spend it.

Have a great week.

 


Friday, December 25, 2020

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

 


My little Christmas will be missing a very important component, but he'll be in our thoughts for sure.

Hope you're having a lovely day--whatever that means for you.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

The Christmas Star

The great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter happened on Monday...

DD and I drove west about thirty minutes and found a good-ish spot to see the event. If you could call it an "event," lol.

 


The two planets shone brightest when we first arrived and seemed to dim as darkness deepened.

I'm not sure what we were expecting, but the whole thing was a little disappointing. I thought it'd be a bit larger and brighter over all...I mean portrayals of the Christmas Star are usually these huge shining things.

But as DD pointed out we have a lot of light and general pollution these days that wasn't around back then.

Never-the-less, I'm going to hold on to the notion that God might have, shall we say, embellished!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!


Monday, December 21, 2020

Christmas Is Nigh...

 

Three days until Christmas Eve!

I spent the weekend on random cleaning tasks and did the last of the grocery shopping. I have a few more things to do before the guests arrive, like make up their room and a bit more cleaning, what gets done in the next few days, gets done. What doesn't, doesn't. :0)

Two more sleeps until said guests--the Brown Eyed Girl and her soul mate--arrive. I last saw them in March at the dawning of the pandemic as the Brown Eyed Girl moved from Texas to Colorado.

Tonight--DD and I will be heading west to flatter, more open ground in order to see Jupiter and Saturn in the "great conjunction" which means they'll appear a mere 1/10th of a degree apart and both will be visible to the naked eye. Of course, we live in the suburbs surrounded by trees and city and buildings, so there's no way to see the horizon from the house--hence the twilight drive.

It's theorized that this great conjunction could have been what is called the Christmas Star--the star that led the Wise Men to the Baby Jesus. I'm not saying it wasn't, but I also believe God could have just created that Star for His purposes if He'd wanted.

Have a great, short week.

Catch you on Wednesday!




Friday, December 18, 2020

Christmas Movie Magic

 Aside from Penelope, which is must watch for me while wrapping presents, DD and I also watched:

The Spirit of Christmas, a movie about a young lawyer who finds romance with a ghost that takes the form of a human 12 days before Christmas. When the owner of an old inn dies, the house must be sold, however all the inspectors keep getting run off by a ghost. So lawyer Kate goes to the inn to get to the bottom of things and ends up not only solving the mystery, but falling in love with the ghost.

It's really super cute and I give it a 10!

In Runaway Romance, a reality TV star who thought her romance with her co-star was real, leaves Hollywood after finding her role being diminished both on the show, but more importantly, in real life, and finds herself in Amish country where she must decide between staying in her newfound reality or returning to her old one.

 This one is a little more kitchy, being a more low budget indie film, but still worth the time spent watching. I'll give it a 7.

Christmas Lodge tells the story of  Mary who, during a weekend away with her boyfriend, finds herself at the now run-down lodge where she spent the holidays with her family growing up. She discovers that time and nature may be too much for the owner to overcome and works to find funds for historical renovations to save Christmas Lodge.

A definite 9 if you like sappy Hallmark romances. I did get teary eyed a couple times and maybe it should be a 10, but...sappy, Hallmark-ish romance.

So if you're looking for some fun Christmas romances, here you go.

Hope you had a good week and here's to a productive or relaxing final weekend before Christmas.

Take care.


Thursday, December 17, 2020

Special Birthday Edition...


I missed yesterday, but maybe I was meant to, because twenty-five years ago today, the most beautiful being came into my life. I have loved this kid whole-heartedly and un-waveringly ever since.

He's far away from me right now and I won't get to see him for a while longer except via technology and I sure do miss him.

Happy birthday, Timothy Lynn--I love you to Pluto and back...


















 

Monday, December 14, 2020

The Stockings Were Hung...

 

No chimney, but this mirror was bought specifically for stockings...

I must confess that a) they've been hanging there all year because I forgot to pack them away last year, and b) I hadn't planned on stuffing them this year. Mostly we end up with a bunch of candy that everyone gripes they shouldn't eat. But as I planned this post, I had an idea and so now...they have a few goodies, but are not stuffed to the fluffy trim.

 

My gifts to the fam are wrapped and ready! Now we just need the fam and the big day to arrive. Woo hoo!

 
DD and I spent hours in front of the TV this weekend watching and wrapping, watching and wrapping. Penelope was first up on list, but we also queued a few other sappy Christmas themed films.


I did some cleaning in anticipation of our guests, although there is still more to be done. I also put out a few more decorations and gathered up the fall stuff...

All that's left food-wise are the perishables.

So I'd say I'm on track for a low-key, low-stress Christmas.

Hope you had a great weekend.


Friday, December 11, 2020

TGIF...




 Sadly, Sonshine will not be able to make it for Christmas. I totally understand, but he is and will be solely missed.


Have a great weekend. :0)

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Looking Ahead to 2021...

I know we're all looking forward to 2021 for obvious reasons (looking at you, pandemic)--but I'm also excited about things I've got coming down the pipe...

I'll do a review of my 2020 goals closer to the new year and I'll post my goals for 2021 early in the new year as I usually do.

I'm hoping to ramp up the blog topics a bit and have been percolating ideas for a couple of months now. I'm not saying every post, every week is going to be a scintillating read, but I'm shooting for some themes. Remember Fort Worth Friday? They'll be of a similar nature although no theme will present on a weekly basis.

Hope you're having a good week; and that you're ready for the holidays. I'm just counting the days at this point.

 See you Friday!

Monday, December 7, 2020

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...


The tree is up!

DH helped me put it together and fluff out the branches. DD help me sort ornaments and update my list of ornaments that I've bought or made for the kids and DH (and myself) over the years.



The Christmas shopping is done! A few more packages still need to show up on my doorstep, but the decisions and ordering is done. Next on the schedule as far as presents are concerned is wrapping them. Next Saturday afternoon after my writers group Zoom party... I'll plop my butt in front of the TV and fire up one of my favorite movies (Penelope) and wrap as many presents as I can.


The Christmas menu has been decided. Hoagies! Remember, we're going "non-traditional" here. Food for the Brown-Eyed Girl and her SoulMate's visit has been purchased bit by bit each week. Not quite done yet but close.

Aside from wrapping presents, I still need to do a bit more decorating, which will also happen next weekend (probably), and cleaning. Yuck. :0)

Hope your Christmas preparations are coming along at a good pace.

Have a great week!




Friday, December 4, 2020

Happy Friday

I totally forgot to post on Wednesday. It's been a week. But look-- My subscription of Perfectly Mint Tea finally arrived after a bit of a blooper. Originally I received a single box. The ZON allowed me to keep the one box and sent along the correct order of six boxes.

Will it be enough to get me through six weeks now that the temperatures are staying cool and official winter is right around the corner and the two other people in my house also enjoy a good cuppa?? That is the question. The new packaging should start appearing in stores so I'll be able to supplement as needed, I suppose.

It's now December and Christmas is right around the corner. I need to finish gift buying and find a good day to put on some movies--I've got to track down Penelope--and wrap my little heart out. I also need to get the tree up and decorated.

Twenty days and counting. :0)

How are your Christmas preparations coming along?

Have a great weekend!

Monday, November 30, 2020

Wheeeee!

Goal reached and then some! My goal for the weekend's writing was 5600+. Final word count for my four days was 5909-- Mission accomplished. Total word count after this morning's work is just over 10K. I'm barreling down on the end of the book and I'm expecting to reach 14K or 15K. Not bad for a month's or so work.

* * * * *

DD and I also finished up a craft project. Instead of buying our annual Dallas Stars ornament, I opted to DIY it. She'd purchased an ornament for another team and I decided to replicate it for the Stars this year.

From this...

...to this...

I'm quite pleased.

* * * * *

Hope you had a lovely long weekend.

Catch you Wednesday!


Friday, November 27, 2020

The Countdown Begins...

Now that Thanksgiving is barely but officially behind us, it's time to think about and start planning for Christmas.

DD has already requested something non-traditional for Christmas dinner. Actually she claims that Christmas dinner has no requirements like Thanksgiving dinner does and has requested spaghetti. Spaghetti is not something I eat often anymore, so I don't think we're going that route, but chips and queso and deviled eggs are already on the short list of nibbles.

Sadly, Sonshine will not be flying home anytime soon, but the Brown Eyed Girl and her soulmate are planning a visit home.

* * * * *

So far, so good... I reached my word count goal of 1400+ words yesterday and today. Just Saturday and Sunday to go. I do think I'll end up exceeding the projected final word count. Not that it's a bad thing, more words just means completing this WIP might take a little longer, and I'm trying to get to some other projects sooner rather than later.

* * * * *

I hope you and yours had a lovely Thanksgiving. See you Monday.