A new month, and one where the 1st hits on a Monday. My favorite kinds of months! I have no clue why, but I love my weekly calendar to start on a Monday, so maybe it stems from there. New month. New beginnings. New goals. Fresh starts. I’m participating in Camp NanoWriMo, which is the mini National Novel Writing Month thingy they do. You can pick your word count here rather than being forced to write 50,000 words. I did it way back when, I believe during their first year, and that’s when I wrote Spark. It worked well for me back then. That being said, I’ve been working on…
Growing up, when I wanted to be in the spotlight, I was. Through dance, music, theater, and more, I put myself square in the middle of the stage and relished it. Attention was the nature of the “job” if you will, especially when I was first chair trumpet, section leader in choir, starring in the musical, and the team captain of danceline. It was expected, and I loved it when I chose it. How very extroverted of me. When I didn’t want to be in the middle of it all, I hung back. A lot! I was happy to blend in, to see how something was done before I took…
A Simple, Organized Life My overarching goal this year is to simplify my life so I have time and energy to focus on what I want rather than having my attention pulled in fifty other directions. I have an inkling this might be one of your goals too.
In so many ways, I’m ready to say “Good Riddance” to 2018. It was a trying year, at best. At worst, it was a hellish landscape filled with trigger upon trigger for anyone who’s been sexually assaulted. And on top of that, time seemed to both creep by and go at the speed of lightning. I’m ready for a new start, and nothing says new start to me than a new planner. I’m actually a little behind on the planner, considering tomorrow is the new year, but that’s the beauty of undated planners. You can start any time you want! I’ve been holding out for a sale, but it never…
If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know I despise pants, aka leg prisons. I’m a skirt person or a dress person or anything-that-doesn’t-bind-at-the-waist-and-knees person. And since I work at home, I get to wear whatever I want. No dress code to follow. No one to impress. None of this has gone unnoticed by my husband, and for Christmas, he delivered. He bought me nightgowns that can double as a dress, and the fabric is so soft, it’s like wearing butter. Then yesterday I found another outfit labeled as loungewear that I had to have. I’d wandered down to the gift shop of the hospital in the hopes of finding…
I’ve been focusing on getting a great night’s sleep for the last year. I’ve struggled with epilepsy my entire life, and when I don’t sleep well, I risk having seizures. Not cool. When my sleep routine is clicking, I can be seizure free even without medication. So sleep is of ultimate importance to me. I struggle to fall asleep because I have a hard time shutting my brain off. I know I’m not alone in that, especially in this day and age. When I was in graduate school and a newlywed, I discovered the power of being read to when John picked up a book one night and started to read…
I’ve had a pretty hectic year. Not so much as a writer, since I’ve only had one new release and four re-releases. But it’s surprising how those re-releases took just as much work, if not more, than polishing up a new story. What’s been crazy is life. My daughter, Poppy, moved to a new school for her junior year, which is already a stressful year for high schoolers in the US, so that transition has been a challenge. She had her heart broken twice, so I had to be her soft spot for a bit, even if she took out her frustration and pain on me, as teens tend to…
If you have been here before, things will look quite a bit different from even a few weeks ago. New template, new colors, and a semi-familiar logo. Why? Lots of reasons! I took the plunge and moved over to a self-hosted site. I’ve needed to for ages, but the thought was overwhelming and confusing. And I was sure I’d screw it up and somehow my site would end up in the ether leading to nowhere. I’d planned on hiring someone to help do everything for me, but with the medical bills coming our way in the next few months, I need to save every dime. Also, I’m a control freak.…
As a survivor of rape and sexual assault, the last several weeks have been difficult, and listening to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday brought back painfully familiar experiences. Each of my abusers disguised their assault and rape as horseplay, and they each laughed while they stole my dignity. My consent was never given. I said no, stop, get off. Yet they didn’t, and instead, they treated it as a game. Then I actually watched an interview with a women who had teen daughters standing beside her. She said it was normal for a boy to grope a girl. That made me livid. I feel like I have…
