So, I have to share something really funny and exciting!
If you’ve been following me online for any time at all, you know I’ve shared about my different hobbies now and then. I mean, I make jewelry and I do mixed media art. I’m not particularly spectacular at any of it, but I do make some wearable shit, some cool refurbished boxes, and some art you can hang in the bathroom.
Anyway, I belong to a local art guild with some really, really accomplished artists who make me feel like a newbie/no-nothing (not them, they’re really nice) when I see what they can produce. Some of them make their living as artists.
So, our little town is holding a festival this fall, and it’s being billed as an “Arts Festival” with artists from all over the region being invited. The artists’ work has to be “juried”, meaning experts look at samples of your work and decide whether you’re good enough to be a part of the event.
I thought why not try. I’ve never gone through the process. I might learn something. I submitted in two categories: Jewelry and Painting. I figured maybe I’d get through on jewelry because I’ve been doing it longer, and I do have samples of more intricate stuff—wire-wrapping, leather, etc. Anyway, I got an email the other day. I was accepted for…PAINTING.
First, I laughed hysterically. Then I told me daughter, and her eyes got wide. “Mom, you have to start painting now!” Because, you know, I don’t have a lot of goodish pieces to offer.
But now, you know what I’ll be doing this summer during my free time (when I’m not writing books!!!).
The puzzle below is a picture of one of the pieces that got me approved. Have fun with the puzzle. Then share a little story about something that caught you by surprise—a blue-ribbon at the fair, a compliment on a piece of furniture you refurbed—anything like that. You’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
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The one year we’ve really needed a break and Mother Nature is being a huge asshole. We’ve been good for fifteen months, staying cooped up and being creative about our “adventuring”. All we asked for was a little pool time on Memorial Day Weekend…
For one, spring came really, really late. Usually, our pool becomes swimmable sometime in April—sometimes as early as mid-month. This year? Here we are, a day away from Memorial Day, which is always roasting hot, and we’re looking at more 75-degree weather—the coldest it’s been this time of year in fifty freaking years. So, yeah. Not happy. Wearing long-freaking-sleeves. Staring at a pool I’ve only braved twice so far this pool season.
So, last night we cuddled up on sofas and watched The Curse of La Llorona. Not the greatest horror movie, but enough jumpy-outtie stuff we giggled a lot. Hope your weekend is wonderful! Today’s puzzle is a photo of the youngest member of our family taken a few years ago. Enjoy!
Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist of books, tell me what you’re doing this weekend!
I spent years in the Army, years in a corporate cubicle, a stint in a classroom, a non-profit, etc. My time was mine to manage inside my employers’ bubbles. In fact, I was a project/program manager for years, and I planned work for others. None of that really prepared me for being a self-employed, full-time writer.
Most days, I happily hit the keyboard. I’m enthused about my story that has a drop-dead date to complete or I’m staring at a deadline to return a set of edits. Deadlines do help with motivation. However, there are days when I have my lovely month-ahead calendar sitting in front of me, with all the work parsed into numbers of pages to get me to the finish line within a very doable timeframe, when I look at it and think: But I don’t wanna. Not today.
This week is soooooo hard. It’s the last week of school for our four online students. Their mother and I have been their support/mentors/tutors all year long, bending our work schedules around theirs to make sure everything gets done.
Online schooling is hard. But we managed to help all four kids, 7 through 16-years-old, get through it. And we managed to have fun along the way, with family movie or game nights and special dinner rewards, and with limited excursions to the park or the flea market (large areas, few people). We’ve followed the rules and kept everyone healthy and happy for 14 months. We’ve drawn closer as a family because we had to be each others’ friends and playmates.
During all of this, I have managed to write. Not as prolifically as I did maybe eight years ago, but more so than I did three years ago. I carved out hours in my schedule to retreat to my “mole hole” and write.
So, why am I dragging ass lately? We’ve made it through a huge commitment. Next year, we’ll only have one child staying home because the rest have been vaccinated, and all of us have learned how to use a mask. Next year, should be easier, right? A cakewalk, really.
So, back to why I want to blow off today… There’s not anything special happening to draw my attention. I simply don’t want to open the files I need to open and bury myself in another world. I want to drink some coffee, sit on the back patio, and play some Charm King on my phone. Something that will add pages to write to all the days that follow.
In my brain, that seems like a wonderful tradeoff—until tomorrow morning comes.
I love this quote…
My answer today is tomorrow!
Contest
For a chance to win your choice of a download of one of my books, share a motivational quote or tell me how you deal with self-motivation. Are you a Last-Minute-Mary or do you do today so tomorrow is free?
This is still one of my all-time favorite music videos. Who knew Christopher Walken could dance?! It’s weird (which I love) and makes you want to move! So, this being Saturday, I know I need to bust some moves and get my space clean. Ugh, isn’t housework the worst? The weather is warming up the pool. Slowly. We’re going to try to swim late this afternoon. The pool is still a bit cloudy, but we’re tired of waiting for “perfect.” It’s so much better than the sludgy black-green it was a month ago. Sounds nasty, right? It was!
So, here’s the contest. Share the title of a music video you love. That’s it. Up for grabs is a $5 Amazon gift card.
And if you’re needing suggestions for what to read this weekend, here’s one…
That’s how I feel about Mondays! Of course, when I wake kids for online school, singing the Mamas and the Papas “Monday, Monday”, they all groan. I like getting up early, looking at a fresh To Do for the week, and hoping I keep to the plan. So many things to accomplish, and it all feels doable on Mondays. By Wednesday, I’m already playing catchup. And I’m about to blow my Monday plan this morning by sneaking out to head to the flea market. LOL
How about you? Do you love Mondays? Do they feel like a fresh start?
Comment for a chance to win your choice of one of my downloadable backlist books!
Here’s me beaming—as I look through the hundred pics their mama took before they headed out to the prom. I chose my two fave photos so I don’t bore you too much! Here’s the 17-year-old and the 16-year-old, stepbrother and sister standing in our driveway.
She didn’t want a typical prom dress–you know, with lots of tulle and sparkles. Said she wanted to look fierce. And add a black mask with rhinestones that she wore in the larger group, I bet she did look fierce and mysterious! Wish I could show you with their prom dates, but I figure that would be a privacy issue. Suffice it to say, they were just as gorgeous, just as fierce–and appropriately goofy!
Ah, good times. The kids bought that pool thermometer for me because they thought it looked like me.
We’ve had an in-grown pool for at least ten years (I think). I can usually count on getting into the pool sometime in April—the earliest date was April 12th one year. Not that the water was comfortable, but it wasn’t so cold I’d break out in welts (I suffer from cold urticaria if the water’s cooler than 76 degrees). It’s April 22nd and the outside temp the night before last was 35 degrees. The pool hovers around 60 degrees, and the weather might warm up next week, but we need several weeks of the high eighties to heat the water.
So, while I’m still wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, I’m dreaming about better days.
In the meantime, I have a book coming out. If you love a print copy rather than the ebook, the print version is available now! Just click on the cover! If you want to pre-order the ebook, head to my book page to pre-order the version you need: In His Memory page. It releases next Tuesday!
The story is emotional, very hot, and you’ll want to order the other books in the series! It’s a military romance, features a SEAL hero, and a friends-to-lovers romance! Do you have your copy reserved?
