It’s the beginning of Spring. April has new beginnings – we have hummingbirds migrating through and joining our native Anna’s hummingbirds at our feeder. This month we also have the A to Z Blogging Challenge. It’s Camp NaNoWriMo, Letter Writing Month, and Poetry Month. I suspect there are probably more, but those are just the handful we know of.

Are YOU ready for all of that?

I sure don’t think I am. I mean, we’re doing the A to Z Blog Challenge over on our group blog The Writer Zen Garden.

It really helps me to have others to play with, and who will write posts and come up with creative fun things to do.

I think it’s important to realize that it’s heavy to carry the load of all the stuff that’s going on in the world – war in Ukraine, the investigations in the U.S. Capital, the environmental crisis, and the pandemic. Wildfire season started early in Colorado last month. If you look for it, you can find all sorts of awful things.

On the other hand, we have the tools in our hands to help ourselves be resilient through it. There’s a new book by Emmanuel Acho called Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits. In it, he has some terrific ideas (and I fully recommend you read it); one of them is about a young child whose mother brought her to a rap concert. The child was sleeping in her arms on the dance floor and wore yellow earmuffs that stopped the sound, allowing her to sleep. And the genius of it is that he translates that to our own lives: wear your earmuffs.

What “noise” is pressing in on you? Is it social media? News? Oscars drama? Maybe it’s something closer to home, like at work or family dysfunction. But we can put on our own earmuffs and drown out the loudness so that we can focus on our own stuff – creative writing, making, painting, singing, dancing… What’s your stuff?

And even more important, where are your earmuffs? Your earbuds, or noise-canceling earphones, or some other tool to listen to your favorite music or uplifting podcasts. If you want to try relaxing a bit, try binaural audio. And then settle in and play with your stuff.

Me, my stuff is writing novels, weaving, and designing lace. What about you?

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
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March

January’s success has me feeling like everything I’ve accomplished after that has been less than stellar progress! March continues that sentiment—and I need to get rid of that mindset! I did accomplish some big stuff in March. Maybe not as much as I’d wanted to, and my plans were tweaked along the way based on my level of accomplishment, but I still moved forward!

Anyway, here’s what I did accomplish on my goal list…

Work-related:

1. I wrote and published my next Texas Vampires novella, No Tender Mercy.
2. I completed 4 editing projects for other authors in March, including one long novel!
3. I only wrote a couple of chapters of my next book—but hey, I started, so that’s a win, too!

Health-related:

1. I’m continuing with Weight Watchers and can proudly say that I’ve lost 23 pounds as of today! I’m not pushing to lose fast because I like how I feel (which is a good thing because I only lost 4.6 pounds this month!). I’ll continue my daily mantra: Slow is good!
2. I did not keep up with my step count. While I’m feeling better and spryer every day now that I’ve dropped so many pounds, I haven’t upped my physical activity.

Happiness-related: 

1. I’m continuing to work on the #100DayProject art challenge! It’s still HARD fitting in play time, and I’ve fallen behind the daily goal, but here are a few samples of what I’ve done so far…

April

Here’s me putting this out in the world…

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete revising and publish the sequel to Dark Legacy… Dark Seduction! (Have you pre-ordered your copy?!)
2. To get finish writing my next romantic suspense story.
3. To begin work on my next Hot SEAL book!
4. To complete 5 editing projects in April!

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue with Weight Watchers and hope to lose at least 5 pounds, remembering: Slow is good!
2. To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout, plus, add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio—counting the things I should already be doing to get ready for pool season. Maybe I’ll do more housework, too. Blech.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue working on getting my art room better organized, because I plan…
2. To produce something art-related every day this month for the #100DayProject art challenge—and hopefully catch up!

Contest

I posted this same challenge at the end of last month! I’d love to see if Spring is changing things up for you! Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read… Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

1. Honest Answers Only! (Poll & Contest–or Poll about Contests?) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Important Question!! (Puzzle-Contest, and Open Contests) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Happy Sunday, or maybe not… (Contest–2 Winners) — Win a FREE book! 2 Winners!
4. Jordyn Kross: Traveling with the Insane Pound Posse (FREE Read) — Everyone: pick up a copy of a FREE read!
5. Have you pre-ordered your copy of DARK SEDUCTION? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Charlene Lowe!
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It’s Sunday. I consider it the end of the week rather than the beginning. I reassess where I am in my “plan.” I readjust my goals—usually trying to figure out how many pages I have to write or edit to meet deadlines, what can be put on the back burner because there aren’t enough hours in the day sort of thing. Planning is my happy place (in my previous life, it was my job!), so it’s the best part of my Sunday.

I also make out my grocery list. Gah. I no longer push that off on my dd to decide what I’m going to eat because…Weight Watchers, you know (I’m down 23 pounds, by the way!). Things that are always on it are celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, lemons, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes…and then I have to think about the things that might actually make me feel full. Yeah, those are the hard decisions.

I clean up my spaces—my office, art room, and my bedroom. Blech. I can’t seem to keep my housecleaners—I’ve paid professional cleaners and my grandchildren. Everyone gets bored. I think I pay them well, and I’m easy—I don’t inspect their work with a white glove. I really, really hate housework and will do anything to avoid it. But Sunday is the “come to Jesus” time when it has to be done regardless—even if I have to do it. Monday can’t arrive with a messy workspace. I say that, and my idea of a clean desk is neat, squared piles of paper with my toys circling the stacks.

So, that’s my day and you’re probably bored as shit reading through my Sunday To Do list. So, for a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist (I’ll choose 2 winners), tell me about your Sundays. Is Sunday your end of the week or the beginning? Is it filled with lovely walks in the forest or catching up on chores?

I’m late posting! I had a morning blood draw at the VA, which hosed my day’s schedule. It’s the second time I’ve had a vein tapped in the last couple of months. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have Graves disease, and my thyroid was destroyed by a radioactive pill in the early 2000s. No big deal. Meds keep me going just fine. Until something weird crept up in my bloodwork in January. The doctor suspects that my parathyroid glands might be diseased now. I didn’t know I had parathyroid glands, but apparently, they are tucked behind the thyroid and when they act up, they cause calcium to be leeched away from bones and show up as a high calcium count in the blood. Sooooo, I’ve been steering clear of calcium-rich foods (eggs, yogurt, cheese, salmon, sardines, spinach, etc.—basically everything I’ve been eating tons of in Weight Watchers!) and I stopped taking my calcium supplement. Now, if calcium is still high, I’ll be seeing an endocrinologist for a little surgery.

Ain’t life grand?

So, a really long explanation for why I’m late and way TMI, but I have to tell someone. 🙂

I did just want to pop in and remind you that I have a short, sexy vampire book releasing tonight after midnight! Have you ordered your copy?

Pre-order your copy now!

Now, it’s back to work for me! How’s your day going?

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
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Don’t you? What’s even better to love? It’s the first Saturday of Spring Break and EVERYONE’S here together! Do you see my maniacal smile?

Well, I really am glad of the break because I’m mama’s helper getting the kids out the door, and them making her breakfast and coffee so it’s waiting on the table when she gets back from dropping them off. (No, I don’t have to, but I like to do something nice for her since she’s not the morning person and can be a little grumpy—until she sees breakfast. LOL)

Anyway, I just thought I’d see if anyone else has Spring Break fever running amok at home with no outlet (no travel, no big plans). Or do you not have kids around and Spring Break is some foreign concept you watch on the nightly news? Have fun with the puzzle, then…answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

And if you are traveling, be sure to keep safe and avoid those big, unmasked crowds! Be safe!

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! (Plus, Open Contests!) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Diana Cosby: Winter at the Marsh! (Contest) — Win a pretty tote bag!
3. We’re Dead Horse! (Contest) — Win a $5 Amazon gift card!
4. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! (Contests–Multiple Prizes!) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Peggy!
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Okay, so this isn’t me. I’m not working out like a bitch to lose weight. I have too much work to do, and I’m 63 years old. I did however make a New Year’s Resolution—top of my list, actually—that I was going to drop some pounds this year.

I know, I know. New Year’s Resolutions tend to fall by the wayside a week inside the New Year. But that’s not me. I do tend to have some, when I make them a priority, that “stick”.

Take my resolution made years and years ago to post daily on my blog. For three years straight, I didn’t miss a day. I figured out that having lots of guests helped because content is HARD! The past couple of years, I had a handful of days where I missed posting. One handful. My mother’s passing was a great excuse. I simply didn’t want to face my keyboard when all I wanted to do was vent about how painful it all was, and that’s not me. I’m not a crier. I’m not a wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve person. Not even with the people I love most. My granddaughter is going through some things, life-threatening things, but we keep this house happy and positive. We’re a funny group of people, and we always find something to laugh about. THAT’s who we are.

So, back to this picture. I made a resolution that I’d lose some weight. I don’t plan to get slim. I plan to feel good. A week ago, I was at the twenty-pound mark. I felt svelte. (I’m so not, but hey, I could suck in my belly—that’s progress!) This week, I’m bumping back to nineteen, and I’m angry. No, I do not want to give up a morning of writing/editing to up my step-count. I want to work. So, I’m looking at the reasons why I’m plateauing. I’m not going to think too hard. I don’t have the time. I’ll cut out more salt (who eats eggs without salt?!). I’ll go back to being strict about my portions (I don’t like portions. I’d rather graze all day on 0-point foods!). Maybe, in the end, I’ll just relax. It is working. I’m standing taller. I’m not huffing up the stairs. My clothes are getting looser. I shouldn’t obsess over the scale.

I paid for seven months of online Weight Watchers. That told my family how serious I was. I’m two-and-a-half months in, and I still enter everything I eat in their little point counter. That’s dedication. It’s a habit now. I need more good habits.

Still, the picture above is funny. Although my hair’s getting more silver by the day rather than blonde now, that’s what I’d look like in a tight workout outfit. Maybe, I’ll go look for my handweights and place them beside my desk for “thinking time.” I wonder where that old Shake Weight is—it makes me laugh.

For a chance to win your choice of one of my backlist books, tell me what you do to make good, healthy habits!

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
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National Procrastination Week is a thing! How exciting is that? It runs March 6th through March 12th, so I’m a little late telling you all about it—but isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work? LOL

Most days, procrastinating is kind of a bad thing. You put off things you should be doing now—which can have consequences, even if the only one is added stress for you. So why celebrate it?

Use the holiday as your excuse to put something off you really don’t want to do now! Say, It’s National Procrastination Week, dear! The trash can pile at the curb; the laundry can build until it overflows the basket. I can start that book next week—I have a holiday to celebrate!

Here’s my procrastination rant: Yup… I have two whole weeks to finish this book. Woops, it’s ten days now. Still, I can push through to finish it next week. I’ve done it before. I work best under pressure. Adrenaline fuels my muse… 

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, give me your procrastination rant!