UPDATE: The winner is…Janie McGaugh!
*~*~*

“Will you. Won’t you. Will you. Won’t you. Will you join the dance?”
~Lewis Carroll

I think about this quote when the 8-year-old and I are in the pool. She loves to use the time to be “creative.” She sings Disney and BTS songs while acting them out. She does what she calls “splash dance,” which is her splashing water with her hands while she sings. Sometimes, she makes me guess the song while she splashes in a rhythm, and of course, I can’t guess, so I give her the most ridiculous answers I can. I love to watch her eyes roll. When she joins her hands with mine and tries to dance or do some synchronized swimming routine that she has in her head, I get twisted up like a pretzel. It’s magic, of course.

No, we don’t look like this, but her expressions are just as fierce! LOL

I will hate the summer she decides playing with Nina is no longer fun. Heck, I was crushed when the three older kids got to the point where they weren’t dying to hit the pool every day. When she “outgrows” me, I’ll be the only “kid” out there, trying to come up with my own synchronized swimming routine. More like, I’ll add some water-aerobic exercises to my daily dozen. sigh

So, tell me what keeps you young at heart? Do you play with the kids/grandkids? Do you swim like an eel in the lake or pool? Do you swing on a hammock or practice aeromancy (cloud divination) or stare at the stars at night and imagine all the billions of strange worlds out there and what it would be like to visit them?

Comment below for a chance to win your choice of download from among my backlist of books!

UPDATE! The winner is…Mary!
*~*~*

So, just a note…

Do you see “Follow My Blog” to the left of this blog post? Do you know that you never have to miss a contest or new guest? That you can have this blog delivered to your inbox every day so you don’t miss a thing? You never know what I’ll do next, so be sure to subscribe!

That’s it. That’s all I have to say (imagine that!). Be sure to follow the links below to the contests that are currently running here. I’d hate for you to miss your opportunity to win. Oh, and enjoy the topics, too! 🙂

Open Contests

1. GABRIEL releases after midnight! Plus, your recommendations! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. A New Puzzle! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. July into August (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Is it too early? (Contest) — Win a FREE book!

UPDATE The winner is…Joy Boutwell!
*~*~*

I used to be a last-minute shopper. You know, the one who hit the mall the night before Christmas to buy all the gifts. No kidding. It was horrendously stressful, but I hate shopping (unless it’s at a flea market!), so I procrastinated over Christmas.

These days, with online shopping, it’s soooooo nice. And I can stretch out the expense over several months instead of having all the bills hit at Christmas. I start early. Typically, in August. I list everyone I want to purchase a gift for then methodically start knocking it out. This year, I have six people in the house and my aunt to buy gifts for. I really, really try to consider Christmas cards for others, but again, I’m a horrible procrastinator. This year, I’m going to do better. I have a list. It’s getting “codified” in my planner. It will be done.

So, my question for you is whether you’re a procrastinator or do you squirrel away gifts over the year to give at Christmas time? A second question! Do you have any ideas for what I can do for my readers through my website or my Facebook pages? I was thinking about giving away free stories (downloads), mailing hand-painted bookmarks, and maybe doing one mailable gift for one lucky winner. Any ideas would be appreciated! I want to send some small handmade items to a couple of folks who’ve been part of my Team Delilah, too. I’ll put it in the plan!

So, for a chance to win your choice of one of my downloadable books, comment below!

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

Another month gone! 2022 is flying! This month, the kids go back to school and my weekdays will be quieter. Soon, twice daily swims will be reduced to one as the water cools. 🙁 But there’s the string of lovely holidays coming with fall, so I won’t be sad for long…

July

Here’s what I managed to accomplish…

Work-related:

1. I completed writing and published Gabriel, Book #7 in my MBH: Dead Horse, MT, series. Fig finally got her man!
2. I completed 2 editing projects for other authors in July.

Health-related:

1. I have not climbed back aboard the Weight Watchers wagon. However, I maintained 25 pounds of my loss since January. Motivation is still lagging…
2. As for physical activity, I’ve upped my steps and make multiple trips up and down the stairs! I’m swimming at least once a day, usually twice.
3. I visited the dermatologist this month. I had a spot of skin cancer in the past, but this checkup was all clear. Yay!

Happiness-related: 

1. I volunteered to serve on the board of my local art guild, so I HAVE to get out of the house and mingle with real people. Along with my board position, I committed to twice monthly “art days” where I paint at the art center with my artist friends.
2. I committed to participating in this year’s Festival of the Arts, so I must get some decent paintings done to sell in September! Yikes!
3. Here are a few of my recent pieces…

August

Do these covers excite you?

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete a story set in my sister’s Brotherhood Protector’s world! The cover is coming soon!
2. To revise and compile the Danger Zone trilogy into a single bundle and get it ready for publishing in August!
3. To plot and chart out Hard Knox, my first We Are Dead Horse story!
4. To complete 5 editing projects in August!

For health related, I plan:

1. To restart Weight Watchers (count those points!) and hope to lose at least 5 pounds, remembering: Slow is good!
2. To swim at least one time a day while I can! Mid-September is when the water gets a little too nippy…
3. To begin some low-impact aerobics. I’ll do more housework, too, because my art room is a disaster!

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To inventory the art I have and determine what I need to do next to get ready for the show!
2. To produce at least four finished pieces of art every week!
3. To blog about art (on my Emerald Casket site) just to keep myself honest! (No one actually has to read it! No one except my pal Susan does!)

Contest

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!

UPDATE: The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Susan Krippner!
*~*~*

I love this photo. I’d probably even enjoy being there, but it’s not my ideal vacation spot because, uh, too many people. After years of being surrounded by people—in the Army, in corporate life—I love my quiet rural hobby farm with just my loved ones around me. That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy a nice tropical vacation somewhere, sometime, but I’ll always sigh with relief when I pull into the gate at my place. I’m thinking about Hawaii next year… But we’ll see.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me about your dream summer vacation!

This is just a quick post. I’ll be here tomorrow with a fun puzzle for you. There are multiple prizes to be won, so enter while you still can!

Open Contests

1. Tell Me a Story or a Big Fat Lie! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: Why Write in A Shared World? (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. GABRIEL releases after midnight! Plus, your recommendations! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. A New Puzzle! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Elizabeth Andrews: Birthday Party! (Contest–2 Winners) — Win a FREE book—2 Winners!