Wednesday, November 26, 2014

What's Up Wednesday



It's time for What's Up Wednesday!

WHAT I'M READING

  I almost feel like I should replace this title with "What I'm Cooking" as I am cooking Thanksgiving foods for the foreseeable future. I did manage to do some reading that wasn't cookbooks though! 
  I read a NA contemporary romance and it really wasn't my sort of book. It wasn't as original as I was hoping it would be. I finished reading the Creepy Hollow trilogy by Rachel Morgan. The first two books were so much fun but the third, while still good, felt rushed to me. I loved the series and did not want to be rushed along. My chapter a day classic is Great Expectations, which I am loving, and my kids and I are reading The Princess and the Goblin. This week I hope to read Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. 

WHAT I'M WRITING (+ ONE WRITING GOAL) 

 The only writing I did this week was on my son's homeschool portfolio.  It is thick enough to be a novel but not nearly as fun to work on. Now that it is done I can get back to something more creative, like my fairytale novel :)

  My goal this week is to work on my revisions/rewrites for Mirrors and Ice every day for fifteen minutes. 


WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Coffee with cream and a tad of maple syrup with a dash of cinnamon on top. It is the perfect writer's brew. 

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

  I am attempting to make a pie out of this massive fairytale pumpkin that the lady at the fruit stand told me was the best pie pumpkin ever. I hope she's right... I have canned pumpkin on the pantry for back up, just in case I explode the pumpkin or something. 


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

What's Up Wednesday


Can you believe that it's time for What's Up Wednesday already?

WHAT I'M READING
    I feel that I have been reading more children's books than anything else this past week. My children and I finished reading Little House In The Big Woods and we are almost done with Paddington Abroad. During lunch we are reading Stories of the Pilgrim's by Margaret B Pumhpery and my youngest is still asking for The Gingerbread Man on a daily basis.
   As for myself, I have finished The Faerie Prince by Rachel Morgan and am trying, trying, trying to make myself wait until I've read some other books I've been putting off before I purchase the sequel. My chapter a day classic is Great Expectations and I've also taken to having a poetry book going at all times. This weeks choice is Hugs and Kisses by Fida Islaih. 
WHAT I'M WRITING
  I'm still trying to regain momentum on revising Mirrors and Ice. I have a friend expecting the first chapters next month so I best get to work!

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
  What seems to be working for me is for me to just sit down and work on my revisions without thinking about them, or my future as a writer, or the dishes or anything else that will stunt my progress. Once I start thinking about anything besides what is in front of me, I'm sunk. Any hints on not thinking??? It seems to be both my inspiration and my downfall.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
 It's cold enough to wear my favorite hat!!! At least it is if I go out early enough in the day. I love the cooler weather. I was hoping that it would be cold enough for the snakes to hide away for the winter but no, they are out sunning. The librarian told me that they had one trying to get into peoples warm cars. Silly reptiles. My daughter jumped over one that was as thick as my forearm and over three feet long (insert spine tingles here). 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Celebrate the Small Things

It's time for Viclit's Celebrate the Small Things blog hop!

I used to participate in this hop every Friday and I miss it so I'm going to start back up again. It's such a great way to focus on what is good in life. 




This weeks celebrations:

  • Staying home! The past few weeks have been so busy and today has nothing in it but my normal homeschool routine. Yay!!!
  • Cool weather. The south is beautiful and has a lot of great things going for it but I am so grateful that it has finally cooled off. I actually wore closed toe shoes yesterday!
  • Getting my writing focus back.  I've missed blogging and even my writing went into a bit of a slump. This week I squished it in even though it didn't look like there was any room and I'm so glad I did. I'm a much happier and more peaceful person when I make time for what I love to do. 
What are you celebrating this week?


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

What's Up Wednesday


I've been away for awhile but it's time for What's Up Wednesday!

What I'm Reading
    Since August I have been focusing on piecing together my own homeschool curriculum and it has taken me this long to get back to my normal multiple book at a time reading habit.  I'm happy to report that I am reading Bird By Bird byAnne Lamott, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and I'm previewing The Ninja Librarians by Jen Swann Downey to see if it's something my seven year old bookworm would like. 
  None of those books were what I was in the mood for at 3 a.m. when my toddler woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I did the logical thing and added another book to the pile. I'm now reading The Faerie Prince (Creepy Hollow #2) by Rachel Morgan. I have a feeling that it might be the first of all of these titles to be finished... 
   Oh and this section wouldn't be complete without adding that I have been reading The Gingerbread Man on a constant loop to my youngest son. He doesn't usually sit still for a book so I can't resist him when he plops in my lap and begs me to read. Even if it's the same story. Again. I'm getting very good at giving the Gingerbread boy a hearty southern drawl.

What I'm Writing
Um... I sorta froze. I'm suppose to be revising/rewriting Mirrors and Ice but I sunk into a mire and spent some time feeling like a fraud, poser, fake, anything but a writer. I started back at it yesterday so hopefully I can stay on track.

What Inspires Me Right Now
  I'm very inspired that my youngest is finally letting me read to him!!! I've been trying for three years!
What Else I've Been Up To
I don't know. Folding socks? I sure that I do something because I seem to keep busy but somehow none of it feels worthy of writing about. Oh, I've been avoiding bears. Does that count? I had to slow down for one the other day while he lumbered across the road and I chased a baby one out of my garbage can. I'm convinced that one was watching from a tree the other night when I was out for a walk. I can't imagine a raccoon being heavy enough to make a branch creak like that.