A New Writing Website, I'm A Winner, and Other Stuff:

Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I've been struggling for the past two weeks with what I wanted to write here. I'm resistant to the thought of going back to a "This is what I did today" format, so I'm trying to find interesting things to share on my blog. My friend, Patti, told me to write about my passion. Right now, that's writing--but not just my own, and I'll talk about that in a minute. Right now, I just want to say that things have changed a lot for me. I don't have as much free time as I did a year ago, but in many ways, that's a very good thing. It's forcing me to grow as a writer, to learn how to better manage my time, to learn discipline, to make time for what matters (even when it seems frivolous) rather than just doing whatever strikes my fancy in the moment. While that may be well and good for some people, it's very undisciplined, and one cannot be successful letting the winds take them every which way.

In an effort to earn some extra money while having fun with something I enjoy, I've become a part of a new Web site for writers. It's called Your Story Starters, and we're trying to gear it toward writers suffering from what many refer to as "writer's block," as well as teachers looking for material for their students. We offer prompts--story starters--that will get people thinking and, of course, writing. We've seen many sites on the Internet, many books, offering prompts. Most of them are very basic, or they're just plain weird or funny or--definitely not what we're offering. We try to give some tips and questions to get the writer or student thinking, to get them excited about the piece. We're not getting these prompts from other sources. We're putting a lot of time and effort into them because we want to offer the best product out there. We want to go above and beyond what everyone else is doing. We want to put out a product we can take pride in, something that people will recommend to others.

As a result of this, I'm learning a bit about social networking. I've had a Twitter account for a long time, as well as a Facebook account and a Google+ account, but I haven't used them as much as I could have. Mainly, they just seemed very overwhelming for someone who didn't really have anything to say most of the time. Now that I have something to talk about, I find I'm actually looking for things to Tweet or update about. And I'm finding I really love our hashtags (#yss and #yourstorystarters), even if we've only just begun using them. We're not making any money with this yet, but it's only a matter of time, right? The most important thing right now is that we're having fun, but we're also treating this as a real business, because that's what it is. It's work, and hard work at that, even if it is fun work. I'm glad to be a part of this, and I plan to do my part in making it the success I believe it can be.

In other news, Nanowrimo is coming up. I have no idea what I'll write. I haven't worked out any storylines. But I think I'd like to write some kind of fantasy. I have a D&D-style story I was working on, but I want to change it to fit my own fantasy world. The character names will all remain the same, but I'll have to tweak certain details. Should be interesting. I think for this year's Nanowrimo, I'll concentrate on the character's backstories. I should have plenty of information to come up with a novella length document.

I also have another story in the works. I'm working on the outline. It's slowgoing, and it's not for publication. It's for the roleplay. It's an interesting concept, and there's a lot to consider in this story. I want it to be complex, but interesting. Most of all, I need the characters to be real. Shouldn't be a problem. The hardest part is plotting, which is always the case, and I've got lots to go on in that regard. I'm still really loving my character, Dakota, too!

And now for the personal stuff. Eric and Chelsey have moved back up to Joplin. I won't go into detail, but Eric's already got a job, and he's also working on their new house with Chelsey's dad. It's a ton of work. Chelsey's been really busy, too. And Josiah's started pre-school. From what I've heard, he really loves it.

Jeff's still working at the greenhouse, and I still can't help wondering when they'll "go out of business" again or something, but I'm trying to stay positive and learn contentment where I am. Most of the time, it's relatively easy, but there are times when it's not. Just need to keep from letting those times bog me down. Easier said than done. 'Nuf said?

My mom's here. She's been here for more than two months. It's been a good visit. I feel kind of guilty spending so much time back in the studio working on this or that, but we get time to socialize in the evenings, too. And I imagine she loves the peace and quiet as much as I do.

We're hoping to go up to Joplin before my mom goes back. When the kids moved back up there, we went with them. Jeff drove the truck, and I kept him company. This was when Isaac came through, but it wasn't really that bad. It was kind of nice, actually. And as always, it was great to see Jeff's dad and step-mom. We want to go up there again within the next six weeks. We need to sit down and discuss when would be a good time. We'll also need to head to the airport at some point, when my mom has to fly back home.

Oh! One other thing on the subject of writing--sort of. I actually won a book! I follow The Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson, on Twitter and Facebook. I also subscribe to her email, since I tend to miss a lot of tweets and status updates. In one of the most recent e-mails, I saw that she was doing a mini tour on the Internet, and I could possibly win her new book, The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-By-Step Exercises To Help You Create Compelling Stories. All I had to do was comment on an entry to be eligible. I didn't expect to win anything, but I wanted to comment and let my support for The Plot Whisperer be known. I figured I'd buy the workbook after a little while, so winning wasn't really all that important to me. But I won! I actually won! :D So far, I really love it. It asks a lot of really great questions about the plot, the characters, etc. I plan to use this for my Nanowrimo book of backstories, too. It should help make my characters and their world ever more complex and realistic, as well as the main story, when I get around to creating it.

~L

Note: Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wow! Could It Be A Real Post?

Good morning! It's been a while since I've posted a "real" post, I know, but I'm here now. :)

This weekend was a little different. Friday morning, I asked Jeff what we were doing. I knew what needed to be done over the weekend. I just wanted to know what we were doing that day. We never decided before I posted my dailies, so I just puttered around a bit...on and off the computer...until about dinner time. Jeff then suggested we go out to get something to eat, so we went to Taco Bell.

After that, we went to Hobby Lobby. I got some yarn and knitting needles there with my 40% off coupon.

Then we headed down to the shopping center. Our first stop there was Shoe Carnival. We both bought hikers, and I have to say, mine are so much more comfortable than the shoes I bought last time I was there! :D

Next, we went to Books-A-Million to see if they had a Kindle on display. They didn't, so we headed over to Target so I could pick something up. They had Kindles on display, but they didn't work. :(

Our next stop was PetCo, where we bought some fish food, cookies for Nikita, and two more African Dwarf Frogs:



One of the older frogs seemed really interested in thenewcomers while they were being acclimated. Hestayed there,watching, for several minutes.


One of the newcomers

We got home late, and went to bed a lot later than usual, as acclimating the frogs to the aquarium took a long time.

Yesterday morning, we slept in. I never had time to post my dailies until last night, as we were out pretty much all day. We went to Hobby Lobby with another 40% off coupon, which I used for more knitting needles. I also got some more yarn and a yard of cloth to send to a friend who's going to make me a cover for my "tea cart":



My "tea cart" is really just a TV cart being used for all mytea and supplies. I like having it handy! :)


The material goes perfectly with my moss green walls, andthe pinks in it match the pink in some of mydecorative boxes! :D

I did a little rearranging in my studio last week, and I moved my new coffeemaker and all my tea stuff in to where I used to have my laptop table. I moved the laptop table back in front of the windows, where it used to be a long time ago.

Speaking of, I need to fix myself a cup before the coffeemaker shuts off...

Anyway, after that, we went to Staples to see if they had a Kindle on display. They had two, but one only showed a demonstration on the screen. That was the newer, bigger, more expensive one. That's not the one I want. I want the other one they had on display, the smaller one with free 3G. You could leaf through books that were on it and you could really play with it. Yay! :D I really, really want one more than ever now. ;)

We looked around at the furniture there. I saw a computer cart, some book cases (Jeff liked the three-shelf bookcase, but I like the lower profile of the two shelf, especially since it's wide, not narrow) and some other desks I really liked. Hopefully, I can get that cart sometime. It would be awesome. :)

After we left Staples, we headed over to Walmart to do our grocery shopping. We saw Eric and Chelsey and Chelsey's friend leaving, and since I had my Knitbook binder with me, I gave it to Chelsey (I'd told her I would give it to her the next time I saw her). We talked to them for a couple of minutes, then they left and we went inside to do our shopping.

It's been a pretty good weekend. We spent more than usual, but considering the things we bought, we did very well. Also, Jeff just paid the mortgage and put a large chunk toward his credit card bill (we had to fall back on it when he was unemployed), so our bank account balance has gone down a lot, but we'll build it up again.

And speaking of that, I'm finally getting serious about studying my driver's manual so Jeff can teach me to drive. Once I have my license, I plan to start looking for a job. The plan is to earn the money to fix up this house so either, A) we'll like it enough to live in it indefinitely, or B) we'll be able to sell this house and get something better closer to town.

You know, we looked at a house near the new library, but we turned it down because it needed a ton of work. I'm kicking myself over that now, because we could have fixed it up and it would be a much better house than this one...and I'd be right across the street from the library! It cost something like 58,000, I think. It might have been 68,000. I can't remember. Either way, for what we spent on this house, we could have bought that one, got a home improvement loan, and fixed it up. We'd be in town, and I'd be so close to the library!

Oh, well, no use whining about it. I'm done. ;)

I did a little writing this past week, but I did more research than anything. I finished a short story I'd been working on...a Will Scarlet short story. :)

Tomorrow, I'll be babysitting, so if I get any writing done, it will likely be after that. Today, I'll be designing and printing pages for my Day Timer. I need to work out a schedule. I've got several things I want to start doing:

• Write something every day
• Research for my writing
• Editing every day
• Sit down every day and do some real, honest-to-goodness reading!
• Start turning some of my art cards into other things, such as mugs, t-shirts, keychains, etc.
• Create some new art cards and other artwork
• Knit and/or crochet

So, I've got a lot of stuff I want to start doing on a daily basis (at least on my week days, which right now are Sunday through Thursday). I also want to get some of my writing ready for submission, as well as some of my artwork.

Of course, sometimes I have to babysit, so I have to be able to drop everything for that. But it should only be one day a week, and not even every week. Occasionally, it will be more than once a week, but it shouldn't be a problem. As long as I can work on at least one or two things on those days, I'll be fine. And the weekends I'll save for hanging with my hubby. :)

And on that note, I'd better get busy with those Day Planner pages. ;)

But first, here are a few more pictures:



Jeff looking through our new seed packets.In this picture, he's checking out the Lupines.


To brighten your day, Snapdragons andTexas Blue Bonnets! :D


Snapdragon buds close up with opened flowersin the background

I hope you're all happy and healthy! Have a good one,

Lois

Crafts, Fish, Writing, Etc. (28 September 2010)

Sorry this is so late. I've been busy.

Jeff and I bought a male betta this weekend. He's a Crowntail betta, same as the female I had. We also bought him his own little tank, which I'm taking care of in the bedroom. So far, he's doing well, but I've heard that I should feed him every other day, instead of every day. From what I've seen of him, I think that's true, as he doesn't eat much. Anyway, he's beautiful. Here are some pictures:







The kids bought some more fish last night, and it seems they're all pairing off. It's really cute. And we think one of the black tetras they bought last time is pregnant. I wonder if there's some way to put the eggs/ fry in a separate dish to keep them safe for a couple of weeks...

I finished Cyrus's afghan last week, so we went to Hobby Lobby to get some yarn so I could start on Josiah's. We went back to Hobby Lobby yesterday so I could get another skein. I bought bright golden yellow with a coupon for 40% off. I have a theme for this afghan. I'm calling it "Sea and Sky," and the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 will be made from the colors of the ocean (green for seaweed and other aquatic plants, dark blue for the deeper water, and teal for the surface water), then I'll use green again to separate the ocean from the sky, then I'll start on the colors of a sunset for the sky part of the afghan (golden yellow, orange, red, reddish purple, dark blue). So far, it's looking pretty good. Again, here are some pictures:









And, of course, I can't post this without adding some piccies of the baby afghan. :) Here they are:







Eric gave me a pair of camouflage shoes he and Chelsey bought for Josiah when he was a newborn, and they want me to send them to Leah when I send the afghan. Here they are, as well:




Aren't they cute? :D

I did a lot of rearranging around the house yesterday. I moved a bookcase into the bedroom. The betta tank is sitting on top of that under a lamp. I also got rid of one of the folding tables, and it will likely go into the living room soon so my mom can use it while she's here. And I moved my favorite little table next to the bed (on my side). Juggling things around allowed me to free up a bookcase for the kids, which currently still sits in the guest room. I would take pictures of all this, but I doubt anyone's really all that interested in it. ;)

Speaking of the kids, I have great news! They've been on a waiting list for a while now to get into an apartment, and they just got word that they can move in soon--as in a couple of weeks (or so). They went to see it, but it was having some maintenance done to it. Still, they'll have their own place! :D I've been going through our things to see what we can give them. I'm not done yet, but at least it's a start. :)

We bought an Asparagus Sprengeri at Walmart on Saturday, and I'll be planting that in the glass container I bought last week. I plan to plant it today, making it an open terrarium. Here's a picture of that:





I also bought a cute little scarecrow for $1, and it's staked in my grass planter. Here are two pictures:







And I knitted a cozy for my large French press this weekend. I also knitted two cup warmers. One is very large, one is small. Here's a picture of the cozy and the small cup warmer, and it's the last picture for today.





I plan to work on my modern fantasy today. I've got the basic outline, I just need to read it, take notes, then begin tweaking it.

I'll work on the afghan later this afternoon. I also need to start work on my contributions to this year's goody bags for the Nanowrimo Kick-Off Party. I can't wait! :D I'm giving tea again, and I need to design the tags, then start assembling the bags.

At some point, Jeff and I will have to go back to the library, too. I put two audio books and two other books on hold.

Have a great week!

Lois

On the Road Again - I Just Can't Wait To Get On the Road Again

Yesterday was a very good day. I did some cleaning and cooking in the morning, and Chelsey did some cleaning. Eric did some stuff, too...like cleaning my mom's fan. I think I mentioned all this yesterday, though. ;)

I've made a Bollywood movie fan out of Chelsey, much to Eric's chagrin. ;) We watched Chance Pe Dance, starring Shahid Kapoor (see my userpic above), last night. This is one of those movies I just have to have. I want both the DVD and the CD soundtrack. I also plan on getting Naksha, Kurbaan, Shootout At Lokhandwala, and Singh Is Kinng, at some point. There are others, too, but I'm taking them one or two at a time.

We'll be leaving around 12:30-1:00 today to pick up my mom at the airport. Her room is mostly ready. We still have the gate up to keep the dog and cat from murdering each other, but it shouldn't be a problem now that I'm spending my days in the living room.

Our Huntington Rose bush has lots of flowers on it. The Lady Jane Grey had one, and I cut it off this morning to put in a small glass. It smells like tea! :D And the Arizona rose has a rose on it, but it's already faded to a mottled pink. :( I'm waiting for the Jacqueline Du Pre to get some more blooms. I don't think it even has buds right now.

And I'm hoping to order a Queen of Sweden rose sometime in the next few days. I got my jury duty check in the mail yesterday, and I plan to use some of that for it.

Anyway, I may or may not get some writing done today. If I do, it will be while we're on the road. We were supposed to have storms today, but they've moved the prediction to tomorrow. Today is supposed to be mostly sunny! :D Of course, that will make it hard to see the computer screen for writing, but if I can do it, I'm going to try.

Have an awesome day!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

Today, I Have to Write, Lest I Waste Away!

I'm still here! :D Some of you may have heard that our general area had severe storms and tornadoes. Our immediate area was spared, thank God. Normally, I'd be a little worried because there was a chance of severe storms into the night, and around here, tornadoes are usually part of the watch. For some reason, I had peace. It could have been because of the prayer I said before heading to bed. I've no doubt we've been protected more than once. :)

I did a little writing yesterday...only about a page, but progress is progress. Since the weather was crappy, I decided to use that as inspiration. It's supposed to be rainy for the next few days, so I shouldn't have any problems with this story. ;) I plan to work on it some more today, as well as the screenplay. I'll do some editing, too.

Salvation Army came to pick up a few things yesterday. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't take the mattress we wanted to get rid of, but they did. Whew! That's a load off my mind. I wasn't sure where we'd put it when my mom comes. ;)

While they were here, we found out that Niki would definitely make a good watchdog. She wouldn't shut up until they were gone! :P

Our anniversary is Monday (May 3) and I have to go pick up a cake my cousin's wife made for us. I haven't seen it or anything, but I wanted to help her out in her new cake-making business. She said to pick it up tonight, but I'm going to see if I can get it sometime during the day today, instead.

Speaking of Eric and Chelsey, they bought Jeff and me some anniversary gifts. They bought us a bag of Ghirardelli chocolates (yummy!) and a miniature rose. I took some pictures of the roses. Here they are! :)

And we got a cash gift from Jeff's dad and stepmom, so we went out to eat. It was nice. :)

We watched some of Chance Pe Dance (Chance To Dance), but Jeff was really tired, so we didn't watch all of it. This is another movie I really want to buy. I also want the soundtrack.

Well, I need to hurry up and finish this so I can go take a shower. I also have something to take out to the mailbox.

Have a good one!

Lois

Writing Today

Yesterday was a great day. I finally drew something! :D Granted, it was just the first version of what I hope will eventually be a larger, better drawing. Still, it felt good to be drawing again.

I think today I'll work on the screenplay some, since I don't have to go in for jury duty. But first, I've got some feedback to write (no, it's not for Fear of Writing).

I want to get a projector so I can transfer the drawing to a larger piece of paper. I had one a long time ago, but I don't know what ever happened to it. I want to make the Faerie with Flute larger...9"x11" or so.

Yesterday, Eric and Chelsey (with my permission) did some rearranging. They moved Josiah's crib into the studio. they moved a few other things around, too...always asking me if it was alright first. Jeff's TV and our satellite receiver are now in the living room, where I've been spending my time lately.

It's chilly here today, but there's lots of sun. Another beautiful day! :D

And on that note, I'd better hurry up on here so I can take a shower, then get to work.

Have a great day!

Lois

Manic Monday...Sort Of...

Yesterday went well. I wasn't selected for jury duty, so I was able to leave around lunch time. I'm not scheduled to go back in until the 27th. I'll find out Monday night, for sure, whether or not I have to go in.

I stopped at Coffee & A Good Book after jury duty, but before calling Jeff. I bought two Manga books (The Record Of A Fallen Vampire, Books 1 and 2), two Frances Mayes books (Bella Tuscany and A Year In the World), and a chai latte. All for less than $20. :)

Eric and Chelsey both had their wisdom teeth out, plus Chelsey had another tooth pulled. They're doing well, considering. Jeff and I watched Josiah yesterday, and I'm watching him today...at least for now. Lucky for me, the dog was chewing on her new rawhide bone, and now she's sleeping (as is Josiah). :)

I don't know how much I'll be on here today. It may not be much. It'll depend on how the kids are feeling.

I'm not sure when I'll get back to the screenplay, either. I'll have to hit it hard when I start up again if I want to finish before the end of April. I'm a little behind now. :(

Have a great Tuesday!

Lois

I'm Soooooo Sleepy...Zzzzzzz...

Well, I've posted two feedbacks, then wrote another, which is awaiting approval. In spite of being a bit tired this morning, I'm on a roll. :)

The sun is out today, too, and it's supposed to get up around 63°! :D

I never did any writing yesterday (besides the feedback) and don't think I'll do any today, either. I've been kind of tired lately. I keep waking up during the night. Last night was the worst so far. :( This morning, I decided to cut out most of the caffeine. I only had about a third of a cup of lite coffee. I'm hoping I'll sleep a lot better tonight. If not, I'll start taking antihistamines again. *sigh*

Eric and Chelsey have been doing a lot of cleaning. Her dad's coming down some time today. Eric's insisting that I go out there and socialize. It's a good thing I've written my feedback, however, if I don't get to take a shower, I won't be going out there. I've told him I need the dryer. If it's not emptied in time for me to finish my first load of laundry and take a shower, I won't go out there looking like something the cat dragged in. ;)

My Atif Aslam CD, Doorie, shipped yesterday. YAY! :D I ordered a couple DVDs from the same company today: Mukhbiir and Jannat. I'm not going on any spending sprees, but I've got a list of movies I want to buy when they're on sale. These two were $5 each, and shipping was $5. Not a bad deal, really. :) The next two I'd like to get are Shootout At Lokhandwala and Kurbaan.

Guess I'll go see if the dryer's free yet. When it is, I'll dry my first load, then I may start watching my recently downloaded Atif Aslam videos, for lack of better things to do with my time when I'm this sleepy. I don't want to take a nap.

Have a good one!

Lois

Busy Bee

I managed to write 3,828 words yesterday. 744 words of that were business related, but the rest were character journal entries for Lucky Raven, Zane Greywolf and Fox and Sawyer Redman. I'm hoping to work on the rest later today.

I have a Skype business call at ten and other business stuff to do, but then I should have the rest of the day for writing. :)

Eric and Chelsey have finally found jobs...at Walmart. Eric asked me yesterday what I would charge. I'm not sure what to ask for, since they probably won't be making a lot, but I'll have to think about it.

The weather is gloomy here today. We have a good chance of rain and storms all day. I hope the weather doesn't affect the business call.

I need to go to the laundromat sometime soon. I need to wash all the comforters and sheets and stuff before my mom comes...in fact, I want to get that done before November 1. Our machines just don't cut it. I also want to wash my own clothes...and Jeff's. I'd love to do that today.

Well, that's how my day looks. How's your's?

Have a good one!

Lois

Anyone Have Anything You Want Shredded?

Yesterday, I transcribed about five pages (3,132 words) of my printout of Cottage to the computer. I've got about ten to twelve pages left, I think.

Jeff and I went shopping last night, partly for some things I needed and partly for his birthday. He decided to get a cross shredder for paperwork (we have a ton of stuff that he was planning on burning when he burns brush, but it's taking forever for that and I've been wanting a shredder for a long time), a pair of jeans and two shirts. I bought him a card, but I'll give that to him on Friday when we have pie (yes, you read correctly...PIE) and ice cream.

Jeff and I went on a shredding spree last night and filled a small garbage bag full of shreddings. ;)

Photo found online...

Eric and Chelsey made a cake yesterday and we all had cake and ice cream (complete with chocolate syrup, chopped walnuts, Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chocolate chips and Maraschino cherries). I couldn't eat all my cake. When I said I wanted a small piece, Eric dished me up a huge piece! :P

So, anyway, I've got a few things I need to do online, then I plan to go offline early to do some transcribing.

Have an awesome day! :D

Lois

I Took Another Day Off, but Today It's Back To Work for Me

Okay, today I really am getting back to work. I had every intention of writing and/ or drawing yesterday, but my motivation fizzled out. I'm feeling much better today, so I'm going to get back to work, for sure.

My copy of The Screenwriting Formula: Why It Works and How To Use It, by Rob Tobin arrived in the mail yesterday. It's an awesome book! It's not only teaching me to write great screenplays, but it's also pointed out things that are missing from my novels. I realized, while reading it, that several of my stories are missing very important elements. I've got to go back and fix them, if possible. If it's not possible, I'll have to come up with all new outlines adding in the missing elements, and rewriting them. I'm not worried. I'm actually looking forward to it. Anything to make my writing better! :D

So, I'll likely only be writing Cottage until I can figure out how to add in the missing elements to the other stories. This is a good thing, though. I think I've been spreading myself kind of thin. ;)

The weather's been really rainy/ cloudy lately. I hate the weather here! :/

Yesterday, Chelsey had two friends over and I didn't even know it. I spent most of the day in the studio and they were so quiet! :P

Hahaha! Eric sent me a text message last night. The message: Good night. I didn't get it 'til this morning. :) Speaking of...Eric and Chelsey returned their really expensive rings. They were going to get cheaper ones, but ended up getting new cell phones, instead. What's up with that? O_o

Sunday morning, Eric smelled the omelets I was making for Jeff and me (I've started making one for Jeff when I make mine so he can have it on the following morning). He came out and said, "Mom, I don't know what you're cooking, but it smells good. You've gotta make me some." *g* I told him how to make it and he made some and enjoyed it. He added onions and bell peppers, but left out the mushrooms. He made some again last night, too! It's funny to see him eating vegetables! :D

Well, I'd better hurry up and get everything done online so I can get off here and start writing.

Have a good one!

Lois

Books, Weddings, Etc.:

I don't know how much writing I'll do today. I plan on doing some reading, though. I'm hoping to finish William W. Johnstone's The First Mountain Man: Preacher. I have less than a hundred pages left. Then I want to start on Terry C. Johnston's Sioux Dawn. I read this one years ago, but I want to read it again.

The wedding was short and sweet and Eric and Chelsey are now husband and wife. :) We had dinner at The Cajun Back Door (I have no idea why I kept calling it The Cajun Cafe). Their food is great! :D The pastor who married them invited us to his church. Jeff works on Sundays, but maybe he and I can go tomorrow night...? I really want to find a church to go to.

Eric and Chelsey are planning on taking Josiah's swing to one of the stores in town to sell it. They want me to watch Josiah. I'll read while I'm watching him.

If I have time later, I want to work on ideas for the new story and screenplay.

Have a great afternoon! :D

Lois