A Bend in the Road...

This is a tough week for me. My very precious Aunt is moving from Florida to Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, to be nearer to her son. My beloved Uncle passed away on Labor Day Weekend, six months ago. They had been married for 61 years. She made the decision to move up north while she is still relatively healthy and can make her own decisions. She will be 79 in March. I am happy for her, but I will miss her terribly. The good news is that she will be at the 1/3 mark when we travel up north to visit our daughters and their families, so we will stop and see her.

Aunt Eulilia and I have been through a lot together over these past couple of years, but I wouldn't trade any of my experiences with her for any amount of money. I have learned a lot about life and death through her eyes and gentle strength. I have enjoyed having the opportunity to learn more about her life as a child, young adult, wife and mother. She is a pillar of strength and has taught me what true grace is all about. In short, my Aunt has solidified what I have always known, I follow a beautiful legacy of strong women in my family who have persevered throughout generations to pave a way for me, my girls, and my granddaughters. Life is what you make it. You can choose to bemoan your circumstances or you can rise above adversity and carve out a new path. The women in my family have risen above their circumstances and blossomed. I am so blessed to have their example in my life and I am honored to be counted among them as a strong women in a chaotic world.


I am blessed. I love you Aunt Eukie! May this move be everything you want it to be ~ God is with you!!


Love,
"Pumpkin"

Getting Testy!

Another test...Apparently there is an issue with Blogspot posting pictures using IE...so I had to switch to Chrome in order to post pictures along with my blog. Not sure I am happy about this, but it is a work around until Blogspot resolves the IE issue.

This is only a test.

A blogger's frustration.

If you have tried to comment on my blog, but were unable to do so, I am sorry.


If you would be so kind as to try again after reading this entry, I would be ever so grateful. I have changed a few settings and I was able to post to my own blog entry earlier, but I am not sure if OTHERS can post a comment. So take a few seconds and leave me a comment below.


Thank ye kindly ~

Breathe.

It's true. I am a writer. I am also distracted. Absolutely distracted. More distracted than ever right now. My friend, Judi, told me that I need to make writing a priority, after all, I do have a book that I need to get done by this fall. I am currently on page 11 of that book. Absolutely, I am distracted.


There are some very exciting things happening in my life right now and maybe, just maybe, in three or four months this whirlwind will settle down and I can concentrate on writing again. But just as soon as I say this, something else will pop up and threaten my plan. Breathe.


Cross the fingers on your left hand only, Mom, then 'it' will come true. That's what my girls used to say when they were little. Crossing the fingers of BOTH hands negated the luck and whatever you were hoping for instantly became futile. Breathe. Crossing the fingers on my left hand only, taking care to not cross my eyes either. I don't want to muck anything up. Breathing.


In two weeks my husband will leave the country for a couple of weeks. I will have plenty to keep me busy in his absence. I may have a visitor. I might get snowed in, but that is highly unlikely since I live below the 27th parallel. But I will find something to occupy my time while he is away. Perhaps I will write. I'm writing now, I don't see why I couldn't continue writing during the alone time. I'm going to pencil writing into my calendar right now, that should keep me focused and on task. Breathe.


Respirations are a necessary component of living. Without them, we cease living. I find that I am constantly reminding myself to breathe lately. Surely this is a sign of something deep. I'm just too busy to explore my psyche right  now. Hocus pocus, mumble jumble is just too complicated to examine. I'm in trouble if my mind goes. Breathing will stop because I won't 'be' there to remind myself any more. That is a scary thought, which when I think about it is a good thing, because the mind is still there. Breathe.


Yes, three or four months until normalcy returns. That's a whole lot of respirations from now. I'll be okay...stick with me...you may need to remind me to...breathe.

Whew! I'm on my way!

Tuesday, February 4th was a day that will go down in my history as TREMENDOUS!





All of my nervous "what if's" were laid to rest when our front door opened at 4:00pm and the first guests arrived for my Big Birthday Book Signing Bash. Our home quickly filled to overflowing with 40+ people who were all there to congratulate me (little old me!) on the publication of my very first book! I was stunned and joyous that my friends and family had gathered together to have a piece of pie and cup of coffee and visit with one another as I happily signed book after book after book!





I met new neighbors, hugged old friends and family, learned things I didn't know about those who surround me every single day, and simply enjoyed hearing everyone present having a good time.




There were some who were missing because of illness, but they sent me messages and called to wish me luck. The support of those in my world has been overwhelming. I am blessed.



Ana Fuller, my delightful cover girl, was well enough to join in the fun. Her daughter-in-law brought her over early so we could make her comfortable in a cushy, overstuffed chair where she remained for the entire evening, meeting and greeting folks who sat down to chat with her! She was thrilled to be asked to sign my book as well bookmarks and business cards (Ana's beautiful face graces them all)!




It was a lovely event, and I am so happy I did it! Now on to the next one!

Write, right? Right!

Write what you know. Know what you write. Write from experience. Experience what you write. Write. Right? Right.



So many people have said this to me, "I wish I could write. But I can't."


It's just a matter of sitting down and recording what your mind is thinking. Let it roll from your brain to your pen. Experiment. Everyone has something to say, writing is just an extension of talking. It's easier than you think. Go for it!

Random thoughts about nothing and everything...

Recently I posted a blog entry regarding time management and my struggle with finding enough time in my days and nights to get everything done that needs to be done. I am sorry to report that things haven't improved in that quest. If anything, I have added more things to my 'to do list' instead of checking them off.


I will have an announcement soon about what has been going on, but I can say now that I am thoroughly excited and ready for this next chapter in my life!


There may some long gaps in blog entries for the next couple of months, but I promise I will update when I have some spare time.


My book signing went exceptionally well! Many friends and family stopped by to have a slice of homemade pie and buy a book! Everyone had a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my experience and journey with those who came. To date I have sold over 100 books since my release in late December, so I am very pleased with sales so far! I am also beginning to see royalty payments from Amazon and Kindle, so that, too, is exciting.


(I have tried to insert a picture of me signing books at my book signing here, but for some reason Blogger is being difficult this morning...so imagine me sitting there with a pen in my hand, happily signing away!)


Morning coffee and French vanilla creamer is my kick starter each morning. I am out of French vanilla creamer. This alone is tragic, but I CAN suffer through plain, black coffee if I have too. However, my hubby had some Almond Joy coffee creamer that he uses, so I decided to try it. Yuck. My 3/4 full cup of coffee is currently sitting beside me getting colder by the minute. I will have to find time to go to the grocery store and get my French vanilla sometime today.


(Another picture insert fail: Imagine me sitting here with a pouty face, staring at my nearly full cup of Almond Joy tainted cold coffee.)


I am working on my next book, "The Liars' Club: Town Hall Chapter" today. I haven't read at Writer's Guild for a couple of weeks, so I need to have something prepared for tomorrow's meeting. I am still struggling with character and storyline development. Maybe it is because I do have so many things on my plate right now.


Speaking of cliché's...I know, we weren't actually discussing cliché's but I did just type one out.


"...I do have so many things on my plate" in case you missed it...


Anyway, one of our Writer's Guild members brought a fantastic article regarding the over usage of cliché's in writing. It was a very cleverly written piece that was completely constructed using cliché's, however you didn't realize that it was written that way until you read through the first paragraph then the light bulb went on and suddenly you understand how easy it is to fall into that trap.


(Have you caught the cliché's I have included in my last paragraph?)


I need to get busy. My wet hair is drying into a ridiculous variation of my normal style and if I don't do something about it soon, I will have to start the whole process over again and quite honestly, I don't have time to be fussing with my hair today (or any day for that matter!).


Thank you for sticking with me to the end of my rambling. Hopefully, I will be more inspired to write something profound that will bounce around in your head for more than a nano second the next time I decide to sit down and update my blog. Stay tuned!


Happy Reading!