Ticking them off, one by one...

Another event crossed off my list. Sonshine's band concert was last night and they played well. I took video on my camera, but until that pasky cable arrives, that's where they'll stay, along with *all* my pictures I'm dying to share.

Tomorrow, however, Sonshine and I will be dropped off at school by 6am to leave on the band trip. We're on a two-day whirlwind tour of Dallas! The kids will be performing at the Winspear Opera House, which is supposedly on par with Carnegie Hall and Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall. We'll see. Not that I've been to Carnegie Hall, but I have been to Bass Hall. We'll be hitting several local tourist attractions as well, finally returning to school close to 11pm on Friday. *whew* I'm tired just thinking about it. (I will have yet more pictures to share.)

I mentioned Monday that I'd finally settled on a title for my current WIP. I'm also excited to say that I've finally found/chosen a publisher/line to target: Entangled Publishing's Flirt line. Required word count is between 10K and 15K. That's actually a relief for me.

The first book of the pair I'm currently working on has me stumped. I think the shorter word count is going to make it easier for me to fix as the line requires a much simpler plot and a faster resolution. I've already started some of the slashing. I knew one scene wasn't working though I loved it so and now it's gone, cutting approximately 3K words. Once I simplify the conflict, I'll be able to cut a lot more. The second book is at 11K and will only take minor alterations at this point to make it work.

But alas, little of that is happening during the next two days.

Anyway, I have work to do before I'm gone for two days. (which means there will probably be no post on Friday--but maybe there will if I have Internet!

Have a great long weekend--

And don't forget Memorial Day is to remember those who sacrificed to give us/help us keep our freedoms.

Thank a veteran today!

A Time to Rest

Yesterday, I rested. I was tempted not to, but ultimately I went for it.

DH wanted to take the boat out. I was hesitant as I had laundry to do and words to write. Especially those words. This is going to be a short week for me since I'm chaperoning the band trip and will literally be gone and busy all of Thursday and all of Friday. (7AM Thu to 11PM Fri) There will be little time to write without distractions and/or interruptions. Plus this is band time. The children will get my undivided attention should they desire or require it.

Anyway, we went. It was a lovely day on the water with just three of us: DH, Sonshine and I. Sonshine didn't want to go at first, but changed is mind when the boat showed up. I was glad. And I will have pictures to share as soon as my transfer cable arrives in the mail--which could be today.

So once I get that transfer cable we'll be seeing lake pictures and then the Twelve Days of Jen--pics of all my cool Mother's Day/birthday gifts.

On Saturday, I received my second/third charm for the writing incentive program my writing chapter is sponsoring. Pics of that coming too.

Since we're back to the writing, I did *not* reach my goal yesterday and (as mentioned) I'll probably lose Thursday and Friday. So...I think I'm going to give myself a bye week. I'll write what I can on the days I can, but otherwise I'm going to give myself a break and not try to cram in all those words since I also actually have to prepare for the trip as well as go on it.

I had a lovely day with my writer peeps on Saturday, especially my critique partners. Mostly we visited and brainstormed some titles for on of them. Speaking of titles, I finally decided on a title for my current WIP:

Children With a Chance of Marriage

With the title came some helpful direction regarding part of the plot. So YAY! Now if I can just pull it off. :)

And with that, you all know it's Monday and I do have work to do.

But please share with me how you spent your weekend.

More items crossed off the list...

Well, we're about halfway through the month and several more items will be crossed off my TO DO list...

Tonight is Sonshine's band banquet. I'm looking forward to it and I wonder if Sonshine will get anything this year. Last year's award was a surprise. I probably should have gotten something for the band director, but what? I had an idea, but there wasn't enough time to execute. Plus she's moving in June so I don't really want to give her more things she has to pack. Ah, well...maybe next year when she retires.

Tomorrow is writer meeting day--chapter board meeting, chapter general meeting, and critique partner meeting. Yep, it's going to be a long, busy day, but that's okay.

Today should be a nice quiet day and I'm hoping to get some writing done. I need today's words and an equal number left towards tomorrow's words.

And that is about all I have to say for the day, except...

Have a great weekend!!

What? Am I Crazy?

Apparently so.

Following in one of my critique partner's footsteps...

Most of my waking hours revolve around writing. Either I'm writing, revising, or reading. Sometimes I'm taking classes or preparing for writer meetings.

And if I'm not doing that then I'm doing something for Sonshine or the band or just general house wifey stuff.

Or working (yeah, uh huh; that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Earlier in my life, I was more crafty. And I don't mean that in the devious sense. I mean that I used to sew, cross stitch, crochet, and rubber stamp. Baking too, a bit, if that counts.

But I don't do those things anymore. And I miss them.

So when an online friend of mine mentioned she was participating in an event whereby one crochets or knits something during the period of the Summer Olympics and invited others to join her, I accepted her invite almost immediately. In my head at least. It took me a few days to get to the site and join.

The event is called the Ravelympics. And come to find out, my own dear momma is also a member of the site that's hosting the event: Ravelry.com.

So if you are a crocheter or a knitter and are not a member of Ravelry and are interested, check out their About Us page. If you decide to sign up and need a friend, let me know.

It's been a while since I've crocheted, so I'm going to start with something easy. A scarf or something. I bought yarn, a pattern book and a hook yesterday, but I'm not sure if I'm going to proceed with that or make something else. I'll keep you posted.

So are you a well rounded person? Can you share two things that you enjoy doing? The more different they are the better.

Kristen Lamb

If you're a writer, you should be reading Kristen Lamb's blog each and every week. She's got something great to say all the time.

I met her a month or so ago when she presented at my chapter's conference (the North Texas Two Step, if you read this, Kristen) and she's as sweet as sweet can be and is very industry savvy on many many levels.

Today, she talked about resting. As the Bible says, there is a time for everything.

Including rest.

If you haven't rested recently, maybe it's time you did.

Go read what Kristen has to say on the matter. She said it way more eloquently.