Southern Living Yankee

At 10:30 am on Wed., July 20 I finished chapter 25 and hit print. It's the last chapter.

I hope this week doesn't zoom past before I can get in gear! I've been busy scheduling blog posts on the WCP for next week, because guess what? Next week I go to Montrose! I'm so excited! It's the writers conference I've been to twice before, and each time I feel like a kid going to summer camp---and I LOVED CAMP! But this year I kept saying, "No, I'm not going to do that. I can't keep pumping money into these things. I mean, really! Writers are supposed to pop out $500+ to go to all these conferences and take a long shot of pitching to an editor or finding an agent? How many times are you supposed to do that?" I just didn't have it in me. And then they sent me the brochure and I looked at the line-up of speakers and workshop leaders. First, there's a pastor who lives one hour away from me. Top-notch writer. So close! It's A Small World After All plays in my head. Then, there are a couple of agents. So at least I can talk to them...

Tammy's ALWAYS right. She said I hadn't posted here for weeks. She's like the blog fairy--Tammy, I need a picture of you as the blog fairy! :) I set up a blog for the big family reunion, so that's my excuse. But to make up for it, here as some cute pictures about how crazy cat ladies get started. Still crazy about kittens! You can see it in the eyes--a crazy cat lady! We start out young in this family! Kitty Cat Bliss

The month of May started off in Myrtle Beach, SC with an aahhhh . . .  and then it went to super busy! I think we needed the time at the beach to get rested up for the days ahead.  The photos that follow are all jumbled up. I've spent hours just trying to get them on the blog, but if I try to put them in order for you I may lose them and never get them up. So, we'll just deal with it, OK? Remember how I was going to take the month of May off from blogging so I could really concentrate on writing the book? Ha! I did write one chapter. Well, part of a chapter . . . I think maybe God knew I needed the month off because of all the other stuff I'd get to do! Tom and I trained for disaster relief with our church, and within days we headed to IL to help flood victims. Here are the women of the team headed to you-know-where: the bathroom! It was a bit of a trek to the flush toilet, but we were glad we weren't really roughing it. Plus, who wouldn't want to go 4-wh...

I collect moments, if you recall my mentioning that last year. Odd to think I collected only one moment all of last year. Don't you think it's time for another? "Yes, high time," I hear you say. So click here for my friend, AquaJane, as she describes the April rainstorms that have escorted a new season of life to her doorstep: A New Season . Thanks for checking in on me! Tom and I just got back from a valuable "Weekend to Remember" in Myrtle Beach, SC, where the gas was $3.65/gallon, the temperature was 80 degrees, and the sun--the SUN, mind you, was shining! (Remember the sun? The star our planet supposedly revolves around? It was warm, and bright, and yellow and hung in a blue sky with white clouds. Yes, the sky used to be blue, not gray, not rain over and over and over . . .) I'll post some pictures for you sooner or later. WRITING UPDATE: This is my month to really write. I took parts of the manuscript to SC with me, but didn't take a peep...

Focus, focus, focus--I can't do it! Whenever I sit down to write at either the computer or curled up on the sofa with a notebook, I don't know where to start! All day, every day, I'm filtering everything I hear and see through two questions--how could I write about this, or how does this apply to widows? I'm obsessed. I can hardly sleep at night! So when I lug my over-worked, stressed out brain to the notebook or keyboard, I can't do it. Oh, I can start! I can start a hundred different sentences. Or one idea a hundred different ways. And then poof! My brain then gives me another hundred options of where to conclude it, and a million daydreams of where it will go. I call this Artistic ADHD. Before I go to a medical professional for some powerful knock-me-outs, I'm going to try something else. I think I've trapped myself; I don't have enough time or energy to do both the book and the blog. My first love, the first commission God gave me, was the book. N...

I had a great suprise on Friday! When I just happened to check the voice mail on my cell phone (which I rarely do), there was a message from my sister, "Mind if we stop by tonight?" Almost 8 hours later, Tom picked me up from work, we grabbed a bit of dinner (we're still on the diet--so an itsy bitsy bit of dinner), and shortly after that Anjee called again to get directions to our doorstep! They were on their way home from a spring break vacation in Tennessee . . . well, I'm just so glad they stopped! And they thought they'd just stop in to say hello . . . but we talked them into spending Friday night and Saturday night! Took them out to breakfast on Saturday, and then it rained all day. :(  But we made the best of it and went to Jungle Jim's to tour that crazy grocery store and eat ugli fruit. When we got home, Jessica made supper! She's in culinary school and improvised the recipe she entered in the chili cook-off. Then she helped me write i...