Snow Shoes, Vortex Rocks and Writing

Emory and I are going to have to get waterproof hiking boots for Alaska. I'm so happy there are so many options. We're going to need waterproof gloves, too. I can't believe I'm actually planning a trip where there will be snow and cold. I can't even stand getting into the freezer. I don't like the sound of ice crunching underneath shoes.... I'm thinking I might need my headphones for certain aspects. 👻

We got back from Sedona, Arizona. I bought so many crystals, and I bought a vortex rock. Apparently, vortex rocks have an aspect that makes them magnetic, so they are drawn to each other. Not all vortex rocks just stick to each other, so you have to look for a pair that are drawn together. I also bought oracle cards because you can never have enough. 

I should have bought some sage. I want to get into drawing runes on my candles and need the supplies for that. I might also need to stock up on herbs.... I need a shopping list.

We had a writing session outside on the patio at the cabin. I got a little more added, but I have too many work-in-progress projects, and I think it's kind of stunting my progress. I worked on my untitled werewolf/fey story. 

despite the scars....

stuffed mushrooms for dinner

It's been super hot out here in the valley, and then driving through the desert. I forgot that it could still be in the 100's at night in Arizona. We brought our swimsuits, but when we were up in Sedona, it was actually fairly chilly in the morning. We drank coffee outside, and it was just a beautiful experience. 

Sue took me out to dinner on Thursday and then dropped me off at my appointment. We went out to eat again on Friday. 

I've been feeling guilty now that Mozart is getting older. His cough is worse. I hate leaving him for too long, so I leave him treats. I have even decided he should have lunch with me, and then that went straight into every time I snack, he gets a snack. So long story short.... I think I might need to put him on a diet for fear that his arthritis might get worse. 

Writing:

C: I have the chapter edited, but I'm dragging my feet to post it. I know I obsessively watch the reader count button click for every hit. I should just swallow that anxiety that comes from the unknown and post.

F.C.: I have maybe two more chapters before this story is done. I will be so happy to have it finished. I enjoy the ride, but this one feels a little like I made a commitment I didn't have the time for. 

Roses for Ladies, Dogs for Adoption and Writing

I am still building my Galentine baskets for my lovely ladies, whom I want to throw a party for. I was told that these Ioni tweezers were the best, so I bought six of them for my basket. I can't wait to use mine, but the point of these baskets is that you make one for everyone, including yourself, so I can't use anything until the party. I'm making the cut off about $5 a girl, so each girl would buy 6 items that are $5 or below. I think my gift is almost $10 a girl, but I really hope I'm doing a good job picking things out, because I'm really not good at making a theme. 

I'm thinking of buying roses for the girls to take home and maybe a pretty balloon, as long as the prices haven't gone up at Dollar Tree. I think they said they might be $5 a balloon, which is a little too crazy. I'd rather put all that money towards flowers.

I'm thinking of putting shot glasses at the door with something special in them, but I'm looking for non-alcoholic drinks because half the girls don't drink liquor. Ann is looking for martini glasses that we can put something special in. I was thinking about getting weird drinks that we could do taste tests on, but Ann said "heck no" because some of the drinks were cotton-candy soda, etc.... 

I bought a huge wide tooth comb for my hair because I hear its the best for curly hair. I love my curly hair but it's so hard to take care of. I also bought two hair masks. I also bought some cruelity free makeup that I really don't need BUT just really thought was beautiful, so I grabbed these items.

I want to adopt a few more dogs. I miss having a pack. I've been looking at rescues. I like small dogs because I can pick them up if I need to, but Emory would like a big dog. Mazy is a big dog that lives down the hallway from us. She's the sweetest little labordoodle. I just got a 1000 kisses from the little girl. 

Alas, we aren't getting another couple of dogs for a while because Mozart is super old now, and he's just kind of chilling. He needs peace until the day comes. His cough is getting worse, and the medications aren't helping too much anymore.

He's got a haircut appointment before we take him to the Glendale commune. Ann and Lucile said they would babysit for a few days while Emory and I are in Sedona. I want to do some hiking, but I know the weather is already hitting 90 degrees. That's not as hot as Arizona gets, but that's hot for me. 

Drinking my Dutch Chocolate coffee beans. So **BLEEPING** good. 

Watching weird horror movies while I'm writing. Sometimes I wonder if it's strange that I like horror movies so much. I like the tension and "who is the killer." The acting doesn't have to be great if the script is good. I'm not picky, really.

Writing Update:

I really should work on the two projects that I have up for free. The readers are waiting for these projects. It's been a month since I updated them, but I really want to try to get published again, so my mind has been stuck on what I need to finish.

Untitled Werewolf: So I went ahead and put a tie-in for S.H. for this untitled project. I'll see how far I can get with it.

S.H. I've noticed that when I originally wrote it, it was practically a world of men. What was I thinking? I don't think I had the chance to really step back and reread it and see what I'd done. Now I'm on chapter 2 and I'm just sort of reading over it and adding a few edits. Honestly, these chapters are way too long. Chapter 1 was about 5,800 words and now Chapter 2 is 7,400 words. I'm cutting the chapters down, but I feel like editing them will get the word count back up again. 

It's crazy looking at projects I wrote in my 20's and now being where I am with my writing. I really came a long way and working on free stories has taught me a lot. The readership has been amazing and so supportive. They have been huge cheerleaders and now I'm ready to leave that scene and try my hand at professional work again. 

Brain Freeze, Solvang in Spring and Writing

I had to really scour the fridge for chocolate. I think my headache is either from hunger, lack of coffee (only 1 cup so far), or I've been staring at screens too long. I have been trying to juggle a lot, so maybe it's also stress. 

I finally wore the migraine mask that Ann got me, and it felt so good coming straight out of the fridge. I went to the commune and had to ask Sue where she keeps her migraine mask, and she keeps it in the freezer. That's the first time I had a brain freeze that started from the outside of my body instead of inside (when you drink something super cold). I keep my mask just in the fridge, NOT the freezer. 

Next year, there are some book conventions in Arizona that I really want to go to. The High Priestess wants to go too, and she said that she'll plan it for us. I'm so excited. 

I miss the Romance Times book convention. That was a blast. There were themed parties every night. At the end, we had tons of books that were constantly being given/won. We played Naughty Bingo, and there were so many photo ops. 

Emory and I went to Solvang to pick up Sue's wines. We bought a wine for ourselves too, after our wine tasting. We went into town and walked. Everything closes by 5pm, so we had a few hours. I bought Dutch Chocolate coffee beans to grind. I ran out of time today, so we're having pumpkin-flavored coffee for this morning's brew. The Dutch Chocolate coffee will have to wait until tomorrow. We also got a snow cone and candy-coated peanuts.

On our way home, we stopped in Ventura to see if we could find a vegan honey store, but sadly, it was not where the GPS took us. We walked around the block and then got back in our car.

It was a long day, and I'm not sure why. 

Sue and Ann called from Georgia. They are there with the commune. Yep, two communes have decided to go on this big vacation, and we're babysitting the pets. It's all good. We are planning a really big vacation for ourselves here soon as well. I love it when people go on vacation ahead of us because they can tell us what to check out and what to skip.

Writing Update:

S.H. Working on chapter 1. The chapter was originally 5,400 words. I got it down to 4,530 words. I would like to make it a little smaller, but so far, everything looks decent. I keep deleting paragraphs and then adding in order to piece thoughts together. I am debating on if I want to link an S.H. character with another book I'm working on that's currently untitled. And then I have another series that I'm putting into that same time line. What are we doing here?? 

B.N.F. : On chapter 4 now. I found a version that looks pretty well thought out, edited and ready. I'm just reading it again because the era is 1890, I need to make sure I didn't just throw a more common slang word into the mix and I'm trying to learn about money and do I really need to know anything about sailing to write this book? 😂

Phlebotomist Talks, Kitty Kitty and Writing

 This is going to be a busy month.

I have so many little meetings. I'm doing a writing session with my bestie. I love these moments because I get some of my best work done when I'm being timed. I'm supposed to be working on a short story, but it took 2000 words to get where I'm at, and I just don't feel like this is going to be very short.

I have a phone meetup with my childhood friend. She lives in Arizona. It feels like everyone I know lives in Arizona, except for the commune out here. I would miss Sue a lot if I moved. She's fun. It's hard to make her laugh, though. 

I just had a blood test, and all the results were pretty good! I had a feeling when I woke up that morning that they might want a blood test, and I just sort of ate anyway. That means I had to let them know that it wasn't a fasting test. I think the results were still pretty good. I'm in the green for 98% of the tests run. 

I hate needles, but I'm getting better at it. I asked the nice phlebotomist if she was ready for Easter. I have no idea why I asked. I don't usually ask such personal questions; I just wanted someone to talk to me while there was a needle in my arm. She laughed and said no, and asked if I was ready. I didn't even mention that I only celebrate Ostara. I did admit that I would use any excuse to go shopping, though. That made her laugh. Just a note, but there is no better sound than someone laughing. It's just beautiful and pure.

I have babysitting duties for a few weeks. 

Ann has cats now. She only had one neighborhood cat and now she's got five. I told her if she keeps feeding them, she's going to have more than that and the city might get called. Can you guess the name of the original cat that she loves so much? I died laughing, but she calls the cat: Kitty-Kitty. I asked why, and she said that's what the cat comes to. So cute.

The month barely started and I feel like I'm on a roller coaster. It's pretty busy.

Writing Updates:

This week I did NOT work on anything. I need to get a chapter edited on two projects so I can go ahead and post them. This shall be the hill I die on! Because this must get done. No excuses.