Now, before my beloved Jewels goes bonkers picturing me acting like some kind of winged creature, let me state for the record that my kind of nesting looks more like this:
I was quite the homebody this weekend, and though I sacrificed a writing date with the fabulous Katie Kenyhercz for a couple of alarm-free days, I feel it was the right decision. As much as I enjoy being on the go, it was time for this girl to whir and shut down for a bit.
Of course, being the obsessive compulsive I am, you know I managed to be terribly productive whilst on the nest.
The bathrooms have been scrubbed and the laundry is fairly caught up. I cooked pollo guisado patos (because I am turning into a Latina trapped in a body of Irish/German extraction) one night and meatloaf and oven roasted potatoes another. I smooched the grandbaby and spoiled the fur-babies. In my downtime, I did some banner work for my friend Maggie, read a galley proof and added another 6k to a work in progress.
I did leave the Ethridge Estate on occasion. You know, the usual errands – Diet Coke stockpiling, grocery procurement (read: we were out of chips), and the mailing of newly signed publishing contracts.
*waits a beat*
*proceeds to chair dance*
Nope, it never gets old. Of course, the contract was for one of Maggie’s stories, but never fear, boring old Margaret got a little action this week as well. It’s official! Turquoise Morning Press will be releasing a new edition of Spring Chickens! Whoo hoo! New life for Lynne and Bram!
All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. How about you? What’s new and exciting in your life?
I’ve just returned from spending the weekend with my family. Always an adventure, given then we number in the dozens. This weekend, my eldest niece was married.
As with most weddings, there were just as many misty moments as there were happy ones. Due to health and mobility issues, my mom was unable to attend the ceremony (held in an outdoor chapel in the woods), but we were able to arrange for her to attend the reception for a few hours.
Those few precious moments were every bit as good for us as they were for us.
There were many funny conversations over the course of the weekend, but the one that stuck with me was a brief exchange I had with my sister and eldest brother.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged in our family that I was created in my father’s image. In saying that, I mean not only God, but Bob. You see, I have everything: his eyes, his nose, his chin…even his sinus trouble and prematurely graying hair. Thankfully, my ears are a bit more under control.
But as I grow older, more people tell me I’m starting to resemble my mother:
Then, as my siblings were helping my niece find some old pictures to display at the ceremony and reception, they came across a picture of my maternal grandparents that made them question the strength of my father’s influence. They seem to think I look like my mother’s mother, which would stand to reason. Her name was Margaret, too.
I knew exactly which picture they meant because I already had a copy of it. My grandfather gave it to me when I was in my early twenties. I guess he saw the resemblance way back when, despite the eyes, nose, mouth and chin my daddy was to proud to claim.
But I noticed something as I was helping to settle my mother back at her care facility Saturday evening. Despite decades of claiming that my father only used her as the vessel to carry his mini-me, I believe I might have inherited my mother’s hands.
They are small and squarish with blunt-tipped fingers. Hands that survived thousands of dishes, loads of laundry, and cooking cuts and burns, but still manage to look graceful. She used them to wipe our tears and administer mid-Sunday-mass spit baths. The same hands always anxious to cradle grand(and great-grand)babies and equally willing to coo and coddle grand-dogs, cats, rabbits, and other cuddly creatures.
We both have crooked pinkie finger and the same map of faint blue veins in the backs. I think I only noticed because I realized that mine are becoming more pronounced. And I’m okay with that. Just you wait, in about forty-one more years, my hands are going to be absolutely beautiful. Soft, and smooth, if a bit thin-skinned, but just as strong as hers are when she gives mine that little squeeze and tells me not to worry so much, she’s just fine.
So, perfect Roman aquiline nose (my father’s claim) notwithstanding, I think my dip in the gene pool leaves me in pretty good stead.
How about you? Do you take after one parent, or are you a mix? Do you have a next generation (or two) doppelganger?
Well, in truth I’m fairly crashed out. We just had the best dinner and I am stuffed to the gills.
The local grocery has a butcher who makes these fabulous chopped sirloin steaks edged in garlic and coarse pepper. When I was cruising the produce section to pick up Tim’s leaf lettuce (why else would I go there?), I spotted some fresh sweet corn on sale 3 ears for a buck. I had a bag of Yukon gold potatoes in the pantry and an envelope of Lipton onion soup mix in the cabinet.
The steaks were juicy and flavorful, the potatoes crisp, and the corn the sweetest I have tasted in a long time. In other words, it was the perfect storm of a meal.
So in addition to the better-than-George-Clooney-in-a-yellow-raincoat meal, here are four other highlights from a lovely holiday weekend:
On July 4th, someone who sounds a lot like me, but has a different name received their first recommended read on the USA Today Happily Ever After blog!
The clingy monkey boy wanted his Moogie when the big, mean fireworks scared him. Nothing beats having the little man you love choose you.
I had my annual July 4th viewing of The Music Man. Yes, I sang. No, Jewels, I didn’t record it. As for the rest of you, you’re welcome.
I wrote over 5k this weekend. And I have a crazy impulse to start an entirely different story tonight. Somebody stop me!
How about you? What were the highlights of your weekend?
Tomorrow is July 1, and I will be heading off to camp. Camp NaNoWriMo, that is.
Unlike the 50k in 3o days required in the November NaNo challenge, this one allows the participants to set their own goal for the month. Just a way to kickstart some creativity. You also get to set up a cabin with your fellow writers. This month, I’ll be sharing Cabin Awesome with Evelyn Jules, Lisa Fox, Emily Cale, Katie Kenyhercz, Sara Brooks and whoever else we can lure in with the promise of s’mores.
Wish us luck!
As for last week’s Sinatra song giveaway, the only person to guess the correct song was Jewels. She also had an edge, as she’d already read through the synopsis I’d written while plotting Something Stupid. But because you were all such good sports, I’d be happy to give you or a friend a digital copy of one of my books. If you commented last week, email me at mkethridge1@gmail.com and let me know which book, file format, and the email address where you want it sent. 🙂
Happy Monday, everyone! Oh, and happy anniversary to my own hero. Thirteen years later, I still think he’s dreamy.
This week I’m going to focus on getting back into my pre-2014 routine. What does this mean? I need to figure out how to manage my time in this brave new world I’ve entered. Since I’m working toward feeling better physically, my first order of business will be to figure out how to fit gym time into my day. Next, I’ll tackle reestablishing the daily word count.
So I thought I’d start here with the good old fast five. Ready? Here we go!
What I’ve been working on: I’m about halfway through the battle of the sexes story I’ve been working on, but need to narrow the focus a bit. I’ve spent the least week reading, editing, and rewriting what I have so far in hopes of getting it on track to finish.
What’s running around in the back of my mind: A plot bunny inspired by an old Frank Sinatra song. Can you guess which one?
What I’ve accomplished: I worked all weekend, but I did get this post done. Does that count?
What new goal I’m chasing: Reclaiming my writing routine.
What I saw: Park Hill Collection showroom at the Dallas Market Center.
So, to get things back on track, let’s do something fun…Comment below and take a guess at which Sinatra song is making me itch to write a story and I’ll draw one winner from the correct answers for a choice of any book from my (or Maggie’s) digital backlist – one copy for you, and one for a friend!
I know I’ve been MIA lately. I’m sorry. My life as been in sort of a state of flux lately. I’ve left the company where I’ve worked for the last twelve years and started a new job. I’ve also been battling strep, staph, and a good, old-fashioned sinus headache. So yeah, I’ve been kind of a mess.
But I’m better now.
The decision to change jobs took a huge weight of my shoulders. And even though I’m having to deal with the inherent awkwardness of being the new girl who knows nothing, I’m a much happier person.
So far, 2014 has been all about cutting myself some slack and making necessary changes. To be honest, I’ve been doing a good bit of this:
Other than the release of boxed sets, I don’t really have anything new coming on the writing front. That’s something I hope to remedy in the coming months. Spring Chickens is all mine again. I plan to revamp it a bit and re-release it later in the year. Then, I think I want to make another run at Containment.
Of course, Miss Maggie is seeing all sorts of action – the tramp. It’s all about striking when the iron is hot in this business, and the steamy stuff is hotter than ever right now. There’s a new release from Harlequin just last week (The Last First Date), an upcoming boxed set from TMP (including Seducing Steve!), and a smoking hot story for the born before 1970 crowd (Three Little Words) coming from Kensington/Lyrical.
Sooooo, that’s what’s new with me. Thanks for your support and patience. I hope you know how much I appreciate you!
You guys, I have to tell you that I had the nicest weekend. It was a hectic week, starting out with a case of strep throat and continuing through to Friday, which has become back-to-back meeting day for me at the day job. I kicked the weekend off by doing one of the funnest of all fun things…having an eye exam.
Okay, maybe not such a blast, but it was a relief to have it done. I had an appointment back in February, but had to cancel due to an ice storm. Then, I was on the road most of March. I have no idea what happened to April, but I have been running on my last pair of contact lenses. It had to be done.
So there. I checked it off the list. Made the man get his peepers looked at too. Goose-gander, birds slain with a single stone….
Since we were already in chore mode, Fodder and I did the grocery shopping while we were out. That onerous task complete, I was able to retire to the recliner where I chatted with my girls and generally goofed off until it was time to crawl into bed.
Fodder and I had talked about having some type of getaway over the weekend. It’s been a stressful few weeksmonths year, and we just wanted to do something a little fun. We settled on spending a few hours just about 45 minutes up the road in Conway, AR, where the Toad Suck Daze festival was in full swing.
No, I did not just make up that name. It’s a thing. Here’s the website.
Sadly, to get to the festival, we had to pass through tornado-stricken Mayflower, AR. I won’t post pics or say anything more here because I can’t do justice to the utter devastation left in the path of that storm. I will simply ask you to please continue to support your own local Red Cross and other relief organizations.
The festival was fun, the day was beautiful, and the fair food? Well, let’s just say no one left hungry. We had toasted ravioli and cannelloni, jambalaya with sausage and chicken, kettle corn, and our new fair friend: deep fried cookie dough.
Yes, that is a hunk of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough (egg-free, we were told) deep-fried, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in pecans. Yeah…good times.
My handsome escort also won a prize for me at one of the many sucker magnets games of skill set up along the midway. Meet Colonel Corn – the latest and greatest weapon of spousal torment token of my love’s esteem and affection.
I’ll leave the ensuing conversations to your imagination. Now, multiply everything you just thought by ten, and you may have an inkling of what Fodder’s ride home from Toad Suck might have been like. I haven’t laughed that much or that hard in a while.
Back on the Ethridge Estate, we proceeded to nap in anticipation of another storm blowing through our neck of the woods. This tiny tempest was thoroughly enjoyable, though, and the path of destruction he wrought much more easily set to rights.
Who, me?
This morning, Fodder and I drove down to the Arkansas River to walk the lovely paths at Two Rivers Park.
While we were strolling we sighted a couple of does and a yearling not 100 yards from us. The sun was sparkling on the river, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the hills fresh and green with spring growth. It was the perfect way to start the day.
Later in the afternoon, I planted impatiens in the hanging baskets and spent a little time holding paws with my puppy dogs whilst my hero grilled steaks. And now, here I am in my chair – full, happy, and more relaxed than I’ve been in a long, long time.
I think we’re all caught up on my side now. Tell me what’s been happening in your world!
Oh! And don’t forget (like I almost did) about Love Finds A Way – the new boxed set that includes Contentment! It’s available now for only $0.99! Please tell all of your friends!
Here’s the thing no one tells you when you start down this road: There are times when being an author is mind-bogglingly tedious. It’s true. The making up stories and writing them down is just a teensy-tiny little bit of what an author does day in and day out.
Sunday was a perfect example. Here’s a brief rundown of how I spent my day:
1) Replied to blog post comments.
2) Shared links on social media pages.
3) Wrote additional scene for story I’m revising.
4) Updated links on websites.
5) Entered author and book data for upcoming app release.
6) Adapted a manuscript to fit a house style guide.
7) Wrote this blog post.
8) Email correspondence.
And though I’ve clocked over 2,000 words today, not one of these things has resulted in fresh new story being added to my work in progress. And when one only has about 2-3 hours of author time per night…well, you get the picture.
So yeah, this is turning into a half-assed want ad for an assistant. One willing to work for peanuts. Literally. I’ve got a bag of Beer Nuts here for the lucky victim uh, volunteer. Apply in the comments below.
Oh, and I was serious about the peanuts.
So, tell me, if you could hire someone to handle any aspect of your life for you, what would it be?
