It's MAY!

It's May and it's going to be a very long month. I have my son's graduation, many more disability appointments, getting my daughter ready for braces and cooking healthier with less money. Then you need to add writing and cleaning.

Today I have begun making all homemade broths for one-pot meals. I am saving over $40 by making my own. I am enjoying getting back to cooking like my great-great aunt did. With my girl wanting more vegetarian meals veggie broth is my largest batch. And thanks to my ex-mother-in-law, I now have a 12 quart stock pot to make it easier. It's what she got me for an early Mother's Day present.

A few recipes I'm making are the following:
Spinach & Artichoke One Pot (my girl's fav)
Chicken, Orzo, & Spinach 
Vegan Pasta
Chicken Lo Mein

I have found that eating healthier is costing me more money when it comes to fresh vegetables. How are we suppose to eat fresh like The First Lady wants when many can't afford it. A head of cauliflower is $3 and carrots are $2 but if I bought frozen it would be half of that here. The prices of onions have been slowly increasing as well as tomatoes, and all fruit.

My son's graduation open house is the 23rd and his graduation is the 24th. I still can't believe he's graduating already. I still think he's my lil' boy but since he has been living with his father (half the time) for 2 months now, he has grown up so much. I didn't want him to live there but it seems to be a good choice.

I am a proud mother of a 17 year old graduating son!

I have completed another CampNaNo in April. With just over 51k of my 50k goal. Of course my OCD kicked in and I have started it over. I have finished WIP-2 (the 1st in series). It'll be going off to a beta reader in the next few weeks. I'm excited yet nervous.

I am also 9 books ahead on my Goodreads reading challenge.  Having read 34 of the 75 I pledged. I re-read Bayou Heat series and Guardians of Eternity series. Now I'm working on Sookie Stackhouse (aka True Blood) re-read.

***Day 13 of CampNaNoWriMo April 2015***

I am making slow progress with my CampNaNoWriMo 2015 project. Several things have come up and distracted me. The main distraction is having to write on my desktop since my laptop died over the weekend.

I am still a day and a half ahead of schedule. Though I wanted to finish by the 25th. I might not be able to.
I thought you might like an excerpt from my #WIP.
Tasmina
Tasmina had been left with Vance while Azmera tossed together a meal. Vance was silent and that had made Tasmina feel comfortable enough to sleep. Her dreams were filled with Amos. He was beating her and telling her he’d kill her given the chance. When she flung out of bed trying to escape her dream, she saw that Elijah had replaced Vance. Why hadn’t his scent calmed her. Vance was new to her wolf but she knew Elijah would never let Amos get her. To the point she was certain about it.
“You are safe little one.”
She crawled back into bed. “Amos?”
“Executed. You do not  have to worry about him. Is he one you were dreaming about?”
Nodding since her tongue was tied from fear that lingered. Swallowing the lump in her throat, “Yes.”
“I must speak of another matter at hand.” She looked to the floor. He fall back mode. “Amos spoke of others coming for you. Stated they were to start with you. Do not fear Council has it safe for you. More warriors are coming. Council thinks it best you stay here. Your scent is all over Sage’s territory, but very little here. If you stay inside none shall know you are here.”
“School?”
Elijah felt the wave of sadness coming from her. “You can still do your school here. You will no longer be allowed to the school until this is settled.”
“Why me? I can’t hurt anyone.” Tears were flowing down her cheeks. She no longer cared if she seemed weak to anyone.
“He called you a traitor.”
“Why? All I did was run from him.”
“You ran to Council. That can be seen as a betrayal to an Alpha. I know you did what you had to. Council feels the same. Zane would not have given you to Sage if not. Can you tell me what Amos did to you?”
“Must I?”
“No, I would like to know at some point.”
“He whipped me for everything. If I walked to slow or too fast. If I ate the wrong way according to him. I was pushed and beat on by everyone, even the females at times.” She was shaking with the memories but continued, “I was forced to…” and she couldn’t continue any longer.
“Forced? Forced to do what?”

She looked to he waist and then to his. “They took you? They forced you when you were so young?” His tone was angered. For the first time Tasmina saw his powers and control over them. He didn’t move but just sat there clenching his fists repeatedly. His power was intense, it was driving he to hide but she sat there waiting for him to ask again and give details. The questions never came. Elijah just sat there at the door in silence.

There I hope you like it!

Have a great day ad keep writing and reading.

Turning 40!

As today approached I planned it to be just another day. I was wrong, today is my 40th birthday. A few years ago I thought I'd never make it this far. I look back over the last years and see I haven't accomplished anything worth while other than raising my beautiful kids.
When I was little I wanted to be an accountant, yes I have a masters in accounting. Due to medical reasons I can't work. So, I sit and write or clean. I feel like a failure.

My bipolar hasn't helped, I've been crying for a few reasons:
My son moved into his dad's when his dad hasn't been around for 15 of the 17 years
I'm 40 today
I fear others reading my novels I've written, not published
I fear I'll loose everything since I have very little money coming in
My van hasn't ran for a year.

On a positive note:
I spent hours with my dad (not a usual thing) last night. A great time.
I'm another day closer to getting my Disability
I'm still alive after cancer a few years back.

My self implied goals for this year is to self-publish at least one of my novels, to spend more time with my daughter, to eat healthier, not that we have junk food in the house, be more active in my religion(pagan) and to think positive.

There I wrote about how it feels to be 40.

April 2015 CampNaNoWriMo Preparation

Camp is just 20 days away. 

Time to make preparations. Many things to do.

Even though my kids are teens and can fend for themselves mostly; I plan snacks for them. I cut up fresh fruit, veggies and make yogurt dip up weekly. Putting them in airtight containers for easy grabbing.
For simple easy meals; I pre-cut & pre-slice up everything for subs, sandwiches & tacos. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, and anything else they want.
As normal procedure I make up freezer crockpot meals & cook all hamburger I'll need at the first of the month. Usually doing the following:

• Chicken & Beef Fajitas (1 each)
• Sweet-N-Sour Meatballs (2)
• Mongolian Beef (2)
• Taco Meat (3)
• Brown Sugar Chicken Thighs (1)
• Hamburger with garlic & onion for Goulash & Spaghetti (4)
• Chunky Beef Stew (1)
• Pepper Steak (2)
• Pineapple Pork Roast (1)
• Teriyaki Pork Chops (1)
• Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (1)
• Cheesey Broccoli Ham and Potatoes (1) 

You can find many of these recipes on my Pinterest. FOOD! & Freezer meals! Below is a sample of my menus. Most crockpot meals can be frozen so all you have to do is thaw and toss in.

Then for quick grab breakfasts I make up tons of pancakes, sausage links & bacon. Freeze them on cookie sheets then place pancakes and a meat in a freezer bag or foodsave them. Kids just grab slice open and heat for 1 minutes 30 seconds. I also bake muffins on Sundays.

As for writing snacks and other kid snacks I make up spinach/artichoke dip, marshmallow treats, dill oyster crackers, and of course cupcakes, cheesecake, and brownies. My girl will make cookies at least once a month so we have those as well.

Writing Preparation 

I do the following:

• Drag series template from last Scrivener project to a new project. Makes it so easy to be able to easily drag all character & place info and notes over.
• Plan plots and twists (until characters change it all up)
• Add an arc to Aeon Timeline for new novel in series (gives all series timeline in 1 place)
• Figure out a few new characters to toss in. Supportive one.
• Make up Writing Month Chore Chart for the kids. They are an extra help in April, July and November. I won't have to do much.
• Clean up all 3 of my writing spaces (my desk, kitchen table & my favorite chair).
• Read through the last in the series I was working on (so to remember small details)
• Chart possible emotions that will be displayed (I have a hard time with these)

After all that...

I write up a list of things I can manage in the writing sprints 10 minute breaks.

1. Start a load of laundry
2. Switch laundry
3. Fold a load of laundry
4. Soak dishes
5. Wash a load of dishes
6. Vacuum a room
7. Sweep floors
8. Clean toilet
9. Dust half a room
10. Scrub stove & counters

You get the idea. Quick chores that can done in minutes. Plus you get bathroom breaks and refill snacks & drinks time. 

Now is the time to prepare! How do you get ready for a month of writing? Post in comments.

What a February

The last month has been terrible. Not only did the sewer back up I've been sick for 5 weeks. Now that the carpet and kitchen flooring has been replace and the 5th round of antibiotics are working, I'm finally feeling better.

I have tons of stuff to put back in place after all the flooring being put down. URGH! I hate that. At least the flooring guys moved everything and put it back in the places I was going to rearranged the furniture. That saved me time.

Now I have to deal with my son's father wanting to have my boy move in with him so he doesn't have to pay child support any more. That would mean my boy will be driving 60 miles to and from school every day (costs more for gas than child support). I have sole custody so my ex will have to take me to court and spend even more money. Then there will the car insurance I won't pay for any more, his phone his grandmother won't continue to pay and  no Netflix. HA! I get to talk to him tomorrow about it all. They can wait 6 weeks for the move (after graduation).


Yes, part of my refusal has to do with money the other part is after 13 years of not being in my son's life he want him now. Oh! Add in the fact he's my boy and not really ready to be away from mommy. He can use the oven and microwave, cook mac-n-cheese and make eggs but that's it.

I have been told I'll be approved for SSI (disability type) in the next month or so. That'll fix the money issues but not the emptiness of my son moving out.

My son has distanced himself from me the last month or so. We used to talk an hour every night and now it's like pulling teeth to get a word out of him. I think that hurts more than anything else.

April is CampNaNoWriMo and I'm preparing for it. My goal is 9000 words. Researching is the part I hate the most. I have done the timeline on Aeon Timeline and have all characters & places set up in Scrivener. now all I have to do is figure out snacks and easy meals for April.

~~~~Happy Writing~~~~

~~~Happy Parenting~~~ 

Snow Storm for End of January 2015

 Snow and Reading
Iowa is holding our breath as we await the 1st real winter snow storm. I'm in the area that is forecast for 8 inches (20.3cm). It has been spitting rain all day so it'll be icy under the snow. I'm in the area that say we should get 8 inches (20.3cm), just above the 1 in 8.1".

In preparation I have hit the store and stocked up on everything I need for 3 days. I have cleaned house and done laundry. Charged all my electronics (nook, daughter's nook, laptop, phone and rechargeable flashlights). All my candles are ready to go. With ice you never know when the power will go. I also have my paperback books in case my nook dies after reading for hours. I've made up fry sauce and taco stuff is all ready to just toss together.



Reading music for now is 


Hoping power will NOT go out. I'm re-reading Guardians of Eternity series by @AlexandraIvy Hoping to read the rest of the series this weekend. If you like paranormal romance you should check out this series.


I'll take pictures as the snow falls and post when I can.


To buy Guardians of Eternity books check them out here.
Amazon
BnN

Get Wordies 7 Day Writing Challenge

7 Day Writing Challenge

Day 1 of the 7 Day Original Content writing Challenge

Snuggled in a Blanket:
On a cold, windy day the bitterness seeps through the windows. Grabbing my favorite blanket I wrap up and grab a book. As I get through chapter four I begin to warm up. The hot steamy part of the book doesn't hurt my temperature either. I go to the kitchen still wrapped up, heat up milk on the stove and add in chocolate. Grabbing the mini marshmallows the heat creeps into my body. I pour the hot chocolate into a favorite mug tossing in the marshmellows. Returning to my chair I sip the hot delicious liquid and return to my book.

I know this sucks. Haha! This is the first draft and I didn't feel like editing before I shared it.

Want to join in the Challenge? Check it out at Get Wordies