Comfort zone. *smashes out* Words. *writes like the wind* Brownies. *eats them all* #winningcombo #TGIF

Friday Feed . . . Doing things and stuff.

Call me Karen. (writing words)

Me this week. Chuggin' coffee and bangin' out the words. I had gotten my historical romance pitch/proposal--you remember, the one I'm trying to get accepted into an anthology that's set to be pubbed next year--all shiny and sent off to my agent, when she let's me know that I need sample pages of the actual story. Written. Words forming sentences and everything. Eeeeeeep. Like, ASAP. 

*panics*

I wasn't even sure I could do that. I mean, I don't normally write historical fiction, so I had planned to read a ton of it before writing the story. Anywho, I wham-bammed out FIVE pages. Got them all shiny, and now, they're in my agent's hands. Double Eeeeeep.

Current mood . . .

Even if my pitch doesn't get picked for the anthology, this was such a good experience. Pushing myself out of my normal genre and comfort zone has been intense, but extremely beneficial and worthwhile. 

Luke, I am your mother. (kiddo corner)

This week started out on a high note, Monday we went to an awesome new play place with friends and then out for donuts. Then, Lukey got a fever. We had to cancel our plans for Tuesday and Wednesday because he wasn't feeling well. So we just hung out at home. Read a ton of books, ate a lot of fruit, and chilled.

By Wednesday afternoon, he was feeling like a new toddler. So Thursday's playdate still happened. WOOT. Today we have another playdate, and then Saturday is our super busy day. 

Saturday morning is Touch a Truck. Whaaaa?! Lukey is gonna LOSE his MIND. Holla. Then, Saturday afternoon I'm going to a friend's house to work on my DIY fence post growth chart project. You remember, the one where I spent wayy more then what the blogger had spent on hers. Ohh well. Still super excited to see how it turns out.

Pix for your viewing pleasure . . . 

Just keep swimming. (all the randomness)

You're born with 300 bones, but when you get to be an adult, you only have 206. (Sited)

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Crayons: rainbow paste in my toddler's mouth . . . karen

Procrastination is the mother of invention. #amwriting #FridayFeed #TGIF

Friday Feed . . . Doing things and stuff.

Call me Karen. (writing words)

Me this week...playing it cool. Um, trying. My middle grade novel is out to all my beta readers, and I'm getting nervous. LOL I've heard back from one so far, and she LOVED it. So that makes me happy. She had some great feedback, which I really appreciated. This book is sooooooo near and dear to my heart. Let's put it this way, if I ever split my soul into horcruxes, this book would be one of them. Just sayin'. I wait with baited breath for further feedback. Eeep.

My proposal for the historical romance anthology is written. WOOT. Finished it up on Sunday. Sent it off to my editor to get it edited and make sure it's a story worth writing. *bites nails* Even though this will be the 9th book I've written, nervousness and self-doubt is always there, lurking--been pursuing writing as career for eight years--sooo just part of the creative process. I'm learning to live with it.

Luke, I am your mother. (kiddo corner)

This week has been a very chill one. It was spring break for the schools in our area, so a lot of the activities Lukey does were canceled this week. We did go to a local farm on Wednesday, wherein Lukey said baaaaaa to all the sheep and pointed to every car in the parking lot, twice. Yesterday we braved the raindrops and ran errands. Lukey got to play in the mall's playplace. He was a bit intimidated by all the kids at first, and then he found his groove. Today we have a playdate, and we were promised baked goods. HOLLA.

Pix for your viewing pleasure . . . 

Just keep swimming. (all the randomness)

Did you know . . .

Melissa McCarthy WILL return for 'Gilmore Girls' reboot after all??? SQUEEE. Check out the USA Today post here.

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Procrastination is the mother of invention . . . karen

Writing outside of my comfort zone + Toddlers x Pancakes = Madness #FridayFeed

Friday Feed . . . Doing things and stuff.

Call me Karen. (writing words)

Sooo, there's this anthology. And I'm putting together a proposal to see if my idea will be accepted. If it is, it'll be published next year. It's wayyy out of my normal genre--historical romance set between 1852 and 1912--but a challenge that I'm excited about. Cut to . . . 

. . . me this week, only without the make-up and still in my pajamas.  

After much staring at the computer and surfing the crazy waves of the interwebs, I have finally landed on a year, an event, and a theme. HOLLA. Or what did they say in the early 1900s? Good job-eth? Just kidding. Clearly, imma rock a historical. Now, extensive research needs to be done, and I gotta get crackin' on my pitch, blurb, and synopsis--normally, I write those things AFTER the book is complete. Erm, so, yeah. I'm kind of terrified all around. And with the proposal deadline of 18 April coming up, I have to buckle down.

Will keep you posted.

Luke, I am your mother. (kiddo corner)

My boy had his 18 month well-check at the pediatrician Thursday. He did great. His doctor said--after watching him carry things back and forth, read a book, eat all the snacks, and try to unroll an entire roll of that crinkly disposable paper that's on the exam table--that Lukey is a very busy boy, and she loved seeing that. Only had one vaccine this time, and he didn't even cry--until the nurse put the band-aid on. Clearly, the scariest part.

We also had playdates and story time at the library this week. And a friend gave Lukey a kid-friendly slide. So he's having a blast mastering it.

Over the weekend, he became a parrot. He's repeating so many words now. His latest faves are airplane (aewpun), giraffe (raff), owl (owwell), and elephant (laphant).

Pix for your viewing pleasure . . . 

Just keep swimming. (all the randomness)

This weekend the taxes must be done. Yiss. The deadline is looming. EEP.

I made a discovery. If you wash out deli meat plastic containers, empty cream cheese containers, etc...they make perfect disposable food containers for leftovers. Annnd, they're great to put cookies in to give to friends. That way you don't have to ask for expensive Tupperware back. Brilliant. I know, right? Also, washing out and re-using yogurt cups are the perfect sized bowl for toddlers to us on-the-go. 

Public service announcement: Lavender pancakes are delicious. If you've never had them, make them. Click here.

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Eating like a ninja turtle, dude . . . karen

When THE END feels SOO good. Bunnies, eggs, and other unrelated things. #amwriting #FridayFeed

Friday Feed . . . Doing things and stuff.

Call me Karen. (writing words)

So, this was me earlier this week. Why? Cos, I typed THE END on my first ever middle grade novel. HOLLA.

*dances*

Gotta say, this story... It's all the feels. And, believe me, I felt all of them writing it. I'm so, so very excited about this story. Don't tell the others, but it's my favorite. Shhhh. I said don't tell them.

I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking to just one POV (point-of-view) for this story. Normally, I do at least three. This one, I only heard the one voice. And it thrilled me.

Right now I'm going through it to smooth out the first draft messiness, and then I plan to have it to my betas by the end of March.

And then, hopefully, off to my freelance editor by the end of April/early May.

So. Excited.

Luke, I am your mother. (kiddo corner)

Been a low-key kind of week. Stayed home all week to make sure the Lukey was fully recovered from last week's plague. Thankfully, he is. Totally full of energy and an appetite that won't quit. WOOT. Currently, he's in the kitchen pulling out all the things from all the drawers. 

Pix for your viewing pleasure . . . 

Just keep swimming. (all the randomness)

Crazy week! Recovering from the plague and getting the house ready for fam. Excited to have family visiting for the Easter weekend.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

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18 March

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Reminder: This isn't the Hunger Games. Egg hunt responsibly . . . karen

Writing words, fighting the plague, and searchin' for my pot o' gold! #amwriting #mommylife #FridayFeed

Friday Feed . . . Doing things and stuff.

Call me Karen. (writing words)



That.

And then . . .



Yup. Been a mixed bag of emotions this week on the writing-front. Making progress though. I'm around 53k words, and I should only have about 2k left to go. HOLLA.

I'm soooo excited about this story. Writing a middle grade fantasy has been a wonderful, frustrating, scary, amazing journey of words. Can't wait to write The End and share my soul.




Luke, I am your mother. (kiddo corner)

Omigosh, this has been a crazy week. Busy, busy bees here. Started over the weekend, trying to get things together for my DIY height chart project for Lukey (more on that below) and also trying to adjust to Daylight Savings Time.

 

Monday only some of the things were done--even though, at the time, it felt like I was accomplishing a lot.

 

Tuesday we had story time at the library and had to cut our play time short for an emergency trip to a consignment shop for summer clothes. Cos, trekking-A it's suddenly 80 degrees.

 

Wednesday morning we went to a friggin' awesome FREE farm that was sooo much fun. There were goats and sheep and peacocks and playground equipment and picnic tables and, and, and all the things. That afternoon we babysat Lukey's sweet girlfriend (teehee) for a bit, so that her parents could recuperate from the plague.

 

Thursday was spent mostly cleaning puke and poop off the Lukey and off me. Four loads of laundry later, clothes are clean. Somebody wanna fold them for me?? Takers? Anyone? Yeah, don't blame ya. Laundry is the worst.

 

As for today, who knows what surprises await.

Pix for your viewing pleasure . . .

Just keep swimming. (all the randomness)

 So, my DIY project. Update: first, there is no way in Hellz that this project cost only FIVE dollars (see below), unless the blogger had literally almost ALL the bloody materials to begin with--cos, I spent more than FIVE dollars on discount/mis-tinted paint. I digress. Second, most of my materials (paint, stencils, and brushes) have been purchased. Just gotta find a piece of fence post that hasn't been pressure-treated. Surprisingly hard. Third, despite the amount of work this project has turned out to be--and it isn't even technically started yet--I am seriously excited about it. LOL When it's finished, it's gonna be trekkin' cool, yo.


DIY directions here


In other news, Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! Hope your day was filled with good luck and cheer.



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Searching for the end of the rainbow . . . karen