Heatwave

It's HOT here in Southern California! I know there are worse things happening all over (Harvey, for example) and feel for all the people affected by those things. It is hot as heck here, though. It happens every year around this time (it is summer!) but it always makes everyone in my family a little bit cranky. So we increase our pool and beach time in an effort to stay cool. Oh, and our electric bill goes up due to using the air conditioning A LOT! However, I am super grateful we have said air conditioner. I can't wait for Autumn and cooler temperatures!

Wordless Wednesday: Flags

Teaser Tuesday: Three Nights With a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from Three Nights With a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare:

"There's only you. If you're determined to see me wed, you'll have to do the duty yourself, Julian. I won't have any other man. No one makes me feel the way you do. No one ever will."

Beautiful sky

I took this photo during my walk this evening! I love the light of the sun beginning to go down and the little sliver of moon showing! The swish of the trees looks so cool to me, too! I LOVE nature and adore nature photography!

Dream

Heat wave and beach days

We are at the beginning of a heat wave here in Southern California! It's supposed to last about a week with the worst of it being in the lower 100's on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. OF COURSE, it's also the first week of school for my kids! UGH! My poor babies! Needless to say though, we are definitely going to fit in a day at the beach and lots of swimming after school. Now thaqt school is resuming I am SO READY for the cooler temperatures of Autumn! 

Enjoy life

I love books

My kids and I went to Michaels yesterday. They bought a birthday present for a friend and I bought the above mug. I had to have it once I saw it! It's perfect! It is also the truth because I love everything about books: Reading them, writing them, learning from them, smelling them, seeing my keepers on my bookshelf. Yes, I have a love affair with books! I'm happy to say that I have passed my lifelong love of books onto my kids, as well. 

Wordless Wednesday: Winding yarn

Teaser Tuesday: You Say it First by Susan Mallery

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from You Say it First by Susan Mallery:

"You can't control every aspect of what's happening."

"She smiled. "I can sure try."

"Sometimes the mess-ups are the best part. It's where the magic happens."

"I'm too pragmatic to believe in magic."

Musing Monday: A new series

 Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by The Purple Booker that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

Susan Mallery has a new series called Happily Inc. The first book in the series is called You Say it First and it comes out tomorrow! I am a HUGE fan of her Fools Gold series so I am super excited about this new series! Needless to say I will be buying a copy of You Say it First tomorrow and diving right into it!

Only this moment...

Adjust the plan, never the goal

I had given myself a goal of today to submit my latest manuscript. I'm not quite ready to do it, though! I'm close - so, so close. Yesterday, when I realized I was going to miss today's goal I started to go into a bit of a funk. I don't like missing deadlines of any sort - even self-made deadlines. The thing I realized is that I have to cut myself some slack. I'm only going to be off by a day or two and honestly, that's not bad! I'm not letting anyone down - including myself - so I'm not going to worry about it. Who knows, maybe I will make today's deadline? I have half the day still to go.

Voltaire

I saw this quote today and it resonates with my soul! So of course, I HAD to share it!

DWTS season 25 - coming soon

My kids and I are so excited for this! We love Dancing With the Stars! 

Wordless Wednesday: Peaceful

Teaser Tuesday: One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare:

Amelia filed away a thought for a later date: Give His Grace some lessons on the care and feeding of children. He did well enough with foals, but he was a disaster with young humans. She'd best find a way to work on that, before birthing him a child of his own. 

Currently reading

 Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by The Purple Booker that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

I am currently reading One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare. THis is the first book I've read by her and I am loving it! Lucky for me this is the first book in a trilogy. So far I'm not overly thrilled with the male characters of the next two books but that's all right. I figure they have a lot of room to grow!

Happy

Happily Ever After

I went to an RWA meeting today and it was wonderful! It's an organization full of people that write romance novels so of course Happily Ever After is a MUST! Happy For Now will do too but the point is - a HAPPY ENDING to an enjoyable and hopefully well-crafted story. 

Then I came home to discover that there is a wedding happening in the neighborhood. It turns out that we can hear quite a bit of it from the kitchen/dining room. There is a lot of laughter and that makes me smile. So often there is chaos and tumult in our world but I believe that the majority of people do want love, laughter and happiness in their lives. I know I do and I feel blessed to have those things. It's also why I write romance novels and never give up on getting my stories out there. I believe the people of our world like love and Happily Ever After! 

Forward is forward

I love this so much! From the quote itself to the adorable little turtle. Progress is moving forward regardless of the 'speed' in which it is done! Forward is forward!

Progress

I love this quote and believe it to be true! It has been for me anyway. In July I thought about what I had left to do with my current manuscript in order to get it submitted. I was in the process of revising and making the second draft. I knew I needed to complete that one and go through it one more time. So, with that in mind I gave myself an August 19th deadline. I'm thrilled to say that I am on track to meet my given deadline - which when I gave it was six weeks out. The way I've done this is by working each day. Some days I've been able to do a lot and others only a little but it has all added up to progress!

Intuition

Teaser Tuesday: Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts

Teaser Tuesday is newly hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts:

"You know the legend, probably better than I. It takes three couples, as I understand it, falling in love, accepting each other, taking vows."

Musing Mondays: Currently reading...

 Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by The Purple Booker that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

I'm currently reading Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts. It's the third in her Gallaghers of Ardmore series. I've read this series before but I love it so I enjoy re-visiting the stories and the characters every so often. Part of what I love about this series - along with the characters and the mythological piece of the story - is the setting of Ireland. I've never been but it is definitely on my list of places to travel to. The pictures I've seen of Ireland are so beautiful and every time I read a book that is set there I can see it so clearly in my mind.

Flowers just bloom

Crochet heart number one

I made this heart for the 'Creative Heart' for Yarndale 2017. My daughter saw it and fell immediately in love with this heart! When she asked me if she could have it of course I said yes! How could I not? She has already hung it up near a picture of her and I when she was a baby. So now I will be making another heart for Yarndale and the charity Mind. Now I am going to make a different heart, though. I like this one - a lot, but want to try another pattern now.

Words are powerful

Push

This is so true whether it's in regard to exercise, revision, studying or learning something new. Right now, even though I am thankful that my revisions are going well, I am pushing myself to do it this evening. Why, you ask? Well, it's hot as heck - being the middle of summer - and I'd much prefer to read a book by the pool or at the beach. While I will do that I WANT and, in my opinion, NEED to make progress with my writing every day. It's important to me and if I don't push myself - who will? Sure, I'm lucky to have the support of my husband and friends but I think to be truly successful the drive for it has to come within. So, pushing myself to get a couple more chapters done this evening. After which I'll get some exercise in with my kids, probably crochet some then go back to Ireland which is where the current book I'm reading is set. 

Wordless Wednesday: Peaceful view

Meditation - a lifelong gift

Wise words from Paul McCartney