Z Zipping up the loose ends

What a month, ya'll!! Wow. I did A-Z last year, but I skipped some days. Not this year! This year I did every single letter. It feels good. I have a sense of accomplishment about it.

I met a lot of really great bloggers that I will continue to read and I hope many of you will continue to pop in here too.

My dedication to blogging has its ups and down's, but I really enjoyed this challenge. Hopefully by the time A-Z comes around in 2013 I'll be in an even better place in my writing career. I hope you all will, too! :)

In the mean time, I'm getting my household prepared for a few days of no mommy! Any other mom's know what a chore this is?? I completely set them up. Food has to be bought, prepared and prepped. Lists and instructions must be written, insurance cards arranged. Sheesh!! But it's worth it!
(Especially when I find out my agent pitch interview is now TWO agent pitch interviews!! SQUEEE!!)

Happy Monday!!

Y Ya gotta be kidding me!!!!

Busy day today— hence the late post. But I had to share a quick crazy story!!

This morning I had a photo session with the nicest couple. They were young and still newlyweds for all intents and purposes. We were just getting started and excited, as I took them to one of my recent fav locations.
 It's an abandoned farm lot off a main highway and it has an old farmhouse, and several out buildings including a beautiufl old barn. I'm not able to date barns, but this one seems old! Anyway, the place is so long vacated the weeds and grass grow up to the roof like a jungle around the house. I've shot there several times this spring and last fall.

I love shooting around the barn and the lot is messy but good for photos. I can tell that people dump things, and probably teens hang out because I've noticed "new" stuff laying around before, but I wasn't prepared for the man that was with me to say, "Someone is sleeping in there!". Both the wife and I almost emptied our bladder on that note. I thought he was seeing someone sleeping in this old barn. But when he pointed, sure enough someone had hung a bunch of old clothes on a tree limb coming from one of the dilapidated barn's window. My gut just told me a homeless person was inside there. FREAKY!  We all kind of looked at each other deciding what to do. We took a few more photos, but no one could relax, I kept jumping at every sound, and looking for eyeballs peering out of the barn windows.

The same barn, just a month ago.

The scariest thing???? I've been to that spot shooting senior portraits with teens!! ACK!! No more!!

Happy Saturday everybody!!

X X-tremely HAPPY

Any creative endeavor has it's highs and lows. No one is ever "on" all the time. (If you are that one person, I don't like you and I don't believe you! :)) The important part is to keep going, because those genius moments are what we thrive on.

Sometimes when I'm shooting a portrait session or even a wedding, I just can't seem to do anything cool. I mean, the photos are okay. They are sale worthy. The client will probably be happy with them. I mean, I know my craft. I know my settings, I know how to use the light in the appropriate way for the situation. But as the artist, I'm looking for that image that makes me say, "Oh yes, I nailed it." When it finally comes, that one image is worth the whole days worth of work. I've begun to learn that when I have that "feeling" the client will probably have it too when they see it. I LOVE that. Often it's not even about just me, the client might have given their partner "that look". A private look, that says "I love you" and I've captured it in a split second. Or a mother closes her eyes in bliss as her child wraps their hands around her neck. I could cry thinking about it. (For what it's worth, I have never shot a wedding where I didn't cry at LEAST once.)

The same goes for my writing. Some scenes I'm just going through the motions. I know what needs to happen and I know it needs to move the story forward and into the next scene. BUT, sometimes I'm writing and the words are flowing down my arms, through my fingers and pounding out perfection onto the screen. I smile as I type. Sometimes I laugh out loud. Sometimes I cry.

These are the moments that make me keep writing. I think to myself "someone should read this!!!!". I'm not saying the sentences have a perfect grammatical structure. (I'm NEVER that good.) But I feel darn good about where the scene is going. These are the same moments where the characters reveal something to you that you might not have seen coming. My characters are the ones having those moments that I seem to have "captured".

I know you all have these moments. Everyone does.

Point being...I JUST HAD ONE. A big one, and I'm smiling as I type this. Oh, and I ran today. It's a good day already!! :)

Happy Friday, Peeps!! :)

W Worlds BEST Lasagna

I LOVE the Barefoot Contessa, AKA Ina Garten. Her recipes have never let me down, ever. Her brownies are insane, her pasta dishes perfect, and her Lasagna is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I've included this recipe because I'm craving it soooo bad. I've been trying to cut back on carbs through the week and I've noticed a huge difference in my waistline. But after a couple weeks, I'm sooo treating myself to this. 

Two tips. 

1. Do not, I repeat, do NOT skip the goat cheese in this recipe. I promise you won't regret it. Trader Joes has a perfect little log of goat cheese that is not over priced (as goat cheese logs can be!). It adds the most amazing element to the lasagna. Just a slight tang that is delicious!!!

2. You don't have to use turkey sausage. It's good, no doubt, but I've used a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage and had amazing results. 

Make this soon!!! You will NOT be disappointed!!

From www.barefootcontessa.com

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage (Serves 8) Copyright, 2002 Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved
Photo: Maura McEvoy	2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree 1 6-ounce can tomato paste 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound lasagna noodles 15 ounces ricotta cheese 3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten 1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced	Look Inside

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 x 12 x 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

V Very Proud and don't use the word VERY!

First off, I have to tell you a secret!  I started the Couch to 5K running program about a week and a half ago. I'm LOVING it. It is really amazing what daily running can do for your brain. If I workout, my clothes automatically feel like they fit better. It's all psychological, but I don't care. I feel good when I run. I can't wait to be able to run a 5k. Anyone else out there a runner???? Share!

Have you seen the quote from Mark Twain about the word very? I saw it for the first time yesterday and thought it was fantastic.

Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain

It really seems to work, too! Wow. Mark Twain has some of the BEST quotes. Here is another of my favs.

I can so relate to that quote!! :)

U Under Pressure

The other day I mentioned that I will soon be going to my very first writing conference. I'm so excited, but I'm also really nervous.

I will be doing an agent pitch interview. ACK! Nerve wracking!! The pressure is getting to me. Now, I'm really not expecting this to lead to anything at all. I just really want to feel good about the process. This will be my first pitch ever and I'm nervous about not sounding like a complete moron!!

Just imagining walking up, sitting down, opening my mouth. It all makes me nervous.

Has anyone done an in person pitch before? What was your experience like??

T The Small Things Blog

I'm a girl. I have hair. I'm not good at styling my hair, although I do like it to look pretty.

This is where The Small Things Blog comes in.

Kate (blogger) is a hair stylist, and at some point she started sharing her genious on a blog. I am forever in her debt because she has made me prettier! :) She makes styling your hair seem easy. She has a natural gift for explaining things in a very simple manner. I appreciate that.

Some of my fav's. (Find all hair tutorials HERE.)

She also talks about other girly things. Nail polish, hair spray, clothes, jewelry. You should check it out! 

 Boys...I'm sorry. T day just wasn't about you! :(

S Sabbatical Saturday!

Today I'm taking a sabbatical from blogging!

Hope you have a happy Saturday!!

R Romance

I'm sorry, I can't help it. It is rare for me to want to read a book where there isn't at least an inkling of romance in it. I'm not ashamed of it. It is also rare to find a book without an inkling of romance in it. I know they exist, but I'm hard pressed to come up with one. (Picture/children books not included!!)

Let's be honest, attraction to another person is what makes the world go around. It's that simple. We've all heard the quotes about how if it weren't for men's obsession with women, the world would not have flourished. Can't you just imagine a grunting prehistoric man trying to figure out how to make a fire to keep his woman warm, or develop a wheel to cart his woman along because she is tired? I sure can. Now, lets not get into the drama of thinking "She was probably bitching and moaning that she was tired of being cold and sick of walking so far, so he did it to shut her the heck up!" I'm not even going there!!

Because while that may be the case, prehistoric man knew one thing. If his woman wasn't happy....neither was he...or any part of him. If you catch my drift.

Point being, romance is where it's at folks.

I know it's not everyone's favorite, and there are plenty of people not interested in the latest "craze", but it's whats selling right now. No doubt about that.

The other day my husband picked up a book I was reading and held it up saying, "Do you ever read a book that's not about romance?" The book was this....

My first thought was to defend myself and explain. Like, romance was beneath me. I stopped. I thought of all of the amazingly written books out there that run the gamut of romance. From chaste kisses to...well, more. And I answered him honestly. "Nope, not if I can help it."

Q Quitting was never an option.

Writing a novel—being an author—is one of those things I always just assumed I would do in life. As a child, I can still remember hearing my mom talk about me, telling people "She'll be a writer!". She was so sure, and I believed her.

I wrote lots of little stories, and I always did well in any language arts class, but the death of my Father when I was ten took a lot of my passion from me. I know many artists find artistic inspiration in their grief. I didn't. After that, I really rarely wrote for pleasure.

 I can't say that I was a stellar student. I was one of those students (kicking myself now) that could have gotten A's, but wasn't interested. Why didn't someone give me a hard time??? Ugh! Oh, I know why. We were all completely shattered and rearranged after my Fathers death. Our family wasn't normal and my middle school years we were all just trying to get by without imploding. My high school years we were trying to get by without killing one another. Through college I recall every single language arts/writing/English teacher I have ever had, giving some version of the same "talk". "You're writing is so good, you just need to focus...and come to class! This could be great if you would work a little harder." Hmmm.

Was it enough of a nudge? No. Someone should have hit me over the head with a 2x4. Instead of excelling I ended up quitting college and having my oldest son and getting married. It's so easy to look back and see where I went wrong. It's also easy to look around and see where I went totally right. (See those three sweet faces in my header.)

 As cliche' as it sounds, life got in the way of my writing. It wasn't meant to be, for whatever reason. I have accepted that. It was my mother who was incredibly relieved when I told her I'd started writing a novel three years ago. I still remember her reaction, "I knew you would". I'm here now and that's really all that matters.

There have been moments where I thought my time had passed, maybe everyone had been wrong. But now I realize that maybe the time has finally come for a reason. I have the knowledge and experience I need from this crazy life to write the stories I want to write. I have the time to do it, and the family to support me. I can't quit now because my mother is waiting, darn it. I know she wants to say "I knew it." I'm dying to give her that satisfaction.

P Pinterest and Procrastinating

I can't help it. I love Pinterest. I pin clothes, books, home stuff, FOOD, photos that remind me of my characters. I could get lost for hours on Pinterest.

Follow me!!


If you can't see the connection between Pinterest and Procrastinating...then you haven't tried the site yet. Sigh

O OWFI

In a little less than three weeks I will be attending my very first writing conference. OWFI, which stands for Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. (No, I don't live in OK) I'm incredibly excited for a variety of reasons.

1. I won't be cooking for anyone.

2. No one will call me mom.

3. I will be eating food someone else cooked for me.

4. I won't be doing the dishes I ate off of.

5. The hotel has free breakfast. (Embassy Suites is so good for that reason!)

6. I will sit down at a table where the food is already prepared.

7. A lot of time with my critique group girls...whom I love!!

8. Oh yeah....writing stuff will be involved. YAY!!!

I know it seems like I'm slightly bitter about all of the food I'm constantly preparing in my life. Well, you're right. I am. Cooking three meals a day, plus after school snacks gets OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We rarely eat out so it's always me cooking, thinking about cooking, making plans about cooking, getting groceries for cooking. UGH, it almost makes it worth all of the cooking and planning cooking I'll be doing BEFORE I leave for said conference. (you're welcome honey!)

Anyway, I will be doing an agent pitch meeting. YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so nervous I could hurl! But incredibly excited.

Happy 2'sday Peeps!!

N Names and Not Yo Mama's!!

I have a confession. I don't really enjoy naming my characters. It's stressful for me. In my current wip, my main characters are Justin and Bren. Now that the naming is done, I love them. Their names are so them. But before? Ugh. I've heard different things from different writers. Their character finally reveals their name, I finally picked a name, etc. How does your process work???

Also, I needed to give you another recipe. I did, you were asking for it.

I grant you one of the tastiest things you EVAH put in yo mouth!!

Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding. *sigh*

You. Will. Die.  Please make the day before. You won't regret it, although it is hard to open the fridge and see it staring at you. Hold off...the reward is worth it.

Photo from Gourmet Sunday

 Not Yo Mamas Banana Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

M Movies and Muscles

Convo between my husband and I yesterday.

Me: I got some movies at the Redbox. Muppets for the boys and one for us.

Him: What's it about? (The one for us was implied)

Me: Ummm, I'm not sure. I saw the trailer and thought it looked good.

Him: What's it called?

Me: Immortals

Him: I didn't think that looked that great. (long pause turns into stare) Which means you only have one reason for wanting to see it.

Me: I don't know what your talking about. I like movies like that.

Him: I'd rather watch Muppets.

Result.  BUSTED

I'm sorry...but seriously?????????

You're welcome, ladies. Happy Saturday!!

L Love and Linger

I can remember the pain like it was yesterday. The end of my first love. I was in high school and we had been together for two years. It was an obsessive, unhealthy, passionate young love. (No wonder I write YA romance! :)

A heart breaking, is an incredibly real, physical occurance. So painful you want to die. It squeezes the breath from your lungs and buckles your knees.

Yet...I don't regret it for one moment. Is it crazy to say that I only hope my children someday have the gift of first love and heartbreak? It doesn't feel right to think it. But still, that experience molds you. It's made me a better wife to my "true" love. The experience is so raw that it is truly the feeling of being alive. In my experience...there is no other feeling quite as devastating as someone choosing to stop loving you. In some ways, to drown in that sorrow is the epitome of being human.

I remember days on end of laying on my bed, (my poor mother didn't know what to do!!) and listening to the most depressing songs. On repeat. Crying until my face swelled and no tears were left.

This was one of them. Listening to it, I remember the pain like it was yesterday.

K Kia

Long story very short.

My husband is a car man.

He likes muscle cars.

His Chrysler 300 died a long awaited death two weeks ago.

He blew my mind and decided to buy this.

J June, Jealousy, and more Jennifer Echols

Happy Tuesday!! I've been dreaming of June the past few days. I have major spring fever and I want school to be out. (For what it's worth, as soon as my kids have been home a week I will be dreaming of days home alone in peace.) Moving on.

What is it about jealousy that makes my heart pitter patter? I LOVE jealousy in my romance. Love it. What does this say about me? It clearly needs exploring in therapy. However, I can't deny that when I'm reading and something is happening...you feel it building, the hero or heroine is going to see something that makes them burn inside with jealousy.

AHHHH!!!!!

 I love that rush. I love the resulting action and explosion. I love to write it.

YA romance is full of jealousy, and I adore it because a young persons reactions are so raw. They haven't built up all of the understanding that comes as you mature. (Did anyone else spit their coffee out as they read that!?! LOL We are all so grown up and  understanding!) Anyone else love the jealousy?

Speaking of YA romance, my new fav author in this genre is Jennifer Echols. I know, I know. I just posted about her. But, I took Katy's advice from the comments of my "E" post and quickly rushed out to get one of her "more mature" YA books. LOVED it.

What I love most about this is that many might say she pushed the envelope on what is acceptable in YA romance. I get that, I do. But we still must realize that in "real life" this is what is going on...if not much more. I understand that for some teens this will still be "wouldn't want my mom to know I'm reading this" material...but I would have eaten this up in my teens. It's funny that I wasted my high school years reading "grown up" books and not YA fiction. But truthfully, and I could be wrong, but I don't think YA was near as awesome as it is now. I'm sure that's debatable...I need to do some research on that.

I can't wait to get more of her more recent novels. :)

I Instagram

Have you heard the news??? I don't use instagram...but a lot of my peeps use it out the wazoo!

Facebook. *sigh* First instagram—next— the world!

H Have any ideas??? (HAPPY)

I'm having one of those days. You know the kind...complete lack of inspiration. Or even motivation! I hate these days. I can't put my finger on why I'm here today. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining. There are currently no kids in the house. And yet...I'm down.

Hence, no ideas for H day. You got any? I'll now go roam the blogosphere and indulge myself in a lot of "I should have thought of that"s. Oh well, here's hoping for something to lift the fog.

Happy Monday.

EDITED: Ironically, I hit publish on this post and checked my email. I won an adorable book on Kristin Gray's blog! How awesome is that? The book is NEVERSINK by Barry Wolverton. It definitely lifted the fog. Can't wait to tell my boys! :) Thanks Kristin! (And Walden Pond Press!)

G Guarana Antarctica

A couple of years ago, some fellow photographers and I were shooting a wedding and the reception was at a Brazilian Steakhouse. (If  you haven't been to one....yum!!!!!) The bride's family was from Brazil and do they ever know how to throw a party!! Wow. Anyway, after chowing down on all the amazing food at our break, we were served a Brazilian soda in a bright green can. It was heavenly!!!

 

We drank several and I was then on a mission to find it in our town! I haven't ended up getting it again. You can find it on Amazon and apparently we have a Brazilian grocer about 40 minutes from here but I haven't made the trek to get it. I should though because it's so good. And yes, it contains guarana which is supposed to give you a little pick me up. The taste is like a mixture of sprite and ginger ale. So amazing!! :) If you ever have the fortune of running into this, get yourself some!!!

F Friday

I'm sure a lot of A-Z participants will use Friday for F today. How can you not be excited? And it's a holiday weekend. Lots of fun, candy, and family.

I'm going to keep it short because we are heading out the door to go car shopping. Wish me luck on that one!
Today should be F for finances. Not my favorite topic. :)

Happy Friday!

E Echols- As in Jennifer

I enjoy a good Jennifer Echols book. Have you read her?

I'll be honest, sometimes it's a little on the fluffy/cheeky side for my taste. (EDITED TO ADD. Katy in the comments said that maybe I should try some of her books geared towards older YA. I have already put it at the top of my TBR!! Yay!) But there are times when it's exactly what I'm in the mood for. Of course, I haven't read all of her books so maybe they aren't all that way. Her newest looks very interesting and I'll be sure to check it out.

Last year I read ENDLESS SUMMER and really enjoyed it. Even did a review on the blog! :)

Today I'm about to finish up WINTERS KISS, and it's been a fun read. Nick=Yum! (Is that the most creepy thing ever?? I'm 33 for heaven sakes!! I was speaking from my inner teenager voice...oh and imagining Nick after he aged 15 years...yeah, that's it!) By the way, this is a double novel that she shares with Catherine Hapka.

 I think she is very good at capturing teen feelings. I laughed out loud when the main character talks about not wanting guys to know she pee's! Haven't we all been there? She refers to herself as a peeless goddess. How cute is that?

D Dessert

Who doesn't love a good dessert?? I sure do, and I thought I'd share one with you today!! :)

Since this Sunday is Easter I'm having my immediate family over which includes my mother, and my sister and her husband. Obviously, the one thing you need after a huge holiday meal....is a gut busting dessert. DUH!!

I'll be making this gem. I first tried it while I was shooting a friends wedding. Her fiance is from New Orleans and made this for all of us Kansas folk at the rehearsal dinner. I died. Then I ate another piece, and died again. Then I asked him for the recipe and he said he "googled" it. I've made it six times since then. You should make it too!!!

Note: This is one of those recipes that is better the next day. Therefore I'll be making mine on Saturday afternoon to enjoy on Sunday afternoon.  (Keep it in the fridge. I can't guarantee a corner won't be picked at!) The flavors really come together and when you take an extremely large piece out, heat it in the microwave for about 40 seconds (with the sauce of course) and then dig in....you'll think you've died and gone to heaven. I mean it!!! And for the record, I didn't think I liked bread pudding before this treat came into my life. I'm dreaming of Easter already!

Photo from -A bit of Bees Knees

White Chocolate Bread Pudding  (Epicurious)

Bon Appétit  | December 1996

Restaurant: Palace Café; New Orleans, Louisiana

Read More http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/White-Chocolate-Bread-Pudding-with-White-Chocolate-Sauce-2979#ixzz1r4i60xYg

• 8 ounces French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 3 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 18 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker's),coarsely chopped
• 7 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 275°F. Arrange bread cubes on baking sheet. Bake until light golden and dry, about 10 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.

Combine 3 cups whipping cream, 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add 10 ounces white chocolate (about 1 3/4 cups) and stir until melted and smooth. Whisk yolks and eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in warm chocolate mixture.

Place bread cubes in 2-quart glass baking dish. Add half of chocolate mixture. Press bread cubes into chocolate mixture. Let stand 15 minutes. Gently mix in remaining chocolate mixture. Cover dish with foil.

Bake pudding 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer pudding to rack and cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate. Rewarm covered pudding in 350°F oven for 30 minutes before serving.)

Bring remaining 1/2 cup cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat. Add remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.

Serve pudding warm with warm white chocolate sauce.

C Cooling Off

My amazing, wonderful, handsome, talented husband fixed our AC. I LOVE HIM! The irony is he fixed it just in time for the weather to cool down. Oh well, a Kansas summer with out an AC is not an option. I'm sure there are worse out there, but I couldn't do it.

Tonight is my critique group night. I LOVE THEM also. We are preparing for a conference in May (my first) and I can't wait to get away tonight and discuss writing. A good day all around! :)

Hope yours is too!

B Boys

I am the only female in my household.

My husband is....a boy.
My three children are  boys.
My dog is a boy.

I used to think I really wanted a girl...but I don't know what I would do with a girl. I can't imagine barbies, dolls and squinkies. I can't imagine pink or purple. I have embraced having boys. I had too!

That being said, my sister BETTER have a baby girl!! 

A = ALREADY??

Is it really April 1st? Good gracious it has really caught me by surprise this time. I'm optimistic about April this year, lots of good things in the works for me...except for one.

Today we woke up to a broken air conditioner. Nice. My husband thinks he can fix it, I pray he can. Anyone price AC units lately. Uhhh, it ain't pretty my friend. Ain't pretty at all.

If you're stopping by for A-Z I'm so  happy to meet you!! :) Can't wait to check out your blog!!!! 

Let's get this party started!!!!!!!!!