First, to all the mothers out there! Happy Mother’s Day!

This was part of my gift from my daughter! She knows I’m a Star Trek girl and had an artist do this up of me with my cat, Tess, Lower Decks style. She had one image framed for my office wall and had a coffee cup made with the image wrapped around it. Such a lovely, thoughtful gift for a nerdy girl like me! The 19-year-old added a funny squeeze-toy/stress ball with an alien that pops out of a spaceship and a small tray with a spaceship hovering over a farm field, sucking up a cow. Yes, they do know me well.

Report Card

Last week…

• I finished one editing job for another author, plus, I worked on three others.
• I finished revising, formatting, and uploading Five Ways ‘Til Sunday, which releases Tuesday. I began revising the next in the Delta Heat series, Fournicopia.
• I worked on art for #The100DayProject.
• My knee is nearly healed, but I have to stop myself from moving full-steam-ahead, because every time I do, I reinjure it. It’s such a pain in the ass.
• So, yeah, I’m light on accomplishments this week. 🙁

This next week…

• I will work on four editing projects for other authors, finishing three!
• I will try to find art for the next anthology, Secret Identities. Plus, I’ll work on the webpage on the Collections site, adding loglines for each author’s story. (This is a repeat from last week, because I didn’t make much progress.)
• I will complete revising the second and third stories in the kink series I’m republishing and get them uploaded.
• I will begin writing my next Montana Bounty Hunter story, the first in the West Yellowstone office, Cyrus. (This is carried over, too. I made NO progress.)
• I will continue creating small art daily for #The100DayProject.
• I’ll work on a gazillion administrative and cleanup duties I need to catch up on. My office is a disaster at the moment.

I really need a vacation…

Open Contests

1. April into May (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Word Search: Happy Batman Day! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a beadable pen!
3. Remember when…? (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Why did the black bear cross the road? — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Who should Cyrus’s love interest be? (Poll & Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Word Search: Family Summertime Activities (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Books for PRE-ORDER! See what’s coming soon! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Melanie Jayne: Spending Time with Old Friends (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
9. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? — Win an Amazon gift card!

Last week…

• I finished one editing job for another author.
• I found the art for the cover for my next We Are Dead Horse book, Built Like Mack, got the cover made, and the pre-order set up in Amazon.
• I had covers made for a series I’m republishing and created the pre-orders in KDP. Those links aren’t available because KDP wants to make sure I’m republishing my own books first.
• I began lightly revising the first of the series I’m republishing, which I hope to have out on May 14th. If you like kink, be watching for it!
• I worked on art for #The100DayProject—nearly catching up with the schedule.
• I’m still recovering very slowly from an injury to my knee. At first, I got around with a limp, then I used a knee brace, then a cane. I’m off the cane, but not 100% just yet!

This next week…

• I will work on two editing projects for other authors, finishing one!
• I will try to find art for the next anthology, Secret Identities. Plus, I’ll work on the webpage on the Collections site, adding loglines for each author’s story.
• I will complete editing the first and the second stories in the kink series I’m republishing and get them uploaded for pre-order.
• I will begin writing my next Montana Bounty Hunter story, the first in the West Yellowstone office, Cyrus.
• I will continue creating small art daily for #The100DayProject.
• I’ll work on a gazillion administrative things I need to catch up on.

And here I was hoping I could take a bit of a break…

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: The Time Tunnel (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Hold on to Memories (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. April into May (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Word Search: Happy Batman Day! (Contest) — Win a beaded pen!
5. Remember when…? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Happy Paranormal Day! (Giveaway!) — This offer ends soon! Get your FREE book while this offer lasts!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Why did the black bear cross the road? — Win an Amazon gift card!

Last week…

• I finished Tyson’s Mission which releases on April 23rd!
• I fell behind schedule on my editing gigs due to family and TM.
• I found the art work, had the cover made (thanks, sis), and set up the pre-order for my next MBH, Cyrus.
• I’ve fell behind on creating art for #The100DayProject.
• I enjoyed watching the eclipse with all of my siblings!
• I’m trying to recover from injuring my knee. At first, I got around with a limp, then I used a knee brace, now I’m on a cane. It’s getting better now, but slowly!

This next week…

• I will work on three editing projects for other authors, hopefully finishing two!
• I HAVE TO finish reading the rest of the stories for my next anthology, Secret Identities.
• I will begin editing one of five stories I previously published, so I can republish them soon.
• I will continue creating small art daily for #The100DayProject.

I still need a vacation.

Open Contests

1. Happy Tell a Lie Day! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. First Contact Day (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Eclipse Fantasy — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. The Eclipse! Just Wow! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. The End! (Of TYSON’S MISSION, that is) (Contest + Excerpt) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Sliding Puzzle: Mayan City (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. The Montana Bounty Hunters are opening a new office in West Yellowstone! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Will you enter? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Cindy!
*~*~*

Local schools announced a holiday—likely because they knew few students would show up and teachers would want to watch the total eclipse of the sun, too! So the three kids were with us.

All my siblings—two brothers and my sister—my daughter and her kids gathered at my brother’s place across the highway for a viewing party. We arrived at 11:30, set up the chairs facing the sun, handed out approved eclipse glasses, and roasted. The temperature was a very balmy 84 degrees, hardly a cloud in the sky. By the time the show was all over we did have sunburns. 🙂

Of course there was plenty of time for silly photographs. My daughter played “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and we all sang so loud we could hear neighbors laughing. The 10-year-old was our self-appointed timekeeper who let us know the countdown to the “totality.” There were plenty of goosebumps and oohs and ahhs when the totality occurred and the world grew dark.

Afterward, we weren’t as interested in watching the sun “grow bigger.” My brothers set up the grill to fry a ton of fresh-caught bass with hush puppies and tons of yummy sides. So, so, good. I am so grateful we could all be together for these few days, and to enjoy the eclipse. We’ll all carry memories of a very unique event.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me when your family gathered for some fun event! And did you get to watch the eclipse?

Last couple weeks…

• I wrote quadruple the amount of pages I usually write for Tyson’s Mission and have been putting in 12-14 hour days, just on writing, this week!
• I read more stories submitted for the Secret Identities anthology—but did not finish as planned!
• I finished one editing project for another author.
• I’ve created art every day for #The100DayProject.

This next week…

• Watch the eclipse with family—weather permitting!
• I will finish Tyson’s Mission which releases on April 23rd!  
• I will work on two editing projects for other authors!
• I must finish reading the rest of the stories for my next anthology, Secret Identities.
• I will continue creating small art daily for #The100DayProject.

Again, it’ll be a crazy-busy week! I’m ready for a vacation!

Open Contests

1. Word Search: Colors of Paint (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Easter Stories (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: What I’m bingeing now… — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Happy Easter & March Into April (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Another lost art? (Contest) Plus, Open Contests! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Flashback: Gunn’s Mission (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
7. Word Search: Eclipse Words (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Happy Tell a Lie Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
9. First Contact Day (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
10. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Eclipse Fantasy — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Ellen!
*~*~*

This morning, in the rush to get kids ready for school, the 15-year-old came to me in a panic because today is picture day and she needed a shirt ironed. It hit me (yeah, sometimes, I’m kind of slow) that I’m the only person in the house who knows how to iron clothes.

It gets worse. My daughter doesn’t buy clothing that has to be ironed. If she sees something she likes, a shirt, for example, she won’t buy it if she thinks she can’t wash and dry and then immediately hang it to avoid ironing it.

I remember being ten and being given a huge garbage bag filled with clothing, sheets (even T-shirts) that had been sprayed with water and rolled into tight balls, which I would take out one at a time and iron. I hated ironing, but the skill came in handy when I was in the Army, because at the time, you had to iron your fatigues or pay to have them laundered for you.

Today, there’s not a person in our 6-person household, other than me, who knows that to create steam you have to add water to the hole on the top of the iron. I feel like a failure as a mother and grandmother. It’s a survival skill just like learning to cook, which thankfully, the kids have learned to do.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you have an ironing board and iron that you use. Or is there another “lost art” that today’s generation has forgotten?

Open Contests

1. Happy World Storytelling Day! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. What makes you happy? (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE book!
3. A Reminder for Your Weekend Enjoyment! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Animals in a Boat — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Josephine Silone Yates – Another Undaunted Pioneer (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Word Search: Colors of Paint (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Easter Stories (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: What I’m bingeing now… — Win an Amazon gift card!
9. Happy Easter & March Into April (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jackie Wisherd!
*~*~*

Before I get started with the end of month rundown,
Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

March

Work-related:

1. I completed work on What Happens in Bozeman (Book #3 of We Are Dead Horse, MT) and published it!
2. I began work on Tyson’s Mission, my next Brotherhood Protectors book!
3. I continued to read short stories for inclusion in my upcoming Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.
4. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in March.

Health-related:

1. I haven’t done well taking care of myself this month. I ate too many salty, fatty foods and didn’t monitor my blood pressure!
2. My sleep suffered this month, likely because of diet and lack of exercise.
3. The only good thing I did was drinking one cup of Turmeric tea a day.

Happiness-related: 

1. I continued working on the #the100dayproject art challenge.
2. Here are some examples of art projects I completed in March.

April

 

1. To complete writing Tyson’s Mission, my next Brotherhood Protectors, book, which releases on April 23rd!
2. To complete 4 editing projects in March!
3. To finish reading and selecting stories from among the submissions for the upcoming collection—Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology!

For health related, I plan:

1. To start back on my Weight Watchers diet, because it’s time to get serious! I HAVE to get back in the saddle!
2. To reduce salt and processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas) and my liver (apple cider vinegar, flax seeds, sunflower seeds).
3. To begin daily workouts using my recumbent bike and some chair yoga exercises.
4. To take my BP every day and log it!

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue #the100daychallenge where I’ll be painting something every single day!
2. To spend time with extended family during the ECLIPSE!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in April…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!