UPDATE: The winner is…Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

I’m late posting. It happens. I’m part of a large family sharing a single house. Thank goodness it’s large enough we all have our own space! However, we pitch in to keep everything going—from housework to yardwork to…appointments.

That last was what had me late today. My SIL is a cop, and he’s working nights this month, so we have to keep our eight dogs quiet until early afternoon. My dd took the 13-year-old for a COVID test before her Wednesday surgery, which was over an hour away, so after I helped get the other kids off to school, I sat upstairs with the dogs all around me to keep them from barking. Why so many dogs? My mom and dad had four when they both passed and my dd had five, so when we combined houses to live together, well… One dog has since passed, and because we believe in forever homes, it will be FOREVER before we have a reasonable number of dogs. I didn’t even mention our four (it was five until a couple of months ago!) cats because they are ghosts and no problem at all. The horse and the three goats live in the pasture, so no problem there either. 🙂

Anyways, we’re getting ready for days of storms. It’s raining now. We expect thunderstorms. On Wednesday, we could very well see large hail and tornadoes added to the mix. The power flipped off last night for about an hour. That was just a precursor. So, we’re making sure we have the right provisions on hand in case we lose power for longer than that.

I’m charging up my laptop and making sure the files are all updated with the latest versions—in case I have to switch to it to keep working. We have a generator to keep our fridge going. When we need it, we unplug that, make coffee, and charge our devices. We live in the country, so we know how to do this.

So, it’s only Monday. What’s your week look like? For a chance to win a FREE download from my backlist of books, let me know!

UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
*~*~*
©Diana Cosby 2022

My sincere thanks to Delilah for allowing me to return to her wonderful blog and share an exciting update of Diana Cosby’s Romance Readers Help Build A Habitat For Humanity Home.

A bit of background.  Romance readers are AMAZING, and SO is Habitat For Humanity, a charity that I love supporting and volunteering for.  Several years ago, I thought, why not pair the two and help a deserving family receive a home?  And, the Diana Cosby’s Romance Reader’s Help Build A Habitat For Humanity House fundraiser was born.

I contacted the Habitat For Humanity office in Grayson County, Texas, where I’ve had the honor of helping with several builds and spoke with Laurie Mealy, Executive Director.  She embraced the project and was thrilled at the thought of pairing romance readers, who love stories where heroes and heroines overcome challenges to make their dreams come true, with making the dream of home ownership for a deserving family a reality.

Goal:  Raise $55,000 for Grayson County, Texas, Habitat For Humanity to help build a Habitat For Humanity Home.

I kicked off the challenge by donating $200.  As I write this, we’ve raised $27,542, and we’re now OVER ½ WAY TO OUR GOAL to raise $55,000!!!  Romance readers are amazing, and I have complete faith that like stories they love, they will continue to join together to raise the remainder of the amount necessary to help give a deserving family a home.

How it works…

As readers send donations to Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County for the ‘Diana Cosby’s Readers Build A Habitat For Humanity House of Love,’ the total contributions are updated below the house graphic on the upper right side of their homepage near the top.  Donations can be sent via PayPal by ‘clicking’ on the house, which takes you to the donation page, or by mailing a check or money order to:

Habitat for Humanity of Grayson County
901 N. Grand Avenue
P.O. Box 2725
Sherman, TX 75091

*Please note on your donation: ‘For Diana Cosby’s Romance Readers Build A Habitat For Humanity House.’

Again, my sincere thanks to Delilah for allowing me to return to her blog, and another HUGE thanks to everyone for helping make an incredible difference in a deserving family’s life.  For when they walk into a Habitat For Humanity house, it’s more thank mortar and wood, but a place they can call home.

*Photos used with permission of Habitat For Humanity Grayson County, TX.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my “Exciting UPDATE about Diana Cosby’s – Romance Reader’s Help Build A Habitat For Humanity House” blog on Delilah Devlin’s blogsite between 10 April 2022 – 17 April 2022.  The winner will receive a signed copy of His Destiny.

About Diana Cosby

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series and The Oath Trilogy, she released the bestselling The Forbidden Series.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

God bless,

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
The Forbidden Series

Social Media
Website:  https://www.dianacosby.com/
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/978803.Diana_Cosby
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Diana-Cosby/e/B003YJ1MR4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1417447922&sr=8-1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts

Last night was prom for the 18-year-old and 17-year-old. It was a day-long ordeal for the girl to get ready. This is a photo of her corsage and her date’s boutonniere, which ended up creamier-colored than white, but they really didn’t care. They were both all smiles and laughter. Very happy. They met up with friends at the local college where there are some very great backdrops for photos, and my dd obliged them by taking dozens of photos. I’ll share a few on my Facebook friends page.

They took this one for fun to symbolize the end of prom.

I went to bed before everyone came home, so I’m dying to hear how the night went. I’m sure there was plenty of drama. I hope the girl and her boyfriend made it through the night without breaking up. That our 18-year-old found plenty of folks to dance with (since he disinvited his date for disrespecting his sister). That they all had good, clean fun. The 17-year-old was hoping to end the night at Waffle House rather than the After-Prom Party because she’s not a fan of drunken drama. If they did, the 18-year-old will have been disappointed. 🙂

When I think about my own prom, I wasn’t very popular—I was “the new girl” that last year of high school. I was lucky to get a date because this Arkansas town was very cliquish, and you really did have sharp divisions around the various groups. The only accepting group was the Stoners. So, guess who I spent my time with…

What about you? Did you go to prom? Did you go with someone special? Was it wonderful? Boring? Drama-filled?

Open Contests

1. It’s Saturday! Puzzle-Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. A Quick Question, a Reminder, and Open Contests! Oh, my! — Win a FREE book!
3. Tell me a story… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Flashback: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology (Contest–3 Winners!) — Win a FREE book, 3 winners!
5. Fill in the blank! (Puzzle-Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

Or I used to. Now, it means the kids will be underfoot all weekend long, and weekends are packed with activities. This weekend is PROM! The 18-year-old and 17-year-old will both be attending. The 18-year-old was taking a girl, but she dissed the 17-year-old, so the 18-year-old disinvited her. Then he asked a guy friend of his, so they’ll be hanging out with a group rather than making it a date night.

The 17-year-old’s on-again-off-again boyfriend stepped up and asked her to the prom, but he’s cool hanging with the group. Here’s when he popped the question with her favorite sushi! (He’s a football player!) Aren’t they adorable? The sauce says, “Prom?”

And there’s a soccer game for the 9-year-old, along with team photos. And so on, and so on…

I’m already tired. There will be drama, drama, drama. Maybe I’ll hide out in my office and pretend I’m getting some work done. 🙂

What about you? Any big plans?

It’s the beginning of Spring. April has new beginnings – we have hummingbirds migrating through and joining our native Anna’s hummingbirds at our feeder. This month we also have the A to Z Blogging Challenge. It’s Camp NaNoWriMo, Letter Writing Month, and Poetry Month. I suspect there are probably more, but those are just the handful we know of.

Are YOU ready for all of that?

I sure don’t think I am. I mean, we’re doing the A to Z Blog Challenge over on our group blog The Writer Zen Garden.

It really helps me to have others to play with, and who will write posts and come up with creative fun things to do.

I think it’s important to realize that it’s heavy to carry the load of all the stuff that’s going on in the world – war in Ukraine, the investigations in the U.S. Capital, the environmental crisis, and the pandemic. Wildfire season started early in Colorado last month. If you look for it, you can find all sorts of awful things.

On the other hand, we have the tools in our hands to help ourselves be resilient through it. There’s a new book by Emmanuel Acho called Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits. In it, he has some terrific ideas (and I fully recommend you read it); one of them is about a young child whose mother brought her to a rap concert. The child was sleeping in her arms on the dance floor and wore yellow earmuffs that stopped the sound, allowing her to sleep. And the genius of it is that he translates that to our own lives: wear your earmuffs.

What “noise” is pressing in on you? Is it social media? News? Oscars drama? Maybe it’s something closer to home, like at work or family dysfunction. But we can put on our own earmuffs and drown out the loudness so that we can focus on our own stuff – creative writing, making, painting, singing, dancing… What’s your stuff?

And even more important, where are your earmuffs? Your earbuds, or noise-canceling earphones, or some other tool to listen to your favorite music or uplifting podcasts. If you want to try relaxing a bit, try binaural audio. And then settle in and play with your stuff.

Me, my stuff is writing novels, weaving, and designing lace. What about you?

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
*~*~*

March

January’s success has me feeling like everything I’ve accomplished after that has been less than stellar progress! March continues that sentiment—and I need to get rid of that mindset! I did accomplish some big stuff in March. Maybe not as much as I’d wanted to, and my plans were tweaked along the way based on my level of accomplishment, but I still moved forward!

Anyway, here’s what I did accomplish on my goal list…

Work-related:

1. I wrote and published my next Texas Vampires novella, No Tender Mercy.
2. I completed 4 editing projects for other authors in March, including one long novel!
3. I only wrote a couple of chapters of my next book—but hey, I started, so that’s a win, too!

Health-related:

1. I’m continuing with Weight Watchers and can proudly say that I’ve lost 23 pounds as of today! I’m not pushing to lose fast because I like how I feel (which is a good thing because I only lost 4.6 pounds this month!). I’ll continue my daily mantra: Slow is good!
2. I did not keep up with my step count. While I’m feeling better and spryer every day now that I’ve dropped so many pounds, I haven’t upped my physical activity.

Happiness-related: 

1. I’m continuing to work on the #100DayProject art challenge! It’s still HARD fitting in play time, and I’ve fallen behind the daily goal, but here are a few samples of what I’ve done so far…

April

Here’s me putting this out in the world…

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete revising and publish the sequel to Dark Legacy… Dark Seduction! (Have you pre-ordered your copy?!)
2. To get finish writing my next romantic suspense story.
3. To begin work on my next Hot SEAL book!
4. To complete 5 editing projects in April!

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue with Weight Watchers and hope to lose at least 5 pounds, remembering: Slow is good!
2. To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout, plus, add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio—counting the things I should already be doing to get ready for pool season. Maybe I’ll do more housework, too. Blech.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To continue working on getting my art room better organized, because I plan…
2. To produce something art-related every day this month for the #100DayProject art challenge—and hopefully catch up!

Contest

I posted this same challenge at the end of last month! I’d love to see if Spring is changing things up for you! Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier. Tell me what you plan to read… Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

1. Honest Answers Only! (Poll & Contest–or Poll about Contests?) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Important Question!! (Puzzle-Contest, and Open Contests) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Happy Sunday, or maybe not… (Contest–2 Winners) — Win a FREE book! 2 Winners!
4. Jordyn Kross: Traveling with the Insane Pound Posse (FREE Read) — Everyone: pick up a copy of a FREE read!
5. Have you pre-ordered your copy of DARK SEDUCTION? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Charlene Lowe!
*~*~*

It’s Sunday. I consider it the end of the week rather than the beginning. I reassess where I am in my “plan.” I readjust my goals—usually trying to figure out how many pages I have to write or edit to meet deadlines, what can be put on the back burner because there aren’t enough hours in the day sort of thing. Planning is my happy place (in my previous life, it was my job!), so it’s the best part of my Sunday.

I also make out my grocery list. Gah. I no longer push that off on my dd to decide what I’m going to eat because…Weight Watchers, you know (I’m down 23 pounds, by the way!). Things that are always on it are celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, lemons, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes…and then I have to think about the things that might actually make me feel full. Yeah, those are the hard decisions.

I clean up my spaces—my office, art room, and my bedroom. Blech. I can’t seem to keep my housecleaners—I’ve paid professional cleaners and my grandchildren. Everyone gets bored. I think I pay them well, and I’m easy—I don’t inspect their work with a white glove. I really, really hate housework and will do anything to avoid it. But Sunday is the “come to Jesus” time when it has to be done regardless—even if I have to do it. Monday can’t arrive with a messy workspace. I say that, and my idea of a clean desk is neat, squared piles of paper with my toys circling the stacks.

So, that’s my day and you’re probably bored as shit reading through my Sunday To Do list. So, for a chance to win a download of your choice from my backlist (I’ll choose 2 winners), tell me about your Sundays. Is Sunday your end of the week or the beginning? Is it filled with lovely walks in the forest or catching up on chores?