CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

I had the opportunity this last weekend to go to a writer’s conference in Utah. I’ve been going for several years now and really enjoy seeing those friends I only get to see face to face once or twice in a year. And this time around, I went with a different purpose in mind. It was very interesting to see what came of it.

I’m burned out. I’ve openly admitted that to several people lately, and to me that says a lot. So I took this opportunity to go to Utah with nothing big in mind. I wasn’t even sure I would attend any classes at all. I gave myself permission to just sit in the hotel room and do nothing, or write, or read, or whatever I felt like doing.

Life is just interesting in how things happen. I did end up attending classes and felt the spark to write again ignite. However, I decided to put my current work in progress (WIP), THE BLACK ORCHID on the back burner and begin something new that has been floating around in my mind.

With that in mind, a good friend of mind talked me through how to get more writing time in my life. And for shutting her down and coming up with excuse after excuse, I appreciated her persistence in helping me. Not many people would put up with the amount of closed doors I threw her way. :) By the end of the conference though, she had given me some good ideas that I did hear. I just need to see about implementing them now.

Then a surprise came. I had entered THE BLACK ORCHID in the first chapter contest a while back. In fact I had entered it in a Beginning of Book contest back in February and it took second in the Young Adult category. But for some reason I wasn’t expecting much this time around. Well, it took first place in the mystery/suspense category. That plus lots of encouragement from other people to keep working on it shifted my thinking about pulling it from the back burner.

Then . . . another good friend talked about a class she took on accountability partnership and by the end of the conference we had worked that out with us and one other gal. (I’ll get into the accountability partnership for a later post because it really is a great tool.)

By the end of the conference I was armed with great ideas and a ton of motivation. The partnership has been going great and I’ve been amazed at how my productivity level has increased. I was also amazed to see how quickly life intervened for each of us and our goals for the day were altered. It’s been fascinating to see, but at the same time very enlightening.

However, I found myself toward the end of the week, Friday in particular, feeling like a failure and feeling burned out again. It seems like by the time I get to the end of the week I’m burned out again. Somehow I need to snap out of it and work through it, but I haven’t figured that out. I know that’s part of life, but I guess I’m asking you guys. What do you do to defeat the “end of the week blues” as I’m going to coin it? Maybe together we can all get some great ideas and find what works best for us. I feel like this is an abrupt way to end a post but my brain just shut down. So once again, I sure hope this all makes sense and that you are able to see how I came to the conclusions I came to. And hopefully we’ll be able to help each other out. :)

LOST AND FOUND by Karey White

Lost and Found by Karey White This installment was all about risks that I'm not sure I would have had the courage to take. It's always fun to read about someone else stretching themselves. I loved the ending and the lessons that were learned by both Lydia and Blake along the way. Highly recommended.

:) :) :) :)

Lydia was supposed to have an adventurous and exciting summer. Instead she's done nothing more than read and eat takeout. Now it's time to go home, and what does she have to show for it? A big fat nothing. Unless, of course, her trip to the airport somehow turns into something more than just a flight home. Blake feels like he's been sent on a wild goose chase. While work is piling up back in Denver, he's on the other side of the country, hunting for some mysterious box that his grandfather left him. Well, no more. Nothing inside that box could possibly be more important than the opportunity to make it as the youngest partner at his firm. So he's going home, and that's that. But that's before he discovers his flight has been cancelled. When these two strangers meet at the airport, they make a split-second decision to search for the box together. Maybe with both of them on the hunt, Lydia can have her adventure and Blake can find the box. And maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll even find some romance.

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  Author Karey White Karey is a USA Today best-selling author. She grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist. She loves to travel, read, cook, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four wonderful children.  

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The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors. "Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love." Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

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RIGHTING A WRONG by Rachael Anderson

Righting a Wrong by Rachael Anderson I really enjoyed this installment of the Ripple Effect Series. I loved Jace and was kind of sad when no more than the first chapter was in his point of view. However, the farther I got into Cambri's point of view, the story really is hers and it was beautifully told. It was fun to see how they worked out their past and made things happen. I would highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who is a romantic at heart.

:) :) :) :) :)

Seven years ago, Cambri Blaine fled her small hometown of Bridger, Colorado after her senior year ended in a fiasco. Only Jace Sutton knew the real reason why—that she was a spineless coward. Now, seven years later, her father's been in an accident and needs help, and Cambr has no choice but to return home. So with trepidation, she takes a leave of absence from the landscape architecture firm where she works and boards a plane, hoping against hope that Jace is no longer around and that the past can stay where it belongs—in the past. If only life worked that way. Jace never expected to see Cambri again. After she’d led him on, bruised his heart, and left town without a backward glance, he was forced to pick up the pieces and try not to hate her for it. Eventually, he put it behind him and moved on, creating a life for himself in his beloved hometown. But now that Cambri is back and looking more beautiful and sophisticated than ever, some of those old feelings resurface, and Jake instinctively knows, for the sake of his heart, that he needs to avoid her at all costs. If only it were that easy.

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Author Rachael Anderson A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors. "Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love." Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

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CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

This week has been interesting in so many different ways. The first part I spent waking up with nightmares I’m pretty sure were brought on by anxiety. I’m not going to get into because I don’t want to relive them. They are real enough to me as I’m asleep. I don’t want to see them again as I’m awake.

Hubby won a cruise through his work that he and I get to go on in the near future, but Tigger gets to stay with family here. I’m sure it’s come up that since Lion went home I’ve had a hard time leaving Tigger for an extended period of time. Needless to say, this trip is for an extended period of time.

I’m trying very hard to not get worked up about it. I know that The Lord is in charge and whatever happens is exactly what is in His plan but that doesn’t erase the fear and anxiety that is coming and dare I say attacking me. And these dreams are a part of the attacking.

It’s an interesting predicament that I’ve found myself in. I trust The Lord and His plan. I know that if a member of my family or even if I am called home it is what’s supposed to happen. But I don’t want to go home yet. Right now I would rather bury my family before me than go home. That may sound morbid, but in a way I’m being selfish. I want to be the one to raise my sons. I want to be the one spending time with Hubby and my parents and siblings. Yet I trust in The Lord’s plan.

The flip side to this is that my anxiety I believe is partially brought on a bit by fear. It’s been taught that faith or to me, trust cannot exist with fear. Does that mean in a way I don’t trust The Lord? Does that mean I’m letting fear dictate my life in a way? How can I say I trust The Lord when I have these fears deep within me?

I’m not exactly sure how to answer all those questions. I know that anxiety can be a medical condition that is no laughing matter. I know that I had a very traumatic experience last year that has added to a deep seeded feeling I’ve had for several years. I realize that there may come a point in time when I am not able to manage these emotions alone and with The Lord’s help. I don’t think I’ve reached that point yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. I pray it doesn’t, but all I can say right now is that I’m working my way through it the best that I can.

I don’t know if fear and trust can live in the same place at the same time. I do know that it is forcing me to throw even more trust to The Lord. I wish I could say I knew everything will work out fine, but I can’t. I have a hard time promising Tigger that he’s safe because there are things I can’t control out there. Someone could break into the house, heaven forbid. We could be in a car accident. A car could turn the corner too fast . . . and the list goes on. All I can promise is that I will do all I can to keep him safe and I’ll turn the rest over to The Lord.

As much as I would love to say I know what’s going to happen, I can’t. Do I wish I had some type of clue? Absolutely, but I don’t and I have to work with what I do know. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy writing by the seat of my pants—meaning I don’t have an outline, I just write—because I don’t know what’s going to happen and half the fun of it is the journey and discovery along the way. And the journey is great fun, but in this case . . . well, I think you get the idea. :)

LIFE IN PALACE by Catherine Green—Book Blast/Giveaway

Life in the Palace by Catherine Green "We need to talk," Tal said. Then I knew it was going to go badly. "We need to talk" is the conversational equivalent of walking into your basement without turning on the light, on a dark and stormy night, when a known psychopath is on the loose. You might as well cut to the chase and slit your own throat. Chloe Diaz assumed three things: that when Tal said that she was one of The People sent from heaven to maintain the cosmic balance, it was code for a pamphlet distributing, incense burning, religious weirdo; that the gorgeous Seth Wilks would never be her soul mate and that she'd never have to choose between them. Chloe was wrong. Now the future of the world is in her hands, but what if price is too great to pay?

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Author Catherine Green Catherine Green writes fantasy books featuring religious characters in a brazen attempt to make the people in faith communities seem less weird. She lives with her husband, children and three marginally neglected goldfish. When she's not writing, or pretending to be one of her characters on Facebook, she has been known to cook dinner.

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Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 5/15/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

I’ve had two things that have been asked and said over the past little while that have gotten me thinking. The first is a question. Since we’re expecting again, I’ve had many people ask if I am with my same OBGYN. The answer is yes, but it’s been asked enough that I got to wondering why it would be in the first place.

I can’t say for sure what others have in their mind but the only thought that comes to mind is that people wonder if I would trust my OBGYN with another child. After all, he didn’t diagnosis anything with Lion when it could have and many think it should have been caught before he was born. If the mistake was made once, it could happen again so why trust him?

Easy. Why wouldn’t I trust him? Everyone is human. Everyone makes mistakes. Yes some mistakes have bigger consequences, but we all make them. We seem to hold doctors up to an expectation of never making mistakes, and when/if they do, we tear them apart. The bottom line is we weren’t supposed to know about Lion’s condition before he was born. I firmly believe we wouldn’t have had the time we did with him had we know. Do I hold my OB responsible? Absolutely not. I’m comfortable with him and I trust him, which for me and doctors says a lot. And frankly I would most likely still have the same worries and concerns if not more of them with another OB than I do with my current one.

At this point in time, The Lord owes you. That’s what I’ve had a few people say as of late. Or at least something similar to that. The first time it was said, it caught me off guard. The Lord owes me? Why would He owe me? I put it out of my mind until it was said again.

I guess I can see why people would think that, but at the same time the whole idea makes me a bit uncomfortable. The Lord doesn’t owe me anything in my opinion. Every thing in life happens for a reason, meaning that The Lord is in charge. Lion was needed on the other side more than he was needed here. We were blessed to have him for the time we did. Would it be nice to know if this new baby will be with us for longer . . . yes, but ultimately it’s not up to me. I can’t control that. All I can do is be thankful for the time I have been given with each of my loved ones.

I trust The Lord. I trust that He has a plan for each of us. I trust that things happen exactly the way they are supposed to. Does that mean it’s easy or that it makes sense? No. Does that mean The Lord owes us after something tragic happens to us? In my opinion, no it doesn’t mean that at all. I’m not sure I’m explaining my thoughts and feelings clearly. I hope I’m making sense and not saying things that others may be offended by. That’s not my intent at all. I hope that something in this post will make sense. Just know that I know that The Lord knows us, that He lives, that He loves us and as long as we are doing our best and living righteously, we will be blessed. Maybe not in the way we think we should be, but we will be blessed. Happy Easter. :)

FORTUNE COOKIE by Josi S Kilpack—Review/Giveaway

Fortune Cookie by Josi S Kilpack. I love Sadie and the situations she finds herself in. The recipes make my mouth water and I love seeing a new area of the country. This particular story though edged on the almost too descriptive of the murder side of things. Maybe it was just the way it happened, and for that reason, it wasn't my favorite Sadie book. I can recommend it for those who love a great mystery that will keep you turning the page.

:) :) :) :)

Sadie Hoffmiller has always liked things to be just so. A place for everything and everything in its place. Order over chaos. And of all things Sadie should be able to control, her own wedding is at the top of the list. With the big day just three weeks away, Sadie is busily adding the final touches to her wedding plans but the arrival of a mysterious letter from San Francisco changes everything. The only person Sadie knows in San Francisco is her older sister, Wendy, whom she hasn’t seen since their mother’s funeral nearly fifteen years ago. Sadie has faced off against murderers and criminals in recent years, yet the possibility of reconnecting with her sister is both overwhelming and frightening. Sadie soon discovers, however, that the letter is just the beginning when Wendy’s world turns out to be a place of unanswered questions, twisted truths, and more than one person with a motive for murder. The more Sadie digs into her sister’s past, the more she places her own future at risk.

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Culinary Mystery Series

Author Josi S. Kilpack Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and never stopped. Her novel, Sheep’s Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Lemon Tart, the first book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series was a finalist in 2009. Josi currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband, children and super-cute cat.

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Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/30/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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