All I Can Say is Ramblings

Hi guys!

I don't know what happened last week. I just totally spaced off writing a post.

But I'm here now!

I have a confession to make. As I'm sitting here typing this, I don't have the foggiest clue what I'm supposed to be blogging about today.

So now you know.

Do you ever get in one of those ruts where it seems like you're constantly trying to play catch up? You know what you're supposed to do, but getting it done just seems so impossible, because you're trying to do everything else also?

That's me right now.

I don't know if its just because its summer, or if I'm just overcomplicating my life, or what it is.

My farm wife life is in full throttle during summertime. Lately I've been irrigating, working on equipment, giving rides back and forth, going and getting parts, and taking lunches out to the field.

Or, lets be honest, I've just been taking pictures while Henry does all of those things with his dad.

Off the farm, I've been shopping not once, but twice in the last week. Once with one of my best friends, and again with my mom and sisters (who are also my best friends, let it be known). Both times were very fun, very exhausting, very long days.

Henry is no longer content with sitting in shopping carts while we have all the fun, so we had to find something for him to do also.

He's such a good little helper.

The county fair is going on this week, so I've made three trips there so far to see bull riding, and my mom and sisters' exhibits. Today is the horse show, which is actually where I'm at as you're reading this. I've got this lovely ramble set up to post automatically for me.

It's been pretty hot here. I say pretty hot, and not straight up hot, because--it never fails--I start to think its too hot here, and my step mother-in-law texts me to tell me its 112 degrees there.

It's not that hot here, people.

I would not live in a place where 112 degrees is a normal and acceptable temperature.

But it has been in the 90's, and the humidity is running wild, so to fend off the heat in the house, me and Henry have been grilling outside instead of using the oven.

I think at this point I've grilled everything socially acceptable to grill.

And maybe a few things non socially acceptable.

I fed my husband and his friend deer meat steaks yesterday.

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On the writing front things are a lovely balance between "I'm losing my stinking mind" and "I love writing!" Which I think is a normal place to be, as a writer.

I'm staying on track with Camp Nano, and the 100 for 100 challenge, but basically by the skin of my teeth. I'm so looking forward to NaNo ending in August.

Red as Blood has officially been sent back to the editing team. Crossing my fingers that the second round isn't too bad.

I've also sent out my very first batch of query letters, hoping to find an agent to represent Blood and Dust. It was both a terrifying experience, and not nearly as hard as I thought. It took me some time to put together all the things I needed for a decent book proposal, but I'm happy with how it turned out I think, and excited to see if I hear back from anyone...though I'm totally prepared for rejections.

I can do this.

Oh, and guess what? I found vegetables in my garden yesterday!!

I'm not sure what it says about my gardening skills, that I get so excited about my plants growing vegetables, when that is literally their sole purpose on this planet. They're just doing their jobs.

I should also let you know that I created author accounts on Twitter and Instagram, in case you don't get enough ramblings and pictures on here.

I'm going to dial back the monologue now and shut this post down before it gets ridiculous. I haven't gone to bed before midnight in about a month now, and I shouldn't be allowed to blog when I'm in this sort of condition, but I was left unsupervised and can't be held responsible.

Google

The End is Near (for edits, that is)

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed your week.

Jarod and I celebrated our second anniversary on the 9th, so we went out for supper and some bowling. It was a great time.

I can't believe we're already two weeks into July. Time is just flying by. I kid you not, I've thought it was Monday for the last four days.

With the coming of July is the deadline to turn in my edits for Red as Blood.

You guys, I am so excited. I've been working on and off on these edits for weeks. Several lovely people read it for me after I made the first round of changes, and suggested a few more things to spruce it up, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

I'm in love with the change we made from medieval fantasy to Gaslamp, and I think the Victorian theme really adds to the overall story.

I might be a little biased, but I'm very happy with the changes in the characters. The story nearly doubled in size, going from 13,000 words to 25,000, and a large portion of that was added characterization.

I added a few new scenes that were very fun to write, and I think I managed to solve the romance issues that were swirling around at the beginning.

I'm doing one final read through before clicking send, but it is done for all intents and purposes.

I'm really excited and nervous to see what the editors think of the changes I made. I really hope they like them. I think they probably will, but there's still a little bit of terror that they'll send it back to me covered in red and say "again."

A River Runs Through It- Youtube

Once that's off to the Rooglewood team, I'm ready to start work on Code White. I got the edits back from the wonderful Abigayle Claire, and I am so happy with the suggestions she made. I think when I'm done it will be a great story for Kindle.

Since I got the main batch of edits done on Red as Blood and have been waiting on beta readers, and just making small tweaks, I've been able to play around with other writing.

Bad Boy is coming along nicely, though I'm getting a little stuck with a romance thread that is not exactly certain how it is going to play out. I've been working on that one for Go Teen Writers 100 for 100 challenge, and its been going good so far. I'm almost finished with week seven, and just under halfway done with the whole challenge.

Camp NaNo is going good too. I've been working on my 1868 Story, and I'm on track to reach my 25K goal. It's going a little slower than the last few stories I've written have, but its been years since I delved into a prairie/western genre, and I've never written with adults as my target audience instead of YA. It's going good though, and I'm happy with how the story is turning out. It's fun to experiment with different story aspects than the usual, and I was able to do some really fun research in the process.

Besides scribbling away (or I should say typing, I've all but given up handwriting) I've had a summer packed with reading, crafting, cookouts with friends and family, lots of fireworks, and battling a grass invasion in my garden.

What about you? I'd love to hear about your summer.

Let Freedom Ring

 

Happy Independence Day everyone!

I love July 4th, and I'm pretty sure it is Jarod's favorite holiday. Hence, his vehicle...

I mean, not to be cliché, (or offensive. It's all in good fun, my non American pals) but we kind of go all out and get crazy....

 

 

Images from Pinterest

 

Anyway, all joking aside, I love Independence Day. We typically go to my parents' house, and Jarod tells my sisters he's going to "take out a small loan" to go buy fireworks, which is an overstatement, but in the spirit of free speech I let it slide. We do get fireworks though, and I always try to haggle a deal to get the biggest fireworks for the cheapest price. It usually works pretty well.

There's lots of food and visiting, and aside from the general family holiday fun, it's thrilling to actually stop and think about what we are really celebrating.

 

Living in America, we are so privileged. Even with all the craziness that goes on in politics, and how you just want to wring their necks sometimes, we still have the freedom to worship God the way we choose, to raise and educate our children how we want, to speak our mind, and to work hard and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It's a beautiful thing.

And this year we're blessed to have a president who is actually trying to listen to us as "we the people", and bring this country back around to the vision it started with.

 

It's our duty to remember what the founding father's risked when they made that declaration all those years ago, and what so many men and women have fought and sacrificed to protect every year since then. May we never be the generation to take their endeavors for granted, and let the freedom they passed down to us slip away. Once gone, its a hard fight to get it back, if you ever do.

 

This past weekend my hometown of Ashton hosted their town celebration Ashton Days. Original, right? Trust me, its simpler this way. At least people know where they're supposed to go. I'll readily admit I have no idea where Popcorn days, Chokecherry Days, or any of those days take place.

 

They had turtle races, so me and Henry took EEM in. He did not win, but the little guy did run, and Henry got his picture in the paper for being the youngest little racer.

 

There was also a ranch rodeo, and both the hired hands on the ranch competed, as well as some old friends. Henry went with my mom, and me and my sisters watched it.

Wild cow milking

Jarod's aunt, Rosie, also brought her visitors from Sweden who spent the week here, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They didn't stick around for the fourth, but some people from Australia came the next day, and they had to buy some fireworks for themselves.

It's kind of been international exchange week around here, it seems like. Seriously, so much fun. Rosie picked up a Swedish accent along the way, and I'm sorely tempted to start talking like an Australian.

 

Not today, obviously. Today is about America. But you get my point.

 

Fireworks were supposed to be on Saturday, but they got rained out (as did I. I took refuge in my grandpa's driveway because I couldn't see to drive home for quite awhile) so rescheduled to Sunday night.

They. Were. Awesome.

 

So, this morning I'm gonna do a few chores, and then its off to my parents house for some relaxation and liberty.

 

I hope you all enjoy your day!