We tried to get tickets to see Hidden Figures but it was sold out! Maybe next week if we're not moving (see Second Meandering).
Have any of you seen it yet? It's looks freaking awesome!
Second Meandering ...
We're getting very close to being finished with the house.
The City is requiring us to build the deck before they'll issue a certificate of occupancy. This is a good friend of ours who's helped us with a lot of the finish work on the house.
We have outside lights!
And knobs on our cupboards. This is one of my sons who's going to buy our old house. He's anxious to move in. :D
Their goal is to make it so we can (possibly) move in by the end of the week. Though that will depend upon if the building inspector can fit it in his schedule by then.
And I found out today that I WILL be able to get my car into the garage. Because of a city requirement that the twinhome look like a single residence, our garage faces to the side and will make getting into the garage a little awkward. But it will work.
I'm continuing with edits on Swing Vote. This time of year is so busy with other things, I'm a little surprised I even have time to get anything done.
Here's an excerpt:
She turned her attention to the guys. Marc had pulled back a little and let Ike go ahead with the boys as they crossed the dirt road. Like the others, Marc had removed his shoes and shirt. Pausing to enjoy the view, she wondered if he had developed his upper body so much for vanity or if it came as a result of his leg injury. Probably the latter. Nothing in his manners so far made him seem vain. She smiled a little to herself. He was kind of hot. He hesitated on the edge of the irrigation ditch. The section the boys liked to play in ran pretty deep and widened to make a nice swimming hole. Ike called to Marc to jump in, but he continued to stare at the water. Was he scared of water? Or … maybe the height of the ditch created a problem for his bad leg. If he got in, he might have trouble getting out again. Marc North might not be vain, but he was proud.
Second Meandering ...
The house is moving along. It's actually starting to look like one inside now.
My exercise room in the basement.
The kitchen/dining room (part of a great room with the living room)
View of the living room whiling in the kitchen area
My office
Hubby & son putting on a door in the basement family room.
Third Meandering ...
I've been focusing on losing weight this year. This isn't the first time I've attempted it. I'm working very hard to make sure it's my last. Since April 20th I've lost 69 lbs--without surgery. I haven't weighed this little since I was in high school. It's kind of nice. I think I'm about 7 pounds from my goal weight.
Here's a good before & after photo, though I've lost nearly six pounds since this picture was taken. I'm glaring at the sun (never good for wrinkles), did nothing with my hair (why bother in Hawaii since it frizzes anyway), and am wearing no makeup (we hurried over to a school program for a granddaughter).
I eat six times a day. I have not been starving.
What's good?
Shopping for clothes (haven't enjoyed that in a long time)
Getting a new wardrobe
Finding my waist again
What's not good?
Finding all my wrinkles (fat hides them better)
Paying for a new wardrobe
People telling me I look anorexic
Do you have your shopping done?
Are you ready for the holidays? I feel like they've sneaked up on me this year.
The winner of Friday's drawing for a copy of Marlene Bateman Sullivan's book For Sale by Owner is
Jill
Second Meandering ...
I found it necessary to step back from the Swing Vote edit this week to work on the timeline. One challenge is that I have to make the things that happen fit in with the state's election laws. It's actually been a help rather than a hindrance. It gives me very specific guidelines.
I wanted June 7th (the last day candidates for municipal election can file) to fall on a Friday, so I found which year that happens in, and I've got my next 90 days to calendar the different scenes. It also has shown me where I need to provide some other scenes in between.
Now to get this all on Scrivener ...
Third Meandering ... a cover reveal by Carrie Butler! I've loved Carries other books, so I'm excited to share the cover for this action/adventure (disaster) romance. How cool is that? It comes out this December.
Deep
beneath the ocean, stretching hundreds of miles alongside the Pacific Northwest
coastline, lies the Cascadia subduction zone—a fault on the verge of unleashing
a catastrophic earthquake, thirty times more powerful than the San Andreas. Unfortunately,
like most tourists, Elena Cordova is oblivious.
She’s got her own pent-up stress to deal with, a humiliating breakup that’s driven her to end her tenure as a human doormat once and for all. So, when a pickpocket makes off with the last remnant of her relationship, she takes action—only to get trapped with him when disaster strikes.
Now, if either one hopes to survive, they’ll have to get past their initial impressions and work together . . . because in fifteen minutes, half the town will be underwater.
About the Author:
Carrie Butler is an award-winning author and the owner ofForward Authorityfull-service studio—not to mention an inbound-certified marketer with a penchant for superhero socks and Firefly. Time away from her desk is spent playing with her rescue pup, yelling at the TV during hockey season, and indulging in target-based recreation. Otherwise, you’re likely to find her glued to her chair, discovering new ways to share her daydreams...
The house continues to move along. We've been working on wiring (part of the sweat equity the contractor's letting us do) for electricity, Internet, and lighting. This is a picture of one of my sons who's been helping install the canned lighting. This is the kitchen.
A funny (in the future but not right now) thing happened. We'd ordered the appliances and set them for delivery when we expected to be done--ninety days away.
Um ...
Things have taken longer than we'd hoped. So, yeah. They tried to deliver them Friday. We'd completely forgotten about that, and Home Depot didn't bother to call and let us know they were on their way. Hubby had to make a mad dash to get a storage unit.
What have you been up to?
Seen any good movies?
Read any good books?
Done anything to enjoy the wonderful fall weather?
I went to a fabulous writing retreat this weekend, and I got so much editing done on Swing Vote.
Here's an excerpt (Noah is 10 and Caleb is 11):
Marc leaned against the counter again, reaching out to take the wet plate from Ike. Marc said, “I’m not interested in living with a shrew.”
“What’s a shrew?” Noah mumbled around his food.
“I guess you’ve never seen anything by Shakespeare.” Marc grinned.
“I saw a movie once with a Captain Shakespeare. He flew an airship.”
“What about Shakespeare?” Caleb joined his brother at the table and pulled some food onto a plate. “He’s that guy from England, isn’t he? Wrote a bunch of really long plays like a bazillion years ago or something. In a weird kind of poetry or something I think.”
“He write something about a shrew?” Noah asked. “Because Ike’s friend called McKenzie a shrew.” He leaned in closer to his brother and put on a sly grin. “I think she’s gonna be insulted when we tell her.” He shot a glance at the two men.
I'm posting over at the Really Real Housewives blog this week. Today I'm touching on all the things that make September 19th awesome (besides it being my birthday). :D Second Meandering ...
I'm letting everyone know about an opportunity to get fifteen free books.
Yeah, you heard that right. FIFTEEN books.
FREE. Click here for details. Third Meandering ...
I attended a great writing conference this past weekend. Lots of great classes and an inspiring keynote by J. Scott Savage. He's a wonderful teacher as well. And he writes fun books besides. Fourth Meandering ...
I'm back. And, sadly, I'm not in my new home. The logistics of building a house, including all the hoops we have to jump through, has proved challenging. More on that later in the post.
First Meandering ...
My book Second Chances 101 is on promotion this week and is on sale for $.99. Woohoo! Thirty-seven-year-old Francie Davis is sure her luck has changed when she lands a job on campus that will pay her tuition. But when her handsome new boss yells at her on the first day of work, Francie learns that the last person you expect to fall in love with might be the one that’s the most perfect for you.
Second Meandering ...
I have a story coming out in the Sweet & Sassy Anthology: Stormy Kisses. All the stories have a wild weather element. It's on preorder and only $.99.
My contribution is Waves of Deceit.
Shelby Nash wants to break free of her controlling, billionaire father. With the completion of one more project for his company, she can. However, her ex-boyfriend’s the new lead architect. She has to protect her heart while avoiding whoever’s making threats. Wade Armstrong did a poor job handling the news about the identity of his girlfriend’s father. Shelby walked out of his life without another word. Finally, four years later, Wade has a chance to win her back. As long as whoever’s targeted her doesn’t get to her first.
Third Meandering ...
Speaking of books, my friend Cindy Whitney has a new release. She's originally from Portugal and her stories set there really make you feel like you're there.
One city of two million people and only three months to find her. What are his chances? Isabel Antunes is content with her life as director of the English Academy in Lisbon. Then she’s hit by a man on a bike—a man her boss just hired to be her assistant. Despite Simon Ackerley’s repeated assurances to the contrary, Isabel believes he’s after her position, but she won’t hand it over without a fight. As if dealing with him all week is not enough, he shows up at church as well. Her only solace is in writing to the pen pal she knows simply as “Elliot”. Simon Ackerley told his father that he was moving to Lisbon for the job. But that isn’t the only reason. Simon is looking for Amélie, the pen pal he’s written for fifteen years. A woman he knows everything about—except her real name and address. When the biking accident reveals that Simon’s prickly co-worker Isabel is the elusive Amélie, he knows he has to win her trust before he can confess his true identity. If only he could tell her the actual reason why he’s come, he’s sure Isabel would treat him differently. But she’s not ready for the truth.
