Celebrating the Little Things

I'm so excited.  I have one tiny tomato.  It's about the size of a Jelly Belly, but it's there.  Most of the other plants have buds, so maybe the one tiny tomato will have friends soon.

Last night, while I was out back smoking, I saw a ton of fireflies.  I love fireflies and would much rather watch those than fireworks.  Anyway... one in particular was stationary.  It just sat in a cedar tree occasionally lighting up.  For some reason, seeing it made me happy.  

I spelled stationary right.

Sunday, I made a layer cake from scratch.  It's pretty dense, but it's super moist and yummy, so yay.

Someone bought a copy of FERTILE GROUND yesterday.

I lost a pound.

My WIP is up to 15488 words.

Several of my redbud trees are thriving.  They're about 6-8 inches tall and getting new leaves.

We watched a Sherlock Holmes movie from 1942 that we'd never seen before.  It was pretty good.  (Naturally. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are almost a guaranteed good watch.)

Those are my little things right now.  Sometimes I have to look for them, sometimes they pop right up, but they're always there.  What little things do you have to celebrate today?

Thursday This n That

Last night while I was making dinner, I went to shift the Foreman Grill and grabbed it in the wrong place.  Yep, burned my fingers.  Derp.  I won't be leaving accurate fingerprints with those for a while.  

On a happier note, look who I found in the Christmas clearance area of the DG:

They're Ralph the Elf and Kris Moose.  (Kris got two pics, so you can see his little sign and his face.)  They gave me a happy, so they came home with me.  And they were 50% off, so I got them both for $7.50.  Cha Ching.  They've already more than paid for themselves in the joy they've brought me.

You were looking at the titles on my books, weren't you?  Heh, caught ya.  I do it, too.  If I see books in the backgrounds of pics, I always read the titles.  (To help out, Ralph is sitting next to Henry V in its box and original oil skin, Don Quixote also in its box, and a volume of Jack London stories.)  That bookcase is for my collectibles and special stuffs.  Here's how it looked before I rearranged it:

Sorry you can't read the titles.  I'll help you out there, but we'd be here all day. 

Tonight is New Year's Eve.  I'm holding out hope next year will be a better year.  For us all.

I spent a large part of yesterday working on spreadsheets.  The morning was for my own stuff.  In the afternoon, I got stuffs from the payjob and spent the rest of the day working on that.  By the time I was done, I was too pooped to write.  I'll rectify that today.

Hubs always warns me before he turns on the overhead light in here.  And I invariably look at him, which means I get a blast of light in the face when he hits the switch.  Derp.  I really need to stop doing that.  :blink blink:

Tomorrow, I should be taking down the Christmas decor.  We'll see if I have the gumption and whether I want the house to go back to being non-cheery.  I might leave Ralph and Kris out year 'round.  I definitely need to take down the tree and get my dining room table back. 

Here's wishing you the happiest New Year possible.  Hang in there.  :hugs:

Thursday This n That

Well, yesterday didn't go as well as planned, but I did mention I was going to Wallyworld, so it shouldn't be surprising.  Shopping is tiring, more so when you have to breath through a mask.  Trying to brain afterwards was not happening.  Better luck today. 

I had planned to not get as much stuff as last time, and while that was a little bit true, I think I'm still stuck in hoarder mode, so I ended up with a full cart again.  At least it wasn't two carts like a couple of those months there.

The bird picture of the day is a female common merganser with two babies on her back.  That one makes me happy.

In all this, you have to work to find something that makes you happy.  It's imperative.  Personally, I need to go fishing.  Maybe today. 

Is it just me or do certain phrases always bring a song to mind?  Like 'maybe today' - it always puts the song Jumper in my head.  "Maybe today, you could put the past away."

Gah, I need to do the dishes.  I usually leave them until the morning.  It's a thing.  But this morning, I am so totally not in the mood.  Unfortunately, I am also not in the mood to look at them every time I go into the kitchen, so I'll suck it up and do them after Hubs gets out of the shower.

Damn, the shower just shut off.  Maybe after one more cup of coffee and another cigarette.  ;o)

We have a doe that has a large lump along the left side of her jaw.  Like an abscess, but it's been there about a year now.  She doesn't seem to have a problem with it.  She eats and drinks fine.  Her coat is glossy and she's a good weight.  She's raising two healthy twin fawns.  She just has this weird lumpy jaw.  So, we call her Lumpy Jaw or Lumpy for short.  Yeah, not original, but it works for identification.  Every morning, she shows up with the kids and they get first dibs on the corn before the rest of the herd shows up.  =o)

I saw a post on FB this morning about how a 7-year-old boy and his siblings had a lemonade stand and raised money for a young gal who makes teddy bears for the children of fallen police officers - Blue Line Bears.  It was a happy amongst so much bullshit. 

Find the happy, my friends.  It's out there.

What on your this n that today?  What's your happy today?

HAPPY Mix

I mentioned my HAPPY mix on yesterday's Outside the Box post, so I thought I'd share it here today.  It's comprised of music from CDs or songs I own that I've downloaded to my computer for easy mixing. 

In no particular order (because I put it on shuffle anyway)...

Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer
Fine by Me - Andy Grammer
Lunatic - Andy Grammer
Biggest Man in Los Angeles - Andy Grammer
Good to be Alive (Hallelujah) - Andy Grammer
Honey, I'm Good - Andy Grammer
Back Home - Andy Grammer
Masterpiece - Andy Grammer
Red Eye - Andy Grammer
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen*
Good Time - Carly Rae Jepsen
Brighter Than the Sun - Colbie Callait
Think Good Thoughts - Colbie Callait
This - Darius Rucker
Comeback Song - Darius Rucker
Southern State of Mind - Darius Rucker
Love Will Do That - Darius Rucker
I Don't Care - Darius Rucker (and Brad Paisley)
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
Carry On - Fun
Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae
I Like It Like That - Hot Chelle Rae
Radio - Hot Chelle Rae
Downtown Girl - Hot Chelle Rae
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
Everything - Michael Buble
I've Got the World on a String - Michael Buble
Good Life - One Republic

And that's it for right now.  I have some CDs I haven't loaded yet and a few songs I want to buy that I know I'll add to this, but this'll do me for the time being.

And after building this post Sunday morning and watching the videos I linked to, I was pretty damned happy.  Have fun clicking and listening and watching.  =oD


* The US Olympic Swim Team video of this.

Little Things That Make Me Happy

In no particular order...

- Hubs
- A new tube of toothpaste.
- A new mouse.
- When my hair looks good.
- The arrival of the mailman (even better if he's brought a check and no bills)
- Thursday morning trash pickup
- My bird-a-day calendar
- Flowers all around the yard - ones I've planted and wild ones.  Even dandelions.
- Seeing a hawk in our woods
- The call of a kingfisher
- Baby bunnies
- Puppies
- Kitties
- Learning one of my favorite animals at the pet refuge got adopted
- Finding really awesome used books at the thrift store
- Finding food I really like on sale
- Peanut butter on chocolate ice cream
- Selling books
- Buying books
- A new review
- Learning one of my reviews made the author's day
- A freshly washed floor (even if I hate washing floors)
- Baked goods
- Homemade pizza
- Finding a really good song on the radio
- Singing along
- When the eagles arrive in the fall
- Spring
- When Hubs and I are making each other laugh
- Good friends
- A nice day at the lake when the fish are biting
- Long walks in the countryside
- Helping and chatting with old people at the Wallyworld.
- A newly-mown lawn


So no matter how crappy things can be every now and again, I have plenty of things that can and do make me happy.  Some days are better than others.  Today is a good day.  Hell, every day you wake up is a good day.  =oD


What are some things that make you happy?

This n That - Christmas Eve Edition

I don't remember a lot of Christmases (or much else from my past). I do remember one Christmas Eve.  My older sister and I were playing in our room when there was some kind of kerfluffle out in the living room.  I think we might've heard a booming Ho-ho-ho.  When Mom called us, we ran out to discover soooo many presents under the tree that you could hardly get past.  I think that was the year I got my giant frog stuffed animal.  Looking back now, it probably wasn't that big, but to me, it was the biggest most wonderful frog ever.

I remember Mom and the older girls baking Christmas cookies.  I'm 5 and 10 years behind them, so J was probably 9 and L was probably 14.  There was a wonder about it.  So special and secret as I gazed at them from my spot by the kitchen entryway. 

I remember the years our grandmother came to stay with us for Christmas.  My nephew was a toddler at the time and he liked to sit under her walker.  On Christmas Day, she took the bows from her presents and stuck them all over her head to make him laugh.  It worked.  We all laughed.  Good times.

I have a vague impression of the years - ones with all five of us kids at home, ones with us and then mates and then grandkids where the house was so full of people you could hardly find a place to sit and open presents.  All tumbled together.  And it's good.  The specifics are gone, but the meat of the memories lingers.

Sure, there were questionable Christmases. Sometimes the bad memories are stronger than the good ones.  Which is why we have to work to keep the better memories firmly seated in our heads.  They're the only ones that matter.

What's one good memory for you from Christmases Past?

Something Neat to Share

Last week, I sent out a batch of postcards to family and friends.  In it, I sent a postcard to my former physiatrist (rehabilitation physician) - because he really helped me a lot through all my brain issues and my leg issues, etc. and I thought he'd get a kick out of it.  Because I don't have his home address, I mailed it to his office with a note that said something like "I had to do it myself, but I finally did it."

Anyway, I got a short email today from one of the gals in his office, thanking me for sending the postcard and telling me she bought a copy of my book.  Which was cool in itself.  So I emailed her back thanking her. 

Her reply was really special to me.  She remembered me after all these years because I was one of the doc's success stories, and the first success story she had a part in.  She also said the doc still uses my story to encourage patients who feel like they'll never get better. 

:blush:

That totally made my day. 

Plus, she said the doc was taking the postcard home to show his wife.  :grin:  I hope he's getting a kick out of this.  I bet when he first stepped into my hospital room all those years ago, he didn't think I'd be writing books someday.

(For the record, this is, of course, not the doctor I did a memoriam for in Dying Embers.  That was for my favorite college English professor, who unfortunately passed on before I could thank him for being so damn tough on me and making me a better writer.)

Things That Make Me Happy

Apropos of nothing, here's a list of things that make me happy today...

My new old desk chair creaks and sometimes when I move a certain way, it sounds exactly like a Spring Peeper.

Yesterday, the gal who sells me cigarettes got fan-girl excited when I gave her one of my Dying Embers postcards, and her and the owner congratulated me and figuratively petted me nice for my hard work. 

Kira the cat curling up in the packing papers my print copies came in.

Max sleeping on top of the infrared space heater.  It's so small and he's so big, he only just fits if he tucks his paws and tail in.

How supportive and understanding Hubs has been of my writing for the past eleven years.

The pretty pretty wood siding Hubs uncovers a little more of every day he sands.  

What makes you happy today? 

Weightless

I was in a mood yesterday.  Not a bad mood.  More of a piss and vinegar mood.  Joking around on FB, making up funny songs, whistling as I walked through the house.  Something was going on and I wasn't quite sure what, but I wasn't going to question it.  I mean, I was feeling pretty happy but I'm generally a happy person these days, so I didn't think it was just that.

Then last night it occurred to me.  I felt like a rock I didn't know I had on my back had slipped off somewhere along the way.  Ker-thunk.  And I felt light.  Like I could fly.  All because I finally said 'enough'.

Enough of finely honing queries until my heart and my brain bleed.

Enough of sending submission materials out into a world of people I don't understand.

Enough of waiting for someone else to decide my fate.

Ten years.  I was carrying that weight for ten years.  It's like on Biggest Loser when it's far enough along in the season that the contestants have lost a lot of weight, and then they make them carry the equivalent amount up a big hill.  You don't know how much that shit weighs you down until it's gone.

I told this revelation to Hubs, and he came over to hug me.  He actually apologized because he never knew how much this was weighing on me.  I hugged him back and told him it was okay because I didn't know the weight was there either.  Only now that it's gone do I recognize exactly how heavy it was.

Oh, I realize there's a whole other set of obstacles out there.  But now they're in my control.  "Is this ready to publish, Ms. Sanderson?" "Well, yes, it is, Ms. Sanderson."  "Do you like this cover art?" "Yes.  Yes, I do."  "And the editing?" "It's coming along nicely, thank you very much."

:twirls a little:

Even reader reviews are somewhat in my hands - because the reviews are reflective of my skills.  If I get bad reviews, I can work harder to write better and affect a change.  Sure, there will always be those people who give a bad review based on nothing, but I can ignore them (and hopefully my readers will ignore those, too.)

I can understand readers. I've been a reader since as early as I can remember. Real readers who are in it for the story and aren't worried whether they can cover a print run or how many books they'll have to pulp if this doesn't sell or if they'll make enough commission to feed their kids.  Readers are my tribe, man.  And since I know I don't like everything I've ever read, I can roll with that.  Takes all kinds to make a tribe.  I just want my books to be available so the people who might like what I write have a real chance to read it.

OMG, it feels so good to think I never have to crawl to some industry person again and beg them to please please please read my 10 pages.

Hubs keeps saying - when I least expect it, like when we were dropping off to sleep last night - "You're going to publish a book."  And every time, I smile.

It's really a very freeing experience.  And for now, anyway, I feel weightless.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas Day - whether you celebrate or not.  And here are some doves to help you along...

A Gift from Mom, years ago.

Two Eurasian-Collared Doves in an Unknown Tree

Happy Holidays to you all.

My Happy Playlist

Yesterday I picked up a new CD - All of You by Colbie Caillat.  Hard to be grumpy when you're listening to Colbie.  So, I figured I'd make a new playlist on my hard drive - Happy.  The only other ones I have are Girl Power and Harsh, so let me tell you, finding happy songs to compile into something I can listen to for longer than a few wasn't easy.

Or at least I didn't think it would be easy.  I guess I had happier stuff than I thought.  Anyway, here's what I came up with:

Brighter Than the Sun - Colbie Caillat
From the Clouds - Jack Johnson
Change Your Mind - Sister Hazel
Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
Love Will Do That - Darius Rucker
Good Life - One Republic
How Far We've Come - Matchbox Twenty
Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer
Everything - Michael Buble
Uncharted - Sara Bareilles
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - Kelly Clarkson
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Some Fantastic - Bare Naked Ladies
You and Your Heart - Jack Johnson
This - Darius Rucker
Dream Life, Life - Colbie Caillat
Lunatic - Andy Grammer
Walk - Foo Fighters
Southern State of Mind - Darius Rucker
Brown-Eyed Girl - Everclear
Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse
Marchin' On - One Republic
Biggest Man in Los Angeles - Andy Grammer
Long Song - Sara Bareilles
Think Good Thoughts - Colbie Caillat
Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
I've Got the World on a String - Michael Buble
Alcohol - Bare Naked Ladies
Baker Street - Foo Fighters
I Do - Colbie Caillat
Make it Mine - Jason Mraz

I don't know what else I'll end up adding, but right now it's the perfect mix to listen to while querying.  ;o)

What are you listening to today?