Grape Ape-ril

Well jelly my beans and color my eggs! Wasn't it just January? And here's April and Easter already!

Welcome to this month's installment of the Insecure Writers Support Group. I hope you're reaching your goals and keeping up with your daily duties. I always try to project positivity, but I have plenty of my own annoying distractions to deal with. It helps me to encourage others. So get to loving and cherishing! (name that movie)

I am happy to report, I've actually been writing! I had some extra time with Spring Break last month, so I finished my book club book and was inspired to work on my crime thriller. I also came up with three more juicy story ideas to make it into a series. Hot dang!

April is going to be a busy month, so I won't get to work on it again until school is out, most likely. Hopefully, I'll finish it and have it ready to recruit a few beta readers for it this summer. If you might be up for it, let me know.

Here's to fond memories of Saturday morning cartoons -- or maybe just a silly grin!

Happy Grape Apr-ril!

via GIPHY

Marching On

How you doin?

Keeping in step? Drumming your own beat? Reaching your goals?

Time to check in with the monthly Insecure Writers Support Group. Hard to call myself a writer these days. I'm marching in a squiggle pattern between work, chores, doggies, and travel to watch my son play ball, leaving little to no room for my WIPs. 

Go Coop!

But my stories are not forgotten! I often jot notes about how to enhance a scene or get ideas and inspiration from the book club I recently joined (which also warns me about things not to do!) And my students always inspire funny or dramatic scenes and character traits--they're hilarious and can't stay out of trouble, the little scoundrels!

With so much going on, I have to remind myself to slow down. Funny to be saying that after I was so bored when I first moved. I like a busy, productive lifestyle, but I can easily stress myself out. I have to remind myself, there are some things I have no control over and just have to deal with, like traffic, weather, time, and confounded technology glitches (grrr!) No point pulling my hair out. Just take a deep breath and do what I can. It all gives me opportunities to work on my patience.

Hope you all are finding time to write and finding patience to deal with your hair-pulling ordeals!

Remember: March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. IE: we can make it through the tough times and good times won't be far behind!

via GIPHY

Woah, it's Feb!

Sorry for the late post, February snuck up on me. Like the cold snaps that keep sneaking further south than they should. Hope everyone is staying warm!

Going to share some fun pics from Xmas break for IWSG this month. I meant to put out a newsletter with pics, but time has been running away from me. So here are some highlights from our quick trip to Disney. Long story, short--my sister and her friend planned a trip so my son, his gf, and I joined them for a couple of days. So great to see my sis when I can!

Spotted the Mandalorian & Grogu!

Here we are at Guardians of the Galaxy ride
It is a rollercoaster, contrary to what people told me

I loved walking through Star Wars - so cool!

Now that things are back to normal, I joined a book club. I'm not big on those, but my friends are more about the excuse to get together and have a good time. Not sure how much we will discuss the book, which is fine with me because it was not great... We authors tend to be harsher on other writers, especially not so great ones who are published when I know so many better writers out there who should be! I will report back next time after I here the consensus before I tell you which book.

I also have a pretty packed Feb. Visitors just left, I'm going to see my son's opening weekend of baseball games (hope it warms up!), I was summoned for jury duty, and I hope to attend my first school tech competition with some of my kiddos. Moving right along! Needless to say, writing is buckled firmly in the backseat... but not forgotten!

I will leave you with this hilarious moment of a blue heron (?) at a drive-thru... 

It's not a great pic, but I had to capture the moment before it went away -- apparently, he hangs out there all day!

May your February be filled with lovely moments!

Humans are so petty

A quote from Thor.

I agree. We are. So many of us don't consider the big picture. We don't realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things. We are miniscule specks in the universe. Grains of sand on a beach.

That's why I love writing (and reading). I love researching and exploring new perspectives to share with others. My little life bubble is quite boring. Sure, I've had some funny and scary and heartwarming stories. But when I look beyond my corner of the world, I realize there is so much more out there! So many other ways to do things! Even my kids teach me new stuff in the kitchen (and they still learn from me too)

As I've gotten older and now that the kids are grown, I've become more adventurous. My attitude has shifted to "What have I got to lose?" Some of my accomplishments this past year... I took a helicopter ride, moved across the country (with a lot of whining), accepted a new job with crazy middle-schoolers and no lesson plans--making it up as I go! And I flew by myself to visit my sister (I am not a fan of flying.) As old as I am, I'm still having firsts and trying to overcome fears. I hope to do more in 2026.

As we share in this first Insecure Writers Support Group of the year, have you set any goals? Are they specific or general? I still have to sit and think about my specific goals. "Do more" is very broad! But my writing goals are on-going: Finish my two WIPs!

Sending positive vibes your way. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to!