#summer is coming

Are you ready? Do you have a plan?

As a teacher I'm supposedly going to have all this free time when school gets out. But usually when I find myself with extra free time, I squander it and get nothing done. Well, not so in the summer! (ha ha, yeah, right)

• I put together a master schedule that includes all of our activities - because we don't often sit still and if you need a ride or want to have a sleepover, you have to check the schedule.
• I post the Reading Chart - it has 50 days on it. The boys mark off each day they read. They get rewarded at the halfway point and the end. (This helps with their summer homework
• I hang the Things To Do When I'm Bored list - I update it yearly as they get older. I won't let them sit around and play video games or watch TV all day!
• I make a Chore Chart - one of the least favorite Things To Do, but these are required. I really ask so little of them!
• This year, I'm going to teach my older boys how to do laundry - some of you have already done this, but sometimes teaching my boys how to do something is more frustrating than just doing it myself.
• I'm also going to have my oldest plan a complete meal for our family. I had to do that for a project in a human civics class (I never took home ec) And I learned a lot from the experience.
• And all of that stuff is just for my boys!!

Here's what I hope to accomplish this summer, besides all the baseball games:

>> a lot of writing in the mornings while they sleep in, yay!

>> squeeze in a pilates class or two a week - wish me luck!

>> shop for myself once or twice

>> do several book events!! yay!

>> visit a blog friend or two, I'll keep you posted!

>> and tackle my basement!

The basement's been on my list every summer, but this is the year I can't put it off any longer. I only have about a year left with my oldest and I have to organize all his pictures and memories and (waaaaaahhhhh!) It's okay. I'll be all right. He sounds like he wants to go to college closer to home, so we'll still get to see him. I look forward to seeing how he turns out!

What plans do you have for the summer?

Don't underestimate yourself #MotivationMonday

No matter how good you are, there's always someone better.

This may be true, but don't ever let it stop you from doing your best. One day you could be the better one!

This past weekend, my son's baseball team had a tournament. For his age group, they're one of the best little teams in our area. But when we go out of town for a tournament, we play some bigger, better teams. I like them to win, but losing sometimes is good too. Winning all the time doesn't help them improve their skills. Playing against someone better makes them play harder, run faster, and appreciate a win that much more.

Facing an opponent that's bigger and has won more games can be intimidating. But you can't give up or assume you're going to lose. And that's why I say, don't underestimate yourself. There's no reason you can't win! We didn't win the tournament, but we did win a couple of good games, earning some respect, and learning what we could work on to improve. I call that a successful weekend.

So no matter what kind of odds you're up against, go get 'em! Don't underestimate yourself. You have the skills, you just need the attitude!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"If you can dream it, you can do it." -- Walt Disney

Have a great week!

BTW - if you have a chance, stop by Tyrean's blog - I'm talking about 5 Reasons I love to use talk-to-text!

No End in Sight - Good or bad?

Some people dream of an endless summer, endless love, or even an endless life. Romantic notions, but in reality, do we really want endless? I quite like good things coming to an end. Without an end, you can't have a new, exciting beginning. Endings, especially happy endings, let us look back and fondly remember. I also am more than happy to find the end of endless edits, endless dull meetings, and endless colds.

This to brings us to Misha Gerrick's latest release, ENDLESS! An exciting dilemma of immortal proportions! And today, she's offering a guest post on the endless headaches of technology and what to do in the down time... Take it, Misha!

Five things a writer can do when the internet is down

I recently had to move house, which meant that for almost a month, I got stuck with no internet. Tara thought it would make a good subject for my blog post, so here’s the top 5 things writers can do without internet: 

1) A lot. 

I know, right? No Facebook. No Twitter. No distractions. It makes for much higher productivity compared to when we’re connected. 

So drink lots of water to get through your internet withdrawal ASAP, and then pick a project you want to work on. Depending on how long you’re going to be stuck without Internet, you might actually be able to finish one. 

(I finished three.) 

2) Read. 

Okay, so you’ll suddenly find yourself with a lot more spare time than you’re used to. So go to a book store and pick up some book to read. Or, if you’re like me, start catching up on all the books you haven’t been able to read lately because you’ve been too busy writing. 

3) Plan ahead. 

Just because you don’t have Internet doesn’t mean that your hands are tied. You can still write a ton of blog posts that you can schedule ahead once you’re connected again. You can also start thinking about what you need to get done for your marketing once you’re able. 

4) Spring Clean

Yeah, I know how we tend to say something along the lines of “I would, but I need to write a few chapters first.” Funny how procrastination for writing rarely extends to house chores. But now, while you’re internet free, you’ll have time. So use it to do some of the things you just never seem to get time for. 

5) Miss the Internet. 

I’d like to say that my increased productivity meant that I hardly ever felt the lack of connection. Sadly… no. 

I’d lie if I said that the month I was offline didn’t feel like I’d amputated one of my hands. It did. And the longer I was without it, the more I longed to plug in again. 

And yet, now that I’m online, I miss being unplugged. Go figure. 

What do you do when you’re stuck without an internet connection for long periods of time? 

Thanks so much Misha!

Now here's her fabulous new release, ENDLESS!

“First, do no harm.” Blake Ryan swore that oath to become a doctor. Ironic, given that he spent most of his thousand year life sucking souls out of other immortals. 

Things are different now. Using regular shots of morphine to keep his inner monster at bay, Ryan has led a quiet life since the Second World War. His thrills now come from saving lives, not taking them. 

Until a plane crash brings Aleria into his hospital. Her life is vibrant. Crack to predators like him. She’s the exact sort of person they would hunt, and thanks to a severe case of amnesia, she’s all but defenseless. 

Leaving Aleria vulnerable isn’t an option, but protecting her means unleashing his own inner monster. Which is a problem, because his inner monster wants her dead most of all.

Amazon US | Amazon Universal | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

Misha Gerrick lives near Cape Town, South Africa, and can usually be found staring at her surroundings while figuring out her next book.

If you’d like to see what Misha’s up to at the moment, you can find her on these social networks:

Tumblr | Twitter | Google Plus | Writing Blog

Have a great week everyone!

Spring is not my favorite season

Can you believe it's already May? There's only a few weeks left of school! And that means summer is right around the corner. And being the first week of May means it's also time for an IWSG post...

So, Spring. Spring is not my favorite season.
Spring is like a two-year-old child. It's cute when it first arrives, with a sunny disposition and hints of warmth. Then it goes through ten mood swings in a short span of time, turning all plans into disaster and no one knows what's going to happen next! Completely unpredictable.

Spring is also supposed to mean rebirth. And I do love the baby animal videos. But for writing, my calendar is off. I don't start new in Spring, I'm usually way behind, ready for summer to kick in because I think I'll get more done when school is out. I don't know why I delude myself each year! Oh, it's warmer, I'll go for more walks with my dog. Oh, baseball season starts, I can write between innings at my sons' games. Oh, summer is coming, I'll get on the treadmill and respond to some blogs. Oh, look at all the inspirations of nature blooming - and bugs and bees and pollen - ACHOO! Yeah, right.

So yeah. Spring. Not my favorite season. Fall. Now THAT's a season!

Anyone else un-enamored of Spring? Got any advice for my anti-spring lamenting?

But I can't leave you on a downer! Take a gander at the Thing That Turned Me anthology cover!

Add it to your GOODREADS list!

Comes out May 31!

Lastly, a HUGE THANKS to all the entrants in my JOLISSA giveaway. Here are the winners!
a Rafflecopter giveaway