Post Vacation Blues

When I got home from vacation, I felt refreshed and ready to write. I want to finish the manuscript I'm currently working on and begin a new one I came up with while my mind was at rest.

No such luck. I spent Monday morning writing. That was it for the day. All of a sudden, I had errands saddled on me from  members of my family. Come Tuesday, I had to take my husband's car into the repair shop to find out which light was causing the message; 'Lamp Defective' because we sure couldn't see it. Then I had to run it over to get the state inspection which is due before the end of the month.

Oh, did I mention the trip to Lowes to get the part for our toilet that happened to break down Tuesday morning? My husband made me take a picture of it with my phone so I would know which part to get. Really?

Or the incessant phone calls from my husband about the status of his car...which light was it that caused the error message and did the car pass inspection?

My daughter complaining about the loose bolt on the passenger door of her car causing a popping sound? When is a good time for us to get it fixed with our work schedule? Until the door falls off, not happening soon...

What about my car where the CD player is not being recognized? At least the radio works! Did a gremlin enter our garage while we were away and sabotage all three cars?

I forgot to mention the handle on the suitcase being broken and finding a Samsonite store close by to do the repairs because my husband has a business trip coming up and he needs this particular suitcase.

All three home printers needed ink and let's not forget grocery shopping...

Dear God! Please let this next week be better!

Back From Vacation!

Welcome! I am back from a very relaxing week in Orlando, FL! We had a great time and picked the best week to be there. It only rained on St. Patrick's day which was fine by us.

Thanks to our cousin Mark, we discovered a unique part of the city called Winter Park. I would highly recommend it as a buffer to all of the Disney fanfare. (No, I am not knocking Disney!)

We ended up the day in downtown Orlando at an Irish pub and had a wonderful time!

The rest of the week was perfect weather! We took in Universal, Epcot; played golf, swam and I read like crazy!

The only complaint I had was with Universal's Harry Potter exhibit which was way too crowded. We spent five hours there and didn't accomplish that much because to wait in line for over an hour was the norm. It was a three hour wait for Butter Beer (which I didn't taste) and then a two hour wait for the wand store. There is so much to see and do there, I felt guilty waiting and waiting for a 45 second ride or exhibit.

Now I'm back to work and catching up on errands and fine tuning my next book so I can submit it!

I want to wish everyone a great day and a great upcoming week!

Writer's Block

For the last couple of months, I have been working on my next book tentatively titled, Not Just an Act. The thing is, I've hit a wall. I need to liven the characters up and create more cohesiveness to the plot. I've spent hours writing and then after I look at it the next day, I am not at all pleased.

What I've done, is to put it down for a while. I am taking a week, to do nothing but read. Usually that helps but I have to chuckle. Now that I've put out three books and have gone through some pretty intense editing, I'm very aware of certain things such as head hopping; passive voice, repeating phrases, etc. I've gone through three books now in three days and I find myself saying; 'my editors would have corrected that or I'm lost in the head hopping.

I guess it makes me feel that I am not alone in making writing mistakes. I just want to be a better writer and make my characters come alive with passion and the plot to be addictive so the reader cannot put the book down. (Darn, I just repeated myself!!!)

Note to Self

First off, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my new book. I appreciate the time and effort put into a review!

Note to self...maybe it wasn't a good idea to play Mexican Train until 3:30 in the morning(ohm did I mention the time change???) only to get up at 7 because I am watching a friend's dog, Oreo until Wednesday. #draggingmyheelstoday....

Sundays

I don't know about you, but I look forward to my Sundays. It's a day that I devote entirely to me and my emotional welfare. It's a day where I recharge my batteries of life by taking it easy and doing what I want to do.

Of course, there are bumps on the road to a peaceful Sunday such as unexpected chores that pop up; things stop working or family demands take precedence. But all in all, I plan my week to make my Sundays count.

I love to sit back and read to my heart's content, not worrying about how many words I've written, a self imposed goal I adhere to during the week. I also love to do puzzles and the Jumbles to keep my mind intact.

This Sunday feels really nice because unlike yesterday, where we were at 80 degrees, today we are in the teens. Who wants to go out in this weather? Not me!

If you ask where Lois is today, she is curled up in her favorite chair, reading and doing puzzles.