Craziness and stuff

So, I'm in the middle of moving right now. You always forget how much moving stinks until you get to do it again. The being in a new house, and organizing everything, and all of that--I love. The packing up the old space and transporting everything and all of that--I hate. Add to that three kids who like to "help" a lot (to varying degrees of usefulness), and a mountain of writing work to be done, and let's just say it's kind of a crazy week! But I'm so excited. This has been a long time coming, and I can't wait to get settled in and make our new house a home!

THE NEW HOUSE!

(kind of a funny angle to hide the numbers on the garage... just to be safe.) 

And as far as the writing goes, well, that's good stuff, too! #ProblemChild (aka my WIP) has finally decided to behave (for the most part), and I'm more than halfway done. Probably closer to two-thirds. Which is good, because I'm hoping to finish it before I get hit with some revisions that are looming on the very near horizon. It probably won't happen, but at least I'll be close! This book is very different from the other ones I've written in many ways, and while I'm extremely excited about it, I'm also nervous. It's always a little scary to branch out to something unfamiliar.

Also, it's snowed about a foot in the last twelve hours. Or maybe more. Between the never-ending-inversion-of-death and now the never-ending snow, I'm kind of done with winter. Good thing I get to escape to Mexico in March, just in time for my birthday (the Big 3-0!) with SHH! I can't wait!

What are you all up to these days? Has this first month of 2013 treated you well? Or are you grateful to see January go, and looking forward to change on the horizon for February?

Wishing sunshine for us all. And lots of wonderful words in our WIPs. And magical moving faeries that will surprise me and have all of my stuff moved when I wake up in the morning! Oh, wait...

Friday Five: the long-winded story version

1. SonB (who had a birthday on Monday and will now only let me refer to him as "Big Four-Year-Old" and not his name) is quite the... independent little boy. A bit precocious, one might say. (Or A LOT.) He used to be a really good eater, but for the last year and a half, almost every meal is a struggle with him. My husband decided to start telling him that with every bite he took, he was getting taller, to give him incentive to eat. So, now SonB has decided that he'll take a bite, then he gets down on the ground and tells his older brother "Tell Mommy that I'm coming to surprise her!" I have to wait for SonA to tell me, and then say, "Oh, no, where did SonB go?" and then he pops up and points to his head. I must then say, "Wow! Look you got taller, you must have had a bite of food!" To which he nods and tells me what he ate. And then it starts all over. EVERY. MEAL. EVERY. BITE. And if any of these steps gets messed up (if I jump the gun and say, "Where is SonB?" before SonA tells me he's coming for example), hoo-boy. Tantrum City. Well, now Baby Girl (who is officially 18 months old now) has decided that she needs to start patting the top of her head when she eats, too. Except she still uses a combination of a spoon/fork and her hands to eat, so this usually means that part of her meal ends up on top of her head. And I have to tell her, "Wow, you're getting taller, too!" and then she nods emphatically and grins at me, then eats some more. (She's still a good eater--in fact, she usually out eats my boys.) Living with these kids is never dull, that's for sure!

2. So for Mother's Day last year, SHH gave me a gift certificate for a massage. I save things like that for a "special occasion" which usually means I save it and save it until it's about to expire and then have to rush to get in time. Worried that it would expire, he told me to book it for last night, since he had the night off. I left to meet him and switch cars (and hand off the kids) in a total blizzard. I barely made it out of our neighborhood. I called him to say I wasn't sure this was a good idea, but he said the roads were barely even wet where he was, and it was probably just bad on the benches. So we made the switch, and off I went. The roads were fine, the weather was ominous, but not bad, until I was about half-way there. (The place was downtown.) Suddenly, from one second to the next, I was driving in a near white-out, on a freeway that had suddenly turned into an ice-rink with half a foot of snow on the ground. Surrounded by semi's with no visible lane-lines and crazy drivers who were going too fast and spinning out of control, I clutched my steering wheel with white-knuckles and kept on going. It was pointless to turn back now, right? Needless to say, I was late. So instead of being nice about it (HELLOOO, I came to you during the snowpacolypse rather than cancelling!), they cut my massage short. And I had a male masseuse for the first time ever. He was a little... different. I figured since it was going to be short, I'd try to get the most out of it that I could, and had him do fairly firm pressure. (As in, I was clenching my jaw and holding my breath to not cry out in pain at times. I have a very tight/knotted back.) This was a mistake, as it turns out. Because today? I feel like my entire back got beat with a sledgehammer. So rather than helping me stand up straighter, I can barely handle lifting my daughter. #epicfail


3. Many of you have probably seen me tweeting/FBing about my "Problem Child." This is what I'm (semi) lovingly calling my new WIP. I'm a fast drafter. It's just how I write. Usually. This book? Not so much. This book is trying to kill me. I have moments where I think I'm prevailing, where I feel like I'm figuring it out and whipping it into line. And then my characters and this plot just laugh and laugh at me when I'm floundering five minutes later, totally frustrated and lost yet again. Does this mean I'm on the brink of brilliance--or the cusp of utter and total failure? Maybe somewhere in the middle. I hope.

4. So recently I've been thinking a lot about social media, and the negative effects it has in life. We are SO interconnected now; I don't think it's necessarily a good thing to see every picture and hear every detail of each other's lives. It can lead to moments of jealousy or feelings of inadequacy or being left out or a myriad of other negative emotions. Or at least it does for me sometimes. Maybe I'm just insecure like that and that doesn't happen to anyone else. But there are also moments when social media can be absolutely incredible, and SO helpful. Like when I tweeted about #ProblemChild and how it wanted to be set in a place I know nothing about... and one of my amazing friends/followers tweeted back and when I told her about it said, "It sounds like it wants to be set near where I live!" SCORE! Her help has been invaluable. So the point is that I'm torn in my feelings toward FB and Twitter. I guess that's how most things in life are though, there are always good and bad sides to most everything.

Wow, these were all so long, let's just call it quits at 4, shall we? So that's a glimpse of what's on my mind on this snowy cold Friday morning. How about you?

Friday Four or Five

1. I got older this week. I have to admit, I love birthdays. I love getting spoiled, I'm not going to lie. But I used to dread that number getting higher. Not anymore. Now I am grateful for every year I am blessed with.

2. The publishing industry can be a hard one. So many high highs and really low lows (and everything in between). But one thing is constant--how awesome all of my CPs and writer friends are. Whether we only communicate through emails and social media, or if you're one of the lucky ones who gets to see me in person and hear my stories about potty training my 3-year-old, I am so grateful for you all. You make the lows bearable and the highs even higher.

3. You know what else makes me happy? A new idea after a long dry spell. I was seriously beginning to wonder if my well had dried up last week. I was racking my brain, desperate for a new WIP to lose myself in. NOTHING CAME. *insert shrieks of horror* So I sat down and started writing. I didn't have an idea for a story, I didn't even know character's names. I just wrote. I got a few paragraphs out and still had no idea what it was. Then, five days later, the rest came to me. Shiny new idea, I love you.

4. Spring is here! Sunshine, 60's, wind... Yep, it's definitely here. And I have to admit, I'm loving it. I feel better than I have in weeks. Months, even. More hopeful. I have some great books on my night stand to read, I have a new project to work on, I have wonderful friends, an amazing family. I am very blessed. After losing Josh, I am trying to never take any of my blessings or the time I have with the people I love for granted ever again.

What's on your mind today?

Monday Madness

Guess what I typed on Friday night?

THE END.

WOOHOO! I've already begun the first revision, just going through it for major mistakes and stuff like that. Then it will be time for feedback and a little break to get some perspective.

So, you would think my week should be starting off great, right? I mean, I finished my goal almost an entire week early, and will have time to *hopefully* finish this run through before the end of the month and get it sent off. But...

"A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it." - Jerry Seinfeld

That is the morning I've been having already. I went to the bathroom and came out to find my two-year-old on the counter, dumping all the fish food down the drain. At least he wasn't trying to get the fish out of his bowl, or dumping the food in the bowl, (both things he's done before), but yeah. I love that kid, but holy smokes is he ever, um, precocious. Anyone who knows him knows what I mean. I'm not sure I've ever met a more independent toddler in my life. He has to do EVERYTHING himself. And I mean absolutely, postively everything. How do you explain to a two-year-old that he can't make himself toast? Or cook his own eggs? Or that he doesn't need to flush the toilet for me when I go to the bathroom? Or change his own diaper? Or take the fish out of the bowl? Or run his own bath? This list could go on and on and on. The point is.... he is too fun but what a handful! Good thing he is so dang cute.

My little monster showing me his green milk on St. Patty's day.

Son A and Son B playing on the swings the one nice day we've had since October.

I'm really hoping warm weather decides to come around soon. I'm thinking these boys need some more outside play time. (And so does their mom!)

How's your Monday going?

p.s. I just made my bed, and heard him start to cry... (two seconds ago when I came in to make my bed, he was sitting on the couch, eating a bag of crackers, watching Dinosaur Train). I go out and he's in the fridge, somehow has gotten a package of crescent rolls open (how does a two-year-old do that? I can barely get those stupid things open!), and sliced his finger on it. He wants me to make orange rolls. He's crying now because he doesn't understand why the crescent rolls aren't orange rolls. Oh that kid. You just have to laugh sometimes.

Friday Five: short and sweet

1. My brain is quite literally on the verge of reaching fried status, so that is a big reason why this is going to be short and sweet. But the great news is that I'm definitely going to meet my goal of finishing the first draft of my WIP by the end of the month! Possibly this weekend. Yay! *tosses confetti at myself* *sneezes and wonders why I just did that*

2. I'm almost to 300 followers (just one away!) and I'm wondering if I should do a giveaway to celebrate. Or maybe I should wait (since I did a 200 followers one not too long ago), until I hit a bigger number, like 500... hmm... what do you think? And if I did get convinced to do a giveaway, what would you prefer this time: books or critiques?

3. The weather is driving me nuts. I want it to be WARM. No more blizzards. NO MORE.

4. You know what is not fun? Asking someone when they're due (because they're obviously pregnant), and thinking "she's totally due after me because she's way smaller than I am" and then they tell you they're due a month before you. BEFORE. Did I mention her baby belly was smaller than mine? AND I was taller than her. Isn't there supposed to be some rule that tall people get to have smaller baby bumps because there's more space for the baby? So not true for me. Ah, well. What can you do?

5. I love listening to SonA read. To see him putting concepts together, and pointing out "silent 'e' words" to me, and finding joy in understanding the world around him on a new level. I hope I can help instill a true love of reading in him.

Bonus thought: I have to give a shout out to my wonderful friend Carolina Valdez Miller who signed with an agent last week. (If you aren't already, make sure and go follow her. She seriously rocks you guys.)

WOOHOO!!! *throws confetti at her* *hopes she doesn't sneeze too*

She is the one of the kindest, most caring, hard working people I've "met" (not in person yet unfortunately, though I hope sometime soon to change that!), and I couldn't be more thrilled for her. Her book sounds amazing, and I'm beyond excited to see what happens next. Congrats again Carol, you deserve it! :)

Maybe I also should have titled this post "random." Whatevs, remember how I said my brain is nearly fried? Yeah. It is.

So, what's on your mind this week?

Speaking at a Writing Conference and stuff

Yep, for those of you who didn't already see my announcement on FB or Twitter, I am going to be speaking/presenting at the American Fork Arts Council Spring Conference for Writers on April 30th. It really is a great conference for any local writers looking for an affordable, shorter option. It's only one day (unless you do the friday night intensive), and has some fun, diverse classes planned. I will be speaking/teaching about getting an agent, blogging, taking feedback, and more. Quite a range of topics! I just hope I can do a good job. I'm very excited for this opportunity, and hope to see many of you there! If nothing else, you can come to witness me attempting to look professional, put-together, cute and knowledgeable while extremely pregnant. Your excitement level just went up ten degrees, I know it. I mean, if that's not a reason to come, I don't know what is. (I'm totally kidding. If you do come, just pretend I'm one of those tiny pregnant girls who look like they should barely be finding out the gender when they're actually due. Because I'm not one of them. Not even close. Have I mentioned that I'm measuring an entire week AHEAD of where I should be as of my last appointment?)

Anyway, for details be sure to contact Caleb Warnock, the head honcho in charge of the whole thing. (If you don't know who he is, one way to find out is to read the acknowledgements in HUSH, HUSH.) Here are the official details:

The Spring Writer's Conference is on Friday, April 29 & Saturday, April 30 at the Historic City Hall, 31 N. Church St., American Fork. Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
For more information call Caleb Warnock 801-592-3136 or calebwarnock@yahoo.com

In other news, I broke 60k on my WIP. My goal is to be done by the end of the month. That gives me just over a week. I think I can do it, but we have a few busy nights this week with the soccer season starting up again. (SonA plays and SHH is the coach, so it can get pretty busy!) Not to mention deadlines looming on the other part time job, meaning valuable writing time has to get sucked away by work. Hoping I can somehow eke out enough good writing time without having to try and think coherent thoughts at 2 am to make my goal. We'll see.

Just so you know, I actually did have a topic I was intending to blog about today, other than the conference and the writing update. But for some reason, I've sat here staring at the computer for ten minutes trying to remember what it was with no luck. Since it's getting late, and I still have to write at least 2-3 more pages to make my minimum page per day goal, I guess we'll just call this good. (I write my posts the night before for the most part, in case you didn't know.)

How are your goals coming? Are you planning on going to any fun conferences this year?

Friday Five

1. I'm just over 40k into my new WIP. It's an interesting place to be--I am excited to be that far, but also wishing I were further. (As in DONE.) Yes, for those of you wondering (or who know), I am able to write fast. But honestly, I almost have to. If I don't, it seems like my idea(s) start to drift off and I can't get them back. I have to get the words and plots out as fast as I can so they don't disappear on me. Also, I start to doubt myself when it takes longer. For some reason, even though I'm super excited about this idea, and I want and need to get it done, sometimes I just have a hard time concentrating. I didn't have that problem the last time I was pregnant. But maybe since I'm having a girl this time, she's making my brain react differently. Who knows.

2. Sometimes recently, I lose my train of thought. Or worse, I forget major events. Like SonA's parent-teacher conferences. Yeah, my appointment was at 4. I remembered when I saw a flashing light on my phone around 4:30, checked my phone, and saw the reminder on my calendar. Thankfully she still squeezed us in, but seriously! What is my problem? I've never been this spacey in my life. I think we sacrifice more than our bodies when we have babies. Just sayin'. The good news is that he is doing awesome, even if I'm losing my mind. He doesn't always do his "centers" apparently (the kid does have a pretty short attention span sometimes), but he scored above average or well above average (aka off the chart) on all of his tests. Way to go, buddy!

3. I'm taking SonA skiing for the first time today. And by "taking him skiing," I mean enrolling him in ski school while I sit and watch, since pregnancy + skiing = no bueno. I'm taking the laptop in hopes of getting some good #amwriting time in. Hopefully the beautiful mountains will be the perfect setting to help me focus. Except I have this feeling I'm going to want to watch his attempts to ski the whole time. So we'll see...

4. In case you were wondering, my (early) birthday dinner at Benihana was Ah-MAZE-ing. Yummy, yum, yum. I could eat there every night. Or at least once a week. Okay, once a month?

Please??

Ready to start gorging ourselves on a plethora of amazing food.

5. I have a lot of books calling my name right now, begging to be read. I want to read them. I yearn to read them. But remember #1? Yeah, I have got to stop getting distracted!



What's on your mind today?

Friday Five

1. This pregnancy has been giving me migraines. I've never had them consistently before. Random ones, maybe once every year or two, yes. Migraines almost every day? Not so much. And unfortunately, being on the computer is one of the triggers. Because of this, I have had to limit how much time I spend on the computer. Since I'm a writer I have to spend at least a few hours on it every day to write (although some days it just hurts too much and I can't). Why am I sharing this with you? Because unfortunately it means I have to severely limit my internet time, which means I haven't been able to keep on everyone's blogs like I'd hope to. Sometimes I read and just don't comment so I can get through them faster (before the headache hits). Please know that I am trying to read, and I still care about you all A LOT, but if I don't comment as much (and if you've noticed that I haven't been for the last few weeks), that is why. I hope this migraine thing is just a phase and will pass, but we'll see. At least I know there is a for sure deadline this summer...


2. Migraines suck. I have much more empathy for SHH who used to get chronic migraines. (He's since learned what his triggers are and rarely gets them now, hurray!)


3. The Liar Society (which just got released!!) is totally made of awesome and so are the authors (Lisa and Laura Roecker). If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard of it (or them), be sure and check back on Monday for a totally hysterical vlog interview they did for my blog. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to miss it. There's one part in particular when one of them (I won't say who, you'll have to watch to find out) makes the most hysterical mistake. I laughed so hard I may have snorted. And so did they. Luckily for me, I wasn't on video when I did--but they were. Make sure and tune in!


4. I'm still in love with my new WIP, and I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month. That would normally be an easy goal for me, but with the migraines, the sick kids, the local play I (and my whole family) are in, my part time job, and everything else... we'll, I've got my fingers crossed, but we'll see. Once I set a goal though (especially in a public forum like this), I tend to do whatever it takes to meet it. So there you have it. WIP done by April 1st (if not earlier). No fooling.

5. I'm going to be another year older in just over a week. Not sure how I feel about that. I used to LOVE birthdays, I couldn't wait until I got older. That is, until I turned 21. Then I started to wish that I could just keep turning 21. I still love celebrating, and getting to be a little bit spoiled for a day (one can hope anyway!), but the age part kind of stinks these days. Not too bad yet, but it's starting to get scary. The years seem to go by faster and faster the older I get. What's up with that? Do you remember being a teen and every year seemed to take forever?

So, what's on your mind today? Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget the hysterical vlog coming your way on Monday!

Friday Five

1. My left eye kept twitching yesterday, for hours. I was told by numerous people it was probably because I am tired. Tired? Why would I be tired?

2. I've started getting up at 6 am to write in the mornings, because my other part-time job keeps stealing writing time from me at night. But this new WIP needs to be written, and I don't know when else to do it. 6 might not be early for some of you, but for an exhausted mommy every hour of sleep is precious.

3. Nesting instinct is kicking in a bit, I get these spurts of energy to clean. (Which, if you know me well, is rare.) Like yesterday, when I decided to go through this huge pile of papers, homework, pictures, Christmas letters/cards, etc. that was stacked in a corner of our house. I got it done, feeling pretty good about myself only to hear a strange ripping sound from the family room. Realizing SonB was no longer in his room playing with toys, I hurried out just in time to see him dumping a box of mac and cheese all over the floor. He'd torn it apart, and my dog was going to town eating dry noodles. Unfortunately my nesting instinct had disappeared by this point, but I had no choice except to keep cleaning. Bummer.

4. I love baby girl clothes. I could go broke on all the things I want to buy our baby. I have to hold myself back A LOT, because we don't have a money tree in the backyard. (Do any of you know where I can find one?) I've been making bows (I know, shocking right?! ME, being crafty??), and other things. I'm so excited for her to come this summer. Random side note, but yoga seems to get harder the bigger your baby gets. Some of those positions are a bit difficult with a bulging baby bump. Also running, and many other forms of exercising, seem to be increasing in difficulty. Just in case you weren't sure. But I'm determined to continue working out through the whole pregnancy. Even though chances are I'm going to swell up like the Goodyear Blimp once it gets hot, and no one will be able to tell anyway. Oh well.

5. Okay, so I might be a little bit tired.

Falling in love...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Any romantic plans for today/tonight?

I am very lucky to have an amazing hubby to celebrate V-day with, and two adorable little boys. We're going to have our "official" ultrasound this morning to see our baby girl again. Very exciting! I am in love with all of them--all the people I am lucky enough to call my family. We're just planning on having a family dinner, and celebrating together at home. Pretty low key, but hopefully will be fun.

I'm also in love with my new WIP. I got this idea the end of last week, and started writing. I have one document full of notes about the plot and characters, and the actual document, which is already 6,000+ words. (In less than five hours total of writing--despite my excitement level, I had to curtail my writing time over the weekend. SHH got home from Mexico Saturday morning, and I figured it wouldn't be too nice to say "Welcome home! See ya, I'm going to go write!") But even with the lack of writing time, I'm pleased with how much I got done. Not too shabby! It's been a long time since I've been able to feel this excited about my writing, or that I've written something new this fast. Yes, I usually do write quickly, but recently my self-doubt has been a hindrance. Words have been painfully slow, plots hard to decipher, characters kept slipping through my fingers. This new WIP has been flying out, and I LOVE it. I am definitely in the infatuation stage. I'm hoping it lasts long enough to bust out a first draft. Then we can move on to the "figuring out what your flaws are" stage, where I can hopefully continue to cultivate my love for this project, despite it's inevitable problems.

Who knew the stages of writing/revising could be so applicable to real relationships? Ooh, except for this stage: the "I've figured out what your flaws/trouble-spots are and now... I'm going to fix them all" stage. In real life, you love someone in spite of their flaws (or maybe because of them). In writing--you find the flaws and you grind them out. You whip your WIP into shape, and make it perfect. Or as close as possible, anyway. But for now, I'm just focusing on having fun and enjoying being in love.

Lots of love for me to be happy about today. How about you?

Friday Five full of gushing about something I just can't keep secret (not writing related)

Hey all! Was that the longest title to a blog post ever? Yeah, I try to be unique and cool that way.

Guess what? It's Friday! (Betchya didn't already know that. Ha ha. Ha.)

Okay, usually I do a Friday Five, but here's all I can think about:


1. I have a beautiful new niece who I love.
2. I am going to be a mommy to a GIRL!!!!! I can hardly stand how excited I am!
3. I really need to get going on my most recent WIP. I've been letting it languish in the back of my mind, pulling it out to play with it every once in a while. Time to get down to the grind and get that thing DONE.
4. Did I mention I'm having a GIRL!?!?!?
5. Did I also mention that I have 2 sons and thought that would never happen? I hoped, but figured (since all evidence pointed that way) that Larson men could only create future generations of other Larson men. Thanks for proving my theory wrong SHH!!

I never know when or if I should announce things like that on my blog, but I am just too excited. And too many local authors/friends/followers already know I'm pregnant (apparently the more kids you have, the earlier you show. Who knew? *grumble, grumble* *but not too loud because it's a GIRL!*).

Also, if you'd like to read a "real" post, please head over to the Challenging the Gnome blog where I did a guest post today. I'd be really embarrassed if no one commented, so please read, comment, follow. They have a really fun, unique blog where they all try to tackle their "gnomes"--aka the hard things that are stumbling blocks to them in writing, life, and more. They are awesome, funny, wonderful women with some truly crazy stories from their lives. Enjoy!

Happy Friday!