Maybe The Universe Heard Me

Remember yesterday when I said I was feeling like a failure because I wasn't hitting my ten page goal every week? So I just made a goal of three pages?  The funniest thing happened today.

I sat down at my desk and the words and ideas just started flowing. Like crazy! I wrote five pages this morning.  And now, just when things usually get crazy at my house with after dinner stuff, my husband took the kids so I could have a break.  So I have WRITING TIME! Can you believe it? I'm so excited. Maybe I'll make my ten page goal TODAY!

The best thing about it all is how much I'm loving this story. It's going to launch my new series and I can't wait for you all to read it!  I know you'll love these characters.

Maybe the best thing for my goals is to set them low and exceed them. Especially if the universe is listening!

Writer Goal Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

Well, once again, I didn't make my goal of writing ten pages on my novella. I only wrote three. It sort of makes me feel that twinge of failure when I don't make these goals, because they should be do-able, but as the last few weeks have taught me, I might be reaching too high.

So here's my solution: I am going to make smaller goals. I can't do ten pages, but I seem to be able to do three. So, my goal for next week is to write three pages on my novella.

What do you do when you don't reach your goals and start to feel like you're failing? How do you get out of that mindset?

The Quilt is FINISHED!

As you all know, ten days ago I started a T-shirt quilt for my son who had just returned home from serving a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was such a good sport about it, and didn't just watch me do the quilt, but jumped in and helped me every step of the way. 

He cut, pinned, ironed, and helped tie it. (And did a great job!) Every T-shirt on the quilt has a memory for him and a story behind it, but for me, the real story I'll remember is the quilt itself. Every time I look at it I will remember how much we laughed and talked while we made it. He shared his mission stories with me, the silly parts and the sacred parts. We found our old song favorites while I sewed and we sang along. We spent the day with his grandparents so we could help Grandma help us tie the quilt and then went home with smiles on our faces and sore fingers!

Some people might have thought it was weird to do a quilting project with my return missionary right after he got home, but the fact is, in a few weeks he will be going back to school, and working, and dating, (okay he's been doing some of that already! LOL) and hanging out with friends. His attention will be on those things, as it should be. But right now, this small block of time before all that happens has been my time with him and when he wraps up in his new quilt, I want him to remember how much fun we had making it together, and how much I loved having this time with him. 

Love you, sweetheart.

The Quilt Continues

I spent today tying the quilt and then working on the binding. I got three sides bound, but put the last one aside until tomorrow since my brain is fried.  And my fingers are numb.  This is seriously my best quilt, though. I like the bind we're doing (putting a bit of the back on the front.)

My first quilt was one that I started in 1997 and never finished. I found it when I was going through boxes in my basement and attempted to finish it.  As a beginning quilter, though, it was hard because I'd done it wrong in the first place and had to pretty much start again.  Thankfully, my mother-in-law is an incredible quilter and could help me fix all the mistakes I made.

My second quilt was a T-shirt quilt and I watched a YouTube tutorial on how to do it. That one went much better than the first, but I still had quite a few things I'd done wrong and needed to fix.

This one, however, I'd learned a lot of things and did so much better! I'm super proud of it and I'll probably post a picture when I finish it tomorrow! Yay!

Freebie Friday

Today's Freebie Friday is a YA Steampunk called Prodigal by Sherry Ficklin.

Here's the back copy:

Stein has been with the Hollows for as long as she can remember. Taken as a child, she has no memories of her past—and that's always been fine by her. Until the day she stumbles across a hidden journal containing the devastating truth about her paternity. Now everything she thought she knew—and everyone she thought she could trust—has changed. The truth about who she is and where she came from is a secret so deep, it will rock the Hollows and the Tesla Institute alike.

During a test to verify her bloodlines, Stein makes a terrible discovery. She is carrying a rare genetic mutation that is slowly killing her. Unsure who to turn to and running out of time, she has no choice but to turn to Tesla—her most hated enemy—for help. But can she trust the man who she's been fighting against her whole life, or will she end up another piece in his deadly game of cat and mouse with the people who betrayed her so long ago?

If this looks interesting to you, click hereto download your free Kindle copy!

A Crazy Thing Happened Today

We had a crazy thing happen today. My son came with me to the fabric store to pick out the backing for his T-shirt quilt. He found one he wanted, but wasn't sure if there was enough fabric on the bolt for what we needed. There were two older ladies working at the cutting counter, so we went to ask them. 

After telling them the measurements of the quilt top, both women started arguing as to how much fabric we would need. Here's how it went:

Lady #1 to her co-worker--"You just measured four, almost five." 

Lady #2--"No, I did not. Let me measure again. Hmmph, okay you were right on that one." 

Lady #1--"Well, they need 2/3 more." 

Lady #2--"No, they don't!" *she measures again then turns to me* "Tell me how much you need again?" 

Seriously, that went on for a good five or ten minutes! It was funny/weird.  When we finally got that all straightened out, we realized they didn't have enough fabric, but wait! Both women had a solution. And here's where it got interesting.

The first lady thought we should choose a solid color to have in the middle with the material we wanted in a border at the edges. The second woman said we should do the material we wanted in the middle with the solid color as the border because that would be better. They both were very forceful in their opinions.  One even drew us a picture of her vision while the other rolled her eyes. SO HARD not to laugh at this point.

And the arguing continued.

Lady #1--"Maybe he doesn't WANT the solid color in the middle." 

Lady #2--"Of course he does, so you can see the fabric he wants at the edges!" 

Lady #1--"Well, you could see MORE of the fabric he WANTS if it was in the middle!"

(Yeah, it was super awkward to listen to, but funny! Fabric wars!) and then after this heated argument, they both turned to my son, hands on hips, and said, "okay, which one do you choose?"

It was a scary moment! One of them looked like they could hurt him if he didn't choose their way (sure, she was older, but feisty). And there were scissors nearby! (It gives a whole new meaning to cutting counter, doesn't it?) 

At this point I stepped in and asked them to call another store to see if they had all of the fabric we needed for the project, and they did! We chose that option and avoided any bloodshed. 

I never knew fabric stores could be so stressful! And hilarious!

Writer Goal Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

Well, I didn't make my goal of ten pages on my novella. I did five, though! And I finished a T-shirt quilt for my son. So, progress!

I don't know what it is about making T-shirt quilts, but it's so fun! Chatting about all the memories the T-shirt has while I piece it together is one of my very favorite things. This one ended up being a huge king size quilt with 64 T-shirts on it---the biggest I've ever done! So, that was something fun I did this week.

My novella is going at a snail's pace. I like the characters, and I like the story, and I just need to sit in my chair and get those words flowing! Maybe we should do a sprint again one of these days. Anyone up for that?

Oh, and I FINALLY APPROVED the audio book for Through Love's Trials! Woohoo! That should be available really soon now, and I'm so excited!

So, my goal for next week is---*drum roll* write ten more pages on my novella. I know, I know, same as last week. But maybe this week I'll accomplish it!

How did you do on your goals for last week?