Of Ice and Men

Uh, how is it the middle of December already? Seriously, I'm not sure how it happened! I took one week off from writing, to deal with a myriad of stressful things that had popped up (the end of the year is always the most stressful time for me, because of work and personal obligations), and now all of a sudden, Christmas is less than two weeks away and the end of 2017 is just around the corner! The biggest thing that's happened is poor Flynn, yet again. He stopped eating, of course due to ongoing mouth issues. He has stomatitis/gingivitis. Stop me if I've explained this before, but basically his body is rejecting his teeth. He had his teeth cleaned in June, but he had a flare-up at the end of September and then at the very end of November. What do you do when your body is rejecting your own teeth? You remove them from the equation. So earlier this month, we began the process of extracting his teeth. My vet recommended removing them in stages. We started with his left...

I like November. It means [American] Thanksgiving is coming—which is one of my absolute favorite holidays ever. And one of my favorite bands has a great lyric: I always believe in futures / I hope for better in November . I've been waiting for November to roll around this year because it finally means a break  in activity. September and October were especially busy for me, and it looks like all my medical business is winding down after I had my gallbladder removed in July. So what does November have in store for me then? Nothing.  And I can't tell you how excited that makes me. Instead of being bogged down with social events and obligations, I'm staying home! In all honestly, I do have two major tasks on my agenda for November, which is to thoroughly clean my apartment and organize it, and to really sink my teeth into Dump and Chase.  I have so many ideas, and I don't seem to have the time to get them all out. That should all change, starting tonight! I did a l...

October is one of my favorite months, and it's almost over! It's going by so fast. Too fast. Last weekend, I was celebrating my friend's big day: her wedding! My friend and I with the beautiful bride. That was the first big event of the month. Next up is my Halloween party. I love Halloween, and I'm going all out for my costume this year. I'll post pics in my Facebook readers' group, the Jay Birds , for you to see. But most excitingly is the author event I'm doing on the 28th. I'll be one of many authors at the Glass City Author Event (check it out on Facebook and get tickets here ). If you're from the Toledo area, I'd love to meet you! And in between all that, I'm working on the next book in the Dallas Comets series. I've got a great title for this one: Dump and Chase. Is that not awesome? I'm working on the blurb, and I'll post it as soon as I've perfected it. As always, stay tuned for updates and more ...

Eight months are in the bag for 2017. It's September, which means hockey starts this month! Players are starting to come back to their NHL towns. Training camp starts soon, which means preseason soon after, which means regular season after that! Plus, fall is starting to emerge in my corner of Pennsylvania, with temperatures cooling and nights slowly getting longer. I love fall! But I've got more reason to celebrate. I've finally pinned down a release date for False Start , Comets book #4. Right now, the only retailer up is Amazon , but I'll post the others via social media as soon as they go live. I'm really excited to get Chris and Helene's story out to y'all. This is a different kind of story for me—more in the new adult genre. I hope you'll enjoy! Each time I share a story, it's like sharing a part of me. And I've worked for a long time on this story, off and on, through bouts of illness. Even when I couldn't write, this story sta...

I know "normal" is a relative word. What's normal to me isn't normal to someone else. And what used to be  normal for me has gone flying out the window. So now I begin the search for my new normal . On July 21, I had my gallbladder out. Within a week, I was feeling great! I was off the pain meds, could stand up and sit down as good as ever, and was starting to experiment with what foods to eat. I've been able to to eat pizza and fries again! No more nausea and vomiting! Even better, I've gotten back some of my lost energy; last week, I was able to go grocery shopping and then come home and put everything in its place! And yesterday, I did laundry and put it all away in the same evening. Yes, I'm definitely feeling more energized. So I'd chalk the surgery up as a major success . I will continue to experiment with my diet to see what works for me and what doesn't. I still have IBS, so I have to learn what foods to avoid, what foods...

 In June, I met up with Lisa B. Kamps , Michelle Monkou (and her daughter), and Julia Canchola for a writer's retreat in Nashville, Tennessee . That week turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Get ready for my virtual slideshow! We ate delicious food and had some amazing drinks :  (Bavarian Bierhaus, in Opry Mills Mall) (Jack's BBQ, on Broadway) (Sangria at Rock Bottom on Broadway) (Happy Gilmore at Nelson's Green Brier Distillery) We had a great time sightseeing, visiting a lot of the places that make Nashville, well, Nashville. We went honky-tonking, my favorite place being Nashville Palace . The grilled cheese with ham was to die for, as were the apple pie moonshine margaritas that Lisa insisted we try! Josh, our server, was the more adorable introduction to the great Tennesseans we encountered.   On Friday, June 23rd, we went to the Grand Ole Opry to for the r...

I got a call from gastroenterologist's office yesterday with news about my latest test, a HIDA scan with CCK : my gallbladder is functioning at 18% . They have recommended removal and are in the process of referring me to a general surgeon. Finally , an answer as to the culprit of my ailments! The offending organ! I'm very relieved to have been told there is a cause for my ongoing symptoms. I'm excited to think that maybe  this treatment will cure some (if not all, fingers crossed!) of my digestive problems. But even more than that, I'm relieved to not have to focus so hard on finding an answer. So much of my mental energy was wrapped up scheduling tests, having tests performed, waiting for test results, and then repeating that cycle over and over and over again. I did so much online research and reading about tests and procedures and drugs for every possible outcome and learning as much as I could. Months of this, and years of enduring symptoms, was exhaus...

It's time for me to talk about something I've been avoiding for a long time. I'm not a very open person about certain things in my life. I'll share pics of my cats and bad hair day selfies, but I keep some stuff close to my chest. Like politics, relationships, and... health stuff. In a previous post , I mentioned that I was going to spend 2017 getting healthy and trying to resolve some ongoing stomach issues, but I didn't divulge anything else. I had no specifics to give out, and I didn't want to discuss anything more than that. I felt the need to let everyone know that I would be taking more time for myself than usual, meaning there would be less writing happening because my focus would be on me and my health/issues. Now it's time to be gutsy and talk about my guts . For the past couple of years, I've felt like a walking Pepto-Bismal commercial (and that's all the detail you're going to get about that!). I went to my doc, and s...

 I'm all about self-care, and if you follow me on any social medium, I'm sure you know that. I'm generally an anxious stress-ball of nerves. And I know I haven't taken enough time for myself in the past. I've trying to change that, so I've been implementing small changes in my life, including:  It seems so simple, right? Know what you're going to eat before you eat it. It's not rocket science. I always had a stocked fridge/freezer/pantry, but I never took the time to plan out meals. To make sure that I had all the ingredients needed for certain meals. So every time it came to make a meal, I was scrounging. That led to a lot of fast food meals, because that was so much more convenient.  Well, at that leads to is light wallet and a heavier weight on the scale.  I wanted to save money and eat better. Eat real food and not processed, frozen meals or stuff handed to me through a window. But there's a reason why meal planning is hard to do: it...

My fabulous February, coming off the adult prom, is transitioning into a marvelous March! One week after I got all dolled up and dressed up in my gorgeous purple gown, I had another fabulous weekend spent with an amazing group of fellow hockey romance writers and hockey fans! First, we all went out to the Pens game on Friday night to see Pittsburgh take on Tampa Bay. Nice seats! With the wonderful Lisa B. Kamps Hockey romance writers and readers unite! The Pens won, and we all had a good time together. Then on Saturday, I was up early to head to the Meadows Casino in Washington, PA, for the Angels & Sirens 2017 author event.  Here I am, at my table, my signing pen ready to go: And meeting readers: It was quite an experience. My first ever signing! I met some great people, including fellow authors, bloggers, and readers. I'll admit that I was nervous about my first event —whether anyone wo...

Wow, this month has flown by! I know it's not over yet, but there's only a few days left—and if the rest of February is any indication, those days will pass by just as quickly. My birthday was a few days ago, and it was probably my favorite birthday ever! In the words of Ice Cube, it was a good day . My day in the office went smoothly, and then my friends and I went out to a great new Turkish restaurant. The food and the atmosphere was phenomenal. They even would read your fortune from your coffee grounds! It felt a little like Harry Potter. via GIPHY Luckily for us, she did not read the Grim in anyone's cup! A few of us then went out for drinks. Even though there was some drunk guy trying to talk politics with us, we had a good time at the bar. Good food, good company, and lots of good wishes from you all via social media—I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Meanwhile, I'm impatiently waiting for this coming weekend, since the Adult Pro...

I noticed something at the beginning of this month, which was a trend of people picking words for the 2017. Like a mantra. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it at the time, although it seemed like a good idea; I didn't think I'd be able to pick just one word to encapsulate my hopes for the entirety of the coming year. That being said, one word picked me. FORWARD What exactly does that one word mean? It means that I will—and must—constantly keep moving forward. I cannot dwell in the moment, good or bad, because I have to think about the next moment, and what is more important: being caught up in the present or what's to come? That also means that I must examine what I am doing in the moment and determine if it's going to help me move forward. Am I writing, working on that next book? Working on the administrative side of things? Engaging in needed self-care? If it's not important, then I shouldn't be spending time on it. That means staying off o...

In my last blog post, I reflected on last year's resolutions and settled on this year's. But there's a difference between resolutions and tasks . Resolutions are changes that I want to instill in myself for the coming year and beyond. But there are also tons of tasks that I want to accomplish in 2017 to make it the best year yet. I want to:    star learning French    get all dressed up for a fancy evening    attend a wine tasting    try yoga    read more    travel somewhere I haven't been before Of course, this is just a short list off the top of my head. Is there anything you're looking to cross off your bucket list this year? Let me know in the comments!