MamaManagement

My family has been on edge, people. February was yuck. And March wasn't any better for them. The recipe has looked something like this: 2 cups Winter Blues 1 cup Cabin Fever 1 cup General Life Stressors 1/2 cup Grey Skies 1/4 cup Freezing Temperatures 2 tbsps Stuffy Noses and Sore Throats 1/2 tsp Aches and Pains 1/3 cup Sick of Everything Mix all together for a big batch of blah, and then go back to bed. My husband's been massively stressed out at work. My daughter doesn't even want to go to school because she's so sick of the noise and chaos of stir-crazy kids. Everyone's so on edge that they're blowing up and breaking down over even the smallest annoyances. Even my always happy little man has a lower tolerance for frustration these days. This family is in massive need of a mental health break. And that's exactly what we're doing right now. It's Spring Break week at the kids' school and we have run away to North Carolina ...

I know you've been wondering what's keeping me from turning out the light at a decent hour lately. Well, here's what I've been reading the last couple of months... Hint: After writing this post, I realized that there's a clear theme here-- perspectives different from my own . I'd say it's been an eye-opening few months! :-) So here's a quick run down on the pages I've been turning... An Abundance of Katherines by John Green ...I really enjoyed this book. It's a generally light and easy read. I think Green captures the voice of teenage boy on the cusp of manhood so well, and I LOVE the best friend character. It's a fun little ride. Recommend. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion ...I wasn't sure about this one when I started it. Getting into the main character's "Autism-spectrum" voice, because it was so unlike my own, took a few pages. But I'll tell you what, it was so worth it. This book was entertain...

I love it when I get to combine favorite things...like writing and coffee shops, and friends and red wine, and delicious food and my favorite foody/hubby. Great combinations get bonus points if you throw in some coffee, too. Well, I've been working one of those kinds of combinations a lot lately by reading books (favorite thing #1) that inspire and motivate (favorite thing #2). (And yes, I often enjoy some coffee...or tea...while I'm at it.) It is possible that I'm even a little obsessed with this combination right now...not that I'm the type to go overboard with a good thing... I've mentioned many of these books in various recent posts, but I thought I'd share them all in one big ol' book post. So, if you're looking for a little inspiration, if you need some motivation, consider checking out one of these books and see if, perhaps, they are the kick in the pants, or the shift in perspective, that you're looking for... Present Over Perfect ...

Words of Wisdom... Not from me, of course. These are words I've been gathering, like wild flowers for a field bouquet. If you've been reading my blog this year, then you've probably gathered that I'm doing a lot of reconfiguring of my life and my brain. When I get into this mode, I tend to try to saturate my mind with words of wisdom from as many different sources as possible. I read books and blogs and articles; I listen to music and interviews and guided meditations and TED talks. When something catches my attention and makes me pause, I write it down...or, more often, I type it into the reminders on my phone. And then I look at it again and again, trying to absorb it in a way that makes it a part of me. And I am hard-core in this mode right now. Hard. Core. So, as I procrastinate working on my novel, I thought I'd share some of these little nuggets, these words of wisdom, with you all. Maybe they'll speak to you, too... Be still and know. This i...

Book Revision Central Ever wonder how a book gets from a writer's head to the book store? I used to think that they just sat down and wrote it, and then sent it to the publisher, where it was edited, printed, and sent to book stores. Um...no. It's not as neat and tidy as all that. It's not smooth. It's not easy. And it's not fast. At least not for me...and I haven't even gotten to the agent and publisher part...YET. (From what I've heard, that's a whole other can of beans!) Since I'm knee deep in third round revisions on one of my middle grade novels (and having some, ahem, issues with, um, motivation and focus right now...), and I'm doing more intricate and elaborate work on it than I ever have on a book before, I thought I'd share a little glimpse of what this book writing stuff looks like. First, what got this book to where it's at today? Well, I wrote the first draft of it (as with all five of the novels I've writ...