I've tried to write a note several times now, and it's just not happening.
Instead, I'm going to speak a blessing. May this year bring you joy, peace, strength, happiness, success, and love. May your heart find quiet whatever storms may come. Peace, love, and joy, to you and yours.
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Well, as the headline states, Bandit's story is here. *huge sigh* I hope with all that's in me that it's everything you've been waiting for. Admittedly, I'm partial to it because I love the characters. Bandit is just a good guy, and Skye is a sweet woman with curves. I think they compliment each other so well. I hate cleaning house. I hate it. It's not a one and done type thing, ya know? Sweeping, mopping, wiping down counters, and all that jazz. It'd be different if I could put saran wrap over things. You know, as they did in the '70s. I really think they were ahead of their time. Granted, one drink spill on the saran-wrapped floor, and you'd either be playing Twister or slip and slide. Talk about throwin' a hip!
It's my oldest's birthday party on Saturday. So, we're getting the house ready for a few people to come over. Thing is, by the time they leave, you'll never know the floor was swept or mopped. Not that I don't want people coming over, just...sometimes, it's like making the bed. Why? I'm just going to use it again tonight. Seems like a waste of time. Well, November rolled in with a bang, huh? One thing you can say about this year is that there weren't any dull moments.
I voted, and then I spent the last two days fretting a little, but you know what? There's not a diddly thing I can do more. I did what I was supposed to do, and now, it is what it is. What can I do? I can write stories, put puzzles together, and have family time with my girls watching Ed, Edd, and Eddy on Amazon Prime. I can have my Bible study on Friday nights. I can do exciting things like pick up hairballs my cats so lovingly leave around the house. There is nothing on this earth I can change about what is happening, but I can change how I react to it. As I get older, that little gem my mom gave me becomes more and more true. All in all, it's well with my soul and I know who holds the future. Well, that's my ramblings for the day. Last Friday in October? Already?
Not exactly sad about that. This year has been a struggle for so many. Plus, add all the other stuff going on in the world and it's overwhelming. I kinda wish I had a secluded cabin in the woods where I could hide until the coast was clear. It would be nice, right? Ha! I told a friend the other day that I just needed the world to hold itself together long enough for me to be able to afford a third-generation Camaro. Not a super expensive or fancy one. I've wanted one since I was a senior in high school. Maybe it'll happen, but it's one of those...hope things. It's a silly, non-practical wish and I know that. If it happens, it happens. If not, it's okay. Just a silly want. Bandit's story is with the editor! I hope to have it out in the early part of November. Also, I got feedback about my short story idea, and I'm working on one now. It's light and fun. I'm enjoying it too. I hope to have it and a few others out before the end of the year, but we'll see. I know I say that a lot, but I don't want to disappoint anyone. Okay, I'm making this week's note short as well. I'm working on the first short story. I think the title will be Secret Billionaire and the story will be set in a fictional town called Luck Lake in South Dakota. I loved the mountains and scenery on our trip. I'll be using Hill City as my inspiration for the town. We had such a good time there. I would love to go back. Anyway, there's my Texas goodbye. I'm going to keep it kind of brief this week. My get up and go, got up and went. It's only 11 p.m. as I write this, so that doesn't bode well for my Friday.
It's cold here today, and I'm grateful. First, we got fireplace doors and I want to use my fireplace since it was too late earlier this year. Plus, smores are calling my name. Point of celebration though. I finished Bandit's story this week. It's already been sent to my editor. WHOOP! I'm trying to decide what I want to do next. I had an idea for short stories. One that could be read in about an hour. I'm torn between setting them in the winter/Christmas and summer/beach. These would be about 40-60 pages, but they'd be complete stand-alone stories. Sort of like a bite-sized cookie. It's in the idea stage at this point. We'll see. My lightbulb moments are sometimes ten watts instead of sixty watts. It's been a long week. The kind when your emotions are up one minute and down the next. A rollercoaster, as they say.
For the most part, I don't talk about how I'm feeling on social media. Most of the time, I don't even talk about them within my small circle of friends. Not because they don't care. Why blab about my issues? Aren't their issues equal with mine? Why add mine to theirs? Also, it feels weird saying anything. Sometimes, I just want to say I feel icky in my heart without any comments returned. I'm not looking for advice or consoling or anything. I just need to say it so that it's out. Feelings aren't facts. I know this to be true. I know they can be misleading. I know they can be flat out wrong. I know they can sway rationality into irrantionality. Feelings are strong. They push and pull and grab and claw. They make things worse than what they really are. They make it hard to be still and know. They cloud truth. Create doubt. Feed insecurities. All that to say, yeah, it's been a long week. I wish I had answers. More often than not, I'm left with more questions. Psalm 118:5. And in my anguish, I cried out to the Lord and He rescued me by setting me free. I'm crying out, but what does freedom look like? Another answer I don't have at the moment. For now, I'm a forty-six year old housewife with a husband, two kids, four cats who still loves carbs way more than she should. Maybe the take away is you do your best with what you have and hope with all the hope that is in you that it's enough. Not for anyone else, but yourself. One can hope, right? Okay, that's enough of my rambling melancholy heart poured out. Hi teachers (both public and homeschoolers), If you're thinking this looks familiar, I did offer this last Halloween. If you're seeing it for the first time, then yay! I hope you can use it. This is a short story about two little girls taking on Snow White's Seven Dwarves. I purposefully left it open-ended to foster speculation and creativity. If you think it might be fun for your class to read, you are welcome to it. It's not super scary, and I did that on purpose as well. Some children want to participate in Halloween but ghosts and goblins are too much for them. Anyway, I'm sending this out now so that if you were needing something fun for your class, you can prepare. Otherwise, it's just a fun little story that I hope you and your children will enjoy. Thanks, teachers. You bear a lot of responsibility and this just my way of showing appreciation. This is my formal permission to use this book in a classroom setting. You are allowed to print as many copies as you need. All I ask is for attribution. Should you take this to a printer such as Office Max or other print companies and they have any questions, they can email me at breelivingston@breelivingston.com. This book is not to be printed for profit. I maintain the copyright and all rights contained therein. |
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