baseball

Hey guys, welcome back! I’m a bit late in posting on this rainy Friday. I take solace in the fact that I am going against my own time table instead of a more structured one. Plus, I posted twice this week already…so really, I’m giving all the excuses. 🙂

It has been cold, rainy and windy here in the Northeast and you know what? I’m ok with that! I love the cold weather. I love reading and writing in the rain and if it delays Summer a bit longer, I’m happy. Sorry warm weather people, I am not someone for the heat. However, I do like Spring a lot and am anxiously waiting to see the flowers around here start to bloom. But how can you beat sitting with a good book, a cup of tea/coffee/cocoa (or whatever your hot beverage of choice is) with the windows open and hearing a good rain fall outside? It’s one of the things that makes life happy. And if it’s not your thing, that’s ok. As long as you have something that makes you happy, then go for it! (I do like to blast rock music when I know there’s no one around in any of the apartments around here when I need a good scream session. I’m not all books you know.)

Anywhooo, as I sit here cozy on my bed typing this, I’m watching my Yankees lose on a dreary night down at the stadium where they all look cold as hell. I’ve been to a few games in this type of weather and while it may have taken weeks for the chill to go away afterwards, to quote my father, “spending hours at the stadium in the rain is still better than not.” So there you go. I used to go to games all the time, but my last baseball game was 9 years ago. Went with friends, PERFECT weather and got some great photos from that night that I framed for my father. Because even if you can’t get to your favorite arena of choice doesn’t mean you can’t look at it every day!

So here I sit, writing for you and for myself. Actually on that front, I’ve done more writing this week than I have for a while and it has felt good. I posted twice here earlier in the week, which I’m thinking of doing more of. No more once a week posts, will try for a minimum of two a week going forward…if not more. And I am happy to say that I’ve been working on a new story.

NEW story you ask?

Why yes. Because my brain has decided to take a vacation on the books I’ve already been working on and while the writer’s block has been insane on that front, it did give me an idea for another one. Unfortunately this happens to me a lot and because of this, I now have about five other started novels. Some going as deep as 10-11 chapters! Once I get an idea, I have to get it out. Clear it out of my head so that I can go back to my original book which I have GOT to finish editing/rewriting so I can get the damned thing published because I really really really want to get it out there!

I’m done. Sorry. Writer freak out.

I mentioned in a previous post this week that I’ve been reading a book about writers and have really taken note of their processes and daily life, etc. I was especially interested in their daily word counts. (Which is pretty funny considering it’s a romcom.) I talked about how the low numbers baffled me because I write as fast as I talk. I can’t stop until at least one chapter is completed and most times, my word counts are really up there. In the book, they talk about counts as low as 500 words for the day because of their own struggles with writer’s block. I get that. We all do our thing differently after all. Everyone works at their own pace. And if you have stuff going on in your life, that can also make it a challenge to get the words on the page.

This new story idea I’ve had this week though, boy has it wanted to get out. It actually started to come to me as I was writing my last post here! All of a sudden, I couldn’t type fast enough to get that post out before getting myself set up to begin writing a whole new book.

The first night I wrote chapter one in a few hours and my word count was 7568 words. The second night, I was at over 4500 and wanted to keep going but my fingers wouldn’t let me. (I have a lot of issues with my hands so I have to stop when they tell me to or else I would just keep going.) This day broke me because I am quite OCD about finishing a chapter before calling it quits and I had to stop short of finishing chapter two. But you can see by the counts how much I do when I’m on a roll. Again, this is just me. I appreciate that I am probably in a minority for such numbers and to me, even getting five words on a page is an accomplishment. Now imagine how I am when I talk! Lol

One of the reasons my usual Friday post was posted so late was because of all the writing I’ve been doing. My plan was to knock out chapter two and then write a post here. But after all the typing and hey, the sun came up, it was time to rest. I know I’m not on any kind of schedule here, but I put myself on one. So while I may have disappointed myself in that regard, I’m really excited about this new story and waiting to see where it takes me. Like any writer, the story is playing out in my head as I type this. As I sleep. As I have a conversation. As I make my coffee. It is never far from me and now I just have to get it down and hopefully soon.

I’ve been loving writing for this blog though. I’ve had this site for a few years but never truly dedicated my time to it. Now that I have and I see that folks are coming back time and time again to read it, it really is getting me inspired to keep going. It is because of YOU that I keep doing this and as I’ve said many times here, it is keeping me accountable for my own writing. Like having someone watch over me to say, ‘hey, you keep talking about it, keep DOING it.’ So I keep doing it.

By the way, if you’ve missed any of my recent posts, you can hit the ‘new posts’ tab on the menu bar. They will always be here. And you can always subscribe in the ride sidebar to get emails when new posts are up!

And that is where I am leaving you for today. If you’ve gotten this far, I thank you. I thank you for continuing to hang with me here and hope you keep coming back!!

Until next time…

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Come check out my social links and my linktree shop as well. I have the keyboard on there I currently use that has really helped my hands. If you have issues with arthritis, contracture, etc, this has a nice profile, hot swappable keyboard that is perfect for hands like mine: linktr.ee/promosocially

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Have a great weekend all! 🙂

‘Tis Friday folks and that means, we’re back! Well, I’m back and I hope you are too. 🙂

It has been a week and one I’m kind of happy is over. To get it out of the way, I finally tested Covid negative but still have some kind of bronchitis type of thing going on. So my writing has been an afterthought. To say I’m not disappointed in myself for that would be an understatement, after all, losing an entire week of writing anything is not ideal, but I have been creative in other ways so at least my brain hasn’t totally turned to mush!

I’ve mentioned a few times that while I do other things, whether creating a new design or even something as simple as making dinner, my mind frees up for figuring out where my next chapter is going to lead. I have to admit that writing a sequel to my first book (whose editing process is also just lagging behind) has been more challenging than I anticipated. Mostly because I have memory issues and trying to remember all character names and storylines including background stories, has been slowing me down a bit. I have to keep going back to the original manuscript to make sure I’m keeping the flow and the style the same as well as all the details. My neurologist would be so proud. Lol

I think that so far I’m succeeding in keeping the tone the same. I have become very protective of this little world I’ve created and while I’ve written about many different things across many genres in the past, making sure that this series of mine creates a world that the reader will want to come back to is my sole responsibility. The problem though, is the plot of the second book.

I had said in a previous post that I was so happy because I finally figured out where this particular story was going. Well, the celebration was a bit premature! I’m currently rereading a series I had read last year because the next book just came out and I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the characters. As I got to one of the books, all of a sudden I realized that what I had come up with for my own series was eerily similar to something that happens in that book. A major faux pas if ever there was one!

Let me be completely clear here…I have NEVER stolen an idea from another writer in my life! I think I’ve just read so much over the past year and a half that trying to remember what I’ve read and what I haven’t are getting mixed up. Hey, it happens and I’m sure with the millions of books out there, there are certainly books that have similar themes and plot points just like the movies. But this was a little too close for comfort and now I have to rethink the main plot for this second book of mine. The one good thing here is that I found out when I did! Had I not reread this series, I would have kept writing my own book thinking I’m all kinds of original and it would not have gone over well once it got to the public. So let’s hear it for rereading books! Woo-Hoo! (Have I mentioned I’m on a lot of meds?)

Ok so NOW what? Well, now I have to go back and rewrite a whole bunch, but again, not the entire book. I’m only about a third of the way in and fixing that will be much easier than having to fix an entire book. So really, I’m good with that. I also now need to figure out where my characters are going. It’s funny, as I’m writing this post I’m realizing that this week off from the book has been ideal! Had I been writing, I would have kept going with my original (ok so not so original) idea and all of it would have to be scrapped. But I haven’t been writing, I’ve been reading and because of that, I actually ended up saving myself from the inevitable consequences! So alrighty then. Breaks, I guess, can be a good thing!! (So are breakthroughs apparently!)

So what exactly have I been working on? Well, I created a bunch of new bookmarks for my shop and finally fixed the printer settings to get them as bold and bright as they look on screen. Then proceeded to reprint old ones out so they look better. Now I just have to cut and laminate them which is a lot of work, but at least they look the way I intended them too instead of muted versions of what I envisioned. I’ve listed a bunch of new vintage and estate pieces on eBay and took tons of pics for lots of new stuff to add in the coming weeks. I created two new blank notebooks for Amazon and just waiting for them to go live before I can put them in my new linktree shop. I finished reading one book, read another book and am now a third of the way through a third book since we last met up here…great thing about being sick, you have time to read! And I was also counting down to Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season!

I am a diehard third generation Yankees fan and proud of it. I make those around me who hate baseball regret they even know me throughout a season. I have very strong opinions on the game and the players and especially the management (please oh please fire Boone and Cashman). Now, having said all of that…what I do not do. I never trash talk on someone’s social media posts. What I mean by that is, let’s say I post something about a game. For example, I like to post about who just hit a home run. And say, a Red Sox fan (just for fun of course) decides to comment on my post with something nasty. It makes me crazy because I never do this to them. NEVER. To me, when you post something that makes YOU happy, I don’t go and tear it down. And while I may not like the Red Sox, I am a BASEBALL fan. I can respect other teams and player’s efforts. Hell, I loved watching Big Papi do his thing when he played! I get it’s all part of the sports world but you still should have respect.

Trash talking and such? I’m more for doing that in person. You’re out at a bar watching a game. Guy next to you likes the opposing team, you have fun with the back and forth, right? But you are right there. In person. It’s all in fun and you can hear the tone of the other dude saying stuff. Online, there is always room for speculation and misunderstanding. I’m also not seeking out the guy standing next to me, whereas on social, you can just let the post pass and move on. Once you comment, it is deliberately baiting that poster. Unfortunately, we see it too much these days with the way things are now. Which is the problem of social media in general and that’s for another day and a lot more meds. I’ve even had it happen with just posting something as innocent as “hey the flowers are up today!” No kidding, people will hate on all of it. So now that I’ve just deleted a two paragraph rant on that subject, let me just say this…baseball is back and I’m happy!

Baseball and cherry blossoms just sum up Spring for me. That plus tulips and daffodils. Ok, so the four of them sum up Spring for me! I used to hate this season. As a brutal allergy sufferer, all I could see was the pollen aspect. But in the last few years, I’ve grown to love it. January thru March in the Northeast holds many a gray, lifeless day. We have lost the colorful holiday lights and are left with cold, cloudy skies and brown lawns. And then suddenly we see something pop up out of the ground. Maybe a crocus or we see the beginning buds on a tree. We see the first robin of the season and as our state’s bird, we have tons of them here, all starting to sing their songs sometimes as early as 4am. It is life regenerating in the most literal sense and for us humans, it means new opportunities ahead. New days to get out there and breathe in the fresh air. Take in the sounds. See the colorful flowers that are washing away the gray, cold days. As a Fall person, to me, Spring is the closest to my favorite season as I can find. There are colors to be seen, it is not oppressively hot and there are still cool, crisp nights to be had. Fall leaves have their brief window of time to show off their bright, beautiful shades of reds, yellows and oranges while Spring tulips (my favorite flowers) are also given just as short of a window to give us their pinks, purples and in their case, multitudes of colors before disappearing for the rest of the year. The similarities of the two seasons are there, you just need to stop and take them in. Seeing the new flowers and such can make a bad day much, much better. 🙂

Just one more quick thing before I let you go…I will be adding more to my linktree shop and also want to remind you of the big Amazon Spring sale going on now and appreciate any click through on my affiliate links that help support the site (and me). Any relevant links will always be at the bottom of my posts as I never like to inundate my readers with tons of links or ads if I can help it. Oh and if you come and follow my FB page for the site, new phone wallpaper freebies will be going up in the next few days!!

And with that, I will leave you for now. As always, if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for once again putting up with my rambling. I hope I’ve given you at least one smile this week as well as some things to sit and ponder…but in a good way of course!

Thanks for hanging with me again this week and I hope you all have a great weekend! Until next week…keep writing, keep creating and keep motivated!!! 🙂

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Catch up with my latest posts by hitting the ‘new posts’ or the tab up in the menu bar.

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Linktree shop: linktr.ee/promosocially

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My vintage and estate jewelry listings can be found when you hit the eBay tab in my StuffWeFind linktree: linktr.ee/stuffwefind or my ad block to the right.

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My bookmarks, stickers and soon, art prints on Etsy (for now): linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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Thanks all. Keep being YOU!