• 15 minute posts,  B reviews,  place holder posts,  Shop Talk

    Housekeeping!

    EveTreeWinner

    First, we have a winner for The Eve Tree! Email me your address Peggy and I will send you the book. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

    Second, I am swamped with work. This is a really good thing but a little scary because I have deadlines looming and possibly not enough time to do my best work. I guess I’m just sharing that here so that you know what’s up if this blog goes quiet for a week or so. Though, I bet now that I’ve written that I’ll find a million and one ways to make time for blogging. I always like to make myself eat my words.

    Third, if anyone wants to, you can buy my book (only $2.99!) and review it on Amazon! I will send you a copy of my alphabet cards (the nice ones that are not available in my shop right now). I just need three more reviews to hit that magical amazon number. Yes, the book is only available in electronic version for the kindle, iphone and ipad right now but it will be out in print sometimes soon I hear. I’ll keep you posted.

    Updated to add: THANK YOU! I have ten reviews now and I’m out of alphabet cards for the time being.

    Fourth, today is the last day to comment on my Degree post over on my review site if you want to win some mulah. Tomorrow I’ll have a new post reporting on my work-out progress that you will also be able to comment on to win $100. Spoiler: I didn’t do so hot. SAJ is all work and no working out these days which is bad bad bad. Check in tomorrow to see the sad report. New post is up!

    Fifth, Aqui has not had her kittens yet but she does have an appointment with the vet on Wednesday just to get checked out. She seems to be quite happy and content in spite of her girth. I’ll keep you posted on that too.

    Sixth, my nieces are not here. They are visiting their other grandparents for two weeks so that is why you haven’t had any “Girls of Summer” updates.

    And that’s all I got! Now back to work!

  • 15 minute posts,  BIG news,  domesticity,  Family Matters,  gardening,  house stuff!,  movies,  Niece-com-poops,  party party,  Shop Talk,  the sticks

    So. Much. Going. On.

    Be Happy

    So here’s a quick flick through my camera stream lately. First a photo taken by Rapunzel of her own hand. She’s not afraid to grab the camera and get in there with the interesting shots. I love that.

    upshot

    Another one of my old saguaro. She can’t believe that I never took this shot myself. Nope, I didn’t. Too prickly!

    R & M

    We had a little tiff at dinner so I’m feeling a bit sentimental as I post these photos. Teenagers are so complicated!

    tagger in another life

    I spray-painted an old wooden chair my mom had laying around. I wanted to give the chair its own post but it’s not like I’m really a DIY home-decorator blog or anything so I’m just going to smash it in here instead.

    spray on

    Spray, spray, spray. Don’t you love it when you forget to change the ISO setting on your camera and the last thing you shot was a product shot inside at 3200 and then you go outside and over-expose everything so bad that your backyard looks like heaven from the 70’s?

    nicely done

    Maybe that’s just my version of heaven from the 70’s.

    at home in it's habitat

    Anyway, the chair looks fantastic! It went from country bumpkin to eclectic mess which is sort of good except I hate eclectic mess. I love the chair though. I just need to de-clutter my house a little so it can shine on its own.

    meeting

    It’s already a favorite for family meetings.

    me and my new/old chair

    And vain self-portraits.

    what's this?

    Speaking of, I need some better self-portraits because I’m A PUBLISHED AUTHOR NOW!!!! And I had to put some dumb hand-held frumpy mom shot in the back of my book. I know I could pay someone to take a real portrait but I like to keep it real (or cheap). I am self-published after all, it’s not like I have a big book-contract deal. But I do have an awesome agent/publisher friend who is hooking it all up. I’m so excited. This is really a dream come true for me.

    It dropped on Amazon yesterday for my birthday! This is just a soft launch. I have two more books to illustrate and then we’re going to launch a blog tour with giveaways and prints and a book party (squee!) and I’ll probably talk about it so much you will all get sick of me. But until then check it out! $2.99 yo! It’s only on the Kindle right now I think but you can get a free kindle ap for your mac or ipad. I’ll share more when I get the hang of it. I’m new at this still. (Also available in the UK and Germany)

    In the meantime I have two books still to illustrate! (And many more after that I hope) I’m so behind. If you see me goofing off, feel free to kick me in the butt. I’ve got work to do!!! It’s always feast or famine around here.

    what's left of my birthday cake wearing her cake and eating it too

    Yes, my birthday was fantabulous. Thank you for asking. We kept it low-key with a night out with my best beach gal pal DMA and a new friend on Friday and then a family dinner with the niece-com-poops and my Aunt Keren and Grandma on the day itself. My grandma made me my favorite birthday dinner (peanut encrusted Thai chicken—soooooooooo yummy you could die) and Rapunzel made my cake. How can I be mad at her when she’s so sweet like that. Teenagers! She kills me.

    birthday cake under wraps! R dishes it out

    Anyway, it was super sweet and fun and the kids had a blastola swimming in Grandma’s community pool.

    learning to swim

    summer

    I love summer.

    peach pie

    Why yes, I did make a peach pie. I know! All this fun going on when I have work to do!!! This is what I’m talking about. I should be shackled to my laptop but no, I’m in the kitchen pretending to be Martha Stewart or something. It’s just that it’s summer and the fruit is going bananas (or more correctly, peaches) and it’s such a wonderful new thing to me that I just can’t bear to let it rot! It’s me and the fruit flies and I’m not about to let them win.

    Farmer Bug

    Peaches, zucchinis, apricots, plums, sugar snap peas and soon tomatoes. I can’t even keep up with my camera. Life does not stop for the weary!