My blog has hit new heights of boring lately.
Though I am ridiculously busy and feel like I am spinning out of control lately, I think it is time for a typical Brooke Moss post. Don't you think?
I agree.
So here we go...
Today I have a lot to be grateful for. And I also have a lot that I am not grateful for. I think it's time to pay homage to it all.....
Would you like to hear my list? Here it goes:
Things I am grateful for:
1.) My book contract with Entangled Publishing. It is one thing to work towards a goal, it is a completely different thing to work towards a goal that you ultimately reach. I mean, how cool is that?? Kudos to EP for seeing the diamond in the rough that was my book before editing. And Kudos to my editors for making it shine. Kudos to me for never giving up and for pressing forward when so many told me that this couldn't be done. BOO YAH!
2.) Tillamook spreadable smoked cheddar. Um...this cheese has gotten me through the past week or so since The What If Guy came out. Stress does a real number on me. And cheese helps me stay the happy fat girl I like to be. Thank you, Tillamook.
3.) Friends. And by this, I mean real friends. I've learned over the past year of finding out that my son has ASD/SPD and hitting an all time LOW, and also getting my book contracted and becoming a published author for the first time and hitting an all time HIGH, that some friends show their true colors when you hit on hard times, and others show their true colors when you hit on great times. I have friends that love me event though I am ridiculously busy, and I have friends that have packed up and left me for more unsuccessful, readily available pastures. So today I am thankful for the friends who still call, who still treat me with the same kindness that I treat them, the ones that don't make fun of me all the time, and the ones who don't pretend like I haven't published a book because it reminds them of their own un-chased dreams.
(Here's a hint: Anyone can achieve their dreams. It just takes work. And if you can't handle another person's success, it probably means that you are struggling with your own failures right now. Go out there and grab life by the horns...you are only as stifled as you allow yourself to be. Mmmm, kay?)
4.) Blue skies. So help me, winter stuck around these parts for entirely too long this year. We've only had warm summer weather--consistently--for about 4 weeks. And it's the second week of August. No, really. It's been wicked chilly. Or rainy. Or chilly and rainy. I am a Seattle lover, and even I was sick to death of the rain. Now we have sunny skies...bright blue with the occasional white fluffy cloud....and lovely orange and pink summer sunsets. *SIGH* I love the fact that the sky is beautiful right now. I've been doing a lot of praying lately, and looking up to the heavens for guidance and comfort...and it's nice to finally look at the beautiful sight of a blue summer sky.
6.) Pickles. My four year old is going through some health issues. I'm not going into great detail right now, but we are working on figuring out why he is so small and why he only stays healthy for 2-3 weeks at a time. It could be nothing, it could be something. We have no idea. But I watch that little man like a hawk. Every time he coughs, sneezes, wipes his nose, cried, falls, pukes, complains of being tired, or merely looks funny, I feel my heart palpitate. We recently discovered that he loves to eat pickles and will eat a big, sour pickle at any time, any where. The kid lives for pickles. Frankly, I do, too. But seeing my miniature four year old chomping on a pickle with a huge grin on his little face fills my heart like absolutely nothing else. I could have twenty published books, and that feeling couldn't come close to the way I feel when I see him happily working on a big dill pickle. And this is why I am thankful for pickles.
7.) I am thankful for my lovely king size bed. The entire time we were on vacation, I was crammed up against my husband, and even though I love him so, I wanted my space. I was sick sick sick of my feet hanging off of the end of the bed, and I was sick of our azzes rubbing against each other while I was trying to go to sleep. I'm sorry to be brutally honest...but there is nothing, I mean NOTHING, worse than two fat people trying to sleep in a tiny hotel bed. Nothing. So right now I am thankful for my king size bed.
8.) I am thankful for my publicist. This might seem like it should have been covered by #1, and it might seem like brown nosing. But I assure you, it's not. I might tell a hell of a good story, and I might be an official author now, but so help me...this whole publicity/self promotion thing is so foreign to me, I could cry. I hate talking about myself. (Unless it is snarky, silly observances about cheese and b*tchy women at the store) I don't know what else to say that will entertain and inspire people. But she encourages me to press forward. She tells me when I need to chill out, and she tells me when I need to buck up. She tells me that it's normal to feel so completely out of my element that I could cry, and she reassures me that I am doing an okay job. The long and short of it is: She has become like my personal therapist, and frankly, she doesn't make enough $ to justify it. She makes me want to keep writing my guest blogs and filling out my interviews, because she is the one who has convinced me that there are fans out there who want to hear what I have to say. Sometimes it's hard to believe in yourself, but it feels a little bit easier when someone out there believes in you.
9.) Drumstick Ice Cream cones. Now....this particular thing certainly isn't helping the size of my pants, but it sure does make my nights feel more enjoyable. Every night for the past week, I have gone to bed with a Drumstick in hand, and my Nook to read. Sure, I am getting fatter by the second, but with all of the stress, deadlines, emails (literally, hundreds) coming in, requests, questions, etc etc etc....there is something incredibly relaxing about settling down with a fattening treat. God bless Nestle and those lovely, beautiful Drumsticks.
10.) Cher. I have been on a Cher music kick lately, and I am loving every minute of it. I settle in to write during nap time every afternoon, and I be-bop in my seat while I work on editing, critiquing, and my current WIP. Sure, progress is still slow, but Cher is helping me to make any progress at all...and so help me, without her I wouldn't be half as into my WIP as I am! Thanks, Cher!
And here is a short list of things I am NOT grateful for:
1.) Wasps. We have them all over our yard, and I am setting traps out for them like mad. I am so sick of my kids and dog getting stung, I could scream.
2.) Snarky b*tches. They're out there. You know who you are. H*ll, even I can be one at times. I still hate them. Grrrr..... (Picture me, growling like a bulldog.)
3.) Bills. My whole life would be a whole lot less stressful if I didn't feel so much pressure to sell some friggin' books and pay some friggin' bills!!
4.) Scales. I hate all of you. Every last one of them. Go to you know where, scales.
5.) Laundry. I loathe doing laundry, and you would think that being a published author now would mean I am excused from laundry duty for...well...forever. But no.
6.) Sassy children. Man, somewhere along the way, my kids learned to backtalk like the best of them. Granted, I probably have this coming ten fold, considering my own mouth when I was a kid...but still...SO not grateful for sassy children today.
7.) Traffic jams. Got stuck in one this morning. And when gas is 4$ a gallon, a traffic jam is enough to give me a panic attack. *Shudder*
8.) Target. I used to be a big fan, and probably will be one again in a few days, but...when I went into a Target yesterday to buy a bra, they didn't have my size. In fact, they didn't have any sizes bigger than a 36C. Um...I hate to break it to ya, Target, but women have different sized boobs. And carrying bras for skinny, petite, perky-boobie'd women only is pretty absurd. I've walked your aisles. There are some big mama's shopping there. Cater to your customers, duh.
9.) The Male Species. Okay, I am going to regret this one, I know it. Because not only is my nerd a lovely man, but three of my four children are male, too. But here's the deal: If you CAN aim, why DON'T you?? Really? And if you pee on the seat...clean it up. Have some common courtesy. *Grrr, snarl*
10.) Deadlines. I live by them. My whole job is made up of them, and I wouldn't change that. But it certainly doesn't mean I have to like them.
*SIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHH* I feel so much better. Thanks for letting me get this all off of my chest. :)
Brooke Moss.
