Friday, December 18, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things and Fast Five Friday

Celebrate the Small Things is a Friday blog hop where we share things, big or small, during that week. 


Celebrations...

*My son turned 13, and we had family/friends over to help celebrate! <3

*No writing this week, which makes me sad, but while at work, my head churns with loads of plot ideas. I write them down and pray that I don't lose the post-its! :)

*Even though, work's been crazy-busy at the shop, I love that I get to make these Santa pups out of flowers! It's one of my favorite things to do this holiday season.





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Fast Five Friday is a weekly blog hop created at Cover Girls. Its purpose is to connect with writers, readers, viewers, and bloggers, and the topics revolve around lists.
 Go HERE to learn more about Fast Five Friday, or you can click the tab button above in this blog.

Dec 18 - 5 stocking stuffer ideas
scarf
cozy, colorful socks 
tie pin
giftcards
travel size Bath & Body lotions

What stocking stuffer ideas would you like to share? Any celebrations for the week?

Friday, December 4, 2015

Celebrate the small things




Celebrate the Small Things is a Friday blog hop where we share things, big or small, during that week. 






Celebrations...

**On the MS I've been rewriting, I know this one area isn't working, and I finally figured out what to do. It'll require changing one of the characters a bit, too, but I think it will help.

**Our tree is up! 


What celebrations do you have for the week?


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

L.G. Keltner guest post



I’d like to start by thanking Jackie for letting me stop by today!  Before I promote my book, I’d like to get you all in the Christmas mood by talking about exchanging gifts.

The gift exchange often comes in two parts.  The first part comes when you trade gifts by the Christmas tree, or over a glass of wine, or in any number of ways.  Sometimes you are genuinely excited about the gifts you’ve received.  Sometimes your reaction is more lukewarm, and sometimes you just have to wonder “Does this person know me at all?”

So, if you’ve gotten a gift that you just don’t need or want, what do you do?  Most of us don’t want to be rude.  You can simply say “thank you” and keep the gift, figuring that you may still find some use for it.  Or maybe you feel too guilty to do anything else.  Or perhaps you feel that exchanging the gift at the store is the best course of action.

Here is a list of things to consider before making the final decision of whether to keep or exchange the unwanted gift.

1.) Do you know anyone else who might appreciate the gift more than you?  If yes, you can consider re-gifting it to someone else.  Some people may consider this rude, but as long as you genuinely think they’ll like it, I say it’s acceptable.
2.) Will the person who gave you this gift take it personally if they learn that you exchanged it for something else?  Will they use their ninja skills or mafia ties to make you suffer for the insult?
3.) If the answer to the previous question is yes, what are the odds that they’ll notice the item they gave you is missing from your home?  Is it worth the risk of grievous bodily harm?
4.) What is the approximate monetary value of the gift you’d like to exchange?  This question is not meant to sound shallow.  It’s simply meant to determine whether anything you might be able to get instead would be worth the effort of standing in outrageously long lines and possibly offending the nunchuck-wielding gift-giver.

If you determine that it isn’t worth the effort of exchanging the item, then I recommend making the best of things.  This is a time of year to be grateful for what we have, and fretting too much over the hideous leggings someone bought you is kind of missing the point of things.

Now here’s a snippet from my novella Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family.

*     *     *

            Dealing with these types of situations is like preparing for battle.  Strategy and quick thinking are all that could save you.  No matter the position I took, I knew I’d get my share of hugs and all that, but the first child inevitably got the first hug.  The dreaded atomic hug, fueled by many months of absence, was the bone cruncher.  Sure, absence may make the heart grow fonder, but it also makes the arms grow stronger.  Trust me, I know from firsthand experience how uncomfortable it can be going through an entire Christmas celebration with aching ribs.  I was more than happy to let Tyler have that honor.
*     *     *


Title: Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family
Author: L.G. Keltner
Genre: Holiday/Humor
Length: 27,000
Cover Art: L.G. Keltner
Release Date: December 1, 2015


Blurb:

Dani Finklemeier has decided to write a self-help book about how to take over the world, but she’s not sure where to start.  After all, she’s only seventeen and looking for a better way to make money than babysitting.  She buys a self-help book that promises to teach her how to write a self-help book in the hope of getting the job done.

Not that it’ll be easy to get any work done this holiday season.  Her family is staying at the house for Christmas, and fights break out almost immediately.  Dani also has to deal with the fallout from an unexpected kiss with her best friend Seth and the feelings that go along with it.  On edge around her family and unsure how to interact with the one person she’s trusted with everything in the past, she can only take what inspiration she can from the crazy circumstances surrounding her and see what happens.

One way or another, it should be an interesting holiday.



Bio:
L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband.  Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six.  Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good. 

Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.

You can typically find L.G. lurking around her blog, on Twitter, or on her Facebook page.


Purchase Links:

Amazon-http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017NADK4C
Amazon UK-http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017NADK4C
Barnes & Noble-http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/self-help-101-or-lg-keltner/1122797603?ean=2940152405781
Kobo-https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/self-help-101-or-how-i-learned-to-take-over-the-world-through-tolerating-my-family
CreateSpace-https://www.createspace.com/5650324


Add it on Goodreads-https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27243175-self-help-101-or



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, November 20, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things and Express Yourself


Celebrate the Small Things is a Friday blog hop where we share things, big or small, during that week. 


Celebrations

***To celebrate our soon-to-be-graduates, Dani and I thought it'd be fun to take our sons, as well as our hubbies, to an "Escape Room." 
If you're not familiar with it, the best way to describe it is... it's the apocalypse, and you're locked in a room/s with only one hour to escape. You have to search for clues, solve riddles, find a cure, and work together to get out. Guess what? We got out with a minute to spare! Woot!  It was so much fun, and through doing this, we learned our strengths and the strengths of others. It was really cool to witness.

***Basketball:  Two of my sons had their first games of the season, my 12 year old as point guard and my 18 year old assistant coaching 8th graders. I'm so proud of them both! And bonus... both teams won!

***I'm rewriting/reworking one of my manuscripts, and it's difficult this time around, but I'm keeping at it, because I know this will make it better.


What celebrations would you like to share?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Express Yourself is the weekly blog hop where Dani @Entertaining Interests and I ask a question or discuss a topic for other bloggers to share and learn more about each other.

Nov 16-20: Share an item you adore, using a picture.


These make my heart happy: the pinch pots my four sons made, as well as the coffee container that holds my K-cups. :) 

Are there any items you treasure, that make you smile just by a simple glance?



Friday, November 13, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things


Celebrate the Small Things is a Friday blog hop where we share things, big or small, during that week. 


Celebrations... 

** My oldest son and I went on his first college visit. We met with an engineering prof and toured the engineering facilities, then two cross country runners gave us a tour of the campus and dorms, and we finished with having lunch with the cross country coach. I'm excited for my son's future, and all that is before him, but my heart breaks all the same.

** Dani and I took our littles to the coffee shop and on a shopping date. I'm so happy we got to hang out since our schedules have been crazy busy lately.

What celebrations do you have for the week?

Monday, November 9, 2015

Self-Help 101 Cover Reveal


It's cover reveal time for L.G. Keltner's Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family. Congrats, L.G. on the reveal and on making this a series!


Title: Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family
Author: L.G. Keltner
Genre: Holiday/Humor
Length: 27,000 words
Cover Art: L.G. Keltner
Release Date: December 1, 2015

Blurb:

Dani Finklemeier has decided to write a self-help book about how to take over the world, but she’s not sure where to start.  After all, she’s only seventeen and looking for a better way to make money than babysitting.  She buys a self-help book that promises to teach her how to write a self-help book in the hope of getting the job done.

Not that it’ll be easy to get any work done this holiday season.  Her family is staying at the house for Christmas, and fights break out almost immediately.  Dani also has to deal with the fallout from an unexpected kiss with her best friend Seth and the feelings that go along with it.  On edge around her family and unsure how to interact with the one person she’s trusted with everything in the past, she can only take what inspiration she can from the crazy circumstances surrounding her and see what happens.

One way or another, it should be an interesting holiday.


Bio:

L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband.  Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six.  Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good. 

Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.

You can typically find L.G. lurking around her blog, on Twitter, or on her Facebook page.


Pre-Order Links:


Add it on Goodreads

Friday, November 6, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things and Express Yourself



Celebrate the Small Things is a Friday blog hop where we share things we're grateful for during that week. 

Celebrating...

* My oldest son's senior pictures were ready to view. It was so hard to choose our favorites! 
* Set up a college visit for him for next week. 
* Our youngest was sick this past weekend and missed a day of school, but he is feeling tons better now!

                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Express Yourself is the weekly blog hop where Dani @Entertaining Interests and I ask a question or discuss a topic for other bloggers to share and learn more about each other.

Nov 2 - 6: What was a fave food to eat when you were a kid?

I LOVED peanut-butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. Also, I loved mustard. (Still do) And would put it on lots of things.



Friday, October 30, 2015

Celebrate the Small Things

To join Celebrate the Small Thingsvisit the Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week.  
 Lexa's amazing co-hosts are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog


Celebrations:  

**I finally tried Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa for the Keurig... it is yummy! Especially with tons of marshmallows. :)

**In the process of switching around the floral shop and redesigning the displays. So far, it's been freeing as well as refreshing to get rid of the "old" styles and regroup.

What celebrations do you have for the week?

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Spooktoberfest 2015: Bad Meets Evil



The 4th Annual Spooktoberfest was difficult. I didn't realize how hard this was until I worked on my own flash fiction piece.
So many koodos and shout-outs to you wonderful writers who did this challenge and joined in on the fun!




The challenge was to write a 400 max word flash fiction piece using the 13 required items below.



Bad Meets Evil


An usher handed Charlotte a program with a handwritten note on the front:
To the lady in the leather corset, you look stunning.
She glanced at the usher, but he shook his head and continued to hand out programs.
Charlotte scanned the audience for her admirer. No one stood out, except for the people next to her, eating popcorn and sipping coffee. She'd gobble down a mushy banana over that, any day.
On stage, two actors pretended to fish from a makeshift pier, complete with seaweed.
Charlotte locked eyes with Lawrence. Or, at least, that was his character’s name in the play. She browsed the pamphlet for his real name—Kole Kaldwell. Probably not his birth name, either. She aimed the note at him; her way of asking if he was the author.
He nodded and smiled.
The theater was Charlotte’s refuge from the outside world, the one place she could escape her demons. She didn’t want to taint this haven by hooking up with some stranger. She bolted from the theater and down the steps. The heel of her boot caught on her skirt, causing her to tumble forward.
Kole swooped in and saved her from eating cement.
“Aren’t you missing your play?” She adjusted his tie.
“It’s worth it.” He pulled her into an embrace. “You’re breathtaking.”
“So are you.” She removed a poison dart from a secret compartment in her corset and pricked his skin with it.
At the same time, tingles soared through her arm until it went numb. She looked at Kole’s hand, which held a sapphire tie-pin. In her own excitement, she hadn't felt the pierce from it.
Kole slid to the ground, like a discarded marionette, and Charlotte followed, landing on top. If she could’ve laughed, she would have. She’d finally met her match, her equal, but didn’t realize it until they both had paralyzed each other. It was comical, really.
Bats flew above, and a dog barked.
“What’d ya find, boy?”
She didn’t recognize the voice, and couldn’t see his face, but that didn’t matter. She was going to be saved. Her eyes grew heavy until they closed.
Charlotte awoke in a van, bound to Kole with Ace bandages. Bad Meets Evil by Eminem played on the radio.
“You two will make a wonderful addition to my collection.” The usher stared back at her through the rearview mirror.

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You can read other Spooktoberfest entries here by checking out the linky.

Monday, October 26, 2015

The Listing Hop


To celebrate eight years of blogging, Bish Denham hosts a blog hop revolving around one of my favorite things... LISTS! All you have to do is go HERE to sign up and grab the banner. Then make a list of whatever you want, share it on your blog, and hop around to other blogs.

Since Bish is celebrating 8 years of blogging, I thought it'd be fitting to do a list of 8. :)



8 retired or cancelled TV shows I miss:

Dracula 
Firefly 
Jericho 
Lost 
Moonlight 
My So-Called Life 
Spartacus 
Stalker 

You can check out other participants of The Listing Hop HERE
And if you like lists, Dani and I host a weekly blog hop called Fast Five Friday over at Cover Girls
Thanks for stopping by!