M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 47

Goals for the Week Before Easter

Busy week ahead, but only 4 days at work!

Faculty meeting
Baseball game with the faculty (opening night at the Missions!)
Finish up Bluestone 3, format and put it up
Work on my danged cowboy. He'd be done if not for Pinterest.
Continue working on the house. I'm moving furniture from one room to another, and I want to take an old TV to school, but I can't do it myself.
Continue cooking. We only ate out once last week.
Big grocery trip, since the grocery store will be closed on Easter and Sunday is our shopping day. I know, I could go another day, but I like my routines, you know
Exercise. I did 4 days last week!
Make dessert and appetizers for Easter. Pinterest, of course!

 

Cover Reveal!

My third Bluestone book, Quinn and Lily's story, is about ready to go. I need a few more pages of revisions, and a reread, and to write a blurb and format it. But last night I got my cover and it's Perfect! Kim Van Meter is the artist for all three books and I couldn't be more pleased! What do you think?

The winner of Roxy Boroughs's Book IS…..

Jane Myers Perrine, commenter #17! Jane, you know where to find me. Let me know what format you'd like it in!

My Pinterest Hit List

 

I've tried several ideas from Pinterest now and I've found some definite hits.

For cleaning, I tried this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You mix a one-to-one ratio of vinegar (heated) and blue Dawn. Put it in a spray bottle and spray it in the shower, on soap scum. Not only does it work like damn, but it LASTS. The only downside is that it can make the floor slippery, so beware.

I cleaned out under my sink and organized my cleansers with a shoe organizer. It's in the garage, so out of the way and easy to keep track of what you have (I had three cans of Comet!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mostly I've tried recipes. Since the boy is on his vegetarian kick, most are meat-free.

This has been my breakfast the past week. It's SO EASY and SO FILLING. A quarter cup of oats, an egg, a tablespoon of milk, a bit of brown sugar and a handful of berries, microwave in a coffee cup for a minute to a minute and a half. Voila!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made these Sunday. They weren't crisp but they were GOOOOOD. Spread parchment paper on a cookie sheet, spray with canola oil, slice a zucchini, spray with more oil, sprinkle with sea salt. The baking temps and times are linked to the picture. I can't remember off-hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did the same with potatoes, just so I could make this avocado ranch dip. Follow the picture for the recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there's the frozen strawberry mojito. Mmmmmm. A can of limeade, 1/2  a can of vodka, fresh strawberries, muddled mint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avocado chicken salad. MAJOR yum. In fact, I may make this again tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one of my favorites. Baked potato soup. Amazing, really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What have you tried that you liked? There are so many OTHERS I'm dying to try, including some Easter art for next week.The boy's gone this weekend, so maybe I can cook CHICKEN

 

Introducing Indie Suspense Writer Donna Tunney!

Wow, look at that cover! Gorgeous! Donna and I also met on the Indie Romance group–great people, great information! This book just came out last month, and I'm DYING to read it!

Please comment for a chance to win a copy!

What was the inspiration for this book?

Loss is something we all have to deal with in life. My hero, Sam Hutchinson, is devastated by the murder of his eleven-year-old son. Amy Tesher, the heroine, lost most of her childhood caring for an addicted parent.

But Amy is a survivor and has fabricated a new past for herself and her own daughter, Renee. Unfortunately, the lies Amy tells to keep her secrets conflict with Sam's need to get to the truth behind his son's death. That and the fact Renee is able to communicate with the boy's ghost.

Throw in a serial killer who's stalking them all, and you've got the basic ingredients for my novella, A Stranger's Kiss, part of the Bandit Creek Books series.

2. What's next for you?

I'm releasing a prequel to this story called A Stranger's Touch. The hero and heroine of that tale team up to find her abducted child. That novel also has a touch of the paranormal—a ghost and a psychic.

3. When you're procrastinating, what do you do?

Anything but housework. My husband and I love to take off to the mountains. We enjoy the scenery, have lunch, nose around bookshops—it's the perfect date day for us.

I also spend a ridiculous amount of time on the phone. I talk to my eighty-eight-year-old mother twice a day. And if my girlfriend calls, that's easily an hour gone. Add emails, Facebook, and Twitter in and it's surprising I get anything done at all.

4. OMG, I hardly EVER talk on the phone! I cannot even imagine How many books in your TBR pile?

Hundreds! Next up is a book my husband gave me for Christmas, Touch by Alexi Zentner. And I can't wait for the new J. R. Ward book, Lover Reborn.

5. What's your biggest guilty pleasure?

I gave up guilt long ago. But cheese is definitely my naughty vice.

6. LOVE that attitude. So this next question shouldn't be hard! Name 3 of your favorite things.

A lovely meal, a glass of wine, and an evening curled up with my husband, watching a movie or reading a book.

7. Where can readers find you?

On Twitter , Facebook , and at my Website . There's also my Author Pages at Amazon and Smashwords .

The Ones That Will Stay Under the Bed

Okay, not literally, because I have a four-poster bed and it's high and you can see under the bed, so I don't keep anything under there. But I've been thinking about stories I invested so much time in back in the day, that are not salvageable.

For example, my zoo vet story. Not sure where the idea came from, maybe something I was watching with the boy when he was little, about rhinos and how they're endangered and how there are reproductive zoologists who help rhinos breed, and there's a sanctuary up north of here where people can go see the animals, and where vets work on breeding. Anyway. I worked on that story for a very long time. Three years, or so. It's a huge mess. There was a wicked fiancee and the heroine's history with the hero's boss and…huge mess.

There's the skateboarder single dad story, where he hires a nanny for his five kids or something crazy so he can go compete in skateboarding competitions. I will say my skateboarding descriptions were pretty accurate–we were going to a lot of skateboard parks at the time.

The single dad who falls in love with his boss's spoiled daughter. He was Jewish, she was a WASP, his wife had died…probably used every cliche in the book. It did final in a contest, though, for dialogue.

The older couple who gets married and their children fall in love. It was a novella, the hero was Air Force or something and against the marriage….I don't even think I have a copy of that anymore. It was in longhand, I know that much.

Books I would like to revisit?

The very first one I wrote, set in Texas near my folks' place. The heroine moves there to care for her grandmother, whose house has fallen into disrepair, and she falls for the carpenter. There were 6 main characters, and 2 didn't have a happy ending, but I loved that book.

The hostage negotiator and the mediator, a romantic suspense about a woman who's stuck in a hostage situation and helps the others stuck with her as the hero works on it from the outside. She's interviewed afterwards, though she tries to avoid it because she's been stalked in the past. Sure enough, her stalker sees her and she needs help from the police, so she goes to the only man she trusts, the negotiator.

The young single mom story that takes place in the neighborhood where I teach.

What books are hiding under your bed?

Movies

I've seen a lot of new release DVDs lately, since everything I was interested in seems to be coming out now. Some have been great, some not so much.

Let's start with Young Adult, the movie with Charlize Theron who returns to her hometown after getting a message from her former boyfriend that he was a new daddy. She was there to win him back. She's made nothing but bad choices in her life and she was a terrible person. The commercials showed it as a comedy but I found it very depressing, especially her relationship with the other guy she went to school with. The only reason I kept watching was because she was a writer. It was a one-star movie for me.

Then Dream House, the movie where Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz married in real life. It was not at all what I expected. I won't say more than that in case you want to see it, but I did not enjoy it.

I rented Footloose and watched it the last day of  Spring Break. Loved the music, but the hero was too much of a yankee for me, and the heroine was too slutty. I mean, come on, preacher daddy, don't let her wear those clothes, you're so worried about her.   I didn't care for the dancing much, either. So, meh.

I had The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo sitting on the counter for a week before I put it in. It was long and dark, but OMG so good. So tense, action from the beginning, a lot of characters and action. Five stars, absolutely.

I made Fred take me to see The Hunger Games Friday night. We went to a dinner/movie place close by, and I could hardly eat, I was so excited. Then I was on the edge of my seat, though I'd read the books and knew just what was going to happen. They did a fabulous job of staying close to the book. Now, Fred, who hadn't read the book, was less impressed. But definitely five stars.

What movies have you seen lately? Loved or hated or indifferent?

Goals for the First Week of State Testing

 

I have to give a test to a single student this week. Two days. I have to read the questions on the reading test to him, and all the math test. Then when he's done we just sit there until 12:15, at which time I go watch a Pre-K class so their aide can go to lunch. Then I get lunch and planning, then teach a 5th grade class. Don't you wish you were me? I do like actually knowing what I'm going to do, though. During the practice tests, I'd do one thing one day and another thing another day. Drove me nuts.

Monday we're having a pep rally to get the kids fired up. The theme is "Dancing with the STAARS" since the test is the "STAAR" test. The teachers perform for the kids. We practiced Friday and will practice again in the morning. So I'll miss about 3 classes tomorrow, and all but one on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This week I HAVE to get in a routine. I'll be home in the afternoons, though, so it should be better.

EXERCISE. This needs to be number one because I haven't done it officially in 2 weeks. I worked in the yard a lot over Spring Break, so I was moving, but not official exercise.
WRITE.
REVISE.
CLEAN THE DANGED HOUSE. Also cook more. I think I cooked once and Fred cooked once this week.
Survive testing with my sanity intact, since I cannot do ANYTHING for those 4 hours other than read the test to the kid. Even when he's done, I can't do ANYTHING.

Wish me luck!

Random Saturday

Hunger Games was amazing. A. Ma. Zing. Would go see it again in a heartbeat. And almost 2 years until the sequel??? They haven't even started filming yet!
My couches are just high enough that it's easy for my shoes to get kicked underneath. I found 2 pair of Crocs there this week.
Speaking of Crocs…they have a new style I want. I know, you're shocked. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been sunny all week. Why is it gloomy on my day off WHEN I CAN SIT BY THE WINDOW?
I haven't written since Monday. I wasn't home until late Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. My house is a disaster. (Witness the two pair of Crocs under the couch!)
A teacher and her class brought me a bouquet of flowers yesterday. They were studying plants and thought I'd like them. They're Indian Paintbrush, my favorite wildflower. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking about getting a Nook Tablet.
I'm also thinking about getting a jean jacket. So many of the outfits I see on Pinterest have cute little jean jackets. My jean jacket is a men's Wrangler's jacket. Warm, but not cute.
This is what I've been working on in my backyard. There is this little area that I haven't been able to get established in the 13 years I've lived here. Maybe this year… Have to keep the dog out of it, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supernatural is no longer in my top five favorite shows. This makes me very sad, especially after this season started so strong.
We're having a pep rally on Monday to fire the kids up for the state testing on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm running the music. Whoopie. We were practicing until 4 on Friday, because the person in charge wrote it Thursday. They wanted to practice Sunday, too. All I could think was, "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
The 5th grade is testing Reading and Math this week. Already. Usually they test it at the end of April. On one hand, the pressure's off early and you have 2 good months to teach (and get ready for the science test). But on the other hand…the kids are going to think they're DONE.

What's going on with you?

The Winner of Elysa Hendricks's book is….

Sorry for the late post–I've clearly lost my head. Anyway, it worked out well for Caffey, who posted this afternoon and thanks to Random.org is the winner! Caffey, let me know what format you'd like by emailing me at mfechter @ gmail. com!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!