Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 78

Friday Five

TGIF! Let’s go right to sharing five random things about out week:

Today is 9/11, the anniversary of the horrible terrorist attack that killed so many innocent people in the U.S. I will always be grateful to the first responders and civilian heroes who worked so hard to help those who survived, and take respectful care of those we lost. I went to the ground zero in New York a year after the attacks and will never forget how errie and surreal it was. And I’ll just mention while I had the opportunity to pay my respects in New York, I don’t forget the people that lost their lives in at the Pentagon or the field in Pennsylvania.
In a more cheerful note: I have baby bell peppers and tomatoes growing!  I didn’t take pictures because it’s awful outside.
By awful, I mean the smoke from all the fires in CA hang like a gloom that blocks the sun. We are not close to the fires here, that’s how bad it is. It’s not just CA, the whole West Coast is battling raging fires. Here’s a picture from walking Maggie the other morning about 6:45 am. Normally, it would be bright and clear, and I’d need sunglasses to walk toward the sun like this. It’s gotten worse in the last couple days. Everyone is feeling the effect of so much smoke, and I have a scratchy throat and burning eyes, which is not fun with contracts. Much worse, firefighters have been injured, there’ve been some deaths too. And it’s all so sad.
I’m 3/4s of the way into the book revision and have cut well over 50 pages from the first half. I have one more plot problem to figure out how to fix, and the rest is clean up. Another week to get that done I think. Then I’ll have to go through and edit because I’ve made so many changes and moved stuff around. After that, I’ll arrange copyediting.  I’m doing this, and so happy.
The plan is to see Turbo tomorrow! With the fires, plans are subject to change, but that’s the plan while writing this.

Now I’d love to hear five random things about your week! I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Wednesday Cowboy

Sometimes Wednesday needs a cowboy:

Yea or Nay?

Weekend Round Up

Happy Labor Day to everyone in the U.S.

Our weekend was HOT. It’s a blazing 115 degrees as I’m writing this on Sunday. No fires near us, but there are major fires throughout the state. One of my kids had to cut a weekend trip short due to a fire, but they are safe (and very wise).

I got through a big scene that’s the midpoint in the book revision, and feeling good. Lots more hard work to do but I’m on track now, and determined not to get derailed again. Discipline is as important as creativity in the writing process.

And I made my first ever key lime pie: Here it is cooling before I put it in the fridge to set:

So that was my weekend, how was yours?

Friday Five

TGIF! Time to share five random things about our week:

I was so convinced yesterday was Friday, I almost forgot to write this blog.
On Monday I was baking and prepping dinner for daughter in law’s birthday, so I didn’t try to write. Instead, I handled time consuming crap I’d set aside. Stuff like filing for a VAT exemption as a US citizen from the IRS for my German publisher, and that department of the IRS is currently closed due to Covid. It’s a hamster wheel of endless fun right there, LOL. I also handled a time-consuming request from another publisher.  I was thrilled to get that stuff off my desk.
I’m finally on task with revisions. Happy Dance! I refuse to fret about all the wasted time trying to figure things out as it’s all part of retraining my writing, revising, editing and marketing muscles. My motto now is to Believe and Keep Going!
Yesterday I did an upper GI x-ray series doctors have been after me to do for years. More progress in my exciting life I’m not having any sudden, new or worrisome symptoms, this is just sort of the medical housekeeping item given my history with stomach issues. The worst part was drinking a version of foaming alka seltzer that tasted like lemon flavored battery acid, chased my some thick goopy vanilla stuff. The two best parts were (1) having great technicians that helped me contort like a pretzel while drinking that stuff; and (2) that I can sign in and see all the images on my computer. And yes, I’m weird.
Turbo will be gone this weekend He’ll have a great time with his parents and cousins, but I’ll miss him. It’ll be two weeks without seeing him. However I’m planning his next chocolate surprise when I do see him (which I already told his dad, who laughed). The upside of not seeing Turbo this weekend is I’ll get more revising done.

That’s my quick and borning Friday Five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend, and for those with a three-day holiday weekend, stay safe and enjoy!!

Witchy Wednesday

Yesterday, I went back to working on revisions, and I finally got it through my head to stop trying to reinvent the book. Logically, I knew this all along, but I couldn’t get my inner perfectionist witch to stop obsessing.

So I dropped a house on the witch and killed her

Okay, not really. I drowned her in wine.

Well I would have if I didn’t have the pesky habit of stopping after one glass, or in rare cases, two glasses.

Instead we compromised, I promised her she could work on the problem at the end of the book because that’s a pure plot issue and she’s good at those. But this pacing problem in the first half is pretty much grunt work, and a little bit of shifting internal motivation, and I got that. We struck a deal, and the witch is leaving me alone and slice, dice and revise. I’m stoked and refuse to let that perfectionist witch get in my way again until I need her to solve plot problems.

I’m easily a third into the revision now and doing this!

And shifting focus slightly, yesterday I saw a meme on FB and shamelessly stole it.

I’m choosing to be Witch #2. How about you?

Weekend Roundup

I lost Saturday to an unscheduled visit by evil stomach trolls. Let’s move onto happier subjects. Sunday I did a few things to get ready for Youngest and Daugher-in-law coming over for dinner to celebrate her birthday tonight. Overall, dinner should be simple enough to make. But, of course, I’m making her a cake. The problem is Youngest Son can’t eat the cake. So as I was getting ready to run to the store, I had this conversation with Wizard:

Wizard: “You’re not making two desserts. Youngest is a grown man, he will be fine if he can’t eat the cake.”

Witch: “What? I’m sorry I didn’t catch that.”

Wizard: Repeats himself.

Witch shaking my head: “Maybe speak slower? I’m not following your point.”

Wizard TELLS ME AGAIN SLOWLY AND IN MORE DETAIL.

Witch: “Huh, I think we have a communication problem, can you try another language?”

Wizard switched to sign language, but um, I can’t repeat what he said Then I did what I was going to do anyway, I made Youngest his special cookies. And today I’ll make a cake that I hope daughter-in-law likes. Then they can take cookies and cake home with them.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

UPDATE: As I was writing this blog Sunday afternoon, Wizard was in the kitchen eating some of the cookies he didn’t want me to make

Friday Five

TGIF. I really hope all those in the path of Hurricane Laura are safe.

Okay onto sharing five random things about our week.

Insomnia sucks.
I’m writing, deleting, rearranging scenes and generally crazed, which insomnia feeds on like a hungry vampire. But mulish plots, stubborn insomnia nor hungry vampires are gonna stop me. Hmm…vampires, what if I had a vampire sweep through the book and kill them all???? Tempting, so tempting!
So last week when we were at oldest sons with the family, the conversation turned to Costco. I know, boring, but it made sense as Special K had bought the meat for carne asada at Costco and middle son and his wife are Foodies and anyhow, I digress. In the midst of this fascinating conversation, Oldest yells form across the table, “Hey mom do you like that Costco cereal I told you to try?” And I’m like. “OMG Yes! And I’m not buying it anymore. Not ever. It’s like crack and and I eat too much of it.” I was dead serious, I LOVE this granola cereal. Oldest son says, “but it’s healthy. Eat it, mom.” And I still said no because it’s expensive which hurts my cheap little heart. So the very next day, Wizard runs to Costco and buys the EXACT CEREAL I just swore I would not buy again. He sets it on my desk and said, “Witch, you like this cereal, so I bought it.” Then he walked away.  Turns out, he took a picture of the box and went to the store just to buy the cereal he overheard me say I like too much to have in the house.
Two neighbors have had their A/C’s replaced in the last few weeks, while ours continues to work fine. We’re cautiously happy, although we’ve technically set aside $$ to get a new one if needed. We had intended to do it right when Covid happened and now we’re figuring why mess with success?
I need to order Maggie new dog tags, but I can never remember to do it. I blame Revision Brain. Also, if’ I’d quit trying to reinvent the wheel, I could actually make the revision work instead of trying to write the great American novel, and then I’d remember to order Maggie dog tags and NOT try to put coffee in her dog food.

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope you have a great weekend!

Maggie’s Almost Big Huge Awful Disastrous Day Story

This is me, Maggie, when my mom came close to making my dinner all wrong. I know, it was almost a big huge awful disastrous day! I’ll tell you all about it.

First, you need to know the right way to make my dinner: Mom is supposed to put dry food in first, then add wet food, and mash it all up until it’s yummy goodness.

So yesterday, after I reminded my mom it was time to eat, several times!, she got up from the computer.

First she put in the dry food and everything was going fine.

Then she tried to put in this:

Can you even believe it????? I almost had COFFEE in my DINNER!! The horror!

Luckily, Mom woke up and smelled the coffee just in time! Hahahaha, I’m so funny! Anyhow, she made my food super yummy and I ate it all!

That’s my almost disastrous day story. I hope you all liked it!

 

Weekend Roundup

Friday I made the red velvet cupcakes and took them over to CPA Boy, Special K and Turbo’s house. Middle Son and his wife came too. Special K made awesome carne asada tacos and we had a great evening.

Then we brought out the cupcakes. Turbo took his cupcake apart, then walked up to me sad-faced. “Grandma, do you have chocolate?”

Do I have chocolate? Bwhahaha! I whipped these out:

Turbo was a very happy little boy while everyone else made fun of the crazy grandma who spent hours making those chocolate for a 2-year-old. Special K asked me if I was going to whip a package of M&Ms out of my grandma purse like I did last time I was over. I cracked up. Honestly, they are such good sports and I run everything by them before I give Turbo anything. Although later in the evening, Turbo was asking me for more chocolate, and Mommy jumped in to get Turbo a healthy snack. She didn’t trust grandma alone in the kitchen with Turbo and the chocolates he desperately wanted.

Wizard later sulked because I didn’t bring any chocolates home (I would eat them all!). And he’s plotting how he can win more Turbo points away from Grandma. Little does he know I’m already looking for truck molds for chocolate since Turbo loves trucks

Otherwise, I spent the weekend in the mud pit with my characters. The rumors that I held their faces in the mud until they agreed to cooperate are grossly exaggerated. Probably.

And a brag moment because I’m so happy for him. Wizard has been going to an outdoor, covid-safe RC Car racing place. Sunday he raced in the expert class, which is the class with professional racers, for the first time, and he placed really high. I am super jazzed for him!  Go Wizard!

How was your weekend?

Friday Five

TGIF! Time to share five random things about our week:

The book and I are in a duel. I just cut two scenes. One is useless so no loss there, the other one I think is more important but not in the right place…or something. I’m letting the voices in my head argue about it while I work on the next scene   And drink wine.
I don’t remember much about this week. Probably because this revision has confused and confounded my brain cells into mush.
I hit my elbow funny bone on a cupboard the other night. The shock of pain was so stunning, I danced around the kitchen, unable to say anything. It was swelling so fast, both Wizard and I were like: Is it even possible to break an elbow putting away a wine glass? Long story short, after 30 minutes of ice and elevation, it dramatically improved and we breathed a sigh of relief. A day later, it’s just another bruise in my collection. The moral of this story is don’t hit your funny bone that hard. Trust me. But if you do, drink more wine first and you won’t care
The heat and humidity are brual, and fires are burning all over California. We are fine, but I worry for all the firefighters and people who are in the path of the flames. In case anyone is wondering, lightning has caused a lot of these fires. Weather and the terrain feeds them, and make them both difficult and dangerous to fight.
Today I’m making Copycat Nothing Bundt Red Velvet Cake cupcakes to take over to CPA Boy’s house for dinner. I’ve made them before and they turned out good, so hopefully they will again. I also bought ingredients to make bread, but it’s too hot to do that right now. I’ll bake these cupcakes early in the morning.

This weekend I’ll yell at the book and drink more wine. And try hard NOT to hit my funny bone. Now I’d love to hear five random things about your week! Hope everyone has a great weekend!