J.J. Devine's Blog, page 22

So much to do so little time to do it...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Well the next few days are packed with so much to do and hopefully I get it all done. House cleaning, filling in the trenches at the daughter's house, shopping, cooking, and prepping for the secret project for me and the grandkids. 

​I will start this day by going to the bank after I take the grandchildren to school. Then help hubby fill in that trench at the daughter's house. After that I'm thinking we need to hit the store to get that out of the way :) Then a bit of housework and moving furniture to prepare for the Christmas tree and those festivities :)

​Then this evening I'll work on putting together things like baked beans, green bean bake, hubby's mom's homemade sausage stuffing, and prep the meats. 

​Tomorrow will consist of putting up the tree, getting my Christmas village placed, getting things ready for the young ones to make their stockings, and the works. 

​This is our little tradition with the kids and grandchildren. I love watching how their creativity grows from year to year with their homemade Christmas stockings. It is something I look forward to each year. I don't know what I'll do when they outgrow this little tradition LOL.

​Well I really should get busy. So much to do, so little time to do it...

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!









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It's my Friday!!!

Good morning, everyone!!!

​I made it through yesterday, but man did it wear me out. I had no idea how much until I was sitting here at the house and all of the sudden I couldn't keep my eyes open. I went in, sat down on the couch to watch some tv, and then woke up three hours later to three missed phone calls and a text or two. I must have slept hard.

I'm back up this morning to work truck day and then it's two days off for this old lady :) Then work a day and off again for two more before my nine day stretch kicks in :) 

​I used to be a late late night writer. Then a few years back I went back into the work force outside my home and worked the time of night I used to write. Well, ever since then, it has been hard to find another writing time I can make a habit. Basically, because my best writing always came between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. Then with NaNoWriMo last year and this year, I tried something a bit different, writing in the early mornings when I get up. It has really been helpful and does start my day off on the right foot :) 

​Yesterday I got in another 1k before I hit the shower. All through my shower my WIP was on my mind. Periodically, throughout the day yesterday the scene I was working on before I left was playing out in my head. It was refreshing and also a sign I just might be on the right track. I get up super early for work anyway so might as well use it to my advantage, right?!?

​This is pretty much that time of day when I am completely alone even when hubby is home. So why not put it to good use?

​I am feeling better each day, that is as long as I take my sinus meds. So that is a plus. I hope I caught this thing early enough to lick it before it beats me down.

​A friend at work over the weekend and I discussed the healing qualities of Salt Lamps and oil diffusers. I told her I'm a huge fan of the Salt Lamps. I've been using one in my home for several months and have found the healing qualities of those to be amazing. I definitely want at least two more for my home, one for the living room and one for the bedroom :) I also believe in the healing qualities of essential oils, however, you need to know exactly which oil you need for what ailment for those to do you any good. So my advice on that is to do your research.

​Salt Lamps, some people are skeptical while others swear by them. I personally, had no opinion on them when hubby got me one other than they were pretty. As time went on and I had this little lamp sitting on my kitchen table I started to notice a few things. I did have more energy, not right away, but as time went by. I know, not enough really to say, wow this thing works wonders. My blood pressure and anxiety all seemed to balance out, and for the last several months, I haven't needed either of those meds. My creativity has seemingly started coming much easier than it did before.

​Should you run out and get one? That's totally up to you. Don't expect them to be miracle cures. Because they aren't. Nothing is. I spend a good deal of time trying to maintain balance in my daily life. I listen to my body more so than I ever did before. If I'm tired, I lay down. If I'm sick, I take medicine. I take my daily vitamins and this time of year I bump up my Vitamin C to four tablets a day seeing as I work with the public. I take my thyroid pill as prescribed and get blood work done on a regular basis to ensure I am on the right dosage for my thyroid pill seeing as I have no thyroid. I meditate to help me balance. And yes, I love essential oils and my salt lamp :)

With any changes you make in your life, always do the research. Make sure what you add new to your daily life is something beneficial for you and your lifestyle.

Well I need to get some writing in...

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!




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Monday my Thursday...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​The official calendar may say Monday but it's my Thursday :) I ended up coming home yesterday after work and just resting. It did a LOT of good thankfully. I started some sinus meds to help kick this thing and this morning I woke up feeling a lot better than yesterday, thankfully.

​I don't have time to get sick, just sayin'...

​So today after work I will be texting my mom to see if they are home so I can go pick up my tables and my roaster from my sister's house. So hopefully I will still be feeling okay when I get off work today. I plan to take my meds with me and hopefully that will really put me on the mend by the end of the day.

​I almost called off yesterday, but decided I could push through it. I stayed behind most of my day, but I finished up and that was what mattered :) I even got in our cig, tobacco, and milk surveys :) I felt pretty good about that LOL.

​We have a busy week this week. Hubby should be home in the next few days. This will be the first time since October we've had time off together. Sure, my job doesn't keep me away from home like his does, however, since September we've been helping the daughter at her house getting repairs done and such. Then his schedule changed to the opposite week home. Then to top it off my schedule requires very early morning wake ups and when he's home he doesn't do very early bedtimes. So, it will be nice to actually be able to hang out together without too many demands on either of us this time home.

​Sure, we have tons of plans while he's home this time. Prepping for a dinner with the kids and grandkids. Putting up the Christmas tree and decorations, you know fun stuff. Then Friday night I have all the grandkids to begin our special project :) Which I still have to get prepped before Friday night, BUT, there'll be plenty of time for that this week :) It will be nice going back to my new normal schedule :) Where I have time off with hubby again :) Then have my weekend to get somethings done.

​A friend of mine and I also want to start going back down to Chesterfield on some Saturdays for evening services. I'm thinking closer to the beginning of the new year to start off 2018 on the right foot. I love going there and can't wait to walk the grounds again. It's so peaceful.

Well I guess I should get some writing in this morning before shower time.

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!








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Glad I went...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Yesterday felt super long but I'm glad I went to the annual Christmas party for our writing group. It was definitely a good time. 

​What's really cool is writers have their faces in a computer screen all the time, so when we do get together, well, it's real, we actually sit and converse versus our faces stuck in our phones or on a computer.

I guess this is what I miss most about the good ol' days. When people actually get together and just talk, face to face. 

​Of course we brainstormed a very cool writing project. As this idea takes a more solid form I will share the fun with you, but for now, I will just say it is a project like none we've ever done before. Something that will take a LOT of work, a lot of planning, and a lot of working together to get it right. Fortunately, we decided to take all of next year and release in the Fall of 2019 for this project. So, give us a little time to get the details ironed out and I will share this fun idea with all of you :)

​There is just so much to be said for actually talking to people, being present in the moment, and sharing those things you have in common. Writers may be very different on many levels, our personalities, our writings, our beliefs, but what we have in common is our imaginations. That was so evident yesterday, so clear that you could not help but smile.

​I found it refreshing and energizing even though I was about dead on my feet when I got home. I didn't get any writing in yesterday, but I figure since we plotted and jotted down the notes for a new book, then it was a writing win :)

​Today, is another early early day at the day job. However, I'm hoping to come home and get some writing in as well as get some of the housework tucked away for my up and coming week. I still have that laundry to do and I do need to run to my sister's house and grab a few things I left over there. So, I will probably call and see if they are home this afternoon and get that aspect done today. If not there's always tomorrow :)

​I'm starting to get a yukky runny nose, which I am fighting with everything I have. I hate sickness. So, I need to get that under control before it takes me under it's wing and gets me down. So today I really should rest a little more, but that's doubtful unless I really feel like hell when I get off work. We'll see what the day ahead of me holds.

​Well I really should sign off of here and get ready for this day.

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!







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It's time to what???

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Moments before I received my early early morning wake up call from hubby, Baby Bear decided he would give me his own wake up call. Oh mercy, nothing like a ninety pound dog jumping on you in the middle of your sleep. Needless to say, I woke up long enough to say, stop that and then the phone to ring right after.

​If waking me up isn't bad enough, he's full of himself this morning. One would think he's got an agenda, but his only agenda in my book is to be too energetic at 2:30 a.m. Doesn't he realize he's supposed to be sleeping at this time? Not pulling on his brother's ears or tugging on my pj sleeve trying to get one of us to play. 

​That stupid headache held on yesterday for a good bit of the day. It lessened but hung around even after I was home last evening. I did manage to hit up the local craft store for some Christmas shopping, which was on my list of things to do this paycheck. The lady who runs it she's just wonderful and her stuff is so cute. I will be hitting it up again next week for some more goodies :)

​I did manage to sit down and get another 1k in last evening on Unfinished Business. I needed a small break from my historical and just needed to write instead of edit :) It felt really really good, which also relaxed me enough to get in a good night's sleep and thankfully I awoke with headache all gone. :)

​Today is the CRWA Christmas Party. So as soon as I'm done at the day job I will come home, change, grab the goodies I bought for it, and take off. It's a little more than an hour to Fishers so that should put me there early enough to help out with some last minute things before everyone gets there :) 

​Then it's back home to hit the sack and start all over again tomorrow. Hopefully, tomorrow I will manage to get in a few more household chores as well as making a run to my sister's to grab my roaster and tables I left over there. I just need to get that done before next Wednesday/Thursday. The sooner the better though so I can mark that off my list of things to do for the week.

​Well, now that Baby Bear has slowed his roll I guess I should sign off of here and maybe get in a few new words on Unfinished Business before work.

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!







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December 01st, 2017

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Well I made it through November and as you can see I met my NaNoWriMo goal but I also made my personal goal as well. It felt amazing :) 

​I love when a story you're writing brings a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes. I love that moment when your heroine finally feels what she wants in life is obtainable and she'll stop at nothing to have it. When the odds are against her, but she fights like the devil and uses the experiences born and breed into her to do what is right.

​Now, all that is left to do is some hard core editing and I'll have Destiny's Price ready for publication. That is my next goal. Which I will begin work on that this afternoon after work. 

​The weekend is going to be a long one. I have work at 4 a.m. both days and a CRWA Christmas party on Saturday. Then we have the kids over next week for our big dinner and decorating the tree. So there is a lot to get done before we do that :) Moving furniture, getting my bedroom organized because frankly it has been awhile since I've done that. Then there's more shopping to get done, which I have already planned to do most of my shopping for gifts this year through local businesses, so that is a plus. 

​I'm nursing a migraine today. Not fun for sure. But, oh well, it is what it is. It hurts just to have my eyes open today. I knew it would happen seeing as I allowed so much negativity to overwhelm me yesterday and then before bed it exploded into that point where you just shake your head and say, "Piss on it." Where your words get misunderstood and your surrounded by those who just don't realize how much their negative attitudes bogged down someone else. Then when you say something about it, well, then it gets turned around completely and somehow the blame goes back on you, so I'm pretty sure the attitudes I'm dealing with won't change. So, guess who again just has to accept this and move through it, when all I want to do is embrace my happy day.

​It makes me feel like what I'm trying to do doesn't really mean shit. That my passions only mean something to me. Which does take its toll from time to time. Yesterday being one of those days where it took it's toll and I'm trying desperately to let it go and just let things flow. However, with this effort does come the headache. Because of the powerful pull of negativity and the desperate need to hold on to the positive, well, it gives me a migraine to say the least.

​Oh well, life is life. I will pull out of this funk. I always do.

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!






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Last Day...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Well it's the last day of NaNoWriMo and also my last day off until next Wednesday. Sadly, I didn't get any writing in yesterday, but this morning there is nothing stopping me from getting things going as soon as the youngest son takes the kids to school. Hopefully, Miss Zoe sleeps for at least an hour after they all head out, so I can get in a good start that will last me until her naptime :)

​I did manage to get all my shopping in yesterday, which took me much longer than I expected. It was almost noon by the time I got back home. I'm pretty sure the time zappers stole some time from me, but of course I can't prove it. I did pick up most of our big dinner goodies for next week. I still need a few items but for the most part it is here and ready for cooking. 

​The grandchildren and I have a secret present we're making for their parents. So I grabbed the supplies for it as well yesterday :) I'm so excited to start this project with them. It's something we've been planning to do since July. Sorry I won't be able to post pics of our secret present until after Christmas, because we don't want their parents seeing what we have in store for them. However, I will say this, I'm starting my part of it today :)

​All that is left housework wise is some laundry and clean the bathroom. Yeah, fun fun. Oh yeah, and finish grabbing a few things out of the camper before hubby gets home this week to shut it down completely for winter. I was also planning to blow some leaves to the curb, but they are calling for rain today so we'll see if that gets done. I thought that would be something fun for Miss Zoe and I to do, but not in the rain LOL.

​It's strange how I don't feel rushed today even though NaNoWriMo ends today. Maybe it is because I know I've already hit my 50k and the rest is icing on the cake. Or maybe it is because I feel pretty confident I can have those last chapters done by the end of this evening. Not real sure what it is, but I feel very peaceful about this whole thing. Strange I know, but it has been a long time since I felt this confident about my writing. I guess I needed this month to make this happen. At least that is what I've told myself anyway, LOL.

​Well it is almost time to get the older grandkids up for school so I guess I should get busy.

​Everyone have a lovely day!!!

​Blessings to all!!!









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It's my day off...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Ahhhhh, my day off. Well, it's my day off from the day job anyway. Let's just say I have so much to do around this place besides getting in more work on my WIP that I'm pretty sure I'd rather be at the day job.

​I'm taking two of the grandchildren to school here in about an hour and a half, then heading over to the bank to wait on it to open. Why, you ask, well, let's just say if I come back inside this house before I'm finished with my errands, I'm pretty sure those errands will get pushed further and further back until I'm rushing around like a crazy woman to get them done before Miss Zoe gets here this evening. So, the game plan is to get everything outside this house done first thing this morning. That way it is done and out of the way :)

​Then it will be back home to alternate writing and cleaning the rest of the day. This NaNoWriMo month has taken a toll of the housework area of my life, but hey, it's NaNoWriMo, and not that many people stop by so who's going to see it, right?!?

​I am at like 55k on my NaNoWriMo project, however, I still have four chapters to meet my own personal goal by tomorrow night. So, I won't be posting my totals on the NaNoWriMo site until I meet my personal goal or I run out of time this month. I really really really want to meet my personal goal, so, that's my goal for these next two days off in between house cleaning and playing with Miss Zoe.

​Hubby and I are planning a family dinner next week on my days off to put up the Christmas tree and let the kids do Christmas stockings :) So I need to pick up a few things for that today as well :) I think this is one of my favorite traditions we do with the grandkids. I love seeing how much they change over the years when decorating their stockings for grandma and grandpa's mantle :)

​So yes, it may be a day off but really it is just a day off from the day job. Life still calls my name and I have so many plans for today and getting things done. My main objective is still NaNoWriMo and meeting my personal goal of finishing this story. The other stuff is just icing on the cake :)

Well I better get ready to get ready...

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!






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Open letter...

This open letter is to the young mother who walked into my store yesterday morning, the two or three year old sucking her thumb, barely wake, standing at your side, a baby in an infant carrier, handle tucked snuggly in the fold of your arm. You're doing a great job!!!

​I see a lot of people come and go from our store. But your weathered look, your messy bun, the determined look on your face to just get things done. Even the weak smile on your face as we interacted told so much. You're tired. It was easy to see. Yet, here you are, at 7 a.m. doing what you needed to do for you and your children.

​That cup of coffee, intended to get you through the first few hours of your day, will probably only get you through the first hour. However, let me tell you what I saw...

​Sure, you were tired. Yet, your children were clean all the way down to the clothes your little girl wore and the blankets covering your little one. Your little girl's curly hair, neatly in a ponytail, that's work for anyone who knows how unruly curly hair can be. But you had her hair so cute and tidy, just like a loving caring mom would do. I give you kudos because I know how hard it is to get a two or three year old to sit still long enough to get a makeshift ponytail in, but hers was to perfection, showing you have patience and stamina.

​I don't know how your night before was, but from the looks of it, sleep was few and far between for you. Yet, there you were, running errands and picking up a few items to help start your day. Both children in tow. Not leaving them in the car while you ran in to grab these few little items, but both at your side. Commendable to say the least.

​Your visit to my store had an impact on me. I wanted to tell you so much, this too shall pass. Before you know it, you won't look so tired. This time will be nothing more than a memory. You're doing a great job, don't let this time make you think otherwise.

​I know it's hard to smile, a feature I'm sure looks lovely on you, however, smiles don't come so easy when your a busy mom taking care of two wee ones. I just want you to know, let your little ones see that smile, it will be something they will remember for years to come. 

​You're doing a good job. I'm sure by the appearance of how well groomed your little ones were, you spend time and make effort when caring for your children. This is building a bond between you and them, even though you probably think, you are just doing your job as a mother. You are teaching them they can count on you for more than just their care, but their emotional needs as well. Don't second guess yourself, because this time in your life is so important. The relationships between you and those lovely children is the most important aspect in life right now.

​This time will be over in the blink of an eye. That lovely little girl of yours will need the example you're setting one day, and the example you're setting is a good one. All too many young ones her age come into our store and are wild and wooly. Not your daughter. She was well behaved, telling me you have instilled in her discipline. She stayed at your side throughout the store. Showing me you have instilled her trust in you. 

​I know you're tired. It showed on every aspect of your being yesterday morning. I can only remember what having children that age was like. See, mine are all grown now, two with children of their own. But, in my memories I remember days like yours yesterday. Where getting them ready to go out into the day, taking as little time on myself as possible, while insuring mine were in matching clean clothes, their faces washed, and their hair combed. 

​I remember how exhausting a day with little ones can be and the sleepless nights that go along with early parenthood. These are the times I look back on fondly, believe it or not. These are the times as a mother, you thrive. Sure, it doesn't seem like it right now, but one day, one day...

​I just wanted to let you know, you're doing a good job and to tell you treasure this time because soon you'll get enough sleep, more than enough sleep. You'll look around at your home, now more empty than filled most days, and remember those times when your children were young. You'll look forward to the days grandchildren come over for you to love and hold. You will smile when you recognize your children in their children and your heart will explode with the love it feels inside.

​You will smile when you look at your grown children and know you had a hand in who they've become. The kind of parent they are to their children. Yes, it will be all worth the sleepless nights and early mornings. I promise.

You're doing a good job!!!

​Much love and respect from a grandmother.





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The Pressure Is On...

Good morning, everyone!!!

​Oh my the pressure is on for certain. 4k to go and 4 days to do it in. Two of these said days I am also working my normal 8 hour days at the day job. All month, I've been putting in at least 8 hours a day at the day job five days a week (or more) and then spending another 7 to 8 hours a day at the keyboard. You know what? I'm loving every minute of it. I'm super hopeful I hold onto this momentum after NaNoWriMo is over. 

​Every day before work I spend at least an hour working on my WIP, then I come home and spend seven or eight hours more working on it. I've had a few days here and there where it has been hard to transition from my WIP to reality. Having to think about what I'm doing and who I am with great effort, LOL.

​It's all good though, I don't mind having writer brain, because that is where I feel most comfortable in this life. Moving forward with a WIP is exciting. Leaving off before a long work day at the day job, with characters stuck in some unusual situation, makes getting back to it easier. Just like the other day when my heroine was somewhere out there in a snowstorm and my hero was frantically trying to find her to no avail. This caused irritation in my hero, which in turn caused a huge fight with one of his brothers. 

​I think this is one reason I enjoy writing series books. You get to know the characters, even the side characters, so well, that their personalities get to clash from time to time. One side character in particular is clashing with my hero more times than not in this WIP and it makes for that time bomb pressure between the two. That my readers, is the fun of writing this particular WIP :) Okay, that and the growth that comes from the life my heroine has lead before her story begins. 

​It's exciting to see her grow from victim to survivor in the pages of one book. In reality, it takes much longer, but I don't have that sort of time in a novel :) So, her progress is quicker than reality, but just as dynamic as reality :)

​I love character growth in a story. That's why I started The Acceptance Series. Someone in my novel needs to grow, whether it be the heroine or the hero, or both, which is normally what needs to happen.

​It's not so different from life, really. We are only happy if we are growing inwardly in our life. If we are standing still, no forward motion in our personal inner growth, we tend to become agitated and stagnant. The same goes for characters we read about, they need to be pushing the mark in some way to grow internally, to become who they are to be. So do we in the real world.

​We need to weed our patch regularly, so to speak. To weed out what is not working any longer, even though it may have worked tried and true for many years. Things change and we need to be flexible enough to change with it. 

​For so long I felt stagnant. As if my imagination had left me. As if I were sitting still in the midst of so much movement. Like standing in the middle of a tornado, the winds blowing all around me, but not a single hair on my head was moving. The desire to flow was there, but the ambition was somewhere lost in the winds. 

​I feel this all returning to me. The hopes, the dreams, the inner encouragement that started this path, is all reforming around my heart and soul. This time bringing with it a fresh new look and drive that is impossible to ignore. Perfect timing I say, with the winter months coming upon us and the time I will have alone with only my imagination.

​What else I feel returning is the emotional realm that comes with writing. Emotions I recently wanted to stamp out, I realize now I need to be the writer I am. How can one connect with deep emotions in characters if they hide from it in their reality? 

​Well I guess I should get some writing in before I head out to the day job.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!









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