Where does the time go?

Another January has come to an end.

A dear friend, a long retired Marine, was called Home. His Commanding Officer, no doubt, assigned him a new mission on the other side of the veil that will challenge him. I don't think he'd be happy otherwise. I'm grateful I had the opportunity to know him. Semper Fi.

I've finished Christmas Lost, at last. It's off to the editor. I've started The Blessing Basket, novella #13 in the Holiday, USA series.

The weather has been in the 70s and 80s. Not typical January weather for us but not the first time either. In fact, it's happened often enough that I'm not surprised. It's usually followed by a nasty cold snap. All the plants will come out, acting like it's spring, and Mother Nature will say, "Fooled you!" It doesn't end well for the plants. Welcome to planet earth.

We're supposed to have a super blood blue moon, tonight. I hope I'm able to take a few pictures, though the moon will be a dot. I don't have the right camera for doing great shots of the moon.

I think I'm settling into some new routines. We'll see.

Follow Up 30 January

How'd I do?

Make sure Christmas Lost is finished and send to editor. ~ Done! Happy Dance!

Start The Blessing Basket ~ Started.

Walk ~ Done.

Physical therapy ~ Done.

Eat healthy ~ Done, pretty good.

Read ~ Done.

Sweep and dust ~ Done.

Give the battle to God ~ Done

Praise God in the storm ~ Done

Another busy day ahead.

Carpe Diem

What needs to be done, today?

Make sure Christmas Lost is finished and send to editor.

Start The Blessing Basket

Walk

Physical therapy

Eat healthy

Read

Give the battle to God

Praise God in the storm

Thank Goodness It's Sunday 400

~ Dear Friends

~ Amazing books

~ Yummy food

~ Little accomplishments

~ Beautiful sunsets

So close...

...the rest of one more scene to write...

Tomorrow is Chocolate Cake Day...

Are you ready?

Why not read a story that celebrates it?

Chocolate Cake for Two

Ready for the second novella in the series?

Welcome back to Holiday, USA, small town America, where nothing happens, except holidays... and maybe a little romance, if the hero and heroine trust God.

Freed, after being wrongly imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Henry Weaver needs a fresh start. The "Help Wanted" sign in the cupcake shop window couldn't possibly be the answer to his prayer.

Holiday Sweets, a specialty cupcake shop, is Annie Sweet's heritage. Everything would be perfect if only she could find competent help. An ultimatum demands Annie make a painful decision.

Choosing God is rarely the easy way, and sometimes the way to Happily Ever After appears impossible...

http://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Cake-Two-Holiday-USA-ebook/dp/B00HYLK0P8/ref=sr_1_1

REAL Week 443

REAL - Reduce stress Exercise Adequate sleep Lower caloric intake

What Navy SEALs are required to do to make it into BUD/S:

http://navyseal.s5.com/requirements.html

http://military-fitness.military.com/2013/01/the-spartan-300-workout-and-new-variations.html?ESRC=sm_fit.nl

Right up front: Never in a million years could I do what is required. However, I needed to start somewhere. Considering how fit the SEALs are, I figured it was a good place to start. So my SEAL puppy reps (SEALp) consist of girls' pushups, crunches, and flutter kicks, a SEAL training basic. I started with doing one of each.  Since my accident I haven't done these, but I'm working to add them back into my routine.

PT ~ Physical therapy

UB ~ Upper body exercises

SEALFit shared some good hints I want to learn and remember:

http://sealfit.com/sealfit-blog-how-to-build-durability/

19: 1/2-mile and short walks. Busy day.

20: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

21: Rest.

22: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

23: 1-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x2. Stretch.

24: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

25: 1-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x2. Stretch.

Jimmy Thomas is a business man, running a popular romance book cover site, a cover model, personal fitness trainer, and health advisor. Pictures: February 2012 and June 2012. Inspiration, at least to me:

TBR

6. Standing Tall (Willow Grove, Texas series Book 3) by Sharon Gillenwater historical Western Christian romance.

7. Make Your Bed ~ Little Things that can Change Your Life ...and Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) nonfiction. I don't make my bed every morning, but I always dress for the day, and six days a week I go for a walk. I'd like to read this regularly.

8. Angel for Hire by Justine Davis contemporary paranormal romance. There are a few steamy scenes. I'm not a huge fan of paranormal, however, I enjoyed the twist in this story. Justine is one of my favorite authors. Many of her characters, both males and females, are abuse survivors. She tells a good story.

9. Left Standing: The Miraculous Story of How Mason Wells's Faith Survived the Boston, Paris, and Brussels Terror Attacks by Mason Wells, Tyler Beddoes, and Billy Hallowell non-fiction. Remarkable.

10. Wicked Secrets by Justine Davis contemporary romance. This is steamier than most of her books, but it's also an earlier book. She tackled the difficult question of someone who didn't know what loved look like and the struggle between a previous vow and letting go... learning priorities when life changes.

Follow Up 23 Jan

How'd I do?

I have 2-1/2 scenes left to finish Christmas Lost. ~ A bit edited and a bit added

Walk ~ Done

Physical therapy ~ Done

Read ~ Done

Sweep and dust ~ Done

Eat healthier ~ Done

Give the battle to God

Praise God in the storm

It's going to be a busy day.

Carpe Diem...

What needs to be done, today?

I have 2-1/2 scenes left to finish Christmas Lost.

Walk

Physical therapy

Read

Sweep and dust

Eat healthier

Give the battle to God

Praise God in the storm

Thank Goodness It's Sunday 399

~ A little fall of rain

~ Books so good you want to read them again as soon as you finish

~ Music singing to your heart

~ Warm friendships

~ God peace and grace

Rethinking...

Somehow, I need to figure out how to reschedule my writing so it's a priority again. 

Remembering

I don't know why, but the memory of a dear friend who passed away a number of years ago is especially clear. I can hear and see her laugh in my mind. She always said, "My life is never boring." She taught me a lot about faith, grace, and a love for good food. We connected on that and other topics of shared interest. She introduced me to Greek lemon chicken soup. She'd been in a car accident a decade before we met. It caused her excruciating pain, and she kept going, helping others, endeavoring to live her life as normally as the pain would allow. Some days were torturous. We would make plans to go to lunch or dinner and she or I would cancel at the last minute. Neither of us took offense. We understood that we couldn't know in advance how we'd feel on any given day. We'd re-schedule and try again. We made plans more often than we carried them out. She had a gallows humor that matched my own, and we laughed a lot. All these years later, and I still miss her.

REAL Week 442

REAL - Reduce stress Exercise Adequate sleep Lower caloric intake

What Navy SEALs are required to do to make it into BUD/S:

http://navyseal.s5.com/requirements.html

http://military-fitness.military.com/2013/01/the-spartan-300-workout-and-new-variations.html?ESRC=sm_fit.nl

Right up front: Never in a million years could I do what is required. However, I needed to start somewhere. Considering how fit the SEALs are, I figured it was a good place to start. So my SEAL puppy reps (SEALp) consist of girls' pushups, crunches, and flutter kicks, a SEAL training basic. I started with doing one of each.  Since my accident I haven't done these, but I'm working to add them back into my routine.

PT ~ Physical therapy

UB ~ Upper body exercises

SEALFit shared some good hints I want to learn and remember:

http://sealfit.com/sealfit-blog-how-to-build-durability/

12: 1-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x2. Stretch.

13: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

14: Rest.

15: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

16: Overslept ~ no walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x2. Stretch.

17: 2-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x4. Stretch.

18: 1-mile walk. PT. UB. Used 1-lb weights x2. Stretch.

Jimmy Thomas is a business man, running a popular romance book cover site, a cover model, personal fitness trainer, and health advisor. Pictures: February 2012 and June 2012. Inspiration, at least to me: