Sourdough Starter Pancakes

Hey guys! Happy Monday. :) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Hubby is due home this week so I am super swamped trying to get my to-do list whittled down. I thought I'd give ya a link to a recipe I found for So
urdough Pancakes. You can make these from the recipe I gave you for the sourdough starter. Have fun!

Sourdough Pancakes

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

1 c sourdough starter
2 Tb vegetable oil
1 egg
2 Tb sugar
3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Step 1
Pour one cup of sourdough starter, or sponge, into a clean mixing bowl.

Step 2
Stir in two tablespoons of vegetable cooking oil.

Step 3
Add one egg and two tablespoons of sugar. Mix well.

Step 4
Stir in ¾ cup of flour. If you want pancakes that are more “sour”, see the tip below.

Step 5
Dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a tablespoon of warm water.

Step 6
Right before you are ready to cook the pancakes, add the baking soda mixture to your sourdough pancake batter. Gently fold it in.

Step 7
Let your sourdough pancake batter sit for a few minutes, while it foams and rises in the bowl. This is a good time to prepare any bacon or sausage you are having with your pancakes.

Step 8
Heat your griddle or pan until it is fairly hot, grease it, and pour ¼ to ½ cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake. Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

State Fair = Rain

It's that time of year. I've always loved the beginning of the school year because it means the start of college football!! Go Sooners!! I can sigh with relief when the kiddos are occupied more often with homework, activities, and renewed friendships. But it also signals the start of the Oklahoma State Fair. We used to take the boys when they were little but we're old and grouchy now. The boys stopped enjoying the looooooong lines. It stops being fun when they figure out the rides last 2 minutes and we have to stand in line for 20. And it rains. Every year. It has become a standing joke that you know when the fair is in town because we have rain. Every day. And this year is no different.

Normally I would LOVE the rain. I hate driving in it because of the way people drive, but I love the smell. The cool air it brings with it. I enjoy spending time out on the patio because everything seems refreshed and clean. But this year...hubby has to monkey around on the top of water towers. They can't climb and weld when it rains. No work - no pay. At this point the rain is causing delays in the crew completing a tank. They plan to be home by next Tuesday. Oh well. So life goes on. We often have to make adjustments in our lives for the unexpected.

Which makes me think of my writing. How many times have you had a story idea play out in your head...but when you began putting it on paper, it doesn't work for whatever reason. Maybe the conflict can't be sustained to the end. Maybe one of your characters doesn't have believable motivation. Do you roll with the punches and revise? Or make adjustments?

I haven't had the misfortune of having to scrap a story yet. I have had a crit partner who has. Sometimes it's easier to just move on. You can't submit an unwritten story. I do have two manuscripts that I've put away. I love the storyline, the characters, but for various reasons I'm at a standstill on them. But we push on. Do we need a good kick in the buttocks for inspiration? I often do.

I got one the other day. Awhile back I was clicking around the blogosphere within my writing buddies circle and was fortunate to find Jody Hedlund. She usually has such informative and interesting posts, and I was thrilled for her recently when she announced she'd signed with an agent. But wow. WOW. She can now add published author to her name!! Congrats to Jody for being offered a three book contract with Bethany House Publishers. Doing the Snoopy dance for ya girl!!

What wonderful inspiration to those of us on the journey with her. And a good kick in the hiney to get busy. I've got two WIP's as we speak. My first manuscript was a series contemporary targeting Harlequin Superromance. I received a rejection on a partial with some really great editorial suggestions on how to strengthen the heroine's internal conflict. I had placed third in a contest and was recently encouraged to send the revised first chapter to another contest for feedback. The assistant editor suggested I resubmit...we'll see if I can fix it. The other WIP is a historical, and a huge challenge for me. I'm having "issues" as to how to begin the story. But that's another blog post. ;) The trouble is finding time to work on them.

I thought I would post my recipe for the Sourdough Starter. Erin...I forgot that I have your old email addy and it kicked it back to me. So here ya go...

Sourdough Starter

1 ½ ounces fresh compressed yeast
3 cups warm water
1 ounce granulated sugar
1 pound 8 ounces unbleached flour (I use bread flour)

In a plastic container with a large opening so your starter can expand with each feeding, dissolve yeast in the water and add sugar. Stir in the flour using a wooden spoon, until you have a smooth paste. Make sure the container is pretty large. I use a gallon size freezer bag and put it inside of a plastic bowl to keep it from falling over. After I add ingredients I can pull the bag out and squeeze the bag to mix the contents.

Cover loosely to allow gases to escape (I leave a corner of the plastic bag open) and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 2 to 3 days. The mixture should bubble and give off a sour odor. Stir down the starter once a day during this time and make sure to stir in any crust that’s formed. After this point, store the starter in the fridge.

The starter needs to be fed every 10 days, otherwise it will die. Add half as much flour and water as the original recipe if you aren’t using the starter regularly. Use less if you’re actually using your started regularly. Stir in the flour and water and keep refrigerated.

And he's gone...

The hubster is officially out of the building. The first item on my to-do list was to try out several new recipes for bread. I put together a sour dough starter for future loaves, and have dough rising for a loaf of foccacia. I've also pulled out the ingredients for chocolate gooey butter cookies. The turtle brownies for hubby's birthday didn't last long. I think for dinner tonight we'll have beef and rice. I usually make 1/2 pound burgers and cook until medium. In the same pan, I add butter and sautee finely chopped sweet onions, garlic, and italian seasonings. Add flour until the butter/oil makes a paste and add heavy cream until it becomes a gravy. I make a cilantro rice and lay the beef patties on the rice and cover with the gravy.

I guess I'll have to quit playing on the computer so I can clean the carpets in the kitchen. Hopefully it won't wipe me out because I need to get little man's schoolwork done and try to make some headway with the restaurant business plan. It doesn't look like I'll have the time to work on my chapter until tonight. Maybe since hubster is gone...I can get little man in bed early. Keep your fingers crossed. ;)

Back to Chaos

If I've learned one thing from traveling with hubby to his jobsites, it's that I was on VACATION. I hate the driving and living out of a suitcase, but I have to actually work at home.

I am glad to be home though and sleeping in my big bed. The weekend was spent getting things back to our normal, chaotic schedule. And...little man had a running virus. We had to run back and forth with him to the bathroom all weekend. *sigh* Sorry if that was TMI. LOL...He's getting really cranky with me today because I'm forcing liquids down him. No other symptoms...just an upset stomach. My hands are raw from the constant washing. I do not want his running virus. ;)

I found the architectural drawings my mom originally had drawn up for the building that we're wanting to use for the restaurant. And it doesn't look good. My mom and aunt had some incredible ideas for what they wanted to do...but we won't need a back lobby because I can't handle patio seating right now. And they wanted to add a drop ceiling. Not only is it expensive and complicated...but I LOVE the high, old tin ceilings. I think we can live with the kitchen set up. It's larger than what we need or planned on having. But at least we won't need to expand when we blow up the town and become a huge overnight success. :)

I haven't had a chance to work out my actual logline yet for my historical. Hubby leaves out again in the morning to go back to work. His boss is thinking that they'll be back in Oklahoma by next week. Hopefully I can get little man busy working on schoolwork tomorrow and spend a little time on my logline. I need to also finish my chapter for my series contemporary romance. Ready...set...work!

Going home!

I could hardly sleep last night for some reason. Maybe I'm excited about going home today? That's a given. I may have to come back to Memphis in a couple of weeks to help hubby get the 5th wheel home, and that'll be for one night only. But I think I'm nervous about taking a class on cake decorating. It begins on the 17th and I received an email reminder last night. I actually got butterflies. Wow. I've been cooking, baking, and experimenting with food since I was 13 years old. Maybe it's because I'll have someone grading me this time. Eh...I face the crowd everytime I cook.

Thank you so much for your well wishes for my husband. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon because the swelling is getting alot worse. Since we're going home, he'll go see our family doc tomorrow.

Loglines. *sigh* I feel like doing a dramatic swoon at just hearing the stupid word. But I am sooo glad I am not alone in my angst. Man, give me a chance with a one page synopsis and I can kick some word booty. One or two sentences. Ouch. So what I worked on last night? I looked at the loglines for two of my favorite movies. Here's what I found.

Tombstone: Wyatt Earp tries to live a normal life with his family but is forced to fight outlaws, leading to the infamous showdown at the OK Corral.

Steel Magnolias: Story of female friends in a small town and the hardships and happiness they endure together.

Now, I can see the Tombstone logline working because you've got strong key words and historical facts. Wyatt Earp. Forced to fight. And the infamous showdown at the OK Corral. But when I look at Steel Magnolias...I'm thinking it probably wouldn't have pulled me in if I hadn't already seen the movie.

So I made a list of the elements in my Native American historical romance. It can also be considered a paranormal because of the dreamwalking. My goal today is to look at the list and start trying to put sentences together.

Loglines

Well, hubby had an interesting birthday. Considering he spent three hours in an AM/PM clinic. He's had a bump on his arm steadily swelling the last few days. It began with what we thought was a mosquito bite. It's not. He's a welder and often goes without wearing his leather welding shirt when the temperatures are extremely hot outside.

Have you ever had a small burn...like you accidently touch yourself with a curling iron or grease pop on you while cooking? They hurt like all get out. I know his job requires him to work in extreme temperatures, but it's not as bad as when he was in Iraq. So why not endure the leather shirt to keep from having small burns all over his upper body?

One of his burns has apparently gotten a staph infection. The swelling has tripled in size and his forearm is extremely painful and hot to the touch. They've started him on antibiotics and something for pain. I doubt he'll take the pain meds because he needs clarity when climbing up a hundred feet in the air to dangle from a harness, or to walk on a 6 inch wide platform.

So last night as we're falling asleep. I teased him with a line from one of our favorite movies, Tombstone. If you've ever watched it, it's where Sam Elliot's character, Virgil Earp, has been shot in the arm and is told he'll lose the use of it. He tells his wife something like, "I've still got one good arm to hold you with Ellie."

At least I got a goofy grin. Maybe it wasn't such a great birthday, but he still got a warm, gooey turtle brownie.

Okay...back to business. Loglines. If you were having a conversation with someone, how many of you can just toss out a decent one or two line description of your book. Several editor or agent pitches rely on a high concept logline to hook immediate interest.

I personally suck at it. So it peaked my interest when I received an email from one of my Yahoo groups, it was a virtual class on loglines from Rosemary Clement-Moore. It's the Four Elements of a Winning Pitch through the Candy Havens Writer's Workshop. And just what I needed. So I thought I would share my process as I go through the motions.

The first thing she has us doing is looking at the movie descriptions in TV Guide, or the online guide for your cable/satellite service will work. Also...look online for your favorite movie descriptions. Study the strength of the verbs to create a mental image. She also has us look at how the irony in a logline or title can add strength to your hook.

After I work on crits today, I'll start listing the unique elements of my story and strong verbs to tie it together. Interested in playing along? If not...sit back and enjoy my pain. ;)

Happy Birthday to the Man

Today is my hubby's birthday. Of course it's just a reminder that I'm old. He whines about turning 32 and the grey hairs taking over. I whine because...well, let's just say I'm a "few" years older than my husband. Little man and I went shopping today and bought hubby a new watch. And I made million calorie turtle brownies. Just oozing with caramel. Yeah, there goes what pounds I had managed to shave off my "voluptuous" figure. And mom called from home today to tell me we needed to hurry home because an 8th grader died of the Swine Flu here in Memphis. Does she not realize how big this city is. We're not even within city limits. Hubby's work crew is staying in Southhaven, just south of Memphis.

I didn't have a chance to work on crits or my chapter today. But while we were out shopping, I looked for Linda Howard's new book, Burn. No luck. I wonder if that's a good sign that it'll be a great read. That's our first selection for the Book End Babes book club. I've conned, um, convinced a few friends to join with me.

Nothing exciting to share or pass on today. Just hope you guys had a productive day!

Fear

I want to share an interesting industry blog I ran across when I got a recommendation from a friend. The Warriorwriter's Blog has a wonderful post today about fear. I think it's something every writer has dealt with at some point in their career. It really hit home with me this morning because I've been struggling...and not sure why. I thought maybe it was because my life is so chaotic with the different directions I'm being pulled in right now. That may play a big part of my issues with not writing, but I think fear could be a part of it.

If you've ever had writer's block, she urges you to dig into your brain for the reason why. She talks about writers avoiding rewrites, and I can tell you that I am definitely NOT guilty of that. If anything I can't turn off my anal internal editor. But I think the one thing that struck me as interesting was she mentioned changing genres as a symptom of fear. Do I agree? I wonder. I've wanted to change genres a couple of times. I thought that came from the unknown though, not knowing where my voice fits and wanting to experiment. Is it fear of pushing through my issues on a current ms?

Good question. What do you do when you're blocked? Have you ever wanted to change genre? If you get a chance...read her post for today.

Boo!

Yesterday was a good day...and a bad day. It started out with soooo much excitement. College football is one of the only sports I love to spend time watching. I get so excited this time of year. The heat of summer is sliding away, and it's time for my Oklahoma Sooners to play some football! We really get into our game days. Always a cookout or muchies available and our family and friends know where they can come to watch the games.

That wasn't going to change just because we're in Memphis with hubby's job. The guys are feeling down because of some big problems that arrived with the roof they were supposed to put on the water tank. Which means a delay in going home and takes away the possibility for bonus. So hubby and I thought we'd cook for our second family here on the jobsite. I smoked a pork roast so we could have pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw and hubby's favorite cheese dip. He put together my favorite jalapeno poppers. He cuts them in half, scrapes out the inside veins and seeds, fills with cream cheese, wraps them in bacon and grills until bacon is crispy. I think I was able to swipe three of them. LOL. They go pretty fast in this crowd of big ol' manly-men. One of the wives made baked beans and corn-on-the-cob. So we had an awesome meal!

But the game is another story. My Sooners not only lost their game, but our quarterback was taken out with a shoulder injury. We probably won't know how serious it is until next week. *sigh* The back up played well. But this season is looking a little rough at this point. Oh well, ya win some-ya lose some. I'm a diehard fan and will cheer my guys on regardless. Plus...I think everyone will still show up for chow. I'll have to have something ready for the guys to eat while they play armchair quarterbacks. LOL.

So I guess...it wasn't so bad. Good food, good friends. The guys also had a good talk last night and decided to work today on their day off. For free. They won't get paid, but they wanted to go in to the jobsite to see if they can figure out how to fix the problems on this job. Their Foreman is a great boss and they want to help him out. This crew is our second family. We take care of each other. That my friends...is what it's all about.

Hope you guys had a great weekend!! Anything fun or exciting?

Busy, busy, busy...

*deep breath....release*

Summer is officially over for me. My oldest is a sophomore in high school and has decided to let us know that he's not going to college. He's determined to enlist as soon as he turns eighteen. He knows I'm not happy with his decision and I'm sure I'll continue to voice my opinion, but it's a family thing. He's following quite a few family members into serving our country. He's keeping college in mind because he says he'll be able to go on the GI bill if he decides to go later. I won't go all political because this post would become a very angry rant. And I personally hate when people cram or politely hint their politics down my throat. Anyhoo...my little one has also started his homeschooling. He's in the first grade this year. WOW. Time sure flies.

Ta-Da...here's our logo!

The restaurant planning goes well. I've got our logo and marketing plan developed. The business has been incorporated and we received our federal ID number. I'm in the process of filing our Oklahoma business registration form, and we're waiting on the architectural drawings to be completed before we can begin construction. I'm also working on finalizing the menu. We've got a basic idea of what we'll serve, but I've got to put together a full menu with descriptions for the food service company.

Well...we're back in Memphis as this job is closing out. Hubby thinks they'll be finished with this water tank by the 16th. I am so ready to be home for good. After this hitch...the traveling has to be over for me. Their next tank is within 30 miles of home and the tank after that is in California. Too far for me and little man to tag along. And the restaurant will need my full attention as soon as contruction begins. At least the oldest kiddo is getting excited and seeing his role in the family business.

As for my writing...I'm polishing a contest entry for my RWA chapter FAB contest. It has to be sent by midnight tomorrow. I'm also heading over to pull files and crit for my peeps. Like I said...summer is over and I don't have anymore excuses for being a bad critter. LOL.

*deep breath...and release*

Weekend Warriors?

How did your weekend go? Peaceful, busy, lazy? I finally finished texturing the walls in the kitchen. I did such a good job...I kinda screwed myself. LOL. Now I've been nominated to do the rest of the building. *sigh* I guess I'll try to work on the pantry today. The laundry room will be next. We can't finish one of the walls in the kitchen with the beadboard because we realized the 3rd floor window is leaking down the back wall.

And more progress...I found the images I want to use as our restaurant logo.

I talked with the talented artist and he's going to replace the pig with the cowboy. I can put the restaurant name on the wooden board. Hubby hasn't been home to approve it but says he trusts me. Even our teen said he would be ok with wearing it as a uniform shirt. And that's gold coming from that kid.

And...as of today...we are legal, girls!! I filed the corporation papers and trademark this morning. It's a done deal. As soon as I receive the certification in the mail I'll file for a federal employer id number. Then the state tax commission is next for a resale certificate.

I didn't get any writing done this weekend...I took a break to read a western historical. I'm halfway finished and not real excited about reading more. *sigh* Makes me regret not working on my own. But today I need to shave off another two pages from my synopsis for my contemporary category romance. My OKRWA weekend retreat is coming up in September and I have to submit my chapter, synopsis, and query letter to the guest speaker. She's a reader for an agent and she'll work with each one of the members attending the workshop.

Hope everyone has a productive day with whatever you're working on!!

Finally a Bride Contest

****Eighth Annual Finally a Bride Contest****

Get your manuscript in front of TWO EDITORS!!!

Fantastic news!!! Jennifer Morey, the Finally a Bride 2006 Romantic Suspense winner SOLD as a result of the FAB contest. This year, she is a 2009 Double RITA Finalist for Best First Book and Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure.

Breaking news!!! Ruth Logan Herne, Inspirational Winner of last year's FAB, sold to Steeple Hill as a result of her contest win.

Congratulations to both these ladies!

***1/3 of the Finalists in last year's contest received Editor Requests***

Sponsor: Oklahoma Romance Writers of America

***NEW - Young Adult CATEGORY***

Fee: $25 (RWA Members) - $30 (All non RWA Members)
Deadline: September 4, 2009
Eligibility: not contracted/published

Entry: First pages of MS (30 pages max) that has finaled, but not won, in a previous RWA or RWA chapter-sponsored contest. NOTE: Finalists ONLY must provide a no more than 5 page synopsis for the final editor round. Manuscripts finishing in the top quarter of GH also qualify.

Judges: First round: experienced, pubbed, and/or RWA trained judges.

Final Judges: Two Editors and/or agents judge each category.

Inspirational/Traditional: Melissa Endlich with Steeple Hill and Nicola Martinez with White Rose Publishing.
Series Contemporary: Patience Smith with Silhouette and Wanda Ottewell with Harlequin.
Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic: Margo Lipschultz with HQN and Leah Hultenschmidt with Dorchester.
Romantic Suspense: Charles Griemsman with Silhouette and Alex Logan with Grand Central Publishing.
Historical/Regency: Deb Werksman with Casablanca Sourcebooks and Chris Keeslar with Dorchester
Mainstream: Keyren Gerlach with HQN and Megan McKeever with Pocket Books
Young Adult: Anne Bensson with St. Martin's and Leah Wilson with BenBella Books

FMI, entry form and rules, go to http://www.okrwa.com/ or send SASE to OKRWA FAB contest, 9805 Red Oak Lane, Parkville, MO 64152, okrwabride@aol.com,

Alice Clary
2009 Finally a Bride
Coordinator

Progress

WooHoo!!!! I actually made progress today and pushed through 19 pages of revisions on an old ms. My OKRWA chapter has a contest that I qualify for. It's the FAB...I'll make it my post for tomorrow. It's a wonderful opportunity for unpubbed authors to get that revised ms back in front of an editor. It definitely feels good to accomplish something though. My goal today is to finish contest revisions by getting the 8 pg sucknopsis down to 5 pages.

Business wise...I'm frustrated because I've been trying to find an image to use for our logo. The restaurant name we decided on is...drumroll please... The Hungry Cowboy. Ta-daaaaaa. Please tell me it doesn't suck. I did a trademark/business search in Oklahoma and we're safe. But there is a restaurant with that name in Texas. Hopefully it won't cause any issues in the future. But I'm slowly pushing forward with the little details that go along with setting up a business.

Back to work...

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone is well! Hubby has left the building. LOL. His company is finishing up the job in Memphis and should head to Oklahoma in a few weeks. Cool beans. We've made a little progress in the family business department. We've settled on a restaurant name and theme. I'm in the planning and organizing process of setting the business up and trying to finalize a menu. I'm soooo excited that we've all come to an agreement as to what we'll do and now it's time to start the actual process. Finally!! Mom and I ate at a place today and my mind was going crazy as to how we could make it better.

On the writing front...I was able to make my monthly OKRWA meeting and came home energized!! Several of us made a promise to recommit ourselves to our writing. The incredibly talented Merline Lovelace encouraged us to submit something...and soon. My issue is more time management than NOT wanting to write or being blocked. School starts soon for my teenager and homeschool will begin at the same time for my 6 yo. Hopefully I can get up before the kiddos and set aside a block of time every morning to write. It's nice having Mom downstairs and she's offered to help in any way she can.

Okay...I think I'll sneak away and try to scratch out some words toward my crit group daily challenge.

Put Up or Shut Up...

Deep breath. OK. You guys know that I've been going back and forth with my family about opening a restaurant or shop...or both. Well. We've been having work done around the building upgrading the electrical and gas so we can at least have utilities while living there. We keep playing a stop and go thing with the restaurant business idea because I'm not sure I can do this by myself. My husband works out of town 9 days at a time and only home for 5. My mom is still battling exhaustion and plagued with health problems from cancer treatments. I'm not sure how much help I'd have unless we hired full time people.

We have a decision to make. We ran up against a major obstacle which is forcing a final decision. The city code enforcement dude came by to inspect the gas line work we had done so we can have heat this winter. The plumber was able to pull a permit and do the work. But our building is zoned commercial. Which means...the work passed inspection but we can't have the gas turned on unless we go ahead with our business and have complete architectural drawings for both buildings. We just spent over $10k to have the utilities upgraded but it's worthless unless we go ahead with the business. We'd have to sell the building and move if we don't push forward.

I guess I'd better start exercising to build up my stamina. Ugh. I can do this. Other writers have full-time jobs and families. I've enjoyed a couple of years off from working outside of the home. At least this way...I won't have to drive to work...I'll be right next door or downstairs.

Now the decision is which business do I do first?! The restaurant or the shop? I wonder where my writing fits into the big picture...

Proud Moment

Guys...I'm a little teary-eyed right now. I'm so proud of one of my crit partners and have to share something with you. Several years ago when I began my journey to become a published author, I was fortunate enough to become a member of a great crit group and met some talented women. Several of us moved on into a smaller, more intimate group. I also joined a second group of dedicated, creative women and there was one common factor, my friendship with Jennifer Shirk. I was so proud and excited for her when she published The Role of a Lifetime with Samhain Publishing. But the girl is on a roll!! She's just heard from Avalon Books and she will soon join their ranks as published author.

She is a true testament to perseverance. She's got a hectic schedule like many of us do...and she hits those days like we all do...where she'd rather just toss the computer out of the window than fight with the words needed to finish the book. But she pushed on and kept her butt in the chair, hands on keyboard.

Proud of you girlfriend. Just sayin'. Congrats!!!

Road Trip

Well guys...I'm back in Memphis with the hubster and little man. I had a brilliant idea and had to follow through. School for the man child begins on the 26th and I knew this would be my last chance to do anything sightseeing worthy in this area. Of course we'll have to visit a few of the more famous BBQ joints.

But...

Sunday the hubster will have a day off and we're planning a road trip. I've traced my family's Native American history back to the 1700's and some of it is actually documented in the history books. This is also where I got the idea for my historical. My 4th g-grandfather was a Chickasaw Chief and lived the last days of his life with his married daughter...the woman I am modeling my heroine after. Unfortunately I don't have story details to work with, but something in my writer's brain clicked when I read the genealogy comments about this particular daughter. The history is documented along the Natchez Trace Parkway along the Mississippi-Alabama border. It's just a two hour drive from here, so off we go with a picnic loaded ice chest, full tank of gas, and a camera. I'm pretty excited. Not so sure about little man. He asked if they had an amusement park. *sigh*

Let's get it on...

I have a crap load of stuff on my plate right now and worked this weekend on getting mentally prepared. So...game on. I did take a little break though, knowing chaos would be the norm for awhile. Mom and I went to see a movie, The Ugly Truth. I love Gerald Butler. It was good...but not a movie I would've gone to see with my mom. I was a bit embarrassed because the 'F' word was used quite frequently. And ALOT of sexual references. It was a little too sexual for me and not one I'll be waiting for to come out on DVD.

I've been a good girl this weekend and made a game plan for this week. The only thing I didn't get done was a beta read for a crit partner. I hate not being able to concentrate and put my full attention on my crits, so I kept having to stop every other page. Finishing the beta read is first on my list.

Okay. I DO NOT want to put my writing on the backburner just because the family restaurant and website is back on my plate, front and center. School will be starting soon and I'll have to take the oldest to and from until he gets his license, and I homeschool our 6 yo. Let's see how far I can get before I have a mental breakdown. ;) We keep going back and forth on what type of restaurant we should do. We LOVE burgers and barbeque, but there are quite a few in town. We thought maybe a specialty burger joint could compete if we looked around us and tried to shake things up a bit. But...there are only two specialty sweet shops. And I KNOW we can more than compete with them.

So with hubster gone all week, mom and I were able to hook up the stove. We still have to pull the sheetrock off and replace the wall in the kitchen...but I'm so sick of living without a way to cook. There's only so many things you can bake in a roaster oven. This next week we'll work on remodeling and recipes. I'll also work more on developing the website. As soon as I can get more pages built, I'll upload it and see what you guys think so far.

I also have to finalize a name for the sweet shop. The website name is The Velvet Cowgirl. We'll use that name if we ever decide to open a brick and mortar store in the building. At least now I can slowly build a product line. So what about...

Cowgirl Cupcakes (I thought of this because we could also sell my candles and bath products, The Velvet Cowgirl, in the store.) or.... The Main Cupcake. Our building is on Main Street and I thought The Main Cupcake was a simple play on words. I've got to finalize a menu and name so I can incorporate the business, apply for federal id number and an Oklahoma resale certificate. We'll offer a HUGE variety of homemade cupcakes, sweets and breads. We'll have sandwiches, a hot potato bar and a salad bar.

My writing?! I can't give up my passion. Not even among all this organized chaos. I'm trying to get away from the research heaven hole I've been sucked into and get into writing mode. So today I'll take an hour to begin my prep plotting work. I've got a notebook started and will work on the central conflict. My heroine has a GMC and I've gotten an idea about my hero. They both want the same thing, but for different reasons. Someone will have to lose. Maybe they'll both learn something along the way as they work toward a resolution. I've even had a thought about the black moment which will put my heroine in danger.

I've moved my printer upstairs and will have to wait until hubster gets home to get my desk up here. It's massive and impossible to move!! Poor hubster. He gets to come home from work to finish out the sheetrock, put in two windows and help me move furniture so we can tape and texture. I should've taken a before picture. People are really amazed at what we've accomplished so far. We've carved an apartment out of a space that was 6736 sq. ft down to about 2500 sq. feet. So we have a TON of storage. *sigh* Which is another task for another day. We'll have to sort through all of our crap on the 3rd floor and repack the stuff we'll keep. Hopefully by Christmas we can have the 3rd floor cleared out and start remodeling it. Our long term goal is to have mom up on the 4th floor in her own little apartment of 3368 sq. ft. Then the staircase down to our apartment on the 3rd floor will have 3368 sq. ft for a family living room, game room and kitchen. Then the other side of the 3rd floor will be 3368 sq. ft of bedrooms and bathrooms. What I love the most about the 3rd floor...old wood floors, high ceilings and brick walls. When my oldest is ready to move out...the 2nd floor will be ready for him and he'll have his own apartment. The good thing....the restaurant and shop will be down on the 1rst floor and in the building next door that is connected. We won't even have to drive to work. And my oldest is at the right age to start working. He's not excited about working in a "cupcake" shop. But he'll be good about the baking and prep work.

Sorry. Didn't mean to barrage you with my chaos. LOL. ;) Off to work I go...

Excuses, Excuses

Let's see how many I can come up with...


I've been swamped with life. LOL. Seriously. I've been sucked completely into historical research heaven. Facebook. Sickness. Remodeling. Children actually wanting me to take care of them. Nephews needing adult supervision. A retail website needing to be designed for my bath and body products. A restaurant business plan to be written. Hmmmm. Give me a minute. I'm sure I can come up with plenty more. I thought I'd check in with yous guys and get some human interaction. Did I tell you that we've decided to add a sweet shop to the retail website? Meaning I've got to come up with recipes and ideas as to what we'll sell online.

*sigh*


Where does my writing come into the picture? It hasn't. Not one word. But please...do NOT tell my novel bootcamp instructor. She'll make me do pushups. LOL. I've got my nephews for two days a week until school starts. OMG. It seriously needs to hurry. I'm pretty thankful at this point that we stopped at 2 kids. LOL. Right now I've got two 6 yo's and a 4 yo running around in circles having Star Wars battles with action figures. My 15 yo is pretty independent except for the taxi duties. My mom is pretty good about helping me in that regard.

Hubby left yesterday to go back to work and if I can get the kiddos to bed early....bwahaha, like that'll happen...I'm hoping to get some words on paper. My crit group is working on a July challenge and in cahoots with Candace Havens Writing Game challenge. I think todays required word count was 1142. Can I do that tonight....????

Good Monday!

Hope you all had a fun but safe holiday weekend?! We had a cookout and let the little one do a few of the safer fireworks. Nothing exciting but we were all together, healthy and happy, and so very thankful for the men and women who fight for our country.

Hubby is home and has been trying to get some remodeling done before he has to go back to work on Tuesday. The new airconditioner works like a dream. *sigh* We'll get the rest of our belongings moved back upstairs and get settled in before I try to start putting texture on the walls and painting. Of course this means we need a new bedspread for our bedroom. Darn. LOL.

Hopefully when hubby leaves tomorrow I can get back to my writing. I'm getting pretty anxious and really want to start the chapter. I've had a few days away from it and think I may know where I want the story to begin. I had so much fun looking up tribal records from 1818 and finally settled on the main character's names. I think I'll use today to start character charts. I'd love to visit the historical society this week and check out a few books from the library for reference. My short term goal is to start the rough draft.