sabbatical sunshine

Hello lovelies!

How are we finding ourselves today?

I've recovered from my paintball bruises just in time for shorts weather (which has come late this year I might add). Southern spring is not living up to its reputation this year.

I've just finished up several rounds of revisions and edits for various projects, so I've decided to take a small sabbatical to regain my sanity and refill the creative well (if you will). This means stocking up on lots of books to read, soaking in new music, playing with my wolf-pup, watching lots of Doctor Who, baking things... 

You get the drift.

I've also been trying to go on more little adventures. Like dolphin spotting in the Charleston harbor and reverse-storm chasing in a speedboat while trying to keep my 73 pound dog from leaping into the water after my wake-boarding husband. (Wolf-pup has a bit of separation anxiety if you couldn't tell). I guess it serves us right for working from home and spoiling him rotten.

Reverse storm chasing. 

Imagine this critter. In a boat. Howling.

I'm also getting back into the habit of art. The extent of my visual arts training is basically a 101 drawing class in college. Where I saw lots of old naked guys. And then tried to erase it all from my memory. I think I've pretty much succeeded, though I have a bunch of old charcoal drawings to prove it. (Trust me, I'll spare you the awful, awful pain).

I was weeding in the yard the other day and thinking about all of the things we can't see beneath our feet. The mysterious underground. I then started thinking about roots and how they all weave together under the ground. It must be such a cool sight-- so that inspired me to start working on this piece.

It's not done yet, but I like where it's going. I'll post more pictures once I get it all sorted out!

I've been poking my nose around the online universe to look for fresh music to put on my iPod. I've become very obsessed with the Doctor Who soundtracks (they're very well done and there's SO MUCH OF IT!). 

Like this theme for the 11th Doctor:

And the theme for his home planet Gallifrey!:

It just wrenches the heart out, doesn't it?

Then there are the peppy tunes like Yeasayer's Rome (I'm totally going to base a character off this song one day. Mark my words.):

Lenka's song "You Will Be Mine" is a really good song reminiscent of Ellie Goulding and Florence Welch. P.S. I really want her dress.

And then I was watching Hulu and found this song via a Sprint commercial:

I'm sure it's been around for a while, but it still spoke to my soul like a poem.

What songs have you guys been listening to?

try new things. get shot at.

So yesterday I did something new. (Well, perhaps not new, but definitely within the past ten years of experience).

My husband is of the video-gaming persuasion. You know the type. The guys that sit in front of the TV frantically pushing controllers and screaming random obscenities at the pixels shooting at them. The guys who have absolutely no idea what's going on in their immediate surroundings for hours at a time (though I must say I can't be too harsh on him, since this is what happens to me when I'm immersed in a good book!).

All this goes to say that my husband really, really wanted me to go play paintball with him and his other video-gaming friends yesterday. Now, I consider myself pretty fit and feisty, though I'm not the best at first person shooters. (Usually I get slaughtered while shooting at the floor. I'm more of a Zelda kind of girl.) When the husband first brought up the possibility of my going I had visions of orange paint and red welts drenching me from head to toe. Visions of being surrounded on all sides and getting lit up like a tiki torch.

Turns out real life is different than video games.

I actually did pretty well. On a field with four other girls and about fourteen guys I managed to stay alive most of the time. Not only that. I SHOT people too. And leapt over crevice canyons to get into forts and waded through swamps.

And I wore camo.

By the end of the day I was sore (I did get shot several times. By my husband actually. Our friends thought it would be hilarious to make us captains of opposing teams and pit us against each other.) but I couldn't have been happier. When I was babbling about how awesome it was in the car my husband pointed out that I'd been less than enthused about going. And "wasn't I glad I just went ahead and did it?"

He then went on to remind me about the time I did not go bungee jumping. It looked a little bit like this:

That tiny dot in the middle of the picture is my husband. I was behind the camera, sitting on a cliff, wishing I hadn't said no. You see, before we got to the bridge, I was thinking through the scenario in my head. I imagined myself standing at the edge and looking down and now wanting to fall. I didn't think I could do it, so I didn't pay the money/put down the deposit. I spent all afternoon watching person after person in our tour group jump off a bridge without me.

I've regretted it ever since. I now know I could've jumped. And I would have loved it.

You are braver than you think. Stronger than you know.

So try new things.

joy in the little things.

It's spring! Finally! For joy!

There's just something about those golden-glow mornings and the scent of flowers on the air that lift my spirits up in a way nothing else does. And shorts. I do love wearing shorts.

In the past few days I've been focusing on the little things that make me smile. There've been a few fun surprises I've faced in the every day.

1. Doctor Who graffiti:

I've probably seen this before (it's in a bathroom at the bar where I go to church), but this is the first time I've appreciated its allusion. (Also, I just noticed the second wolff in the picture). Awesome vandalism. 

2. Unique vintage clothing finds:

 I was in Charlottesville, VA a few weekends ago and happened across a cute little vintage clothing store. I went in and found this skirt in the racks. It's all cross-stitch. As soon as I saw it I knew I couldn't leave it...

3. Puppies who bury things that aren't bones:

Husband went outside the other day and found this in the crater-sized hole Raiden made. Apparently he found a beer bottle our neighbors so graciously threw over our fence and decided to deposit it in his hole. Note how happy he looks about this decision.

4. Cadbury chocolate from England!:

One of my friends just took a trip across the pond and brought back some genuine Cadbury milk chocolate!!! Yum. Cadbury is my most favorite chocolate of all, but it doesn't quite taste the same when you buy it here in the US. And I don't get over to the UK nearly as much as I like, so this is a rare treat! (Also, did you know they have Cadbury vending machines in the Underground stations? It's probably a good thing I don't live over there... I'd live solely on a chocolate and fish and chips diet.)

What little things have you been finding joy in lately?

forays into copyedits.

Last week, over at The Lucky 13s, I blogged about my publishing timeline, or more specifically, the speed of my own personal publishing journey! "Is your book out yet?" is a very common question I get from friends, family and strangers alike. The explainy answer is long and involved, but I tried my best to map out what is happening with ALL THAT GLOWS.

Speaking of, I very recently finished my copy-edits. I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this stage, but it's actually been one of the easiest.

And the most educational.

Mostly copy-editor just made me very aware of how horrid my punctuation is. (Comma splices everywhere!!!!) But there were a few places where I learned fascinating facts.

Did you know?

-Portobello mushrooms are a rather recent, American phenomenon. So sadly, they cannot be my protagonist's favorite food.

-There were no string quartets in Queen Elizabeth's court. Just lutes. And harpsichords.

-There were also no tailored suits in Queen Elizabeth's court. Just doublets. And ruffs.

I have now learned all of these things. And ALL THAT GLOWS is better for it.