Reading Up

I'm at The Pink Heart Society today, talking about reading...because it's work and stuff. Yeah. Sure.

Working It Out.

That was the original title of Compromising Positions , it's also the name of the club in the book that Sophie co-owns with her sister. And...it's what I've been doing.

Working out.

No kidding. I'm not saying I don't complain the ENTIRE time...but I've managed to drop about 10 pounds since this summer. And I know that I'm physically stronger, since I can complain during the classes instead of gasp for breath and grab for a wall because I'm dizzy.

You see, I used to be a runner. Running is easy. You just...take off. And you go until your head is clear or you're out of water. Trail running was my favorite...but I haven't been able to do it for ages. My body is completely different now than pre-kiddos and pre-fertility meds. Really, I barely recognize me. And I want to start recognizing myself again, and even work my way back to running.

I can't just start running. My body isn't made to be this weight. There are people who can be fluffy and healthy, but my frame can't handle it. All the extra padding has given me feet issues, knee issues, hip issues...not to mention the emotional body-image issues. So, I'm going to fix it. Which means less writing time now, but I think eventually it will even out.

Since I'm not running yet, I've been taking classes at the rec center. I figure, I'll try anything once, and if it doesn't bore me or kill me, I'll try it again. So far, I've made yoga, stability ball, and bootcamp a habit, even though bootcamp has my feet screaming. Water aerobics is fun in the right class, but it hurts my feet since there isn't any support. Pilates is harder than you'd think. Spinning is a pain in the butt, literally!

I'm trying to rework my blog, and I think I'll do a weekly workout post. You know, to give me some place else to complain about working out :D

Crafty!

I've started to get crafty. No kidding. Just last week I channeled my inner Amish girl and MADE a console table for my friend from plans I got at Knock Off Wood. I taught me that I can do more than I think...and that wood is expensive.

Still, I love the idea of making things. It started when I couldn't figure out a way to incorporate a dresser Hubba Bubba's grandfather built into Baby Girl's room...so I decopaged fabric onto the drawers and voila, new dresser that fit with the garden quilt theme of the room.

Sites like Tater Tots & Jello or the Sprik Space Brief Bits give great ideas... I'm not the crafty type, but they have these tutorials that make things seem so easy...

In that same vein I snagged a copy of A Homemade Christmas: Creative Ideas for an Earth-Friendly, Frugal, Festive Holiday. Tons of great ideas, and new ideas at that! Great to go through with the kids to help usher in the holiday season. Some of my favorite ideas ::

• Hang a cooking mitt in place of a stocking for a baking enthusiast
• Turning all your mismatched socks into an advent calendar
  

In Review...

This review was a nice surprise :D

"A fun, sexy, inventive contemporary romance ..." and

"This book kept surprising me, with realistic insight from the characters like the moment Sophie realizes “she could not handle a casual relationship with David”, and when David realizes “How wonderful life would be if he could just trust himself to be who she thought he was.” I enjoyed it, and I’m not the only one..." Read React Review

And my favorite part? It was a very well written review :D I just love that. It usually has me looking around the site for more reccomendations.

I need to blog more...

I'm at The Pink Heart Society today talking about Charlie Brown...

The Pink Heart Society: Slushing Through : Conferences

The Pink Heart Society: Slushing Through : Conferences: "The Pink Heart Society editor Jenna Bayley-Burke put on her big girl golashes and slushed through a regional conference. She's back, shari..."

Thinking

The article in the Slate spurred more articles of the not so flattering nature. I'm trying to laugh it off. You know what's helping?

It sold at least one copy of Compromising Positions to a reader who wrote a review and said "I read an article on Slate about how this novel was porn. lol There isn't very much sex in the book, but the build up to it is great! " It doesn't get better than that. Thank you Terri Sprague :D You made my day.

And thanks to Caleb Hannan who wrote in Seattle Weekly "Slate reports on the "strange" rise of e-reader pornography. A rise that's only strange if you're a Quaker. (And even then not so much.) "

Finally, the voice of reason!

** Come and see me tomorrow night at the Emerald City Writers Conference Book Fair & Author Signing at the Bellevue Hilton 4-6pm **