What Doesn't Kill You

Okay, usually I'm not a whiny pants. I usually suck it up and try to get on with my life. My mother has always lived with the mantra: 

Seriously. But occasionally life sends you a curve ball and you either make time for it or you get smacked in the head and risk brain damage.

Anyway, I'm the kind of girl who thinks everything is all right. Except when I spend the better part of two years feeling like I'm suffering from a nasty cold. Doesn't make a girl feel like a princess when she's always honking her hooter or sneezing so loud that small children are terrified. Not cool. When the problems persisted, I finally spoke up. Like all my friends, the doctor said, "Sounds like allergies." 900 injections later it turns out that I am allergic to trees, weeds, grass, mold, and dust. Awesome.

Also, I spoke up about the numbness in my hands. And Ta-Da! After another horrible test, I was diagnosed with severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Even better. However, my wonderful massage therapist has been working with me to minimize the damage until I can receive surgery in the next couple of weeks.

As obnoxious as it is to find out that you're allergic to your life and that your craft is in jeopardy, it's better to find out that you can recover from it. No matter whether your passion is writing, art, mommying, or anything else, you will be more effective if you take time for yourself and your health.

These are my top To-Dos:

• Drink water. Keep your brain and body hydrated or they don't work as well as they should.
• Exercise. Even if it's something low impact like walking around the block. Or chasing your kids around the park. (And hey, my pool is open all summer. Come on over.)
• Visit the doctor regularly. Ask questions about anything out of the ordinary. (Believe me, finding out that you have 20 allergies and carpal tunnel in the same two week period isn't fun. It's better to investigate things before they become serious.)
• Search out holistic remedies. They're typically cheaper and more comfortable than traditional medicine. So why not?
• Play. You may not think it's important, but your brain needs time to unwind too. I am at my most creative when I take time for myself. Laughter may not be the best medicine, but it certainly doesn't hurt!

What do you do to protect your health? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment! Meanwhile, I'll be all allergy-drugged-up and chilling at the pool! Enjoy!

Also. my Happy Birthday Giveaway is still going on. Enter to win a signed copy of Becoming Beauty or an Amazon Gift Card. Good luck!

Summer Lovin'

Ah, romance in the steamy summer months...

In my young foolish days, I dreamed of summer days and nights spent hiking, biking, picnicking, and stargazing with that (insert girly sigh here) special someone. Now, in my (insert old lady sigh here) late thirties with a thriving teaching career, I dream of a different kind of romance--the type I manufacture on my laptop. (Okay, perverts, I just meant writing. And not that kind of writing.)

Summer has always been my best time for writing. But last summer I not only edited Becoming Beauty several times before it hit the presses, but I also completed the bulk of Twelve. This summer finds me editing Twelve and meeting the cast of my Rumplestiltskin remake. Is there anything as fun as exploring new characters and getting caught up in all their drama? 

Have I ever mentioned how much I despise goal making? I'm already my worst critic and I hate giving myself reasons to be more self-critical. However, I'm going to set some goals for this summer anyway!

• Get my new computer set up...and ignore Social Media for a decent amount of time each day.
• Craft a fabulous query for Twelve.
• Edit Twelve and submit it to the publisher. ASAP!
• Flesh out the characters for my new project. And quickly fall in love with them. (Won't be hard, I adore Guillermo already. And he's only in my head.)
• Create a rough outline for the new project and then completely ignore it as I begin writing. (It's my process, people!)
• Do some marketing every week by keeping my blog full of fresh content, connecting with the public through social media, and participating in authory events to get Becoming Beauty to more readers.
• Fiddle around, travel, visit friends and family, and yes, knock out a healthy chunk of the next project. Because I can.

Either I'm completely high on summer lovin' already...or those goals are do-able. Anyway, I'd love to hear about your plans for the summer? Any lovin' going on in your neck of the woods? 

Unexpected Sweetness

We'd taken longer than usual to arrive at Golden Gate Park. Alright, I had missed the exit and instead of heading toward it, we were speeding away from it. After a detour along surface roads, a full-blown debate about whether I'd be able to cross four lanes of barely moving traffic, and an ongoing prayer that my Utah licence plate would grant everyone patience with my non-Californian driving skills, and there I was proudly maneuvering my way back to the correct highway. Only one more moment of tension involving my stick shift and a lengthy San Francisco hill dotted with traffic lights, and we made it.

Only to find that the Conservatory of Flowers is closed on Mondays. Delightful. We wandered around, snapped photos of the partially-bloomed Dahlia garden, and realized something: cats can be vindictive. In this case, old slightly neurotic cats can knock expensive cameras onto the floor because said cats feel they're being ignored.  The result of this particular cat disaster was that my cousin's camera wasn't functioning correctly. While she worked on the camera, we piled back into the car to explore other parts of the park . A hazy memory of lush rose beds drove me onward, but they were nowhere to be found. A small sign designating the Shakespeare Garden caught my attention and parking the car, my mom and I made our way back to it. 

The Shakespeare Garden was small but charming. After perusing the old fashioned flowers and the collection of quotations from Shakespearean plays, we retraced our steps. A message from my cousin revealed that at last the camera was repaired--old neurotic cat had done nothing more than flip a tiny switch.  Cindy's relief was palpable, which was only understandable, she's a photographer.

In the meantime, we learned that the Rose Garden was only a few minutes away. Taking the right streets this time and feeling like a queen for finding a nearby parking spot, we arrived at last. 

Roses in June couldn't be more glorious, the garden in full bloom and awash with lovely smells was exactly as I remembered it. Names like Hot Cocoa and Honey Perfume dotted the beds and with an irrepressible grin on my face, I perused each and every one at my leisure.

At the end of a somewhat tense day, discovering something sweet was like a tender mercy extended from above, a balm to all our souls.  Isn't finding unexpected loveliness at journey's end always like that?

Dear friends, I'd love to hear of your adventures and unexpected discoveries.  Feel free to comment below.
For more on my ongoing search for beauty and inspiration, revisit Hope Grows In A... or Sun, Surf, & Solace. 

Sun, Surf, & Solace

Greetings all! The author is currently roadtripping all over the Bay Area (northern California) with her seventy-two-year-old mother.

Like that's not a recipe for adventure...

Here we are stopping for a selfie while Geeves brings the car around. That's how we roll in Reno.

My favorite so far has been Beach Day. You can play Spot the Tourist by seeing who braves the water this time of year. 

There I am, and yes, the water is cold. But it doesn't matter.  It's my happy place. 

When life turns nasty, my mind heads to the beach and conjures up the sound of waves rolling onto the shore and pulling out afterward.  Like a great sigh or the rhythmic breathing of a large animal, that sound calms me more than anything else.  

As I told my cousin, for a girl who lives so far inland, I am strangely enamored with the ocean.  Simple pleasures, my friends, simple pleasures. Sun, surf, sand, good friends, and solace.

As always, thanks for stopping in.  Words of wisdom and/or utter silliness will resume when I return to my beloved Utah.  Happy summer!