TIME MANAGEMENT - MANAGING WORK AND FAMILY

The countdown has begun. The kids have been shushed and put on notice.  Mom is almost done with her next novel and she has a deadline so nobody better get in her way...except a tummy bug that has now hit everyone. The little boy who only wants me to help him with his homework. The baby girl who won't always go to others to get someone to type Barney or Talking Cat Sylvester into the Kindle. Miss Crazy who needs hugs throughout the day/evening (She's the middle child and suffers from middle child syndrome so how can I say no!). The husband who gets frisky once all the kids are finally in bed and really deserves some attention - after all he has to sit through listening to my love scenes (and others) over and over and over...

This is what I have been
working so hard on!
See note at bottom of page

So, the family has been put on notice to leave mom alone while she finishes writing, typing and pre editing. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. That is why I have given myself a three day window for publication. I have to have the book up and running by November first-third, period end of story.  I think I will be becoming an expert in multi-tasking.

Is it possible to write while being sick?  Yep! I did it the other day. You should have seen me, I would write a paragraph (for those who don't know, I hand write and can do that laying down) doze for about ten minutes, head to the bathroom, write a paragraph, doze for ten minutes, head to the bathroom etc. TASK COMPLETE! I actually got a lot of writing done!

Is it possible to write while helping the boy do his homework?  Yep!  I have successfully written a paragraph here or there while singing the ABC's. I have successfully run spell check while pointing to each repeated letter on his mixed up letter sheet. I somehow was able to type up a whole scene while listening to him read and correcting his mistakes when he made them.  Of course it helps that at five, his books are easy and I have them memorized after the first time he reads them. And I can always manage a ton of hugs and high fives EVERY TIME he gets something right!

Is it possible to write while typing on the kindle?  Well no, not technically. But it only takes a minute or two and I think I can spare that to hear my baby doll singing along with Barney (blech, I hate that dinosaur but love her singing) or laughing her Little Butt off at the antics of Sylvester the talking cat.  It keeps me going, makes me happy and lets her have a little bit of fun so I can get some work done in between typing words into the kindle!

Is it possible to write while hugging Miss Crazy?  Well no, not really. But dang her hugs are so sweet and it gives me a nice little break to remind me that I do have great kids who love me.

Is it possible to write while giving attention to The Hubs. No, not at all, but then again...I guess it could be classified as research. You know, my characters are ONLY famous for hugging and snuggling a lot :p

Until Next Time...It's hard but not impossible to show your kids love and do what needs to be done in your life at the same time.  You can do it!  If I, with the messed up mommy brain, can do it, so can you!

NOTE: Sorry the pic isn't great but for some reason when I upload it to blogger it washes it out. It looks better on my facebook page - stop on over and checkit out http://www.facebook.com/writerjjellis

CRAZY DAYS, FUN TIMES, SILLY KIDS AND OTHER STORIES

Sorry I'm so late but I had to take Gwen to the doctor today for an ear infection and got waylaid by a lot of crap including a big box store's pharmacy. :/ And then it was family time and an early dinner so now here I am.

It was a weird weekend for sure. We had a lot of family turmoil going on around here (extended family not the ones who live here) but it was all straightened out quickly.  Thank goodness, I'm not up for fighting right now (or ever really). I said some things on facebook that were taken wrong and I really didn't think to explain to certain people about it.  I guess when they say be careful what you talk about on facebook, they aren't kidding right?

Poor Gwen is sick again.  The allergies are killing her this year.  She had an earache so I took her in today and they cleaned her ear out.  She had a piece of was in there so big that it is a wonder she cold even hear out of that ear.  And of course an infection was being caused and blocked by the wax.  It was painful, but thankfully the doctor was able to get it out and she is on the mend.

I am trying to teach Mr. Crazy to recognize his ABC's but it is hard.  He is not all that interested in writing them down and that would be a great way for him to learn. And he can't sit still long enough for flash cards.  If anyone has any suggestions, we'll take em!  He needs to know this by mid August!

Little Butt still amuses me every day with the cute little things she says, however I keep forgetting to write them down. And I have some short stories that I am reading so I can do reviews on them but she won't give me my kindle!  She stays up really late and won't let go of it until it dies completely.  Sigh....I stay up way too late reading now. I need to find the money to buy myself another kindle! (And no, she doesn't have a bed time yet. That will come down the road when she is older.  I like being able to stay up late and work and sleep in late or wake up early and work.)

The writing has been going great!!! People are loving my excerpts from my next book. Especially the one from chapter four.  It is a cliffhanger even! http://www.writerjjellis.com is my site for excerpts and the first four posts are from chapters 1-4 of my next novel. Check them out if you get a chance. I have also received some great reviews for my latest book

http://www.amazon.com/Alaskan-Ambush-Sunset-Destiny-Romance/dp/0615827942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373323369&sr=8-1&keywords=Alaskan+Ambush
 My books have been called witty...hehe I love that word and think it is a great compliment. LOL

As for the health and diet. I have been  off the supplements for the last couple of days and boy am I feeling it. I feel like crud, so tomorrow it is back on the supplements.  And Wednesday I will hopefully be starting the diet and you can witness the pounds melt away.  My friend who did the diet before me has been called the incredible shrinking woman!

Until next time...Watch what you post on facebook, don't argue with relatives - you love them so it's not worth it, teach your kid to recognize ABC's way before they start school (but not too early, because they are now saying that teaching them too young doesn't do any good because they don't retain it as well as if you teach them a bit later.), and for pete's sake, write down everything your little ones say (and don't give them your kindle to use EVER!!!) ;)

WHAT'S HAPPENING? JUST STUFF!

My kids actually made liars out of me this morning.  In my last blog I said they wouldn't let me sleep in and that they would wake up between 7 and 8 every morning. Well, this morning they didn't wake up until 8:35 and that is only because the trash trucks came and woke them up.  Damn trash trucks!!!

Well, we had a lot happen over the last week some good, some bad. Of course you all know that the oldest graduated a week ago, on Thursday The Hubs had to go to the doctor - the man who never gets sick was sick as hell, on Friday the other kids had their last day of school for the year and on Saturday, I developed the coughing crud that everyone else has had over the last month and a half and something else exciting happened and I can't remember what...Crap, what was that?...hmmm, it's coming back to me...I completed something I think....oh yeah, I FINISHED MY SECOND BOOK!  Book 2 in my series is done (except for editing of course)  I read through it yesterday and loved it.  I have a couple of small additions to make and then it is sent off to editing. When that is done, well it will be on 'shelves' for you to'grab' and read.

This is book two and I still feel as accomplished as I did with book one. I wonder if it will always be this way. I sure hope so, I love this feeling! It is so addicting.  I just wish the hubs hadn't been so sick.  It is hard to be excited about something when the one you love is so sick they can't rejoice with you. Really guys, I have never seen his so sick - Severe sinus infection, cough, high fever, body aches, shakes and shivers, sleeping whenever the need hit him. That just isn't how it's supposed to be for my love. He is healthy and strong a majority of the time.  He was so bad they made him take three days off work.  He is back there now and I hope he is doing well, I think he should have had another two days or so to rest, but I'm not a doctor.  He is gradually getting better and was even joking with me yesterday.  I just hate seeing my romance hero ready to go to sleep at 7 p.m. (How are we supposed to act our my scenes if he's asleep?!) Umm I mean, how is he supposed to help me beta read my book if he's asleep...yeah, yeah, that's what I meant ;)

Until Next Time...When your loved one can't help you celebrate, it really sucks.  You have to learn to live with it and still be happy. It can be done, it's just not as fun!!! :)

PREVIEW OF ALASKAN AMBUSH

Check out 11 excerpts on http://www.writerjjellis.com

“…I still love you.”

A two year relationship that ended because of a difference in lifestyle left Olivia Mannon and Alex Paige missing each other. Though they still loved each other, they lost all contact.

A sprinkling of matchmaking dust, a cruise to Alaska, and a floatplane tour of Misty Fjord National Monument brings them back into each other’s lives; for better or for worse.

Can Olivia change her ‘suite at a five star resort’ lifestyle to agree with Alex’s ‘camping outdoors’ way of life, or will they lose each other again? This time forever…

ON SALE JUNE 2013

MILESTONE - A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW (PLUS A BONUS POST!)

Today I will give you two posts for the price of one...Okay for the space of one since you aren't paying to read this. Post 1 is a normal mom's adventures with kids post and Post 2 is an article I wrote for my writer's website JJ Ellis, Romance Author that delves into the mind of a writer. I have two other articles on that site too if you want to check them out (Courage was the first and Imperfections was the second)

POST 1
Okay, so I am big about milestones right?  I talk about them a lot (remember when I was all emotional because my little man preferred more grown up kids shows to Mickey Mouse?)  Well, it seems we have hit another one.

Allergy season is upon us - hardcore and since most allergy medications are over the counter we spend a fortune on them every couple of weeks.  The little one is doing well on zyrtec so she has her own bottle of liquid children's zyrtec and the only antihistamine that doesn't turn Mr. Insane into...well, Mr. Insane times 100 is Claritin so he and Miss Crazy have a bottle of liquid children's Claritin to share.  Then The Freshman decided she was tired of refusing her medicine and wanted to feel better so she needed something to take. (Zyrtec turns her into a crazy woman too). My pocket book started to ache along with my heart in watching my kids suffer.


So, The hubs and I came up with a plan.  The Claritin pills (age 6 and up) are tiny so why not see if Miss Crazy can take them. We get those at his work in bulk for cheap!. So Miss Crazy was given a try on her very first pill.  Could she swallow it? Would our experimental work?  YES!!! My baby girl is no longer a baby girl.  She is a big girl.  She can take pill forms of medicine. She is growing up, I am feeling old, this is an exciting day, I am feeling old, what a cool milestone, I am feeling old...yeah, you get the picture.  Once again this is one of those bittersweet milestones.  (I'm not even going to think about the fact that in 22 days I will be the mother of a high school graduate, and in 26 days the mother of a high school sophomore, a second grader and a kindergartner.)

So now I am happy/sad and my pocketbook is thrilled.  We can buy 400 pills really cheap for The Freshman and Miss Crazy to share and a small bottle of medicine will last Mr. Insane a long time as does the medicine we get for Little Butt.  See, there are advantages to your kids growing up!!!  Rejoice in it :)

Until Next Time...ENJOY LIFE :) There are a lot of benefits to our kids growing up and to us getting older. Embrace it or you might just drive yourself crazy. I have had to learn that lesson the hard way but I finally did. Yes, I get a bit teary eyed at milestones, but I no longer dwell on them to distraction.  There is too much fun to be had, too much life to live to dwell on how old my kids and I are getting.

POST 2

A few weeks after I published my first book, Virgin Voyage, I came to a realization that really stung, but in a way made so much sense. The story I had practically lived, and loved like a child, would never bring me reading pleasure like it did others.

In the first few weeks after publication I truly can not tell you how many times I read the book. I had this urge to see if it was a pleasurable, enjoyable read. I wanted to enjoy it (or hate it) the same way a stranger who purchased it would.

There were short periods of time where I could blank my world out and get caught up in Mari and Graham's, but my world always came crashing back in. (And I'm not talking about  my kids bother me or the phone ringing or someone knocking on the door)  You see, I can never not be the author of Virgin Voyage. I will always read it with a critical eye. 'Should I have done this, or written that, or left that out. Or will my readers enjoy this or that better.' Truthfully I just wanted to live in Mari
and Graham's finished world for fourteen chapters. I guess you could say that I was craving the ability to just be a reader to my book.

I couldn't help how I felt. I knew I shouldn't feel that way but I did. It almost felt like a betrayal to the characters. I created them, I loved them, I nurtured them,  I put them to paper and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But I couldn't experience them as they were meant to be enjoyed.

And then my first reviews started to come in. Not only on Amazon, but through people contacting me personally to tell me how much they loved the book. All of a sudden, everything I've mentioned above didn't seem to matter anymore. Friends, family and strangers were reading my book the way I wanted to, and I realized something, the whole reason I wrote the book in the first place was so people could live it, love it and enjoy it.  Low and behold, they actually were!!!!  I never betrayed Mari and Graham, I gave them a happy life, in more ways than one.

I know I will most likely have the same feelings about future books, but now I will know how to handle it - just sit back and wait, someone will enjoy it and tell me they did, and then
the world inside that book will be complete.