Yes, just when you thought I was gone and not writing– I sold a book to Etopia! My book, Playing Games of Love (subject to change– we’ll see how I feel), will be released at Etopia. I’m excited and thrilled by this. I have to admit, I’m nervous too, it’s a contemporary book, but it’s one I enjoyed writing a long time ago and took a lot of time to rewrite and rework completely. Go me! Go me! LOLOLOL!

Having had foot surgery changed my life. I hadn’t thought it would, but it did. First, it forced me to learn to rely on family and friends. Then it taught me that every so often, you have to stop and refocus on yourself. So, I spent time on me- relearning on how to be me- from walking without limping, to getting healthy, to dealing with my nephew being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and more. Second, having the surgery forced me to reevaluate my writing- I was pushing myself to do things before I was ready. So I took time for workshops, forcing myself to relearn how to write, how to learn how to learn. I even worked on some of my writing I had postponed. Third, I learned that when things change- sometimes you need to stop one thing so you can focus on the change itself. Thus, I dealt with my day job stuff for a while. There were issues there- including some severe headaches and migraines. Which then lead to another health issue- gluten intolerance and photo-sensitivity to fluorescent lights.

So, I sit here after the last ten days learning a lot about what it’ll take to live my life as gluten free as possible. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m lucky that I don’t have celiac disease as some of my other friends and fellow authors do. I’m lucky I can eat some gluten products with some affects– but that it can damage me in the long run. So, I’m weeding it out, carefully, slowly, but progressively. My doctor wants me to go step by step, taking the time to really see how I feel as I make these changes, and following up with him. But there’s a flip side to all this– I’m actually getting some focus. Colour me shocked and surprised! Not only having been put on estrogen for the Kill You/Cry Me syndrome (aka Menopause), but cutting down and out gluten has helped me with my focus. No, it’s not 100%, but it’s better than it’s been in over 5 years!

How much better? I’ve been working on two nonfiction books– having written over 12k in a week, and then writing another 4k in fiction. This is something I’ve not been able to do in years! It’s like a major revelation to my system. Who knew that getting your hormones and getting rid of something your body is allergic to would make so dramatic a difference in how you view life? It’s like seeing the world through new eyes. I’m humbled and I’m thrilled. I’m scared and I’m excited. It’s the scariest thing and I’m hoping it doesn’t end as I slowly try to keep going– one step at a time.

Since we’re talking food on Facebook and I’m watching Food Network. I thought I’d share my veggies and orzo recipe. You can also make this with rice. It’s delicious and we make it like once a week. We vary the veggies depending on what’s in season and what we like!

Garden Veggies with Orzo

2 cups orzo

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

½ onion chopped and diced

1 orange pepper, chopped and diced

1 lb asparagus, diced into 1” pieces

1 tomato cleaned and diced into bite size pieces

Olive oil

Pepper, salt, garlic powder

Directions:

Make orzo according to directions on package. Mine normally as you cook 2 cups of orzo to 4 cups of water, with some salt to season the orzo. Drain. While the orzo is cooking, chop the veggies and put them in a skillet with about 3 tbsp of olive oil. Cook until all the veggies except the asparagus are soft. The asparagus will be bright green in color. Add to the orzo. Salt, pepper and about ½ tsp of garlic powder to taste. Serves 8.

Note: You can substitute rice for this dish instead of orzo if you’d like. Just follow the directions on making the rice. I will use chicken stock instead of water though to add extra flavour.

Recovering from this surgery is like being a pro athlete. You seem to heal fast, but what you don’t understand until you start back on the normal daily activities is that you have no stamina. None. Zilch.

Why? I think it has something to do with healing and that your body is trying its best to get you through the workday. Every night for the past three weeks, I’ve been ready for bed at 8pm. That’s not me normally. I’m usually the 11pm bedtime baby. However, with trying to get back to walking 2-3 miles a day during regular activities and walking my husky, I’m discovering that my remarkably fast recovery hid a darker side– that of exhaustion.

I spend every day tired. I’ve been writing in long hand because I can’t get the energy up to sit more than 20 minutes before I’m ready to fall asleep. I’ve been struggling to even keep up at my games– if that tells you anything! *gasp*

But I am making progress. I’m closing in on the last 10k of Pirate Queen’s Conquest and honestly, it looks better than it did when I started the story. I’m reworking Beg into World Series of Love: Beg– and I’m really proud of it! Plus, I’m finding a story for Changeling I had hiding in my long lost stories and I’m wondering with a bit of twisting and changing, if possible I can get it done sooner than later. I’m just saying.

So what are you doing that’s pushing the envelope this summer? Me? I’m trying to get walking one mile without stopping and without my feet trying to kill me in the process. I’m also trying to get writing 4 days a week at least 3 pages each day. It’s something with my ADD I need to strive for and I’ve decided that today was day one of buckling down on it. I worked on my nonfiction book today because I needed it– and I hand wrote 5 pages. Go me!

I have self confidence issues. I know, it’s hard to believe but reality is– I do. Especially when it comes to my overly rounded body. Yes, I’ve been losing weight going to Weight Watchers, exercising and in therapy to resolve some serious issues. Though I’m learning to love me in all my craziness, the physical aspect is dicey. But then I discovered the show, “How to Look Good Naked” with Gok Wan. Recently, I bought his book, “How to Dress” on my Nook Color.  It really hit home for me on a lot of things I knew, things I hadn’t knew. But more importantly, he did something for me I hadn’t realized I desperately needed– he made me feel beautiful. He told me I was gorgeous, beautiful, curvalicious, and more.

Normally, I have a hard time believing when people compliment me. I’ve been working on it, and I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear these things from the people I love. Growing up, I didn’t get a lot of positive feedback on my looks, my smarts (yes, I am smart–scarily so at times LOL), or on how good a person I am. Over the years, I didn’t think compliments meant much– but now, now I’m seeing how much I need to be told that I look good, make others feel good and more. Perhaps the deprivation is now resounding loudly in my soul– but when Gok talks about a woman having luscious bangers and fantastic curves, it resonates. Now, I know he is gay, but the thing is– he truly believes in the beauty of women.

The show I watched was one where Gok went to see Lucy, a woman he worked with the year before. He wanted to see what had changed in her life. I really truly fell into this story and cried. In many ways, I could feel Lucy’s story. Though I’m bigger than Lucy, I’m built like a linebacker in the shoulders and my curves do not always go in the ways they should– yet Gok managed to find the feminine mystique in Lucy. Even within myself, I thought, “I could be prettier. I could believe that I’m good enough.”

I’d love to have a fairy Gok-mother to come and remake my wardrobe and help boost my self esteem more. In fact, it’d be nice to have a stylist to go through my clothes and help me see what works best for me, what doesn’t but why I picked those clothes and find clothes with those elements that DO work for me. Gok– if you read this– we need you in the US. Seriously. Please.

I’m doing edits for my upcoming Changeling release– Dragon Chef: Pixified.  Do you see the happiness? But to celebrate– they’ve given me a coupon code! That’s right– go to Changeling Press and use the coupon code CTMAY for 5% off your order until the end of May. *grins* Go… shop….enjoy. *grins* I dare you.

That’s right– today, I received word that my submission to Changeling was accepted! I was a runner up in the Shamrock Challenge with my Savvy Author’s pitch. What this means to me is something unique and more importantly– something I’ve desired for a long time. I’m thrilled with this new development and more importantly, I can’t wait to work with Changeling. Thanks to M and everyone. *sniffles*

Today is beautiful outside where I live. It’s not too warm, not too chilly, but a perfect day for me and Shango, my Siberian husky to go walking. We walked around the 6th hole of the golf course we live on twice today, which is good exercise for us both. While doing so, I reflected on what it really means to celebrate this holiday for me. Being a pagan, it’s not always easy to reconcile Christian holidays with pagan holidays, though I try to respect them all. Last night, my male and I had our Valentine’s Day meal- marinated steak, mashed potatoes, peas, green beans, homemade bread, and some Keel and Curley wine- Strawberry Riesling. *grins* We exchanged gifts- we normally keep it simple by getting each other chocolate. (It’s the best way to keep us both happy!)

For me, Valentine’s Day has been a day to celebrate love for love’s sake. It means telling my family I love them with all I have. It means spending time with my male showing him how much I adore him. But it also means not forgetting the other 364 days a year that love needs to be shown often. I laugh when people talk about not liking Valentine’s Day because of the gimmick, and yes, in fact, the original ideas that we do today stem from Victorian times when postal rates were cheap and sending love notes was simple and easy! But more than that, this is one day you can reiterate whole souled about your love for someone and no one will accuse you of blathering or trying to get into his pants or what-not. Today is a day where love comes first– something we as individuals, as groups, as nations, as a world– sometimes forget to do. It’s a day not about hatred, but about loving ourselves and each other– regardless of beliefs or where we stand on the political fence.

So Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! May Cupid hit you right on the butt cheeks with the love of your life!

So, I’m doing Around the Word in 80 Days and I’ve been writing. With both my Morning Pages (ala The Artist Way by Julie Cameron), writing Se’s story, and handwriting– I’ve done over 4k this week. It’s not completely what I wanted to do, but it’s good. Really good. I even did my work’s newsletter. (I deserve bonus points for this.)

How does this put me for the coming week? I’m working to try to make the same or more for this week. So feel free to cheer me on, kick my butt, or send me inspiration. In fact, the male and I had date night Saturday  and we went to see Season of the Witch. I really enjoyed the movie. It really helped to push some serious creative mojo in the well and also got my mind thinking in various ways in regards to medieval times, witchcraft and how times have and haven’t changed. Really helps when it comes to the fact I write a lot of pagan themed books.

Do I recommend seeing the movie? Yes, if you want to see some cool CGI, some battle scenes, and something that will make you think. No, if you don’t like to spend money and if you know a lot about the medieval times and how the Church viewed witchcraft and women in general. There are a couple of surprises I won’t spoil for you as they really helped to move and develop the plot along, let’s just say– they do really well with some of the red herrings. Oh yeah, Nicholas Cage looks verra nice in the movie and the young Kay looks very roguish himself! *grins*

The holiday season has started. I’m actually trying to be in the holiday spirit as well. It’s not easy with everything I’m going through. But I’ve made myself a promise– 2011 is the year of little joys. This means honoring and enjoying the little things in life that make us happy and provide us smiles while hitting our emotions. I urge everyone to make this new year as the year of Little Joys. Why? Because it’s important to remember the little things in life that bring pleasure and to remember the first times in life. You know, the first time your child walked, the first time you realized you were in love, your first snow storm you can remember. Those first are things to celebrate. So the coming year is going to be the Little Joys Year– where you enjoy the little things that bring joy and emotion to your heart.

I prepare this holiday season with a heavy heart because things haven’t gone as I wanted them. But I’ve realized the past couple of days that it doesn’t mean I can’t make things better as I go. I can. I just have to believe in myself and those who love me to do so. I’ve been making some jewelry for those I love and I’ve been working hard on getting some other things finished as well. It’s not been easy trying to get things done with all the extra medication and tiredness I’ve been experiencing the past month. I’ve not said anything to those who know me, but I agree with my specialist– my lupus is active again. I should be getting my test results shortly– okay, right now, and yeah, we’re right. It means some prednisone time on top of other stuff, but I’m hoping I’ll be feeling better over the next month or so.

Right now, I’ve got my slow cooker pork veggie soup cooking. It’s fun, easy and colourful. It’s also good for you and really healthy as well. I’m debating on thickening it up once it’s done, but maybe I will. So how do you make this delicious treat?

Pork Loin and Veggie Slow Cooker Soup

1 pork loin, about 2lbs. diced if not frozen, or cut into chunks if frozen

1 box chicken stock

5 stalks of celery, deleaved, cleaned and diced into bite size pieces

10 baby carrots, diced

3 small white potatoes, diced and parboiled in boiling water for 10 minutes

1 small onion, peeled and diced

1 can diced tomatoes

2 ancient red peppers, deribbed, deseeded, and diced

1 tbsp chicken soup base

2 cups water

2 tbsp blueberry promengranate red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, diced finely

Mrs. Dash, Garlic powder, basil, Italian seasoning mix, and salt (amounts to taste)

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In slow cooker, layer all the veggies in first. Then mix thoroughly with the stock, soup base, red wine vinegar and seasonings. Add in the pork and cook on high for 4 hours. An hour before serving, add in the 2 cups of water and shred pork to bite size pieces if you’ve not done it in the beginning. Add more seasonings like salt and pepper to taste at the table.