Visiting the “Draft” file…

I spent a good part of Monday afternoon reading through the 123 (no exaggeration!) blog posts I’ve drafted but haven’t published. Some turned out to be great stories that I’ll publish with a word of warning that the content came from the draft file. Then there were several wonderful titles that got me super excited to read what in the world I’d blogged about, only to open the post and see nothing, or just a few words or sentences. So, because misery loves company, I’m going to share some of these titles with you all so you can all be like me and wonder “where was that going?!”.

• Yard Sales vs. Rose Gordon (The only line in the post said: Yard sales for the win!)
• Backhanded Compliments (The only line in this post read: No matter who you are, we’ve all received one of these little jewels…)
• Let it Go! (Not the song)
• My Favorite Things (Yes, because you ALL have been waiting with bated breath for what I love. As if I’m Oprah. Good grief.)
• In My Former Life (Actually, this one has a LOT of content. I write it when I was 27–I’m now 31–but I might post this one one day when I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel.)
• From the Marshmallow Man to a Beast! What’s a mother to do?! (This was from two years ago when my son started wrestling at school and got his butt handed to him. That didn’t last too long. 😉 )
• Candid, Blunt and…well, perhaps a little TMI
• Didja Know #10 the definition of a Nincompoop
• Wicked Wednesday!
• Didja Know Facts about Humans (Contrary to the cute kid in Jerry McGuire, the human head weighs approximate 12 pounds.)
• The Truth about Passions of a Gentleman (Ooooh, so many things this post could have contained, but probably didn’t.)
• Wanna be my friend? Probably not.
• Looking into 2015
• Sometimes I wonder…
• A Day in the Life: Humble Pie (I dearly wish I’d written something–ANYTHING on this page to know what I was talking about because I am quite certain that since the date I wrote that heading I’ve eaten a lot more humble pie.)
• Ten Year Reunion?
• Unspoken, but not unimportant, rules among authors
• End-of-Year questions for teachers and moms (final plea as homeroom mom). This was the year an alien had inhabited my body and told the teacher I’d be delighted to be the homeroom mom for a gaggle of kindergarteners. 
• Research
• RT Anyone?
• Kids + Outside = Resistance, “no fun”, and a tinge of whining! Why, oh why?
• Awkward confession…totally off topic.
• Seeking suggestions.
• I need help… (yes, yes I did and still do!)
• A writer’s confessional
• A writer’s biggest reward
• Let’s talk spam, and I don’t mean food.
• No title
• Advice on friends from Edward Banks
• Poor Bob
• A candid discussion and a few revelations
• Come laugh at me!
• Authors are human, too. At least this one.
• Writerly Woes
• Oh. My.
• Scandalized. (Another Florida escapade.)
• An Impromptu poll (AKA I need help again.)
• Inside joke for those who’ve read Intentions of the Earl (I’d love to share with you all where I was going with this, but alas, the contents were blank.)
• Oh help us all…I’ve been asked to act as host.
• Drawing lines–Warning Touchy Subject
• It’s tough being a writer… (So tough, I seemed to have given up on this topic after writing the title.)
• In regards to my books, please note:
• Guilty pleasures
• A hot date
• 10 things you probably don’t know about me (Seeing as how I only got to #5, I’m going to take that as a hint that I’m pretty dang boring.)
• Hard lesson: old manuscript copies do not make suitable scrap paper.
• Not a fairytale wedding
• Do romance novelists have a more stellar romantic life than everyone else? (I can answer that without a post: no.)
• Ever wish the ground would open up and swallow you whole?
• Honest chat
• Perceptions
• Men can be such babies
• Henry and June, Part 2
• Right on!
• Unconventional
• Where did you come up with THAT?!

 

There were many other fully written blog posts that might require a little polishing and posting. Turns out I blogged more than I originally thought I had. 😀

 

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The Tread Desk: A visit from the Draft File

As most of you know, blogging hasn’t been my forte lately. The long and short of it is that I’ve had a lot of things happen in my personal life since May 2014 and blogging was one area I’ve had a hard time keeping up with.

Don’t get me wrong, I have tried. I have REALLY tried but it just doesn’t happen. I’m finally to a place (or at least closer to it) where I genuinely think I could start blogging more regularly again–so much so that I’m even participating in TWO Blog Hops this month. The first one is a private one and the second one I am hosting. Yes, you read that right, I am hosting it. If you have a blog, please follow this link and sign up. The more the merrier!

While cleaning up my blog today, I noticed the draft file…Fun Fact: there are 122 blog posts that are in the draft file. That’s a lot of starts that didn’t get finished.

Here is one of my favorites, I started it back in Oct. of 2013. It’s titled, The Tread Desk.

As most of you can imagine, I spend A LOT of time sitting on my derriere each day. While I have no trouble sitting, and actually enjoy it, over the past three years, I’ve had one terrible side effect: I’ve gained some weight. Serious weight.

When I first married Bob, I was ninety pounds and literally could have blown away in the Oklahoma breeze.

Then I had two children.

That changed things DRASTICALLY for me. I no longer struggled to gain and maintain weight, but for the first time in my life, I was “sturdy”. I did fluctuate between the 120 and 130 range, but when you’re only 5 feet tall, no matter if you’re 120 or 130, you look heavier than that. Looking back now, I should have been THRILLED and embracing my newfound “luscious feminine curves” as they’re often referred to in books. But, I did not.

I started writing Intentions of the Earl in the spring of 2010, then in the fall wrote the two follow-ups, thus began my “secretary’s spread” as a friend of mine used to call it when I worked in an office job as a secretary. It’s where you sit on your hiney all day working, and because you’re eating at your desk (thus eating more) and not being very active, you start to spread.

I knew I was having some sort of issue with maintaing a stable weight when I realized that at the ripe age of 24, sweat pants were far more comfortable than jeans! Furthermore, I remember getting a slight wake up call in early 2012 when Her Secondhand Groom was picked as a finalist in a contest and I was going to fly down to be present at the awards dinner. In my excitement, I bought a green dress to match Juliet’s, and got some stern determination that I WAS going to fit in a certain size because I refused to buy anything larger and started walking and gave up soda. This unfortunately led to the horrific tale of me getting myself STUCK in said dress.

I can admit without reservation that the dress DID fit when I needed it to, but my good habits did not last. I was back to drinking soda and not walking soon enough, though I did continue to ride my bike. Slowly, but surely every ounce (and then some) came back and by last year at Christmastime, I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t do something, this yo-yo would continue.

This year, I’m doing much better. Am I super skinny and looking stellar? No. BUT, I’m working on it.

One such way that I’ve begun working diligently on it was by buying THE TREAD DESK.

This is as far as that draft got. Why? Probably because I even finished it I had found alternative uses for said tread desk. I wish I’d read this draft a few months ago before I did a major overhaul of my office because for ages I had boxes stacked up on the treadmill part and paper, fabric, and insanely high stacks of books piled on the desk part. Needless to say, that tread desk lasted about as long as this post.

Do I still have it? Yes. Do I use it? Absolutely! It’s a great conversation piece. Just like my stationary bike and my “shaker” (don’t ask). 

The Tread Desk, while sounding great in theory that you’re walking while typing, has one little flaw. (I should make note that the flaw is not in the product itself, but with ME.) My multitasking extends just as far as being able to chew gum and walk at the same time. I was always gripping the sides of that desk for dear life while I was on the treadmill, which defeats the purpose because I couldn’t type and when I did, I could feel my fingers slid right off  the keys. Good times. 

I know what you’re all secretly wondering: could she wear that green dress now? And the answer is….NO! Not a chance. I’ve physically put my body to the test for the past two years trying to stay healthy and somewhat fit. My arms and legs have slimmed down, but my middle has not. (Oh and I can’t even remember when the last time I had a soda was.) I have finally decided to take some advice I saw on Facebook the other day….

Have a good afternoon! Oh, and today is the last day to enter my contest from yesterday and if you have a blog, go sign up for the blog hop!

Random Ramblings…

This is one of those “pulled from the draft file” posts.

The Date: November 13, 2013.

The reason for the post: I have no idea! Just rambling.

The reason I didn’t post it: Again, no idea, probably because I got severely distracted and totally lost my train of thought.

So without any further adieu…

Consider yourself warned, this is an updating sort of post that rambles. (Yes, that was my original opening line!)

If we ever meet in person you’ll know right off that I’m odd. No, no, really I am. There are a few regular commenters on here who I’ve met in person and I’m sure they all had some sort of shocker moment that still haunts them. Such as the reader I shared a hotel room with when I forgot my pajamas and to make matters worse I had to wake her up with the news that the toilet had just overflowed. Another reader totally shocked me when out nowhere at a book signing, she just popped right up in my face and said, “Hey, I know you!” I’m certain my eyes nearly popped out of my head as I stuttered through an introduction. Or the first reader I ever met. She walked up to me in the airport while I was looking totally bedraggled after a sleepless conference and holding a giant sea sponge and said, “I think you’re who I’m looking for.”

Of course there have been a few who I’ve met when I was prepared that I probably still totally freaked out with me just being plain old odd me.

I’m okay with that. Really, I am. It’s why I like to pretend I’m Regina Banks and fade into the wallpaper if I can. It’s probably also why I write stories. I live in my own world a lot when I can.

I say all that to say that for those brave enough to have already met me in person, they’ll know that I really DO live in my own little world where sometimes I ramble. Much like I’m doing right now.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!