The Cookie Says It All

Upon opening my latest post meal fortune cookie I found this, open ended yet highly relevant quote "A great pleasure in life is doing what others say you can't." I always knew I was destined for greatness.

Funny thing is, at first glance it appeared trivial, as most generic fortunes do. Absentmindedly I pasted it to the fridge door, affixed with an over sized magnet, next to the lucky bamboo instructions. Over the last few days and seemingly endless hours of query letter laboriousness I had become accustomed to the editing frame of mind--out with the old and in with the new. Between revising the writing and cleaning the house to make way for new furniture and a new room mate, I tore down all random scraps that were cluttering the fridge.

It was not until the last day or so when this quote played intermittently through my mind that I found myself rooting through the garbage in search of the miniature paper. Fearing it had been tossed into the dumpster forever, I continued scrounging like a shadowy homeless alley way animal, until the bottom was in sight. Tracing my last few days and creating a garbage time line of sorts I figured the fortune had to be in there. Then I saw it. Stuck to the side of a couple fuzzy rotting strawberries it had been spared, protected by the lucky bamboo instructions, as the proverbial bun of this trash sandwich. I plucked it from it's apparent fate. What an inspirational quote for a transitional week. New queries, new illustrations, new roommate, and hopefully a new part time job! What will tomorrow hold? We can only guess...

Manuscripts

Today is the day. I'm sending out my manuscript. Indeterminate periods of waiting shall ensue....

I'm 24 Years Old, Look Like I'm 16, and Act Like I'm 6

To further prove that I am a kid at heart, this is true for me too:

"Children need to have a regular routine. A set bedtime and place to sleep are part of the daily routine. Read a bedtime story as part of the nightly ritual. Read quiet, soothing books to children in their warm, comfortable bed. This allows a child to associate reading with comfort and security. The association will continue a lifetime."

The Day After

I always feel so inspired the day after a SCBWI meeting. Actually, I feel hyper motivated immediately afterward but decide to let the thoughts ruminate for a bit. I am so glad I actually have the day off to rework ideas and build upon critique thoughts from last night!!

Strange Compromise

So I've discovered that upon first waking up each morning I have either one of two distinct feelings. . . extreme excitement to jump out of bed as quickly as possible, downing a couple cups of caffeine and painting for hours on end OR inherent displeasure for accomplishing anything productive, most likely a result of being entirely too comfortable snuggled amongst squishy pillows and warm blankets. Today, I have reached a compromise. Painting in bed. Yep, I devised it! I am a master of accomplishing tasks while still maintaining my hidden laziness.

Queries and Manuscripts

Spent the day pondering query letters and editing manuscripts with my critique group of two...haha I need to expand my revision spectrum. Authentic varieties of opinions are definitely welcome-any takers??

Adventure

So, sitting here at the coffee shop and looking out the window I feel some sense of inspiration. Motivation to make a change, to take a trip, or seek an adventure perhaps. After all, I live vicariously through my stories and my characters...maybe its time I took a chance realistically. If you don't take risks you will never know what you're missing! It's time to grab life by the horns (so to speak, haha) and start living it