Candles, Cake, and Links

Birthday Cake
Today I turn one year older.
But luckily, as my daughter told me, I don’t look any bigger.

Not for a lack of trying, mind you. I spent last night at a wedding reception filling my belly with desserts and this morning nibbling on a cinnamon bun baked for royalty. “Looking bigger” is only a matter of time.

After the sugar highs, I’m laying low, soaking up some beautiful weather, cashing in a gift certificate on new clothes, and getting ready to jump back into my day job tomorrow. My birthday is always bittersweet, as it marks the end of my summer and the beginning of a new school year.

So, while I kick up my feet and demand more cake, here are some links I’d like to pass your way.

  1. 10 Things to do with an Old Sweater (from Savvy Housekeeping.com). I know it’s still August and plenty hot these days, but when Fall does round the corner, here are some great ideas for how to deal with those sweaters that don’t fit anymore. You know, the ones that got all stretched out last winter? Or put in the dryer with that load of kids’ clothes? There’s nothing like slipping on a sweater to find the arms two inches too short.
  2. Return to Writing in Six Steps (from hownottowrite.com). Did your summer fly by like mine? And, there on my desk sits that novel in progress, still…in progress. Waiting and whispering, Rewrite. Rewrite. oooOOOOoo0! So, get to it.
  3. Writerhead Wednesday: Featuring Tracy Seeley. A great Writerhead interview on Kristin Bair O’Keefe’s blog with Tracy Seeley. Tracy has a new memoir out, My Ruby Slippers, that sounds amazing. And, in her interview she mentions one trick that keeps her writing: not checking email before she gets out of bed. Not that I do that….

And, PS. Don’t forget this Wednesday Jenna Blum stops by for an interview about her bestselling novel, The Stormchasers.

Happy Day, folks!

Writer on Hiatus (Or, Intermission)

You won’t find me here for the next few days. It’s that time in the season, when we pack the car to the hilt, leave behind the bustling city, and head north, where pine trees line a two-lane highway and dirt roads lead to a small, spring-fed lake.

Right now, I might be sitting on the dock, dipping my toes into the lake’s water, which is crisp and cold, working up the courage to jump in and swim (that always takes a while).

Or, I could be inside, near the window, looking out into dusk, mapping the silhouette of the treeline in my mind.

If I’m lucky, I’ll see loons. I’ll catch a nap. I’ll bask in the sun on a day when the south wind pushes off the Northern chill.

It’s completely possible that I’ll load up on junk food. More than once.

Whatever the story, I can promise I’m having fun.

So, while I enjoy all-things-lazy, here are some links for your pleasure:

I hope lazy days line your horizon, too!