Pull Your Pants Up!

Someone had some difficulty keeping her pants on today.

She was all smiles this morning though.

A Little Self-Reflection

I know 99% of this blog is about Kathryn, but sometimes I stop and do a little reflection on my own life.  Now is one of those times.

The past few years have been an awesome period of rediscovery for me.  I have rediscovered my one great passion: writing.  I've always written stories and I've always loved doing it. I stopped for about ten years (give or take a few years).  I don't know why, but I did.  About five years ago, once I got a laptop, I decided to try it again and I'm so glad I did.  It has become an outlet for me...therapy in a way. I can escape and create whatever I want. I can be whatever I want and it feels amazing.  People don't understand how I can sit and write for hours or that there's rarely anything else I'd rather be doing. I tell people you can't understand unless you're a writer.  There's always a story hashing itself out in my head. I can't go anywhere without thinking of a new idea.  Songs are the biggest trigger for me. I hear something and I've got to tell a story about the images the song conjures in my head for me. It's no wonder nearly all of my book titles come from songs.

This year has been particularly exhilarating for me in regards to writing.  I never shared my writing with anyone, but in 2012, I took a chance and shared with a few people and they encouraged me to do more with it. In September 2012, I released my first book, "After the Sky Fell Down" on Amazon.  It was terrifying, but overall, it's been an amazing experience.  Sure there are those who hated it (and those are the reviews hardest to forget), but as of today, it has received 118 reviews (62 5 stars, 23 4 stars, 19 3 stars, 7 stars, and 7 1 star).  I think that's pretty good for an amateur.  Many of the reviews have brought me great joy with the kind words and it makes me want to keep writing.

Well, this year, I got the courage to release two more books, "Here With Me" and "Last Train Home".  It was been awesome!  I have received fantastic reviews for both and personal emails from readers telling me how much they enjoy my books.  It's really been amazing.  "Last Train Home" has had more success than "Here With Me" (HWM had about 3500 downloads during its free motion and has been selling well!  Nearly 80 copies between the U.S. and Great Britain!)  LTH received 7520 downloads in the U.S., 1347 in Great Britain, 296 in Germany, 32 in France, and a handful from other countries as well during it's free promotion.  It's a great feeling to know people all over the world are reading my stuff and giving me good reviews.  This has resulted in my highest sales yet on all three books and I'm excited to put that extra money I'll be earning towards my plane tickets home in July!  And because of a few requests from readers, I've decided to turn Last Train Home into a three book series. I'm currently feverishly writing the second book. 

I'm not writing this to toot my own horn, but rather to remember the joy it brings me in case I ever lose that joy again.  My childhood friend, Lizzie, sent me a message tonight that she'd been sent a book recommendation from Amazon and guess who the author was?  Me! Last Train Home!  That totally cracked me up.

Okay, I'm done...I've got some more writing to do.  The only downfall to this obsession is that I stay up entirely too long lost in my fantasy worlds.  It just makes me so happy and I hope it always does.

17-year-old Riley Regas has spent her entire life in Boston, so when she learns she’ll be picking up and moving to her mother’s childhood home of Carver, Kansas, she is less than thrilled. In fact, she is downright furious. Riley’s only visited Carver a handful of times. She barely knows her family that lives there and she has no desire to spend her senior year among the backward, simpleminded residents of Carver.

Reluctantly though, her views begin to change, despite her encounters with Adrienne, a girl Riley quickly realizes is determined to make her life miserable, when she meets Alex Bettencourt. Alex is popular and gorgeous and Riley’s never seen brown eyes quite like his before.

While Riley couldn’t be happier, she knows Jesse, her best friend in Carver, isn’t sure of her new relationship with Alex. She soon finds a balance between Alex and her friends though and life in Carver doesn’t seem so bad after all, even if her relationship with her mother is rocky at best.

Just when Riley thinks she might be happy in Carver, a single decision changes it all, leaving her to find out who she really is and who matters most in her life before she loses everything.

Kathryn Lane thinks she has life figured out: finish college, get a great job, marry her high school sweetheart, Ben, and have a family. But when tragedy strikes, she is left to pick up the pieces of her now shattered life. As she tries to make sense of her new reality, life takes another startling turn, leading her down a path she never imagined. Through it all she finds comfort in a surprising companion who becomes her best friend and rock as she tries to rebuild her life. But when she unexpectedly meets someone, whose kindness and understanding offers her a chance at a fresh start, she struggles to move forward, afraid to leave her past behind. Will she be able to move on and find peace with her past in order to discover her future or will she let her past condemn her to a life of loneliness, unable to let go of a life that can never be?

At 24, Mallory Leyton didn’t expect to still be living in the same house she grew up in, but ever since her mother’s Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, that’s exactly where she’s been.

The last thing on her mind is love, but that’s what she finds with Ryan Scott on the beaches of her native Kennebunkport, Maine. There’s something mysterious about Ryan though and when she finds out what he’s been keeping from her, she wonders if a future is even possible for them.

If it were up to Cole Hollins, her close friend and former flame, Ryan would’ve been out of the picture before he even entered it. Cole’s never given up hope of rekindling the romance he and Mallory once shared and neither has Mallory’s mother. If it were up to Claire Leyton, her daughter would marry into the elite Kennebunkport society Cole belongs to, and Ryan wouldn’t even be an option.

Just as things seem to be falling into place, Mallory is forced to make a choice that ultimately changes her life forever.

Random Shots of the Girl

I've been such a terrible blogger that I decided to just post bunch of random shots I've taken. Some may already be in another post, but it's been so long I'm not sure.  Oh well!  She's such a funny, photogenic girl! 

Blocks Rock!

Kate loves the blocks Santa brought her! She's got such a steady hand and an eye for design!

Christmas!

I have been a terrible blogger.  Ever since I had to move all of my pictures onto an external hard drive, it's just not as easy to blog.  I will catch up though!  I will start with Christmas, since those pictures are on my computer.

We were lucky enough to have Mom and Dad celebrate Christmas with us.  They came in on Dec. 18th.  Kathryn and I drove to Boston to pick them up after work/daycare and it was a hell of a trip.  Bumper to bumper traffic. It was awful!  The only silver lining in the situation is that I stopped to use the bathroom outside of Boston before the traffic got bad.  Had I not, I would've definitely used one of Kathryn's diaper!  Once we finally got home, it was so nice.  They left this morning.  Jared took them back and I guess they had a very smooth ride.  They got there in an hour and ten minutes.  Lucky them!  They're back home in Sierra Vista now and Kathryn misses them.  She kept looking for them today.  She really loves her Gangy and Pop-Pop.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at our house with the Parenteaus and Pegi.  I was a lot of fun and we threw a pretty good shindig.  Much thanks to the 'rents for all their help!  We had potato soup, minestrone soup, home made sausage (That's a story in itself!  We went on a wild goose chase trying to find the tinder quick salt needed to make it.  We eventually found it at a store in Massachusetts about 45 minutes away.  The salt was delicious!), ham, stuffed mushrooms, sausage balls,veggies and brownies. 

Christmas morning was fun.  Kathryn still doesn't grasp the concept, but she enjoyed her new toys Gangy and Pop-Pop and Santa brought her.  I think she really enjoyed her puzzles and new wooden block set!

We had dinner at the Parenteaus and it was delicious too.  Overall, it was a great Christmas.  I only wish Tarin could've been here too.

I've got more pictures, but I've got to upload them from the camera and my phone.

Christmas Eve

Walking into the living room on Christmas morning.

Pop-Pop and Kathryn

The plane my dad made for Jared.  A P-51 Mustang.  I think he really liked it.  Planes were something special Jared shared with his dad.

Two of the puzzles Gangy and Pop-Pop gave her.

Thank you, Neena for my new piano.  I love it!

Wickett likes his toy from Neena too!

Unwrapping her new block set from Santa!

Buster loved his new tennis balls!

Playing blocks with Gangy.

Kathryn loves Gangy!

We finally got a nice family shot (minus Tarin, of course) after me nagging.

Dad being silly withe the camera.

I love the look on her face!

Who Does Number 2 Work For?

I wouldn't say we're officially potty training.  We give Kathryn the opportunity to sit on the potty, as does Becky at daycare.  She's only actually tinkled in it like three times and that was months ago, but she likes sitting on the toilet.  She likes wiping, flushing and washing her hands.  Maybe someday soon she'll start going to bathroom before doing all that!  The other night she said she had to poop so I set her on the potty.  She was grunting and pushing and it was hilarious, but alas, no poop.  It was still pretty funny.