Brad Paisley - Beat This Summer- Live

Every time I hear this on the radio, I smile. I hope you all have a blessed summer.

Paleo Update

I wanted to update you on my paleo life. Starting this in the spring was a good idea because of all the wonderful fresh produce. I imagine the winter would be a hard time to start.

There are a few shady areas of the diet. Some "authorities" say potatoes and rice are okay. Others disagree. So I've eaten potatoes (especially on vacation), but I haven't touched rice.

We've eaten a lot of salads. I discovered you can have a healthy lunch for less than 200 calories if you put tuna on your salad and use a lite vinaigrette. Tim and Scott think it's disgusting, but it's not bad.

One thing I've tried that we all like is drying my own fruit. It occurred to me that the dried fruit I ate was really sweet. Turns out they add sugar. So I ordered this handy dandy machine to do it myself.

So far I've tried apples, mangoes, bananas, cherries, and kiwi. The apples and cherries were my favorites. Tim and Scott have enjoyed this experiment. Scott even took some to work, and the guys there offered some suggestions of foods to try.

I've lost ten pounds in six weeks, and I feel better. So for now I'm going to stick with this eating plan.

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy Father's Day Weekend

This weekend is Father's Day Weekend. I've been blessed with a wonderful dad, and I hope you've had wonderful father in your life.

Here is a picture of my parents this past Christmas. Dad always has a ready smile and usually a funny story to tell. Strike that, not usually, he always has a funny story to tell that's sure to bring a smile to your face.

Stranger is not in my dad's vocabulary. He's traveled all over the southeast United States to watch the grandkids play sports. He can strike up a conversation with anybody. And he remembers them.

My youngest son says he's had tennis players tell him they met his granddaddy at tournaments, and Scott never knew they'd had a conversation.

Dad also understands why I'm a big Georgia football fan, and he keeps up with the Dawgs so we can discuss them together.
(Daddy graduated from the University of Kentucky but helped me in the decision making process of choosing to go to the University of Georgia for pharmacy school.)








Here my brother, Chris, and I are with my parents last spring.

I love my dad and can't wait to see him so we can celebrate Father's Day this weekend.


I hope you all have a great weekend!

The Lone Star State

I've never thought a lot about the nickname for Texas. The Lone Star State. Seems sad. Don't you think? So I decided to look it up.

Texas became the 28th state in 1845. Before that it was a province of Mexico. Texas fought for independence from Mexico from 1835-1836. When it gained independence, the new flag featured one lone star. It's been said this star reprents defiance, pride, and independence.


The Lone Star is not only on it's flag but also it's state seal. So from now on I won't think of the Lone Star as lonely but a sign of strength and independence.

I've only been to Texas twice in my life, but I'm excited to learn more about it.

What do you like about Sundays?

Star Wars Quote of the Week

Princess Leia: This is some rescue! You came in here, but didn't you have a plan for getting out?
Han Solo: [pointing toward Luke] He's the brains, sweetheart!

Can you hear this conversation in your head? Are you smiling? I hope so.

Hop, hop, blog hop

My friend, LeAnne Bristow, invited me to participate in a blog hop. She said please three times, and I probably would have said yes after one please.

LeAnne and I are both writers, and we've both been to London.

Here's LeAnne in London.

And here's a picture of me in London.

I hope to go back one day when I have more time.





LeAnne asked me four questions.

1. What am I working on?

I'm working on The Bye Way Inn a romance set on the coast of North Carolina. I've written the story and am editing it now. I hope to have it ready to pitch at ACFW conference in September.

The day Rachel Grant discovers she has inherited her grandmother's inn, Matt Jackson shows up from Inn Possible to help improve the place. Rachel wasn't prepared to inherit The Bye Way, and she wasn't prepared to meet Matt. He can't believe she's not more excited to have such a great place. As they work together toward a common goal, they develop feelings for each other until Matt discovers a secret that could end their budding relationship.

2. How does my work different from others?

I usually have pets in my story and try to inject a little humor. I love romantic comedies, and the men in my family are pretty funny. I'd like to think my stories will make my readers smile. My stories also are Christian based. No bad words or scenes you'd be embarrassed to have your children read.

3.Why do I write what I do?

In January I was writing a story about heroin addiction, and the more I wrote the more down in the dumps I got. After a while I decided to write happier stories. God is the center of my life, so I can't imagine writing a story that did not focus on him in a good way.

4. How does my writing process work?

I'm still trying to figure out the best way. I create my characters first. I always need a picture of them to refer to, especially my heroes. Otherwise they all end up looking like my husband. (He's always my hero!)

After I create my characters, I come up with a basic plot that I try to follow. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.



That's enough about me. I'd like to introduce you to a couple of friends of mine that I met through ACFW critique groups.

They both write great Christian suspense.

Heidi Glick is talented, young, and energetic. She and her husband came from Ohio to Kentucky one day so we could brainstorm ideas. Heidi and her husband, John, have an adorable son and are expecting another baby soon. Heidi's debut novel, Dog Tags is available now.
Heidi is working on a devotional book with a few other authors.





Another friend of mine is Marcy G. Dyer.

Marcy is a registered nurse and suspense author. She doesn't hold back in her stories, and you'll find yourself flipping through the pages. She currently has two novels from the Desert Winds Series available: Down & Out and Out for Blood Her newest novel, Blood and Lies will release in November.