Happy 300 Day!

Now, I had planned to include a giveaway winner in today's "celebration", but since no one entered, I guess I'll celebrate by saving $25. I am quite surprised, and honestly disappointed, that no one entered. I had plenty of traffic to the entry post. Can anyone give me an idea? Oh well. Better luck next time.

I also thought I'd share some of my most popular/visited posts from among that last 100.



Lemme Try This --  This is where I announced my Quote Game. I did a few rounds on Facebook, but it wasn't very successful. There were a couple of fans that participated, for which I'm grateful. I may try it again in the future.

The Audio Journey Begins -- Did you know I started making my own audio book for The Bride? Well, some chapters are done. Maybe I should finish the book...

Fun With Cars -- Oh the woes of owning a car. This one is about late registration. Guess what's late again this year? The Jimmy needs a new transmission before it will pass safety/emissions. Anyone got a bucket of money they want to send my way?

Cooking With Kacie 2 -- This is it, people. THE FOCACCIA. This bread recipe is the best thing I've found in years. I make it all the time and it's super easy. In fact, I'm making some today for sandwiches and tomorrow for deep dish pizza. Oh, and again on Thursday for bread sticks. If you like homemade bread, give this a try.

DIY-ing and DIY-ing: Round Two -- My posts about products I make instead of buy. Some pretty good stuff, if I say so myself.

Well, there you go. I want to thank those of you who have stuck with me for 300 posts. They're not always exciting, but I do enjoy sharing my thoughts and experiences with you. I'm going to take a short break from blogging. I'll be back in September, unless I have something utterly amazing to share before then.

My Geekiness Is Showing: Round Two

A while back, I posted some pics of fictional characters from the vast Geek Universe that I plan to use in an ABC book for my future kids. (You can see them here.) At the time I only had a few done. Now I have most of them done. Here are some more examples.

There are two pictures for each letter (that's why some just say ...and so-and-so).

 

To further illustrate my tendency towards the geek end of things, I recently started reading a lot of manga. If you don't know what manga is, it is essentially Japanese comics. Of course, what I read is translated into English. I like the sweet, sappy romances (usually categorized as shoujo). Some are short, some are long. My favorites include Strobe Edge, Wild Wing, Home, Kanata Kara, Nise no Chigiri, and Kingyo Sou. One on my list to-read is Kimi ni Todoke. I've already watched the anime and the live action movie, both of which are excellent. Now that I'm hooked, I think I want try including manga as a way to share my stories. If you read my Samurai Penguin webcomic, you'll know I'm not the best at comic style art. I think I'm getting better, but if I want to pursue manga, I'm going to need a lot of practice. I have some tutorials at my disposal, which should help get me started. So that's a new goal I have.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. It ends soon. So far, I only hear crickets. I guess people don't want an amazon gift card. That's okay, I'll use it myself. :)

The (Mostly) Great Outdoors

Next weekend, hubby and I are going camping with my family. I'm not a huge fan of camping, but I am a huge fan of my family. They are the best. My reasons for not enjoying camping to its fullest is not because I'm a high maintainence, prissy type person who hates getting dirty, etc. It's all about the sleeping, or in my case, the not sleeping. (And the bugs. And the possibility of bears.) Now that I've changed my nighttime routine, (vitamins, herbal supplements, essential oils) I'm hoping this problem might actually be resolved. I am crossing my fingers.

We went camping last summer. I'm almost positive I wrote about, but I can't seem to find the post. Well, it rained the entire time. And I mean, rained. I was half expecting an Ark to float by. We only stayed one night instead of the planned two. I'm really hoping the rain stays away this year. (And the bugs. And the bears.)

Hey, enter my giveaway! Who doesn't want free Amazon? After I announce the winner next Tuesday, I'll be taking a little break from blogging, probably till the end of August. When I come back, I hope to be able to announce the completion of Foretold. Eeek! I'd better get busy!

Countdown to the Big 3-0-0!

To celebrate my upcoming 300th post, I am doing a giveaway! It starts today and ends on July 19 at midnight. The winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entrants and announced on July 21 to coincide with the 300th post. The prize will be a $25 Amazon e-giftcard, which will be emailed to the winner. Since I live in the US and will get the giftcard from the US amazon.com, the giveaway is for US residents only. Sorry. In the future I may figure out a way to make this international, but for now, I'm taking the easy route. You must be 18 or older to enter/win.

I know it's fun to enter giveaways, and easy to forget the person later on. I would really appreciate some support from existing and potential fans. All my books are available on all amazon.com sites in ebook form and paperback. If you haven't given them a try, please do so! And if you've read one or more and haven't yet given them a glorious review, I invite you do that as well. Each small bit of help will ultimately make my slow climb to success that much sweeter. I will also once again plug my Super Fan club. The membership is small right now, but we've done some fun things already. I enjoy interacting with fans and sharing exclusive stuff with them in return for their loyalty.


 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Workin' It

About 10 years ago, I started eating healthier and working out regularly, which was hard because I love food (mostly the junk kind) and I hate exercising. This lasted for about 5 years, where I was able to lose about 30 pounds and keep it off. After getting married, I kinda stopped doing both things, especially the exercising, though I was still able to manage my weight. I worked at an elementary at the time, so I remained physical during PE and recess. After a job change, I was much more sedentary and my eating habits, while still healthy from time to time, included more junk. Needless to say, I started to gain weight again. Never to the extent as before, but clothes weren't fitting as well and I was feeling more lethargic. I needed to change, again. About four months ago, I started exercising again-- treadmill and some simple yoga. I hate running. I think it is akin to torture. When I began, I was content to simply walk on the treadmill. After a week or so, I added some minimal jogging. That was hard. Now, even though I still don't like running, I can run on the treadmill for a few minutes in between some walking. I'm seeing improvements with energy, how my clothes fit, and  my overall appearance. My diet isn't as strict as it was when I first lost weight, but I do make an effort to include healthier foods and healthy substitutions. Like yesterday, I wanted some cookies. I followed a basic chocolate chip recipe, but instead of using butter or shortening, I used sour cream. This changes the consistency a bit, but the cookies are still delicious. I know it's important to take care of myself, so I will continue these habits for as long as I can. Or until Science discovers that magic pill. :)


Two weeks from today will be my 300th post. I'll be doing a giveaway, which will start on Saturday. You'll get all the details then.

Freedom

Today is Independence Day here in the US. It's usually a time to think back and be grateful for those who sacrificed so much for us to have the rights and freedoms we have now. While I will always remember and honor those people, including those who serve and sacrifice today, it is pretty obvious that our country is a lot different than it was when it began. Some of those differences are good, others not so much. I'm not going to get into a heated personal or political rant, but I just want to express that I can see that this nation is suffering in many ways. It's going to get worse, at least for those of us who wish for more faith in and reliance on God. He hasn't left us, and will not, no matter how hard some people try to push Him away. God bless America, now more than ever.