Skip to main content

Hulk Smash!

 "Hulk smash!"

--The Incredible Hulk


On Father's Day, my family gathered together at my parent's house for a cookout. The kitchen door opened repeatedly as people arrived. One person caught both my and my husband's attention. My three-year-old nephew was wearing an Incredible Hulk mask. We were torn between laughing and feeling slightly uncomfortable as he stared us down, mean mugging and unblinking. J is his own brand of awesome. I may be biased, but I think all my nieces and nephews are.

Lately, I've been feeling particularly thankful for my siblings and their littles. I'm amazed at how personalities can shine through such tiny people in big ways.💚I want them to embrace every beautiful part of themselves, to discover and grow and flourish.

Too often we get disconnected from those parts of ourselves. Take some time today and think about the things that made you happy when you were a child. Was it painting? Did you love to climb trees? Were you the person who stood up for the kid getting bullied? Get out your paint brushes again. Go outside and walk around in nature. Use your voice to speak up for those who can't. The beautiful parts of you are still there. They might be stored in a corner of your heart, dusty and temporarily forgotten. But I'm betting they work and that you'll find an unexpected joy in them you would have otherwise missed out on.



What I've been reading . . .

The Heart of Betrayal and The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

The Remnant Chronicles

Books 2 & 3

YA Fantasy


"Some scars took longer to heal than others, and some scars, I knew, were necessary. Some things you should never forget."

--The Beauty of Darkness


If you're looking for an un-put-down-able series, this is it!

*Warning for sensitive readers: Contains some language and adult content.



What I've been listening to . . .

"Stay Strong" by the Newsboys

An oldie but goodie.


"Dark Side" by Bishop Briggs

Sometimes I come across a song that feels like it should go on a project playlist, but I don't have a project that it fits with. It often leaves me wanting to create a playlist of these songs, including this one. I'd call it, "Someone please use this!"😆



Currently enjoying . . .

Hot chocolate! I know, who drinks cocoa in the summer? But I've been looking for the right cocoa to sweetener ratio for some time. And I finally found it!


Hot Chocolate

1 2/3 C heated milk

2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TBS natural maple syrup

Top it off with almond milk and a dash of cinnamon (if you're into that . . . #oncersforever).



Blessings,

J 🤍






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spring is Here!🌷

 Happy spring, friends!🌞🌱 We've had a lot of rain here in the Hoosier state. It's getting warmer, and things are greening up. I can't wait for sunny days when I can go for walks and start working on my garden. This year, I'm planning to try my hand at container gardening. My garden plot is pretty small to start with. I like things that are straightforward and practical. So, this seems like it might be a good fit. And less weeding! Which is good, because I'm continuing to work through final tweaks for Champion's Sword . I should be done by the end of April. Then I'll move on to formatting, followed by one final read to check for commas and such. I'm looking forward to refilling my creative well and returning to drafting after so long in editing land.😉 Reading . . . This month, I re-read Spells for Forgetting  by Adrienne Young. And I finally got my hands on Ignite  by Kara Swanson. If you've read Champion's Key , you'll understand why this ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book News!

Champion's Sword releases July 16! The ebook is up for preorder. Paperbacks can be ordered on the publication date. Available on Amazon! It's both exciting and bittersweet to get the conclusion of this story into your hands. I've walked in the world of the Woodland elves for several years now. It feels a little strange to be letting these characters go. But I'm excited to dive into another story and new characters. In other news, A Desperate Love  has finished its journey with my publisher and, for the time being, will be out of print. I have the option to self-publish and am seriously considering doing so. Stay tuned for details! Reading . . . On a whim, I picked up Be More Unicorn  by Joanna Gray. I also read Some Like It Scot  by Pepper Basham. My feelings about this book? I think Larry the Cucumber summed it up best. "I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob." Touching, funny, heartwarming. I highly recommend and can't wait for Pepper's next book, espe...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Favorite YouTubers

Something I've wanted to do for a while is share my favorite YouTube channels. But every time I considered doing it as a post on social media, I would get overwhelmed and set the idea aside. What better way to give it the attention it deserves and shift back into author mode than to post it here? Also, typing everything out on my phone sounded absolutely horrendous. And for those of you who are curious, I plan to start drafting next week.😉 As I type this, aesthetic photos look down upon me from my bulletin board and a blue binder containing character sheets, scene ideas, & town places sits to my left. I have dubbed my little town "Kirkley."🩷 Side note: A number of these YouTubers have books, so be sure to check those out as well! Bernadette Banner : If you're a fan of fashion history, hand sewing, and corsetry, this is the place for you! Charlie Follows : I really enjoyed the yoga teacher I was following online before Charlie, but I wasn't a huge fan of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more