Short and Sweet

I keep writing and working my way toward my dreams but in that I also do a lot of other things. Especially since it is the Holidays. We have snow flakes hanging from the ceiling, lights dangle in the windows and along the roof top and the Christmas tree is a very loyal charlie brown fake tree. The Shopping and crafting has been a lot of fun and now the wrapping seems endless. I have still found time to read a little and work on editing my Manuscript not as much as I would like but hey it is something. I wish you all A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year may 2014 be a wonderful year! 

Works in Progress

Currently I am working on four different books. I know its crazy. One is about something I don't know what yet it is just developing. One is about aliens and young life, one is about a vampier and warlocks daughter. and the last one is about the odd life of a young girl who takes the supernatural and goes with it. Juggling writing, kids, husband, house and work can be exhausting so I added college to it just to add another gallon of coffee into my week. I figure I will get this schedule down eventually. Until then I just do it all in small some times tiny strides.

Everything doesn't come in Black and White sometimes it comes in rainbow and I suppose that is how I live my life. I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving and are gearing up for Christmas like we are. My very amazing children may each have a special Nook HD waiting for them Christmas morning. Let me know what your reading in the comments below :)

Roll with the punches

First off Happy Thursday,

I really have learned through out my life to roll with it and just keep going no matter what. There are moments though when everything hits you like a cement wall and digging your way past it with a spoon is the only option. I think it is important to find the good in it all like the fact that you have a spoon to dig with you could have to use your hands and yet you could be thankful you have hands. 

I didn't get selected for agent treat but I did get a couple people to read a bit of my Manuscript and they gave me some great feed back. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia when I was in 5th grade up until that point I had struggled through school it was amazing being able to write a sentence completely backwards but only I could read it. I never let my ability stop me though. I kept writing and I kept learning new ways to cope and push forward. I admired Harriet the Spy and the show Ghost Writer if you were a 90's kid you get this. I just wanted to get my stories out there. So when I got my feed back I realized I had so much dyslexia no wonder they didn't pick me. My brain completely reads  every sentence correctly and it adds or changes it as I read it for some reason my mind doesn't see the errors even though they are very much there. I am going to use the advice and corrections I was given and try really hard to not miss these errors that swarm my manuscript. I was told I have amazing voice and my story is really unique and fun. That is where I will be in my free time grinding out my manuscript and getting it ready for an editor. I shall try to see where I am at the end of November and enter it for a contest called pitchwars but if it isn't ready I may have to sit this one out and thats okay.

My NaNoWriMo is coming along I haven't kept the word count I would have liked but I plan on writing at night when I can and trying my best. 

As a military spouse things change all the time. One day were moving the next were staying. One day were going here the next there. My husband has off and then he doesn't it is just life. I had planned to go to Romantic Times in New Orleans in May. I was finally going to meet my amazing online writing friends and my favorite author Aprilynn Pike. I don't talk about my children much but they each have their own special gift and require a very strict schedule. Sometimes the smallest change can cause weeks worth of progress to disappear. When I made my plans my husband was taking the week off to ensure their schedules stayed the same. Well those have changed and he will now be in a school that he can not take leave out of. To say this sucks would be a light way to put it. I cried a little I had such high hopes and excitement. I try to find the good in this to but for right now it is just a soar subject. I am a pretty selfless person I give and give and give because I love with all my heart and in that I do not take much time for myself and the time I do take is usually filled with guilt for not being with my kids and husband. This maybe was the first time I was going to be selfish in the last 8 years but I guess there is always next year. 

Like I said in life you have to roll with the punches you have to be able to pick yourself back up no matter how much it hurts. There is something important and amazing in every one and it could mean the world to someone you may not even know if you just share it. 

Aprilynn Pike released a new cover for her new book to her Earthbound called Earthquake it is pretty cool looking!!! 

Have a good Weekend and remember our VETERANS and their families!! 

Trying to Kill Time

Happy Friday!!! 

This week I submitted When Stars Collide to a contest called Agent Treat, Some really awesome ladies I follow on twitter who have become amazing writer friends are running it. Needless to say I have been checking and waiting and dying for next Tuesday to hurry up already and get here so I can see if I made the final 39 cut... 

In that time I have been organizing my NaNoWriMo for November. This is a million writers writing a new book in 30 days. The goal is 50k words. Yes you would think I would be starting When Worlds Collide but no I am going to take on a new adventure I feel a special Paranormal fantasy story coming on and no it does not involve Vampires, Werwolves or Zombies. I just see a lot of Ocean and teenage problems. 

Now that I am ready to begin that project, I have been forced to find other means of distraction to avoid twitter and not go insane during my daycare kids 2 hour nap break, they have included cutting fabric for a wash clothes, writing a separate project and extra proof reading on my submission. 

Below is part of my pitch to Agent Treat. Now to understand my #1, The contest has agents what are costumed so we don't know who they are but we had to explain which one our main character would be... Now I can see the wording isn't perfect and yes it is driving me insane but hopefully they will look past this and love my story just a little.

When Stars Collide

By: Keri Sue

YA, Science Fiction / Paranormal 50,000+ words

Stardust, human and a taste of alien DNA makes up 17 year old being Celeste. With her closest friends and allies united they become more powerful then even a quasar, on a vengeful path of suction towards their home planet Bied. At first though together they must cypher through the lies and charms used to railroad their destinies, all the while putting aside the levitating and telepathic talking to make room for force fields and time bending talents.

1)    

My main Character Celeste would be Princess Leia; fighting evil beings, traveling to exotic planets, and learning family secrets, while crafting celestulous and unique friendships, romantic relationships and sworn enemies.

2)    

High Definition vision, glowing skin, alien in DNA but human in form with a     hint of mystery, love and friendship makes my story unique. The stardust alone will make my story marketable, but if you need more we can add black holes and beautiful necklaces that wield power.

Have a super awesome weekend and follow me on twitter @kerigilles or 

 Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/KSPDWrites

Crazy in the Air

It has been a bit, I feel I start a lot of my blog post off by saying this... Welcome to my crazy life. Every day seems to come with daunting tasks most of them are fun they just take time. I have officially opened my in home daycare and take notes on the hilarious things my kids say to add in a book someday. Last week one told me thats fizangled I am not to sure where this word will go but it absolutely must be used. It is that time of year again where one year ago I had just finished my 50k word manuscript and all these contest were popping up. I really, really, really wanted to submit to them and learned in the midst that no amount of coffee or days with no end would be enough to polish my MS in time. I passed on a few and then I did submit to one because I really thought my MS was beautiful. It was a very awesome learning experience to say the least. I made a ton of online writer friends though who I am dying to meet next May at RT2014. Some like Kimberly Chase and Brenda Drake who took the time to give me advise and are always inspiring me by creating contest and reminding me there is always another contest and the Query trenches just keep writing. 

With that I have been writing and reading and editing and polishing. for the past 9 months I have been working toward a better MS. I am on my kind of final draft. With the help of my aunt and her editing eye we shall be ready for these contest. Problem is every time I proof read I find new things I forgot about and go back and research better wording or sentence structure. These are writer problems I suppose but this is where I am starting so I feel it important to tell others. We all start somewhere and we just have to keep going and keep editing and keep polishing. If your in writing for the money or the fame you are not in it for the right reasons writing is a way to express yourself when you cross the finish line you want to offer the world something you can be proud of. To my fellow writers keep going, you have a story in you and it will come out just breath and write. 

Now I will tell you what has kept me away... I had a change in job placement, we moved, been working on my daycare, Autism Walk, my daughters 7th birthday Disneyland for the first time trip and many days of child filled events. Most of you know my son is autistic and if you didn't well you do now. The Autism Walk really hits your heart cords, because not all kids are like my son, not all of them will have a fully functioning life. The ones who have overcome so much remind you that your not alone in this, its just an amazing experience. 

So contest I am entering.... Agent Treat , PitchMadness , possibly Pitch MAS and I shall be polishing that Query letter :) I want to go to New Orleans as an up and coming author that is my goal! 

Have a very happy weekend! 

Until next time keep smiling because your awesome! 

When An Idea Sneaks Up On You

Sometimes ideas creep up on you as a writer this happens often. Walking in the dark I started to feel like running heart racing I could feel the rain in the air and the wind whirling around me and then I could see her in my mind. A young girl Tanzie running and not scared but just trying to escape her life for a few moments. Unlucky for her it was raining and very windy. At that moment I rushed home a wrote this scene out and it is growing by the day. 

Granted I am still very much working on When Stars Collide but it is nice to have a story that isn't already written. New fresh different characters. This takes me back because I was very upset that Stephanie Meyer announced that she knew what was to come next in the Twilight Saga but refused to write it just yet, she wanted to work on other things. I get it now. Though I am burning the candle at both ends everything is slowly coming together and I can not wait to share these stories with my very loved and very awesome followers. 

I am having a vote going for When Stars Collide main character name. originally it was Mira and I went to Merra and now I am thinking Celeste, Zoey or Austora... Leave me a comment below on your thoughts. 

I always like to inspire with my blog, this week my son and daughter started their new schools and I was panicking trying to find something social for my daughter that wasn't to expensive, and I could get her to daily. A lady I ran into told me about Save The Children an after school program for grades 1st to 6th... After further investigation I found it was a learning based team building program. My Daughter is not a team person normally. She literally failed PE for not participating, Imagine my shock when they told me she was working in a team and helping and communicating on a Yoga routine they would do... Well she loves her program and I am a happy mommy so thrilled that she is growing and overcoming challenges  Pretty epic that 3 years ago she was Autistic and now she isn't even on the spectrum and granted dealing with ADHD ODD but always surprising her doctors and therapist with the boundaries she is willing to push. 



TTFN
KSPD :) 

For the Love of Writing

I keep hearing master pieces are not written in a day but I really do wish I could have this manuscript written out and ready for my hard edits... I try to a lot time for writing but things always come up or get disrupted I shall not give up though I shall press on. My goal was to be edited by December I suppose I better get my booty in gear. I entered a contest last year and got a lot of very great feedback I plan to enter it again this year with a beauty of a manuscript. 

I have a lot of people helping in the background of my life. My husband who literally hands me coffee and sends me to write, my son and daughter who try to help me make up characters... My family who I know think I am crazy to add anything else to my crazy day but help me in anyway they can... My Aunt Karen who is always encouraging and pushing me forward to push out that next chapter and her edits and feed back that really help developed the parts of my story that I was trying to say but couldn't depict the right wording. I suppose it is time for me to really dive into this adventure I can't wait to give you all updates and share more with you as it comes a long.... 

Other than that we are moved but we are not settled if that makes sense still unpacking and organizing, setting up the preschool I am starting and getting everybody ready for new schools... It is a fun and tiring week in this house but I will share photos soon!!! 
TTFN
KSPD 

Bound to Life

Life sometimes has a funny way of throwing us off track, and seems to think derailing is a really awesome way, to give us the want to go on and see what else can happen... The past couple months have been very trying in my life funny enough though everything seems to be falling into place. Maybe that is what life is about maybe it isn't about the day to day mumble grumble but the 10 year picture the long term.


I don't get into the personalities of my life this is the internet for goodness sake; but I will tell you that even among the flames of hell I came out on top. Now my blogging and writing on the other hand well those have suffered a bit. The blog I bring you today is to inspire you to keep going and keep dreaming and keep reaching. I haven't written in a month. Every time I sit down to write I am slammed with yet another travesty, but I will keep sitting down because I know that at some point the fire will clear and the calm of the roaring ocean will enforce my story and project greatness. 



As for amazing books for Young Adult I finished Numbers 1 to 3 of mortal instruments series which I really enjoy and am excited to finish the last two. I have fallen in love yet again with Aprilynn Pikes new amazing stories (Life After Theft and Earth Bound). I am struggling to read them both at the same time because I feel the characters fight over my attention and I am betraying one by spending time with the other but were getting through. (Yes, I am still planning on going to Illinois next May to meet her.... geeeee) I am going to start reading Terry Brooks yay! I also have began the Harry Potter books with my daughter who loves magical realism and alternate worlds like her mommy! 



So while I am moving and settling and setting up this new adventure of a home enrichment program and day care I shall attempt to still blog to you guys!! My Aunt asked me about short stories I am considering it but they all seem to drag on longer than short story material hmmmmm decisions! 



TaTaForNow 
KSPD 

Sunshine Award

I was nominated by Roberta Goodman for the Sunshine award. I haven't ever been nominated for something like this so it is really exciting. This past year has been a learning experience to say the least. I wrote half a novel chucked it wrote another 15k words saved it and then I wrote a 53k manuscript and well that is be re-written. I have learned though that no matter what challenges I face I can make it through. I have loved to write since I was very young but having dyslexia and writing are not always the easiest of things. When you love to do something though; a little word mix up is worth it. As a nominee I was asked to do a few things.... 
First thank you Roberta your blog is fantastic as well! www.rgoodman.com check her out!!

The Rules: When you receive the award, you are asked to do a few things…

1. Post the Sunshine Award Logo you see at the top.

2. Accept the nomination and link back to the nominator.

3. Answer the questions below.

4. Nominate ten other blogs and inform them of the nomination.

 

That is all :)

1) My favorite Color : I love blue's and purples they can be so vibrant and calming all at once. 

2) My Favorite Animal: Well I love animals, Turtles I love turtles. They are a reptile I know but Since I was about 3 years old I have loved turtles. I loved that they could just hide in their shell when they get scared and peak out every so often to make sure the coast was clear. 

3) My favorite number:  777 Three times the luck 

4) My favorite non alcoholic beverage: Tea I love tea with honey and agave.

5) My favorite Alcoholic beverage: Anything with Malibu Passion rum... 

6) Facebook or Twitter: I am better at Facebook because my family is on there but I do tweet as well. I am not really good at keeping up with everyone though three kids a dog and a husband, job, college and writing keeps you busy.

7) My Passions: My husband, daughter, and son's. They are my world my everything. Of course writing and I love being crafty or being outside. 

8) Giving or Receiving gifts: Giving, I try to give back in every way I can. My son has autism and I love helping other parents who need a direction or a new out look on it when their children are diagnosed. We do a lot of charity and volunteering as well for our kids schools and activities. 

9) Favorite City: I would have to say West Linn, OR It is so peaceful there and beautiful. Good schools and jobs but the part I love most about West Linn is the trees and green that surrounds it with a little vintage type town setting. 

10) Favorite TV Shows: Oh man this could be a long list. I love Grey's anatomy, Vampire Diaries, Castle, Bones, Revenge, Firefly, Dexter, Breaking Bad, anything supernatural that isn't to scary lol and funny ones like Up all Night and New Girl. 

My Ten Nominees: 

Trish Marie Dawson @Trish_Dawson

Red Tash  @redtashbooks

Elizabeth Briggs @Lizwrites

Dahlia Adler  @MissDahlELama

Kris Mehigen  @KKMHOO

Angela James @angelajames

Brenda Drake @brendadrake

Jen Malone  @Jenniferlmalone

Cassandra Marshall  @OnlyCassandra

Lori M Lee @LoriMLee

I have chosen women who inspired me to keep going even when I want to quit and are always uplifting and positive. If I ever have a question they answer it and they in so many words treat me like I am human. Even if I am some no name author right now. Their inspiration and passion helps me keep mine and they help so many others. Always volunteering for contests or just posting things that matter. Thanks ladies I pass the torch to you!

A Lesson Learned

Writing is something that has always come easy to me, I never really struggled with getting the words on paper. Now wether those words were spelled correctly and the writing murdered the english language or not I can not say. Teachers always tell me I have amazing voice in my writing and I flow well. Last year I wrote a book it was a first draft that I thought was more like an eighth until I started looking into winning contests and writing my query letter to agents. The rejection I got were hard but it was also empowering and very informative. I took a break and a couple months ago I wrote a little and then blamed life for getting busy as to not have to look upon my embracing mistake a little while longer. Well the problem with writers is we have all of these stories that flood our heads plotting murders, falling in love, going to school or college, building a family all with factious characters of course. If we don't write we block our heads with tons of voices, yes I said voices and so you wither write them out or you go crazy, I didn't go crazy I found the courage to try again. 

I read a lot of blogs about writing and how hard it is for some. i thought to myself the writing part is easy for me its the revising and the editing that are scary. Then I reminded myself how I was once scared of the dark and I got over it for the most part, (still get a little scared okay) So I sucked it up. I read through my original horrific MS and took from it what I thought I could use and began again. 

 I have learned now though that yes some writers like Stephen King can write a book and it will be a best seller but we all start some where. As I write my new book I have set realistic goals and not right now goals. I want to show the world my characters and make them fall in love with them as I have. Rushing my story will get me no where. 

So I am starting at the top writing a little each day as well as reading and completing the book. Setting it aside for a couple days and reading a book. Then Revising three drafts, sending it out to close friends and family for their eyes by the time I am ready to look into an editor I will fully revise my Manuscript 8 times. I will have my query letter hacked by Saturday night Hackers and Agent query and I will have everything looked over by other Authors who are willing.

 Then I will enter contest and query agents. something encouraging that every Author who read my first MS said was, my voice is amazing in my writing and my story was new and fun. 

Lesson learned here is that there is no need to rush the writing to get to the stress of the agent trenches. There are other options like Self Publishing and Ebook publishers and lastly if your going to share your crazy mind with the world it might as well be EPIC rather than your rushed work. 

There is always another contest, another agent and a million readers who don't know it yet but are dying to read your book. I really hope to go to LASBCWI this year to meet my favorite authors and new writer friends and build on some of my skills I am learning when it comes to writing a fantasy science fiction YA novel. 

One last lesson was to watch the news feeds of the agents I am considering submitting too to make sure I know their attitude towards certain works and a little about them before I send in my forth baby. 

Have a happy Weekend! 

                                    I am 79 lbs down from 252 lbs :) thought I would share! 

Young Children's Books From The 90's and Kids Today

I got an email about how much children's books have changed since the 90's. Biggest change being the pictures and the word choice. I think we all enjoyed these books I have listed. I also have to agree the books like Junie B Jones were not really popular when I was a kid because the language was not correct English. Now they are chart toppers. Comics were not like Diary of a Wimpy Kid they were comic books. Not saying that enjoying these books is bad but that children should probably not be reading them until they understand that the words written in them may not be the correct way to use or say enjoy a small travel back in time... 

I for one loved this book and I remember our teacher having us make our own book like it. Brown Bear Brown Bear is another one that just amazed the world of young readers. 

My 5th grade teacher Mrs. Wollery  read this book to our class. It inspired me to reach for more out of life and not let anyone knock me down. 

Every Liberian in every school was reading this book to students. Such an awesome book and a well deserved prize winner. 

I have to say this book amazed my mind I checked it out about 50 times before my Aunt bought it for me. Then I was engulfed in it all of the time. 

I love this story. I hated the movie but this story was one shared around the world and so beautifully drawn. 

If you didn't read this series you should even as adults you would enjoy it. 

Everyone had these in school. My parents didn't like them but I read all of my friends they were defiantly fun. 

Well I don't think there is anything to say other than Awesome.... 

A true classic filled with imagination and wonder. 

Think this was the first time any one saw the word stupid on a cover of a book on a book shelf... It was a good book though. 

All girls loved these as well as the American Girl series and Nancy Drew

This is Justis favorite book but it was mine when I was a kid as well.

We all know this guy! 

A nice story about sharing and friendship this also won an award and it has beautiful water color pictures. 

5th grade yep yep

The first book I ever read by myself. 

Such a sweet fun story. 

I think we can all agree these books made us laugh and cry. They taught us to read and in a way write. My kids have most of these books sadly I found a lot of them on Clarence shelves and in used book stores. I should say sad for them happy for me! Literature is lost in our society now. Everything is electronically and many of the great American literature books are on these devices people don't think to buy them. TV, Movies, Video Games and Media have taken over our young children's minds. If you buy a kid a book today most of them give you that thanks but no thanks look. It truly is sad. Every year there are book drives to help gather books for kids who do not have anything. It makes me so happy to help out with these. As a writer I worry that kids will soon not have any interest in a good book at all. As a mom I will never let my kids stop reading. I learned at a young age knowledge is power and with it you can reach the moon. My daughter is in first grade she is reading BOB books at school she is reading chapter books at home. Her teacher asked me how I get her to read such hard material. My response was, I read with her! It isn't rocket science many of us learned to read because we didn't have TV or anything else to do. 

When kids fight reading you know you have done something wrong. I am not calling anyone out but it is proven in the education journals that kids who live in homes where the parents play video games and watch encumbered amounts of TV and are never read to will not enjoy reading. In this I challenge you go to the library get one of these books and share it with your child if you do not already have one. The best part is you can tell them about the first time you remember hearing the story. Not only are you building a reading skill you are building a relationship with your child. Books are a gateway to the imagination and the heart! Enjoy! 

AWESOMENESS

I started a journey along my writing journey. That is probably the reason my 2nd book is not complete yet but it is an important one. I was 252lbs. May of last year and I am 5'8. I think you can see from the image above it wasn't a pretty picture. I also was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and since I carry a clotting disorder any weight loss surgery would be fatal. I decided I had to change my life and with a little motivation from my sister we will call her KR I started that journey. I struggled with work out videos and calorie diets. I went from 252 to 229 between May and August I sort of was stuck there. When I saw an old Friend and he lost a ton of weight plus looked a thousand times happier. He had taken a vegan approach to his lifestyle. I decided it was time I take one for mine. Between mid October to now I went from 229 to 189. Which if your adding that's 63lbs. I still have a ways to go to get to 140 but I will get there and it will be awesome.

Writing I have been doing a lot of thinking and re reading my book and many other books to try and figure out how to change my story and create a masterpiece. I finally am on track with an idea. It is about Mira and her friends but it is much bigger than anyone can see coming and it will blow your mind. I probably will be finished with it sometime this year and then the edits will begin. I want to thank all of you for supporting me and being awesome through my journey it makes me feel important and worth while.

Next week I need a topic that is fun but requires some research offer me some ideas and besure to like my facebook page. Have a great rest of the week!

A new Year A new beginning

I don't really do much of reflection usually at the beginning of the year but I thought since so many of you are out there routing for me I would give you some insight to my 2012. As every year there are twelve months and usually something big happens every month. When I look back to my January I was not the happiest person. I knew that I had to deal with my issues from my past that were haunting my every day life. I started counselling and from there I started a new journey. 

Every week I went to see two different therapist. One was for physiology and one was for psychiatry yes I knew two very similar but very different things. I knew that taking anti psychotics was not going to work for me I pretty much got lower on every one I tried so I went to see a psychiatric who also was a natural path certified doctor. With in a month I felt better. He told me that my depression was not a chemical imbalance it was due to trauma I endured as a child. This brings me to a huge point. Children are very sensitive even if they seem strong and divorce is not easy on them. Fighting with each other makes the children suffer ten times more than you could ever know when it comes to divorce. Separating the siblings makes it that much worse. 

After I worked through many months of therapy we got orders to 29 palms California. To create a smooth transition I moved ahead of my husband with our children so they could start school on time and un disturbed   It was a month before all of this that my doctors told me I had pulmonary hypertension  they wanted to preform a gastric bypass because I was a hundred lbs over weight  It hit me pretty hard to hear that and then what they told me next was that much harder. They couldn't do the surgery because I carry a blood clothing disorder. If I didn't lose the weight though I probably would only live a year or so. I hadn't ever thought to much about dieting but with that news I was pretty shook up. I started eating smaller portions and lost 10 lbs in two months. To me it wasn't enough so I started doing P90x in July. I also made a goal to lose 100lbs in a year starting August 1st. 

My husband who was still in Hawaii getting ready to head out to us. had felt like he didn't want to be married anymore. He got a little lost in all of the therapy and stress of the move. Our marriage was struggling. I just asked him to give me six months and let us work on this. I also told him if in six months  he still wanted out  I would willingly sign divorce papers. It was a stressful couple of weeks but we pulled it together. When he finally got out here to Joshua Tree California everything got better fast. It was like a new start. It took time to rebuild the trust between us but after about 4 months we knew we were right where we belonged. 

In October I had lost 20 lbs. I could not do P90X any longer because I kept getting hurt and it made it impossible to do my everyday life. So I turned to what I was eating and started being very picky about what I put in my mouth. My friends came out for a birthday party and one who was overweight three years ago now looked like half of himself. It was so awesome to see how happy and energetic he was. I knew that what ever he was doing worked and I wanted to try it. He told me he was Vegan and he told me to watch Forks Over knifes. I did and I started researching vegan and vegetarian  I also started looking into many other documentaries  Hungry for Change, Ingredients, Fat Sick and nearly dead and many you tube diaries. I knew I had to do this. There was no try it was only do. I stopped telling myself I can't have this or that and started telling myself I don't want that. If it has more than 7 ingredients and any chemicals I would not put it in me. Now every once in a while I eat eggs, and milk and sometimes very rarely butter. I try though to keep it all plant products. By day three I knew I was detoxing because I smelled bad but I also knew that my body was happy. By the end of the first week I had lost 5 lbs and felt like a million bucks. I continued my journey losing lb after lb and feeling better and better. I had rough days where I lost my focus and really wanted a hamburger but I reminded myself why I was doing this and what I needed to do. I have not had any meat or fish since October 20th and I am not going to lie it has been hard but so rewarding. As of January 11 2013 I am down 60lbs form my starting weight and 50 lbs from my Goal starting weight  I only have 50 more to lose to meet my goal and to meet my weight that I want I have 65 more to go. My blood pressures have started to get a little better now it is just time to start adding work out to my diet. 

I wrote my first book this past year and though it wasn't the greatest thing I did complete it and now I am editing it and changing it and making it more then I ever originally thought it could be. I am proud of my accomplishments from 2012 it was probably the most stressful year our family has ever had but it was also the most rewarding. I again thank all of you who are supporting me on this journey. 

I will be changing my blog a little bit a well. I am going to be blogging about life in general but also the positive things going on in the world. There is so much negative I want to talk about the positive.