Wednesday, 24 June 2015

HERE I AM!

June 24, 2015

I have not participated in my usual blog sharing days on Twitter (#mondayblogs and #wwwblogs) because if I write, I always seem to pick an off day.

I've got about 15 blog ideas ready to write. I have them saved as drafts with the ideas in them so I don't forget. I'm going to start off with an easy one. A filler -if you will. I have a busy week, and leave for a week long vacation on the 30th. So, I'm going to wait until I get back and have more time before I worry about all the others. I'll try to do one more on Monday.

For now, I will do a 'questions' post. Somebody posted this on Facebook, which of course means I stole it for my blog. 

I know I'll get back on track, but for now, I'll start off slow. Nothing gets me talking like a questionnaire does. The title of this one is 'I'll Confess My ABC's'. I don't know where it came from because FB doesn't really do the sources.

I'll Confess My ABC's

A - Age:

I am 34 years young. I'll be 35 in September. 35 was originally a deadline of sorts for goals, but I've decided I want it all, but not all right now. I can wait. 

B - Biggest Fear:

Loss and death. I'm ridiculously scared of losing those closest to me, and even though I've dealt with death quite a bit in the last 7 years, I'm still not prepared. I know, I know. It's something that happens, and I should be able to handle it. And I will handle it. I just don't want to.

C - Current Time:

I'm just going to go ahead and say noon.

D - Drink you last had:

Coffee coffee coffee. I drink coffee throughout the morning. I bring it from home though because the coffee here is not desirable.  

E - Easiest Person to Talk to:

I guess Clint. He's the one I talk most to. We can talk about anything. I can talk about most things with any friend or family member. I like to talk. I also quite enjoy talking through this blog - although, I don't say everything I'd like to. 

F - Favourite Song:

Do I have one? No. I like a lot of songs, and can't think of a particular favourite right now. There are a few I really enjoy. I just purchased (through the Google store) Keith Urban's John Cougar, John Deer, John 3:16. It's fun. The same day, I downloaded Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud. Ed Sheeran seems like a really cool guy. I also love Springsteen by Eric Church, and almost any 90s Alternative song I hear. I usually listen to the country station (92.9 The Bull), but I'm all over the place with music. I like it all.

G - Grossest Memory:

Well, I have 34 years of gross memories. (Or probably 30 that I actually remember.) So I'll just go with the most recent. Drogo puke all over my bed. Poor guy. I gagged though.


H - Hometown:

 I am from a little 'ol Saskatchewan town called Plenty. It's actually a village. I've written about it before: hometown.html

I - In Love With: 

 My life.

 And Clint.


And my friends and family.

 And my Drogo.

J - Jealous of:

 No.  

 Well, I feel jealous some days I guess. If it does happen, I try to snap myself out of it. I think the biggest jealous moments I have are of people who can afford to travel and go on trips. I'd like to only travel, but realistically, I need a job to pay for travel, and if I ever save up enough, or am able to take enough time off, I'll go for it.

 But as for everyday jealousy, no. Things are good. I would rather feel gratitude than jealousy. 

K - Killed Someone:

 I think the answer will always be the same for anybody taking this because even if they did kill somebody, it's probably not something to be talked about on a blog or FB. (Unless they are a cop, military or doctor).

 However, I have a recurring nightmare (I've had it about twice which I count as recurring), that a long time ago in Plenty I had accidentally killed somebody and it was covered up. I woke up feeling like I had a repressed memory. It was scary. 

 SO WE ARE CLEAR, I haven't killed anybody, it was just a dream.

L - Longest Relationship:

 My sister and I have been together for 34 years.


My longest DATING relationship was five years. Clint and I are at 3 and a month. (But we will be a lifetime).

M - Middle Name: 

 Leah (pronounced Lee)

N - Number of Siblings:

 One. She's my favourite. (I'm the younger one).


O - One Wish:

 Peace on Earth?

 No more racism?

 No more sexual / physical assaults on those unable to protect themselves?

 No more depression?

 That's more than one wish. Unfortunately, I don't think any of them well come true.

P - Person you last called:

 Pretty sure it was a co-worker. From my phone at work. Or somebody I wrote a script for, or need information from. That's almost the only time I phone people. Other than my parents. I phone them because they don't text.

Q - Question you're always asked:

 It depends where I am in life. Most recently: "When is the wedding?" 
Answer: We bought a house together. We're practically married. 
Real answer: Who knows.

 The baby question also gets asked. They skip right over marriage, and ask about kids.


R - Reason to smile:

 My life.

S - Song you last sang:

Any song that's great on the radio. I'll switch stations until I find a good one. I think it was this one by Dean Brody. I really enjoy it. 

T - Time you woke up:

 I woke up at 2am because Drogo wanted to go out. I woke up again at 6am when Drogo was wide awake (Clint took care of him then). And I officially woke up for the last time at 6:45.

U - Underwear Colour:

 I would just delete this question, and make up a new one, but I have no alternative floating around in my head. I'm still not going to answer. Not because I care if you know, but because I don't care to tell you.

V - Vacation Destination:

 I want to go everywhere. 

 My next vacation destination will be Kelowna. 

W - Worst Habit:

 The inability to make up my mind. 

 Impatience. 

X - X-rays you've had:

 Teeth. My elbow after I dislocated it.

Y - Your Favourite Food:

 Anything but bananas. Not a fan of pepper either. Although I love peppers. Really though. I like food. Last night was barbecued Jalapeno and Cheddar sausages with mushrooms and onions, and a toasted bun. I'll eat anything with cheese. Except a banana.


Z - Zodiac Sign:

 I'm a Virgo. I didn't used to think I fit a Virgo description. There are still many ways that I don't. However, I'm getting closer.

 Thanks for reading!




As always,


"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

Also, check out my ongoing book blog:  Proud Bookworm at: http://bookserinread.blogspot.ca/ 

Blogs I used to write on but not being updated:
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Friday, 12 June 2015

Our new family member

June 12, 2015

 Clint and I have a new family member. Everything is happening now that we've got our house. 

 We met him in May, but he's officially a McCrowe now. He moved in with us last Tuesday, June 2nd, and is already a big part of the family.
First meeting on May 2nd. Although this may be one of his brothers or sisters.


We were actually looking at a different dog, but the option to raise a little Rottweiler came at the perfect time. It was love at first sight. (With every one of them!) We decided we wanted to be parents to a puppy. Frankly, I think that's a good way to go. Training for possible babies.

May 23rd we picked him out.


Clint and I weren't sure of his exact name, but we knew which one would soon be coming home with us. (The one that rolled in poop, giving him the nickname 'Poopy') We fell in love, and had to wait very patiently for a week until we could bring him home.


June 2nd -His new home!



The last week and a half, we've spent getting to know him. He even went on a first road trip for my Dad's birthday party. He's a puppy, so there are a lot of things that we need to watch for. Potty training, playing that leads to biting, and cute little puppy cries. Clint's been home, so he's able to take care of the puppy during the day, which has been very useful. I'd have a pretty hard time leaving to go to work if I had to leave him alone. (Although, leaving him AND Clint is also really hard.)

He is officially Drogo. We chose a name from Game of Thrones because there are not very many books that Clint and I have both read, and that's basically it. Plus, he's definitely a Drogo. I'm adding a few more pictures of him, but that's my update for today. Our family is one little guy bigger (soon to be one big guy bigger). We're head over heels for him and each other.

On the bed already.

Helping 'Mom' work.



First bath.

We won't let him eat shoes, but these ones? I'd be okay with him eating them. (haha)

Playing.


We're in love. Now we need to get him super healthy, and super used to living in the house. We're still working on it. He had has first vet visit today (without me). 

We've definitely become THOSE parents. No apologies! Although - he's FOR SURE going to be a drama king. Our Little Diva Drogo. 

I keep promising a visit with him at work to my work pals, but he hasn't made it in yet. We want to get him healthy and happy first. (He's having some pooping problems while getting used to the new food). He hasn't been rolling in it like when we first met, so we're headed in the right direction! 


And that's that about the pup. I'm sure I'll have more updates later, but I have too many other things I need to update! 


Happy weekend all, I'm heading to Edmonton after work for a shopping trip with my mom and sister! Girl's weekend. I'll miss the pup and man like crazy, but I'm excited for time with two of my favourite people. 




As always,


"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

Also, check out my ongoing book blog:  Proud Bookworm at: http://bookserinread.blogspot.ca/ 

Blogs I used to write on but not being updated:
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Wednesday, 10 June 2015

House Warming

June 10, 2015

 Warming of my House

 As I've mentioned, Clint and I recently bought a house, and moved in April 15th. We just love it! We love the backyard, the freedom, the lack of people living below or above us, and we love having it together. Every day gets better, and I could not be happier or more content with my life right now.

 I decided to have a House Warming at the end of May. I wasn't sure if I wanted one, but I decided to do it for a few reasons. 

  • It would force me to unpack and have things ready. I have a tendency to leave boxes for way too long. This way, the office was unpacked and ready to show off.
  • We wanted to celebrate our big step with friends and family. Most of them know what this move together means. It's PRACTICALLY marriage (but without the ring and dress.)
  • We wanted to show off the house. It's a great house. 
  • It was a great excuse to invite the great people in my life to hang out with us. It's one of my favourite things to have so many people I enjoy near me.
I've always loved celebrating birthdays, but houses or "Erin wrote a book" parties, are different. They're important, and they celebrate milestones. Yes - birthdays are milestones, but not in the same way.

I have owned a condo in the past (that's a whole different post), but this one was a big step towards my future with Clint. I cannot argue with celebrating that.

I did a lot of Pinterest planning on ways to make our House Warming fun. We did the backyard barbecue party, (with Sangria's), but I wanted a few more things to make it my own. Of course, finding things on Pinterest is the opposite of making it your own.

For the most part, trying to find things on Pinterest, just gives me an excuse to plan my imaginary wedding. 

We rented a 'giant' Jenga game. It wasn't as giant as I hoped it would be, but it was still a hit. (The picture is below.)

I also wanted some sort of proof or guest book, without actually having my own guest book. It seems kind of corny to have a guest book at an outdoor party for JUST a house warming. I thought of a great idea (if I do say so myself) without the help of Pinterest. (Hear that? No Pinterest).

I bought some sidewalk chalk so people could sign my cement patio, and then took pictures of the artwork when I was finished. I plan to frame it all, or put it in an album. It was a lot of fun, and I've been using the chalk like crazy! I'm still having fun with it.



A collection of the Art.

We thought this would be cute, and added an imaginary ring. It's not real... Just funny for now. (Until it IS REAL!)



 



These guys left without signing, so I got some signatures later. 



As we all know, I'm a kid at heart, so I loved this idea. And of course, was very happy that I thought of it without the help of Pinterest.

 I had a great time. I 'flitted' from group to group, trying to make sure I spoke to everybody. Clint barbecued, and I think it went pretty well until it got cold out, and anybody who was still there had to warm up inside. Luckily, our furniture had been delivered two days before, so we were prepared. It was also a great time to bring out Cards Against Humanity. 

 I get extra loud and hyper when surrounded by friends and family. I just overflow with happiness. It was a nice time for me, and I enjoyed having people over to our new place. 
Here's the not so Giant Jenga. I actually didn't get a chance to play it, but everybody seemed to enjoy it. I'm hoping somebody will make me my own set someday! (PLEASE!) 



I made Sangria for the first time. It wasn't bad, but I think I can do better. I just need practice. 

While, I don't think we'll have parties often, I did enjoy the celebration of our new house. It is a big important moment for both Clint and I, and we can't wait to have more get together's with the people we love.


Also, one of the next posts will be about the newest member of the family. He thinks our house is his now. He's probably right. It'll be posted next week.



A funny picture for you. We opened a bottle of champagne once we came back inside the house. This was my first time ever opening a bottle of champagne. Mostly because I'm scared of the cork. Luckily, I didn't hit anybody (or myself), but there were some great shots from all angles. 

Lastly and most important: 


As always,


"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

Also, check out my ongoing book blog:  Proud Bookworm at: http://bookserinread.blogspot.ca/ 

Blogs I used to write on but not being updated:
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Thursday, 4 June 2015

Manuscript Evaluation

June 4, 2015

 The Envelope: 
On Monday (June 1st), I came home to a package. It's one of the many things that has happened lately, that I plan to write about. I'm choosing this one first because it is directly related to my writing, and it's going to help me get back to writing, and get back to trying to publish my novel. I also spoke about it on Facebook, with the promise that I would be blogging about it soon. So here I go.

 I opened the front door, and the envelope fell out from between the doors. I recognised the hand writing on it as my own, so knew what it was. 

 More than a month ago (possibly two), I sent away my manuscript to the Saskatchewan Writer's Guild to have somebody evaluate it for me. It was suggested in my first 'no thanks' letter to have it evaluated. 

 An anonymous author reads my novel, and then sends back an evaluation. They don't check for grammar or anything like that, they simply, write comments and suggestions.




I'll be perfectly honest about how I was feeling before opening it: I was scared. The person reading it, may not have liked it. I set it on my desk, and walked away until I thought my skin was thick enough for any sort of negative response.

 I actually didn't wait long before going back into the office and opening it up. Let's be honest, I have no patience, and I had already been waiting for months to receive this. 

 I also want to move on from the writing standstill I feel I'm at.

 My Evaluation: 
The response was nice. It was encouraging, it made me feel like maybe with a little more work (or a lot), I WILL get my novel published. He or She (no idea who responded), gave suggestions on how to add more to the novel, and had some comments about structure. 

 I'm sharing the first page of the letter. There were three pages of comments, but the others focus more on specifics. Plus, this one was the 'feel good' page. I liked it! 

 I don't know if I've ever given the plot of my novel on here. I spoke about characters and settings, but never the plot. Mostly because I haven't gotten the description correct in my head or on paper yet. The evaluation describes it well, so now you'll see what I wrote about (and possibly why I find it hard to describe.)

 If you click on the picture, you should be able to read it.

I have confidence that my novel will someday be published. I personally, think it's a great idea, and a great novel. HOWEVER, every bit of encouragement helps me out. Sometimes, I don't push myself as hard as I should to keep going, and getting this evaluation came at the right time. 

 I plan to go through the manuscript page by page so I can decide where the story needs to be changed, what I can add, and what I can remove. After I'm done with the hard copy, I'll make the changes on the computer. 

 After that, I will send it to another publisher. 

 This standstill came at a good time because I've been busy with other things (as you'll see in the next few posts), but it will be good to get back to writing. 

 I won't quit. I won't give up.

As always,


"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

Also, check out my ongoing book blog:  Proud Bookworm at: http://bookserinread.blogspot.ca/ 

Blogs I used to write on but not being updated:
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Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Poof: May is gone

June 2, 2015

 When I was younger, I wrote in a journal. As I grew older, I still wrote in it, but not as much. I still write now, about once every month (if that). Looking back in more recent journals, they always seem to have one thing in common. I comment on the fact that I have not written. I apologise (to myself), and promise I will be better at writing in my journal. 

 It is beginning to feel like that trend is following me to my blog. 

 I'm not going to let that happen. 

 It's been a bit of a crazy month. I have many things to blame. Stress, house making, house selling, work, waiting... but most of all, it's been REALLY nice out. I've been outside as much as I can. 

 I have about five different updates, but I don't want to overwhelm one post, so I've already named and saved them, and have them ready to write. I'll be writing/posting one at a time, but I have quite a bit to cover. (This is what happens to slackers/procrastinators). 

 How am I going to stop the non writing? Easy. I'm going to write. I might not post every day (in fact, I don't want to post everyday), but I will be writing blog posts every day to post when I'm ready. I can't even guarantee myself that I'll finish one post per day. That's not the point. The point is to write, so I don't have to continue to feel bad about not doing it, and I don't have to have a full paragraph with excuses for not writing. I'd also like to quit promising that I'll do better, and just do better.

We need to talk about May. I'll start posting (and writing) the other ones after today. I'll start with the easiest. Things that have happened in May of 2015. I only wrote three posts this month, and frankly, only one of them was positive, so there is quite a lot to cover. I will be saving some for the other posts though.

 Let's get to some gratitude. This involves pictures, and I know I sometimes cheat with photos instead of words, but I love taking photos, and I love sharing my photos. So I will. 

 This past month has been all about getting moved in, unpacked, and comfortable in our new home. We had a few other things going on, but those will come soon. It's been a roller coaster of a month, and I'm excited to move on to June. I officially request that time slows the eff down. 

The sun is too bright on my laptop, so I choose the sun.

New cabinet for the kitchen! 

Favourite thing in the world. Reading by the river at lunch.

One day of rain.


My new and beautiful flowers.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE the BBQ. Bacon wrapped hotdogs? Oh yeah.

Dogsitting Mr Noodle.

 
Got hit (again) with a crappy cold. That's not a good thing, just another 'reason' for not writing enough.


Enjoying our backyard.

Top of the Hops


More plants!

We were sad about not being close to a patio for dinners out, until we realised OUR new patio is the best one in the world. 


Starbucks gave me a Gold Card. With my name on it!!!

Grateful for treats like this.

I think one way to help my writing and procrastinating problem is to only allow myself ONLY an hour of Netflix a night. It's easy to get sucked in. We don't have cable, or TV programs other than Netflix - on purpose. I'm happy about that because Netflix is time consuming enough. So I will stop binge watching shows. (As soon as I've finished Grace and Frankie. -I'm LOVING that show!)

 Until next time... Hopefully soon. 
Also, TONS of gardening pics in this post: http://erinisawriter.blogspot.ca/2015/05/the-bottom.html


As always,


"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

Also, check out my ongoing book blog:  Proud Bookworm at: http://bookserinread.blogspot.ca/ 

Blogs I used to write on but not being updated:
and
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