A Time For Everything

Let's Catch Up, Shall We...?

Mason Marchment hugs goalie Jake Oettinger.

Well, how 'bout dem Stars? Yup, our boys in Victory Green won the first round against the Minnesota Wild. In a shocking turn of events, the Seattle Kraken eliminated reigning champs the Colorado Avalanche, and so we'll play the Kraken in the second round. Round Two starts Tuesday at the American Airlines Center

DD and I had hoped to attend at least one game in each series, but tickets for series two are already over $100 each and I really can't justify that. Not with everything else I'm trying to do. Maybe when they reach the Stanley Cup Final... But in the mean time, it's gonna be watch parties.

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The author event at the library a couple of weeks ago went well. I had two titles at two different price points available and sold one of each. Woo hoo! I also donated one of the historicals to the library.

Shout out to Alison Long at the Haltom City Public Library, who is made of awesomesauce. The event was lovely as it always is. And... While I was there, I got a library card so that I now have a second library system's e-book collection to check books out of!

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We're no longer trying to re-home Waldo and Rascal. I'm officially their new mom. I've been working on a post about Rascal so that'll be coming along in a bit.

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I have finally taken the plunge back into writing. Well, revisions mostly. As I've mentioned more than once, I put writing aside last year when Mom happened. I was right in the middle of a book at the time, so it's been sitting there and those boys have been waiting patiently for me to finish telling their tale.

In June, I'm going to my annual writers retreat, and I wanted to work on this particular book. I know it isn't ready for me to make any kind of writing progress on it and that I'd need to read it through to figure out what's what.

Well, I dove in and let me tell you--that manuscript is a hot mess on fire in a dumpster. So many inconsistencies not only in the timeline, but in the story path I wanted to take. So that's what I've been doing. Asking and answering questions, making decisions, and untangling the knots I created for myself.

It's challenging and frustrating, but it also feels really good. :0)

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On a writing side-note, I got the cover for book six in hopes that it would motivate me to finish book five. I want to complete the series sooner rather than later, and I can't move on to Six before I finish Five.

I'm pleased with it.

Have a super week. Catch you Thursday. Also:

What better way for a hockey fan to spend their birthday than watching their team play one of their best games of the season and win against the best team in the league--who was, coincidentally, the team that beat your team out of the Stanley Cup seven months ago...

The Stars have been inconsistent at best, crap at worst and have been unable to throw this particular monkey off their backs--until last night. Last night it all came together for them. Hopefully, they can carry the high of the win into Saturday and Sunday's games and beat another team they've had some troubles with this season.

In addition to the win, which I couldn't have planned, I did plan for a birthday announcement at the game...

Along with her name on the board, she's supposed to receive a goody bad with Stars swag. Well, due to COVID, they started mailing bag out instead of allowing them to be picked up at the game...

 But, let's see...there's a woman sitting outside of one of the fan shops handing out online orders. How is a birthday bag of goodies any different?? (They're not.) Oh and maybe if they'd mentioned it when I placed the order three weeks ago, maybe we could have had it in time for DD's birthday. *sigh*

But a good time was had by all and I even got to see the Reunion Tower Arena ball lit up for the first time in more than a month. Yee haw!

Tonight she'll open a couple small presents and enjoy a steak dinner.

Hope you have a great weekend.

For some that means the horrendous year of COVID has passed. Of course, we've still got a ways to go until the return of many normals or the cementing of new normals. By mid-year, vaccines should be available to all who want one. Hopefully, businesses will be reopening and the economies of cities, large and small, across the country will grow and thrive once more.

For the FitzGeralds in general, that means the slowness of the holidays has come and gone, and plans for the business can once again be ratcheted up and set into motion.

For me specifically, it means a fresh start on the accomplishment of my personal goals. Some goals will be recycled from previous years, some will be new, some will be variations on a theme.

Last week, I revisited my goals from 2020 and rated my efforts in achieving each one. I didn't do nearly as well as I hoped. Part of the problem, I think, was that I didn't set actual plans in place to accomplish the individual goals. I also plan to institute rewards. Because who doesn't like to be rewarded?

I'll have my list of goals along with my strategy for accomplishing each one and hopefully the reward soon. I was hoping for Friday, but action plans require a little more thought a time.

The new year also means hockey. The season start in a couple of weeks and if I can be in attendance, I will be.

Have a great first week of the new year. And remember...