Whoa What a Summer!

 

Ready for some June recapping?  If you recall, I had diverticulitis right after Easter and landed in the hospital. I hope you live all your days without having that experience. I do not recommend! So in June, I had to have a follow-up colonoscopy. That was super triggering for me since I have a ton of medical PTSD. 

In the second half of May, my father had a colonoscopy, and they found a mass that was very suspicious for colon cancer. That dialed up my anxiety to an eleven. June 10th, I suffered through prep, then on the 11th, I had the dreaded procedure--and I'm all good! No more inflammation and most importantly, no lurking colon cancer! 

The whole experience was so draining and stressful, I did some retrospective review of 2025 and decided to ask my primary care doc for a prescription for depression medication. 

June 14th my whole family--plus middle kiddo's lovely girlfriend and a bunch of youngest child's friends did the Imerman Angels Brunch Run. It was just a couple of days before Anna turned 21, so I had T-shirts made for the occasion. They feature an old picture of Anna dressed as Medusa. The weather was gloomy and chilly, but it was so great to have everyone together--especially after the stress of the previous few weeks. 

School's Out For Summer! #TheSundayPost

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

The last day of school was on Thursday, and I can say with certainty that the staff was more excited than the students to start summer break!  Some of the kids were crying, how sweet! The staff was jumping for joy. 

In the garden, my sugar snap peas are growing! I'm going to have a good crop! I've been able to start harvesting lettuce. Yesterday I planted cucumber seeds and basil seeds. This year I'm trying direct sowing. Next weekend, I feel confident the soil will be warm enough to plant zucchini seeds and green beans. Will gardening from seeds work this summer? We will see! 

Today I was part of a book fair at a library. My first time in a library as an author! A dream come true and we didn't take pictures! Arg! All I have is a picture of my table.

This week I have a dental appointment, an annual medical exam, and a colonoscopy. After those tests and appointments, I made an appointment for a facial. 

Do you like to read small town romance with a few steamy scenes? Would you like an ARC for my book "Your Mr. Brightside"?  

Click here for more info on the book and the form to sign up! 

I hope you have a great week! 

167 School Days Down, 13 to Go! The Sunday Post!

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

I don't know who is more excited for school to be over, the staff or the kids. If I had to pick, I'd say the staff. I am really looking forward to summer break, especially since we had summer weather this week. Now the upcoming week is going to be standard spring weather so maybe I won't have summer fever. 

I'm almost done drafting my latest book Your Mr. Brightside. Since I have already shared the cover reveal with my newsletter subscribers, I can now share it here! 

I spent Saturday at a bookstore lit fest in Ottawa, Illinois. The store is called Prairie Fox Books and it is located in the quaint downtown of this town which is near the state park called Starved Rock. I had a lovely afternoon and now I can say that my books are available in store for anyone who is visiting the area!  I hit some ridiculous traffic on the way home, but at least the weather was nice and I had good music to listen to.

How was your week?

Yesterday I watched the first two episodes of "Murderbot" on Apple TV and it was as good as I hoped it would be! Last week I watched the Kdrama The Trama Code: Heroes on Call. It is a great show! If you like medical shows, you practically have to add it to your list!

Next week is a 3-day weekend. We usually have crummy weather for Memorial Day Weekend, but my hope springs eternal. On Saturday, I'll be picking up my heirloom tomato seedlings! 

Happy Mother's Day 2025 The Sunday Post!

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

This year we get a real treat of a Mother's Day. It's going to be sunny and in the 70s (low 20s Celcius). My plan for the day is to go for a run, write 1,000 words in Your Mr. Brightside and enjoy carryout from a favorite local restaurant. Still working on dietary adjustments from having diverticulitis, I probably won't enjoy a nice crisp glass of white wine. I'm also planning to get some reading in. I won't be doing anything with the garden because I need soil and plants and someone needs to put together the new raised bed we got. That someone is not me. 

Do you have any plans for this Sunday? 

If you need more free books on your TBR here is the link to the small-town romance free book promo I am part of this month:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/freesmalltownromancereads/7iz7fven21

What are you streaming?  I am really enjoying "Friends and Neighbors" on Apple TV. Jon Hamm, the main character, does things each week that put him closer and closer to completely imploding his entire life and it's very interesting to watch. 

Here's a picture of me and the hubs with our youngest back in 2022. Since then I decided I'd rather pay to have my hair colored than to live the grey hair life. And our youngest is finishing her third year of college!

Free Small Town Books to Add to Your E-Reader!

 

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This is one of the many small-town romance novellas you can get for free this month! My novella Surprise Party is part of the free book promotion. Here is the link to check out all the books: 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/freesmalltownromancereads/7iz7fven21

I'm taking advantage of this promo to stock up on summer reads. May is here and I'm ready for summer loving!

If you get any books through this event, please let me know!

Mother's Day is coming up this weekend. I am hoping we have lovely weekend weather and I can spend some time outside gardening. It's time to add another raised bed to our front yard. How will you be spending your weekend? 

Talk About Escalating Quickly #TheSundayPost

  

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

I've had a craptastic time since I last posted. After Easter, I took myself to the ER because I thought I might have appendicitis. I didn't have that, what they found instead was diverticulitis. I've known I had diverticulosis for years, but I've never had a diverticulitis infection. I was admitted to the hospital and put on antibiotics. The recovery after the hospital has been exhausting. I am feeling a million times better now, and I'm still not at 100 percent. I'm also feeling my way around what foods are OK to have. I'm on a low-fiber diet for now, which turns out to mean I can't eat almost all the fruits and veggies I love. 

In mid-June I have to go get a colonoscopy to make sure the infection is gone and that nothing else is wrong. I guess it's good to get the follow-up and have biopsies taken and everything. However, the whole process is anxiety-producing. The weather around here has been more March than May, so at least I'm not stuck recuperating indoors while beautiful weather is outside. 

I did learn that if I am stuck in the hospital, it's easy to read a 500-page book. So there is that. In fact, if I ever go to the ER again, I'm bringing at least three books. I had two books at the hospital and I could have read another one. Physical books work best in this context. 

Garden update- the peas are growing!!!

How was your week? Read anything good? Stream anything interesting? I watched Last Breath which is streaming on Netflix or Hulu and was interesting. Diving stuff fascinates me because there is no way I would dive.

The Sunday Post - Hoppy Easter!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates! I think I might like Easter dinner better than Thanksgiving--and I love Thanksgiving dinner. Yesterday I went to a book fair and picked up more local books to read! Yay! One is a very spicy romance and one is about labor negotiations. I also picked up some candles. Can you ever have enough candles? I say no. 

Today I am hoping to be able to find the time to finish reading my latest Amnesia April book. This one is so good! Tracey Livesay writes so well! 

Upcoming I am going to a big mostly all romance author and reader event. I'm getting nervous about my little giveaways. I have stickers for people who buy my books. And I have some pens to put on the table for people to take, but I need to attach my business cards with twine. Just need to actually get them ready! 

On the streaming channels, I started watching North of North which is comedy on Netflix about a town in very very very Northern Canada. It starts off with a woman who wants more out of life. 

In the garden, my snap peas are about an inch high. Yay! And I planted some lettuce seeds this week so we will see what happens, fingers crossed they don't freeze before they start growing and when they grow that they don't get eat by rabbits!

What are you watching or reading? 

That Funky Time Of Year - The Sunday Post

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

It's that time of year when you don't know what the heck to wear. The day can start off mild, and then by the time you are ready to leave work, there can be a snow shower. I'm hoping snow is done for the year. According to my weather forecast, this week should be light jacket weather. It's also time for the "Is it allergies or is it a cold?" game, which I do not like to play. 

How is spring shaping up for you?

This weekend, I finished reading Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman. This is the latest installment in the very long Alex Delaware series. I read the ebook. Usually, I only do the audios. I love the narrator, and I think he enhances my enjoyment of the series. My rating for the book is four stars. A good book in my opinion.

Streamingwise I watched the first three episodes of Black Mirror. The first episode is very sad. We also watched G20 starring Viola Davis, which was fun, and "One of Them Days" starring Keke Palmer and SZA which was wonderfully funny and fun! I would watch that again, and I hope they team up and do another buddy comedy. 

What have you been watching, reading, or listening to? 

Free Books and The Flu -The Sunday Post April is Here!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. you can write about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

I started the week enjoying my last few days of Spring Break. On Monday, finished March by getting done with a bunch of author work and housework. Tuesday was municipal election day here in  Illinois and I volunteered at the polls for a great candidate running for a local school board. She didn't win, I hope she decided to run again, as a teacher, she would be a great addition to that school board. Wednesday was my wedding anniversary, we didn't do much, but we had already gone on a short road trip over the weekend.

I told my husband we could extend our anniversary celebration to this weekend and go downtown for the Hand Off protest. I even had a sign idea ready to make. Then on Friday, day three of being back at school, after lunch, every part of my body ached, and I was suddenly tired. When I got home I took my temperature and confirmed I had a fever. I went to bed and slept on and off until Saturday morning. The fever is gone now, but I'm still exhausted and have a headache and congestion. My Google research says I have the flu, and I think that is right. Ugh. I'm glad I had the flu vaccine, as I've had the flu without the vaccine before, and that was awful. This is just crummy. I'm pretty sure I caught this from a kiddo I work with because they were home sick on Wednesday and then came back on Thursday, but they were obviously still sick. That's the downside of working with preK kids, there are always sick kids and there isn't a good way to not catch cooties. 

The other day I shared a free book link. My novella, Surprise Party, is part of the giveaway. There are lots of romances, but also mysteries and thrillers available. 

Here is the link if you are looking for a new author to read or some quick reads: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7rfrm7oowk

What we watched this week: We finished The Residence, two big thumbs up from me. I love the quirky detective, and that it all took place in the White House. 

This month I've decided to read books with amnesia in them. Call it my amnesia April. Do you have any recommendations for me? 

What I'm reading:

And then something completely different. A haunted house story...

No Fooling! Get Some Free Books!

 I'm participating in a free novella/book giveaway for the entire month of April. There are over a hundred different books in the event.  My novella Surprise Party is one of the many books you can pick up. Here is the link so you can browse to your heart's content! I'm adding a bunch to my TBR--they're novellas so quick reads!  THE LINK: https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilleadmagnetliftoff/izf2tzzz9z

I hope you enjoy any and all books you get. Tomorrow I return to school, but we only have three days of school this week, and then it's time for another weekend! Wahoo! I hope the weather is unseasonably warm on Friday and Saturday.  I will also be happy if it just doesn't snow. I don't like April snow, but April showers are fine!

Don't get fooled today! Happy April Fool's Day!