"Pardon me, ma'am, but do you have an appointment?"

Uninvited guest at my outdoor office space...

A little too Raph...

If you don't get the reference in the title of this post, you probably didn't grow up in the 1990's. Ha!

Basically, I've been quiet lately. There's no really good reason for this. I've been busy but then, what else is new? I'm always busy. ;-)

I haven't been writing much lately but I have been reading a ton and plotting and planning for the short story I'm writing. It's keeping me occupied and I'm feeling pretty good about writing in general these days.

I thought I'd drop a quick post about one of my recent favorite books that I've read.

Strong Signal by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell.

OMG. It's truly amazing. I highly recommend that anyone who loves a good romance go out right now and buy this book. Its so fucking cute. Also, hooooooooot! *fans self to prevent spontaneous combustion*

This is a super cute, super sexy story about two men who find love online (and then in person) while playing an online video game.

Check the blurb --> "I was counting down the months until the end of my deployment. My days were spent working on military vehicles, and I spent my nights playing video games that would distract me until I could leave Staff Sergeant Garrett Reid behind.

That was when I met him: Kai Bannon, a fellow gamer with a famous stream channel.

I never expected to become fixated on someone who'd initially been a rival. And I'd never expected someone who oozed charm to notice me—a guy known for his brutal honesty and scowl. I hadn't planned for our online friendship to turn into something that kept me up at night—hours of chatting evolving into filthy webcam sessions.

But it did. And now I can't stop thinking about him. In my mind, our real life meeting is perfect. We kiss, we fall into bed, and it's love at first sight.

Except, like most things in my life, it doesn't go as planned."

I read this entire book in one afternoon. I couldn't put it down. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give it a solid 29847928734918734!!!

I'm looking forward to the second book in the Cyberlove series. Can. Not. Wait.

End of Month Report: April

Just like that, I'm 1/3 of the way through a year. April was a blur, mostly due to vacation and being crazy busy at work. Still, I wanted to check in and see how well I did hitting my goals for the month of April.  I started out April strong because I knew my vacation might set me back. While I DID lose weight this month, I did so after regaining some of the weight I lost in March :-( Vacation kept me active but my eating wasn't so great due to have to eat out quite a bit during travel. I made up some ground before the end of the month and, while I didn't hit my goal for weight loss, I have recorded an overall weight loss of 3 lbs this month. Woot! Given my vacation struggles and not getting to the gym as often as I like, I am still pretty pleased.

Weight Goal: 221 lbs
-Start: 233 lbs
-End: 230 lbs

As I said earlier, I did not meet my weight loss goal for this month BUT I did regain some ground and still lost 3 lbs! Next month I'll have to kick things into overdrive to catch up.


Excercise Goal: 3x per week, 2 group classes per month
Week 1: 1 workout
Week 2: 2 workouts
Week 3: 3 workouts
Week 4: 1 workout
Week 5: 1 workout
Group workouts: 3, Beauty Hunters on 4/2, 4/6 and 4/30

I did really good at staying active on my vacation and set some personal records for number of steps in a day. I got in THREE group classes this month with the Beauty Hunters. Don't stop, get it get it!

Outdoor Activity Goals: Hike/Walk outside twice per month, try one new trail or greenway each month.
Hikes/Walks: 1, W. Flamingo Rd. Las Vegas, NV
New Trails: 0, :-( I don't count W. Flamingo Rd. as a trail, though it was a nice walk while on vacation.

This month I exceeded my goals for group exercise and went to 3 Beauty Hunters workouts. Still, I'd like to get outside more in May.

Rewards Acheived:
None this month. Unfortunately, my vacation diet was awful.

Next month is a new opportunity to kick ass on my monthly/yearly goals! I'm comin' for you May!

RT Booklovers Convention 2016

Soooo, I've been back from Las Vegas long enough to get caught up on my sleep and process the awesomeness that was my week at the RT Booklovers Convention.

You guys. You. Guys. It. Was. AMAZING!

I had such a great time hanging with my good friend Cari Z, meeting new people, attending workshops, going to parties, snagging free books, and alllllll the swag!

I came home with a ton of amazing memories and over 25 free books and ebooks! Next year the convention will be held in Atlanta and I am SO there!

Some other time I will go into detail about my time at RT but for now, please enjoy these lovely photos!

Hubs and I on the plane to Vegas!

Hello, Las Vegas!

We flew over the Hoover Dam on the way in!

View from our suite at the Rio!

Sunset from our room

Selfie with Damon Suede who writes some of the most amazing books EVER!

The breakfast spot closest to the convention was ALWAYS packed.

Cari Z and I at breakfast!

Cari and Megan Erickson

Cari and Jay from the Joyfully Jay blog

Panel of LGBTQ+ authors: LtoR Megan Erickson, Roni Loren, Jay, Amy Jo Cousins, Megan Mulry, and Karen Stivalli

Getting ready to play Cards Against Humanity at the Riptide Publishing party!

51 stories above Las Vegas with my love!

View from the top of the Rio

Cari Z's table at the RT Giant Book Fair

Cari and Anna Zabo's combined table at the book fair

Damon Suede's set up at the book fair

Before the book fair started, I snuck in with Cari. Still so many people!

Tara Lain signing a book for me!

Selfie with Tara Lain!

Me with Julia Quinn!

Selfie with Megan Erickson!

Me with Avon Gale!

Me and the totally fab Vanessa North!

Last selfie with my love in Vegas

Final sunset in Vegas!

End of Month Report: March

Another month down! Time to check in and see how well I did hitting my goals for the month of March.  I started out March in the hole as far as weight loss progress and, while I made up some ground during the month, in the end it just wasn't enough to get caught up. I'm going to bust my ass next month to try and make up for lost time.

Weight Goal: 227 lbs
-Start: 236lbs
-End: 233 lbs

As I said earlier, I did not meet my weight loss goal for this month BUT I did regain some ground and still lost 3 lbs! Not too bad, just not the 9 lbs I wanted to lose. I upped my exercise but unfortunately let my diet slide a bit too far.


Excercise Goal: 3x per week, 2 group classes per month
Week 1: 2 workouts, 1 hike
Week 2: 3 workout
Week 3: 3 workouts
Week 4: 1 workout, 1 hike, 1 walk
Week 5: 1 workout :-(
Group workouts: 1, BodyPump on 3/12

I did really good at staying active and getting to the gym this month. I did not meet my monthly goal for group exercise classes this month but I will try again next month!

Outdoor Activity Goals: Hike/Walk outside twice per month, try one new trail or greenway each month.
Hikes/Walks: 3 (Frozen Head State Park, and Norris Dam State Park x2)
New Trails: 1 @ Frozen Head SP, Judge's Branch Trail, 2 @ Norris Dam SP, Songbird Loop and Tall Timbers Trail

This month I exceeded my goals for outdoor activities and tried out 3 amazing new trails! Woot!

Rewards Acheived:
None this month. Unfortunately, my diet was a bit too lax this month. I got my exercise on track only to backslide with my eating habits. 

Next month is a new opportunity to kick ass on my monthly/yearly goals! I'm comin' for you April!

Norris Dam State Park: A photo essay

This past weekend, I spent some time with my family enjoying the great outdoors at Norris Dam State Park. This was my first time at the park so I wasn't sure what to expect BUT the weekend was just perfect. Without further ado, here are some photos of the weekend.