Walmart & Weirdos

My husband wakes up really early for work but usually I go back to sleep right after he leaves. Not so this morning. So, at four am as I was staring at the ceiling I decided to get some writing done. After coffee and breakfast I managed to write 1400 words before seven. Not too shabby. My day is off to a great start. Or so I think until I get to the grocery store.


Since moving to a smaller, coastal town I've had to make adjustments. Don't get me wrong, the pros by far outweigh the cons but I really miss having a large grocery store near me. (translation: I miss Publix!!) We've got mom and pop type shops and specialty stores here that are nice for picking up paper towels or exotic food, but these places aren't conducive for large scale buying. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a fan of Wal Mart. I never have been. Unfortunately the only place to buy groceries in a 10-20 mile radius is the big W. As soon as I got there this creepy man started following me down multiple aisles, but not buying anything. Finally I asked him if he needed something and he wanted to know where the ice cream was. Wearing my brown shorts and yellow tank top, I don't think I looked like I work there, but whatever. I helped the guy out because I was afraid not to. Next, I get hit on by creepy tattoo man. That's kind of standard for this place though.


Then, as I'm checking out I notice that the cashier (who was really nice, I'd like to add) is ringing up stuff that's not mine. I'd been putting stuff in my cart so I didn't notice. The guy behind me had used the grocery divider but somehow couldn't figure out how to use it. He put a bunch of stuff in front of the divider into my pile of groceries. I'm still not sure if it was intentional or if he really doesn't know what those things are for. I would have loaded his stuff into my cart so it's not as if I'd be paying for his stuff and he'd be taking it home. And it's not like the stuff fell over the line b/c it was actually placed in front of a bunch of my foodstuff. Too weird. The cashier shot him a dirty look as she voided all his junk and I got the feeling this isn't the first time that's happened.


Finally, as I'm loading my car I notice a car waiting with their blinker on. I have no idea what they're doing since there's an open spot next to mine. Sure, it's one spot farther from the store, but seriously, one spot? It's not like there was a cart blocking it. I'm thinking there's no way they're that lazy but sure enough, as soon as I drive away, they zoom in. Weirdos.


Living in a small town definitely has advantages and disadvantages. At least it's giving me fodder to write about. :) How's your week so far?

Back to Reality

My mom left this morning and I already miss her! Spending time with my mom is always fun. She's like a guest but better. While she was here I caught her folding laundry (and didn't stop her, lol). We had a great time and she even walked the Biloxi Bay Bridge with me. I was pretty impressed with her. We did a lot more walking while she was here, mainly in the form of shopping. Thanks to our exploring I discovered a cute wine shop off the beaten path, a belly dancing studio, and a place that teaches pottery. Not sure if that's really my thing but I think it might be fun to go to a class or two. We also went to a bunch of restaurants here that I haven't had a chance to try. I ate Baba Ganoush for the first time in years. Forgot how much I love it. In my Pioneer Woman cookbook she even has a stellar recipe for it so I have no excuse not to make it!


While we had fun, I am glad to get back into my routine though. Now I have four guest blog articles I need to write for next month (my alter ego has a release mid-July), tackle edits on my single title paranormal, and finish two novellas for Ellora's Cave. If only I could figure out where to start!

Family Time!

My mom is visiting this week and she should actually be here in the next hour or so....And I still need to shower, lol. At least the house is clean. Every summer my mom does this whole road trip thing and drives around the country (mainly the East Coast and Central area) to see friends and family. I've never been on her radar before b/c for the most part we've always lived close together so it's kinda cool that I am this time. I don't really like shopping that much but I'm excited to check out some of the shops downtown with her. And there's a Lebanese restaurant downtown I've been dying to go to so that's the plan for lunch today!


Her trip motivated me to finish my single title last week and after tallying up my words, I wrote over 20K by last Saturday. It was much needed too. I might squeeze in a little this week but it's doubtful. I probably won't be online too much so I hope everyone has a great week!


ETA: Almost forgot, the fabulous Cynthia Eden is at Naughty Author Chicks talking about monsters today so check her out :)

Shakira - Waka Waka

Thanks to my friend Kari for sending me this video!! In case you don't know, I lurve Shakira. This video is amazing! Enjoy :)

Happy Friday!

My cute turtles have been MIA since we managed to keep our trashcan lids on tight. I miss them! Though, this further enforces my theory about the ninja turtles vs. the raccoons being the ones to upend the cans. Maybe this weekend I'll lull them out of hiding. I did save one of their buddies yesterday while I was out jogging, after all. I saw this little guy cowering in the middle of the road, right on the striped yellow lines. That turtle failed his ninja classes.


Oh well. My plans for the weekend include finishing my single title. I've been a writing machine this week since my mom is visiting next week and I know I won't get any done. I've got a couple thousand words left and even though I'll still have to weave in 5-10K more words of emotion and description, the basic story will be done and I'll be able to enjoy myself while she's here.


Any plans for this Father's Day weekend?

Cynthia Eden's Deadly Days of Summer!

New Website Addy

Remember how I mentioned I had issues with losing one of my domain names? Well my alter ego finally has a new website address that is up and running. It's pretty much the same information as before with minor tweaks. I haven't completely repopulated all the pages but my book info is there. Thanks to the wonderful Jax Cassidy for helping me transfer everything to a new hosting site.


If y'all want to check it out the link is www.savannahstuartauthor.com


I know it sounds like common sense and I wish it was some sense I'd heeded last year, but please do not let anyone, including your hosting provider and/or website designer, buy your domain name. Purchase your own domain name no matter what. Learn from my mistakes! :)

Ouch!

Breaking in new tennis shoes is never fun for me. My left foot is slightly bigger than my right foot so inevitably one of my feet always gets a raw deal no matter the size I decide on :( I got about a mile and a half today before my left foot was screaming in pain so I had to turn around...and go back that same distance. Fun fun. It doesn't matter what brand I buy, New Balance, Sketchers, whatever, that first week I always end up wrapping my feet in band aids. I think I'll probably go back to wearing my old tennies for a couple days just to save myself. I don't care that there's no tread on the bottom, it's better than having blisters!


Didn't get much writing done this weekend as we had people staying over so I'm on task this week. My goal is to write 10-15K of my single title and 5K of the fourth book in my shifter series for Ellora's Cave. Maybe more :)


What are your goals for the week?

Yay for Friday

Well, the man figured out a way to keep the trash can lid on tight. With a bungee cord. So sadly I didn't get to see the cute turtles this morning. At least there was no trash littering my lawn though :)


Just an fyi if anyone new has stumbled upon my blog when looking for my website. I'm in the process of changing hosting providers so my website will likely be under construction for the next day but should be back up by tomorrow afternoon.


Have a great weekend everyone!

Attack Turtles?

For the past week, each morning I've discovered our trash cans tipped over, bags scattered all over the back yard, and these two (annoyingly adorable) turtles digging through the remains. My husband thinks it's raccoons that are knocking them over but that doesn't explain why there are tiny little holes punctured in the bag instead of giant claw marks I would assume raccoons would make. I'm convinced it's these turtles. I was out there this morning cleaning up and they didn't even try to run (though I think that's impossible) or even hide in their shells. One ballsy little turtle just stared at me with the remnants of strawberries all over his face. He was soooo cute though I think he was going for intimidating.


So whether or not it's turtles or raccoons isn't really my problem. Anyone know how to keep animals out of trash cans (without hurting them)? Oh, I should probably mention that these trashcans have a locking mechanism w/ the handle and top so the fact that whatever is opening the cans is pretty darn impressive. Help, please!

Monday Funday

Sorry I've been MIA. Over the past week I've been dealing with domain name issues. I know it sounds like common sense but don't let anyone else purchase a domain name for you! For some reason I let the person who hosts both my sites buy my other domain and then she fell off the face of the earth. So, when she didn't renew it, I lost my other domain and I realized I'm gonna have to get rid of a lot of my promo items for my alter ego. Awesome.


Oh well, such is life. Lesson learned! The weekend was pretty good. The man had a birthday and even though he's not big on them, I am, so we celebrated. His parents had their anniversary celebration on the same day though and his bday got overshadowed so we're celebrating for real tonight. Since he used to travel a lot we've only ever spent a couple of his bdays together so I'm doubly excited to be spending this one with him.


In writing related news, I attended my first RWA chapter meeting since moving here (Gulf Coast Chapter). The ladies from GCC were soooooo nice. I was nervous walking into a new situation but everyone put me at ease and there were a couple other new ladies there too which was pretty cool. I even won a book from the speaker!


Currently I'm still working on my ST paranormal and I'm about 75% finished. Everything is plotted out but for some reason I'm having trouble writing it. I don't know why b/c the plot is solid and I love the characters but it's like my fingers freeze when they hit the keyboard. I think I might take a break and work on a short erotic romance for EC. Sometimes that's the only way I can clear the cobwebs in my brain.


How did everyone else spend their weekend?

Wednesday Again...

I'm at Writers Gone Wild today NOT talking about hurricanes :)