Saturday, April 5, 2014

Let's get caught up.....

I know it has been more than 6 months since I posted last and I apologize for that.  Shortly after my last blog, my husband's uncle passed away to liver cancer.  It was very hard for our close-knit family, and I wasn't feeling very creative for quite some time.

Then, the holidays came rushing in.  I'm not exactly sure if I was in a time warp or what, but suddenly Thanksgiving and Christmas had come and gone.  Before I knew it, New Year's Day was staring me in the face, and I took a long look at what my resolutions were going to be. 

Two things were a certainty:  I needed to get back to writing and excess weight needed to come off.  Those were my goals for 2014, but being the obsessive person that I am, I knew that I had to choose one to focus on.  One had to be my main priority, but both are very important.  On one of the many late nights that I was still awake, with the rest of the house slumbering, I knew that 2014 had to be the year that I finished my book and did my very best to get it published.

Okay, all of you health nuts out there, don't start giving me any grief.  As soon as this blasted snow that seems never-ending in my neck of the woods goes away, I will be out running again, which will help me shed the many pounds that have crept back on.  I just knew in my heart that my number one priority was writing.

Once that decision was made, I felt my creative juices start flowing again.  Not like a little trickle either, but a full-on flood.  I set goals for myself, where I wanted to be by certain times of the year, and haven't made them all, but it keeps me moving forward.

I am very happy to say that by the beginning week of March, I finished the first draft, of the first book, in my series of 6, called The Dessert Club.  Now I am busily working on re-writes and editing, but I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.  I WROTE A BOOK!  As you may have guessed from the series name, The Dessert Club, it revolves around food.  Surprise, surprise!

Actually, it follows the lives of 5 friends, who meet once a month for a fabulous dessert.  Each friend takes a turn making the dessert and hosting the other friends at her home.  While there, they dish about family, work, love and everything in between over much laughter and good wine.  As a little bonus, the recipe for the dessert will be at the end of the book.

At this moment in time, I am getting prepped for what I hope will be a life-changing moment.  I don't want to elaborate just yet.  I'm not sure if I have mentioned it or not, but I'm a bit superstitious.  I'm afraid if I say too much, I'll jinx myself.  I know with the logical part of my brain that it's a ridiculous notion, but in the less logical regions, I can't stop feeling that way.  Let's just say, if good things happen, I will be sure to explain all.

So, where does that leave this blog?  It is a question I have struggled with since the beginning of the year and the start of my resolutions.  As I work to get published, I can't devote a lot of time to writing recipes and taking pictures while I am cooking.  Yes, I am still cooking the same way, but now it's flying through the steps, trying to get the meal on the table, my family fed, and a little quality time spent with them before I settle in for a couple of hours on the book.  I've hesitated in shutting the site down.  Something has held me back, for whatever reason.  So, I'm going to go with my gut and keep blogging when I get the time, but the content is going to change.  I will post a recipe if it really strikes me as something worth sharing, but I'm going to use this as my journal on the way to making my book a reality.

I hope you all understand, and thank you for your support.

Anita