This was an awesome weekend. As a writer, it’s not often that I find words fall short, but in this instance, I’d rather let my pictures do the talking.
Enjoy!
First, I was honored to be a guest speaker at the Melissa Public Library’s writer’s group!
Then I celebrated Palm Sunday.
Then my seeds began to grow!
Finally, I got to spend a lovely day with two of my best friends and their horses! It was so wonderful!
Hi, friends!
I hope you had a splendid weekend and Valentine’s Day full of love. And if not love, then at least full of chocolate. Since my boyfriend, Richard Armitage, is out of town shooting a movie or something, my mom and I had a Valentine’s Mother Daughter Date to the bowling alley! It was great.
It also got me thinking that a bowling alley would be a REALLY cool place for a book release party! I’m seriously considering it for the release of Boy Band. But then, I also have a lot of cool ideas, decoration-wise, for the party, so it probably won’t happen in a bowling alley. But still.
Sunday, I celebrated Galentine’s Day with my BFF, Jessica. We went out to dinner and then went back to her place to watch a Disney movie and drink wine. Unfortunately, she does not have very good wine openers so I ended up prying the cork out with steak knives.
The lesson to be learned here? Nothing stands between an Episcopalian and wine. Nothing.
Yesterday was a blast. My other BFF, Hannah, flew in from California to visit her parents and their new farmhouse. I hopped in my car and drove the two hours to see them. I love being out in the country. It’s so free and open. No traffic. No big buildings. Just Earth and sky and road. Love!
Anyway, their land is amazing. It reminded me of how much I want a getaway cabin one day.
I love Texas. But you know what I love more than Texas? This puppy.
His name is Krager and he is the cutest, sweetest, most lovable dog you will ever meet. I wanted to steal him so bad. Sadly, my kitty would NOT approve. She likes being an only child and would probably try to banish me or something if I brought home a dog. Otherwise, Krager would have been mine. I would have found a way.
So, now that my weekend of adventures is over, it’s back to work. And I do mean WORK. I HAVE to get these revisions finished ASAP. I’m also in the process of helping my friend Paula format her first children’s book, which will be released very soon. You can keep up to date with her writings here: https://paulawalkerbaker.wordpress.com
Tomorrow is also the first day of Lent. I’m aiming to make some big changes in my life. We’ll see if that actually happens. But I’m going to try! But more on that tomorrow.
I hope you all have a fantastic Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras. Go eat some pancakes!
As many of you know, I recently started listening to the music of a brand new country star named Jessie Lee Cates. Now, my dad, my sister, and I are all huge country music fans (my mom’s a Yankee, so she tolerates it). We listen to it all the time, especially when it’s cold out and we’re dreaming of summer days full of blue skies, road trips, and wildflowers. We love Sugarland, Roger Creager, Lady Antebellum, Clay Walker, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Eli Young Band, Josh Abbott Band, Toby Keith, and let me tell you, Jessie Lee Cates is right up there with the best of the best.
Her voice is pure and clear, her music classic and catchy with a delightful country beat. Of course, I’m still quite partial to Scotland, as it is one of my absolute favorite places in the world and my own ancestors’ homeland, but the rest of Jessie Lee’s debut album is just as fun, delightful, and frankly, good, old fashioned, high quality country music.
I’ve had the distinct privilege of connecting with Miss Cates over Twitter and Facebook, and she is just about as sweet and classy as it gets. She read the first blog post I wrote about her music, https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/best-song-ever/, and contacted me to say that she wanted to make me her fan of the month!
I also received a copy of her CD, a super cute T-Shirt that will look GREAT with jeans and my cowboy boots, and an autographed photo which I can’t wait to hang in my office alongside my autographed Switchfoot poster.
I’ve been following the news on her website, JessieLeeCates.com, Jessie Lee is a current bestseller in contemporary country on Amazon, her single Scotland (my favorite) is #4 on the charts in Europe, and there is a Scotland music video in the works! I can’t wait to see it! Scotland is just such a special place to me (as I think I’ve mentioned several times) and I think the video will be awesome.
I’m always so thrilled to find new music to listen to, and I especially love being able to connect with a new artist whose work I genuinely respect and enjoy and whom I can hopefully help out (not that she really needs my help… she’s definitely doing just fine on her own!) by spreading the word about their craft, be it music, books, art, or script. If you like country music and/or strong female vocalists, I hope you stop by Jessie Lee’s website. Her music is definitely worth a listen!
Next up on A Platform of Sorts: A Review of Seance by Tinsley Collins and How Target Ruined my Life by Not Having the Third Percy Jackson book in stock.
As promised…
This temperature is unacceptable.
Apparently, we have critters living in our tree.
Yes, I said critters. I’m from Texas.
Falling snow is actually really difficult to photograph.
Today wasn’t a total drag, however. I don’t know if I told y’all this, but I was selected as rising country music star Jessie Lee Cates’ fan of the month! I’ll post more about it tomorrow! So excited! She’s awesome. If you’re a country music fan, go check her out right now! http://www.jessieleecates.com/
A Platform of Sorts 