1. Corn maze and pumpkin patch.
2. Cute little trick-or-treaters.
3. Candy.

1. Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
2. Walked almost 15,000 steps.
3. Friendly correspondence from readers; it always makes my day to hear from someone who enjoys my work.

1. Writers group with my writer friends.
2. A good walk.
3. Pleased that I made better choices regarding what I ate.

1. Hummingbird.
2. Quiet.
3. Confirmed release date for Peter: 15 January

1. My publisher told me they're almost ready to put Peter up for pre-order. I had to finish up the acknowledgements. We also sort of established when there might be print books so I can sort out signings.
2. A nice dinner out with the family (minus one child who is on an overnight camping trip with his class). Ice cream afterward!
3. Found something that was missing. That always feels good.

1. A quiet morning to myself.
2. New personal record for steps in a day (12,500).
3. My story was shortlisted for an anthology.

I won't know until mid-November at the very earliest whether the story actually makes it into the book, but I'll take being shortlisted over a rejection.

1. Nice chats with other moms while attending a birthday party with my daughter.
2. Hummingbird!
3. Pork belly for dinner.

1. A sunbeam to sit in.
2. Getting to watch Everything or Nothing.
3. Dancing with the kids.

1. TWO hummingbirds this morning! I saw one, then another met her in one of the trees in the back yard.
2. Extra long walk that included a nice chat with the neighbor.
3. Twinkies. The kids had asked me what Twinkies were, and I realized they'd never had them. So I went and got some. Of course the kids loved them, and I used to be something of an addict myself. I've been trying to be good about what I eat, but this was a nice indulgence.

In truth, it's been a difficult week. I've had trouble finding the good stuff. Four rejections in five days . . . Yipes. Trying to stay strong, though.

1. Salon night! Got my hair and nails done so I can feel pretty again.
2. I weighed less this morning. I haven't been actively trying to lose weight, but it was a nice surprise.
3. There were new Cinema Sins on YouTube.

1. A promising meeting with the woman who may become my agent.
2. Candy bars.
3. Hummingbird! She was around a lot, actually.

1. Made 114% of my walking (steps) goal per my new Jawbone UP.
2. Got lots of laundry done so now I don't have any for tomorrow.
3. Saw my hummingbird at dusk.

If I'm being honest, I'm struggling the past couple days. Hunting for those silver linings. But then that's the point of these posts—remind myself of all the good, no matter how small. If nothing else, I have a roof over my head, food on the table, etc. My "problems" are small and largely self-made. So . . .

1. So my little hummingbird came and flew around outside my office window. That was neat.
2. Another reviewer lined up for Peter.
3. Walked 4.5 miles.

I also got a Jawbone UP so now I'll be better able to track my activity.

1. Saw the hummingbird first thing when I came downstairs to get my morning caffeine.
2. Great nature walk with the family that included seeing a rare melanistic deer.
3. Scott brought me blue hydrangeas.

1. Cooler weather, including a few sprinkles.
2. Time to myself in the morning, and then hubby and kids brought lunch for me.
3. Nice afternoon walk.

1. Was invited to speak to my daughter's class about being a writer and had a great time with the kids.
2. Hummingbird! She was at the feeder in the morning, then there were TWO of them in the evening.
3. I successfully made a crockpot dinner.

1. Two reviewers have agreed to feature me and/or Peter on their sites!
2. Peter's edits are officially finished and he's (it's) off to be formatted and proofed.
3. Really great day with my writer gals. Good news all around the table. Was just a fabulous day.

And . . .

Hummingbird!

1. More of my sweet little hummingbird.
2. Scott worked from home which meant we got to walk together in the morning and have lunch at one of our favorite Thai restaurants.
3. The acquisitions editor of a mid-sized publisher—the one who'd requested part of Changers a few days ago—requested the full manuscript.

1. LOTS of hummingbird this evening! She was hanging out around the feeder and in the locust tree.
2. Finished with the edits on Peter and sent them back to my editor.
3. Was successful in making a dinner that not only didn't taste bad but was actually really good.

1. Hummingbird! And also we now have a lot of robins living in our trees.
2. Good parent-teacher conference with my youngest son's teacher.
3. One of my flash fiction pieces was selected for the podcast No Extra Words. It will be featured in February.

1. Started the edits (sent by my editor) for Peter.
2. Took my daughter and oldest son for ear piercing. (My son only got one ear pierced.)
3. Hubby brought unexpected flowers! They are now on my desk.

1. Hummingbird!
2. Picked up the printed copies of my manuscript. There's something very satisfying about seeing all that hard work in concrete form.
3. Art Walk downtown.

1. Scott came home earlier than expected, and I didn't even  have to go pick him up from BART because a co-worker gave him a ride.
2. We were able to print copies of my manuscript for a reasonable price. I need hard copies to give my critique group because I have difficulty reconciling so many different Word documents.
3. My editor sent the mark-up for Peter. I glanced and it didn't look too terrible. But I haven't started in yet. Will likely wait until Monday, when I have the house to myself.

1. Sleeping in a little.
2. Lunch at the park with the kids.
3. A small publisher liked the little bit of Changers I sent them and asked to see more! (Specifically, the editor said, "I love Cee and Marcus already and am intrigued by the world you're building.") I only hope she continues to enjoy the story!

1. Traffic wasn't too bad this morning.
2. Chatted with the woman who is likely to become my agent. We're meeting in a couple weeks to look over the paperwork.
3. Kids were super well behaved this evening, which was extra nice since I'm parenting solo at the moment.

1. Lovely meeting with my writing friends. I'd been suffering withdrawal! So I'm glad they made time to meet since I can't make our regular meeting this week.
2. Dracula with my son. Was a great production, too.
3. I'll count having heard from the woman who says she wants to be my agent as a good thing. But then when I tried to call her back, I couldn't reach her and her mailbox was full, so . . .

1. Friends really stepped up to the plate when I was feeling down.
2. A walk to the store to pick up milk actually helped my sore shoulder.
3. Satisfied my craving for a quesarito.

1. My injured shoulder slowly getting better.
2. Ordered my Hallowe'en costume (Steampunk). I love dressing up!
3. TWO hummingbirds at our feeder!

1. Was able to pick up Stephen King's Finders Keepers at the library! Have been wanting to read it . . .
2. A nice afternoon walk.
3. Finished the first draft of my WIP! Hooray! Needs a lot of editing, of course, but I've been working on this book for almost exactly a year, so it feels so good to be done with the draft.

1. Friday.
2. Was able to write a little. (Been struggling with that this week.)
3. Friday.

1. Took my daughter to her first concert: Richard Marx. We had front-row seats, too, and it was an acoustic show, so not too loud for her sensitive ears. We had a great time!
2. Saved a bee! It was crawling on the pavement, and I got it onto a leaf . . . Then it climbed onto my thumb, but anyway, I was able to move it out of harms way and onto some rosemary bushes.
3. Tree service came and cleaned up our trees which were looking a little crowded. They look much better now.