Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

romance readers

Welcome Summer?

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First lawn swing day. Put the canopy on for the first time in decades. Upside down. If at first you don’t succeed, you’re human!

Is it just me or has the world gone whack-a-doodle? Its been a wild and wacky couple weeks since we last chatted. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in the glamour(?) of book editing, formatting, and tech programs beyond my level of expertise. So when I get too frustrated, I go clean or sort something. Which does not make me that happy. Really.

So then I go buy discount craft supplies at Tuesday Morning. That makes me very happy. Then it is time to organize those new supplies. It feels like the movie “Groundhog Day” around here!

But I try to focus on the simple things in life to save my sanity. Because in a life well lived, it’s the little things that truly matter. Here is my list from the last several weeks:

  • Novocain is fabulous. Especially when you really need it. Twice in one week.
  • Avocado peels and coleslaw do not make the garbage disposal happy. But, you get a free shower when you pull the sink trap.
  • Power surges can cause smoke alarms to go off at 3 a.m. I am grateful they work and there was no fire. Good heart-rate test. 
  • Brooms are fabulous tools. Especially to reset smoke alarms on high ceilings. See above. 
  • A pair of Mourning Doves visit my backyard every afternoon. And do the wild thing on my fence. Pretty birdies?
  • Fresh strawberries are finally in at the farmer’s market. In spite of the two biblical hail storms we had.
  • On birthday week you eat chocolate cake, blackberry pie, chocolate cupcakes, BBQ potato chips, and pancakes! Once a year.
  •  One of my favorite romance authors, Jill Shalvis, released a new book; The Lemon Sisters!
  • Penny Black kitty stamps are my new obsession. I do not apologize. Keep calm and sniff the ink.
  • Potato salad deserves to wear a crown. Especially when someone else makes it.
  • Flip flops! Naked toes! Pink toenail polish! With glitter!
  • Kitty hugs from Spec Ops Cat. Even though I know he is just trying to get warm. Or fed. Or brushed. Or scratched.
  • First summer swing on the lawn swing. With Mom. On the Fourth of July.

What’s on your simple pleasures of life list? 

Happy May Day!

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Blooms for you!

Sun. Finally. I’ve been cooped up in the house for the last month with four unruly teenagers. Not humans, but book manuscripts. Making progress, but these kids are driving me nuts. So sunshine is a very good excuse to grab the camera and wander around my neighborhood after lunch. Instead of taking a nap. That hard job falls to Spec Ops Cat. He excels at it, trust me.

I’d noticed the rhododendrons blooming down the street and wanted to get a picture of the PINK blossoms. So pretty. There are some gorgeous red ones on another sunny corner, but they are almost bloomed out. Sun spots matter. 

Then what I thought was candytuft turns out to be something else, which I have no idea what it is, but it’s beautiful.

Very pretty. Something or other.

While I continue to slog through the technical side of indie publishing, wanted to let you all know I am still at it, giving it my best, and whining. Er, writing. A lot. That means I get rewarded with chocolate, so I’ve created my own fat monster. I’ve had to resort to giving myself a sticker on my calendar every time I complete another chapter. Fun stickers. Now I’m hoarding stickers.

The sticker fetish coincides with my new hoarding, er, hobby habit; stamping. I started with Anna Griffin card kits and it’s a slippery slope to Crafters Companion dies and stamps. Yesterday I almost grabbed a plastic wrapped magazine out of woman’s hands in Barnes and Noble because I thought she had the British stamping magazine I was stalking.

Lucky for her, she did not have the edition I wanted. My military background aside, I watch a ton of pro football. I’ve seen tackling moves. Consider that a warning to the stamping gals cruising the magazines at my Barnes and Noble. Just saying.  

When I did find the coveted issue on the stands, I practically yelled in glee. The holy grail. Swan stamps and dies. They GIVE you cling stamps with the magazine. There should be a law against that, really. Monday I actually went on eBay to purchase two back issues I had to have. No judgments. Stop me before I stamp again!

But stamping is a great stress reliever from dealing with said teenagers. I even get to switch chairs in the office. Purple for writing, pink for crafting.

There is nothing like coloring in the lines of the stamp and then using water and a paint brush to turn them into watercolors. If you use permanent black ink and watercolor pencils. Only a few of the thousand needed accessories. Including a baby toothbrush to clean my stamps with baby shampoo and water. Scrubbing the ink off the stamps calms me down too. Simple pleasures. That whole cleaning and scrubbing calm does not apply to the rest of my house. Not the same thing.     

So I wanted to show you my first effort at making stamped cards. Since no guts, no glory, I started with probably the largest and most intricate stamp I own for my first project. Also, the first time using a rocker block too. Did a couple of test stamps that came out great, and then on to the watercolor cards. No fear!

Three cards. One for Mom, and the others for friends dealing with health challenges.

I’m a rookie stamper. I admit it. So all I can do is improve, right? And I bought some glitter ink. Because of the teenagers! That’s my tale and I’m sticking to it. It helps me relax. Fun colors and it’s cheaper than therapy. I think.

Got the crazies? What’s your craft therapy?

Happy May Day! 

And the promised pink blossoms. In today’s sunshine. The bees were very busy on these blooms, but I couldn’t get a bee butt picture. They move. The quest continues!

  

Happy Spring Moon!

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True sign of Spring? Wall of flip flops at the store Monday!

Spring! Finally! We’ve had a great couple days of nice weather and it gives me hope the sun will return again this year. For those of you still freezing your body parts off, my condolences. Mother Nature will share the sun again. I promise.

This is my favorite season, to see the daffodils peeking open, the pollen launching itself into the atmosphere and the plants showing up at the garden center. I did prevent myself from buying a five-foot tall metal flamingo the other weekend, but now there are three-foot ones in at my garden store. I might be tempted.

Carnations have arrived at the Garden Center. I did stop and take a whiff.

My yard art needs makeovers, the garage needs a major and continuing muck out, and all I want to do is nap in the sun spots like Spec Ops Cat. And read some good books. Which I have piled on the floor in my office and bedroom. I corral them in the rest of the house. Kinda.

Renewal. Hope. Bunny supplies! It’s time to buy the Easter candy and stock up before all the good stuff is gone. That includes accessories, basket booty and colored plastic eggs. With glitter. I have been in four bunny retail sections this past week. Two of them twice. Bunny bliss.  

Bunny candy! Bunny bags! Bunny cling stickers! Make me stop…..

My craft addiction continues apace and I ordered some Penny Black bunny stamps too. I know I can’t draw, but I can color inside the lines. Of course, I couldn’t stamp until I bagged a bottle of vegetable glycerin to help clean the stamps. Every endeavor requires equipment. I am a go for bunny stamps arriving soon. 

Now I get to plan the Bunny Brunch I am going to host for the family next month. Thought about bringing all my collected bunnies into the dining room for the event. But the living room may not be big enough. I’ve got BUNNIES! Will have to work on that idea. My own personal bunny rodeo.

Enjoy today’s first day of Spring and tonight’s full moon.

Spring is back!

Hug a bunny!

Time For A Spring Whittle?

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Wreath bells and decorations. The pine cones are in the garage. Somewhere.

I’m rebooting myself. If we can do it to computers, we can do it to ourselves. Between the crazy cold weather, my too long sick bay recovery and the state of my house, something needs to be rebooted. So I’ve decided to start with moi.

Mucking out the house seems a first priority. Since Spec Ops Cat refuses to do dishes and housework, I had to keep up with those necessities. But cleaning out closets when homebound has led to a plethora of boxes in the living room bound for Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity and recycling.

Normally I would move all this flotsam into the garage, but it’s a mess too. Seems when I’m not feeling well I order things from Home Shopping Network to cheer me up. Then I throw the empty boxes into the garage until I can break them down. That also includes my Christmas wreath.

Miracles of miracles Monday, the sun came out and it was pleasant outside. I toddled out to the garage and proceeded to breakdown cardboard boxes and fill the entire recycling cart to the brim. Then I actually unwound the wire off the wreath, salvaging the bells and pine cones, and put the very dead fir limbs into the yard debris. 

Now I also kept the round wire frame. I’ve been doing this for years, buying holiday wreaths and then saving the frames. Haven’t used one yet. But I might. I’ve watched too many YouTube craft videos this year and I own an unused glue gun. Chaos will certainly reign at some point when it comes to these two items. I can only imagine the things I can stick myself to with a small amount of effort.

Yesterday I almost took the electronic recycling in the back of Subie to the drop off place, but I couldn’t get my butt out the door. Today is another day! The old HP printer and monitor belonged to the ancient computer I finally switched to my new computer. It only took six months, two technicians and a ton of chocolate. I’ve kept the old desktop just in case. I might need a doorstop or a boat anchor.

But I like to think this is progress. I also dragged some boxes to sort from my parent’s house out of my exercise room, it holds equipment, not that I use it. I am happy to say Subie will be driving a vintage punch bowl set to a friend of mine to donate to her church. One more box out of the house.

I watched a lot of videos while cooped up and stumbled upon Mari Kondo’s Netflix series about Tidying Up. Basically it all comes down to one thing – you have to sort your crap, er stuff. But the series gave me hope that one day I will again park Subie in the middle of the garage and perhaps see the rug in the exercise room.

Don’t get me started on my office. Between papers and books, it’s easier to fight my way to the computer and ignore it. But I am whittling on it all. That’s my new word for sorting and cleaning. Whittling. Doesn’t seem that hard to whittle away a box at a time.

My goal is to have it done by this Fall. Or at least by the time I buy another holiday wreath.

It could happen! 

Got anything to whittle at your house?   

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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This is the mini chocolate cake heart I made for my Mom’s 94th birthday today. She is a Valentine’s Day baby! The leftover cake batter produces a dozen cupcakes. Cake AND cupcakes. Perfect!

Wishing you a very merry Happy Valentine’s Day! Sending everyone chocolate cake wishes and gifts you buy for yourself. I am always a hopeful romantic, but life doesn’t get to decide if I get Valentine’s today or not. Thanks to Amazon I bagged myself a bunch of Hayley Mills movies arriving tomorrow to add to my collection. Binge watch party this weekend!

The other day I was pondering where I got my sense of adventure and crazy from, besides my family. Who were my roll models growing up? Hayley Mills definitely sticks out. One favorite Disney movie of hers is “That Darn Cat,” but my all time favorite Hayley Mills movie is “The Truth About Spring.”

In the past only bootleg copies of the movie were available, but low and behold the other night on Amazon I discovered Universal released a new copy. It is winging it’s way to me as we chat. My military romance writing incorporates a dash of my real background, the fiction characters who inhabit my head and a healthy dose of Hayley Mills. 

No matter where we are in our life, romance and adventure spectrum, we need to keep a piece of Hayley Mills alive in our hearts.

Rock this Valentine’s Day! Buy yourself an oldie but goodie something and celebrate. (I got a pink light up rubber ducky at the store this week. Just saying.)

Hugs and pink hearts to all!

Thank you for being my Valentines! 

And a Veteran’s Honor red rose and pink The Fairy roses from my backyard last summer for you all too!

Unleash The Hedgehog!

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Obviously I’m not the only one starting early to celebrate Fall. Fufu, the hedgehog from the Oregon Zoo, had herself a wonderful time chowing down on grubs in Fall gourds. How cute is she?

So stock up on supplies of your choice, grubs or pumpkin, and get ready for winter. Don’t let Fufu get all the gourds!

Have a great, safe, weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!