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Military Romance Author

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Is A Lazy Weekend Good For Your Creative Muse?

July 15, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook 1 Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Interesting weather weekend. Heat, humidity, thunderstorms, rain, lightning, wind, clouds. Sometimes all at the same time. Sunday morning I realized I had the heating pad on for a sore muscle, the air conditioning going and it was raining outside. Welcome to wacky weather.

Before planting, all but four of these guys got in the ground. Yes, I'm a yard art slut and that is Gnomeo and Juliet.
Before planting, all but four of these guys got in the ground. Yes, I’m a yard art slut and that is Gnomeo and Juliet.

Part of what did not happen this past weekend was me cleaning up more of my office. Seems I wanted to play and working on de-cluttering didn’t feel like fun.

The tune “Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer,” kept running through my mind.

By Sunday I had the lazy part down pat while I watched men run around at the World Cup with a lot more energy than I had.

Sometimes we need to park ourselves and sit. Just sit. Take time to think and dream and imagine. Daydreaming is an official requirement for writers, especially fiction writers. It also gives me time to scan the stack of magazines I buy and then barely have time to read.

Perfect Sunday. Weird weather means staying home is not only allowed, but recommended. Spec Ops Cat also requires a certain amount of lap time and he felt his quota was abysmal this past week. He got caught up.

There were two petunia and two fuchsia plants leftover from my garden planting weekend to go into the ground. I knew I should get them in the dirt but the rain and lightning convinced me they were on their own for another couple of days.

Sometimes the best thing to do on a summer Sunday is to putter, rest and snuggle with magazines and a cat. The office is not going to clean itself,  the clean up elves have a better union and don’t work on Sundays. It will all wait. September sounds good.

Taking time to refresh ourselves is important. Because even our creative muse mind needs a lazy summer day. Plus you don’t want to deal with a cranky pet, spouse, kids or friends. Enjoy some lazy summer days!

 

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Filed Under: Writing Muse Tagged With: author, creativity, downtime, veteran, Warrior Tales, writer, Writing

It’s Time For Summer Polar Bear Pool Fun!

July 11, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Seems we are heading for a week of record temperatures here in Oregon and our duck web feet don’t take kindly to temps above 82 degrees.  But the polar bears at the Oregon Zoo will have their own cool pool to play in to keep cold. Maybe we should all get a kiddie pool, red plastic ball and dive in!

Happy Quirky Friday!

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Filed Under: Quirky Fridays Tagged With: Polar Bears, summer, summer heat, Warrior Tales, writer

What Is The Real State Of Our Union?

July 8, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook 2 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Last Thursday I ran errands to several places I was not excited to visit; usually I’m a little more logistically together to avoid the pharmacy, grocery store, post office and gas station the day before a major holiday weekend. But life happens and I ended up at those busy spots.

Walking into the pharmacy waiting room it was packed with folks. They were serving number 298 and I was number 316. The digital message on the wall let me know I should expect to be served in 22 minutes.

Captured this while waiting for a left hand turn signal light in May. Fabulous.
Captured this while waiting for a left hand turn signal light in May. Fabulous.

Sitting down on a cushy bench, I decided to do what writers do best: observe. People watching is fascinating. Learned several things. Everybody was pretty orderly. The pharmacy folks slammed at the windows were being pleasant and taking time to chat with people, but getting the job done. The noise level was quiet.

Friends, relatives and hired drivers were helping each other out. It was pretty low-key. It struck me how with all the craziness in the news on our nation’s birthday eve, we may not be the most fashion forward folks all the time but, the majority of Americans are kind.

The experience made me keep my eyes open on the rest of my stops. A man held the door open for a lady with a large package. USPS counter workers told people to have a Happy Fourth.

The woman who pumped my gas, yes we do not pump our own gas in Oregon, was perky and friendly and had on a bright red shirt for the occasion. At the grocery store walking out I saw another shopper helping an elderly gentleman locate the employee who had checked him out earlier. Stranger helping stranger.

Heard on the news the Boston Pops even moved up their concert one day to be able to party and keep everyone safe too. Is this a great country or what? Got bad weather coming? Party first!

Perhaps those of us who have served in the military realize the special meaning of our national birthday since many times we have not been on U.S. soil to celebrate, and we know others serve as the nation plays.

It’s always a good idea to open our eyes, look around, see the bigger picture in the small everyday details and tell the stories. That’s what writers do.

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”

Erma Bombeck

 

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Filed Under: Writing Muse Tagged With: Fourth of July, kindness, military, veteran, veterans, Warrior Tales, writer, Writing

Happy Fourth Of July America!

July 4, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Have a happy Fourth of July everybody! Thank you to our troops serving around the world today so we can party as a nation. Now head for the hot dogs and potato chips!

Watch this video on YouTube.

 

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Filed Under: Quirky Fridays Tagged With: Fourth of July, military, troops, writer, writers

New Feline Friends Are The Best Kind

June 27, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

If you haven’t seen this cute video you are in for a treat. Seems a stray cat at the St. Petersburg Zoo in Russia decided the lynx cat’s house looked much better than his, especially with heat. The obviously Spec Ops trained kitty found his way into the enclosure and they soon became best buds.

The zoo has officially adopted the stray cat and you can see he/she looks to be eating quite well. I love a happy ending. Happy Quirky Friday!

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Filed Under: Quirky Fridays Tagged With: cat, humor, lynx, romance writers, Warrior Tales, writer, writers

Here Comes Summer, So Dance!

June 20, 2014 By Kimberly A. Cook Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Been trying my best to find the perfect summer video to share and then threw my hands in the air and went with a favorite. Back in simpler times when people went away to resorts for the summer, who were those people anyway, activities and dancing were part of the experience. The closest thing I did was be an aide at Camp Westwind on the Oregon Coast. It involved washing dishes and getting thrown in a feed trough by an albino pony. I learned macrame too, but no dancing.

So the best movie about those “times” for me will always be “Dirty Dancing.” With the amazing Patrick Swayze and wonderful Jennifer Grey, it is still a lifetime favorite. Summer starts tomorrow, so put on your dancing shoes and enjoy the sun! Happy Quirky Friday!

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Filed Under: Quirky Fridays Tagged With: amwriting, dance, Dirty Dancing, fiction, party, romance readers, romance writers, summer, Warrior Tales, writer

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