Sunday, July 11, 2010

Back to Reality

Now that was a whirlwind three weeks! I can't even believe my break is over. My youngest starts school this week, so I guess it's time to get back into the routine. But I had an awesome time with my family, made some serious progress on yet another revision of Killing Kessler, and I think I'm ready to get back to reality.

Even when I was on break, I had some great news over these three weeks - I received prizes from three blog contests!

First, Marcia Hoehne critiqued the first one thousand words of Killing Kessler. Her suggestions were right on and her encouraging words came at a time when I really needed to hear them. Thanks so much, Marcia! And don't forget to enter her next contest. Marcia gives away two critiques every month.


I won an earring and bracelet set made by the talented Jo Schaffer from Shoveling in a Jo Storm. I told Jo I'd like blue and brown beads with silver, and she took it from there. Isn't it gorgeous? Thanks so much, Jo!


I also won an ARC of Hero on Michelle Hodkin's blog. I am completely wrapped up in Catching Fire from The Hunger Games trilogy right now (love it! love it! love it!), but I can't wait to dive into Hero as soon as I'm finished! Thank you, Michelle!

One thing I've really missed while on break is reading everyone else's blogs. I'll be stopping by to visit in the next few days. Happy Monday Everyone!

40 comments:

Anne Gallagher said...

Welcome back. School starts this week! Can I ship Monster Baby to you? Stop by my yesterday's blog, you have something there.

Tess said...

Wow, you should buy a lottery ticket ... prizes are abounding in your life :D :D

Wendy Paine Miller said...

My neighbor is going to lend me Catching Fire. Good to read it has you entranced.
~ Wendy

JE said...

School already??? Wow. My daughter starts on August 18th and that's right around the corner! Crazy how the summer has flown!

~JD

sarahjayne smythe said...

Since I never really stop thinking about school, it really does seem never ending. I'm glad you hate a great break and congrats on your awards. :)

Susan Fields said...

Anne - Thanks for the award! It's already displayed on my sidebar - doesn't it look nice? :) And don't be too jealous, even though my youngest starts school this week, my middle schooler and my high schooler don't start until August 11.

Tess - I know, I almost feel like I should stop entering contests, I'm sure I've already won more than my fair share for the next ten years. It's time I start thinking about having another contest of my own, I guess.

Wendy - I hope you love The Hunger Games as much as I do! It's definitely up there on my list of all-time favorite books.

Susan Fields said...

Justine - Our elementary schools are on a year-round schedule, so they only get six weeks off in the summer, but they have three three-week breaks throughout the year. The bad part is that I also have a middle-schooler and a high-schooler, and their schools run on traditional schedules, so it spreads out the vacations, but also cuts down on the fighting. :)

Sarahjayne - I hope you're enjoying your summer and not thinking about school too much!

Paul C said...

Hope your three weeks were rejuvenating and restful.

Stina said...

Wow, my kids don't start school until September. They're on week three of vacation now. We have year round schools here too, but I think there're only a couple of them.

Joanne said...

Welcome back, and happy blogging to you :)

Susan Fields said...

Paul - I actually think they were more tiring than restful, but it was wonderful to spend so much time with my family. :)

Stina - Our school district has been year-round for many, many years (over thirty years, I believe), but there's been a lot of talk of switching to a traditional schedule, so I think this will probably be the last year of it. But it's also my last year to have an elementary-schooler, so the change won't really affect us. I have enjoyed it, but it does make things difficult when the kids are on different vacation schedules.

Joanne - Thanks so much, it's good to be back!

DL Hammons said...

Welcome back! While you were away I picked up another follower for my Blogging Buddies Across the Globe quest and she wound up there via your blog. So thanks bunches!! :)

Laura S. said...

Holy blog winnings! Congrats on all your prizes!

I'm glad you had a nice break!!! Welcome back!

Jai Joshi said...

Congrats on your blog prizes! And I'm glad you had a great break.

Jai

Aubrie said...

Wow, congrats on your blog prizes! I love the jewelry.

Old Kitty said...

HI!!!!!

Welcome back!!!! Blog universe is a nicer place now that you've returned! Yay!!

So glad to hear you had lovely break with you and your family!! And fab to hear you've made brilliant progress with Kessler!!

And these are some seriously good prizes! Fantastic - the jewellry is just lovely and yay for your critique and books!!

Have a great Monday!
Take care
x

MTeacress said...

What fun surprizes to return to!
It's good to have you back. :)

Jackee said...

Look at you in your cuteness! I've missed you! But I'm glad you had a great break. Congrats on all the contest wins. You have some killer luck, girl. :o)

Hema Penmetsa said...

Welcome back, Susan! Even though it's sad to come back from vacations, I find that it's kind of fun to jump back into reality and get back to a routine. Hope you're having fun being in the thick of things again. Love the necklace, earring set, btw!

Yaya' s Home said...

Yaaaaaay! You're back! I've been lurking around the edges on accounta' I missed you. So glad you enjoyed yourself.

Thanks for sendin' me over to DLHammons' blog. I like it. Congrats on all the super prizes. Too cool.

~ Yaya

Lola Sharp said...

Welcome back. (I just got back too.) Getting back to a schedule/routine is kind of a relief isn't it?

And CONGRATS, lucky girl, on the loot!

Happy Monday.
Love,
Lola

Kimberly Franklin said...

Welcome back! I can't believe school is starting back so soon. That's crazy!! I love the necklace, so pretty and congrats on your ARC win!!

I just wanted to let you know that I changed blog domains, so my new domain name is: www.kim-franklin.com

Have a great day!!

Susan R. Mills said...

Welcome back! And congrats on all the prizes you won while on break. Nothing better than that!

notesfromnadir said...

It's cool how you win so many nice gifts!

I can't believe school begins in early July!

But the best prize you won was that critique. That'll encourage you to keep on writing.

Theresa Milstein said...

Congratulations on those fabulous prizes! I love the picture of you.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Welcome back, friend! Your thoughtful comments and posts have been missed. Congratulations on the prizes you've won. :)

Is this your last year on the year round schedule? I'll bet everyone will be happy when all three of your kiddos are on the same schedule!

paulakiger said...

Hi Sue! Well, you can scratch the email I just sent you about having a relaxing summer; I forgot about the year round school thing for you. I need to pay more attention! Love the earrings/necklace. I'm sure there are more prizes ahead in your future!! Don't think I'll be getting any from Subway anytime soon, do you?!

Lydia Kang said...

Welcome back and nice prizes ya got there!
:)

Vicki Rocho said...

Congrats on all that winning! Glad to have you back with us!

Susan Fields said...

DL - Hooray, what great news! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know!

Laura - Thanks so much! It's great to be back. :)

Jai - Thank you! It was a great break, but it's been wonderful to have time to catch up with the blogs I've been missing, too!

Aubrie - Thanks so much, I love the jewelry, too! I didn't know what to expect, and I think she did such a wonderful job!

Susan Fields said...

Old Kitty - It's so good to be back, I've missed the Charlie pictures! :)

Michelle - The wonderful prizes did make it easier while I was away from blogging, but I'm also so happy to be back!

Jackee - I know, I've been so blessed with winning blog contests! Now if I could just transfer that to some luck with agents... :)

Hema - I'm actually not much of a vacationer. It takes me out of my routine, and I love my routine! But I did have a wonderful time with my family, so it was definitely worth having things shaken up a bit. :)

Susan Fields said...

Yaya - I'm so glad to hear you were able to add to DL's Blogging Buddies Across the Globe quest! He does have an awesome blog, I always enjoy my visits.

Lola - I saw that you just got back, too, so welcome back! It is a relief to get back into the swing of things, and to get time to write and blog again, too!

Kimberly - Thanks for letting me know about your domain name change. And yes, it is crazy that school starts so soon, but she'll have three weeks off in October, which is actually a great time for a vacation because the weather's perfect here, so it all works out pretty good.

Susan - Thanks so much! I do love my prizes! :)

Lisa - You are so right about the critique! It's priceless, really - great suggestions and a wondeful confidence boost! :)

Susan Fields said...

Theresa - Thanks! I'm not sure the picture shows off the earrings quite like I'd like, but I had my daughter take a bunch and that one came out the best. I tried to put my hand up to show the bracelet, too, but they all ended up looking kind of silly, so I just went with the earring. :)

Sharon - This is definitely my last year on the year-round schedule since Madeline will be in middle school next year, but it's also probably the school district's last year, too. There's been talk off and on for years about going to a traditional schedule, but everyone says this time it sounds like they're really going to do it.

Paula - I wouldn't be looking for any gifts from Subway in the near future. :) Thanks for the relaxing summer wishes! It will actually probably be more relaxing once school starts because we'll be done travelling.

Lydia - Thank you! It's really good to be back.

Vicki - Thanks! I was so glad to have time to go around and check out all the blogs I've been missing!

Jo Schaffer Layton said...

(= Awesome! Glad the jewelry worked out for you.
Good to have ya back!

Susan Fields said...

Jo - Thanks! I wasn't sure how much I'd have to wear with the earrings and bracelet, but I'm finding tons of stuff! You picked some great blues! :)

Unknown said...

So glad your back Susan! You were certianly missed, but it looks like the blog world was still loving you back with all those great wins!!! I love the jewelry, it looks awesome!!!

Talli Roland said...

Welcome back! We missed you!

Congrats on all the prizes and such - beautiful earrings.

About Me said...

A big welcome back! Hope your time away was productive. :)

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Welcome back! How cool to win prizes while you're on a break!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Wow! Can't believe school starts for you already. Do you guys go all year? How cool to win so much while you were on break, though! Congratulations!