Sixty is Sensational

​My birthday was yesterday, May 7th, but this is me and my birthday suit on May 3rd. My mother gave me shopping money as a birthday present . . .  she does know me well! There’s nothing better than shopping, the hunt for a deal, for something that makes me feel 40, no LOL! I shopped till I had $12 left, just enough money to buy a book at the Marvelous Midwest SCBWI conference. 

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​I took the first picture on Friday. I can’t do selfies so I took a picture using the mirror. Did you notice there’s no smile? I have to concentrate so hard that there’s no room for my brain to smile, really! The other 3 pictures were taken by friends. I can smile when someone else takes the picture.

So what did I buy with my mother’s gift money? I went to Casa Chic, one of my favorite Wapak stores. There was a poncho I looked at two weeks ago, but I couldn’t spend the money for it. Now thanks to my mom, I did! I love it! I feel like I’m wearing a Tiffany lamp, poncho-style. 

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​My book is a library book, and it’s my mentor text for the middle grade manuscript I’ve worked on for 8 years. Thanks to ESCAPE FROM BAXTER’S BARN, I wrote the first chapter well enough that my Writing Magic Critique Group told me I’d finally achieved middle grade quality. YES!

Now I’m buying the book so I can mark it up to help me write the rest of my manuscript. I hope with the help of this great mentor text, that my story will finally be good enough to tempt an agent or editor, but first, I have lots of hard work to do.

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​This is the rest of my birthday suit. The jewelry and dress are more treasures from Casa Chic. I’ve been looking for a necklace that reminds me of the earth. This one swirled with blue and aqua, plus two sets of earrings matched it. I bought them all!

And the dress, WOW! I loved it at first sight. Then I put it on. I felt cute! Like I was young again, and that’s a great thing! Plus look at the sleeves and that 60’s pattern. I couldn’t resist!  

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​These pictures were from the Marvelous Midwest SCBWI conference. It was carnival night, and Merrill Rainey drew caricatures. He’s a talented illustrator who donated his services FREE for the carnival. I think he got me, but I had to edit the text . . . Merrill wrote, “It’s THE POOP DECK! NOT! I have a dock at the lake, and the ducks think it’s their personal poop deck. Merrill remembered that part, but forgot the ‘NOT!’ Don’t worry! I added it later, in RED!

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