Cowboy Lovin' Month!

CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC TO ENLARGE IT...and CLICK HERE for some cowboy lovin'!

Stop by January 7-11th to enter to win my giveaway!

My new photos

I finally had some real photos taken to use on my website and for promo stuff. I was dreading the whole process, but the photographer was a sweetheart and I ended up having a lot of fun. Here are a couple of them:

Gettin' my kicks

I'm back from Vegas and my tour along Route 66 into Arizona. I had a fabulous time - already wishing I could go back. But trust me, the two hour speedboat ride up the Colorado River sounds better on paper than it does an hour plus into the bumpiest ride of your life.

One nice bonus they don't mention in the tour brochure: people in Arizona have very nice derrieres (at least the ones who stand around on party boats mooning the tourists.) Sorry I didn't get pictures of those for you. :)

Hope you're having a great summer. I'm leaving at the end of this week to spend some time on the beach in Destin and then things will fall back to the normal routine in the Darlin house. The first photo is me with my tour guide, Rick, just outside Oatman, Arizona. The bottom photo was taken in front of London Bridge at Lake Havasu.

Extending Summer Hiatus

I hope everyone's having a great summer! I was planning to get back to updating my blog at the beginning of August, but that's not going to happen. :)

I'm spending next week in my old college town of Wilmington, North Carolina to visit my sister and her family. The following weekend I'll be in Las Vegas doing some research for my newest novel. Seriously! It is a work trip, but I'll try to squeeze in some fun too.

The week after that, I will be on the beach in gorgeous Destin, Florida - a place that is really close to my heart. Then I'll have one quiet week at home shopping for school clothes and supplies.

And then all hell will break loose -- I hate getting up in the mornings to get my little darlin off to school, and I hate the homework session in the afternoon even more. I really don't know who hates the school routine more, me or him. But, the school year does allow me to slip back into my routine. I can write and keep up with blogs and such.

I hope all of you are having a fabulous summer and that the Lovin' Our Bodies ladies haven't fallen off the wagon too hard. (Don't worry if you have, that's why we banded together - to help each other.) I'm ready to start checking in again the first week of September if all of you are.

Lots of love!

LOVIN' OUR BODIES Motivations

Happy Monday, ladies. I hope you're all off to another good week. I'm back in town from my visit with family and heading out for my walk as soon as I post this. Already the outdoor thermometer is reading 93 degrees. It's going to be a hot one.

How is everyone doing? Is the summer taking a bigger toll than you expected or are you managing to stay on track? If you're having trouble staying motivated, let us know how we can help.

Today's quote is a mental kick for us all:

"It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head." Sally Kempton

If you're defeating your own ambitions and the reasons you joined this group to begin with, let us know, and take a few minutes today to force yourself back on track. Baby steps are better than no steps at all, at least you'll be heading in the right direction.

Also, I want to check in with the more serious health issues. Ann and Cindy, are you two doing ok? Raina, did you kick that bug you had?

Romancing South Tampa

Here's an article about some of my favorite authors and much to my surprise, I'm even mentioned in it. Check it out, you can see how I spent my Saturday. http://tinyurl.com/m4fy53

LOVIN' OUR BODIES Motivations

I think summer is officially taking its toll on everyone. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. We need to step out of the groove and enjoy this time of year when we can. I will be leaving in just a little while to go spend a week with family. I'll find a way to fit in my workouts, but my normal schedule won't exist.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and if you're off schedule too, I hope you find a way to fit your personal goals into your day. I'll check in when I can while I'm out of town, but it won't be as frequently as usual.

Here is a quote I thought you might like this week:

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Elinor Smith

I love this because we know how this applies to our lives and careers, but it also applies to our health. To be healthy and fit is to be proactive about taking care of yourself, making time when you don't want to or it's easier not to - which is more often than not for most of us.

So how are you doing this week? Are you making progress? Have you fallen into a rut? That happens!! Have you fallen off the wagon altogether? That happens too! Tell us how you're doing and know that we're in your corner, even if you're not meeting your goals. And if you are meeting your goals, inspire us! We love to cheer you on.