Find me at The Really Real Housewives Blog

I'm having so much fun over at The Really Real Housewives blog. Love my hosts. Aren't they a fabulous bunch?

Join me for another post about geek parenting on a budget.

My family always comes first. I love spending time with them. Here are a few pictures of things we've done together recently.

Here's my little guy and his buddy walking along a boardwalk in a wetlands preserve not too far from where we live. There are tons of birds nesting in this area including bald eagles and Indiana owls. All this fun and adventure was free!

 This is the Louisville Arcade Expo. It's difficult to tell in the picture, but that is a conference center ballroom filled with retro arcade games, pinball machines, and consoles. Children ten and under are free. You can pay one flat fee and play all day long. (Tip: it was less crowded in the morning. Saturday afternoon got packed!)

After the expo, we stopped for dinner at Steak 'n Shake. One of our favorite places to eat out. Kids eat free on the weekends when you dine in. Most meals on the menu are $4, and not only do I love that price, but I like that they don't heap stuff on your plate. You get normal portions, so you aren't stuffing yourself. Thus leaving room for milkshakes!

Juggling - guest post by Tara Tyler

Happy Monday, folks! This week I'm excited to be a guest blogger at The Really Real Housewives. I love that blog! I'll be doing three posts about geek parenting on a budget. Even if you don't have kids, it's fun geeky stuff!

Today I'm excited to have the fabulous Tara Tyler as my guest. One lucky commenter will win a free ecopy of her newest awesome tale, Jolissa. Take it away, Tara!

* * * * *

Juggling

I cannot juggle. Juggling takes skill, balance, practice, and perseverance - you're going to drop a lot of balls before you get good!

Here's my definition:
juggling - there's something up in the air at all times

And here is my point:
Juggling life is just as difficult.
We all struggle with finding a good balance between family and work and free time. (I heard that chuckle when I said free time!)

But when all the pieces fall into place, there is peace.

The things we want to do the most, we seem to have the least time for! We work to pay bills so we can enjoy time with our families and our free time. If we don't get enough sleep, we are cranky. If we don't work enough, we fall behind on bills. If we don't keep up with our family and chores, the house falls apart. But don't sacrifice your free time to get the other stuff done!

Putting off to tomorrow things I couldn't get done today is NOT procrastination. It's underestimation of time needed.

NEVER FEEL GUILTY FOR ENJOYING YOUR FREE TIME!  We must have our time - our time to do what we enjoy plus sleep re-energizes us so we can go back to work.

And there is the circle of life, a continuous juggling of time management, trying to keep it all balanced.

Inevitably, life throws an extra ball into the mix, so we adjust. It takes a little work, but it's okay to drop the ball sometimes. And make sure you ask for help - you're not alone! Plenty of clowns trying to juggle their own balls.

Thanks for having me over Christine!



Tara's latest publication is Jolissa - An Anti-Princess Story, a novella with an on-going Youtube storybook.

A trouble-making maiden, a clumsy out-of-work squire, a loyal puppy, and a talking goat go on a quest - What could go wrong?

Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her three active boys and Coach Husband. Currently, she has two series, Pop Travel (techno-thriller detective capers) and Broken Branch Falls (fantasy adventures). She's a commended blogger, contributed to several anthologies, and to get all these projects in, she economizes her time, aka the Lazy Housewife. Make every day an adventure!


How to find:
http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com
twitter - @taratylertalks
facebook – Tara Tyler - Author
Really Real Housewives of America

Friday Five for July 10, 2015

1. I'm back from my trip up north. We had a great time celebrating Canada Day with my family. I finally got to meet my adorable niece and equally as cute baby cousin. We were tremendously busy and totally exhausted. I still haven't caught up on sleep or anything else. My brain is all foggy. I just need one night of really good sleep.

2. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word of Masked Kiss' release. You guys are awesome! Though I wasn't around for the release, it was top rated at Ellora's Cave for two weeks. I need to regain my focus and start to plan a tour for the series.

3. I sent out seven short stories before I went away, and I've had three rejections. I submitted the stories elsewhere. It's difficult at times to keep pushing forward, but we must do so to achieve our dreams.

4. I haven't had a chance to write lately and I'm starting to get the writer shakes. The kind that make you want to start typing away at any keyboard you see! There's less than a month before my son starts school. (Yup, he starts on August 4th. Crazy!) So things on my blog will still be slow until then, but I'm eager to jump back into my writer's life come August.

5. It's finally Friday. Yay! It's been a long week. What's on your agenda for the weekend? Minions is out in theaters. It's at our local drive-in. I think it's time for our little guy's first drive-in movie experience!

Final Day of the Of Blood and Sorrow Character Meet & Greet

The final day of the Of Blood and Sorrow Character Meet & Greet.

Thanks so much to my fantastic hosts and to you, my awesome readers. I hope you've enjoyed meeting the cast of the novel, and I really hope you're intrigued enough to pick up the book.

Today you'll meet Aleo and Bolona Putzkammer, the heads of the Putzkammer clan.

Head on over to T.F. Walsh's site to find out more about them.

Buy the book here:

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Smashwords

Meet the little brother in the Character Meet & Greet

We met the older Putzkammer brothers on Wednesday and today we meet the youngest.

Connor is the heart of the family and Erin's best friend.

Click on over to Heather Holden's blog to learn more.

My final geeky giveaway is still going on until the end of the month. Enter to win some awesome games: Story Cubes and Star Wars Galactic Dice Game. Plus, every winner will receive a unique Christine Rains die.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Five for November 1st, 2013 & Ribbon of Darkness cover reveal

1. First, another thank you to everyone who helped and followed along with my blog tour last month. It was a long haul, but so much fun. Don't forget to enter the final giveaway on Clare Dugmore's blog. There's still one chance left to win a signed copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection.

2. Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo 2013. I'm excited. I'm participating even though I don't have much time to write this month. And today I assist at my son's preschool, so I won't have any time to write the morning or afternoon. Our trick-or-treating was postponed to tonight since we had a huge storm pass through the state yesterday. If I'm lucky, I might get an hour or two to write after he goes to bed tonight.

3. I'll be taking a step back from blogging during November and December. I have a lot of pre-scheduled posts. (It actually doesn't look like I'm taking a break at all with how many there are!) I'll pop in now and then, but two weeks this month will be taken up by family visiting. We're getting in all the family visits this month so we can have a relaxing Christmas without any traveling. We did that last year, and it was fantastic. Our Christmas gift to ourselves to have a stress-free holiday week.

4. I'll be focusing on writing for NaNo this month and revising another novel in December. Then in January, I can fall back into my regular blogging schedule. You know, I still haven't settled into anything new after we lost Google Reader. That will be something I need to do too. A productive chore to do when I'm procrastinating about revising.

5. I will certainly be around in a few weeks for Realms Faire 2013. It's going to be tremendous! There are several events and giveaways planned. I'll be hosting the Drench-a-Wench / Soak-a-Bloke event. It's fast, easy, and tons of fun. I'm also participating in the Joust this year. Please come cheer my champion, Sir Xanthus Ehrensvard, and defeat last year's victor. Click on the badge below for all the details.

 

Now on to Decadent Kane's gorgeous cover reveal!

An old family secret draws Ribbon into an Elven world while Draven is forced to find a way to drag her back home to save Christmas magic.

Release date: December 13th, 2013

Sign up for the newsletter to be notified of publications: http://eepurl.com/FDtsL

Elf legends: Legends generally portray elves harmful to humans and their name comes from ancient Germanic word meaning nightmare. ( http://tinyurl.com/kcsbjtd )

Find out more about the author, Decadent Kane: 

Facebook * Twitter * Blog * Goodreads