Jenkins, We Did It!

So there I was, in the shower scrubbing the stink of chronic anxiety and toddler pee off of me (long story, but my daughter is having potty training issues) when my husband opened the bathroom door.

"Hey! No pooping while I'm showering! The honeymoon's not that long over!"

He assured me he wasn't there to use the toilet and I poked my head out. He was holding up his phone with my Go Fund Me on it. The funding meter was full... $900 of $900. Someone just donated the last $130 to put me at my goal.

So what's next?

Finish the rewrite. It's coming along really well so far. Get it to the technical editor. Get all the 'I's dotted and 'T's crossed and commas Oxforded. Get it to the cover artist and formatter. Get it published.

Oh gee, is that all?

Piece of cake.

Seriously though, thank you to everyone who donated, spread the word, or even gave me a passing thought. It's humbling to know that I have so many people willing to help me out. I promise I will keep working hard and when I'm done I hope the book I present to you will be worth your donation and effort.

To celebrate, I've decided to open up a sample of Paige's Story. You can read it here . It's not much, but I hope you enjoy it.

Am I a Writer, Jenkins?

I've never been published before. But I have written... a lot. A. Lot. I've been writing since I was 10. I was creating fan fiction before I even knew what fan fiction was, because the internet wasn't around to tell me. I have old spiral notebooks with handwritten stories in them because only rich kids had computers in their homes. I've written poems for contests at school, and short stories and long stories and stories that have been read on the radio.

But I've never been published. I've never worked as a writer anywhere. I've only ever written for fun. And now I'm trying to publish some of the fun stuff that I've written.

Am I a writer?

Am I really one? I don't know. I don't feel like one. I feel like a poseur every time I say I am one. Despite looking at the 250+ page manuscript sitting in front of me. Despite my favorite author telling me "Yes, you write. You are a writer. You have a completed manuscript. You are a writer." I feel like I don't deserve to carry that mantle because I've only ever written for my own enjoyment and never for work.

Maybe I'll feel better once I get the cover art done. Or maybe once I actually have it published. Or after I sell a copy or two.

Or maybe just never.

C'mon Jenkins, Let's Get Schmidt-Faced

Batesville is a town known for its festivals and traditions. There's Raspberry Fest, Apple Fest, the Fireman's Fest, Batesville Bash, The Music and Arts Fest, Halloween-- which is a party in and of itself, The Christmas Tree Lighting, and of course, we can't forget Freudenfest... which is actually put on by our little neighbor Oldenburg, but we're basically like close cousins, soooooooo.

There are other smaller events around town that I'm forgetting... random concerts in the summer and all that. But one of the most anticipated events is in honor of everyone's favorite holiday........Presidents' Day.....?

Y'see, every year around mid-January Batesville begins to look like a level out of Super Mario Bros. 2.

What did collecting all those cherries do, anyway? I don't remember.

 Whenever these pop up it means that it's almost Thing-a-Ling time.  Cherry Thing-a-Lings, that is. Our local bakery, Schmidt's, which has been around since 1963, started making Thing-a-Lings in 1970. What started out as maybe a few dozen orders over a weekend exploded. Last year they sold over 6,700 dozen. DOZEN. That's over 80,000 individual donuts.

So what the hell is this amazingly popular, weirdly named, pastry? Well, it's this:

No, they're not pretty, but they've got great personalities.

An ugly looking, pink glazed, cherry fritter that tastes like unicorns and angels crying tears of joy onto your poor, jaded tongue.

Seriously, it's a huge deal around here. The news crews show up, lines are out the door and Clem and his family and friends are running all all cylinders for the 4 days they offer the treats.

 

Like I said, they're pretty popular. But the best part is that they're all hand made, and the whole Schmidt family is there elbow-deep in the madness. It's a legit home grown, one of a kind family made treat. 

So if you're in or near Batesville this weekend, swing by Schmidt's, grab a thing-a-ling and get........ Schmidt-faced. 

You Can't Put A Price On Nostalgia, Jenkins

Actually, you can. Especially when you're mostly broke like the husband and me.

Lately, the husband has been frolicking down memory lane like a coked up spider monkey and searching for vintage toys from old cartoon lines. We're both collectors and have a pretty swanky "nerd room".  My focus is mostly on Mega Man figures and celebrity/voice actor autographs. I've got some damn good ones, too-- Mr T., Dee Bradly Baker, Janet Varney, Grey Deleslie, Red Green... just to name a few... Oh and that one right down there...

Yeah, that's Adam West's signature. I got that back in 2015 at Awesome Con. He was by far, one of the most friendly, gracious, and humble celebrities I've ever met.

Suffice it to say, we like nostalgia and pop culture in our house. ...Also succulents. God I love those weird little alien plants. 

Look, I can only keep one species alive at a time and right now I'm focusing on the mini-humans I made.

So, anyway, the husband has been going through all his old toys, fixing them up and added some new (to us) pieces to the ol collection. None of our toys are worth much, I think. Something, something, not mint in box, something, something. But still, it's a collection to be proud of. 

                                          

A lot of this collection was made when the husband was a backline guy working for the Temptations. ...Oddly I don't have their autographs. Otis has kissed my hand, though. And my dad made them an apple pie. Aaaaaanyhoo..... He'd come home after a month on the road with a fistful of cash and, us having no kids at the time, would spend it on stuff like this. 

Anyway, this post doesn't really have much of a point, other than we spent most of the weekend playing with action figures. It was a decent weekend.