Hi everyone! Let me introduce you to #TuesdaysWithTamara. Every Tuesday I’ll be giving you an update on 1. What I’m writing, 2. What I’m reading, 3. What I’m watching. 4. What I’m doing with my life.

1. What I’m writing– Fairy World MD Book 3. This book is really clipping along. I’ve been averaging 1,200-2,000 words a day, which I’m happy about. I’m on chapter 10 now, and have a total of 28,000 words. I’m aiming for about 80,000 words total, so I’m almost halfway there. Would you like a snippet? Oh, okay, pull my arm… This scene takes place at the Texas Ren Fest. at the start of the noonday parade. Previous to this scene, Olive found a dead body with poppy flowers arranged in the corpse’s eye sockets. So here you go…

With just my luck, the Gypsies marched past as I tried
to dodge them. One of the young girls caught my eye, and soon she made her way
toward me. I tried to avoid her, but once she’d spotted me, she kept pace with
me.
“Wouldn’t you like a lovely flower?” she asked,
playing the part as she attempted a Gypsy’s accent.
 “No thanks. I’m
good.”
“It shall bring great luck,” she said as she trailed
behind me.
“I doubt it.”
“And it would look so pretty in your hair.”
“I don’t think so.”
“’Tis a free gift! Why won’t you accept it?”
My patience was worn thin—and this hassler was about
to wear it through completely. “Look,” I snapped as I turned around to face
her. I stopped, shocked, as I looked at the basket of flowers she carried.
Intermingled with the roses and carnations were
flowers I recognized too well. The purple petals with the long hood shape were
unmistakable, as were the red flowers with yellow centers.
“Where did you get these?” I asked.
“They are grown with love and magic in my mother’s
garden. They are beautiful, aren’t they? All my sisters think so.”
I plucked out one of the red flowers. “What kind of flower
is this?”
“’Tis a poppy.”
“A poppy?”
She nodded.
“Is your mother’s magical love garden here on the
festival grounds?”
She eyed me. “It’s… well… I don’t think I’m supposed
to say.”
“Why not?”
She glanced nervously at the crowd. “Because it is a
secret garden.”
She was still keeping up the Gypsy act. “Drop the
act,” I said, “and tell me where you got this flower.”
“Fine,” she said in her American accent. “My mom buys
them, but I don’t know where. You happy?”
“Yes.” I tried to return the poppy, but she turned
away.
“Keep it!” she shouted over her shoulder before
flipping me off. 

2. What I’m reading– On Liberty’s Watch, Soul Saver Book 3 by Tifani Clark. 

This is such a great book! It’s very rare that I read a book I can’t put down. Five kids, you know. And the 2 y.o. Mainly the 2 y.o. But really, this is such a great read. It’s about a girl named Jamie Peters who helps ghosts find their way home. Jamie is called a soul saver. I’ve read the first two books and loved them both. Book three is just as good as the first two. Seriously, if you’re looking for an exciting read that your kids can read too, this is the book. Five stars.

Also reading: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I can quote it to you, if you’d like. All my babies have loved this book, so it’s gotten to be a tradition that I read it to my current little one. I like that the artwork is very visual, and the kids can easily identify what’s on the page. Although, my 2 y.o, does call the muffin, “ice cream.” But everything should be ice cream in his mind.
3. What am I watching?

Marvel’s Agents of Shield. I’ll admit, I am a huge critic of shows and movies. Just ask my hubs. When I started watching season 1, I wasn’t too impressed. There wasn’t much that set it apart from any other show I’d watched. The characters seemed a little one-dimensional. Their main purpose seemed to be to save this or that, and I didn’t feel that their was much depth. But, that changed. I guess sometimes I should just give the show a few episodes so I can get into it. I’m watching season three on Netflix now, and I appreciate that at least some of the characters seem to have more depth. There is mystery going on about Skye’s dad. There was a brief relationship between Skye and Ward, and I am grateful that the relationship ended badly when Ward turned out to be traitorous. They’re now keeping him under lock and key, and I am anxious to see how they plan to redeem him. He did some really crummy stuff, and at this point, I’m not even sure if he is redeemable. See? He’s not so one-dimensional anymore. Four out of five stars for Agents of Shield.


4. What am I doing with my life?

Trying to be more calm. I’ve been working on this for several weeks. I had an episode where I got super mad at my husband for going to workout on a Saturday morning and leaving me home alone to tend the kids. This came after being home alone tending the kids for, well, let’s be honest, forever. I hadn’t been away from the kids or chores or house in seven months or more. Not even to sleep or to shop. So the workout issue was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After that episode, I decided I had to start taking better care of myself, and stop blaming my bad situation on my husband. Since then, I’ve gone out a tad bit more. And I do mean a tad bit. But it has helped somewhat. I try to get breaks, but it oh SO HARD TO DO!


Thanks for keeping up with #TuesdaysWithTamara. If you’d like to offer up your advice on how I can take better care of myself, or if you’d just like commiserate with me, go ahead and leave me a comment.

Reminder! Every Tuesday I start a new giveaway on my FB page, so be sure to check it out! https://www.facebook.com/tamaraclairegrantham