Winning weekend

This is going to be a quick entry to start the week. I feel like I have one hundred bazillion things to do and not enough hours in which to do them. That’s the bad news. The good news is I had a fantastic, energizing weekend and I am chomping at the bit.

The Mexico Cider Run 5K was a blast; perfect weather and BH and I had a great time. And, drum roll please, I won my age group. Yes! That’s right! Me – the one who has never won anything sports-related. I was so happy with my time (which was a personal best) it never occurred to me that I might have won. And they gave me a little plaque which is now sitting on the mantel. Suddenly all those soccer trophies my kids lugged home made sense.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Here we are, the happy, sweaty runners. (BH is wearing the shirt we had made up for last Thanksgiving, when all of our kids ran in a 5K with us.)

When I started getting back in shape 15 months ago, I could barely shuffle two miles on the treadmill. In running, as in writing, persistence is everything.

Yesterday was a writing and canning day. I used a bushel and half of Roma tomatoes to make chili base. Thanks to a well-timed email from my friend Hope Vestergaard (who is a great writer and a lover of all things Danish, like me, and who I will get to see at the SCBWI Michigan conference next month) I roasted half a bushel and froze them. Thank you, Hope – they turned out great!

It was a packed day, so I woke up at 4am and hopped right to it. My reward was a gorgeous sunrise. The photos I took don’t come close to capturing the glory, but I thought I’d share a couple with you.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic The colors peeked out just after the hoot owls went to sleep (they sang to me when I first got up).

Image and video hosting by TinyPic See why I live out here?

I have insane writing goals this week. I would like to add 40 pages to the rough draft by Friday afternoon, if possible. That’s a lot, but I figure you never accomplish much if you don’t aim high. Plus I have speeches to write and piles of mail to get through. Wish me luck and focus… I am going to need it!

How was your weekend?

19 Replies to “Winning weekend”

  1. Wow – congrats on your big win! That’s a great pic of you and your BH.

    The sunrise is absolutely beautiful – and a sight I rarely see, night owl that I am. Are you loving the cooler weather as much as I am? Fall is definitely my favorite season! I’ve been knitting like mad, and the kitties are all snuggly again.

    Good luck with your writing goals – sending all sorts of positive focusing energy your way.

  2. Gorgeous photos — far better than mine of the “good luck groundhog” that comes out in the park where I sometimes write. (He scampered when I tried to get close enough to get a good picture, so a bad one will have to do.) But 4 a.m. — ick.

  3. Hey! Congrats on the run and win. What a great accomplishment to run a personal best.

    And good luck with your new book. This summer I read “Twisted” and “Fever, 1793” and I loved both of them. I lived in Philly for 7 years so it was fun picturing the streets and neighborhoods in the story. I just reread “Speak” this past weekend, and it is so gripping. Your writing for young adults is so authentic, I really enjoyed reading it. My question is did you plan on creating the chapters/headings in advance or did that just happen as you wrote?

    /Deirdre (mom of 2, New Yorker living in Sweden)

  4. Congratulations on your time/win! That’s great. And the photos are wonderful – makes me want to figure out how to get up early. Oh, and move to NY, since that is some beautiful scenery you’ve got there.

    This weekend my sister and her roommate came down and we all went to the VT/Ohio game. Other than the sunburn (my sister now has a VT spot on her cheek from the face tattoo she had on!), a good time was had by all. 🙂

  5. I am LOVING the cooler temps. We had a fire in the fireplace last night to take the chill off and it was just perfect!

    Thanks for the energy…. please keep it coming because I really need it!

  6. I came up with the headings during the revision process, somewhere around Draft 4. The book eventually went through seven drafts before an editor saw it.

  7. I canned some jam and am aiming to do some more! This was my first batch, not counting the time I did it in Girl Scouts some 20 years ago, so it was great!

    I also made some peach salsa which I will share with the ol’ co-workers!

  8. Wow. You are so inspiring, in so many ways. I am trying to get back into running. I did for a while this summer, but then I got sick the last two weeks, right after I moved, so I haven’t been able to check out the gym here. But I think I will.

    YAY for you!!

  9. Go Laurie! Go Laurie! Go Laurie!

    Congrats on taking 1st place! You are an inspiration to us 40 something women out there that are trying to get healthy maybe for the first time in their lives. You are proving that with a healthy life style and some determination it can be done.

    Thanks!

  10. Hi Laurie! I sent you a letter in your comment section last week. I saw your note on your next entry (you said it was to Danielle – I thought it might be me?) If it was, I know you said you’d get back to me, but I wanted to send another quick personal note to let you know that I had my meeting with the police detectives this afternoon to officially report the rape. I had you in my thoughts throughout the questioning. Next up is an identification; they have the man behind the other girl’s rape in custody and I will have to identify if it’s him. I’m scared to death and I don’t know if I can handle seeing him, but your strength has driven me this far and I’m going to do what I can. I’ll let you know what happens (if it’s alright with you)and hopefully this will be taken care of!

    Good job with your run – that is so awesome! You should be proud. And the best of luck with your writing goals.. I bet you’re doing great. I’m sending all of the positive energy I can your way!

    – Danielle

  11. [:

    Hey Laurie:]
    My English teacher[Colleen Kiah]
    Wanted some students to talk to you. :]
    I’m excited for your new book.
    And i wish you the best of luck.
    I’m currently reading your book
    Twisted and its amazing so far.
    Hmm, Congratulations on winning the
    5K run. I bet you did amazing. [:
    Anyways. The pictures are beautiful.
    I lived in Mexico for so long.
    Well technically Paleramo, But it is
    beautiful during the sunrise and sunset.
    I kind of have a question for you too.
    When you talk to your fans,
    and you see their writing and text does it
    ever bother you if its not proper?
    Cause i know people like it, i was just wondering.

    I wish you the best of luck. :]

    -amandaelaineex.

  12. My weekend was strange, because, let’s be honest – going anywhere with your ex-boyfriend is always awkward, even if you are in a group. And for some reason nobody writes manga with actual storylines anymore.

  13. A Visit PLEASE

    Hi there. I can’t find another way to reach you. I know you will be in Portland, Oregon, on October 15 and would be ecstatic if you could come to our high school to speak. I am currently teaching Speak to my 9th grade students, many of whom are considered to be “non-readers.” They are, in fact, very much into Speak and are enjoying it.

    So, if you could fit us into your schedule, that would be wonderful. I am at Westview High School, and my email is martina_pedersen@beavton.k12.or.us or my number is 503.259.5218.

    Thank you for considering.
    Martina Pedersen

  14. Some beautiful country up there, no doubt. What are property prices like up there? Several buildings built and/or owned by ancestors of mine are in the Phoenix area, and I’ve often had kind of a wish to live in one some day. Thanks.

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