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I wasn't sure when I began my transition to WordPress whether or not I would continue here with more personal posts. At this point in time, all posts are being made there. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope to see you there!

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No Feature Friday

Well...it's Friday, and I don't know how that happened.

I've been very busy reading, and enjoying what I'm reading, but none of it has been published (yet) and I can't share. So yeah. See you next week!

Julia

Also, don't forget to check out byersediting.wordpress.com

Mindful Monday - Update, Diversity in a WIP

So a while back, I wrote this post on how I don't feel like I have the right to write about another culture.

I'm constantly expanding the number of people I follow on Twitter, there are just so many with something to say that resonate with me! Or make me think! And I realize now how very cowardly that previous post was. In fact, I think I kind of knew there was something wrong with it, but sometimes we need distance to see such errors, and an honesty which honestly can be hard to come by.

So I don't know how to portray a PoC (person/people of color), what does that mean? That I have research to do and conversations to engage in. And if I ever get to a point where I can use beta readers or critique partners, I need to engage with some who identify with that character, so they can tell me what is offensive, what I got wrong, and--hopefully--something that maybe I got right. I can't let the fear of being utterly wrong stop me from trying, and learning in the process.

There are people on Twitter who offer themselves up to answer questions about their sexuality/disabilities/culture/everything, go find them if you have questions. Someone tweeted a link to Diversity Cross-Check, and while I haven't spent much time perusing it yet, it seems like a place where it may be possible to connect with others willing to answer questions.

No, I'm not going to take down my original post where I display, for the world, my ignorance. No, I'll leave it as a reminder to myself that there is always growth and learning to be done.

Let's try not to let our ignorance reinforce plaguing stereotypes. In today's time, our resources are unlimited, and so is our potential.

Until next time,
Julia

Don't forget to check out my latest adventure: byersediting.wordpress.com!

Feature Friday - Sub Melts!

My husband and I really enjoy eating at Subway, but it seems ridiculous to pay so much for a sandwich. Often times I wind up making comparable sandwiches at home, so I thought I would share one of our favorites.

What's really great about this is it is totally custom to what we like! Actually, I came upon this as a mix of my standard sub-sandwich making and the accident of not being able to find the right bread. You see, the grocery store I usually go to has a great bakery, but sometimes their sandwich rolls are a bit tough, and I wasn't up for that. So I was in the bread aisle, looking for pre-packaged sub/steak rolls, when I came upon some hawaiian bread hamburger buns. I just knew this had to be good!

I get my meat inspiration from the Subway Melt: ham, turkey, and bacon. I like the already cooked, just heat it up bacon because I don't have to bother with cooking it before the rest of the stuff. Choose whatever meats you like!

Choose a cheese!

Choose your veggies! (I'm the only one here who'll eat them, so I just don't bother, I hate for things to go to waste.)

Choose a condiment!

Are you ready for this?

Ingredients

 Gather your ingredients. Set your oven to broil and let it get nice and toasty while you prepare.

Prepared for the oven!

Put the bottom half of the rolls/buns/bread you've chosen on a cookie sheet (I line mine with foil because they really need to be replaced, but I'm too cheap for that...). Layer on your chosen deli/lunch meats, and top with the precooked bacon.

Pop it in the oven.

Waiting for their turn.

Don't walk away! The bottoms will only be in there a few minutes! While they are warming up, place your favorite cheese on the tops of the rolls/buns/bread you've chosen. I like cheddar and husband likes swiss, and these are super-convenient for pleasing everyone! I fold my cheese up like this to fit on the buns.

In you go!

 When the meats are warmed through and the bacon is just about right, slide the bottoms out of the oven, and add the tops.

Pop them back in the oven, but only long enough to melt the cheese!

Add your toppings and...

Hot and melted goodness.

Voila!

Transfer to plates and add toppings/condiments.

Enjoy!

And don't forget to turn off the oven. ;-)

Sub Melts

All of these are just options, choose whatever flavors fit your liking!

Ingredients (as pictured):

• Bread/buns -Hawaiian hamburger buns
• Lunch/deli meat - turkey, ham, and pre-cooked bacon
• Cheese - cheddar, swiss
• Veggies - if you like
• Condiments - mustard, mayo

Preparation:

• Heat oven to broil.
• Place the bottom half of chosen bread on a baking sheet. Stack lunch meat on the bread, top with bacon.
• Place baking sheet in warm oven until meats are warmed and bacon is hot.
• Place cheese on top halves of the bread.
• Put the cheesy tops on the baking sheet.
• Place baking sheet back in oven. Don't walk away! Keep a close eye, and remove once cheese has melted.
• Top with your choice of veggies and condiments.
• Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do, and I'll be sharing my "pizza sub" recipe once I make it again (so that I can have pics).

Julia

Don't forget to check out my latest adventure: byersediting.wordpress.com!

Mindful Monday - Quick update

It's Monday!

Yeah, I know, "hooray," right?

Well all this trying to adjust to a new job and all that didn't go so well, and we realized that it wasn't the right fit for me or our family, so I am back to being a stay-at-home mom again. That's a real reason to cheer!!! The decision was not made without much deliberation, but I am glad that it worked out the way it has.

This is not to say I'm not doing anything. My dream for a long time now has been to be an editor. I kept coming up with all the reasons I couldn't try to do it on my own yet, but they fell flat. The only thing holding me back is myself. So, I've begun my freelance editing career, and you can check it out at byersediting.wordpress.com, and I really hope you do!

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,

Julia

Feature Friday - "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

Last week I began listening to an audiobook version of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I fell in love immediately. An unexpected pleasure was that there were two very good narrators, a female for Eleanor's sections and a male for Park's. I admit that I really enjoyed this because sometimes I'm a speedy reader, especially if I'm reading solely for enjoyment, and I am no stranger to missed visual cues, so they saved me that trouble. Now, onto the story itself! Click here for info on Amazon.

The story is set in 1986, and Eleanor is the new girl at school. Park lets her sit with him on the bus that first day, and over time they develop a relationship that is unlike anything either of them have ever known. It starts by them sharing the bus seat. Then Park realizes Eleanor is reading his comics. Then they start to share music, and things continue to build from there. Eleanor is scared to let Park know just how bad things are at home, but she comes to rely on him, on the memory of him, to get her through the nights filled with the cries of her mother and days filled with bullying at school.

What I loved:

• Both Eleanor and Park had a unique voice, their own lens with which they viewed the world. This made for interesting moments when the view switched back and forth quickly, to see what they were thinking or how they were feeling, and what was different between the two. This also made it very distinct who was thinking what. I also just absolutely loved them both!
• Their wit!
• The story felt so genuine, I was sucked in immediately and it was hard to come back from. 
• The supporting characters felt just as real as Eleanor and Park did.
• Eleanor's reference to Dicey Tillerman (Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt).
• THE FEELS!

What I didn't like:

• I can't think of anything that I didn't really like. There were elements of the story that I wish weren't a part of this world in general, but they are, and they were presented really well.

Other:

• While the language didn't bother me, a family member is a middle school librarian, so I keep that in mind when reading YA. Probably not acceptable for a middle-school library, in case you were wondering.
• I think that someone who was a teenager in this time would probably like the references to the music, but I have to admit that I'm a failure in terms of pop-culture, so I had to take them at the value presented in the book.

Should you read this? Yes, but you need a certain amount of "emotional bandwidth" (as S. would say) available.

Until next time,

Julia

Mindful Monday - The Contract of a Job

With the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality, there has been resistance by those who issue marriage licenses to do so. And this brings to mind something I was thinking about a couple of months ago as I underwent the interview process for the job I have. They asked me about a time when I disagreed with something I was told to do. I've never really been the rebellious type, usually do as I'm told, no qualms about it. But it got to me to thinking, and here's the more pronounced answer/opinion that I have for the next time I go through that: when you accept a job, you are signing a contract between yourself and the employer that you will perform the duties described.  If you are worried that the position may have you compromising your morals/ethics, perhaps you need to explore that further before signing on. Now if the company is asking you to do something illegal, there's probably a procedure to fix that. But when it comes to a matter of conscience, that's up to you, especially if it is going to keep you from performing your duties. I think this is especially true for those who work for the public. If you have qualms about being able to carry out the duties you were selected for, then get out and let someone who doesn't have those qualms serve the public. It is not your religion that stops you, it is your prejudice. Your religion has not stopped you from issuing marriage licenses to those who are or will become thieves, racists, terrorists, murderers, arsonists, pedophiles, sex-offenders, and more; it shouldn't stop you from marrying couples that have come together in love to partake of their rights--that's discrimination.

/end rant

Until next time,
Julia

Feature Friday - Jamberry Nail Wraps!

Ok, if you follow me on Twitter you probably know by now of my newest fascination: Jamberry Nail Wraps. You heat them up, stick them on, and have beautiful nails forever! (Ok, so I've been too impatient to let them go longer than about 11 or so days...they're still going strong when I take them off.) Here are some pics of mine so far:

Current: KaBoom, in honor of July 4!

Digiscan

Swept Away

I didn't know how popular these are because I live under a rock, but I bet someone you know either is or has a consultant. Totally worth a try!

Mindful Monday - Engage!

I've really been enjoying engaging with the community of readers/writers/authors/editors on Twitter.

Since doing this, I've been privileged enough to beta-read for some folks I really enjoy, and hear people's stories that range from eerily-similar to worlds-apart from mine. Sometimes they make me feel like my dream of being an editor is a little less like a fantasy than I once thought it was. They are some of the most supportive and courageous people I've encountered, and I adore them.

Feature Friday - Friday Phrases

Yaayy it's Friday!!!

So, there's something I've really been enjoying the last couple of weeks, on Fridays. It is called Friday Phrases, #FP for short. @FridayPhrases posts the topic for the day on Friday (and I really enjoy that for me, this comes along late on Thursday night and I can ruminate while on my way to sleep), and the challenge is to tell a story/poem/what have you in one tweet, on Friday. There's also a website where they collect their favorites, http://www.friday-phrases.com/, and have information for submissions to a book being worked on. ((Let's all admit there's more I could say, but typed this at like 1 in the morning...so...yeah.))

I'm really enjoying participating, and seeing what all people come up with. It's fun, and gets my gears going a little bit :)

Some faves from today (so far--I'd feature older ones but I'm being a bit lazy with searching back for them):

#FP “How are you?” they ask, unseeing. “Fine,” she forces a smile. She pushes back the thousand screams that threaten to emerge, choking her

— ⚓️Kendra⚓️ (@KendraCP) June 26, 2015

On that very hill our last warriors faced the empire. It was a hopeless fight, but those thousand battle cries will echo in eternity. #fp

— Signy (@SignyTheSage) June 26, 2015

#FP Her friends were gone and she was alone in the catacombs. The smell of death lingered, so did a thousand screams echoing from long ago.

— Victoria de Lucia (@luciadevic) June 26, 2015

Her throat unleashes A thousand screams once silenced Arrows dipped in truth #FP #haiku #recovery #nolongersilent

— Jenn R-J (@jennfel) June 26, 2015

Here are some of my own #FPs that are my faves:

When it's *really* time to talk, that's when she's filled w/ silence. No one'd understand if she bared her soul, so she covers it in gab #fp

— Julia (@byersj09) June 19, 2015

The last call to board the plane made her heart quicken with excitement and fear. She hesitated, was she really going through with this? #fp

— Julia (@byersj09) June 12, 2015

When she looked at him, she saw red. It was their love, their anger, their joy, their pain, their beginning & their end. #fp @FridayPhrases

— Julia (@byersj09) June 5, 2015

Ozone ablaze, she now understood the warnings of old, the end was upon them. #FP

— Julia (@byersj09) May 29, 2015

A thousand screams would be more preferable than the angry silence you're forcing me to endure as the world crumbles around us. #fp

— Julia (@byersj09) June 26, 2015

Mindful Monday - Am I doing the right thing?

So it starts with this:

Kid knows how to break my heart: "Mommy, could you stay home with me everyday like you used to?" 😢😭😭😭💔

— Julia (@byersj09) June 22, 2015

and suddenly I'm back to square one, asking myself if it is really worth it to work, even a part-time job that has me away from home the least amount of time possible. I know I'm just being emotional, there's no way I can continue to not work now that I'm finished with school. And I'll be honest, I do like having a job. I like having the structure and the assignment and every Friday, I like a little thing called a paycheck (as little as it sometimes seems). This job was like the answer to my worries: during the school year my son only has to be away from either myself or my husband for all of two, maybe three hours; I'm not making much, but it's just enough to ease the stress about money; and a big bonus that it isn't retail. But I do miss my little boy as I sit in my cubicle answering emails and phone calls, wondering if I'm doing the right thing.

So there you have it, that's what's on my mind today. When I chose to go back to work, I was certain I was making the right decision, and with one sweet and sleepy statement, all my certainty has been destroyed.

Feature Friday - "Defining Love" by Elizabeth Reyes

I'll be honest, I feel like I'm cheating a bit here because I published this review on Goodreads and Amazon a couple of weeks ago. But I really enjoyed the read and so here is what I thought of Defining Love by Elizabeth Reyes. This review is for all three volumes together, since I read almost all of them in one night (and finished one hour the next).

I picked up "Defining Love" with my Kindle Unlimited, and I'm glad I did. I've read many of the 5th Street and Moreno Brothers' stories, and I just keep coming back. I would say that in comparison to those which are related to each other, these are not (yet--will they be?) tied into other stories. That was a little bit refreshing for me. Also, while I still felt Aaron would be considered "alpha," it seemed played down a bit, which worked well with the story. Along those lines, most of the "sexy" scenes are closer to the end, and a bit played down as well. I think these were good things for Henri and Aaron's story, as their's was such an emotional journey.

I really enjoyed Henri's resiliency, and I think that made her moments of weakness so much more poignant. There's one particular scene where she is explaining to Aaron what is wrong with her and as a reader it was so emotional and even visceral to watch her deal with her demons.

I think really one of my favorite things about this story is how the characters know one thing but act like another. It reminds me of real life, when you know one thing in your head but you keep holding out hope in your heart that what your head knows just isn't true. I know this was a source of conflict for the characters, and it was done really well. I think too often we get to see the "noble" character who always uses their head and nips any problems right when they arise. But here, it is the combination of hope and fear that keeps the characters from taking action, and like I said, this was really well done and as such, one of my favorite components of the story because hey--those characters aren't perfect and noble.

I also appreciated how, as I suspect is intended by the title, different types of "love" are realized, as well as the difference in loving someone and being in love with someone.

Mindful Monday - Define Your Own Success

When my friends from high school started graduating from college a few years ago (and a couple of years before me), I realized I could not hold myself to society's definition of "success."

To me that definition is: no more than 4 (maybe 5) years in college pursuing a bachelors degree, an immediate or near-immediate entry into a career or grad-school, and financial gain, etc., or maybe that's just what I thought success was for so long because that is what I remember thinking success was when I was a teenager looking forward to my future.

So when I started seeing graduation announcements for friends, I looked at myself and my life and I wasn't unhappy. No, I didn't (yet) have a bachelors or even an associates degree. No, I hadn't found my calling and I was still working retail. But I was satisfied with where I was. At that point in my life I was already happily married, a homeowner, and on my way to being a mom. I felt satisfied with my choices and where I was, and I took it upon myself to assert that there is more than one type of success. That it has more to do with how happy you are with your life choices than where you stand in comparison to everyone else. So, in short, as I texted to a friend who was feeling like they were unaccomplished in comparison to her friends,

 "Success doesn't come only in numbers defined by others, you have to define it for yourself!"

Until next time,

Julia

No Feature Friday

Well I haven't really read anything [that I can share] this week, and somehow it's Friday already, and I've really dropped the ball! Seriously my schedule has become so wacky with my adjustments to working (and it's only part time)!

So, go have fun! What are you doing here?

Enjoy your weekend!

Julia

Mindful Monday - Politics?

Politics is generally something I steer clear of. It is generally something that overwhelms me and I always feel is so exaggerated I'm not sure I ever know what's "real" in that realm. But there is something that recently passed in Texas, my home state, that just feels wrong to me.

There are cities that have in the past year or so passed bans on oil/gas fracking within their city limits. Their citizens put these bans to vote and passed them. A wonderful way to exercise their freedoms in decisions that effect their immediate ecology and economy, right?

Well then, some months afterwards, here comes lawmakers in the state of Texas that say, statewide, cities can't ban fracking. This just stinks to me. It isn't as though the city(ies) have banned healthcare or growing sustainable food or the sale of bandages or something like that. It is something that as a group they came together to say "we don't want this controversial operation in our city." This seems like a perfectly acceptable and right usage of their abilities, and then the state comes along and squashes it!? Outrageous! 

Those are my two cents, take it or leave it, just doesn't seem right to me.

Until next time,
Julia

**Since writing this the state has also passed (and I think waiting on Gov. signature) that guns can now be open-carry in public, and closed-carry on college campuses. Not sure how I feel about those yet.

**Also, I know it's not all as cut-and-dry as this, but these are the things that stick with me and evoked my thoughts.

Feature Friday - Anuna

As my son would say, "Yay! It's Friday!" He already knows, at the age of three, that Friday is a day worth celebrating :)

So my feature today is the beautiful choral group Anuna, based in Ireland. My husband and I have had the CD The Best of Anuna for a while, and I've always loved it. I've been listening to it in the car a bit and am always struck by its beauty, no matter how many times I've heard it. No matter that a lot of the songs are either partially or fully sung in what I believe is Gaelic, they resonate nonetheless. I listen and I see ancient cathedrals with stained glass windows that echo the haunting melodies of the ladies and resound the deep bass of the male singers. I see fields with workers and mysterious green forests and villages and the sea and it all is surreal and magical. I feel longing and joy, grieving and acceptance, foreboding and excitement. It's all in my head but it's magic, brought about by the crystal clear sound of their beautiful voices. As you can imagine, with all these visions running through my head, listening is great idea fuel for the characters in my head.

So I'm listening to this beauty and then I need to change to the radio, because I need to hear the traffic to determine if I'm going the best way to get to work. Do you have any idea how grating that was on my ears to change to? Ah, it was terrible! I mean, usually I don't mind the radio music too much--although I don't often listen to it as I'd prefer the non-commercial CDs I've heard at least a thousand times--but after listening to voices that reverberate through my body and very nearly take me to a spiritual place, today's music is just noise.

If I ever get the chance to see them live, I want to! My husband was fortunate enough to hear and meet some of them one day years ago while he was working in a bookstore where they put on a small performance.

Until next time,
Julia

Mindful Monday - About a WIP & Race

Well, all of my works are "in progress," but one day, what if one is actually out there?

I pretend, sometimes, that I'm answering questions about my process and inspirations and what not. This is one of those things.

When I started this project, it was a completely different idea than what it has become. I had been doing a lot of mind-numbing alpha-male-romance reading, and when I started out thinking about this story, that's kind of what I had in mind. Boy did the characters have a different idea. As I thought about the whys and hows of the characters, I realized quickly that my story would (hopefully) not fall into that same category. *I would like to say I don't think there is anything wrong with that category, as I just admitted to reading it...*

The MC is a young woman who is also a single mom. When I first started, I thought her child might be mixed-race, so the MC has to deal with the strange looks she gets in the store and what not. And then I gave that some thought...

While the story is supposed to be about this young woman, there is a part of her past that leads her to where she is, and I realized I didn't want to further the stereotype that would leave a young woman alone with a mixed-race child. Because, you know, someone would point that out. I'm not afraid of criticism, but I'm not a fan of offending someone for being thoughtless, either.

I will also say up-front that I do not have any kind of experience which would allow me to enter into, or enter my work into, a conversation of culture that is not white or mostly-white. When it comes to values and beliefs, yes there are differences between cultures and even within the same cultures, no matter if they are in the same neighborhood or a world away. I've not lived enough outside of my own culture to pretend I have the right to write about another. So if in my (non-fantasy) writing my MCs are lacking in racial/cultural diversity, that does not come from an idea of better-ness, but out of respect and knowledge that there are things I just wouldn't get right, I just wouldn't be able to portray--regardless of how empathetic and understanding I might be--, because no matter how much research or observation I might make, I will always be an outsider looking in, imposing my ideas onto what I'm reading/seeing/hearing, even if I think I get it.

I'm not without my own conflict about the above paragraph, because doesn't that mean that I'm also in an ideal place to enter into that conversation? Or at least host it? That privileged place where I can have a conversation and create a safe place for others, who are qualified through their experience to talk about things I can not? But how does one do that?

So there are the two exactly conflicting things on my mind, and the bearing they've had so far on this particular project.

Until next time,
Julia

Feature Friday: "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han

Sometime over the course of the past couple of weeks, I read To All the Boys I've Loved Before, by Jenny Han.

Image from http://www.dearjennyhan.com/teen.html

I thought the concept was interesting, and I guess I've been seeing it around since P.S. I Still Love You comes out in a few days. Also, it was available from my library on Overdrive.

As much as the title hints about being in love with boys, I found this story to be just as much about Lara Jean's relationships with herself and her family members. All of their lives are changing, Margot is leaving for Scotland to go to college, and she's been the rudder for the family since their mom died years ago. Lara Jean has to take the helm, and while perhaps she's not quite as organized as her older sister, things seem to work out. Perhaps the family relationships stick out to me because I related with Lara Jean more on the level of caring about her dad and missing her mom than anything to do with the boys. She's discovering how to think of things and do things for herself, without Margot to guide her, and I think Lara Jean is learning and acknowledging that. 

Honestly, I expected a little more humor from the love-letter situation. I didn't care much for Peter (I don't think you're supposed to), but I also wasn't over-the-moon for Josh. I think Han did a good job of capturing the conflicting emotions of teenage love (or at least teenage like), and Lara Jean is in an interesting position to experience an extra layer of conflict, because her relationship isn't real. Or is it? seems to be the question.

Overall I found this a mostly light and enjoyable read, and if I get a chance I'll probably pick up the next in the series just to see what happens.

Until next time!
Julia

Mindful Monday - A Little Quiet

It's been a little quiet here the past couple of weeks. I've started a new job, and let's just say I am still adjusting to waking up before the sun rises. Once I get into that habit, I enjoy it, but until then I drag all day.

I'm certain I had something to be mindful about, but my brain is slush.  I'll definitely have something to feature soon, though!

Julia

Feature Friday - Empath by S. Usher Evans

In honor of next week's release, this week's Feature Friday features S. Usher Evans' Empath (follow link for description/pre-order).

Cover Image taken from Amazon.com

First of all I'm happy to say that I read this, being that I've kind of gotten into a reading slump for the past month or so, with other things going on. There are lots of things I want to read, but sometimes I just don't feel like I have the mental capacity to do so. If I'm stressed or anxious I can't concentrate and that seems like a waste of the author's talent. I'm very happy to report that I had no problem focusing with this book, and it may have been just the reading-medicine I've been needing.

Empath is about Lauren, a modern-day girl with dragon-sized heartbreak and anxiety, literally. When she hears a voice that offers to take away that pain, it is irresistible temptation. Transported from the hum-drum of her life and mind-numbing job, she finds herself in a world where mud can be magic, dragons terrorize the village, and washing machines are nowhere to be found. What starts out as simply a quest to get home becomes a quest to gain control of her thoughts, emotions, and fears, and ultimately find release from the hell she's been trapped in. The Anghenfil, the anxiety-dragon of lore, is with Lauren every step of the way, promising that oh-so-tempting easy way out. 

Evans' writing has your heart hurting right there with Lauren, and you want her to find happiness just as you would for a dear friend or even yourself. The depiction of depression and anxiety is accurate and done with much care, and while some very important issues are touched on, they are executed most thoughtfully and left me in tears more than once. 

The writing was beautiful, the adventure was fun to tag along with, and the feels were over the top. Definitely a recommended read.

S. Usher Evans' image

***THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS, written in white text on white background, click and highlight to read***

I really love how the stereotype of the post break-up love interest is broken here. Instead of happily ever-after, here is a young woman who eventually sees the situation for what it is, and acts on it.

Also, while I was very probably already--ok I totally was--crying, that last scene with Cassidy was just tops for me. One of the hardest things about anxiety/depression is being able to reach out for someone for help, and I think that we have to remember to let others know that we will listen.

Thank you S., for putting yourselfLauren out there for us readers, and I'm so glad you were able to do this for yourself. I know that the care taken with these sensitive subjects comes from personal experience, and I just want you to know that it is deeply appreciated. <3

Until next time,
Julia