Okay, the writing. Isn’t that what this blog is all about? That and hair of course… Okay, it’s going pretty good. I have my good days and bad days. Good days are when the writing is flowing and you know you’re book will be a New York Times Bestseller. Bad days are when you wonder why you write in the first place and you want to just delete the whole thing and start over. If you’re not a writer you won’t understand, if you are a writer then you get it. This book has been a learning process for me. I’ve talked before about how impatient I am. (Which is not good for a writer—it takes years to write a book, then another year to get it published… You get the idea, you need patience to survive this business.) But by taking my time and really letting my novel marinate and develop into something great, (which is just my opinion, but who’s blog is this anyway?) I am becoming a better writer, a better mother, and dare I say it? A better person. But I’m trying not to confuse patience with laziness. Trust me, there is a difference. More on that tomorrow!

I’m getting curtains made soon. By of course—Wonder Woman of it all—my Mama. This is going to sound horrible—but I got her permission to say this, so no I’m not a bad daughter—but Mama is getting older. No one likes to think about death, I know we all just try to push the idea out of our minds, but it’s there and it happens as ugly as it is. But there are a few things I have to learn if she ever happens to pass away. (Goodness, that sounds dark! I know, I know, but I have to be honest.)

Her Gravy Recipe

My mother has been promising me this recipe for years. She keeps saying that’s it’s so easy. My problem with gravy is that I don’t let my flour brown enough. So I go around with this bland white mess that I have to throw out. Now I use Pioneer Brand Brown Gravy. Which is actually pretty good, but there’s nothing Mama’s recipe.

Her Potato Salad Recipe

I know, I know, another recipe. I would have lumped them all together but they all deserve they’re own light—they’re that good!  I’ve seen her make this dozens of times, but never thought of attempting it on my own.

Her Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Now this is her showstopper. Whenever I have a party, she makes this and she always just makes ONE PAN OF IT. (Now, why do you do that Mama when you know how people lick this stuff up?) Her dressing is divine, so full of flavor. I know it has something to do with the chicken thighs she uses, but she is one of those cooks who NEVER measures anything so she can’t even tell you how to make it, she has to show you how to make it. Okay, Mama I’m ready for my lesson!

How to Wrap a Present

I don’t wrap gifts. The most I’ll do is put it in a nice bag and fluff tissue paper around it. Done. My mother wraps her gifts, knowing how to tuck the corners just so, never shows the tape, and presents a beautifully wrapped gift. I have to learn how to do that. I’m tired of paying extra at Macy’s to get my gifts wrapped.

How to Knit and Crochet

Now this I have tried to do. I like to cross-stich and embroider. Outside of writing, that’s my hobby. But knitting is something that I see other people doing and want to learn so badly. But those long needles…I never get my tension right so it’s hard to keep the stitches looking even—some rows come out big enough for me to fall in, and some are so tiny I can barely see them. Ugh, I just get so frustrated but I want to knit my daughter something and the only thing way to do it unfortunately is to pick up those needles again and get sewing.

How to Perfect My “Mama Look”

Everybody’s gotten them in their lifetime. I call it the, “Mama Look.” Some people just call it, “The Look”. If you have a child, you have to perfect the, “Mama Look.” And this isn’t just any look, this is the look that your mama gives you when you’re acting up. It instills instant fear and the correction of any behavior in a nano-second. Mine is pretty good, but I have to add a snap to it, which means it still needs a little work.

But out of all the things I want to learn:

I Want to Learn How to Sew!

I don’t know if it’s all these shows on HGTV, but I want to learn how to do it. I took Home Economics and learned how to sew a pillowcase. A pitiful, sad-looking thing that was torn in a matter of weeks. So, I vow that I will learn how to sew. Now, I’m not talking about making my own patterns or trying to be a contestant on Project Runway or anything, but it would be nice to be able to sew my own curtains and pillows. So my next step is to get a sewing machine and set up a place to sew. And then begin the lessons. One thing is for sure, it can’t take precedent over my writing. No hobby can do that. But I’ll keep you guys posted on my progress.

For me, that person is my mother. She’s a voracious reader so she knows a good book when she reads one.  And she doesn’t pussyfoot around when something isn’t right in my book–she flat out tells me when something is wrong. No flattery, no sugar-coating. But that’s what I need, fast and efficient, like ripping off a Band-Aid. I like her to make her point so I can make mine.  I remember arguing with her about a scene in my book that she didn’t understand. While trying to explain it to her, she stopped me and said, “Are you going to be sitting down next to every person who reads this part in your book? If you have to explain, then it’s not working.” Sometimes she didn’t know what wasn’t working–I would have to figure that out on my own–but she always steered me in the right direction. She knows my full potential, and won’t stop with me until I give her my best.

I get clingy and needy when she reads my manuscript–she won’t read in front of me anymore. (Once I stared at her for I know to be at least thirty minutes to see if she laughed at the parts I wanted her to laugh at. She did.) So now I have to wait by the phone until she calls me. And when she does the ripping begins and the stitching back together takes place. And I can’t imagine having it any other way.

I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be published, and here I am–a published lady. Little ‘ole Katrina Spencer is an author. Wow. (Yeah, and it only took six months to sink in.)

It’s easy to get caught up into the business side of writing, the constant promotion, the anticipation of your first review, trying to get your book into the hands of readers. But how often do we sit down and think, “Wow, I got a book published. Ain’t that something?”

At that doctor’s office I got my,‘Wow’ moment. Anybody else want to tell me when it finally felt real to them?