Last day of April Check-In

As I sit here tonight at 9:34 pm, I've been sitting here going over the past month and I can't believe that tomorrow is May 1st already.

So much has happened over the past 4 weeks that's it's hard to even remember everything. But I'm going to try.

First of all, I'm really going to regret fixing this very large cup of coffee before I lay down tonight. That's the perks of being 51 and having no kids living with you. I stay up however late I want to, and I don't have to answer to anyone about it. It's so nice to have a husband who doesn't question everything that I do. A big blessing honestly. My husband knows how much I love to read and to write, and since I babysit my grandchildren during the day for my daughter while she works, I do all of my work after my husband goes to bed at night. The house is super quiet after the grandkids leave to go home for the evening and I usually don't even turn the tv on. I just soak up the quiet time. 

The past two weeks have been VERY productive for me at home. I moved my home office into the dining room, and I made my office into my sewing room. Today I super cleaned and rearranged my kitchen. It's very hard to get anything done with the little ones here during the day, but I've been trying so hard to get things done for my mental health.

It took me many months to even be able to go into my back-room office just to clean it since I've been out of rehab. The reason why is because that's where I used to stow myself away at night to be alone and drink. And it feels so amazing to get it all accomplished! I can do all my writing and reading all in peace now. I have my own sewing room now where I can go to sew and even watch my tv on the wall in that room while I sew if I want to. Now I need to work in my room and my laundry room. It just makes me so nervous and mad when I see mess and any type of hoarding mess or clutter. I say, "If you haven't even touched it in years and it's still sitting in the same spot, then get rid of it." It's not good for anyone's mental health who has to clean around the stuff every day. It's really okay to get rid of things. Unless you want to be buried with a pile of junk when you die. If you do then, I'm sorry LOL. I don't really know what else to say about that subject.  You know, I used to watch the tv show hoarders years ago, and I can't even watch it now. I tried to a few weeks back and I turned that off super quick. It gave me anxiety.

So other great news is that my very first book was finally published on Amazon April 12th. I've only sold 15 books so far, but that's okay! That's pretty good for a nobody! I still can't believe I'm a published author. It's a true accomplishment that I'm very proud of. Especially when only back in July 2024, I was in inpatient care rehab. Wow. I've sent my book into a few bookstores this past week and praying that it might get accepted into a store to help get some publicity. I really want to thank my sister so much because when it comes to my public posts and trying to get my book out there, she has really been the only one who has shared my posts to help me get recognized. My daughter has also shared a few times and I'm very grateful to her as well. But it's also very saddening in a way because of so many people who don't share my posts to try and help me. So many people who don't even like my posts who I went to school with. And I guess that's okay. They didn't like me in school either so I'm not sure what the heck I was expecting LOL.

If it's meant for me to get out there and be recognized further than my hometown, then my amazing GOD will make that possible. If it's meant to be then he will make a way! If it's not meant to be, then I reached an amazing goal that I can't be prouder for. I've also decided to join my city's chamber of commerce. That way I can at least get my Author name out there with my business website where my book is also advertised on. It's only been a couple weeks and I'm getting so much accomplished! I might even send my book to a few famous authors to see if they might read it too for a good review from a famous author. Wow, wouldn't that be quite amazing? Well GOD can also make that possible if it's meant to be. And if not, that's okay too. I can set up at a few farmer's markets and try to get my book out to the four-state area.

The past few weeks I've gotten to spend a good amount of time with my sister. We have been robbed many years of spending time together and it's been so nice. Almost like, getting to know each other again. She is such an amazing sister. I am blessed with the best sister I could have ever asked for. We have definitely been through so much together. Mostly as children. And I really hope you get a chance to read my book. 

I am currently working on my second book of the trilogy and that's going to be our childhood story from my sister's eyes. With me being four years younger than my sister, I didn't remember as much as she did with our childhood. I was the one left all alone at home when everyone else got to move out, so I had a different story. I'm very excited to get to write her book for her and share her story as well with the world to learn more about family abuse. But it's been a blast spending time with my sister and a lot of my other family.

I literally just killed a spider that was hanging down from the ceiling. It was trying to land on my arm and I'm not sure if it was a brown recluse or not, but I smashed it between my hands. If I die tonight Know I love, ya! LOL. And just note: I won't kill the little fuzzy black jumping spiders. They are so adorable I actually wanted to buy one. But when I went online to look at prices, they are $75 and up. I'm not going to pay that for something that my cat will just get ahold of and play with it until she kills it. BUT they are really cute. See my brain squirrels all the time.

It's rained a whole lot this month and it's been nice sleeping through the storms. April showers bring May flowers, right? I got all my tomatoes, and my jalapenos planted into their raised garden beds and I'm so excited! 

Other than that, I guess that's been my month pretty much. Last weekend I got to visit the planetarium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a great experience. I only got dizzy one time feeling like I was falling but it was the neatest thing ever. I have always loved the stars, moon and what else is out there in space. So, it was fun to see all of that. I didn't really get too excited about the planes and museum, but my husband had a blast at that part of it.

I guess I will wish you all a good night. Asking for prayers that my book will get more positive exposure and the biggest thanks to those of you who have bought my book or read it on Kindle! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

May you all have a perfect May 1st!

xoxoxo, Michelle Neal