another book teaser

so i went to my very first nanowrimo write-in today. i was nervous, didn't know what to expect, so i almost didn't. dan got home from work early, so i packed my binder of edits up and headed out.

what had i been so afraid of? it was great talking to other people who were writing like crazy fiends, just like i am. people who just...get it. they realize the passion for writing, they own their passion, just like i do. i felt immediately accepted and it really inspired me to keep on keepin' on.

Secrets of Truth
by Rebecca Young

Who says you can't go back?

After her father decides that life in Boston isn't all it's cracked up to be, Gabriella Hunter finds herself back in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she spent the ninth year of her life. Now at seventeen, she just can't seem to be able to let the friends from her past back in, not even her best friend, Cooper Linton.

Gabriella can't figure out why everyone hates Cooper and his friends, and she can't understand why Jackson Palmer is so weird around her. How much can things change in eight years?

A lot.

Chapter 5 Excerpt:

“What are you talking about, Cooper?” I was suddenly uneasy. We were out in the middle of nowhere, my cell phone was in the Jeep and the way that Cooper was acting was making me very nervous. There are a lot of things about Cooper that not many people know…things that I can’t tell you, Jackson’s voice whispered in the back of my mind.

3 AM Musings

It's three in the morning.

I don't have a sick baby, I haven't been partying like a rock star, I'm not studying for a test.

So you ask, "Why, Beckie? Why are you awake at such an ungodly hour?"

I'm getting myself ready for working nights. While it's just my practicum (*scoffs*-JUST my practicum), I am thinking that this is going to help me prepare for the inevitable night shift that I will have as a new graduate after taking the NCLEX next month.

Next month? How the hell did that happen?

Yeah, nursing school (at least the associate's degree part of it) is over. I finished my last ATI test Friday, had my last final the Friday before that. Now it's onto practicum on the Labor and Delivery floor.

The hospital that I'm going to is 45 minutes away. And it's night shift. But I'm so freaking happy that I'm getting to work L & D that I don't care what the shift is! I don't care that I have to work until 0715 on my birthday, I get to help bring babies into the world! I am really hoping for a good experience, and for a chance to see that this is what I really do want to do with my life.

I'm pretty sure that it is. I went into nursing school knowing I wanted to deliver babies. I'm leaving nursing school knowing that I want to deliver babies. Granted, I've picked up some other loves too - like pediatrics, oncology and that infatuation with how much a patient craps (seriously, it's an amazing assessment).

I've made friends, I've lost friends, I've moved on, I've found myself. I've accomplished something that's pretty damn hard, with a husband and two kids depending on me.

What's upcoming in the future? I don't know. I'm hoping that I will be able to get a job here, but thanks to the 8 different nursing schools in the area, I don't know if that will happen. Thanks to compact states, I can practice in 21 other states with my South Carolina license... New Hampshire being one of those states. I'd love to get my bachelor's degree ASAP, so I'm enrolling for two classes for the spring, just English and Spanish. There's an Assessment class I'd like to take over the summer, and depending on where I end up, I'd like to start my BSN work in the fall.

My ultimate dream is to get my Master's at the University of Michigan (go blue), maybe even my doctorate- Dr. Young, anyone? I know it's a long way off, but my goal is by 35. My goal is to be out of college by the time Lindsey goes into college.

Funny how time flies, right?

Secrets of Truth - Chapter 4

gooooooood morning!

i'm off from school today, snuggling up with my sick husband. the kids are off at school and i'm curled up in my pajamas watching "That's 70's Show" on netflix.

i have lofty goals of cleaning out my kid's bedroom, mopping the kitchen floor and scrubbing toilets, but for now, i'm going to sip my coffee, wrap myself in a snuggie and bring y'all the next excerpt of my book...

THAT I FINISHED SATURDAY NIGHT!

first round of edits begin today.

Secrets of Truth
by Rebecca Young

Who says you can't go back?

After her father decides that life in Boston isn't all it's cracked up to be, Gabriella Hunter finds herself back in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she spent the ninth year of her life. Now at seventeen, she just can't seem to be able to let the friends from her past back in, not even her best friend, Cooper Linton.

Gabriella can't figure out why everyone hates Cooper and his friends, and she can't understand why Jackson Palmer is so weird around her. How much can things change in eight years?

A lot.

Chapter 4 Excerpt:

Sputtering out a mouthful of snow, I looked up at Cooper who was doubled over from laughing at me. “What part of touch football is so hard for you to understand?”

“Cheat to win, baby,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Filthy cheater.” I spat, wiping the snow off my face.

"You missed some snow, right here…” he said, wiping his glove over my cheek. I stared into his dark eyes, so beautiful against his skin reddened from the cold. His face leaned closer to mine and he pushed a lock of hair away from my cheek. “Gabs…” he whispered, and I closed my eyes in anticipation of his kiss.

Chapter Word Count: 7828

Book Word Count: 26991

Secrets of Truth - Chapter 3

Secrets of Truth
by Rebecca Young

Who says you can't go back?

After her father decides that life in Boston isn't all it's cracked up to be, Gabriella Hunter finds herself back in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she spent the ninth year of her life. Now at seventeen, she just can't seem to be able to let the friends from her past back in, not even her best friend, Cooper Linton.

Gabriella can't figure out why everyone hates Cooper and his friends, and she can't understand why Jackson Palmer is so weird around her. How much can things change in eight years?

A lot.

Chapter 3 excerpt:

I noticed that a few people were staring at us, but I couldn’t figure out why. Was it the whole “they never hang with people not in their group thing”? Cooper didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he obviously didn’t care because he just kept walking like everything was normal. I laughed at his ability to ignore everything around him and playfully bumped into him just as we got to my locker. I was shocked to almost ricochet off him and suddenly go sprawling before he caught me around the waist.
“Gosh, you are like a human force field. I can’t even bump into you without being taken out,” I joked as I rubbed my shoulder and took off my coat.

Chapter Word Count: 5454

Book Word Count: 19163

Secrets of Truth- Chapter 2

Secrets of Truth
by Rebecca Young

Who says you can't go back?

After her father decides that life in Boston isn't all it's cracked up to be, Gabriella Hunter finds herself back in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she spent the ninth year of her life. Now at seventeen, she just can't seem to be able to let the friends from her past back in, not even her best friend, Cooper Linton.

Gabriella can't figure out why everyone hates Cooper and his friends, and she can't understand why Jackson Palmer is so weird around her. How much can things change in eight years?

A lot.

Chapter 2 excerpt:

“Cooper Linton is your study partner? He talks to you?” the red haired boy at the end asked. I was pretty sure that his name was Jason.

“Um, yeah?” I said timidly. Well, we had talked about studying together. Briefly, and at some point in the future. Actually, it had been more like a thought that had occurred in passing. But why did they have to know? “Is there something wrong with him?”

“It’s just that, well, he doesn’t normally talk to anyone,” Vanessa said, dropping her voice so that I had to strain to hear her.

“Why not?” I asked, curious.

“He’s a loser, him and all those creepy friends of his. You don’t want to hang out with them…any of them. They just aren’t like us,” Ashley said, sounding snotty and superior.

Chapter Word Count: 7384
Book Word Count: 13709

I am WRITING again!

It's November, which means that I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo.

Working on this:

Secrets of Truth
by Rebecca Young

Who says you can't go back?

After her father decides that life in Boston isn't all it's cracked up to be, Gabriella Hunter finds herself back in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where she spent the ninth year of her life. Now at seventeen, she just can't seem to be able to let the friends from her past back in, not even her best friend, Cooper Linton.

Gabriella can't figure out why everyone hates Cooper and his friends, and she can't understand why Jackson Palmer is so weird around her. How much can things change in eight years?

A lot.

Chapter 1 excerpt:

I wanted to know what had happened to my first crush…what had happened that turned him from a sweet boy who would smile at me from under his bangs to this angry man who was more complex than a thousand-piece puzzle.

I shook my head, wondering what his deal was, and then wondered why I cared. I got the things from my locker and then walked to the Jeep alone, trying not to pay attention to everyone standing around talking about me. I didn‘t understand why they didn‘t just ask? With a shiver and a sigh, I climbed in, dropped my backpack on the passenger seat, and started the car. I raised my cold hands to the vents, hoping the heat would start pumping soon. Once the car and my hands had warmed up, I pulled out of my parking spot, passing Jackson as he walked through the lot to wherever his car was. I glanced out my rearview mirror just before I pulled out of the parking lot, and saw him stop and look back at my car. I wondered if he knew it was me. Then, somehow, I figured he did.

Chapter word count: 6118

Potty Training, Day 15

For the most part, potty training has been a successful endeavor. Jake is now wearing underpants during the day (except nap time) and he's using his words to tell us that he has to go.


He reminds me of a patient that I had in my first clinical of nursing school. She had the awful sensation of always needing to pee (if that happens to me-shoot me) and would scream at the top of her lungs "I HAVE TO PEE! I HAVE TO PEE!" She didn't seem to realize that she had been catheterized and in fact, did not have to pee.

Anywho, he was moved up into the 3rd level of the 2 year old class at his daycare, and he seems to be doing well there. We like the teacher a lot, and Jake seems to be very happy.

Lindsey came home, and after two days of bliss where the two kids were so stoked to see each other that there was absolutely no fighting going on, shit hit the fan. They're still happy to be together, but they've been fighting and fighting and fighting...Jake doesn't want Linds to play with the trains, Linds doesn't want Jake to touch her books or her Nintendo, they can't agree on a television show...but I'm so stinkin' happy to have both my kids with me that any hair that has been torn out has been worth it.

I passed my first RN level class. Nursing 222: the class of the devil. High-risk OB and high-risk psych together. I agree that many high-risk OB patients are also psych patients for the duration of their gestation, but why in the hell would they put those two classes together?Bottom line, the class was hard as hell and I was lucky to make it out alive. Now I move on to Nursing 224, which focuses on cardiac and GI issues. I'll be learning how to place an IV, anyone wanna volunteer to help me practice??

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Potty Training, Day 3.

Potty training Friday was okay. We had two "accidents"...and I say "accident" because I am almost positive that my evil child just wanted to change into a different pair of Thomas the Train unders. Then my in-laws came and took him for a couple of hours and since they were going out, I put him in Pull-Ups to make it easier on them. Probably a mistake.

Day Two was so-so. He really seemed to be getting it, you know? I put Cheerios in the toilet and told him to get them. We went through only two pairs of unders, but we did run around naked for a while. When Dan came home, he was able to help out a little.

Today is Day 3. And today sucks so far. We've had too many accidents to count, and I'm pretty sure he's clenching his butt cheeks together in an attempt to not poop.

As far as Mommy goes: I haven't showered in three days, I haven't shaved, put contacts in or changed my clothes. I am resembling a hairy-pitted, stinky hippie feminist. My house hasn't been cleaned since Thursday, trash is piled up and dishes are overflowing from the sink because every single time I try to clean I hear "Mommy, I have to pee". Just during this blog post, I've been told "I HAVE TO GO POTTY!" three times.

I'm pulling my freaking hair out. I'm exhausted, I have to finish a care plan and start doing notes but I can't even get into them because Jacob's tiny bladder will suddenly give him the urge to produce urine. No lie. As soon as I sit down.

I need a drink.

Potty Training, Day 1.

It's the moment that I have been waiting for since I changed my son's first meconium stained diaper. It's potty training day.

I've been through mustard, seedy breastfeeding poops. I've been through the lime green poops my son gets every time he gets a tummy bug. I've been through the corn, the watery, the varying colors (hey. honey! come look at this purple crap that Jake just had!). I've been peed on more times than I can count, been grossed out by poo getting on my hand, and now it's time to say goodbye to diapers and the inevitable bag that a mom has to carry when her child is small.

I'm armed with 14 pairs of underpants (Lightening McQueen and Thomas the Train), Cheerios for aiming practice, random treats that include some chocolate chips and Easter candy corn (what? I forgot to get a different kind of treat), Resolve for accidents that I'm sure will happen, and sheets for the furniture that I would like to sit on after this weekend is over.

Pray for me.