So much for those regular “Manic Monday” posts. Ah well — you live and learn, right?

What on earth have I been up to since my last update? A whole lot of writing, with a little bit of fun tossed in here and there.

You might have read last week’s Writer Wednesday post with Roni and Carla, the authors of What You Can, When You Can: Healthy Living on Your Terms. Well, I’m still thinking about #wycwyc, and trying to figure out who’s with me.

Is anyone interested in creating a #wycwyc support group? I know I could use a little extra motivation to get healthier, but without all the pressure of a “perfect” plan. The older I get, the less excited I am about cutting entire food groups from my plate. Even though I’ve had success doing a low-carb diet in the past, I can’t seem to bring myself to give up all the pasta, bread and potatoes.

I made this little reminder to forget perfection and focus instead on good enough. It’s fine to be just “okay” at things. Having a mostly okay diet is better than not even trying because I can’t follow a “perfect” eating plan.

Leave a comment on this post if you want to join me. I can create a Facebook group for us to “meet” in.

In other news:

— I lost a lot of sleep last Wednesday morning, thanks to a radio interview in Flagstaff. I used to live right down the street from the KAFF studio where the interview was scheduled. But now that I’m in Prescott, I had to be up before 6 a.m. to make it to FLG for an 8:30 interview. No easy feat considering I usually sleep until at least 9!

Anyway, I got to visit Flagstaff Country to talk about the upcoming Payson Book Festival, which is on July 25 … less than a month away now. Eeep! I’d better round up some books, bookmarks and postcards for the event, eh?

The interview lasts about six minutes, and I talked about the festival as well as a little about my books. Check it out here.

The weather was lovely in Flagstaff, and being up there gave me a chance to get my Dunkin’ Donuts fix. That’s what was left of my iced coffee with two Splendas and coconut by the time I made it back to Prescott. (Although I’m pretty sure they left out the Splenda, because it didn’t seem as sweet as normal.)

Do you like to sleep in? I come by my schedule honestly because of my work hours. I’d rather work days, but someone has to put the latest news in tomorrow’s newspaper—and that means working in the evenings and into the night.

— I can’t remember if I ever shared the link to my Writer Groupie podcast. Way back in April, Kim Smith and I chatted about writing and her “author unplugged” sessions, which I still need to try out for myself. It sounds like a blast.

— Now that I’m reporting part-time, the day job gives me a chance to go out and meet people. I’d forgotten how much I liked that part of newspaper work.

On Sunday, I got to hang out downtown with area firefighters for the annual Fire Hose Cart Races. It was a lot of fun…and inspiring. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if one of my next novels ends up with a firefighter hero.

Here’s a link to my story on The Daily Courier’s website. (I even shot a video of the hose cart races. Our photographer on the scene took a video of the Bucket Brigade.)

And, just for fun, here are a couple of the photos I snapped with my iPhone during the races.