A Biblio and Hobbs Collaboration

Hiya friends, welcome back. Well, this is quite the different post for us over here at the Hobbs/Biblio household. Big things have been decided and at first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share. To be honest, it’s a little scary putting myself out there with stuff like this, especially when it’s unknown stuff, and I have no guarantee what the outcome will be. Let’s just say the anxiety is at DEFCON 1. (Time out for a nerd moment…most people think DEFCON 5 is the baddie, but it’s not, 1 is way worse. Just a heads up, okay back to the regularly scheduled programming.) I guess there is really only one way to do this. Screw it, I’m jumping in with both feet but I’m gonna plug my nose, I’m crazy but I’m not reckless.

Hobbs and I have decided, after many years of just having furbabies, that it’s time to add a tiny human to the mix. (Inside I’m screaming, a little mix of terror and excitement never killed anyone, right?) I mean, we’ve been married 8 years this coming August, and I think we always knew we wanted a family, we’ve just never been sure it was the right time. I say we, but let’s be honest, I’ve been Captain Hook-ing my way through life for a few years now. TICK TOCK. I definitely just pictured a tiny baby croc crawling after me holding a clock, cute and terrifying.

Needless to say, the conversation happened and it was a little awkward, which is weird and almost very normal for us. Let me give you a little snapshot of it.

Me: Hey, ummmm, let’s talk about something, kay?

Hobbs: Ooooookay, should I be worried?

Me: Nah, I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna tell you I plan to kill you. We’ve talked about this, orange is not a good color on pale girls like me.

Hobbs: Not helping, but sure talk. I’m all ears.

Me: IWANTABABYANDIKNOWYOUSAIDWESHOULDWAITBUTHONESTLYFIRSTCOMESLOVETHENCOMESMARRIAGETHENCOMESABABYINABABYCARRIAGE….I want my baby carriage…dammit.

Hobbs: Ohhhhh, it’s a good thing I speak you freaking out fluently, huh? I actually understood all that. *nervous laughter*

Me: That’s what you wanna say? On second thought, I might be able to pull off orange.

Hobbs: No, calm down, no need to get homicidal. I’m in. When do we start?

(Side Note: I’d NEVER actually kill my husband. It’s a running joke, we also joke about divorcing each other over dishes, laundry, and pretty much any household chore. Oh, and his snoring is another one. The running joke is every morning we are each at 0% divorceable, by the time we get to bed we’re usually at about 85%. It zeroes out every morning so…yeah….I digress)

Got a little off topic there, back to the tiny humans. So, we’re starting and I couldn’t be more excited, or fucking anxious. This is a huge step, but (sap alert) I couldn’t have picked a cooler guy to have my weird little bespectacled babies with. I’m convinced he’s gonna make them little bass playing babies, and I’m alright with that. I could totally go to some gigs and shout “That’s my baby.” Whereas, he’s convinced I’m going to pray they get a Hogwarts letter at 11, just so I can go to parents weekend in Hogsmeade. (He’s not totally wrong here) He wants a Jedi and I want a Wizard, either way, I know we’re having a geek, and I am VERY okay with that.

Let’s talk about my fears for a sec. I’ve heard some stories, people. Hobbs always tells me he had a big ole head when he was born, and I’m completely fine with not feeling that pain. Is it bad to say I hope our maybe baby takes after me in that aspect? My head was normal sized, or so I’ve been told. I mean, he definitely grew into his, but jeez people, I’ve seen the pictures, it was like a melon on a wrinkly little body. (Before I get skewered for this…he was adorable as all hell, but I mean, I can only imagine the pain) Okay, next fear: the whole unknown of this is huge for me. The idea that this might not work is a serious thing that makes me freak out a little bit, on the inside.

Okay, enough of the worry, this is a happy moment. We’re gonna make a baby. *claps and dances* It’s exciting and anxiety inducing all at the same time, and I’m alright with that. It’s also got us into some rather interesting situations already, the poor lady at CVS, her face was priceless when we set down prenatal vitamins (we’ve read they help with conception…see we’re researching, we must mean business) and Vaseline. It sounds like the set up to a dirty joke. Honestly, the Vaseline was for the cat, which doesn’t sound much better…fuckkkk. (I’ll explain about the cat in another post, it’s a big thing and it’ll make sense then) Our life is already like a series of awkward situations, let’s add a kid and really shake things up.

This is just the start of the journey and I’m gonna bring you along with me. As Hobbs says, now comes the fun part…he’s a dude, and he’s gross, don’t mind him. If you ladies out there have ANY tips you wanna share, I’d love to hear them. I’m not really a gambler, but I’m a firm believer in stacking the deck, if you can help I’d love that. I’ll keep you updated. Until next time…

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Things in the Works

Hiya friends, welcome back. Last week, I took a major step for myself and posted a short story of mine, and oh lord was I nervous. So, this week I wanted to chat about what I’m currently working on both writing wise and for this space.

Where to begin? Okay, firstly, I’m working on a novel called The Demon’s Puppet. You know how authors will always say that a character in their writing somehow mirrors themselves. Well, this is easily the most honest I’ve ever been in my writing, mainly because my MC, a girl called Cam DeLuca, spends the entire story battling these demons, and just hoping to find a way to live her life with as little resistance as possible.

In terms where I am with this particular work, I’ve got a pretty solid plan on how the story unfolds and I’ve also got most of the characters involved mapped out and how they play into the overall plot. Another interesting thing to note, I text Tiff the other night and told her the original ending wasn’t gonna happen. In the character green room of my brain, Cam piped up and was adamant that the original ending was wrong. Therefore a massive overhaul had to happen to my original plot in order to accommodate this new direction and ending. Seriously, being a writer can be annoying at times; other times you realize your characters are right and you were just being lazy.

Next project is a collaboration between, you guessed it, my favoritest friend author, Tiffany Crystal. I’m super excited about this project and it should be coming to you guys soon. The entire project is currently untitled, but we’ve given it the code name Alien. The reason I’m so excited about this project is because not only do I get to work with one of my favorite people, I also get to work with one of the most talented writers I know. So, Tiff and I have been creating worlds, characters, and plotting out this massive storyline. I’m not even sure how to sum up the the actual story, but I’m consulting Tiff to see what she thinks. This is the best I can give you right now, an alien planet, sneaky assholes, and a very fabulous prince (description approved by Tiff). Trust me, when we finally release the first part/chapter/whatever the fuck it’s gonna be, I think you’ll like it. I will definitely keep you updated on our progress and when you can expect something.

In terms of other creative endeavors, I am working on writing at least something every week for you guys. There should be short stories, flash fictions, maybe some random writings, and eventually the collab. Here’s hoping you enjoy all that.

Now, onto the blog stuff I have in the pipeline. Like I said earlier in the month, I’m looking to bring more of myself into this space. I have plans to launch a fun series that incorporates my love of baking and cooking with my love of books and movies, tentatively titled Book Bakes and Movie Munchies. I also look forward to sharing some of our home projects with you all. I mean, hopefully sometime in the future there will be a nursery project happening. Which leads nicely into the next section, writing about our journey to parenthood is going to be a big thing, and I’m sure I’ll be reading tons of parenting books and random shit like that.

I’m sure there are other things I’m forgetting but I’ll keep you updated either way. 2019 is gonna be a big and exciting year for all things Biblio, and I look forward to sharing the entire rollercoaster ride with you guys. Until next time…

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year, my friends. First off, yes, I took a massive break, and I’ll explain everything in this post. Honestly, I’m happy to be back, and boy do we have some shit to talk about.

What a year I had in 2018, a big ol’ year of firsts. First year as homeowners. First houseguests. First time hosting a major holiday. Let’s talk about this stuff.

Many of you may know that last November, Hobbs and I purchased our first home. In this first year, we have turned this house into a home. The first floor has been painted and decorated. I let Hobbs choose the colors we used, and it should be noted he’s hoofin color blind. With that being said, he didn’t do too bad…except our dining room is a color called “Salamander” but seriously, it’s basically Link’s Tunic Green (not really shocking if you know Hobbs). The other colors were chosen, I suspect, for their names more than the actual hue. They all have space-related names, Hobbs is a nerd for space. Needless to say, the new paint made the house feel more like us. Also, as I write this I’m pricing out new dishwashers because ours shit the bed. Buying a house was a dream of ours, but man we were NOT prepared for how much money we were about to sink into it.

Let’s jump ahead to June, or as I like to refer to it, “The Summer of Friends.” Our best friends, who live across the country due to being in the military, came to stay for a whole 6 weeks. What an eye-opening experience this was, Hobbs and I don’t have kids (yet) and we had a lovely little look into what it would be like to be constantly surrounded by a 7-year-old and a toddler. To say we were tired every night is an understatement. Seriously, where do they get their energy? We loved every second of them being here, and had an absolute blast! I can honestly say I missed them when they left and might have had myself a mini cry as they drove off to the airport. All in all, it was a great summer!

Jumping into Fall/Winter. We hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner this year. How the fuck I got through those meals with relatively low levels of anxiety…I will never know. There were 15 people in my house for both meals, and for Thanksgiving, I cooked the hoofin turkey!!! (I had never cooked a Turkey before, but let me tell you…I nailed it!) Honestly, I enjoyed having my whole family here, and it wasn’t as horrible as I initially thought it would be. I might even consider doing it again next year…don’t hold me to that though. Oh, before I forget, two honorable mentions for this section of my life…both my oldest nephew and my brother got engaged in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, I get a new sister-in-law, and a new niece-in-law (is that even a thing?). Also shocking…I like them both.

Those are really my highlights for this past year, and looking back it wasn’t too terrible. I mean, I’m gonna give it a solid 8 on the year-in-my-life scale. Not too shabby.

Now that we’ve looked back, shall we look ahead?

This year I refuse to make resolutions, mainly because I never fucking keep them. In place of hastily made resolutions, I’ve decided to implement some simple, yet well-placed, changes. Firstly, I’m gonna work on taking care of myself better, not just physically but mentally as well. To be fair, my mental health has taken a backseat and I think I’ve gotten myself as far as I can on my own. I’m taking my own advice and calling in some reinforcements. Wish me luck. Next, it’s time to get my shit together. The plan is to get myself on a schedule, that way I have time to write. I miss writing. I need to write more. I just want to have time to sit here and be creative without worrying over what’s not getting done. Lastly, Hobbs and I have made the decision that it’s time to start the family plan. We’ve been married 7 years and together almost 11, and we’ve been putting off the kids because there were things we wanted to do first (namely, buy a fucking house). Well, we’ve gone and done that, so let’s add tiny Hobbs and Biblios.

Don’t worry I have some plans for this space as well. There will be some changes and new things happening in the coming months, and I’m stoked to see if you guys like them. I’m gonna add in some more of myself, bring in more things I enjoy while still staying true to my first love, books. Stay tuned for that.

That’s it, my friends. My review of 2018 and the look forward to 2019. For the first time in quite a few years, I can honestly say I look forward to seeing what this year brings. I wish you all the very best in 2019, and I hope the new year inspires you to do whatever it is you’ve been wanting. Until next time…