Just had to share! Here is the front cover of my new book! Yippee! Can't wait for everyone to have a copy! I approved it for publication just a few moments a go! 

It has been such an exciting day today! I got the proofs for the book. I have gone over the book and the cover and made my final adjustments and sent them back to Balboa Press! I spoke with May my publishing and design guru and she says that I will have the final proof back either tonight or tomorrow morning. The book is going to cost $10.99 for soft cover it will be a 6x9 book. It will be $4.99 for an ebook. I can't wait for it to be out; I'm on pins and needles. I will let you all know when it is coming! Have a great day! Penny

I received a call from Balboa Press yesterday as I was travelling to the Seattle VA hospital. This time I spoke with Kelly from the marketing department. She will be my new best friend it seems. She and I discussed how I wanted to proceed with the book and what my goals were for the book. Well it seems that I have a lot to learn about the big "MARKETING". I told her about my wonderful friend Kristy who is going to help me, but that I have very little other help on the horizon. She suggested that I subscribe to the author learning center and start reading, so I have begun to do just that. I will now begin the long journey into marketing and learning everything that I can on the subject. If you know anything and want to share, I am all ears! Each day the book gets one step closer to completion. I can't wait to see it and share it with everyone. Thanks for being on the excursion with me!  

Good News! I was pleased to receive an email from my publisher that they are moving the project forward into the submission phase. This means that within the next few days I will be reviewing the book for final publication. I'm on pins and needles to see what it will look like. It certainly isn't what it started like, but I am thrilled that it has gone this far and that it will be out to the public soon. Wow... What a blessing.

On another phenomenal note went to a garage sale on Saturday and found size 4 jeans, small shirts,  and jackets I got 3 large garbage  bags of clothing for $30.00. For the first time in a long time everything in my closet fits. What a great feeling. God is GOOD! Have a blessed day! Chat again soon! Penny

So I am learning a great deal about publishing. It turns out that all of the recipes that I tried to edit will not be allowed to be in the book. Even though I use them daily and cook with them, they are not public domain and are not free to be placed in the book, who knew??? Thank God for Balboa Press as they guide me through this process. I learn more each and every day. I think I came up with a solution today with putting a link for each recipe to a place on the internet for my readers to find it. I will find out soon if this will be okay... Wish me luck! If not, I am not sure what I will do to make that portion of the book work. We will all know soon! But for now I am off to bed. Be bless and live well! Love to all! 

So here I am prior to my weight loss. Not at my heaviest, but I really didn't like to have my picture taken when I was at my biggest. However, my dearest friend Peggy came for a visit and I couldn't not be in the picture with her, so here I am. So much has changed for me since then. I continue to paint, I photograph and well I have written a book. It seems that life is pretty phenomenal. What an amazing blessing all the way around. The photo below was taken just a few weeks ago, it shows my progress and that I have kept the weight off... it is a great journey! I am excited to share it with you