I designed this graphic today as a mock-up book cover and back page combination. I get so excited looking at it! It's starting to feel very real!

I'll be taking this little number with me to the San Francisco Writers Conference in February, where I'll be learning more of my illustrious craft and all about the publishing industry, meeting with professionals, and pitching my book to literary agents.

Wish me luck, friends! 

You may also like these blogs by Megan Sharma:
Physician Family guest blog: Does Match Day dictate your destiny? A surgeon’s wife weighs in
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: A word to mothers who aspire to have a surgeon-in-law
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: No, I don’t want no scrubs
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: For the love of Danskos
Book preview for When Medicine Meets Holy Matrimony: The other shoe
Date night: 60 fun and unique date ideas for the young at heart
Parenting: A no-fuss guide to your toddler’s birthday party for Pinterest-fatigued parents
Parenting: You know you’re a mom (of young children) when…

​Date night doesn’t have to be boring!
​In fact, it can even take place in daytime hours. There are oodles of more interesting things you can be doing with your date or partner than the standard dinner and a movie.
 
My husband and I have been on many of these dates over the years, and often find we have the most fun when we just let loose and act like we’re kids again.
 
Cheers to the young at heart!

1. Mini golf
2. Driving range
3. Bowling
4. Drive-in movie theater
5. Arcade
6. Ice skating rink

    7.    Roller-skating rink

    8.    Comedy club

    9.    Ghost tour

    10.   Underground city tour

​    11.    Carnival or fair
  
​    12.   Amusement park

    13.    Water park

    14.    Improv club

​    15.    Play

    16.    Musical

    17.    Ballet

​    18.    Dance performance

    19.    Couples dance lesson

    20.   Cooking class

    21.    Wine tasting

    22.    Beer tasting or brewery tour

    23.    Picnic with scenic backdrop

​    24.    Paint night

    25.    Music lessons

​    26.    Hike

    27.    Concert

    28.    Museum (art or history)

    29.    Canoeing

    30.    Kayaking

    31.    Rollerblading

    32.    Game night w/ friends or Scrabble championship for two

    33.    Trampoline gym

    34.    Drag show

    35.    Progressive dinner around town

​    36.    Go kart racing

    37.    Paintball

    38.    Shooting range

    39.    Indoor rock climbing

    40.   Roast hot dogs and s'mores over a fire

    41.    Rent a paddle boat

    42.   Make sushi at home

    43.    Play pool, Foosball and darts

    44.    Boat tour or dinner cruise

    45.    Karaoke

    46.    Visit a casino

    47.    Bar trivia night

    48.    Get a couple’s massage

    49.   Zoo

    50.   Biking

    51.    Indoor skydiving

    52.    Skiing, snowshoeing, or just snuggling by a fire

    53.    Laser tag

    54.    Enter a mud run or a color run 

    55.    Burlesque show

​    56.    Piano bar or jazz club

    57.    Explore a book store

    58.    Segway tour

   59.    Buy ingredients at the farmer’s market or specialty grocery store and cook a meal together

​    60.    Local sporting event

Yup, it's the same day every year ;)

​As a writer or author, one of the first questions people ask you is ‘Who are your favorite authors’? I always struggle to answer this question off the top of my head, because my reading interests are varied and I can never remember the names of the authors on my Kindle.
 
Today, however, I was preparing for the San Francisco Writers Conference, which I’ll be attending in February (so psyched!). In anticipation of many conversations on this topic with writers, authors, agents and publishers—I sat down and thought about my favorite books and authors.
 
Here’s the ol’ round up:

Tina Fey
Bossypants
 
Mindy Kaling
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Why Not Me?
 
Amy Schumer
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
 
Raquel D'Apice
Welcome to the Club: 100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming
 
Kate Siegel
Mother, Can You Not?

Paula Hawkins
The Girl on The Train
 
Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible
Flight Behavior
 
Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
 
Ruth Ware
In a Dark, Dark Wood
The Woman in Cabin 10
 
Emma Donoghue
Room

Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild
Into Thin Air
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
 
Erik Larson
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America
 
Katherine Boo
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity

John Green
The Fault in our Stars
Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns
An Abundance of Katherines
 
Stephenie Meyer
The Twilight series
 
Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games series

F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
 
William Golding
Lord of the Flies
 
Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
 
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
 
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
 
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness

Jon Krakauer
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
 
Paul Kalanithi
When Breath Becomes Air
 
J.D. Vance
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
 
Liane Moriarty
Big Little Lies
 
Paula Hawkins
Into the Water

I’m always looking for my next book to fall in love with. Who are your favorite authors? What books have you read without putting down? Share in the blog comments. â€‹

I stepped off the elliptical machine, had a quick stretch, dabbed sweat from my neck and forehead, refilled my water bottle, and dashed home to write this blog. Inspiration often strikes when I’m working out or in the shower—times when my head is clear and the creativity can flow.
 
During my workout today, I read about a book called “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life”. The author, Cami Walker, was struggling with worsening multiple sclerosis and received an interesting “prescription” from a South African healer: “Give away 29 gifts in 29 days”. And give, she did. By the month’s end, Walker’s health and happiness had improved, and she had started a worldwide giving movement.
 
How COOL is that?
 
I immediately asked myself, ‘What can I give that would help improve someone else’s life?” The first thought that came to mind was my editing services. I have been writing and editing professionally for nearly 15 years, and I have always been the go-to-girl when friends and family have needed help with resumes, emails, web sites, you name it.
 
Are you looking for a new job? Starting a business? Considering going back to school? It’s a new year and many of us have personal and professional goals that we are tackling (or that are on the ‘to do’ list). I would like to help be a part of your success.
 
Do you have a resume, cover letter, professional bio, or personal statement (for college, grad school, dental school, medical school, whatever) that you'd like some help with? I will help you polish your document to the best of my ability, ABSOLUTELY FREE.
 
My only request is that, in return, you do something kind for someone else. I would love to hear what you did and how it was received, so that we can keep sharing the love. 

HERE’S HOW WE’RE GOING TO DO THIS:

• The first 5 people who respond to my blog in the comments section of this post and then send a follow-up email to [email protected] with the details of their request will be considered for editing assistance.
• Please do not send me your homework—that’s not cool and I won’t do it!
• That’s it! I’m keeping this as simple as possible.

 
I look forward to seeing what the universe produces through our shared efforts.
 
What can YOU do right now, with your God-given talents, to help others? Share the love!

Have you ever heard a foodie or chef talk about palate fatigue? It’s when your taste buds get exhausted by monotony and say, “Hey, I quit!”. What it boils down to is too much of a good thing. Too much fat, too much citrus, too much salt, too much sugar, too much bitterness—whatever the case may be.
 
Pinterest can be much the same way. Of course, I’m one of Pinterest’s 100 million active users (85% women), but I alternate between complete infatuation with the big P and total boycott. If I allow myself to get sucked in, I can sit for hours scrolling through gorgeous images of food and fashion on my phone, pinning my life away, achieving absolutely nothing. 

In recent years, a certain persona has developed: The Pinterest Mom. Pinterest Mom is a superhero. She always brings the yummiest and most unique dishes to the potluck party, with food styling straight out of Martha Stewart Living. She sends her kids to school with the most creative bento box lunches—organic, non-GMO and made fresh daily, naturally. Her home is full of hand-made art and collage walls that could shame the Louvre. Pinterest Mom knows which exercises she can do in her car or while preparing dinner to save time at the gym. She plans her children’s birthday parties with the skill and professionalism of a seasoned wedding coordinator, right down to the striped paper straws that match the banner that match the balloons that match the gift bags that make you feel like a horribly inept parent. 
 
Pinterest Mom is incredible, no doubt, but we can’t all be her. Either she has a lot of free time on her hands or she limits herself to three hours of sleep each night, but Pinterest Mom pushes herself to the very limits of perfection. Not all of us want to live that way. 

Alas, finally—to address the title of the blog. It’s time for a toddler birthday party!
 
Our daughter, J., is turning two this month. TWO! I can’t believe it. Since I’m about 40% Pinterest Mom and 60% Practical Mom, I am not planning a big bash to mark this momentous occasion. Instead, I’m working on some fun ideas for things my husband and I can do with J. to give her a special day.
 
Let’s be real. A one or two-year-old does not give a flying fork full of mashed potatoes about a themed and perfectly executed soiree. They don’t need a bouncy house, a magician, a petting zoo, real Disney princesses and gourmet catering for the entire neighborhood.
 
All they want is an empty box to climb into and some wrapping paper to shred into oblivion. Who are we to deny them these simple joys?

Here are some fun ideas for birthday/special occasion activities you can do with your toddler:
 

• Let them do whatever you normally shy away from allowing because it is too messy or too inconvenient for you. Examples: painting, making cookies from scratch, removing every single pair of underwear from your drawer and wearing it on their head, having an extended and extra loud dance party, making a Lego tower using thousands of Legos, giving the dog a bath and blow-dry.

• Take them to a kiddie paradise. Whatever they most enjoy—usually the opportunity to run around and climb on things will do just fine. Play gyms, splash pads, water parks, playgrounds, the nearest YMCA pool, your neighbor’s back yard, trampoline gyms, etc. Our daughter loves the train and the photo booth at our local mall, so we’ll probably be hitting those up. There is always Chuck E. Cheese’s, if you’re a masochist. 

• Visit a children’s museum or aquarium. J. is super into two fish in particular: Nemo and Dory, and she loves to find them at our local Scheels store, which boasts a massive three-arch salt water fish tank, in addition to its indoor Ferris wheel, play area and Nascar simulators. If you don’t have a Scheels nearby, you probably have a legit aquarium or at least a sympathetic dentist’s office. Most major cities have some form of children’s museum or science museum, which are typically hands-on and fun for all ages. Check TripAdvisor for ideas. 

• Go somewhere they can unapologetically consume sugar. Ice cream, cake, cookies, whatever their deal is—let them enjoy it to the fullest. Ideally this will be followed immediately by an energy-draining activity and a nap. 

• Help them spend time with their favorite people. Usually that’s you (the parents), as well as grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and perhaps a friend or two. It doesn’t all have to be on the same day and it doesn’t even have to be in person. Skype and FaceTime are great for long distance loved ones.

 
Most of all, enjoy the festivities and savor these moments!

​

• Getting ‘all dolled up’ isn’t about beautifying yourself. It means you’re having a tea party. With dolls.

 

• You keep kid juice (organic apple juice boxes) and adult juice (wine, wine and more wine) in the house at all times.

 

• You need tummy control…ev-ery-thing.

 

• Only after you’ve read all the parenting books on the market do you allow yourself to indulge in that tempting NYT Best Seller.

 

• Shoes from your life before kids: heels, a dash of red, a sprinkle of animal print. Shoes from your mom life: they’re all flat and hella comfy. That is all.

 

• You wish you had thought of Spanx. You’d totally be rich.

 

• You’re tempted to frame a few scribbles on construction paper in a museum quality frame.

 

• You are the only person in your household who knows the location of all the food items.

 

• You drink coffee until it’s socially acceptable to drink wine.

 

• Your idea of a spa treatment is a hot shower—alone.

• Just when you don’t think your heart could possibly hold any more love, it expands just a little more.

 

• If you push your belly out just so, you can look like you’re pregnant again. It’s a gift.

 

• You enjoy shopping more for children’s clothing and accessories than for yourself.

 

• You put on just enough makeup to avoid looking like a zombie. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

• You only have time to catch up with your girlfriends while driving in the car. Thank goodness for Bluetooth systems!

 

• You’re a master of the art of the faux shower.

 

• Your parameters for clothing purchases include: will it hide smudges from chocolate chip cookies? Sold.

 

• You’re practiced in spelling out words when conversing with your partner.

 

• You listen to Kidz Bop radio when your children are not in the car.

 

• You feel so relaxed when getting your eyebrows waxed that you don’t want to get up.

 

• Goldfish crackers are as much a part of your purse as your credit card and driver’s license.