D2 Update

We went to the doctor and he promptly sent us to the orthopedic surgeon who got us in right away. She looked at D2's x-rays and declared she did have a break along the growth plate and up into the bone. It's called a Salter-Harris fracture and it's at least a type two and possibly a three (the digital x-rays weren't very good).

She declared D2 WON'T have to have any surgery! YAY! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

She re-splinted D2's finger and put it in a half-cast. We go back to the orthopedic surgeon in three weeks for a follow-up and they will x-ray her finger again to see how it is doing. She's in quite a bit of pain this morning and I'm not sure if she'll make it through school.

I'm going to give her some Children's Motrin after she eats some breakfast and we'll see how the day goes. And now S2 (son 2) is feeling lousy; coughing and he had a slight fever last night. So he'll probably be staying home today . . . which means I won't get any work done. *sigh*

 

Write on.

Weekend woes

This weekend we traveled to a family birthday party. Unfortunately, only three of our family members actually attended the festivities. Hubby, D2, and I ended up in the Urgent Care facility.

As Mr. Monk would say, "Here's what happened."

We were the first to arrive at the party. The kids were playing as the aunts, uncles, and cousins began to arrive. D2 fell and caught her pinky finger of her right hand in the hide-a-bed couch. She came to me with her finger at an awkward angle. I told her to have daddy (he's an EMT) look at it and he agreed with me that it was likely dislocated.

We decided to leave our other three children at the party with my mother and drive D2 up to the Urgent Care facility about 30 minutes away. Upon arrival, we waited for an hour before being seen (they were busy with lots of ski accidents). They took x-rays with their digital machine

and diagnosed her with a fracture (I think the doctor called it a Salter Fracture) of the lower knuckle on her pinky finger. Then the doctor said it was into the growth plate and would likely require surgery to repair. They splinted her finger to stabilize it

and sent us on our way with instructions to follow up with our local doctor (D2 has an appointment at 3:00 this afternoon . . . thank goodness our doctor is working today) and possibly make arrangements with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

We are hoping they won't have to do surgery (though that doctor thought it was inevitable).

So we missed the party, we're stressed out, and our plans for today are a bust. D2 is feeling okay and is managing pain with Motrin. She's nervous and concerned about the surgery possibility (doctor didn't know she understood what surgery meant so she freaked out when he said it), but over all, she's doing fine. I'm amazed because when I dislocated my finger, it HURT! But she's not complaining and hasn't had any Motrin since last night.

She did sleep in our bed last night so we didn't get much sleep, but it was a small price to pay for her to be able to relax and sleep.

So those are our weekend woes. How has your three day weekend been?

Write on.

King Cake Party Day!

The dough for the King Cake is rising! I wasn't sure it would do well since it is a cold, rainy/snowy day today. But I did turn my oven on (to warm) in an effort to help heat the kitchen and make the dough rise.

So, the party will go forward today!

I didn't find a little doggie or baby to put in the cake so I decided to use a glass bead instead. I found some nice purple, green, and gold ones to stick with the traditional King Cake colors.

So I will wash one of these beautiful beads and put it in the cake. Maybe one of the prizes I'll send the winner will be a bracelet or necklace made with the bead from the cake. =)

So, when the cake is done, I'll be back to post the winner!

ETA:

Okay, so the cake didn't turn out too well (I had to go get kids from school during the process and it didn't quite get done. But we went ahead and did it anyway! So, here's the cake.

My son is putting the names in because I knew the general area where the beads were and didn't want to be accused of playing favorites. ;-)Here are all the names in place:

Then I cut the cake with son telling me where to cut. So here's the cake all cut.

Then we started cutting into smaller pieces because I couldn't handle the huge chunks as they were.

I started over in Amandamarrone's section because I thought the beads were over there. Apparently I was wrong when I said I thought I knew the general area of the beads. *blush* The beads were not there.

Then we moved to Whitehousemom's section as I was sure they must be there . . . but again, I was wrong.

So the next section over was Robinellen's. You'll notice in the above picture that her name is in the yellow section with a bit of green on the edge. I thought the beads might be in the yellow section so I started on the far side. I was wrong again. This isn't my night!

Son suggested I move to the piece with the bit of green.

And there they were! Son gave the thumbs-up sign. He moved the name over to the green part of Robinellen's section because we had destroyed the yellow part trying to find the beads.

By the way, the stuff in the middle of the cake is cream cheese filling, not raw dough (the top of the cake is done, it's the bottom part that didn't fare so well).

Anyway, Congratulations Robinellen!

Dang girl, you are on a roll! I'm not sure what I'll send you yet, but you know I'm good for it! =D

And now, you get to host the next KING CAKE PARTY on your blog! So everyone keep checking Robin's blog to enter her King Cake Party!Thank you all for playing and I hope you have a great night.

Write on.

King Cake Party Delayed . . .

I did not get time to make the cake today. I WILL make it tomorrow and the five who entered (here and on my other blog) are entered. If you didn't get an entry before now, it's too late. Sorry. :(

I could draw names out of a hat, but I really want to do the cake. So, please be patient and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

Write on.

Valentines Day Contest Winners!

Thank you to all who entered the Valentine's Day Contest. We have our winners!

After putting the names in an M&M's bag (because it was empty and within reach), I shook it up, and drew the names of the lucky winners.

 

The grand prize of a $25 Amazon.com card, a $50 Rim Treasure Trove.com gift card, and the loot pictured below

goes to robinellen!

And our first prize of a $25 Rim Treasure Trove.com gift card and the goodies pictured below

 

goes to Amy D.

Congratulations Robin and Amy! PM me with your addresses and I'll get your fun stuff shipped out Monday.

Thank you all for entering and while you're here, please enter the King Cake Contest for more fun goodies and a chance to host a King Cake party on  your blog.

Write on.

Last chance to enter!

This is the last reminder (really, I mean it) for my Valentine's Day Contest. The deadline is Saturday, February 7th at 6:00pm (Arizona time). That's tomorrow! So get your entries in if you still want to enter for the fabulous prizes.

Hurry, time is running out! I'll post the winners Saturday evening after I draw them. Good luck to everyone!

Write on.

King Cake Party!

Are you ready to party? It is KING CAKE DAY! For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the slice. Inside the king cake is hidden a plastic figure of a baby (or sometimes a pecan or whatever). The lucky person who gets the baby/pecan/whatever in their slice of king cake is the winner.

There is a catch though . . . if you get the baby/pecan/whatever, you have to host a party on your blog and offer some sort of fabulous prize(s) to the winner.

I was lucky enough to get the pecan last week on afraclose's blog so it's MY turn to host a party.

What do you win?

Yeah, I'm not sure about that yet, but I promise it will be something good. I'll send you a package of some sort with lots of fun stuff inside (maybe even a book or two).

 

(cake pictured is only a representation and is in no way meant to imply the actual cake will look like this)

Are you ready to put your name in for a slice of the cake? It's simple, all you have to do is leave a comment in this post. Yep, any old comment. Before I cut the cake, I will assign a slice to each person who comments (yep, I'm going to make a cake and everything). On Sunday I will cut the cake and announce the winner!

So, go on, leave a comment and see if you are lucky enough to get the baby (or whatever I put in there).

Write on.

Four on Thursday

I was going to post a review today of a recent title I read. I will, but not in this post. This post is reserved for some good news.

Okay, don't get all excited, it has nothing to do with writing. This is on a more personal type note. =)

Today, my Toy Fox Terrier, Jewel, had puppies! There are four of them. Two girls and two boys. The two girls were born first, then the two boys. They are all doing fine. And now for the pictures. =D

So, I did get my book review written, but no other writing.

Write on.

Looking back

Today Robin posted some pictures of her adorable kids as she remembered their younger years. This got me thinking about my writing.

What?

Yeah, I know, but bear with me here. =) I thought about how good it can be to look back and see how far the kids have come since they were born. And I think it's the same with writing.

I don't know about you, but I saved copies of my early drafts. I think it might be a good idea to take a moment and look back at those first writings to see how far my work has come.

What comments would I make to the author of that first draft were I doing a critique? Were there some good moments in there that have since been cut? How horrible is this first draft, really?

So today after work, I will be looking back at my first draft and answering these (and probably other) questions. I think it might be a good exercise for each of us to stop a minute and look at how far we've come. Whether published or unpublished, I bet our work has changed since those first drafts. Please, join with me in looking back and then leave a comment to let us know how far you've come.

Write on.

I have to write and contest stuff

As I caught up on blog posts today, I came across

janel_harrison

and her inspirational post for the day. She inspired me with the following:

"A Circle of Quiet" a memoir by Madeline L'Engle
"I had to write. I had no choice in the matter. It was not up to me to say that I could stop because I could not. It didn't matter how small or inadequate my talent. If I never had another book published, and it was very clear to me that this was a real possibility, I still had to go on writing. I'm very glad I made this decision in the moment of failure. It's very easy to say you're a writer when things are going well. When the decision is made in the abyss, then it is quite clear that it is not one's own decision at all."

This revelation came to her after she had cried over a rejection on her fortieth birthday. She had endured 10 years of rejection. As we all know, her story had quite the happy ending!
This is a good summation of how I feel. Thank you, Madeline L'Engle and thank you, janel_harrison for sharing this with us.
In other news, I will be hosting a King Cake party on this blog at some point during the week. Why? Because I got to be the lucky winner of the baby (or in this case, pecan) onafraclose's blog! YAY!! So check back for that. Also, there is still time to enter my Valentine's Day contest contest.

Write on.

Contest reminder . . . win a book!

Don't forget, it's Friday. And Friday means Robin is having her Friday Five contest. You can win a book if you can figure out the debut 2009 book from the clues in her post. Head on over to Robin's blog to enter her contest before it's too late!

 

Oh, and if you haven't already entered the contests on my blog (Valentine's Day and Stuff for you), go for it!

Write on.

Valentine's experience

Since so many of you are sharing your worst experiences and/or gifts for my contest, I thought I'd take a moment to share my worst Valentine's Day experience.

The year was 2000. It was the second Valentine's day of our married life (the first would qualify as a worst experience, too). And where was I? In the hospital with our oldest daughter (then six months old and weighing just over six pounds). She was recovering from RSV and Pneumonia but was having a difficult time due to the two holes in her heart (ASD and VSD) that we didn't know she had until she got RSV and nearly died. She was hooked up to all kinds of wires but had been weaned off the ventilator. She was weak and having morphine withdrawals (they sedated her with morphine to keep her from pulling wires and tubes out). Hubby did make it up to see me that day after work, but I can't remember if he brought me a gift (I think he must have).

We went home from the hospital the following week and two months later, oldest daughter had open-heart surgery to repair the holes. It was a tough Valentine's Day but at least we made it through the worst and have had quite a few great ones since then.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and for those who haven't, there is still time to enter. Just go here to see the prizes and leave a comment with your worst V-Day experience/gift.

Write on.

Life rating

Thanks to afraclose for the link to this quiz.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.6
Mind:	7.3
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	7.2
Friends/Family:	8.2
Love:	7.3
Finance:	4.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

 

 

Write on.

Novel Novel Review

It's that time again. Here's a quick reminder of my rating system

A+--I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In most cases, I passed it on to my teen.

A--I enjoyed this book and I might pass it on to my teen.

B--I liked this book, but probably won't pass it on to my teen.

C--I thought it was okay, but I won't pass it on to my teen.

D--I didn't like this book, and won't allow my teen to read it.

F--I hope I never have to go here. =D

I will give reasons for my rating in my review, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you find your book here, don't panic if I rate it below an A. These are my personal preferences and I'm only one small person in a large market. =D

Okay, now here we go.

For my second review, it was my privilege to receive an ARC of

RAMPANT by Diana Peterfreund

Rating: A

Age level: 14+

Release date: May 26, 2009

Think unicorns are sweet, magical horse-like creatures? Think again! Diana Peterfreund introduces us to the darker side of unicorns in her novel RAMPANT. Peterfreund's unicorns are man eating monsters. They can kill with poison in their horns, rip someone apart with their sharp teeth, and some have breath that can kill (literally).

Astrid Llewelyn has listened to her mother's crazy stories about extinct man eating unicorns for years. Astrid never believed the stories until the night her date ended up on the sharp end of a unicorn horn. Now her mother's stories are all too real and Astrid is sent to Rome for training as a unicorn hunter. She meets a group of other virgin descendants of Alexander the Great and together they train to hunt and kill unicorns. But Astrid doesn’t want to be a hunter.

I enjoyed reading RAMPANT. There was some sexual tension and scenes of passion (but not super graphic), as well as discussion about sex, and while it wasn't enough to bother me, I think it would bother some teens. I put the age level at 14+ because of the sexual content, but there may be some younger than 14 who would be okay with it. I didn't pass it on to my teen, but only because he's a boy and isn't into unicorns (nope, not even man eating ones). =( Where did he come from?

I enjoyed the characters and learning about their lives. Astrid is strong, and yet vulnerable enough to make her real. The characters and their lives will run Rampant in my memory for a long time, but in a good way.

Write on.

Want to win Chocolate?

In honor of Valentine's Day (coming soon to a calendar near you), I thought I'd hold a little contest. First of all, let me show you my inspiration for this idea.

My husband saw this in a store and thought it was funny so he brought it home to me.

This is a Marital Bliss Bar from Bloomsberry & Co. (not to be confused with Bloomsbury). I thought it was hilarious! Now we did open it and eat a bit of it. He only got two squares . . . much less than the 50% the box gave him . . . but I won't eat the rest of it without him . . . I'll be good. I can resist, really I can. =D Let me tell you, this is good stuff!

On to the CONTEST!

From now until February 7th, I'd like to hear your WORST Valentines gift and/or experience. The gift can be something you either gave or received, but the experience must be your own. Everyone who posts a comment with either a worst gift or worst experience will have one entry into the contest. You may post both a worst gift and a worst experience if you wish to have two entries. And if you wish to have three entries, you may post a worst gift, a worst experience, AND post about this contest (with a link to this post . . . either from my LJ or my Blogger) in your blog.

Why would you want to win this contest? For the fabulous prizes, of course! Oh, did I forget to tell you about the prizes?

Well, here we go . . .

There will be two winners.

Grand prize is your own Marital Bliss Bar as well as other chocolate/Valentine's Day related goodies, a $25 Amazon.com card, and a $50 Rim Treasure Trove.com gift card!

And don't worry about the Valentine's Day related goodies, I won't be sending lingerie or anything kinky (I'll keep those things for myself =D). I'll add a picture of the chocolate items soon (will be going shopping in a bit).

Here's a picture of the goodies for the Grand Prize

First prize is a Marital Bliss Bar, a chocolate frog (not from Harry Potter) and a $25 Rim Treasure Trove.com gift card.

Here's a picture of the first prize chocolate

The contest will end on February 7th at 6:00pm EST (so I will hopefully have time to mail the goodies to arrive before Valentine's Day).

Go ahead, you know you want to enter. ;-)

Write on.

Contest! Win books!

If you haven't already visit Robin's blog, Poetry Works, get on over there! She went to ALA and came home with lots of great books. And she's sharing the love! I know, doesn't she rock?

So head on over to her contest and enter before it's too late (contest ends Monday).

Write on.

Politics stink

Why is it that people who normally get along, even admire each other can suddenly turn into enemies and loath each other when politics are introduced into the mix?

What ever happened to "agree to disagree"?

The author of a blog I visit posted her views on politics and ended up bombarded by comments. Some comments were well thought out and added to a great political discussion. Other comments were rude and downright mean (and were deleted) in the form of personal attacks (anonymously of course).

In honor of this blogger, I will share my views on politics today.

First of all, I will let you know I did not vote for President Obama. I do not agree with many of his views. I know many people are excited and hopeful and I've heard several people say he will be able to clean up the mess of the last eight years. I've said it before, and I'll say it again here. The mess the country is in now, was more than eight years in the making. ;-)

Our world has been going downhill fast for quite some time now. I don't think any President (no matter who they are) can run fast enough to reach the bottom of the hill in time to stop it. This is not to say that Obama will not be able to do some good . . . and perhaps even slow the progression. ALL past Presidents have been able to do something during their administration to slow the downhill spiral. But no one has been able to stop it. I am of the belief that everything has a purpose. Obama is no exception.

Do I worry what the next several years will bring? Yes. Am I hopeful that good will come? Yes. Will bad also come? Yes.

It is inevitable. There MUST be opposition in all things. Without tasting the bad, we would be unable to recognize the good. There WILL be bad things come from this administration (bad comes from ALL administrations, regardless of party lines), but it is also inevitable that good will also come from this administration. All we can do with this (and ANY) administration is hope the good outweighs the bad. Unfortunately, we tend to remember the bad much longer than we do the good in most cases. ;-)

And so I am hopeful, but realistic in my views of this administration (as I have been with EACH administration). I'm sure if you think about it, you'll find there is something Obama is for that you are against or something he is against that you are for. It's difficult for me to believe that his views exactly match the views of everyone who voted for him. I voted for McCain because I agreed with more of his policies than I did with Obama's.

My views will likely differ with yours, and this is a good thing. If we agreed all of the time, we'd be a pretty boring bunch. But let's not allow our differing views to tear us apart. What this country needs more than anything is to truly be the United States. This means we must be willing to set aside our differences and support each other, no matter our views or personal politics.

So unite my friends and let us truly become "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Write on.

If I were a work of art, what would I be?

Today I learned the answer to this question.

 

 

You Are Best Described By Meditative Rose

By Salvadore Dali

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

 

Thank you to saputnam for the link to the quiz. So, if you were a work of art what would you be?

 

Write on!

My Muse?

Thanks to saputnam for the link.

Your Inner Muse is Melpomene

You are most like this muse of tragedy. While you aren't depressed, you don't shy away from sadness. Although you do tend to be gloomy, you have a sensitive side. And this sensitive side helps inspire and help others.

What Muse Are You?

Write on?

Contest reminder

Either you missed it, or you're terribly afraid of what I might send you. Anyway, here's a reminder about the little contest I posted here yesterday.

Come on, people, I promise it won't be too horrible. I'm pretty creative and it's not like I'm going to send you one of my children (though they do qualify as something made by me).

And just to clarify, YOU don't have to make something for five people. All you have to do is post a link to my contest on your blog.

Write on.

Award

Bish at Random Thoughts gave me this:

The Kreativ Blogger (award)

Thanks so much, Bish!

As part of this award, I must list seven (7) things I love and then pass this award on to seven (7) "Kreativ" people.

Everyone knows I love my family so I won't use that for one of the seven . . . unless I get stuck. The following are in no particular order.

1. My Toy Fox Terriers. They bring me endless hours of joy and amusement.

2. Writing (duh).

3. Quiet reflective moments. I don't get many of these so I really love it when I do.

4. School. Not only does it expand our minds, but it also gives me several hours of child free time. What's not to love?

5. Being creative. No this is not the same thing as writing (though writing is certainly creative). I also do a bit of crocheting, sewing, crafting, cooking, drawing, and other fun stuff that falls under the creative category.

6. Friends. You guys are so supportive, kind, caring, loving, and I really appreciate all you do to help me be the best me I can be.

7. My toilet. Come on, you know you love yours, too. Without it, you'd have to have an outhouse or find a spot in the woods. And while I'm at it, I better add toilet paper, too because leaves don't work nearly as well as my soft, absorbent toilet paper.

And now to pass the award to 7 of the wonderful friends I mentioned above.

Cindy

Janelle

Amy

Allison

Lisa

Mandy

Robin

Have fun and share the love.

Write on.

Stuff for you . . .

Hello fellow bloggers! Want something? Here's your chance! whitehousemom is having a fun little contest. Here are the details.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. It will be about or tailored to those five lucky people.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year
- You have no clue what it's going to be.  I may bake you something and mail it to you. I might crochet something.  I might sew something.  Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!

 

Relatively easy, yes? So get over there and post before it's too late. :D

And in honor of her generosity, I, too am making the same offer.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. And to sweeten the deal a little, I'll also add this, the first 10 people to respond to this post will receive a $10 gift card to RimTreasureTrove.com!

I crochet, make jewelry, do some crafts, sew, quilt, cook, etc. so you'll never know what you will get, but you will get something. Once you post, I will contact you for your mailing information and send your winnings your way as soon as I make it for you.

And the catch? You have to put a link in your blog to this post.  See? I made it easy, too.

 

Good luck!

Write on.

Perchance to dream

Today's post by robinellen got me thinking about dreams. What is a dream? According to the dictionary there are many definitions. This post doesn't focus on what happens when we are asleep (or awake as in a daydream), but rather two other definitions:

1. "an aspiration; goal; aim"

2. "a wild or vain fancy"

Though the dictionary defines both as dreams, they have very different meanings and, therefore, for the purpose of this post, I'll refer to the first dream definition as a "true dream" and the second as a "false dream".

What makes one dream an aspiration, goal, or aim and another dream a wild or vain fancy?

I believe the answer is work.

A dream you are willing to work for, such as becoming a published author, is truly an aspiration/goal/aim. While a dream you are not willing to work toward, such as becoming a published author, is a wild or vain fancy.

What? I used the same example for both scenarios. How can this be? As was pointed out in Robin's blog and comments, some people think they are entitled for their dream to become a reality; their dreams should happen to them. These are the false dreams. Nothing you dream about EVER happens to you. That's right, I said it!

If you have a false dream it will never come true (duh). Only the true dream can be realized.

"But, Joan," you say. "I've had dreams that came true without me doing anything."

"You are a liar," I say.

Before you slap me, let's discuss. ;-)

If you have had a dream come true, it was a true dream and at some point, you have done something to MAKE it come true.

Let's go back to our becoming a published author scenario. In order for this to happen (as those of us who write know), you have to start with a book/story/article/etc. Does this publishable material come out of thin air? No, we must write it (and rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it, and  . . .). This takes work.

So, we have this publishable work. Are we finished making our dream come true? No. Now we must submit this work for approval. Is is snatched up the very first time we submit? Not usually (unless you're a celebrity). This is a grueling and time consuming thing. This is where we really discover which definition our dream falls into. If it is a true dream, we continue plugging away, striving to reach our aspiration/goal/aim. If it is a false dream we give up and blame our failure on publishers/agents/editors/the market/our spouses/the celebrities/etc.

Am I saying it's not okay to get discouraged and complain? No. It is most definitely okay to get discouraged and complain (dang we ARE human and can only take so much rejection). Am I saying it's not okay to take a break? No. It is most definitely okay to take a break. What makes it a true dream is when we come back. Over and over we send our work out. Over and over we hope the response will be positive. But most of the time it isn't.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Because we have a true dream. We have worked, studied, written, rewritten, submitted, been rejected, rewritten, written something new, but most importantly, we have persevered.

Now I have seen some published things that weren't great and some unpublished things (you know who you are) that are. Does that mean the unpublished author hasn't worked hard enough? No. Does it mean the published author worked harder than the unpublished one? Not necessarily. So what's the difference?

It's simple, the published author realized their dream first, that's all.

Am I promising your dream will come true as long as you persevere? Oh, how I wish I could. But this is not always the case. You could work for years (even your whole life) toward your dream and never have it realized, but I bet at the end, you will have learned and grown because of the experience of working toward it. The experience will have changed you, shaped you, added to your character and made you the person you are in the end.

So choose your dream, but choose wisely for as the true dream will bring you growth, so the false dream will take it from you.

Write on.

Inspire me

I've taught my children to share, but when it comes to their germs, I'd rather they didn't share . . . but they did and I'm sick today. I'm fighting back the nausea and trying to get some work done, but feeling guilty because I'm having trouble focusing.

I visited Lisa Schroeder's blog and read her inspirational post this morning and my guilt is gone. Lisa posted about doing your best.  This got me thinking. My "best" is always changing from day to day. One day I may be phenomenal in all I can get done, and I tend to think of this as my "best". And this is why I constantly feel like I'm not doing my best.

So, I've decided from here on out, I will no longer compare my best from one day to the next. Each day I will do the best I can and feel good in what I DID accomplish instead of wishing I had done more.

And today, I feel sick, but I will still do the best I can . . . which may involve a nap before I can get any work done. ;-)

Write on.

Word up!

Thanks to bluemalibu for the link.

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of. Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you. While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life. You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

Write on.

What's up, doc?

This week I had two sick children. I wasn't able to get appointments on the same day for them so ended up visiting the doctor twice. And, as I suspected, the doctor said they had a virus. Oh the dreaded "V" word. But we were exposed to Strep, so at least it wasn't that.

I'm sure it will go through the family and as it would happen, I've been feeling lousy the last couple of days. I'm hoping things are better by Monday and all the kiddies will be back to school so I can get some work done.

Write on.

Contest!

I know how you all love contests and here is a great one. Want to win a copy of "Silver Phoenix" by Cindy Pon?

 

Visit her blog a little sweet, a little sour and tell her your favorite Chinese dish.

Yep, it's that simple!

Winner will be posted on Cindy's blog on Monday, January 12th. So go visit and enter. And don't say I never did nothin' for you!

 

Write on.

It's the first Monday of 2009!

I sent my kids back to school today . . . except for D2, who is sick. I had planned to dive back into work, but D2 wants my attention and since she's sick, she's getting it. ;-)

At the moment she's distracted by the Pixos she got for Christmas so I will hopefully have a few hours of peace, but I doubt it since she wants me to "help" her do it. And by help, I mean she wants me to do it for her. But not this time, honey! ;-)

I've been feeling a bit sick myself and along with this comes the doldrums. I mope and give up on things and tend to be BLAH for a while . . . but then I read a post by Lisa Schroeder today and I'm no longer feeling BLAH! Now I'm all fired up and thinking "Maybe this time . . ." In fact, I think "Maybe this time" will be my theme for this year.

So thank you, Lisa for your post today. I have an online meeting with some writer friends today and I'm looking forward to it because I know I'll find more inspiration there (I always do). And then D2 may allow me some time to get work done. Yeah . . . maybe this time. :D

Write on.

Prada and Prejudice countdown!

Join the countdown to the release of Mandy Hubbard's Prada and Prejudice. Also be sure to check out Laura's Review Bookshelf for a chance to win a copy of the book.

Get this widget!

Write on.

Do you need Need?

Here's a fun contest (thanks to afraclose for the link) in which reneesweet's dog, Logan interviews carriejones' dog, Tala about Carrie's book, Need. If you'd like to read the great interview and enter the contest for a chance to win a copy of Need, go Here.

Write on.

Trampolines are eeevvviiilll!

Okay, not really, but the setting up of the trampoline sure is. I thought I was sore when I wrote yesterday's post. Oh, my friends, that was only a small sign of pain to come. As the day wore on, the soreness progressed to agonizing pains shooting up my arms and across my chest every time I raised my arms more than a couple of inches. I had difficulty driving the car to town to buy crickets for the geckos. I forgot half the things I was supposed to buy and by the time I got home, my muscles were screaming! I took four Ibuprofen and it barely dulled the aching. I am so not even kidding here, people.

And the pain lasted through the night. I'm slightly better this morning, but not by much. I took two Ibuprofen first thing this morning, but it's not helping much . . . or maybe it is because last night after the Ibuprofen wore off, I thought I would die! I had to sleep sitting up in bed (propped up by pillows) so I could breathe without too much pain so now my tailbone is sore. *sigh*

What's that? You think I'd be in less pain if I did some sort of exercise for upper body strength? Yeah, well, had I known setting up a trampoline was so difficult I might have started an exercise regimen in preparation. Why didn't you people warn me? I thought you were supposed to be my friends. *wink*

So, I didn't get my Christmas decorations taken down yesterday, I didn't finish the crit I was working on, and I didn't replace the doggy door. I think the doggy door and decorations will have to wait until I'm not in so much pain. I have been working on the crit though (taking a break to write this).

As I sit outside with my laptop, the monkeys are enjoying jumping on the trampoline while I try to find a comfortable position on the wooden porch swing so my aches and pains are manageable. Yeah, did I mention trampolines are eeevvviiilll?

Yes, yes, I know. If I didn't suffer from OPMS (OverProtective Mom Syndrome) I could be sitting inside on a cushioned surface, but despite the protective netting around the trampoline, I can't bring myself to leave them out here without supervision.

At least I've gotten some crit work (and now this blog) done. I think I'll take a break from the crit and do some revising on WaM. Then I'll beg the children for sympathy and see if I can come back inside to finish working on the crit.

Write on.

Trampolines and things

We managed to get the trampoline set up yesterday. It started out warm . . . I even took my jacket off . . . but by the time we were finished building the beast, it was really cold and snowflakes began to fall.

Yeah, it took SEVERAL hours and it was horrible! Hubby and I are both very sore today. I think we're too old (or maybe out of shape) for this stuff. Still, the sun is shining today and while it is still cold outside, the kids are bugging me this morning to allow them to go jump on the new trampoline.

See, now this is what makes it worth it. I told them they couldn't jump until they cleaned up the house a bit. :D Oh, they are flying through the house like you wouldn't believe. YAY! I think I may have a clean house for the rest of vacation at this rate. Hopefully the desire to jump continues and they don't get bored with it.

In other news, if everything goes well, my first Toy Fox Terrier, Jewel, will have puppies in February. She only  had two puppies for her first litter and this will be her second so we'll see how many she has this time.

Writing wise, I haven't accomplished anything this week. I'm hoping to get to a critique (and finish it) today after I take down the Christmas decorations and replace the doggy door (it's broken and won't stay closed so our house was REALLY cold last night). So I've got to head into town soon if I plan to accomplish anything at all. But first I think I'll eat something and maybe have a shower. ;-)

Write on.

On the first day after Christmas . . .

my children gave to me, a headache from too much candy.

Yeah too much candy makes them hyper and LOUD so I've got a terrible headache today. Lack of sleep may have something to do with the pain in the head because candy also kept the kiddies up late.

But all in all they had a good Christmas. Oldest son decided he would take his DS games back to the store and trade for something else so we get to do that sometime today . . . when I get up an moving.

It was raining all day yesterday so we couldn't set up the trampoline Santa gave the kids (and it was raining the night before so Santa couldn't set it up either). We are hoping to get to it today, but it's supposed to rain/snow so we'll see. Right now it's cloudy and cold, but no precipitation . . . the kids are bugging me to go set it up, but DH is gone to work and I don't feel like setting it up myself so I'm trying to put it off . . . I'm hoping a trip to the store to see the deals and let big brother trade in his gifts (as well as some we got that were duplicates) will amuse them enough to forget about the trampoline for a while.

I'm glad it's over and I want desperately to take down the tree and lights today so I can get my living room furniture back to normal. I doubt I'll get to it with everything else I have to do, but we'll see. I used to leave the decorations up until after New Year's, but I want them gone this year for some reason . . . feeling desperate for less clutter and don't know why.

I'm looking forward to Monday so I can get away and have my hair done (cut and dyed). It will be nice to have some "me" time. Then for New Year's Eve, we go to my parents house for all night game playing. I have to discuss with hubby about getting a hotel room or two for that evening as there isn't room for us to sleep at my parents' house anymore (brother, wife, and children moved in with parents until they get back on their feet). I'm not sure how it will go and we may end up skipping the New Year's bash and staying home . . . though I don't want to. *sigh*

And now kids are bugging me about the trampoline so I guess I better get moving with the distraction. *wink*

Write on.

It's Christmas Eve day

Am I ready for Christmas? Almost. I only need to get oranges for the stockings . . . which I will do later this morning. I got a . .  Christmas bonus from my boss so I made an appointment to get my hair done (desperately needed) on the 29th. YAY!

I got all the shopping done, though after I came home from shopping oldest son decided to tell me what he wanted for Christmas . . . and it wasn't what we had purchased. *sigh* Oh well, that's what he gets for not speaking up sooner! I still think he'll like what he got, but if he doesn't, he can take them back and see if it adds up to enough to get what he really wanted.

I am feeling much better today so I'm thinking my blahs of yesterday were do to lack of sleep . . . but I really didn't sleep much longer last night so who knows. Anyway, I'm feeling better, and since I purchased the ingredients for the cheese balls, I'll be making them this morning so we can deliver them later today.

Tonight we get to set up the trampoline for Santa . . . cause you know he's way to busy to do it. It will be cold, it might be raining, but the joy on the faces of the kids in the morning will be worth it.

So, Merry Christmas or Happy (insert holiday you celebrate here) to everyone. Here's hoping 2009 is the year for us!

Write on.

Hmm . . .

I composed a poem about the holiday season but since I'm not much of a poet, I decided not to post it.

After this post, I am heading for the shower and then going into town for what I hope will be my last bit of shopping before Christmas. I have to purchase gifts for our oldest child, E, who never did tell me definitively what he wanted. So, I'm going to buy him something I think he may like . . . a video game, or a gift card, or something really lame that he will open Christmas morning and pretend to like.

We tried to get him his learner's permit yesterday, but, because I'm a terrible mother, I never got his name changed on his Social Security card after hubby adopted him. So poor E was not able to get his permit . . . but he was great about it and will wait impatiently for us to get the Government straightened out. ;-) Seriously, he was disappointed, but understanding about the whole thing and now I REALLY want to get him something good for Christmas, but he doesn't really "want" anything. *sigh*

I also woke up with a bit of a cold this morning (or maybe it's lack of sleep since my mind raced through a to do list all night) so my brain feels all fuzzy, my nose is slightly stuffy, and I'm tired. But I have to get the shopping done, not only for E's presents and the stocking stuffers, but also, the stores will be closed on Christmas Day and I think we ought to have some food in the house in case we get hungry and maybe want to eat something besides candy and oranges from the stockings. Oh, and the geckos need crickets to eat so I need to visit the pet store, too.

But I have to remember what Christmas is truly about and find joy and the spirit of the season (which was also touched on in the poem I'm not posting). I get too caught up in the pressure of trying to keep the whole Santa illusion alive for my kids (all but the oldest) until it becomes a burden and I forget I am doing this to make them happy. And I want them to be happy because I love them.

I need to remember I don't HAVE to do any of the things I do this time of year, and start WANTING to do them out of love. So I will get a shower because I don't want to offend my community. Then I will go shopping because I love my oldest son and want him to be happy, because I love my children and want them to be able to hold on to the magic of Santa a while longer, because the geckos are hungry and I love them, too, and because I want to make my traditional cheese balls for my friends and neighbors.

Write on.

Shopping with Snakey and D2

Okay, I just returned from the first of my shipping sprees. I took daughter two (D2) and Snakey (our nickname for the youngest) in an attempt to get things done a bit faster. I thought it would be like last year when D2 would hem and haw and have trouble making up her mind and Snakey joyfully and easily made choices.

But, it was a horrible adventure in which Snakey slithered up and down the aisles of the store, hissing about all the things HE wanted. I reminded him several times of his true mission but to no avail. It ended with him spitting venom and hissing until tears flowed. He did eventually choose gifts, but I'm not sure brother (he's 15) will enjoy the gifts much. The gifts came from the TOY section where Snakey insisted on looking. I tried to take him to electronics thinking he might be able to find something for brother's iPod, but Snakey would have none of that. *sigh*

D2 had D1's (daughter one) name. I expected HOURS spent browsing and the eventual setting of time limits in which I threaten she won't get to buy anything if she doesn't choose before time runs out. Surprisingly, she chose three gifts within a few minutes for within the set money limit! And the gifts were very well thought out and appropriate. D1 will be thrilled!

Now I get to take D1 shopping for Snakey while brother baby sits Snakey and D2. Brother will have to go shopping for D2 when Dad takes him to test for his learner's permit . . . or I'll take him later or something. But now it's lunchtime so I better get D1 to the store so I can get back and feed the hungry masses.

Write on . . . or shop on as the case may be. ;-)

Shopping spree

Okay, so Christmas is almost here. You'd think I'd be finished shopping by now, right? WRONG. My oldest has yet to inform me of his Christmas wishes . . . he's going to end up with a gift card or something lame if he doesn't speak up soon.

But he's not the only reason I'm not done shopping. We started a new "tradition" last year where we put the kids' names in a hat and have each child draw a name (not their own). It was supposed to be a "secret Santa" thing but they can't seem to keep from telling whose name they drew so it's morphed into more of a gift exchange thing. Well this year the drawing took place late . . . Friday to be exact . . . and today is the designated shopping day. I'm not looking forward to it as it means I have to make several trips to town for the shopping and then help each child wrap their gifts.

But I have to keep reminding myself that the kids enjoy it and I'm teaching them it is more fun to give than to receive. Hopefully this year our youngest won't tell his recipient what they are receiving (yeah we had tears over that last year because the recipient DIDN'T want to know what she was receiving).

Yesterday my extended family started a new tradition. We will have an annual gathering wherein we have the children perform a Christmas Pageant. This year I was designated as the director. I got the script Saturday and had about an hour to rehearse with the cast (ages 18-2). It was an interesting experience and I decided I'm really glad I only have four children to "direct" every day. But in the end, everything came together fairly well. We're planning a few changes for next year (and hopefully I won't have to direct again), but all in all, it was a success.

But now it's after ten in the morning and I have to get started on this shopping thing if I hope to finish sometime today . . . oh and oldest child is supposed to go to the DMV and test for his Learner's Permit today. . . yeah, I'm going to have a teen driver to deal with on top of everything else . . . *sigh*

I'm hoping to find time to get some work in and maybe even some revising on my new WIP done, but my hopes aren't high for either.

I hope all of you have a great Holiday Season and I'm sending wishes for lots of good news for all of you in 2009 (or what's left of 2008 for that matter).

Write on.

Honest Scrap Award

My blogger friend Bish nominated me for the Honest Scrap Award. What is the Honest Scrap Award? It is an award given to those who tell it like it is. Does this mean I'm rude? No. I'm honest (as those who've received one of my critiques can attest to).

I am honored to be nominated . . . but the award comes with certain requirements.

1. You must list ten (10) honest but interesting things about yourself (so I can't tell you I brush my teeth every night because it isn't interesting and I can't tell you I brush my teeth every night with the dog's toothbrush because it isn't honest).

2. You must present the award to seven (7) other bloggers.

I'll tackle the ten (10) honest but interesting things about myself first (if you don't find these honest truths to be interesting, tough for you, cause this is it).

1. After reading "How to Eat Fried Worms" in grade school, I ate fried worms. We flavored the worms with ketchup and mustard. No, the worms did not taste like chicken . . . more like dirt flavored with ketchup and mustard.

2. I acted in high school, college, and community theater productions as well as participated on the high school and college Speech and Debate tournaments (I won lots of medals for my efforts).

4. I didn't date much (I can count the number of boyfriends on one and a half hands). I attribute this lack of boyfriends to living in a small town where my father was a police officer . . . yeah, that puts a damper on the dating life. But I'm sure there were other reasons, too.

5. I wanted to be a ballerina and play the violin when I grew up. I am neither.

6. My family tells me I was always good at making up and telling stories. This was their nice way of saying I was a liar . . . I just embellished the truth a little.

7. As a child, I loved horses and always dreamed of owning one of my own . . . I still love horses and still dream of owning one of my own.

8. I am running out of interesting things about myself . . . Um . . . oh, I am afraid of ventriloquist dummies.Yeah, they freak me out, big time.

9. While I'm on the subject of fears . . . I'm terrified of those haunted houses/mazes/spook alleys/etc. people do for Halloween. If you want to see a grown woman have a melt down, just try to take me inside one of those horrors.

10. Come on, I have got to be able to think of one more thing . . . hang on, let me brush the cobwebs from my brain . . . I think I'm getting something . . . wait . . . nope, it's gone . . . oh wait, there it is again . . . I crochet, sew, paint, draw, knit (barely), raise/breed Toy Fox Terriers (I own two AKC Champions and am training a couple for the show ring), and, finally, people tell me I have a very good singing voice . . . but maybe they like to embellish the truth a bit.

Whew! I made it.

Now for the next part. I nominate the following bloggers (in no particular order) for the Honest Scrap Award:

1. Cindy Pon

2. whitehousemom

3. Amanda Marrone

4. Mandy Hubbard

5. Mindy Alyse Weiss

6. Meg

7. Robin

Now go forth my fellow bloggers and spread the Honest Scrap!

 

Write on.

Can this day be over now?

After my last post, I was informed the geckos needed more crickets. Grrr! I dutifully went into town and made my way through the traffic to the pet store. Once inside, the friendly girl at the counter (I sold her a Toy Fox Terrier so she loves me) sold me three dozen crickets. We chatted and I was happy and relaxed when I left.

I was about four blocks from home when my kids called to tell me, "the lady from the pet store called. You left your credit card there."

I had to turn all the way around and go back to get my card. It was only about six miles, but still, it was annoying. But I got my card, brought the crickets home, fed the geckos, and am now cooking dinner . . . yeah, it's late, but they're lucky they're getting fed at all tonight!

But as I'm cooking, I get a phone call from someone interested in purchasing one of the dogs I have for sale. So, now I'm happy again . . . oh, and my boss is letting me bring my box of letters home to read during the rest of the week "if I get around to working with the holidays". She's such a sweet heart. But I'm sure I'll get some work done because we could use the extra cash.

Write on.

Five Things That Did Not Make Me Smile Recently

This is from whitehousemom and her blog the buttered dog incident

1. My horrible day at work in which I spent two hours reading letters and summarizing their contents then hitting the wrong button and deleting the summaries.

2. Having to re-type the summaries I deleted when I hit the wrong button (I blame my stroke of non-genius on my lack of breakfast this morning).

3. Telling my boss I would be at work tomorrow and Friday then picking up my oldest from school and having him inform me tomorrow and Friday are finals and he has half a day of school both days.

4. Coming home from my horrible day and discovering my husband (yeah, the man of my dreams *roll eyes*) had used PERMANENT black marker to draw a mustache and goatee on my youngest son's face (thankfully he was able to wash it off).

5. After the marker incident, my oldest daughter reminded me she has a concert tomorrow at 10:00 (now she's mad at me because I told her I needed to go to work for the three hours before her brother gets out of school).

But I did have ONE happy thing happen:

I got some books I'd ordered from Amazon.com today . . . I was going to wrap them and put them under the tree, but I may dive in and start reading one of them instead.

Write on.

Ready or not, here it comes . . .

Oh yes, my friends. Christmas gets closer and closer each day. And am I ready? Nay, I am not. But from reading some friends' blogs, I discover I'm not the only one. However, some of them are much more prepared than I am.

Each year I am determined to have all the gifts purchased, wrapped, and under the tree long before now . . . but each year things don't fall into place until the last minute. Why? Heck, I don't know. If I knew the answer, I'd be able to get it together and meet my goal.

But things will work out. The presents will get wrapped and placed under the tree . . . well most of them. My oldest has yet to make up his mind as to what he wants to receive. Maybe he'll decide before Christmas . . . yeah, that would be nice.

I'm still debating the whole baking and delivering of goodies to friends and neighbors. And I only got a few of the Christmas cards on my list sent off. I'm hoping to pop more in the mail tomorrow.

Yeah, I'm ready for Christmas to be over. Are we done yet?

I've worked on a few more crits this week, but have had little time for improving my own work. But my time will come . . . hopefully soon. :D

Write on.

Contest

Lisa Schroeder, author of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, is celebrating the release of her upcoming YA novel, FAR FROM YOU, and hosting a contest with LOTS of great prizes!
For three days leading up to the book’s release date of December 23rd, you can watch VLOGs and hear some excerpts read from the book. The VLOG schedule is as follows:
Sunday, December 21st – Liv’s Book Reviews - http://livsbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22nd – What Vanessa Reads - http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, December 23rd – Lisa Schroeder, author - http://lisa-schroeder.livejournal.com/ AND http://myspace.com/writerlisa
Help spread the word, and you might win a fabulous prize!
Copy and paste THIS entire blog entry into your blog between now and December 21st, then come back to Lisa’s blog at either Livejournal OR Myspace and leave a comment with the link to your blog and you will get TWO entries to win a number of prizes.
Wondering what you might win? Here is the list (there will be multiple winners):
~ An Advanced Review Copy of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, by Carrie Ryan
~ An Advanced Review Copy of SOMETHING, MAYBE, by Elizabeth Scott
~ Young adult novel GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones
~ Young adult novel, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
~ Young adult novel, UGLIES by Scott Westerfield
~ Pair of YA fairy tale retellings by Cameron Dokey (BELLE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
~ TWILIGHT movie soundtrack
~ $15.00 Barnes and Noble gift card along with some Harry & David’s chocolate moose munch
~ And of course, a signed copy of FAR FROM YOU
For more chances to win, watch one or all of the VLOGs and leave a comment on that vlogger’s page, and you get another entry. That means if you post the schedule on your blog AND comment on all three VLOGs, you can have FIVE entries for the contest!
A live drawing with winners announced will be done by Lisa Thursday morning, December 24th, in a special holiday VLOG.

Working on it

My bosses sent work home with me this week because they are going out of town. I found I actually get more work done at home . . . what's up with that? Maybe it was a fluke, I don't know. But if I can get more done at home, maybe I should work from home all the time. I'll see if I get as much or more work done from home tomorrow and maybe I'll talk to my boss about working from home from now on.

I had a birthday on the 9th (as some of you know) and thought I'd share a moment. My youngest child (five years old) crawled into bed with me Tuesday morning, wrapped his arms around my neck and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom. How old are you?"

I replied, "I'm thirty-seven."

He hugged me tight and said quite seriously, "You're really old and will probably die soon. I'll miss you." Then he went on to ask me if he could have my stuff when I died.

Such a sweet child.?

In writing news, I've been spending my free time revising my Nano novel and critiquing work of my fellow writers. I'm enjoying it all, though I wish the revisions would go faster.

Write on.

Christmas, Christmas time is near . . .

It's true. It will be here before long. I'm not prepared. But I promised the monkeys we'd decorate the house today and I've procrastinated long enough. I must keep my promise. It wouldn't be that bad if I didn't have to CLEAN the house in preparation for the decorating. *sigh*

And the last two days have been chore free since I spent the majority of both days at the monkey's school running a booth at the Holiday Store. The house is a mess . . . and I'm not kidding. To let you know how bad it is, we don't have any clean forks, plates, or cups. The kitchen sinks are piled with all the dirty dishes waiting to be washed. The living room is a mess of boxes of decorations, baskets of clean clothes, papers pulled out of backpacks, and more. The dishes need washed, the clothes need folded and put away, the decorations need to be strewn across the house so the boxes can be put back in storage, the papers need sorted through, and the floors under all the rubble need swept and mopped.

I earned some extra cash for gifts so I suppose participation in the Store was worth it. Unfortunately, all this housework/decorating makes it unlikely I'll get any writing done this weekend. Even though I already anticipated this, I'm still a bit disappointed.

Then again, my yearning to write will be good motivation to get the cleaning and decorating finished quickly.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

 

Write on.

I have a face . . .

I gave in to the pressure and joined Facebook. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it so be patient with me, please.

I spoke to my boss today and we determined I will need to work five days a week in order to finish the archiving portion of the project by February. I told her I would give it a try, but she agreed I don't have to continue five days a week if it starts to stress me out. I love flexible bosses . . . but at the same time, I'm really going to try my best to stick to five days a week because I want this project finished as soon as possible, too.

I think I'll miss it when it's gone . . . and not just the extra money (which is always nice this time of year), but the learning about the "characters" in the lives of Fran and Irene. And boy did they know some "characters". *grin*

But it will be hard working five days a week and only having the weekend for my writing . . . and the kids are home on the weekend so it's quadruple hard to get writing done.

And where am I going with this? I'm trying to prepare you for the possibility of not having good news as soon as I'd hoped. I think I may have to wait until May/June to submit things.

Why? Because I want the writing time I do have to be spent in revising my new Nano novel. If I can revise AND prepare submissions, I'll do both, but the majority of my efforts will be thrown into revision.

I hope you'll forgive me, dear friends . . . but don't lose all hope for the possibility still exists I shall have good news by April/May 2009 (or was it May/June or June/July? *grin*)

Write on.

Creatures of the night, be quiet!

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Vampire   You are a social pragmatist, as likely to kiss as to bite. Your sensuality and social pragmatism is the counter-balance to your existential angst and your tendency toward depression.
Sorceror
Cthulu Spawn
Demon
Incubus/Succubus
Ghost
Werewolf
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Monday mopes

I'm going back to work today. Part of me is happy because the sooner I go back to work, the sooner I can complete the project and be finished. But the other part of me enjoyed the child-free writing time I had five days a week. *sigh*

But I keep reminding myself I'm only working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and will have two days of child-free writing time. Plus, the extra money will be a bonus this time of year. *smile*

The kids only have three weeks of school before Christmas the two week Winter break (they're not allowed to call it Christmas because not everyone celebrates). This means I will only have three weeks of work as we don't usually work when the kids aren't in school . . . but since it is a two week break, I may beg and plead to come in to work to escape the madness that is my children.

My oldest is fifteen so he can watch the younger three while I have a few hours of work, right? *grin*

In writing news, I stayed up late and finished doing the crit for my friend, Meg. I hope some of my comments and suggestions will be helpful to her. I enjoyed reading her MS and look forward to seeing what kind of changes it will go through on it's journey to publication. I'm looking forward to some other crits that should be coming my way soon (eh-hem, Tolk *grin*).

And while I will be unable to work on my MS this Thursday and Friday (already volunteered to help at the school), I will be able to dive back into revisions on my Nano novel next week for sure. After school today we will be decorating for Christmas . . . the kids are more excited about it than I am. LOL

Write on.

Home from the holidays

We arrived home yesterday. I jumped right in to making phone calls to all my family I didn't get to see (my side). Then I jumped into a critique I'm working on for a member of my group (see, I didn't forget, Meg).

I have some errands to run before I can jump into house cleaning, but I hope to get back to the critique later today. It all depends on how long the cleaning takes.

In other news, I've set some writing goals. I'm giving myself until April or May 2009 to have some good writing news to share. Not much time, I know, but I think I can do it. If not, I'll set new goals then. *grin* But I'm going to try.

I go back to work Monday, but I will only be working Monday thru Wednesday so I'll have two kid-free afternoons to work on my submission materials and get things out there. Hopefully I'll reach my goal.

Okay, maybe I should change it to June or July 2009 instead . . . *wink*

Now I'm off to run errands and do my chores.

Write on.

Happy Thanksgiving

I will be at the in-laws tomorrow and won't have access to the net so I thought I'd do my Thanksgiving post today.

First of all, I want to wish all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving. You all make my life a bit better and inspire me with your examples. So thank you all.

I made my own pie crust this year and it turned out to be the best pie crust I have ever done. I took a recipe and modified it a bit so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I'm now going to write it down so I don't forget because it is flaky, light and delicious. I know this because I made pie crust cookies with the left over crust and they were so yummy. The kids gobbled them up and last year they ignored them. *grin*

Right now, the pumpkin pies are in the oven. In about an hour (the pumpkin pies take forever to bake) they will be finished and cooling. I'm debating whether or not to make a lemon meringue pie. I do have more pie crust dough but I'm not sure if I want to mess with it at this late hour. Besides, my pie always gets watery under the meringue. If anyone knows how to prevent this, I'd be forever grateful. I've tried cooling the pie completely before adding the meringue, not cooling before adding the meringue, cooling the pie completely before refrigerating . . . and so far I've only had one pie with no water . . . and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

yummy pie crust, my family,   my writing friends, my pets, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, my non-writing friends, turkey and stuffing, a home to live in, happy phone calls, my fingers to type with (they do other things, too *grin*), my imagination and the freedom to express it through writing, rainy weather, happy children (don't much care for the unhappy ones *wink*), a free country to live in, my brother in the Navy and all the other men and women who defend my freedom, my new sister-in-law (welcome to the family, Jessica), money to spend (though I wish I had more), and the list could go on and on.

Write on.

Revising

The revisions are going well. I've deleted some and added some more. My word count is now 50,072 but I'm about to dive in to more revising. The sad thing is, I'm only on page four of the manuscript. But that's okay, my revising time has been in spurts and odd moments but Monday will bring child and husband free time in which I can concentrate on the novel.

I'm liking how things are so far . . . but as I said, I'm only on page four. *grin* I've begun hunting for an agent for my other novel . . . we'll see how it goes.

Write on.