Quote of the Day:
Sometimes, when you least expect it, something wonderful will happen to make your day turn around.

I survived the weekend!

And a rainy one at that. I swear, I haven’t seen so much rain in a very long time. We actually had flooding in areas. Thankfully, not mine.

My bro, sis-in-law, their daughter, and her friend all came knocking on Saturday. After watching the end of the hockey game (Stars won!), we headed to McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat and then off to bowl. Well, I had NO idea bowling lanes were so popular. I mean, I kinda knew, but… who knew? If I had known I could have reserved a lane, I would have. So, what I’m getting at here is the bowling alley was SUPER busy Saturday night and it would be an hour and a half wait.

We ditched the place and decided to head out to another one. Same story but it was a bit of a drive so we headed out there. We got there, checked in and…it was going to be an hour and a half wait! This from the strange little man behind the counter. He was kinda freaky too. So we waited. We let the kids play in the arcade and I think brother must have dropped a small fortune in there. But the kids had fun and that’s all that matters anyway.

FINALLY! Our lane is ready and we get to bowl. Oh man, it was so much fun. Brother went first and I think he got a spare on his first roll. Then my turn. I pick up the ball and hurl it at the little pins on the other end of the lane and…get a strike! After that, I sucked pretty bad. :hehe: But Sweetie Boy had a BLAST and the girls were so sweet to him and they had so much fun. It didn’t matter who won or not, just the fact we had such a great time was all that mattered.

And, apparently, at 9 pm SHARP the bowling alley turns into a disco bar. The lanes glow in the dark and they turn on the disco balls over the lanes and CRAP there was a lot of people in line to get a lane. All we wanted to do was cash out and get home.

It was pouring when we left and rained all the way home. We smelled like an ashtray when we got home (BLECH) so I threw all of our clothes in the washing and put the baby in the tub and washed his hair. I love the way he smells right out of the bath.

Finally, I got him in bed at 10:30 and I let him wind down and get to sleep before I crashed with him. Instead, I fell asleep on the couch until 1:30.

Forgot to mention another funny thing. While the family was here, Skater Girl and her friend spend a good amount of time raiding my closet. It seems Skater Girl is a Future Shoe Nut - a girl after my own heart. So I showed them all my shoes and there were squeals of delight and gasps of awe. So cute. They were cracking me up. Skater Girl would look at a girl and say, “Mine!” Her taste is strappy high-heeled sandals. And she’s nine! :hehe:

It was cute.

Sidenote: Why the bloody hell is the neighbor STOMPING on the floor above me? I mean, do you REALLY have to walk so hard?? Sheesh.

Anyway, Sunday – more rain. More staying-in-the-house and watching cartoons. I cooked a big breakfast and I don’t think the kid stopped eating all dang day. He must be growing. He was cracking up, though, asking for food every 5 minutes. Or so it seemed. I guess bowling takes a lot out of ya when you’re 4.

I made bookmarks this weekend! And instead of sending them to a printer, I printed them myself. They look pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself. I’m pleased with them. I put up five of my little postcards in the mail room of the apartment complex and when I checked the mail Saturday night – TWO were gone. HOORAY! I hope my advertising works. I’ve even though of printing about 230498234 of them and putting them on EVERY door in the complex. How do you think that’d go?

All in all, it was a great weekend. I’m disappointed it’s Monday already. And look at the month go! We’re starting the last two weeks of the month and today is the first day of Spring! Though it sure doesn’t feel like it around here. A bit soggy and cold for Spring around these parts.

Hope everyone has a golden day!
:coffee:

You’re 55% Irish

You’re very Irish, and most likely from Ireland. (And if you’re not, you should be!)

…it’s pouring… the old man is snoring.

Dismal weather today. It started raining last night and has been off and on all day. And it’s chilly too! BRR! My kiddo is kinda bored being cooped up but I have no desire to go anywhere. At least until time to go bowl which will be this afternoon.

So we’re holed up watching movies all day. It’s kinda nice, actually. Good thing I invested in a few kid movies. Otherwise, we would be watching the two he brought over and over! (Wallace & Grommit and The Polar Express)

I made bookmarks! I did the layout and design in Photoshop, then transfered to CorelDraw so I could print them on my little color printer. They look great! Still need to order those key chains. Will probably do that today so I can get them in and made. In fact, I’m going to go do that right now.

Upcoming dates to remember: I’ll be at SUITE Magazine promoting Ransom & Fortune all day on Friday, April 7. I may need to switch it to Saturday, though, so I can be off and on all day if needed. That date is still tentative. I’ll firm it up and post the final date soon.

Quote of the Day:
“Love is not finding someone you can live with, it’s finding someone you can’t live without.”
— Rafael Ortiz
(Ripped from Voodoo)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Friday has come and gone and since I am trying to be a good girl at the office these days, it’s no more blogging first thing in the morning. I will from now on blog in the evening.

Just as well. I have more to say at night anyhow.

We are this close to finish the contest! WOO! I am so happy. And while the work has been hard, it’s also been a lot of fun. I’m glad I got to be the coordinator for the e-submissions. A massive job, but well worth it and I’ve learned so much. Mostly about what NOT to do. :hehe:

Okay I found a place that sells the keychains I want so I think I’m going to get them. I REALLY want to have some fancy bookmarks printed up, but I need to save the cost and do them myself. Instead, I’m taking out a half page ad in a skating program with my postcard for Ransom & Fortune. I figured what the heck. I redesign it in Photoshop today and cleaned up the links at the bottom. They look snazzy. I can use all the promo I can get and besides the ad is not all that expensive. And full color too!

Monday night, I will be putting up my little cards in Starbucks. Wonder if that cute guy will be working that night…

I picked up Sweetie Boy tonight and he was happy to see me. I’m always happy to see him. He fell asleep on the way home though – which is only 20 minutes – and it took forever to get him to wake up. He’s been eating on two slices of pizza for about 30 minutes now. Kids. He’s skill coughing but I’m sure it’s just allergies. And tomorrow we go bowling! I can’t wait! My brother, Sysenlaw, their daughter and her friend are coming over and then we’re going to grab some dinner and then bowl. I haven’t done that in a LONG time and this will be Sweetie Boy’s first time. I borrowed the digital camera from the office so I could capture the moment.

And, in case anyone is interested, they are imploded a building in downtown Fort Worth tomorrow morning. I won’t be there to see it in person, but I hope I can see it on the news or something. There were a gaggle of folks downtown today taking pictures of the eyesore. It’s a butt-ugly building, peeps. Ah well.

Okay… gotta run. We have a movie to watch.

Quote of the Day:
You know what you gotta do when life gets you down?
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming…
–Dory, Finding Nemo

Well I’m still working on the high of having my cover art. It’s so fabulous. I just adore it. I can’t stop staring at it, nor can I stop petting it.
:loser:

I printed up my little promo cards and found some keychains online for a little bit of money. I’m ready to buy those and get started printed the artwork up for them. Then it’s off to print up bookmarks sort of as a keepsake. Since it’s a e-book, it’s kind of hard to have a bookmark.

Argh there is so much I need to do! And I feel like I’m running out of time. Luckily, the contest will be done very soon and the winners will be decided. Looks like I will still need to find a couple of judges, but other than that, we’re doing good. I have most of the entries check and validated their math was correct (let’s face it – some writers just can’t add – heck, I can’t!).

Had Sweetie Boy last night and we went to his favorite restaurant – Applebee’s! I don’t get it – the kid loves the place. It’s weird. He had his usual – a corn dog – and I had something new – a club sandwich. Not sure I really liked it all that well since it had a weird hickory sauce on it. I got full after only a half and brought the rest home.

The cat has decided since it’s nice out, it’s time to be frisky. And he wants to sit in the window when it’s dark outside. Silly kitty. I’m not letting everyone and their mother see me in here. I bought him a cat bed and he’s just almost too big for it. Not that he’s overweight, he’s not. He’s just a big old Tom.

And speaking of Tom – Sweetie Boy and I always watch Tom & Jerry together when I have him on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s fun. He climbs up in my lap and we cuddle while we watch it. He’s a sweet kiddo.

My left palm is itching – does that mean I’m about to part with MORE money? Or is that the hand that means I’ll be GETTING more money. Hm. I can’t remember. Hope it’s the latter tho.

And before I depart the area…here’s the little postcards I made up. I’m passing them out to everyone I can.

Quote of the Day:
I believe there’s a ghost of a chance
We can find someone to love and make it last
–Rush

I’m a little late blogging today because something exciting has happened! I got my cover art for the serial! Check it out!
(more…)

Quote of the Day:
What you can do, or think you can, begin it.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Okay, first of all, that quote today is just perfect. It’s just what I needed.

Second of all, RUSH right over and buy Denise’s new book! Her Passion is released today from Samhain and you can get it here! YAY Denise!!

And now on to business. Thanks to all of you who commented yesterday. It was definitely a bad day for me, but I’m better now. I felt like I was in one of those downward spirals. You know, the kind where you’re just not sure you can go on living. I’ve been feeling sorry for myself far too long and it’s time to make some changes. At least, that’s what I decided to do yesterday afternoon. My friend says it takes ninety days to form a new habit and I guess she’s right. It’s only been about two months, so I need to give myself some time and space and relax. I guess part of it is the unknown and we all know how scary that is. Having to support myself scares the crap out of me on a daily basis, but I’m doing it. I feel myself slowly moving away from that “old” life and into something new. Uncharted territory. I can’t worry about the future much, I can only think about today. And I mean the future as far as my life. I need to just write and live and worry about myself. I need to worry about getting those books written, sold, and the other ones promoted. That’s my priority right now. And that’s what I plan to do. And if some gentlemen decides to ask me to dinner, I won’t turn him down. (However, they’re not exactly beating the door down to get to me which is really okay. Boys are really kind of stupid anyway. No offense to my male audience. :lol:)

Anyway, after much thinking about the entire situation that is my life, it’s I made a few decisions this morning. To keep myself from stressing out about the amount of bills I have, I’ve decided to do a balance transfer and have ONE major credit card to pay off instead of two. That will help. Next, I’ve put away the other credit cards and I’m not using them under any circumstances (except the gas card and why the hell is gas so high still??). The last thing I do before I put myself on buying restrictions is – I’ve decided to buy an AlphaSmart. This will be my last big purchase for quite a while.

So, all you AlphaSmart users – which did you pick? The Neo or the 3000? And tell me why you decided to pick whichever one you picked. I’m leaning toward the 3000 for the price. It doesn’t seem to be all that different from the Neo, but I want to hear your thoughts! Just post a comment below or email me.

Last and certainly not least, had my plotting party last night and talked about my dragon book and Nice Girls Do. I have some great ideas for both thanks to my plotting team. I am now going to start rewriting the first chapter of NGD and change some things up. Make the hero a little more sympathetic and change up the heroine just a bit. I’m fired up about them both! I’m writing out my notes on the dragon book today and then I’m going to start on the revision of NGD.

The contest entries are still slowly rolling in. I’m getting there! As soon as I get them all in, it’ll be time to double check scores and figure out the winner. It takes time and it’s a large undertaking but I really am enjoying it all. And I’m wondering if I can scrape up the money for Nationals this year. Not sure I can, but I’m gonna try.

Okay, enough rambling. Can you tell I feel better today? :wave:

Quote of the Day:
“Yeah, but I do it backward and in heels!”
- Ginger Rogers

Is it Monday already? Again? My how fast the weekend goes.

Yesterday I sent out my first newsletter! But because it was through Yahoo Groups, it got all messed up. :yelling: So I am working on a new list from a website that Colin referred me to. Thanks, Colin! I know the newsletter is called “The Monthly Grind” (and no, it’s not what you think – get yer mind out of the gutter! I’m referring to coffee…duh!) but I may send out another quickie update next week with a sneak peek at my coming release. As soon as I get the code for the new newsletter, I’ll get it up on the website and then people can sign up. For now, if you’ve signed up, I have moved you over to the new list. Whew.

I worked on the contest all day yesterday. I got no writing done. But the contest was important and after about four hours of doing that nonstop, I had a raging headache. I managed to sit through Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. (As a sidenote, Desperate Housewives is getting rather bothersome with a few of the storylines. As far as Grey’s Anatomy, I’m highly annoyed Derek and his wife might be getting back together.)

This is a day, for sure. Without going into too much detail, it’s about the ongoing situational drama of my ridiculous life. Sometimes you have to let go of the past and accept the present so you can face the future. The problem is, I’m not sure I want to face the future. I’m not sure I can. OH, I know, I have all this great stuff with the writing happening. I have fantastic friends who love me unconditionally (though I know I must be getting on their last nerve by now!). I have a cat who likes to sit in my lap and purr. I have my own place and pay my own bills and spend my own money when I want and no one gives a crap.

But then there are the days where I think about everything that’s happened and is happening. I can’t write. I can’t sit down long enough to compose a frickin’ sentence, much less finish a manuscript. And it worries me. I want to succeed – I really do. But sometimes I just don’t have the energy and it depresses me. And I miss my kid and I feel like a total :censored: loser mom.

Sorry, folks. I best shut it up before this turns into another pity party.

It’s a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the bird’s are chirping, my wind chimes are hung.

I went to Wal Mart this morning and bought a vacuum cleaning finally. It is so nice to finally get the floor vacuumed! It’s much much better. Since I was in cleaning mode, I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen and started my laundry. I hate cleaning house but this place is so small it’s no big deal and only takes about 30 minutes.

Sometime today I need to get this printer hooked up and ready to go - it was given to me by a good friend. It’s color but I’ve got my eye on an HP 1320. Anyway I need to figure out where I’m going to put it as there’s not a lot of space left here in this little corner of the room. I have some filing to do, too.

Working on the contest today and I’ve also been thinking about Nice Girls Do. I’m close to getting back to writing. I can feel it coming on. Sort of like when you can feel a cold coming on, except in a good way. Does that make sense??

I need to catch up on my blog reading too. I’m way behind!

I made it! It made it to the weekend and it was the longest week known to man!

I have buyer’s remorse, so I’m taking back two of the three pairs of shoes. However, I’m keeping the Franco Sarto’s because they are so classy and so beautiful. And, yes, I pet them nearly every day.

Busy day today - have my RWA chapter meeting, which I always love. It’s fun to get together with the ladies and sit and talk, eat lunch, and then exchange ideas. Then this afternoon I’m getting together with another friend for an early dinner and maybe some shopping.

I got a new free coffee pot that has a timer on it, so before I passed out last night, I set it. I’m enjoying a wonderful cup of coffee this morning at my little desk. Oo.. time for a refill.

:coffee:

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