So. This weekend was busy and I love when that happens. Especially when I don’t have the baby because it makes me nearly go stir crazy not running after him.

I got these shoes from Easy Spirit to try out and see what I think. Can I just say I totally love them? They are super ultra comfy. But I’m talking about that over at ShoeIQ today if you want to pop by and say hello.

Saturday I hung up the final two ceiling fans in my house. Well, the one in the living room anyway. When I took down the one in the master bedroom, I ran into some problems. Namely, the wires were coming out of a hole in the ceiling and the fan bracket was bolted into the joist. Uh huh. Great. So I made a call to the handyman and, being Saturday, I figured I’d just schedule and appointment for next week sometime. But he said he was out and about and working and he’d swing by. So he came, conquered, and got the ceiling fan up. WOO!

Then I knew I had to write. Knew it. But I avoided it like the plague. It was nother non-productive day. Very bad of me. I cooked dinner and watched TV instead. Mindless TV. I guess I needed to decompress.

I even went shopping because I had this $15 off coupon for JCPenney and I just couldn’t let it go to waste. I bought two new outfits.

Sunday morning, I woke up to someone’s effing dog barking its stupid head off at 6:45 am. HELLO! There are people trying to sleep! I gave up and got up at 7:30, made a grocery list and went shopping, coupons in hand. I’m trying to make myself use coupons lately to save some money. I even cancelled Showtime, much as it pained me, to save some money every month.

I did well at the grocery store. I didn’t go overboard. And I’m trying to eat healthier so I bought really good stuff to make salad with. Not that crappy bad salad that goes bad in like two days after opening it. It was about 9:15 when I got back, unloaded, and put things away.

I knew Half Price Books opened at 10 and I had some stuff to get rid of. I wanted to get the most bang for the buck, so I spring cleaned my bookshelf. I got rid of a bunch of hardback books, paperbacks, CDs, a couple of DVDs, some old Writer’s Digest magazines… I carted them all to the store at 10 am sharp and 45 minutes later, I had $130 in hand. WOOHOO!

I now have money to go to the movies and have birthday dinner this weekend. Very happy. I still have a bunch of CDs to get rid of, so I’ll be working on that in the next few weeks.

Then I made up my own salad and put it in Tupperware so it wouldn’t go bad and I can fix individual servings without having to get out everything.

And then… I sat down at the computer. I had sent the first nine chapters of The Book to a friend who is going to read and critique…and give me deadlines. I have four chapters due on Friday.

I wrote one of them from scratch on Sunday. Chapter ten is complete! Proofed it and got it ready. I made myself turn off the TV and concentrate but sometimes I have a hard time doing that in silence. So I turned on the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack and wrote my little fingers off…and had a few surprises along the way.

No matter how well you pre-plan, characters have a mind of their own and do things you never thought possible. And once things are done, you look back and think, “Yeah. They would totally do that.” The creative process is amazing, isn’t it?

Cooked dinner. Watched Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. No matter how hard I try, I am so hooked on those shows it’s not even funny. I’m glad for the summer break. Now I can get some serious work done.

Had a glass of port and put away the last of the laundry. And then it was time for bed. As of this week, I’m starting my new healthy regimen. I’m working out and eating better. I think that will make me feel better. Has to, right?

And can you believe it’s Monday? And the end of the month is quickly approaching? Make it stop! I need more time. But then again, if I had more time, I’d have more time.

Okay, folks, I’m off to work. Happy Monday! As happy as Monday can be, that is…

I just realized I haven’t blogged all weekend. I’ve been busy - yesterday and today. I’m actually working on the book from H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS. And making some good progress as long as I don’t get distracted by things like laundry and house cleaning. hehe

I have a deadline - May 31st! And I’m going to meet it if it kills me. I swear. I have to finish this book!

And don’t forget about the Chicas contest! You need to pop by there and make a guess sos we can award fabulous prizes on Monday.

So. My son has inherited a very large stuffed dog from his aunt. It was her daughter’s and I’d imagine she’s tired of it being in her house. I can see why. I mean, look at the thing! It’s huge! In fact, it’s as tall as my Sweetie Boy is.

When I arrived at his grandparent’s to pick him up, he came running out of the house with a big grin on his little face.

“Mom! I got a big dog named Spike. Come see!”

So off we went. I expected something large, but certainly not this large! For Pete’s sake.

The damn thing was so big I had to lower the back seat and stuff it in through the trunk just to get it in the car. But I got it in the car all right and it’s here now. Sweetie told his dad Spike lives in his room at my house. In this photo, Spike is watching Scooby-Doo with the Sweetie and they’re sharing snacks together.

Anyway, so apparently we have a new addition to the family. Spike the Giganto Dog.

Since I’ve had several late nights in a row, I took the night off to recharge and regroup. I have Saturday and Sunday to write so I’m hoping to get a big portion of the book done this weekend. Even though those last two ceiling fans are calling me to put them up… I’m going to forego home improvements this weekend for the book.

And yes, Devon, I want you to pester me. Crack your whip! In fact, demand chapters from me (even if you don’t read them haha).

I’m glad it’s Friday. I’m tired. I have a backache and my new shoes gave me blisters yesterday… Do you think anyone would notice if I wore my new $10 flip flops to work?

Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

Oh, and hey, we’re reading for guesses on the Chica contest!

AND the radio show is up in the archives. You can get to it here. Just scroll down until you see my name under “Shows With Authors”.

First of all - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FRIEND LARA! She’s also a new mommy for the fourth time, so congrats on that too, dear. HUGS!

1. Surf the ‘net. This is the ultimate in Time Suckage. I can’t think of a better way to blow an hour than by this. Call it research to make yourself feel better.
2. Visit MySpace. Add as many new friends as you can. This is another Ultimate Time Suckage. Call it “networking”.
3. Read and reply to ALL your email. Even if you get 100 messages a day. Even reply to Spam and tell them how much you hate them or really don’t need penile implants and/or things to make it pop up faster.
4. Rummage through the pantry/fridge/cubbard looking for fattening food you don’t need. When you don’t find what you want, start over again until you give up. This can usually take at least 20 minutes or more depending on how desperate you are to have chocolate you know you don’t have.
5. Look for podcasts. Even though you’re not a podcast fan, you suddenly have the urge to find all the podcasts in Creation, spend then next 20-30 minutes downloading them, and then listening to the hour plus shows.
6. Pet the cat until he bites you.
7. Rip CDs to your hard drive. Play them all back as you rip them.
8. Sharpen all your pencils, even if they don’t need it. Curse the cheap-ass POS pencil sharpener you got before you toss it aside and give up.
9. Try on and model your new shoes (all three pairs) for the cat.
10. Pause to make the plotting board for the plotting workshop you’re taking because, after all, this is “homework”. Make the squares as precise as possible using your yard stick. Yeah, totally anal.
11. Talk to your boyfriend/husband/significant other about nothing. See how many times he can tell you how exhausting you are and when he tries to hang up, come up with more things to tell him just to keep him on the phone and annoy him. Tell him things you’ve already said and then act surprised when he says you already told him.

Yeah, okay. So I have issues with time management lately. I’m pressuring myself to finish the book by the end of the month. Please, people. I need all the help I can get. Will you do me a favor and pester me about it? Crack those whips, folks. I need it.

So…my mom got her copy of A Bend In Time yesterday and she called and told me she read it in one afternoon. She said I needed to write longer books. hehe She liked it! She asked when book 2 would be out and I told her in print, most likely next April. “That’s too long to wait,” she said.

Actually. Not really. Especially considering I’m not done writing the book yet. And it still has to go for another round or two of editing.

Where’s that whip smilie? And speaking of smilies…why the hell can’t I get them to work anymore? Argh.

Oh well… At least I’ve completed chapter 9 of the rewrite! WOOHOO!

I stayed up too late working on The Book and then talking to The Man on the phone. I have one of those not-enough-sleep headaches and it sucks. So I stopped at Starbucks this morning and it (almost) made it all better.

Not much else to blog about other than that. I’m going back to hibernation now.

And hey don’t forget about the contest over at Chicas!

THIS IS IT! Today is the day! The book is out! You can buy it at Samhain Publishing or at Amazon.Com. I ordered a copy yesterday and I’m looking forward to holding it in my hand.

I also had the radio show yesterday and it went well. In case you missed it, you’ll be able go to their archives here and scroll down to “Shows with Authors”. The show should be up later today.

Also! I got my shoes from Easy Spirit. I love them. I do. They are super cute and super comfy sandles, but I’ll be doing an official review over at ShoeIQ.

I had a very short attention span yesterday. Imagine that.

And I’ve been tagged by Sara, so here goes!

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight random facts/habits about me:

1. I took 16 years of classical ballet.

2. I had actor Clive Owen in mind when I created my hero, Dane Fortune. I also had Han Solo and Indiana Jones in mind. So he has the adventuresome spirit of Indy, the smart mouth of Han, and he looks like Clive. Sort of like he did in those BMW short flicks that were produced on the BMW website. Yeah. Um. I own that on DVD.

3. I gave birth to my son at home with a midwife. Yes, on purpose. And yes, with no drugs whatsoever. He was 9 lbs and 0 oz and 22 inches long and I was in labor for 12 hours.

4. I drink two cups of coffee a day and add three of those small creamers to each cup. Actually, my cup could really be called a trough it’s so large. It’s one of those giganto Starbucks mugs.

5. I own about 10 collectible Barbie dolls.

6. I never dated in high school. Shocker, right?

7. My two favorite ice cream flavors: is Starbucks Java Chip or Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip.

8. I haven’t eaten red meat in nearly a year (not by choice).

I’m tagging:

Voodoo
Colin
BK Birch
Devon
Leigh
Amie
Dennie
Raine

Happy birthday to my big sister today! 

Hey, ya’ll, tonight is the radio show at Artist First Radio Network. It’s online, so be sure to tune in at 6 pm EST to hear me talk about my new book that will be out on Tuesday!

And also over at the Chica blog, we’re doing a week long contest of Name That Chica. So hop on over and read the daily posts. We’re all posting excerpts from work that has never seen the light of day and the reader has to guess who’s who. Winner receives a fun prize pack from us Chicas. Hope you stop by!

Sunday was a nice day. Spent the afternoon at Mom’s and she colored by hair for me. It came out great. I had said before I didn’t give a crap and wasn’t going to color it but I broke down when I saw the horrible roots and the lovely streak of silver through my bangs.

We had a nice dinner and a nice visit with Brother and Co. Then came home, got rained on, fed the baby boy because he was hungry, and put him in the tub. My niece and her friend found her “fairy dust” wand, I think, because there was tons of glitter stuck to my boy’s head. I scrubbed but couldn’t get it all off. hehe He still has glitter on his head. Those girls couldn’t help it. They are, after all, girls and ten years old.

Nothing much else of note happening. Other than laundry and dishes. And the start of another week. I did get my new dining room light up this weekend and it looks just freaking awesome. Oh and a new porch light is up too. It looks like a lantern and it’s cool. The baby boy picked it out - he said he wanted the one that looked like a Chinese lantern, though I’m not sure where he got that idea. Anyway, I’ll post pictures as soon as I can. I only have two more fans to go and then I’ll have all new light fixtures in the house! Well, except for the kitchen and I haven’t decided what I want in there yet.

I just love playing house.

Okay, that’s it for me. So don’t forget - radio and Chicas! Happy Monday.

 Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms, grandmoms, stepmom, etc. Hope you all have a very special, wondering, relaxing day with your children and they don’t drive you too insane. hehe I’m off to visit my mother today for a nice long visit.

Hug and kiss your mom today and tell her you love her. She will appreciate it more than any gift or card she could receive.

It didn’t rain last night - first time all week - and this morning it’s beautiful outside. I have the usual errands - bank, post office, Wal Mart. And the Sweetie Boy and I are hanging out the rest of the day. I’m going to tackle hanging more lights and another ceiling fan. Other than that… that’s about it. Maybe I’ll get some pages in today too.

I’m in need of vitamins so I’m going to get me some at Wal Mart. I’ve been super tired lately - so tired, in fact, even when I get enough sleep it’s not enough. A change of diet, the addition of vitamins and exercise are in order I think. The problem is exercise - when do I have time to do that? The only time I have would be early morning. I found a fitness DVD with five 10 minute exercise routines. You can do them all at once, or only one at a time, or whatever. Thinking about getting it. Of course, because I’m saying that means I’ll get it and then will never be able to drag my ass out of bed to do it. But I seriously think it’s time to make some changes.

Anyhoo…

Tomorrow, I’m off to Mom’s for Mom’s Day. She’s going to help me color my hair. Brother and Co. will be there. We’ll all bring a covered dish and visit and have dinner. And I’m doing NOTHING the rest of the day. It seems like there should be an extra day in the weekend, doesn’t it?

I am so glad it’s Friday!

Thanks for all the compliments on the cover. Yes, it does look a little different that the first one - it’s a difference artist. I gotta say, she did a GREAT job.

All my exhaustion and stress caught up with me last night. I was bone weary. Ever feel like that? The baby boy and I sat and watched Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? and saw the guy go for the million dollar question and lose. Man, that was tough watching him lose all that money. He went from $500,000 to $25,000 in one question. At least he had the guts to go for it.

Anyway. I’ve gained four pounds and it’s all in the gut. It’s making me wish for liposuction. I’ve been trying to eat better though. No more candy, no more sweets, no more grease. Lots of salad and low fat stuff. Things cooked in olive oil instead of butter. I’m even considering exercising, but you know, I’m not terribly motivated for that. I wish I could find a low-impact 30 minute aerobics DVD I could get up and do at 6 in the morning before going to work…

More rain last night. Sheesh!

Even though it was somewhat cool outside, I couldn’t stand it and turned on the AC.

And to my friend, Lara - I hope you and baby are doing okay! I’ve been thinking about you all day. Check in soon!

« Older Posts — Newer Posts »