Today is a day that only happens every four years…so make the best of it.

Can I just say I totally love this new blog? I’m thinking it’s a keeper!

Was I the only one bawling like an idiot at the end of Lost? And FINALLY! We got some answers. It was a great episode. Totally cool! I love Desmond. That’s all I’m saying – no spoilers here.

AND…the Stars kicked Blackhawks booty. They won 7-4. Brad Richards is our new guy and he had 5 assists. I think he was definitely a good addition to the team. I’m going to the game next Wednesday, so I’m looking forward to watching him play in person.

Plus the kid was in a pleasant mood, so it was a good evening all around.

At lunch yesterday, a co-worker friend and I went to Steinmart. I totally forgot about this store, but she had been telling me about some great deals she found there. So went went a lunch and I came away with another steal – Michael Kors shirt for $17. I was so happy! I can’t believe all the great deals I’m finding lately. I’m going to have to keep Steinmart on my list of places to shop.

When I got home from work, I had a nice refund check in my mailbox. That was a pleasant (and unexpected) surprise. Inching ever closer to getting me out of debt (even though I really want to blow it, I’m doing the adult, responsible thing and paying off bills. How boring!). But on the downside, my car insurance went up and I have no idea why. I’m going to have to call them and see what’s up. That was a bummer and really rather irritating.

Overall, the day was pretty bang up good. Shocking, really. I found good deals, the Stars won, I got money… all is right with the world!

I haven’t written much in the last few days. I’m sort of waiting for March 1. And now that I’ve started the story, Delilah has suddenly shut up. I will have to make her talk. Perhaps special dark chocolate will coax her out of her silence.

This weekend, we have a soccer game on Saturday afternoon and then we’re headed to the movies on Sunday to see the Spiderwyck Chronicles. It’s supposed to rain that day, so it’ll be a perfect day to get out and do that.  We also have a school project to work on. He has to make a Texas flag – which of course means, *I* have to make a Texas flag. It has to be bigger than 12 x 18 and the colors have to be done in something OTHER than crayon. Okay, so I have to get creative. I haven’t come up with anything yet. Feel free to toss ideas my way. In the meantime, I’ll be heading to Michael’s, Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart to see what I can find.

Tonight, though, we’re just hanging around together at the house. I love those evenings. They’re the best.

Oh, and I redid the fashion blog the other night too. I’m working on an entry right now about shopping smart (hehe) so when you have a chance, pop over here and check it out. I hope to have my post up sometime later today or maybe tonight.

I’m playing around with this new theme. It took me forever to get the sidebar all set up the way it was in the old theme.

I don’t know about it yet. I have some others I want to tinker with. Sometimes, you just need something new. Ya know?

We had soccer practice Wednesday afternoon and then we got home and had a relaxing evening. I didn’t do anything but mess with this blog. I didn’t even get any writing done.

While I worked on the computer, my kiddo played with this Battleground stuff in my office. I have orcs and knights and other miscellaneous battle implements all over my office floor. hehe I love that.

It looks like his dad will be out of town quite a bit for the next few months. That means the kiddo will be spending a lot of time with me. And you know that just really hurts my feelings…NOT. I’m very happy to have him. He’s the only boy allowed in my house. hehe

Anyway, not much else to blog about. It’s nearing the end of the month while means it’s nearing newsletter time. I guess I need to start thinking about that, eh?

I got another 1000 words in on the new book yesterday, but I’m not quite sure they’ll stick. Since I’m writing this one in first person from Delilah’s POV, I’m not sure it works from Sam’s POV in first. In fact, it feels…awkward. So I think for the time being, I’m going to ditch that part of it (save it for later, of course) and then keep going with Delilah and see what happens. It just feels natural when I write it from her POV.

Yesterday was just another day. Not much to report.

And… I’d like to say that I’ve finally launched my new creative venture! You can pop on over by clicking HERE to see it. I’m sure it’ll always be a work in progress until I get things really hopping, but for now that’s the look.

Yes, I’m taking a drive into fashion, something I love. Plus I have a couple of writers lined up to do spot features.

I’m excited about it and looking forward to getting it off the ground.

The end of February is fast approaching and I didn’t write nearly as much as I wanted to. Except I think that will be changing come March because I have a certain bet with a certain writer friend. Well, not a bet really. But our own personal NaNo in March. Maybe we can call it MaNoWriMo.

If anyone wants to join in with us, please feel free! We’re writing 50,000 words in March.

Okay, so I cheated, I already started with Sugar. I promise not to get way ahead, though. Maybe I’ll go plot or something… hehe

In other news… well, there doesn’t seem to be any other news. How boring am I today? I’m off to work!

This weekend FLEW by.

Saturday, the kiddo had his first soccer game. I froze my ass off. It was cold on those metal bleachers! And I forgot my chair and my blanket. Good thing I wore my heavy coat.

Our team won, 4-0. The coach of the other team looked strangely like Victor (Gabby’s second husband who was also the mayor) from Desperate Housewives.

Then I had to go grocery shopping which was somewhat of a beating. I had to go to the “big” Wal-Mart (that’s what the kid calls it – we also have a neighborhood market) and since I was there and didn’t want to go two places, I ended up doing all my shopping at once. Took forever it seemed.

Sunday was a leisurely day. I got up early, though, and cleaned house and did laundry. Then I rattled around the house for while, trying to decide whether or not if I should go to the mall. I decided to go to the mall.

There was something about walking into that mall that gave me a sense of elation. I’m not usually like this either. I usually avoid the mall at all costs. But today…I wanted to stroll through the shops and touch the pretty clothes. I felt almost giddy.

I got there early, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. I was in the mood to buy shoes, but I couldn’t find any that just grabbed me. I went through Nordstrom’s and found nothing. Then I went to Dillard’s and still found nothing. I’m not a fan of the square-toed peep toe. And for some reason, I’m hot to have a pair of red shoes. I can’t find any that suit me.

Since I hadn’t shopped for clothes in Dillard’s in ages, I headed to the women’s department. They have some really cute stuff out for spring. I fell in love with this Kenneth Cole Reaction black skirt with large white polka dots. Absolutely CUTE. Made even cuter by the fact that it was a size lower than I usually buy. I was so surprised (and not displeased!). Then I found this lovely trapeze shirt in this green and blue print from Michael Kors. Couldn’t pass that up.

THEN I found this cowl neck shirt from Michael Kors that I’d been eyeing since before Christmas. It was marked down from $70 to $17. I certainly couldn’t pass on that. I got to the register only to discover Dillard’s had closed my account due to inactivity. Figures. But it’s probably just as well. I bought the cowl neck shirt and paid cash for it. The other stuff, I let go. weep

Even though I’m aching for that skirt. I may go back in a few weeks and get it. Oh and this really cute summery Michael Kors dress… not sure it’s for me because it’s sleeveless and I’m not a fan of my arms because I think they’re way too flabby for that sort of thing… but I can’t stop thinking about it.

The clothes I usually buy range in the $20-30 range. I guess I was feeling extravagant wanting something that cost $150 (the dress). I haven’t really splurged like that on clothes in eons. And for some reason, I really feel the urge to have a very pretty dress for summer. Plus I have these gorgeous green sandals coming from Victoria’s Secret…

I also stopped into VS this afternoon. They were having a nice sale and I came home with some much needed under garments.

I got some writing done. I started Delilah’s story and it’s in first person. It’s a very different style for me but I’m having fun writing it and enjoying seeing her world through her eyes. That Delilah…she’s something else!

I also worked on the contest. I got all caught up. I’m not going to do what I did last year – wait until the very last possible moment and then work for hours upon hours getting the scores plugged in and what-not. Nope, not this year! I’m going to be prepared.

It’s going to be 80 today. Hard to believe! Then we get another cool front this week, which will drop it back down to the 50s. This weather is crazy this year. And I’m shocked we haven’t had any ice days. We probably won’t now since it’s so late in February.

Ah well. I guess that means we’re going to have a scorcher of a summer. Great. I can’t wait for that. (Please note: sarcasm)

Have a great Monday, ya’ll.

No time to blog today – running very late.

BUT I did watch LOST and it was very weird…

Paid bills and it was very depressing…

Thank goodness I’m drinking tonight.

We had great seats! Eight rows up from the penalty box just off-center from Center Ice. WOOHOO! We could see right down into the tunnel the Stars come down to enter the ice. It was AWESOME. When they warmed up, we stood at the glass and watched all the hotties skate by. 

Back in our seats, you can send a text message to the Jumbotron, so we quickly got our phones out. Best Good Friend’s said, “Dear Jeff H. It’s a boy! Love N.” I DIED LAUGHING. It was so freaking funny to see that scroll across the bottom of the screen, espeically admist the sea of stupid messages.

We had a really great time, even though the Stars lost. They played really hard in the third period and tried to score in the last two minutes, but it just wasn’t going to happen.

About 58 seconds into the game, Ott got into with Ignila. It was a hard-hitting fight and they both got a five minute major. But it sure was funny to watch. Ott pestered him the entire game, too. At one point on one of the face-offs, Ott was mouthing to the guy in his ear the ENTIRE time before they dropped the puck. And right as the ref did, he says, “You effer,” to the guy. We busted out laughing. And so did Ott!

Ott – we love you.

Gotta love those hockey boys.

Anyway, getting out of the AAC wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going ot be. We got right on the freeway and headed home. I dropped her at her car in Arlington and then pulled in the garage at 10:57 pm. I checked email and then fell into bed. I’m a little tired this morning but it was totally worth it.

I had to stop at Starbucks for a jolt of juice.

I have one last contest entry for The Shiela to judge and then I’m back to writing! YAY!

AND! Today is my mommy’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Mommy!!

That’s it for me…off to work!

GO STARS!!! 

I got my tax refund today! That was super fast.

I’m happy, though, because that means I am one step closing to being debt-free. I paid off my appliances. YAY! They’re mine, all mine. I don’t owe a dime on any of them now. Refrigerator – mine. Dishwasher – mine. Stove – mine. Sweet.

I’m relieved. I’ll really start to see the benefits of this pay off next month when I won’t be getting that bill anymore. Now if I can just get my darn electric bill down… I have a plan, so now I just need to stick to it. I think that’s the hardest part – sticking to your plan of action. But I’m determined to get this crap paid off just as I’m determined to write five books this year.

I managed to get another contest entry read this afternoon. Five down, one to go! I’m determined to get those entries done and off my plate. I need to get back to writing instead of messing around with the contest. I have characters calling and they sure are demanding!

Delilah is still talking to me. She wants to have her day in the limelight. She wants her story written. She’s telling me, too, that she and Sam had a thing when they were very young and very stupid. Now, fifteen years later, they hook up again. Except she’s a savvy businesswoman and he’s in the business of adult toys. Hehe That’s sort of the theme with all these Coffee House books – one of the characters has sort of a shady occupation (Claudia was a phone sex operator in Talk Dirty To Me; Cara was an ex-stripper in Nice Girls Do; and Graeme was a web designer for porn sites in Take Me I’m Yours). There’s just something very fun about these contemporaries and I really like writing them.

And Delilah just won’t shut up. Even though I have the time travel slotted for production at the moment. She’s not giving me a moment’s peace. Which means I’m going to have to jot down a few things about her story… Shh, Delilah! I’m working on it!

I wonder if other writers have that problem. Do you have characters that just won’t leave you alone until you finally say, OKAY! All right already! I’ll get to your story!

She’s been the most demanding yet.

Anyway. I haven’t had much progress on the time travel due to the contest SNAFU of mine and the entries I’m judging. I have to say there was one entry that was just so awesome I can’t understand WHY this writer isn’t published. Especially with all the crap on the shelves. THIS is not crap.

Anyway, It’s time for work. I am ONE day closer to my hockey game and girl’s night out! WOOHOO!

So. This weekend I discovered, much to my horror, that I attached the wrong score sheet to 50 percent of my entries. Isn’t that great? And I had already sent out the entries to the judges LAST week.

GRR!

So, this weekend, I got to redo all of the entries in FOUR categories, resend them to the judges, and explain what a huge dumbass I am. I feel like an idiot.  

Oh, sure, I know mistakes happen. But SHEESH! This was a dumb mistake. I’ve been having contest nightmares anyway, so this just really doesn’t help at all. Thankfully, most of the judges hadn’t started on them yet. And those who had, I’ve been working with to get their entries fixed.

In between redoing score sheets and sending a bunch of emails, I decided I needed to upgrade my Office. Ever since I crashed my Word last weekend, things haven’t been working right. So the kiddo and I went out to Best Buy this weekend. It rained most of the day on Saturday so I figured it would be a good day to do that.

Well, the store had Office 2007 Home & Student on sale. And then since my Outlook Express wasn’t really working right, either (I couldn’t get any of my mailto links to work with the email client), I decided to take the plunge and buy Outlook as well.

And of course the kiddo talked me into a new Wii game.

So I walked out of there $300 lighter.  Luckily, they have a “90 days same as cash” plan and I’m pretty sure I can get it paid off in that alotted time.

I have to say, I hated Office 2007 at first. But I’m finally getting used to it and learning where everything is again. It’s totally different from 2003. And I mean totally. Everything is a in a different place and it looks completely different. Very sleek. However, it makes more sense where stuff is. I’m still finding some of the things I use like forms. But other than that, It’s kinda cool.

Outlook is a dream come true. I so totally needed that program! I love that I can leave my email open and minimize it and it’s just down in the system tray instead of in the task bar. LOVE that. I love the calendar thing too. I can set reminders about deadlines and promo days and I never have to even THINK about it anymore. No more writing things down on scraps of paper all over my desk. I feel so organized!

And Office came with this cool thing called OneNote. I’m still learning it but as best as I can figure, it’s like an electronic notepad. You can store notes in there on all different kinds of projects. I mean, this is a writer’s dream tool! At last, I can store all my notes for my books in ONE place and it’s NOT in a Word document. How cool is that?

I’m hoping to make some very good use of OneNote. Oh – and you can copy and paste stuff from your email into OneNote, too. That just rocks.

So I think the $300 investment will be well worth it. Plus, I can write it of on my taxes next year.

Anyway, Saturday I spent most of the day on contest damage control and learning the new programs. I did some system maintenance, too, which was much needed. My computer is running much faster now and I think it’s happier. I have to keep this baby trucking until I can afford a new one. Hopefully within the next year or so.

Sunday was super busy. We got up early and I made cinnamon rolls. Then we went to church. They had their art reach program and some of these paintings by the folks in the congregation were AMAZING. It made me wish I could paint. The sermon was about art and gifts in our lives. Sometimes I feel like I’m there in the right place and the right time and it feels like the preacher is talking directly to me. It’s kind of cool. And I always feel better about myself and my life when I walk out of there.

Then we hit Great Clips because the kiddo was in desperate need of a haircut. I told him he was looking shaggy and he thought that was hilarious. He thought I meant Shaggy on Scooby-Doo. hehe We got his hair cut and he looks SO incredibly cute. After that, I took him to McDonald’s and then we hurried to eat because it was off to soccer practice.

Sunday was overcast most of the day. The sun tried to peek out every now and again, but it never quite made it. Plus, the wind was very cold. Standing outside at the park for more than an hour was painful. I don’t know how those kids did it. My ears were hurting by the time we climbed in the car to go home.

I finished sending off the corrected entries to the judges that afternoon. And answered lots of questions. I hate feeling stupid. I hate making stupid mistakes. I do strive for perfection and I usually come close. But this time, I screwed up. And when I screw up, it’s usually a big one.

Oh well. This too shall pass. I’ll just have nightmares until we get the final scores back.

And Monday has arrived once again. It amazes me how fast the time goes by. Time for work and school…

There’s this really cool feature with my new Word 2007, so I’m giving it a try. I’m actually TYPING my entry in Word and then uploading it automatically into my blog. That’s just awesome.

I have this character in my head pestering me to write her story. It’s Delilah. She’s telling me she needs me to get her story written because she’s ready to get hot and sweaty with Sam.

Chill, girl. I’m working on the historical/time-travel now.

But, she whines, my story is way more important than some stupid historical major.

See that’s the problem with characters. They’re so bloody demanding. I was talking with a non-writer today about this – the fact that I have this character talking to me in my head. And he thinks I need therapy. And that’s the problem with non-writers. They don’t understand the neuroses.

But then again, I think he has serious issues myself. We have a unique and very twisted relationship, he and I. And for the purposes of this blog, I’ll call him Boyfriend #1.

Boyfriend #1 is not a lady-killer, but he has certain appealing…qualities. He can be very sweet when he wants to be. Like yesterday when he showed up with a very large pink bag puking red and pink tissue paper. I couldn’t believe it. Inside, there was a shocking amount of goodies and a totally mushy card.

I was like, huh?

He proclaims he doesn’t have a girlfriend, yet he treats me like his girlfriend. Gifts at Christmas and now gifts for Valentine’s Day (which I still want to shun, by the way). We had a long, interesting discussion and the only thing I can figure is…he’s weird. He has certain hang-ups about relationships. I’m sure the string of Girlfriends From Hell had something to do with that. That and a long marriage that ended in divorce. So he has issues. But who doesn’t?

I definitely get frustrated with him. And then I remember – we are not a couple. We go out occasionally and enjoy each other’s company and that’s about it.

Then there’s Boyfriend #2. We dated for about a year and then broke up for four months. I had no intention of getting back together with him. You see, he has this very high-stress job as a restaurant owner and he didn’t have a lot of time for me. He couldn’t even pencil me in for lunch. It was one of the reasons we broke up. It drove me insane.

But then he called me. I made it very clear I wasn’t interested in a reunion and then something happened… I ended up going to see him at his restaurant. It sort of opened the flood gates. He finally asked me out to dinner and a hockey game (because hockey is my weakness and I really can’t say no). And I, of course, said yes.

I got to thinking. I don’t get everything I need from one. Why should I settle for that? So I decided I would give it another try…but I would have to lay the ground rules first. I told him I wasn’t sure I wanted to get back together, but I also wasn’t sure I didn’t want to get back together either. He can be sweet, too, when he wants to be.

We’re having dinner and hockey early next month and I told him he has to pick me up. He’s calling it our first date again so we can start over. But I told him he was getting ahead of himself. It was no pressure – and just dinner and hockey.

So yesterday… on Valentine’s Day, I thought of all of this. And you know what I came up with? I’m the prize. I’m the princess. And they’re going to have to work really damn hard to get me. Because, damn it, I’m a catch. I’m a single, independent, intelligent, witty, 30-something woman and DAMN IT I deserve better than some half-assed attempt at dating. As a good friend put it, make ‘em earn being my consort (I’m paraphrasing here hehe).

May the best man win. Whichever he may be!

Here’s how I feel about Valentine’s Day:

Yeah I’ve never been a fan. And yeah, I’m still boycotting it. Why should we acknowledge a day that is such…bullshit?

They had a thing on the news about how Valentine’s Day has spread to other parts of the world. Like Japan, for instance. However, over there, the ladies are the ones that give the men chocolates and flowers. Whatever. It’s probably because the men forgot.

I don’t know why I have this undying hate for the day. I guess because I’ve never once felt special enough to someone to make it a special day. I’ve never had a boyfriend or husband yet send me flowers on the day of. Besides New Year’s, I think I hate it the most of all holidays (actually, I don’t even want to call it a holiday – let’s call it a day that is only recognized by Hallmark, Helzberg, and Hershey’s). And what really pisses me off are the women to get shit on V-Day when all they do is bitch and moan about their husband/boyfriend. You know the ones. The ones that are a collosal pain in the ass.

I’m just bitchy.

I had several people ask me what I’m doing tonight. Um. Nothing. Why? I’m going to go home, cook dinner, spend time with my kid, watch Don’t Forget the Lyrics and then I’m going to bed. I expect not to get flowers or candy or anything resembling a heart.

Well, except from my kid. And he sort of spilled the beans about that anyway. I know I’m getting something from him because he gave me “a hint” the other day when he said, “Mom, I bought you a heart.”

Aw.

He’s a sweet kid. He really is. And funny. He does some of the goofiest stuff. Can’t imagine where he gets that from.

I’ve been brainstorming on One Knight Only. This is a much more complicated story than I originally thought. And I know it’s going to be way longer than the alloted 20,000 words. So I’m going to just not worry about it and write the damn book. I’m shooting for single title length. I think there’s enough story there for that. And I think it’s good enough to actually see the light of day in a Brick & Mortar bookstore. Don’t get me wrong, I lurve my publisher to death. I make a lot of money off ebooks. But I also have higher aspirations than that.

And I really just want to write books. Real books that you buy from a book store, that sit on a shelf, that you can hold and sniff.

I’ve been working on a new creative project. It’s going to take some time to get off the ground and I’m actively recruiting folks who can help me launch it. It’s a non-paying gig, though, so I’m looking for folks interested in exercising their creative muscle on something fun and fabulous (yes, those are key words here). It’s an exciting venture and one I think could turn out to be grand and eventually pay, but there’ll be a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved. We’ll see how that goes.

Must dash. Gotta get the kiddo to school and me to work!