Okay… so it’s Saturday

I had every intention of getting up early this morning, but my plans were foiled.

I stayed up until midnight last night. No, not writing. Reading. I finished Confessions of a Shopaholic and it was great. I loved it! Now I’m on to Shopaholic Takes Manhattan. I can’t wait to read this book.

So I finally went to sleep – a restless sleep mind you (yes again) – and woke up at 6:00 am on the dot. :yelling: I managed to get back to sleep and woke up again to the smell of coffee (I did remember to set the coffee pot last night). But even that couldn’t rouse me from my bed. I fell back to sleep and woke up at 9:00 am! Okay, clearly I needed the sleep, right? I’m still tired, though.

OH, and yesterday I got my first royalty check from Samhain Publishing. When I saw the check in the mailbox, I was happy that I had the money but I never expected it to be very large. So I was really in no hurry to get it open. I got in the apartment and did all my normal things and finally ripped open the envelope…

…and nearly fainted. The statement showed I sold 192 books in July. 192 books, folks. I was flabbergasted. I had NO idea! And the check was no paltry sum either. I sat down hard at the dining room table, holding the statement in one hand and the check in the other, glancing between the two trying to decide if I really was seeing what I was seeing.

Wow.

My hands started to shake and then suddenly I realized – I worked hard for that money and I made it all on my own. And it’s mine. And I don’t have to share with ANYONE.

I nearly wept.

So I had every intention of getting to the bank this morning, but I never made it because I got up so late and did some much-needed computer maintenance. I fixed a printer driver error I had been getting, uninstalled software I didn’t need nor use, and then defraged the hard drive. Now I need to burn some CDs and get rid of information I don’t need and back up the information I have so I don’t lose anything. And as I was doing this, my phone rang and it was an old friend I used to work with. We yakked for about an hour. I hadn’t talked to him in ages and it was great to catch up.

By the time I hung up with him and finishd the computer maintenance, it was 10:30. I went to the post office and swung through Office Depot to drop off a used toner cartridge and get my free ream of paper. Then it was on to DSW Shoe Warehouse becuase I had decided I would put half the money into my money market account and the other half I was going to buy shoes.

I walked up and down those aisles forever looking at all the shoes. Tried on a few pair I liked, but nothing was jumping out at me. Nothing was calling my name. I had two pair in my hands and put them both back. Can you believe it?

I went over to the mall instead and checked out Nordstrom’s. But I got the same feeling there. Nothing jumping out at me and no warm fuzzies on any of the shoes. So I figured I’d head over to Dillard’s because they have a great shoe department too and…same thing. I ended up buying a birthday present for my son at the toy store.

Ah well. I figure I’ll hang onto the money for a bit. Put it in the bank and let it sit. Because when I buy that pair of shoes with that money, they are going to be shoes that make me gasp for air, have heart palpitations, and literally know I can’t live without them. Silly, huh? I really want a pair of Manolo’s but I don’t have enough for that yet, so I’m waiting. Perhaps I’ll sit on the cash, earn some more and THEN get that pair.

Oh I don’t know. And this is how it is when I get unexpected money that isn’t already allocated. I can’t make up my mind. But you know, that’s okay. And now I’m going to go write. Because I’m darn close to finishing Nice Girls Do. And that’s just another sale right around the corner.

(And don’t forget you can still get Talk Dirty To Me!)