Rainy Icky Messy Day

Boy, the rain is really come down out there this morning. It's a wonder I have a net connection at all. For the past twenty minutes everytime the thunder grumbles Mini says, "Quiet 'under!"

I've been patiently waiting for the phone to ring. I kinda suspect hubby will get rained out today. I text'd him earlier to find out, and I'm surprised I haven't heard back from him by now. We will see...

I've been working a bit on my vampires this morning. I got wrapped up in the India story last night, but I can't seem to get anywhere with it. I think I need to distance myself from it for a day or two and try again. Sometimes I get a little too bogged down in the details; I glop them on in the way you might add too much whip cream to an ice cream cone. Cream just start running down the sides and you can't see the ice cream anymore. I write like that on my first draft, and I can't seem to grasp my original focus on this wip. Too many toppings. Too many details. Sooo...I'm on with the vampires and Serge's story.

In Wicked Temptation, Serge was a bored bystander at the Vampire debutante ball. He stood around chatting with Dominic Lisandro until he found something pretty to chase around the party. You get the idea of his character from that. He likes "pretty", but he gets bored easily. There's nothing quite so moody and spoiled as a 500 year old playboy. Now pair him with a human who is very good at playing hard to get...

The story should be interesting if nothing else. ~_^

On another note: a bit of friendly promo! Be sure to set your calendars.

Starting early Friday February 22, 2008, authors Zinnia Hope, Adelle Laudan, and M.E Ellis will be chatting throughout Saturday the 23rd until whenever they decide to stop the party. The chat will take place at Zinnia’s Yahoo group. To join, please visit her blog: www.zinniahope.blogspot.com

Prizes will be given away, excerpts posted, and they will chat about their writing, their ideas, their new releases, past titles, and answer questions about their careers in publishing.

Come and join in!

Sounds like lots of fun. :)

I should really get back to the vampires while they're still talking to me. (They don't wait around!) Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Aromatherapy Wednesday

I got the 2008 La Tech Spring classes guide in the mail yesterday, and while sorting through the Continuing Education classes (like sewing, digital photography, flower arranging, etc.) I saw they had a novel writing class going on from mid February to March. The class fee is really low, so I'm thinking about taking it just to see what it's about. (If I can somehow find the time to do it.) Sometimes those classes and workshops can be really motivational. *pondering*

I've printed up the India story again, and once I got through with a post draft for the MMC, I sat down and red penned it while Mini had lunch. Boy that wip looks like someone dropped a red bomb on it. Yikes!

I've also started working here and there on the vampires again. They aren't being too friendly with me right now - I guess they're still miffed at me for putting them aside to finish my edits. Pesky vampires. You'd think if you'd show them a little neck they'd come running, but nooooo.... :P

I started reading a new book yesterday: Retrieval, by Jeanie London. (TOR Paranormal Romance) I haven't read enough to really tell what is going on, but the heroine Nina apparently had some gift in life that allowed her to see which souls go to heaven, and which souls go to hell. So, in the afterlife, it's her job to escort souls along The Passage to Purgatory. However, the forces of good and evil are now battling for control over the passage, and Nina is about to find herself stuck in the thick of it - which sexy (newly dead) Soul Retreival Unit officer Roman. I'll post more about it one I've read the book. *thumbs up*

Only two more days until it's Friday, so hang in there, ya'll! I hope you have a great Wednesday! ~_^

Rainy Tuesday

I missed posting yesterday. So much was going on, I just didn't have the time. I have most of Mini's room tiled now. By the end of the week I should have that end of the house finished, and I should be ready to start on the living room. Anyway, I started Mini's room yesterday, got most of the way through, and had to stop so I could take him to his doctor appointment. The earliest I could get him was for 4pm yesterday, and he's been sick for a little over a week.

Today Mini's feeling much, much better... he's eating and romping through the house like normal. What a relief! He hasn't seemed like himself in ages. I'm trying to catch up on some of the housework and laundry now that I am unchained from the rocking chair for a bit. Geez, is the laundry EVER done?

On the writing front, I need to spend some focal time on the India story so I can finish it and get it out. I have it all written, and I've tweaked it some, but it still needs rewriting here and there. Fleshing out, I guess you could say. It's still pretty sparse in places.

Well, that's it for me today. I need to finish up chores before Mini gets ready for a nap. I hope you all have a pleasant day!

Candles and Balloons

Happy Birthday, Hubby! *big kiss*

Mr. Hubby turned the grand ol' age of 35 today. :) We celebrated with an oreo cake, and by watching him open presents. He got his #1 gift request - Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 (among a few other things) - so, as you can imagine, we've been watching Kill Bill all evening. Hehehe! What can I say? If hubby's happy, I'm happy. ~_^

Now the day is winding to a close and the house is a mess. Mini is still looking for "his" presents. (Sorry Mini!) And Oldest is whining because I'm making him go take a bath. :P Tomorrow I have mega cleaning to do, (which will have to wait until I bring Mini bear home from the doctor) but the upside is my edits for Twilight are finished - YAY! So, while I'm working on all my chores tomorrow, I'm going to carry a notepad around the house and start scribbling new story ideas as they come to me. *evil grin*

Hope you all had a snazzy Sunday! ^_^

Saturday Play Day!

*runs amok* I plan to have fun and relax this weekend. Shame on me!

I got my final round of edits for Twilight earlier this evening. I've flipped through the manuscript and accepted all the quicky changes, but I'm saving the more in-depth, writey fixes until in the morning. Er, well, dawn at least. It's about twenty after midnight right now, and my daily focus ran out hours ago.

Friday morning I woke up and we had ice on the patio! Also on Mini's overturned wagon, and the windshield of my Jeep. I waited on going my daily rounds until about noon - the ice had all melted by then. I bundled up Mini and we went through the drive thru at the bank, and then hopped over to the post. It was pouring rain by the time we made it all the way through town. I bought the rest of the tile I needed, and Mini found a tractor toy he couldn't bear to part with. After that it was back home for us. I do not do cold well.

I worked on tile a bit today, but I'm still not 100% recovered from ick and after messing up two of six tiles, I decided to call it a day. I'll work on it when my brain cells have fully recovered. :P The main thing is the tile is there for when I need it.

So that's it for me today. I'm about to pop in a copy of Resident Evil Extinction and watch it while Mini's sleeping. ^_^ Oh! And in honor of my first full day of slackassedness in I can't remember how long, I propose a quiz!!

Your Kiss is Black

Your kisses are amazing. You put a lot of effort into your kissing technique. You are a perfectionist, and you never leave any kissing detail to chance. When you're kissing, you like to be in charge. You don't enjoy someone else taking the lead. You know you're the best kisser. In fact, you're often disappointed by how other people kiss. Kissing Type: Thoughtful People See Your Kisses as: Amazingly unreal You Kiss Best With: A Pink Kisser Stay away from: A Green Kisser

What Color Is Your Kiss?

Whoa! I thought my kisses would be pink, although I'm not really sure why I thought that. Ah well. The soul is a rainbow, right? :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

Friday Already?

Somehow this week I missed the Friday countdown. I could've stayed in bed all day yesterday, but Mini did so well til about 8 AM I wasn't going to push my luck. I got a call Wednesday evening from Mom, who just wanted to let me know my aunt was staying one extra day before heading home to TX. Since I felt well enough to actually stumble out of bed and make my own coffee Thursday morning, I told her I'd pull everything together, check to make sure Mini isn't running a fever and we'd come to see her.

That was the grand plan anyway. First order of business: a shower. No way I could leave the house with dirty hair. All in all this sounds like a simple thing, but with Mini it's a two step process. I have to freeze myself to death with an open door shower so I can keep an eye on him while I'm in there, and then I have to put him in once I get out because he is determined it's "his turn". :P

Surprisingly enough, I had Mini in and out of the tub in no time flat. He's also acting perky, no fever, though he still looks pale and a bit weak eyed. You can tell by looking that he's sick, or more like he's getting over being sick. I get him dried, in a fresh outfit, shoes on...voila! There's my Mini Prince! Now, I just need to dry my hair and we can go.

Now this is the true act of congress: drying the hair. Mini is terrified of the hair dryer. I send him to the living room where he wails the whole time I'm drying. Afterward, to make me feel even worse, when I shut the dryer off Mini shouts through the house at me in his little quivery toddler voice, "Good job, Mimi!" *sigh*

I tame my hair into something other than a frizz ball, put my boots on, and come into the dining where I down the last of my coffee. I'm about ready to go at this point. I grab my cell phone to put it in my purse when suddenly Mini comes walking out of the den. "Mimi, I'm sick!"

BAAAAARF!

*_*

He freezes. Eyes locked dead on with mine, he takes a deep breath, wails, and promptly barfs again. Oh, jeez...

I crouch in front of him, take him by the arms and hold him upright while he makes a puddle at my feet. Oy. Thank goodness for Doc Martens. Out of date, perhaps, but the hard leather protects! My sneaks couldn't have withstood Toddler Pukefest 2008. After that mess, I'd have tossed them in the trash. Seriously.

By some miracle of fate, Mini didn't get any yuck on himself - only me. I quickly wash him down with baby wipes: face, hands, tips of his shoes, and carry him off to the den. At this point, I'm thinking: No grandma's house today. Mini, I'm not sure if he sensed what I was thinking or what, but he started crying for "gramma's house!" This goes on the entire time I'm going over the floors with towel, mop, and Swiffer.

After I get everything settled (including my nerves) I walk around with Mini patting his back. It seems like after he did his thing he's feeling tons better. *_* I keep an eye on him for a short while after that, and since he's still expecting to go bye bye, I change clothes and decide to chance the trip to Mom's.

Granted, Mom lives 20 minutes away, but I truly thought Mini would hurl in the Jeep because of all the twisting roads. He surprised me. Second time that morning. He got to Mom's, warily eyed my Auntie who he decided must be a Gramma too, and went about the house like he owned the place. Two minutes into his expedition, he means to step around a cluster of paint cans and promptly knocks his cheekbone against the edge of the bathroom cabinet. *chaos* *bedlam* *hen frenzy* *sigh*

By 10:30 AM already I felt like I'd run a marathon. Once we got Mini calm, Mom and Auntie dragged me around the house to look at the gorgeous paint work they'd done in the bedrooms - it truly does look fantastic! - and mom couldn't wait to show off her new furniture and appliances. The place is finally starting to look like a home, and boy - it looks so much cleaner and fresher now that they've had their hand in it.

After going on the grand tour, I plunk down at mom's new dining table, and sit there in a semi-coma state while Auntie and Mom tell me about the curtains - which are gorgeous! - and my Aunt's enchanted discovery of the discount store FRED's. ^_^

Auntie bought mom an alarming number of house warming gifts at Fred's, which I thought was very sweet of her. I'm listening to her tell me about this canister set, and something to do with mini-blinds and a cake serving dish (?) when suddenly she looks at mom and says, "We have to make another trip there before I head home. I want to go back and pick up a few things for myself." Yikes! I hear her credit card groaning already. *lol* If there's any genetic trait I've taken from my Auntie, it's her insatiable drive to shop!

It was a nice visit, and I'd anticipated Mini having a cow on me when it was time to leave. Surprise #3 for the day. I asked him if he was ready to go, and he says, "Yep, go home." He shouts a quick "Bye, gram!" to mom, and another "Bye Gram!" to my Aunt, then I'm chasing him before he can run out the front door on his own.

I gave him a few baked chips to snack on during the ride back to our house, and by the time we'd cleared the train tracks marking the exit from Mom's community, I can't hear Mini munching anymore. I glance back and he's fallen asleep in the car seat. Poor lil beast. He looked completely exhausted. I swear he had purplish shadows under his eyes.

I felt so drained the rest of the day.... I put Mini to bed when we got home, and after I went through the house, turned on heaters, picked up this and that, I went to take a nap with him. I betcha I snored the house down. :P

Today I have to run to the post and take care of weekly errands. *groan* At some point I hope to write something - a paragraph even! I don't even care if the resulting paragraph sucks a big one, I just need to write something before I have a wip withdrawal meltdown. (Is there such a thing?)

Well, it's 2AM and my Alkaseltzer Cold Plus is kicking in. Heh. I better get to bed before hubby wakes up in an hour and finds me face down on the keyboard. :P He'd probably take pictures of me or something...

Here's to Friday! *cheers* I hope you all have a great day!

Never Again

Sick. Sick. Sick. I'm living off of Alkaseltzer Cold Plus right now. I'd be fine, but the body aches and occassional chills are seriously getting to me. Last night Mini was so miserable I didn't know what to do. I ended up sleeping on the couch with him, but he was feverish and I couldn't rest because I was just too darn hot. He woke up crying around 5 AM, and my back was so stiff I couldn't even lift him. Hubby had to come in and take over. I snuck off to bed, and bundled up in our "kitty" blanket - one of those fuzzy throw blankets. Jaquard? I think that's what they're made of? Anyway, I don't know what it is, but those are the only ones that seem to help combat the chills when I'm sick. I swear by it.

Hubby has missed work most of the week. He went to the doctor today, and all I can say is NEVER AGAIN. This doctor was recommended to us because he's in our town and therefore closer. In all honesty, I've never met a bigger asshole in my life. And it takes a lot for me to say that about a person.

First thing, he sniped at hubby for not having insurance. Ok. I understand hospitals and doctors are finicky about this now. However, I figured since this is a private "country" practice and we're paying cash at the visit, what difference does it make? But since he wants to make an issue of it, the jerk can just make a note on his chart that we're one of those millions of middle class families that fall through the cracks when it comes to private insurance.

But that's just the tip of iceberg. The man seemed really hard pressed to talk to hubby. He would ask questions, but wouldn't give hubby the chance to answer them. He kept asking hubby if he was "sure" he didn't have a sore throat; but when hubby assured him, no, he didn't have a sore throat and asked why, the doctor wouldn't tell him anything. Overall the doctor seemed harried and irritated, and kept coming and going from the room every two minutes. Well, safe to say we won't be going back there - ever!

We don't go to the doctor often enough to keep a family physician - too, the turnover rate for doctors is very high in our area. However, I have never seen a doctor with such a lousy bedside manner. Shocking. Yes. That's the word I'm looking for. His attitude was a real eye opener.

On another note, I haven't seen my aunt yet! She's staying with mom but we've all been too sick to go see her. I'm definitely in no shape to drive. I'm hoping she'll stay til the end of the week so I can take Mini-beast out to see her before she leaves. :S

That's it for me. Nothing new or exciting. I've been staying away from the wip because I can't seem to focus on anything for more than two minutes. This post is a fine example. It's taken me forever to write it!

Happy Wednesday! I hope you're all fairing well.

Yip Yip Yip Yip

Today there is a guest blogger over at the Midnight Moon Cafe. Mima has written a really awesome article about runes, so please if you have a few minutes or just an interest in the topic stop by and take a peek.

I have one chapter left to go and I will be done with this round of edits. I'm going to try finishing that one up this morning before I bundle up Mini and take him for a ride over to his gram's. My aunt is coming in for a visit (she lives in TX), and is planning to help mom make curtains for the house since mom seems so inclined to make them rather than buy them. Auntie will be staying for the week, so I want to get the kids over there to see her as much as possible. She hasn't seen Mini since he was 6 months old. He'll be 3 in May. Long time no see, eh?

After we're back home, I'm going to print up the India story for red-penning round two. I think I may have to fire this one off to my crit partner for a look-see. I've made the ending much stronger, but I'm still not totally ready to send it in. It still needs more polishing.

After that, I'll be finished with everything pending and so I'll be free to toy around with the vampires some more, or find something else to work on since they stopped talking to me after I told them I had to work on edits. Moody vampires. Give them an inch... :P

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

UPDATE: 1:32 AM - First round "Twilight" edits are DONE! *confetti*

Hazy Sleepy Sick N All That

So the tile work is postponed. Hubby came up to me yesterday and said, "Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Okay. Truthfully, I thought he was joking, and so I said in meh silly, sexy-wife voice, "It's just you, baby." I hugged him after that, and realized he was burning up with fever. Hm...

He's zonked on the couch now, snoring the house down and sleeping off his cold meds. This past Friday the guys had to work in the rain for half the day, and what with the way it's been frigid effing cold for the past two weeks, I knew, I just knew come Saturday he'd have the ick!

Sunday he was absolutely miserable with it, and I tried telling him to just go to bed and not even bother to set the alarm. He had that feverish look in his eyes, a cross between zombie (ha!) and two day drinking bender. He'd been in a good mood all day, but by the evening he seemed so drained. Finally he went off to bed, and I thought I could relax a bit - it's a bit like walking on eggshells with someone sick in the house. You just want to keep them comfortable, and everyone out of their hair. However, once again, Mini didn't want to sleep. He's heavily protesting/rebelling against having to sleep in his toddler bed.

So there you have it: when I should've been relaxing, I was up with him watching Noggin. At around 9:30, I gave up trying to convince him to sleep, and went into the dining room to work on edits. Mini finally crashed around midnight, and I attempted to sleep as well, but it was already so late I went for broke. I wrapped up two full chapters of edits and called it a night at 3 AM. If nothing else, when I dragged out of bed this morning at 8, I felt like I'd actually accomplished something. :P

60 Years of Marriage

(Hubby sent this to me. Being married and a doll collector, I can appreciate! ~_^ If you've you've heard it already, just ignore...blah blah...)

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about it.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.

'When we were to be married,' she said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?'

'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

Heh. I can only imagine that lil old lady must've been hot stuff with that crochet needle. I can picture her in her rocking chair, giving hubby the evil eye over her project, working rows up a storm. ROFL!

Off to work on the edits for a while. May your Monday be warm and cozy!

Making Up For Friday

glitter-graphics.com


On Friday I had both boys home with me due to Professional Day for the seniors at Oldest's school. I had to run errands, and Oldest was a big help looking after his brother. We did the rounds: bank, post, library, shopping, and afterward we went to McD's. I'm not sure how the time got away from me, but it was four-ish by the time we made it back home. Mini was in a snizz for lack of a nap, and I think Oldest was as ready to get out of the car as I was.

Hubby made it home early being it was Friday - they get off work around 3 on that day - and by the time I got the kids wrangled, laundry on, and the dishes put away I was too darn tired to blog. :P

I went to bed early, but the minute hubby hit the sack with me, and the Mini monster was in his toddler bed next to us, any hope for a night's rest came to a complete and utter end. Mini, who was on his second wind, would NOT go to sleep, and hubby was snoring the house down by the time his head touched the pillow. I ended up taking Mini into the den, and we stayed there until well after midnight.

I don't remember actually going to bed. I was that tired. But when Mini abruptly woke around 3 AM and leaned over to the bed where I sleep and said, "Mimi, let's go watch TV," I admit my good humor went south. We ended up back in the den til about five and by then I told Mini I'm going to bed and he can stay up by himself.

Hubby took over for me when I came back to bed, but I didn't rest well. I dozed and woke, and rinse and repeat. I remember dreaming of trying to hide in the woods behind these really skimpy, scrawny brambles. It looked like the woods surrounding my parent's old rental house during winter. Brown leaves, bare trees, and brambles. Who the heck knows what I was trying to hide from or why - probably Mini, so I could sleep!

Around 8 AM, I got up and had some coffee, then ran off to shower and wash my hair. Hubby was supposed to hang mini blinds for my mother today, but I told her I wanted one full weekend with my husband and kids without having to clean something or do anyone's bidding - evil bitch that I am.

We went to Ruston, and first thing I raided the Book Nook. After reading Summer Sisters by Judy Blume, I had to see if I could find a copy of Smart Women - and there was one copy waiting for me. Woot! Usually hubby doesn't have too much interest in that store, but when he came in and browsed the horror section he found three Stephen King Gunslinger series hardcovers and grabbed them all.

After the bookstore we flitted here and there, and didn't return home until about four. I haven't tiled anything (yet) but what a great Saturday. Just us. We should really try that more often!

Tomorrow I'm going to start ripping up more floor tiles, but before anything else, I need to work on edits. At least a few pages. Next Sunday is hubby's birthday and I know I'll be too tied up with that to take advantage of the weekend for writing. But that's neither here nor there...

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Knock On Wood

I took time out to work mostly on my edits yesterday, and what a headache! MS Word was giving me fits, and I kept having to go through and check and double check if I was hitting new territory in the manuscript (since I hop around in my edits) or if I was going back over places I'd already corrected. I plan to work on it a little more today, and maybe I'll finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.

I'm also going to go over the scribbled notes I made in the margins of the India story. That project has dragged on much longer than I'd hoped because I keep changing the ending. I'm hopeless, I tell you! I can never leave well enough alone, and the bad part is I'm ready, oh so ready, to move on to something else.

I picked up a copy of Someone to Love by Jude Deveraux yesterday. I haven't read a Jude Deveraux story in a long time. I haven't started reading 'Someone' yet, but it sounds like a time travel/ghost kind of romance. I'll post more about it once I've had time to sit down and read it.

I just noticed it's after 11. *_* Gosh, I could swear it was only 9:30 the last I checked. Off for now. The dishes await!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Trees and Rainbows

Yesterday, I retiled the bathroom floor, and wow! What better way to remind yourself the rest of the tile in house is worn out? :P

It looks like I'm not going to get away with doing one room in the house. Since I have to go to town anyway and pick up some food things, I'm going back to the hardware store today to pick up four more boxes the same tile. These I will extend outside the bathroom, and back toward Mini's room. I'm going to scratch up the old tile sometime toward the end of the week, since it will be the weekend before I can get to the actual tiling. It would probably be a much faster project if Mini isn't clinging to my back like a koala.

Other than that, the bathroom floor looks 300xs better. I told hubby I was thinking about extending it throughout the house, and he said "go for it". By which he followed up by saying, "It's all on you."

Hubby translation: Do what you want, but I'm not tiling anything!
Yeah, that figures, lol! Anyone want to come put down tile with me. Anyone? *crickets*

I thought so. :P

On the writing front, I made some changes to the India story in the brief time I worked on it yesterday. I changed up the ending, and chopped the beginning off completely. It's shaping up nicely now. Won't be much longer now before it's ready to go out.

Today I plan to run a few errands and work on the edits. I am dragging on those, when I should just sit and knock them out and be done with it. It's been so hard lately to keep myself sitting in the writing/editing chair. Spring fever? Is it too early for that yet?

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Someone start the countdown to Friday, please!

Death of a Legend

First thing out of bed this morning, I learned Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira, passed away a few days ago on the 10th. She was 85 years old. I'm rarely moved by celebrity news, but hearing of her death feels like one of those great things that influenced my teen years has been torn away.

In high school, when I really started getting into B-movies and was big into the Misfits, I discovered Vampira for myself and - wow! She had the coolest Lily Munster dress - pre-Lily, of course - and who didn't want that micro waistline? A friend of a friend who was a film student in college managed to get his hands on bootleg copies of movies like Eraserhead and Plan 9 From Outer Space - easy to find titles now, but they weren't in the 80s. My BFF at the time and I borrowed them, and used to sit around her house while her mom and sister were gone and quote the reeally bad lines. We gave ourselves Vampira eyebrows - which I must say do NOT translate into a good thing off the silver screen - and we did so many situps in a futile attempt to get that wasp waist it's a miracle we both don't have back problems now.

Needless to say, I'm saddened to hear of her loss. She's one of those true, under the radar film and television personalities that was truly unique. IMO, there will never be another that can take her place. Rest in piece, Vampira.

Homelife

I printed up the India story this morning and I'm giving it the red pen treatment. It's almost ready to go out, I think. I'd planned to do a second story after this one, something based on an old wip I'd stored away from years ago, but I'm debating whether to drag that old thing out again. It's complete, but I am almost afraid to check how much editing and rewriting it would need to make it passable for publication.

I still have to scrape out the remaining old tile from the bathroom before I can start putting down the new. There is a bit left near the water heater, and some behind the toilet. ARG! I wish I could just blink my eyes and it would be finished. I need to get the pieces up carefully from around the base of the toilet so I can make a pattern on the tiles so I can cut them to fit. What a pain! Hubby is back to work today, or I'd have him help me with it.

Tonight I've got to get around work on my edits a bit, and come up with a 30 word tag for Twilight. Arg, it's already noon, and I haven't done half what I intended. Is it just me, or are there not enough hours in the day?

Well After Sundown

What a way to start the week! Last night no one slept well, and it ended up with us all in different rooms, sprawled out wherever we felt we could get the most rest. Hubby woke around three, and Mini whined because he wanted to get up with him. I made him lay back down, and somehow managed to get him back to sleep. I got up to check on hubby around 4, and he asked if I'd washed his jacket. Um...yeah, hon, I did. Only I didn't stick it in the dryer! I'd been in the middle of doing laundry Sunday night when I remembered I had to wash a uniform for my dad - mom didn't want to go to the laundromat. Well, I put it in on a tumble cycle and went on to bed, I forgot to stick hubby's jacket in. Rather than hear snarling and fangs so early in the morning I told hubby he might as well not go in today - he was tired, for one thing, and had no jacket to boot. With that said, I went and joined Mini to catch some zzzz's.

I woke up at 9:30 AM and completely panicked. Mini wasn't in the bed. Oldest is forever leaving the front door unlocked when he goes out to catch the bus, and Mini just recently learned to open the front door. I jumped out of bed and came running into the den calling for Mini. I rounded the corner, and nearly had a heart attack - hubby was sitting at the dining room table. When I'd suggested he stay home today, I didn't think he really would. LOL!! Thank the lucky stars that he was watching Mini.

Since he stayed home, I had him do some things around the house for me. He put the bar up in the closet, and secured and anchored everything. Soooo, the walk in closet it complete. Muahahahaha!! He also bought floor tile for the bathroom. I'm going to start working on that tomorrow while he's at work. I need to drag my vanity table out of the bathroom, and scrape up the remaining floor tile.

That's for tomorrow though. Tonight I'm going to work on India a bit more, and see if I can't find that other story I'd intended to pull to the side for submission along with it. We will see.

Hope your day was a good one!

Saturday with Family

Friday after errands, Mini and I rode out to help mom work on the new house. I got there and she'd swept down the cobwebs from the ceilings, and scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom so we could use it without fear of catching heck knows what. While she went about taking down all the grease-caked, disgusting blinds, I swept and mopped the entire house from to back, and sprayed orange glow on the cat shit smears that wouldn't come up with typical cleaning - and there were a surprising LOT of them, in every room from the den to the kitchen. How the former inhabitants "lived" without catching some infectious disease is beyond imagination. *_*

Mini and I helped her scrub and swab for about 3 hours, then hubby appeared at the front door - he gets off work early Fridays - and he took Mini for a jaunt around the yard. The house has a screened in front porch, and we'd locked it off so he couldn't get out, and put him to playing with his tricycle and a few trucks. Mostly he wanted to pretend his gram's corn broom was a Swiffer, and made "rrrrtt!" noises through the house while I mopped.

Hubby took Mini with him to pick up a bucket o' chicken for supper, and I drove straight on home from mom's. I got there about 10 minutes before Oldest's bus pulled up. From there I tidied up my own house - fat lot of good that did, going into the weekend, but I did it anyway. Afterward, a bath for me, a bath for Mini, and I followed it all up with a working on At the Edge of Twilight edits til around midnight. Whew!

I slipped into bed just shortly after midnight, I was so tired, I almost forgot to light the candle on the dresser. (This, so Mini won't be scared in the dark.) Hubby usually turns on the paper lantern by the bed for Mini, but it hangs right by my head and I can't sleep with a big ball of light hovering in sight. :P

When I got up this morning, Hubby and Mini was already up and about. I stumbled into the kitchen for coffee, only to realize I hadn't bought creamer because I had to run to mom's right after a stop at the store yesterday - she has no refrigerator, so I hadn't bought anything cold. RATS! So, I drank coffee with only milk in it (ick!), and sat down to flip through emails.

It's been a fair day. I worked on and off on edits for At the Edge of Twilight today, and even took a bit of time to get around on Myspace and post birthday wishes to a friend or two.

Tomorrow I plan to focus on the India story to whip it into shape a bit more; I want it out of here by the end of the month. And I'll probably tweak on edits for Twilight some more. I also received another writing offer yesterday that sounds really interesting, and I'm contemplating whether or not to take it. Before I can do anything else, though, I have finish India, the anth edits, and the vampires. *_* Okay, that sounds like a lot more to me now that I've read it with a clear brain. We'll see what comes of it in the months ahead...

So there's my Saturday. I'm about to take a few minutes to relax. I'm gonna pour a glass of wine and hit the dolly boards. My idea of a Saturday night, hehe! ^_~

I hope you all had a wonderful day!

What NOT to...

I should really be figuring the checkbook right now and getting the bills together, but I decided to blog first because I don't think there will be a chance again until late tonight. First things first though...

It's Friday! It's FRI-I-I-DAY!!!
*break dance * disco * chicken wings * booty wiggle*

After errands, and a stop by the store to pick up baby wipes and paper towels, I'm taking Mini out to his gram's new house. We're going to help her clean up. She and dad had the water turned on out there yesterday, and she's bringing a propane heater to keep us warm. I've already packed an arsenol of trucks for Mini to play with in the yard. I'm also taking my camera - muahahahaha!!

I weighed in this morning, and I've dropped another 3 pounds. Woot! So, I'm down a total of 8 pounds. I'm just thrilled the donuts mom brought over didn't sabotage me. :P I've dropped a jean size; hopefully I can get back into my old jeans (the jeans formerly known as the fat pants before I "outgrew" them) in time for hubby's birthday.

Now for a parenting moment: what NOT to do to get your toddler to take a nap...

Yesterday, when I attempted to put Mini down for a nap, he was too restless to snooze. Not knowing what else to do, I asked him if he wanted me to tell him a story. He says, "Uh-huh." So, thinking to make him slip into a napping coma, I channel my 8th grade General Business teacher, and begin to tell him a made up story about our doggy Kinz in a soft, monotone voice.

Once upon a time, there was a brown floppy earred dog named Kinz...

You get the idea. I make up something as I go along, crazy about Kinz watching people in the house, chasing birds and gnawing bones, etc. Stuff that's common for us when we think about it, but out there stuff for a toddler, you know? Anyway, despite my best effort to bore Mini to sleep with my voice - I even yawns a few times myself in the process, the minute I say "THE END" Mini sits up on the bed and starts rattling off all about Kinz. This and that, and bones and birds, and before you know it, he's jumping on the bed and nap time is a complete BUST.

*sigh* I didn't see the point in fighting it, and we went on in the den to watch Backyardigans. Heh. Big help my story was, as you can plainly tell... :P

Well, after hubby got home, I thought I'd tell him what a mess I made of naptime, and so I mentioned the "Kinz story". Mini, apparently, was listening as I was explaining this. He turned to his daddy, cut me off mid-sentence and begins telling him in semi-coherent toddler talk all about Kinz and his antics, punctuated by "Woof! Woof! Ahh!! Where's my bone?" ^_^ I was amazed at his memory! It might not have put him to sleep, but he was certainly paying attention, lol!

That's it for me today. I've got to get going; it's almost 11 o'clock and I'm still in my pajamas.

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

House Closing Day

Today was house closing day for my parents. Woot! Mom called me from the bank early this morning to let me know they'd just signed the papers and paid their down on it. She said the bank never went out and changed the locks, so they had to go out to the house afterward to do it. I congratulated them, we chatted a few moments further, and that was it. Done deal. I put down the phone and let the quiet sink into me. I no longer have to worry where my parents will be in the future. I will be helping her paint over the weekend, but the all in all, rest is up to them.

As for me, my sinus infection has worsened. I feel like I have concrete stuffed up my nose, and nothing is helping. If it's not better over the course of the weekend, I may have to go on to the doctor. :P

Despite the case of ick, I managed to keep Mini entertained while doing a bit of laundry, and packing up the very last of the holiday things. I sat down to the computer after that, but couldn't seem to concentrate - I have had a nagging headache since yesterday (which I know is because of my sinuses) and nothing seems to help it. So, instead of work, I drew a few pictures with Mini until the mail ran. When I went out to get it, I realized the mail lady had given me the neighbor's mail. I sighed, took it back in the house, intending to drive it by there when I went to pick up Oldest from school at 2. About five minute later, I'd just sat back down at the computer, there was a knock on the door. It was my other neighbor - the one from across the street. She had my mail and was bringing it over. She thought I must have her mail, but I showed her I had the other neighbor's stuff. I told her she might want to check the people up the street to see if hers got put in their box. I watched her leave, and I couldn't help wondering if we have a new mail person, or if this is just an off day.

I came back inside and pulled on some fresh jeans, a shirt, and dabbed on some makeup. I took Oldest in for his eye exam before the Christmas holidays, and hadn't been able to reach them since. Well, I called and called earlier in the morning and finally reached the receptionist. She sounded greatly put upon to have to talk to me, but they apparently did have Oldest's glasses there. Thanks for the call to let me know they'd come in - NOT - you Desk Harpy. No, I didn't say that, but I did think it. I asked if it would be okay if I went ahead and brought Oldest in to pick them up today and she hung up on me. I took that for a "Yes". So, after I'd made myself presentable, and ran a brush over Mini's hair, we were out the door.

At the school, I take Mini into the office - he's always excited when he goes up to "Bubba's School"; he doesn't yet realize his days are coming. Anyway, right as we come in, the bell rings and it's chaos. I'm sitting in the office with Mini and someone's sick child while waiting for Oldest to show up. By the time we got to the eye doctor it was around 2:30. I kind of dreaded going into the optometrists after that phone call. She'd sounded like it was a very bad day for her, and I dreaded having to stick around for very long. However, we went in, she got the glasses - which have been sitting there for almost two weeks now - did a quick adjustment and we were out. Hm. So much for that!

Back at home, an hour later, I am unwinding from the day, watching Mini ride around in his cozy coupe in the front yard when I get a call from Mom. I figured she wanted to tell what all they've done to the house today. Instead mom called to tell me that she mentioned that they were going to get the house surveyed to the woman at the court house, and whoever was there, informed mom that the bank had already surveyed the house. I was like, okay... That's fine. And she went on to say that the woman told her that if she neighbors caused a stink about the property lines, she could make THEM get the property surveyed. And mind, I'm not feeling sharp as I should, but mom sounded like I'd attempted to steer her into paying for a survey she didn't need. *_*

I sighed, and simply told mom this: "It's your property; do what you want. They're your neighbors, not mine, and if they cause problems with you over the property line like they did with the previous owners, YOU have to deal with it, not me. Of course you can argue with them over who is to pay for the survey; I simply said from the very beginning if you survey the property while you have the money to do so, that there won't be any argument with the neighbors, because you'd have taken care of any question of the property line before you moved in."

Mom was quiet for a minute, and then said in an irritated kind of way, "Well, we're not going to do it right now, that's all. Later we will. But not right away."

I told her, "Mother, that's fine. It's your house to do with what you want. You don't have to explain your decisions to me." And I thoroughly mean that. I did my part, spent a year searching, found the house, made sure they had what papers they needed and walk them her through the process, and gave them the downpayment. I feel that is enough. The rest is up to them. I have no intention of settling any conflicts she may have down the road with her neighbors. An ounce of prevention... you know how that saying goes.

I quickly told them love and hugs, and got off the phone with them. Today is not a good day for me to have to defend myself - things could turn ugly. I'm relieved to not have to worry with the house anymore, but even so, I can shake the feeling that sometime this year I will get a call from mom and they will be having trouble with neighbors and not a dime to pay for a damn survey. *shakes head*

So that has been my day. I've cleaned, been shouted at, hung up on, and to top that all off, I smell like VICKS. :P If I weren't on Mucinex right now, I'd say I need a marguerita. It's been a marguerita kind of day. Ah well, at least tomorrow is Friday....

And on the 9th day...

I stayed up until well after midnight last night listening to the vampires. I wrote down as much as I could, about four pages, then gave it up for the "day" and tweaked on my India story a bit. The India/horror piece is coming along nicely, but still it needs more polishing. I'm planning to rewrite a big chunk of it today and see if that tightens it up a bit.

After last night's writing session (and cabbage patch hunt, since the new edition kids are finally up on the dot com!), it was very hard for me to crawl out of bed this morning. Around seven Mini wanted a strawberry milk so we got up and I went to fetch it. I tinkered around on the net a few minutes, ordered copies of Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 for Hubby's birthday, which is coming up at the end of this month and did a recipe hunt. I'm planning to make him a carb legit cake with homemade cream cheese frosting for his special day, since should be out of induction by that time.

Speaking of diets and weight, I'm down 5 pounds. Woot! I've been trying to get back on the Atkins' bandwagon with hubby, but oy, it's been hard going. I've been doing a modified induction, allowing myself whole grain, sugar free, low carb bread. So I guess mine has been more of a South Beach type thing. I tried that diet once before, but after three days I went down like the Titanic. I remember telling hubby if I didn't get a pizza with Candian bacon and black olives on it pronto I was gonna go homicidal. :*> Thusly I did fail. The pizza was yummy tho. :P

It's a week now since I started the induction phase, now if I can just last another week. Last time I did induction (which was the year I got pregnant with Mini) I lost 9 pounds the first 2 weeks. Here's hoping I can mirror those results. It would be really encouraging if I could.

So I mentioned before that I've been reading Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. Surprise, surprise, it's actually a pretty good book! The book takes a look at every aspect of the fast food industry, from the marketing, the making of, the politics behind it, and everything between and beyond. He looks at the way companies work to build a friendly image to lure in diners, and how it both helps and hinders communities on all fronts: everything from adding jobs (albeit low paying), to obesity. The book even tells the way local and broader economies become dependent on the food chains, not just because of the menus put out themselves, but because of the products - everything from beef to lettuce - that are grown locally to make our fast food. You'll find takes on the beef industry, congress, personal attacks on the author himself. It's a non-fiction drama to behold.

The book is intended, I think, to promote an informative, unbiased opinion of the fast food world to the reader, but in my opinion it's written with a bit of a slant toward a sinister underhandedness of the food industry world wide. Well, it's an industry after all, and industry has never made any bones about their goals - money is money. I can't imagine any restaurant making double meat burgers with cheese simply for the greater good of mankind. And Congress being lobbied by the beef industry - that's never been a secret.

I can't vouch for all the statistics, etc., but quite a bit of Schlosser's anecdotes ring true, and while at times the information comes across with a whole conspiracy theory vibe, it's darn interesting. And quite convincing. Not a good book for an alarmist to read, but if you'd just like a little bit of insight into what really goes on behind your Big Mac and Diet Coke, it's a nifty, informative read.

Well, here it is close to 11 am. I better get around the house and do something productive. I hope you all have a happy hump day! And if not, hang in there, Friday's right around the corner. ~_^

Rough Draft, Vampires, and Eating Shamrocks

So, first things first, the India story/rough draft is, for the most part, finished. *dusts hands* It needs major clean up and polishing, but it's on paper - er, hard drive space, anyway. I was reading over it, and I really hope the editor for Weirdly 2 will give it a shot. It's been a whiiiile since I've written anything weird/horror-ish. Keep your fingers crossed for me on this one!

After the India story wrapped up yesterday, the darned-est thing happened to me, something completely unexpected: My VAMPIRES started talking to me again. The ones from my Immortal Lovers series.

Instead of resisting the vampire scenarios going on in my head, I finally applied rump to computer chair and gave up trying to ignore the "story feed" coming at me. I sat down and wrote everything that popped into mind: character intro scene, meetup, intro of the conflict, and when I was finished I had the whole first chapter to Serge's story! Who saw that coming? I certainly didn't!

All the same, there it is. It looks like the Immortal Lovers are ready to come out to play again. Well, you know Vampires... They get a bit testy if they get overlooked, and I've seriously neglected my vamps over the past year. At this point, however, 2008 is looking up for them!

On a completely unrelated topic, I got a call from my mom yesterday. I assumed she was at home, but it turns out she wasn't; she was with my dad and they were on their way to Ruston. This surprised me since he'd mentioned on Sunday that he would be returning to work Monday morning. I asked if everything was okay, since dad is one of those types that rarely ever misses a day of work, in sickness or in health, if you know what I mean. Over the past week, though, he's been sick with an awful ear infection, and a ruptured ear drum. No fun at all. :S

Anyway, they were driving out to Lowe's to buy a dolley to move the leftover stove out of the new house. This, while waiting on a call back from dad's doctor. You have to understand, my dad is not the type to go to the doctor on most occassions. He pretty much has to have one foot in the grave before he'll go, and then we still have to fight with him to persuade him to go. So, it really surprised me when he proposed all on his own, to go to the doctor in regards to the ear pain not once, but twice - and on visits so close together!

Mom told me his bad ear is driving him bonkers - he can't hear because of all the infection, so he decided to go BACK to the doctor to get a new prescription, one that would hopefully take more fluid off the ear drum or whatever so he can hear better. Makes sense to me.

We got off the phone around 10 that morning, but I get another call from mom around one o'clock. She asked me if I'd heard from my hubby. No, I hadn't, I told her. And she went on to tell me that he had called her, frantic. There was an explosion out at the chemical plant where my dad works. Hubby had heard about it on the radio during his lunch break. Like me, Hubby had thought my dad had gone back to work today. After all, over the weekend, dad said more than once he intended to do just that.

The explosion happened twenty feet from my dad's work station. If he'd gone to work that morning, he could have been seriously injured, or even killed.

Mom said dad sat and wept when he heard the news. He'd felt so guilty yesterday morning for missing work. Work isn't worth your health; Mom and I have been telling him that for years, in particular about going to the doctor. But this time I think it holds a truer, more frightening meaning. It's still shocking to me when I think about it.

To my knowledge there were only minor injuries reported. The men who were at the chemical plant when the explosion took place were evacuated because there were fires be put out. There is a specific protocol for clean up out there. Had dad gone to work, and not been injured in the blast, he still would've had to come home. How's that for fate? In my opinion, it simply wasn't meant for dad to be there yesterday, and for that, I am endlessly grateful.

~ Dreamtime ~

Early this morning I had the weirdest dream. I was at this Cirque de Soleil type circus - mostly acrobats and trapeze acts type thing. I was there with two friends, only we were in one of the luxury boxes like at a major sporting event.

I'm watching the performers when the door across from us opens, and these men come into the room. My first impression is that they are princes - gosh that sounds kooky - princes coming in on you at the circus, but there it is. One of the men came over to me, and I kissed his cheek like we knew each other. I sat back down next to one of my friends, and the next thing I know we're at a table where food is being served.

One of the princes goes into this niche area - a kitchen off to the side. I hadn't noticed it before. He whips up this dish and lays it on the table. It looks a lot like General Tso Chicken, if you ask me. Only there are cherries in it. He says to me, "It's best to eat the cherries with it." Well, when in Rome, you know the saying...

I wasn't at all hungry, but I ate a bite of the cherry chicken, and it was pretty good. But then beside me, one of the two friends who I had with me, slumped over. She'd fallen asleep at the table and slipped off the cushion she was sitting on.

I quickly got up to see if she was okay, and with the help of the other woman, we picked her up and hefted her onto the couch so she could stretch out and sleep. The remaining friend and I returned to the table - which is a low table on the floor, we were sitting in huge pillows around it. However, when I sat where I had been before, I noticed now my plate was gone. It was now sitting in front of the remaining friend, who started to eat it. I just shrugged; I didn't see any harm in her taking the dish. Two bites into it, however, she starts looking really, really dopey tired, and is barely able to keep her eyes open.

"All these frozen oysters in this..." she says while flicking through the food with her fork. And I was thinking, I thought that was chicken! I hate oysters, so when the prince suddenly appears again with another plate - this one huge, like the size of a trash can lid - I immediately start looking for oysters. Sure enough, there are oysters on the plate.

The prince said to me, "It's not bad. You have to stir it."

I did, and beneath the oysters and rice pilaf there was a huge bed of SHAMROCKS in front of me. I keep stirring, and before I knew what was going on, there are nothing but shamrocks in the dish, big and little ones, some with four leaves, some with three, all of them very bright green like they'd just been picked. How neat!

Well there you have it, a glimpse into my psyche, odd though it may be... *lol* I have no idea what the dream means, but it was so bright and vivid, I wanted to jot it down while I remembered it! ~_^

Hope you all have a snazzy Tuesday!

covers n more

Woot! Here it is, fresh from my editor, the cover for the upcoming faerie anthology, In the Gloaming.

Since the official blurb for In the Gloaming hasn't been released yet, here's the one from my story called At the Edge of Twilight:

Colleen O’Shea returns to her childhood home, sure now that her aunt has passed away, the magic of the small woodland cottage is forever gone. However, as the day fades to night, and the world slips into a realm that is neither light nor darkness, the woods come alive with lusty flora and fauna. Eyes watch her from every corner. Whispers call her at the turn of a leaf.

In the gated garden behind the house, she hears the sound of panpipes and discovers a man full of secrets. His name is Rowain, and there is something otherworldly about him that she can’t quite put her finger on. He speaks in riddles, and can make her heart race with just a look. It isn’t long before Colleen finds herself falling in love with Rowain. But love has a price. Rowain has determined that she should stay with him forever, locked in his world at the edge of twilight.

I'm very excited about this anth, and I look forward to its release. As soon as I have a tentative date, I'll be sure to add it to my blog and website. If you don't drop in regularly, but are interested in knowing when the book comes out, sign up for one of my newsletters - there are sign up boxes on the sidebar of my blog. Just scroll down. ~_^ I'll be posting news about the book, release dates, chats, giveaways, etc. over the next few months.

On another note, still in the realm of writing, I got word today that my latest werewolf novella, Dominant Territory, was the top selling ebook at Cobblestone Press for 2007. Woot! Many thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, promo'ed with me, and supported me over the past year. I appreciate you very much!



I didn't get much writing done over the weekend, I've been battling a killer sinus infection - which doesn't sound like much on its own but oy, trying to sleep with your nose stuffed up... *_* Tonight I plan to take a little Nyquil and hit the pillows early, because tomorrow I'm bound and determined to finish up the first draft of my horror/paranormal "India" story (the setting has changed since I last posted). I need to get as much done as possible because I got word my faerie edits are in the works now, and next week mom and I will be going over to the new house to paint and clean. They close on the house this coming Thursday - hurray! So...gotta get on the ball so I'll have time to finish my own things!

Aside from all this, it's been an okay weekend - rainy and muggy, with a little sick tossed in, but okay. :P I started reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser on Friday. I'll let you all know how it turns out once I've finished!

Hope you all have a calm, productive Monday!

So tired...

Last night was a test in patience. This is the second night in a row Mini hasn't slept well, and when he doesn't, I don't either. For most of the day I've been fighting yawns, and trying to keep awake.

Oldest wanted me to drop him off at the library today, so we went to town first thing. I had to buy milk and coffee creamer anyway. I also dropped by the hardware store and picked up cable ties so I could put a cabbage patch head back on it's body. That probably sounds creepy to anyone not into dolls. LOL!

Just last night I finished up a doll reroot project that I've been meaning to do for about three years now. I already had the girl's hair plucked and ready to sow in some new, but just never got around to it until this week. I decided last month I better hop to it, because Mini would freak out whenever he'd go into my office and see her plucked noggin on the shelf. *sigh*

Anyway, I got the ties to put her head on, and when I got back from dropping off Oldest, I put her back together. Woot! She's all finished now, and quite cute. Has fresh new ponytails, and a "new" vintage dress and bloomers. Yesterday when I'd finished her hairdo, I asked Oldest to pick a name for her and he said, "Joey". So, Joey, it is. Here she is... all new and improved:



She originally had two auburn cornsilk pigtails, but someone had taken scissors and cut most of the back of her hair down to the scalp. I replaced her hair with Bernat? Foxy yarn in "sandy". I wish now I'd taken a before picture. Ah, well...

Anyway, the day mostly consisted of me hanging out here with Mini while Oldest was off at the library. While Mini was watching Backyardigans, I flopped on the couch with him and tried for the third time since early December to read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton; I've been told the book is drastically different from the movie, so much better, more detailed, in depth etc. etc..,blah. For the life of me I can't seem to sit through this book. I have skimmed, fidgeted, read and reread bits and pieces of it, and today after my little sit down with Mini, I have put it into my donation box. I just can't do it. Not sure what it is. Too much build up. Maybe it's because I already know the park is full of dinosaurs. Whatever the case, I'll have to stick with the movie, because the book isn't working for me.

Tomorrow I plan to stay home and write. Hubby has to work, and my godfather has called and announced he'll be visiting. So, for the most part, a quiet day - I hope!

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is a pleasant one!

Research, research...

Last night I stayed up super late researching the Silk Road and the Ottoman Empire for a horror story. Now I'm comparing all that to 1940s India and Turkey. Whew! That's more of a job that I thought it would be.

At any rate,I have most of the initial story written; I did a quick write thing and knocked out the whole beginning of the story in a writing session. Of course, the work needs smoothing and tweaking, but for all constructive purposes, that part is finished. Now to write the back half.

First, however, I need to get some of my geography straight, and some of the local flavor and traditions correct. Oy, I AM NOT a fan of story research, but it's part of the job description, and there are just some stories that require more headwork than others. This is one of those projects. Even so, I hope to have the rough draft knocked out over the weekend. That would sure make my New Year complete!

Off for now! I must get some of this laundry done. It's piled up for a day or two, and now there is a mountain of jeans in the hallway. *sigh* Anyone else looking forward to Friday?

Back to The Pit

Now that the holidays are over, and hubby is back at work, it's time to step back into the writing pit. It's been impossible to work with everyone at home and so much to do, I've let duties fall by the wayside.

This year I decided to do something a bit different than I've done in the past. I typically go through my manuscripts, find one to work on - usually with the result of it being set aside and later put in to the "at home slush pile". Not this year. Last night I stayed up very late organizing my laptop, deleting outmoded ideas, starter files that I had toyed with an know I'll never come back to. This morning I did a similar thing with paper: I cleaned out my writing desk. All the old manuscripts, those previously submitted and not, those already published and not, were boxed up and hauled out to the storage shed. Fare the well. For 2008 I'll be starting fresh.

I started a new story this morning, this one a horror story instead of romance, but it is very much paranormal. I had a rough outline for it saved, now that I've begun working on it, I have plans where it will go once it's finished. I love it when I know where a story will be going. That's one less thing to worry about.

I've also got a new romance idea on the hook, so after the horror - a new romance? We'll see where things lead. Good things, I hope.

Mom got word this morning the house deal may close early. Woot! That would be awesome if they had the keys in hand before their anniversary. Mom and dad already went out to the house, with permission of the realtor, and tore that skank carpet out of the front room. Can I admit I'm glad I didn't have to deal with a cat pissy carpet? Does that make me a bad daughter? :*>

Now... a question for anyone that visits here. Do you have left overs from New Years dinner? Are you doing anything special with them? Left over casarole? I checked our freezer this morning and with all three locusts males home over the holidays, it's empty! Seriously. Bald empty. As in ice cubes only. We do have a big pot of peas left. Hmm... Is this a sign I need to run to the grocery store? *crickets*

Well, I was going to say "Have a great Monday!" but then I dropped by the MMC, saw today's sexy hunk posted, and realized it's Wednesday. *_* When the hell did that happen?! I go to sleep for a few hours last night and wake up to find it's Wednesday. Incredible! Happy hump day, folks!

Welcome 2008!

Yay! Welcome 2008! I'm looking forward to a new year full of fun, love, and challenges. I resolve to be happy with what I have, and to change the things that get me down. *cheers*

To all my blogger friends - Bright wishes for happiness and success in the New Year!