Christmas Meme #1

MENTAL STATUS: "Happy". My skinny jeans don't feel as tight, I get to do a little Christmas shopping this morning, and I get to sneak in a little time for some writing. Not a bad day ahead of me.

Well, I call this Christmas meme #1 because I'm sure it's just the beginning of the memes that will be tossed at me from now until December 25. (I didn't say not to toss them to me, though!) I do find some mild amusement from them.

This one is from Kristen Painter. So blame her. And away we go:

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate Eggnog. And don't skimp on the rum.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree? What? I'd clunk him on the head if he didn't wrap them.

3. Colored or white lights on tree/house? This is a sore subject in my house. I like white lights. My hubby and daughter like colored. As a result, we have white lights outside and colored lights on the tree. But I still want white lights on the tree. My hubby said when he's dead and buried, I'll can enjoy my white-lighted Christmas tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO. Too awkward. Plus, people you don't want kissing you kiss you without it anyway.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I begin somewhere between Thanksgiving Day weekend and the first weekend in December.

6. What is your holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Potato pancakes (if I'm doing Christmas Eve)

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child. Baking Christmas cookies with my mom.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Never believed. In my house Santa was the big fat guy who took the true meaning of Christmas away.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? YES!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Colored lights; gold and red bows; gold, silver and red balls; and lots of ornaments. We try to pick up an ornament from every place we've ever traveled.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Bring it on! (If i have no place to go, that is)

12. Can you ice skate? Maybe. It's been like 20 years. It's got to be like riding a bike, right?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Hubby surprised me with Andrea Bocelli tickets one year. I didn't even know Andrea would be touring at the time.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Celebrating the birth of Jesus--and spending some quality time with the family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Christmas cookies!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Hot Cocoa and popcorn while watching A Charlie Brown Christmas.

17. What tops your tree? A gold star.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. I put A LOT of thought into my gifts. :)

19. What is your favourite Christmas song? "O, Holy Night".

20. Candy canes. Symbolic and decorative. Plus, the little girlie LOVES them.

21. Favourite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life. Come on, people! Give me a break! I'm not made of stone!

22. What do you leave for Santa? Coal. (What I'm sure he'd leave for me)



Ok. Time to pass the torch. I tag... Chelle Sandell, Debora Dennis and Lesley Speller.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #28

Thirteen Spices I Recently Found in My Kitchen Cabinet --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.... Allspice-- I'm drawing a blank. What the heck would I use this for? 2.... Fennel Seed-- What is fennel? 3.... Cream of Tartar-- Ah, this reminds me that I used to bake. 4.... Poppy Seeds --Ditto 5.... Chinese Five Spice --Why? Why do I own this? 6.... Coriander Seed --Huh? 7.... Herbs de Provence-- Am I in Emmeril's kitchen? 8.... Celery Seed-- Sounds probable to have 9.... Mace-- I don't think I could use this to defend myself with. 10.... White Pepper-- Because they were out of black pepper? 11.... Turmeric -- Makes me think "chronic disease". 12.... Savory --Sounds like it would make things taste better... somehow. 13.... One whole Vanilla bean --I need to toss this. It looks dried out. ------------------------------------------------------ Gee, before I had a child I guess I used to cook some pretty interesting things. :) Do you cook? 1. Elle Fredrix 2. Cassandra 3. Annalee Blysse 4. R.G. Alexander 5. Babe King 6. Gina Ardito 7. Tempest Knight 8. Jennifer McKenzie 9. Crystal Jordan 10. Jennifer Colgan & Bernadette Gardner 11. Elizabeth Parker 12. Rhonda Stapleton 13. Paige Tyler 14. Robin L. Rotham 15. Heather 16. Kate Willoughby 17. Ava Rose Johnson 18. Kissa Starling 19. Amelia June 20. Shelley Munro 21. Lyric 22. Debbie Mumford 23. Diana Castilleja 24. Adelle 25. Ciar Cullen 26. Marguerite Labbe 27. Lesley Speller 28. Stephanie Secrest 29. Savannah Chase 30. Lia 31. Kelly McCrady 32. Kaige 33. Tara S Nichols 34. Zara Penney 35. Regina Avalos 36. Alice Audrey 37 Darla (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wordless Wednesday?

I was trying to do a "Wordless Wednesday" but I really can't keep my big yapper shut.

That little baby (isn't she cute?) in the picture is now in kindergarten, and today I have to attend a parent-teacher conference.

I can't help but wonder what her teacher is going to say. I don't really think there's much to say. My daughter is super smart and well-behaved. Don't roll your eyes! Hey, I used to think I was biased, but now that I'm in the classroom and see the other kids, I now know I am not. She's way ahead in reading, too--which of course makes this writing mama particularly happy. But I'm a worrier, so I'm still wondering if there's a problem I don't know about.

Pathetic, isn't it?

A Writing Day

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, "Some outlaws compose their own punchlines, but Malcolm Roberts chose one from his hero. The 59-year-old Briton may lose his home for jamming out to old Buddy Holly tunes too loudly. Roberts says he won't turn down the volume when he cranks out songs by the classic rock 'n' roller in his Leeds apartment. Elderly neighbors complained about the incessant and loud guitar music, and the community association has pledged to kick him out if he doesn't desist. When given the ultimatum to turn down or pack up, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported that Roberts quoted Holly: 'That'll be the day when I die.'"

I love Tuesdays, because my schedule is almost always free. And that means I have time to write. (Sven will be so proud)

Later, y'all.

Looooong Weekend Recap

MENTAL STATUS: "Refreshed". I had a lot of good sleep this past weekend. Now I'm ready to do the room mom thing, write, and maybe get some Christmas decorations up.

I did nothing this past weekend.

Well, that's not true. I slept. A lot. I ate. A lot. (Went out to dinner a few times) And I rented some movies. Yeah, I know. Yawn. But sometimes, you need time like that.

Anyhew, the hubby and I watched Zodiac on Friday night. I was a little leery to watch it. I mean, come on. They never found the Zodiac killer. So what could this movie possibly tell me? And I like to watch movies with endings. Particularly "happily ever after" endings. I felt this was going to be a bomb of a night.

Well, this movie was really good! Aside from two minor killing scenes that I could have done without (because I'm a wuss), I still enjoyed the movie. It basically centered around the investigation that was done to find the killer but then it gave a general theory (a-la Oliver Stone) ending, which you left me satisfied that all that work they did was not for nothing.

Then on Saturday night, we rented Remember the Titans. Another goodie--but in a different way. Not bloody this time either. Had some drama, a little comedy, some feel-good moments--plus, Denzel Washington. You usually can't lose with him in a movie.

Now, I'm off to get ready for school. To my crit partners out there: I WILL get to your chapters. I WILL. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but if not by Wednesday, I will need to get myself a Franklin planner or something.

What did you do this Thanksgiving Day weekend?

Exhausted

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, "Grieving family members seeking one last ride for their dearly departed may have a new destination: Disneyland. A report in the Los Angeles Times indicates that some Disney patrons are using the theme park to scatter the cremated remains of relatives. Disney officials say they're unaware of any confirmed ashings, but anonymous employees told the newspaper it had become a recurring problem—most recently on Nov. 9 when they reported seeing a woman toss ashes from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, causing employees to temporarily shut down the attraction."

Oh, my gosh, I'm soooooo tired. (But I've barely finished my first cup of coffee so I'm sure that has a factor in it)

We had whirlwind Thanksgiving Day yesterday! It started out with a "brunch" get together with several neighbors on the street. That lasted about 3 and 1/2 hours...
Then we rushed home to get in a car and travel an hour north to my brother's house.

My brother bought one of those turkey fryolater contraptions a few years ago, so he was supposed to fry our turkey this year. I say supposed because for some reason the oil had a hard time reaching the desired temperature. My brother--a much worse perfectionist than I could ever be--started to sweat it. But we kept reassuring him that if dinner was going to be a little late, it was no big deal.
Well... 3 hours later, we (especially the kids) started to get hungry.

So we ate our dinner WITHOUT the turkey. We didn't miss it. My mom bought Polish kielbasa with her (a tradition in our family), so there was some meat on our plate. Plus, the turkey plate had a very nice picture of a turkey on it, too. So it was almost like having a real one.

Honestly, it was one of the best Thanksgivings I ever had. Probably because we laughed so hard and so much--at the expense of my poor brother, who thought he ruined Thanksgiving. The poor guy was so depressed sitting outside by himself next to his precious fryolater, hoping for that Thanksgiving Day miracle to occur before his eyes. We even took pictures--unbeknownst to him--because it was such a sad and funny scene.

We eventually did have turkey. After we ate our meal and were stuffed, we all choked down some to make him feel better. It was delicious. And of course, I was sent home with plenty of leftovers.

My pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake were a hit. (As usual) And then we all played that game Apples to Apples. It wasn't a bad experience this time, because I won! And we laughed a lot more playing the game.

Needless to say, because we had a late start on dinner, we didn't get home until late. So I'm still trying to focus this morning.

The hubby is off from work, so no writing will be done today. No shopping will be done either. I finally figured out that those great sales they have today and tomorrow, usually get repeated in about a week or two--without the crowds. So I'll wait.

Are you shopping today?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving @ Bopmyspace.com


Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Finished! (A chapter) **cough cough**

MENTAL STATUS: "Stressed". I need to do a lot of baking today. Nuff said.

Sven Word Count: 500 words. Yeah, I know. Sven is going to dump my sorry butt, if I don't start showing some signs of sweating. But I'm really trying!

Well, I actually finished the next chapter in the book I've been writing. I'm in shock. The heavenly choir tuned up their vocal chords and belted out a stunning rendition of "Hallelujah" when I finished the last words on the page.

(Needless, to say, if you haven't gathered it by now, this chapter was a real pain in the neck to write.)

So I will let it let rest now. Then I will look at it again later, probably despise it, but send off to my crit partners anyway. That seems to be the cycle I go through. It's worked thus far.

And in case you're interested, the webmaster over at Samhain is super speedy and posted my bio already, even though I don't have a book yet. :)

You can check it out here.

Got Words?

IN THE NEWS: According to HappyNews.com, "Amazon.com Inc. is hoping to invigorate a nascent market for electronic books by introducing its own e-book reader with free wireless connectivity.
Monday's long-anticipated announcement comes as e-books remain a sliver of overall book sales, partly because they lack the comfort and intimacy of bound paper.
Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the online retailer spent three years developing the Kindle reader, which the company is selling online for $399.
It is thinner than most paperbacks and weighs 10.3 ounces. Yet it can hold some 200 books, along with newspapers, magazines and an entire dictionary." (You can go to Happy News and see a picture of it)




This cartoon from Inkygirl.com pretty much sums up my feelings. I did not write at all yesterday. Sigh. But I did help my daughter's class paint pumpkin pies.


I plant to write today. And buy some bagels. That's all.


How about you? What are your plans? (I better not hear Christmas shopping)

Bios, Blurbs, and Baptisms--Oh my!

MENTAL STATUS: "Upbeat". Looking forward to my room mom activities today. And I qualified for a free turkey AND a free ham at my local food store. I think I'll pick them up today, too.

I spent the better part of Friday working on a bio and blurb for my upcoming release, The Role of a Lifetime. So far, it looks like it's slated for sale in Spring 2008--until further notice from my editor, that is. I know you'll all be waiting with bated breath until then, (this is sarcasm) but I'm begging you to relax. The longer it takes, the better the book will be.
I think that's how it works, anyway. **wink**

BIO: Anyway, as I sat down to write my bio for the Samhain website, I had a sudden dawning that... I don't really have a "bio". Huh. That was a bummer realization. But the good people at Samhain suggested to keep the information about myself short and fun--which is very good. Light and breezy I can do. And did.

Check.

BLURB: Luckily, I already had a "blurb" for my book, because I basically created one for my query letter. So I just needed to come up with a one sentence hook and then something shorter than a blurb for the booksellers.

Check.

BAPTISM: Went to a Christening for the baby of friends of ours on Sunday.

Check.

The Baptism "reception" was four hours, involving an open bar, tons of food, balloons, and a DJ. Now that's what I call a Baptismal celebration! My daughter danced the whole time and even freaked me out a little when I thought she actually knew the words to Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry". She didn't. Praise the Lord. But it sure looked that way. She's growing up too fast.

So that was my weekend. Basically. I skipped the part about the 3 & 1/2 hour Build-A-Bear birthday party I took my daughter to on Saturday. But that's for another blog post...

So how was your weekend?

More Weird Things about Moi

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, "This just in from the Environmental Protection Agency: Squirrels near Ringwood, N.J., are once again safe to eat. In January, the agency warned locals not to eat the rodents after discovering a dead squirrel near a local toxic waste dump had lead contaminants in its system. After further tests, scientists at the EPA believe the lead came from a blender used to puree the squirrel meat for testing. The news comes as a relief for Ramapough Mountain Indians and an indeterminate number of New Jersey residents who enjoy squirrel meat."
(Not me, though)


Well, I knew it'd be coming soon enough. And it finally happened. AGAIN. But this time, I've been tagged by Lesley Speller .

Here are the rules:
Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Gee, I think I've done this twice already, so I don't know how many more weird things there are about me... but what the heck, right?

(Again, the same rule applies: If I repeat myself, just nod and pretend I'm telling new information)

7 Random Facts About Myself:


1.... I've recently become addicted to Country Music. Oh, in the past, I've been amused by a few songs here and there, but now I am seriously "into" it and even had to watch the Country Music Awards show.

2.... I have a real passion for salt bagels and a good lox & cream cheese spread.

3.... Much to the horror of my meat-loving family, I think sausage is just OK. Meh.

4.... I won the Fifth Grade Spelling Bee. (And Chuck, if you're reading this, I won it fair and square. You choked on the word "coffee" or was it the word "sheriff"? Well, either way, I still have the trophy.)


5.... My idea of the perfect vacation is reading a book on the beach all day, going out to a great restaurant at night, then "sleeping in" the next day. (I'm a simple woman, really)


6.... I actually have a wonderful relationship with my mother-in-law.


7.... When I was a freshman in high school, I had the BIGGEST crush on the marching band drum major--who was a senior! One day, I finally got enough courage to find out his phone number and call him to invite him to my birthday party. We talked, we laughed, he said he would come. He never did. Broke my heart. But I'm not bitter!!!!

Anyhew, I'm not going to tag anyone else. Unless...


Babe King and Kristen Painter want to play. (I bet they'd have some cool stuff to share)


Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #27

Thirteen Things I Wish I could Do****************************************** 1…. Speak well in public --you know, so I can give a really great keynote speech at a future RWA convention. **wink** 2.... Cut hair--particularly my own. 3.... Change the oil in my car--I'm tired of being a slave to JiffyLube! 4.... Hang wallpaper--I literally have no idea how to begin. 5.... Write a 100k word book without bloviating--my stories tend to max out at 60, ooo words for some reason. 6.... Take care of a houseplant--they hate me. Even the so-called "easy to care for" ones. 7.... Drive out of state by myself-- I think it's the driving over bridges fear--or maybe the driving in 5 lane highway fear that's holding me back 8.... Ballroom dance--I just think it's so cool to watch. I want to be one of those people. 9.... Use a sewing maching--I would LOVE to make my child's Halloween costume from an actual pattern. 10.... Paint a mural in my daughter's bedroom 11.... Hit those Carrie Underwood "power notes"--Not because I want to be a singer, but because it'd be so dang easier to sing along with her music. Sheesh. 12.... Crochet--I'm always asking my mom to make me stuff. 13.... Fix my own computer when it gets a virus.--Nuff said ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you wish you could do? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. Elle Fredrix 2. Cassandra 3. Annalee Blysse 4. R.G. Alexander 5. Babe King 6. Gina Ardito 7. Tempest Knight 8. Jennifer McKenzie 9. Crystal Jordan 10. Jennifer Colgan & Bernadette Gardner 11. Elizabeth Parker 12. Rhonda Stapleton 13. Paige Tyler 14. Robin L. Rotham 15. Heather 16. Kate Willoughby 17. Ava Rose Johnson 18. Kissa Starling 19. Amelia June 20. Shelley Munro 21. Lyric 22. Debbie Mumford 23. Diana Castilleja 24. Adelle 25. Ciar Cullen 26. Marguerite Labbe 27. Lesley Speller 28. Stephanie Secrest 29. Savannah Chase 30. Lia 31. Kelly McCrady 32. Kaige 33. Tara S Nichols 34. Zara Penney 35. Regina Avalos(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Ridiculous Inventions

MENTAL STATUS: "Stressed". I have some errands to run and I need to get to my daughter's school early, because I'm helping run the book fair.

Sven Word Total: Well, I managed to devote a good chunk of yesterday morning to writing yet only came away with 750 words. But at least I hit the minimum requirement, and the words I wrote were usable.

As I was reading my daughter's Kidsville newspaper, I got a chuckle out of one of the articles. Paul Niemann, the author of Invention Mysteries, listed a cute top ten annual list of the most ridiculous inventions ever created.

Here's a few that have crossed the patent office (although are not for sale):

1) The parachute hat.

2) Training pants for dogs

3) The tricycle lawnmower. (Actually, I'd probably take a look at that one)

4) The bird harness.

The story behind this failure was as follows: A lady put a bird harness on her bird and took the bird to the park, but it got spooked by some wild ducks, who were spooked by a dog. The bird--while attached to the bird harness--flew to a nearby tree and got stuck. As the bird tried to escape, he accidentally hung himself.

Eeep or chirp, as the case may be. No wonder that invention didn't fly. (Ooops. Sorry. That was a terrible a joke)

Personally, I'd like to see "the sour milk tester", so it doesn't have to hit my tongue. You know, something more useful. Unless, it's already been invented. Hmm. I need to google that.

Any inventions you'd like to see happen?

Shhhh! I'm trying to write.

IN THE NEWS: According to starpulse news blog, "Socialite Paris Hilton is spearheading a campaign to stop a herd of elephants killing themselves - after binging on alcohol. The hotel heiress was horrified to discover 40 of the animals were electrocuted after drinking rice-beer, which is brewed by locals in north-east India. And Hilton is now urging Indian residents to lock up their booze."
(Good for her?)


Yes, that's right. I'm writing today. I'm doing it the old fashioned way, too. Pen and paper.

FINALLY some time to myself. Sheesh. Hopefully, I'll have some sort of word total to post tomorrow.

Our Own Book Club

MENTAL STATUS: "Distracted". Lower back problems still a minor problem, but I did some exercising that helped a bit.

Well, since I remained on my back most of this weekend, I was able to do a quite a bit of reading. Which reminded me that I forgot to mention that on one of my critique forums, we're doing out own kind of online "book club".

Each of us members have a certain genre "specialty". So we thought it'd be kind of neat to expose one another to--or share-- what we each generally like to read. You know, get out of our comfort zone and try something new.

What's on the agenda for the next few months? I'll tell you:

November is DRIVEN by Eve Kenin , WIRED by Liz Maverick or MOONGAZER by Marianne Mancusi (it didn't matter what we chose, since the book club leader planned to read all three) I chose DRIVEN. All are supposed to be fairly dark SF with romantic elements and strong female protagonists.

December is CATCH OF THE DAY by Kristan Higgins. A romantic comedy.(My choice. Suprise surprise)

January is THIN ICE by Lianna Laverentz. We decided to throw an e-book on the list, and since this won the NJ RWA's Golden Leaf award, we couldn't resist.

February is LET SLEEPING ROGUES LIE by Sabrina Jeffries. An historical romance.

Well, I just finished Driven. I confess this story would not be something I would have been chomping at the bits to pick up. That's exactly why I'm so glad we started this book club, because I really enjoyed the story. Yeah, maybe we would have liked more pages devoted to the evil villain, but, oh well, you can't have everything in life. I would still recommend it. I especially liked the "tough" heroine--the fact that she armed herself with various cool weapons and could kill anyone without much effort, yet she hated to kill.
Interesting.

I'm actally ahead of schedule now, since I'm about a quarter of the way through Kristan Higgins' new novel and it's not up for discussion until next month.

Are you in a book club? Or better yet, have you read any of the books on our list?

Riddle Me This

I kind of dug this little riddle.
If you're curious, I saw it here first.

75% of grade one students solved this riddle, but only 5% of a Stanford graduate class figured it out!

Can you answer the following riddle?

1. The word has seven letters
2. Preceded God.
3. Greater than God.
4. More Evil than the devil
5. All poor people have it
6. Wealthy people need it.
7. If you eat it, you will die!




Did you figure it out yet?




Try hard before looking at the answer



Got it yet?





Ready to give up????





The Answer is: NOTHING!

NOTHING has 7 letters.
NOTHING preceded God.
NOTHING is greater than God.
NOTHING is more Evil than the devil.
All poor people have NOTHING.
Wealthy people need NOTHING.
If you eat NOTHING, you will die.

Nifty, huh?

Writer's Back

IN THE NEWS: According to Fox News, "Officials at a U.K. high school were aghast after a stripper visited a student during class and whipped him in front of other students and a horrified teacher, Sky News reported Thursday.
A booking error is to blame after a mother arranged to send a "gorilla gram" to her son on his 16th birthday, an arrangement she cleared with Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College. Instead, the agency sent a stripper clad in a policewoman costume.
After whipping the teen, the stripper placed a collar around his neck and led him around the classroom with a leash, telling him he had been a "bad boy" for not doing his homework. She then put on a Britney Spears tune and stripped for the shocked class, witnesses told Sky."
(yikes!)


I've never had any sort of back problems in my life. Until now.

Lately, I've had this ache in my lower back that has been annoying me to the point that I can barely write or even check e-mail. I thought maybe my bedroom mattress was the culprit, but the more I think about it, the more I think it could be my computer chair--or as I'm lovingly referring to it as: The Crippler.

It's an old chair. My father's when he bought his first computer. I think I was in college at the time. This chair is the only thing in my new house that hasn't been replaced when I'd ordered the new Ethan Allen desk and furniture a few years back. Why? Because I was too cheap. I just couldn't spring for that $600 mustard leather office chair. (Don't you think that's a little outrageous for a computer chair?) Well, it doesn't matter. Because I'm paying for it now. Not in $$, but in PAIN.

I've tried everything: pillows on my chair, stretching in the bridge position, hot showers, even having my daughter walk on it a-la Mr. Bently on George Jefferson from The Jeffersons. I'm still uncomfortable. And frustrated.

Do you have a special work chair, or do you use any special orthopedic pillows when you write?

I may have to look into something like that.

Ugh. I'm getting old.

Have an ache free weekend! (I'm going to try to)

Thursday Thirteen #26

Thirteen Magazines I've Subscribed
to Within the Last Ten years
*****************************************

1. Parenting



2. Bon Appetit

3. TV Guide (Hey, don't judge me! It had good articles--especially on all my American Idol gossip)

4. In Style (For obvious reasons)

5. Wine Spectator (I eventually renamed this one "Wine Dictator" and stopped my subscription)

6. Spin (I was younger then)

7. Travel & Leisure (Good vacation ideas)

8. American Baby ( Being a new mom and all that)

9. Gourmet

10. Saveur (Do you see a cooking trend here?)

11. Food & Wine (I like to eat and drink)

12. Money (A Christmas gift subscription, but not bad)

13. World (My all-time-favorite and I'm still subscribing to it)

****************************************************************

What magazines do you subscribe to?

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1.1. Elle Fredrix 2. Cassandra 3. Annalee Blysse 4. R.G. Alexander 5. Babe King 6. Gina Ardito 7. Tempest Knight 8. Jennifer McKenzie 9. Crystal Jordan 10. Jennifer Colgan & Bernadette Gardner 11. Elizabeth Parker 12. Rhonda Stapleton 13. Paige Tyler 14. Robin L. Rotham 15. Heather 16. Kate Willoughby 17. Ava Rose Johnson 18. Kissa Starling 19. Amelia June 20. Shelley Munro 21. Lyric 22. Debbie Mumford 23. Diana Castilleja 24. Adelle 25. Ciar Cullen 26. Marguerite Labbe 27. Lesley Speller 28. Stephanie Secrest 29. Savannah Chase 30. Lia 31. Kelly McCrady 32. Kaige 33. Tara S Nichols 34. Zara Penney(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Post Halloween Recap

MENTAL STATUS: "Happy". The hubby just approved me doing some "updates" to the living room--as in, new rug and window treatments. Yay!
Sven Word Progress: 588 words. Bleh. Not my best work, but it's something.

Gee, I realized I'm totally behind on Halloween pictures. So I just now downloaded them.

Here's some pics from my daughter's school Halloween parade. Dang digital camera. I took a picture right before my daughter came into view and it took forever to get in the ready position again. So there's the back of her in her bride costume.


I have no idea who this was. A teacher maybe? But it's a really cute Spongebob.

I thought this was a great costume for a second grader! Ha! A little old lady complete with walking stick and all.

I'm sorry I didn't take any "before" pictures of that pathetic Snow White wig I'd talked about, but I ran upstairs and took a picture of all the hacking I had done to it.

The end result: Snow White. The wig doesn't look half bad now, does it?

Unfortunately, all my work was for naught. The wind had picked up by the time trick-or-treating started, so my hubby said it lasted five minutes before it blew off. Figures. Grrr.

But she looked cute even without the wig. :) The night ended up being slow, so I was stuck with quite a lot of candy--and Play-Doh (I gave mini sizes out to the little trick-or-treaters) Oh well.

Did you get a lot of trick-or-treaters?

Brian's Book

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, "Clawing for freedom, a pack of lobsters high-tailed it out of an Asian supermarket in the early hours of Oct. 21 in Stuttgart, Germany. According to police, the crated crustaceans cut through a mesh fence before scurrying through a door a grocer accidentally left cracked. German night owls reported seeing a pack of fugitive crustaceans moving slowly down a street. "The breakout was successful," a police spokesman told Der Spiegel. Police rounded up the lobsters and turned them over to a local animal shelter."

I confess I don't watch Family Guy.

But some people I know do, and they directed me to this clip: Brian's Book.

I think anyone who writes can relate to Brian (the dog). Too funny!

Have a good one!

Back to Reality

MENTAL STATUS: "Unfocused". Ok, I need to calm down and start writing again. Everything kind of stopped once I got the e-mail from Samhain.

Sven Word Total: 0. (See above)

Thank you to everyone for all the well-wishes I received over the weekend. Gee, it's really nice to have friends.

And family. :)

I called my mom last week to tell her I sold a story and her reaction was quite comical. I think she was more excited than I was. I didn't even know she had taken an interest in my writing!

Even so, because she's not of the "writing world", I knew she wouldn't understand the complex differences of selling a short story to an e-publisher vs... say, writing The Da Vinci Code and selling it to Doubleday Books. But I tried my best to educate her.

In the end, she said she understood, but as I was explaining more about what I've been doing and writing about, she quickly interrupted me and asked, "Do you get to go on TV and talk about your book?"

At that point, I gave up and just laughed. Then she laughed, too. Then she said it didn't matter and as soon as we hang up she was going to call all her friends anyway. (That's my mom, for ya)

Anyhew, now that the excitement of my first sale has died down a bit, I can finally concentrate and go back to writing the story I've been struggling with--er, working on. I think I can concentrate now. Well, I'm going to try to concentrate. We'll see how that goes today. (Right after my room mom duty--and the mountain of laundry waiting for me, of course)

Life goes on.

How's your writing progress going?

My First Sale!

IN THE NEWS: Who cares? Did you not read the title of this post?

Hey, no you're not seeing things. That title is correct. Yep, I'm very excited, because I did in fact sell my very first story. I finally got the call--or e-mail, if you will--from Samhain Publishing!

So, to those of you who doubted that Jennifer could ever string together a coherent sentence, let alone a fairly amusing 50,000 word story, I now can say...

Don't feel bad. I seriously doubted it, too.

Ha! Yet, somehow--with the help of some really awesome critique partners, a cooperative 4 year-old, and a very understanding hubby--I managed to write a story and finally sell it. Woo-hoo!!

Here's the blurb for The Role of a Lifetime:

Desperate for the publicity to help her struggling preschool, Sandra Moyer agrees to allow Hollywood playboy Ben Capshaw access to her classes in order for him to do character preparation for his upcoming movie role. Her mistrust of actors has her worried about that decision, but, as she sees him in action with the children, her apprehension turns to wonder, and she begins to have feelings for him she thought were closed off the day her actor husband had left.

Since he was a boy, Ben Capshaw has learned acting was the answer to everything. Therefore, he knows the new role he’s up for will not only enhance his career, but secure his happiness. But spending time with Sandra and her daughter stir up feelings that—for once in his life—aren’t pretend. Can he convince Sandra he isn’t acting this time, or will he be typecast again?


Sound funny? No? Oh. Hmm. Well, yeah, I guess it doesn't. But trust me, it's pretty darn cute.

But before I sell you more on this story... first things first. My heartfelt thanks goes out to ALL my friends at RAH (Chicki, Angela, Theresa, Tash, Zaynah) and Passionate Critters (Debora, Deb, Mercy, Cyn, Janai) who read various chapters of this particular story, laughed where I wanted them to laugh, stroked my poor battered ego, corrected my grammar, and talked me off the ledge more times than I care to remember.

Your support and friendship has made this time so much more special to me.

THANK YOU all so much!

And, now that that's out of the way...

Let's party! :)

Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

Well, it's the first of the month... and you know what that means. Another great first chapter brought to you by Fiction In Rather Short Takes.

I'm particularly excited about this one, because I'm always looking for new Young Adult books.
Check this one out:

November 1st, time for the FIRST Day Blog Tour!

This month's feature author is:

LISA SAMSON

and her book:

Hollywood Nobody
Th1nk Books (August 30, 2007)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Samson is the author of twenty books, including the Christy Award-winning Songbird. Apples of Gold was her first novel for teens. Visit Lisa at http://www.lisasamson.com/
These days, she's working on Quaker Summer, volunteering at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, raising children and trying to be supportive of a husband in seminary. (Trying . . . some days she's downright awful. It's a good thing he's such a fabulous cook!) She can tell you one thing, it's never dull around there.

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Hollywood Nobody: April 1
Happy April Fool’s Day! What better day to start a blog about Hollywood than today?
Okay, I’ve been around film sets my whole life. Indie films, yeah, and that’s all I’m saying about it here for anonymity’s sake. But trust me, I’ve had my share of embarrassing moments. Like outgrowing Tom Cruise by the age of twelve — in more ways than one, with the way he’s gotten crazier than thong underwear and low-rise jeans. Thankfully that fashion disaster has run for cover. Underwear showing? Not a good idea.
Fact: I don’t know of a single girl who doesn’t wish the show-itall boxer-shorts phenomenon would go away as well. Guys, we just don’t want to see your underwear. Truthfully, we believe that there is a direct correlation between how much underwear you show and how much you’ve got upstairs, if you know what I mean.
I’ve seen the stars at their best and at their worst. And believe me, the worst is really, really bad. Big clue: you’d look just as pretty as they do if you went to such lengths. As you might guess, some of them are really nice and some of them are total jerks, and there’s a lot of blah in-betweeners. Like real life, pretty much, only the extremes are more extreme sometimes. I mean honestly, how many people under twenty do you know who have had more than one plastic surgery?
So you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little hard on these folks. But if it was all sunshine and cheerleading, I doubt you’d read this blog for long, right?
Today’s Rant: Straightening irons. We’ve had enough of them, Little Stars, okay? It was bad on Helen Hunt at the Oscars, worse on Demi, yet worse on Madonna, and it’s still ridiculous. Especially on those women who are trying to hold onto their youth like Gollum holds onto that ring. Ladies, there’s a reason for keeping your hair at or above your shoulders once you hit forty, and ever after. Think Annette Bening. Now she’s got it going on. And can’t you just see why Warren Beatty settled down for her? Love her! According to The Early Show this morning, curls are back, and Little Me ain’t going to tell why I’m so glad about that!
Today’s Kudo: Aretha Franklin. Big, bold, beautiful, and the best. Her image is her excellence. Man, that woman can sing! She has a prayer chain too. I’m not very religious myself, but you got to respect people who back up what they say they believe. Unless it’s male Scientologists and "silent birth." Yeah, right. Easy for them to say.
Today’s Today’s Quote: "Being thought of as ‘a beautiful woman’ has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Beauty is essentially meaningless." Halle Berry
Later!
Friday, April 2
I knew it was coming soon. We’d been camped out in the middle of a cornfield, mind you, for two weeks. That poke on my shoulder in the middle of the night means only one thing. Time to move on.
"What, Charley?"
"Let’s head ’em on out, Scotty. We’ve got to be at a shoot in North Carolina tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got food to prepare, so you have to drive."
"I’m still only fifteen."
"It’s okay. You’re a good driver, baby."
My mom, Charley Dawn, doesn’t understand that laws exist for a reason, say, keeping large vehicles out of the hands of children. But as a food stylist, she fakes things all the time.
Her boundaries are blurred. What can I say?
Charley looks like she succumbed to the peer pressure of plastic surgery, but she hasn’t. I know this because I’m with her almost all the time. I think it’s the bleached-blond fountain of long hair she’s worn ever since I can remember. Or maybe the hand-dyed sarongs and shirts from Africa, India, or Bangladesh add to the overall appearance of youth. I have no idea. But it really makes me mad when anybody mistakes us as sisters.
I mean, come on! She had me when she was forty!
My theory: a lot of people are running around with bad eyesight and just don’t know it.
I throw the covers to my left. If I sling them to my right, they’d land on the dinette in our "home," to use the term in a fashion less meaningful than a Hollywood "I do." I grew up in this old Travco RV I call the Y.
As in Y do I have to live in this mobile home?
Y do I have to have such an oddball food stylist for a mother?
Y must we travel all year long? Y will we never live anyplace long enough for me to go to the real Y and take aerobics, yoga, Pilates or — shoot — run around the track for a while, maybe swim laps in the pool?
And Y oh Y must Charley be a vegan?
More on that later.
And Y do I know more about Hollywood than I should, or even want to? Everybody’s an actor in Hollywood, and I mean that literally. Sometimes I wonder if any of them even know who they are deep down in that corner room nobody else is allowed into.
But I wonder the same thing about myself.
"You’re not asking me to drive while you’re in the kitchen trailer, are you, Charley?"
"No. I can cook in here. And it’s a pretty flat drive. I’ll be fine."
I’m not actually worried about her. I’m thinking about how many charges the cops can slap on me.
Driving without a license.
Driving without a seat belt on the passenger.
Speeding, because knowing Charley, we’re late already.
Driving without registration. Charley figured out years ago how to lift current stickers off of license plates. She loves "sticking it to the man." Or so she says.
I kid you not.
Oh, the travails of a teenager with an old hippie for a mother. Charley is oblivious as usual as I continue my recollection of past infractions thankfully undetected by the state troopers: Driving while someone’s in the trailer. It’s a great trailer, don’t get me wrong, a mini industrial kitchen we rigged up a couple of years ago to make her job easier. Six-range burner, A/C, and an exhaust fan that sucks up more air than Joan Rivers schmoozing on the red carpet. But it’s illegal for her to go cooking while we’re in motion.
"All right. Can I at least get dressed?"
"Why? You’re always in your pj’s anyway."
"Great, Mom."
"It’s Charley, baby. You know how I feel about social hierarchy."
"But didn’t you just give me an order to drive without a license? What if I say no?"
She reaches into the kitchen cupboard without comment and tips down a bottle of cooking oil. Charley’s as tall as a twelve-year-old.
"I mean, let’s be real, Charley. You do, in the ultimate end of things, call the shots."
I reach back for my glasses on the small shelf I installed in the side of the loft. It holds whatever book I’m reading and my journal. I love my glasses, horn-rimmed "cat glasses" as Charley calls them. Vintage 1961. Makes me want to do the twist and wear penny loafers.
"Can I at least pull my hair back?"
She huffs. "Oh, all right, Scotty! Why do you have to be so difficult?"
Charley has no clue as to how difficult teenagers can actually be. Here I am, schooling myself on the road, no wild friends. No friends at all, actually, because I hate Internet friendships. I mean, how lame, right? No boyfriend, no drugs. No alcohol either, unless you count cold syrup, because the Y gets so cold during the winter and Charley’s a huge conservationist. (Big surprise there.) I should be thankful, though. At least she stopped wearing leather fringe a couple of years ago.
I slide down from the loft, gather my circus hair into a ponytail, and slip into the driver’s seat. Charley reupholstered it last year with rainbow fabric. I asked her where the unicorns were and she just rolled her eyes. "Okay, let’s go. How long is it going to take?"
"Oh." She looks down, picks up a red pepper and hides behind it.
I turn on her. "You didn’t Google Map it?"
"You’re the computer person, not me." She peers above the stem. "I’m sorry?" She shrugs. Man, I hate it when she’s so cute. "Really sorry?"
"Charley, we’re in Wilmore, Kentucky. As in Ken-Tuck-EEE . As in the middle of nowhere." I climb out of my seat. "What part of North Carolina are we going to? It’s a wide state."
"Toledo Island. Something like that. Near Ocracoke Island. Does that sound familiar?"
"The Outer Banks?"
"Are they in North Carolina?"
Are you kidding me?
"Let me log on. This is crazy, Charley. I don’t know why you do this to me all the time."
"Sorry." She says it so Valley Girl-like. I really thought I’d be above TME: Teenage Mom Embarrassment. But no. Now, most kids don’t have mothers who dress like Stevie Nicks and took a little too much LSD back in the DAY. It doesn’t take ESP to realize who the adult in this setup is. And she had me, PDQ, out of the bonds of holy matrimony I might add, when she was forty (yes, I already told you that, but it’s still just as true), and that’sOLD to be caught in such an inconvenient situation, don’t you think? The woman had no excuse for such behavior, FYI.
My theory: Charley’s a widow and it’s too painful to talk about my father. I mean, it’s plausible, right?
The problem is, I can remember back to when I was at least four, and I definitely do not remember a man in the picture. Except for Jeremy. More on him later too.
I flip up my laptop. I have a great satellite Internet setup in the Y. I rigged it myself because I’m a lonely geek with nothing better to do with her time than figure out this kind of stuff. I type in the info and wait for the directions. Satellite is slower than DSL, but it’s better than nothing.
"Charley! It’s seventeen hours away!" I scan the list of twists and turns between here and there. "We have to take a ferry to Ocracoke, and then Toledo Island’s off of there."
"Groovy!"
"Groovy died with platform shoes and midis."
"Whatever, Scotty." Only she says it all sunny. She’s a morning person.
"That phrase should be dead."
Honestly, I’m not big on lingo. I’ve never been good at it, which is fine by me. Who am I going to impress with cool-speak anyway? Uma Thurman? Yeah, right. "Okay, let’s go."
"We can go as long as possible and break camp on the way, you know?" Charley.
I climb back into the rainbow chair, throw the Y into drive, pull the brake, and we’re moving on down the road.
Again.

Sample from Hollywood Nobody / ISBN: 1-60006-091-9Copyright © 2006 NavPress Publishing. All rights reserved. To order copies of this resource, come back to