Nov 3, 2008 | Fun, General, Life |
I had a blog post written, but an unscheduled trip made me change my mind. See, my post was a bit cryptic and slightly whiny. Something happened last week that made me stop and think about a few things. And I was feeling hurt and irritated and wanted to whine. Without divulging the issue, of course. It wasn't really a big deal, but it bugged me.
And then on Sunday, we took an unplanned trip to Nashville.
See, Saturday was an author event, a reader's luncheon in Birmingham that was simply fabulous. I got to hear the wonderful and inspiring Christina Dodd speak, and I got to visit with fellow Pixie Chick Louisa Cornell. I received an engraved heart box, balloons, and a cake from my Southern Magic chapter mates for my first sale. More awesomeness. And I got to hang out with two of my friends and fab authors, Kira Sinclair and Kimberly Lang. (They forced me to overeat in a restaurant called Brio's.)
But as fun as all that was, I was still feeling whiny. Until Nashville. Why? I think because the Nashville trip had nothing to do with writing, publishing, reading, etc. Nothing to do with my JOB. It was a spontaneous trip with my hubby and parents. So spontaneous we didn't leave until 1:30 on Sunday.
We were at the Bass Pro Shop (yeah, the men wanted to go) by 3. Mom and I headed into the mall and had a blast going through the stores. I tried on a pair of Christian Louboutins that were on sale for the RIDICULOUS price of $118. Too bad they didn't fit because I have never, ever seen Louboutins that low.
We hit Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne, and several shoe stores. I bought nothing. When the men finished picking out lures, baits, and whatever other kind of weird things men love to shop for, we went to a restaurant called Aquarium and had dinner while watching fish swim around in a 200K gallon tank. Too cool.
It was soothing, it was spontaneous, and I didn't think of writing or publishing for hours. I loved it. On the way home, I blew $25 on lottery tickets. I came home feeling much better than I did when this weekend began. Sometimes, it's the unscheduled trips that give you a new perspective, or give you exactly what you need to recharge.
Where's your favorite place to go when you need a recharge? Or what's your favorite thing to do? Shopping? Dinner with friends or family? Long walks or drives?
Oct 31, 2008 | Fun, General, Life |
Did you decorate for Halloween? I have two pumpkins, uncarved. I bought candy. I think that's good enough. 🙂 What about this place, hmm? It's in West Virginia. There are over 3000 pumpkins, and a group of volunteers carves them (ya think?). You can read more about it here.
When I was a kid, I used to look forward to Halloween so much. I didn't live in a suburb, but in the country. My mom had to pile us into the car and take us driving around the countryside for candy. These days, kids have such safe choices — neighborhoods banding together, malls, churches, etc, that hold Trick or Treat for kids. I think that's great.
Indeed, Halloween has turned into its own season now. The decorations, parties, greeting cards, etc. It goes on and on. When I was a kid, costumes were chintzy — K-Mart or Wal-Mart things with those horrible plastic masks that you couldn't see through or breathe out of. I can't remember any of the costumes I had. I do remember one I threw together though.
I wanted to be Samantha from Bewitched so much. My mother had this flowing black coat that made me think of Samantha's coat. I borrowed the coat, and a blonde wig (not that I wasn't blonde already, but my hair didn't look like Sam's). I think I wore a pair of my mother's shoes (they were too big, naturally). That was my costume, LOL. I imagine I looked seriously odd, but I was happy.
What was your best costume ever? Will you be dressing up for Halloween today? What was your favorite Halloween candy? I loved candy corn, though I can't stand the stuff now. 🙂
Oct 27, 2008 | Life |
As expected, my plan to talk about Twitter just sort of evaporated. Events of the weekend overtook me. Namely, my hubby's obsession with the World Series. May I just say I do not care? Oh, I do actually enjoy it a teeny bit when it's the LAST game. But this was game three. Not pivotal so far as I'm concerned.
And yet the man had to watch it. The game was rain delayed, which meant it started late. And then it finished really late. Probably 1 AM Central. I don't know because I went to bed. Hubby stayed up for the whole thing. (Though tonight he decided to go play on the computer instead of finishing Game 4 — odd, hmm?)
I have to admit, however, that I do find an almost 46 yr old pitcher too cool for words. Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies. This is his first World Series, which I find fascinating given his record with the Majors, and he's a lefty. THAT'S what interests me about baseball. Human drama.
That's probably why I love baseball movies but don't much care for baseball itself. Baseball movies have so much drama, don't they? Bull Durham is my favorite, probably followed by The Rookie. I also love For the Love of the Game and The Natural. A League of Their Own is pretty cool too. I am not so much a Field of Dreams fan, however.
Is it just me, or is this World Series stuff mostly a Mars thing? Because, aside from Jamie Moyer, I just don't get it. I'd rather watch paint dry. I'd rather watch paint dry than watch most sports, come to think of it. I get excited when the stakes are HIGH. Last year's Superbowl? Too cool. Loved it. I suppose, knowing me, if the Phillies get within true striking distance, I'll get excited because I want the ancient (by sports standards) guy to win.
So, opinions about sports? About the World Series? Football? (Please take a moment to think of me tonight; Hubby is having a Monday Night Football party. I'm sure I'll eat the food, say “rah rah” and disappear.)
Tomorrow is the drawing for the Gift Card!! Don't forget to signup for my newsletter for a chance to win! (See sidebar.)
Oct 24, 2008 | General, Life |
Today, I feel the need to unplug from the computer for a while. Oh, I do not kid myself this will be a total unplug from sun up to sun down. I know me.
But I'm feeling a bit too much like I've got too many plugs draining power, you know? And I need to write this book.
So I'm going to make a very concerted effort to be somewhere else with my Alphie, or the laptop in a place where I have to pay for Internet (and therefore won't). Once I reach my goal, I'll be back to see what y'all have been up to!
Do you ever feel the need to unplug? Are you successful at it, or do you still manage to let the energy be drained away as you try to keep too many things going at once?
Monday: The beauties of Twitter. Unless I change my mind. 🙂
Sep 29, 2008 | Life, Writing |
Oops, didn't get around to writing a new post until now. The anniversary graphic, while nice, is no longer relevant. 🙂 We did have a nice time, though. Nice dinner out the first day, home cooked meal at Mom's house the next. Pleasant times.
Finally, it's starting to cool down a bit in Alabama. There's a Fall nip to the air in the early mornings. I like that. You can still wear shorts or capris during the day, though. I like Fall. When I lived in Hawaii, I loved the weather. Summer all the time. But I realized when I moved that I did miss the seasons. I could do without Winter, of course. But Fall has that feeling of new beginnings, doesn't it? Maybe it's conditioned into us from the school years, but Fall is when you embark on something new. More so, I think, than New Year's.
I love fresh start feelings. I think of new projects, or get into the mood to revitalize old projects. I have a new manuscript planned, and I'm having fun thinking about it. And yes, this pantser is trying very hard to write a synopsis and character backgrounds FIRST. It's tough, but I think it'll make the writing easier. But I won't be committed to a definite path, so I can still change things as I write.
Any fresh starts for you this Fall? Busy weekends? Anniversaries?
Sep 26, 2008 | Life |
Today is my anniversary! Not saying how many years, but it's more than I can believe. When you spend enough time with a person, you get to a point where you're amazed it worked out and positive you couldn't live without each other.
Tomorrow is our anniversary too. We were married in Germany, so one day was the Burgermeister wedding, where we had to get married in the town hall, and the next was the church wedding for family and friends.
And we're going to spend the day with both sets of parents. Kind of cool since we are all quite a bit older than we were then…..
