Weekend Update

Well, it’s been almost a year since my last blog entry, and looking back at my last posting it seems as if not much has changed when actually a lot has happened. Here’s how it compares to last year’s last entry.
1) I am going to do Nano this year, I’ve got a project I need to get started, as I’ve got an editor already interested in it. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research and preparation, not just need to get it done.
2) I would like to begin blogging more regularly, however between Nano and the madness that is my work schedule, I would be happy with a weekly posting. This would be a good start, right?
3) Yup, still working on the losing the weight, and am making progress. Not fast, but I’ve gotten to the point where I’m starting to keep it off. No plans for marathons, but maybe a walk/run for cancer.
4) Still not playing games on Facebook, and not even spending much time on Angry Birds. This seems to have been a low tech summer, lots of curling up with a good book. I’m currently glomming my way through J.D. Robb’s in Death books.
5) Yup, I still have allergies, and they are once again driving me nuts.
Now for the things that have changed:
1) Savannah Jane, my 19 year old cat, passed away on March 16 of this year, so I’m currently catless, and not yet ready for a new one.
2) My car which is 14 years old, and has 139k miles on it, has had some seriously expensive repairs done to it this year, and needs to go into the shop tomorrow. If I can get it there. I’m seriously thinking of going car shopping when I go home for Christmas. That’s what sisters are for, after all.
3) I’m thinking of buying my own place, and have even started getting organized for any potential (oh god) moving in my future. But never have enough time off (and energy) to get very far.
4) The library will be getting a new space, just not this year, and not a standalone building. So the mad packing we started the year with… now has to be undone and redone in a more orderly fashion. So we can actually find things. And then we have, oh joy, another move.

I’m sure there is more, but it is late, and I don’t want to sound like I’m whining. Not all of the changes have been bad. I bought a Nook, and quite enjoy it (even if it has been on more trips this year than I have), and also a new cell phone (one I actually use and remember to keep paid up). Hopefully a few things in my life, though, will stay the same.

Weekend Update- the Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween, Happy Samhain, Happy Sunday. Hope everyone is enjoying lovely weather and having fun watching the little trick or treaters. Not a lot going on, but I am trying to blog more, so I thought I'd borrow a page out of Charlene's blog and do a 5 things make a blog entry.
1) I've decided not to Nano this year, but work on the revisions and then pull my manuscript for book 2 together and see how far I am with that, and then go one from there.
2) I will try to blog more often. I'm going to aim for twice a week, and see how that goes.
3) I'm losing weight, and am going to start on getting in shape. In addition to using the Wii Fit Plus, I'm going to add walking once or twice a week, and am thinking about buying a bike. Once I lose enough weight, I might add running in, or at least increase the distance of walking. The goal, which might be sheer madness, is to attempt, with my sisters in 2012, to run the Chicago marathon. Yup, I'm nuts, and it is genetic. I blame my sisters. :)
4) I order to blog more and work on my writing more, I'm going to have to give up one of my Facebook games. I've given up all but two: Island Paradise and Farmville. Not sure which one to give up. In both, I'm working towards another expansion, and I think in Farmville it is the last available (for now), but on IP there is one after that, but it takes a long time to work up to. But both can take a up a lot of time, if you let them.
5)My allergies are driving me nuts. At the moment one of my ears feels like it has bubbles popping in my ear canal, all of the time. Nothing I do seems to affect it, not even yawning, and I've been yawning all day (which looks very professional, let me tell you). If it doesn't clear up before tomorrow I might have to go to the doctor. Bleh.
Oh one more.
My friend Katie moved back to VA (and her hubby Max will follow as soon as we find him a job), so now I have someone to go out to eat with, and we found a new restaurant, The Green Turtle, which makes a pretty mean Monte Cristo (not as good as the Green Leafe, but on the other hand I don't have to drive an hour to have one).
So things are looking up, and hopefully November will be even better.

Thursday Thirteen (or not)-the Early Edition

So. It's been a while since I did any regular blogging, or writing, and I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out where this summer went.

1) Writing is like any other activity, it is easy to get out of practice. But just because I haven't been writing or blogging, doesn't mean I haven't been thinking, or plotting, or planning. It does mean I need to start back, or my characters are going to start taking over my dreams again (not a good idea when you're plotting out a murder mystery).
2) I need to start working out with the wii more, maybe that will give me more get up and go (I was doing it almost all summer long- I had to take a break though, getting muscle cramps in my feet- not fun when you drive a car with a stick shift and a clutch).
3) Trying to get organized is a never ending process- one I wish I could finish soon. Although it did help taking one of my love seats to the dumpster (it really needed to go), maybe this weekend I'll take a load of stuff to the Salvation Army.
4) I also need to get ready for my trip to Florida and the Wonderful World of Harry Potter. I can't wait.
5)I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately, and when I get back I'll start blogging about some of the books I've read. Big hint: two words for you: Steam. Punk.
6) The Evil Dayjob is getting a new library! This is great news, and desperately needed. I'll share more news (and floorplans) as we get them. Click Here, if you want to see what the building will look like.
7) I haven't been blogging much, or visiting other peoples blogs. And I definitely need to do more blog hopping, I miss my peeps too much. Although having the chance to meet some in person has totally rocked. :)
8) I've started planning my travels for next year. Not sure if I'm going to make it to RT, in LA. But I do plan to go to Pennwriters, Lori Foster's, and the CRW writer's retreat. Not sure where else, other than the usual trip home. Places to go and people to see, that's a good thing in my book.
9) According to weather.com, not a single thing in my area is producing pollen: weeds, grass, or trees. So of course my allergies are going nuts. Oy.
10)I'm going to FL Thursday, to go see the Wonderful World of Harry Potter (see #9).
11) My 18 year old cat is driving me nuts. I just hope she sticks around so I can tell everyone that my 19 year old cat is driving me nuts.
12) I want to move. I don't care if it's across town or across the country. I want to move. Will work on that too.
13) Once again it has been a supremely crazy year here, and once again it would have been even crazier without all of my writing friends, online and in person, who remind me that there is more to life than the dayjob. And that it's always good to have plans.
P.S. This is not actually early, I started this last Thursday, went home and got sidetracked. I'll try to do better next week.

To Nano or not to Nano

It's October again, and I must once again make that annual decision: to I attempt NaNoWriMo? Or not? I would like to finish my revisions and resubmit before I leave for Florida, and would still have time to do some serious research before November 1st. Perhaps the best way to decide is finish the revisions and submit the ms, and then try and write out a tentative synopsis for the next book. If I get a good start on where the story is going, I'll do it. I'm not promising that I'll be able to finish 50k words in a month. But I'm not rejecting the possibility. How about you? Anyone else up for a marathon writing month?

Changes

I've made a few changes to the blog, mostly to the comments: you have to log in to post a comment and I've enabled the verification word feature (I had it on when I first started the blog, but turned it off when I realised the only person it caught...was me. But now that I'm getting spammed- it's back on- my apologies to the two of you who comment regularly).

Weekend Update

Okay, this is actually a report of what I did last weekend. But once I got home and back to work, it took me a while to get this posted. I had started this blog entry sitting at the Columbus airport waiting for my flight home from the Lori Foster Reader/Writer Get Together.
I had a great weekend. I got to see friends, talk shop, relax, and reconnect with my tribe (writers, if you're curious, or maybe book people would be more accurate). Sometimes you have to give yourself a chance to refill the well (although personally I think my well has sprung a leak).
I flew out Thursday, with a brief lay over in Charlotte, where I ran into my friend Angie (found out she was there reading her update on Facebook). So we shared a taxi to the hotel, which took us longer than the flight from Charlotte (I saw an accident with a 5-7 mile backup as we were approaching the airport, traffic sign said to avoid 75 and take 275 instead- cabbie still decided to try taking 75).
After checking into the hotel, we went out for dinner and drinks. The hotel staff suggested the irish pub just down the street. It was awesome. The food was great, the live music was fun, and the wait staff all wore kilts. The chocolate creme brulee was divine. Back at the hotel, we ran into Larissa and Amy at the pub, and had a good time hanging out with them.
Friday morning I joined a group of women for breakfast at Bob Evans, and then on to Jungle Jim's, a foodie Mecca. That place is huge, and full of all sorts of foods from all over the world. Friday was when it formally started with registration and pizza for dinner, after which I hung out at the bar with Angie, Shiloh, Limecello, Angie's friend (who's name escapes me at the moment). At midnight, I was in my room sitting in bed... working on my synopsis, I even worked on it more when I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep.
Saturday was laid back and relaxing. They did the drawings for the gift baskets (which I didn't win), had the book signing, I sat in on Angie's talk about Carina press, and went out to dinner with Shiloh, Beth Williamson, friends of Shi's, and Marty and Chrissie from Samhain.
The next morning Shiloh and I had breakfast at Dianne Casteel's house, before she generously drove me to the airport.
And now for the pictures.

This is the entrance to Jungle Jims, the mammoth grocery, outside of Cincy.

The entire space was full of these displays, such as the flying pig...

and this horse & buggy

The entrances to the rest rooms were actual port-a-potties,

one of which was staged for pictures.

A shoe chair.

There was a huge section of beers and wines with some interesting selections,

such as Insanity Beer...

Ruination...

Mad Hatter Pale Ale

Monty Python's Holy Ale

and Werewolf Beer

This is my psychokitty drinking the water I was taking outside to water the plants on my deck. She must have been really thirsty. :)

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

This humble little blog has officially turned four today. Four. Can you believe it? Neither can I, time sure flies when you're having fun, and I've had a blast. Going to conferences and getting to meet so many awesome people. I went to RT again this year, and will post pictures hopefully tonight. I'm still working on getting published, but am a little further down the road and definitely feeling more prepared. So thank you for stopping by, and let's get the party started.