A Tuesday Ramble... bear with me,and I will come to my point. Eventually. :-)

It’s been so freakin’ cold in Alabama recently, I think it froze my brain as well as my toes. I don’t like it. Not at all. Cold weather makes me grumpy and makes me want to hibernate. AC’s school reopened on Tuesday, only to shut down again on Thursday at noon because white stuff was falling from the sky and the world was ending…

Needless to say, this hasn’t been good for my creative process. (It has, however, been good for the “Get the House Ready To Sell” project list, and my bathroom has been repainted and my office cleaned out.)

It’s also given me some time to ponder my navel, the Universe, and Life. After all, there’s not much else to do when you’re snuggled under the duvet watching Disney movies… You know what? I’m tired of contemplating my navel and the universe.

If you thought this was going to be some kind of profound NEW YEAR –NEW OUTLOOK post, you were wrong. I have no deep thoughts any more. They’re frozen to the sides of my head because I don’t own earmuffs.

So I’ll tell you an amusing story instead. :-) One that made my day… And the day of Laura, the lady who creates my Mood Hair.

I made an appointment months in advance because genius hairdressers book up and I knew I’d want fresh, lovely color for an event taking place on a certain weekend. I had my appointment set for Friday morning. Thursday afternoon, Laura gets suddenly, violently ill. My appointment is canceled.

I’m concerned for Laura’s health, of course, but then I selfishly begin to panic about the three inches of roots and the event that is forty-eight hours away. Now, I can’t just grab a bottle of Miss Clairol and do it myself: my hair is so processed from years of coloring that a home kit (or less-than-genius hands) could cause it to fall out or turn green or something. I call the salon and beg. Can someone fit me in? Someone who can at least get my roots the same color as the rest of my hair?

Brittney, the stylist who works next to the wonderful Laura and is *almost* as talented agrees to work me in. Bless her.

As you do when you’re in the chair, Brittney and I chatted about numerous things, and at some point, it came up that I was a romance writer. We didn’t discuss it much – just that I did and that I loved it.

Laura, for those of you worried for her health, was resting comfortably at home at this point, on her way to a full recovery.

With the horrid roots covered, I go about my business. The rest of this story is reported to me later.

So Laura comes back to work, and Brittney says to Laura, “I didn’t know you had a famous client.” (They obviously have a broad interpretation of the word “famous” around there.) Laura brags on me and my books. The client in Brittney’s chair smiles and nods politely. They chat about books for a minute or two more, and then it’s on to the next topic.

Two days later, the mother of Brittney’s client comes to get her hair done. That client comes in, looks at Laura, and, in an impressed voice, says, “You do Kimberly Lang’s hair? Really? I love her books.” (Unfortunately, there was no mention of her loving my *hair* though…)

*That’s* very cool. It made my day. It tickled Laura too. That got me bumped up another notch on AC’s Famous-o-Meter (yes, AC has created a Famous-O-Meter. She’s ranked all the romance authors she knows on it, and, trust me, being her mom doesn’t get me any special treatment on the Famous-O-Meter’s ranking system.).

Granted, the greater Huntsville Area is not as heavily populated as say, New York, so the Six Degrees of Separation game from reader to author is probably a bit easier to play around here, but still…. It was really, really cool.

So that’s the story you get when it’s cold outside and I’ve been inhaling paint fumes for two days: My brush with being Somebody. :-)

Okay, enough small talk, onto the contest question for today! To refresh your memory, here’s what’s happening:

Win A $50 Amazon Gift Card!!!

The Playfriends are celebrating the new look of our website for 2010 by giving out a big prize this week – a $50 gift card to Amazon.com . The catch? You must answer a question from each day about the website to be entered to win – that’s 5 answers. Check out the blog each day of this week and answer the question found at the bottom of the blog post by sending the answer to webmaster@writingplayground.com. Additional entries may be earned by reporting any broken links you find on the website to the same email address. The winner will be announced on Saturday, so be sure to check in then too. If the prize is not claimed within 7 days, we’ll be awarding it to someone else who answered the questions. Okay?

Tuesday’s question: From The Playdates page, what event are the Playfriends looking forward to this May?

We'd also love to hear any feedback you have from your cruising on our new site. Thanks and Good Luck!