WINNERS!!!

We've got a couple of honorary Birthday Girls from yesterday!!!! These ladies won "gifties":

Quality Time giftie: Addison

A True Surprise Present giftie: the Brunette Librarian

Congratulations!!! Please send Angel your snail mail address at readdaniwade @ gmail .com (no spaces) to claim your prize!

Thanks for all the birthday love!

We're Six!

Things are hustling and bustling for the Playfriends with lots of changes, both professionally and personally. Today we celebrate our 6th birthday. We’re big kids now, with lots of exciting “firsts” to discover and even bigger Playground equipment to climb! *squeee*

When we first started the Playground, eons ago, we were focused on helping other writers on their writing journeys. Now, as more of the Playfriends join the published ranks, we find ourselves also meeting our readers and providing a place for them to get to know us. As those goals collide, we’ve decided to make some exciting changes around here! Our main website has been converted to pages right here on the blog. Any of our past articles or interviews can be found by clicking the link on the appropriate page – they aren’t going away, we just won’t be adding to those sections any longer. If we interview wonderful authors, it will be here on the blog as guest authors, so be sure to keep an eye on upcoming Playground visitors!

Many of us have individual websites now (links are in the sidebar), but the blog is our special place to speak our piece -- in more than 140 characters -- so we hope you’ll continue to visit with us on the swing set every day. Our newsletter is still active, so feel free to sign up from the link in the sidebar, but it will be coming out quarterly now and focused on special events, guest bloggers, and releases. And don’t forget our Facebook page, where a lot of those special announcements and guest bloggers show up right in your news feed! So “LIKE” us as the Writing Playground.

We hope you enjoy our streamlined site and new “look”. These past six years have meant the world to us as we’ve gotten to know you, our readers, and celebrated life’s ups or commiserated life’s downs. We want to celebrate once again by giving away 2 “presents” today! Two of our commenters will be given one of the following gifties – so be sure to comment! Tell us your favorite way (presents, activities, whatever) to celebrate your BIRTHDAY!!!!

Giftie 1: Quality Time, includes a thermal mug, English breakfast tea, bath goodies, and of course, books!
Giftie 2: A True Surprise Present, includes mystery goodies (because some people like a good surprise) and of course, books!

Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday dear Playfriends, Happy birthday to us!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

Five years ago, a small group of writers stepped out in faith. We wanted to share a few things with the world – hope, encouragement, our journey, and the little bits of wisdom that work for us as we navigate the waters of writing, publication, and life. Along the way, I hope we’ve done those few things, but we’ve done one other very important thing – created some wonderful, lasting memories between ourselves and with our readers. This year, we wanted to share some of our favorite memories of the past 5 years with you.




PLAYGROUND MONITOR:

Two months into our blogging experience, the Playfriends took our first road trip. It wasn’t far – just seventy miles. But we were free of husbands and children and the rest of the world for overnight. Angel’s Suburban had not yet been dubbed “The Playmobile,” complete with an airbrushed tag on the front. Instigator was still a Krispy Kreme virgin (though we solved that on the trip). Problem Child had to sleep on the floor on Amazing Child’s inflatable mattress designed for a small (in other words, short) child. I still remember AC’s tear-stained face as Darling Geek held her in his arms and she called out and waved, “Bye-bye, inflatable mattress.” Smarty Pants was our computer guru who got us hooked to the internet at the motel room (she had a cat5 cable since this was before the days of widespread wifi). And I was still trying to figure out this whole writing business. Still am, actually. We blogged that first night and called it “Playfriends Gone Wild, Volume 1.”
http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2006/01/playfriends-gone-wild-volume-1.html


Day and night #1 went smoothly (see reference to Instigator’s initiation to Krispy Kreme) and we all tried to settle in for a good night’s sleep (well, all except PC on the inflatable mattress but she was a trooper to take one for the team). The following morning we were surprised by a call from one of the Mavens who’d been called by another Maven who’d seen on TV that the police department in our get-away town had busted a meth lab in operation in a motel that was part of the same chain where we were staying. A quick view of the morning news revealed not only had the meth lab been operating in the same motel where we were, it was in THE ROOM RIGHT BEHIND US! We shared a bathroom wall.

Had we known this might portend a general disposition toward Playfriend travel disasters, we’d never have given PC that Leatherman tool in Atlanta.

We did have a bit of plotting fun with the incident though. Here’s what Angel wrote in our follow-up blog titled “But Not That Wild!”
http://writingplayground.blogspot.com/2006/01/but-not-that-wild.html


“But in true creative fashion (after getting over the shock), we began to brainstorm how this could work in a book. We entertained ourselves throwing together a hokey plot with a single female alone in her hotel room, the undercover DEA agent next door whose scraggly appearance weirds her out when she meets him, and the meth lab that explodes one night, taking out the wall of her room and forcing them on the run.”

And here’s our scraggly DEA agent after the explosion. ::grin::




INSTIGATOR:
What’s my favorite Playground memory? Without a doubt, it’s any one of the conferences we’ve all gone to together. Four or five of us sharing one bathroom must be hilarious to anyone from the outside looking in. Honestly, you don’t really know someone until you’ve watched them put on Spanx. And you just have to be friends with anyone who will hook your strapless bra for you.



Sharing rooms. Staying up until two o’clock in the morning talking about writing, family, kids and life. Eating peanut butter-covered brownie bites because someone was smart enough to pack the important things. Working on pitches because someone *cough* didn’t come prepared. Sharing jewelry. Sharing clothes.

Blown knees and cut fingers, we’ve been through it all. You’d think that after five days of forced togetherness we’d get tired of each other. We don’t. You’d think we might fight. We don’t. In fact, most of the time I should be concentrating more on the conference and less on having a good time with my friends...but I know I won’t. Part of what I love about conferences is spending it with Angel, PC, SP & PM. It wouldn’t be the same without them.




PROBLEM CHILD:

My favorite memories aren't really specific, but they always involve the five of us, sitting around, just talking. Those nights sometimes run together - maybe we're on a porch, or in a hotel room somewhere, or in someone's hot tub or living room, but we're laughing and talking. The subjects will vary greatly from moment to moment - we'll be discussing a point one minute, something one of us read on the internet a minute later, and shortly thereafter, our kids or our parents or our weight loss.

Lather, rinse, repeat - and pay attention, because the conversation can hang a sharp left with no warning whatsoever. (Like the time we were plotting Kira's book, and the conversation meandered away from the plot for a moment, so I left the room. A couple of minutes later, I come back, and the book that used to be set at a nudist resort is now set on a peach farm and there's dead people in it.)

So I guess my favorite Playfriend memories involve laughing until we cry and crying until we laugh.




Or, on a less sentimental note, the look on SP's face when she realized I brought silverware to the Dixie Stampede. ~grin~


SMARTY PANTS:

Like PC, there have been a lot of great moments over the last five years, but my favorites usually involve us sitting around and talking about anything and everything. There's usually food, occasionally screaming at children is also involved, but always fabulous conversation and laughter. To me, it’s really not a Playground gathering if I don't get the chance to make PC's mascara run. Earlier this year, we got a chance to take our gathering to a whole new level - to the hot tub. When we go to the mountains, rarely does a night go by that we don't climb into the Jacuzzi. We even went out in the snow. There's no stopping us.




It’s the one time I can put on a swimsuit without feeling fat, grab a bottle of hard lemonade or a glass of wine and spend time with my peeps until we turn all pruney. A lot of time we plot and brainstorm. Instigator gets very inspired by steamy water, so that works for her. When we're on a roll, we can do two books a night (although note taking is difficult with water and alcohol, so the morning after usually includes some re-caps). Sometimes we lament our personal drama and tell funny stories about our lives pre-Playground. It's just nice to sit around and relax for once.

You know how much excitement can usually result from one of our trips, so given that no one has injured themselves or had a wardrobe malfunction in the hot tub makes it a banner event on its own. We actually like it so much that when PC sent us the link to a house she was thinking of buying and it had a Jacuzzi, I was sold, sight unseen. :) This is a Playground tradition in the making and one of my favorite memories.




ANGEL:

I had promised I would pick one memory, and I had: dancing at the Harlequin Party at every conference. I chose this memory because its fun, out of the ordinary, and a fabulous bonding experience. I also chose it because it is unique for me. You see, I’ve never danced in public before. In high school and college, I never went to dances or clubs. My husband has never taken me dancing. So when we were invited to this party, I have to admit I freaked. I mean, me, dancing in public? I’m not slim, smooth, or sexy. I was sure I’d be the person talked about the next morning by everyone there… and not for a good reason.



But let me tell you, there is nothing like boogeying with your best friends in the midst of pounding music, belting out your favorite lyrics, and smiling until your face hurts. If anyone talked about me the next morning, well, at least I didn’t know it. But I’ll never forget these moments of freedom and fun with my favorite friends.

Unfortunately, when trying to choose the pictures that went with this post, I had a difficult time limiting myself to just one memory. Each photo was accompanied by a smile and an “ah, I remember…”. Our first group pictures. First sale celebrations. Lunch with our Mavens. Sightseeing. My Golden Heart final. Phone calls. Late night talks. Tears. Hugs. Squees.



We’ve done it all. In the past 5 years, these women have gone from being my best friends to being my sisters. We can be as different as night and day, but we all have a similar drive, similar work ethic, passion for our writing, our families, our lives. You, our readers, have been there with us to celebrate, commiserate, brainstorm, and dream. We’ve gotten to know far too few of you through your comments, precious in-person meetings, and email exchanges. Today, we hope you will once again celebrate with us.

And in joyful birthday tradition, we’ll be giving away birthday gifties! Our appreciation of lovely alcoholic beverages (and their rightful role in all celebrations) has led us to put together a proper present including 2 martini glasses, a mini-shaker, Cocktails for Dummies, two mini-mixer bottles, and books, including ones from our own Kimberly Lang and Kira Sinclair.



And who knows what other prizes might be given away today?!?! To enter, simply comment about your own favorite memories – what’s the best thing that’s happened in your life over the last 5 years?

Thank you so very much for your comments, advice, humor, and encouragement here on the Playground. It wouldn’t be nearly as fun a ride without our dear friends!

Angel

Birthday

Yeah, so my birthday is coming up next Tuesday. It's not a big one...at least not one of the 0 or 5 ones I tend to dread for no good logical reason. It's just a birthday, but I'm really not looking forward to it. I'm tired of not just growing older but growing up. I wanna know who said I had to start acting my age?

I still shop in the teen section because their clothes are so much cuter than the ones in my own section. The problem is they aren't exactly cut for someone who's been through childbirth twice... Part of me realizes that I'm getting too old for this, that forty is around the corner and I do not want to be the woman everyone says dresses inappropriately for her stage in life. (Although, hey, I could consider it research since I'm working on a YA) But I'm just not ready to let go of my teenage/twenty-something years! They were fun. I was fun.

I'm not ready for my girls to get older either. I'm happy with them being cute, sweet, appreciative, polite 9 and 6 year olds. Me getting older means that the teenage years and endless months of rebellion, sulking and hormonal temper tantrums are right around the corner. I'm. Not. Ready! I'm not ready for the day they come home and want to spend time in their rooms with the doors closed instead of telling me about their day. I'm not ready for Zilla and I to become less and less important to their daily routine. Yes, I realize that's what's supposed to happen...I'm just not ready for it.

So, yeah, I have a birthday next week. It isn't a major one but apparently seems to be sending me into a tailspin none-the-less. I'm not sure what to do with that. It's surprising. I don't think I've ever had this response to a birthday. I've still got 6 years before 40 but I can suddenly see why so many people go through mid-life crises. If this feeling is going to get worse and worse for the next 6 years I'm going to end up jumping out of a plane (with a parachute of course) by the time 40 actually gets here just for that rush of adrenaline.

So, anyone else got a birthday coming up? Is it wigging you out or is it just me?

Instigator

4th Birthday Extravaganza!

Four years ago today, we launched our website and blog, announced it to all our friends, and held our breath. Would people come? Were we wasting our time and money? The answers surprised us and we're tickled to be here today celebrating because yes, people did come and no, we weren't wasting our time and money!

So much has changed since our very first blog post. Of course we shoved Problem Child out front and made her go first in her role as ceremonial canary in the mineshaft. When she didn't croak, we each took our turn. Since that time, with guest bloggers we've posted about 1300 blogs. 1300! We've posted over 150 industry interviews, articles and book recommendations, too. Who knew we had that much to say? Well, we not only had things to say, but we had people to listen, too. A huge Playground thank you to everyone who shows up on the blog and the website, comments, and makes us feel like we're doing something worthwhile. You're really special to us. We (heart) you guys.



Ack. I refuse to get misty! (::world peace, world peace::) One sure cure for the sappiness is cabana boys! Let's get this party started. It wouldn't be a Playground birthday without our favorite drink - the Teeter Totter, petit fours from our local bakery, a chocolate fountain, and of course - our crew of highly...uh, talented... and scantily clad cabana boys here to indulge your every desire. Scratch that... most desires. We're not running that kind of joint.

So, have Raoul bring you a drink, give you a back rub and let's celebrate four great years! Today, please share how long you've been hanging out with us and your favorite part of the Playground. One commenter will receive a fabulous prize featuring an assortment of books, a DVD, tea, Vera Bradley notepads, fuzzy socks and other goodies in a tote bag.

SP

Up to My Elbows In Buttercreme

I should've known better than to take on cake decorating as a hobby. Combining sweet confectionary arts with my sedentary work and other sedentary hobbies is just asking for a bigger rear end. I spend most of my time at the computer, reading or scrapbooking (read: sitting). Why couldn't I like to hike or rollerblade or something? Nope. Not me. I like artistic pursuits, which includes decorating pastry in super sugary goodness.

At the moment, I have two cakes under construction at my house. As Instigator mentioned, this weekend is the Playkids Birthday Extravaganza. To go along with our Pirates & Princess theme, one is a chocolate pirate ship and the other is a vanilla tiara pull apart cupcake-cake. I can't complain because I volunteered to make the cakes. For one thing, the grocery store wanted $80 for the pirate ship and $32 for the tiara cake and that's just crazy. Second, like baking and decorating. It's fun. I'd like to think I'm fairly good at it. It also has the potential to be fairly lucrative as a side job at some point.

But it also has the potential for eating. Scraps, stray buttercreme icing, extra fillings, etc. Even if I don't eat a bite of the resulting cake, I'm surrounded by tasty opportunities.

I'd honestly like to do more cakes. Practice and try new skills and methods. But I simply cannot have a cake sitting around my house each week. People laugh at me when I try to push extra cake on them, but its an absolute must. I don't want to eat it. Scratch that. I do want to eat it. Which is why it must go away.

What's your favorite kind of cake? Fillings? Icing? Whenever I watch those fancy cake shows on tv, the couples are always ordering something strange like pistachio cake with mango coconut filling. Boggles my mind. I wouldn't ever think to put something like that together. I'm trying to expand my portfolio, so share what you like, please.

SP

P.S. The winner of last week's website survey contest was Lois! Please email me at smartypants@writingplayground.com to claim your prize within 7 days. Thanks!

P.S.S. Remember to send your questions for the Playfriends to Playground Monitor at playgroundmonitor@writingplayground.com. Ask us anything about writing, craft, the business, our lives, etc. and we'll answer them the week of conference.

Birthday Parties

This weekend we're having a major party on the Playground. Nope, no one is turning 40...yet. It's actually the little ones that are going to celebrate this time.

Five of the six Playkids have birthdays in June and July. Yep, you read that right. For the past several summers in between conferences, vacations, girl scout camps and vacation bible school we've also had 5 birthday parties in about 7 weeks. Yeah, you do the math. Doesn't leave many weekends free does it?

So, this year we decided to be smart about this. Instead of having 5 separate weekends for Playkid birthday parties we're going to have them all on one day. Yep, you read that right. It just makes sense. I mean, all of our kids are friends. Whenever I watch Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I see our kids. They don't go to the same schools, they don't even see each other on a regular basis but put them into a room together and it's like they've never been apart. I kinda like that. We've all formed very close bonds - these sisters of my heart - and I love the fact that our kids already have those same bonds developing.

But I digress. Perhaps because then I can forget the fact that we have 30 to 40 kids coming to this party. Yep, you read that right. In theory, this idea is brilliant. I'm very worried that in practice the end of the party will find all the adults huddled in a ball twitching and ticking. Luckily, there is plenty to keep the hoodlums - I mean precious children - occupied. And if nothing else, we'll feed them some of Smarty Pant's cake. She's making a pirate ship and a princess tiara out of cake. Her talent never ceases to amaze me! Oh wait, maybe we shouldn't feed them sugar.

Seriously, we're going to have a fantastic party. Have you ever thrown a huge party? Ever had a surprise party? Have a fun/disastrous kid's party story to share?

Instigator

P.S. Remember to send your questions for the Playfriends to Playground Monitor at playgroundmonitor@writingplayground.com. Ask us anything about writing, craft, the business, our lives, etc. and we'll answer them the week of conference.

Birthdays: Blessing or Curse?

This past Friday I turned 35.

I’d been really dreading this birthday. It felt like a milestone, and not really a pleasant one. Now, I know some of you out there are thinking that I’m still a baby. I can appreciate that. And I know some of you out there are commiserating my “old lady” status. I'm not the oldest Playfriend, or the youngest. I'm just... I'm 35.

I honestly wasn’t ready to turn 35. I tried not to make a big deal of it, because I knew how irrational the feelings were, but it just felt like this birthday was telling me that more of my life than I cared to acknowledge had now passed me by and I still had some things that hadn’t made it to the accomplishments list.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m usually a big birthday person. I feel like everyone should have that one day when they are made to feel really special and celebrated. It drives me crazy that my hubby's birthday is on Christmas, which makes it difficult to celebrate his big day. There is nothing better than being appreciated and what better day to do it than the anniversary of your birth? For some reason, I just wasn’t feeling it this year.

But as much as I was dreading it, the day itself went really well. My sister had my children for most of the day (we’re doing a child swap this summer) and I managed to write 25 pages to finish my book. Yay me! My husband sent me a dozen roses and a gift card for Barnes & Nobles. He’s a keeper, alright! My in laws cooked dinner to celebrate and after being on a low carb diet for 3 weeks, I enjoyed every bite of my taco salad and brownie sundae. The next day, I got to celebrate with my Playground sisters and spend the day talking writing with fellow authors. Awesome!

I went to bed happy and actually feeling better about myself than I have in a long while. I was surrounded by people who love me and that can make all the difference in the world. I’m not sure what this year will hold, whether it will be full of joy or the same old struggles. But if it is one thing I’ve learned in my first 35 years, having people there to support me is the best gift in life.

What was your best/worst birthday year? If you could have anything you wanted for your next birthday, what would it be?

Angel

PS. Jean is Julie Cohen’s prize winner from last week. Please email Instigator with your snail mail address to receive your prize. Prizes not claimed within 7 days will be regifted.

Coming Soon!

Tomorrow is Big Hair Day and we have some awesome pictures to show you! Join us for wild looks, prizes, and a big dose of nostalgia.

Totally Awesome!

Well, my birthday party was a blast. It was nowhere near the production I made of my mother's party, so the biggest stress was getting my house cleaned for guests. It turned out great. I was very happy to have everyone get into the spirit. We had the neon colors, the loud music, the toys, and a solid dose of nostalgia. The cake was a 4 tiered masterpiece of campiness that I made myself. We even had theme drinks - good ol' Bartles and James wine coolers, jello shots, and shots of Purple Rain and Smurf...uh...Juice.

The boys played Rock Band, we tried out our skills at some Totally 80's Trivia, and did a little dancing to my new spinning disco lights.

Here's a few of us in our rad ensembles. Check out the details - the denim skirts, the legwarmers, the torn shirts, the animal prints. And of course, the hair.

The boys rocking out to some 80's favorites. Who knew that Don Johnson, a yuppie, a fratboy and the lost member of Run DMC would one day form a band? Thank goodness no one has a picture (I think) of me and Instigator drunkenly bellowing "Eye of the Tiger" at the top of our lungs.

My birthday cake (the most awesomest cake ev-ah). The bottom tier was white sour cream cake with strawberry filling. The two middle tiers were chocolate cake with chocolate chip mousse. The top tier was made out of rice treats. It took forever to make, but it turned out pretty darn cool if you ask me.

I spent most of Sunday cleaning or napping in a vodka induced stupor while feeding DB soda crackers and gatorade. He overdid it a touch. :) Who knew partying like it was 1985 was so hazardous? Overall it was a success, although I've been put on restriction - no more themed costume type parties for the foreseeable future. Apparently hot pink plastic jewelry is unnecessarily expensive. I know I spent a small fortune at Claire's. Of course, some other friends asked me to put together a 70's themed shindig, so I may have a conflict there. I don't know much about the 70s though, not my favorite time. I'd much rather do the 60's myself. I have perfect hippie hair and I prefer the music. Maybe I'll just make my way through all the decades of this century.

What's your favorite decade? In addition to the 80's, we've done a roaring 20's party and a 50's sock hop so far. If you could throw a themed party, what would you have? I need ideas for future events. You all know how I plan parties to avoid my problem manuscripts...

SP

Flashback

So, I've been thirty for a week now. It's going okay. I guess. In more interesting news is my birthday party tomorrow. I went shopping and have lots of super cool 80's things for my party. For decor, I've dug out some of my old toys and hit the store looking for some replacements of the things I've since lost. You'd be amazed at how many items can still be found in your neighborhood Toys R Us. I got some Smurfs, a My Little Pony, some Hot Wheels, Strawberry Shortcake, a Care Bear, a Pound Puppy and a Rubix Cube.

But the absolute best thing I bought is this. --->

I don't know if I've mentioned my Barbie collection before. For the most part, I've tamed it. I haven't bought one in years. I sold most of them except for my absolute favorites. When I went into Toys R Us, there was a huge display for Barbie's 50th Birthday. Apparently to commemmorate, they've reproduced some of their most popular dolls over the years. The one is Barbie and the Rockers from 1986. I had this doll. This exact doll. Everything about her is just the way she was. I had her, Dee Dee, Derek, the stage and the metallic pink Corvette convertible. Oh yes. I LOVED Barbie and the Rockers.

So, of course, when I saw this in the store, I immediately snatched it up. Did any of you guys have one of these? She was Mattel's competition for JEM (she's truly outrageous...truly, truly, truly outrageous). If not, there were several other reproductions that might be more from your era.

How about this one - Superstar Barbie from 1977?

Or maybe good ol Malibu Barbie from 1971?

Maybe the Bubble Cut from 1961, then?

Or the original Debut Barbie from 1959?

I adored Barbie as a little girl. I had the house, the cars, the furniture and a million different outfits. I only parted with my stuff under protest when I was about 14 (I know, so embarassing) and turned to collecting the more expensive boxed dolls instead. Did you have a favorite Barbie? If not, what was your favorite toy as a kid?

SP

PS. HOLY CRAP! Look what I just found! Jude Deveraux has a 2003 Barbie and Ken set reenacting her book The Raider! I never knew that was an option! Hit the NYT! Get your book made into a movie! Get a Barbie set designed after your book!

What a trip.

If It's 1985 Again, I Can't Be 30...

Ugh. It's May 8th. I know, for most of you, this means very little. Mother's Day weekend, maybe. But that, my dear readers, is because you are not turning thirty tomorrow. Today is the very last day of my twenties.

I know those of you who are staring down larger numbers may scoff at me, but I don't care. This is just bothering me for some reason. I'll get over it. Eventually. Maybe around thirty four or so. I know its silly. Everyone tells me that their thirties were great. And I believe them. I'm sure it will be wonderful. And yet...

I think its the idea of being 30 more than anything. To have to say - "I'm in my thirties." Sigh. I've been in this funk over it ever since I turned 29. Where did I think I would be by now? Married? A mother? Published? I'm none of these things and for the first two, not anywhere near ready to be. I thought I would be, but I'm just not. My personal timeline is slipping. As an INTJ, I can tell you that my schedule is very important to me. Things are all out of whack and if I try to think about it for too long, I get panicky.

To distract myself, I'm throwing an 80's Flashback party next weekend. I love the fun campiness of the 80's. Some of my favorite music is from then, for sure. I was pretty young, but so was my mother, so I was raised on MTV and Magnum, PI. Planning parties is an avoidance tactic of mine, I can focus on that and what I'm going to wear and serve instead of me aging. I think I need to raid a thrift store - find an acid washed mini skirt and a sweatshirt with the collar cut out. Scout out some fingerless lace gloves. PC and Queen Rhonda are threatening to tease my hair into the stratosphere and glue it with Aquanet. The hole in the ozone layer will get slightly larger next weekend, that's for sure.

What was your favorite thing about the 80s? The music? The clothes? The big, big hair? Did you have a mini-meltdown at any particular age milestone?

SP

PS. In case I crawl into my cave and don't emerge, Happy Mother's Day to all of you brave enough to breed! My mom originally asked to get eyebrows tattooed on for Mother's Day, but we renegotiated for me to babysit LS while they go out to the Melting Pot on my dime.

Celebrations

We are celebrating several things at my house today. First, today is Zilla's birthday so I need to take a minute and say

Happy Birthday, Baby

I Love You!

I'm extremely lucky to have this man in my life. He's absolutely amazing, would do anything for me and our girls and rarely allows me to do anything for him in return. There's no way I'd have achieved my goals without his support. I love him very much. I hope you have a wonderful (and not too hectic) day.

Second, we're celebrating Thanksgiving with our girls at school today. It is going to be a madhouse. I mean our family alone has nine adults and four kids coming. We're a Thanksgiving celebration all to ourselves. No one gets anything done at school today because all the kids are coming and going from class at weird and random times. However, we all really enjoy it. Because Zilla and I both work it's really hard for us to get time to spend with the girls at school. I am a little closer than he is during the day so I get there more often than he does. The girls are beside themselves knowing Daddy is coming to eat lunch with them today.

And last (Zilla, you do note that this ranked WAY below you on the totem pole right?) Twilight opens tomorrow (well, tonight at midnight). I have to be honest and say I've become slightly (okay, way more than slightly) obsessed. Hangs head and admits, I own a t-shirt, the movie companion book, a poster and a calendar. I've gone crazy. And I don't normally do this kind of stuff -for the most part I can usually act like an adult. Not over this. I am an obsessed fan girl. Rationally I realize that my fixation is with the books. And since there's nothing more for me to read right now - and the movie was only weeks away when I discovered the series - I am simply transferring my fixation. It isn't helping. I'm absolutely giddy knowing it's finally here. I can't imagine if I'd known about all this and had to wait for over a year.

So, any new celebrations or fixations you'd like to share?

Instigator

Birthday Winners!

Sorry for the lateness of today's post. Yesterday was so fun, I slept in this morning. :)

I know you are eager to see our winners from this last week. Thank you to everyone for joining us in celebrating our 3rd birthday. We appreciate not only you showing up, but all the wonderful comments and compliments. We are truly grateful, and hope to see much more of you on the Playground.

This week's winners:

Monday: Terry S, email angel@writingplayground.com
Tuesday: Susan, email problemchild@writingplayground.com
Wednesday: Ellen, email playgroundmonitor@writingplayground.com
Thursday: flchen1, email instigator@writingplayground.com
Friday: Caffey, email smartypants@writingplayground.com

Please email with your snail mail address, so we can get your birthday prizes mailed to you. Any prizes not claimed within 7 days will be regifted.

Thank you to all our readers and commenters this week!

Angel

Third Birthday Celebration!

Most third birthday parties involve Barney, balloons, and one of those gigantic bouncy castles. Inevitably, someone will end up skinning a knee or throwing up after too much cake. I'm pleased to report that none of those things should be a problem today. (Although we could have a bouncy castle if you really want one. They're tiring though. Maybe if I could bounce on it with Rodrigo di Speedo...) Anyway, today is the 3rd anniversary of the Writing Playground! We're very excited about our big day and we're glad you're here to party with us.

This week, everyone has been sharing their best moments of the last three years. Before we pop the cork and bring in the dancing boys, I've got to share mine, too. It's hard to choose. Going last, a lot of my answers have been taken. We've had so many great things happen, met so many wonderful people...

But I have to say that the coolest thing that has happened to me is a direct result of knowing so many great people. In the food chain of the romance industry, I feel like I fall pretty low. I aspire to be higher, but I know my place. In the years I've been involved, I've heard lots of stories. Some good, some bad. Many dealing with editors. Some about the great lengths that people will go to get an editor's attention. Most of the time it's laughable, really, but the need to publish puts some of us over the edge.

At conference, you can always see the fear in the eyes of people with the "publishing professional" ribbons. They are the targets of the unsolicited manuscript. The impromptu elevator pitch. The tastiest prey for women who have flown cross country to sell their books. I've always prided myself on being cool. Not stalking the editors I've met. Not harassing the NYT authors I've been introduced to. I don't grovel at their feet, but I try to be professional.

So this year, at my fourth conference, I was pretty comfortable. I'd yet to fall to pieces or stutter over the standard questions. Again, low on the food chain, so even if I did make a fool of myself, hardly anyone would care.

Then it happened. Standing in the lobby of the hotel, minding my own business, I spy an editor. I give her a quick smile, then ignore her. Be cool. To my surprise, the editor actually comes up and talks to me. For several uninterrupted minutes. Editors have very little time to waste so this was really special. Out of my peripheral I could see other people glaring at me. People who fought for appointments to pitch to her and here I was just casually chatting about jetlag and San Francisco traffic.

I have to say that being approached by an editor instead of the other way around made me feel really good. And that is the coolest thing that has happened to me in the last three years. Maybe by next year's party, I'll have something even cooler to share.

Ok - enough of that. Time to party. If you get a chance between massages, chocolate martinis and oogling cabana boys, share your favorite part of the Playground over the last three years. Maybe you enjoy the Sandbox interviews best or find our writing challenges amusing. Let us know so we can be sure to keep it up in the years to come. Like all the other posts this week, a commenter will win some goodies from me, so be sure to pop in and say something!

SP

PC's Coolest Thing

Ooh, I love our Birthday week. So much has happened in the last three years, yet it doesn’t seem like all that long ago we were doing our first photo shoot and trying to figure out the workings of Blogger. (Personally, I’m still trying to figure out the workings of Blogger – since it hates me and all.)

What a ride it’s been! Sometimes I’ll randomly click on a month in the archives and see what we were blogging about and it’s like living it all over again. I’m just so glad I had the Playfriends and all of y’all to share it with.

So while there are many, many things that are vying for the coolest thing to happen in the last three years – the first time a stranger came up to me and said, “I read your blog,” is definitely close to the top! – my “Coolest Thing” comes from y’all every single day.

The fact that you even take the time to drop by – and whether or not you comment, we know you were here – makes me happier than you can imagine. You share this journey with us, and you’re an important part of it. You celebrate and commiserate with us. You ask about the kids and the goats and listen to us complain about just about anything (including kids and goats). When I got rejected, you sympathized. You sent emails and cyber hugs; you told me your rejection story in order to make me feel better. You encouraged me to go on. When I sold, you celebrated with me. You told me that my Call encouraged and inspired you to keep writing and dreaming.

We wonder about you. Where you're from. Where you are on your personal journey. If a regular commenter disappears, we worry about you. We're tickled when you come back. We want to celebrate and commiserate with you, too, and we love to hear your news.

We didn’t set out to be role-models or inspirations or even to claim we knew a damn thing about anything. We just wanted to connect, to make some friends out there in cyberspace, and it’s turned out to be more than we ever hoped for.

So the Coolest Thing from the last three years is y’all. No contest.

Thank you for making this so freakin’ cool.

PC

Hmmm, I’m all misty-eyed, but I can see lots of books on my bookshelf that need good homes. Comment to win!

Winners will be selected each day, but we'll do one winners post for the week on Saturday.

Happy Birthday!!!!

This week holds a special place in the Playfriend’s hearts—it marks the 3rd anniversary of our website and blog. That’s right! For 3 years we’ve been sharing our tales of writing, disappointments, celebrations, and our lives. To our amazement, you continue to tune in to talk with us and our special guests.

This week we’ll be celebrating with lots of blog giveaways and a big birthday party on Friday. We enjoy giving back to our readers. We’ll also spend time each day talking about what we’ve learned since we started this endeavor and our most memorable moments along the way.

For me, it has to be the first time someone came up to me and said, “Aren’t you Angel from the Writing Playground?” To be recognized is such an awesome experience. That it happened in front of my sister—priceless! Thank you, Liza.

One beautiful thing that I’ve gained, especially through the blogging, is confidence. Over the past 3 years, I’ve been encouraged (read: pushed) to approach authors and publishing professionals to appear on the website and blog. A few said no, even more said yes. Also, tending to be a shy person, I used to limit myself to sharing only with those closest to me. On the blog, I’ve discussed just about every emotion and experience that’s come my way through this crazy thing called writing, only to find out… I’m not alone. To talk about issues and problems with the Playfriends and our Readers, share ideas, tips, and ogle cute guys… That’s been an eye-opening and endearing experience.

Thank you for that!

What has been the biggest confidence booster in your life?

Angel

P.S. One commenter will be selected for an Angel prize pack! And don’t forget to keep an eye on our NaNo progress meters.

Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1959

Well, I'm glad to say I survived the hoopla that was my mother's 50th birthday. After two years of plotting and planning, its over and done and I'm left with nothing but decorations and leftover hamburgers in my refrigerator. (Quite a few, actually, since RSVP seems to be a loose concept around here.) I say we have a 50's party again at some point in the future because I have a LOT of stuff that can be reused. Perhaps the Class of '57 Murder party for next year's retreat...



It was a logistical challenge toward the end with company in town, table rentals, decorating, etc., but worth it. It was a tangled web of my own making, so I can't complain too much. In the end, everything went off without a hitch. (Well, one hitch - the church gave us the key to decorate Friday night, but neglected to inform us about the security alarm. Oops.) Most important - my mother was verklempt. Everyone who came had a good time or at least they said they did. The bank where she works is just a-buzz at my party planning skills. I'll say it was a success despite my own critical eye seeing all the things that went wrong. Here's a few pictures of the extravaganza...

First, me, my mom and my stepdad. Thanks to Stephanie for loaning my mother the perfect polka-dotted dress for the party. It sounds silly, but I was in awe of the balloon arch. I watched the lady assemble it and it was dumbfounding. For what it cost, it should've been, but still, very cool. Pity we couldn't fit it in the car to take home. The Sunday School kids were probably thrilled when they arrived the next day.

Yes, that's me and yes, I'm wearing roller skates. Despite a few close calls, I did not fall. I fully expected to wrap up the evening with a trip to the ER, but was willing to make the sacrifice for the effect. I did quite well, I think. I'm not about to get a job as a car hop at Sonic or anything, but I did okay for a girl who hasn't roller skated since the 7th grade.


Here's the birthday cake I spoke about earlier. I think it turned out great without too much aggravation on my part. Tasted good too, I guess. I didn't get any, so I'm not real sure. No one got food poisoning, at least. :) There were leftovers, but the bottom tier met an unfortunate fate with the floorboard of my car and I had to throw it away. I will forever have flecks of turquoise frosting in the carpeting.... Anyway, the top two tiers were white almond sour cream cake with lemon buttercream filling and the bottom tier was triple chocolate sour cream cake with peanut butter filling. My mom was very upset when we hacked into it, but that's the point of cake.




I have to say I'm exceptionally proud of my people. When my people RSVP, they show up. They dress appropriate for the occasion - Instigator rocked a platinum wig and leather pants and PC even made her own poodle skirt! We were the best looking folks in the bunch. They dragged their husbands with them and make them dress up, too. PM even got her husband to dance with her. I appreciate the support. My people rock.




It was a sock hop, but we didn't really have a dancin' crowd. I drug a horrified DB out to dance in the hopes that it would stir up more dancing, but alas, I just embarassed him. We got a few people on the floor for the Twist and the Hand Jive, but that didn't require the hubbies to participate. I was able to harass a few folk into the hula hoop contest, though. PM whooped my step-dad. Who knew her hips could move like that?! :) They all got some fuzzy dice and 50's style rubber duckies as a reward for their bravery.



Now that its all over, I'm relieved and a little lost. Time to start planning the next party, I think. :) What is your favorite birthday memory? Have you ever had a big party to celebrate?



SP

Family History

As part of my mother's 50th birthday extravaganza, I've been secretly putting together a scrapbook for her - "The First 50 Years," I call it. (She doesn't read the blog, as far as I know, so we should be okay talking about it.) It starts with her first baby pictures and will go all the way up through her upcoming party. To close it out, guests at the party will write special messages to her on little records that will be included in the book. I know, I’m sick that way. :)

Anyway, for the last two years since I got this wild idea for a party, I have been harassing friends and family for pictures of her. She had virtually none of her own, so I had to gather them from my grandmother, aunts, high school friends, etc. I've been pleased with the results. I got plenty of shots of her as a child. I've been a scanning fool, nearly wearing the machine out getting all those old black and white shots scanned and reprinted. As a perk, I've burned the pictures to CDs and mailed them to the people with their originals. Her teen years are a little sparse, then it drops off to a few pictures a year for a couple decades. After I was born, there's almost no photos of her that don't have me in them. I guess it became the Smarty Pants Show when I got here. Now it's the Little Sister Show.

It made me wonder if it will ever be (or ever was) the Mom show. She wasn't the kind of child that demanded the spotlight, and as the oldest of four, she took care of others to a fault. My grandmother wasn't inclined to make a fuss about anything, so birthdays and holidays were practically a non-event. (Although it seems that overall we make a huge deal of things now that just weren't that important, then.) I asked my mom when she last had a birthday party - an honest to goodness party. She said she hadn't, ever. I almost cried. Made me more determined to make this party the best it could be.

As a part of this massive undertaking, I've also been building our genealogy online so I can include an accurate family tree. Ancestry.com has a free two week trial that I've been wearing out. While interesting, it’s also depressing as hell. Not everyone had great childhoods, much less great lives. My great-great grandmother died from complications just weeks after giving birth to her fourth child. For whatever reason, the children were divided up amongst the family. While people clamored for the babies, no one wanted the headstrong, angry ten year old (my great-grandmother). She got bounced around like a pinball until she was old enough to marry off.

One thing about this project is that it distills life to the basics. You're born, you grow up, get married, have kids, then you die. Generation after generation. Decade after decade. It’s kind of humbling. Makes me realize the day to day crap I deal with is mostly irrelevant. In a hundred years when my great-great granddaughter is researching me, she won't care about the things I'm angsting over. It also makes you realize that as trivial as people make romance out to be, it’s really the core of everything. You're born because two people came together (hopefully) with love. Then you grow up, fall in love and have children of your own. You can only do your best to raise them well so they do the same. The books we write and read and love are a celebration of it.

Ok, so I’m done rambling. My brain is fried after weeks of working on all this. Have you ever done any genealogy or studied the history of your family? Anything interesting or noteworthy in your family tree? My kin were hiding out in the hills of Kentucky and Indiana, so there's no one famous, but DB's family actually settled the Gadsden area and he's related to Emma Sansom, a confererate heroine in those parts. If I'd actually listen to his uncle who will yak your ear off about this stuff, I'd know more. How about you?

SP

PS. As part of the scrapbooking project, I took my mom for a mini-makeover and forced her into having professional pictures taken for the first time since 1997. She doesn't know why, of course, I had come up with some plausible reason, just the same as I had to make an excuse to steal all her family pictures and not give them back. I had a couple shots professionally framed and will post them at the party. I also put some on her birthday website and I'm putting them in the album. Here's her best shot. I think she looks mahh-velous. I teased her that she looks like a senator's wife or something. The free-spirited child of the 70's in her wasn't amused by this observation. :)

The Icing on the Cake

Back before I spent all my free time involved in the writing community, I did a lot of personal art. I drew, painted, scrapbooked, sculpted... whatever inspired me at the time. I also did some cooking and floral arrangement as part of a side catering business. It still crops up from time to time, but writing trumps it all. I just have a good eye for that sort of thing. I don't spend too much time on any of this stuff unless an event comes up that gets my brain whipped into a frenzy.

I like parties. I like the planning, the details, the decorating. I like it going off without a hitch. I like people to be really impressed by what I've put together. When I'm not in the mood to write, I plan parties. I've been planning a wedding for years. When it does happen, it should be the event of the century. Or maybe next century at this rate. Either way, its what I enjoy. If I wasn't a writer, I'd try to be a wedding coordinator or party planner. Maybe do wedding cakes or open a bakery.

A couple years back, when one of my books stalled, I decided to throw my mom a big party for her 50th birthday. It's at the beginning of October, so it's really starting to ramp up. It will be a 50's sock hop with all the trimmings: Fifites era costumes, a jukebox, hula hoops, crepe paper...if I could find a milkshake machine, I'd have it, too. The gym of a local church will be all done up, serving root beer floats and hamburgers to a hungry crowd.

Since it's a birthday party, there has to be a cake, too. The original plan was to make a birthday cake that looked like a record. Maybe a jukebox. Easy. No problem. I watch enough Food Network to be dangerous. My boss's wife used to teach the Wilton classes at Hobby Lobby, so she offered to help and turned me onto a website with ideas and recipes. Oh dear. That was a dangerous place. Now the cake is, uh, a bit grander. A three tier turquoise and pink wedding cake, when you get down to it. This one is pushing my skill level, so his wife and I are camping out at my house all day tomorrow to teach me how to decorate cakes. Crash course. If I can pull it off, I'll be a hero.

Here's a picture of the inspiration cake by Cakes by Allison. We're only doing the top 3 tiers since we don't have that large of a crowd. I have to admit I might cheat and have Publix make the cakes and I'll decorate them. Their cakes are so tasty, plus I can mix and match the flavors. We'll see. Baking those darn things when they're that size and making sure they're level and whatnot, can be a nightmare.

So, what's your favorite flavors of cake and icing? I'm still trying to decide what kind of cake this will be. If you could throw any kind of theme party, what would you like to have? We had friends who had a luau once and it was awesome. Next year for my 30th birthday, I'm thinking 80's flashback party. And yeah, I already have the cake picked out.

SP

Charlie: One Year Later

Last year I posted about Charlie and the happily ever after story of his birth. It that story doesn't make you believe in love, nothing will.

Charlie's first birthday was yesterday and he's a big boy now. AND, after six years of infertility, his mother found out a few months ago that she's pregnant! Charlie's going to have a baby brother or sister later this year. You can read all the details at his mom's blog.

Happy birthday Charlie!