The Great Balloonfest of 2012

I can always count on an evening with the Playfriends and the Mavens to be anything but boring. Whether we're playing board games, doing bizare crafts or running through Walmart at midnight in our own twisted version of a reality show, I will eventually laugh until I cry.

All I need say is *cocktail dress* and we'll all burst into laughter with an image in our minds that can simply not be described if you weren't there.

Friday night before our annual luncheon, we volunteered to blow up balloons. It was an anniversary year, so we were doing some special decorations. Our luncheon coordinator rented a helium tank and brought us Hi-Float, ribbon and 150 silver balloons. Oh, she also brought three bottles of wine and some glowsticks. I guess she imagined us huffing helium and drinking wine until we broke out into a balloon rave.
After a few speedbumps, we seemed to get the process down. PM filled the balloons with Hi-Float. For those who don't know, Hi-Float is a liquid you put inside the balloon to keep it floating longer. We had no intention of getting up at 6AM to blow up these balloons. Maven LJ massaged them. (More to come on that.) Angel filled them with helium. Instigator put clips on them. Maven Linda and I tied the strings. Angel's sister cut ribbon, and PC gathered them into bundles and tied them to the weights. Simple, right?

Well, maybe. After our first few balloons were a little limp and floating low across the floor like little silver sperm in search of an ovum, we realized we were using too much Hi-Float.  I was so tempted to draw little faces or "X" and "Y" on the wandering ones. We decided to read the Hi-Float instructions and maybe it's just because we're romance writers, but that was some really dirty stuff. We had to insert tip into the balloon and plunge it deep. Then, the number of times we pumped depended on how big it is. One pump for 9 inches, two pumps for 12 inches and 3 full pumps for 16 inches. Note: if Hi-Float leaks out of the balloon, you haven't thrust it deep enough. Um... kay. Then you had to slip off the balloon and gently massage the fluid into the latex.

With each step we read and each glass of wine we imbibed, it seemed to get worse and worse. Eventually, the giggles got the best of us. I feel bad if the people in the room next to us actually wanted to sleep. The next day at the luncheon, Maven Linda discussed how that had become her favorite luncheon memory. I love how with the right group of friends, even something as simple as blowing up balloons can become a memory you can cherish forever.

What's one of your favorite memories with your best friends?
SP

PS. Kira's winner of the Island Nights trilogy is Scarlet Wilson! Email her at kira (at) kirasinclair (dot) come to claim your prize!

Critique Partner - For Life?

As a writer, I've found critique partners invaluable. Several of the Playfriends critique my work in various stages, along with my sister, and the occasional feedback from a Maven, fellow writer, or contest judge. These invaluable people offer me encouragement on what I'm doing write, notes on what I'm doing wrong, and invariably awesome advice on how to improve my writing.

Its only recently that I realized I have people close to me that I turn to for Life critiques, too. These are the women (okay, occasionally its my husband, too) that I check in with life isn't going exactly as I planned. I present the situation, and they do a combination of any of the following: smack me with a wake up call, sympathize, offer advice or different strategies for coping, or share similar issues that they've had and how they dealt with them.

You know who these people are in your own lives. They're the ones you itched to call just as soon as the pressure is on, the ones you could stay up all night talking to, the first person you want to invite to lunch when you have a few minutes to spare.

I know a few women who don't have these types of people in their lives, and I find that very sad. Women thrive on interpersonal relationships – whether its one or several (as is my case and I count myself exceedingly blessed). And whether these relationships help you to blow off steam, figure out a solution to a difficult problem, or simply let you forget your worries for a while, they are more valuable than gold and to be protected with constant vigilance.

Today I want to celebrate these wonderful relationships in our lives! Tell us, who helps you critique your life (in the best possible way)?

Angel

Let's Hit the Road!

This past weekend, my sister and I went on an impromptu road trip.

Now, for those of you who haven't been with us for long, let me explain a few things. First, neither my sister nor I are "impromptu" people. We're planners all the way. Second, we both had kids this weekend. Third, weekends are extremely precious time at the moment, so giving up one day is hard. Fourth… did I mention we don't usually do "spur of the moment"?

Anyway, the call came from my sister mid-Sunday morning. "Want to make a trip to Nashville today? Our blog buddy is coming through and we could meet her." Awesome!!! She seems like a totally cool person, and this might be our only chance. When? "Um, I'll be at your house in 30 minutes or so…" Alrighty then…

Threw the kids together, changed out of my comfortable "Sunday at home" clothes, and we were out the door. And we all had a really good time! The kids enjoyed a trip to the Cool Springs Galleria, because we let them buy stuff. Sis and I had a great time having lunch with our cyber friend and meeting her IRL. And she's just as cool as she is on the web.

So maybe I should do this "seat of your pants" thing more often… aw, who am I kidding? When was the last time you did anything at the spur of the moment? How did it turn out?

Angel

Coming Soon!
Check out hip Regency writer Sara Ramsey when she joins us this Thursday, January 26.

A True Friend

As many of you already know, the Playfriends lost our beloved Maven Beverly Barton last week. Beverly was an incredible woman, full of spirit and laughter. A true southern Lady, she admonished us on correct etiquette, encouraged us to love our families, and applauded our go-to spirits. In fact, Beverly was the first Maven to call us “the Children”, and we will be forever grateful for the gift of her love and encouragement.


This week we will be making a departure from our normal blogging procedures to share with you a few of our personal stories about Beverly Barton – author, mother, and dear, dear friend. If you have your own stories – about meeting her, reading her books, reading her interviews, etc – we’d love for you to join us. This week, we celebrate the life and legacy of Beverly Barton.

Mavens and Children -- 2006


How the Children Got Their Name

(written by Maven Linda Winstead Jones)


It was July 2005, Reno Nevada. Linda Howard and I were both on the National Board of RWA, so we’d flown in several days early for a meeting before the conference. Beverly was coming out a few days later, and she’d planned to travel with a few of the newer members of HOD, bright, wonderful women we’d all taken to right away. Maybe if there had only been one or two of them we would’ve called them by name, but when Beverly arrived she told us she’d flown in with “some of the Children.” Immediately it took, and a day or two later we were asking on a regular basis, “Where are the Children?”


I’m not sure why she chose “Children.” True, most of them are young enough to be our offspring, but without naming names -- (ahem, Playground Monitor) -- we could not have given birth to all of them. But they were all new in the business, and we adored them, and it just seemed right.


It must’ve seemed right to others, too, because it stuck. Word spread quickly throughout the romance world, and within a matter of weeks our young friends were being asked, “Are you one of the Children?” Other writers from all across the country, people none of us knew . . . even editors. When Beverly first said those words, I doubt she had any idea what she’d set into motion.






Beverly Barton and Angel at the RWA National RITA ceremony, 2006


Though I’m sure many of the stories this week will make me smile as I remember them, the story I want to share with you today made me cry when it happened, and makes me cry even more today.


You see, a few months ago, Beverly approached me at one of our local chapter meetings. She barely had time to come in the door and put down her purse before she stopped me at the back of the room. “Honey,” she said – she often called me Honey – “I had no idea what was going on and I want you to know I’m so sorry.”


Beverly had only recently found out about the troubles brewing at my house, and her sincere concern pushed me out of my precarious hold on that ‘stoic’ face we show the world. I immediately burst into tears.


I’ll never forget standing in the back of that room with probably 20 or 25 people milling about, but we could have been somewhere totally alone. Beverly put her arms around me and held me close, speaking quietly in my ear. She told me how much she understood, how she knew it was hard, and what a strong woman she believed me to be. At that moment I didn’t feel strong, but I didn’t have to be. She talked to me about my writing, telling me my time would come, that I couldn’t give up, that I had to believe. She said, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Whatever I can.”


Those words meant the world to me at that moment, and they are even more precious to me today. Not just that she was willing to help me, but more because she believed in me enough to say them. She believed in me as a writer, as a mother, and as a woman.


We emailed several times after that in the weeks that followed. She offered more encouragement, and reminded me often how important marriage and family are. As I stood amongst her family at her memorial service, those words took root in my heart. She wasn’t offering pat answers, but instead speaking from experience.


I’ll be forever grateful that she not only counted me as a friend, but reached out to me in my time of need.


Angel


PS. Our friend Barbara Vey at Publisher's Weekly is blogging today about Beverly on Beyond Her Book. The link is in our sidebar. Barbara will be visiting us for the luncheon on Friday.

Friends With Benefits

Friend: –noun
1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

Of course, Facebook has turned the word into a verb, but I want to talk about the nouns. The people who can turn a crappy day into a good one with an email or a phone call or a spur or the moment invitation to lunch.

A good friend will listen to you whine (and then kick you in the butt when you've whined enough and help you fix the problem), loan you clothes, shoes, jewelry, whatever you need, help you pack and move, water your plants and pick up your mail when you're gone, read your latest masterpiece and be honest and drive you to the auto shop when you car's in for repair. A friend will also get up at 5 AM to take you to day surgery and then bring you back home and watch you drool in your drug-induced sleep. And they won't post photos on Facebook!

TV is full of famous pairs of friends -- Andy Taylor and Barney Fife, Lucy and Ethel, Laverne and Shirley, Starsky and Hutch, Mulder and Scully, Bert and Ernie. The movies have them too -- Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Bambi and Thumper, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Famous pairs appear elsewhere too -- Barbie and Ken, Barnes & Noble, Abercrombie and Fitch, Dolce and Gabbana, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, gin and tonic.

But there's more to friendship than borrowed jewelry and mail call. There's a big benefit from friends. "Feeling cared for and supported within a social network is particularly important for women in fostering self-care," says Todd Jackson, PhD, author of a 2006 study linking high levels of social support and community involvement with healthier diet, exercise and sleep habits, among other positive effects. A good friend will motivate you, support you and hold you accountable. They'll celebrate the most joyous of days with you and get you through the darkest times of your life.

I count the Playfriends among my dearest of friends. We've traveled together, roomed together, dealt with cut fingers and blown knees, helped each other move, advised about automobiles, insurance companies, plumbers and various other home repair situations. We survived the meth lab raid in the motel room next to ours, introduced Instigator to Krispy Kreme doughnuts (on the same trip as the meth lab raid), plotted books and accepted each other's quirks.

Oddly enough, my divorce has led me to a new group of great friends. We're all members of the Sisterhood of Divorcees and we've kept each other sane. These new sisters have been there to listen to me cry, they came to court with me so I'd have a friendly face in the courtroom and they've told me it's okay to be angry. Never once have they patted me on the knee and said "Just get over it," because they all understand you have to work through the pain, not skirt around it.

A world without friends would be a bleak world indeed, and I consider myself beyond blessed to have so many great friends.

Got friends? Tell me about them and one commenter will win a package of conference goodies and books from my stash.

And now my favorite "friend" song.

Girls' Night Out!

If you are a regular reader, you know that last week was a rough one on the Playground. I myself had to deal with two car breakdowns and client confusion. Yikes!

But then on Saturday night a bunch of ladies from our RWA chapter (including most of the Playfriends) met up at the local bookstore in support of one of our Mavens, Beverly Barton, who was having a book signing.

Yes, its great to see our wonderful Maven and be there as she visited our town, though she definitely had enough fans show up that she wouldn’t have been lonely without us. But we also had lots of fun simply hanging out in the coffee shop and plotting out new books, fixing problem plots, and simply catching up on progress.

As women, I think we all recognize the renewing power of a night out with the girls. Afterward, you feel refreshed and problems don’t seem so huge. After a night out with fellow writers, I also feel energized to write again (I came home and wrote 4 more pages) and happy from spending time with others who “get” it.

So let’s head wipe the slate clean and start a new week this Monday. Tell me your favorite activity or thing to kick the doldrums! (Is a week away an option?) One commenter will win a copy of one of Beverly’s books.

Angel

Coming Soon!
This Thursday, August 26, we welcome author Tawny Weber to the Playground. Drop by for a good chat and encouragement. :)

Geography Lesson... sort of

My church is in the midst of a building program. We’re by no means a large church, but we’ve outgrown some of our facilities and have a plan in place to add more room. The minister said the architect told the building committee that in some mega-churches 50% of the attendees may not actually see the minister face-to-face. They might see him or her projected on a screen in another part of the church complex.

And some folks attend church in their pajamas by watching online. The minister even tempted us with a couple websites if we didn’t believe people attended church
online – www.virtualchurch.com and www.dogchurch.org, which is the Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua. Honest. The preacher wouldn’t lie.

Then he made a statement that really surprised me. He said if Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world after China and India.

Whoa!

I jotted down that factoid on my bulletin and when I got home I used my mad Google skillz to find out more. Here’s what I learned:

~ The Kingdom of Facebook has 400 million users.
~ 50% of active users log in on any given day.
~ 35 million update their status daily.
~ 3 billion photos are uploaded each month.
~ The average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook.
~ It’s available in more than 70 languages.
~ 70% of users are outside the U.S.

We are becoming an increasingly online society. I can pay my rent online, pay my bills through online banking, order all sorts of household, food and gift items through websites and chat realtime with folks on the other side of the earth.

The art of social networking (most commonly Facebook and Twitter) is being taught in writers workshops around the globe as a tool for writers to connect with their readers.

But I started wondering why non-writers used Facebook. So I did a little informal, unscientific poll and asked a randomly selected group of my Facebook friends the question “Why?” Here are their answers.


I decided to get on Facebook to see pictures of friends' grandkids. Now I keep up with friends & family in at least 10 states! I try not to get on too often 'cause I stay too long.

Yes, it’s a definite time suck. I’m one of those who looks at photos of friends’ grandkids and wonders how we all got old enough to even have grandkids.

I originally joined facebook to keep up with family and college friends. I then branched out to writers and other readers I'd met on blogs. I stay on facebook so I know what is going on with all my friends and family(only way I get updated pictures of cousins, nieces, and nephews). I also keep up with my hometown through facebook and church events through facebook.

Last year I reconnected with a group of my high school classmates. Our 40th reunion was held last fall and while I wasn’t able to attend, it was great to see how the years have treated all of us. I even had one classmate guest blog. You might remember Molly and her blog about her tea shop.


To reacquaint myself with long lost school/classmates, to keep up with family and friends.....and I think you must have a bit of voyeurism in you to read posts....

I had to laugh at this one, especially considering the friend it came from. The voyeurism comment is just like her. But it’s probably true – I know I've peeped through the Facebook windows into people’s lives.


I use Facebook as a tool to reconnect to old friends and people that I use to know in the past. It it wonderful seeing how they have changed, seeing their families and grandchildren. Also knowing what they are doing with their life. I DO NOT use FB for such "games" like Farmtown, sending hearts, hugs, bears..etc...that is silly to me and opens a door for malware on my computer. It does amaze me how some people want to tell everything that is going on in their lives, and that is a huge 'turn-off' to me....I don't want DETAILS on EVERYTHING they do LOL LOL

Hope you are doing good and you are one of the people from my past that I had always wondered about..so glad we reconnected.

I have noticed that when I go out in public..I see FACES of those I see on Facebook!

I wanted to add to my last message that I find that FB can be and IS addicting! Sometimes I find myself checking out FB when my time does NOT permit..I do it anyway. I have to 'test' myself from time to time just to see If I can stay off FB and FB usually wins! LOL

This woman and I were in Sunday School together as small children and she lived in the same neighborhood as my grandparents. We’d lost touch through the years but reconnected on Facebook. Her parents are deceased but she still lives in the home where she grew up. It’s been nice to “visit” my hometown vicariously through her.

It makes my group of friends virtually available anywhere I live and it is easy to stay in touch with lots of people on a regular basis. Also, great way to make new friends!

This one is a friend of a friend who is now a new friend. We met at a Valentine luncheon and by the next day we were Facebook friends. And she’s right – no matter where a friend might move, she’s still available through the computer. Ahem… my friend who moved to Ft. Walton Beach! Get with the program, girlfriend!

I live alone, and Facebook is my way of keeping in touch with my family and friends, to share their lives and have them share mine. I share the minutiae of my day, my triumphs and challenges, joy and disappointments, who I am. I always receive feedback and it makes me feel less isolated, more connected with the world.

This one really resonated with me. When you’re married, you sit at the dinner table and talk about your day. Even the most insignificant things are dinner table talk. But when you live alone, who do you tell about the abandoned birds nest on your patio or that your granddaughter had a dance recital or that you missed half of Dancing with the Stars because you knocked a bottle of nail polish over on the carpet?

Your Facebook friends, that’s who! The details might turn some folks off, and they are free to ignore them. But others are there to offer advice on how to clean the carpet, sympathize over the birds nest and tell you how beautiful your grandchild is.

I started a facebook page for my community service club at Hoover High School, so I could post upcoming activities and message all members (95) at the touch of a button (so easy!). From there, I have grown a community of young women at my church, a family group, and a group of old high school friends. It is fun staying in touch with them. I post status updates about once a week, not every day.

Great idea!

So are YOU on Facebook? Why? What’s been your most interesting Facebook experience? One lucky commenter will get a book from my stash.

That's What Friends Are For

The title of today's blog is also the title of a mid-80's song by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight. It's always been a favorite and seemed quite appropriate for today.

Last week when it was below freezing around here and too cold to do much besides curl up on the sofa with a heating pad and a thick blanket, I turned on the TV during the morning, something I rarely do. The editor of Prevention magazine was on the Today show and did a feature on "The 6 Friends a Woman Should Have." My interest was piqued and I kept listening. Thank goodness for the DVR, because it let me record and take notes so I could share with you.

Friendships in general have been shown to be beneficial. They lead to better health and a longer life. An Australian study revealed that those with the strongest social ties had the lowest risk of obesity, depression and heart disease. Friends are more important than family, though family isn't unimportant. Contact with family, especially for senior citizens, helps them avoid disabilities and improves longevity.

It's not about having a thousand friends on Facebook though or having a packed social calendar. It's all about the type of relationships you have, and here's a rundown of that Today show feature:



1. A childhood friend -- A friend from your childhood knows the real you -- the essential you. This kind of friend is very centering. As the Today show host said, "No one knows you like those who knew you then." Today's mobile society has left many women living far away from their childhood home, but social networking sites like Facebook can help you reconnect with your neighborhood pals. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and write or telephone.






2. A new friend -- A new friend opens you to new experiences. They have no pre-conceived notions about you and will often challenge you and give you new perspectives on life. The thing about a new friend is that he or she doesn't stay new for long, so you need to be constantly making new friends to keep yourself out of a rut.








3. A work-out friend -- We all know that regular exercise is good for us, and doing it with a friend makes you accountable.








4. A spiritual friend -- A six-year study at Duke University showed that people who pray or meditate in some way were 50% less likely to die over the course of the study. They expanded that conclusion to say that prayer or meditation can improve your lifespan period. The emotional life you get most likely manifests itself physically as well. Being involved with others in a spiritual way, either through a church, a yoga group, a meditation class, et cetera, offers you resiliency and a connection unlike any other.





5. A younger friend -- Feeling needed is essential to happiness, and many women get that feeling through nurturing or mothering. But when your children are grown and you're no longer needed as a mom, having younger friends can fulfill that need to nurture and keep you current.






6. A partner's friend -- Family and social life intertwine to make a happier marriage.


So I took the list and tallied up the kinds of friends I have and I was able to check off 4 of the 6.

I've recently touched base again with a woman who lived down the street from me when I was growing up. Like me, her children are grown and she's a grandmother. We've just begun reconnecting, but it's been fun to see where the years have led us.

Back in the fall, I attended a divorce/grief recovery group and aside from the great help I received with regard to my emotional well-being, I came out of the experience with five new friends. We get together fairly regularly and try not to talk divorce all the time. We've been out to eat, watched the Christmas tree lighting at the mall, attended a Christmas service at the University of the South and had a slumber party afterward and helped each other move and set up new abodes. I've only known these women since September, but I now count them as dear friends.

Work-out friends. Uhm... let's skip that one. My list of goals for 2010 contained a resolve to get more exercise so let's hope a new friend comes along with it.

I joined a new church a few weeks before Christmas. I'd wandered away from church over the past years and decided to reconnect with the denomination I was raised in. It's a small congregation but a friendly and welcoming one. There isn't any one individual I've connected with (yet) but I've felt a definite connection with the congregation as a whole. I enjoy the minister's sermons and frequently find myself taking notes so I'll remember something he said. The choir is small but talented and the organist is just fabulous. She plays lots of complicated Bach fugues and I'm in awe of her skill.

I think the photo illustrating #5 pretty well explains about my younger friends. I could have given birth to all of them. While I try very, very hard not to play the "Mama card," occasionally I find myself offering advice based on years of experience. And they do their best to keep me in touch with all things current. I mean, a woman closing in on sixty can only dress so young before she crosses the line from fashionable to ridiculous. The Playfriends help me stay on the right side of that line.

And as for the last one, it's a slippery slope and one I'll have to negotiate carefully.

Friends are essential. They have a positive effect on mood and self-esteem, and they offer support in tough times and suggest ways to cope. They like you because they want to, not because they have to. And a REALLY good friend will be right there in the jail cell beside you saying, "Oh my gosh, wasn't that fun!?!?!"

Do you have all 6 kinds of friends?


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.

Today's question addresses the Playfriends' appreciation of handsome men. Name one of the men residing in the Locker Room at the Writing Playground site.

Have fun!

I've always depended...

It’s been weeks since I mailed my full manuscript to New York City. Eight and a half weeks to be precise, but who’s counting. Surprisingly, that time has flown by.

It’s been a week since I got the cast on my foot. A week and a day, but who’s… you know. This first week has flown by too. But I’ve a stinking suspicion time is going to slow down soon. Yeah I have to stay off the foot as much as possible, so that means couch time with my foot propped on pillows and either a book in my hand or a Law and Order SVU rerun playing on the DVR. However, I learned last year after my foot surgery, which required two weeks of having the foot elevated, that cabin fever sets in quickly.

Smarty Pants took me to the movie Friday night (we saw Angels & Demons and I enjoyed the heck out of it, especially since I’ve been to Rome and have seen many of the sites shown in the film) and then I let my rarely-used adventuous side allow her to introduce me to Vietnamese food (also very good). On Sunday, Angel took me with her to Barnes and Noble where I actually wrote three pages on a short story. I know I should be working on the next book, not a short story, but I’m still pondering the next book, and with conference coming up I need some extra income for my expenses. Today I’m tagging along with Problem Child and she’ll drop me off at an appointment and pick me up afterward. At least there’s a Books-a-Million close by where she can stay entertained.

I’m reminded of the line from Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire where Blanche DuBois says, “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Of course the Playfriends aren’t strangers and I’m not going to be hauled to the insane asylum as Blanche was just after uttering the line. I don’t often ask for help and I think many women are the same. I trudge along, doing for myself until I’m put into a position where I can’t. Maybe I feel like I’m saving up favors for a day when I really need them so I can call them in during the thirty more days I’m in this cast (but who’s counting?).

Whatever the psychology, I’m grateful for the Playfriends. Here’s also a shout out to my friend Eileen who took me to get the cast put on and drove me yesterday to get a temporary handicapped placard so I don’t have to clomp in from the back forty in the Walmart parking lot. Thanks, too, to my neighbor Elizabeth who took me to the drugstore and the bank last week.

The cast has also affected my wardrobe. Whatever I wear has to fit over the cast, and so far I’ve managed with capris. I also have to wear a firmly fitting shoe on the left foot to give me stability. Around the house I wear a Croc; outdoors I wear a Sketcher sandal, a Clarks sandal or a tennis shoe. Real fashionable, huh?

And then last week it dawned on me that when this cast comes off three days before I leave for RWA conference, my leg is going to look like crap. I already have this notation on my calendar for July 10:

10 AM – cast removal
Immediately after – spa pedicure

And the cute little black dress I bought months ago for a party just isn’t going to work since it’s knee-length. My leg, even with a couple coats of Jergens Natural Glow, is gonna glow all right. It’ll probably illuminate under a black light. I’m having to re-evaluate my wardrobe for that night. I guess the cute little black dress will have to wait til next year. Besides, I needed to firm up my thighs and had begun doing lunges before the cast went on. Do you know how hard it is to lunge in a knee-high cast? Hard enough that these thighs will have to remain flabby til after July 10, another reason for the wardrobe re-evaluation. Le sigh.

Meanwhile, I continue pondering the next book, waiting to hear on the one I submitted, writing the short story that’s due Friday and depending on the kindness of a great bunch of friends.

P.S. Our big hair celebration is approaching and today's the deadline to send your photos to Problem Child to be included in the embarrassment fun.

ATTENTION Housemouse88. You won Christie Craig’s prize from her blog last week. Please email Angel with your name and snail mail info to claim the prize.