Waiting Game

It’s almost time. Golden Heart and RITA finalists are announced Sunday. Although I’ve managed to forget I even entered it for weeks at a time, my mental radar started pinging today.

Whoop! Whoop! Red Alert! Red Alert! It’s coming!

I’m not expecting much, but I’m still anxious. It would be nice to get that recognition, even if I didn’t win but just finaled. Finaling on its own is HUGE. Heck, entering was big enough for me because I finally had a completed, polished book that I felt was good enough to blow $50 to enter. Good enough may not be good enough, however. There is a lot of competition. I’m the only Playfriend that threw a hat into the ring this year, so I guess I’m the only one all twisted up in knots over it at the moment. It’s a good thing I’ve been able to put it out of my mind because this is such a long process. Enter in November, hear back in the end of March. If you do final, you don’t find out if you’ve won until July... pure torture.

At the same time, I’m not looking forward to getting the judge comments back. At least this one is just a numerical score – they aren’t encouraged to elaborate on why you suck, just that you suck and leave it at that. Oh goody. I’ve actually been trying to decide whether to send my current WIP into a contest or two and honestly, I can’t make myself do it.

Chicken.

Yeah, I know.

So anyway, keep me in your thoughts Sunday. I’ll either be in a hysterical panic because I finaled or a hysterical panic because I didn’t or a hysterical panic because the realtor wants to show my house and the kitchen is dirty. One of these three will most certainly happen and I’m sure it’s the dirty kitchen. DB will see to that.

So...are you waiting for something? A contest entry result? A much anticipated vacation? Chocolate Easter bunnies and peeps? The end of Lent so you can eat meat on Friday's again? Share and let me know how you’re planning to pass the time.

SP

BTW – this writing challenge has been a bust. For all our big talk, I’ve written, like, 56 pages over the course of a month. I’m sure that sounds great to some, but my original goal was 230 pages by the end of March. That gives me, oh, 9 days to write 174 pages and meet my goal. HA!

44,000 / 80,000 (55.0%)

Sometimes You Just Gotta Laugh...

To keep from crying. This vacation has turned out a little different than what I'd envisioned when we left at 6 AM on Saturday morning. Lazy days spent on the beach, beside a heated pool, or in a toasty hot tub. Um...not so much. Our pool is broken - it took them five days to get a guy here to tell us that. I spent on entire day in bed with a virus and then the next in a podunk emergency room.

Now, let me preface this story by saying that the people at said hospital were absolutely wonderful. Very friendly, courteous, helpful in every possible way. However, it is in the middle of nowhere and privacy laws obviously don't mean all that much to them. In the course of sitting and waiting for the doctor to see me, I think I heard the diagnosis for every single patient in the emergency room. I studied some woman's X-rayed foot and listened to a discussion about whether an instrument should be ordered (ostensibly for the man next to me trying desperately to hack up the lining of his stomach around some obstructing object - the consensus was no that they would only need it very rarely and I believe they sent said man to another bigger hospital).

I went to this emergency room because it was the closest doctor within a 45 minute drive and my own doctor is on vacation as well. Remind me to tell him that is no longer allowed. I'm certain we've all seen red, bloodshot eyes. But have you seen red and yellow bloodshot eyes? The highlight of the trip was the fact that the hospital was out of saline solution to wash out the dye they'd put in. I'm absolutely certain I looked deranged when I stopped at the CVS counter to fill my prescriptions. Not that it helped me any...I still had to wait an hour.

So, as of right now I'm not allowed on the beach because the sun and sand make my eyes water incessantly and the pool isn't working. Reading my book and watching TV also present a problem because too much hurts my swollen eyes.

While there have been some highlights - like spending time with my grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins I don't often get to see - this vacation has been mostly a bust. Unfortunately, this places much pressure on my next trip...to Scotland :-)

Instigator

Spring has sprung

Today is the first day of spring, or as astronomers refer to it, the vernal equinox. The word equinox means equal night. On this day the tilt of the earth’s axis toward the sun is such that day and night are of equal duration. This happens one other time during the year – the autumnal equinox in September.

You may have read news articles or seen reports on your local television station about today being the day when you can balance a raw egg on end. This apparently comes from a notion that special gravitational forces are in effect today because of the sun’s equidistant position between the earth’s poles.

When I went in search of the truth behind this, I ended up at an urban legends website (or several sites actually) where I learned that if you have an egg that’s just the right shape and you have just enough patience, you can balance it on end any day of the year.

So much for spring and egg balancing.

But while I was at the urban legends websites, I did a little browsing and decided today I’d impart a little urban legend knowledge. So you’ll be able to sleep better tonight (since night and day are the same length) here are twenty-five things you can stop worrying about:

1. The painted cats you saw in that email aren’t really painted. They are what one website referred to as "manipulated images."
2. There IS a website where you can donate feminine hygiene products to women’s shelters, but because of overwhelming response to their efforts, they’ve suspended the action until they figure out the logistics of managing cyberspace’s generosity.
3. Microsoft will not send you a check for forwarding a particular email. There is no software that can track an email from one computer to another. So just delete it and move on.
4. Likewise, Nike will not send you a free pair of shoes if you send them your old ones.
5. Go to www.thebreastcancersite.com and click on the appropriate button to fund a mammogram for a low-income woman. You can do this every day and help another woman protect her health. And please be sure to get your own done when the doctor says it's time.
   
6. You cannot cook an egg between two cell phones.
7. Pringles are not made from recycled McDonald’s French fries.
8. Women’s purses ARE a hotbed of germs, especially the bottom. Use an antibacterial cleaner to wipe off your purse, don’t sit it on the kitchen counter where food might be close by and think twice about setting it on the floor in a public restroom.
9. AOL is not going to start charging for Instant Messages.
10. Pop Rocks and Coca Cola didn’t kill Mikey and the combination won’t kill your child either.
11. The following photos have been circulated around the internet and titled “Alabama Wedding.” We in the great state of Alabama are more than delighted to announce they’re fake. The first photo shows what is purported to be an actual cake at a 1998 wedding reception in Iowa and the second photo with the smiling newlyweds was a 2004 entry in a Photoshop contest called “If Rednecks Ruled.”
    
    
    
    
12. There are no missing shipments of UPS uniforms nor large numbers of them purchased by terrorists on eBay. eBay banned the sale of UPS uniforms in February 2003. So stop worrying about what brown might do to you.
13. The lyrics to “Louie, Louie” aren’t dirty. They ARE unintelligible because the lead singer had strained his voice the night before, he was wearing braces, the mike was too high to pick up the sound well and what the band thought was a rehearsal was actually the only take for the recording.
14. Chewing gum doesn’t take seven years to digest if you swallow it.
15. Coca Cola is not an effective spermicide.
16. Magic Eraser doesn’t contain formaldehyde, which is great news to several Playfriends who swear by it. Scrub on!
17. Rice thrown at weddings won’t kill birds. It can, however, make for slippery walking conditions.
18. The flush toilet was not invented by Thomas Crapper nor was the brassiere invented by Otto Titzling.
19. Dr. Seuss wrote “Green Eggs and Ham” after his editor challenged him to write a book with less than fifty different words.
20. The “Star Trek” theme has lyrics.
21. The youngest mother on record was a five-year-old girl Peruvian girl who gave birth in 1939.
22. Eating celery DOES result in negative calories.
23. Eelskin wallets won’t demagnetize a credit card.
24. Hotel key cards don’t contain personal information.
25. Letssaythanks.com allows the public to send free personalized postcards to US troops overseas.

And if you have money to burn, you can put your photo on a tissue box and you can personalize M&Ms .

What’s YOUR favorite urban legend and/or favorite crazy email? Anybody else find it hard to believe folks actually fall for that Nigerian bank scam?

P.S. Our winner from yesterday is Michelle Buonfiglio! Please email the Problem Child to claim your prize.

Guest Blogger Linda Winstead Jones

We are the luckiest Playfriends on the planet, and we know it. RITA-winning, bestselling and uber-cool author and Maven Linda Winstead Jones is here today! The first book of her new trilogy, Prince of Magic, is available now, Prince of Fire will be available in April, and Prince of Swords will be out in May.

Linda has written romantic suspense and historicals, but her paranormals are huge now. If you, like me, wonder where the ideas come from, Linda is here to talk about making that leap out of the ordinary.

Give a big Playground welcome to Maven LJ and make her feel at home!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What led me here?

Those of you who hang out at the Playground know me fairly well. I comment on occasion, if life and my computer cooperate. When I was trying to come up with a subject for my blog, I thought of all the questions a writer usually hears. One stood out. Why do you write paranormal?

There are lots of reasons why I enjoy paranormal romance, as a reader and as a writer, but that’s not really the same as why or – even more important – how.

It’s summer, 1995. My first three historical romances are out and I’m contracted for a couple more. I get a phone call from my editor. They’re starting a fairy tale romance line and would like me to submit an idea. Since I’m a newbie, this is not their first call of the day. All the traditional romantic fairy tales – Beauty and the Beast, Rose Red, Cinderella – have been taken. After the call is finished, I end up pacing in my living room, muttering to myself. My youngest son, then eleven, walks into the room. For the purposes of this story, we’ll call him Baby Boy. (Trust me, he’s going to HATE that. Such is life.) Baby Boy wants to know what I’m doing, so I snap my fingers in his direction and say, “Fairy Tales. Name some fairy tales.” His first response is “The Three Little Pigs.” I shake my head (though later . . .) and say, no. This needs to be a romantic fairy tale. So he offers “The Three Bears.” Again, I shake my head. “No, this has to be a romance.” He reasonably suggests that at the end of the story Brad Pitt can jump through the window and save Goldilocks. No, No, I say. The hero would have to be one of the bears.

Light bulb moment. Yes, the hero could be one of the bears. I ended up with the three Barrett brothers and Someone’s Been Sleeping in my Bed. Baby Boy asked for two percent of anything I made off his idea – and got it. Two percent was just so reasonable I couldn’t refuse.

No, SBSIMB was not a paranormal story, but it was my first trip out of the box. It was my first attempt at looking at a story from a different (and slightly askew) angle, and it led to more twisted fairy tales (yes, including those pigs) and a couple of time-travels, then to Victorian ghostbusters and psychics and three witches set in a world I created. Most recently, it led to Prince of Magic, Prince of Fire, and Prince of Swords, where anything can – and does – happen.

Like most fiction, it all started with what if . . . and a dozen years later my brain is still in that mode. What if? Who knows where it will take me next?

~~~~~~~~~~

Linda will be around today to answer your questions, so ask away! One commenter will recieve a copy of Linda's Let Down Your Hair Faerie Tale.

(And can I just add an editoral comment? LJ, your Princes are hummina-hummina yummy!)

Crafty Angel

I'm posting late this morning, because I slept in. Give me a little leeway here, it IS spring break....

This weekend I got to spend the evening with Smarty Pants doing the one thing we enjoy that the other playfriends don't do: scrapbooking. We start talking about paper, ribbons, and layouts and everyone else's eyes start to glaze over.

I've always been a crafty sort of person. I started out early in my teen years doing cross-stitch, sewing, and quilting. I love to make homemade gifts that try out various techniques and I've even started making a few bracelets and beaded gifties (though I'm not nearly as talented with the beads as Playground Monitor). But if I had to choose one craft I love, the one I invest the time and money into, it would be scrapbooking.

I've always taken lots of pictures, so scrapping them just became a natural extension of my photo bug. I'm not as original or talented as some—my creativity works with words, not pictures—so I tend to "scraplift" from magazines and books. But the satisfaction of seeing the finished page or looking through my albums makes me do a little happy dance.

I've found one other benefit to scrapbooking, besides pretty pages and down time, and that's the boost to my creativity. When I indulge my scrapbooking urge it tends to open the flow of my writing endeavors. I'll come up with ideas for scenes, be able to picture characters and their traits, and find myself generally more receptive to creative ideas. You'd think I'd do it more often, huh?

Do you have a favorite craft or hobby that you enjoy? Do you find it enhances your creativity in other areas? If you aren't "crafty", have you ever wished you enjoyed a certain craft?

Angel

DON'T FORGET: Tomorrow we welcome our fabu Maven Linda Winstead Jones to play with us on the blog! Come join the fun.

The Coolest Online Workshop Ever

For all you RWA folks out there headed for Dallas this summer, Counselor Shelley has put together an amazing 2 week workshop.

Help us pass the word! Send folks here or feel free to copy into an email and forward it to anyone you think is interested.

(Even if you won't be going to Dallas, but plan to attend a regional conference, this workshop is for you!)

Surviving and Thriving at National: Seven Ways to Accomplish More in Dallas and Still Keep Your Sanity.

Dates: May 30-June 13, 2007

Cost: $20

You’ve polished your pitch and bought fabulous, yet comfortable, shoes. You’ve planned your schedule and packed for every possibility. But are you really ready for the RWA Conference? The stress? The nerves? The overwhelming toll on your energy reserves? Would you like to feel more confident or out-going?

Licensed Counselor Shelley Visconte presents a 2-week online workshop to help you get the most out of National while keeping your sanity intact.

Workshop sessions include:

*Projecting Competence and Confidence

*Maintaining Energy

*Overcoming Fear and Anxiety

*Maintaining Inner Peace and Calm

*Extroversion for Introverts

*Establishing Boundaries for Extroverts

*Increasing Self-Confidence

*Q&A

Instructor bio:

Shelley Visconte is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with seven years of counseling experience. In addition to her private practice as the Director of Red River Counseling, Coaching, and Consulting (www.mysolutionfinder.com ), Shelley is the resident counselor and advisor for the writers on The Writing Playground (www.writingplayground.com). Her own experiences as an artist and her duties on the Writing Playground have given her a unique perspective on the needs and neuroses of writers and have made her a popular speaker at RWA chapter meetings in the Southeast.

Full details and registration at the Heart of Dixie website, www.heartofdixie.org.

Questions? Contact the Coordinator at online@heartofdixie.org

Luck O' The Irish

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. This year it’s a Saturday, thank goodness, so I can keep from getting pinched all day when I forget to wear green to work. Somewhere, someone will be eating corned beef and cabbage (not at my house). Someone will be drinking green beer. Dye will get dumped into the river in Chicago. People everywhere will be getting in touch with their long lost Irish heritage to earn kisses from strangers at bars. People will be lining the streets of Manhattan to watch the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Last year, I was freezing my behind off while I watched from the entrance of the Met.

I will be continuing to paint my house and possibly steam cleaning my carpet. Lots of excitement there, I can tell you. Although I’m a good chunk Irish (my relatives in Chicago are UBER-Irish, our side went Kentucky hillbilly) all of it doesn’t mean much to me. In grade school, it was all about cupcakes in class with shamrock candies and pinching the unfortunates...thinking about rainbows and pots of gold, getting three wishes and digging through the grass for an elusive four leaf clover. Now it’s just another day – and an annoying one at that if you decided to wear your favorite pink sweater.

What say we bring some of the magic back? There’s too many WW points in a cupcake, but no calories in wishes! If you followed a rainbow to its end and found a pot of gold, what three wishes would you ask the Leprechaun for? (And no more wishing for more wishes...this Leprechaun has rules!)

I would wish for:
- a magic bank account that would always have enough money in it to buy whatever I want or need without running out, so I could quit my day job and spend my time doing what I love
- excellent health and longevity for me and my loved ones
- world peace (fans teary face)

SP
(Who will be wearing the shamrock angel pin a co-worker brought her from Ireland at Christmas...just in case.)

Vacation

I'm getting ready to go to the beach, or rather I'm getting my entire family ready to go to the beach. I know, some of you are thinking, "Didn't she just go on vacation?" Yes, but I'm going again. Although, this is actually classified as work :-) The fact that my company is a family owned business and that we choose to have our Board of Director's meeting at the beach during AEA week is just one of the many perks to the job (right behind being able to take my girls to the office with me).

Don't get me wrong, there will be some work involved on my part. My responsibility is to keep connected to our home office (which won't be staffed) and handle any urgent business that comes in. Although, what I'm really looking forward to is a week of sand and sun to work on the revision request I received last week. I really think sitting in the hot tub underneath the stars will help those creative juices :-). I am looking forward to a solid week of concentrating on my writing though - the benefit of having DH, grandma, grandpa, aunties, and great grandma all available for babysitting.

At this precise moment though...I'm buried in lists. Lists of things I need to pack. Lists of things the company needs to purchase in preparation. Lists of things I need to get in order at the office before we can leave. Lists of information that need to be provided to both of the owners and their wives. Sure all these lists are in my head but they are there. Unfortunately, I've not been able to tick many of the items off just yet. Here's hoping I can remedy that today.

Do you have any special plans for Spring Break?

Instigator

P.S. Kissandtell has won the book thong. Please email Playground Monitor to claim your prize.

Extreme Office Makeover Revisited

According to my desk calendar, today is "National Organize Your Home Office Day." Regardless of whether your home office is just for your personal business affairs or for a business that generates revenue -- or both -- your productivity, your quality of life and your peace of mind will benefit if it's organized.

In January of last year I blogged about Extreme Office Makeover. I have my own office in the house and I wanted to create a sanctuary -- my own little enclave where I can retreat to create or read or like I did this afternoon after a morning of washing windows, nap. It's been a long time coming, but after haunting every sale for the last two months, I've almost got it done.

This is before.


And here is the "after" in various stages of development.

My desk before I hung some art over it and before I moved the silk fern (is there any other kind?) where it actually goes. I also put a red-striped French memo board beside the desk to hold photos, cards and the like. You'll see it a little later on.

A small antique desk I use for craft work. I got the valances at Lowe's. They are a red and beige check -- hard to tell in the light. The old lamp from my son's bedroom in the other house is still sitting in the corner.

The futon with the art that will go over it. It's metal art and I just have to get the DH to help put it up. Requires the laser level. Notice the attractive tv tray end table? :-/ But I do have a new floor lamp now.

After a month of trying to order a table online, and having it damaged both times it was shipped, I told them to refund my money and I found this end table at Hobby Lobby on sale. Looks better than the tv tray, doesn't it? And I have cut the tag off. I just wanted to make sure before I did. The leather magazine holder came from Ross -- on senior discount day. *g*

I framed three of my magazine covers to go over my desk. Neat, huh? I'd never have thought of it but the decorator I bought the futon from suggested it.

I'm not sure where these are going but I think they may be a new mantra for me: Live, Love, Laugh. It sounds like a great way to go through life.

Here's that French memo board I mentioned earlier. I notice here that I need to tidy up my cords. That's the cell phone charger and I'm sure I could find a place where it is unobtrusive.

And remember the tall bookcase from the "before" shots? I moved it and it fits perfectly between the doors. I also got rid of a smaller bookshelf (it's currently in my garage and holding boxes of luncheon stuff) and really pared down my book collection.

I'm enjoying my new digs, but I have to re-train myself to write in here. I've gotten so used to writing at the kitchen table because the "old" room just wasn't really conducive to creativity.

I know that our blog visitors are a combination of writers and readers. So my question is this: Do you have a special place where you write? Or if you don't write, is there some place you really, really love to curl up with a good book? What makes is special?

One lucky commenter today will win a handmade book thong -- another of my creative efforts.

Vanity Pants

Riddle me this, Batman.

I was pretty skinny in my college days. Blessed with a high metabolism and a neurosis about my weight, I looked pretty darn good—especially for someone who never met a donut she didn’t like. Depending on the cut and maker, my clothes were in the 5-6-7 range for size.

Fast forward 15 years and 25 additional pounds (darned metabolism slowed down after my 30th birthday). I may not fall in the “heifer” range, but there’s definitely more of me than there used to be. Yet what size are the pants on my body right now?

Size 6.

Yep, you read that right. Somehow I’ve miraculously managed to gain a two-year-old on my hips and still wear the same size I did in college. Hmmmmm…

We wonder why the American public is overweight. If you can continue to buy clothes in the same size you always have, why bother questioning that additional flesh?

I have a skirt in my closet from the Gap that’s a size 4. I was never a 4 in my skinny days, and I know for darn sure my current butt is not an actual size 4. Let me tell you, though, I did a happy dance around the dressing room when I slipped that 4 on (completely ignoring the jiggling cellulite that proved I was no size 4). I could have looked like death in a taco and I still would have bought that skirt, simply because it was a 4.

Vanity sizing, they call it. I call it insanity. It’s bad enough women have never been able to actually be a size. Men never have the joy of taking three of the same pairs of pants in different sizes to the dressing room because a size 8 is not standard across the board. The clothes in my closet range from a 4 (my lovely little skirt) to a size 12 (a pair of pants that hurt me just to look at the label). I cover the whole Small-Medium-Large range. I think clothing manufacturers actually hate women and get an evil giggle out of watching us try to decide what size we are today…

As I type up this little rant on the injustices of clothing designers and the increasing girth of my thighs, I can’t help but notice the collection of books in my TBR pile. I’ve never been a fan of the “hook” titles some of the series lines favor, but now I’m starting to see the attraction. When you pick up a book titled “The Millionaire Cowboy’s Secret Pregnant Bride,” you know exactly what the book will be about. No question about it. No trying out “Love’s Secret Splendor” and “The Willow and The Fern” hoping there might be a millionaire cowboy waiting inside.

So where am I headed with this post?


I don’t know. It’s a rant and I tied it into books.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What kind of titles do you like? The "hooky" ones, or the more poetic (if vague) ones? Have you ever bought (or not bought) a book simply because of the title?




~PC~

Eye Candy

It's started, that part of the writing process that I love unconditionally. Pre-writing! The brainstorming stage. The chance to wade through the "what ifs", the "what abouts", and savor those tantalizing AHA moments. Though I don't get all the details down before I start writing, I'd honestly say I plot out about 70 percent of my book that doesn't change. The rest changes with the characters, unexpected twists and turns, and those lovely lightbulb flashes.

This weekend, I got to scour the internet for one hot man. No, not just any man, The Man. My HERO. You see, in the plotting stage for my book I have to visualize my hero, and that process just happens to include a hunt through eye candy.

This is the life, isn't it? :) Or should I say, at least this job comes with some perks.

Anyway, thought I'd bless y'all with a peek at the new guy, the man who will be filling my thoughts and dreams for the next several months at least. Shh, don't tell my hubby.



Now, I don't watch soap operas, but some of you ladies might recognize this guy as Aiden Turner, a British actor on the daytime soap All My Children. Hot, isn't he? Can you just imagine him with a 6 o'clock shadow and brooding look? I can!

The last few books I've found it very helpful to have pictures of my hero and heroine, just to make them come alive in my imagination. Plus I don't get halfway through the book and wonder what color his eyes were. :) But when I go searching for pics, I find myself shying away from really well-known celebrities or people very prominent in the media.

Why? Well, then I can't imagine them to be who I want them to be. That public persona keeps getting in the way, especially if it is someone I don't care for or who has played a character I can't stand. I keep saying I'm going to break this rule and cast Oded Fehr (the Mummy movies) as one of my heroes, but I just haven't found one that clicks with his foreign mysterious looks.

So, what's your favorite hero type? Where's you favorite place to glean pictures or ideas for heroes? Any favorite hotties?!?!

Angel

The Gift of Positive Thinking

“If you don't like something change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou

I ordered all the Playfriends a gift off the internet the other day. Not so much a gift, really, cause it was free, but something interesting if they want to make use of it. Last week when we de-funkified, the topic of a book called the Divine Matrix came up. The gist was that everything is connected and your attitude toward the world determines how your life goes. If you think you’re going to fail, you will – that sort of thing. I know I’m not the only negative ninny in this bunch, so the other day, I heard something interesting on the radio that caught my attention.

A church in Kansas City, MO has started a campaign for a “complaint free” world. You can check them out at http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org/. The pastor of the church challenged his parishioners to go 21 days without the negative whining and complaining most of us do on a daily basis. They each wore a purple bracelet and if they complained at any point, they had to move the bracelet to the other arm and start their 21 days over again.

If you haven’t heard about this yet, you’re in the minority. It’s sweeping radio and television news programs like the Today show. There was an article on him in the recent People magazine. They’re going to be on Oprah. Apparently, this is a life changing experience for those that are able to make it through the 21 days. By putting only positive energy out into the world, they’re happier, more positive people. Imagine that!

If you go onto their website, you can order the bracelets free. They don’t charge a dime, although they do give you the option of making a donation to the church either via paypal or with the envelope included in the package with your bracelet. I donated enough to cover the cost of the bracelets and shipping. So far, they’ve had orders for over 323,000 bracelets. Wow.

I’m not giving the bracelets out with the expectation that everyone use them, but I, myself am going to give it a shot. I’ll probably have to start over seven or eight times (the first day) but if this will help me garner more positive vibes in the universe, I’m all for it! I’ll let you all know how it goes.

In honor of that, I’m declaring today Fabulous Friday. Got something great going on that you’d like to share? Please do! It’s Friday, there has to be something good, even if its just because the weekend is upon us! :)

Oh, and yesterday's blog winner is Pat! Email your info to instigator@writingplayground.com with "Blog Winner" in the subject line to claim your prize!

SP
Writing Challenge: 174/350 = 49% complete!

10 Things

Well, it finally happened. I forgot it was Thursday. I got up this morning. Got the girls dressed, fed, their lunches packed. Dropped Sweet Pea off to school. Ran to the gym to squeeze in 30 minutes. Dropped Baby Girl off to school. Drove to work. Sat down at my computer. And said, "Oh Hell." :-)

So, as you can imagine I have nothing much to say. So I'm going to shamelessly steal an idea from one of our good friends Rhonda Nelson and play a little game. I'm going to list 10 things about me that you might not know. Then I'd like everyone to list some things about themselves that we wouldn't know. There will of course be prizes, mostly because I feel guilty.

1. I come from a HUGE family. My mother is the oldest of 14 children. I have a cousin who is 1 month older than my oldest child. In fact, I have cousins younger than my kids. My youngest aunt is 1 year older than my husband. It makes for loud, interesting family get-togethers.

2. I was in the color guard in high school - you know those people twirling the flags out on the field. I did that because I couldn't play the saxophone and hated the flute.

3. Summer before Senior year I went to Colorado for World Youth Day where catholic high school students from all around the world gathered to listen to the Pope speak.

4. I love camping. As a child we used to camp on Lake Michigan during the summer.

5. I love the ocean but hate getting in the water.

6. I spent my 7th birthday covered in calamine lotion after I contracted swimmer's itch from the lake we had rented a cabin on. It was not fun.

7. When I was five my sister had an allergic reaction to cold medicine and hallucinated snakes everywhere. She was tearing off her clothes, tearing off my clothes, screaming down the hallway. This is why I'm terrified of snakes.

8. When I was eight my brother disappeared. My mother couldn't find him anywhere. She called in the police. Had the residents from the assisted living center behind our house out combing the woods. The neighbors were all called into action. After a couple hours he crawled out from under my parent's bed where he'd decided to play hide and seek (forgetting to tell my mother) and fell asleep. Apparently, he curled up into a shadowed corner and simply blended in when no less than five people checked under that bed.

9. Um, I'm running out of unusual things...my favorite color is green?

10. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little.

Okay, now it's your turn. Let us get to know you a little better.

Instigator

P.S. Don't forget that we've started a new contest - Red Hot Reads. You can enter by emailing me at instigator@writingplayground.com Give me your name, email, address, and how you found us for a chance to win a great basket full of books, chocolate and red hot fun.

Imagine this...

Imagine this.

You've just won the biggest lottery in history and after taxes you're still rolling in money.

How would you spend it?

Would you buy yourself a mansion?

And how about a maid to clean the house, do the laundry and ironing, zip to the grocery store every week and make sure the dog and cat are fed?




And a butler to handle the rest?

Oops! Wrong butler. *g* But wouldn't he be fun to have around?

Or a fancy Maserati?

A shiny Rolex with a diamond bezel?

A BIG diamond ring? This is Elizabeth Taylor's Krupp diamond. It's a mere 33.19 carats and Liz wears it every day.

Or maybe you'd just like to wear jewels on your feet. The Playfriends have seen these sandals up close and personal. *g*

How about a relaxing vacation in Tahiti?

Or a week at a fancy spa where they pamper you, slather you in all sorts of stuff and you don't have to cook your own meals.

Then again, there's always breakfast at Tiffany's.

Or imagine a lifetime of chocolate.

What about all the books you could ever read? And the time to read them?

I'm not sure exactly what I'd do if I had that kind of money. It would most likely involve a lot of retirement planning, security for family members, charitable donations and no mortgage.

Actually, I AM rich but not in the way I described above. I have a husband who supports my writing. I have two grown children who are making their way in society. I have a daughter-in-law whom I adore and she's a wonderful mother to my precious granddaughter. My mother and my husband's mother are in good health for their ages. They have some problems but not overly serious or life-threatening. My sister and I have discovered the joys of the empty nest and "girl road trips" and plan to take another one this year -- maybe a short cruise.

I'm also rich in friends, most notably four women with whom I share this blog and there just isn't a price tag to be put on that.



What would you do it you won the big jackpot?


I didn't win a jackpot, but I did start reading a new book on Monday. It involves a 12 week program to unblock your creativity and part of the program is a weekly "artist date." It's a block of time you set aside each week to nurture your creative self and refill the well so to speak. This afternoon I'm taking in a chick flick matinee all by my lonesome. The DH is in a volleyball tournament and I'll be playing bachelor girl so why not? I might even treat myself to a hamburger at Wendy's afterwards. Cue the "Hey Big Spender" music. *g*

And I thought my job was tough...

I swore to myself I would not pick up any additional TV shows this year. Yeah, well that went the way of my strict exercise routine. What’s so weird is not that I picked up a new TV show, but which TV show I’ve become addicted to.

The Discovery Channel’s The Deadliest Catch.

Yes, I’m fascinated by a show that follows crab fishermen out into the Bering Sea. Shall we count all the reasons why my love of this show surpasses all understanding?

1) I hate to fish. If you ever see me next to a body of water with a pole or net, call 911. I’ve either lost what’s left of my mind or else someone is about to get hurt when I hook them on a line or drown them in a net. I have no desire whatsoever to be involved in the production of food. As far as I’m concerned, all food—animal, vegetable, fishy or shellfishy—comes from the grocery store. Where it was before it hit the Kroger is not something I like to think about.

2) I like my seawater warm and basically calm. Like the Gulf of Mexico in August. The Bering Sea in January is neither warm nor calm. The water is 37 degrees for Pete’s sake! And it’s crashing up on the boats in these huge waves, drenching everyone. I’m cold and miserable just looking at these poor guys. Not to mention sea sick…

3.) I’m a Suzy Safety (partly due to my mom being a Suzy Safety, but also because I’m pretty accident-prone and have learned the hard way that “Safe” really is better than “A Trip to the Emergency Room.”) As far as I can tell, there is nothing even remotely safe about a crab boat in the Bering Sea. Aside from the normal hazards of sinking, fire, etc, there’s the fact that if you fall overboard without a survival suit, you’ll be dead before they can even get the boat turned around. Even with a survival suit, your chances aren’t great. According to the show, chance of injury on the job is 100%. And just a few shows into the season, one boat has already sunk (killing all but one of the crew) and another boat has lost a man overboard. THIS IS NOT SAFE, PEOPLE!!!

4.) I’m a bit prissy about certain things—smells would be one such thing. All these men working hard (with both dead and live fish), in close quarters, with only short breaks that are taken up by eating or sleeping—can you imagine what the boat and her crew smells like? Boy Smell and Old Fish. Ewwwww...

But you know what? I LOVE crab. Boil me some crab legs and melt some butter… yummmmmm. One of those crabs I watch them pull out of the trap could be my dinner one day (soon, hopefully). I can promise you after seeing what these men went through to get that crab out of the sea and on it’s way to my plate, I will never waste crab (not that I would anyway). I will eat every delicious morsel and throw none of it away.

Because if nothing else, I now have a lot of respect for the process.

See, I knew I could tie this into writing. Process.

I used to take well-written books for granted. They just appeared on my bookshelf, ready to go, and I never thought about what it took to get those words on the page or what it took to craft that plot. I now have a much deeper appreciation for the authors who bring me the joy of their stories.

Much like I have a greater appreciation of the men who pulled my crab dinner up from the bottom of the ocean.

While you will never find me on a crab boat (and if you do, I’ve been kidnapped and forced aboard, so rescue me, okay?), one day you will find me on the bookshelves of your local B&N. I hope.

So I will never complain about paying full cover price for a book again. Okay, so writing's not deadly like crab fishing, but it's certainly worthy of my respect for those who do it well.

Have you ever discovered respect for something you'd taken for granted?

PC

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And a very Happy 29th Birthday to our very good Playfriend Rhonda Nelson!!

De-Funkify

I'm a little late posting my blog this morning, because I didn't get around to doing it last night. After finishing a rough draft of a short story, I rewarded myself by reading a book—His Dark Desires by Jennifer St. Giles. Awesome, and I never guessed who the murderer was!

I find myself feeling much better this week about myself, my writing, and life in general. Why? Well, besides actually finding time to write this weekend, I had a great experience with the Playfriends and Maven Linda Winstead Jones on Friday night.

We called it a De-Funkify session (spelling here is completely subjective). We have all had some really crappy and/or disappointing experiences lately, and found ourselves slipping into a "Funk". You know, that depressed pessimistic outlook that colors everything gray (and occassionally black). So we knew we had to do something.

What? you ask. A secret, highly guarded ritual that if I told you about I'd then have to kill you-- Just kidding.

Actually, one thing that always helps me a lot is to talk. And we did. Got all those gripes and worries out before moving along to hair color, diets, and home life (not to mention the male species' illogical reactions to locking their keys in the house). I think women find solace in not dealing with life's frustrations alone and there's something therapeutic about talking. Maybe Counselor Shelley could tell us why.

What would a gab session be without food? We had some great stuff without totally blowing the diets, thus leading talk back to that subject...

Then we did something many of us have found very helpful—meditation. No, not the lotus position, uuummmmmm type of mediation, but some guided breathing and visualization exercises to calm and focus the mind.

And you know what? I think it worked. For the first time in weeks I feel lighter, more positive, and more focused. I managed to accomplish a lot this weekend. I'm viewing my life from a more honest perspective than I have in a while.

Could I have done this by myself? Probably. And I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take the steps I should have on my own. But you know what? Part of De-Funkifying is letting go of the guilt. :)

So, how do you de-funkify? When do you usually need it most? What's with the weird connection between women gathering together and food?

Angel

Max needs a home

UPDATE: We have found a home! Thanks, everyone!! Max will be going to his new family tomorrow!




This is Max, and he needs a home.

Max belonged to my mom's roommate and Mom has been caring for him since her roommate passed away in October. But Mom is moving to a new place and Max can't go. Max can't come to our house because of DG's allergies.

If you or someone you know would be interested in adopting Max, drop me a note at problemchild@writingplayground.com. Max is in Huntsville, AL, but I'd be happy to meet somewhere (with reasonable driving distance) to find him a new family.

Max is 5 years old, neutered, front-declawed, and his shots are up-to-date through June. He gets along fine with other cats and dogs, and is good with small children.

Please help me find Max a new family!

For those who enjoy language or a distortion thereof...

I received this list of phrases in an email forward from my supervisor. As a writer by day as well as by night, he thought I could appreciate it. There's no point to the list really, other than I thought it was punny. And I had nothing else to blog about. :) Too late to talk about the Oscars or my motocross adventure. Tired of talking about struggling through my book or my diet. Anyway, hope you enjoy it too.

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.)

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia : the LAN down under.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

Can you come up with a few of your own?
SP

Uh...book challenge stalled this week with my being out in an engineering class for two days, then frantically painting my house.

Kids and Cats

My babies are growing up. Tuesday I went shopping for spring/summer clothes for both of my girls. Sweet Pea is now in 7s while Baby Girl is just starting into 3Ts. It didn't take me long to realize that there is a huge difference between 6 and 7. Apparently, that's the transition from cute girl clothes to young lady clothes. No one told me.

The dresses were what got me. I always buy the girls cute, pastel, frilly, flowery dresses. My tomboy children don't usually have cause to wear things like that on our little farm so I tend to go overboard for Easter. Baby Girl, no problem. Sweet Pea? There wasn't a thing there that qualified as cute or frilly. The dresses all reminded me of things I wore when I was 10 or 12. She's only 5. Where are the big fluffy skirts that crinkle and swish?

We're taking big steps all over the place. I just filled out paperwork for Baby Girl to start preschool next year. She'll officially be attending the same school as Sweet Pea. My mother is quiting her job next year to stay home and take care of my nephew (1) and Baby Girl when she's not in school. I'm so used to having her with me at the office at least part time. I'm not ready to give up my girls! I thought I'd have another year before I had to take this step.

At least there's one graduation we're ready for. Baby Girl's big girl furniture is being delivered on Saturday. She'll finally be out of her crib and not a moment too soon. Our cats, both of them, have decided (after much screeching and fighting) that Baby Girl's crib is the most comfy place in the entire house to sleep. Now if they'd picked Sweet Pea's bed this wouldn't be a problem. She adores those cats. Baby Girl, not so much. She starts raising hell the moment one of them steps foot into her room. She doesn't want them anywhere near, let alone sharing her pillow.

It didn't take the cats long to figure this out...and decide the best plan of attack would be to jump into the crib in the middle of the night and curl up, one at her feet and one at her head. Which would be fine if they didn't wake her up in the process. I can't tell you how many nights I've been woken up (always at about 2 AM) with Baby Girl yelling at the cats to get out of her bed. The just stare up at her. Guess who gets the job of ousting them?

What I'm hoping is that once the bars are down she'll be able to shove them out all on her own and I can finally get a good night's rest. Of course, that assumes she doesn't start sleepwalking like her father and sister. I'm not holding my breath.

Are there any changes at your house? And are you ready for them or dreading them?

Instigator

P.S. Yesterday's winner was Ashli. Please email the Playground Monitor to claim your prize.

Winners!

February has come to an end and so has our Fantasy and Faerie Tales Contest! Congratulations go out to our first prize winner:


Kat Davis!



She's picked up our great fantasy and faerie tales basket including her very own tiara!

Our runner up is:
Ruth Wells
Congrats ladies! Enjoy your prizes (especially the Johnny Depp movie...)


SP

Remember to play nice

Wasn't that the last thing your mother always told you as you ran out the back door to play with friends? It's what my mother always told me. She darn well expected me to do it, and I darn well knew the consequences if I didn't.

The Playfriends appointed me "Playground Monitor" so I could keep folks in line. Uh, I think it has to do with the fact I'm old enough to be their mother.

Occasionally I put on the "Mommy Hat" with the Playfriends but it's usually about something like making sure you get your mammogram or having a will to protect yourselves and your children. I haven't had to do any monitoring since the Writing Playground's inception. Everyone, including all our wonderful commenters, have played real nice.

I wish I could say the same for certain folks in celebrity-dom. Between the fight for a certain blonde's embalmed body, the head-shaving antics and revolving-door rehab attendance of a not-so-hot-anymore pop star and the recent naughty photos of an American Idol contestant, there's been an awful lot of not-so-nice playing going on. People are being hurt as a result. Parents are embarrassed. Children are affected. The public is disillusioned. Simon's going to be devastated and somebody's going to be in Randy's dawg house.

There seems to be a lot of Too Stupid To Live Syndrome going around. Haven't these folks learned that America soon tires of their antics and the courts don't like frivolous lawsuits? Did no one learn anything from the Miss America who lost her crown over photos taken years before? Hello!

I also see posts on websites and blogs that come back to bite the poster in the backside. When we began the Playground, I wrote some authors I knew and asked for suggestions on blogging. The one piece of stand-out advice I received was this: "If you wouldn't want it to be on the front page of the New York Times, don't put it on your blog."


The blogosphere is bigger than the New York Times. It is out there for the world to see.

THE WHOLE WORLD.

They don't call it the world wide web for nothing.

And the whole world, well almost, has visited the Playground.

Look at all the places our visitors live. They're all over North America. The dot that obliterates Hawaii is from one of our RWA chapter's newest members who moved alllllllllllll the way from the Aloha state to Alabama. We've had visitors from Central and South America, there's nice representation from Europe, a few dots in Africa and the Middle East, folks in India, the Orient and Down Under. And way up there in the north-central part of Eurasia is a dot that may or may not be Kazakhstan. Borat maybe?

We thank you all for visiting and hope you'll visit again and often. We love having a full playground. We also like having toys on the playground, and look at our new toy!

Because my mother also told me to share my toys, one lucky commenter today will receive one of these spiffy Writing Playground ballpoint pens.

Tell us a little bit about your part of the world.