After the Movie Gallery in the town I work in closed, I thought my DVD spending would be cut back. The only other option in town is an old, small Wal Mart that is the only one on the planet that doesn’t offer sales on the first couple days for new releases. That is what initially led to the wait for “previously viewed” movies. As they say, I have more time than money & can wait the 6 months or so & get 4 for the price of 1.

The ‘store is closed so I’ll save money’ theory was a good one but all that made me do was buy 8 or 12 instead of 4 when we did get to a town with a video store. This weekend was one of those weekends. I discovered a new video store in the town 40 minutes away. JACKPOT!!!

I had gotten over my obsession with wanting to see Time Traveler’s Wife. I had read the book twice & knew the movie (of course) wasn’t going to be as good but it was there & I had to get it. It really wasn’t as bad as everyone said. Of course there was a lot not in it but I didn’t think it was a bad movie. I’m glad too because I saw nothing in common with Dustin Time (my time travel novel).

I had no idea what to expect from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but it did turn out to be a cute movie. The last Harry Potter wasn’t as bad as all my daughter friend’s claimed it was either. I’ve learned to just watch them all anyway – no matter what someone says & decide for myself later. At the worst, I’m out 2 hrs of my life. I’ve done worse things in 2 hrs…*nudge nudge wink wink* Very few movies have gone to the “never watch again” pile in my house – none of this weekends binge are in that pile… yet. I still have 4-$2.95 jobbers that I had never heard of but bought because I like the people in them – we’ll see how I do there.

I finally saw Julie & Julia last night too, which I thought was cute. Yeah, yeah, cooking blah blah blah, but of course – my brain focused on the other part of the stories. The writing/ publishing issues going on. From Julia Child’s rejections then happiness when she gets the letter finally from a publisher to Julie writing a blog, getting offers then having a movie made from her book. Yes, add to the dream. I’d love to see Dustin Time as a movie someday… the dreaming never does end…*sigh*

At one point in the movie, I had my hubby rolling laughing. Julia Child is waiting in the train station for a lady she had never met. Her co-writer was shocked she was being picked up by someone she had never met before & didn’t “know”.
“I do know her. Kind of. We write letters,” she said.
I turned to hubby. “See… it’s like me meeting friends I know over the internet…only with pen & paper.”

Pen pal… facebook & writing forums… same difference, Si?

*runs off to start stalking Ron Howard*

The waiting is the hardest part… ~ Tom Petty

Most people think writing is hard. I’ve said before that for me, writing is the easy part. The stories fly out and my characters take over. I don’t even dread editing. Usually I find errors or conflicts and add a lot more to the story during this process & usually end up liking my story that much more. Seems each book that I finish, becomes my new favorite.

Finding an agent or publisher – that is the hard part. You have to be prepared for “Thanks, but no thanks,” 100 times over & for me, that was just unbearable. I remember complaining in my forum that I was getting sick of the gratuitous “30 second read” the agents give a query before being shot down. After reading a blog of an agent that stated, “you have 15 seconds to get my attention”, I was really blown away. In my sarcasm, I never realized I was doubling the time.

This is not a rant by any means. Been there, done that, got the shirt. I understand all the reasons they do what they do & can’t see a fix for this process. When you get 300 + queries a day – they have to & can afford to be picky & yes, sometimes probably look back & cry at what they passed up in their haste as well as probably wanting to set their eyes on fire & put them out with an ice pick for what they did decide to read….

Most of you know my story. After almost running out of agents, I decided to go straight to a publisher & finally got someone to read the 1^st 10 pages & got them hooked enough to ask for the full & now I’m getting published. So, no agent = more work for me but I’m willing to do what it takes & I have quite a schedule planned for book signings when it comes out to help get the ball rolling.

When being the operative word here. The wait is killing me. I learned in Oct ’09 that it was accepted & would be out in Aug ’10 – then realized August was e-release – print a few months later. So my “waiting for my baby” analogy isn’t true – it’s longer than that. Again, not a rant. I understand all the work that goes into it – it’s just still hard.  (TWSS) *rimshot*

I’ve recently gone through 2 rounds of edits and I’m waiting on the final. I am also eagerly awaiting the teaser, back cover blurbs & cover art. I love my publisher & try not to bother her (often) with things but patience never has been my strong point. To stay away from my google in-box that I reserve for my editor & publisher, I am compiling a list of things I can do while I’m waiting -  in attempts to help keep me from going (even more) insane. Anything you can add will be appreciated.

10 things to do while waiting the 10 months for your book to get published:

1. Write more blog posts
2. Mess around on Facebook
3. Delete spam from blog
4. Look up embroidery patterns
5. Clean up my yahoo e-mail in-box
6. Look up The Office clips on you tube
7. Stalk the Battery
8. Play the Onion’s Sony Clip for the 1,000th time. (over 18 only & my mom not allowed)
9. Go on a rep-ban spree in the ORPCC
10. What could 10 be….. Ah yes…. Write another book!

Of course there’s an 11…. Bite your fingernails waiting to hear of your 2^nd book has been accepted!!!

We are gluttons for punishment… aren’t we?

Squee!!! After 2 years without chickens, we’re trying again.

We got new chicks when we bought this place 4 years ago. We didn’t want the hassle of moving ours from our old house – even though Snow White [Me] was attached to many and had them named. The new ones grew on me as well and we somehow even managed to break Otter (our lab) of killing them. They said once they start, they never stop but she did get over it. I remember well when she got in the fenced area one day & we found her in it at the gate with an, ‘ohmydogohmydog’ look on her face. ‘I DIDN’T MEAN IT!!!’ She got in but remembered it was bad & hadn’t done any damage. *whew*

We let them free range when they were big enough & the dogs and chickens ran around the yard together in harmony for almost 2 years until one of the chickens decided she liked sitting on eggs. We thought it was cute & let her sit on a few but the scent brought a predator and it killed them all over the course of a few nights. There was one remainder for a long time but she eventually disappeared. RIP: Elsie.  (LC – last chicken.)

I’m hoping the predator has moved on & these little gals can stay. Bad enough hubby informed me the colored ones are the layers & the yellow fuzzies…. are supper. Dangit… now I gotta give up chicken. I just can’t eat something I knew in its previous life That’s why I don’t get friendly with cows before a bar burger.

This farm stuff is still new to me somewhat. I had the pleasure once of breakfast at hubby’s brothers house. When eating bacon the kids wanted to know, “Is this Brownie?” GAH!!!

Here’s my little girls:

Now we just gotta get them a fella. I’ve really missed hearing a rooster around the place. I loved the “rasta mop top” of the Polish Rooster we had….

…but really, anycock’lldo

Okay…. so we should be happy that the snow is melting, buuuuuttttt….. here’s my road home:

It’s worse than when I was on my way to work. To the left is a gate to the park – it’s totally under water.

Here’s a view from the bridge I cross everyday:

There is usually a sandbar there – I’d say it’s a good 10′ under water.

Here’s the neighbors at the bottom of the hill:

I cut across part of their property when I ride my horse… yikes!!!

I got a call that they closed that road & I have to go home another way. Two of those roads are also closed. I don’t have to sleep at work again – I can do it, I just have to drive a few more towns over. We are high on top of a hill above all of this so our house is not in any danger but Holy Heck … I can’t believe how it rose in the time I have been at work. I wonder what tomorrow will bring…. We went from snow days to flood days. Man – Minnesota rocks!

/sarcasm

I innocently started writing a new book a couple weeks ago off of a single incident my husband shared with me at the end of  fall when he helped a stranded motorcyclist. One line about showing the guy how to jump his bike led to another great character. Of course it’s a chick with an attitude and love for all vehicles. Again… of course… it’s me.

I’ll try not to bore you with brief re-caps of my 8 other novels.

Kaitlyn in Dustin Time … is me. Although she’s a vet, I did work 4 years for vets. A lot of what I put in there I knew from my job experiences.

Vicki in Vienna Waits for you was pregnant young & has a thing for ’67 Ford Mustangs. This is set in Hawaii – where I spent from age 4 to 26.

Veronica in The Green Flash at Sunset is… you guessed it, me. Really me. A life experience needed closure – what better way to do that then write a book about it.

Jessica in the Eighty-Eight’s, Baby 2 book series has a thing for Paint horses and does graphics.

Maybe I can’t sing like Laura in Baby, Just Say Yes, but I wish I could and do know the words to everything so why not just torture every one around me while I try?

I am bossy like Charlene in I’ll Try to Behave Myself and love listing to 80′s “copycat” bands like they did at the Jersey Shore. This one is set in Philly… where I was born.

Okay, we already had the stripper conversation a few blogs back about Regina in Come and Talk to Me. I wasn’t one, but it made a great base for a character. BTW, her hubby just happens to be in the Coast Guard.

So…yet again… Ellie, Miss attitude… Miss love her 4-wheelers and fast cars… slings coffee & is the self proclaimed expert on how to make a real Macchiato – not the super sweet tall caramel & vanilla things you get at a chain store but I’m not naming names*cough*Starbucks*cough*. The man walking into her life… wait for it… is a computer geek.

Not sure how many of you know – hubby & I had a cyber cafe in Bemidi. It was called Cyber Bugs. We both had the restaurant knowledge and hubby had all the computer certifications. It was great while it lasted but when it was time to go – it was time to go. Whodathunk (yes, cray, that’s a word too) it would have led to another novel.

I really didn’t think my life was this interesting

No, not another Princess Bride quote. I’m talking about my purse. You all know what I’m talking about. The simple zippered item women take with them everywhere that holds just the essentials. Okay… it holds just a couple more items too, but you will need them eventually, so they stay in there. The one time you try to lighten the load and leave them out is the one time you will need them. Case in point – mascara & eyeliner. You put your face on every morning so why have it along?  I left them out on my trip to Vegas trying to keep my bag to it’s absolute minimum. “I’m going to be on the plane then there. Why hassle with the extra items?” so I took them out. My 4 hour  flight turned into 30 & I had to pay a $17 cab fare to get to a store to get the $10 items so I didn’t scare anyone the next morning. THATS WHY!!!!

I had a minor procedure a while back & took hubby along for his entertainment. The doctor did a sample of the laser treatment he would be preforming on a “Popsicle stick” of sorts and of course, hubby asked to keep it. Joke is on him. He put it in my purse and the sucker has yet to re-surface 3 months later.

“Purse diving” is not what I call a fun sport – especially while driving. I have learned to just leave my iPod in the center console & lock  my car rather than bringing it in each day so I have to search for it en-route when the talking on the radio drives me crazy. Whadya know? The little sucker doesn’t freeze in even -30.

Upon a recent search, I found a pack of orange tic tacs I didn’t even know I had (nom nom nom)…   a spare to my car (good find)… and a “wash your sins away” red wine flavored chapstick. *snickers* (thanks, Beth).

I got a new phone last weekend. Although they were able to transfer all my contacts & I saved my pictures to the SD card, I still have a ton of notes & such that I need to copy elsewhere… I wonder how long I’ll have 2 phones in there ’till I complete this task. It no longer rings to give away it’s location – my guess is it could be there a while…

Yes. Yes, I am geographically challenged. Thank you for asking. I think I may have said this before but it deserves repeating.

I blame my upbringing. I grew up on a rock. Maui to be more specific. While it’s all palm trees, beach & sunshine, I didn’t need to know things like North, South, East & West. There was one road to go anywhere, you simply drove it. Tourists wanted numbers when you gave them directions. Numbers? Hello – they have names. Long @ss names, but names, lady, not numbers! (okay – they did but we didn’t know that.) Things were Mauka or Makai. (Towards the mountain or towards the water.) Sure, I drove “South Kihei Road” and looked towards the “West Maui Mountains” but that’s not where the sun set so how was that west? (I also blame my lack of American History knowledge due to “Hawaiiana” classes, but that’s for another post.)

I have never managed to learn directions and have succumbed to the fact that I never will. Looking out my living room window and watching the sunset, I can tell that is west, but take me to the town I work in & I have no clue. My parents bought me a GPS last year & I have become increasingly dependent on it instead of learning my way. I can get to a lot of major places but navigating in cities like Minneapolis is completely out of the question. I’m grateful my GPS voice lady says, “In .7 miles, turn left,” instead of “turn west” or whatever. (I would like to download the voice my friend has though. She has Clint Eastwood. “In .7 miles, turn left, Punk.” *giggles*

Since hubby & I usually travel together, we only have 1 GPS. Being the military sap he is, he had to download a fun application to it for when he had it in his car. Color me surprised at his vehicle choice.

Imagine my surprise at my new “vehicle”.

The doctors say he will be fine in a week or so

No, not those S’s …

St Louis, silliness, & sick. Therein lies why I have been absent for the past week. My apologies

I had one of the funnest times of my life (again) this weekend in St. Louis with a couple of friends. Two were ones I met previously in Chicago and I got to meet another new face from our writing forum. Add a tiger to our zoo

Don’t look at me. It wasn’t my turn to watch the monkey

The weekend went far too fast. We crammed all the fun (and bars) we could into three days. One friend couldn’t make it this trip so we brought her stuffed doppelganger along. In our forum, they don’t like a dirty joke told outright; they like to make you use your imagination for at least some of the punchline. Mods are always having to correct us. “The word of the day is ‘innuendo’.”  So here you have it. The center of our mischief all weekend. Angie (the zebra) who couldn’t make it & forced to stay “in-u-window”. *snickers*

There’s the 1st 2 S’s – the last one is sick – which I still am so I’m signing off here. I have my second edits to do when my head clears so excuse me if I’m not around for a while longer.

((hugs))

Bug

Another typical breakfast at our house. Hubby & I drinking coffee, George (the kitty) trying to steal milk from my daughter’s cereal bowl, me trying to get my daughter to snort milk out of her nose… yanno, normal morning stuff.

I was telling hubby about what I did with the rest of the tax return. Nothing as exciting as the new TV – I just paid off a credit card. Big whoop – but it felt good. I said, ” I wish I thought to get one of those robot vacuum things.”

Like this:

I will hug him and kiss him & name him “squishy.”

Okay, not really but I would LOVE to have one. Even with a tax return, it’s hard to justify almost $300 for a moving CD player to pick up the animal hair that accumulates daily in my house.

When we moved into our home, there was carpet everywhere. And I mean, everywhere. The kitchen, the bathrooms… everything had that short pile ugly tan carpet. It didn’t hold up well to my dogs who are more inside than out. We changed it out after a year and put down a nice wood floor which is now, their skating rink. It’s cleaner looking but now it requires a daily sweep instead of daily vacuum. I swear I don’t know how they are not bald. Even when I shave them all summer long, the hair is horrible. It’s tedious, but what so ya do? I won’t make them become outside beasts so I deal with it.

This is where that robot would come in handy and save me the task but even that would probably have its downfall. Right away hubby said, “It would have to have a self emptying station. It’ll fill up in a few passes.”

“Great,” I said. “One more thing to take a crap around here.”

At this point we were successful in the ‘milk out the nose’ previously mentioned comment.

That of course led to, “Maybe it’ll be puking up hairballs before it gets to that stage.”

“Maybe we should get the self bailing, model,” I added.

“Then we’d have to buy the row sweeping model to precede it.”

GAH!

Guess I’ll stick to my swiffer, my huge dust mop, my large vacuum and my little corded Dustbuster with the handle. It’s work but what the hey, they’re cute.  For all the frustration & love one can have in one home, they are my beasts and they are here to stay.

Hubby may act like he doesn’t like ‘em, but they sure love him.

“Lord, help me to be the type of person my dog thinks I am.”

So… besides Mike Rowe *big grin*, we wanted to get the full effect of our new TV and decided to watch the Star Wars series again. Before the menu even came up I was shamelessly squeeing with glee! I have to say, the TV bloody rocks!!

Our I, II, & III are full screen so they were short but still awesome. When we go to IV, V, & VI, they were wide screen so that much more fabulous. The sound is that much more incredible too even though we had a surround sound hooked up to our old crappy TV. (Can I use another adjective here? Yes. The darn thing is totally bitchin’! )

It was fun watching them again. I was never the big Star Wars freak growing up. I saw it once in the theater while I had a friend that went over 60 times. It was a good movie, cool effects for that era but I wasn’t a major sci-fi buff. I didn’t even really read much back then. (Okay, by not much I mean not at all.) I never even got around to seeing I, II, & III until I bought the whole set at Target years later.

We watched them in order this time 1-6 (last time we went in the original order). While I’m drooling over Hayden Christensen,

(Loved him in ‘Jumper’!) I’m noticing an awful lot of ‘Light Saber droppage’. Seems to me, if this was their weapon of choice, the thing should have a strap like a Wii remote so you can’t have it knocked out of your hand by your opponent! Just kidding! I would never criticize the series that brought us this face:

Are you catching a theme here to me liking my new TV?