The San Francisco Post: Part II

I pondered back and forth about business cards. I couldn't decide if I really needed them or not. But since I was at Wal Mart anyway, I picked up some printable cards and came up with this little number. A little gaudy, I suppose, but I had fun. My email and phone number are on the back. I figure I'll print up 20 or so, force them on my friends. They make nice bookmarks.

One thing is bothering me. Usually we have some wild and obnoxious RWA controversy going right before conference. The blogs and the boards light up with flaming posts full of hurtful words and virtual hair pulling. Sometimes they happen during conference (remember when they did video montage and everyone got upset?). Someone says something insensitive about another genre or RWA hints at a new policy which gets people up in arms, etc. But this year I can only really think of one. This year, they are not supplying the handouts. We are supposed to print them ourselves. This is supposedly in an attempt to be more green. Others feel like it is cost-cutting move on RWA's part. Could be both. The handouts come out to be 279 pages. Multiply that by a couple of thousand people and you've got well over half a million pieces of paper. I didn't care one way or the other. Actually, I probably lean on the print on demand side. I went through the workshops and checked off the ones I definitely wasn't going to then printed those I knew I was going to or thought there might be a chance I'd go to. I didn't count the pages, but it came out far below 200 pieces of paper. I'm going to punch them and stick them in a binder with a matching little notebook for notes (or doodles, I'm not a note taker, I'm a doodler). It didn't take me all that long, I was cleaning my floor in between printings, but it was a bit inconvenient.

But what is worrying attendees is the cost cutting. Conference is becoming less bang for your buck. There is no Saturday luncheon, the one day where a provided lunch would be welcome considering the schedule for the day. However, they are doing the RITA/GH thing that night, so maybe that takes the place. No matter how you look at it, conference is expensive. Perhaps if it were at a different time of the year and at less rockin' cities, it would likely be cheaper. But attendance would drop. Or maybe not. San Francisco is expensive and with the state of the economy, its going to hurt even more. I suppose you have to consider why you are going and weigh it against the price. Part of the reason I'm going is because it is in San Francisco. So it is worth it to me.

I haven't started packing yet. Lucky me, I'm packing for four people, my girls are staying with my folks. My son can pack for himself. The girls are pretty easy, they will spend most of the time in my parents' pool. My husband, sigh, I'm not sure. The San Fran weather is so variable. He may end up with more clothes than me. Luckily we are driving although we are taking the Shelby, so trunk space is at a minimum.

If I don't get to post tomorrow, I will post on Wednesday. Hopefully some good gossip will come my way. I will blog every night that I'm there to pass on any great tidbits I get.

The San Francisco Post

I'm leaving Tuesday for the RWA Conference in San Francisco. We are driving up Tuesday evening, stopping for the night along the way and making our way up there by Wednesday afternoon. I didn't get into the Marriott. It sold out pretty quickly although I wasn't all that wild about staying there anyway. Crowds make me nervous and I prefer to be somewhere a little less busy. I'll be staying at the Villa Florence. It's only a few blocks from the Marriott and I'll get to walk by all those shops. Hope I make it to Conference!

My husband and son are going as well. My hubby wanted a chance to take his Shelby Mustang out on a major spin. We decided to take my son because he and his dad don't get to do a whole lot of things together. Supernerd is old enough to appreciate the city and hopefully have some fun. As he is entering jr. high this year, I suspect this is the last summer for him to be human until he graduates from high school. He wasn't too thrilled to go until I told him about all the food and that the hotel has wireless Internet access. I did make it clear I wouldn't be around to entertain them. They are going to have to fend for themselves. I did book them a trip to Alcatraz and have mapped it out on public transportation. But that's about it. There is plenty to do in the city, they should be fine.

So I'm planning my wardrobe, which of course means I need to go shopping. I'm not a "business casual" kind of gal. I'm not going to get too excited about my fashion sense since I'm not pitching and none of the editors I aim for are going to be attending. I'm not planning on going to any parties. I'm not going to the awards ceremony on Saturday night. I'm going to the workshops and maybe the luncheons and that's about it. Or hang out in the hotel bar. Or go to the mall.

I got my hair colored and trimmed yesterday. I have a nail appointment on Monday. I'll pull my suitcases this weekend from the attic. I'm going to print out the handouts and organize them in a binder. I gotta figure out which workshops I'm going to. Of course, there are periods where none of the workshops interest me and some periods where three or four are going on at the same time that I'd like to go to. That's what the cd's are for I guess.

I'm going to be fully wired. I'm taking my laptop so I can blog from conference. My cell phone is ready with email and Yahoo messenger. Plus, it takes decent pictures and video.

It should be fun. Heck, I'd go to a sanitation workers convention if it were in San Francisco.

Those of you going to conference, how ready are you?

Crabby

My husband has been complaining about my crabbiness. I'm not really crabby...for the most part. Definitely being home with my kids does not make me a ray of sunshine and the heat bothers me. And lets not get into the fact my bamboo floor is buckling for some unknown reason. Actaully, that takes me from crabby straight to furious.

What I am is distracted. Its how I know I'm truly into my writing. For most of the time, part of my head is somewhere else. I'm scowling for no reason and I am forgetful. It doesn't matter what I do, part of me is in my story. It's misinterpreted as being in a bad mood.

When I'm writing, I focus pretty well, as long as the story is flowing for me. If the flow stops, then I get cranky. Writing becomes painful as does everything else. Then I find something else to do. I know I've said it before but it bears repeating, housework opens up the flow. I'm at about the mid-point of my story and I didn't have the rest of the story plotted out (I don't outline or do any pre-writing stuff) and I could feel my production slow up. I got up from the computer, worked on the laundry, juiced some lemons and worked on the dishes. Suddenly, it came together and I can now see all the way to the end of the book. Now I expect my word counts to increase exponentially until the end of the book as long as real life doesn't interfere.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Don't you loved those plans which completely fall apart?

I had ambitions to write 7000 words this weekend. I think I eked out about 1000. Saturday started out okay but we ended up taking the crunched truck into the body shop and then headed for a much needed Costco trip. These trips take at least two hours and leave me totally wiped out. It took another hour to put everything away then it was time for dinner. Friday was my FIL's birthday, so my husband grilled him a steak took dinner over to him. With my MIL still recovering from surgery, they couldn't go out to celebrate so we tried to do the next best thing. Saturday night we got together with the rest of the family for cake and ice cream. I got about 500 words done.

Sunday I knew was going to be my day. My daughter had a friend over and that kept my girls entertained. Hubby was out doing yard work. The laundry was under control. Perfect time to write. However, I went to Michelle's blog where she talked about Facebook. When I got over there, I discovered other people like Tori, Bailey and Teresa. I ended up horsing around on that site for awhile.

Ah well, it was fun, but now I really need to focus on my writing this week. I think part of it was I needed a break. But the writing I did do was pretty good and I managed to get through a rough patch.

I posted over at Costco Junkie today. It also appears I fixed the feed on this blog. Not sure how I did it, but it seems to work now.

Catching a New Wave

I don't know, perhaps it qualifies as child abuse, but I have been subjecting my kids to 80's New Wave. I've always been a big New Wave fan, back when it was popular the first time. But this summer it has jumped into being the soundtrack of my summer.


Here we have one of my favorite songs from the era. This video personifies what a good 80's music video should have. Paul King's horrible green suit and spray painted Doc Martens along with his hair just screams 80's to me.

I'm sure part of my attraction is the nostalgia. This music was popular when I was in high school. Not that high school was any great shakes, but certainly I loved the music. Perhaps its the fast beats and the creative use of electronics. Certainly there was energy, it got you moving.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed the rough sound of punk as well. For fun, turn on the Sex Pistols and see what your kids do.

I suppose I love the slick sound of new wave, listening to the over-produced music was like reading a super glossy magazine. A nice way to spend a few hours without applying too much brain power. Maybe that's why I like it, it isn't thinking music, its fun music.

Back To Writing

I've plunged head first into writing again. In the last week I've cranked out about 13K words. Why now?

I've been trying to analyze the reasons. How could I go from a complete standstill to a word-cranker almost over night? It seems impossible to me, but page counts don't lie.

Is it a change in motivation? I don't think so. I've said it before and I stick with it. Writers are always motivated to write. That's part of their frustration, they want to write, crave the opportunity to bury themselves in their work, produce reams and reams of prose. But the distractions of life tend to interfere. I think about writing all the time, I plot stories in my head, spend an inordinate amount of time in daydreams creating characters. But when it comes to execution, I fall flat.

One of my biggest problems is that I'm spread pretty thin. Every year there is a bit more expected of me on all fronts. As a mom, I end up chauffering my kids around to their various activites. I also volunteer in their sports, school and extracurricular activites. I've read articles by writers who tell writers to avoid volunteering because it takes time from their writing. I disagree with that attitude. No book is as important as your family. If you can, spend an hour in your kid's classroom or helping out at a soccer practice once a week. It's not going to completely destroy your writing schedule. You can easily make it up by skipping some t.v. I do tend to volunteer too much for multiple reasons, not all of them altruistic. Its a good avoidance tactic from my writing.

Ah yes, avoidance. If I don't write it, I don't have to worry that its crap. That is a big one. Before I landed representation, I wrote without reservations. I'd had no experience with the marketplace so therefore I didn't feel any inhibitions. That changed when I finally experienced getting my book shopped. It twisted my thinking. It hindered my writing. By finding other distractions, I didn't have to deal with the fact my writing had wilted.

I also let other things overwhelm me. My "can't write in a dirty house" obsession is still there, but not as bad. My house doesn't get quite as dirty since my kids are older. And those three distractions have eased somewhat. The youngest can finally play with the olders without it being a constant fiasco.

My excuses pretty much evaporated. I also realized that I was going to the RWA conference without anything in the queue. I'm not planning on pitching anything, but it would be embarassing to get into a conversation with someone and admit I wasn't working on anything. I'd like to at least say I was finishing up my latest and hoping to have it submitted to my agent real soon. I'm finally comfortable enough to let my muse go and enjoy the writing again without worrying about whether it is marketable. It was marketable before, it will be again. Gotta trust myself moer.

Then there's the agent. I emailed her and and told her I'd have something to her around the end of the month. I'll feel like an utter fool if I didn't deliver.

I've instituted some self-discipline: I haven't played SimCity for week and I only go to TMZ a couple of times a day. Aware that I'm going to get distracted by the kids and house, I don't get upset, I make sure I do something else as well. I have to get up anyway so my back doesn't ache and give my fingers a rest. And finally, I discovered a New Wave staion on iTunes radio and I play it constantly. Nothing like a little synthesizer and drum machine to get the writing flowing.

Cruel Summer Part 2

I was hoping to be in full summer mode by now but we had a couple of things happen.

First, my mother in law ended up in the hospital. Her gall bladder ruptured. Because of her physical condition (she is very heavy plus her lungs are shot and she is on oxygen all the time) surgery was a dicey proposition. It was touch and go there for awhile. Fortunately, she made it through surgery and is doing far better than her doctors predicted. She is home now but the healing process is going to take awhile. I think it has made her take her health more seriously and I also think she realizes now how much she does have to live for.

Next up is the car accident. We bought a brand new F-150 a month ago (if you want a truck, now is the time to buy them, they aren't selling due to the gas prices and you can get a sweet deal). It's a very nice car with this really pretty paint color (desert sand, a rich, creamy metallic color). Last week we took the kids to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It was smooth sailing all morning. The traffic was light going in, the aquarium wasn't very crowded and the kids behaved. They didn't fight and seemed to have a good time. We had a nice lunch and the kids behave liked angels.

Of course this was going to end badly.

We head home. Traffic is a little heavy, it was July 3rd so people were getting out of work early to start their weekend. But it wasn't unbearable. Then it happens. We're in the carpool lane. Two cars in the lanes next to us tangle (I only saw it out of the corner of my eye) and swerved into our lane. Hubby tried his best to avoid the collision but we ended up clipping one of the cars. Honestly, I barely felt the impact, I'm not sure the kids knew what happened. So we all pull off the freeway and have to way for two hours to get it all sorted out. The car we hit didn't get any real damage from us. His car was pretty munched from the initial accident. My truck isn't damaged too badly, but it's enough that it's going to need to be fixed and and have some paint work done. We didn't even have the license plates yet.

What ticks me off about this was I was going to suggest we hang around downtown Long Beach. They have this cute little tourist trap village and I thought it would be fun to wander around and maybe grab a bite to eat. But decided that the last thing we needed to do was get stuck on the freeway in the afternoon. Of course, by the time the highway patrol got to the scene and took their reports, it was the late in the afternoon and we got stuck in traffic going home. Yeah, no one was hurt and that's a good thing, but I'm still ticked. BTW, this isn't the first new car my hubby has banged up. We hadn't had my convertible for a year and he got it nearly totalled. It wasn't his fault, but still. And when his Taurs SHO was new he crunch someone. That was a doozy. Finding parts for that car was a beast.

And finally, I can't find a mophead for my mop. I have a Libman miracle mop and the mophead died. I can't find the replacement. I found it online, but by the time I buy the mophead and have it shipped, I could bought a new mop.

Hope your summer is proving aggravation-free.

Cruel Summer

Summer should be a relief after the last two weeks of the school year. My kids' school takes those last two weeks very seriously. The activities are non-stop. Thing had a big musical production. Her kindergarten class put on a play of Aesop's fables. Very cute but had me running around for a couple of days. There were last minute field trips and book fairs and a "fair" put on by the classes which required parental participation. During all of this, I was also working. The last day of school couldn't come soon enough. This was Supernerd's last year in elementary school and they had a big send off for the outgoing 6th graders. I held it together for the most part until I saw all the other kids crying. His classroom is multi-age with 4,5 & 6 graders. The younger kids were devastated to see the 6th graders go. Some of the little girls were inconsolable. It was really touching to see how close these kids were. And not just girls were crying, the boys were too. I'm hoping these strong bonds will carry over into jr. high, these kids are going to need it.

Anyway, onto the cruel part. As you can imagine, I was so happy for that first day after school ended. And it was nice. Father's Day was coming up and I was hosting. I prepped for the day and was ready to go. Both my husband and Thing got sick that Saturday night. We had to cancel although I'd already defrosted the food I was going to cook. I ended up cooking and sending the food over to my inlaws. Hubby was in bed for two days and as soon as he got better, I got it. It took me all week to start feeling better. Then the triple digit temps hit. While we expect those in August and September, June is a little early. I hate running my a/c. All I can envision is the electricity zooming out of control. Plus, when you don't feel well the heat is even worse.

But it is a new week and the weather has improved. I'm feeling better and hoping to get back into the swing of things.

How's your summer so far?

I'm All About Commitment

...and not always in a good way.

I'm not a committed person. My brain is too scattered to do justice to my obligations. Plus, commitment takes effort. Anyone who is in a relationship or has kids understands that. But its those other obligations we put ourselves under. We writers are always committing ourselves to some writing goal. Moms habitually obligate themselves to some school or sport function for their kids. We make promises at work, pushing ourselves beyond what is required.

And then there are those commitments we make to ourselves which only benefit us. I think those are the hardest to make and maintain. I made the commitment to Weight Watchers. At first it was easy, my enthusiasm carried me through for the first few weeks. But I can feel myself falter. I'm not nearly as motivated as I was before. The fact that I have to pay $40 every month helps keep me somewhat committed. So now I'm committing myself to going to the gym and working out. Not something I adore, but I know if I can get myself committed to that activity, it will strengthen my commitment to weight loss.

My goal is turn those commitments into a part of my life. I want them to be so ingrained that I don't have to work on them anymore. Does that make sense? Why are good things such hard work?

And for something fun, I started a new blog. It's called Costco Junkie and celebrates my slavish devotion to the retail monster.

Long Weekend

Before I was married I used to raise cactus as a hobby. I planted them in big pots and tended them with care. Every time I spent time on one of my cactus pots, my cat would immediately go and lay in one of the pots, heedless of the stickers. It didn't seem to bother him and we thought it was pretty funny. Something so banal as a cactus garden was enough to make him jealous.

It isn't so amusing when your kids act the same way. Those of you who look forward to the end of the toddler years because it means your kids won't need your attention so much are in for a surprise. My kids are 12, 8, and 5. If I want their attention, all I need to do is sit down in front of my computer and start writing. I kid you not, as soon as I would start writing, there they were. Even the 12 year old. And, as I mentioned earlier, I got a Wii Fit. I can count on one hand how many times I've actually gotten to use it. My kids discovered it and won't leave it alone. I don't really mind that they play with it, but every time I go to use it, they hover. They could be upstairs immersed in something, deaf and blind to everything else, but as soon as I plug in the Wii, there they are. I just want to scream.

Yeah, I tell them to go away and they scatter like cockroaches when you turn on the kitchen light, but meander back, making their presence known in the most annoying ways possible. And if it sounds like I'm comparing my kids to cockroaches, please understand, after this weekend, I wouldn't demean the cockroach so.

Hiding myself in a room and locking the door to write isn't really an option. It would simply be an engraved invitation to the Orcs to cause as much trouble as possible. Mt. Vesuvius caused less destruction than my kids can do if unattended.

However, I was still able to write 3500 words. Most of it was done in 15 minute increments, but I'll take them anyway I can. I suppose it is all about adaptability and determination. If I am truly motivated to write, I will find a way to do it.

Weird Weather

Last weekend we were in the triple digits temperature wise. Today...it's 48 degrees and pouring rain. Ughh! I wouldn't mind so much except we have a team pizza party today which we planned to have at the park and this is Memorial Day weekend, a weekend meant for outside activities. Well, at least it gives me another excuse not to clean out my car.

I started writing again today. Nothing like Joely but I got a couple of pages this morning. As I've said, I'm writing on a new laptop which, of course, comes with the trial version of Word 07. I like it...alot. I do have Office 03 which I can take off my old laptop and re-install on my new one, but dang, I like the newer version. I've got 16 more uses so I may have to hustle my butt down to Costco and get the new version of Office. Anyway, I did get some writing done. Luckily, I'm finally in a scene with action and drama and a good looking guy. I'm hoping this weekend will get me some writing time. Not that anyone is going to give me time to write on a silver platter. It is something I have to grab. I wish I had more desire to grab it. I admire those writers who put their writing first. I just don't have that in me like I used to. Maybe it comes from my brief sojourn in having book shopped that took some of the punch out of me. I'm not sure. Or maybe its me. There are so many other things I like to do besides writing. I think I just need to find a balance. There is plenty of room in my life to do what I'd like without denying myself the things I want.

How do you find balance or have you?

I Pity the Fool....

Who doesn't wish Mr. T a happy birthday!!!


Actually, it is the one thing Mr. T and I have in common. I'm sure he has a bigger party than I do. No big plans for me. I'm 41, not a real exciting number. I did get a new cell phone yesterday. I got the LG enV2 and in the day I've had it, I love it. Tonight hubby and I are going out to dinner just the two of us. To have a meal sans children is a gift unto itself. I did buy myself another present. I got the Wii Fit. I pre-ordered it a couple of weeks ago and it is supposed to be delivered today. Can't wait to use it.

So I got what I wanted for my birthday. What should I get for Mr. T? Any ideas?

Blazing

Our weekend was ghastly. Very, very hot. And while I don't mind the heat, I do mind it in May. I expect this kind of stuff in July and August, but not this early. The mercury hit triple digits in my area and I, in my stubborness, refused to turn on the a/c during the day. Actually, my downstairs never went above 77 which I can live with. The upstairs is another story, when I went up there Saturday night, it was 90. During the day, I don't care since I don't go up there and the kids usually hang around downstairs anyway, but at night I caved and turned the a/c on. And just as we acclimate to the scorching temps, they are going to drop back down into the 70's later this week. I think I hate that most of all.

Summertime anxiety is starting to set in. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the kids. I always start with a plan and then it falls apart. Unfortunately, kids are so unpredictable and they are the perfect, shining beings you hope for. I have these fantasies of my kids eagerly participating in educational activities or fun crafts, killing a couple of hours and then it is time for lunch. After eating a nutritious meal prepared by their loving mother, they immerse themselves in outside play for another couple of hours then come in and tidy up their rooms and the toy room, leaving us with an evening for television or video games. The truth of it is that my two girls have the attention spans of gnats and any activity they indulge in loses their interest within 20 minutes. They are clever enough to make their own lunches, ignoring whatever I've suggested. It gets too hot to be outside in the afternoon and they spend the afternoon entertaining themselves by whining or fighting. And cleaning up their rooms and toy room? World War III, everytime. They do spend the evening watching television while I collapse on the couch and drink too much. I don't know what the secret is. I scrounge for fun ideas and try to make things fun for them, but the summer ends up being very disappointing. At least for me. It doesn't seem to bother them a whole lot.

What are you doing with your kids? Does it end up being an enriching, fun time like they show in the parenting magazines or does it end up being a screamfest with you on your knees praying to survive until school starts?

New Laptop

I got a new laptop for Mother's Day. I've been trying to milk mine for awhile, determined to get another year out of it, but I had to admit defeat. Last week the cd-rom drive died. I have an external dvd recorder that I plugged in and it worked fine. But that just solved one problem. I was all set to buy a Dell from Costco but Best Buy has a nice Toshiba on sale. It has 4G of RAM and a decent video card. Alas, I haven't had much time to play with it. And boy oh boy was I cursing myself as I was moving stuff from the old machine to the new. No organization whatsoever. And there was so much junk on my machine that I had no interest in moving but it has been a pain to sort through it. I'm about done.

I also got a really cool watch from Costco. It is a Timex Ironman that controls your iPod. Isn't that cool? Perfect for working out. Now if I'd only get my body to the gym.

This computer has made reading feeds much easier so that solves my problem with having a non-functioning blogroll sidebar. On the other hand, I can't get my feed to work on my own blog. There is definitely an issue I can't resolve and I'm not familiar enough with feeds to do too much. Bear with me, I'm sure I'll get it figured out someday.

Constant Motion

I've been sick for the last couple of weeks. Just a cold, but one that lingers. The constant motion my life has been running at hasn't helped I'm sure. But base ball is coming to a close and Cotillion has ended. My kids get out of school sometime in June (I can't remember when) and Brownies ends with it. But for now, I'm rarely home and when I am home, I just want to flop on the couch.

Not a good combo for a cold but a great one for weight loss. I lost over 10lbs. in four weeks. I'm thrilled to say the least.

My Blogroll sidebar broke. I'm not sure what is the problem but I can't access it anymore from my browser. That and it has lost a couple of links. It has made bloghopping difficult. I'm a creature of routine and it has totally messed me up. How do you bloghop? Do you have a program you use? I'm thinking of going back to bloglines (is that what it's called?)

There is Less of Me

I bit the bullet and finally admitted to myself I was never going to succeed on my own. Oh, I know what's good for me, I know what foods are going to help and hinder weight loss, but putting that knowledge into action has eluded me. So I signed up for Weight Watchers.

I've done this before. In fact, I've done it three times before. And I've succeeded as long as I followed the program. But as soon as I slacked off, the weight came back. So why should this time be successful? Obviously my initial interest in losing weight is for San Francisco this summer. Nothing like a big event to get one motivated. And while I won't be at goal, I should still lose enough to justify new clothes. My health is a concern. Although I don't have blood pressure problems, my cholesterol is high. As I get older, I notice my joints are aging, all the extra weight can't be helping. Being a mom makes me aware of what my children see. I don't want them to hear me preach about eating right and yet ignore that advice myself.

I don't go in for fad diets. I lived with a mother who did that and it did nothing but make her miserable. They never succeeded. She has been doing weight watchers off and on for years and while she hasn't been losing weight for awhile, she hasn't gained either.

Some days are tougher than others. I have to train myself to like vegetables. And drink water. Alcoholic beverages are loaded with empty calories, so I have said goodbye to my regular glass of wine. Which is not to say I've dropped those things entirely.

Its all about choices. What is the better choice at the moment? If I really want the glass of wine, that's fine, but I need to make a choice somewhere else in the day. It works out okay. I miss french fries. I REALLY miss Starbucks. My drink of choice is 3 points, and that's the non-fat version. But I'm working on a new mindset, trying to downplay the importance of those things, replacing them in my priority list with other things like uh, writing.

I'm at the point now where I really need to kick in with the exercise. I'm resistant. Its not the exercise, its the time it takes from my schedule. But if I really want to succeed I will make the concessions.

Is anyone else a Weight Watchers veteran? Maybe we should have our own RWA chapter.

New Toy

Looks like I'll be going to San Francisco in style this summer. This is hubby's new toy. It is a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, quite a mouthful but a phrase I've been living with for over two years.

My husband is a car guy. The man bleeds Ford blue. I remember the first time I saw his original mustang (a 1988 LX 5.0) I was taken aback by how clean it was. You could eat lunch off the motor. The timing of his wedding proposal to me was linked to the fact he couldn't get a certain car part, so he bought an engagement ring instead. He subscribes to at least 5 "different" car magazines. I put that in quotes because they all look the same to me. He assures me they are unique. Yeah, right.

He's been looking and waiting for this particular car for awhile. When the Shelbys were originally released, the dealers were able to get $25K over sticker. DH will not spend a penny over sticker on any car, it's part of his moral code, like not committing murder or not putting ketchup on a hot dog. So he has had to bide his time.

Finally he found a dealer who would sell it to him at sticker. He flew up to Sacramento Tuesday and drove it home. It was like Christmas morning around here yesterday. I've gotten to drive it once. It was fun but it is wicked fast (not our fastest car, however) and it's 6 speed stick shift. I don't like driving stick.

Anyway, that's our new toy and hubby's drooling obsession can end. Except there is that new Bullitt Mustang.....

Doldrums

So I've been working on a post expressing my exuberance of over the emergence of spring. The grayness of winter has left the southland, promising Beach Boy-kinds of days and the kind of sun that forces me to wear sunglasses. We got the convertible out of storage and I'd already driven it once. ONCE. Friday things changed. It started getting downright chilly. Last night it started raining. It's pouring right now. Ugh.

Anyway, the start of spring turns up the level of activities around here. The kindergarten classes at her school did a Medieval Day. Here's my little princess. The teachers cordoned off the kindergarten area from the rest of the school and turned it into a village. They had a stage with a lutest, harpist, bagpipe player and a juggler performing. Parents put on workshops with various crafts and skills like paper making and grinding wheat. At the end the kids had a huge feast. It was really cute if a tad ambitious.

We are knee-deep in baseball. Hubby is coaching a team again this year. Some of you might remember we had a team with 7 girls on it last year. This year he decided it wasn't worth the controversy and drafted only two girls (Diva and one other). Didn't matter. Only 4 girls are playing in their division this year. However, the two girls on our team are two of the best players. When they play together in the infield, the are lethal. We get lots of comments. Usually its "I didn't know girls could play baseball like that." What the hell kind of comment is that? What are they supposed to play like? I better get off that soapbox or my "I am woman hear me roar" persona will flare up like a bad case of heartburn.

Supernerd was gone last week to Outdoor Science School. It was weird having my little boy gone for a whole week. He was cut off from his computer, video games, television, etc. He didn't even have time to read. I was worried. I half expected a meltdown. But he came back happy if a little (okay, a lot) stinky. He took one shower and confessed tonight that he'd forgotten to take his toiletries with him so he didn't use soap. And he only brushed his teeth once since he'd forgotten toothpaste. I mentioned that he could have borrowed a dab of paste from his buddies, but apparently oral hygiene was low on the list of things they were worried about.

Work has been horrible. Hubby had a summary judgement motion one week and a trial this week, ergo I was chained to the copy machine doing exhibits and creating trial notebooks. I can't tell you how much that blows. We need to get through April then it will be time to start interviewing my replacement. I wish his old secretary would come back.

Now the amazing thing is that I've kept up my writing. Unfortunately, that means my blogging shrank. Given 5 minutes to choose between writing and blogging, writing has won out. I've found by writing a little bit everyday, I've made real progress. And when I'm stuck, I make myself quit. Sure enough, the next day when I give myself 5 minutes, I am able to pick back up and continue on.

This week should be a bit more mellow. Trials are over and we have a lull before the next begins. Now its time to start focusing on that diet. The end of July will be here before I know it.

San Francisco

So I did it. I registered for conference. Haven't done anything else. Well, I have quit eating in the hopes of losing a few pounds before hand, but I haven't planned out the logistics yet. I'm not sure if I am going to drive or fly. Have no idea where I'm staying either. The conference hotel has sold out and if any of you are on the RWA loops, I'm sure you've heard
ad nauseum about that fiasco. I'm not too concerned, there are a gazillion hotels in the city, most of them two or three blocks from the conference. The bad part is that you must walk through prime shopping areas to get back and forth. I could easily get distracted on my travels.

My hubby is thinking of going. I'm 50/50 on this idea. Being a mother hen type, I worry that he won't have anything to do during the day. Yeah, I know, there isn't much to see in The City. But here is the big thing: in the 13 years we've been married, the longest we've ever been apart was three days/two nights. It bothers both of us to think we could be apart that long. I've been separated from my kids for over a week, but not my husband. I did tell him there would be no children on this trip. I don't think they would want to go anyway.

Anyway, I am signed up to go and I plan on going whether I'm by myself or not. Either way, I plan on having a good time.

Writing Muscles

I went to my chapter meeting on Saturday. I always drag my feet about going, I'm not sure why. I enjoy the meetings and such, enjoy the camaraderie of meeting with my fellow writers and having an excuse to wander around a bookstore afterwards. I think my reluctance to go stems from my guilt over not writing. Who goes to a writer's group and doesn't write?

Our speaker didn't show so we filled the time in with other things. For me, that meant picking the brains of the other writers about my lack of writing. Shannon Donnelly is a very active member of our chapter and is one of the smartest people I know, told me I'm out of writing shape. I sit down, expect to write 10 pages then get disappointed because I am unable to accomplish my goal. I am setting myself up for failure. It made sense to me. When I'm writing regularly, I tend to write 5-10 pages a day. But that is wehn I'm in writing "shape." Shannon mentioned an article she had written about "writing muscle." If you are struggling with writing I recommend reading it, she makes a great deal of sense. She also helped me with a game plan for my next novel and getting myself back into the business of writing to sell. She's also pushing me to head to conference. So the next thing is to plunk the money down for conference. I'm hoping that will give me the impetus to get going on my writing.