He's Back!!!

Bond, James Bond will once again grace the screen with his presence. This will only be the second movie I will have seen this year at the theater. I don't go to the movies too often, I don't like crowds or the costs or the fact there isn't a bathroom right next to me. But I make exceptions and Bond is one of those.

Quantum of Solace has been getting hit with some bad reviews. Apparently the critics feel there is too much action and not enough plot. Really? In a James Bond movie? Folks, I'm not looking for Atonement here. I'm looking for larger than life action. I'm looking for bombs exploding. I'm looking for adreline-pumping chases through exotic locales. I'm looking for Daniel Craig to do a significant amount of scenes shirtless. If I want plot and deep characters, I'll read a book.

I've pretty much liked most of the Bond movies with a few exceptions. Some I have loved and would consider my favorite movies all around. James Bond is a character we live through vicariously. I think that is why there is so much debate as to who was the best Bond. Bond is something different to each person. How the actor personifies those qualities we admire is what makes us a fan.

I really like Daniel Craig. Really, really like him. I think he is my favorite Bond. I like the hardness he brings to the character, a little rougher edge, hailing back to Connery's style only more tortured. And there is so much action, relying more on the character's own intuition rather than gadgets. The gadgets were fun back in the day, but really, in this world of technical marvels, it takes a lot to impress a modern audience.

What does keep me coming to Bond is the action. The movies give me an outlet where I don't have to think. For two hours I'm carried away to exotic locales and my eyes are assaulted with scenes of chaos. It's mindless which is just what I crave. I have enough to worry about these days as do we all. The Bond movies give me a well-needed break from thinking. So bring on the action, leave the plot out of it.

So do you like Bond movies? Want to share your favorite? Who's your favorite Bond?

When Worlds Collide

I'm very much a two-world person. My online life is very different from my real life. Not in an exciting way or anything. I'm a lot more vibrant online, far less inhibited and much more entertaining.

In real life, I'm a low-key soccer mom. I appear to be as imaginitive as a rutabaga. People know I can cook. They know my kids are involved in way too many activites. They know my husband is a sports volunteer and that I'm involved in Girl Scouts.

They don't know I write.

It isn't a big secret, I'm not trying to hide it from anyone. But it is something personal and something I care very much about. I don't want it exposed for people's polite and trite commentary. I don't mean that in a negative way. First, writing is not something everyone understands. When I used to be more open about it, the first question I was asked was if I wrote children's books. When I answered no, I could tell they were tuning out. Or when they ask if I have anything published and I answer in the negative, they lose interest. And that's okay, I'm not offended. Frankly, if someone comes up to me and talks about their scrapbooking or basket-weaving, I'm going to do the same thing. I'll make polite noises and show a shallow amount of interest, but those are activities I can't relate to so my interest is feigned.

Hence, I keep my writing life exposed online only. People who read my blog are genuinely interested in what's going on. I know not everyone is a writer who reads this blog, but they are aware that I am a writer and know it often influences the rest of my life. When I am harping on some writing issue, I know there a dozen others out there nodding their head and saying, yeah, I know what she means. I generally don't talk about the specifics of my writing, for the same reason I don't like writing synopsis, I'm no good at describing the particulars. Plus, I'm more interested in the general problems of writing that we all share rather than the minute details. Again, you may not relate to my particular genre and I don't want to give you the yawns. Anyway, the point is, my writing world is based primarily in cyberspace.

Until Facebook. Boy, people can really find you on that network. Suddenly people I haven't heard from in 25 years are contacting me. People I know from my kids' schools are "friending" me. But like most things, my Facebook page is geared towards writing. One person I know in real life is my friend on Facebook and emailed me about my blog. Crud....I like the anonyminity of my blog. Another person said she had no idea I was a writer. Yeah, and that's kind of how I wanted it to stay.

For the most part, it is a non-issue. People are so busy with their own lives they don't have time to delve into mine. But I do feel like I have a secret identity which has been revealed and I wonder what people are going to think. Of course, if I sold a book and had a publication date, I'm sure I'd feel differently.

Struggling

I'm not used to writing rubbish. When I get the feel of something and decide its garbage, I quit writing and move on to something else. I'm not into heavy repairs. Somethings just can't be edited.

But now I'm doing NaNo and I don't have that luxury. Part of me wants to give up. Its a small part luckily, and I'm trying to keep my mind firmly focused on my goals. I'm writing something I'm not used to. This is an urban fantasy romance written in third person. It has been a long time since I've written in the 3rd so its a little harder work. I haven't written a romance in years. Oh, there is always a strong romantic theme in my writing, but not enough for editors to consider it romance.

I don't have any illusions that this book will actually see the light of day. And I'm not trying to sound pessimistic or negate the purpose of this NaNo. I do have a book in mind which is a romance and in third person which I am enamored of. I don't want it to be rubbish. I specifically chose something else for my NaNo project, essentially giving myself permission to write junk.

I'm hoping this frantic writing pace will kick me into overdrive. By letting the instinctual writer in me lose without presure, I hope to work the kinks out of my writing and feel more compfortable writing the next book.

I guess that is what I hope to get out of NaNo. For those of you doing NaNo, what do you hope to get out of it? For the rest of you writers, do you ever give yourself permission to write rubbish?

Speakings of rubbish, my word count numbers were down yesterday. I decided to wash all the upstairs bedding. Heavens, it was a much larger task than I planned. There are four beds upstairs. I employed both of my washers and dryers and still took all day. Today my legs are sore from going up and down the stairs so much. And I'm not done. I'd like to sweep and mop the floors up there. I'm thinking of taking my laptop up with me and giving myself breaks in between.

I Am So Damned Glad...

...the election is over. Please, everyone, take your signs down. They are like Christmas lights. Particularly since most people's signs have been hit with a continuous barage of sprinklers and weather and they look terrible.

Why Rene, aren't you a bit touchy? YES! I'm doing NaNo and it makes me cranky. It doesn't take much to set me off. I can feel that itchy feeling in my skin like I've had too much caffeinne. Only I haven't. Part of my brain is constatnly engaged in my novel so the rest of my brain has to compensate. It doesn't like it.

Not helping the situation is Thing. She has started Fall Frenzy. My kids go through a horrible phase that begins at Halloween and lasts through Christmas. We have way too much going on. Obviously Halloween is a big deal. Next is the soccer parties. Both girls have their birthdays in November. Thanksgiving is a huge deal. My son's birthday is in December and of course there is Christmas. For 3 months my kids are complete messes. They have no self-control and their emotions are raw. They grow out of it. My two olders are fine. But this is the year of the Vile Thing. This morning she asked her dad to fry her an egg for breakfast. He made it over easy and the yolk broke. OMG, she threw the biggest tantrum. She refused to eat the egg and wanted her dad to make her another one. THIS WENT ON FOR AN HOUR!!!!!

She's off at school now and I'm trying to regain my sense of calm so I can dive back into writing.

No No NaNo Weekend

Having NaNo start on a Saturday is not a good idea for me, particularly when Friday was Halloween and I have children running around on a methaphetimine-like candy high. Thing was totally out of control. None of them would listen and if they saw me on the computer they picked that time to demand something or chat about their lives.

My kids sense there is a new "baby" in the house and they don't like it. This new creature is taking Mom's attention away from them. And right now, the new kid is my favorite. I don't have to make it lunch or urge it to get dressed. I also don't have to yell at it to clean its room.

The NaNo website has been difficult to put it mildly. I can't get in to post my word count. Not that it is impressive. I've got some making up to do this week. I should have time.

I will give some kudos to my AlphaSmart and I'm starting to wonder why I haven't been using it more. I took it with me to the baseball game and did some writing while I waited for the game to start. Not a lot of words but any little bit helps.

Happy NaNoWriMo

I went back into ye olde archives to see if I had a nuggets of wisdom to pass on for this year's NaNoWriMo. I went back to November of 2006, the year I won and found this from an old "Thursday Thirteen:"

Thirteen Things I Learned About Myself and NaNoWriMo

1. That I can win. This was my first year trying and I'm flushed with triumph.
2. When I push myself in my writing, I can get it done.
3. I can do this and still have a life.
4. I waste a lot of time doing nothing. After seeing how many words I could produce in a day, I realized I do spend precious minutes doing nothing. A disconcerting discovery to be sure.
5. Oh, I do love to write. Being immersed in my writing takes me away.
6. The more I wrote, the easier it got. Except for the end. I finished my book yesterday but realized I had come up short for Nano. I spent two hours adding 500 words.
7. Instead of being exhausted creatively, I'm invigorated. I'd love to jump right back into it today but I don't think my back could take it.
8. The idea behind Nano is to turn off the internal editor. Discovered my internal editor is as much a part of my writing as anything else.
9. I need to go back to the gym. I devoted the time I would have been at the gym to writing.
10. My kids have a sixth sense. If they see I'm heavily involved in my writing, that's the time to totally misbehave and get into stuff. For example, Thing wandered out of the kitchen naked and covered with flour. I asked her what she'd been doing. "I peed in the flour." File that under "why I drink."
11. Non-writers think I'm insane, but they respect it.
12. Atmosphere is inconsequential when I write. If I can crank out 4K words while "Power Rangers" is blaring non-stop from the t.v., I can do anything.
13. I MISSED YOU GUYS AND THE BLOGOSPHERE IN GENERAL. I'm going to start catching up today

I'm glad I read this. It addresses some of the doubts I have. And since I made it through once, I know I can do it again.

Good Luck and Happy Writing!

Too Hot Halloween?

Friday is the big day, one of the highlights of my kids' lives. They have anticipated Halloween since summer. My son when he was little, would choose his costume the day after Halloween for the next year and stick with it. Back then I sewed his costumes. One year he was a skunk, a pumpkin, a dinosaur and an alien. Amazingly enough, his sisters were skunks, pumpkins and dinosaurs. But as they got older they fell under the spell of store bought costumes. I must admit, I didn't mind too much because the costumes aren't bad and they cost less than it would for me to make them. But I'm starting to notice a trend with girls' Halloween costumes. They're getting, well, sexy. Apparently this is a trend noted by professionals as this "Today" clips shows:



The L.A. Times also has an article about the trend:Sexy Halloween costumes . . . for little girls?


My daughters were drawn to many of these costumes. They are glamorous and shiny with spangles of all sorts attached. They are also ultra-short, bare-midriffed, exceptionally tight, off the shoulder and plunging in the neckline. I'm not a prude per se and I fully appreciate the fun of Halloween. Kids get to pretend to be something else for a night. But really, does my 8 year old need to dress like a French maid? Doesn't this just seem inappropriate? And what is this costume saying?Nothing good as far as I can see.

Is this acceptable? Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Is this just Halloween fun or is there a more provocative message being sent?

Peer Pressure

My seventh grade son has buckled to peer pressure. Not drugs, alcohol, sex or any of those other parental nightmares. No, gave in to the need to read "Twilight." The series is quite the rage amongst the 6th-8th grade set. Both boys and girls are reading it. At school during SSR (sustained silent reading) both genders are reading the books. He finished the first one in a day and a half and now he is reading the next one. My neighbor has the other two so it saves me a trip to the store.

I asked him what he thought. I've read the book and to be honest didn't find it all that compelling. I didn't, however, share my opinion since I wanted him to form his own. He thought there was too much romance in the first. I had to explain to him that was the point. He thought Edward was creepy and Bella's clumsiness plain annoying. He likes the storyline and the pace and some of the other characters. I think he preferred "New Moon" over the first book. I think he'll finish the series just to see what happens.

I had some reservations about him reading the book. No, there wasn't anything objectionable in the contents and I thought it was appropriate to his maturity. What concerned me is that he would think relationships should work like Bella and Edward's. Without going into details, my biggest problem with "Twilight" was Bella's obsession with Edward. And once they begin their relationship, it overtakes everything she does. He becomes her world. It goes against the feminist grain in me and I really don't want my son thinking girls should be like that. I didn't have to worry, he perceived Bella's behavior as being overly needy and unattractive.

But it does make me wonder. What impact does this book have on 11, 12 and 13 year-olds who are just beginning to explore romantic relationships. Are they going to be swept away by the story and long for that kind of romance? Or are they savvy enough to see it as the dramatic love story it is?

Mother's Cookies

I was confronted this morning with devastating news. Mother's Cookies has closed it's doors. While this isn't as apocalyptic news as say, Nabisco discontinuing the Oreo, it still punches me in the gut.

As a child Circus Animal cookies were a rare treat. Those blah shortbread cookie deluged with greasy pink and white frosting and sprinkles really appealed to me. And every holiday they came out with special colors: red, white and blue for 4th of July, black and orange for Halloween and green and red for Christmas.

My favorite was Cookie Parade. It was my own special post-pregnancy food. I was sneak up to the drugstore as soon as I got home from the hospital, gray-faced with pain, just to get my fix. And I hid them. No one touched my cookies. I'd grab them my the handfuls and eat them in one huge cookie mess. Probably pretty disgusting to watch but for some reason it was the only way I could eat them.

I'm going to miss Mother's Cookies. They weren't the best tasting cookies although the soft pumpkin cookies I bought the other day are pretty good. But they were cheap and colorful. The packaging was familiar. While so many other cookie companies changed their products (how many different variety of Oreos are there?), Mother's pretty much stuck to its usual.

Good bye, Mother's Cookies, you will be missed.

It's Looming....

I've run out of excuses. My life is in order and now I need to focus on my writing. It is so hard to bring myself back into the writing mode. It isn't a question of motivation. My problem is discipline.

Self-discipline has always been issue for me. I'm not real good at it, hence the reason I'm always about 30 lbs. overweight. The things I am good about are tied to the expectations of others. I keep my house clean because I live with a neat freak. I understand a messy house grates on him. It grates on me too but if it were up to me only, I would have a hard time getting myself in gear to clean up. I'm good about having a planned menu for the week because we have so many activities during the week I don't have time to worry about it on the fly. And having three kids whine about what's for dinner keeps me disciplined about meal times. If it were up to me, it would be scavenging through the fridge.

But no one has any expectations about my writing but me. No one else in the house cares whether the book gets done or not. Only I do. I'm motivated to get the book done. The sooner its done, the sooner it gets to my agent and I can try and sell it. The sooner its done, the sooner I can move onto something else. I have good reason to sit down and write. Unfortunately getting myself to sit down and perform is another story. Oh, I'll get there. But I have to work at it. I need to ignore the distractions which surround me and focus on my book.

How good are you at self-discipline?

I'm burning with envy for Melissa. The lucky girl is enjoying a holiday in England. Talk about a distraction.

Stay At Home Mom? I Wish...

I am never home. The times that I am at home are devoted to playing catch up in the house or making dinner. Lately, I've had to help my kids with school work and projects. Today is my first day home without any running around. I had all sorts of plans but my pantry has yet again been invaded by pantry moths. I hate these things. They are coming in on the food I buy and setting up shop. Along with traps, I am scrubbing my shelves and throwing away food to get rid of them.

It hasn't been a great week anyway. Monday night I sliced two fingers open skinning a butternut squash. I probably should have gotten stitches but frankly, I don't have the time. They seem to be healing okay on their own. I've stepped up my involvement in Girl Scouts and we are trying to plan an event. Oh my, I forgot how little common sense and courtesy people can have. Nuff said. If you've ever had to organize anything large for children, you know what I mean.

And to make my week even better, we file our taxes at the last possible moment. So Oct. 15 is looming and I spent most of last week and this week gathering data. What a pain. But that's done.

Anyway, I'm looking at smoother sailing for the next week. Right now I feel like one of those moms on the Hamburger Helper commercial who describes how busy her life is and how Hamburger Helper has eased the burden. Only they dress better, wear make up and I'd rather eat pantry moths than eat Hamburger Helper.

How's your week been?

Renaissance Girl

Diva started cello lessons this week and here she is practicing...with her soccer gear on.

Diva is in soccer, baseball, horseback, Girl Scouts and cello. It seems too much, doesn't it? I was really concerned she would burn out or something would falter. But it seems like the more she has to do, the happier she is. She loves school, dives into her homework and reads more than ever. There are no arguments over soccer practice, she is eager to go. Not so much with baseball, she likes baseball but she isn't big on practices, however she still goes and has a good attitude. She can't wait for horseback and she is interested in pursuing her badges. Why she picked the cello, I'll never understand, but she is very excited and was on it all afternoon and into the evening. After soccer practice she went back to playing on it.

I was never like this. EVER. I did horseback and baton. I played softball and played the flute. I was a Campfire Girl. But rarely did I do any of these things at the same time. And some of it was just because my mom made me. I much preferred to stay home and read. I still don't like getting involved in stuff because it takes me away from writing. I do it because I have to. Schools need volunteers. My kids need rides. Someone has to do the grocery shopping. I'd be happy living in a cave with an Internet connection.

Diva is the opposite. She thrives on attention. She loves being outdoors. Her circle of friends increases exponentially every week. Everything interests her and she loves to compete. Its funny when we start seeing how our children emerge into their own. My son emerged a long time ago and honestly I don't see him chaning much as an adult. Though he doubts it, I think he will become a writer someday. Diva will not. She is more like a heroine in an "American Girl" novel.

I think the big difference between us is that she grasps the vibrancy of life, plunges headlong into the experiences the world offers while I am content to observe it and translate it onto the page. I admire her self-confidence and her courage. But I wonder where it came from.

What kind of person are you? Do you grasp life by the horns or do you like to watch other people do it?


Pumpkin of the Day: I had two pumpkin muffin tops I made yesterday and pumpkin spice creamer in my coffee.

Pumpkin Month

I'm very glad to see September pass us by. I felt horrible the whole month. Whatever this cold was, it settled in my chest and I've had a hard time catching my breath. But finally I seem to be getting better in time for my favorite season.

It's still quite hot here. We're knocking on the the triple digits today but we should cool off next week. However, I'm already going into Autumn mode which means one thing: Pumpkin.

I love pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie, muffins, pastries, lattes, pastas, soups, blah blah blah. So in honor of my favorite squash, my goal this month is to eat something pumpkin related every day. As goals go it is rather flip, but I suppose it is a good practice in goal-making.

My other goal is to finish my current book so I can start something fresh in November. I think the pumpkin goal will be tougher, I'm almost done with my WIP.

So if you have a pumpkin recipe you think I need to help me achieve my goal, let me know.

Today I made pumpkin muffins. It was my daughter's turn for snack at school so I thought it would make a nice kick off to October.

Now What Do I Do?

It is all very exciting. The kids are off to school, I've got dinner marinating and the bed made. The rest of the day until 2 p.m. is mine. There are so many things I want to do. There are plenty of cleaning projects I could work on. I have lots of organizing to do. And of course there is daytime television. I was going to go to the gym but I'm still coughing quite a bit.

All of these things would be great, but there is a word document open and ready on my computer. It simply needs its writer to get back into the swing of things and finish it.

Why is it so easy to lose the drive to write? I'm sure it doesn't happen to everyone, but I know I'm not alone. For me, the writing bug has to be constantly fed and coddled or it fades. I get it back, but damn, it's tough. It isn't a lack of motivation or a feeling of inadequacy. I just don't wanna. Maybe that is why I like NaNoWriMo so much. It doesn't give you the hem-haw choice of whether you feel like writing or not.

What do you think? How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

A Fresh Start

I pretty much stole the idea of this post from Kelly. We both feel like September is the new year. For me, it is the start of so many things. School for the kids. The return of extracurricular activities and the social life which is a part of that. In Southern California it is a time of emerging from our air conditioned caves and enjoying the cooler temperatures. A lot of things are in bloom this time of year, a whole rebirth as it were.

When I'm trying to make changes in my life this is when I do it. October, November and December are incredibly hectic so I need to be set in my ways beforehand. I do fall cleaning. I pick a room and work on it for a day. Now that I don't have my kids around during the day, it doesn't take me much time. I get myself in the habit of planning menus for the week and getting a logical shopping list together. I try to make it as easy to transition into the busy months as possible. Except for dieting. I only try to maintain some control. To ask myself to lose weight this time of year is a guarantee for failure. Did you know they make pumpkin spice Hershey kisses? Ouch.

Obviously the holidays are the biggest sources of activity. I host Thanksgiving and my three kids all celebrate their birthdays in November and December. While I'm trying to plan parties, I'm also dealing with the regular school activities along with sports. But if I put myself in the mode to be organized, it really isn't too bad.

As for writing...

This is writing season for me. I tend to really crank out the words. And November is NaNoWriMo. I really want to win it this year. I won two years ago but did miserably last year. For some reason, it really gives me a creative jolt. I enjoy the pressure and I think some of my best writing has come out of it.

Do you get a feeling of renewel this time of year or does another season call to you?

I'd Like to Cancel this Week and Start Over

I had such lovely plans for the week. I was organized, had my time scheduled and looked forward to a great week filled with accomplishments.

Then Thing brings home the cold from hell. This is not unusual. The start of the school year introduces a new set of viruses into the home. My daughter, my hubby and Thing were all sick. Hubby and Diva stayed home sick and in bed. I did all the work figuring I'd have time to recover when hubby went back to work. By Monday night he was feeling much better. Tueaday morning I was awakened by his groans of agony. He had a pain in his side which wouldn't go away. We had no idea what it was so I called my mom and she headed over to take the kids to school. Mind you, I'm feeling like death warmed over, but I still had to drive my husband to the emergency room. I had visions of something serious which would require surgery and *shudder* at-home recovery time. Luckily, we got right in. They took some blood, ran him through the CT scan and pumped him full of pain meds. He had a kidney stone. It was small enough the doctor figured it would pass on its own. So by that afternoon my dh felt pretty perky, even went to work.

So Wednesday I finally got to stay home but was running a fever and felt lousy. But I had to get better because I had volunteered to go to the L.A. County Fair with Diva's class. I tried to weasel out of it but the teacher was desperate. Fortunately, I was feeling a little better and drugs did the rest and I made it through the day. So today is all about catching up. I'm tackling the mountains of laundry and all the little things on my to do list and hoping for a better week next week.

Scooter Girl

I'm sick today courtesy of Thing. I love the first part of school because the kids seem to pick up everything and bring them home. Hence a less than detailed post. I liked these pictures, though, so I thought I'd share.
Diva got a new scooter. I swear, we keep the Razor company in the black. This one is an early birthday present and she has been riding it to death. Anything with wheels has her going. The faster, the better. Think I'll need to lock up the keys to the mustangs when she turns 16?

Pathetic, Isn't It?

I was so tired of my blog I messed around with it until it was unusable. Frusterated, I went for a regular blogger template until I can decide what to do. I found myself with lots of blog posts in my head but too caught up in the blogskin to do anything. Until I can figure out what I want to do, I'm stuck with this blah thing. How long do you think it will be before I tinker with it? I give it 24 hours myself.

Heaven

Ah, the first day of school. It rates with Christmas on my favorite day scale. I know it sounds like I don't like my kids. That isn't the case, but after a summer of the constant tension of having them around, I can't wait to get rid of them.

Yesterday I went out for a two hour breakfast with a friend then came home and sat in a stupor of euphoria for an hour before it was time to pick them up. This year is extra-special because Thing is now in school full day. I can actually hear myself think. Today I'm catching up on laundry and trying to get over the shock of being in a quiet house. I'm celebrating by cranking up the stereo and listening to the New Wave channel on XM radio.

But it is too easy to fall into a habit of doing nothing. I'm hoping I can appreciate the time I have now and use it wisely. However, I think that can wait until Monday.

One Day More!

Did you see the musical "Les Miserables?" Remember the "One Day More!" scene where the people are euphoric for the next day? The song is a stirring anthem that pulses through your veins making you want to jump up on the stage with them and march around with a big flag. I feel like that right now. The joy of a new beginning fills my soul, the promise of brand new day free from tyranny beckons.

Yes, tomorrow is the first day of school!

Today promises to be busy. There are mountains of laundry to do and menus to plan. But I can assure you, I will skip, sashay, dance down the aisles of the grocery store today. I will smile as I'm folding clothes. The sun is shining just a little bit brighter in my world today.

So, anything you are looking forward to?

BTW, anyone have a good link for free web graphics. I'm really freakin' tired of these flip flops but it isn't really time for fall graphics yet. I need a change.