Bend it!

Thanks to our wonderful friends, Tiffany and Nick, who offered us the use of their beautiful house, we are spending the weekend in Bend, Oregon. Bend is a charming town on the way to Mt. Bachelor. We arrived yesterday afternoon and rented the kids and Tom skis at the Powderhouse. The great staff there provided us a map to the town and directions to the Bend Brewing Company where we ate a yummy dinner. Hubby was impressed by his pint of Poor Richard Brew. It was too heavy and dark for me, but I enjoyed my pint of Golden Metolius. And the kids gobbled up their pizza and fries.

Right now hubby and the two older kidlets are up at Mt. Bachelor. Unfortunately our youngest came down with strep throat on Wednesday and even though she's no longer contagious, sticking her into child care at the slope (or anywhere!) is difficult enough when she's feeling great so we decided not to push it this time. Next year she'll be old enough for ski school and I'll be able to get my fill of downhill. Finally! I've been waiting for this for a long time. When I was in my twenties and living in Arizona, I thought nothing of driving to Telluride, CO, to ski for a couple of days then driving home on Sunday after skiing all day and be at my desk, bright and cheery and a little sunburned, come Monday morning.

So I'm going to enjoy the snow with her, enjoy the beautiful surroundings and try to get some writing done. I let Rosie pick her favorite DVDs and I packed our little portable player. She's watching Barbie's Princess & the Pauper as I type. It's going to be a nice and relaxing day for both of us!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since hubby doesn't want pictures of our kidlets on the internet, I thought I'd let our three furbabies wish you Happy Valentine's instead.



The gray one is Spirt. She's a neurotic kitty with a heart of gold.



Rocket is our big boy kitty. He's big, furry and a real love. He sleeps right next to me and is more dog than cat.



Smalls came with our old house. She decided she liked it better than her new one. But we decided to bring her with us when we moved. She's adjusted well to being an indoor kitty!

Hope your day is full of hearts, romance and love!

In mourning

I can't believe it. ABC cancelled Invasion! One of the only two shows I watch on television. I'm so upset. If you watched the show, or even if you didn't and want to do me a favor, go here http://www.savemyshow.com/shows/invasion.htm and vote yes. Who knows if it will make a difference or not, but I had to do something.

Sorry I haven't posted. I've been working on my new book Marriage for Baby and doing a bunch of other stuff such as...

My youngest turned 3. It's been hard saying goodbye to her toddlerhood. She wants to be a big girl now, and I want her to be my little girl. We're also dealing with where to send her in September for preschool.

I'm learning all about the politics of Irish dance. It isn't pretty. And I think there may be a story there somewhere. Or a lawsuit.

I took the older two kids to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on Sunday. Loved it! We are now reading from the book each night and will make our way through the entire series.

Had my first instance of a seller not sending me the item I purchased on eBay. I tried to contact him for weeks. Amazingly enough as soon as I filed a complaint with Paypal I heard from him. Supposedly the item is on its way. We'll see!

Oh, and if any of you live in the Portland Metro area and don't have plans for Valentine's Day, might I suggest the Expressions of Chocolate event at the Schnitz. My friend, Shelley Jackson, is organizing it to raise money for CCA (Children's Cancer). I'll be there! And so will Bernard C's, my fave chocolatier! Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. You can find out more about the fantastic event at www.expressionsofchocolate.com.