X marks the spot

Today we celebrated my son's 6th birthday at Adventure Studios in Vancouver. All three kidlets put on their pirate costumes and we set off to see if this pirate party place I'd found via craigslist was going to match all the hype I'd been giving it for weeks. Months, actually.

This morning I had a moment of panic when I realized I'd given out all the invitations and didn't have directions. I typed in their website, howbravedoyoufeel.com, but the only thing that came up was a Network Solutions page saying the domain name was expiring. I do believe my breath caught in my throat. (A cliched heroine reaction that I still use because in some cases it does work and as I proved today actually can happen.) I used google to get the phone number all the while trying to figure out what I would do with almost 20 kids at the last minute if they were no longer in business.

Needless to say, my worries were completely unfounded. The place was awesome, so much better than I expected. Even the hubby was impressed and didn't hesitate when I asked for cash to tip them. (This after I'd had to give him a complete breakdown of what this party was going to cost us a few hours earlier.)

The kids (16 boys and 3 girls) had so much fun. They laughed, screamed and played along with the entertaining and funny pirates and the puppets. There was only one really scary moment-darkness, a fog machine and secret passage way-but we managed to get the two kids somewhat frightened by the situation through it. And the reward was worth it: giggle grog, cake and ice cream.

The best part was all I had to do was mail out the invitations they provided, get favors (optional actually since they give a bandana, eye patch, gold coin and puppet to each child) and show up on town. The pirates, bless their scurvy hearts, took care of everything else. Exactly the kind of party this mommy on deadline needed.

It's after ten now. My three little pirates and my one big pirate are tuckered out and hit the bunks early tonight. Too much swaggering and treasure hunting. I'm halfway to my page goal and at this rate, I may make it before midnight!!! Now that will be something to celebrate and worth of a toast with giggle grog.

And the murderer is...

Tonight, my hubby and I attended a murder mystery party. It was a dinner party with two other couples. Each of us played a character. I was Marilyn Merlot (the theme was wine and murder) who is a Oscar nominated actress who hasn't returned to the wine country in five years. I wore a sequined dress, tiara, feather boa and heels. I even put on make-up. Second time this month! It was a great time. Good food and conversation and the best part was I guessed the murderer!!! I even figured out the motive. Yes, being a writer comes in handy when you least expect it!

So tomorrow's the big birthday party. My son's actual birthday was Friday, but with T-ball (I was the asst. coach this morning!), I didn't want any games to interfere with the party to I scheduled the party for Sunday.

I must pay tribute to an amazing godfather. One of my closest friends, Alex, is my son Finn's godfather. Alex has never missed sending a birthday or Christmas present. Ever. This isn't why we chose him as a godfather. I knew if something happened to us, Alex would be there (even long distance) to make sure Finn was being raised Catholic. But still this whole never forgetting thing (and having presents arrive on time) is quite an amazing feat. Most guys, my hubby included, just aren't that on top of things. I was sure, however, that this birthday would be different. Afterall, Alex and his wife had just welcomed twins, a beautiful boy and girl, to their family a few short weeks ago. Of course, a package arrived Friday. FedEx. For Finn. Of course, I feel like a total slackard since I don't have two newborns to feed and care for, yet I still haven't manage to get their baby gifts in the mail. It's horrible I know. I'm moving that task to the top of my To Do list! Which means maybe I'll have it done by June or July.

Okay, I'm too tired and have had too many glasses of wine tonight to write anymore. Sweet dreams!

Peace and quiet

It's just me and the three cats this afternoon. The hubby is doing bus driver service so I have some time to write. I'm behind on the book. Nothing new. I'm always behind with writing, the To Do list, you name it. I don't want to tell you how many pages I must write every day between now and the 22nd of May because seeing it in print might just push me over the edge.

But write I will. And I may just get it done!

Unfortunately I keep making more work for myself outside of writing. Thinking I was being smart and efficient, I ordered party favors on-line for my son's birthday. You could only see the items, not how they came packaged, but they looked cute and I couldn't have put together a favor bag at the Dollar Store for less money. Imagine my surprise when a huge carton showed up. (Huge as in all three kids could play inside it at the same time.) What looked like a "little" pirate playset actually came packaged in a big, present-size box (approx. 10" x 24"). No way could I give those out as favors. Too big, too excessive, too expensive looking. I thought about sending them back, but my son was with me when I opened the box and loves them so now I'm stuck giving those out. I finally came up with a solution. The playsets are much smaller than the packaging so I'm taking each set out of the box, discarding the packaging and putting the pieces into goodie bags.

With all the writing I need to do I was thrilled to hear about a woman selling the secret to writing a romance novel. For $197, she'll tell you everything you need to know. I was tempted. I'd love to know the secret to writing a romance novel as well as the secret handshake to the published authors club. Eleven books sold, and I still don't know either one!

Drumroll, please...

We have a winner! A muse for my new book--Tom Welling. I have no idea who this guy is (an actor, I know that much), but according to his bio on imdb.com he fits all my criteria for my new hero and then some!

A big thanks to Lissa! And to Tori, too, since Jeremy was pretty close to what I was looking for and you concurred with the Tom Welling suggestion. Both of you may choose any book from my backlist or you can wait for the one coming out this fall. Just email me with your book choice and address and if you want the autograph personalized or generic. I just unpacked my office so I actually know where all my books are at the moment!

Sorry for not posting much this week. It's spring break and a stomach virus has taken out the kidlets one of the time. Today everyone seemed well so we went to the zoo. They had to do at least one fun thing during the week! Now hubby's taken them for the rest of the afternoon and evening so I can take a quick nap and then get to work on the book.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day! We were asked to take up the gifts at Mass and this thrilled my oldest. She's really looking forward to her First Communion in a couple of weeks. The kids had a fun egghunt and loved their Easter baskets. We had our first dinner on our brand new table. I even cooked the meal! My hubby does most of the cooking around here. We also welcomed a new nephew this morning! Congrats to Pat and Mary on the new addition to the family! We can't wait to meet him!

On the writing front, my editor liked the revisions I did on the proposal and I've been busily writing, writing, writing. I checked out Tori's suggestion for a new muse, and though he's very attractive, he's sadly just not the one. The search continues!

I need a hero!

Actually I need a muse. A new one. Hayden Christensen was great and did wonders for PLAIN JANE'S PRINCE CHARMING, but he's just not working for this new book, MARRIAGE FOR BABY.

My new hero, Jared Reed, is gorgeous and a really good guy who has a few things to learn when it comes to keeping the love of his life, Kate Malone, in his life. Unfortunately I can't picture him, and now with two sick kids and a bored 3 year old at home, searching the internet and magazines to find him isn't going to happen. More often than not, my muse finds me, but I'm running out of time and feeling a bit desperate at the moment. So if you see a guy who resembles the following description, please send him my way. It would be much appreciated!

* Over 6 feet tall
* Athletic build
* Brown wavy hair worn in carefree style
* Square jaw, slightly crooked nose (snowboarding accident as teen), long eyelashes, lush lips

Writing a book

Back in September/October, I wrote a book in six weeks with my last deadline. I love how the book turned out, but the process just about did me in physically and mentally. I really don't want to go through that again.

So now I have another deadline coming up--May 22nd. I have the first three chapters completed (55 pages) and 8 pages of chapter four done. I'm trying to figure out how to get the rest of the book written this time around, on time. Upcoming events that I must take into consideration: school auction (about 2-4 more hours of work to do for it), kid's Irish dance recital, son's birthday, daughter's first communion and Mother's day.

Here are my options:
1) Write the way I always do which is hit or miss on a day to day basis (this will get the job done, but I pay the price-see above)
2) Be disciplined and set a daily page goal that needs to be done before I go to bed each night. (Doesn't take into account sick kids-I have one at home with me right now, emergencies that come up or my procrastination which could make for late nights.)
3) Write a rough (aka crap) draft as fast as I can with a set date to have the complete done then give myself a certain number of weeks to polish. (This gives me two deadlines! Yikes!)

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Happy Anniversary!

Eleven years ago today, I got married. It was a beautiful ceremony in Babylon, NY and a lovely reception in Stoney Brook, NY. My best friends flew in from the Bay Area, Guatemala, London, Spokane and So. Cal. and it was so much fun. Tonight we're going to watch the video of the ceremony with the kids. Well, I will with the two girls since the males in this family gave up television for Lent!

Anniversaries used to be a big deal. Then we had kids. I can't remember doing something just the two of us on our actual anniversary date. We always plan something for another, more convenient date. This year we're planning to celebrate next weekend with a night away from the kids. I bought a brand new dress yesterday complete with shoes, necklace, earrings and bracelet.

So how did we spend today? Well, it hasn't been the most romantic of days. Our youngest woke us up at 6 am when she had to go potty. Unfortunately she'd already gone potty, in bed (long showers before bedtime are not a good idea!), so that meant she got to get into our bed. My dad showed up a little after 8 am to help my hubby put up the fence in our backyard. Then our oldest complained of a headache. I kissed her forehead and she was burning up so it was off to the doctors to make sure the strep wasn't back. It wasn't thank goodness. While my hubby built the fence outside, I sat on the couch with my sick little girl picking out her first communion invitation and favors.

But I really shouldn't complain. Only one kidlet is sick, not three. My proposal made it to London finally! And I'm married to the greatest guy in the world.