This is me today...

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Have a nice day!

Crazy Wednesdays Return

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Some things never change. Some animals and kidlets will keep a fave toy forever. Some days of the week will be crazy once the school year kicks into gear. Days like Wednesdays.

It happens every year. Wednesday is the day for extra enrichment classes, religious education/faith formation, swimming and for some reason tonight, soccer, too. (We're skipping the soccer.)

What's scary is total craziness doesn't begin until next week when the oldest kidlet adds in a music class, but I'm already forcing myself to take deep breaths when I look at the day ahead. I can count the hours I'll be home on one hand.

But this is really nothing new. I've survived Wednesdays for years now. I'll survive again. It's just that initial ramp up time that has me a bit flustered.

Do you have a crazy day? Any survival tips you care to share? I've already forgotten all mine!

Teamwork

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A couple of weeks ago, something happened to my son's soccer team. After playing together since June, they became a team. Sure, they'd played games and practiced together all summer. But something changed, clicked, whatever you want to call it. It was one of those things you could just see unfold in front of you and very cool!

Suddenly they started talking to each other on the field. This after being silent most games during their summer tournaments. They started passing. This after having the ball stripped away when they dribbled too long.

Before that game, my son had told me, "We're really getting better, Mom."

They sure are.

Win/loss records aren't important at this age. Yes, it matters to the kids, but development is key. No matter what the sport. At least that's my opinion.

But the kids are developing. They are also winning, which is a direct result of their playing better and working together.

On Sunday, three of them combined for a goal. My son was the one who kicked it into the net, but as he told me after the game, it was only because the other two got him the ball. That goal, their teamwork, gave them the win!

But win or lose, it's so much fun to watch the progression of skill and plays come together. It'll be fun to see how things play out for the team over the entire fall season and then next spring.

Have you ever watched a team come together?

This week's free book winner!

Here's who the random number generator picked to win a free book:

Here are your random numbers:

15

Timestamp: 2010-09-27 12:36:24 UTC

The winner is Tiffany who commented on the Cat People post. Please email me Tiffany! You can do that via the contact link above.

I haven't put the list of available titles on the website yet, but will in the next couple of days. Then you can choose a title, and I'll mail it to you. Everyone who posted this past week remains entered in the giveaway for the amazon.com gift certificate. Remember every comment is worth one entry!

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment and entered this past week. A new contest for a free book begins now.

Hope you have a Happy Monday!

Devil Cats

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I'm exhausted. Not something that's rare around here, but the cause is a little different this time.

My cats.

The other night, Yoda decided to spend the night inside the shower batting the glass doors with his paw. Hubby finally got out of bed, shooed Yoda out and closed the shower door. But not until it had totally interrupted sleep.

Last night, Spirit kept coming up to me and patting my face with her paw. I'd give her love, but that wasn't good enough. She wanted the food bowl filled, even though it was the middle of the night. Unfortunately there wasn't any food. I'd empty the bag when I filled the bowl at dinnertime. She pawed me every fifteen minutes until hubby went to the store really early in the morning and bought a bag.

How tired am I? On the way back om my son's soccer practice, I totally drove past the freeway exit we normally take home.

Darn cats.

Right now Yoda is squeezed inside a kids' size 7 shoe box. He's so big most of his appendages hang out, but he's happy inside. And I must admit, he looks so cute crammed into the small space.

Spirit is on the corner of the bed waiting for me to crawl under the covers. All of me except for my left foot. She expects that to be outside the cover so she can use it as a pillow. My fault for getting her in the habit, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for a pretty fur covered face that meows.

It's a good thing cats don't have opposable thumbs. Otherwise, they might really rule the world! Though my kitties already rule me.

Hope you have a good weekend. Have any plans?

Random Thursday

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I'm currently writing a romance novel based on a fairy tale. Not Cinderella like in the LOLcat above, but Sleeping Beauty. I went back to some of the original tales, not the Disney version, but it's a little harder than I thought it would be to modernize the tale. I'm still having fun with it!

I do think I've been hanging out at icanhascheezburger too much. Last night I dreamed of a bunch of kittens asleep in my bathroom. It would have made the most perfect LOLcat picture!

I spent today trying to get a few items off my To Do list. All summer, I've been meaning to stop by the church where I taught last year to organize and clean. I just haven't felt good enough. I made myself go today. It's going to take a few more visits to get everything in the shape it should be in.

The cover for my November release is posted under the Coming Soon tab. It resembles Rescued by the Magic of Christmas, except they flipped the direction of the sled and changed the color. No dog, however. I was hoping they'd put Denali, my hero's Siberian Husky in there. Oh, well, it's still a lovely cover.

Remember, if you want to be entered into the contest to post a comment. Each comment gives you an entry so you can up your odds. I'll pick the weekly winner on Sunday. Right now the odds of winning are pretty high since only a handful of people have commented this week! Not that it matters, I'd still have the contest with only one person entered.

Okay, time to write!

Cat People

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Two of my fave things: Star Wars and cats!

The following two YouTube clips came out a couple of weeks ago, but I missed them. The first is an ad from Ikea where the released 100 cats into one of their warehouses in England. It's very sweet.



The next is another video, but this one shows things with the cats didn't go as smoothly as the commercial makes it look!



Of course, it brings back memories of the classic cat herding ad.



Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Snow-Kissed Reunion

My eHarlequin free online-read is now available.  The first chapter of Snow-Kissed Reunion went up yesterday.  You can find it here as well as links to the other chapters and when they'll be posted.

This story is set on Mount Hood in the fictional town of Hood Hamlet, the same setting as my November 2008 release, Rescued by the Magic of Christmas. This is also the setting of my November 2010 release, Christmas Magic on the Mountain.  Snow-Kissed Reunion features characters from both stories, but is still a stand-alone romance.

The heroine and hero are both snowboarders.  What happened to Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce inspired the story only this time it was my heroine who was injured trying to qualify for the 2006 games. 

If you want to post a comment about the story on eHarlequin, you can go here.  I'm checking in a couple times during the day to respond there.  Or you can post here on the blog, too!

Contest Time!

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Today is the start of a new giveaway to celebrate the release of Wedding Date with the Best Man.  Each blog comment gets you one entry to win a $15 Amazon gift certificate.  The winner will be chosen on  Sunday, October 17th and posted here on Monday, October 18th so if you enter be sure to check back!

Each Sunday, I'll also pick one commenter from the previous week, and they'll win a book.  I have lots of books by a variety of authors that Shirley Marks sent me from the RWA National Conference in Washington DC this past summer.  I just have to type the titles in!  So if you post a comment, check back the following Monday to see if you won a book!

Good luck!

Booksigning on Friday!

If you're a Portland, Oregon local, on Friday night, September 17th, I'll be participating in the Fourth Annual Rose City Romance Group Signing at Powell's Books at Cedar Mills Crossing.  (Click on the link for more info!) The fun begins at 7 p.m. and the following romance authors will be there:

Sharon Ashwood: UnchainedMeljean Brook: Demon BloodChristina Crooks: Sweet and Dirty Lacy Danes
Amanda Forester: Highlander's Sword Jean Johnson: Shifting Plains and Bedtime StoriesElaine Knighton
 Margaret Mallory: Knight of Passion Delilah Marvelle: Mammoth Book of Regency RomanceMelissa McClone: Wedding Date with the Best Man Courtney Milan: Proof by SeductionAlexis Morgan: Dark Warrior Untamed
Lucy Monroe: Close Quarters and Moon Craving
Elisabeth Naughton: Entwined
Gerri Russell: Seducing the KnightJessa Slade: Forged of Shadows
Mary Vine: A Place to Land


Hope to see a few of you there!

Also, I haven't forgotten about the contest!  It's just been one of those weeks.  State Fair with my oldest earlier in the week and the zoo yesterday with my nephew who turned 9!

On Sale Now!

My newest release, Wedding Date with the Best Man, Book #4 in the Girls' Weekend in Las Vegas is on sale now. It's been making sighted on shelves since last week, but it should be everywhere now!

If you'd like to read an excerpt go to the Upcoming Release page. At the bottom of that is a pink box with the UK cover of the book. If you click on that, it'll take you to the Mills & Boon website that will bring up an except!

My Pillow

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I love the pic above because it's the story of my pillow. Smalls, our oldest cat, believes she gets 75% of my pillow while I only get 25%. If I try to move her she growls. Yet it's my pillow and I'm much bigger, not to mention I feed her.

I've finally gotten to the point of just pushing her off and not letting her back up until I'm asleep. My neck's been bothering me so I don't need a cat to add to that! So far, so good. I only know she's been there because hubby tells me!

Hope you have a great Monday!

Guest blogging at Pink Heart Society

Today I have a post at the Pink Heart Society on girls' weekends. A few pics from my recent trip to Newport with Amy and Dru are posted, too. Stop by and say hello!

Always Remember

This commercial only aired once after 9/11. I thought it was fitting for today.



I also wanted to post the link I usually post each year. It's the New York Times portraits of grief that were published in the paper following 9/11. If you have some time today, go read a few to remember those who lost their lives and pray for the loved ones they left behind.

Contest Coming!

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I have a couple big scenes to get through today so this will be brief.

Once my proposal is turned in on Friday, I'll get to work on my new contest. Info will be posted on Sunday or Monday. The contest is to celebrate my new release, Wedding Date with the Best Man. The official release date is next week though you can already buy it on line so for all I know it's already in the stores.

Have a great Wednesday!

The End of Summer

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Summer is drawing to an end. The kidlets are getting ready for school to start, and I'm trying to figure out where July and August went. I was really hoping to take a big family vacation, something we haven't done in a couple of years. There's so much else I wanted to do, too, but I doubt I can squeeze it all into the next few days especially with my proposal due on Friday.

Oh, well...there's always next summer! Or weekends once soccer season ends in November.

But the kidlets are happy with how their summer turned out. They love hanging out and play with the kids in the neighborhood all day. Water balloon fights, sprinklers, Nerf gun battles. We had twelve kids over on Friday night to watch Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. So I guess our summer was a success when you look at it from a kids' perspective. Sun, play, water, friends. That's what matters to them.

Did you do everything you wanted to do this summer? What was your favorite thing about this summer?

Cute

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This lolcat pic made me think of Deirdre, a secondary character in my September release Wedding Date with the Best Man. She had her eye on a fire fighter. Too bad he happened to be the fiance of my heroine Jayne!

Back to work on the new proposal! Hope you are having a fun weekend!

The Cat House

See how a couple remodeled their house into a Cat House and turns their love of cats into a full-time job.



I'm busy writing my proposal. My editor and I worked out delivery dates for the last two books and I want to get this one turned in ASAP to give me a little extra time finishing the complete. Guess what I'll be doing Labor Day Weekend? What about you?

RT Review!

Want to read the Romantic Times review for my upcoming release WEDDING DATE WITH THE BEST MAN? Then go here to the Girls' Weekend in Las Vegas Blog!