The end of 2010

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Isn't this LOLcat chart cute? Between my family, my characters (especially heroes) and me, we encompassed all of those things in 2010!

Yesterday's birthday celebration for hubby was pretty mellow. Lunch at Namaste (hubby loves Indian food), Zoo lights with the kids (I stayed home, wrote and baked a cake), pizza for dinner, watched Elf, opened presents and ate cake.

I still can't believe the year is coming to an end. Today will be all about taking care of stuff that needs to be done in 2010. Paying some bills, donating some money, ordering Christmas cards. I'm a little behind due to this stupid cold that keeps coming back.

Tonight is a party across the street to ring in the new year. Kids are included! Not sure I'll make it to midnight. I've been so tired lately. I'm sure the rest of the family will!

I want to end 2010 with a wonderful story of a mother's love. Click here to read the article from Digital Journal about an injured dog who not only nursed her own puppies, but a kitten, too. Here's a clip about her:



Hope you have a fun and safe time ringing in the New Year!

Another year almost over

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I spent much of last night rubbing Smalls, who sleeps curled on my pillow against my head. I actually spent much of the year rubbing various cats and a dog.

The rest of the time seemed to be spent driving kidlets to various activities and visiting doctors. Oh, I also wrote a couple books, revised and rewrote them and squeezed an eharlequin on-line read in there, too.

Not exactly the memories I'd hope to have from 2010.

Especially after the hell of 2009.

I remember this time last year. I couldn't wait for 2010 to begin. I had such high hopes for a better year. The car accident in March sort of got in the way of that.

But was 2010 as bad as 2009?

I decided to make a quick comparison. In my 2009 Christmas letter to friends and family, I did our version of the 12 Days of Christmas since we'd been plagued with illnesses and injuries. Here it is with 2010 updates in parenthesis:

12 Days without Irish Dancing (the kidlets quit Irish Dancing in September)

11 X-rays taken (about the same amount)

10 Specialist appointments (three though many more doctor and chiropractor visits)

9 Weeks with a black eye from baseball (son decided not to play Little League)

8 Rounds of antibiotics (can't remember which probably means not as many)

7 Sessions of physical therapy (over 30 sessions and counting between two of us)

6 Bouts of stomach virus (2 with a couple food poisoning bouts)

5 Weeks in a cast (no casts, but hubby just hurt his back)

4 Incisions from gallbladder surgery (no surgeries in spite of 2 neurosurgeons' recommendations for them)

3 CT scans (1 MRI)

2 ER visits (1 ER visit)

1 Ambulance ride from Timberline (rear ended on I-5, but no ambulance required)

Okay, not nearly as bad in spite of the no spring skiing, no summer climbing and no working out/Cross Fit except for walking and PT. I fear I may always have a left arm and hand that tingles, but...

We're all here, furbabies and humans, not in perfect health, but in one piece and breathing. That's good enough for me.

And will be good enough for 2011. I've definitely lowered the bar and my expectations.

How was 2010 for you? Are you looking forward to 2011?

Oh, and before I forget I want to wish my hubby a very happy birthday! You're a great husband and father. Thanks for putting up with me, especially at deadline time! xoxox

A Dusting...

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...of snow this morning!

Not enough for a snowball fight or sledding, but some is better than none. Still I hope we get more one of these days.

That same cold I'd had before seems to be returning so I'm saving my words for the proposal. But here's a few random things for today...

My daughter went to a sleepover the other night. The four girls broke into two teams and spent much of the night trying to scare each other to death. I'm Facebook friends with the three other girls so got a first hand glimpse into the scare tactics. Screaming, tears, you name it. I remember watching scary movies at slumber parties when I was younger, but we never took things that far. How about you?

Huge cat fight last night. I know Spirit was one of the involved. I was too tired to see who the other was. A shout and a yell seemed to take care of it, and none of the furbabies seem to be missing fur this morning.

Kindle eBook versions of my Christmas Magic on the Mountain and Rescued by the Magic of Christmas are outselling the mass market paperback versions by a huge number. (Okay, Rescued is out of print so that makes sense, but not Christmas Magic.) Even though Amazon is a small piece of category romance sales, I find that fascinating. People keep talking about the popularity of eReaders. I now believe it. But I'm not ready to invest in an eReader just yet!

Have a nice Wednesday!

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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We returned to Narnia yesterday afternoon via our local movie theater.

The 2D version had already left the theater so we saw the digital 3D version. I guess the 3D was cool to some, but it made me a little dizzy. It's also hard wearing the 3D glasses over the ones I wear (and need to see the screen!) I would never want a 3D television that's for sure.

What surprised me the most were the ticket prices. $11.50 for a matinee. I guess it was the 3D that upped the price or maybe movies are that expensive these days. The last one I saw in a theater was the second Twilight movie over a year ago when I was in Denver with my oldest daughter.

I'd heard the screenplay differs from the book so I told the kidlets to just enjoy the movie for what it is, and not worry about what was left out or added. Lesson learned after the Percy Jackson movie.

Here's the trailer for Voyage of the Dawn Treader:



It was fun to revisit the characters from the first two movies and meet new ones, especially Eustace. I hope the franchise continues because they've found a worthy successor to the Pevensie children with their cousin.

The quest plotline allowed a lot of different visual effects to be crammed into the two hours. It was easy to step into and lose yourself in this new part of the Narnia world.

I was happy to see more magic like in the first book and less epic battles like in the second. Much of the book takes place at sea so there is a cool ship, swashbuckling and storms.

There also seemed to be more "character" in this movie than the second. Lucy takes center stage. I really didn't buy her stealing the spell page with Aslan right there talking to her, but it made for a nice moment later on the ship. Edmund is still fighting the White Witch and struggling with being a regular boy back home vs. a king in Narnia. Caspian is a nice piece of eye candy. He smiles much more in this movie and is friendlier. Being king seems to agree with him.

Eustace, however, steals the show. He's so whiny and disagreeable you can't help but hate the kid. But his transformation and redemption is very well done.

The kidlets loved the movie and are already talking about buying the DVD when it's released so they can watch it over and over again. The only part my seven year old didn't like was the sea monster. She covered her eyes through much of that section.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader was a fun movie adventure for my entire family. I enjoyed and recommend it.

Have you seen it yet? If so, what did you think?

The Only Thing Missing is...

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...snow.

The east coast is getting pounded with snow, and a couple feet is predicted to fall in the Cascades. I wish those of us in the lower elevations of the PNW would also see some of the white stuff.

How's the weather where you are?

Yesterday, I had to exchange son's jacket for a larger size so also picked up some wrapping paper, tags and ribbons on super sale. I also swung by Michaels to buy some Christmas craft supplies on clearance. Now I'm all set for next year!

Today is all about writing. I have to take our dog Chaos to the vet, but after that I'm going to concentrate on the new proposal. Hubby has the week off so I want to take advantage of his being home to get lots done on the proposal, house, etc.

What are you up to?

First Day of Christmas

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Hope you had fun yesterday! We enjoyed our day and are looking forward to celebrating the days of Christmas ahead of us.

We're Catholic which means the Christmas season just began and will last until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 9th. There are still presents under the tree which we've saved for Epiphany, January 6th.

Not that the kidlets didn't get enough already! Toys, a Wii game and Legos from Santa. We got each of the kids a hat and matching gloves, a couple of books, jammies, slipper socks and either a fleece jacket or fleece robe. We also picked something special for each one that we thought they would like: Mackenna got a wide hair iron/straightener, Finn got a digital drum kit and Rose got an electric guitar.

Hubby and I take the money we would spend on each other and use that to buy giving tree/adopt-a-family gifts for others. But I did get a cool case for my iPhone from Mackenna, the Blake Snyder Save the Cat revisited book I wanted from Finn, two pairs of comfy slipper socks from Rose and a gorgeous knit scarf from my mother in law. My godson, Nicholas, also sent me a book and a box of yummy chocolates.

What did you find under your tree or in your stocking this year?

Merry Christmas!

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Wishing you a magical and blessed Christmas!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

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Already two of the furbabies are in trouble. I was worried about Yoda, but he's been a total angel lately. It's two others who got into the presents last night.

Spirit, my gray cat, found the bag of pet presents in my closet. She pulled out a package of cat nip and bit it open. Talk about a mess! She was not happy when I pulled her away.

Chaos smelled something that intrigued her so much that she had to unwrap one of the gifts. In the process she ate the bow and the ribbon. I know this because I had to clean up the mess when it didn't agree with her. What was so interesting to her? Candy flavored lip gloss.

I hope we have no incidents tonight or after Santa fills the stockings and leaves gifts under the tree!

Hope you have a wonderful day finishing up your Christmas prep and/or celebrating!

Almost time!

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Aack! Christmas is coming way too fast. I've been writing, shopping and wrapping this week. Don't know about you, but I could use a few more days! I totally forgot about presents for my furbabies. I need to add that to my To Do list for today! It looks like cards won't be going out until after Christmas again. Oh, well...

The hardest part with this week is I'd really just like to spend my time writing. Taking a much needed break earlier this month was exactly what I needed. Now I can't wait to hit the keyboard and work on the proposal.

How are you doing?

A Facebook Nativity

This year, there have been quite a few Nativity videos coming out. Some with people, there's a really cute one from New Zealand I saw via Facebook, and others using social media to tell the story of the birth of Jesus.

My favorite is A Social Network Christmas which uses Facebook to tell the story of the Nativity. Enjoy!

Presents

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A box of presents arrived from my mother-in-law yesterday. The kidlets were so excited to have gifts under the tree that they weren't giving to each other.

I've yet to start wrapping the gifts I've purchased. It's hard when the kids are always around. I think I'm going to have to lock myself in my room or stay up late tonight. I can't put it off much longer or panic will set in.

At least I don't have as many gifts to wrap as in the past. A few years ago, about the time the economy tanked, my sister suggested we stop buying gifts for everyone (this amounted to 13 presents) and just do a white elephant exchange (gift limit $10) at our family Christmas gathering. We all had a blast doing it, especially all the kidlets, so have continued doing that. Much cheaper than what we did before and a lot more fun!

Do you have any gift traditions? We open one gift on Christmas Eve, and it's always jammies!

Countdown to Christmas

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I could use a few elves to help me finish up getting ready for Christmas this week. Of course, ones with opposable thumbs would be more helpful when it comes to wrapping presents!  The feline elf types (at least the ones who live here) prefer the ribbons and bows to the paper. Unless they want a nap, then they plop right down on the wrapping paper regardless that I'm about to set a present on it!

I only have a couple more gifts to purchase, then groceries. We're still trying to decide on a Christmas dinner menu.

I'll also be working on the new Christmas Magic in Hood Hamlet proposal. Nothing like being surrounded by holiday cheer when writing a Christmas story!

What do you have going on? Are you ready for Christmas?

Explain this...

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Hubby is a good man with a strong work ethic. He doesn't mind cooking or cleaning or doing laundry so I have time to write. But when it comes to holidays, especially Christmas, he hasn't a clue. I just don't get it.

For nearly a month, I've been asking him to get the addresses of his employees so he (with my help) could send each of them a Christmas gift. He finally gave them to me after I asked this morning. December 18th. One week before Christmas. Argh! Fortunately I had a free shipping coupon from Harry and David. I spent my morning ordering the presents because this is the last day for standard shipping.

Rocket under our tree

The kidlets even know what their daddy is like when it comes to presents. The only thing they'd find under the tree would be one of the cats.

When my twelve year old was visiting my sister after Thanksgiving, they talked about Christmas shopping. Mackenna told her if something ever happened to me they'd never have another Christmas or birthday. My sister told her not to worry. That's what aunts are for!

Is it just my hubby or are most men like this?

Sick Doggie

My day has not turned out like I planned. It all started when Chaos wouldn't eat her breakfast. This is a dog who can't wait for her morning feeding time. She'll even try to convince me (if hubby fed her) that she hasn't eaten yet or vice versa. This trick always works when my parents house sit!

Anyway, she wouldn't eat. All she wanted to do was go out into the back yard and munch on grass. I figured she had a tummy ache, but she was acting so strange. After two hours of this, she finally ate and wanted a bone-bone (her usual morning treat.) But pretty soon, she was back to acting strange. I left a voice mail for the breeder because I was starting to feel something must be wrong with her.

We finally decided enough was enough. Hubby called the vet and got her an appointment right away. Mackenna and I took off with Chaos. We found out that she has a bacterial infection in her intestinal track. No wonder she didn't want to eat and was acting strangely! She's got medicine now and orders for a bland diet for the next couple of days.

So relieved it wasn't anything more serious! Now maybe I can get some writing done.

Seven deadly sins

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I spent all day volunteering where sugar and chocolate were readily available (see envy and gluttony.) When I arrived home, I napped (see sloth).

Tuesday, Wednesday and now Thursday have been insane schedule wise. I really am hoping things slow down tomorrow. How are things in your world?

Last Crazy Wednesday of 2010

I can't believe it's already December 15th. The time is just flying by! I've been taking my time researching and writing the new Christmas Magic/Hood Hamlet book, but I need to kick it up a notch. Just wish I could shake this head cold. It still won't go away.

But life is definitely slowing down as Christmas draws closer. This is the last crazy Wednesday of the year! I'm looking forward to a couple weeks off from the running around and teaching. The only thing scheduled next Wednesday is a PT appt. for my oldest!

I'm also checking more things off my To Do list. Last night, I put the final touches on the PSNEA (Puget Sound Norwegian Elkhound Association) newsletter. My oldest volunteered me to be the newsletter editor. Fortunately, they have been very understanding of my other deadlines so no pressure.

Mackenna said she would help me, so I had her take pics of Chaos to use. These are from my iPhone. Hubby told me yesterday the card reader is missing so we can't download pics to any computer!

In this picture, Chaos really wanted a piece of cheese Mackenna was using as bait. She's a silly dog. When she wants something you're eating, she drools!

I posted on Facebook about this weekends' dog show, but not here. Mackenna and Chaos won their class in a Jr. Handler competition at a local AKC show on Saturday. It was their first win. Very exciting.

And our son didn't want to be left out of the winning, either. On Sunday, he won his age group for the 100m freestyle and also beat the A time by two seconds. The A team is used as the state qualifier time so he was very excited!

Okay, better get to work before the running around begins!

Yoda and his tree

My hard drive is so full I haven't been able to download any photos for months. When I tried to take picture yesterday, the card was full. Pics from my girls' weekend in August were still on there. Yikes! I should just buy an external drive, but I keep forgetting.

But I realized I could take pics with my cellphone so last night, Yoda was in his spot under the tree so I grabbed my iPhone. We finally got around to decorating this weekend. We were waiting to see if Yoda's fascination with the tree would continue. It has.

He loves the tree so much that we decided not to put any breakable ornaments up again. I miss my blown glass ones and others that have special meaning to us, but it's also fun to watch Yoda play under there without any worry! Maybe by next year he'll have outgrown his kitten phase.

How are your Christmas preparations coming along? I still have a few things left to do, but it's finally looking like Christmas at our house!

For your viewing pleasure...

I saw this on my news feed on Facebook. It put a smile on my face and I hope it puts one on yours, too!



Hope you have a nice Monday!

No!

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I feel the same way as the LOLcat above! Wish we were just starting the weekend.

Rain

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I'm waiting for the rain to stop. It's been crazy wet here in the PNW. They have even mentioned the F-word...floods.

I've been putting some dents into my Christmas shopping in spite of the wetness outside. A good thing since I've been hit with a horrible head cold. But I'm not letting that stop me too much. Christmas will be here on the 25th so I can't put that off. And the kidlets need to be places. Plus I'm not about to stop writing because I don't want to wind up in crazy deadline mode come January. I do not want a repeat of November. Ever!

As soon as there is a break in the weather, we're going to cut down a Christmas tree. I miss that experience and so do the kidlets. We'll put the tree on our porch and decorate it with lights!

I also forgot to mention that the Bellingham Mountain Rescue 2011 calendars arrived. If you missed by post on them, go here to read it. The pictures are incredible. So is the quality of the calendar. It also supports a great cause. If you need a Christmas gift for someone in your life, check them out. They arrived very quickly, too.

I just got my Commando hook yesterday so I could put it up next to the table where I write. It'll provide great inspiration as I work on the new Mount Hood mountain rescuer story. Better get back to it.

Any plans for today?

Rescue Research

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I've been researching and writing my new proposal. Working title is Christmas Magic in Hood Hamlet. Not every original, but I've got a head cold that won't go away. All creativity is being saved for the words.

Yesterday I read the book Pickets and Deadmen written by a former female Mt. Rainier climbing ranger and a bunch of other mountain rescue articles on the Internet. I have the opening scene roughed out, but something isn't quite right, and I'm hoping some extra research will tell me what.

I had an idea in the shower (that's where I do my best plotting/brainstorming) and want to explore it a little. Just need to get through a few things this morning so I can take advantage of a chunk of writing time after lunch.

What are you up to today? I also want to squeeze in a trip to Borders to take advantage for their newest 40% off coupon and maybe dash by Target, too!

Sing Off

If you're not watching NBC's Sing Off, you should be. It's an awesome show with incredible talent. I just love it! It's on Monday and Wendesday nights at 8 pm. This is one of the songs from last night's show with all the groups. It's also a song from Christmas Magic on the Mountain's book soundtrack. Enjoy!



My fave group is Committed. Those guys are so talented!

Cat Carrier

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Last night I dreamed about one of my cats going everywhere with me, including Toys R Us. I think I spent most of my dream trying to catch Spirit. Using a car seat for her would have been much better!

When I woke this morning, I stretched my legs out. Not sure how many cats were sleeping on my feet and legs, but by the sounds of them falling off the bed at least two. Oops.

Well, it's a crazy Wednesday. I've already made it to Mass. There's still a lot more things on my schedule. Better get busy.

Have a great day!

Cats and trees

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The tree is up, but no decorations yet only light. We're still trying to gauge Yoda's interest in it. Last year, we didn't put any breakable ornaments up because we were worried what he would do. We may do the same this year.

Yoda is over a year old, but he's still very much a kitten only bigger. A lot bigger. He could do some serious damage if he climbed the tree. Right now he's just hanging out underneath it and standing up through the lower branches.

As for the tree, it's face with the lights already attached. We used to always have a real tree, but I finally figured out the reason I would get a sinus infection every Christmas. I'm allergic to the tree. Not sure if it's the tree itself or the mold, but it happened every single year. Except the last two!

I miss cutting down a Christmas tree so we're going to go out to a tree farm and get one for our porch. We have tons of leftover lights. The kidlets are very excited.

Is your tree up already? Is it real or an artificial one?

One Final Winner...

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The giveaway celebrating the release of Christmas Magic on the Mountain is now over. Let's see who is the final winner of an Amazon.com gift card.

Here are your random numbers:

9

Timestamp: 2010-12-06 15:04:15 UTC

The winner is Brandy with her comment on my post Help a Mountain Rescue Group. Brandy, please use my contact link above to send me your email address. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who posted comments and entered the contest.

A To Do Weekend

My Advent cleaning and Christmas preparations start today. Later than usual, but that's because of the deadlines I had last month. We try to get things up by the first Sunday in Advent, but that didn't happen this year or last. Pretty much, nothing really got done in November except writing. So today is my catch up on the To Do list day.

I had a couple of days mid-month in between turning in the complete and getting the revisions so I could clean a little then, folding laundry and restocking the pantry and fridge. But that wasn't nearly enough now that I've had another couple of weeks doing nothing. When hubby shops, he only buys what's needed for whatever meal we're going to eat. Not sure if that's a guy thing or his thing, but it's been like that for 15 1/2 years of marriage. I don't think it's going to change.

We did manage to get the chocolate Advent calendars for the kidlets so at least I haven't been a total failure at things around here.

I also cleaned out my closet again. I've found the first time I can't get rid of everything, but I'm not as attached the second time. (A lot like revising, actually.) If something didn't fit, it went into a bag. I need to lose weight (I've lost five pounds already), but most of the smaller stuff was a few years old anyway. No reason to keep it cluttering the space. If I get to my goal weight, I can buy stuff that fits and is more in style.

So that's my plan for today, what's yours?

Kitty in Trouble

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One of my furbabies has been using the clean laundry waiting to be folded as a litter box. The only problem is we weren't sure which one. I had my suspicions, but I needed more proof.

Yesterday, I was resting when I heard something. I sat up in bed and noticed Rocket walking around on the pile of laundry. One of the cats, Spirit, likes to sleep on the clothes when they come out of the dryer so I didn't think it was her. Rocket usually likes to sleep on something soft so I figured he was looking for a place to nap.

Nope. The darn cat squatted. I shouted and jumped out of bed. Surprised, he shot out of the room before he could do his business. But he wasn't fast enough to get away from me.

He spent the rest of the day locked in the laundry room. They love to be with me, so this is a harsh punishment for them. It's time for his checkup so I'll have them check his urine, but I'm pretty sure this is a behavior issue. If things aren't just so he acts out this way. At least he's done so before, but I thought he'd outgrown it.

Time to relook at the liter box situation and a few other things.

Any big plans for you today? I'm taking it easy and resting as much as I can.

Help a Mountain Rescue Group

Those of you who have read my Hood Hamlet - Christmas Magic books know mountain rescue is near and dear to my heart. These men and women volunteer their time and skills to help others in need. It's not just climbers, but also hikers, snowshoers, skiers, snowboarders, mushroom pickers, the list goes on. They are real life heroes though they would be the first to disagree with that statement. (Trust me, I've had this discussion with several of them while researching my books!)

Bellingham Mountain Rescue in Washington state is selling 2011 calenders to raise money for their organization. Here's what one of the members has to say about their fundraiser:

For those looking for a Holiday gift as well as a way to support a good cause, please consider buying a 2011 Bellingham Mountain Rescue calendar.

The calendars are a limited edition and feature photos taken in and around Whatcom County by local photographers.

The proceeds directly support the efforts of the all volunteer Bellingham Mountain Rescue by providing us with funds for new equipment and training materials.

The calender is $15. If you want to order one, go to the BMRC website. You'll see a Paypal button where you can order.

I saw a proof of the calendar, and all I can say is it's gorgeous. If you want to see a preview, go here to the Cascade Climbers forum. Scroll down to the first post that has PREVIEW added to the header. You can download a preview of the twelve photographs used.

I'll be ordering my copies today!

Please Vote!

I received an email last night from the Cover Cafe. Christmas Magic on the Mountain is one of the ten finalists in the annual Holiday Favorites Cover Contest. If you have time, please go here to vote. One voter will be chosen to win a prize. You can vote until December 20th. Thanks!

In other news, really good news, my revisions for Not-So-Perfect Princess were accepted. I'm going to take another day off before getting the new due dates for the next Mount Hood/Hood Hamlet mountain rescuer story! I'm still pretty worn out and trying to catch up with all I let slide while writing and then jumping right into revisions!

Have a nice Wednesday!