Free Book Goes to...

Time got away with me on Monday. I'd been waiting for the AAs (page proofs) for my upcoming June 2009 release, Blind Date with the Millionaire, to be delivered since I first missed the DHL truck on Wednesday. They finally arrived, and I dove right in.

I really like how the story reads so far. Only a few minor things I want to change in the first hundred or so pages. So yay! I hope I feel the same way when I reach the end.

Here are your random numbers:

9
Timestamp: 2008-10-07 03:39:56 UTC

Hmmm. Last week's random number was 8. This week's was 9. Interesting.

Okay, this week's free book winner is Jane again. She won with a comment on the post Free book giveaway. Jane, please choose one book from the list here. Email me your choice along with your snail address.

Last week's winner Amy chose His Mistress By Morning by the oh-so-talented Elizabeth Boyle. Happy Reading, Amy!

A new contest begins now! To enter, post a comment on my blog. Each comment earns one entry! Good luck! Oh, and I'll have a special mini-contest going on later this week with a $5 amazon prize. Check back tomorrow for more details and where to enter!

Also, I found this quiz and thought it was perfect seeing my Blind Date with a Millionaire has a strong Jane Austen influence.

Take the Quiz here!

You Are...Marianne Dashwood!

You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a bit too brutally honest. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

What Jane Austen heroine are you?

Party Time

Yesterday, the kidlets and I went to my friend Amy's house. She surprised me with a birthday celebration. I was so touched. She and her hubby made yummy tacos for lunch, a delicious blueberry crumble for dessert and I even had a present to open. My one and only birthday present. And it was a package of three pretty candles. Amy knows I love candles!

While the kids played Wii (Rock Star was the game of choice) and swam. The water was a little cold for us so we talked some more instead of putting on our swimsuits. It was a great day and a perfect way to end summer!

On the way home, I dropped off at my cousin's house and saw my aunt who was visiting from Arizona. My parents were there so they took the kidlets home with them so hubby and I could have a couple of much needed time to spend together!

What are you doing for Labor Day weekend?

Citius, altius, fortius

I (and the three kidlets) ended up being gone from 9 am until 7 pm yesterday. That made for a very long day. But I managed to plot out a new book that hit me at the conference that I wanted to jot down before I forgot it and read Harlequin Presents author Sharon Kendrick's The Greek Tycoon's Baby Bargain while sitting at the Irish dance studio and in my car during Crossfit Kids. Last night, we filled our bowls with kettle corn and enjoyed watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I must admit not having the teams in alphabetical order was a little weird at first, but after awhile the randomness (at least random to someone who does not understand the Chinese symbols that they used to order the parade of countries) was kind of fun! And then the kidlets started counting down the countries passing by when the announcers finally said how far away the US team was! Since I'm a huge Olympics fan, I'm thrilled the Games at Bejing are finally here. I will watch more TV the next couple of weeks than I have all year! Sure the Olympics are not all sunshine and rainbows with scandals and politics that have and will continue to erupt as the flame burns, but the dedication of the athletes and the ideals behind the Games hit me right at my heart. I love them! Let the Games begin! Here's an quiz about the Olympics. I got 77%. What's your Olympic IQ?

Hot, hot, hot

Summer has arrived. It was so hot yesterday, over ninety, the kidlets had a hard time sleeping. Today I need to figure out how to turn on the sprinkler or our yard is going to die. This weather will be here for a few days.

Of course, we've got a ski trip planned for next weekend. Not sure what the snow on Mount Hood will look like by then!

I figured this quiz was perfect given the current weather:

You Should Spend Your Summer on a Road Trip

For you, the summer is all about possibilities. And you're not going to be tied down. This is the time for you to embark on an epic road trip, with no ultimate destination in mind. You know you'll have a ton of crazy adventures... at least until you run out of cash!

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

I'm a bit in a panic about the book so I'm making this short so I can write this morning. Have a great Friday! And tell me where you should spend your summer!

Pet Wars

more cat pictures

The cats continue to hiss and growl at Chaos. It's getting a bit annoying. Okay, the dog is big, in their space, eaten their food a couple of times. I'd be a little peeved myself. But still enough is enough. Get over it. The dog is not going away.

We made a tiny bit of progress though. Both Spirit and Chaos slept on the bed while I worked this afternoon. It was so nice to see and quiet. I wished I'd had my camera handy. Unfortunately as soon as I got out of bed to go get the camera, both woke up and let's just say the moment was over. I keep telling myself... baby steps. Just like with Crossfit.

Thinking about pets led me to this quiz:

You Would Be a Pet Rabbit

Playful and hyper, you enjoy being around other people... as long as everyone's having fun. You are easily bored, and you almost always need some sort of entertainment. If you're not keeping busy, then you're apt to get in some sort of trouble! Why you would make a great pet: You're very entertaining, even when you're not trying to be Why you would make a bad pet: Well, personal hygiene isn't exactly your thing... you kind of smell sometimes What you would love about being a rabbit: Playtime... and eating flowers What you would hate about being a rabbit: Being held like a toy

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

Blah!

Thank goodness I decided not to take the kids skiing yesterday. The head cold from hell hit yesterday morning, about the time we would have been taking our second run of the day.

I hadn't been feeling all that great on Thursday, but had no idea it would get this bad, this fast. I spent almost all of Friday in bed except for taking the kidlets to Burgerville for lunch and running by Hollywood Video to let them each pick a movie for the weekend (Game Plan, Underdog, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium). I did manage to get all the laundry folded with the kids help. Not exactly the day off from school any of us thought it would be.

We have company coming for dinner tonight so I need to recover quickly. The house needs to be cleaned, groceries bought, you get the idea. I wonder if it's too late to chug Airborne. I'm sucking on cold-eeze as I write this.

Hubby asked me if I was milking it, being a hypochondriac. Yeah right, as if I can force all this stuff out of my nose and eyes at will. Give me a break. But it led me to this quiz.

You Are 24% Hypochondriac

You can deal well with being sick - even if your symptoms are a little scary. You're occasionally prone to worry about your health, but only when you have pretty strange symptoms.

Are You a Hypochondriac?

Hope you are healthy and happy and having a great Saturday!

Thanks!

I really appreciate all those who went over to the Wedding Planners board yesterday. To show my gratitude, I'm going to count those comments and give you extra entries in tomorrow's free book contest here!

I wrote three new pages yesterday! I also set up The Plan. I put in everything I've got going on between now and June 16, including all Mondays. I adjusted my page output for those days when I won't have a lot of writing time. If I stick with the plan, I'll have a complete on June 7. That would give me nine extra days until the deadline. Doable? I hope so!

Just to make sure I figured I'd look for some ways to increase my luck and found this quiz.

Your Lucky Underwear is Blue

You are caring and extroverted. You've made relationships your number one focus, and your lucky blue underwear can bring some balance to them. You thrive in one-on-one situations. You are a good listener and a natural born therapist. Sometimes you let the concerns of others become too important in your life, leading to stress and worry. If you want more balance, put on your blue underpants. They'll help you take care of yourself first.

What Color Is Your Lucky Underwear?

Guess I'd better buy some blue underwear! What about you?

Are you messy?

Today is house day. I managed to get the downstairs in shape for our dinner guest on Wednesday night, but that's about it.

Once again, there are so many clean clothes on the floor of my bedroom, I can't see much of the carpet. That means it's time to fold.

I also want to try and get organized. Not totally in one day, but one piece of the mess. I took everything off my built-in shelves in the Great Room in December when I put up Christmas decorations. Even though the Christmas stuff has been packed away, I never put stuff back on the shelves. I want to go through everything and figure out what should go where. I didn't like how cluttered it looked before.

I also want to bring a couple of my folding bookcases not being used and try to put my books in some kind of order. They are all over the place. I don't know what I have anymore!

I thought this quiz looked perfect for what's facing me today:

You Are Very Messy

You are a slob, and you really don't care if other people know it. You don't love messes, but you just can't be bothered to clean on a regular basis. While being messy and disorganized feels easy, it's probably making your life harder. Maybe it's time for you to get a maid.

Are You Messy?

Yep, that fits me to a tee. I'm trying to change. I really am. But it's just so darn hard. Messy could be my middle name.

What about you? Are you messy?

What Type of Weather Are You?

Busy day ahead so I decided to put a quiz up for my post today. I thought weather seemed like a good choice. We've had nothing but rain. It feels as if it will never stop raining. Life in the Pacific Northwest, but I gotta admit rain sure beats those blistering summers when I lived in Tempe Arizona!

Hope you have a great day whatever the weather may be where you are!

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous People will stop and watch you when you appear Even though you're capable of random violence You are best known for: your power Your dominant state: performing

What Type of Weather Are You?

A Melissa Cocktail

I got this from Marianne this morning:

The Recipe For Melissa

3 parts Creativity 2 parts Defiance 1 part Seductiveness Splash of Savvy Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?