May!

I can't believe it's already May. I know I write something like that the first day of every month, but time is speeding by so fast.

I hope it slows down so we can enjoy spring.

Isn't that a cute picture?  Of course Bambi was one of those sweet movies that ended up traumatizing me, but that's another story!

Spring continues in the Pacific Northwest. A little rain, sprinkles really. Nothing to keep the kids from playing outside or dragging out the rain slicker. The sun keep shining even if the temperatures have dropped a little. I will admit last night at Rose's soccer kickaround it was a tad chilly even with the sun out.

Yes, soccer tryouts are coming up. Rose has hers this weekend. This is her first time trying to make a competitive team. Finn will have his next week, but he's an old hand at this. Two soccer clubs merged this year so it'll be interesting to see how all the teams fallout. This will be our fourth tryout. Two have been nothing but drama. Fingers crossed this one is easy-peasy make a team. That's not always guaranteed, though I must admit my life would be easier if they played rec soccer instead.

Hope you have a lovely May Day!

Back at it

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My cats have been anything but silent since we got home last night. Spirit especially is so happy we're home. Either that or she's excited she can now plot my final demise. But she hasn't left my side except to eat or play. She actually played with the laser light last night something she hasn't done in a long time. Maybe I should go away more often!

Of course, we're back to the same old same. Soccer tourney, swim meet and dog show this weekend. Worse, the flames are licking at my heals once again. More revisions arrived on my latest complete. I also have a proposal due which means the delivery date for that will have to be changed. That always wigs me out since I usually have due dates picked for certain reasons that don't always have to do with the writing but life and family.

One thing I learned being away in Sunriver is we need more balance in our lives. Me, in particular. Looking forward to making some much needed changes around here!

Well, after I finish the revisions and another complete ;)

Have a great Friday! I'll be working on revisions and watching my son play soccer today. He has two games that are about ten minutes from our house. (Both his tournaments are super close to home this summer!) I'm really looking forward to seeing him play!

New Cover!

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This LOLcat brought back memories of various sporting events when an animal got loose on the field. But I always figured they ran crazily because of fear, not because they had a mission!

Speaking of sports, I received the cover to my soccer book that'll be out in May.

Here's the back cover copy:

The return of her favorite rebel…

Lucy Martin’s dream of marrying her Prince Charming might
have fallen apart, but she’s determined to make her soccer-mad
nephew’s dreams come true. But that means asking her old crush
Ryland James, the legendary bad boy of soccer, to coach her
nephew’s team.

Injured and ordered to polish his tarnished reputation, Ryland’s
looking for distraction. Coaching might be more involvement
than he likes, but with gorgeous Lucy offering cookies as a bribe
he can’t resist! This soccer superstar might have met his perfect
match…if he can convince the once-burnt, twice-wary Lucy to
get back in the game.…


I'm busy typing in revisions. It's coming along and is a stronger story after my editor's feedback. I just need a few more hours to get the final 70 pages inputted. I always end up rewriting more than what's in the revision letter. Once I finish inputting changes, I'll print the manuscript again and do another pass.

I also have to pack. I'm taking my son to his short-course swim championship meet aka "State" even though it's not quite the entire state. The two of us are going on our own as we did last year for Sectionals. It'll be nice to have some mom-son time!

Sunday Soccer

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The above picture reminded me of Yoda last night. He wasn't making a mess, but both of his toys made a lot of noise. It sounded like he played all night long. And yes, I'm tried this morning.

We had to be at the soccer field a little after eight. It was wet and cold, but Finn had a fun time. The team won!

Now it's time for more soccer. My soccer book that is. I'm working on revisions. It's coming slowly, but that's okay. I want to get it right and that takes time.

Hope you have a nice day!

Soccer Day

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It's a soccer Saturday. Two games today. In between I have revisions to do on the soccer book. In the book, my heroine's brother and sister-in-law are reservists deployed overseas. The LOLcat above made me think of them this morning. There is a cat in the book, too, inspired by my Rocket!

For your viewing pleasure...even non-cat lovers might get a smile from the latest Simon's Cat!

Soccer Book

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I love commercials that tell a story and the Nike ad below is a great one!

It's also a perfect peek into the life of my current hero, pro soccer player, Ryland James. Okay, he's American, but he was plucked from the US Development Academy to play in Europe though I have him playing for Manchester United not Arsenal. Of course, he could never play for Holland, but he's on the roster of US Men's National Team in the book.



I've been having fun with this book. I've had to create some fictional MLS teams. How do the Phoenix Fuego and the Indianapolis Rage sound to you?

Today will be another writing day and trying to deal with contest stuff. I need to get everything figured out and sent before 4H dogs at county fair starts or it's not going to happen a couple of weeks.

Enjoy your weekend!

Whirlwind Weekend

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The faces of both my kidlets and my furbabies would work in the pic above. Too cute!

I hope you had a great weekend! We returned to needing to be at three places at once. Boy, did I miss having nothing to do. We left a dog show in the middle to make Mass. It was definitely a squeeze it all in sort of weekend. I'm kind of glad it's Monday!

In spite of the rain on Saturday and all the driving both days it was a very good time. Finn's new soccer team went 3-1 in the tournament and won third place. He got a nifty pin for his new soccer bag. He was very happy. I only got to see one game, but there's plenty of soccer ahead of us.

Mackenna won a blue ribbon at the 4H show (no idea yet on obedience, but she doesn't think she did that well) and lots of swag during the two Jr. Handlers competitions at the Cascade Hound Show in Oregon. She also handled a couple puppies to the breed ring (these aren't kids only competitions) for Chaos' breeder. This was an excellent learning experience. By Sunday, she was figuring out how to handle them better and one of them won Reserve Champion! It also helped her in competition later that afternoon.

Father's Day didn't happen until much later. The kids wanted to get hubby a dessert. They picked out a giant cookie from Walmart and had "Happy Father's Day" written on it with icing and sprinkles added. His present was a Kindle. He'd been eying one for a while. They wanted to watch a movie so we stopped by the Redbox Kiosk to get Unstoppable. Hubby had been wanting to see it for a while. We all thought it was very suspenseful. At one point two of my kidlets had to walk about of the room (the older two), it got a little too intense for them. But they were still listening to what happened.

I didn't time the plot points, but I could see elements of both Save the Cat! and Story Mastery in the plotting. I don't know how the movie did at the box office, but it's definitely worth a watch!

How was your weekend?

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?

Soccer Tourney!

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Starting this morning at 7:15 am, Finn and I will be in our old stomping ground, Lake Oswego, Oregon, for a soccer tournament. I'm bringing my chair and alphasmart with high hopes I can get a couple chapters written on the short story!

My weekend is going to revolve around soccer. Go Galaxy! What about you?

Paving the way!

I saw this video on Facebook. It really appeals to the soccermom in me. I know many Americans really don't get soccer, but I hope the 2010 World Cup is opening some more eyes to the beauty of the sport!



Thanks to the U.S. Men's National Team! You really are paving the way for kids and the future of U.S. soccer!

Cool Adidas Ad

I saw this during a World Cup game. The fangirl in me was thrilled. Enjoy!



What did you think?

Soccer mom

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My kids play soccer so I guess that makes me a soccer mom. But to be honest, I don't know much about the game. I know to cheer when the ball goes in the goal. I have no clue what off-sides means. I pretty much watch my kids, clap and cheer, and that's about it.

My soccer experience is pretty limited:

- attending an Olympic soccer game at Stanford. Anything having to do with the Olympics is pretty cool. This was my first taste of what soccer means outside the US.

- playing in an after work league when I was 21. Okay, I was new in town and I really only joined to meet guys. You see I'd met a soccer player from Brown on a train in Switzerland when I was backpacking in Europe a couple months before. We bumped into each other again in Amsterdam and flew back to New York on the same flight. He was really cute and a great kisser. I thought maybe other soccer players might have similar traits. Yes, I was young. And stupid. I ended up bruised and missing a contact by the time the season ended.

- attending a World Cup game at Stanford. Everyone MUST do this once in their life. It's an absolutely amazing experience and redefines what being a fan is all about. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. The train ride alone from San Francisco to Palo Alto was incredible. Go. Don't think twice. You won't be disappointed.

- watching rec. soccer games since 2003.

But even though I have a lackluster soccer resume, I'm a mom. When the Premier B team my son had made in April got cut due to lack of players and he still wanted to play competitive soccer, I decided to find him somewhere else to play. Easier said then done. But I had to try, if only to be able to tell him I did everything I could. I made phone calls. I talked to friends of friends. I sent emails to a neighboring club to see if they had any U11 spots. I found a soccer forum that helped me figure out a few things, including the fact Oregon had not had soccer tryouts yet.

Score!

Okay, the thought of driving to Oregon wasn't all that appealing, but when I thought about all we've done for Irish dance or ballet or... It really wasn't going to be that bad.

I found a club thanks to a kind stranger who pointed me in the southeast direction. Finn went to the tryout prep. He liked it. I attended the new parents' meeting. I liked it.

Finn tried out on Sunday and Monday. Monday night we got the call. He made the team!

I still have no idea what competitive soccer is all about, but I guess this soccer mom going to find out!