More room view pics

Thanks to Bailey who told me how to upload more pics!

View Out Window

This is the view of Mount Hood from our third floor room in Timberline Lodge. These shots were taken yesterday. It's been snowing all day today!

For some reason blogger won't let me upload any of the pics except this one. I will try again tomorrow morning before we hit the slopes. Otherwise I'll wait until we get home.

We're having a wonderful time. This has been the best anniversary ever. The skiing was great. A little more flat than I'm used to, but still fun. The snow was awesome and I really like my new skis, boots and poles which were my anniversary gift that I picked out for myself making it super easy this year on hubby. Special thanks to Michael, my sar expert, for helping me pick this amazing spot for our celebration and enlighten me enough so I could finally let Tom climb Hood, and to John, my climbing cutie instructor, for helping me figure out what else to give him (i.e. the book.) You guys are the greatest. xoxox.

We had dinner at the Cascade Dining Room tonight and it was wonderful. I gave hubby his gift there. It was a hard cover copy of Freedom in the Hills and a two day Mt. Hood Summit program gift certificate for Timberline Mountain Guides. I'm finally going to let him climb Mt. Hood! Hubby absolutely loves his gift! He was in shock and still can't believe it. He actually wants me to go with him, but I said this year was his turn. I'd try next year after I give rock climbing and skydiving a go first!

Our server at dinner gave us a little bottle of champagne to celebrate our anniversary which was very sweet. And dessert, a caramel chocolate tart was so yummy! After dinner we went up to the bar to have a beer and met two climbers, Nick and Paul from So. Cal, who will be climbing Mt. Hood tonight. It was fun to talk to them and I could tell hubby wished he could /be going up now.

Hope everyone had as great a day was we had!

Palm Sunday

We survived Mass this morning without any palm incidents. Rose wanted to swing hers and I imagined her hitting someone in the eye with it.

I'm almost packed. Just need to find my helmet. It's gotta be here somewhere. My parents are here, ready to watch the kidlets and the kitties, for the next couple of days. I still need to give them a list of where they need to be when. And directions. Cannot forget directions.

Dru was correct. We're going to Mt. Hood. See the link for the day if you want to know exactly where we're staying and skiing. I may or may not have Internet access, but this is time for us, without the kids, so popping on-line won't be a priority. I will see if I can find a little souvenir for Dru since she was the right (and only even gave you a second question in the comment section!) guess! Email me your snail address please, Dru.

I know I've told a few people what I got hubby for his anniversary present, but does anyone I haven't told want to take a guess? It's something he's wanted for a long time.

Link for the day: This is where I'm taking hubby for our anniversary. It's hard to believe we will have been married twelve years on the 2nd of April!

Time to pack

Hubby and I leave tomorrow for our anniversary trip. I'm very excited about it. I still need to wrap his gifts and buy a card. Why do I always leave the card for the last minute? It never fails. Anyway, I had help from the climbing cutie who'll be teaching me to climb with one of hubby's presents. I hope he likes them!

So today I need to get packed. That means finding all my ski clothing. Normally it's in one place except with the book deadline in January, I never put things back when we got home from Bend so it could be a challenge to find them.

My parents are coming up to stay with the kidlets and cats. Poor Spirit looks horrible with scabs and sores all over her ears and face. We had to take her off the medicine due to the allergic reaction which means she's going to start going downhill again. That means weight loss, fur loss, etc. She goes for the I131 treatment on April 10th though so she won't be off the medicine too long. Fortunately she's gained 1.8 pounds since being on the meds so I'm hoping she won't lose it all before the treatment.

Does anyone want to guess where we're going tomorrow? Here's a hint: It's less than a two drive hour from the Portland Metro area.

Top Cat and Lucky Lab

I had to leave Smalls and Rocket at the vet overnight because they couldn't get one test done, and the behavoirist needs to know that there isn't a medical reason for all of the problems we've been having with their litter box usage and sometimes lack of usage. I thought Spirit would be lonely without her fur siblings. She's not. She's loving being the top cat. She even slept with us last night in the spot where Rocket usually sleeps.

We had to take Spirit off her medicine due to a reaction she had. Her ears and now face is being covered with bloody scabs. That actually sounds better than what it looks like. I've got a call into the place where they do the I131 treatment to see when we can get her in there. Soon, I hope. Now that she's off the medication, they expect her symptoms to start up again.

Last night, we attended the benefit at Lucky Lab for local search and rescue teams. Lots of members of Portland Mountain Rescue were there. I kept looking at all the guys and thinking about my hottie SAR hero. Unfortunately I'm too into the current book right now to get side-tracked into the next one. Too bad this event wasn't in June. I would have been working the room like crazy then!

Instead I bid on a few items and won one-a case of wine and a tour for 8 with tasting and appetizers at a winery in Dundee, Oregon. I also met Matty, who seemed like a really nice guy, and his dog, Velvet, who is so sweet, very good with kids and gives out lots of wet kisses. Only one of the kidlets met Velvet (the others were getting drinks with hubby) so we had a few sad faces and tears when we learned Velvet had left to take a break, but Matty told them they could email her from their website.

I spoke with Christina Redl, a very friendly, approachable young woman who was injured in the fall. She's healing from all of her injuries, but unfortunately had no medical insurance due to being just out of college. I said her bills would be like student loan and she said yes, but she had one of those, too. Not fun. Her friends set up a fund for her and there was also a place to donate money to that last night. I asked her if she planned on climbing again and she said yes. That time on Mt. Hood was her first mountaineering experience, and she said she'd like to climb Hood again.

It was a fun evening. A lot of people showed up to raise money for some great volunteer organizations. The group putting it on had some great packages and things seemed to run pretty smoothly auction wise. The beer was tasty, too. A great event for PDXers.

The kidlets are off school so I'd better figure out what we're doing today since skiing isn't happening. But my anniversary trip is still on. We're leaving on Sunday for two nights. I cannot wait.

What do you have on tap for today and this weekend?

Link for the day: A brief story on where we were last night.

Kitty Road Trip

I need to take two of my furbabies to the vet this morning. It's a forty minute drive one way. Imagine forty minutes of cat meowing and wailing and you'll have an idea what the little one and I are in for once we leave.

Not much else to report except that I love being in this Wedding Planners continuity with the six other authors. We've been uploading our proposals as we write them so we can all see what's going on in the other books. Yesterday, Shirley Jump uploaded her complete manuscript for book one as soon as she emailed to the Harlequin Mills & Boon office. The ultimate in advance reader copy! I started reading it last night and it's fantastic. I can't wait to finish it!!!

I got hit with another cold or maybe it's just allergies. Either way, no link for the day. Now I have to go round up the kitties. Wish me luck!

Staying on track!

Since today is my fully scheduled, jam-packed day, I'm making it short. I'm really getting into the new book. I haven't heard back on the proposal so I'm writing as if everything works and there will be no major revisions. Fingers crossed.

I've found two songs that are perfect for the book soundtrack: Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne and All You Wanted by Michelle Branch. I keep listening to them over and over again.

The resurgence of the muse has definitely helped keep this book on track and the words flowing, too. What would I do without my beloved Hayden? If only Heroes would return to Monday nights, then I'd be a very happy writer.

Is there anything that would make you happy or happier today?

Link for the day: If you're local to the Portland area, I hope you'll attend this search and rescue fundraiser at the Lucky Lab in NW Portland on Thursday March 29th to benefit the organizations that that assisted in the February 19th Mt. Hood Rescue of injured climbers and their dog, Velvet. I'll be there! This is a first hand account of the incident on Mt. Hood by one of the climbers.

Change of Plans

I had today all figured out. I'd drop the littlest one off at preschool, drive down to our vet in Lake Oswego so she could check over our other two cats, drop off and pickup hand-me-down clothes for my son from a fellow romance writer, then be back in time to pickup once preschool was over.

And then I took my youngest to the doctors yesterday. Anytime she gets a fever she has to be checked to make sure it's not a UTI due to her past health problems so I picked her up from school and drove to NW PDX. She's a pro now at going potty in the cup so once that was over I thought we'd see what things looked like under the microscope and be done. And then the nurse took her temperature. Yep, she had a fever again. We're still waiting on the test results, but the fever meant no school today. She's sitting right next to me painting her toenails. I just did her fingernails.

I figured I would just take her with me to the vets this morning since she no longer had a fever, but then we got a call saying our vet had the flu. Of course this means rescheduling since we have to have the cats checked before our visit with the cat behaviorist. That means I just lost Thursday morning. I'm just hoping our skiing on Friday will still be a go.

What are you're plans for this week?

Time to figure out something for the little one to do so I can get at least a little writing done! At least I'll have nap time!

Link of the day: Using real men not models on romance covers. What do you think about this?

Sold to bidder 750

The auction was a huge success. Over $200k raised for the kidlets' school. And a whole lot of fun. Yay!

I got to wear my new dress which I love. Put on make up. Even curl the hair! The earrings completed the look and I did have a bracelet that worked.

The best part is we won the package I wanted most of all. Here's the writeup with certain identifying elements marked out.

Titanic Dinner Party for Ten

"Live as they live, fear as they fear." It will be a night to remember as ten guests set sail at the xxx home on Saturday xxx xxx with the actual eight course gourmet dinner served on the H.M.S. Titanic on her maiden voyage ninety-five years ago in April 1912.

Cocktails will be provided, and each dinner course will be paired with a wine. A highly professional crew, who has performed this hugely successful dinner party for others across the country, will serve you for the evening.

There will also be a mystery drama involving why the ship went down which has not been previously revealed. Museum quality boarding passes will be provided for guests. Each guest will be assigned an actual Titanic passenger to dress and acts as for the evening. Violins will even play as the ship sinks.

During the auction, I ran around and found four other couples to go in with us to buy it. I was not going to let this one get by me because I'm a huge Titanic fan. This has nothing to do with the movie, either. Back in high school, I wrote a huge report on it. And my infatuation, okay obsession, has grown ever since. I have a huge collection of Titanic books and memorabilia. In 1996, my husband took me on a QE2 cruise for my birthday that sailed from Southampton to France to Ireland, a similar path that the Titanic. We then spent time going to all the memorable sights and museums related to the ship, crew and passengers after we arrived back in England. I even have part of a Titanic time travel novel written. I sold a book to Silhouette, I never got around to doing more with it. Needless to say, I'm thrilled about the dinner.

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I don't do anything halfway. I either love something (hobby, interest, sport) and it becomes a passion and I learn as much about it as I can or it goes by the wayside. A few examples of loves: skiing, Star Wars, Titanic. An example of wayside: scuba diving. Not that I didn't enjoy diving, but it was a lot of effort since I lived in Arizona at the time. Of course, I lived in Arizona when I learned to ski, too, but that was just so much more fun for me that I put my energy, time and money into that instead of the diving.

What about you? Do you have a few things that you just love to do? Or a lot of things you do but might not love all of them?

Link of the day: Superhunks! The muse is featured, but there are a whole lot of other hotties to check out. After Hayden Christensen, the World Cup hunks' slide show is my fave. What about you?

Catching Up

The birthday party at a jjjump was a success. Mackenna is happy she's nine and thrilled with all the presents she received. All three kidlets are spending the weekend at my parents'. And tonight's the auction.

Today, I've been cleaning. You could barely walk on my side of the room due to all the paper on the floor. I spent an hour folding clothes. Something I neglected all week long. I've been going through piles of clutter, too. Amazing how fast stuff piles up. And once I get back from my pedicure and manicure, I'll start in my office and work my way up trying to get the house back in shape after being neglected for way too long.

I realized before I dove back into the book some general domestic maintenance and catching up was necessary otherwise it wouldn't happen until June. Or maybe December since once this book is done I'll go right into another. I really should get back on the flylady program. Those baby steps, break down cleaning/decluttering into smaller tasks, really worked for me.

A writer friend has a book due this coming week. I emailed her a few words of encouragement and support, adding, "Give me a holler if you need anything?" Her reply, "How about a spare 20,000 words:-)" Gotta love a writer on deadline!

I'm so not domestic. What about you? Are you a cleaner? Organizer? Or are you just a chronic clutterer like me who thinks having a housecleaner is a necessary part of a family's budget?

Nine years ago today...

...my oldest was born. I would have been holding her about now trying to figure out this thing called breastfeeding with help from a wonderful, patient nurse. That night, I held Mackenna and watched the Academy Awards. I don't remember much of that telecast except it was the year Titanic swept everything.

We didn't know if she would be a boy or a girl. We had two names picked out Colton for a boy and Mackenna for a girl. I found the name Mackenna in My Lady's Kiss, a historical romance novel written by Linda Needham, a local author. I liked the way it was spelled since McKenna McClone looked strange to me with the double Mc.

Happy Birthday to my darling daughter! She is growing much too fast, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I also want to wish one of my best friends, Kent, a happy birthday, too! Keep cycling, taking those awesome photos and being the kind of friend who drops everything to help me long distance figure out any technical problem. xoxox

Do you have any special celebrations coming up?

Poof go the Proofs

The page proofs/galleys are out of here. Not a minute to soon. Tomorrow (really today already) I must get ready for the oldest kid's birthday party. She's turning 9 on Friday. I won't even bore you with all the auction stuff I must do tomorrow, too. It would be to overwhelming. My sense of humor when it comes to the auction disappeared about a month ago which is the reason a person's "joke" today had me upset and on the verge of tears. Not fun.

The only fun thing I did do yesterday was go downtown. I wasn't planning on it, but realized if I didn't go then, I couldn't go until Saturday which is the same day as the auction. (This explains my late bedtime.) I returned a little pink jacket I'd bought (too much money for something I'd only wear a few times), picked up my purchases from the past few weeks and also bought a pair of silver sandals (cheapy ones since how often would I wear silver shoes. Um, twice. Saturday and in Dallas in July.) I also got a pair of earrings. Silver and clear crystals. I think I have a bracelet I can wear. At least I hope so since I didn't buy one.

The other thing I did was talk gear with the guy who's going to teach me to rock climb. Yes, I'm going to attempt to get over my fear of heights and learn to climb. It'll help with my next book, sure, but that's not the reason I'm doing it. Nor is the reason the 28 year old cutie who'll be teaching me. And no, it's not the hottie who helped me with that rock wall scene in Plain Jane's Prince Charming that I blogged about in Fall '05. Sigh... No, I'm learning to climb for me. I just really want to do it. Probably seems weird at my age, a wife and mom, but there it is. And, of course, my wannabe-climbing-again hottie hubby is playing a part, too. He's very happy I'm going to be giving it a go. No, he's not worried I will hurt myself.

I plan to get back to writing today once I finish my To Do List. I left my hero and heroine in a rather precarious, somewhat dangerous situation. Bad Melissa. Must remedy that ASAP. Finishing the first three chapters felt really good, but I still can't forget the book is due June 1. I plan to take it easy (okay, easier) this next week, then get the page tally going again in April with a definite goal each day. After our anniversary trip, of course.

It's late. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. I will get 4-4.5 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. But hey, I got the proofs done. That's all that matters right now.

What's on your agenda today? How many hours did you sleep last night?

And before I forget: Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law PM! Happy Birthday to my son's godfather Alex!

Almost there!

I finished going through the page proofs line by line last night. I even made it to bed well before midnight! Now all I have to do is read through the book, type in my corrections/changes and check this off the Must Do list.

Nothing else to report. Took the kids to Starbucks while we waited for piano lessons to be over with for oldest kidlet, but that's about it. I'm totally focused on getting the galleys back since they are due tomorrow and if I miss the deadline, no changes will be made. Can't let that happen.

My new ski stuff has been ready for a week (did I tell you what I bought myself for our anniversary?), my dress is ready and I still need to buy shoes for Saturday night. But not until the proofs are back.

I'm going to drop the youngest at preschool and start reading! Are you reading anything today?

Proposal off!

My muse did his job! I am out of the cave. I just emailed my proposal to HMB in London. Of course, I immediately got out of the office replies from the editor. Still, it's off. Deadline met. Huge sigh of relief. Now onto page proofs for Win, Lose or...Wed!

Things I learned with this proposal:

1) Add "so" to my searchlist of overused words. With all the "so"s I found, you'd think I was getting a kickback.
2) Think like a guy when I'm writing Kane. He is not a girly man. He is a hottie. I do not want my cp to tell me he's doing or saying something girly ever again. This will apply to all future books!
3) Dieting is fine, but diet must allow or be modified for chocolate when facing a deadline. Not eating chocolate seriously impedes writing progress and output.
4) Getting sick can't be helped, but I need to take better care of myself so it doesn't linger on.
5) Say no. Even though I don't go to an office and am a stay-at-home mom, I still have a job that takes time and effort. It's time to scale back the school volunteer stuff. We've already put in double our time requirement and it's only March.
6) Never doubt the importance of of a muse.

No link for the day (too tired), but you can check out the excerpt to my new book, Marriage for Baby, on my website if you want.

Thanks for all your support. Comments, emails, ecards. It all means so much to me. You guys are great!

I need my muse!

Here's where I am right now:

1) Proposal due tomorrow
2) Proposal not yet finished
3) I hate writing proposals
4) No voice and coughing
5) Page proofs for other book still untouched

Given those conditions, I'm going to be totally self-indulgent with today's blog in order to motivate myself so I can just get it done! I realized this morning I needed my muse. Not the inspiration for this hero, Gabriel Aubry, who's picture has helped me thank you very much, but The MUSE, Hayden Christensen. (For any new diary readers out there, go to the July 2005 archives and read "Meeting the Muse" and you'll understand!)

So I headed to YouTube. I figure if I get stuck, I'll just pop over here during the day and let my muse inspire me. As many times as it takes until the proposal is finished. So here's what I found:

This first clip is so cute. One of my faves. Sure it's Christmas music, but hey, it's never too early to write to Santa, and so far this year I have been a very good girl and met all my deadlines. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.



This next clip is just a montage of Hayden photos. Let's face it, you just can't go wrong there.



You know what I'll be doing today. What about you?

One done, two to go

I just emailed the final version of the auction catalog! Yippee. Now I can head down into the cave and spend the rest of the day trying to get chapter 3 written. It's in pretty bad shape right now. At this point I'll be emailing the proposal to London at 11:58 pm on Tuesday night. That's still the 20th of March on my side of the pond.

A special thanks to Dru and Lissa who both sent me funny Hallmark e-cards to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I love them!

Into the cave I go until it's time to teach my class this afternoon. I may have to skip TAR tonight, too. Just can't waste a minute of time right now.

Wish me luck! I'm going to need it.

Melissa

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I have no voice. I'm drinking tea with honey. It's not helping. I think what I really need is a good night's sleep but with finishing touches/corrections on the auction catalog and the proposal that's not going to happen for a few more days.

Today will be spent writing. Tonight we're attending a friend's 40th birthday party. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, what do you do?

Of course, we'll be cooking a corned beef in the crock pot. I still need to convince hubby to make soda bread. His is so good. Must be all that Irish in him.

Have a great day! Sláinte!


Link of the day: Click here if you want a quick overview of St. Patrick's day.

Friday's jig and reel

St. Patrick's Day kicks off today for the two older kidlets. I'll be pulling the oldest out at 11:30 to dance down in Portland. The middle one will be picked up at 1:30 to join us for dancing in Battleground, WA. Luckily they only have to dance again on Sunday in Portland again. This is not the weekend I want to be driving all around for shows.

I did not get the 10 pages done even though I was up until 2 am. I had auction catalog work to do earlier and got a late start on the book. This will be the last year I write the catalog. It's impacted the writing way too much. Huge relief looking forward to next year!

So I'm going to run to Pilates and then write until I have to pick up the oldest. Hope you have a great Friday. Any big weekend plans?

Clip of the day: Riverdance. Enjoy!

A Productive Evening

I didn't get as much writing as I should done, but I checked off a huge To Do item off my list and attended a very informative slide show on mountain rescue.

Since the slide show was in downtown Portland, I figured I'd go a little early and look for a dress to wear to the auction. A friend had recommended a store in Pioneer Place so that was my first stop. I found a pretty dress, though I wasn't sure about the top part of it. Very thin straps and bodice that showed a lot more sink than I normally do. Still the dress fit and I asked them to hold it while I run to Saks (I was also planning on walking another block up and hitting Nordstrom, too.) At Saks, I perused the racks of cocktail dresses and immediately asked for help as soon as a sales person appeared. I explained what I needed. She showed me three dresses and I said I'd try them on.

The first dress I put on was the one I liked the most. Simple with a satin ribbon to tie around the waist. A very light blush pink. Sleeveless. Two pieces. A silky slip with an organza dress that goes over it. The neckline is high so lots more coverage, but it's also see-thru. I fell in love with the dress. I didn't try on the others. She called alterations and once it was pinned I liked it even more. So YAY! I just have to go back and pick it up next week. Oh, and find shoes.

After Saks, I headed to the Pearl District. (This is the area of downtown Portland where my heroine, Jane, in Plain Jane's Princess, worked at the coffee shop.) The North Face sponsored last night's slide show that was put on by Steve Rollins, a member of PMR and past president of the organization.

I learned a lot about SAR that will help me with my upcoming book. Each time I talk to one of these guys (I've now met two PMR members in person and gotten to know another over the phone) I get ideas for my hero. I can't wait until I'm past the deadline of this book and closer to the end so I can really start figuring that character out!

It was interesting to hear Steve's take on various rescues (including the 2002 helicopter one where he was the rescue leader and the December tragedy where he showed us a few pictures that hadn't been published.) He talked about a couple rescues that dealt with hikers (both had been alone and didn't tell people where they were going.) The lessons learned on each of the missions were applicable to anyone who spends time outdoors having fun. He also had strong opinions about the proposed Oregon legislature that would make it mandatory for Mt. Hood Climbers to carry electronic locator beacons, too.

A couple people who were rescued off Mt. Hood last month were there and talked about a fundraiser they are putting on to raise money for all the rescue groups who got their two parties off the hill. I'll post more info about that next week in case anyone is local and wants to attend. Miss Velvet, the lab, will be there! A good thing that came out of that rescue is that four of the people and the dog were on Ellen's show on Tuesday. A company donated $20,000 to Portland Mountain Rescue and $10,000 to Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital after that!

I came home, worked until after one o'clock, stressed out when I learned about a problem iBook G4's have been having then crashed.

Today I must write at least 10 pages. Wish me luck.

Link for the day: This is who our vet recommended we talk to about our three cats. All of them have been naughty and not always using the litter box. It's not just Spirit so even once she's feeling better, we will still have the problem. I have all my furniture picked out for the house, plus fabric purchased for some of the pieces, but we aren't going to buy anything new that could be ruined by our three furbabies. Needless to say, we have to do something! The testimonials are pretty amazing. What do you think?

P.S. If you want to know about Spirit's test results, check yesterday's comments. That's where I talked about them.

Pressure!

I've been merrily (okay, not so merrily) going along thinking my proposal was due on Wednesday the 20th. This morning I realized the 20th is a Tuesday! I just lost 24 hours. Yikes!

Some good news though. I took Spirit to the vet yesterday and she's gained over a pound. YAY! I'll find out the blood test results today and see whether she's to the point we can take her for the I131 treatment. Fingers crossed!

Okay, I need to get to work. Between all the other stuff I'm trying to get done, I'm still missing a chapter and a scene for the book and have very little free time today.

Link for the day: A word game for those with time on their hands. Wish I had some!

Friends

On Thursday, I'll be having lunch with someone I met on an Internet forum in December. We've been emailing ever since. Hubby isn't too worried this time around based on how we got to know each other. I pm'd her with a question and she connected me a family member who's been helping me research my SAR stories and more. She's "traceable" as he calls it.

But in the past, hubby's been a little concerned when I meet my "virtual" friends face to face. He even went with me when I met a fellow Titanic buff who was male. I understand his concern, anyone who uses the Internet has probably dealt with their share of posers and trolls, but I see nothing wrong with making friends on-line and if the opportunity arises and you feel safe, meeting them in person.

I've been on one email group for so long, well before I had my first child, that I can't even remember when we started. We've been through marriage, divorce, miscarriage, childbirth, illness, death, moves, kids to school, first sales, rejections, you name it. They know so much about me and me them, yet I've only met a few face-to-face. We have exchanged Christmas Cards so I know what many of them and their families look like.

I'd jump at the chance to meet or see anyone of them in person since I consider all of them to be precious, close friends. The same way I'd love to meet a few other people I've met on-line, people I interact with regularly in forums, email, loops and blogs. This boggles my hubby's mind. How could I call someone a friend if we've never met? It doesn't strange to me at all. How about you?

Do you have "virtual" friends? Would you want to meet them in person? Have you met any of them in person.

Instead of a link for the day, I'm posting this You Tube video in prepartion for St. Patrick's Day. It's a four-hand figure dance. I actually know how to dance this one. Though I'm not quite as stiff as these fellows. Enjoy!

Out of the cave

So heading into the cave this weekend was a really good idea. I managed to get the auction catalog written (minus the five or so items I have no info on yet), I revised chapter one so it's now readable and I wrote two scenes in chapter two. Didn't touch the copyedits, but there is only so many hours in a day. I also attended a birthday dinner party at the home of one of the owners of Switch, a cool shoe store in Portland's Multnomah Village, went to Mass on Sunday where I did something to my right oblique when I picked up the wee one (but I still went to Pilates this morning) and taught my class.

Last night on TAR, Rob and Amber winning streak came to an end and they got eliminated. It was easy to figure out this was going to happen from the start of the episode by the way they edited the show. I'm going to have to pay better attention next week and see if this was just what they did with this show or if this is how they do all shows. Still don't have a fave team to root for. Do you?

On the agenda for this week: Write, write, proof, send my webmistress info on new book, send HQ Romance authors webmistress my new info, haircut, vet appt. for Spirit, teach, attend slide show on mountain rescue and another Pilates session. I also need to buy a new dress for the school auction, but that might have to be a last minute thing depending how I'm doing with the writing. What's your week look like?

Link for the day: How much risk do you live with? An interesting article on risk that I found while surfing the Internet researching for my climbing book. I downhill ski and I hope to take a rock climbing course next month. I've also thought about jumping out of an airplane (tandem with an instructor) after writing the last book, but I wouldn't call myself risky. Are you risky?

RIP Brad Delp

Boston has always been one of my favorite bands. In the early 90s, I remember driving to Laguna Seca to watch races with my UAL coworker and friend, Ron, and we'd have Boston blaring from the pickup truck's stereo.

Boston's lead singer Brad Delp was found dead in his house today at the age of 55. Here's a video of Don't Look Back:



Here's a video of More Than a Feeling:



Here's a video of The Man I'll Never Be:

Back into the cave

This weekend I will be heading into the cave and not coming out until I'm forced to. Not only do I have two chapters and a school oral auction catalog to write, the page proofs for Win, Lose or Wed! arrived yesterday. Everything is due within a couple of days of each other, too. Have you ever done this to yourself? What did you do to get it all done?

I started thinking I should have planned better, but when I offered to write the catalog, I thought I'd have the continuity book to write in the first half of 2007, not Win, Lose, or Wed! too. The idea of having to proof a book in March wasn't even on my radar screen. But continuing to whine about it isn't going to help. The only thing left to do is dig in and work my tail off which I started doing yesterday.

Of course, that has its pitfalls. When I get really intense about something I forget about everything else. I woke up at five o'clock this morning realizing I never ate dinner nor took my medicine (you're supposed to take it with food). I was too busy writing and hubby was with the kids at Irish dance. The only reason I managed lunch is that I had to feed Rose, too, and hadn't started writing until I put her down for her nap.

Have a great weekend! I will not be blogging until Monday, but I will pop out of the cave to respond to any comments since I get a little message anytime one of you kind-hearted, much-appreciated people post.

Link of the day: Velvet the dog from the most recent rescue on Mt. Hood has her own website. You can read about the Lucky Labrador beer that's being named after her, see pictures from that fateful trip up Mt. Hood and read her owner's story about what happened up there.

Book woes

I hate writing proposals. It takes me longer to write the first three chapters than it does the rest of the book. For me, the beginning is where I figure out the characters and that's not easy. Needless to say I'm struggling right now.

I just realized I have a book, Marriage for Baby, coming out in April and I've yet to get any info or the new cover to my webmistress. Nor have I come up with a new contest for the website and a hundred other little things. And now, I'm waiting for FedEx to deliver whatever it is they tried to deliver yesterday when I wasn't home. I'm praying it's not the copy edits/page proofs for my December book. If it is, death by chocolate will sound very tempting.

How are things going for you right now? Are you relaxed or stressed out like me?

Link of the day: This is where I'd be right now if I'd won the Mega Millions on Tuesday night.

Romance is in the air

Yesterday I made plans for our upcoming 12th wedding anniversary in April. Yes, I should have been writing, but this needed to be done. I'd been trying to figure out where to go and finally figured it out after talking with someone familiar with the destination. (Sorry, I can't tell you where, but just in case hubby decided to read the blog I don't want to blow the surprise!) I just needed to make sure hubby could take two days off from work. He can so now we're all set.

We'll be going away (not too far if anyone wants to guess in the comment section) for two nights. My parents are going to stay with the kids. I booked a room (we'll ski for free each day since it's a mid-week getaway! Hubby needs to know about the skiing for packing) and made a reservation for dinner the night of our actual anniversary. I can't wait! I already got his present (which I think he'll love!) so I'm pretty much set so I can concentrate on the book. YAY! All that's missing is the card. But I always wait until the last minute for that.

I'm the planner in the family. I finally learned (the hard way) that I was the one who needed to take care of birthday and anniversary celebrations around here. Even my own which pretty much sucks but what are you going to do? Wait and find out nothing's been planned for a special occasion? Or that the list of ideas you gave them was lost or forgotten about? Been there, done that, never want to repeat that so doing it myself just makes life and marriage much smoother around here.

Do you do your own celebration planning or do you split the duties with a family member or significant other? If your partner is missing that planning gene, has anyone figured out how to help them to do better?

Link for the day: Why LOST sucks! This website totally captures what I've been feeling about the show. And no, I will not be watching tonight. I've missed the last couple of episodes and don't miss it at all!

Getting there

I managed to finish chapter one yesterday. It's too short and the last scene is really bad, but at least I have something to work with. The proposal (three chapters and synopsis) are due March 20th. That leaves me two chapters to draft this week so I'll have time to revise and rewrite.

Today I'll work on the proposal before and after our visit to our CPA. Usually we have our taxes done by now, but with the deadline and being sick for so long I'm way behind on everything. Are your taxes done?

I watched Heroes last night. Talk about leaving us with a bunch of cliffhangers! Pretty much every thread left me wanting to know what happened next. I'll admit I was on my feet during the scene with Peter and Sylar. I was bummed that Simone really was dead. From the previews it looked like she was a hero herself, but I must admit how they handled that was a nice twist.

I haven't talked about the new season of The Amazing Race, but I've been the All-Star addition on Sunday nights. Rob and Amber (originally from Survivor) are kicking butt. So far they've won all three legs. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep it up. I'm not rooting for any specific team yet. Are you?

Link for the day: Nostalgia Wars! This blog pits characters from Stars Wars against those from the Peanuts comic strip. Check it out!

Home Sweet Home

We're back from Seattle! I missed my furbaby, Spirit, along with the other two so much. She was meowing when I walked in the door and just wanted to be held.

The feis was great. Even though I felt like I was just trying to get through it with a smile on my face (still not feeling well, but the cough is going away finally), the kids did great. Finn placed in his three dances (two only had two competitors though) and won a third place trophy. Mackenna placed in a bunch of her dances plus she won a fourth place trophy in the Treble Reel Special. Her second time competing in that dance and her first time placing! The best part is she learned a very important lesson during that competition.

She had checked in early and was practicing the second step that she'd just learned. She knew she was competing with older girls (U11 when she normally competes U9) and was a little nervous.

A little background for those not familiar with Irish dance, the treble reel is my favorite competition to watch. The girls line up around the stage. One by one, the come forward, do their hard shoe steps, get back in line and when everyone has danced, everyone does the same step. In the Championship level, people clap and it's just a really fun dance to watch.

Anyway, so Mackenna was in line. The third dancer, if I remember correctly. She stepped out when she was supposed to, started when she was supposed to and then stopped. She'd started with her second step, the one she'd been practicing. She sighed and took a step back to the line, but the judge told her to start over. Mackenna did and nailed the dance.

Some times when things go wrong, dancers lose it right there on stage. Crying and sobbing aren't rare during feis. It happened to my daughter at a feis in California and we almost decided to stop putting her in competitions after that. Our rule-if it's not fun we're not going to do it. This was one of those times where she could have cried, but instead she held it together.

When she came off the stage, she sat down by me. She said she knew she wasn't going to place and wanted to go. I told her that the way she held herself together on-stage and danced after making the wrong start meant she'd won no matter what score the judge gave her, but I explained that it was good sportsmanship to cheer on the other dancers who'd competed against her. So we stayed and waited for the results to be read and she won a fourth place trophy! Afterwards, she told me, "Mommy, I just know if I would have started crying she [the judge] would have never let me dance again."

Link for the day: The Treble Reel! This is a treble reel from a performance, not a competition, but you'll get the idea. In a competition, they don't dance together at the beginning, there are more dancers and the dancers move out from the line to do their steps.

Going Feising

In a couple hours we'll be headed north once again to attend another Irish dance feis in Seattle. I've been trying to get us packed when all I want to do is crawl between the sheets and sleep. But I'm almost ready then I can grab a quick bite to eat (leftover Shrimp Pad Thai) and shower.

I will be taking my computer with me. I'm so far behind writing-wise I can't afford any more days off so if there is a free (key point for hubby) Internet connection I'll post this weekend.

Last night I watched The Lake House. I wanted to like it, but didn't. It might have been my not feeling well. It might have just been a bad movie. Did you see the movie? What did you think? I just felt like I'd wasted a couple of hours. Good thing I was doing my daughter's birthday invitations at the time so it wasn't a total wash.

Link for the day: A-Rod vs Anakin who wasted more talent. Since Spring training is getting underway and after blog commenter Dru's A-Rod booksigning experience in NY, I figured this was a perfect Friday link.

Have a fun Friday!

Second Go-around

I've been telling myself for the last week that I was just at the tail end of the sinus infection, that I was getting better. But when hubby got home from his trip and said I looked and sounded worse than when he left, I knew I'd been kidding myself. The fact I couldn't swallow, hardly breath and had a pounding headache should have clued me in sooner. Anyway, I went back to the doctor this morning and am now on stronger antibiotics plus they gave me cough syrup for which make hubby happy since I kept him up last night. I'm hoping the new medicines do the trick because not only do I have a book to write, but an auction catalog for the kids' school. Both due the same week. Poor planning on my part!

I splurged on some chocolate. A box of Ho-ho's and chocolate cupcakes, actually. I realized I'd seriously been lacking in my chocolate consumption and wondered if that was having a negative effect on my page output. Now I have no more excuses. I'm all set to get back to writing.

Are you a good patient when you're sick? Do you go the doctors when you start feeling poorly or do you wait until you have no choice?

Cooking Class

Hubby is out of town so I did what any mom on her own with three kidlets would do on a Tuesday night...hire a babysitter and attend a cooking class. The class was called "Healthful Cooking: The Quick Vegetarian" cooking. Somewhat of an oxymoron since I think in most cases unless you're cooking everything in a stick of butter that vegetarian=healthy.

The instructor had been trained at a well-known cooking school and worked in several of the higher end NY restaurants. She had some good stories about what it was like, including one time where she had to skin (not shell) peas because they were going into a "delicate" dish.

I took the class to get some ideas for Friday meals during Lent. Pizza, enchiladas and baked Ziti get old after awhile.

We learned how to make five dishes. My favorites were the Pumpkin polenta with cranberry/blueberry chutney and roasted root veggies and this new pasta dish they came up with last Saturday night. It's so new they haven't named it yet, but it has rice noodles, toasted bread crumbs, spinach, pine nuts, currants and some other yummy stuff in it. I can't wait to try it.

The thing I really enjoyed about the class was learning how a dash of paprika could deepen the flavoring in the chick pea-roasted tomato soup and a dash of line really balanced out the other seasonings. Adding some lemon zest to the two pasta dishes she made really added to the flavors. I realized I need to experiment more when I'm cooking and not just follow the recipe verbatim.

I really enjoyed the night out and can't wait to try another class. Have you ever taken any cooking classes? Would you like to?

Link for the day: This is where I took my class.

Heroes Rocks!

A big ::smooch:: for the creative team behind Heroes. Once again they raised the bar on what good television should be. Last night's show was incredible. We found out that Claire's daddy wasn't the bad guy we thought he was, but really someone trying to give these special people a normal life. Instead of turning them over to the whoever was in charge, he was tracking them and trying to keep them hidden. Yes, HRG has done some bad things, but still he's a hero in his own right. And that last scene. WOW!

This is what X-Files should have done. It's what LOST must do to save itself. Give the audience some much needed answers.

Last night's episode brought in both Hiro (as a boy) and his father (he's the evil one) as well as the Invisible Man (who was bad in the past.) It answered questions, but raised others. The difference between Heroes and LOST is that the new questions raised by this episode make sense. They fall right into the overall plot/arc of the show, not plucked out of the sky or sea, and I know we'll get the answers when it's time. I also know I don't have to play some stupid online web game or Internet search or carry an AMEX card to learn more about the show. Sure, Heroes has extras on the website, but you can still just watch the show (like me) and know what's going on.

Writers, especially those who add action/adventure or paranormal twists to their books or write a series of books, should take note!

Link for the day: Heroes reference page! Here's the wikipedia write up on the show for those who might want to catch up or learn more about the show.

Crash Course in Hyper-T

Results for both Rose and Spirit came in this morning. Rose is fine! YAY! Spirit isn't.

As the vet suspected, Spirit has hyperthyroidism. Something I know nothing about. I posted on the climbing forum asking if anyone knew anything about the disease, and a kind soul provided me with a link to join a yahoo groups. This person had found help with a yahoo group when his kitty was diagnosed with CRF and thought I could, too. I joined and the members helped me figure out what I needed to know, ask, you name it.

Luckily Spirit is a candidate for a radioactive isotope treatment that can actually cure the disease. This treatment won't happen right away, but it's given us a lot of hope. And hubby is having a lot of fun talking about our upcoming radioactive kitty.

Needless to say, no writing yet today, but I'll get back to the book once naptime rolls around.

Don't know if you watched the Oscars last night, but it was great to see Martin Scorsese finally win. The kidlets were thrilled that former AI contestant Jennifer Hudson won. George Clooney looked handsome, as usual. And I loved all the gowns.

Were you rooting for any movies or actors last night?

Chicks Dig Scars

Last night I wanted to watch something that would make me laugh. I was surfing through all the channels and came across the movie The Replacements. I love this movie. It was just what I needed after a very long couple of days. Even the hubby joined me on the couch to watch.

Toward the end of the movie, Keanu Reeves, who plays the quarterback, gives a pep talk to his team in the huddle. That's where the title of this post comes from and I must admit I'm one chick who is partial to scars. Ben Mendoza and Chase Ryder jump to mind as heroes of mine who have have scars. More might actually now that I'm thinking about it. And, of course, there's always Anakin Skywalker.

Here's a clip from one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Enjoy!



Hope you have a great rest of the weekend! I have to teach tonight. My first time back since classes started the second weekend in February. I've missed all the kids.

Spirit

This is my furbaby, Spirit. She'll be ten years old in April. This picture has been my screen saver for the last year or so. Everyone has been spoiling her rotten.

So not only do I have a sick kitty, but a sick kidlet. The youngest crawled into bed with us and coughed most of the night. She didn't have a fever then, but has one now. The fun never ends around here.

Update on Julie and Hayley Resk: Both are out of the hospital and staying in an apartment complex near Stanford. I know where they're staying well since friends lived their both during and after we graduated.

Sick Kitty

This morning I took one of my three furbabies, Spirit, to our vet down where we used to live. I knew she hadn't been feeling well and had lost weight. We were also very late on her yearly exam. Anyway, she's sick. Very, very sick. They kept her for the day to run more tests. I'm home now so I can pick up the older kids (half-day at school) and hand-off all three to hubby so I can then head back down there (40 minute drive w/no traffic.) We won't have results until Monday, but I'm nervous and worried and very scared.

Hope your Friday is going better than mine.

Sidetracked

Once I get my writing routine interrupted, it's really hard to get back on track. Although I managed a few words (maybe two pages) over the past week and a half, I wasn't working toward a daily page goal or even trying to write a specific time each day. Now, I'm struggling to get back into a routine, to reclaim that productivity that saw four, five or six pages a day. My current one to two pages is not going to cut it.

I've decided to come up with a daily page goal again, but I'm leaving off Wednesdays (finally realized meeting any sort of page goal just isn't going to happen) and Sundays. I'm starting slow. Four pages a day until March 20 when the proposal is due, then I'll up it to make sure I finish the book (due June 1) with time to spare.

As for Lent, I'm giving up ice cream and donuts. Two things I absolutely love. I decided, along with hubby's wise counsel, that giving up chocolate would not be good for any of us. Writing = chocolate around here, especially at deadline time. I'm also not going to lose my patience with hubby. He's the one who usually ends up taking my wrath if something goes wrong and that's not fair to him so I'm going to try not to let that happen these next 40 days.

I didn't watch LOST. I figure I can always watch it on the ABC website if I absolutely have to see it. But they've reached the "jump the shark" point for me and I don't know if I can go back now unless things changed drastically.

Are there any television shows you used to love that you finally gave up on?

Link for the day: Nora the piano playing cat! I saw this on the news and thought you cat lovers out there might like it if you haven't seen the clip already.

Telluride MountainFilm Festival

Last night I attended an event at Portland State University put on by their Outdoor Program to benefit PMR. They showed a bunch of outdoor related films, everything from climbing to a spoof on a guy who's passion was tubing (water, not snow.) My favorite was called The Good Fight about a man who helped save The Grand Canyon when they wanted to add a second dam and is now fighting to save the Sequoias in California.

During intermission I met two people (a very friendly and nice couple) from a climbing board I've been using for research. It's always fun to put a face to a name! I also won the "grand prize" of the raffle: a ski rack for my car, belay/rappel device, $25 gift certificate to The North Face Store, 2 day passes for The Circuit (some sort of bouldering place, I think) and a T-shirt from The Circuit. Not bad for an $8 ticket.

Have you ever won a raffle or contest? What did you win?

Link for the day: Eight Below clip! In keeping with the outdoor theme of today's blog, here's a video from Disney's Eight Below. My entire family loved this movie! Well, except for the leopard seal part.

Surprised

Last night's episode of Heroes really surprised me. Kudos to the writer(s). I thought they'd done a good job of foreshadowing something bad happening to Simone, but I thought that it would be Nathan doing something to stop her from taking what she knew public. I sat stunned at the end of the episode. Was not expecting that to happen. Great twist. And loved the key motif that's been used through several episodes. But it raises quite a few questions... Where does this leave Peter and Isaac? And what are they going to do with the body? Not sure the police would buy, "But officer I was trying to shoot an invisible man."

Also loved the little reference that Nathan made to LOST when he told Simone they'd put them all on an island and do experiments on them. I hope the LOST writers are watching Heroes and getting inspired.

I finally thought I had the perfect reason to convince hubby we should get a dog. I told him about Velvet, the lab-shepherd mix on Mount Hood, and that if we had a dog, it could keep us warm if we ever got lost hiking. First, he said we wouldn't get lost. Second, he said we still weren't getting a dog. Oh, well, it was worth a shot!

Back to writing today. Not much time, however. I have to help out at the kids' school and cut Kings Cake for their Mardi Gras celebration. Still haven't figured out what I'm giving up for Lent that starts tomorrow. Are you giving anything up?

Link for the day: : Mount Hood Rescue. An article from a local paper summing up what happened up there.

Finally...

I'm starting to feel better. The medicine really kicked in yesterday. Still going to take it easy though.

I've been following the SAR (search and rescue) operation on Mount Hood for three climbers and their dog. Great research opp since there is a SAR operation in the continuity book and my hottie hero in the Christmas book is a SAR guy so even though I'm not writing I can still feel as if I'm working on the books. Portland Mountain Rescue is up there along with PJs from the 304th, the Crag Rats and a whole lot of other people, working in freezing and white-out conditions. The rescuers are angels on the mountain with helmets instead of halos, skis and crampons instead of wings and ice axes and picks instead of harps. My prayers are with them and the climbers.

Hope you are enjoying President's Day!

Thanks!

I wanted to thank everyone who's posted get well comments and sent emails. ::smooch:: They are much appreciated. I'm going to take it easy again today and hope this is the day I start feeling better.

Update on Hayley and Julie Resk: Julie's doing well, but Hayley didn't have a good day yesterday. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Love,
Melissa
xoxox

Arrgh...

The kidlets are off today and Monday. We had big plans to hit the mountains this weekend. The ski slope and snowshoeing, but I'm still sick and so is Rose which means we're going nowhere.

I feel almost as if someone punched the left side of my face all the way to my teeth. Guess it's time to go to the doctors. I've lost an entire week. Hardly any words let alone pages on the new proposal because my head is so fuzzy and just hurts. Not good. I can't afford not to write with the upcoming deadlines. I must get better ASAP!

Hope all of those on the East coast are staying warm and enjoying the snow! I bet the powder's amazing.

Have a fun weekend wherever you are! Anyone have any plans? If so, please tell me, so I can live vicariously. I have a feeling I'm going to be stuck in bed myself.

One more thing...

No link for the day. Instead, I thought I'd tell you about this Telluride Mountain Film Festival fundraiser benefiting PMR that I'll be attending on Tuesday night at Portland State University. Tickets are $8. If you're from the Portland area, think about going and supporting Portland Mountain Rescue.

Update: I do have a sinus infection. I now have two prescriptions to take. The doctor also said if I get another one only on the left side, he wants to do a cat scan to see if there's something on that side causing a blockage. He said it would be easy to take out if that's the case. Yep, that's exactly what I needed to hear when I feel so lousy.

A Wasted Week

I survived our Valentine's dinner date. Sudafed helped. So did champagne. Seriously the dinner was lovely with a blood orange salad, mussels in a tangy curry sauce, filet mignon with mashed potatoes and a brussel sprout hash and two desserts, chocolate molten cake (can't remember exact name) and a chai caramel with pistachio crisp. They started out with appetizers and the much appreciated champagne. Each course was served with its own wine, too. They served port, tea and coffee with the dessert.

When we got home, I went straight to bed forgetting LOST was on at 10. I spent most of the night coughing. I don't get it. How can I feel worse today than yesterday? I guess this entire week is just going to be a wash. Oh, well...

Hubby loved his chocolates as well as the card I made him. I wasn't planning on making a card, but I wasn't feeling up for going to the store. I realized at 2:30 that I had to do something because he was picking up the two older kidlets at 3:00 so I cut up a bunch of my covers and made a collage. On the inside I glued the names of my heroes and wrote: No matter what the title of the book, the picture I use for inspiration or the name printed on the page... You will always be my hero.

Update on Julie and Hayley Resk: Both are out of ICU and doing well. Julie visited Hayley yesterday. That must have made for a great Valentine's for both of them.

Link for the day: The Cutting Edge! I love this movie. Anyone remember "toe pick"? I didn't include it yesterday since no one had set it to a song, but I did find this clip of the final scene. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Still not feeling good, but oh, well... I'm not going to let a little head cold ruin Valentine's day.

When I got home from picking up the youngest kidlet from preschool yesterday, I found two dozen roses waiting for me on our porch. That really surprised me. Hubby hasn't had flowers delivered in a very long time! They are gorgeous and very sweet smelling and I love them. I hope he likes what I got him!

I was wondering what to do with the blog to celebrate this 14th day of February. Here's what I came up with: Youtube videos with a few of my favorite romantic couples from film and television coupled with some of my favorite songs. Enjoy!


From Pride and Prejudice: Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett
Song: Faraway by Nickleback


From The X-Files: Mulder and Scully
Song: Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne


From Titanic: Jack and Rose
Song: Wherever You Will Go by The Calling


From The Sound of Music: Maria and Captain Von Trapp
Song: A Whole New World from the Aladdin Soundtrack


From Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3: Anakin and Padme
Song: My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion

I hope your day is full of laughter, romance and, most importantly, love!

Melissa
xoxox

Doggies Galore

One of my cats, Spirit, has been causing a lot of problems around here so I'm really in need of a doggy fix. Today is the second day of the Westminster Kennel Club's big dog show. This year I have a dog I'm rooting for, an old English sheep dog, who belongs to the wife of one of my goldrush buddies from trivia chat. Today's competitions will be televised tonight.

Sorry for the short post, still not feeling that great. Not even good enough to talk about Heroes!

Update: Julie and Hayley are in their respective ICU units and doing well!

Link for the day: Westminster Dog Show!

Prayers for the Resk Family

I used to belong to a bookgroup with other women from Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville, Oregon. One of the women was Julie Resk, a wonderful mom, wife and friend. We would sometimes meet once Friday a month for scrapbooking at our mutual friend's Suzannah's house.

At this moment Julie is undergoing a live liver donor operation at Stanford Hospital in order to save her daughter, Hayley, who is in need of a new liver. If you could spare a moment, please send a prayer, good wish, whatever, the Resk family's way.

For more info on Hayley and her incredible family click here. Be sure to read today's journal entry from Julie's husband Jim.

Seattle

I knew it was coming. I've been fighting it for the past week. But on the way north, the head cold from Hell hit. Hard.

I couldn't let it stop me. The kidlets have been looking forward to Seattle since last year when we couldn't go due to them changing dance schools and some stupid rules about transfers in Irish dance. So on Friday I ignored the sneezing, the runny nose and headache. We parked the car at the hotel in Lower Queen Anne, walked to McMenamin's for dinner, walked to the Seattle Center to pick up the kidlets numbers and then walked home through the Seattle Center. It was after 7 pm and over 60 degrees. A beautiful night. The kids played in the giant fountain and got soaked. We went back to the hotel and I crashed.

The next day at the Feis I felt worse, but what's a mom going do? We don't get sick days. The kidlets did great at the dance competition. Finn placed in two of this three dances. Mackenna placed in six of her nine. So I forged on. Through another walk around the Seattle Center, to Mass and to dinner at T.S. McHughs, an Irish Pub. We went back to the hotel and I crashed.

On Sunday, I didn't even get up. The plan was to go to the science place at the Seattle Center. I told everyone to go. Have fun. I'd meet them in the lobby at noon. They came back at 11:30. I felt better. Good enough to stop by and drop off my upcoming April release (a box of them arrived last week) to the woman who's house I stayed at during my class in August and September. Of course, by the time I got home, all I could do was crawl into bed leaving hubby to help out in the class I teach at church on with nineteen 3-6 year olds.

I woke up this morning feeling a little better. I'm hoping I'm through the worst of it.

So that was my weekend. How was yours?

Link for the day: The Amazing Race Sweepstakes! My favorite reality TV show is giving away a trip. All you have to do is find the Travelocity gnome and figure out the mysterious destination. It's easy. I figured it out with only a couple clues. Try it. You might be the winner!

A new 'do

I finally got sick and tired of my hair and managed to get an appointment for a haircut yesterday. Called around 12:30 was in there at 2:30. The first thing my hair stylist asked me about was my college reunion. That meant I had not been there since the beginning of October. Yikes! No wonder I was having so many bad hair days and had resorted to a ponytail. I really have no concept of time when it comes to some things. My hair being one of them. The kidlets noticed the new 'do before hubby. Not sure if that's a good sign or not. But he says he really likes it. She left the length and did a lot of layering. I'm just happy the ponytail is gone!

More pages written! I rewrote a couple of things in the Christmas book scene after consulting with my SAR expert. I also worked on the second scene in the Wedding Dress book.

I managed to connect with the Forest Service person in Idaho and talk about the wilderness setting for the Wedding Dress book. She gave me a great description of the cabin. It has a wood stove so I won't have to worry about Serena and Kane becoming hypothermic! There are also bunk beds. Not exactly romantic, but I'll make it work. She also provided me with a website with pictures that I still need to check out.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love researching things. I go totally overboard, but I've learned that a lot of the good stuff in my stories and especially my characters come from things I find out in the research phase. Some little tidbit sends the gears in my brain off in a totally new and unexpected direction. I love when this happens.

My research notes are usually hand-scribbled. I go over them a few times filling in the blanks. Sometimes I transcribe them. More often not. For the race book, I would cut and paste things into my manuscript so when I got to that part of the story I'd have everything I'd need.

Speaking of research, I watched an amazing movie last night. Touching the Void, based on the book by Joe Simpson. An epic climb flick, but it's more about the will to survive than it is about climbing. The ultimate in man against himself. Climbing, at least from what I've learned so far having never tried it myself, seems to be more about challenging one's self than anything else. A climber cannot conquer a mountain any more than a sailor the sea. Both are merely guests and should treat their hosts with the respect they deserve. The one part of the film I found most disturbing was when Joe, raised Catholic, talked about his lack of belief in God. Still I highly recommend the film whether you like climbing or not.

We're heading north to the land of the original Starbucks and the Space Needle. Have a fun weekend! I'll talk to you on Monday!

Link for the day: The trailer for Touching the Void!

Getting Lost?

Another good writing day (five pages) even though I didn't get started until after the kidlets went to bed. I wrote the opening scene (prologue, actually) to the Christmas book after speaking with the PMR member, who was such a big help on the last book.

He helped me figure out how to take out my climbers and also explained what that search and rescue (SAR) operation might be like. Most of this is backstory, but listening to him and hearing stories about his own climbing experiences really helped bring my hottie SAR hero to life. Of course, I've yet to name the hero and heroine of this book so they were tagged "hottie" and "heroine" throughout the scene!

I picked up my new camera and have the battery charging. I can't wait to take some shots and see how they turn out.

I also watched LOST. I wasn't impressed. I'll give it another show, maybe two for nostalgia sake to redeem itself or I'm getting lost the next Wednesday night. I don't have an hour to waste on bad television. It's hard enough to find an hour for good television. In case, you're wondering what constitutes good television for me: The Amazing Race (premieres really soon!), Heroes & The Office.

Today, I need to write, pack and contact a couple of friends up north. We're off to Seattle this weekend for an Irish dance feis. It's that time of year. Again. At least I may finally have some time to read (in between the dances) so that's something to look forward to! I really do enjoy watching the kidlets dance. Nothing can put a bigger smile on my face than seeing them reel and jig! Just wish it didn't take so long to get through all the various dances and awards. That's the hardest part. Especially with the youngest one who's too little to dance herself.

Link for the day: Pure power! Watch this video and you'll see how I've decided to kill the two climbers in my Christmas book.

LOST Returns

I met my NaNoWriMo friend at Papacinno's again on Tuesday morning. We wrote until noon. By they time I walked out and crossed the street to have lunch at Chez Jose, I had a scene and a half written! Six pages in case you were interested. I need to fill in some stuff, especially continuity elements and characters, but still a very productive day.

In the afternoon, I did a little research on the two upcoming books. Learned a few things about avalanches that I didn't know. Decided what flowers my heroine, Serena, might have at her wedding thanks to help from floral designer and friend Anne Ryan who wrote the book Design on a Lime. Tried to figure out how to kill two climbers for the Christmas book. Meant to call the Clearwater National Forest Service to talk to a different person for more information about the cabin, but by the time I remembered it was too late.

Since it's Wednesday, the busy day of my week, my only goal is to make it all the places I need to be on time. I also need to get down to Lake Oswego and pick up my new camera. A friend bought it for me at a camera store in Portland.

I almost forgot that LOST returns tonight. It's been off for so long, I'd forgotten about the tailies and others. I'll be interested to see if I like it as much as Heroes.

Don't forget, Valentine's Day is only a week away. Start thinking about what you might want to do for your sweetheart. I have a babysitter coming that night so I can take hubby out for dinner. Usually we don't go out, but he took such good care of me during my deadline I want to take care of him!

Link for the day: A movie trailer for the upcoming Shrek 3 that will be out in May. I just love Puss in Boots. Those big eyes of his get me every time!

I knew it!

Monday turned out to be an all-around great day.

First I got to watch Heroes. A week ago I told you who I thought was Claire's father. Turns out I was right! Of course, any fan could have seen that one coming a mile away. Still I was happy to have figured that one out.

Loved the episode. Again. I know I'm sounding like a broken record. Sorry, but... Hiro outsmarting his father was classic. The painting of Isaac and Simone turning out to be the one of them on the building was cool. Peter crashing into the taxi took me by surprise. The whole Sylar thread was just sick. Nikki being locked in the mirror was freaky, but as soon as I saw the tattoo I knew it was Jessica. The previews for next week looked great.

Another reason Monday turned out to be a good day was I finally have a setting for my plane incident in my book. A pilot friend has been helping me. He'd recommended a site, but when I googled it today, I realized it wouldn't work. However that lead me to Clearwater National Forest in Idaho and one phone call got me to a wonderful woman who helped me find a setting complete with wildlife, fauna and an abandoned cabin where my characters can take shelter from the cold!

The final reason Monday was a great day...my AOL Goldrush T-shirt arrived. Yes, I won one! Even though aol woes struck and I thought I'd never be able to finish fast enough. Still I never gave up hope. Melissa = hopeful optimist. And my reward arrived today.

If you're new to the blog, in the fall AOL ran an online game called Goldrush, a joint venture with Mark Burnett of Survivor fame. I was addicted to it. Completely. So winning something, even an XL black shirt with a small gold bar on the front and a website url on the back, is just so cool to me. Now I'm just hoping they do a Goldrush2!!!! Not when I'm on deadline, either. Can you imagine? When would I have time to write with a game to win?

Link for the day: Shameless bragging! Yes, my name is on the list. Top 100 player for round 11. They never posted the Top 100 for rounds 12 and 13. I wish they would because I had really good times for those rounds, too.

Where could it be?

The kidlets are in love with the Mt. Bachelor Avalanche Rescue K9 Dogs I posted a link for last week. They each named a stuffed dog after one of the real dogs. Mackenna = Salcha. Finn = Kenai (the boy dog, of course). Rose = Kasha.

I emailed the BARK dogs webmaster and asked if he would add kid-sized T-shirts to his BARK dogs Café Press store . He did, so I ordered three on-line. Everything was going great with until I went to pay. My credit card wasn't in my wallet. I knew I'd seen it somewhere (during deadline time which meant it could have been anywhere) so I had to go through…well, pretty much everything in the house. That included my purse.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd cleaned my purse (I'm so not a cleaner) and this is what I found inside my red Prada knock-off:

- Our Lady of the Lake Raffle Order form dated 2001 (old school, but we didn't attend then since our oldest would have only been 3!)
- Child release ticket from My Bachelor that you need to turn in to pick up kids from ski school (they're home with us so I guess we didn't need the ticket after all!)
- 30 hairbands in a zipper compartment on the outside (variety of colors)
- Earphones for new phone
- Pink Prada-knockoff wallet (didn't clean this out)
- Car keys
- 2 $100 Safeway gift cards ($39 left on one, $7 on the other)
- 1 $50 Pottery Barn gift card
- 1 small candy cane (still in wrapper thank goodness!)
- 1 pair of knit brown gloves
- 1 pair of Pendleton lambswool red gloves
- 2 lipsticks (Dusty Rose & Clearly Rose)
- 1 Plump your pucker lip balm
- Lots-o-receipts and business cards
- Prayer cards
- Rosary
- 3 free kid-treats coupons for Dairy Queen
- 1 $2 gift Baskin Robbins gift certificate
- 2 cards good for 1 free taco at Who-Song & Larry's
- 4 movie stubs dated 11/27/04 for the 7:25 PM showing of Bridget Jones Edge of Reason
- Email address for a woman named Katherine from Vancouver B.C. who I sat next to on an Alaska Air flight in June 2005. I just remembered… I need to send her a book. Her father had died (like my heroine Jane in the book I'd been writing at the time) and I talked to her about that from SJC to PDX.
- Beading sample for my daughter's first communion dress (May 2006) that I think I was supposed to return
- Downtown Portland parking receipt from 4/2/06. Our anniversary.
- A note to buy the screenplay writing book "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder
- 4 USPS delivery confirmation slips from December
- 2 packages of double antibiotic ointment from when Rose got stitches in 8/05
- Way too much loose change

Needless to say, my credit card was not in my purse. I finally found it in the front pocket my organizer. Not sure what it was doing there, but I got the T-shirts ordered. I have three happy kidlets who will now get a lesson in patience waiting for them to arrive.

I really can't let my purse go that long again. Granted, many (but not all) of the really old stuff was hidden away in zippered pouches, hidden pockets, but still... Why am I carrying around two pairs of gloves at the same time? And all those ice cream gift certificates? That's not going to help the diet now that I know they are there. Do you know what's in your purse?

Link for the day: A day in the life of a bestselling suspense writer. Check out this great clip from the oh-so-talented and funny Lisa Gardner.

At least it's not broken...

We ended up at Urgent Care last night. At the end of the season swim team party, the oldest kidlet hit her hand against hubby while swimming and did something to her finger and hand. We were concerned she'd broke something, but the x-rays didn't show a fracture.

This is the same kid who sprained her ankle at age 6, shook it off when hubby said she was fine (no one told me about the fall!) and still competed at an Irish dance competition and placed so obviously her level of pain toleration is different than many.

The youngest was worried they were going to cut her sister's finger off so Rose was much relieved all five digits were still attached to Mackenna's hand when we left!

This weekend is jam-packed with birthday parties, soccer, dance and of course, Super Bowl Sunday. No big game plans, but hubby will be glued to the tube.

Me? I don't really care that much. My die-hard-fan-sit-in-the-pouring-rain-at-Candlestick-49er-season-ticket-holder-days are long over. Now I'd rather spend three hours reading a book. Or going on a hike. Or shopping.

But I'm still rooting for the Colts. I'd like to see Peyton Manning get the ring.

Link for the day: The power of love... I found this romance (people, not books) related article while doing research. I was looking up recent mountain climbing deaths (need to kill off a couple of climbers for the book due after the continuity one) and this article about love was a link on the page.

Have a great weekend! I'm taking tomorrow off. Talk to you on Monday!

A new story

It's going to be interesting going from one project to another with no down time in between. I've never done that before.

I've been doing a little research so I could dive right into the story once the other book was finished, but I'm still a little nervous. Here's what I know about the story:

Working Title: The Wedding Dress and Mr. Wrong
Heroine: Serena (looks like Sienna Miller)
Heroine's occupation: Wedding dress designer
Hero: Kane (looks like Gabriel Aubry)
Hero's occupation: Pilot (has own plane and flies people around)
Proposal: Due March 20
Manuscript: Due June 1

It's part of a six book continuity series called THE WEDDING PLANNERS that six of us former Silhouette Romance authors came up with. It's set in Boston, though some of my story takes place in the wilderness of Northern Idaho. I'm book three.

I rewrote the synopsis last night. It's still not right so that means I probably don't know the characters well enough to figure out the true black moment/resolution. There's only way for me to get to know them better and that's start writing the book. Character interviews and worksheets no longer cut it for me. I need to hear them in my head and see the words on the page.

I actually watched an entire movie last night. First one in a while. I was watching it for pseudo research for the book due in December. I'd been given a couple of titles to watch by a guy who runs a climbing forum where I've been hanging out and reading posts. This movie was not on the list, but the others weren't available so I picked it up.

The movie was called Vertical Limit. It was predictable and over the top, but had some interesting stunts. I'm not a climber so I have no idea how realistic it was or not. My favorite part was actually the opening sequence as brother, sister and father were rock climbing and what happens there sets the characters up for the rest of the story.

The movie's redeeming factor was the yummy eye candy Chris O'Donnell and Nicholas Lea. Of course, they were wearing parkas, hats and backpacks most of the movie, but Chris had great hair and ya gotta love Krycek (X-Files fanatic here!)

Link for the day: Vertical Limit Trailer!

Win, Lose or...Wed!

Last Man On Earth has been accepted with no revisions!!! Huge sigh of relief on this end, and I think I'll have to break out the bubbly tonight to celebrate. Here's a snippet of what my editor had to say:

"I went through a number of different emotions whilst reading; I felt Millie's fear before the abseil, and her exhilaration when she skydived, I felt absolutely gleeful when Millie stepped out in a bikini and saw the men's reaction (one of those "yeah!" moments!) and I cried at the end. And THAT tango seen is hot!!"

This book, which takes place in eight countries, took lots and lots of research. Thank goodness for google and some people, experts really, who offered me help.

My best friend's husband provided info on South Africa and his experience at the Monza racetrack outside of Milan. A Portland Mountain Rescue member, who I had contacted about research for the two upcoming books, also helped me with the skydiving scene and told me how Millie could end up stumbling while wearing crampons and be caught by Jace on the Argentine glacier. My wonderful critique partner, a fan of Dancing with the Stars, told tell me I had to make the tango scene sexier and provided some helpful advice and links. And I've already mentioned the great help I received from PortlandHikers.com on the Mount St. Helens recreation area.

The book also has a new title: Win, Lose or...Wed! It'll be out in both the US and UK in December 2007!

That's about it today. Still playing catch-up so I can get to work on the next book!

Link for the day: Now this is a really fat cat!

D-Day!

Final Tally

New pages written: 0 (goal: 6.2 pages per day)
Old pages revised on paper: 217
Pages of revisions typed in: 217
Pages lost or gained due to revisions: 0
Total page count to date: 217 (goal: 200) for sure closer to 215 now.
Days remaining until D-day: 0 days
Emails from editor in UK: 2 (title brainstorming)
Emails from agent in NY: 0

Chocolate consumed: 2 chunks of a Hershey bar
Junk food consumed: Burgerville meal
Exercise: none
Television watched: none
Tears: none
Link for the day: Meet Salcha! She is a member of the avalanche rescue K-9 team at Mt. Bachelor. I saw her on Friday when I was skiing. What a beauty! Check out the website while you're there. Very cool dogs doing important work! They need donations, too!

I just emailed the book. I'm so tired, but today is my busy day so there would be no time to write.

Thanks for all your supportive comments and chocolate! They really got me through the crunch time.

Now I'm going to sleep!

Love,
Melissa
xoxox

One day to D-day

Monday Tally

New pages written: 0 (goal: 6.2 pages per day)
Old pages revised on paper: lots
Pages of revisions typed in: lots
Pages lost or gained due to revisions: -5
Total page count to date: 217 (goal: 200) for sure closer to 215 now.
Days remaining until D-day: 1 days
Emails from editor in UK: 2 (she wanted to know about the ending since they are coming up with a new title, plus I told her three scenes that could be possible covers.)
Emails from agent in NY: 0 (but I got a phone call from her touching base as to where I am with projects and letting me know they received the contracts.)

Chocolate consumed: Nestle tollhouse semisweet chocolate chips
Junk food consumed: bubble gum
Exercise: Pilates session
Television watched: Heroes
Tears: A couple for Barbaro. Such a beautiful animal! I was so into horses when I was younger.
Link for the day: Check it out! This really put a smile on my face.

I managed to revise Chapter nine before Pilates class and rewrite chapters ten and eleven afterwards. I spent the rest of my day trying to tighten and cut pages from the entire manuscript.

I did take a break and enjoy Heroes tonight. Lots of questions arose from tonight's episode though.

The invisible man is very cool. I'm so glad Peter has someone to help him.

I was also happy to see Claire and Zack becoming friends again. She also needs someone to help her. Someone she can trust and rescue her from her strange father.

I am curious as to who Claire's biological father is. My initial guess is Nathan Petrelli. I'm only guessing due to his shirt. It looked like something the future congressman who flies would wear.

I'm wondering what's going to happen to Claire's dad. Did you think for one minute that Sylar was dead? I sure didn't. It's sort of like all those teenage girls in horror movies who either walk into scary looking houses or stay in them when the electricity goes out and they hear a strange noise. They get exactly what they deserve.

I'm wondering what power the cop's baby will have. Also, how does his wife know it's her husband's and not the other police officer she was sleeping with? I guess if the kid has no super power we'll know who the biological dad really is!

Biggest surprise of the evening next to Claire finding her mom was Hiro's father. Who is he? And what makes him so powerful?

Almost there

Ski Weekend Tally

New pages written: 6 (goal: 6.2 pages per day)
Old pages revised on paper: 0
Pages of revisions typed in: none
Pages lost or gained due to revisions: 0
Total page count to date: 222 (goal: 200) for sure closer to 215 now.
Days remaining until D-day: 2 days (YIKES!)
Emails from editor in UK: 0
Emails from agent in NY: 0

Chocolate consumed: ice cream
Junk food consumed: McDonald's filet of fish meal with ice tea
Exercise: none (legs still store from skiing)
Television watched: none
Tears: None .
Link for the day: These guys rock! If you want to see my fave new site, check out this link. The wonderful members here helped me with a setting for the final scene of my manuscript.

We're home. I have a complete. I now have two days to turn it into something a whole lot better than what's there now.

Of course, I need to sleep first. It's 2:30 am and I'm tired.

Wish me luck. Send lots of virtual chocolate. I'm really going to need it!

Update from Bend

We had another beautiful, sunny day of skiing. Blue skies at the top of the mountain, but a blanket of fog over the town of Bend. It would have made a great picture had I had a camera. We stopped at three places on the way down here to buy the camera I wanted, Canon SD800is, but all three were sold out. After doing the research (me, not hubby) I knew what I wanted and decided to wait.

My legs are more sore today. Turns out my friend used to be a member of the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Team when she was in high school. Even though that was twenty years ago, she's super fast. Keeping up was a near impossibility for both hubby and I, but it was fun to try! I'd love to be that excellent a skier someday.

Last night we dragged the kids from the slope to Mass. Poor Finn fell asleep. Afterwards, we met our friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Bend then it was home to hot tub and then crash. Everyone slept very well.

Everyone is going sledding this morning. (Once they are all up!) I'm staying home to write. Better get to it!

Have a wonderful day!