Confessions of an Irish Dance Mom

A few things to begin with… I'm not Irish. My last name might be McClone, but that's because of hubby. He's the one with Irish ancestry. Until I saw Riverdance in London in 1996, I had no idea Irish dance even existed.

When my oldest turned five, we enrolled her in a summer Irish dance camp. That led to classes in the fall. In the spring, we were told she would be ready to compete in a feis (Irish dance competition) and to register her. We arrived the day of the feis only to discover I was supposed to register as a pre-beginner. No one had told me this. Luckily two other moms from our school had done the same thing so our girls were all competing together.

Sitting at that first feis and seeing the older dancers in their sparkling (and very expensive) dresses with curly wigs, diamond tiaras and makeup was a big jolt. I mean, I'd spent two hours putting curlers in my daughter's hair and she wore a little plaid skirt and one of her school uniform shirts. These girls looked like they were ready for a Vegas show or, gulp, a beauty pageant. What had we gotten ourselves into?

When one of the newer moms started talking about teacher certification and all these different things regarding levels and moving up, I had no idea what she was talking about. I realized it was time to educate myself.

I discovered a world wide web full of MAIDs (Mothers Addicted to Irish Dance.) These women knew everything from stuffing socks under wigs for added height to using vodka to get rid of body odor from dresses. They studied the trends from Ireland and knew words I had no idea how to pronounce. I read their posts on the various forums and tried to soak in all the information I could.

But some of it was disturbing to me. I remember when someone posted a new rule about no makeup on dancers under the age of ten. Shouldn't that have been a given? Tanning before a big competition seemed to be the norm which I didn't understand. And the dresses! The posts about solo dresses boggled my mind. Who would spend $1500 to $3000 on an Irish dance dress? That's more than my wedding dress cost. Yet these MAIDs made it seemed like that's what you had to do to compete at the higher levels. Maybe their daughters, but not mine.

I finally started figuring out stuff like dance levels. In case you're interested, here's a brief rundown on what they are and how (at least in the new school we transferred to almost two years ago that thankfully tells parents how things work) you move to the next level.

If it's a dancer's first time competing, they dance in the pre-beginner/first feis dances. They have special solo dances and trophy dances for them. If they win, they don't change levels, but it's a nice intro to competition. The dance levels are as follows (for the Western Region that is, these can be called different things in different regions):

• Beginner/Beginner 1 (must place 1, 2 or 3 in a dance with at least five competitors to move up)
• Advanced Beginner/Beginner 2 (must place 1 or 2 in a dance with at least five competitors to move up)
• Novice (must place 1st in a dance with at least five competitors to move up)
• Prizewinner (must place 1st, twice in each dance with at least five competitors to move up)
• Preliminary Champion (must win 2 championships with at least five competitors to move up)
• Open Champion

There are solo competitions for the levels up to and including Prizewinner: Reel, Light Jig, Slip Jig (girls only), Single Jig, Treble Jig, Hornpipe, St. Patricks/Traditional Set.

There are also special trophy dances. If you win or place, you can't move up in your level, but you do get a nice trophy to take home. I've seen the following trophy dances: Reel, Light Jig, Slip Jig, Hornpipe and Treble Reel (my fave to watch!)

In the championship levels, the dancers perform a soft shoe, a hard shoe and another hard shoe dance called a traditional set. Each of the three dances has a winner and then there is an overall Champion of the competition.

People with the initials ADCRG after their names judge the dancers. It's a special certification that enables them to call themselves adjudicators, but really just seems to make them targets of criticism after major competitions (such as Nationals, Great Britain, All-Ireland, Worlds) when the Internet boards are full of posts complaining and gossiping about favoritism and fixes.

Most dancers wear a class dress (each school has their own design) until they reach a certain level. Then they can get a solo dress to wear (if they choose.) Some dancers wear solo dresses in Novice. Others wait until Prizewinner. Some wait until they reach Champion level.

We told Mackenna that she wouldn't get a solo dress until all her dances were Prizewinner, but there was a dress we'd seen on a dancer at our school that we loved. I asked my friend Alison, who is also the school dressmaker and had designed the solo dress we liked, to tell the family to call us if they ever want to sell the dress. Imagine my surprise when they called a month or so later.

Mackenna tried on the dress and looked beautiful in it. She wanted it so badly. I wanted her to have it even though it cost as much as my wedding dress. Unfortunately the dress fit her perfectly. That wasn't going to work. She still had novice dances and really didn't need a solo dress right then so her friend bought the dress instead.

I started paying attention to the number of class dresses vs. solo dresses in Mackenna's competitions. The novice level dancers wore mainly class dresses, but prizewinner dancers were almost all wearing solo dresses. I mentioned this to hubby. "It shouldn't matter what she wears because it's about the dancing," was his reply. Still I started asking moms with daughters in Prizewinner how much they had planned or were planning to spend on a first solo dress. Of course what people wanted to pay and ended up paying varied.

I'm not sure if it was the money we'd be spending or the time to find a dress that intimidated more when I snuck down to the award room alone and saw she'd received the first place she needed to be all Prizewinner. Probably a combination of both with emphasis on the time aspect due to the book deadline. I knew we'd be buying used, not new. But that would take searching the Internet, ebay, dress racks at feis. Imagine me in a panic.

I went straight to the dress consignment room next door and looked at the used dresses for sale. I noticed a pink one for sale by one of the families at our school. The price seemed reasonable $350 and the dress looked as if it might fit Mackenna. Alison happened to be nearby so I asked if she'd look at the dress. She did and pointed out another dress for sale by the same family. It was more expensive, but gorgeous. Alison said it would be worth trying because it was a great price for a dress of that quality. All I saw was two chances to be done with my dress shopping ASAP. I was ready to dance a jig!

I found the person with the dresses for sale. Unfortunately she was going to be leaving before Mackenna finished dancing. I asked if she would bring the two dresses to the dance studio on Tuesday. Then I told hubby about the dresses. I won't tell you his response. Needless to say, when it came time to decide who would stay with the girls at Irish dance and who would pick up son and drive him to First Reconciliation class on Tuesday, I chose the dance.

Luckily for me, Alison was at the studio that night. I put Mackenna into the pink dress first. She looked so cute, but the skirt was too big with no easy way to alter it due to the embroidery on the panels. Mackenna wasn't upset. You could tell by the way she kept eyeing the more expensive dress she liked it better.

Alison helped her into the second dress. It was big on her, but the color combination looked good. The seams had been let out and a ruffle of pleats added on the bottom because the dancer had grown. Alison told me the skirt was the perfect size for Mackenna. She could take off the ruffle, move up the waist and take in the seams on the bodice. I was sold.

We showed Mackenna's teacher. The first thing she said was, "It's too big." My heart dropped to my feet. I saw endless ebay auctions and visits to Dance-again.net in my future. I explained how Alison could take it in. The teacher had a few other things to say, but when I told her the price (they'd just marked down the dress) she said okay. I wasn't sure who to thank first. The teacher, Alison or the mom selling the dress.

As I wrote a check, I was so relieved. Money aside, I couldn't believe finding a solo dress could be that easy. Several moms were sitting around the table with me. One hated to see the dress go for such a low price. I asked if I was a horrible person because I didn't feel guilty for getting the dress at a bargain. They all said no, that the bottom had dropped out of the used Irish dress market and it was a buyer's market.

Of course I still had to tell hubby what I'd bought. Who knew how I'd feel after that? He didn't look happy when he saw the dress. I explained Mackenna loved the dress, looked beautiful and the price was great. I quickly put her into the dress before hubby could say a word. He took one look at her and his eyes softened. The cost might have still bugged him, but he agreed. It was the dress for her.

I called my best friend from college, Debbie, and told her about the dress. Her response: "You know that's double what I paid for my wedding dress."

True, but it's less than I paid for mine, so no worries on my part. Not an ounce of buyer's remorse, either. Hmmm. Maybe I'm more of a MAID than I thought. But I'm still saying no to the makeup and the tanner!

GMO

There's a song that's been playing on Radio Disney that my kids love. It's GNO by Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana.) It's a total pop song about Girl's Night Out. Today, Rose and I decided to have a GMO, Girl's Morning Out. ( I always love one-on-one time with the kids. I wish I could do it more often.) We dropped off the two older kidlets at school, filled up the minivan with gas and hit the road.

Our first stop (once we made it through the mess of traffic on the freeway) was Southeast Portland where we were meeting Rose's godmother, Patricia, for breakfast. We arrived at Zell's American Cafe a little early so we sat on the bench along the window and read books. After Patricia arrived and we were seated at the table, we ate yummy scones and caught up with what's been going on since the last time we'd gotten together which was back in August if I remember correctly. Rose's Aunt Patricia came bearing gifts including a talking pop-up Halloween book.

After breakfast we headed to Costco. I was hoping to dash in and out and continue on with our morning, but those plans got changed when Rose recited her own shopping list: dresses, toys, candy. I told her those things weren't on my list. She still wanted to see them. So change of plans, we went down each and every aisle. In case you're wondering how long that took with a four year old, who wanted to stop and look at well, everything...two hours.

The latest Barbie DVD (Island Princess) drew the biggest oohs and aahs as did several of the girly toys, namely a pink electronic guitar and keyboard set with headphone microphone. She also told me she wanted to trade in her blue kitchen for the pink Retro set they had there. She kept pointing and saying I want that and that. Oh, I want this and this. Santa's sled wouldn't be able to get off the ground if she got everything she pointed to this morning.

Speaking of Santa, even though I'm in the midst of writing a Christmas story, I still find it hard to believe that it's not even Halloween and all the Christmas stuff is already out on the shelves. And people were buying it! I saw many carts full of gift tag packages and spools of ribbons. Granted, I have already bought some presents, but I haven't started buying the paper and bows yet. I just have these rules, call it a Christmas code.

Shopping for presents all year long is okay, but I don't buy Christmas themed stuff (paper, cards, tags, decorations) until after Halloween. And no Christmas carols until after Thanksgiving. (I'm breaking that rule right now, but I'm exempt because of the book.)

There was one really cool Christmas yard decor item that caught Rose's attention and I have to admit was pretty neat. It was a set of three white Christmas trees with ball lights on them. Christmas carols played from a speaker on one of the trees and the lights were synchronized to come on with the music. We listened and watched Carol of the Bells. I couldn't drag her away from that display.

We finally made it home in time for a quick lunch. Now it's nap time. I'm sore from the workout yesterday and all the walking around in my boots this morning didn't help. I need to write, but I might crawl in bed with Rose and grab a cat nap first. That sounds like the perfect way to end our GMO.

Hope you're having a great day!

Book Songs

These are the songs I've found for the soundtrack to my work in progress, Christmas on the Mountain. I listen to them when I'm writing and also before I write to put me into the story.

Where Are You Christmas by Faith Hill



First Time by Lifehouse



Bubbly by Colbie Caillat



Wherever You Go by The Calling



Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne



I have my first Crossfit session this morning. I'm a little nervous. Crossfit is the workout the Climbing Cutie does, and he's also become an instructor. I'm going to a different gym though. His seems a bit intense to me. Newbies wear camo T-shirts that say RECRUIT on them. I'd be into a pink camo pattern T-shirt, but drab olive does nothing for me. Wish me luck!

Bug says again...

The guy from the climbing forum, Bug, gave me this quote:

If you convince a man that you are right, he will likely believe that he is wrong. -Anandar Coomaraswamy

But will a man who believes he's wrong admit to being wrong? That's what I want to know.

Some men have no problem admitting they are wrong. Others no way. Women have a problem with this, too, so it's not gender-specific. What about you? Do you admit when you're wrong or not? I have no problem telling the kidlets that "Mommy was wrong" because I think it's important for them to learn to admit when they are wrong.

If you've read any of my books, there usually comes a point in the story when the hero realizes he's been wrong and admits to being one or more of the following:
1) a hypocrite
2) an idiot
3) a jerk
4) mistaken
5) misguided

Does this make my heroes girly men? No way. At least not when it comes to saying they were wrong. (I'm working on all other occasional hero girly lapses in regards to internalization and dialogue!) It's a way to show character growth. I have the heroine admit to one of the above, too, in case you were wondering.

Characters are flawed individuals. Otherwise they'd be boring to read about. They must overcome their flaws (and in my books admit them) to find the love waiting for them. A character who can't admit they are wrong isn't going to leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy about the future of their relationship when I type The End. And I always want to imagine my hero and heroine living their happily ever after in some utopian fictionland where romance reigns supreme.

Manic Monday

I'm rushing out the door in about three minutes! I have Pilates and then after lunch the first day of the religious education class I teach in NE Portland. Of course, I have a lot still to do to get ready for that.

The Irish dance feis went great yesterday. My oldest needed to place first in one dance in order to have all her dances at the same level. She worked so hard this week, attending a private lesson, practicing, etc. I'd never seen her so nervous before a dance. And...she did it! She totally nailed the slip jig steps and looked graceful doing it! She screamed when we went to the results room afterwards. I was very proud of her, and I hope she will remember how hard she worked the next time she wants to achieve something, whether in dance or life.

She placed in all her solo dances and won a trophy. A very good feis for her. My son received a first place medal and a trophy! He was happy about his results, too.

As I mentioned in the comment section, I was so busy with the kids I got no writing done. I'm going to have to raise my daily page quota from 5 pages to, gulp, 7. Sleeps overrated, right?

Hope you have a great Monday!

We have a winner!

Another Sunday, another contest winner! Thanks for all your comments! And it was great to see new people posting comments. The more the merrier.

Thanks to the good folks at Long and Short Reviews for the contest plug. At least two new commenters came from that site and/or mentioned LASR by name so Marianne gets two extra entries this week. Remember if anyone says they commented because you told them about the contest, you get an extra entry for the week. Or if you post a review of one of my books somewhere on the web, like Dru did, you get an automatic entry each week. These type of extra entries are counted first in case you want to see how close you were to winning this week.

Here are your random numbers:

30
Timestamp: 2007-10-07 14:44:26 UTC

This week's winner is Lily, one of the new faces around her. She won with her comment on the Portland Ice Festival Recap post!

Lily, please pick a book off the list here and email me your choice and snail address. Thanks!

Last week's winner, Brandy, choose Linda Lael Miller's, McKettrick's Luck. The week before last, Tori choose Sandra Hill's Pink Jinxed.

We're off to an Irish Dance feis. The two oldest kidlets are competing. I'm taking my alphie with in hopes of writing! We'll be there all day long with lots of waiting between dances so I'd better get something done.

Have a good Sunday!

Saturday Sloth

Between Pilates and gym climbing, I got quite the workout yesterday. Considering I've been totally lazy and hadn't really done much this past month except to rehabilitate my ankle and my Pilates sessions, I'm sore today. But it's a good sore.

I haven't just been lazy about working out. September wasn't a good month for my writing. Getting used to hubby's traveling and the bouts of strep and colds really impacted my work. Which means now I need to crank it up about five notches. Will see how I do this weekend.

I was wondering just how lazy I was so I took this quiz.

Your Sloth Quotient: 35%

You're a little lazy, but normally you're a very energetic and motivated person. Don't beat yourself up over a little laziness every now and then. You do need your downtime!

How Much Sloth Do You Have?

Not as much of a sloth as I thought I would be! Maybe there's still hope I can finish the rough draft by Halloween. What about you? How much of a sloth are you?

This and that

I can't complain about yesterday. No fires to put out or smoke to get rid of. No injuries except a paper cut to my youngest's finger during piano lessons. No bills in the mailbox.

It was a really good day.

My new Victoria's Secret Angel credit card with a $10 Angel reward card arrived. Time to go shopping for some pretty lacy things. My wonderful hubby made me falafel for dinner and baked brownies for dessert. Then the five of us played a fun game of Scrabble.

I heard from the Climbing Cutie. Drumroll, please. He has started his own blog. You should check it out. The blog is Crossfit centered, something I'll be trying next week for the first and maybe last time.

I received an email from my webmistress, Barb, telling me that the changes I'd given her for my website had been done. Everything except the News and Fun Stuff page has been updated. (I still haven't given her the changes for that one.) An excerpt for Win, Lose or...Wed! is now available if anyone is interested in getting a sneak peak at the story.

I also heard from one of you, my beloved blog readers, who wants more than an excerpt. This blog reader wanted a copy of my upcoming release and even offered me...can you believe this...a bribe.

So... no amount of bribery would work? chocolate? climbing ropes? A promise to review the book at ? :-)

Hmmm. I must admit those bribes are right up my alley. I do love chocolate. And I really do need a rope (60 m, non-dry, 10.2-10.5 mm in case Santa is reading this.) And getting a book reviewed is always good. Even if they don't like the book it's still good publicity. But after giving copies to all who helped me with research and sending five off to the RITA contest (and other contests if I decide to enter) plus keeping five copies tucked away on the million-to-one-better-off-buying-a-lottery-ticket chance I make the RITA finals doesn't leave many to just give away.

What do you think? How much is an advanced copy worth?

Snack Time

The kidlets had early release from school yesterday due to parent-teacher conferences. After a bit of running around and lunch and playtime, I needed to write. I put the youngest down for her nap. I told the older two they could have a snack and watch a show (limited to the Disney Channel or on-demand PBS/Sprout). I left them downstairs and retreated into my cave. My son ran upstairs and asked if they could use the microwave. I said no, that there was plenty of food in the pantry that didn't need to be heated.

As I read what I'd written last night, I found myself making a few changes. Still I was happy with how my hottie SAR hero was coming across and wanted to finish the scene. I got to work. I'm not sure how much time had passed. It didn't seem that long, but the door swung open.

Finn jumped up and down.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The kitchen's on fire."

I bolted off the bed. "How could it have caught fire?"

"Mackenna was using the microwave."

Halfway down the stairs, thick, noxious smelling smoke hit me. The entire downstairs was covered in a gray cloud. My first thought was why isn't the smoke detector going off. I didn't see any flames so I opened the back door. The smoke poured out.

I found a smoking, burning plastic plate with what looked like a fist sized somewhat charred human brain sitting on it.

"What were you doing?" I asked. I'll let you imagine the tone and the volume level as I put it in the sink and turned on the water.

"M-making a snack," Mackenna said.

I turned on the oven fan. "I said not to use the microwave."

Mackenna's lips quivered. "He said I could."

Finn raised his chin. "I said you couldn't."

"No, you said--"

"Upstairs." I pointed to the stairs about to totally lose it. "To your rooms."

Tears fell from Mackenna eyes. "I'm--"

"Go." Before I give you something to really cry about. "Now."

As they trudged their way upstairs, I picked up charred paper towels from the floor. What had happened? Strands of melted plastic hung from the sink, across the stainless steel dishwasher to the hardwood floor. I kept staring at the brain like snack. It looked like a science experiment gone horribly wrong.

What could it? The mass sort of resembled bread, but the only bread we had in the house were mini-bagels and whole wheat sandwich bread.

Meanwhile, I opened more doors and windows since the smoke was taking a long time to clear. I also called the hubby to tell him what his daughter had done. Even when the smoke dissipated, the smell lingered. I can still smell it this morning.

Once apologies were given and accepted, I found out what had really happened. Mackenna decided she wanted bread for a snack so she decided to make it herself. Her dough recipe consisted of flour and water. She then placed the ball onto a plastic plate and placed it in the microwave oven. On high. For five minutes.

I explained that making bread was a little more complicated than that. Hubby offered to make a loaf with her this weekend. We then talked about disobedience and stressed there was no cooking allowed if an adult wasn't present.

Once the kids were in bed and I trying to get caught up on the writing time I'd lost earlier, hubby removed the plate and the "bread" from the trash and took some pics of his daughter's snack. The only thing we still need to figure out is why the smoke alarm didn't go off. I know it works after burning a grilled cheese sandwich, but the smoke yesterday was much worse than that time!

Moms joke about not being disturbed unless there is blood or flames involved. I dealt with the blood back in August 2005 and now I've had this smoke incident. I gotta admit the next time they run because they need me now I hope it's because one of them was Sharpay and the Gabriella and they were singing during the wrong parts of the song.

Have you or your kids ever had any smoke or fire mishaps in the kitchen?

UPS Delivery

Yesterday I heard a knock. As I opened the door, I saw the familiar brown truck pulling away from the curb. I hadn't ordered anything and no one's birthday is coming up so I was a little surprised that UPS had delivered something. I looked down and saw two boxes with the Harlequin pattern on them. My December release (available on December 4th) had arrived!

I never saw a copy of the cover until it went up on Amazon so the faces staring up at me weren't a surprise. Still I felt a twinge of disappointment. The cover seems really generic to me and tells nothing about the story or the characters. I'll have to go back and see what I wrote on my AFS form. My only guess is since it's a December release and not a Christmas story (though there is a Santa scene set in Lapland!) they figured something generic was the best approach.

The back cover copy, however, rocks. A big thank you and hug to whoever wrote the teaser. Here's what it says:

This would be the most amazing and romantic race of the lives!

After being dumped so publicly, Millie Kincaid never wanted to see Jace Westfall or be on reality TV ever again. But she finds herself on Cash Around the Globe-with Jace! Although she doesn't trust him, to win they must work as a team.

They race around the world, tested to their limits, and everything is captured on camera-including their stolen kisses! Can they determine what is real and what is just for TV? And, with the finish line in sight, will they win the one thing that money can't buy?

In case you haven't guessed, this is my book that pays homage to my favorite reality television show, The Amazing Race. I was inspired by other reality TV shows, too. The kernel of this idea actually began during one of the seasons of The Bachelor. Thanks to a friend who worked with the roommate of a contestant, I got a peek into what went on behind the scenes, and I knew I wanted to use that in a book someday.

Do you watch any reality television? What are your favorite reality TV shows?

Portland Ice Festival Recap

Saturday night was the 2nd Annual Portland Ice Festival at Portland Rock Gym. Hubby and I decided to make a date night out of the evening.

We ate dinner at Doug Fir, a trendy restaurant suggested by the Climbing Cutie. The atmosphere has a definite hispter feel and it seems you must have a certain cool factor (plus body piercings, tattoos or bold hair) to work there. We were there early enough that our lack of coolness didn't matter.

We ordered the Tempura onion rings for an appetizer. Don't know about you, but Tempura conjures up images of light batter to me. These onion rings, however, were more like donuts with an onion inside. We nicknamed them o-nuts though there was plenty of dough to be had. Not that they weren't tasty, they were, though a tad heavy on the salt.

I ordered the Hawthorne Pasta and hubby ordered the Meat Loaf. Both were yummy, but the salt from the onion rings seemed to have made everything we ate too salty. We bumped into one of my climbing forum buds and his wife on the way out. They ordered the trout and the chicken special and loved them. Not salty.

After dinner we walked up the street to the Portland Rock Gym. The preliminary dry ice climbing competition was underway. See the picture if you have no idea what I'm talking about. I'd never seen anything like this. Using ice axes instead of your hands, you climb up a wall. It requires a tremendous amount of upper body strength, a lot more than regular climbing.

People sat around watching the competitors. I was hoping to meet climbers from the forum I belong to so started walking around in the crowd asking if they belonged to the website. I got a few puzzled looks, but did find a few people. It was fun putting faces with names and taking their picture. I saw a couple of the people I'd climbed with at Rocky Butte. This picture is me with one of them. I also bumped into a couple guys I'd met at a get together in the spring. They remembered me, or maybe what they really remembered was the picture taking soccer mom. Either way, it was nice to see them again.

Besides climbing, a few manufactures like Petzl and Black Diamond had brought equipment to look at. Hubby checked out the ice axes and boots. He also came home with a couple of catalogs. Hmmm, wonder if he's planning to use them to write his Christmas list. A local climbing store Climb Max gave demos on how to dry ice climb. I wanted to try it, but didn't want to do anything to mess up my ankle any more. Next year!

After the prelims, Mark Westman presented an awesome slide show on two climbs he did in Alaska. His slides and his narration were mesmerizing. It was fascinating to see this kind of hardcore alpine climbing and hear about all the stuff they faced and the fun they had. I introduced myself and of course, asked if he (and his wife) would mind talking to me about a few things for my book. He said yes!

The hubby and Climbing Cutie finally got to meet. Cutie apologized to hubby for getting me into climbing! Wasn't that sweet?

After the slide show, they raffled off some really great prizes in between the final rounds of the dry ice climbing competition. When the money was totaled (raffle, matching funds from Montana and donations), the total raised for Hyalite Canyon was approximately $2000! A big thank you and congrats to all who were involved in putting on such a great event!

What Famous Pinup Are You?

This quiz is from Marianne. I had a good laugh over the result.

You are Maryiln Monroe

A classic tortured beauty You're the dream girl of many men Yet they never seem to treat you right

What Famous Pinup Are You?

The Princess Quiz

This was supposed to be Saturday's blog, but I was so busy I wasn't on-line much.

I got this meme/quiz from Tori. I got a good laugh over this especially when read in light of my post about friends on Wednesday. Guess you can sometimes trust things you find on the Internet!

The Disney Heroine Quiz

You are Jasmine. Princess Jasmine is a girl who only a few special people can get close to. She has a pet tiger named Raja who will obey only her. Jasmine is smart, and fun, and beautiful, according to Aladdin. You have Jasmine's fiery spirit, and you probably have a few close friends as opposed to many acquaintances. You are admirable, for you stand up not only for yourself, but for your beliefs, friends, and whosoever is being picked on. You have a very strong character and you know exactly what you want.
Take this quiz!

A new winner!

It's Sunday so that means a new winner!

Here are your random numbers:

34
Timestamp: 2007-10-01 02:51:12 UTC

This week's winner is Brandy. She won with her comment on post on the Mom Talk Blog!

Brandy, please pick a book off the list here and email me your choice and snail address. Thanks!

It was a busy weekend. The Portland Ice Festival was super fun. Good thing because that made up for today. Hubby woke up in the middle of the night with some sinus thing. Poor baby. He's been really sick today so that's taken up a lot of time. He's worse than the three kids together when he doesn't feel well so I'm hoping he feels better really soon.

Mom Talk

I got this from blog commenter AnneD. Funny and true! The kidlets loved it, too. So many of those same words have come out of my mouth. Enjoy!



Today I'm going to Pilates, then try and get caught up on my writing. I'm so behind, but I got a good night's sleep so that should help. Have a great Friday!

P.S. For those in the PNW, don't forget about the Portland Ice Festival tomorrow night at the Portland Rock Gym. Hope to see you there!

Yippee!

Today marks the end of my two weeks of no heavy use ban because of my sprained ankle. I still have a couple more weeks until the doctor said it would be totally healed so I really shouldn't climb outside, but I can give gym climbing a go and see how that feels. I've been itching to work on my technique doing the stuff the climbing cutie told me to try and practice!

I've decided to take a break from doing traverses and bouldering (i.e. climbing without ropes) for a while. It was great because you don't need to find a partner, but this is the second time I fell doing that. The first time I just scraped up my leg, but I really don't want another sprained ankle. I'm just going to make more of an effort to find people to climb with!

I'm off to get my haircut! Hope you have a great day!

Wednesday Words

Hubby comes home tomorrow and I can't wait. I've been feeling so lonely. I made it through the first couple of nights, but it hit hard yesterday. Taking the kidlets to Irish dance last night was such a relief. I really needed to talk to people over the age of nine. But this morning I was back to longing for adult conversation and company.

As I dropped off the kids off at school this morning, I realized I have a lot of acquaintances where we live, but not a lot of friends. Sure, people are friendly and nice, don't get me wrong, but I'm talking the kind of friends who chat on the phone (and not about kid play dates and stuff), get together for coffee or lunch or dinner, that sort of thing. I counted who I would consider that kind of friend. I came up with two. That made me sad.

So I picked up the phone and called one of my closest friends, who lives about forty minutes away. We talked about my dream big blog post and shared our goal lists with each other. We talked about her upcoming trip overseas. We also talked about friends. She said it was hard for her to connect on a deep level with people at her son's school. It wasn't that they weren't nice. They were, but they just didn't understand her creative pursuits and what her writing and photography meant to her. I gotta admit it was good to hear that from someone else, too.

Still I'm not really surprised to find myself in this position. I've never been a member of the in-crowd or popular group. I've always been the person who hung around the edges. An outsider, observing and taking it all in no matter what the group or activity. Maybe that's the writer in me or the engineer. Most likely a combo of both.

I have to admit, too, that I'm probably not the easiest friend to have. Think about it. Deadline times when I disappear into the cave for a few weeks at a time, a fantasy world running inside my head that can make me seem a little spacey at times, and a new climbing passion where I don't mind getting dirty, bruised and blistered as many times a week as I can.

Hmmm... a stressed, spaced out loner who'd rather be hanging out at the local climbing crag with people she meets on the Internet. Yep, exactly what your typical stay-at-home mom around here is looking for in a meet-at-Starbucks-after-school-dropoff-pal.

People say you can figure out what issues authors are dealing with in their own lives if you study their books. In my case, that's definitely true. Acceptance plays a part in many of my stories. Finding where we fit in, that sense of belonging, of being accepted for who we are. I tell people writing keeps me sane and is the best therapy! I'm not kidding when I say that.

If you're a writer, do you see personal issues coming out in your work? Is it something you recognize as your writing or after the fact or not until someone points it out to you? If you're a reader, have you ever noticed a particular theme in more than one of an author's works?

A night of television

I'd been counting down the days to the Heroes season premiere on Monday night, and decided to make a night out of watching television. Something I rarely (okay, almost never) do. Here's what I saw and my take on NBC's Monday night schedule:

Chuck - I had heard a radio DJ mention the show yesterday as I was driving home from Pilates. She didn't say what it was about, but that it had good buzz. I figured I'd try something totally new for the 8 o'clock hour. And since it was on NBC, I might get to catch a Heroes teaser.

A good choice.

The show was smart, fresh and funny. I had no idea it would have a spy theme or have a connection to my alma mater, Stanford, so both of those were pleasant surprises. The scene with the "accountant" Bryce stealing the data was straight out of a summer blockbuster and rocked. I hope we get his backstory somehow as the season progresses. He reminded me of a hero from a romantic suspense novel. Another nice surprise was actor Adam Baldwin. I've liked him for years and he's worth watching alone. And **spoiler alert** the ending when he's wearing that uniform...totally perfect. Needless to say, it's a show I will be tune into again.

Heroes - I'll admit it, the show could do nothing but show shots of a shirtless Peter Petrelli and I'd be a happy fan (and we did get that at the end. That man just gets better looking all the time. Sigh...) But I gotta admit this episode wasn't one of my favorites. It seemed to be more of a let's-get-the-new-viewers-involved-first kind of show. A lot like how LOST concentrated on the Others rather than the Tailies.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I liked it, but the show didn't have me on the edge of my seat like most of last season. Though the voice in Molly's nightmare sounded a lot like Sylar and sent a shiver down my spine. There was lots of interesting stuff going on as we caught up with our favorite heroes and we met three new ones Maya, who is one scary chick and I can't imagine what her "gift" is, a surprising Takezo Sensei played by former Alias' bad guy David Anders, and Nick, a boy at Claire's high school who can fly. A new thread of Mohan and Mr. Bennet taking down the company was introduced. A character was killed off, too. I know there has to be a beginning, a page one so to speak for this season's Volume 2, I just hope the new intros, backstory, etc give way to the kind of story arcs viewers came to know and love last season.

The Journeyman - I really should have spent the ten o'clock hour writing, but then this show came on right after Heroes so I thought why not? The show featured a time traveler except he didn't know he was a time traveler. There's a dead fiance who's not dead (which means he must have told her to get off the plane and a whole bunch of other stuff, too, since her surviving didn't change the future). A wife who used to date his brother (I gotta admit this is a real ick factor for me even though in one of his travels we can see she was in love with the guy back then but that raises the question why was she with his brother.) A cute kid who loves his dad. A police detective brother. A gruff editor boss. But the episode felt clunky and was confusing to me. The guy had no idea what was happening to him and he "figures out" he's supposed to help this one guy. And suddenly he knows he's going to be doing this more??? Maybe I missed some key lines of dialogue at the end, I don't know, but I really wasn't intrigued enough to find out.

Have you been watching the new season premieres? What are your favorite shows? Are you watching any new shows?

Dream Big!

I spent the weekend checking off items on my To Do list. One of those was finding a designer for our continuity blog so I did a lot of googling and web surfing. When I was at one web designer's portfolio, I realized I hadn't been to several writer friend's websites in a long time given the changes I saw. Yikes! Some friend I am, but I did spend a little time getting caught up.

I wanted to point out one post on Elizabeth Boyle's blog in particular. She wrote about attending a workshop given by the talented Debbie Macomber where Debbie asked people to "dream big" and write down their goals on index cards. Elizabeth fought writing hers, but finally did it and well, you'll have to click on the link above to see her results.

I'm not at all surprised by what happened.

When I was single, I made a list of all the qualities I wanted in a husband. Some were general, a few were very specific. I kept the list in my organizer...for years. After dating one Mr. Wrong after another, I had pretty much given up finding Mr. Right and stuck the list in the back of my organizer so I could forget about it. Just couldn't throw it away for some reason. And you know what? A few years later I ended up marrying a man who met all my list requirements!

I'm not sure why I stopped writing down what I wanted. I had proof doing so worked. And quite well at that!

But thanks to Elizabeth's inspiring post (and Debbie who got her started in the first place), I'm going to do it again. Okay, I've already done it. I wrote down my goals on a pink index card yesterday (I figured why wait), and I tucked the list in my organizer.

Why don't you do the same? Write down your goals and/or dreams, and then we can see what happens together!

Have a wonderful Monday!

My Dream House

I got this from Marianne who got it from Tori.

Your home is a Rough Adrenaline Headquarters Your kitchen consists of dilithium-powered food replicators, manned by obedient robot slaves, who are sure to never, ever rebel. I mean, it's preposterous to even consider it. There's a pantry stocked with beef jerky. Oh, and deer jerky. Your study has every science fiction title ever written. One of your garages is home to your ATVs, hangglider, snowmobiles, and jetskis. It also containts a truck the size of a boat, which pulls a boat the size of a bus. Your home also includes a robot repair bay, where your mechanized servants are routinely fitted with new restraining bolts. (It's just a precaution.) Your guests enjoy your collection of Warren Miller films. MAN those guys are nuts. Outside is your radio telescope, listening constantly for alien transmissions. Especially invaders. They'll come eventually, even if nobody believes you. (Nobody does.) And, you have a pet -- a taun-taun named "Padme". Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream Home!

Okay, I love the X-wing fighter in the garage! Right up my alley. And who wouldn't want their own room full of climbing walls and a floor that inflates when you have no one to belay you. Is that perfect or what??

Free Book Sunday!

It's that time again!

Here are your random numbers:

3
Timestamp: 2007-09-23 18:39:49 IST

This week's winner is Tori. She won with her comment on last Sunday's post!

Tori, please pick a book off the list here and email me your choice and snail address. Thanks!

BTW, if you've won a book, you should have it soon! I found a stack of packages all addressed and ready to go that I thought had already been mailed for me. Sorry about that. And I thought I'd been so good keeping up with everything.

I've been crossing items off my To Do list this weekend. Not exactly a fun task, but necessary one. Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Guilty Pleasures

When I handed Angus back to his mommy, she handed me a magazine. Not just any magazine, but the latest issue of US. She'd bought it at the airport to read on her flight home. Don't know about you, but I love trashy magazines. I never get a chance to read them unless I'm having my hair done so am usually content to scan the various covers while in line at the grocery store.

But, boy oh boy is reading one cover to cover so much fun!

From the fashions (who wore it best?), the pictures (Stars-they're just like us!) and the gossip, I had a fun time gobbling this magazine up. There was a two page picture of the cast of Heroes, even! But for someone who at one point in my life couldn't wait for her Entertainment Weekly to arrive in the mailbox, I felt so out of the world of pop culture and celebrity when they talked about new shows, stars and upcoming movies due out. That's what I get for living in a cave with no cable!

One article I really enjoyed was US picks the 20 Most Romantic DVDs. I agreed with some on their list. Eight of them I hadn't seen. But the list got me thinking. What were my favorite romantic movies? In no particular order, here are a few of mine:

• Pride and Prejudice
• Ever After
• Love Actually (Notting Hill, too)
• The Princess Bride
• While You Were Sleeping
• Pretty Woman
• The Cutting Edge
• Notorious
• Ladyhawke
• Somewhere in Time

What are some of your favorite romantic movies? I want to make a list of romantic movies to rent the next time hubby goes out of town. Help me out, please!

A Good Night

I have discovered the way to have a peaceful night of sleep with so many animals in the house. First, keep Smalls outside. She definitely was the feline ring leader. With her gone, there were no hisses, no growls, nothing but two kitties who plopped down in their normal spots on the bed and went to sleep. They didn't even wake me in the middle of the night for rubs! Maybe they just needed a night to get used to our house-guest. The reason doesn't really matter. It was the quiet that counted!

Second, make sure Angus has enough exercise and fun. We'd played with him on Tuesday, but I wasn't able to take him for a walk and we'd had Irish Dance class in Portland (one hour of driving time RT and class time). Not the most fun for a doggy to have to put up with. I wanted to make up for that yesterday. Easy to do since the kidlets have early release on Wednesdays so once homework was finished there was still plenty of afternoon playtime remaining.

Angus lost his tags somewhere, assuming the backyard, but it could have been the minivan, too, so son got his handy-dandy metal detector out and the two of them searched the yard. No luck finding the tags, but they had a lot of fun. Then the girls joined in and played chase.

After dinner, Hubby and kids took Angus on a much-needed walk. When they got home, Angus stayed outside as the kids rode bikes. Then Angus, the kids and I played a fun game with running and parking inside. Needless to say, we were all worn out. But it worked. When it came time for bedtime, Angus followed us upstairs. We kissed him goodnight. That was the last we heard from him or anyone from that matter. I got up this morning when the alarm went off. I found Angus sound asleep on the stair landing. Such a sweetie!

None of us want to give Angus back. He's such a sweetie, we hate to see him go. We plan on enjoying our time with him today! Fortunately he'll be paying us another visit in October and we can't wait!

Three cats and a dog

My three furbabies are not happy. Their humble abode has been overrun by a large, four-legged creature that would like nothing more than to chase them around the house and yard. Since I knew this would be the case before hand, I made a plan. All three cats would stay in the master bedroom. The dog would have the rest of the house and the yard.

A good plan.

Except last night, the dog wanted to sleep with me.

I tried to get him to sleep with one of the kidlets. No way. I tried to make him a bed on the staircase landing where he'd taken a nap. Nope. But I couldn't let him into my room because of the cats so all through the night I would hear pawing on the door. This, of course, would rattle the cats who, for the first time ever united together in a feline front, stood on the opposite side of the door and hissed. I would chase them away from the door, see if the dog needed to go outside and then give him some love so he'd go back to sleep. This went on from eleven last night until six-thirty this morning. Wanna guess how much sleep I got?

And then what wasn't the best of plans but was still sorta working okay, totally disintegrated. Who am I kidding? It exploded right in my face. One of the kidlets, who shall remain nameless, went to get the cats' food bowls and let out the indoor/outdoor cat. She darted down the stairs, a streak of dark fur, and came face to face with the dog.

Barks resonated through the house. Both animals stood frozen staring at each other. One so excited he was shaking. The other with its back arched and hair sticking out. A stand-off.

One of the kidlets quickly opened the back door. The cat sprinted out. Okay, those four little paws barely grazed the hardwood floor and probably would have won the Gold medal for the hundred yard dash had this been an officially sanctioned event. The door was slammed shut and then total chaos reigned.

Somehow I managed to get everyone, two feet or four feet, fed and the two footers to school on time. In case you wondered, hubby is out of town.

The cat is still outside. She came by for a bite of breakfast earlier. I just saw her sitting on the fence, scoping out what's happening inside. The dog is waiting by the door. Each time he sees the cat his paws do a little shuffle on the floor.

Somehow I need to get the cat back into the house without the dog noticing. Not sure how to accomplish this on my own. Any ideas?

Meet Angus

This is Angus, an adorable and friendly Wheaton Terrier. The kidlets have been asking to get a dog forever. Hubby has said no forever. But our friends needed someone to watch Angus this week, so we volunteered for the job. Needless to say, the kids (well, Mackenna and Rose since Finn is at school) are counting the hours until we pick him up. The only ones not excited about the temporary addition to the McClone household are the three cats.

I'm ready to play dog auntie. I have Angus' raw food defrosting in the fridge. I have his bones on the counter. Long walks around the neighborhood will have to wait until hubby gets home due to my ankle, but other than that I think I'm set. Still if you have any dog tips, please let me know. The last time I had a dog was back when in high school and my mom took care of everything. But seriously, how hard can it be?

Yet another...

Just got home from Urgent Care. My oldest has strep, too. That's four out of five of us. Hoping hubby remains healthy or gets it before he's supposed to go away again!

That's about it for today. Head and throat hurt. Daughter is comfortable now so I'm going back to bed.

Have a nice day!

And the free book goes to...

Wow! Lots of posts this week and a few new faces, too. Thanks so much! For any new readers, each Sunday I give away a free book. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment on the blog. Each comment counts as an entry.

Here are your random numbers:

21
Timestamp: 2007-09-16 18:50:52 IST

This week's winner is Suzanne. She won with her comment on the post Bug Says...

Suzanne, please pick a book off the list here and email me your choice and snail address. Thanks!

Oh, and I never got back to Marianne who asked if she got an automatic entry in each contest like Dru since she posted a review of my books. I'm only counting reviews done after the start of the contest, otherwise I'd have to count all reviews everywhere and that would be too much work for me.

And right now work is the last thing I want or need.

I have a sprained ankle and strep throat. Yesterday morning, it hurt to swallow, but I was in Idaho and didn't have time or know where to get checked. I decided to suck it up and just drive home last night. Rolled in around 11:30 pm and headed to urgent care this morning. I'm on antibiotics so should be feeling better soon.

Since I was there, I asked if she'd take a peek at my ankle. It's still swollen and bruised and a little painful. She said no heavy use for two weeks and limited use for the two weeks after that. She said four weeks to heal fully. I'm pretty bummed about that.

At least the Irish dance feis (competition) went well for my oldest. She has two dances she needs to win to have all her dances in the same level. Having them in the same level is important because then she can move classes and be with one of her best friends again. She won one the light jig, and placed third in the slip jig. One step closer! She also came home with two trophies, not to mention other placement medals.

Our youngest danced for the first time in something called the Tir Na nOg, which means the land of eternal youth. The dance was for children under the age of five who don't normally compete. She had a blast out there. The crowd was clapping for all the little kids, who finally got to take the stage. They deserved a chance in the spotlight after spending their days waiting and watching their older brothers and sisters compete. After the dance, the judge called all the kids over and talked to them. Everyone won a medal. Gorgeous, big round medals that said Tir Na nOg. They are so cool looking, my oldest was disappointed she didn't get one of them.

I was supposed to teach tonight, but since I'm contagious I can't. I missed last week's class because hubby was out of town and Rose was sick. Not the best start for the year, but what are you going to do? Plus someone needs to stay home with son. He should be able to school tomorrow though. Fingers crossed!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Portland Ice Festival

The Climbing Cutie is organizing this year's Portland Ice Festival at the Portland Rock Gym on Saturday, September 29th from 5 to 10 pm.

If you're local, show up. It'll be a great time to benefit a worthy cause-keeping Hyalite Canyon in Montana open. There will be climbing demonstrations, competitions, raffles and free beer. Not mention lots of fun. Oh, and the Cutie wanted me to mention that plenty of other climbing cuties will be on hand!

If you're not local, but would still like to help the Climbing Cutie raise funds for his cause, email me and I'll tell you how you can do it!

Busy morning

I'm taking the girls and driving to Boise today for an Irish Dance Competition. I hurt my ankle last night and that threw all my plans for getting ready for the trip out the window so I'm behind. Nothing new, really, but it will make the drive interesting since it's my right ankle. I'll post once I arrive!

Hope you're having a great Friday!

Made it to Idaho. I didn't realize they were one hour ahead here so I'm glad I figured that out or it could have caused problems in the morning. The two girls are fast asleep already. The seven hour drive wore them out. I'm tired, too. I actually am going to get to bed at a decent hour for once! I just need to unwrap my ankle and ice it a little. Sweet dreams all!

Love,
Melissa

My Not-so-brave New World

Since Sunday, I've taken two showers, done two loads of laundry, washed two loads of dishes, gotten no exercise and written six pages on the book. I have picked up the mail once and only remembered to take out the garbage this morning after I heard the truck rolling down the street. Not a very good week. Toss in a sick four year old and what do you have? A mommy ready for a vacation all by herself.

I have entered the ranks of those with traveling spouses. Hubby has always taken business trips, but they were so infrequent who was I to complain? Okay, I may have complained once or twice, but hey, when a family is as busy as we are, any change in the routine can have rippling effects.

Well, hubby took a new position at work a couple of months ago and his travel schedule has finally kicked in. He was gone last week (one night). He's gone right now (left Sunday morning and returning today). He's got a trip for next week, too.

Some women I know have the "single-during-the-week" mom routine down. With their husbands gone Monday through Friday, they run things like well-oiled machines and know exactly how to deal with whatever might come up. They've given me advice. They've offered support. One even came over and brought me dinner last night. I just can't ever see myself handling it as well as them.

Why?

Because hubby pretty much runs things around here so I can concentrate on the kids and my writing. A few examples:

Hubby does all the cooking unless it's a holiday and/or we're having company. He makes the kids lunches and breakfasts, too. When I'm on deadline, he comes home to make sure I eat because well, if he didn't, I'd forget to feed myself. Not the kids though. Somehow I always remember them.

Hubby does all the laundry except for the folding. That's my job. Of course, I see nothing wrong with piles of clean clothes on the floor for days at a time so sometimes he helps out with that. He also irons because I also see nothing wrong with a few wrinkles.

Needless to say, I have gotten totally spoiled by my loving, indulgent hottie of a husband. I've been living in Fantasyland and am now being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the real world of a working mom. It sucks, but I have no choice. Which means I have to get my act together. Pronto.

December 1 isn't that far away. If the kids and I are going to survive the weeks leading up to that deadline without needing counselling afterwards, I must have a full-proof plan in place ASAP. I know this week with a sick kid won't be the norm, but I still have to be ready for whatever comes my way.

I found a link with articles on the affect of a traveling spouse on a marriage, but have yet to find anything telling me how to survive the days without him and still get some writing done. I'll keep looking.

In the meantime I'm counting the hours until his flight from Dallas touches down. I really miss him!

Bug says...

There's a guy on the climbing forum I belong to. Well, actually there are lots of guys, but this particular one is named Bug. I have never met Bug. Until today, I can't remember much interaction with him except when he asked if I'd had a humourectomy to which I replied I had no sense of humor whatsoever.

On one of the forum threads, Bug posted something totally unexpected, simple yet profound, that I sent him a private message asking if I could share his words with you.

Men marry a woman thinking she will not change. She does.
Women marry a man thinking he will change. He does not.

If you're single, memorize these words, and please don't forget them. There will be a quiz later.

I know a few divorced couples who learned Bug's words the hard way, so if you're married, you might want to remember them as well. No quiz because marriage is hard enough on its own.

I found Bug's words to be thought provoking and true. I see them in my marriage and several of my friends' marriages, that's for sure. How about you?

His words also sent the story generating gears cranking in my head. Now I've got a new idea that can percolate while I finish Christmas on the Mountain.

I'd love to hear more about what Bug has to say. I wonder if he'd be willing to share a few more gems with me and how much beer that would cost me!

Tired Tuesday

I drank an ice tea with dinner last night and that was enough to keep me awake until two in the morning. I usually avoid caffeine so was surprised when bedtime rolled around and I wasn't sleepy at all. Of course, I'm dragging this morning. I think both the little one and I will take a nap today!

I was awake last night, but not alert enough to write so I watched Sense and Sensibility (available for free via On Demand) and searched for a wedding themed blog template. We (continuity authors) are putting together a group blog to promote The Wedding Planner series that comes out in 2008. My search came up empty-handed. Anyone know any good template sites or designers who do custom work?

Before I forget, thanks for your well wishes for my youngest. She woke up with no fever today. I hope it stays away this time!

Update: The doctor's office called. Even though youngest's strep test came out negative yesterday, it was positive this morning. At least we know what it is going on now!

Not much to say

I may have figured out a possible explanation for Friday's Target tantrum besides bad manners or tiredness. The littlest kidlet came down with a fever on Saturday, has that glassy-eyed look down and loses it at the drop of a hat.

I managed to get my AAs emailed off yesterday. This is the most changes I've ever found at this stage, but then again, they stopped giving us the manuscript at the line edit stage. I really liked seeing the manuscript twice before it went to print, but now only seeing it once, I am very careful when I go through it.

After I sent off the AAs last night and got the kids to bed, I dove back into the book after listening to a bunch of Christmas songs and staring at my hero's picture to put me in the mood. Four new pages!!! A good start after not working on the story for a week. I'm writing the last chapter, then I'll go back to Chapter Four where I left off. I have to have a general idea how the book ends or I get lost along the way.

As for the search on Mount Hood, they didn't find the climbers. If you want to read more go to Oregonlive. Not sure how long the links will be there, but as of this morning they had links on the home with articles, maps and videos.

Okay, time for a game of Candyland with the little one! What is your favorite board game from childhood? What about now?

Have a great Monday!

Free Book Winner is...

Thanks for posting comments this week!

Here are your random numbers:

1
Timestamp: 2007-09-09 17:30:50 IST

The winner is Dru. Dru was the #1 entry thanks to her review of my book The Wedding Adventure on the new romance review site The Long and Short of It! Since she posted a review her name is automatically entered in every weekly contest. Please contact me, Dru, with your snail address and book choice. See here for your choices!

A new contest is now underway. Post a comment so you, too, can win a free book!

Good day. Bad day.

I heard from my editor yesterday. Thumbs up on the proposal! Also no revisions/changes!!!! Yay! Now all I have to do is finish my AA/page proofs for SOS Marry Me so I can get back to work on it! That's what I'll be doing this weekend in between family stuff. I'm also keeping my original inspiration for my hero, too. Why mess with what is working?

The proposal acceptance set my mood for the day. I went to Pilates with a smile on my face. Even when I burned my daughter's grilled cheese sandwich and set off a cacophony of smoke detectors, I didn't let it bother me.

But when I had to wake her up early from her nap to pick up her brother and sister from school, I got a little nervous. She wasn't ready to get up. But we had to go and after school headed to Target to buy a birthday gift. Big mistake. I should probably capitalize those letters, that's how big a mistake going anywhere with her was. Ever seen a mom and kid in a store with kid crying and screaming and running away from said mom? That was me. It wasn't pretty. It was downright frustrating and embarrassing and made the day not-so-good anymore. Being a mom is so hard sometimes.

In other news... This weekend searchers will be on Mount Hood looking for the climbers lost in December, Jerry Cooke and Brian Hall. The Oregon Mountain Rescue Council has been planning this exercise for months. I hope they find them for the families' sake.

Have a great Saturday!

Hero Worthy?

For the first time, I've been using a real person's picture (i.e. not someone normally in the public eye like an actor or model) as the inspiration for my SAR hottie hero, Jake Porter. I found the picture on the Internet eight months or so ago doing a google search and just sort of imagined this hero looking like him. This wasn't someone I knew. The problem is I have gotten to know him a little now (strange how things work out like that), and as hubby put it, "Have you told this guy you have his picture up on your monitor 24/7 and will be staring at it every day for the next five months?"

Maybe it's no big deal. Hubby has no problem with it. He knows I'll be on to the next inspiration once the book is finished. But it could be embarrassing if I ever meet the guy in person and say, call him Jake. So...

I've been thinking of finding another inspiration. Since I'm doing AAs right now on the other book I have a few more days to make up my mind. But I thought I should maybe have a backup or two in case I do decide to go with someone else.

Here's a video clip of a possible hero. Just so you know, Jake Porter's character traits are as follows: 32 years old, blue eyes, killer smile, brown hair, athletic build, six feet tall. He climbs mountains, rescues lost and injured climbers, plays with kids and runs a brewpub. Oh, yeah, he also romances the heroine at Christmastime.



Ace Young has been in the running for one of my past heroes, but lost out in the end. He's got the look I love (seriously, one of my fave eye candies) and I think he could provide the inspiration I need for Jake.

What do you think? Is Ace hero-worthy? Can you see him as Jake Porter or not?

Titanic: The Sequel

My littlest one's first day at preschool went great. Hubby met us for lunch afterwards at Red Robin where she ate her fave mac & cheese and walked out with a pink balloon in hand. A perfect day for a four year old! This morning she wanted to go to school again. I had to tell her she only goes three days a week, not five!

I'm busy working on my AAs for my June 2008 release. I want to get them done and back to the editor ASAP so I can get back to work on the book. Of course, I haven't heard about my proposal yet. I do know she received it though. Fingers crossed she likes it and there won't be huge revisions!

My friend Grace emailed me a link to this yesterday. She is a huge fan of the movie Titanic and attended the Titanic dinner with me back in April.



I thought the "preview" was well done the way they used all the various movie clips. What did you think? Is there a sequel to a movie you wish they'd make?

Freedom

This morning, I dropped the youngest kidlet off for her first day of school. She switched preschools this year and is now attending the same school as her sister and brother. No more commuting twenty minutes each way to drop her off at the other school. It's 8:20 and I'm done with the morning school prep. Amazing!

Last night I went to a Women's Climb Night at a local gym. It's a monthly event, but I'd never made it to one before due to scheduling conflicts. I'd heard via group emails that there's always people who show up so I figured I'd make my way down even though the staff member who organizes it was on vacation. Well, guess what? No one else showed up.

Luckily, the climbing cutie was there with a friend of his. Good thing I had my camera with me! They graciously let me climb with them. Cutie was helping me with technique, and I was totally flailing. It wasn't pretty. I hate to think how I looked making it up all those routes at Smith Rock. Yikes. I'm a newbie, but felt even less than than that hanging on the wall. Not sure what that would make me. A zero, perhaps?

But I learned a lot and know what to work on. My legs and hands are sore today, too. Kind of strange since I didn't climb that much, though I ended up with blisters again. I think those and peeling fingers and hands are just a given now.

Oh, and I did make it to the top of the big wall, which my fear of heights had always stopped me before, so this was a big accomplishment for me even though I've climbed much higher outside! I didn't even realize it until I got home and hubby asked how far up I made it the big wall! And even though I suck even worse than I thought, it was still a good night of climbing.

What did you do last night?

First Day of School

The two oldest start school today. This weekend was filled with back-to-school prep. Uniforms washed and laid out. Backpacks cleaned. Shoes shined. And hair cuts.

My two daughters decided to cut-off their waist length hair and donate to a charity that makes wigs for people who lose their hair due to illness. They came up with this on their own and I was very proud of them for wanting to help others. The place cut their hair for free and will mail in their ponytails for them, too.

I did, however, make sure this was what they wanted to do. My worst-case scenario brain had them bursting into tears once it was done. But both were adamant about it.

My oldest had super model hair that everyone wants. Natural highlights and waves. Just gorgeous. But she's pleased with how things turned out and happy she had her hair cut. The new 'do looks awesome on her. Thick with that natural wave and so very healthy looking. She loves it!

This was our youngest's first hair cut. She's four and a half. Not cutting her hair was my attempt to keep her a baby as long as possible. Now she's got this hip little bob and looks absolutely adorable. She's spent the last couple of days primping and preening.

We woke to rain this morning which just tells me summer is truly over! What's the weather like where you are?

Better get them up and ready now!

Hope you have a great day!

Fantasy Football 2007

Each year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we have our annual fantasy football draft for the upcoming season of the 45th Parallel League. It's a date marked down in our calendars. Something we do not miss. Ever! My brother-in-law is the league commissioner and there are ten teams: Salem Fluff, The Underdog Pound, Ratdogs, DeathBlo, Chico's Bail Bonds, Air Biscuits, Haskells' Havoc, The Exterminators, The Oafs and Jason's Juggernauts. Half the teams are coached/co-coached by women.

The draft is nothing but a bunch of smack-talk, yummy snacks and exhibition games playing in the background. Some memorable moments of past drafts include a former coach drafting Keith Jackson (who didn't play, but was a ABC sports commentator, though there was a tight end named Keith Jackson, too, but he no longer played when this happened), someone drafting a player who'd been killed in the off-season and another drafting a player who was sitting in jail. In case you haven't figured it out, half the coaches don't follow football closely and do it mainly for the fun draft party and the other half live and breathe the game.

Yesterday we had a bit of a controversy because one player purposely tanked her line-up for the last two games of the season so she could get the first pick in the draft this year. That's against the rule so we voted and changed those two losses to wins meaning she got the fifth pick, not the first! Serious stuff, I'm telling you.

Since this was the first real television I've watched all summer, I got to see a few funny commercials. Sports related, of course. I also discovered a series of Fantasy Football Rule Ads put out the last two years, that I wanted to share with you just in case you are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of fantasy football.

Fantasy Rule #8



Fantasy Rule #17



Fantasy Rule #19



Fantasy Rule #32



I spent most of the draft revising a scene in my proposal. I stopped long enough to snack and help hubby decide who are next draft pick would be. This is the team we (the Ratdogs) came up with:

QB Carson Palmer
QB Rex Grossman
QB JP Losman
QB Chad Pennington
RB LaDainian Tomlinson
RB Maurice Jones-Drew
RB Tatum Bell
RB TJ Duckett
RB Vernand Morency
RB Jason Snelling
WR Anquan Boldin
WR Lee Evans
WR Laveraunues Coles
WR Braylon Edwards
WR Isaac Bruce
WR Dwayne Jarrett
TE LJ Smith
TE Owen Daniels
PK Shayne Graham
PK Stephen Gostkowski
DT NY Giants
DT NY Jets

After the draft, people sat around and helped me brainstorm names for my hero. They couldn't understand why I didn't want to name him Jerry (Jerry Porter is a football player.) Needless to say, the brainstorming got out of hand pretty fast. Right before I left this commercial came on. I thought it was funny and wanted to share.



We had the number one pick in the draft this year which means we came in dead last. This after an undefeated start the first few weeks. The only good thing is we can't finish worse than we did last year!!!! Go Ratdogs!

Hope you enjoy Labor Day!

Name Game

Something about my hero's first name (Matt) has been bugging me for a few days now. Every time I went to type it in I'd catch myself typing in another male character's name or hesitating. Last night I realized my problem.

In my December 07 release, Win, Lose...or Wed!, I have a secondary character named Matt. Not only is he named Matt, but he's a paramedic. Matt Porter in Christmas on the Mountain is a search and rescue guy. But they are totally different characters.

It's a little too close, don't you think?

Luckily, the AAs for SOS Marry Me are sitting right next to me so I can change Matt Porter's name in there, too. He makes a brief appearance in that story. The problem now is I need a new first name. Some names just come to me, but other times, like now, I draw a blank. Not good when I need to come up with something by tonight so I can make the change before I email my proposal.

Anyone want to help? The new name must fit with the last name Porter and sound good with my heroine's first name Carly.

Here's a list I came up with after scanning a list of climbers I found via google, but I'm not limiting his name to these:

Jed
Blake
Wyatt
Bryden
Sean
Ben
Mark

Do any of those sound like a search and rescue hero-type guy who also owns a brewpub? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Free book winner!

Proposal is due today so this will be short. Thanks for all your entries!

Here are your random numbers:

19
Timestamp: 2007-09-02 17:53:39 IST

The winner is Michelle who just posted her comment last night! Please contact me, Michelle, with your snail address and book choice. See here for your choices!

A new contest is now underway. Post a comment so you, too , can win a free book!

Working hard

These pictures are from Smith Rock. They were taken by my friend, Tiffany, on our Friday climb with the kids. Hope you enjoy the nice scenery shots.

Now for today's entry...



I haven't been on-line much in the last twenty-four hours. But I have been busy. Pilates killed me (a different instructor who tortured us on the reformer machine.) Enjoyed a great and enlightening talk with the wife of a PMR member and a member herself though she doesn't go out on rescues. Procrastinated very little (though did pay a visit to the climbing forum to see if anyone was climbing this weekend around here), but other than that I have been so disciplined. Which means I've been writing!

I've been hard at work whipping chapter three into shape. The first scene is finally finished. Two scenes remain. The missing one and the final one. The final one is drafted and has been critiqued already. But last night I realized I'd made two big errors in it. One is huge since it impacts the rest of the story. Good thing I reread my synopsis otherwise I would have been in trouble!

A special belated birthday wish to Brandy, a romance reader extraordinaire who faithfully comments on this blog each and every day. In my pursuit of being disciplined I totally forgot to wish her a Happy Birthday yesterday! Hope it was a great one, my friend!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I'll post the winner of the free book on Sunday so there's still time to get your name added if you post a comment!