Happy Veterans Day

My uncles fought in World War 2. My dad was in the Korean War. That's only the beginning of my family and friends who have served this great country of ours

All I can say is to the veterans who were willing to pay the ultimate price for those of us back home...

Thank you for your service!

Home For Christmas Winner

My great Friday turned not-so-great when I ended up at the animal hospital with my 15 year old cat Miss Mousie. Sigh...  We're hoping it was just a reaction to some medication she's on. Otherwise I fear we'll be back there today.

I've decided to give two copies of the book away! I used a random number generator to pick the winners. And they are:

1) Cinderbella

2) Cindy Hamilton

Please use the Contact button on the menu bar to send me your email address.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. I'm so happy to see that some of you have already read the novella and discovered Montana Born Books! They are putting out wonderful stories! And to B, I'm so sorry about your cousin. Prayers and condolences to you and your family.

Time to recheck on my cat! It's been a late night, but hubby took the early shift so I could get some sleep.

Enjoy your Saturday. I'll be catwatching and writing.

A Very Good Friday Giveaway!

Last night....

Stanford beat Oregon! Awesome!

The Portland Timbers beat the Seattle Sounders! Woo-hoo!

A pet store agreed to host my oldest's 4-H club's Kong Dog Toy Drive service project! Great!

Today...

An email from one of my soldiers arrived this morning! Yippee!

Katherine Garbera's A Cowboy for Christmas (A Copper Mountain Christmas novella like my Home For Christmas) is currently ranked #10 on the Kindle Holiday Bestseller list! Exciting!

I'm so thrilled for my friend, Katherine. She's the one who suggested I be a part of the Montana Born Books anthology. If you like cowboys and Montana, buy her book! I'd love to see her hit #1!

If you want to pick up Katherine's novella click on the link above or use the widget below.

Since it's been such a good morning and I'm oh-so Cardinal proud, I'm giving away a copy of my novella Home For Christmas. It's a Kindle-format eBook, but you can read that from your computer or phone, too!

Comment to enter. I'll pick a winner tonight.

Check back in the morning to see if it's you because I'll need the winner's email address so I can send them a copy of the book!

So...how are things going in your life?

I Wear Her Necklace

Have you lost a loved one? If so, did you become attached to something that reminded you of them? Something that helped you with the loss by making you feel closer to them, perhaps?

Both the heroines in my two Christmas stories lost people they loved—Rachel Murphy's parents and Grace Wilcox's Army Ranger husband and both woman hold onto something physical of their loved ones to help them.

In Home for Christmas, Rachel's parents were killed when she was a child. Her memories of them are fading, but she feels connected to her late parents by visiting the cemetery where they are buried once a week, sometimes more. Being at their graves brings her comfort and keeps her anchored in Phoenix. She can't imagine leaving the town where they are buried. She doesn't understand how her older brother could move to Montana.

In A Little Bit of Holiday Magic, Grace drives her late husband's pick-up truck. That truck meant the world to Damon who saved up to buy it when he was dating Grace. He cared and maintained the truck like it was an exotic sports car. And now it's something physical Grace has of her husband besides their son.

After someone read a draft of A Little Bit of Holiday Magic, she questioned the importance of the truck to Grace. The reader didn't think the heroine would be so attached to a vehicle. This was one of those plot thing/writing times when my character had taken the lead about the truck, not me. I fumbled with a not-very-convincing explanation, but I knew in my heart the truck belonged in the story and with my heroine.

After turning in the manuscript, I saw the video for the song Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice, a country singer. I don't know if I heard the song sometime before or while I was writing the story or if this was just synchronicity, but I couldn't believe how well the lyrics fit my story.  I've blogged about the video before, but it's worth another watch. Tissue warning!



Some authors say writing is the best therapy. I agree though we often don't realize how our own lives work themselves out in our stories. I sure didn't in this case. I wrote these two Christmas stories over six months apart. But I've done (and am doing) the same thing as my heroines after I lost a beloved friend to breast cancer in June 2012. I'd known Elizabeth since I was a year old. She was a second-mom-favorite-aunt rolled into one. She knew me as a child, a teenager, a young adult and a woman. She shared her wisdom and experiences, her love of travel and fine things, with me. She was a home away from home and as close as an email or phone call when I needed her.

It wasn't a grave I visited or a vehicle I drove, but a necklace I wore (and still wear)—a special piece of jewelry given to me the last time I was in San Diego to visit Elizabeth, only a couple weeks before she died.

My friend loved all things Egyptian. Her two Siamese cats are named Thoth and Maat. Elizabeth wore a gold scarab pendant with hieroglyphics on the back. My memories of the necklace around her neck are so vivid and it just reminds me of her so much. I didn't take the necklace off after her death. I even slept in it.

Almost a year and a half has passed since she died, and when I'm not wearing the necklace, I keep it on my nightstand, close to me while I sleep. It's just a piece of jewelry, but it brought (and still brings) me comfort. I'd love to know if you've ever done something similar after losing someone in your life.

Out a Day Early!

My Monday is not turning out as I planned and it's only 6 am! I woke up to discover my Montana Born Book's novella Home For Christmas released a day early on Amazon! I'm so excited. Or will be once I catch my breath!

Here's the back cover copy:

Ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Rachel Murphy loves the scent of gingerbread baking almost as much as she enjoys creating custom edible houses at Christmastime. But she needs a bigger kitchen if she wants to make the most of her impromptu holiday business.

Enter Nate Vaughn, handsome venture capitalist turned Montana dude ranch owner and her brother’s boss. Nate’s commercial kitchen is perfect for the baker. And he thinks she might be perfect for him…as a business partner.

After being burned by a celebrity baker, Rachel’s wary of Nate’s interest in her gingerbread houses, not to mention his mistletoe kisses. She should leave the Bar V5 ranch and return to Arizona. Or can Nate convince her she’s already home?

I hope you have a great Monday! Mine is going to be busier than I imagined!!!!

Digital Release Day!

I'm so excited! Today, A Little Bit of Holiday Magic, the final book in the Hood Hamlet Christmas Magic series, comes out today in digital format. The print version goes on sale next week for those who prefer paperbacks! Here's the back cover copy:

A new family…for Christmas? 

All widow Grace Wilcox wants is a fresh start for her and her young son, Liam. When her truck spins off the icy road, her rescuer turns out to be the hottest firefighter in Hood Hamlet, and even wary Grace can't say no to his offer of help!

Bill Paulson has stuck to his no-dating rule so far this Christmas, but having Grace in his home is testing his chivalrous side to the limit! Her little boy is melting his heart, even asking for a new daddy from Santa...

But Grace has already loved and lost one hero. Can she really let herself get close to another?

 You can buy the book at most eBook retailers including Amazon, BN, iBooks and Kobo.

If you're new to my Hood Hamlet books, they feature mountain rescue volunteers on Mount Hood in Oregon. Each book is standalone, but they were published in the following order:

1) Rescued By The Magic of Christmas (digital)
2) Snow-Kissed Reunion (free on-line read at harlequin.com. Click here. )
3) Christmas Magic on the Mountain (digital)
4) Firefighter Under the Mistletoe (digital and large print paperback)
5) Winning Back His Wife (digital and paperback)
6) A Little Bit of Holiday Magic (digital and paperback)

I'll be celebrating the release with various contests through my newsletter for subscribers, Facebook events and guest blogging. I'll be posting a list next week!

Happy Halloween!

Rose's Pumpkins!

Yesterday, Rose and I finally made it to the pumpkin patch. We'd planned to go two weekends ago, but Finn hurt his foot. We'd planned to go last weekend, but the rain was coming down too hard. Today was it.

The first pumpkin patch we drove to was closed. The second one, too. It looked like what pumpkins remained had been part of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise. Yikes.

We finally found a pumpkin patch that was open. I got some cute shots of Rose sitting on hay bales. We looked at a Tee Pee made of corn husks. She didn't want to go in the corn maze so we grabbed a wheel barrow to gather a few pumpkins. Slim pickings here, too. She found three little ones that cost us $5. One was big enough to carve, the other two would be good for painting. I called hubby and told him we were going to make another stop.

Not at a pumpkin patch. A grocery store. That was the only place that had big pumpkins. Rose picked out four, including the one carved above. She was so happy. All she wanted was to visit a pumpkin patch. Once she did that, she was all smiles. Since this was a mom-daughter date, we got small Frosty's at Wendy's to cap off our afternoon. I let her skip her class with me at church so she could do her homework and carve a pumpkin with her dad.

I just love the cat pumpkin!

Is that not perfect for our house! She also painted the rainbow pumpkin next to it. The older kids were too busy to carve theirs. Fingers crossed they have time tomorrow.

As for costumes, ours are finally firmed up:
Mackenna is going as a minion from Despicable Me 2
Finn is going as a bank robber from the video game Payday
Rose is going as a graffiti artist (well, one that might star in a Disney Channel show!)
Chaos is going as a bumble bee
Cato is going to use Chaos' astronaut costume from last year.

We've got the candy in the pantry, lights out front, orange lights on either side of the garage, a scary ghoulish thing on the door and zombie caution tape. Tomorrow the rest of the lights and spider webs will go up.

With everything we've had going on, I'm so happy we're pretty much ready for Halloween. Are you?

Street team members wanted!

No new illnesses or injuries for the kidlets! Woo-hoo! Just a couple of appointments and vet visits for the cats. That I can deal with. Life may finally be slowing down. Yay!

Montana Born Books, the imprint releasing my upcoming novella Home for Christmas on November 5th, is looking for street team members. What's a street team? It's a group of readers who get advanced copies of books. They read them, post reviews when the book goes on sale, share FB statuses and get prizes (swag, gift cards.) They belong to a group where they can talk to the authors and each other. So if you like cowboys and romance novels, think about it and let me know if you're interested via my contact form.

So is anyone else finding it hard to believe that Halloween is only a few days away? The candy is in the pantry. (I've snuck a few pieces. Love Butterfingers!) The kids have their costumes and are so excited. Chaos is going to be a bee, but I doubt she's excited about that! Are you ready for Halloween?

The fun never ends...

I thought things would be settling down around here. But nope.

On Wednesday, Miss Mousie came down with what Spirit had. Luckily we could get her on the right meds right away on Thursday and she's doing fine. Spirit has completely recovered, too! Amazing considering a week ago I thought we might have to put her down!

On Friday, Rose twisted her ankle at a trampoline place. She had to miss her soccer game on Saturday and limped around most of the weekend.

On Saturday night, we ended up at the ER with Finn. He could barely walk after his swim meet on Saturday. The kid still managed two personal bests and two state A times, but turns out he has tendonitis in his left foot. He's in an air splint, and we see his pediatrician tomorrow. I was just so happy something wasn't broken. The last time this happened we discovered he'd been swimming for two weeks with a broken arm.

As you can imagine, I'm ready for life to settle down. I hope to be back to my normal blogging once that happens. Been praying and crossing fingers. Seriously not sure how much more this mom can take.

On the writing front, I wanted to tell/remind you about a couple things.

First, if you haven't signed up for my newsletter, please do. Click here or go to the right column to sign up. I'll be doing giveaways for subscribers in November and December to celebrate my two Christmas releases. Gift cards and gingerbread are the prizes so sign-up before 11/1 to be entered in the November giveaway.

Second, there's a Goodreads giveaway going on right now for copies of my upcoming release A Little Holiday Magic. Go here to enter or you can use this gadget to get there, too.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

A Little Bit of Holiday Magic

by Melissa McClone

Giveaway ends November 01, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Hope you had a nice and uneventful weekend!

Back to Normal...

I hope things are getting back to normal around here. My daughter, who had shoulder surgery on Tuesday, is heading back to school today. My sick cat Spirit, who I spent 7 hours with yesterday at the emergency vet after two vet visits on Friday, now has medication to help her feel better. My novella that I turned in on Monday was accepted, too!

Of course, Beauty has discovered Sanchez. Who is Sanchez? A betta given to Mackenna by a friend and named after NY Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez who had the same shoulder surgery as my daughter on the same day. If you remember, Beauty was intent on killing Mackenna's goldfish Butler this summer. Yesterday we found Beauty on the dresser staring into Sanchez's bowl. Let's hope the door to the room remains closed or it won't be pretty.

So given this was happening in August, I guess things are back to normal.

As for me, I'm jumping back into a project I'd put on hold to write the Christmas novella! I can't wait and it lets me stay right next to Spirit in case she needs anything.

How are things where you are?

Home For Christmas

It's only October, but I'm already in the Christmas mood. Why? This November I'll have two Christmas romances out!

I've mentioned the first...A Little Bit of Holiday Magic from Harlequin Romance. This is the final story in my Hood Hamlet Christmas Magic series.

Now I want to show you the cover from the second release. Home For Christmas is a Copper Mountain Christmas novella part of Tule Publishing's Montana Born imprint. The book will first be release digitally on Amazon, then a print version of the anthology with authors Jane Porter and Katherine Garbera via Amazon also.

Needless to say, I'm very excited. What better place to spend Christmas than in the mountains?

Mount Hood, Oregon & Copper Mountain, Montana.

I've started Christmas shopping. I bought my first present back in July. How about you? Or are you a last minute shopper?

Catch up

Today my oldest had surgery. We checked in at 6 am and were home a little afternoon. I've spent the day playing nursemaid and watching TV with my daughter. We watched Catfish and the first three episodes of The Blacklist. Love James Spader in this!

Yesterday I finished my Christmas novella Home For Christmas part of the Copper Mountain Christmas Anthology. I've been working no this story for four weeks. I'm sure they're will be revisions but it felt so good to hit send. Crossing my fingers that they like it!

This weekend I wrote. The two youngest kidlets had a swim meet, but I stayed home. The only places I went were to pick up the oldest, get food and go to Mass.

Saturday I cried. Shasta the stray cat I'd found in my backyard crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He died in his foster's arms on the way to the emergency vet. So much like Rocket.

The last time I blogged was September 26th. Since then I've been trying to recover form the icky cold that took each one of us down and writing.

That's pretty much it! How about you?

Sick

I have not been feeling this week. Something is going around and my youngest brought it home. A head cold that just hangs on. Needless to say, I've been writing and taking it easy. But I saw this clip this morning and wanted to share. Long, but worth the time if you want a smile or laugh. Enjoy!




Hope you're well and stay healthy.

Found

I can't believe it's Friday! I had plans for a few blogs this week, but I got busy working on my Christmas Novella (pretty much all I was doing until yesterday) and then had a few cat things crop up and all the writing came to grinding stop!

On Wednesday, a new senior foster, Gabbro, came to stay with us for a few weeks. She's a fifteen year old black cat, so tiny. She was not doing as well in the shelter as they'd hoped. She's on a lot of medication and a picky eater. So far so good. She's a biter though. I have the scabs to show for it. But she's coming around. She's a little stiff in her movements so not a big jumper, but when I woke up my oldest guess who was in bed with her? Gabbro had gotten up there herself. Of course, she didn't know how to get down. I helped her! Might have to set up stairs like we did for Spirit. These old girls just aren't as nimble as they once were.

Then on Thursday morning, I received an email from Home Again telling me to renew Rocket's subscription. He's my furbaby who died in March. Needless to say, I started my morning off with a good cry.

Then about an hour later, I found this cat on my back porch. Well, in full disclosure mode, the two dogs found him. Though we didn't know the cat was a he. My first thought was he looked like Rocket, due to the coloring and long-hair.

I knew the dogs wouldn't hurt the cat, but I was worried the cat might freak and attack them. I planted myself between the cat and Cato, since I knew Chaos would listen to me. The puppy not so much. I ended up with two front paws caught on my track pants.

Rose saw me outside and came out to help, getting the dogs inside. The poor cat was so scared. And thin. Emaciated really.

I hadn't done dishes and used the last of the cat bowls for breakfast so I grabbed what I could find quick. I gave him food and water, but he just sat there. I emailed my contact at the shelter I foster for. I sent a second one with his picture, then went outside to sit with him.

He was growling under his breath, but I sat about a foot away and didn't try to touch him. He finally ate a little. I slowly reached for him, and he allowed me to pet him. Once he finished eating, I had to run inside, wash my hands, then check on Gabbro since she's adjusting to her new space. I received a reply from my shelter contact. She was calling to find out if the shelter had room and asked if I could get close enough to crate him.

The poor guy didn't move when I went to pick him up. He almost seemed relieved. I got him in a carrier with food and water. I put him in the sun and up high where the dogs couldn't bother him. I also made sure he could see inside to know he wasn't alone. I would have loved to bring him indoors, but I couldn't chance it with all my cats and the foster. Given his condition, not to mention matted fur and super long nails, he'd been outside on his own for awhile.

The shelter had room for him and named him Shasta. They set up a vet appointment for him, and I took him there a couple hours later. The vet agreed he is in bad shape. She couldn't believe he was even walking, let alone made it to my backyard. She was very pessimistic about his condition, but the shelter agreed to run blood tests and give him fluids. The vet cleaned him up. Matted fur was shaved and nails clipped. He didn't make a sound or fight any of this. Such a dear, good kitty

I then took him to the shelter. He has a wire cage to stay in. He's warm and safe. The shelter person let me know last night that he'd eaten and was a sweet boy.

Now, we wait to hear from the vet about his blood work. My hope is he's just starving, but his body reminded me of Rocket's at the end, when the cancer had taken over. I'm praying there's no underlying cause to his condition other than lack of food. No matter what the outcome with his tests, I'm happy Shasta showed up. At least yesterday and today he's been and is being loved. He has people who care about him, are taking care of him and are praying for him. He also has a nice indoor place to sleep and rest and fresh food and water.

UPDATE: The test results are back. YAY! Shasta has Hyper-T and an infection but both can be controlled/treated with medication. I'm so happy for the handsome guy! I will be visiting him at the shelter soon to see how he's doing! Thanks so much for all your prayers!

I'm not sure how Shasta found my backyard, but I'm really happy he did. 

Hope you have a nice Friday!

Monday links and shares

I'm busy writing so I thought I'd share a couple links I came across this weekend that I enjoyed.

The first is about parenting, and is from The Matt Walsh blog. Click here. I remember one of Rose's tantrums. It was in Target, and we stuck it out in spite of the glares and mutterings of other customers. Needless to say I really loved this blog!

Another is a commercial from Thailand's True. There are subtitles, but even without them you could figure out what was going on. Definitely worth three minutes of your time. But fair warning...tissue alert!



My friend Al sent me this link to a Buzzfeed article titled "15 Types of Readers, As Told By Cats and Dogs." Love, love, love it!

Do have any links you want to share?

Another week!

We've almost survived another week of full-time school. And this week hubby has been gone. But I've been so busy I've hardly noticed I'm alone during the day. Well, alone if I don't count the fur kids. One thing I realized this week is I wish there was a bus to take my oldest to her school and bring her home! Spoiled by the other two already!

One reason for wanting that bus is I started a new story, one I'm writing super fast, and having a blast with! I just can't wait to write and write again. Love when this happens! I'll tell you more about this project soon!

The kids are still loving school. Nothing but smiles. The only tears happened this morning when Rose was making her lunch. Chaos grabbed her sandwich off the counter and ate it. Thankfully, we had another package of ham in the fridge!

On the bummer side of things, my oldest is sidelined from swimming, right as the high school swim schedule gets underway. Her shoulder is still bothering her from her bike accident back in early July. She has an MRI on Monday. Would appreciate healing thoughts and prayers sent Mackenna's way. She's still going to practices and was at the first meet yesterday acting as the swim team manager. Sure hope she doesn't have to stay dry the entire season.

Well, time for me to get to work! Hope you have a wonderful Friday whatever you're doing!

Never Forget

I plan to read as many entries as I can from New York Times' Portraits of Grief and remember those who lost their lives twelve years ago.

Then I'll write letters to our service members who are putting their lives on the line for us today and every day.

It's the least I can do.

My New Cover!

I wanted to share the cover for my upcoming November release, A Little Bit of Holiday Magic, the final book in my Hood Hamlet Christmas Magic series that's available for preorder!

Here's the back cover copy:

A new family…for Christmas?

All widow Grace Wilcox wants is a fresh start for her and her young son, Liam. When her truck spins off the icy road, her rescuer turns out to be the hottest firefighter in Hood Hamlet, and even wary Grace can't say no to his offer of help!

Bill Paulson has stuck to his no-dating rule so far this Christmas, but having Grace in his home is testing his chivalrous side to the limit! Her little boy is melting his heart, even asking for a new daddy from Santa….

But Grace has already loved and lost one hero. Can she really let herself get close to another?

I also had Hot Damn Designs add the cover to my Facebook page. If you haven't liked the page, please do. Now that I have more time will be hanging out more there:

I'm going to be doing giveaways in November and December to celebrate my book's release and Christmas! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter(you can do so on the right) because at least two giveaways will be for subscribers only!

Small World

The first week of school has gone well! Yay!

Everyone is adjusting to the full-time schedule, including me! Of course, there hasn't been much homework. Next week will be a better test. But both of the younger kids are excited to head to the bus each morning and smiling when they walk in the door in the afternoon so that's a huge sigh of relief. I miss the kids, but am also enjoying the freedom to do things during the day.

Yesterday, I had lunch with my dear friend, Tiffany. We used to be neighbors. We used to climb together. We used to hang out a lot! But between our move and her being an ex-pat in London for a  couple of years, we haven't seen much of each other. We reconnected at The Bollywood Theater to have a belated birthday celebration (mine!)

We picked up right where we'd left off! I wasn't surprised at all.

What was surprising was who we saw at the restaurant...the woman who introduced us over ten years ago! It was fun catching up with her. Tiffany and I used to belong to be shareholders in the CSA she and her husband run. They noticed our addresses and that we were neighbors so introduced us so we could 1) carpool or 2) alternate picking up our harvest shares at the farm. We not only did that, but became friends! Pretty amazing we lived a couple houses away from each other and had never met!

Needless to say a wonderful time yesterday.

And now that the kids are in school, I hope it's not a couple years until we can get together again!

First Day of School

After five years of homeschooling, I sent all three of my kidlets off to school this morning. The oldest, a sophomore, had started full-time school her freshman year. I figured I'd just keep the other two at home until it was time to send the off to high school. So much for plans!

The past three years, the kids attended a two day a week parent partnership program at an alternative school. I volunteered half a day for each kid. Add in the commute time (half an hour each way) and they really weren't away from me that long.

This is a huge change.

Tuesdays have never been this quiet in the house unless we were gone. Right now we would normally be at piano lessons. But I need to redefine "normal" around here.

Did I mention the youngest two are taking the bus? They didn't want me to walk them to the bus stop this morning. Neighbors were showing them how it all works.

I knew I'd miss them, but I really, really miss them.

I keep waiting for someone to yell, "Mom" or want help with an assignment or need something from me. At least, the cats will want lunch in a couple hours. Until then I'm off to find some chocolate and write a letter to a soldier. Then maybe I can work on the new story.

What are you up to today?

Thursday Catch-up

I've been very lax about blogging, not that life has been giving me a chance to relax, but starting next week I'll have more time than I ever imagined. All three kidlets will be attending school full-time. It'll be the first time ever (well, since having a baby back in '98) that I won't have a kid at home. Quite a change after five years of homeschooling. Needless to say, lots of school prep of a different kind going on around here. And lots of mixed emotions. For me at least!

My oldest's goldfish Butler died. We thought he died a week ago when our youngest found him on the carpet, but hubby moved water over his lungs and Butler started breathing and swimming again. Beauty, our little black cat, is the one who knocked over his bowl. She's been after him since he arrived from the fair (a prize from a carnival game.) Butler was floating in his bowl so we assume he died from natural causes. But Beauty has yet to provide an alibi. She also stopped hanging around the door to my oldest's room. Circumstantial evidence, but a little fishy if you ask me!

I had a very nice birthday. Thanks for the greetings. A quiet day, but fun. The celebration continued into Tuesday when my parents came up to take me to lunch and later that night the family went bowling. The funny thing about my birthday is I'd picked two things I'd wanted to do. On my day I wanted to go bowling and have lunch, but the place was closed for an employee appreciation party. And the next day I wanted to have lunch at a little cafe I love. Well, that happened to be closed, too. They stopped serving lunch. Lesson learned for next year, call ahead and make sure places will be open!

Did you see this story about George R.R. Martin's name appearing randomly in his A Feast of Crows ebook? Some of the examples are very funny!

Hope you have a nice day!

LASR 6th Anniversary Bash!

Today is my birthday and what better way to celebrate than to join in the Long and Short Reviews' 6th Anniversary Bash. You'll want to click on the link above because readers who visit can enter to win prizes...$450 in Amazon/BN GCs, more than $200 in publisher GCs, over 100 books and MORE! 

Hope to see you there!

Have a great Monday! I plan to!

BOB

Mackenna and Cato on Sunday

This weekend the girls, the dogs and I attended three days of dog showing in Enumclaw, Washington. The show, put on by the Olympic Kennel Club, is a big one with lots of breed specialty shows, including one for our dogs, Norwegian Elkhounds. I used this show as the setting for the final scene in The Man Behind The Pinstripes!

To say we had a good weekend doesn't do what happened justice.  At least that's what everyone in the know keeps telling us. All I know is my two girls and my two dogs did very well and I couldn't be happier for them!

Friday was the PSNEA Specialty Show. Not as many Norwegian Elkhounds were entered this year, but there were still going to be enough dogs for the show to count as a major. In order for a dog to get his/her championship, they have to win two majors and earn 15 points. There aren't that many Elkhounds in the Pacific Northwest so majors are a big deal!

Cato, our 10 1/2 month old puppy, was entered in Puppy Sweeps, Breed and would be shown in Junior Handling by Mackenna. Chaos, our 8 year old, was entered in Veterans and would be shown in Junior Handling by Rose. Since the girls were the only two Junior Handlers entered, I knew they'd be winning their classes and one of them would be Best Junior.

Other than Junior Handling we didn't expect any wins. Cato's not only a puppy, but also a boy puppy who is smart but very silly and has more growing and maturing to do. Plus he'd lost a lot of his coat and only recently stopped looking like a mangy coyote. Chaos is gorgeous, but is a thief and will steal any food left within her reach. She needs to loose a few pounds!

The competition on Friday afternoon began with Puppy Sweepstakes. This competition doesn't count for points, only bragging rights and a few dollars if you win. Mainly we wanted to get Cato more ring experience and this was a way to do that.

Cato won 1st Place in the 9-12 months Puppy (he was the only one in his class) then went on to win Best of Sweeps Juniors (i.e. best puppy that was was competing in the sweep!) We were thrilled. He and Mackenna looked so good together in the ring. I was a very proud mom of both my two legged and four legged kids. A great start to the weekend!

Next up was the Breed competition. The puppies went first. Cato one 1st place in 9-12 month old pups (only dog again.) But that meant he could now go on to compete for Winners dog. He surprised us by winning Winners dog. It was a three point major, too! His first major and his first points! None of us could believe it because he beat older and more mature dogs! 

A few of Friday's ribbons

Being Winners dog meant Cato got to go back into the ring for Best of Breed. There they pick the Best of Winners (between Winners Dog and Bitch) and the Best of Breed (aka BOB!.) We were stunned when Cato was picked Winners dog as well as Best of Breed! Mackenna had so many ribbon and prizes she needed help to hold everything!

But the day wasn't over. Mackenna won Best Junior showing Cato. (Chaos had placed second in Veterans and both she and Rose looked good in Juniors, Mack and Cato were on a roll!)

It was so exciting and everyone kept telling us how big this was! A dream day is how someone described it!

On Saturday, Cato won Reserve in Winners Dog (kinda like second place), then he and Mackenna made the cut in Juniors against twenty others. Not bad for the pup's first time in AKC Junior Handling. Rose and Chaos did well in Jrs. but didn't place.

On Sunday, Cato won his class and Winners dog. He was also named Best Winners again. His second major! That means all he needs is points to finish his championship. Not bad for a puppy! But he was finished showing by then. Mackenna took him into the Juniors ring for the Open Senior class and that was the last place he wanted to be. They didn't make the cut, but she couldn't complain after getting two majors in one weekend!

It was then Chaos and Rose's turn. They were spot on and won the Open Junior class. We were all excited. Wins for both kids and dogs. It doesn't get much better than that at a dog show!

One of those weeks...

Not only am I crazy busy this week, I'm not feeling well. I was hoping my home remedies would work, but they aren't so I'll call the doctor in the morning. Will be back once I'm feeling better.

Hope all is well where you are!

Friday Find #2 - Tracy Brogan

I'm away at a swim meet and totally forgot about preloading a Friday Find blog post so this will be quick! Today's Friday Find is Tracy Brogan. I don't know her, just came across one of her books called Crazy Little Thing and it sounded good.



This book made me laugh out loud the weekend I found out Rocket had liver cancer and was dying. So what I needed! And I'll every be grateful for that because he was sitting with me or on me the entire time I was reading.

I wish I had time to tell you more about Tracy and what other books she's got out, but I need to get to the pool for warm-ups. So I'll leave with a "Go buy the book" if you want a very entertaining, funny read!

Cat 4-H at the Clark County Fair

Junior Reserve Champion for Cage Decoration

Sorry it's taken so long to get this post up. I had two more days of fair with my oldest, 3 extra kids (two nephews and a niece) here and way too much to do around here!

So 4-H Cats at the Clark County Fair...

I'll start by saying when I left for San Diego, my youngest decided she was not competing at Fair. She had never shown Beauty. She'd used our leader's cat at a Fun Match and it hadn't gone well. She'd only practiced during 4-H meetings twice.

Our leader texted me suggesting she at least decorate a cage and do a cat craft. Rose agreed. Of course, none of this was done let alone started while I was away in San Diego. So I return home from my vacation and Fair preparations begin.

Finn's award winning photo

Most people take weeks, maybe months, to pull everything together. We did it in three and a half days, give or take a few hours.

First up was 4-H Photography. Matted prints were due on Tuesday. The mishaps in getting ready included hubby not ordering reprints of all the pics and our puppy Cato eating the sheet of matting. That meant an early morning run to Michaels the day everything was due. Special thanks to the framing guy who cut the mats to save us time.

The kids pics did well. Rose won four blues. Mackenna won six. Finn won a red and a blue, including a special award.

Next up were the 4-H Cat Projects. Rose drew a picture of a cat to enter in Cat Crafts. She won a red ribbon with that. Then the big project was at had. Cage Decoration. She had a theme idea in mind based on her Build-A-Bear igloo.

A quick trip to Jo-Ann's Fabrics gave her all she needed to create the Kitty Snow Globe cage pictured at the top of the blog. She sewed the fabric to the cage, had her dad help her make a flooring and a wall to hide the litter box. A quick rummaging through her toys found a few accessories for the top. Her skills from Computer Adventures, a class she's taken the last two years, helped her create the title. All this took her most of Wednesday to complete, but for a last minute effort she did well. We had the cage to the fair on-time Thursday afternoon!

Irish Dancers Rose and Beauty

 On Friday (first official day of fair) morning when we arrived, she had both a blue ribbon and a Reserve Champion hanging on her cage for her efforts! Thankfully, she's already picked next year's theme so we can get started early.

As fair was getting closer, Rose decided she still wasn't going to show Beauty, but she wanted to do Cat Costume, where the 4Her and animal dress up. So as soon as the cage was finished, she figured out an easy costume. Irish dancers.

Rose had always dreamed of wearing her big sister's solo dress. Now she was big enough that it fit. Finding Beauty an Irish Dance outfit wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Given our last minute efforts, sewing wasn't an option so Rose raided her toy box. The American Girl Irish dance dress was too small, but a Build-A-Bear Sleeping Beauty dress fit. Rose added a tulle headband she'd made and white baby socks, cut off with black shoe laces drawn on to look like soft shoes. She won another Blue ribbon!

"Type" Judging

By Saturday, Rose had changed her mind and decided she was going to compete in the Fitting and Showing as well as Type. She was very nervous though.

Beauty had never been shown to a judge. She was a handful for Rose during Fitting and Showing (the judge is looking at the handler not the cat), but the two of them still ended up with a Blue ribbon. Rose was thrilled. We all were. Doing so well was a big confidence booster for her.

That afternoon, Type (the judge is looking at the cat not the handler) went much better. Beauty was more calm. We're not sure if she just decided this was her Fate or if she was more used to the new surroundings, but they received another Blue ribbon.

Cat showing is very different from dog showing. I'm still not sure I get the whole concept since the cat really doesn't do much. No running around a ring or stacking, just sitting/standing/lying on a table, but Rose enjoyed herself and already wants to do it again.

Beauty resting in her igloo

Saturday was also voting day at the Fair. The public could vote for their favorite cat cage. The kids passed out ballots to people touring the cat barn. Rose worked hard to get votes for hers!

Guess what?

She won! Beauty and the Kitty Snow Globe won the Public's Choice for Juniors (Rose's age group!)

On Sunday, the kids also competed in Cat Bowl. As the day was drawing to a close, they announced Clark County's State Fair team. Rose's name was announced. She qualified twelfth out of fifteen. Not bad for a kid who a few days before wasn't even going to compete. So in September we'll be heading to the State Fair in Puyallup, Washington.

Fingers crossed we won't be rushing around at the last minute to get everything finished in time!

Fair Update

I spent the past three days at the Clark County Fair. A post and pics coming soon, but I need to head back there soon and am just too tired to write right now! But I will say I enjoyed the Cat Project much more than I ever enjoyed the Dog Project!

Hope you're having a wonderful morning!

Friday Find - Jennifer Faye

Today is my first Friday Find post where I introduce you to an author I think you should check out and read. I'm doing this both here on my blog and on my Facebook page. I thought it would be a fun way to spotlight books and authors I'm reading.

Jennifer Faye

Meet Harlequin Romance debut author Jennifer Faye.

I met Jennifer on-line. Where else do I meet people these days! Jennifer is from Pennsylvania. She's a wife, mother and has two spoiled rotten cats! I knew there was a reason I liked her besides her being a talented writer. Us cat people must stick together.

Her first book RANCHER TO THE RESCUE came out in July and was an RT Top Pick with 4.5 stars! Here's what the review had to say:

 ...Fun, quirky and romantic, Faye's tale moves along without a hitch, with an original storyline and solid characters.

Check out the back cover copy:

Damsel in a wedding dress!

Jilted at the altar, celebrity chef Meghan Finnegan flees the scene--and the baying press--only to run straight into the muscled torso of Cash Sullivan.

The former rodeo champion knows what's it like to have your life crumble in the spotlight, so he offers Meghan a place to lie low at his ranch.

Fresh air, no paparazzi and the brooding rancher's lazy smile are making Meghan not want to leave her sanctuary. But she and her unborn baby can't stay here forever...can they?

A cowboy hero, jilted pregnant heroine, ranch setting...what's not to love about this story?

You can visit Jennifer's website here and her Facebook page here.

Why it's Awesome to be a Nerd...

Wil Wheaton gives an infant girl a pep talk about being a nerd. This nerd loves this awesome video, and I had to share. Enjoy!




Have a great Thursday!

I Should Know Better

In the Fall, my youngest Rose joined Cat 4-H. I thought this would be easier than Dogs. A weekend (well, three days) showing cats at the county fair vs. seven days with dogs. It had to be easier right? Well, the weekend is fast approaching which means it's been a mad scramble to get everything ready.

You see, Rose can't decide if she wants to compete in all the events or not. When I left for San Diego she didn't want to so that meant nothing was done over the weekend. But now she might want to. That means we still have to be ready just in case.

We also keep finding out more and more stuff we need such as a 5x7 of Rose and her cat. They told us that last night at 7:30 pm. Oh, and they need it by Friday. I must admit that the dog project, even though the week was an utter hell for me with my writing schedule, was more organized. But I keep going back to three days vs. seven.

Beauty received a bath yesterday. She looks pretty and smells great. We also got all three kids' photographs entered. Today is all about cage decorating. Fingers crossed that goes well. 

Last night hubby happily told me I'd brought this upon myself when I dragged myself through the front door at almost 9 pm, tired and hungry. I know he's right. I should know better, but what was I going to do? Say no to my daughter? I couldn't for a very good reason. At least I think it's good, others, like my hubby, might disagree.

Rose is the youngest of three. She plays soccer and Irish danced because her brother and sister were doing those activities. Same with her swimming and dog showing, including dog 4-H. Why not have her join in when otherwise she'd just be sitting there watching?  Sure she loves swimming and soccer and dog showing (her activities now) but I think it's important to let her explore things without her brother and sister. Other than her hip-hop dance class, Cat 4-H is the first thing she's done that her siblings haven't.

And really, how bad could three days be? Well, once we're finally ready for them to start! Wish me luck!

I did it!

Smiling cause it's downhill!

Yesterday, in San Diego, I ran my first 5K, the Joggin' for Frogmen run!

I began training 5 or 6 weeks ago using an iPhone app called c25K. I stuck with it until last Saturday. I wasn't going to get all eight weeks in so instead of cramming trying to do weeks 7 and 8 in one week, I ran mock 5Ks on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each time I jogged more and faster.

Even though I trained on hills, the course at San Diego State University was still tough. My legs didn't burn on the hills, but I felt it in my breathing and was really tired.

I was there with a bunch of people I knew from the Internet who became real-life friends after attending a fundraising gala on Friday night at the Air and Space Museum. All I can say is really great people.

I'm slow so was just going to place myself somewhere toward the back of runners and go from there. But three of my friends, Scott, Chris and Christy, joined me so we could all start together. Christy dropped back first (she's totally kickass but as of the night before hadn't even registered so not sure she had trained). I lasted with them a little longer then realized I needed to slow my pace if I was going to make the entire race.

I'd heard the course was hilly so I trained on hills, easy to do where I live. But there's hilly and then there's hilly. This was the latter. My legs didn't burn the way they'd done a week ago, but boy was I  feeling it all over and especially with my breathing. My goal was to run the entire 5K. I'd say I ran, well, jogged, all but a couple minutes of it, in particular the last portion of each uphill slog.

My friend and roommate for the weekend, Mary, took the above pic of me. She was walk-running the race with another person and behind me. At two points in the course you can see people going up while your going down. That's where she took this pic of me. I had to laugh when I showed hubby the picture. The first thing hubby he said was "Where'd you get that headband?" I'd purchased other headbands to run in, but they were narrow. I bought a wider one when I picked up my race packet at a running store on Friday afternoon. I can't believe he noticed that!

After the race

Around the last third or so, I met up with Chris who I'd started the race with. He'd told Scott to go ahead without him. We stuck together for a while, then he dropped back. I kept going because according to my timing app I was doing pretty well even though I was feeling it. But then I came to a big hill. I slowed down. Next thing I know Chris was back. He'd caught his breath and was good to go. I told him to go ahead. He said he wanted to run with me.

Sweet guy!

As we headed toward the end, Chris kept encouraging me. I was really tired at this point. I still couldn't see the finish line. Then I saw Scott who was wearing his finisher's medal. I waved. Next thing I knew he was right next to me, running. He wanted to finish the race us. He pushed me to kick it up a notch and finish strong. So I did.

My initial goal was to jog half, then run half. I changed that to run the entire thing in 45 minutes. Yesterday my time was 39:07, faster than any of my mock 5Ks! I did walk a little but only on the hills so I'm okay with that.

I love my finisher's medal. I wore it all day yesterday, except for when I walked through airport security. I'm not bitten by the running bug yet, but I have to admit it's really good exercise. Today is a rest day, but I plan to go for a jog tomorrow!

And I'd love to do Joggin' for Frogmen. A great cause for real life heroes who provide much inspiration for romance writers like me. And a great event. We hung around after the race, visiting with people and then watching a parachute team drop in. Very cool!

San Diego

I'll be in San Diego until Sunday. This is a break from family and writing, too! My MacBook Pro is staying home! This is going to be a total vacation. Sightseeing, meeting folks from a website I belong to, spending time with someone I've known a long time who was a big help with Miss Mousie's fundraising, attending a fundraiser for SOF and their families and running in the Joggin' For Frogmen 5K.

There's another reason I wanted to go San Diego. My trips there in 2012 were all about my friend Elizabeth who was dying of breast cancer. I cherish each moment I spent with her, especially that last trip when I was there for eight days. I know she would want me to remember the better times we shared. So it's time to make some new memories in he town she loved so much.

Not sure I'll blog. I am bringing my iPad, but that's mainly so I can read and watch videos of my son's swims this weekend!

Have a great weekend and I'll post a trip report when I'm home!

Take care!

Under the Dome

Is anyone watching Under the Dome, a 13 episode summer series on Monday's at 10 pm on CBS?

I am.

The kids introduced me to the series when we were in Sunriver on vacation. I caught up on episodes via Amazon Prime and Comcast On-Demand.

The series is based on a Stephen King novel, but according to readers the show is different from the book. Some is good. Other parts silly. The rest falls in the middle. But we're enjoying it.

I like the idea of a show not dragging out for years. I find the actual dome thingy interesting more so than some of the drama going on, but maybe that's the engineer in me. The show's focus is the characters reacting to being under the dome, but I'm still trying to figure people out on the show. I will likely read the novel once the miniseries is over just to see how King wrote it. I'm curious to see the characters in the book vs. those in the show.

Are there any summer shoes you're watching and would recommend?

The New Prince

Social media has been ga-ga over the birth of the third in line for the crown in the UK. Some people are thrilled. Other's don't get it. I love reading about royalty and writing about them, too, so for me yesterday was a fun day full of happy news. And in honor of the royal birth, here are a couple things for you:

1) USA Today released a royal name generator based on your initials. Click here. My name is The Grand Empress Victoria The Mostly Victorious. I'm kinda wondering what the whole "Mostly Victorious" means. As a friend posted to me, it doesn't sound like a compliment. What's your royal name?

2) My Teaser Tuesday on Faceback is from my royalty themed book Expecting Royal Twins. Click here to read.

3) A story and the video of town crier announcing the royal birth at SF Gate. Click here. Turns out he "crashed the party."

Hope you have a great day!

Stumptown

Chaos and Rose on Saturday

This weekend the girls competed with Chaos and Cato at the Portland Stumptown dog show.

This was Cato's first indoor show and beyond wanting to play with the other Elkhound in the ring when he went back in the first day, he did well. He and Mackenna look good together! The only problem is he isn't as into treats as Chaos so on Sunday morning she didn't feed him breakfast. That fixed the problem! A good thing they showed at 8 am!

Rose hadn't been in the Junior Showmanship ring since February, I believe. Back then, she was using our friends' Australian Shepherd, Piper, because Chaos was still getting used to her seizure medication. Well, Chaos is back. And she and Rose did fantastic. On Saturday, they won the Open Junior Class. That was Rose's first win as an Open. On Sunday, they received third place. Pretty exciting for them and us!

I bumped into a handler who'd helped Mackenna at this very show three years ago and planted the seeds for writing a romance about the dog show world. I'd forgotten to bring a copy of The Man Behind The Pinstripes to give her, but on Sunday (I stayed home to write) my hubby did!

How was your weekend?

The Goonies

Hey, you guys! Last night, I introduced my two youngest kids to The Goonies. I'm not sure they knew what to think when I suggested we watch it (free on the Xbox360 via Amazon Prime) but Finn was a trooper and took his spot. Rose said she would pass (then after she got a glimpse of the movie and sat next to me to watch the entire thing.)

They loved it. I knew they would! What kid wouldn't?

I've been thinking about The Goonies a lot lately. In my upcoming November release, A Little Bit of Holiday Magic, I mention the movie. Astoria, the film's setting, is where the heroine is heading when she winds up stuck in Hood Hamlet on Mount Hood.

Astoria is an easy day trip from where we live. I think we might have to take a road trip this summer and do a little Goonies sightseeing. With the magic of the Internet (i.e. Google) it's easy to figure out where you need to go. Here is a list of the movie locations in Astoria. And this is blog by someone who did a tour of some of the sites. Sounds fun, don't you think?

For all things Goonies, check out the Goonies website. I also found fun this article that has 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Goonies. And just in case you forgot what The Goonies was about or have never seen it, check out the original trailer from the film made back in 1985.



Don't you think the trailer might be made a little differently today?

Hope you have a nice day and remember, Goonies never say die!

Medals

This weekend my two youngest competed at the State Games of Oregon. Each state runs these. You don't have to belong to a USA swimming team to compete though our team was there. It's a fun meet, limited to two events each day, and everyone gets a T-shirt. They also do something not a lot of other meets do...have an awards ceremony complete with podiums for the top six finishers.

My kiddos did well. Finn placed in three of his four events. Rose placed in all four of hers. Here's pics of them getting medals. Finn placed 2nd and Rose placed 3rd. Very proud of both of them for how they swam this weekend!

Staying Home

Many authors I know are going through an annual tradition of shopping, dieting, ordering business cards and trying on every pair of shoes they own. Yes, the RWA National Conference is starting this week. Last year I had a blast attending the conference held in Anaheim, CA so thought about going this year, but I just couldn't justify going to Atlanta so I'm staying home.

I'm happy with that decision since I'll be heading to San Diego for four days next week! I don't miss the frenzy of getting ready for RWA. At least that's how it felt to me and based on the Facebook posts from this year's conference-goers, some of them feel the same way.

But I do enjoy reading about everyone's preparation and packing. The pics of shoes crack me up. How many pairs of shoes does an author need for a four day conference? The number would surprise you!

So I'll be around this week and blogging. What will you be doing?

Book Giveaway!

I'm doing a giveaway on Goodreads. Three copies of my latest release THE MAN BEHIND THE PINSTRIPES are up for grab. Either click here to be taken to the entry page or use the handy widget below.

I've been on Goodreads, but haven't used it much. Any suggestions or hints on how to make the most of the site both as a reader and author!

Thanks!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Man Behind the Pinstripes

by Melissa McClone

Giveaway ends August 09, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Is it Friday yet?

Where has the week gone? I've been playing catch up since returning from vacation as well as bus driver. From a little after 5 until around 9 pm, I drove kids to swim, from swim, to soccer and back to swim. Crazy! And very little down time for me to read or write. But we survived and I crashed hard only to be woken up at 5:30 am by barking. I wonder if Barbara Cartland's little dog ever did that to her?

On the good news front, my oldest's shoulder is just a sprain. She should be back to her activities in a month, six weeks at the longest! Just in time for high school swimming. They gave her a sling to wear when she's out and about as well as exercises to do and a referral for PT. We celebrated with lunch at a new-to-us place on the Columbia River called the Puffin Cafe. Best part for the kids-snow cones for dessert.

On the TV front, we've started watching a summer show, a 13 episode series called Under the Dome. The kids found it on Amazon Prime, watched the pilot and said I'd enjoy it. The series is based on a Stephen King novel. So far it's interesting, but there's this whole kidnapping thread that I wish wasn't there.

On the movie front, Sunday was family movie night at the theater. Of course, that meant seeing three different movies at the same time. Sigh... Rose and I saw Monsters University. It was cute. Finn saw The Lone Ranger with a bunch of his swim team members. He was more interested in being with his friends so couldn't tell me much about the movie which makes me think it wasn't very good. Mackenna saw White House Down with a swim buddy and enjoyed it.

Well, it's time for me to jog. I'm on week 5 of my training app. I keep thinking I should be farther along, but at least I'm now not dying when it tells me to run for 5 minutes. Today's run is for longer and there's a distance involved. Most likely while I'm still inside blogging instead of outside getting it done. Haha!

Have a great Thursday!

Home

I gave up blogging during vacation. That was the closest thing to writing I was doing and I decided I wanted a complete break from "work."

Of course, Mackenna going over the handle bars of her bike and ending up injured changed up our vacation a little. Out was whitewater rafting. In was mani-pedis. Though we probably would have had our nails done anyway! But she couldn't go down the water slides or play tennis or do a lot of the things we had planned. A good thing we plan on going back next year! We see a specialist tomorrow. Fingers crossed this won't impact her swimming too much!

Outside of the bike accident, the vacation was exactly what I needed. Relaxing rather than running around. Hanging out as a family. We met up a couple of times with friends that were there. Watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Fun times.

On the drive home, we stopped by my parents' house. The three kidlets decided they wanted to spend the weekend there so we were kidless until Sunday. That meant going out to brunch on Saturday after our jog and just spending time together (and with the furbabies)

Now it's back to the same old same. Hubby is back to his traveling. I'm back to my writing and driving the kids all over the place! But now we're not so tired! A little R&R can make such a difference!

Hope you had a great Fourth and week!

Sun and H2O

SHARC at Sunriver

Yesterday was all about water! We spent the morning at SHARC. Fun times. The picture is my son making his way across the pool using ropes and floaty log thingys. It was a little too easy for him so hubby decided to tip the logs to make it harder for him.

Not sure if you can see all the blue sky in the pic, but it was a gorgeous, clear day. Another hot one, too. High nineties.

On the food front, we discovered a great place in the village. The Sunriver Brewhouse. It was being built when we were here last year. We ate lunch there. Great atmosphere and food and customer service. Our meals took a really long time to arrive so the manager gave us our drinks for free as well as 10% off the check.

In the evening we went to the Juniper Swim and Fitness in Bend so the kids could get in a swim practice with Current, a local USA swimming team. The pool is 50m long so it was a great opportunity for them to train given the long course state championships coming up later this month! The coach and team were very welcoming and friendly. Finn met them at another pool this morning at 5:15 am to get in more practice and had in spite of the early hour.

Hope you're having a great day!

Vacation!

Dinner in Sunriver Village

The family and I (dogs included) are taking a much needed vacation this week. The cats are at home with our housesitter extraordinaire, my dear friend Jenny, who takes such good care of them I don't have to worry one bit.

We arrived in Sunriver, Oregon yesterday afternoon. It's our same time, next year vacation. We're staying at the same house we stayed this time last year. The kids already had sleeping arrangements planned and didn't need any help getting settled.

The weather is gorgeous, but hot. So glad the house we rented has a/c.

 My kids are big on traditions so we ended up eating dinner at the same place we did last year our first night here, El Caporal. Something new this year was the kids having to take pics of their drinks and food. We've been invaded by Instagram!

This morning hubby and I went for a jog before the kids woke up. We'll be spending the morning at the pool before it gets too hot. Of course, with state swim meets coming up, the kiddos will be doing a few swim practices with a local USA Swim team in the area. But I think they're looking forward to that. At least Finn!

Hope you have a great day!