Big news for me is that I got a new smart phone. It's not the latest but when it comes to smart phones, the easier it is for me, the better. I think I've been to the phone store twice now in the two days that I've had it to figure out how to do something! Now I know to not only check my aol account but to also check my gmail account. Duh!

I wrote a lot this week which is a good thing, since I didn't get a chance to write all weekend. We had out of town company and had a blast!

Now is the hard part of getting the house back together, washing sheets and towels and vacuuming. How could 4 people make such a mess? If my mother in law came for a visit, I would fail her white glove test, that's for sure!  What I'd really like to do is to crawl into bed and not wake up until tomorrow. Don't see that happening. Darn!

One last comment...why do all my favorite NFL teams lose? Argh!!! I swear the games are fixed!

Fall

I can't believe it's fall already! Where has the time gone? I've been busy doing a lot of writing along with working and running errands. Dallas FINALLY had rain on Thursday night into Friday. It was the good kind; gentle and soaking for our lawns and lakes. It's even cool outside, in the low 60's and only climbing to the mid 80's. The only thing I will miss is my swimming. I try to go at least once a day, to clear my head. I tried Thursday before the rain started and let me tell you, I was out of the pool so fast, I saw stars. Maybe I'll invest in a wet suit.

I am getting a new smart phone, but not by choice. I love the phone I've had since 2011. It's like a comfortable old shoe. We get along and we speak the same language. Until recently. I only use my phone to text, check my emails and Facebook. The other day, I turned on my phone only to get the error message that I have to resign in to access my emails. I do only to get the message that my login failed. Okay....I grab my car keys and drive to the Verizon store. I am there for an hour with three employees who can't fix the problem. They apologize and give me the tech support number they use when they can't solve a problem.

I wait until Friday to call because of my schedule. I am on the phone with tech support for forty-five minutes until they realize that Verizon no longer supports the software of my email programs on my phone. Since I am a loyal Verizon customer I am eligible for an upgrade. I picked the iPhone 4s for FREE! because the iPhone 5 is here. Also, it's the same one my husband has and we can share accessories. I think my next blog might be about frustrations with a learning curve of a new phone. Or maybe not. It could be something more interesting....Have a great day!

Accepted!

It's official! My next book, Flag on the Play, has been accepted by Lazy Day Publishing! It's release date is 1/31/2014, just in time for the Superbowl!

For an author, I've had quite a social week. Usually, I write for most of the day, when I'm not working, working out or running errands. But we had friends over last Sunday for the start of the NFL season.

On Tuesday, I went to the first annual Women of Flower Mound meeting. The guest speaker was absolutely stunning. Look up Libby Spears, her book is What is Your Plan B?.

Thursday, we went to Grapevine, TX for their annual Grapefest. They close Main Street and have booths upon booths of local vendors selling their products. They have local wine and food as well as live music on many stages. We went to see our favorite Celtic band, The Killdares, perform.

Today, we are on our way to watch the NFL games with our friends at a sports bar. Yup! Every Sunday will be football until the season ends. My sister in Toronto is a die hard Steelers fans and after the games, we will talk on the phone for hours. Did I mention it's also the start of the NBA and NHL??? It's a good time of  year for a sports fan!

Fall is in the air!

I'm in seventh heaven with the start of the NFL! Of course this means I have no Sundays to myself but that's okay. Or Monday nights either. We live in the Dallas area but are Chicago Bears fans. It's hard to stay home and watch the games because they are rarely televised on the local Dallas channels. When we moved down here from the Pennsylvania area, we did our research for a local watering hole that displaced Bears fans like us can visit. We've met some really nice people and made good friends. So, lo and behold, the first game of the season was on local television. We invited a group of the fans to our house and had a wonderful time.

We know now how to take team loyalty in stride. On the East Coast, you have the NY Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins.

In Dallas, you have the Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans. I have to say though, the Dallas Morning News does have excellent coverage of their games. They really know their football down here. I think they must teach it to everyone in elementary school, you think?

The funny thing about having lived in various parts of the states, is how attached to the local foods you become. Living in Chicago, it's the pizza and the Chicago style dog. In Pennsylvania, it's the Philly Cheese Steak and the pretzels. Now in Dallas, it's going to the State Fair and sampling all of the fried food specials. I normally don't eat fried food, but for one day, why not?

Experiencing new things is what life is about!

I submitted my third book to my editor this Monday. I hope they like it! I've been working on it for a couple of months when it suddenly all came together. I had been reworking on one of the first books I wrote but it came to a standstill and this third book popped right out of my head and took over.

We have been living in Texas a little over four years now and I'm pretty comfortable here, even with the heat. The thought of moving again is a little too soon for me. So yesterday, my husband decided that we should downsize to a smaller home. I told him I'm not ready to just yet. Maybe in about five years but not now. He insists we are getting too old. I told him I don't feel old and he insists we are.

So, I looked at our house. When we sold our house in Pennsylvania, we were able to get a good price and when we looked at houses here in Texas, we got a lot of house for the money. We have been able to fill every room with furniture but I do admit, the two rooms we rarely use are the dining room and the living room. We have two spare bedrooms for company which comes in handy. I use one bedroom as a study for my writing and my husband has his man cave. I have a lot of treasures from my parents lovingly displayed through out the house. What would I get rid of? What would I keep?

So in the Parade magazine of the Sunday paper, there is an article about this very subject.  This couple has decided to downsize. The husband has a doctor's scale from his father who was a doctor and the wife has boxes and boxes of cards and artworks from her children. They decided they just can't give it up.

My parents had a house filled with over three thousand clocks and junk like you wouldn't believe. It was a nightmare trying to clean out the house when they died. We all swore that we would never subject our children to that. But my house doesn't have that kind of stuff. So, in answer to my husband; no honey. Not yet.