Perspective

I don't know about you, but there are some things I find so humbling. What do I mean? Thinking about what I was going to write about this morning, I had it all planned out. It was a big event for my family; the purchase of a new (well, new to us) vehicle. We traded in our beloved but 'going down hill really fast' 1999 car.

But yesterday, while I was talking to a friend and his wife who have been going through a really rough patch in their life, suddenly stopped the conversation because of concerns of the pet. I later found out, their beloved pet of eight years, had a seizure and died in their arms. My heart broke into tiny pieces over the news.

Not able to have children and even those who do have children, pets are a part of our family. We lost our Indiana Jones over five years ago and have yet to get another pet. I want to, but my husband doesn't want to go through the pain of watching them pass on. But I remember the love and joy they bring.

Also, I want to wish better luck to my friends. Her mother passed away the day after Thanksgiving; he lost his job of fifteen years on Friday and now they lost their pet on Saturday. Things can only get better. May God Bless.

Trying to Stay HIdden During the Holidays...

This has really been a busy three weeks and I am looking forward to a breather. I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

I really wanted to finish and submit my next book before the end of the year, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Why? Too many interruptions.

My husband wants to buy a car. Which means we have to get a couple of things fixed in order to trade his current car in. Which means I'm going to be spending time at the repair shop. Just what I want to do over the holidays.

Buying this car (it is a pre-owned vehicle) involves rearranging the garage since it is 18 inches bigger than the old car. You see, we don't have a basement. We have a small attic but growing up with a basement has us spoiled. In turn, we store everything in the garage. Starting Tuesday, my husband has decided to take the next two weeks off of work to not only purchase this car but to rearrange the garage.

I will try and hide in my writing cubicle; hopefully he won't find me.....right!

Making a Plan and Sticking to it!

As you all have known if you've been reading my blogs, this has been a hectic couple of weeks for me. First off, I want to say that my Progressive Dinner party went along smoothly.

What I did do this week was with my next book, tentatively called, Intercepted. I've been writing when I can find the time just before I went on vacation. I thought when I get home, I can finish it.

Wrong! I thought about it a lot while on vacation and resigned myself to the fact, I need to reread it from the beginning because there were some serious holes in the plot.

I disciplined myself to sit down each day last week and review my work. Yup. Lots of rewriting. The beginning is fine, it's toward the end where I screwed up constantly repeating myself and not being careful with the timing and a few serious character flaws.

Since all parties and such are over and done, I will get back to work cleaning up this story and getting it out there!

Oh, by the way, I just got done reading an excellent book I couldn't put down. It's called, If You Leave, by Courtney Cole! Highly recommend it!

How to Handle Stress!!

I need to breathe deeply! My 'to do' list for this week is a tad overwhelming!
Why, you ask? I don't know where to start!

I just got back from a week of vacation in beautiful Scottsdale, AZ. Besides Sedona, it is one of my most favorite cities. We have relatives who live in the Phoenix area and decided to delay our Thanksgiving dinner to spend it with them. We drove there and back with a stop over in El Paso, TX. Funny how you can drive for twelve hours and be in the same state...but there I digress.

We decided to take our daughter's car, a 2006 Mazda 3. It only has 28,000 miles on it and it is really in good shape. The week before we left, I took it to NTB (National Tires and Batteries) to have the tires rotated and an alignment. While performing that service, the workers discovered the power steering cable was leaking and needed to be replaced. However, they needed to order the part from a Mazda dealer and I said sure. Not a problem...even though two years ago, you, not Mazda, replaced it.  I was told NTB only guarantees their work for 90 days.

Before we left, our Aunt who refuses to buy an eReader and is a huge reader, has always wanted to read my books. But since they are eBooks only, she cannot access them. For a thanks for making the Thanksgiving dinner, I took the time to print out my latest two books for her to read. What happens? My 14th month old printer decides to bite the dust. I did get a two year service plan with it, but I don't have time to replace it. Put that on my list to do when I get home!

We finally begin our vacation and get to El Paso. In the morning while we filled up with gas, we backed up and turned the wheel to the left. This god awful noise from the front tire sounded. We had just driven over 500 miles and felt or heard nothing. What was it? Couldn't figure it out, so we trooped on. 

When we arrived in Scottsdale, while the car was in reverse, the noise sounded again. I called NTB back here in TX only to learn there is no NTB in AZ. They call it Big O Tire. The manager wasn't sure that our information would be in Big O Tire's database. No, it wasn't. We figured since the car didn't make the noise while driving and the car handled well, we were safe.

We took a day trip to Sedona only for a truck to pass us and kick up a pebble which hit and cracked our windshield. The poor car!

By the time we got home last night, the noise began to sound while driving. That is my first stop for the day. Followed by the printer exchange, grocery shopping and laundry.

Monday, followed by when the pool was serviced last week, why is the Polaris detached and is sitting on the pool deck with no note or message on my answering machine?

Followed up by visiting our State Farm agent for a window replacement claim and settling our Obamacare Health Insurance plan.

Then on Tuesday, a visit to my cardiologist for my SVT and then the Women of Flower Mound monthly meeting.

Oh, did I mention I'm hosting a progressive dinner party on Saturday night with about 40 guests?

Breathe, Lois. Just breathe!

Black Friday!

I just want to thank all of my friends for the support and advertisement for my latest book! You are awesome!

So, it is Black Friday weekend coming to a close....I didn't even venture out. I detest crowds since I'm only five feet tall. I have a tendency to get lost in them and sometimes trampled. I really don't need anything desperately to endure the long lines and pushy people.

Now I'm getting attacked in my email account for Cyber Monday! I had 82 emails this morning, all from retailers hawking their goods. I got excited at first when I read the count but once I opened the box, well....let me tell you.

I hope you all had a great holiday and I wish you a happy prosperous week ahead!

For the Love of Par

It's out! For the Love of Par! A great romantic comedy about the LPGA! Pick up your copy at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com!!!

New Book Release and Snow!

Heard from my editor this week! For the Love of Par is going to be released on 11/23/2014!! Look for it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! As soon as I get the cover art, I will share it with you.

Also, guess what? We are to have a chance of snow today. For those of you who know me, I detest snow. With a passion. No, it isn't pretty to me at all. I was born in MA, lived in New York, Illinois, PA and when asked if I would mind moving to Dallas, I said yes, in a heartbeat. My husband neglected to tell me, there is an chance of snow here but it melts right away because the temps go up quickly during the day. Need I remind you of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago when the roads were impassable for almost four days? Or how about last year on 12/6, we had an ice storm which left the roads in terrible condition for four days? I am not liking this....

Also, my husband didn't mention how people do not know how to drive in the snow down here and your best bet is just to stay inside until it melts. I really like living here but I wish the city of Dallas and its surrounding communities would get their act together on how to handle the winter!

Simple Things to Interefere with Writing! Fifteen Minute Chores that Take Four Hours....

Has anyone worked with Microsoft Office, Mail Merge? I know it's an awesome tool to use for printing labels in a jiffy. My point? The Excel spreadsheet to use can drive you to drink. You think you have all of your columns and data in the right format. You've painstakingly gone over everything, right? You run your Mail Merge and....only thirty out of your seventy labels show up. Huh?

Okay. I can do this. I look over it again and see, ah ha! There's a line out of sync. Let's try this again. I get an additional ten more. Grrrr. I ask for another set of eyes and they see something out of whack. Try it again. Nothing. Now I notice this process has taken me two hours which should've only taken me fifteen minutes. An additional two hours later, using two different spreadsheets to get the data since Mail Merge doesn't like the one document, I have my labels. I am exhausted!

Then I wonder where went my time to work on my book?

Good news! Edits will begin on my next book, For the Love of Par!

What Time Change?

The day after the 'good' time change. We get an hour to sleep in, so why is it, I'm wide awake two hours earlier?

I even worked really hard yesterday around the house! We mulched twenty-one bags for our garden around the pool. Then I weeded our garden at the side of the house where the weeds had pretty much run amok.

Then I took an hour long walk to straighten out my back from being in a cramped position, only to come back and  mow the back lawn.

I am working on my next book and am midway. I am torn on which way to take the plot. It's not a writer's block, per se but what would be better?

While I was working in the yard yesterday, my mind was not a rest. I have decided to take today off of writing and I'll see what tomorrow brings!

Where Did All of This Traffic Come From?

I had to chuckle on Friday. There was a Facebook comment from my cousin in New York about how she hated the traffic in NYC. I commented she would not like it here in Dallas, either. NYC has the famous bridges to negotiate; we have toll roads galore with a really weird pricing system, I still can't figure out.  If you travel this stretch of toll road, you pay seventy five cents, but if you travel it only this far you pay thirty cents. There are cameras that monitor you, but I find myself mentally calculating...how much do I owe now?

And don't get me started on the construction. The suburb I live in is north of Dallas; the two main arteries being I -35E or I 35W. Yup! Both are under construction and are a nightmare to negotiate. I don't have a toll tag, so I relegate my driving to the service roads which I hate to say, move faster than the toll roads.

Weekends? It's best to stay home. There is a bigger town to the north of us Denton. Denton hosts two major college campuses; TWU and UNT. It is truly a college town with lots of fun things to do. However, traffic there is a total nightmare because it has grown to big for its britches. There is an aging mall there that they are trying to revive and a lot of retail stores are closing their doors in Flower Mound and Lewisville and moving them to Denton.

Point one. I love Panera Bread. When I lived in Pennsylvania, there was a Panera Bread minutes from our house. Here in Texas, I couldn't find a Panera Bread nearby. There was one in Southlake which I didn't even bother to try. Southlake is a very expensive and prestigious place to live and once again, traffic is a nightmare. Then the two main arteries for them, 121 and 114 underwent MAJOR reconstruction for FIVE years and is now complete. Still, for a ten mile drive, it takes me forty-five minutes.

Then I looked and found one in Denton. Nine miles away. Fifty freaking minutes on a weekday and an hour on the weekend. Really?

Point two. Same with Sports Authority. There used to be one around us but lo and behold. It closed and now is in Denton. Right across the street from Panera Bread. Really? Someone is trying to make me crazy.

I guess that's God's way of telling me to stay home and write! No shopping or restaurants!!!

Kudos to Nice People!

As a writer, I do have an active imagination. I am working on my next book, currently untitled, and have so much to put into words but I haven't had the time. It is so frustrating! Everyday this week, something has come up for me to tend to first and by that time, it's time for dinner.

My husband believes in together time and likes me to sit with him to watch some evening shows. Not always but the majority of the time. I can't argue with him there. I enjoy his company.  I would love to lock myself in a room for at least five hours to get everything in my head on paper. Or on my saved file on my laptop. But, careful what you wish for, right?

I've also learned I need to toughen up. I let too many selfish people get to me. I need to realize I can't let them get me down. For the unselfish population; a very big thank you!

Finally, a Relaxing Weekend!

It has been an interesting week; lots of ups and downs. I guess I just don't understand people anymore. I don't understand why they are friendly one moment and not friendly the next? It's like I don't know how to approach them when I see them again. Are they going to talk to me or just wave me off?

I think that is why writing and reading agree with me. I get along with all of my characters. They are nice to me and I know what to expect of them...sometimes they will throw me for a loop, but all in all, we have a good relationship. Then, there is nothing but pleasure to lose myself in a good read as well.

However, the good moments have been time spent with my family. This week, we've all gotten along with lots of laughter in the house. The weather finally cooled down and we were able to take outside walks. We have a weekend where no yard work has to be done and we actually went out to lunch, something we haven't done in a long time.

This morning, we don't have to rush to the sports bar to watch our NFL games. We play in the late afternoon, so it's been a lovely morning of homemade waffles; reading the Sunday paper and doing the puzzles, all in our pajamas. Love the lazy mornings!

Trying to find balance in life...

Yes! My next book, For the Love of  Par has been accepted!

In other news, I have run myself into the ground. I know last week, I wrote about our friend and our whirlwind trip to Chicago over the weekend. It gets even busier. My trusted treadmill, which I've had for eleven years died. I literally ran it into the ground because I do an hour or more every day on it.

After I wrote my blog on Sunday, I ran to the sporting goods store and ordered a new treadmill. Also, I finally got the PDF file for Not Just an Act to review for any changes I wanted to make, so I worked on that.

Monday, I had a mammogram. Also on Monday, my daughter had a hearing with the unemployment board about why they denied her claim. I know, she's old enough to fight her own battles, but still when you see where someone is wronged by manipulative people, you want to join in. It was hard for me to sit on my hands. Still don't know the outcome of that....

On Wednesday, my new treadmill was delivered, however, I started to feel really tired. I knew I was coming down with something...

Thursday, I cleaned my house only because of the dust balls from my old treadmill being carried downstairs to the curb for garbage pickup and the packaging droppings from the new one. Afterwards, I couldn't move a muscle. Yup! I got sick with a really bad cold.

My nose is red and I am in a daze even though the label on the OTC package says non-drowsy. I hate to think what would happen if I took the heavy stuff!

So, lots of Vitamin C and plenty of rest for the weekend....and there's still lots to do....I am not a good patient at all!

Funeral for a Friend

This has been a whirlwind of a week. On Monday, we learned of my husband's childhood friend dying of a stroke at the tender ager of sixty-five. He had lived his entire life in the same house in Chicago, on the East Side, bordering Indiana.

Dennis was eight years older than my husband but influenced him in so many ways, especially in music. Dennis and his brother Joe, formed a garage style rock and roll band and called themselves Wet Sunday. My husband ran the sound board for the group and when I met him, I too got wrapped up into the band family. I was the only one who had classical training as a musician but they had way more talent than I ever did.

As we grew older, we went our separate ways. The guys argued and quit. Some got real jobs or like us, we ended up in Pennsylvania and now in Dallas.

Just recently, some of the band members got together and Dennis, who was now older and wiser, ran their sound board with amazingly new technology. They had just wrapped up a performance about three weeks ago which we missed due to a conflict of work schedules. We wish we would have taken the time to see them perform, not knowing it would be Dennis' last time.

On Monday night, we made arrangements to fly to Chicago to attend the Friday night wake and the Saturday morning services.

Tuesday, my latest book, Not Just an Act, was released. I'm very excited about this, so my emotions are like a roller coaster; down with the loss of a friend, but then again up for the release of this work.

At the crack of dawn on Friday, we leave for Chicago from the Dallas Fort Worth area to Charlotte. and then to connect to a flight to Chicago. We learn that some disgruntled employee has purposely set fire to the control tower in Aurora, IL causing O'Hare to cancel flights for about four hours. We waited and waited trying to think of options of how to get to Chicago. Do we fly into Milwaukee and drive down? Or do we fly into Indianapolis and drive in?

Finally, our flight is released to go to Chicago. We were only delayed by twenty minutes. However, when we tried to pick up our rental car, there is no car. Why? Because of the flights being cancelled, everyone has decided to rent cars to drive to their destination. After about forty minutes, we have a vehicle.

The roads were unbelievably packed. What should have been an hour drive, turned out to be over three hours. We didn't get to the funeral home until eight and it closed at nine. We barely had the chance to say good bye to Dennis.

At the next day services, we were able to have a private moment with the family and headed back to O'Hare. The traffic was just as bad as everyone returned their cars. We barely made our flight.

People ask me where do I get the material for my next story and I tell them. Live in my shoes and you will see where.

Not Just an Act

Look what came out this week! My newest book, Not Just an Act! I hope you enjoy reading it as I had as much fun writing this story!

It is another Romantic Comedy and a sweet romance based in Branson, MO. We have visited there often and find it a very charming place to explore. We have already made plans for a reunion there next year.

In addition to Blushing Books', Bethany, my editor Tamara, and Lazy Day's Staci, my cohort Jamie, I especially want to thank my friend and mentor, Barbara Huffert for all the support and publicity she has given me! You are a true friend!!!

What Inspires a Writer? Life?

My husband went on a much needed 'guys' golf trip last week. My husband is a guy kind of guy. Growing up, I always got along better with men than I did women. I had tons of guy friends. When I met my husband, I was attracted to him because he always did things which were fun and there were tons of his friends who treated me as one of the guys. I loved it! When we were first married in Illinois, we would always go fishing. I tried going with him, but it just wasn't the same. I could not eat Cheerios with beer for breakfast and if I had to pee, I just couldn't hide out in the woods. I'm squeamish about some things... Same with golf. I would go with him but there was no way I could play like he and his friends could.  I would just end up driving the cart, talking too much to the other guys who came along with us and critiquing his game. Yes...he needed time with the guys.

Now that we are in Dallas, he works with all women. As we women know, we can have our 'moods' which you can tolerate in a loved one and a best friend, but not necessarily a co-worker. I can tell you truthfully, since this in a satellite office with no boss in sight, some of these women really take advantage of their freedom. When my husband tells me of their antics, I am so tempted to go into the office and fire them myself! So without further ado, when he mentioned this trip last year, he had my total cooperation.

I took advantage of this time to write and write I did. I am deep into another sports romance and feeling really good about this work. As I work on the finishing touches of my upcoming book, Not Just an Act, I have a question to ask: How important is the Cover Art to your purchase of a book?

Book Piracy

My books have been pirated again. How can people be so nasty? Don't they realize how hard I work on these books? I hope they get what they deserve!

Welcome Football Season

Have you ever done something really simple and hurt yourself? I seem to do it all the time. Here I work out religiously for more than an hour a day. I mow our lawn, do my own housecleaning and laundry. I even iron...gasp! How old fashioned is that? ( I do 'write' via my laptop; not handwrite) but still. I think I'm in pretty good shape.

Yesterday, when I took the laundry out of the dryer, some of it fell onto the floor. When I bent down to pick it up...OUCH! I pulled a muscle on my left side right underneath my ribs. I couldn't stand up straight if my life depended on it. I hobbled to the bedroom and just stayed on the bed, inert. Finally, it felt a little better and I stood up. Nope! It still hurt like the dickens! I've had an ice/heat patch on it all night but I am moving slow today. I do not like feeling under the weather!

However, today is the first day of the NFL season. I will spend the day sitting (thank goodness) and watching the games. After the preseason games, I do not have much hope for my team but still will show my support. Since following them since 1984, you think I would be used to them losing but no. On the bright side, I haven't seen my team friends since December of last year, so I look forward to this afternoon! Yeah for football!!

Last Week of Summer

This week flew by. First off, I submitted my fifth book to my publisher. I had been working on it since May and it was way past time to finish it. After two days rest, I started my sixth one. Really, it's my eighth one. I have two books which I wrote back in the early 2002.They are romantic suspense mysteries. The thing is, they are so poorly written and technology has changed so drastically, they are very outdated. Maybe one of these days, I will dust them off and revisit them. We shall see.

It seems I'm always running errands. I know my family takes advantage of me since I work from home. My husband is preparing for a guy's golf week which I have to laugh! He's going to have to do his own laundry! Yikes! Four guys in a two bedroom condo. Glad I won't be there!

My daughter has fallen on a rough patch in her life and I'm trying to help her. She does have a positive attitude which is great. I just wish there were nicer people out there.

The thing is, here in Dallas, neighborhoods are not really friendly. I just don't get it. Yes, you have neighbors you don't like and don't bother with them, but I've never lived in an area where you barely know your neighbor's name. They are too busy with their kids and church/mosques to bother. I always tried to be the ambassador of our neighborhood by bringing cookies and introducing myself to new neighbors. Won't do that again. They haven't spoken to me since. Well, the ones who haven't have already moved.

I have many good friends in the area and they feel the same way about their neighbors too. I guess it must be a Dallas thing. More involved in your religion than your neighbors. Oh well. It gives me time to write.

It was the first week of school here! The library was blissfully quiet! Also, there was ample parking in front of our local Barnes and Noble and other shopping malls. It's the little things in life which make me happy!

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!

I have to laugh at my husband, Jim, who is really against social media. To this day, he refuses to join Facebook or Twitter and relies solely on emails or texts. So when my friend, Kathy called out to me to accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, funny how he was all over it.

As the instructions stated, I had twenty-four hours to accept this challenge. Jim must have called me at least three times from work asking if I had done it yet because he wanted me to send him the video. Let's not forget I'm working! At three in the afternoon, when it was at least one hundred degrees in Dallas, I took the challenge. Of course, the first run through (without using the bucket), I ended up doubled over in giggles. Really? At my age?? Once I sobered up, I did get through it successfully. I sent the picture and my list of challenges which included Jim to Facebook then went back to work.

Jim couldn't get home fast enough to do his video. However, he had to include his favorite football team, the Bears, and ended his video by jumping into the pool fully clothed. For the rest of the night, he occupied my phone reading the 'likes' and 'comments' on Facebook. Will he now get his own account? Ha!

Back to work. I finished my next book, another romantic sports themed comedy. I plan to send it to my publisher but I need to review it one more time before I turn it over to my mentors to read for their comments and suggestions. I started last week and have reworked parts where I repeat myself or where I don't like where my characters led me that day when I sat down to write.

Also, I heard from my new editor on my current book in production and am waiting for those edits.

What is my next book going to be about? Sports? Series? What do you suggest?

Best Comedian Ever? Can you decide?

Still reeling over Robin Williams' suicide. Wow! However, we have a big disagreement going around our house. I did post it on Facebook and the answers have varied so much, showing the diversity and tastes of my friends and colleagues.

Who is the best comedian of all times? It has narrowed down to two choices; Robin Williams or George Carlin?

The discussion started over dinner at Olive Garden last night and continued into the wee hours of the morning. We have been to tons of comedy shows in Chicago and Vegas, so it's really hard to pinpoint. I look back over the years, starting with Henny Youngman, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and the list goes on and on.

Who would you choose, or can you?

Perspective

I am a very optimistic person. You can knock me down, but I will get right back up. However, I think this week really took some punches to me and until last night, I felt really down in the dumps.

 - My daughter was let go from her job all because of politics. Its a lesson learned. It wasn't a very good  job but at least it was something in today's economy. She was an assistant teacher at a Montessori school. She was on camera constantly because parents could watch the teachers' interactions with the students. Parents would sit and watch for hours. (which I couldn't understand. Wouldn't you want to interact with your child yourself?) However, the director would make all the decisions and the teachers would have to abide by them whether they agreed or not. This summer my daughter worked full time as a floater. Who ever needed the help, she had to go. Why they let her go? Because of her not being in a classroom full time, she was deemed inconsistent. She showed up for work early everyday and stayed late. Didn't matter. Boss wanted to save her own job and my daughter happened to be the scapegoat.

 - After living fifteen years in a neighborhood with nice neighbors, we have moved into a not so friendly one. I get it. Everyone has their own agenda and because it's so big, a lot of people don't want to be bothered. We have a few good eggs that wave when they drive by but that's all it is. A wave.
Now we have a new neighbor who is very inconsiderate of anyone but themselves. They have the biggest house in the subdivision and think they own the street. Unfortunately, they give the true meaning to the term, "The Ugly Texas American". Garish, over the top and loud.

 - Lack of communication. I feel frustrated when I send an email when something has been promised to me  and has not been; the email is ignored. I find it very unprofessional.

So, I was down. Saturday night, my husband took me along with his business partners, for dinner. In his office, there is a young lady in her thirties. Two years ago, they think she had a stroke. She was pregnant with her second child and her blood pressure shot up really high. This poor woman has been through hell and back trying to find out what is really wrong with her. It's like her sensory system is out of whack. She has been in constant therapy for two years; testing constantly for a cure. She has two young children under the age of five and is trying to work at least thirty hours a week. Her attitude is amazing! She is upbeat and positive and refuses to let this condition get her down.
Being with her, was my lesson learned. I can do it! I will take the high road!

-

Always Something

I am writing this from my husband's man cave. We have Verizon Fios for our internet provider and for some reason, I have a very low signal from my office upstairs. Gosh, he's got a lot of clutter in here but I can't say anything because its his space, not mine!

It was an expensive week. My husband was in Chicago for the first part of the week. He just had to send pictures of my favorite Chicago restaurants where he ate. Portillos Hot Dogs (they have onion rings do die for) and Aurelios pizza. Really? My mouth watered with jealously!

I get up on Wednesday morning only to find the extension arm of our garage door opener ripped out of the garage door itself, narrowly missing my car and my daughter's car. Also, because of it, I couldn't manually open the garage door to get out. I am only five feet tall and barely weigh one hundred pounds.

I called for the repairman and he came around noon. My daughter had to call her boss to come get her for work, which she did. That meant I had to pick her up and spoiled her after work plans. Sorry! The repairman installed a metal plate in the garage door so the arm will not rip out again. He also pointed out that our rollers on the door, which are plastic, are cracking and needed to be replaced. $$$$

Then our pool guy came, only to point out that the axle and wheels had fallen off our Polaris and needed to be repaired. I swear animals party in our pool at night. This is the second time this year it's happened!!! Oh, by the way? More $$$$$!!

All of this happens when my husband is not home. I'm getting good at this repair stuff!

I worked really hard on my golf romance manuscript this week and am close to finishing it. Of course it's not ready to be sent to my new publisher, Blushing Books. Yes. Lazy Day Publishing has been acquired by Blushing Books. It's all seamless and Bethany, the owner, is very nice and I look forward to working with her and her staff!

They still have my fourth book, Not Just an Act and am awaiting a release date for it. I have outlined a next book, but put it to the side to finish the golf romance.

Today was yard work, where I mowed and my husband followed me with the trimmer and the hedger. I know my neighbors were probably not pleased because I started it around eight this morning. I know, but when the temps are 94F at nine in the morning and rising, I like to get it done while the temps are somewhat tolerable.

Hope to relax....yeah. I don't think the word relax is in my dictionary!

Not a Good Patient

I am not a patient person when it comes to not feeling well. That's why I try to eat the right foods and exercise for more than an hour a day, six days a week. I do take Sundays off. I run, do weights and swim. What can be more devastating than a sinus infection? My head feels twice it's size and my face just throbs with pain in addition to my ears being stuffed up.

I haven't had one in a long time; I'd say maybe eight years ago? It started before the week we were to go on vacation. I weathered it out because I didn't want to be taking antibiotics while traveling. I survived the plane ride in addition to the numerous roller coaster rides. I thought it more or less had disappeared.

Nope! This Monday, it started all over again when we had a cold front move through bringing much needed rain. The pain, not throbs, in my sinus cavity was unbearable. I finally broke down and called the doctor and he saw me on Friday. He confirmed my diagnosis and prescribed an antibiotic for me. I know the drug companies come out with many every year and I couldn't remember back eight years ago, what antibiotic I had taken. He wasn't my doctor back then, so he prescribed Ciproloxacin. Okay. He's the doctor and I respect him.

I'm allergic to aspirin, codeine and penicillin, in addition to having SVT, so it's safer to put me on a sulfur-based antibiotic which Cipro is. I read the instructions provided by CVS and it mostly focused on being careful to avoid calcium and dairy products. They provided a time schedule to take the pill two hours before consuming dairy products or six hours after. I took the first pill at five, two hours before dinner.

Then, I started to itch. What was that about? I reread the CVS warnings; didn't see anything. Then I read the side effects provided by the drug company. I was in trouble. This medication might cause rashes, severe cramping, changes in your heart rate, seizures, yeast infections and the list went on. I immediately called the pharmacist who advised me to discontinue the medication and call my doctor first thing Monday morning. In the mean time, eat cheese to diminish the effect of the medication.

I love cheese so not a problem. I continued the night and began to itch like crazy. I couldn't even sleep. Then came the irregular heart rate which I took a double dose of my beta blockers to get back into rhythm.

When I got out of bed at six the next morning, I thought I had this medication out of my system. Nope! I had the most severe leg cramps I've ever experienced, to the point I was in tears. I drank lots of water hoping to flush it out of my system. The rest of the day, I just spent sitting in my chair reading a book. I was so exhausted from the last twenty four hours I went to bed at eight pm.

You know? Maybe the sinus pain isn't as bad as I thought. I can do without the antibiotic!

Rough Week....

I have survived my first week back from vacation! Not only have I had a chance to work intently on my next manuscript, I have had a fight with my neighbor about them always parking in front of my mailbox so that I have to go to the post office to get my mail. I guess having a three car garage; two car driveway and a cul-de-sac in front of their house is not enough for them....

I've had a fight with our FSA insurance because they didn't feel the ER hospital bill I provided them for the $250.00 copay provided sufficient information for them to process the claim. They want an entire itemized bill with ALL charges on it. Really? BCBS of Illinois processed it without any problems. I have requested the bill which will take two weeks to process...

I have unanswered emails...regarding my projects...

I am a normally happy, positive person, but this week has tried my patience. I know there are more serious problems in the world and I should count my blessings. I keep saying prayers for everyone. On day at a time!

Vacation!!!

What a whirl of a vacation! I told you about the wedding but now I need to tell you about the rest of the vacation!

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, VA for the week. I just love Virginia. It is such a pretty state. The only relaxing day I had was on Tuesday when my husband played golf and I stayed behind and relaxed by the pool!

Let me preface by saying, my husband and I, when we first started dating were roller coaster junkies. We went on everything we could. One of the reasons we love Williamsburg is because of Busch Gardens. Starting in 1991, we went every year.

As we got older, we started going every other year. Why? We discovered Hawaii and didn't want to waste every vacation in Williamsburg. Did this stop us from roller coasters? Absolutely not. Where we lived in Pennsylvania, we were only an hour away from Hershey Park and Dorney Park.

Then we moved to Texas where there is Six Flags. Let me tell you, the thought of standing in long lines in the Texas heat didn't really appeal to us. It has been a while since I've been on a coaster. (2008 to be exact!) When we went to Disney World in March, I went on the Harry Potter coaster and got a little sick to my stomach.

This Williamsburg vacation had my husband really excited. He couldn't wait to go on the rides. Okay. I'm not old, but I'm no spring chicken either. With my SVT (fast heartbeat) acting up more often than I want it to, I was a little apprehensive about this journey.

Monday, we were at the park at 10. First couple of rides were just okay. By four, I kind of had had it. But I did learn something important; keep you head forward. That way, you don't bang your brain stem on the back of the seat. Learned that the hard way!

On Wednesday, we were back at it again. This time we got kicked out of the park due to some pretty bad storms. I found myself a little disappointed  because now I looked forward to the rides.

Thursday, in the rain, we did the old town tour. We just love the way Colonial Williamsburg has made a day so enjoyable with great actors and actresses portraying the trying times of that era.
We ate at one of the taverns and also snuck in a wine tour.

Friday? Back at the park. Finally, around 4 (only because we had to pack) my husband conceded he had had enough of the rides.

By the way, as an author, I had become pretty frustrated on my book I'm working on. My characters were not talking to me as I sat in front of my laptop; fingers poised on the keyboard...nothing. Who came to life while I was on these rides? My characters. I had to write things down when I got back to the condo. So, this week I look forward to fine tuning my story!

Dysfunctional Families

Went to a family wedding in New Jersey over the weekend. The last time I've been to a family wedding was when my nephew got married up in Canada three years ago. It was great to see everyone after six years of being in Texas. I know every family has their unique relationships and it gets kind of hard to explain it to people, so where do I begin?

This was my mother's side of the family. My mother was the youngest of five children; two brothers and two sisters. The brothers hated each other and never spoke again. The three sisters only spoke to my mother but not to each other. Lots of internal fights my mother didn't know about. It's the same way in my husbands family with the aunts and uncles. You know, 'back in 1953, she/he said this about me and I'll never forgive her/him'....and they don't!

The oldest, Grace, was much older than my mother. Grace married first and had a son, Paul and daughter, Grace. She later divorced, remarried and had a son, Robert.

Grace named my mother, Estelle, Grace's god mother. My mother was only three years old at the time. So the wedding was for young Grace's grandson, Andrew who is thirty two years old. Grace is ninety and refuses to admit it. She is as sharp as a tack and in great shape. She religiously walks five miles a day. Her husband, Chuck, is a deep sea diver. He finally gave it up three years ago at the young age of ninety.

Other than my sisters and their family, I don't really keep in touch with the rest of the families on my mother or my father's side. I have tried, but most of them want nothing to do with me or the rest are after a hidden agenda better left alone.

After listening to all of the family stories, I have tons of materials for upcoming books!

Time management for authors...

I don't remember when I've ever been so busy? I remember back when I worked on craft projects while pulling sixty hour weeks at work, raising a child, entertaining the family with weekend dinners. When I get to the weekend as of late and I see many unfinished projects, I just shake my head.

I'm busy writing is what it is. I don't count how many words I write or how many hours a day I devote to writing because when the ideas are fresh in my mind, I find myself writing for hours on end. There are other days where my mind is blank and I think my characters are taking a couple of days off. That's when I catch up on other things such as lawn and house work and other work I do on a part time basis.

It's almost July 1. It's summer and where has the time gone? I feel like I've lost a month.....can I have it back? I need to work on some time management!!!

An Afternoon on the Tribute Golf Course in Texas!

I finally got out to play a round of golf with my husband this Friday afternoon. Now granted, I've been with him plenty of times; when we were first dating and I was determined to play golf, after we got married and then during all of our vacations. I am a very competitive person and not the best loser. Neither is he. We have learned to be happy, is not to play games against each other but to try to be on the same team. It's the only way we can survive as a couple. But back to the story.

Jim is a very good golfer and I mean very good. He's been playing since he was twelve and was on his high school and college golf team. Never a pro but in his prime, he could've made it. The harder a course, the more he likes it. As a novice, I tried to play with him. On the first shot, he would hit the ball about two hundred and fifty yards to my fifty feet. After about nine holes, I had had it. Yes, I kept trying but I became very discouraged and when people played with us? It was downright embarrassing. I finally found out I was happiest drinking beer and driving the cart.

When we would go on vacation, I would ride with him and take pictures of the scenery for my scrapbook. I would keep my ears open to golf terminology and what club he would use so I could hold a golf conversation with the best of them.

When I decided to write my new book about a lady professional golfer, the world of golf took on a new meaning. I did my research on past players as well as the current contenders. After reading some reviews from Flag in the Play where I didn't get technical enough (and I know football!!!) I decided I want this book to be perfect!

We started off by ourselves and soon joined up with a threesome of guys on the fourth hole. They were struggling with the game. They kind of rolled their eyes when they saw me, you know. A woman golfer. When they learned I was just observing for my book, they became a little self conscious of their game and every time they made a bad shot, they would turn to me and say, 'don't put that in your book!'. I told them the story is a comedy and I wouldn't dream of it. However? I did learn a lot of terms from this (not all swear words, mind you) but Jim doesn't make the kind of shots these guys did. Also, I learned about the game called 'Wolf' and how to bet on your game. Of course, they don't do that in the tournaments but I can see where this might come in handy.

Hopefully, I found some new followers who are looking forward to this coming story!

Fathers Day Plans

I just want to take today and look at the photographs of my dad. I love him and miss him so much!


That is before I watch the men's US Open for my upcoming book I'm working on. Since I missed my husband's tee time yesterday, he insists we watch this together to make sure my book is accurate. I try and explain it's about relationships involving a woman golfer, but the selective hearing only hears the word golf.

Behind the Scenes of Writing a Book....

It has been a busy week for me. I really don't know where the time goes!
First off, I've been working on my next book which is another sports romance. This time, it involves a member of the LPGA and her love story.

I've played golf but I can't play with my husband. The two of us are too competitive and are at different levels of playing. I ride in the cart with him every now and then but that's about it. I watch the PGA on television and have been to many tournaments as well.

As I've researched the LPGA for my story, I'm finding there is a lot of differences between the PGA and LPGA. I want my story to be as accurate as it can be, so my husband insisted I go with him on his weekend golf treks, with a notebook in hand, to get the 'feel' for the club to use on various shots.  I agreed.

Last Sunday, I got up at five-forty in the morning to take a shower to accompany him for his 8 AM tee time. I'm thinking what the hell am I doing since Sunday is my day to sleep in. But I tried and then I had an SVT attack and landed up in the ER, so we missed the tee time.

This weekend, my husband insisted on playing golf on both Saturday and Sunday to make up for last weekend. We agreed for me to maybe go on Sunday and let him have his day on Saturday.

You know, we are in a severe drought here in North Texas, down ten inches of rain. Every bit of rain helps. The weatherman said there would be a thirty percent chance of rain in the morning but the biggest would be Sunday evening where the percentage would increase to at least sixty.

So it's Sunday, I get up once again at the crack of dawn and go out to get the paper. It's not raining, but when I came back in, I find my husband furiously attacking his iPhone with our local weather app and sure enough, we are in the thirty percent coverage. I looked out the window and the rain is pouring down. My husband looks at me and comments about how this is a gentle rain and he can still play. I told him I am not sitting in a cart in the pouring rain with a notebook and pen getting drenched. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind and was giving up an opportunity of a lifetime.

I'm home, staying dry and working on my blog while he's somewhere on the course playing in the rain. I think I'll work on another part of the book and leave the golf questions for him when I run into them. Working smart!

SVT

Not a good start to the day. Ended up in the ER with my SVT; my heart rate was at 195. I had taken my pill last night, so I don't understand why at 6 am this happened. I exercise, eat right but this still plagues me. My prescription for the day is to be a total couch potato. Do you know how hard that is when you are naturally a go getter?

At least this gives me the opportunity to graze through my Kindle for a good read!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. First off, I salute all the troops for fighting for our country and freedom. My father was a LT. Commander in the Navy and fought bravely in The Battle of Leyte Gulf. His ship was bombed and he was able to get his crew out to safety. If not, I wouldn't be here today. I love you and miss you, Dad!

Second of all, its the start of summer! After a long cold winter, I look forward to the days of summer. Of course, I try not to think of the Texas 100 plus degrees that will soon come.

It's a three day weekend and fortunately, we have been blessed with friends who have invited us to pool parties and BBQ's. We have been emailing or messaging on Facebook most of the winter, so it's good to see them in person.

It's also time for my brain to take a breather from my writing. On Thursday and Friday, my characters in my current book are not talking to me. Friday, I just sat and stared at a blank page with my hands poised over the keyboard. Nothing! You know what it is? I think they started the holiday early and didn't tell me about it! They better come back to work on Tuesday or there will be some words!

Garage Sales

Spring cleaning at our house brought out lots of stuff we have, we don't need anymore. When we moved five years ago, we really cleaned out before our move. We had lived in our home in Pennsylvania for fourteen years and the junk we had? Well, way too much. We realized the house in Texas had smaller rooms and we eliminated a lot of furniture.

Our neighborhood here in Texas always has an annual garage sale, so this year we decided to participate. I will insert here, my parents grew up during the depression and they became hoarders. When they died, they left behind a five bedroom home filled with over 3000 antique clocks and watches and junk like you wouldn't believe. We sold the clocks to an auctioneer which took over three semis to haul away. Then, there were four dumpsters used before the house was empty. I refuse to live that way. I shy away from any garage sales or auctions which my parents would go to all the time.

My husband grew up differently. His parents threw out everything when they no longer needed it. His mother loved garage sales and worked the circuit. He embraced our participation in the garage sale to the point where I was ready to kill him. He called me several times a day to make sure we had everything we could sell. I told him I would check when I could because I too was working. He made an Excel spreadsheet of our items and the suggested price. (He's a salesman by trade). We even went to his office to borrow tables to display our items. He took off Friday afternoon and the two of us cleaned out the garage; gathered and priced everything. Bring on Saturday!

We all got up at six on Saturday and placed everything to enhance their appeal. First customers came at 7:45 and quickly left. More of the same. After about an hour, we learned what we had for sale wasn't what people wanted. We had no children's clothes, toys, or games. People didn't want VHS tapes, nor did they want bookcases. They didn't want a set of drinking glasses or bar stools. We even tried "Manager's Special' buy these items for only three dollars! No go. By eleven, we had only sold $90 dollars worth of stuff of what we had priced out would've been at least $200.

We hauled our unwanted stuff back into the house and have called a local charity to schedule a pick up. Was the experience worth it? Nope! Guess we are not garage sale folks!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day! I miss my mom who died six years ago. After my father died, she was a very unhappy woman who had no wish to live without the love of her life. She died exactly six months to the day of my father's death.

Estelle was a true New Yorker who had a lot of spit and fire in her younger days. I remember when we moved to Chicago when I was young, poor Chicago had no idea who they were dealing with. She was not afraid to go in the worst part of the city by herself. Hell, she was from New York and had seen everything. And could she pick fights. The family will remember her when she tracked down the waitress in the restaurant after we had been seated. It was my father's birthday and we had selected a restaurant that overlooked the Fox River in St. Charles, IL. Us sisters and grandchildren went in first while my parents parked the car. My mother instructed us to ask for a table that overlooked the river. The waitress seated us elsewhere. We just took it because we knew we were a large party. When my mother came in and saw where we were, she demanded to speak to the manager and sure enough we were given the proper table!

Estelle was also a fighter in the grocery store parking lots. If she wanted that space, she was bound and determined to get it. She got into many arguments and one lady even slapped her!

I could go on about her and my sisters and I like to say, oh my God. I sounded just like Estelle! But she always was a fighter but not at the end. She just gave up. I'd say, Mom? What about your daughters and grandchildren? She would just shake her head and not answer me. She stopped eating and taking her medicine. She even bit the caregiver! I am crushed she gave up on me.

Still Writing!

On Monday, I submitted my next manuscript, Not Just an Act to my editor/publisher. There are some transitions going on there and I hope who ever reads it, likes it! I'm saying my prayers! I can't thank them enough for believing in me and all of their help with my writing career!

I started to plot and research for my next sports romance and it has to do with the world of golf, which I know very well. My husband's mistress is golf. I can't play as well as he, and get very discouraged by some of the courses he chooses to play on. They are way too hard for me! Not to mention my run ins with wildlife such as snakes, alligators and water in general. I have relegated my role to driving the cart and handing out positive suggestions.

However, to become a professional golfer, there's a lot of work involved. The more I read up on it, the more I admire these athletes. At the Golf Galaxy in Grapevine, TX, I had a chance to meet young LPGA golfer, Lexi Thompson. What a composed, older than her years, 19 year old woman. I asked her questions which she dutifully answered. She has been on the circuit since she was then years old. Amazing!

Technology Strikes Again!

Don't laugh, but I still use AOL for my email. I've been using it since it first came out and saw no reason to stop. We have Verizon Fios here in Texas and during the first year we lived here, didn't think anything about it until we noticed an increase in our AOL bill. We were still paying for the dialup. Duh! So, I cancelled the service but bought my screen name for life. My husband has his computer all set up with AOL connections to his sports and whatever else he does and his screen name is grandfathered into mine.

Monday, when I signed on for the morning, I noticed I had 26 items in my spam folder. It was all undelivered mail. I didn't think anything about it until my friends started to email and call me saying they were getting spam mail from me. Huh?

Husband comes home from work with a packet they've received telling all employees to change their password because of spamming. Aha! Something is going on. I hate changing passwords even though I know I should. Now they are accepting special characters making it more creative. When I finally got the 'brilliant' message from AOL, I felt like I had won an Oscar! Then, watching the noon news, the story came on about AOL being hacked and advising everyone to change their password. AOL was currently working on the problem! Don't you just love technology?

The good news is I finished reviewing my completed manuscript for my next book, tentatively called Not Just an Act. It's another romantic comedy which I know you will love. I have yet to finish the blurb to submit to my publisher which I plan on doing very soon. I pray they like it as well!

Happy Easter

Nature has really greened up the grass, trees and lawns! Our rose bushes are starting to bloom; such a pretty time of the year!

I love to take walks outside and try to walk at least an hour a day. It's helps me with my writer's block and my emotional well being as well as my health.

I love where we live because the city has provided wide, winding sidewalks with plenty of crepe myrtle trees. It's not too hot at this time of year either.

The only complaint I have, (don't laugh), is that they have opened up a Dairy Queen restaurant only four blocks from my house. It opened in February and I have done my best to avoid walking in that direction. I don't carry money with me on my walks, no reason to stop. Right?

Yesterday, my daughter wanted to walk with me and I warned her, it's going to be an hour. I don't want it to be 'take a step; drag Alexis' kind of a walk. Wouldn't you know on the way back, she started to complain how thirsty she had become. I told her to man up! We are only 6 blocks away from home.

She had money in her pocket and the next thing I knew, there we were at the Dairy Queen where she ordered a cherry Arctic Blast. Do you know how tough it was to be there with the smell of ice cream and shakes hovering in the air?

I was good. I only had a sip of her drink and didn't order a thing. No chocolate dipped cones, no ice cream sandwiches, no shakes, no Dilly Bars. Can you tell my mouth is watering? I've worked too hard to lose weight to slip up.

Monday, while she's at work, I'll walk the other way...as far away from Dairy Queen as I can!

I forgot to mention the Godiva Solid Dark Chocolate Easter Bunny sitting on my counter. Groan!

Always Something

First off, I just want to say thank you to all of you who commented on my last blog! Yes, we need to weed out dishonest auto repair businesses! One step at a time.

Last week, I tried really hard to get away from the Internet to devote time to my next book so I can submit it to my editor. On Monday, I devoted at least ten hours of writing and rereading and felt on track. Life got in the way on Tuesday through Thursday and then I spent more time on Friday. Hopefully, I will be done soon so I can start on my next one!

I did try the library, but it is not at all quiet like it was when we were growing up. Our library is small but functional. It has tables where you can sit and work quietly on whatever you're doing as well as tables where people can hold tutoring sessions. Within the area of tables, there are sitting areas of stuffed chairs and love seats. This area is surrounded by shelves of magazines.

Then off, to the left, is the children and young adults sections where they have a similar set up along with a huge fish tank where children love to watch the colorful fish.

Then, there are rows of computers, where people can access the Internet to do whatever they want. As I said, very accommodating.

There is also a huge auditorium where story telling for the little ones is held as well as scheduled classes and meetings. Very nice.

So why do the mother's bring in their little ones, who scream from the minute they enter the building? Not only that, they don't discipline them at all? They ignore them. They let them run up and down the aisles unattended. They also bring these children into the adult section where people are working, so that mom can check out a magazine while the poor little guys are bored out of their minds?

Let's not forget the mothers who bring in infants to the adult section to sit on the stuffed chairs so they can breast feed? I am not against breast feeding at all since I did it for my daughter, it's just that the library does have other places to accommodate these mothers.

The staff is not encouraged to discipline any of these women. They fear the public will stop using the library, so this behavior is tolerated. Sad state of affairs for our future.

I have invested in some really good earplugs!!!

Life in the Fast Lane

What a week! I have a hate/love relationship with cars. I love them but when they break down and I have to deal with repair shops, I hate it. Since I'm the one who works from home, the responsibility of getting the cars repaired is up to me. When I grew up, my father made sure I knew how to change the oil and change a tire. Since he traveled extensively by car when I was growing up, I learned with each break down he had, the mechanics of the engine. Of course all that has changed with computerized engines, but getting ripped off by repair places has not changed at all.

First off, you avoid the dealer when your warranty has expired. They charge you an arm and a leg. I had a fantastic repair man I used when I lived in PA but being down here in Dallas, I haven't been able to find a decent repair shop.

My sob story...Our 2006 Mazda 3, the passenger door's bolt kept popping when being opened or shut. Kind of sounded like a pop gun. I took it to a place close by to have them take a look at it. I dropped it off at 10 and walked home. I'm thinking serious things when they hadn't called by noon. Finally, they called and said nothing about the door being fixed but my oil was really dirty as well as the brake fluid. Okay, I couldn't recall the last oil change but it probably was a while ago, so I gave them the go ahead. My husband keeps an Excel spreadsheet on all of our cars on his pc. I didn't want to wait the ten minutes it takes to boot up his computer and then to find the file, so I'd deal with his wrath when he got home. The bill at this point was $150.00. I'm waiting and waiting and around 3, I call them to see when the car would be ready. Well, they found another problem. The power steering hose is leaking and that's an additional $500 for parts and labor. NO! All I wanted was the door to be fixed. Now, I'm angry. I told them no and I would pick up the car in ten minutes. I did boot up the pc only to find out that we had replaced the power steering hose 800 miles ago done by NTB.

When I picked up the car, the mechanic bent over backwards showing and telling me about this hose and how I shouldn't let this go. It didn't look like it was leaking to me and if anything, I'm taking it back to NTB. The end of this story? They didn't charge me a dime for the door. Loose bolt. Which is why they went out of their way to find something wrong with the car in the first place. Never going back there again!

On a happier note, a friend of mine who owns a gift and card shop here in Flower Mound gave me a call out of the blue. She had an author at her shop who had a book signing and asked me to come in to meet her. I did. Her name is Ann Winston, the title of the book is Love and Other Lies. We had a blast trading stories. We were soon joined by another lady, Lois. Lois is an unusual name, so we tend to be friends when we meet. There is a Lois Club which I am a member. She hugged and kissed me and called me her daughter. It made my day to meet such great people!

If only the car repair shops had ethics like that....

Post Vacation Blues

When I got home from vacation, I felt refreshed and ready to write. I want to finish the manuscript I'm currently working on and begin a new one I came up with while my mind was at rest.

No such luck. I spent Monday morning writing. That was it for the day. All of a sudden, I had errands saddled on me from  members of my family. Come Tuesday, I had to take my husband's car into the repair shop to find out which light was causing the message; 'Lamp Defective' because we sure couldn't see it. Then I had to run it over to get the state inspection which is due before the end of the month.

Oh, did I mention the trip to Lowes to get the part for our toilet that happened to break down Tuesday morning? My husband made me take a picture of it with my phone so I would know which part to get. Really?

Or the incessant phone calls from my husband about the status of his car...which light was it that caused the error message and did the car pass inspection?

My daughter complaining about the loose bolt on the passenger door of her car causing a popping sound? When is a good time for us to get it fixed with our work schedule? Until the door falls off, not happening soon...

What about my car where the CD player is not being recognized? At least the radio works! Did a gremlin enter our garage while we were away and sabotage all three cars?

I forgot to mention the handle on the suitcase being broken and finding a Samsonite store close by to do the repairs because my husband has a business trip coming up and he needs this particular suitcase.

All three home printers needed ink and let's not forget grocery shopping...

Dear God! Please let this next week be better!

Back From Vacation!

Welcome! I am back from a very relaxing week in Orlando, FL! We had a great time and picked the best week to be there. It only rained on St. Patrick's day which was fine by us.

Thanks to our cousin Mark, we discovered a unique part of the city called Winter Park. I would highly recommend it as a buffer to all of the Disney fanfare. (No, I am not knocking Disney!)

We ended up the day in downtown Orlando at an Irish pub and had a wonderful time!

The rest of the week was perfect weather! We took in Universal, Epcot; played golf, swam and I read like crazy!

The only complaint I had was with Universal's Harry Potter exhibit which was way too crowded. We spent five hours there and didn't accomplish that much because to wait in line for over an hour was the norm. It was a three hour wait for Butter Beer (which I didn't taste) and then a two hour wait for the wand store. There is so much to see and do there, I felt guilty waiting and waiting for a 45 second ride or exhibit.

Now I'm back to work and catching up on errands and fine tuning my next book so I can submit it!

I want to wish everyone a great day and a great upcoming week!

Writer's Block

For the last couple of months, I have been working on my next book tentatively titled, Not Just an Act. The thing is, I've hit a wall. I need to liven the characters up and create more cohesiveness to the plot. I've spent hours writing and then after I look at it the next day, I am not at all pleased.

What I've done, is to put it down for a while. I am taking a week, to do nothing but read. Usually that helps but I have to chuckle. Now that I've put out three books and have gone through some pretty intense editing, I'm very aware of certain things such as head hopping; passive voice, repeating phrases, etc. I've gone through three books now in three days and I find myself saying; 'my editors would have corrected that or I'm lost in the head hopping.

I guess it makes me feel that I am not alone in making writing mistakes. I just want to be a better writer and make my characters come alive with passion and the plot to be addictive so the reader cannot put the book down. (Darn, I just repeated myself!!!)

Note to Self

First off, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my new book. I appreciate the time and effort put into a review!

Note to self...maybe it wasn't a good idea to play Mexican Train until 3:30 in the morning(ohm did I mention the time change???) only to get up at 7 because I am watching a friend's dog, Oreo until Wednesday. #draggingmyheelstoday....

Sundays

I don't know about you, but I look forward to my Sundays. It's a day that I devote entirely to me and my emotional welfare. It's a day where I recharge my batteries of life by taking it easy and doing what I want to do.

Of course, there are bumps on the road to a peaceful Sunday such as unexpected chores that pop up; things stop working or family demands take precedence. But all in all, I plan my week to make my Sundays count.

I love to sit back and read to my heart's content, not worrying about how many words I've written, a self imposed goal I adhere to during the week. I also love to do puzzles and the Jumbles to keep my mind intact.

This Sunday feels really nice because unlike yesterday, where we were at 80 degrees, today we are in the teens. Who wants to go out in this weather? Not me!

If you ask where Lois is today, she is curled up in her favorite chair, reading and doing puzzles.