Vacation is Over!

I'm posting this book of mine, because it reminds me of how much I love the game of golf.
My husband I took a road trip to Sedona, AZ this past week. It's been a long time since we've done that and I looked forward to it.

The first day was horrible. We witnessed two fatal truck accidents which bothered me. I hate seeing them, but the way people drive these days, I'm not surprised. Needless to say, my nerves kicked in and now I know every truck stop on I-40 in New Mexico and Northern Arizona!

The next day was much better and we arrived in the late afternoon and checked into our timeshare. The weather was beautiful all week and had no complaints at all. We strolled around the shops and uptown Sedona. We ate at our favorite restaurants. We visited our relatives in Phoenix and played two rounds of golf.

We even struck up conversations with other time share owners and we all agreed the sales staff are sharks. What is supposed to be a forty-five minute meeting turns out to be four, wasting your day of vacation. Now that we are platinum members, we no longer have to attend these inane meetings. I was very proud of myself when I said, "No means no! I do not have twenty-thousand dollars to give to you! Back off!

I'm working on an eighth book and had a dilemma on how to end it. While relaxing, I did come up with a great idea, so I'm anxious to get back to writing.

Now that I've done the grocery shopping, laundry, yard work and catching up on my emails, I'm ready! It's good to know my mind never takes a vacation!

Great Customer Service

Have to say, I'm impressed with Nebraska Furniture Mart. I know even though I'm not a native Texan, people here are skeptical about outside businesses. NFM has been here a year and I read an article how they are catering their methods to appeal to the Texas customer. I think the funniest thing the article pointed out was that NFM now knows that Texans don't like the five story parking garage. They'd rather use the parking lot. Growing up in Chicago and living outside of Philadelphia, using a parking garage is like second nature to me. Oh well.

First off, the place is huge. NFM has hundreds of everything to choose from. Our mission was to get a new mattress. Granted, our is only four years old, but it sagged. In order to get out of bed, I'd roll off the bed because it wasn't firm enough to support my one hundred pound frame. Both my husband and I had back pains and the doctor suggested a new mattress. I even had a bone scan done and they too recommended a new mattress

We didn't have to wait for a salesperson to help us. He had us try eight different mattresses making sure we had what we wanted. Delivery? Free and the next day. We placed the order at 11:00 am on May 14, 2016 and on May 15, 2016, the assembled mattress is in my bedroom at 10:30 am.

Now I can go back to writing......

It's the Little Things That Make Me Happy!

I have had an awesome week! First off, I found a home for The Sin Bin! Can't wait to begin this new chapter in my life.

Second of all, I had a great weekend. Hubby and I went shopping for new pots and pans together. There are plenty of restaurants to chose from around here, but lately have had bad experiences with the staff such as wrong orders, cold food and long waits. We have done more cooking at home and found we like it. I received my pots and pans for my wedding shower years ago. The reason they've lasted so long is because I really didn't do much cooking.

When I lived in Chicago and Pennsylvania, there is a company called Market Days which sold prepared meals through the school system. Having a full time job and a baby, I loved this concept. All I had to do with heat things up.

There is no Market Days in Texas and I learned new recipes and am still having fun discovering new dishes. When my husband made a dinner recently, he commented on how used my cookware was. With the Mother Day sale at Kohl's, I got a beautiful set from Cuisinart. I also ran to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get additional items to spruce up my kitchen.

This morning, my husband treated me to breakfast at....don't laugh, Waffle House! It's a once a year tradition based on my favorite movie Tin Cup. It's where Kevin Costner, Renee Russo and crew argue over breakfast, which Waffle House was better. Was it in Midland or Odessa? When we first moved to Texas, I made a point to drive there just to see where. Only me!

Working on my next book, currently untitled but have made great strides with it. I'm feeling inspired!

eBooks versus Printed Books

I am a big supporter of my local library. (Libraries these days are something else but that is another story I'll get into later.)

I love books and eReaders because I love to read. Four times a year, our library has a book sale of older books, paperbacks, DVD's, etc. to help support the library. I faithfully go to these sales because I can find books I want to read that are no longer being printed. Let's say I've discovered an author who has been writing for quite a while and I want to read some of their older material. I can always find what I want.

However, last year I asked if I could advertise my book signing at the library, I was told no. They don't support it. Okay. I thought that a little strange but I've learned the hard way, things are done differently in Texas. It's better to shrug your shoulders and accept it.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into the library for the book sale, there were two authors promoting their books. I guess the rules had changed and I felt miffed, but decided to let it go. When I spoke with the two authors; a women in her early twenties and the other around my age., I introduced myself as a fellow author. I told them I had tried to do the same thing last year but the library would't allow it.

The older women flipped through her phone looking up the books I've had published. She told me the reason why is because my books are only available on Amazon and B&N, so therefore I was not a real author. My books are not in print.

You could've knocked me over with a feather. I didn't even bother looking at her $14.99 'signed' copy and left.