Circle of Bunnitude

Number One and her father—and, to a lesser extent, Number Two—are obsessed with "boonies." That's bunnies with an oon sound instead of an un sound. They search for them every time we pull onto our street, and squeal when one is spotted in our yard.

Several weeks ago, we saw a boonie preparing a nest smack in the middle of the back yard.



She packed dry grass and fur into it and went to the other side of the yard. A few days later, the grass and fur had been scattered. We haven't seen much activity since, but in the interest of being on the safe side, they created the Circle of Bunnitude (pronounced "Boon-i-tood").



That was taken a couple of weeks ago. The grass is taller now. Around that time, the neighbor's old dog came exploring and I caught her nosing in the nest. I think her owner got her before she really did more than nose, and we haven't seen any signs of trauma. Nor have we seen baby boonies. Though we didn't know we had them before, not until Dolly started playing with one.

A younger-looking but full-grown boonie was hopping the perimeter of the Circle of Bunnitude last night, but I have no idea how long it takes boonies to grow to full size (probably longer than it's been) and the neighborhood is rife with them, so it could have been any boonie.

So now we have to decide: let the Circle of Bunnitude get out of control, or risk running over something with the lawn mower? Number One usually does the mowing nowadays, and last year she almost ran over a nest in a different part of the yard, so I know what her vote is going to be.

I guess I should invest in a machete.

Mother's Day and My Week

I'm too late to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day, but I hope it was for all of you. Mine was, as usual. I have a fantastic husband and kids who totally adhere to my philosophy that on "our" days, we are in full control.

This year, that meant pancakes and bacon for a late breakfast, then I just hung out while they cleaned the house, after which we played Scrabble and I scraped a win. J and I went to see Iron Man 2 and came back in time to meet up with his parents and sister for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. After the kids were in bed, I topped off the whole lovely day with a private screening of The Losers.

How was yours?

~~~~~~
Iron Man 2 was very good. Not as awesome as the first one was, but that's always the case. When the first movie surprises you, the sequel(s) can't have the same impact. Even the Lord of the Rings suffered from that infliction.

Regardless, Robert Downey Jr. was awesome, and that's really all the movie needed. :) I totally disagree with everything the Entertainment Weekly review said, and frankly, I had to wonder if they actually saw it. Complaining about the protracted and frequent battle sequences? There were, like, 3. I was half expecting Transformers level chaos and hammering, but they were very short, as battle sequences go. In any case, it was worth the matinee price.

I really liked The Losers, too. There was a je ne sais quois missing, but I loved every character, every performance, especially Chris Evans as Jensen. He was really different than he was in the Fantastic Four movies. Some will disagree, because the characters have the same happy-go-lucky charm, but Jensen had an edge, a hardness, that wasn't present in FF. I don't know that I'd have recognized him if I hadn't known who he was.

IM2 had a ton of trailers before it, and most were movies I can't wait to see. They teased a movie for 2011 from Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams called Super 8 that had me drooling. The Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz and the Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl movies look amusingly fun, albeit similar, and the latter reminds me too much of True Lies. It's okay, I loved True Lies. :)

This week will be prep week, culminating in the CPRW Annual Retreat from Thursday to Sunday! I can't believe it's almost here!

Now I just have to figure out what to write...

Guest Blogger Susan Kelley

I know I said Saturday, but it's going to be a full day, and I don't have time for my thoughts on Supernatural today, so you get Sue early!

Thank you so much for allowing me to make a guest appearance on your blog, Natalie. You’ve featured so many great authors in the past, I’m thrilled to be in such company.

Most readers know me best for my fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles. The first book in that series, The Keepers of Sulbreth, is available in many bookstores and all the major online retailers. I write fantasy under my real name, Susan Gourley.

But today I’d like to talk about what I write under my pen name, Susan Kelley. Earlier this year I wrapped up my four-book futuristic romance series, The Chronicles of Solonia. Today I’m venturing into a new romance area with a fantasy romance, To Tame a Tiger.

To Tame a Tiger, from The Wild Rose Press, is the start of a three-book series centering on a legendary race of warriors called Tigers and the courageous sorceresses who love them and hope to save them from the curse placed upon their race generations before.

Luke Aron is the leader of the cursed warriors and the center of a power struggle between a powerful witch and the free people who resist her takeover of their kingdom. Lady Violet Hylan is the young sorceress who first rescues Luke and then fights to keep him at her side.

You can read an excerpt here, and here is another short one. I think you’ll enjoy this fantasy adventure with its touches of humor mixed with suspense and thrilling action.

Read this short excerpt when Violet understands exactly what type of man she’s allowed into her life:

Excerpt:
Violet moved up a few steps. Someone screamed. The shrill sound ended all of a sudden with a choked, gurgling sound. Then complete silence.

She dragged herself up another step to a small landing. A blood-soaked arm lay on the floor near the tightly curving wall. She forced herself to move onward. The body connected to the arm came into her view. She took another small step, but her stare would not leave the grisly sight of the dead man. She edged forward and bumped into a live body. A hand covered her mouth and smothered her scream.

“You were to wait.”

Violet sagged against Luke. She wrapped her arms around his waist to support her weak knees. She buried her face in his shirt and inhaled his scent. It comforted her more than she expected on short acquaintance. He backed away from her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“You must follow my orders, or we’ll both die behind these walls. Or worse. We could be recaptured.” Luke shook her gently, and he spoke in a cold tone she hadn’t heard before.

What kind of bond was this? Wasn’t he supposed to serve her?

“I think you’re confused about who’s in charge here, Luke Aron.”

“I’m in charge, Lady Violet, until we’re out of danger.” He spun away and began taking weapons from the dead soldiers.

For the first time, Violet took in the entire grim scene on the landing. There had been four guards. Now there were none. None alive. She looked at Luke with a new, disturbing understanding of what a Tiger was. Magic linked her to this man who could kill four armed, trained soldiers, with no weapon beyond a spoon.

Luke stopped his search among the dead and walked to a small table set along one moss-covered wall. The landing was actually a small guard room with cots on one wall and chairs and a fireplace along the other.

Violet scurried after Luke. She stepped over a man with the spoon impaled in his throat and fought back the gorge rising from her stomach.

Luke held a long knife in his hand. The blade, etched with an intricate drawing of a hawk, caught the lamplight on its sharp edge. A matching pair of swords shared the table.

“Are they yours?” Violet knew the answer even as she asked.

The weapons carried a lethalness as deadly looking as she now knew this man to be. The hands that slid the swords and knife into the worn leather baldric were long-fingered, slim and beautifully graceful. At least she would have described them as such when they stroked her body not long before. Now she saw they were extensions of the finely crafted weapons of destruction he handled with such familiarity. He fixed the baldric over his shoulders with quick adjustments of laces. He put his hands on her shoulders and startled her.

“You must promise to listen to me, Violet. When we’re safe, you can order me to kiss your feet. You can have me beg forgiveness for this moment. I’ll do so gladly. Please let me lead you now, my lady.”

Violet didn’t believe the gladly part one bit. But he’d spoken the truth about everything so far. The patient lover was gone. Now she faced the Tiger.

Stay Tuned

Pretty swamped at the moment, so don't have the energy or the time for a real post. :(

But I wanted to remind everyone about the Nothing But Nets contest Rosemary Clement-Moore is holding:

Donate a little, help a lot. End Malaria, win books! http://bit.ly/bi34bw

And on Saturday, I have a guest blogger! Susan Gourley/Kelley will be here talking about her newest (really cool) release. So stay tuned!

A Breath of Magic

Release Day!

One of my closest friends, Tracy Madison, is celebrating the release of her third book today. I had the huge honor of critiquing A Breath of Magic and it's definitely the best of the three. But the fourth (out in December) is even better, and I'm pretty sure the fifth will be my favorite. But I digress.

To celebrate her release, Tracy is doing a Month of Mysticism, with a stupendously amazing month-long contest, of which I am a part, should I ever get off the stick and get my stuff to her. :)

Tracy did an interview for The Examiner about this book and the rest in the series. (FYI, the books all stand alone, but the first two in the series are still available!)

Congratulations, Tracy!

My Personal May Sweeps

I don't know why I always say October is my favorite month. I mean, it is, until the end of April, when I become giddy about May and all it will bring.

Besides the obvious (hopefully good weather, the best TV of the season, and the start of the summer blockbusters), I always have a series of events that allow me guilt-free selfishness. We have something awesome every weekend this year!

May 2 is my local chapter meeting, and it starts half an hour late than it used to, which means I don't have to miss the early soccer game or the meeting, or any parts thereof.

May 9 is Mother's Day.

May 13–16 is our annual writers retreat, and Number Two's last soccer game is the 16th, after the retreat ends, hallelujah.

May 21/22 we get to see my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, as well as my cousins and their new babies (and the adorable toddler brother) and my aunt and hopefully uncle and grandfather.

May 29 is a City Islanders game. The season started this past Saturday, but the next home game isn't until the third week in May (which we'll miss, but that's fine, more important stuff going on!). That is also Memorial Day Weekend, so there's that day off of work/school.

The not-so-great part of May? Well, May sweeps means the best TV (ideally), but it also means finales. Supernatural only has 3 episodes left, and by the end of the month, LOST will be done forever. :(

But that's a small thing in the grand scheme of awesome. What are you looking forward to this May?

The Point of No Return

Number Two, you can't read this, it talks about Supernatural and stuff you don't want to read. Also, maybe some (mildly) bad words.

Add me to the ranks of fans who hated Dean in "Point of No Return" last week. And of course, by "hate" I mean "want to kick in the balls until he comes to his senses." The kind of hate you feel for someone you love who is acting like an idiot.

Actually...really, there was only one thing worth hating. I got that he felt abandoned by Sam, and that all the events of recent episodes fed his despair. But to say he had no faith in Sam, that he couldn't trust him, was not well motivated to me. Sam has done nothing in months to undermine Dean's trust. In fact, when he was high on demon blood, he fought the addiction to defeat Famine while Dean stood there like a numbskull, staring, and the nerd angel was gorging himself on hamburger. Sam didn't deserve what Dean said to him.

So okay, we can rationalize it. Dean was defeated. He was done with everything, ready to end it and hope more people wound up okay than not. The only way he could really justify giving in, though, was to convince himself he couldn't count on Sam, even though it wasn't true. So he was lying to himself, telling himself that hey, Sam was led by the demon chick, he was an addict, and an addict can never fully be trusted, and after all, he'd always let Dean down, running away from him when all Dean ever wanted to do was protect him.

Huh. I might have talked myself out of it. Maybe I need to watch the episode again...

Castiel, holy cow. His rage over Dean's betrayal, when he'd given up everything for him...his sacrifice--because you know he went to the same place his attackers went. I'm not real clear on what happens. Do the bodies go with them, or are they disintegrated and have to be recreated? If they're in angel form, is fighting easier or harder? If Castiel banishes himself, does that make it harder to get back?

I was so happy that Dean put an end to Zachariah, but I'll admit to being sad, too, because Kurt Fuller did such a freaking amazing job. I'll miss him. The ash angel wings were incredible, beautifully rendered (whether CGI or real, though I hope they were real--I don't know why, exactly). But some of us were discussing the manner of death. Uriel said only an angel could kill another angel. I also thought that sword was one of a kind, but of course, since the first episode of this season, all the angels seem to have them. So, is being angel made enough? Or is it something to do with the power that gave Dean the ability to kill the Whore of Babylon?

Also, I noticed that immediately when Zach was gone, Adam and Sam stopped hemorrhaging. So...does that mean that Bobby will be healed? They're a little different, as hemorrhaging is a process and Zachariah was presumably keeping it going, because it wasn't natural, whereas spinal cord injury is a trauma and once done is done. But it would be super awesome if Bobby could walk again.

Speaking of Adam...Jake Abel did a great job, too. I loved the subtle differences between the real Adam and the ghoul's presentation of him. I had two theories about Michael's plans, and the second one held true, which shored up another theory of mine, one that will probably never be articulated by Kripke and Co. but that can be inferred by everything that has been said on the show. Adam was of John's bloodline. John was able to be a vessel for Michael, so Adam would be able to, as well. Number One said he didn't have Mary in him, so he wouldn't be as strong a vessel (since the angels orchestrated getting them together). But I think it's more than that. I think what makes Sam a better vessel than Nick and Dean better than Adam is who they are. Not just their bodies, but their souls. Who they've become, shaped by their experiences, strengthened and honed. Their will and fortitude and strength are unique, and that's why they can withstand the strain of possession. But it's also why Sam wouldn't make a suitable vessel if Sam isn't actually in there.

I was a little afraid when Dean said yes, because even if he didn't mean it by the time he said it, he'd said it. But he didn't say it to Michael, and I assume that's part of the deal. It can't be by proxy.

Man, this show provides a deceptive amount to think about, doesn't it?

So this week is "Hammer of the Gods," and I don't know, despite the gross promo, I have a feeling it will wind up being one of my favorites. The title, premise, and guest star give me probably way-too-high expectations. I can't wait to see it! Unfortunately, I have to wait longer than normal, because baseball is preempting it and it won't be on until 11:30 at the earliest. Yes, I'm staying up to watch! I have to monitor the recording, after all. :)

Boiler Room Treasures

J and the kids have been slowly cleaning out our monster dump of a boiler room. Today they found two treasures.

The first is a book Number One wrote in first grade. I don't have a scanner, so instead of taking pictures of every page and really slowing down your browser, I'll just post the text. Commentary is in italics.

Chapter One: My Mommy
My mommy is a great great writer. She's the best writer I ever knew.

Yeah, cuz she knew a lot of them when she was six.

Chapter Two: My Daddy
He plays Chase the Monkey. Daddy is the lion and we are the monkeys and the lion chases the monkeys.

Daddy is obviously the fun parent.

Chapter Three: My Little Sister
My little sister named [Number Two] is very, very, very funny. "One movie that both of you like," said Mommy. "Okay, but we watch my movie first?" asked [Number Two]. "No, we're only going to get one movie," said Mommy. "Okay, but we watch my movie first?" asked [Number Two]. "Yes," said mommy.

Number Two would have been 20 months old at the time. She's much smarter now.

Chapter Four: My Grandma Tee
Grandma Tee is a very, very, very, very, very, very good sewer. She sewed our dresses for Uncle Andy's wedding.

Chapter Five: My Uncle Andy
My Uncle Andy just got married to a girl named Nikki.

Chapter Six: My Aunt Nikki
She is very beautiful. She has dark brown hair.

Chapter Seven: My Grandpa Chip
When we went to the tower that we can see all of Dallas, Grandpa Chip spit on my glasses and I spit on his glasses and we wiped our glasses off. He also is a good kicker.

Yes, ew, and yes, this is totally my dad. I have no idea what he was kicking that so impressed Number One.

Chapter Eight: My Grandma Patt
Grandpa Chip and here were fighting to kiss me once, so I crawled away without giving them a kiss.

Typos are exactly what was in the book, which was typed by her teacher. Number One think they were typed exactly as she wrote them, but despite our general satisfaction with this school district, I have never been impressed with their typing ability. I'm sorry, teachers should NOT be fluent in Typotic.

Chapter Nine: Miy Aunt Cindy
She babysits sometimes

Poor Aunt Cindy, that's all she got. Since there's no period, I have a feeling the typer got interrupted and missed some stuff. Though Number One did draw a picture on the page afterward and didn't add any more text.

Chapter Ten: My Uncle Kenny
He's just like my daddy. He tickles me a lot just like daddy.

Chapter Eleven: My Uncle Bob
Uncle Bob spoils us rotten. He took us to the pool once. That's spoiling us rotten. He and us were fighting and he threw me and Alex up in the air and we landed in the water.

Good thing my kids don't get to spend a lot of time with Uncle Bob, what with that spoiling rotten thing!

Author Page
Hi my name
[Number One] and I'm
six years old.
I have a lit-
tle sister nam-
ed [Number Two] an-
d she's two ye-
ars old.

This page was hand-written, and I thought the hyphenation quite creative.

They also found a box full of old racetrack. Number Two and J spent, like, an hour setting up an elaborate track, and then it wouldn't work. I cleaned the contacts on the cars and the track itself, but it wasn't working, so they took it all apart and did a simple oval. Once that worked okay, they added some switches and a loop. They weren't the only ones who had fun:




The two kitties who are allowed downstairs were alternately attracted, confounded, scared, and then excited by the little zippy things flying around. Fun was had by all.

Until they got bored.

Funny Stuff...Well, To Me, Anyway

Conversation with the Kid

Scene: Picked Number One up at school, stopped at grocery store on the way home. She was going to wait in the car and read the hated Great Expectations.

Me: Don't get carjacked.

Her: I won't.

Me: Take off your seatbelt. If someone tries, jump out of the car immediately.

Her (reaching into back seat): I'm not leaving without my Neo.


Ahhh, that's my kid.


Today, I was participating in a writing blast sponsored by my local chapter, CPRW. We were all typing in the chat so fast that we kept messing up. Stuff like spring instead of sprint and Luciver instead of Lucifer and getp 'oml instead of whatever it was supposed to be. Someone typed readu and made a joke about not knowing what that was. As the joking evolved, we discovered...

A NEW LANGUAGE!

We no longer make mistakes. We just switch from English to Typotic. Join us! The learning curve is nearly non-existent.

Supernatural fans, don't forget the new Ghostfacers series launched today! Go to Ghostfacers.com. I can't tell you how they are, because the video player doesn't seem to want to update. Will have to try it on my laptop.

Reasons I am Friggin' Happy Today

1. Very productive morning, made more so by the handyman being late.

2. I put the screen in the front door.

3. The handyman has fixed the dishwasher and one drawer.

4. The handyman will next fix the sprayer and the other drawer.

5. Number Two's microphone arrived.

6. Jim Butcher's new book arrived.

7. My Entertainment Weekly has arrived.

8. Supernatural is on tonight, and it's new!

9. Bones is also on tonight.

10. My kids are awesome.

Explanations, Caveats, and Addendums

1. With the handyman coming, I had to clear out the cabinets and dishwasher, then I had a workshop lecture to post, some client work to do, family stuff, and bills to pay. I was running out of time for the last thing when the handyman called and said he'd be half an hour late. So I had time to finish all my downstairs office stuff and then move to my upstairs office (laptop on dining room table) before he arrived.

2. We've lived here 11 years. When we moved in, we had a three-year-old, and by the time she was old enough that I wasn't afraid she'd put her hand through the screen trying to open the door, Number Two was the perfect age to do so. After that, I was just lazy, I dunno. But today I pulled it out of the boiler room and swapped it with the full-panel glass insert. MAN, was that heavy. But it's safely downstairs, and we have the most awesome crossbreeze now.

3. Our house was built in 1962. It's not ancient, but it's old enough to need a fairly steady stream of work. Add the fact that apparently the builders or retrofitters never did anything properly (that's a whole 'nother post), and said work tends to be problematic in some way or another. The dishwasher is perpendicular to the cabinets (see left). It sits on the subflooring, while ceramic tile in front of it creates a nearly one-inch drop. The countertop did not originally have a side panel; it just rested on top of the dishwasher. When we had the cabinets refaced, the guy put in a side panel, but that meant there was an inch between the dishwasher and the counter. The dishwasher wasn't anchored. First time I opened the door, the whole thing tipped forward. When we replaced the dishwasher a couple of months ago, the installer positioned it all the way to the right so it would clear the drawer and cabinet handle. But when he anchored it, it must have shifted, because it was not only unable to be opened because it hit the door handles, it rubbed the side of the cutout space. Of course, I didn't notice until after the installer had gone. He refused to respond to phone calls or faxes or complaints to Sears, so we suffered. But NOW, the handyman (from Handyman Matters has raised up the dishwasher and moved it to the right and anchored it so it not only fits and doesn't interfere, it LOOKS good, too!

4. After we'd decided to call in a handyman to fix the dishwasher and the Drawers of Suck (slide bent, replaced it, it shredded the wood, couldn't find the parts to do it ourselves—the other drawer just needed anchoring in the back), the sink sprayer stopped working. I couldn't find a replacement locally without having to buy a whole faucet set, so I ordered one online. But when he tried to replace it, the hose that came with it isn't compatible with the connector under the sink, and the sprayer end of the old hose isn't compatible with the new sprayer head. He went to Home Depot and bought a basic replacement head but it didn't solve the problem, so we probably need to replace the whole faucet system. That sucks. And he still has to try to fix the King Drawer of Suck, so we're looking at a 3-hour bill, minimum.

5. Number Two saved up her money and subscribed to Smart Music. For her birthday we added the instrument microphone. That finally came today, and gives her the ability to self-tune her viola, as well as grade her playing. She's excited and now her entire afternoon is set. :)

6. There are a multitude of authors whose books I enjoy, and many I love. But I can count on one hand the ones I'll squee over and buy in hardcover the day they come out, or even preorder. Jim Butcher is one. He combines everything that pushes my buttons—paranormal shenanigans, snarky humor, heart-pounding adventure, and people who love each other so much they'd kill or die for them (and not just romantically; in fact, mostly not romantically). I read 12 pages while I ate my salad, and now the book is glowing on my table, enticing me. But I shall be a good girl and work on my revisions. After I finish this post, of course.

7. Entertainment Weekly used to come on Fridays, and sometimes, if the postal service was in a mood, not until Saturday or even Monday. But the last few weeks, it's been coming on Thursday, cementing that day in its spot as my favorite of the week.

8. I haven't talked yet about last week's Supernatural episode. Oh, right, because I did the recap at Supernatural Sisters. I loved how they covered the whole "But they've died before. A lot. So why are they just in heaven now?" problem. Their memories were erased! Easy-peasy! But it fits with the show. The angels wouldn't have wanted them to remember the afterlife, early on. I loved Ash, SO so much. "I'm cool with it!" Pamela's logic was not flawed, but I hated that she tried to manipulate Dean. I mean, life is life, and the afterlife is something totally different. Why should all those people give up the living just because the afterlife seems like it ain't so bad? Dean believes in the value of life so far beyond what anyone else in the Supernatural world believes. He's humanity's champion, and he won't ever give in, no matter how bad things looked at the end.

9. I like every show I watch. If I didn't, I wouldn't bother. Duh. :) But the only one that feels like a guilty pleasure is Bones. I have no idea why. Maybe it's just weird for me to like a very successful show.

10. Number Two's parent/teacher conference was last night, and it went very well. We learned something that kind of blew us away. And Number One gets inducted into the French National Honor Society tonight. So we're proud parents. :)

What's making YOU happy today?

Awesome Contest, Awesome Cause

Can you believe that a $10 mosquito net could save someone’s life? It can.

Go here to see how you can help, and enter a great drawing, too!

Entertaining Me

Whew, I've been absent a while. I actually had some things to talk about, too, and haven't found time or energy to post! Sorry. :(

So, here we go, I think in chronological order...

Life UneXpected
I'm done. Haven't watched the last two eps (three now), because the thought of watching shrill, whiny Kate makes my skin crawl and my stomach heave.

Parenthood
Still in, because I do love the family interactions (as Mary says), but not eager to watch each episode.

Thursday Night
I cannot BELEEEEVE how much I watch (i.e. DVR) on Thursday night. Starting next week, when everything's back, I'll have five shows to watch. Still loving all of them. (FYI, that's Bones, FlashForward, Fringe, Supernatural, The Mentalist; have to make sure there's no misunderstanding about that LOL.)

Anyway, Supernatural...

While I won't put "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" up on my top 10, I loved the episode. I mean, besides the fact that Bobby without a hat is just WRONG. And that as good as the actress playing his wife was, I liked the one from "Dream a Little Dream" much better. This one was too old, really—she matched Bobby's real age, not the age she would have been when he killed her. Still, she did a lovely job.

I won't rehash everything everyone else is talking about (the gore, the funny, the heartbreaking), but I wanted to talk about the thing that a lot of people took at face value and were disappointed with: Death.

Yeah, at first analysis, it seems kind of odd that after War's and Famine's level of power and destruction, Dead seems kind of lame. He raised 20 people? In Bobby's town? To send Bobby a message we never heard? Um...okay. Anticlimactic much?

HOWEVER! I have a theory, borne immediately of that oddness. I wondered if Death's power is diminished because his brothers' is gone. War and Famine aren't dead, as far as we know, but the source of their power (ring, souls) was taken from them. So maybe Death just doesn't have the juice, like if the brothers have a synergistic power relationship.

Plus, we've had hints about Lucifer. He's still powerful, of course, can never doubt that, but his vessel isn't strong, and it's weakening. Zachariah said Lucifer couldn't do much until he found a vessel, so it's almost a no-brainer that if his vessel is deteriorating, so would be his control. Maybe the message to Bobby was desperation, because he needs Sam so badly. Or maybe it's just a taste of what's to come.

So that left me feeling, in the end, like the show wasn't lacking, it was actually chock full of interesting stuff. :)

Friday with Jason Manns
Hot friends, hot music, what more can you ask for? Jason was as good...no, this was definitely the best concert yet. He played "Journey"! I don't think he's done that at any other venue I've attended. That's my definite favorite. He also did "Perfect Spot," my second favorite, and a couple of new ones from the CD, which I of course purchased and had signed.

How to Train Your Dragon
Believe it or not, this is the movie of the year. At least, so far. I have high hopes for Iron Man 2. But really, HtTYD was sweet, and funny, and incredibly rendered (even in 2D—3D is fine, but too expensive for not a big enough difference). The characters were all very well wrought, the storyline nothing really unique but still very well written. The flying scenes and fight sequences were exciting, and I got teary more than once, even letting out an "oh!" near the end. EVERYONE should see this movie.

There was only one thing that was kind of negative, but not enough to ruin the movie, of course. I don't understand why the Viking adults sounded like Scots while the Viking kids sounded like whiny Americans. The voices were all great and fit their characters (or the characters fit the voices), but it was a little weird. I guess we don't know what Vikings sounded like?

Random Comments

Nestor Carbonell is fantabulous.

Felicity totally belonged with Noel.

Human Target gets more interesting every week, especially as they bring back secondary characters from past episodes; love Leila, where's Martin?

Nathan Fillion rocks my socks.

I just remembered, my kid accidentally deleted Modern Family, and it's (hopefully!) sitting on my iPod right now. I'm off to watch it! (Or pout, if it didn't sync properly...)

What has been entertaining YOU lately?

Upcoming Workshop!

April 2010 — The Pirates Guide to a Successful Publishing Career
Presented by Natalie J. Damschroder

Dates: April 5-17
Deadline: April 2
Fee: $16.00
http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#APR

Course Description:
Based on the line in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, that the pirates’ code is “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” In almost every case, the “rules” of writing and doing business in the romance industry are actually guidelines. The reality is that there is no one path to success, and even some things that seem absolute have exceptions or nuances. The key is to know enough to be prepared for any eventuality, understand the expectations of the genre and the industry, and “violate” the so-called “rules” intentionally and positively.

Natalie J. Damschroder is certainly not the only author to embrace the reality of the pirate’s code, but she was one of the first. Applying the line from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, that the pirates’ code is “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules,” she asserts that in nearly every case, the “rules” of writing and doing business in the romance industry are actually guidelines.

Being successful is not about copying another author’s path or habits, or following the Laws of Writing. It’s about taking in everything, determining your personal truth, and following your own path.

In this workshop, she addresses:
• craft
• the market
• networking
• contests
• and how best to achieve your own success, however you define it.

Instructor Bio:
Natalie J. Damschroder is the published author of seven novels and nearly two dozen novellas and short stories. She currently writes urban fantasy and romantic adventure. Over the nearly 17 years she's been part of the romance writing community, she has absorbed tons of information and has found that the Internet is like one gigantic game of telephone. She can't claim to have ALL the answers or be right ALL the time, but it's definitely one of her goals. A pragmatic, eyes-open approach to this business is her underlying philosophy.

Read more about Natalie at her website: www.nataliedamschroder.com

You can register for the following on-line class through April 2. Each class is $16.
FMI: www.lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Or email Online Workshop Coordinator, Veronica Alderson, lrwaonline@yahoo.com using the Subject line: LRWA ONLINE WORKSHOP. To subscribe to LRWA Online Workshop monthly mailing list, LRWAonlinecourses@yahoogroups.com

Thank you.

Veronica Alderson,
LRWA Online Workshop Coordinator

Random Thoughts

Today's randomness is brought to you by The Gab Wagon!

Waiting for Sunshine

The incomparable Sue Gourley/Susan Kelley bestowed this upon me. I can't say I agree that I deserve it, because this blog is sometimes FAR from sunny. :) But I thank her nonetheless.

It's been a few days since she posted this, but it rained all of those days, and today was gawjus, brilliantly sunny, so it seemed appropriate.

I'm going to mix it up a big and pass on this award to blogs of people I don't know personally. A couple might count as cheating, but I'm including them because they always make me smile. If this comes up in their Google Alerts, they can accept and pass on the award.

I Can Has Cheezburger (LOLcats)

I Has a Hot Dog (LOLdogs)

Amalah (mommyblogger)

The TV Addict (self-explanatory)

Around the 'Net

This week is Read an E-book Week! Guess what? I have tons of e-books. I mean, most of the books and stories I've written are available in various e-book formats. The story I wrote for Heartwild Solitaire Classic is also, technically, an e-book. :) But you can get a whole bunch for free this week! Maybe mine, I don't know, I guess it depends where you go and what the promotion is. I suggest you start here, at Jody Wallace's blog. She listed a bunch of stuff so why should I do more work? :) Thanks, Jody!

Speaking of e-books, Victoria Allen's new story, Aces and Eights is on sale!

On March 18th, the cover for CRUSADE, the new series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigue, will be revealed at WICKED SERIES on Facebook.

Vicki Smith blogged about Sam and Dean today at Supernatural Sisters today. It's quite funny and soooo true!

Monday I did some contest venting at The Gabwagon. It's not the kind you think.

March Madness has hit! No, not basketball, SUPERNATURAL. My friend Gail does it every year, and it's fun. And very difficult on occasion. Head over and vote for your favorite SPN episodes in head-to-head matchups! And make sure to keep checking as additional brackets go up.

The Good Kind of Busy

We had quite a weekend!

Obnoxious Parental Bragging Alert

Saturday started out with my local writers meeting, which was in a new venue that worked out very well. We had a great meeting, and it was especially wonderful to see everyone since our February meeting got snowed out. We had, like, 71% attendance, which is amazing.

I didn't get to talk to everyone, though, as I had to leave as soon as the meeting was over. Number Two was in a Math Meet! She missed it last year because when it was announced she'd committed to a soccer tournament already. But this year they were ready. To enter, anyway. LOL The program thanked all the parents who spent hours practicing with their kids. Number Two didn't practice, and she says none of her team did. Whoops!

They ended up going first of the 8 rounds (16 teams to start). She hated that! It was so nerve-wracking for her, and therefore for us. But WOW. They had white boards, but were doing all the problems in their heads, and buzzing in and answering immediately. The setup was 12 speed-round questions, where any of the 8 kids (4 per team) could buzz in and then had 3 seconds to answer. If they got it right, one point. Wrong, the other team had a try. After 12 questions, they did a Jeopardy!-type question, where they wagered up to their total points from the speed round, and answered the question as a team.

They won the first round 11-4! Then I had to go out to work the concession stand, and I kept running back and forth to check the bracket status, I was so afraid I was going to miss her next round! LOL They won the second round just as easily, 7-0. I was so proud of all of them. Two boys, two girls (only 5 of the 16 teams were co-ed, and most of those were only one girl), kids who work together in classes all the time and get along great, and who really supported each other. Best of all, they all answered questions. Most teams had one kid who answered, like, 10 or 11, and one who squeaked one in. I lliked how balanced hers was.

So then they went to the semi-finals, and of course it was going to be tougher. The questions were more complex, the competition stiffer. Two of our team members made a mistake and hit the buzzer too early (including Number Two once!) so that they didn't have all the info to answer accurately. And one of the boys kept getting flustered and giving the wrong format of answer (well, not "kept," it was only twice, and in two separate rounds). Anyway, bottom line, the end score of the speed round was 10-10. Of course, they both wagered 10, and both teams got the final question right, so they wagered again, and ended up tied 20-20. So they did a final speed round question, and Number Two buzzed in and got it! Woo hoo!

Unfortunately, they were outmatched in the final round, and lost by one point. That team had one kid who was just a whiz, and at least twice, they deliberately buzzed in early and lucked out with the question. The parents behind us really ticked off Number One. One father said the answers pretty loudly, though I guess they didn't carry to the stage. We heard remarks about our school, too. Slightly too much competition among the parents. The kids were all great, though, and we were extremely proud!

After that we went to dinner with the in-laws, and I had a great visit with my sister, whom I haven't seen in way too long. We brought them back here to play Band Hero, and Nana rocked the guitar, with Aunt Cindy bringing down the house with her singing! SO much fun.

That night was finished up with The Music Man, the high school production. Number One was on paint crew, and as a freshman was assigned a special task: because she did the wood panels on the train car so well, she was assigned all the wood on all the sets, for consistency. She did a REALLY good job. The show was top-notch, but the best part was leaning over to ask her, "what part of this set did you do?" :)

Yesterday was supposed to be more of a work day, but we shopped for new dishes, and had a lunch date, which was nice. Then we split up for Alice in Wonderland, as Number Two wanted 3D and Number One didn't. The movie was okay, though I dozed off about 3/4 of the way through. I did that at the musical, too. I think I should probably try to go to bed earlier this week. I need to recover from the weekend!

Coming Clean

Huh. I screwed up the rules. Honestly, I am NOT one of those writers who claims to be horrible at math. I've always been pretty decent at it. But somehow, I failed to add 1 to 6 and didn't end up with 7 things, but only 6.

Oh, well.

So, which are my truths and lies? Well, good liars know that good lies are always grounded in truth. So here's me coming clean:

1. I have been to several countries in Europe, and I don’t remember any of it.

This is 100% true. Some of the traveling was in utero, and some was postpartum, but all was before I was a year old. :)

2. When I was like 14, babysitting my brother, we got into a fight and I tried to stab him with a garlic press, and hit my hand instead. I still have the scar.

Again 100% true. I scared myself so badly when the blood welled up, I immediately stopped fighting with him. And went to tell the neighbor that no, even though I screamed I wanted to kill him at the top of my lungs, I didn't actually do so.

3. I have top security clearance because of my job at National Geographic, which means I could technically be told lots of state secrets.

HA! No one could have thought that was true. Pretty outrageous.

4. When I was dating my husband in college, his fraternity had a tradition that if a brother pinned his girlfriend, they carried him down to the sulfur spring, stripped him naked, and tossed him in. Then they gave him back his shoes and made him run naked back to the frat house, about half a mile. I got to see this happen to two of my husband’s brothers, but not him. He never pinned me.

Fully true. I think he gave me the pin after he graduated, but by then we were practically engaged, so it didn't count.

5. When I worked in DC, my aunt worked for Budget Rent-a-Car and she got me cars when I needed one for a trip home. One was a Lincoln Town Car. One was a red Mustang convertible. I kept that one a couple of extra days and took it up to 100 on the Beltway.

I hope she never reads this, that's all I can say.

6. In my summer job at Sarett Nature Center after my sophomore year of college, I got bit by all of the following: a raccoon, a barred owl, a black rat snake, a baby fox, an injured kestrel, and a tiny white mouse. Oh, and black flies.

Mostly a lie. I only got bit by the mouse and the flies. :) Someone else got bit by the black rat snake, when he was catching it (those puppies are FAST), and I don't think any of the others ever bit anyone.

Huh. I told more truth than lies. I guess I'm not that good at it after all! :)

Me? Lie? Never!

My friend Monica Burns tagged me for a very different kind of “award.”  I have to come up with lies to tell you people!  I don’t think I’m very good at this.  Certainly not nearly as good as Monica is!  But what the hey, I’ll give it a try.

First I’ll post the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you. (Uh, thanks, Monica!)

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you.

4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.

5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

People are going to get seriously annoyed with me if I keep tagging them. No one give me any more awards! LOL

Okay, first the lies/truths.  Guess which are which.

1. I have been to several countries in Europe, and I don’t remember any of it.

2. When I was like 14, babysitting my brother, we got into a fight and I tried to stab him with a garlic press, and hit my hand instead. I still have the scar.

3. I have top security clearance because of my job at National Geographic, which means I could technically be told lots of state secrets.

4. When I was dating my husband in college, his fraternity had a tradition that if a brother pinned his girlfriend, they carried him down to the sulfur spring, stripped him naked, and tossed him in. Then they gave him back his shoes and made him run naked back to the frat house, about half a mile. I got to see this happen to two of my husband’s brothers, but not him. He never pinned me.

5. When I worked in DC, my aunt worked for Budget Rent-a-Car and she got me cars when I needed one for a trip home.  One was a Lincoln Town Car. One was a red Mustang convertible. I kept that one a couple of extra days and took it up to 100 on the Beltway.

6. In my summer job at Sarrett Nature Center after my sophomore year of college, I got bit by all of the following: a raccoon, a barred owl, a black rat snake, a baby fox, an injured kestrel, and a tiny white mouse. Oh, and black flies.

Who knows me best? Guess away in the comments!

I tag the following, who I know can be really awesome liars creative bloggers:

1. Victoria Smith

2. Jody Wallace

3. Ava Quinn

4. Tracy Madison

5. Misty Simon

6. Megan Hart

7. Gail at Stream of Conscience

Disappointment and Victory

I got some bad news this morning. It was business, and it's not a bad thing in the long run, but it's a blow and a setback and has left me feeling a bit adrift and at loose ends today.

BUT.

Then I played Wii Sport Resort, Swordplay Showdown.

I've been trying for MONTHS to get past level 18. MONTHS. I once spent 2 hours trying. I've gone long stretches without playing, but I'm sure I've logged many, many hours at it.

And it's kind of metaphorical, when compared to this setback I had. You see, I had certain strategies that let me get to level 18, but they failed at that point. Sometimes they failed immediately, sometimes I got to 91% (as in, I've defeated 91% of my opponents) before they failed. But I never, ever got through. I even went all the way back to the beginning once, to rebuild my score, get it as high as possible, hopefully giving me more strength/power to defeat my opponents. But nope, it didn't work.

There was a strategy I knew I needed to employ, but never got the hang of it. My brain and muscles were too trained in the old way. Today, after a bunch of failures, I made it work, and I got through level 18!

Man, you should have heard me shouting. LOL But it doesn't end there. Of course, I had to move on, and level 19 only took me a few tries. Level 20 was harder, with far more aggressive opponents, but I kept trying, and finally broke through and won. I am now Swordmaster! :)

So the lesson: Patience, new strategies, and calculated aggressiveness can lead to success. I think I'm going to have to employ that elsewhere.