Hello, Old Friend

Not to say that you're old (LOL), but just that I've been away for far too long.

Where to start on what has transpired since I was last here? Well...sickness for one. I was the first one in the house stricken with the H1N1 flu, and it was nasty. And because I'm a loving wife, I shared it with my DH (aren't I nice?). Lastly, my DD2 (almost 4 years old) got it...and BAD. She was so sick that for the first time in her life, I was truly scared for her. Luckily, I was able to get the magical Tamiflu and after 3 days of pure hell she was feeling better (just in time for Halloween).

But that's not where the excitement stops. Oh no. 6 days after DD2 recovered we were booked to leave on our family trip to Florida. Talk about cutting it close. Not to mention that DD1 had not yet had the dreaded flu and we spent that entire week expecting her to come down with it at any minute.

Fast forward past much fresh orange juice squeezing and so many vitamins that I feared she'd begin to jingle, and everything turned out wonderfully! DD1 never did get sick, we had a wonderful trip and all is well with our world once more.

But all of this excitement means that my writing time has been nil. Nada. Zilch. And so, sadly, I will not be entering the Golden Heart this year. Sigh. But there's always next year, right?

Panic!!!

Panic has set in...

A few months ago, I made a promise to myself that I was going to finish this ms and enter it into the Golden Heart this year. As the beginning of October hit, along with it came a stark reality...I only have 2 months to finish, polish this thing and get it mailed out! Add to that an upcoming trip and birthday for DD2 and I'm in some serious trouble.

I don't have that much left to write before I hit The End. That isn't what scares me. It's the editing. The first draft is pretty rough, so I know there is going to be a LOT of editing. I'm determined not to go back on my target, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the whole thing.

I almost wish I could get up really high and get a bird's eye view of this story so that it could all become crystal clear...like when you're reading someone else's story. Do you ever feel like that? Any tips you could share would be greatly appreciated!

What's your Happily Ever After?

The house is quiet. A rarity for a Sunday morning.

My mom offered to take the kids for a sleep over last night so DH and I could go out and celebrate our wedding anniversay. So we jumped at the chance for a night out.

As of Monday, I will have been married for 13 years. Worthy of a night out, right? The kicker...we've been together for 22 years. Considering that I haven't yet hit the big 4-0, I think it makes us, as a couple, pretty unique. We were high school sweethearts, however we waited 9 years before we got married. In those 9 years I went away to university, coming home only on weekends when my studying schedule would allow. My DH started a career with a schedule that made it difficult for him to come visit. And yet through it all, we managed to stay together. Not because it was easier to stay together. Because it was too hard to stay apart.

So there you go--my own little romance novel. Maybe that's why I've been drawn to this genre. What about you? What's your story?

The drama that is my life

This past week has been filled with bad luck.

It all started during an evening speed walk with my friend. Imagine our surprise when a barking German Shepard emerged from the side of a house and proceeded to CHASE us across across a busy street. An energizing walk turned into a speed-run for our lives (or so it seemed). Very scary. Note to dog's owner: Giving your vicious dog a cute name like Ollie doesn't make him less scary. Just sayin'.

And then in the same evening, not five minutes later, we narrowly missed being spattered with egg thrown from a car full of teenagers. Stupid, to say the least. I mean, really, what's the point?

Then the kicker. This morning, I pulled into the day care to drop off the kiddies, and when I returned to the mommy-mobile, it wouldn't start. Nothin'. Dead as a door nail. So after calling a tow truck, waiting for the nice driver to arrive and start it, I drove promptly to the garage and had a new battery installed. The whole ordeal landed me an hour and a half late for work and a whole lot lighter in the pocket book. What a way to start a Monday.

But bad things happen in threes, right? So that should be the end of my crummy luck. I can hope anyway.

Anyone else out there having crummy luck, or is it just me?

I'm weak...

I did it.

I gave in to the travel itch and booked a family trip to Orlando. I know, I know, all those reasons I gave still have merit, but the kids are only small once, right? Soon they won't want to hang around with us. They'll be too busy with friends and *gulp* boys to want to go see Mickey and Minnie with Mom and Dad. So I'm going to eat it up while I can.

I can rationalize anything.

I'm a writer, after all.

The Travel Itch

What is it about the Fall that makes me want to book a vacation?

Maybe it's the impending Winter and mental flashbacks of digging out from under several feet of snow. Or maybe its the thought of the sun setting at 4 pm and the cold, dark drive home from work. Or the memory of the -20 C temperatures that leave us shivering in our warmest Winter gear. Whatever it is, it almost had me convinced to book a trip to Orlando this week. I came really close. Even had DH convinced. Until reasonable thought returned reminding me of the outstanding bills, car maintenance that needed to be done, my shaky work environment--none of which are conducive to spending thousands of dollars visiting Mickey and friends.

Darn.

So I have no trip booked. I'm dreading the thought of Winter coming. But on the plus side, I have a week of vacation time unaccounted for.

I smell a writing week in my future.

Go Read My Story at Read-a-Romance.com

One of my short stories is going to be posted at http://www.read-a-romance.com/ starting Sunday, Aug 30. If you've got a few spare minutes, please stop by and have a read. It won't take long. And don't forget to rate it so I can see how many people stopped by.

The title is Home is Where His Heart Is. It's a story that was inspired by a time in my life when my husband was traveling a lot for work. I was at home thinking how much fun he must be having traveling all around North America, eating in restaurants every night, sleeping in hotels. Turns out, excitement is all in the eye of the beholder.

If you'd like to drop me a line, I'd love to hear what you think of it.