The Party's Over

My daughter's first birthday party has come and gone, and all in all it was a great day. My kids had so much fun, and the birthday girl got lots of nice presents (her favourite was the bag that some of the pieces came in :-)). Here is a picture of the birthday cake I made (very yummy I might add).

On another topic, today is the day that the winners are chosen for the eHarlequin Ultimate Reunion contest. Can't wait to see if I won. It might take a few days to find out since I believe they are contacting the winners by mail. I felt pretty good about my entry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. If not, oh well. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I'll keep you posted.

I Did It!

I just sent my entry to the Ultimate Reunion contest. Yay! I'm glad that it's out of my hands. Now I can put it out of my mind, and if I happen to win it will be a pleasant surprise.

With that out of the way I need to focus my energy on organizing my daughter's 1st birthday party that is on Sunday. So many little things to do, but I can't wait. I'm trying not to get too carried away; she'll just be happy to have all of her cousins here to play with her. It doesn't take much to entertain them at this age. And she'll probably get more enjoyment from all of the wrappings than from the presents. It's such a great age.

Almost Done!

My scene for the Ultimate Reunion contest is almost done! Yay! I was surprised at how difficult I found it to write a complete scene in only 1000 words. In a novel you've got at least 10 chapters to tell your story, but to give enough of a plot so that the reader is interested and can follow it all in 1000 words...that's tough. The one good thing is that it teaches you to make every word count. No flowery descriptions here. It's down to business.

I just hope that the judges like it as much as I do. I love the characters so much I could see this scene as the first in my next story. But I've resisted the urge to go any further. I still need to focus on my current wip. It's almost done. Not much more. I can do it.

I've been tagged!

Whether you're interested or not, here are five things you may not know about me (excluding my family...they know everything!)

1) I'm half Scottish (maybe that's why I'm so cheap-LOL). My mother was born in Scotland and lived there until she was 10.

2) I played trumpet for 4 years in high school. It's great for the stomach muscles.

3) I'm addicted to Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. It used to be Sex and the City, but then they had to go and cancel it : ( Such a dark day.

4) More than a few times I've woken my husband in the night swatting at imaginary spiders in the bed (and yet I'm still sound asleep).

5) Up until 2 years ago, I lived in a hundred year old house that I'm sure was inhabited by more than just my family. I can't tell you how many times my dog, a Shih-tzu that rarely makes a peep, growled at a seemingly empty corner in my bedroom (he had a knack for doing this when my husband was away and I was all alone -- Insert scary music here)

Hope you feel like you know me a little bit better. Now let's learn more about Cariann, Kathleen, and Suzanne B.

Contest Entry Take 2

I've been working away on an entry for Harlequin's Ultimate Reunion Contest. Okay, so my wip doesn't have a reunion scene. So I have to write something brand new. I refuse to think of this as procrastination. Granted I'm not progressing in my wip, but I keep telling myself that if I win it will be a nice little gem to put in my query letter to hopefully move it along in the slush pile. And it doesn't hurt that the prize in one year's worth of books from the Harlequin line of your choice. But that's not why I'm doing it. Honest.

Maybe if I keep telling myself, I'll eventually believe it : )

Birthday Invitation

Okay, so it's not writing related, but I had to show off the invitations that I made for my daughter's first birthday. I can't believe that she'll be 1 at the end of the month. Her upcoming birthday also means that my 1 year maternity leave is almost up. I have to go back to work in the new year. I'm getting so stressed out about leaving them. I've found a nice home daycare, but the thought of leaving them with someone else still makes my stomach turn. At least my work has agreed to let me come back 4 days a week instead of 5. I'll have one extra day a week to spend with them.

I just hope that I'm able to keep up the writing once I'm back to the daily grind (there--I knew I'd find a way to bring the topic back to writing).

Keep your fingers crossed for me.