Looking Back

I'm not very traditional about the whole resolution thing.  Why make a resolution that you are going to break within a few days.  Eh, not my style.

I needed help with my story, yes, it is STILL fighting me, and I thought I'd review the Revision Class I took from Lani Diane Rich last January.  It was during the download process that I had an aha moment.   It was a full class and she had three session each week to accommodate all the participants.  I wanted to download the class I had attended, but I couldn't find my face.  It dawned on me that last January I was one of the blank heads.

So much has changed over this past year.

• I am no longer a blank head, my face is out there.
• I use my name, not a clever rendition of it.
• I actually got married. I was not a fan of marriage after two epic fails. But the sun, the moon and I suspect Venus aligned and the moment was just right.  I could not be happier.
• I wear a wedding ring.  Something else I never saw me doing as I'd always viewed such things as a sign of possession and I am not a possession. I always said it was the guys way of peeing on you. Marking his territory as it were.  But again, it seemed right.
• I made some very scary choices.  Walking away from my job and taking the leap of faith that one would be there when I got back from a summer in the Bahama's. It worked out. Not in the way I'd expected, but I am so much more happy with the job I have.  I am still in the industry, but the non-pressure end. I love it.
• I drove in Florida, on the freeway, all by myself. I am not an adventurous driver.
• I actively participated in the writer's conference this year, and in Lani's Discovery Class. Just writing and putting it out there. In the past I'd be so critical of myself that I'd freeze and not do anything.  Then the moment would pass, everyone had moved on and I would have to catch up, only to freeze again.
• I started two blogs, Adventures in Life. (Life is the name of our boat. I so clever.) Random observations that chronicled our summer. But it was part of the process of learning to put it out there. When we got home I started Miss Steps and Milestones.
• I've joined a writer's group and their first session is in less than a week. 

I am not the person I was a year ago.
I am excited to see what changes the new year holds for me.

Taco Salad

When I think of a taco salad I think of lettuce, meat, tomatoes, cheese, salsa, some guac and sour cream, all lovingly placed in a flour tortilla shell that has been deep fried to resemble a bowl.  That's what I think of...

My first clue should have been when she asked me if I wanted it ala cart.  I was a bit puzzled as I thought taco salad was a bit of a stand alone...but hey, what do I know. 

When she brought me my plate there was one taco.  Now I have to admit it was a DELICIOUS looking taco. It was in a soft shell that was puffy.  The meat looked tantalizing.  It really looked good.  But it was not a taco salad.  My husband asked the gal, does this look like a taco salad to you?

She apologized and whisked away the taco and returned with a hard shell taco.

Hey, all the ingredients were there right?

Awwww

Dance of the BonkBonkBonkBonk-Plum Fairy (Scottish Fold Kitten)

Okay, it's still the season and I've been a major slacker in writing so I thought I'd share some cuteness. Enjoy.

Happy Merry Christmas Eve

I hit the stores early this morning and this song sprang to mind.
Sung to the tune of O Holy Night

Oh holy crap, it is the last day shoping.
What was I thinking? Nobody knows.

Long was the time that I could have been buying.
But was it so? I tell you, no!

The stores are packed.
There are no carts for hauling.
Was that my toy, you took, I say my dear.

Fall on your face
Oh hear the angel voices
Get out of my way.
Or you will die, those are your choices.

Get out of my way.
Or you will die,  'fore Christmas day.

Okay, not so cheery, but it was honestly the song that I was huming as I fought my way through the store.

Do I Look Amused?

My husband in his oh so sweet way reminded me that for the next six months I am older than he is.  He said, "So I guess you'll be a cougar for the next six months."
I say, "Do I look amused?"

Live and Learn

I it has been the week for me to get schooled.
First with the panic over the potential loss of my story.
And now this.

I saw this dancing icon down in the bar and hovered over it.  There's an update. It said.
I didn't think much of it at the time.  Okay, an update. I'll eventually get it.
Oh NO.  You will take your update NOW and you will like it.

Because I just hibernated my story last night and because I had not saved this morning I lost about two hours worth of writing.

Lessons learned this week:
1) Back up your story.
2) Dancing Icon means business.  Your computer is going down.
3) Hibernation is for bears. Even if you are in a hurry 'cause your hubbie is home, take the two seconds needed to save your story.
4) When the screen pops up that says, "Do you want to save?"  Don't look at the screen and think: Save? What button have I hit now? Do NOT think.
Just say:  YES.  YES, I DO WANT TO SAVE!!

Ramblings

Strangest Workman's Comp claim ever...

"How did you hurt your knee?"

"It was the curtsy. Well a cross between a bow and a curtsy really."

"What?"

"You know, the thing actors do at the end of the play. When the main dudette comes forward and accepts the applause."

At work I was told what a smashing job I'd done on a project.  I did my curtsy thing and as I was standing there my 'bad' knee started making strange cracking sounds. Kind of like the sound the cable threads on an elevator makes in the movies as they are snapping one by one. Yep, kind of like that.

Strangest phone call ever...

"Good Morning, this is Judie."

The voice says, "Um, yeah, no. I already talked to you."

hmmm should I take this personally?

Edited to add another odd call.

Good Morning, this is Judie."
"I'm sorry."

That was it. I'm sorry and then nothing? He didn't hang up. I hadn't had a fight with anyone. Didn't sound like a voice I knew.  Possible scenarios ran though my head.

I could envision this man smirking at his glaring wife.  See you crazy #%#$% I can say the words!! Just not to you!!
OR
There's some crazed serial killer out there who has remorse about what he does and calls random numbers just to apologize, make peace with himself.
OR
Some crazy serial killer who calls and says "I'm sorry." and if the intended victim says "That's okay, I understand."  That's it they are the next target.  Dude's already been absolved of his crime.

You can bet your sweet bippy I didn't say a thing.  Not one word.  I just waited to see where this call would go.  Now I find it funny that I write fantasy but none of my possible scenarios dealt with any magic reason for this silly phone call.  Maybe at work I'm more grounded to this universe. ;)

FiMo

I only have a few more words left before I get my swashbuckler dude for the week 2 challenge  I'm not sure why I'm procrastinating, but I am

How to blow a turkey call.

Or Not!!

It's a wonderful life...

Think you are not important?
Think that no one would miss you if you just disappeared?
I beg to differ. If they didn't notice YOU were missing they sure as heck would notice that your best friend had gone bonkers.  I present Garfield without Garfield.







And on that note, I'll start my Monday.
= )

What's important to you?

I had an interesting moment the other night. We were heading out when we discovered that my husband's car had been broken into and the stereo stolen. My mind went immediately to my vehicle where I'd left my little computer. I didn't care about the computer as much as I cared about the fact that my story is now allowing itself to be told and I had NOT backed it up.

If they took my computer sure I could rewrite the story, but it wouldn't be the same story.  The insights that I had would not be the same, all would be lost. A story is like your family.  For a span of time these people allow you into their world, relationships are formed, they are a part of you.  I would have been crushed had I lost that.

So what is important to you?







Maison, please forgive me that the old title is on the picture.I promise I will not change the name if you will continue to tell your story. ;)

Wii aka Wheeeee, Yippi

The kids hooked the Wii up in the living room and I think that my life will never be the same again.

My daughter and I have dutifully exercised to a DVD Monday through Friday for about two years now.  There were high points and low points. Biggest Loser "Bob" kicking our ass points and the settling for "Leslie" points.

At some point we began doing the same Leslie Sansone DVD daily.  The time fit perfectly with what we were willing to offer the exercise gods and since it was repetitive we use the time to talk. We knew all the moves and other than a random leg flail or two, it was good.

That is until I discovered the Wii.Fit Plus.
It is awesome.  In the past if my daughter wanted to opt out of exercising I was more than willing to take a day off.  Not with the Wii, there are so many fun things to try that I look forward to it.  On many things I am an epic fail and my obese gray haired Mini Wii shakes her head sadly.  But some things I do well.

I think the most awesome change of mindset is this:
My daughter was playing some sort of sword game where all these people are trying to kill you and you have to hack your way to safety or something.  She was complaining about how her arm muscles hurt.  A visual of of  my own jiggly arms came to mind and I thought: Hey, I want my arms to hurt. Can I play that game? Can I? Pleeease?

We don't chat as much as we once did. But we are laughing, cheering and totally enjoying our morning time together.

Sonoma Academy: I Will Derive!!!

                                                      If I wasn't married to a brainiac I would never, ever, ever have seen this.  However now that it is stuck in my head I will share it so it can be stuck in yours as well.  Enjoy ;)

As Fate Would Have It

I will have to change the picture, but I'll cross that bridge this weekend.  I decided that my working title needed to be changed.  It seemed appropriate to have it be As Fate Would Have it. I could say As Maison Would Have It, but that is just not as catchy ;)

The dictionary says it means:
A colloquial way of saying "as it turned out," or "as it happens."
It refers to a coincidence.

Well, as it happens my main character did not like the title I'd chosen for the story and as it turned out she had definate ideas about how the story should go and basically bullied me into the story she thought should be written. 
Is it a coincidence?  I think not.

NaNoFiMo

After 30 days of hibernation NaNoWriMo came to a close. I wrote my husband a note, not only to thank him for his support, but to reintroduce myself and remind him he still had a wife. Remember me?? I'm back.

And then I found NaNoFiMo.

(National Novel Finishing Month)

It is a community of writers who are taking the month of December to finish.  Some will be finishing other projects that they have put on the back burner.  I will be finishing my NaNo novel.  

First Challenge:  10K by December 10th.