No More MSG

There's something about chinese restaurants that brings out the "wild" in my family. When I say family, I guess I really mean me. There's the time I flicked the fortune cookie -- like a paper football -- and it hit my daughter right between the eyes. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Her head went flying back and the fortune cookie smashed into a million pieces. Don't worry, she was okay.
Then there was the time the bench seat had REALLY springy springs, and my oldest would not stop bouncing. I mean REALLY bouncing. She was gettin' some air! After repeated requests to stop, I shifted in my seat, to bump hip to hip. Well, I happened to catch her on the up-swing ... and she landed on the floor next to the table. Again, we all laughed so hard that we nearly got ourselves kicked out.
Last night we went out for chinese. I came back to the table with a plate of jello, and both my girls giggled. One handed me a straw, and said, "Do it!" while my husband shook his head.
Why is it that kids love the sound of flatulence? Jello-farts are the best.

I'm not a loser anymore!

Remember that contest I mentioned? Sure you do. It's right over there ---->

Well. I won third place!
This is sooo great, because I was going to query the awesome Suzie Townsend just as soon as I tweaked my synopsis [tweaked = finish], and now I get to work with awesome intern GEMMA COOPER!
I am super-duper excited!
Can you tell?
I've never won anything like this before!
I can't stop using the exclamation point!

Twenty Years and I'm Still Blowing Cake Out of My Nose

Today's my 20th wedding anniversary.
Can you believe I'm still married to this guy after this?

Yep, twenty years, and he was a blind date. I even joke that he was an arranged marriage. So, how did we meet? It's an interesting story.

I was a 21-year-old corporate travel agent. Broke and single – so broke I had to get a second job. I started working a couple of nights a week at a department store. One night a co-worker came up to me and introduced herself. I thought she was really nice – reaching out to the new girl. She asked if I would be interested in going out for a couple of drinks after work.
We went out that night. It started like any new friendship. What school did you go to? When did you graduate? Turns out we were the same age.
Then she asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. How about you?”
“No,” she answered, “but since we're on the subject … I have a brother. He's 26. Nice. Good looking. Do you wanna meet him?” she said with a big grin.

To make a long story short. He was home, on two week leave from the Navy. He only had three months to go, and he was done with the Navy for good. Her plan was to find him a girlfriend in his home town, so that when he got out he would move back home. She went on to tell me that she hand picked me because I seemed nice and she thought we would make cute little nieces and nephews for her.
A couple of days later we went on our first date. Two months later we were engaged. And less than a year from when we met, we were married.

In this day and age, 20 years is a long time. So what's our secret? Don't take life too serious.
We've always had a lot of fun together, and that's how we've raised our kids.

Very Vampire May Giveaway - Update

So, a couple of weeks ago, I told you about Sara McClung's "Very Vampire May Giveaway" contest. Well, the contest has been extended until midnight tonight, and she is offering extra points if you blog about it.
I could really use more points, because I really want the signed copy of Twilight.
I am a huge fan of Stephenie Meyer! Who isn't? If I lived closer, I would probably stalk her.
If by some crazy chance she sees this...

Just kidding Stephenie. You're so pritty.

Writing and Webbed Toes

Months ago I typed what I thought would be the final chapter of my first novel. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and if it weren’t for the on-line writing community, I might have sent my manuscript off before I was ready.

I have Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed to thank for pointing me in the right direction. I met Therese on release day of The Last Will of Moira Leahy at our local Barnes & Noble. She was my first connection to the writing community; up until that point, I was on my own. Now, I’m connected with writers and agents through Twitter – which then leads you to their blogs, where these brilliant people share their advice and wisdom.

Well, I’m not on my own anymore. I also have my best friend and fellow writer, Paula. We met about ten years ago, when I worked with her husband. Right away I thought she was way-cool, but busy lives and different schedules didn’t allow for us to build a relationship at the time, and a short time later I left that job. Then last fall, because of my new online presence, we found each other. We’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.

Paula has been a huge inspiration and sounding board for my writing. Being an aspiring writer can be a lonely journey, especially when friends and family don’t understand your dedication and drive: to not only complete a novel, but to actually want to be published.

It’s a little freaky how much Paula and I have in common -- that's us in the picture. We're like kindred spirits. We both write YA. We’re both a little nuts. And we both have webbed toes. (Maybe that was a little too much information?)

Anyway, I’m happy to announce that at approximately 8:00 pm on May 19, 2010

I finished writing my first novel!

The feeling of accomplishment is tremendous, and I know that with Paula’s help and the advice of the all the awesome people I follow (check them out) I will be prepared for the still long journey ahead.

Here are some links I found helpful and relevant to the stage I’m at, in the last week alone:
The Graceful Doe's Blog post titled More Helpful Writing Sites and Blog Posts, and she mentions ...
Jody Hedlund's blog post on the editing process, in addition to other helpful sites.
QueryTracker.net Blog, because ... well, I don't need a reason, they're just that good.
Random Daily Thoughts, because this post sounded so much like me.
Guide to Literary Agents, because they've got it all.

Did someone say "Vampires"?

Sara Mcclung has a contest going. It's called "A Very Vampire May Giveaway". She's got some great prizes. Including a signed copy of Twilight!

The contest goes from May 10-June 2. Winners to be announced June 3rd. Check it out. And check out Sara. She's cute as a button.

Now back to the copy of Twilight ... Winning that would be beyond frickin awesome. My copy is a little worn, so I could use a shiny new SIGNED copy on my bookshelf.

Put Down the Camera and Help Me!

Why is it that when you do something stupid, some people’s first reaction is to grab the camera?

I will tell you why: Because they are EVIL!

I was having one of those wonderfully productive days, checking one thing after another off my dreaded to-do-list.

Next on my list: fix loose piece on dishwasher. This should’ve been an easy task – just a dab of glue.

Well, the good news is: I fixed it!

But since that day, almost ten years ago, I am not allowed to use super glue without adult supervision.

[Please ignore my disheveled appearance]

By now you have probably guessed what happened. If not, here it is ... the whole idiotic truth.
I superglued both hands together, AND to the dishwasher. Like a lot.
When I yelled for help, what I got was my kid with a camera.
I may be smiling in this picture. I agree, it was funny at first.

When I said get your father, what I got was, "Hold on!"
"What do you mean hold on? Come back!"
She returned a minute later with the phone to her ear. "Yeah, both hands," she giggled.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Grandma."
"Hang up the phone and help me."
"Grandma, I gotta go."
"Thank you. Now go get your father -- I'm not kidding around."
"Hi, it's Lexi--"
"What?!"
She lowers the phone, "I'm calling your friends."
My daughter is pure evil.
Her father was only slightly less helpful.
I was stuck to that dishwasher for an hour and forty-five minutes. [No lie!]