My Top 10 Petty (and not so petty) Annoyances!!

                                                                       I miss winter!!

It hasn't just been one of those days, but one of those weeks. In that spirit, rather than bore you with details of how every single day has been chock full of ick, I figured why not compose a list of general annoyances and see how many of them bug you, too!!

10. Stomachaches

My stomach has hurt for a solid month!!! I've tried every kind of antacid and potion, but nothing helps. My mom keeps telling me to go to the doctor, but I know it's stress. I'm worried about so much I'd need a Top 20 to even partially cover the angst in my life--and we lead a fairly calm life. My heart goes out to any of you who have really horrible stresses!!

9. Magazines that Look Great in the Check-Out Lane, but Don't Really Say Anything

Petty, but annoying. I LOVE all of Bravo's Housewives series, so when I saw a copy of In Touch with New Jersey housewife, Teresa, opening up about her husband going to prison for ten years, I was on auto-grab!!! I HAD to know what was going on!!! Alas, nothing was going on other than a possible lawsuit that hadn't yet happened and probably won't. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy she won't be without Joe for ten years, but I'm now without $2.99, because In Touch got a little too aggressive with their cover story.

Another magazine gripe while I'm on a roll--the diets promising to lose ten pounds in a week!!! LIES!!!! (But I'm a dufous and fall for it every, stinkin' time!!)

8. Cleaning the Bathrooms

We have three of these beasties in our house. The master, the guest and the kids', which I haven't set foot in for three years!!! Honestly, it's only been a couple weeks, but even that's too much!! I trust the kids are tidy down there, but who really knows? I try so hard to keep the rest nice, but why can't someone invent a cleaner that does everything? I'm tired of needing separate cleaners for the toilet, shower, marble counters, laminate counters and mirrors. I'm also tired of toothpaste spots on said mirrors. Why does someone in my home feel the need to brush so aggressively that toothpaste explodes all over the mirror??? Warning--I WILL find you, and when I do, get ready to scrub!!!

7. Fleas

I just adore this summer treat that seems to invade every May--NOT!!! This May, I bathed all three dogs in Frontline only to still have fleas. $70.00 more dollars and another month later, I repeated the drill. Still we had fleas. My mother lives in Arkansas and swears by a new flea product called Comfortis. It's a miracle!!!!!! I've tried getting it in Oklahoma, but our vet says it doesn't work. I say, bull. We will from now on be setting up an anti- flea pipeline to Arkansas.

6. Exercising

I could literally walk eight hours a day and gain weight. We joined Gold's Gym and weigh more now than when we joined a year ago!! I've tried Wii Fit, but hate that, too. Now, if I could snorkel, scuba, hike-in-a- real-forest-that-isn't-a-hundred-miles-from-my-house or snow ski here in Oklahoma, then I'd be happy and skinny. Until then, I will protest all forms of movement--especially in the heat of summer!!!

5. Dieting

This should probably top my list, but I have so many other things bugging me right now, that this one doesn't seem so bad. I loathe counting calories or points or carbs. Hubby and I were just talking about when the kids return to school, we'd like to purge the house of anything naughty. Lately, I've been using watermelon as my go-to treat. It's good. But then I have to pee a lot. Which reminds me I need to clean the bathroom. Which gets me grumpy all over again!!

4. The Yard

We live in the kind of neighborhood filled with mostly rich, retired people who have nothing better to do with their time or money than worship their yards. They have grass people and flower people and tree people. I have three, lazy teens and no money. (I'd do it myself, but my eyes would be swollen shut for a week!)  I offer to pay them and they say they make more at their real jobs. I've tried being nice about it, but no more. If the backyard isn't mowed by this weekend--for free--I'm turning off cell phones. (Hubby and I pay for the front yard to be mowed by a nice man who actually does a lovely job. If only he weeded flower beds and/or trimmed bushes and trees . . . )

3. Kids who Don't Pay Their Bills

On the fridge, I keep a markerboard that has a running tab of how much The First National Bank of Mom and Dad is owed. All three kids owe monthly for cell phones, car insurance and two owe for car payments. Some months we get paid, some months, we don't. I understand if something important comes up and they can't pay in full, but when two months go by with no payment, it makes me crazy. Again, I'm thinking it's time to get ugly. 

2. Insurance

If added together--car, home, health, life--we pay WAY more for insurance per year, then we do for our mortgage!!! Combine that with agents who don't return calls and bills and fees that make no sense and I'm losing my mind!!! This could launch a whole new debate, but as a kid, I don't remember my parents even having medical insurance--let alone dental. I was paying bills the other day and it dawned on me that a huge portion of our income is consumed by fees for technologies that didn't even exist when Hubby and I were kids.

2A. Thieves

This week we experienced bank fraud. I'm pretty sure my bank is covering our losses, but not for a while. I have the info available on my statement to track down these people in their California lair. That said, why can't my bank find them? Cuff them? And put them in jail forever?

1. Heat

I HATE excessive heat!!!!! I'm a typically calm and rational, good-humored person. Hit me with weeks and then months of temperatures over 100 and I feel crazed. Our AC never stops running and I'm still hot. What happens to folks who don't have AC or can't afford it? In the winter, I can put on a coat to stay warm outside, but with this kind of weather, I feel so helpless. Usually, this type of heat doesn't strike Tulsa until the end of July, but we've had HOT, HOT, HOT weather now since early June. I water my porch plants at six AM and by noon, they're already drooping. I'm ready to move. NOW!!! Only first, I'd need to mow and clean bathrooms and change insurance and I'm pretty sure even exercise, since I'd have to pack boxes.

Okay, whew . . . That's pretty much it. But if #1 dropped to eighty degrees, I'm guessing all of my other complaints would vanish!!!

All right, come on, people!! Tell me what's bugging you!!!



. . . Feeling like a Disney Villain!!!

Prim and proper Daisy

**Warning, if you're not an animal lover, turn back now!!**

Not sure if I told the blogosphere, but last month my mom lost her dachshund, Noodle.  She'd had him for eighteen years, so it was a tough loss.  With that in mind, when Hannah and I started planning the Romance Road Trip, our first concern was who's going to watch Daisy?  Yes, the boys will be home, but only sort of.  Hubby works all day and I don't even want to know what Not-so-Little Terry does all night!!  Russell has moved on to that great land called TU Apartmentville, so that left Daisy alone and crying for the two weeks Hannah and planned to be gone.

Knowing my mom was hurting and Daisy loves nothing more than to be loved and adored 24/7, I figured who better to watch her than her great-grandma?  Mom agreed.  The day before leaving for the East Coast, we met up at the BK Lounge halfway down the turnpike and made the exchange.

The next day, we were somewhere in Illinois when I got the call from Mom that Daisy had fleas and needed a haircut and her nails trimmed, but Mom was on it.  That dog was primped, pampered and plucked within an inch of her life, but came out of the operation looking more like a prim and proper Yorkie than the hairy little beast we all love.  She's still adorable, but in a different way.

As the days went by, each time I called Mom for a report, I heard more about how much Daisy loves barking at golfers and refuses to eat hamburger, but she LOVES salmon!!!  Um, so do I!!!  Mom and Dad have a raised bed, so Mom slept in the guest room to make sure Daisy didn't fall.  The more cute stories I heard, the more my stomach churned.  When we used to leave the twins with my parents when they were babies I didn't hear this much cooing!!

Yesterday was the big day for us to meet back up at the BK Lounge to take Daisy home.  When we arrived, Mom cried to give her up.  I don't mean a sniffle, but cried.  My heart ached.  Had it been up to me, I would've given Mom the dog. 

Don't get me wrong, I love this dog like crazy, but I also have two other dogs, two cats, my own kids, drop-in kids, a high maintenance Hubby and wonderful friends I don't see near enough of.  My heart is full enough to share.  Trouble is, Daisy isn't my dog, but Hannah's.  And from the second we walked in the door from our trip, all Hannah has wanted to know was when we were picking up Daisy? 

I now feel lower than low to have even asked my mom to watch the dog.  Never in a million years did I see this coming.  I offered to buy Mom a puppy, but she sort-of laughed and said she didn't want a puppy, she wanted Daisy. 

When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be grown-up.  Everything would be perfect if only I were sixteen and then eighteen.  Twenty-one.  Now that I'm forty, I sometimes feel as if decisions are hurtling at me like hailstones.  And now, I'm the one crying.  And Daisy doesn't really seem herself.  And I wonder how much time I have left with my parents and was this one of those decisions I'll later look back on thinking, if only I'd done something differently? 

To clarify, for me this issue isn't just about a dog, but my responsibilty as a daughter to my mother. 

My family is terribly small.  Mom and Dad, Grandpa Alisch and a couple uncles and distant cousins--all of whom live in different states.  Dad has this uncanny knack for making friends wherever he goes.  He's thrilled wiling away days tinkering on his boat or Harley.  Mom reads, watches Y & R, and gets her hair and nails done.  I constantly worry if she's lonely.  When she had Daisy, something about her sparkled.  Daisy seemed to give her purpose.  All of which lessened my worries over living two hours away. 

One tiny Yorkie.  Seems like such a small thing for me to have such an awful stomachache over, yet here it is, and I feel like a villain for even suggesting Mom watch the dog.             

   

Mean Lady in Green Shorts!!/Contest

Please help find my missing book!!  This is what it looks like!!

Good morning!! Hope your summer is off to a way cooler start than ours here in Oklahoma!! One summer ritual I've had for a good ten years--probably more, but I'm too old to count--is my annual trek to the Romance Writers of America conference. This year, we're back in Manhattan, which means extra pressure to look polished and professional, rather than like I-haven't-left-the-house-in-three-days-and-dribbled-Spaghettios-down-the-front-of-my-shirt!!!

As part of the last push to prepare for my trip, I've been going to the gym--a lot!! I think my butt's a little smaller, but other than that, I haven't seen a whole lot of results. Anyway, yesterday was a half treadmill/half weight day, so Hannah and I schlepped from the movie-treadmill room to the ladies weight area.

In the ladies only area was a woman wearing annoying green shorts. They were bright, ill-fitting and kinda ugly considering how gorgeous she was!! If I had her body, you'd better believe I'd be wearing something seriously hot all the time!! (See what kinds of crazy ramblings fly through my head while on those horrible weight lifting machines??)

I'd just finished strengthening and toning my luscious thighs when the woman sneezed. As I would with any human--usually my dogs, too--I told her, "Bless you." Not only did she not reply, but she gave me a squinty little glare!!!! What was that about?? Was she an atheist? Or just generally not in the mood to be blessed?

Literally, a minute or two later she left, and we never saw her again. So now, I'm asking you--am I wrong in blessing folks when they sneeze? I appreciate every blessing I can get, and assumed everyone felt the same!! Comments? Other blessing experiences? Grrr.

In happier news, I supposedly have a book out this month called, A Cowgirl's Secret. That said, I have yet to see it here in Tulsa, because all of the May releases are still on the shelves. If you've seen my sweet story anywhere--Poughkeepsie, Mongolia, Detroit--please let me know!! First person to tell me where they found their copy wins their choice of any two books on my backlist, plus a romance-themed charm bracelet!! (Amazon doesn't count!! LOL!!!)

It's Raining "Man" at the Tanning Salon!!!!

Not a good likeness to Tanning Man, but hunky all the same!!!  LOL!!

In case you somehow missed one of my eight thousand posts about daughter, Hannah, being an Ice Girl for the Tulsa Oilers, she was/is one (tryouts for next season are in July).  Her Ice Girl coach, who just won a double-header of beauty titles and accompanying crowns announced right after Christmas that the girls needed to tan, as tan fat looks better than white fat.

While I have no scientific proof for this statement, the coach is stunning and tan and while preparing for my annual trek to the Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference, it has come to my attention that I may have some jiggly white stuff in need of attention!!!  I know tanning's not good for me!!  I'm Czech and whiter than white, but in lieu of actually losing weight, this is my only hope of looking like Penelope Cruz in a little over two weeks. 

(I am faithfully going to the gym every day, too, but in case I fail to spontaneously lose 400 lbs in two weeks, tanning's my only hope!!)

Okay, so that's the background on why I'm tanning.  Hannah's tanning so she will look hot on the Jersey Shore with her hockey-playing Guido.  A sucker for love, I'm driving to RWA so Hannah can see Antonio and her friend, Louisa, can see Ian (we're dropping off Louisa in Ohio!!)  More on the Romance Road Trip to come, but back on today's topic--the hot tanning man!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, I left my little tanning room to see Hannah.  She made an odd excited, eye-jerk, for me to look behind her.  (She tans on a different hall.)  I didn't think too much about it, when WHAM!!!!  This bronzed god steps behind her.  Like, I literally couldn't close my mouth and neither could she.  He was all muscled-up and of course, tan.  Wore some kind of manly shorts and a T-shirt and had longish blond hair pulled back in a ponytail--totally not my usual type, but OH MY!!!!!!!  He carried a Louis Vuitton backpack that had to be pushing $5000 and climbed into a navy BMW.  The whole ride home, Hannah and I couldn't stop giggling and daydreaming about what this amazing alien creature was doing in a Tulsa tanning salon!!!  If anyone in Tulsa knows this hunk, please give him my number!!!!! ;-)      

  

Is it Monday Yet?

It's official--the worst week I've had in a while has been crowned by the worst weekend.  Surprise bills, dental work, angsty kids, dead fridge and now, a neighbor I'd like to drop kick into the next county.

Since the lovely gentleman doesn't even know my name, I feel free to vent.  Last Fall, he replaced a retaining wall that tore our side yard to shreds.  It was a nightmare for days and days and days.  A loud, messy mud pit that resulted in our master sprinkler box being crushed by the same back hoe that damn near slid into the house.  His crew finally fixed the box, but not before our water bill went up by a hundred big ones.  To polish the project, he literally tossed down a few sheets of sod and that was that.  All these months later, with half of our side yard still dirt, I figured it was high time his team finish their job. 

I just caught him outside and asked very politely, when he had a chance, could he please have one of his crews--there are at least half a dozen each week--finish sodding our side yard.  Here's how that conversation played out:

"What's wrong with it?  There's as much grass as there ever was."

"Sir, with all due respect, before, there were at lease green weeds to mow.  Now, there's only dirt."

Big sigh.  Huff.  Stomp.  "It looks better now than it ever has."

"Yes, but half our side yard is dirt.  When we allowed you to tear our yard apart, you promised to make it right.  This isn't right."

"Fine.  Whatever.  I've got to have work done next week.  I'll have'em do it."

"Thank you."  I turn to head into the house.

"Those vines are ruining your house.  You need to take them down."

"I like them.  They add character."

"They're ruining your house.  Gonna make your roof leak.  If that's what you want . . ."  Big shrug, huff and bonus sigh.

"That's what I want.  Thanks."

I'm sooooooo angry.  Why do people have to be this way???  Seriously???  I thought I might make the tail end of the ladies' weekend I've been planning to attend literally all year, but at the rate this week has gone, I'd crash and burn on the toll road. 

Instead, I'm off to mix a nice adult beverage, plop down in my big, green chair and focus on wishing for my neighbor to vanish from my life and prosper elsewhere.  Oh--and did I mention he had no shirt on?  Yum--NOT!!!!
  

Tulsa has vampires!!!

Hannah and Louisa before an Oiler's game!!

After much daughter drama and finally buying Netflix only to watch more buffering than movie, I didn't get around to even trying to go to bed last night until 12:30.  Before reaching the bedroom, Hannah charged up the stairs, proclaiming her friend Louisa had run out of gas and she was going to rescue her.  When she invited me to tag along, I figured why not?  I'm always up for an adventure.

Louisa was stuck across the street from Whataburger near Cherry Street and Lewis.  Since we're way further south than that, I just took Lewis all the way up.  So there's hardly any traffic and lights are green and I'm thinking we're the only people crazy enough to be out this late, right?  WRONG!!! 

We hit Brookside to encounter five cop cars with flashing lights and sidewalks filled with packs of twenty-somethings in tight black dresses and heels high enough to be weapons!!!  For three blocks, people were everywhere--dancing on balconies and on the side of the street.  I had no idea all of this was going on so late.  Were these folks vampires??? 

While I got all excited, looking for drunk people and/or hookers, Hannah rolled her eyes, explaining its always like this--a fact I would know if I stayed up past ten!!  A few blocks later, we once again owned the road.  We found Louisa and put gas in her hot little BMW convertible.  (Yes, I'm jealous!!  LOL!!) 

Hannah declared Louisa more fun than me and I drove home alone, still wondering how so many people willingly stayed up so late??!!  And in spiky heels??!!!  Maybe I've watched too many episodes of True Blood?  Maybe my eyes don't work like they used to?  Either way, I know some of those partiers had fangs!!!  



I found other fat people!!!

                                                  

Me on a Death March in St. Thomas.  I puked twenty minutes later!!!!

Those of you who know me understand I'm somewhat gifted in pounds, but also in love!!  LOL!!  In my never-ending search for new weight loss methods, I'm now walking at a 15 degree incline on the treadmill, but for only thirty minutes--I used to force myself for an hour, but it hurt and I quit.  I really like this thirty minute thing, and while I've only been doing it for a little over a week, I do feel better.

That said, my biggest problem at the gym is the other people.  I typically go to Gold's in the afternoon.  On any given day, there will be at least a hundred half-naked Gods and Goddesses strutting their stuff, looking more like they're at the gym to see and be seen than work out.  I'm the token fat, old chick and it's getting on my nerves--which should make me eat less so I can emulate all of them.  But all it really does is make me want to drown my misery in the ooey, gooey warmth of a Big Mac!!!!  (I have, however, valiantly resisted this urge, thank you very much.)

Anyway, I find the presence of so damned many freakishly perfect bodies a tad depressing.  So this morning, when kid-car-usage forced me into going to the gym early, you will understand my glee at finding others of my kind!!!  They were fluffy and had grey hairs and even wore sweats instead of the latest in skin-sucking, neon Lycra!!!!!  From henceforth, I will be going to gym early, because for once, instead of feeling like the perpetual ugly duckling, I walked and sweated amongst swans!!!

I'm Stuck in Hitchcock's The Birds!!!

Cocoa has volunteered to date the bird!!  Or maybe eat him. 

A lady reserves the right to change her mind!!

I'm basically a nature-loving girl, but if the bird pecking our living room window doesn't knock it off, he may find himself knocked out!!!!  I'm guessing he's trying to "date" our deck door.  His song is lovely, but then he scrapes his beak against the glass, sending the dogs into a yipping, yapping frenzy!!!  This has been going on for three days.  I've shut the blinds, but every time the bird pecks, the dogs yap.  Combine this with my already bluh mood and I've written one, whole paragraph of my new synopsis!!  Maybe I should take my laptop out to the car?

In other news, Hannah is now a nanny!!  Her charge is a four-year-old Turkish boy whom she describes as being adorably spoiled.  Yesterday, he dribbled cereal and milk on the iPad he was playing with that was housed in a Louis Vuitton cover.  Wonder if this family would adopt me?  I'm a very neat cereal eater.  Just sayin'.

Mayhem or Magic . . . You be the Judge

At the start of yesterday, it seemed magic was afoot in Casa Altom.  By the end of the day, I was just plain ol' ready for bed.

By 6:30AM, I was already hard at work.  Had a synopsis to write, farm to harvest and a frontier needing to be tamed.  I needed a cookie for sustenance, but alas, there were none.  In the midst of all of this heavy labor, Mother Nature was putting on quite a show.  Thunder and lightning and rain pounding the skylights so hard I couldn't hear my sheep baa!! 

Last Saturday, we had a neighborhood yard sale, during which, I went haywire, snatching up as much junk as I could from every corner of the house.  (Stay with me, this is all going to tie together soon!!  LOL!!)  Eyeing the scum-filled tank of death--otherwise known as the $1000 fish tank all kiddos promised to help clean--I knew this was my time.  Most of the fish had long since been cannibalized or sucked up the seafood-loving filter.  Three, hearty souls remained.  To them, I promised a new, scum free world. To my eldest bundle of joy, I said, "Get that thing and all the crap that goes with it out here to the garage STAT!!!  I want it out of my house!!!"  He complied.  Although, wondered what to do with the surviving fish.  I told him--or maybe screeched, it was 42 and blustery in May--to just stick the fish in a bucket.  I'd deal with them later.  As an aside, the fish tank still sits in the garage.  As of yesterday, the three fish still sat in a pitcher on the bar.

Back to the thunderstorm . . . Our ancient mutt, Sweet Pea, was shivering from the thunder and a lightning flash revealed the last surviving fish.  Holy Crap!!!  In my joy over never having to see that filthy tank again--unless, in the unlikely event I looked in the garage--I'd forgotten those few remaining souls. 

Rain hammering our home, I jumped from my big, green chair and set out on a mission to save the fish.  I found I'd already had one more casualty, but two more remained!!  They must be saved!!  In particular, the neon pink tetra who somehow escaped the cannibalism and outlasted his brethren for at least two years.  Can I get an Amen?!  Since we still had the old itty bitty tank, I washed it out--lightning cracking so hard I wondered if I'd get struck as punishment for all the fish death.

After a successful transfer of the last black molly, I went for the sainted tetra.  He wasn't having it.  This little guy is like the Navy SEAL of fish.  Finally, I resorted to dumping out all but a mud puddle of water at the bottom of the pitcher.  My plan was to then scoop him up.  Um, that's when something went horribly wrong. He leaped from my hands and jumped right down the GARBAGE DISPOSAL!!!!!  Pretty sure I actually screamed!!!  Lightning still flashing, I went into Wonder Woman mode, sticking my arm down that disposal, pulling out pasta and potato chunks and some mystery stuff that scared me plenty bad.  Finally, I found the fish, tossed him in the tank and can you believe it, he lived!!!!!

The clouds parted, the sun came out and angels sang--then it rained again, but anyway a happy ending!!!  It is now my mission to keep this little guy happy and out of the disposal for many years to come!!

In other news, I dragged my big butt out of my big green chair to go to the gym.  My reward??  Oilers player, Derek Eastman, a regular visitor in front of my glass side seats, happened to be lifting weights.  Whew.  And I thought he looked good in his hockey suit.  Ducking behind our resident Ice Girl, Hannah, I whisper-squealed, "OHMYGOSHISTHATDEREKEASTMAN?" She rolled her eyes and confirmed my suspicions.  Alas, the couple times I've talked to handsome, talented Derek, he wasn't especially loving the fan attention.  And contrary to what you probably believe, I've never ambushed him, but only approached him at bona fide fan functions where he was being paid to be nice to me!!!  Whatever.  As you can tell by the two hunks in my profile pic, I've moved on!!  LOL!!!

Next on my agenda, helped our oldest kiddo, Russell, move into an apartment at TU and I'm actually a tad jealous.  It smells heavenly with not a trace of cat or dog and drum roll, please . . .  Directly across from his place some seriously yummy, giant football players were moving in.  If only I were back in school at my fun & flirty weight!!!

In today's news, Happy 23rd Anniversary Sweet Hubby!!! Out of all of my boyfriends, I love YOU best!!!!!

 

      

    

Ouch!!

My head used to be so happy back before the great thaw!!!


Dear Spring, PUH-LEEEEEZE stop hurting my head!!!  Thanks--Laura Marie :-)

Now that that's out of the way, my head REALLY hurts!!  Everyone here in Tulsa is complaining that this is the worst allergy season we've ever had.  I concur.  If it's not crazy pressure, it's dripping and coughing and sneezing.  Almost makes me ready for winter!!

It's been a busy day.  Had some fun news that I can't share just yet, but hopefully, will be able to soon.  Got a little more updating done on my website.  Picked my May book winner--yay, Ruth Vick!!!  Worked on a synopsis for the proposals I'm feverishly trying to get out.  Ran out to get printer paper only to arrive home to discover we're out of ink!!  Even managed to get to the gym.  I also managed to cram five cookies into my mouth for lunch. 

Lots of kid drama.  Bickering amongst the kids.  Me, yelling at the kids, etc.  Can't believe I'm saying this only a few days into summer, but now that they're in college is it too late for sleepaway camp?  LOL!!  I love my children, I love my children.  If I chant it enough, maybe everything will calm down and we'll once again have clean towels??!!  Seriously, my kids mean the world to me, but it's frustrating to buy a case of Sprite intended to last me a week only to have it vanish in a couple hours!!  Oh--we also lost five frozen pizzas in the same periodl!!  

Can I get an Amen for tomorrow being Friday?



   

Enough already!!!

Goose babies at the park near our house! Crazy cute!!

All right, Blog Nags (You know who you are!!), I'm back and you'll probably end up being sorry!! LOL!!

Just finished edits on Book #4 of my Buckhorn Ranch series!! YAY!!!! Not sure why, but at one point, I was pretty sure this book might be the death of me. (I know, I say that about every book!!) But this one was seriously hard. Making matters worse was a harsh review on my last book that broke my heart. The grown-up in me knows to take reviews with a grain of salt and move on, but honestly, I think this was the kick in the britches I needed to get back in the habit of sending advance copies to lots of reviewers--at least then I'll have a fifty/fifty shot of finding love!! LOL!!

For once, I'm thrilled with who won Survivor!! Rob has never been a fave of mine, but this season, he showed a lot more heart. I felt for him in having tried to achieve a goal for so long and always just missing. (Case in point, my RITA scores!!) For me, there's always next year to try, but for Rob, I'm guessing this was a last shot situation.

Today, I'm alternately working on updating my website and getting new proposals to my Harlequin American editor. I've gotten a general "go ahead" on a new series idea, and am now in the uncomfortable position of writing up three storylines. LOVE brainstorming. Loathe cramming ideas into a neat and tidy salable package.

With the annual RWA conference looming, I'm worrying about weight, but so far that's the extent of my efforts. :-(

Lots more rambling to come, but for today, I'm back to wrestling with html!!!!

Hubby & Son in Mexico last summer!

Happy Time Change!! Ugh. LOL!! The clock might say it's noon, but I feel more like six AM!!

My friends all tease me that my life is never boring, and the past few days have certainly proven their point!! On Friday, Hubby was supposed to leave for South Africa. We've been shopping for adapters and luggage locks and specialty batteries for some oddball work thingee of his and making sure all of his medications are filled. We finally got everything ready when an hour before he was due at the airport, the phone rang. It was his doctor, telling him he had diabetes. Upon dropping him at the airport, he was still shaken. I assured him that I'll do everything I can to help him change his diet for the better--lord knows I could drop a few LBs myself!!

Tulsa traffic was insane!! Gridlock and construction and rain in all directions!! It took over an hour to make the normally fifteen minute trek. Hannah and I had just gotten home, lit a fire and settled in for a lazy Friday night when the phone rang. Bad weather in Atlanta caused Hubby's flight to be canceled. Back out into the cold rain we went to pick him up.

With Hubby home, we scrambled to find him something safe to eat. His doctor advised cutting all sugar and white flour products. I had no idea how tough that is!! I made a spinach salad with black beans and grilled chicken, but when it came time to pour on the dressing, even the low-calorie versions are loaded with sugar. I finally resorted to sending the kids out for sugar-free dressing.

I've always been a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and this time is no exception. Friday, my sweet, funny Hubby was pretty shaken up about his diagnosis. Since then, we've done lots of online research and discovered that this isn't a death sentence, but lifestyle change. I'm doing it with him, and it's hard, but we'll make it through. Had he kept to his original schedule, I think his trip would've been ruined by worry. Now, this little extra time to form a nutrition plan has made all the difference.

As a reward, fate gifted him a much simpler direct from Atlanta to Johannesburg flight, as well as a three-day weekend to spend exploring while he's there.

Last night, I fooled around in the kitchen and came up with a chicken, shrimp and brown rice gumbo that was delicious. Hubby made us a spinach omelet for breakfast. Yes, we'll miss Domino's and I-Hop, but after having been married for twenty-one years, we figure we might as well try for thirty or forty more!!

It's almost Christmas and so far the Grinch has sent $800 worth of heating repairs, $900 worth of auto repairs, one car sent to the junk yard (we had about $5000 in that), $300 for a new garbage disposal, $600 for Hollyball dress, ties, hair, corsages, and just this morning in the midst of printing my edits that are due the 17th, the laser printer decided it needed a new $100 ink cartidge. Oh--and did I mention we finally got the Christmas tree up and gorgeous only to have it topple over, breaking ornaments we've had for decades? (This month's pic is of Abbey, Russell and Hannah all dolled up for the big dance. Terry was off picking up his date!)

Okay, so while none of that has been fun, I was snuggling with Hubby on the sofa last night in front of the fire with a wonderfully sappy Lifetime Christmas movie playing when it struck me how incredibly blessed we are. When we were first married, that much calamity striking at once would've meant a dreaded call to the folks to beg for money. Now, it just means covering the big, honking holes in the sofa with blankets for a little while longer! Ornaments break, but the memories attached to them will be with me forever.

I'm grateful for family and friends and my goofy, infuriating pets. While I need to lose a few pounds, I'm grateful for the bounty of food always in our cabinets and fridge. The older I get, the more it seems like my favorite parts of Christmas have less to do with gifts and more with the true gifts of family traditions. Playing epic games of boys versus girls Trivial Pursuit on Christmas Eve while watching The Grinch and Christmas Vacation. I love seeing friends and baking and the special hush of Christmas morning when it feels as if the whole world's taking a much-needed breather.

Happy, happy holidays to all!! What are some of your favorite family traditions?

Library Update . . .

I just spoke with my dear friend and fellow writer, Margaret Daley, who was kind enough to point out that our speaking gig is not tomorrow, but Thursday, November 12th. Thanks to Margaret and all of my other friends who keep the dates straight in my head!! Perhaps I should spend less time in my imaginary world, and more time with my planning book?? Groan . . .

Anyway, Thursday, Hardesty Library in Tulsa, 10:30 till 2:00. Be there or be square!! ;-)

Romance in the Stacks!

Love reading romance? Join me tomorrow at Hardesty Library in Tulsa (8316 E. 93rd) for the first annual Romance in the Stacks!

From 10:30 until 2:00, attend a booksigning, meet & eat lunch with Oklahoma Romance Authors, watch a public program for the Tulsa community, compete for door prizes!

Want more info? Check out:

http://www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb/romance.htm

Hope to see you there!!

I'm Tired!!!

Having not slept a full night in about three weeks, I see the reason for all of the prescription drug ads for "sleeping aids"! Not sleeping is no fun!! If there's a silver lining to the situation, it's that I'm not teaching anymore. Can't imagine keeping up with my Energizer Bunny middle school kids while feeling like a zombie!!

Logically, I would guess not being able to sleep means you have a lot on your mind, but I'm so tired, my brain isn't even active enough to worry!! Bluh.

Anyway . . . On to happier news, the kids had their last, big Halloween party Saturday night. I'm guessing between 30 and 40 showed up. (This pic is of me in my costume!! I wish!! LOL!!Britney Spears in her costume while we were at her Dallas concert.) We had many looks represented from a nun, vampire, Phantom of the Opera diva, doctor, two lumberjacks, Popeye, Strawberry Shortcake, an Underworld Fairy and my darling kiddos who dressed as Hooter's Girls. Hannah looked pretty. (Her shorts and shirt were MUCH less provocative than the real deal.) Terry, hairy legs and all, might've gotten fired!! Surely Hooter's has a leg shaving policy?! Russell was the smart one by getting scheduled to work that night!! Big Terry hid in my office!!

QT Coffee Should Come With a Warning Label!!

Having literally been up ALL night, I'm more than a little out of it. Around 8:30 last night, Hubby announced he was making a Diet Pepsi and ice run and asked if I wanted to ride along. Seeing how I had nothing better to do than the edits I seriously needed to be working on, I was all about procrastination!! At QT (Quik Trip, Oklahoma's version of 7-11), we were bombarded by a junk food cornucopia that I fought valiantly to resist!! The coffee smelled wonderful, so I went for that, figuring that something warm and rich would get my mind off of the donuts, chili-cheese Frito's and hot dogs!! (This pic is of son, Terry, looking as sleepy as I feel!)

I'm wired very strangely in that caffeine has always had a backwards effect on me. I loaded my steaming Styrofoam cup with cream and Splenda and happily trailed hubby to the counter, proud of myself for having resisted the plethora of temptation!!

I drank the whole 20oz by 9:30 and was working up a storm. By 3:30AM, I'd done 15 new pages!! I tried going to bed at least four times, but each time I touched my head to my fave pillow, my eyes popped open. Seeing how Cocoa and Daisy sleep with me, and Cocoa needs lifting, getting in and out of bed is a lengthy process. Finally, I just gave up. The poor dogs were exhausted, eyeing me with accusatory doggy stares for messing up their full night's rest!

So here I sit, needing to write more, pay the electric and gas bills, do laundry, cram something into my growling stomach and yet I'm so tired all I can think is that I need to never, ever again drink QT coffee!!! Happy Friday . . . Me and the dogs are headed back to bed!!

Daughters are Dangerous!

Monday was Senior Skip Day here in our fair town. I'm not sure if this was a school-sanctioned thing--I'm guessing not--but when crisp sunny weather and the Tulsa State Fair come to town, come on, who can stand being indoors?

Long story short, Daughter and her best friend set off for the magical land of fried Snickers and pickles and I and my dog posse settled in for a nice, quiet day of writing. Then I got an e-mail. Not just any e-mail, but one containing nothing but a giant picture. Think pink satin and sparkles and crystals as big as my thumb! Next, comes the phone call . . .

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Did you get my e-mail?"

"Yes . . ."

"Aren't they gorgeous? Like the most awesome shoes EVER!!!!!!!"

"Um, they are very pretty, sweetie, but exactly how pretty in monetary form?"

"Compared to last year's Holly Ball shoes, they're CHEAP!!! Like you won't believe how cheap. Please, Mommy? Please put money in my account? I love you . . ."

I look at the picture, envision my precious cupcake of a child on a day when she does the dishes AND cleans the cat box without whining, and you guessed it. My resolve to ween her from all things sparkly crumpled like the old McDonald's bag I'd found under her bed that morning.

"Please, Mommy! I promise I'll even mow the lawn when I get home."

Uh huh. Just like I promise not to eat cookies or ice cream for the next month! Yes, she got the shoes and they are scrumptious, and next time I will be strong and just say no--to the shoes and the cookies! Lucky for me, I'll have a whole year to practice before the fair comes around again! As for the lawn, what girl in her right mind would mow in hot-pink satin, diamond-encrusted shoes?!?!

My Pageant Debut!

I'm baaaack--again! And this time, to stay. The past few years have been quite a departure from my usual life. Great fun, but teaching middle school doesn't leave a lot of free time for blogging!


Literally, the first day of school in August, I recieved a call from my agent who asked if I would be able to handle a speedy book contract. In short, seeing how I had bulletin boards to assemble, shelves to dust and a supply closet threatening to swallow small sixth graders--no. I'd been having a tough enough time keeping up with current writing obligations, let alone taking on new ones. After a lot of soul searching and long talks with Hubby, we made a family decision for me to return to full-time writing.



While I've wholeheartedly enjoyed working for Tulsa Public Schools, I also seriously love working in my PJs again!! Both of my parents were teachers, and also my grandparents. It's a profession I've always wanted to try, and will always look back upon fondly.


One lesson learned, is that teaching is hard. VERY hard. I went into it starry-eyed and excited to meet my eager students who wanted nothing more than to learn. Ha! Yes, there are a few of those kids out there, but the reality is that there are an awful lot of kids in need. They sometimes arrive at school not having eaten, slept, or even bathed. They worry about not just grades, but bullying and gang issues. There is cyber-stalking and text-hating and even "sexting". Though many public schools in my area have instituted a uniform policy, there are still all too many ways to show status--or a lack thereof--through the latest Nikes or Ed Hardy's.


Though I'm no longer on the front line of education, directly serving children, I'm still keenly aware that there's a serious need for change in this nation. As a former teacher and parent, it is my opinion that never in America's history have strong families been needed more. During our first days of teacher inservice, my building's principal told us that when it comes to student behavior, we should remember, "Fear equals anger."


It was my goal for this school year to model this quote in my every student interaction. There are a lot of angry, frightened, lonely kids out there and while this blog has now taken on the tone of a pageant contestant wishing for world peace, my original intent was to praise teachers and parents and encourage them to keep fighting the fight of raising responsible citizens. Our kids are worth it. When you see a child acting out, sure, he or she might just be pulling a typical teen tantrum. On the other hand, they might have larger issues dragging them down. Don't be afraid to help either through volunteering at a local school, talking to the kids on your street, or being the household where your child's friends feel comfortable hanging out.


Okay, whew, stepping off of my soap box, major smooches to all of you readers who have been with me from the start!! Sorry for my disappearing act!! From here on out, my blog will most likely consist of everything from wacky Granny Sylv stories to conference play-by-plays and of course, the latest gossip on my Hubby and kiddos!!

Until then, there are lots of book excerpts on my web page and if you're in the mood to chat, sign-up to be my Myspace friend!

I'm baaaack!!

It has come to my attention by a few whiny individuals (you know who you are!!) that I'm a little behind on posts. A little?! Seriously, sorry for the delay!! It's been quite a year! (This pic is of me and Hubby on Mother's Day at the Muskogee Renassaince Faire. These little guys were soooo cute!)

To recap: I started teaching full-time, and writing full-time, and mothering three teens and all that that implies!! I just landed a FABULOUS new teaching position at a school near my house. I'll be teaching Art, and couldn't be more thrilled!!

In family news, Hubby's great and still loving his new job. He's hoping a new contract comes through for work in Japan. Join me in crossing my fingers for that!! Not only would it be fun for him, but with him out of the house, me and the kids play lots more!! LOL!! Both sons celebrated their one-year anniversary at the grocery store where they work. We were proud of them for that. Both are at the moment, single, so ladies, come and get 'em!! Daughter made Varsity Cheer, and now is tumbling!! She's not single. So far, we like the new boyfriend, but he gets grounded a lot, so she rarely gets to see him. Not sure what's up with that. I'll keep you posted. All three kids will be Juniors next year!! Hard to believe!!

On the writing front, I just got a new four book deal!! One, is about a Marine who, after a one-night stand, ends up with twins!! The next three are a series revolving around three women who meet at Lamaze class.

Today, I'm headed to Arkansas to see my folks!! Since the boys are all working, it'll be me and Daughter. She's excited, because she gets to drive!! Pray for me!! LOL!!