Thinking Day!

So on Wednesday our district celebrated "Thinking Day"
One elementary school gymnasium,
2 Sparks units,
3 Brownie units,
3 Guide units and
2 Pathfinder units.
That is a whole lot of young girls in one room. I think my hearing finally started to return to normal today *G*

We did a Olympic theme and had the girls divide up into "countries". They then worked their way around the different 'events'. Mine was volleyball. They only spent 10 minutes at each station so I wanted to keep it as easy as possible. Hense the birth of mosh pit volleyball! LOL Just tossed both the beachballs and the goal was to keep them off the ground. Gotta tell you the Brownies (7&8yrs) are brutally competative at that age LOL. They will attack with out any sort of plan. I had to break up more then one tugging match. The Guides and Pathinders are older and willing to help the Sparks get a turn. Of course everyone won a gold metal in the end. It was incredibly exhausting but a lot of fun. My girls both got home and literally fell into bed.

The local paper was there too taking pictures but we didn't make the paper. Some moron drove a car through the back doors of a highschool, apparently that is more newsworthy then us. BAH! Now if we magically appear in the weekend edition then I will post a copy on here.

I haven't had much to say regarding the Olympics although I love to watch them. I enjoy the winter ones more then the summer. I'm sure if has something to do with the hockey. *G* Our women's team took gold again! An awesome result that I feel was over shadowed by the dissapointing efforts from the men's team. I mean even with a bloody gold medal all the news wants to talk about is grezkey and his moaning.

Hello! The women don't play NHL and make millions, let them have their moment!

Now on the other side of the rink! CINDY KLASSEN!!!!!!! Need I say more.
Canada's newest favourite sport....Speed Skating!

I've watched a couple interviews with her and she is a class act. While being interview right after the 5,000M. She continued to praise her team mate Clara Hughes for a wonderful skate. Then the two of them on the podium with big beautiful smiles, singing the anthem and laughing was a great site. I love to see any metal winning athlete enjoying their moment. They should they worked hard for it!
Well this blog has taken me forever to write because I have been running downstairs to watch replays of Cindy and Clara's race and also because I wanted to see the awards ceremony. They showed an interview with Clara and we as Canadians are fortunate to have such class acts representing us. I mean she won a gold metal today. Not to forget that she is the first Canadian athlete to metal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (she won bronze in cycling)

This was her moment to talk and instead of talking about herself she changed the course of the interview and spoke about an organization called "Right To Play" . She said that she watched a documantary about it and decided that if something good happened to her in this race then she was going to use her moment to promote it. Can you ask for better role models for young girls?!

I did it!!!

Yuppers I finally did it!!

Washed the mountain that is reproducing on my laundry room floor? NOPE

Slayed the multitude of dustbunnies with my swiffer sword? NOPE

Knit and purl my way to the end of at least one of the knitting projects I've started in the last year? NOPE

BUT

I did actually entered a real live contest!!!!

Four copies of the first ten pages of my manuscript were sent off to Wisconsin. For the WisRWA "Fab Five" contest. Now to some it's not that big of a deal but for me, holy shit! I mean there will be real people reading what I wrote. Complete strangers who don't know who I am and don't care.... ya ok I feel a bit nauseous.

They say that people who jump off high locations experience a moment of panic when the body/mind realizes there is no turning back. I had a moment similar to that. Almost tried to crawl into the post box to retrieve my entry.

Now all that is left is to wait........

My treat to myself.

Ok I realize that my posts of late have been a tad on the "woah is me" side of life. I realize this so today is going to be about something completely silly but cool.


I finally got a new coffee mug. Now I know this is not that big of a deal but it made me happy. Best thing was...it was on sale! LOL Now I have wanted a big latte cup for ages and this one has the added feature of being covered in pictures of chocolate and looks as though there is choccy overflowing the rim. Really what else does a girl need in a mug? Perfect for morning coffee and my cuppa tea when I write.

Writing it going well. I am working on my contest entry and if all goes well then I will be sending it in this week. My only concern is getting a SASE. I mean how can I buy american stamps here? Also they stipulate no metered postage? Hell, what's that?

So I am putting my faith in the postal outlet near my work that they will be able to help me. May the postage gods hear my plea. Perhaps I had better send a prayer to Hermes himself, before he reads my book and realizes what I did to him. (eek)

I need more hours in the day.

I think that hardest part of writing is actually sitting down and getting it done. During the day I think of what I want to write. I'll perhaps plan out exactly what it is I want to get done. I have a 35 minute commute to and from work every day and the time is always spent with the music blaring and my mind on my writing.

Trouble is when I finally get the girls to bed, and after 50,000 interruptions, I can actually put my thoughts to paper (computer screen)..........They're gone. Or I can't let go of what has gone on during the day and the harder I try the less the right side of my brain works and then I end up like I am right now. Pissed off and frustrated.

Yes I have a f'n platter full of crap in my life right now and I am juggling them pretty well but the one thing that is suffering the worst (besides my housework)
is my writing and that is the one thing I want to do the most.

I have thought of getting up earlier and squeezing in some "me" time then. Yea great idea till the alarm goes off at 5 am. Then all I can think about is how I want to get up but can't 'cause I am so tired and then I feel guilty. Yea so the early idea is just setting my self up for failure.

Trouble is my children as night owls just like me, so they don't go to sleep at 8 or even 9 like I wish. It can b 10:30 and they are stil awake calling out every once in a while. And I don't have to say that the moment I sit down is the moment I get my name called.

Where is my unemployed hubby you might ask. Playing online poker of course. Sure he tells the girls to stop yelling for mummy; but then he yells upstairs from the living room and I am a few steps away trying to write. I guess he doesn't realize listening to him get impatient with the kids is just as distracting.

*sigh*

ok I think I am done whining.....maybe not but I'll stop inflicting you with my endless complaints.

I just need to feel inspired.

I need all the crap in my life to suddenly dissapear.

I need to win the lottery so I can move to Wales and sit in my garden just behind my thatched cottage with my laptop and write. Or better yet a hammock in Puerto Vallarta. Yea I bet I'd get tons of writing done then. In between my naps of course.

Valentines~Schmanentines

I know it doesn't sound very romantic but I am just not a big fan of Valentiens Day. Despite the fact that I did have fun dressing up my avatar LOL.

Such a big deal is made out of this one day as if our self esteem or self worth is measure by it. This was the day I hated most when I was in high school. The school sold flowers that got delivered to home-room on the morning of the 14th. I can remember wishing and praying that I would get at least one but never did. Of course I wasn't one of the "pretty" girls. Too tall, too skinny, too shy. Whatever.

Of course over time I grew into my height, meaning that I eventually developed curves in all the right places, even if I wish now I wasn't so curvy in some places *G* I'm still a bit shy around people I don't know but I am comfortable with my self. I don't beat myself up when I have goober moment.

I found a wonderful man who drives me insane and pisses me off and loves me to death. So the 14th of February doen't mean what it used to anymore. I have fun doing things for my girls. Hubby picks up a small boquet of flowers for each of them and meets them at school with it. LOL I pity their future boyfriends they will have such high expectations. For me I have my hubby and my writing everyday of the year.

Throughts from the Creative Side of Life

Things have taken an decidedly craftier tone around the house lately. I'm cross-stitching again. Not sure why but I found a small one I had been working on years ago. It's a wee winter star(pentagram)that I got as a freebee when I placed an order with Witches Stitches. Damn that has to be at least 4 years ago now. I just noticed that you can download that star pattern from the website for free. I'll put up a picture of mine when I have it finished. I'm about halfway through my "Green Man". Haven't touched that in over a year either.

*sigh* I'm getting off topic LOL

I have discovered that doing a bit of stitching actually gets my creative side rumbling much more then knitting. I rewrote a couple scenes in my book and am much happier with them. Perhaps knitting is so mechanical for me that I don't have to be creative...with cross stitching I have to follow the charts and sort through colourful skeins of thread and the colours are changing much more frequently then when I knit. OR perhaps it's as simple as I need to set down my knitting needles for a bit. What ever works right?

Went to Michaels to pick up some floss yesterday, I let the girls pick out a rug hooking kit each. I think I was about their age when I first tried it. Teaghan is a latching fiend! She has been sitting at the kitchen table for the last two night working on her and is she ever getting quick! Ryleigh has one as well but her attention span is much shorter. I'll be sure to add pictures when I have them.


Speaking of creative... Is this not an amazing cover for a book! I absolutly love it. Not sure what it is about it, but that misty magical current dancing along her finger tips is awesome. This is Michele Armstrong's newest book cover. Available through Loose-Id in the, hopefully, near future. I'm not sure the exact release date but there is her first book in the series, Blood Kiss that is already available.

The Heroine formerly known as "That Nameless Bimbo"

I dont' believe it. Last night she finally agreed on a name. Amaryllis? Can you believe it? It's Greek and means "sparkling". I'm sure it will work into her personality at some point because it's not a term I would use to discribe her. But she is willing to let me shorten it to Amy (which means well loved). I am keeping with the Greek God(esses)it just seemed logical to give her a greek name since there is some confusion at the beginning. Took some getting use to but by this morning it was starting to grow on me. Amaryllis Bitonou....yea it works. It is amazing how much better I feel now. I actually can't wait to write more. *G*

~~~~~

So far today I have brushed up on my Navarra wine regions, painted one coat on my nails, plotted some more on my book, finished reading "Bait' by Karen Robards, and that was after I got the kids up, dressed, fed, lunches made and driven to school. Can you say nervous energy?

I'm trying not to let my own anxiety level creep up on me. Annoying as hell is the fact that I know what is bothering me and I knew it would happen. Logically one would think that they would cancel each other out? *snort* Apparently not. So back to plotting and distracting myself.

Spanish Wine and Cheesey Insecurities

I'm working a really cool function called Bravo Espana tomorrow night. Can't wait, but I should brush up on my Spanish regions tonight. LOL

I know the table I am working at is featuring wines from the Navarra region. Should be fun, the tickets weren't that expensive so it cuts down on the amount of arrogant wine snobs that will attend. I hate having to work functions filled with pretentious know-it-alls. Spoils it for everyone when you get some loud mouth spouting an opinion that no one, especially myself, wants to hear. My guess is the crowd will be younger and more willing to experiment. Spanish wines are apparently the newest trend and are forcasted to take over the Australian dominated younger market. The crowd tomorrow will be more telling then any number cruncher when it comes to trends though.

The only drawback is that it's downtown Toronto and I won't get home on the train till after 11. Travelling around on the subways and Go trains at that time of night makes me a bit nervous as well. Yes my daughter inheritated her anxiety levels from me. I'll have myself work into a nervous wreck by the time my train leaves tomorrow but I'm sure it will be fine. I'll have 45 minutes on the train, peace and quiet with no one bothering me to work out plots and personality traits.

I've really been draggin' my heels over my writing. Missing that contest really took the wind out of my sails. But I'm not going to let it bother me anymore. *stomping foot*

This is my year! I will finish at least one book and have it submitted to every editor I can beg and plead my case to. *G*

I do find that I spend more time thinking about what I should write then just writing. Still not sure if it is a good thing. Plotting is good but can you over-plot? I mean I am almost sick and tired of second guessing myself all the time; To the point where I am ready to ditch it and start something new. Of course that could be one of the major reasons that I don't have anything finished.

Happy Super Sunday!!

Just about 3 hours till kick off.

Yup my last football related post for another 7 months. I may sneak in the odd picture of #43 here and there though LOL. Hubby and his best friend are already parked in front of the tv watching pre-game stuff.
Hubby is a stress filled mess, couldn't sleep last night, can't eat today. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of the last time the steelers were in the Superbowl. Bad night.

Let's hope I have a happy post later. It will be picture filled regardless *G*

Found hubby's dream car LOL

The Pierced, Cheap Book, Wild Duck, Day

I love days like today. What started as a normal boring laundry filled day off, ended quite differently.

My oldest suddenly announced that she wanted to get her ears pierced. I know many won't realize the feat that this is but my daughter is prone to anxiety and tends to worry herself to death over little things. As of her 7th birthday I told her that she could get her ears pierced when ever she wanted. It's been a year and a half and every once in a while she mentions it but doesn't want to do it yet. We were wandering through the mall and she whispered to hubby that today she was ready. So it was off to the drug store to get an 'emla' patch.(it numbs the skin) She kept saying that she was a little bit scared but didn't want to change her mind.

We let her pick which ever pair she wanted and after a painless split second click; she was sporting a sparkly pair of earrings. She is so proud of herself and obviously so am I. This was a big step for her and we made a big deal out of her bravery. Of course it took forever to get out of the mall because she had to stop and admire her ears in every mirror she spotted.

My youngest is counting down the days to her 7th birthday.

Then I found a book sale. 10% off already reduced paperbacks. WooHoo!!!
Picked up an anthology called "Man of my Dreams" Featuring Sherrily Kenyon, Maggie Shayne, Suzanne Forester and Virginia Kantra; "Bait" by Karen Robarts, and "Behind the Mask" by Metsy Hingle. I've never seen Ms. Hingles work before so I'm looking forward to reading it. Who knows I might have just stumbled on my next favourite author.

When we got home I cooked up some wild duck. One of my customers at work was kind enough to give me some to try. It was awesome if I do say so myself. I fried bacon and onion in the pan and then placed the two breasts in the middle of it. Now my customer suggested making a cranberry sauce using a bunch of cranberries, brown sugar and maple syrup and then let it simmer into a sauce. But I didn't have whole cranberries and instead ad-libbed and put a quarter can of jellied cranberry sauce in the pan with everything else.

The result was awesome. I loved it and so did the girls. My youngest annouced she wanted to eat that everyday and my oldest liked it as well. Hubby refused to try it as it doesn't fall into the "oink,moo,cluck" catagory. The only meats he will eat. Go figure I love experimenting with food and I marry a man who is the fussiest eater on the planet.

After a good read and soak in the tub, I am revamping my novel. I'm still cool with the beginning. It's the rest I'm not sure about. I'm goign to attempt plotting and see if that helps. There is a great post on Angela Knights blog that I found helpful.
Look to the left her name in in my daily reads.

I also looked into so online classes from a local college that I might take in the spring. One is "Grammer for Writers" LOL. Without a doubt that will be the first one I take. Then there is "Writing for Publication I & II" and a class on Romance Writing and "Suspense and Mystery Writing" Should keep me out of trouble for the next year. *G*

Just as a side thought I wish there were smilies on this site. I love using them. There has to be some sort of way to do it? hmmm something new to play with LOL

Husbands are the most frustrating creatures!

So hubby has discovered online poker. Am I happy? NO! damn I can't get him off the damn computer. And I used to bitch about the amount of time he and his buddy played X-Box. Yes what was that saying "Becareful what you wish for???"

When I can get a moment on the computer my train of thought is interrupted a dozen times by him asking me questions like "How long to do I boil eggs for?" and "I read this article today on Cowher." *smcking forhead* Yes I am back to thinking of renaming this blog "Things I think about when my husband talks football." Thankfully there is only 1 game left. *yea, I see the light*

My heroine while apparently hating her name hasn't been kind enough to tell me what she likes. I've been pouring over namebooks and listening to her endless complaints over each one that catches my eye. Told her she better pipe up or I am moving on to one of my historicals. *nodding* That should smarten her up, but since she is a figment from my thought processess, it won't.

Been looking through my "GoodFaeries/BadFaeries" book by Brian Froud. A couple of the little munchkins started announcing their positions in my mideavel piece.
Hhhmmm faeries in a romance?? It could happen. Now the question is would they help or hinder? That all depends on their mood I would assume.