Today I woke up feeling like …

Getting out of bed this morning I looked around, wondering if I needed help.  The last few days seemed to have taken a toll on both my mind and body.  I can only describe my state of being as Violet Beauregarde-esque.

This year casa de Oberlies was inundated with gifts of fine food.  Every square inch of countertop in my kitchen was covered with boxes and tins of sweet delights.  (Now, of course, every inch of my waistline is covered with an added layer of muffin top).  Between the added calories and multiple flag football games I find myself sore, stuffed and stiff.  During one particularly brutal family outing I ended up in the bushes, knee deep in mud. Sadly I didn’t quite manage to hold on to the football.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have indulged in either food or sport.  But really, who could resist?

Chocolate covered oreos

Harry and David Cookies

Original Boston Coffee Cake

Throw in some See’s Chocolate Candies, See’s Peanut Brittle, Leo’s Apple Pie, and Christmas stockings stuffed with Godiva and what’s a weak willed girl to do?  With some difficulty I finally walked downstairs, approached my recumbent bike, sat down…and contemplated moving my feet.  Nothing happened.  Perhaps I’ll try again later.  For now I’m going to attack the laundry, which is a strangely attractive alternative this morning.

Guess what…

My shopping is done… as in, completely finished. This morning I sat in front of the local Target waiting for the magical moment when the clock struck eight.  Guess what?  It was empty.  There were  five people with me when the doors opened.  I actually browsed at a relaxed pace — no elbowing the people around me trying to grab the last bag of Ghiradelli Peppermint Bark.  Want to know something even more amazing?  My house is tidy (at this moment).  Yesterday I finally got rid of the trail of pine needles that lined my entryway.  Yay, me!  Right now I do need to do something with my frizzy hair and chipped nail polish.  I’m helping out with the holiday parties at school and looking like I came out of a cave is not going to fly  Hope your day is shaping up to be as nice as mine!  Hugs.

A quick hello…before I have to go

Right now I’m staring at the clock on my computer screen wondering how I can accomplish my ‘must do’ list before I have to pick up my boys from school.  The problem is nothing on the list screams fun:

• Vacuum the thousands of tree needles covering the skirt underneath my Christmas tree.  Every time I kneel down to water the tree I end up getting puncture wounds on my shins.
• Go to my local postal office.  Again.  Third day in a row.  Second visit today.  (I’m not sure why I thought there would be extended hours.  I sat out front this morning at 8:00 waiting impatiently for some sign of life. After polishing off an 8 ounce cup of coffee I gave up and went home).  But…I must add, my local postal personnel are extremely kind, patient, and upbeat.  I’d bake them cookies but they’d probably be afraid to eat them
• Open dozens (literally dozens) of Amazon boxes to determine what packages have arrived and what gifts we are still waiting on.  The bad thing is…if I open the boxes I have to immediately start wrapping presents to prevent curious eyes from catching a glimpse of what’s inside.
• Clean the mud from my mud room.  This week the dogs have been dragging in enough sloppy dirt to make mud pies.  Right now my white walls look more like milk chocolate.  (Yes, at the present time I am hungry…dreaming of the Dove candy bars my friend gave me last week.)
• Clean up my computer files.  I have way too many work in progress folders.  I’m at the point where I’m now confusing myself.  I wish I was on better terms with the delete button.  Saving every little page of every revised manuscript is crazy.

Lest, you think I’ve done nothing but daydream this week I will share the following.  I’ve been working on some important book related things.  I can’t share now…but I will when the time is right. Now I must go find my secret stash of chocolate, stuff them in my pocket, and head over to the Post Office.  Maybe I’ll bring candy canes to hand out to the long line of last minute mailers who’ll be my friends for the next hour or so.

Top Tip Thursday…

A few days back I mentioned the struggle I am having getting into the holiday spirit.  While I’m still lagging slightly behind, I have made some progress.  My husband and I let our boys decorate the Christmas tree this year (other than stringing the lights).  Guess what?  They did an awesome job…and they had oodles of fun taking responsibility for it.  I’m thinking this should now be a tradition at casa de Oberlies.  Maybe I’ll post a picture here tomorrow.

The shopping situation has also improved.  Fortunately my husband, who tends to be more decisive than I am, sat down at the computer a few nights back and ordered up a storm from Amazon.  Every day UPS leaves a bundle of boxes on our doorstep.  In an effort to chip in I’ve visited one of my favorite sites and ordered gifts for some of our out-of-town family/friends.  If you’re in a pinch I’d recommend browsing their site.  I’ve been ordering from Miss Grace/Mrs. Beasley’s since college and I’ve never once been disappointed.  This year they’ve teamed up with Cheryl’s giving consumers even more options. 

Since I tend to switch my nail polish color on a hourly daily basis you’ll rarely find me at a salon.  Although I like doing my own nails it can get rather boring.  This week I picked up a new product that I’m totally loving.  Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat.  Granted, it’s a little funky…but during the holiday season a little extra sparkle screams good cheer.  Btw, the red they offer is extremely festive.  I chose that color along with fuchsia shock.

My next tip is of a very different nature. Rejection hurts.  Sometimes it hurts a lot.  As a writer it’s also inevitable.  Even it you anticipate rejection, it still packs a punch.  I’ve been very lucky.  I can honestly say I’ve always been treated with a great deal of respect. (The one exception came from an editor that was known for her edgy tone.  I couldn’t take offense because it was part of her personality and I actually liked her.) Lately I’ve been working through a lot of self doubt trying to find my voice and my path.  Publishing is huge, with many different avenues. This brings me to my tip.  When my confidence slips and I find myself avoiding my laptop, I know where to turn first.  Harlequin forums.  They have a thread called sub care, where people comment about their submission status.  I go there to read about the highs and lows other writers are experiencing.  I’m almost always amazed by how quickly people bounce back from rejection there.  They want success.  And they understand that you have to keep fighting hard to achieve it.  Check back soon for some news on my writing.  I think 2012 is going to be an AWESOME year!

P.S.  In case you’re wondering, I have not been on the receiving end of a recent rejection.  The topic has been on my mind after reading some favorite industry blogs.

On this day in history…

Anyone who has read this blog knows that I’m a bit of a sports fanatic fan.  In my defense, the cards were stacked against me at birth:

1. I’m originally from Boston.
2. Both my mother and father followed the Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins pretty faithfully – even during the embarrassing decades.
3. During my formative years we only had one television in the house and it was sports, news or nothing.

Hence, I was pretty chuffed last month when I finally had a chance to visit the New England Patriots museum in Foxboro, MA.  To my delight I discovered the following hoisted in the rafters:

Any clue why ?  Well on this day in Patriots history: 12/12/82 New England beat the Miami Dolphins, 3-0, in what was known everywhere as the “Snow Plow Game”.  A heavy snowstorm had begun shortly after the game began. As a result, an emergency ground rule had been established for this game: the officials could call time-out, and allow the ground crew to use a snowplow to clear the yard markers. Despite this rule, the ground crew could not plow often enough to keep the field clear. The two teams remained scoreless late into the fourth quarter. With 4:45 left to go in the game and on-field conditions worsening, Patriots coach Ron Meyer ordered snowplow operator Mark Henderson to clear a spot on the field specifically for placekicker John Smith. At first, no one had thought it suspicious, assuming that the plow would go straight across, and allow for a more accurate measurement (which turned out to be 33 yards). Instead, the plow veered left, directly in front of the goal post, giving Smith a clean spot from which to kick. Matt Cavanaugh held for the kick. Miami coach Don Shula protested furiously but the field goal was good and the Patriots won the game by the final score of 3–0.  And guess what?  The guy operating the plow was a local prisoner out on a work release break.  Now you know the rest of the story…

Why you gotta be so mean?

Guess who finally went to the mall to tackle some Christmas shopping?  Yay!  Guess who walked out of the mall 90 minutes later empty handed? Unfortunately, I’ve acquired a head cold in the past twenty-four hours.  Every sound…every sneeze…every long line…knocked the stuffing out of me.  I ended up spending a total of $1.59 (picked up a diet drink at a drive thru on my way home).  I’m setting my sights on Sunday…

Since my attention span was limited due to my sneezing, hacking, and wheezing I crossed writing off my list for today.  Ditto downloading a new book.  This left me trolling the internet.  As usual I ran across some interesting items.  I confess that I often avoid expressing opinions here on writing and/or publishing stuff.  It’s easy to offend and hard to recover when you step over the line.  One author clearly not worried about that is Sebastian Marshall.  In the past Mr. Marshall has publicly shared his feelings about his publisher S&S.  Now he’s come out with a video message for his agent (maybe former agent, I’m not sure).  It’s long – 18 minutes.  Hard to stop watching if you stick around beyond the first five minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhVJl-OBEY4&feature=youtu.be

On a crazy different note, I also stumbled across a review today on a well known site of a Harlequin novel.  It was brutal.  Some of the comments made me cringe. Now I’m not a proponent of sugar coated reviews.  Stating what you liked or didn’t like in a story can be helpful to potential readers and the actual author.  However I struggle with seeing dozens of comments from people that didn’t read the novel in question that are downright cruel.  You can be honest without being a bully, right?  In this particular case the author made a brief lighthearted mention of the review on Twitter…she acknowledged it in a general ‘oh well’ kind of way.  Guess what?  It made me want to buy her next book.  Taylor Swift was right …why you gotta be so mean?

The house is aglow…

Just kidding!  Not much has happened in the way of decorating for the holiday season here at casa de Oberlies.  Between the warmer weather and crazy weekend activities I’ve only managed to hang a few bells on my front porch.  Sadly my shopping has also been neglected.  I’m trying…really trying to get in the spirit.  Every night I flip  over to the Hallmark Channel to see which Christmas movie they’re playing.  Of course, that results in a lot of eye rolling from the boys in my family.  I know their movies can be a wee bit silly — but I love them, anyway.

I sort of picked out a ring I’d love to see in my Christmas stocking.  But my husband is giving me the thumbs down.  Apparently Super Bowl Rings are tough to come by.  The one I saw at the New England Patriots Museum was mighty fancy.  It was so big, with so much bling…I could make earrings and a necklace to match out of it.  Sounds like a bargain, right?

Speaking of football, I think I could offer my beloved Patriots some much needed defensive assistance.  Yesterday’s game was more than a bit embarrassing.  These two good men might help.

Time to sneak out to Tim Hortons for a frosty holiday drink.  Maybe that will inspire me to break out the twinkling lights!

No turning back…

Well, I followed through on my promise to design a new website.  As I mentioned the other day it was not an easy decision.  It’s like that urge to get a dramatic haircut.  The moment I get that burning desire for change I grab my keys and head to the salon.  Even if I like my hair as it is, I still want to shake things up a bit.

I already warned the woman who professionally designed my previous website that she might receive an email in a few months asking for a brand new site.  She’s awesome…Rae Monet (if you’re looking for a professional that is wonderful to work with).

Anyway, here is a link if you’d like to check out my site:

www.ritaoberlies.com

It’s a fresh starting point for me.  Like my hair, it will probably look a little different every day.