Last Friday was set up day for the annual book fair at my children’s school.  It took almost seven hours to organize and decorate the room where it is being held. Even though our school isn’t particularly large, we run one of the larger Scholastic book fairs.  (According to the delivery representative most schools have 5 cases and we have 8 or 9 depending on the year).  Honestly it’s more exciting than opening presents on Christmas Day. Sifting through dozens and dozens of boxes trying to find the perfect spot to showcase the books is flat out fun! Yesterday we brought our boys through and let them pick out what they wanted. Later in the week they will go with their classmates — which is what they really look forward to.  Money in their pocket, without having mom and dad micromanaging their shopping spree.  (I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’ll be working at the fair Tuesday through Thursday. I’ll pretend that I don’t see the whacky erasers and silly chocolate calculators they inevitably want).

I’m hoping I can grab a few hours here and there for writing.  I am so close to finishing my rough draft…sooo close!

What are you looking forward to this week?

• I hit the supermarket and stocked up on Flinstone Gummies. I’m not normally a consumer of vitamins but for some reason I always grab a bottle of these when I’m run down.
• I pretend to love the taste of orange juice.  Most days it would be the last drink I would pour a glass of, but this week it’s my bff.
• I’m snacking on everything.  I take the adage “feed a cold” to heart. I’d share with you what I’ve already eaten today but it might give you an upset stomach.
• I’m watching HGTV when I need to be preparing for a volunteer program I’m helping with this afternoon. I plan on dousing myself with Lysol and hand sanitizer in an effort to keep those around me healthy.  Oh…maybe I’ll skip the Lysol.  I seem to remember a lot of strange looks last time I did that
• I’m downloading as many books on my Amazon wish list as I can before my husband realizes it. To be honest he tends to do the same thing…but his Kindle choices are muy boring. Sad but true.
• I’m thinking of pulling my hair back into a ponytail instead of washing it.  I know…ick, right?  But it’s sort of clean.  Not smelly (my nose is blocked but I’m confident about this).  My own kids are probably the only ones who will know the truth.  Ugh.  I might have to revisit this one before I actually leave the house.

Today I awoke with a sty in my eye

Can’t even cry because it stings when I try

The Patriots won but I couldn’t cheer

The Ravens’ Cundiff rushed the final kick, I fear

Horrible to lose a game that way

Impossible to watch that darn replay

This morning I need to clean every room

Contractor dust means I’ll need more than a broom

I might need to wear some sort of shades

Unless the pain in my eye suddenly fades

My brain is quite fuzzy, hence this weird little rhyme

Perhaps a nap would be the best use of my time…

Every time a bit of bad weather rolls in, I find I’m forced to leave the comfort of my home in order to meet an appointment or obligation.  Last night a high wind advisory blew in (sorry, couldn’t resist).  Sure enough I had a two hour mandatory meeting that I had to attend 25 minutes away.  What began as a bit of wind when my meeting started turned nasty by 9pm.  My ride home was a veritable obstacle course – swerving to avoid tree limbs, garbage cans, and a chunk of vinyl fence (almost got clocked by a flying post). My kids were not amused when I told them there was nothing to worry about – my skills were on par with an Indy car driver.  With wind gusts in the 60 mph range the ride was more adventure than I was looking for on a Tuesday night. Not that I’d share that with them.

This morning when I woke up my shoulders were aching.  It took a minute to realize that it was a result of gripping the steering wheel so hard the previous night. Fortunately it was my volunteer day in the school library, which is the best form of relaxation I know. After I finished up there I treated myself to an hour of writing in the public library. It was crazy crowded with people camped out in front of the beautiful flagstone fireplace that graces the middle of the great room. Ah, the only thing missing was a cup of hot tea.

Grrr…for the second week in a row I fell asleep during the final fifteen minutes of Castle. Even though I record the series it makes me sad not to see the whole show at once. This week I removed my fuzzy blanket and down pillow from the couch before the show even started.  Clearly I’m aging at an accelerated pace.  The kicker is by the time I stumbled to my bedroom my brain re-engaged.  Hence, I tossed and turned until well after 1:00 am. (Unfortunately this included a midnight snack of Cracklin Oat Bran cereal – which sounds much healthier than it actually is).  Tonight I have a pre-pre-pre First Communion Prep meeting for my younger son.  It’s slated to run two hours which means I may very well be napping again.  I’m kidding. Just a little.

I’m super, wicked, oh so close to finishing my work in progress.  Yes, I say this frequently but this time I’m serious. Keep in mind that the last chapter is always the most difficult for me.  That’s probably not normal. But at least I’m consistent. My critique partners have tried to help me plot more up front….I’m just a really slow student.

And finally, for those keeping track it’s day three of my shower renovation. One of the workmen made the mistake of asking me where I wanted the soap/shampoo thing-a-majiggy to go.  My response – wherever it fits. I’m not sure if he was mystified or amused by my lack of preference. From this point forward I’m hiding downstairs.  They’re the professionals. They can make the tough decisions

I’m trying really hard not to complain this morning.  Of course, it’s Friday the 13th – a day when it’s easy to look for snow low lying black clouds.  Inevitably the first snow of the year brought with it a whole bunch of nervous drivers. Honestly, I have an endless supply of patience for those who exercise extreme caution – even if that means driving 5mph in a 65 mph zone.  Errr…that patience tends to ebb when individuals are simply ill prepared for the weather conditions.  In Western New York snow tires aren’t really optional.  Fishtailing across three lanes of traffic is a hazard to everyone.  Same goes for brushing off your front and rear windshields (mirrors, too) before getting on the road. If you can’t see out other drivers are going to be afraid of you and for you.

Today was the start of midterms for my fourth grader, which meant staying home was not an option.  We live further away than most of his classmates so our normal commute of 23 minutes turned into almost an hour. That kicked my son’s nerves into high gear.  Bad roads.  Big exams. Possible late arrival.  My solution?  Singing mellow (cheesy) songs from the 70′s on our extended commute.  At least it gave my kids something to complain about other than the poor road conditions.

Now I’m sitting at my computer trying to decide whether I should wash my floors or focus on my work-in-progess.  It’s really a toss up.  I have my plumber tearing out the shower in my master bathroom so noise is a factor. Hard to concentrate on writing but washing floors that he has to haul debris across might be counter productive. Perhaps I’ll turn on HGTV and have a second cup of coffee.  Maybe then I’ll come up with a game plan for the day….

My, oh my what a wonderful day. Plenty of sunshine heading my way…

Whew.  Back in early December Entangled Publishing offered to contract my book, Starts with Goodbye. On Saturday a copy of the signed contract landed in my hands…it was a total squeee moment.  As you know this isn’t the first time I’ve had an offer from a publisher, but in some ways it was the sweetest. As I’ve said here in the past, I consider myself extremely fortunate.  I’ve had the privilege of working with great people within great organizations. With Samhain and TWRP I walked away with new skills and new understanding of the industry. Having an editor work with you – guide you – is invaluable.  The fact that a publisher thinks enough of your writing to invest their time, talent and resources into making your book better is one of the biggest rewards I can imagine.

The chance to work with Entangled Publishing excites me.  A lot.  Their team is made up of people I respect a great deal.  Bestselling author Lori Wilde (who has been on my bookshelf since her Harlequin Duets in 2000) is the Editorial Director for their Indulgence imprint, which features 50,000 – 60,000 word  fast paced contemporary romances.  When I saw her email saying that she wanted Starts with Goodbye I nearly choked on the Snickers Bar I had in my mouth. (Confession:  I grabbed chocolate as soon as I saw the email from Entangled Publishing in my inbox. It’s always good to have comfort food close at hand in these situations.)

About a week later I had cause to celebrate yet again.  The new managing editor at Entangled, Alethea Spiridon-Hopson, was going to be my editor.  Gulp. Okay I’ll admit, that news made me a wee bit terrified nervous.  She has a lot of experience and a proven track record. During her years at Harlequin she worked with some amazing authors (many of whom are on my bookshelf).

So 2012 is off to a great start for me.  Check out some of the titles currently available from Entangled Publishing – it will give you an idea of why I’m so excited.

 www.entangledpublishing.com

After shedding a few tears (it was a new episode) I decided to watch a movie instead.  Of course, I stayed up late.  Too late.  Ultimately this set up a bad start for Wednesday morning.  In my haste to get out of the house by 6:55 am I grabbed my shoes without turning on the lights in my closet.

And yes…I made the dreaded error of pulling out one black and one brown shoe. (I feared this might happen when I made the decision to buy the exact same shoes in two different colors.  But they were comfortable and I was cocky that I wouldn’t succumb to color blindness.) Since it was my day to volunteer at the library I had to turn around and go home.  This was not warmly received by my children who thought it would be more fun to see if any of the kids at school noticed my fashion hiccup.

I’m sure you’re wondering if anything happened this morning. Well, one of my precious puppies suffered a little stomach upset overnight.  Hmmm….this meant a blip in my morning routine.  Cleaning ate up five minutes I hadn’t built into my schedule.  Hence I threw on sweatpants and a hoodie in an effort to get out of the house by 6:55 am.  This was a SHOCK to my fourth grader.  After staring at me for several seconds he found his courage:  ”Are you actually wearing that to school?  You’ve never worn a hoodie before.”

This is what happens when you fall five minutes behind…

Today I’m embracing my winter blues.  Maybe you’re like me, and you know well in advance those days when your spirits simply won’t soar.  The end of Christmas break, when the kids go back to school, is always a down day in my house.  The drive to school was eerily quiet.  No singing in the car.  No admiring the small flakes of snow that decorated our windshield. Freezing cold temperatures (13 degrees) only added another layer to our collective misery.

As I plunked down in front of my computer I thought about resolutions for the new year.  Ick.  After playing with the keyboard for fifteen minutes I decided that in 2012 :

• I’m not going to commit to an exercise program.  Right now my haphazard routine (4-5 days a week/ 30-45 minutes on the treadmill) is fine.  If I try to improve on it, I’ll probably end up doing less.
• I’m not going to dream about relocating to a warmer climate.  It makes days like today (13 degrees, with an expected high of 15 degrees) even more unbearable.  In fact, when I’m done with this post I’m going to go outside and embrace a snowman. Oops, I’ll have to build one first.
• I’m not going to set daily word count goals.  Some days are simply more productive than others when it comes to my writing.  I’ll celebrate the good days and conveniently ignore those days when I wind up with fewer words than I started with.
• I’m not buying any new quilt sets in 2012.  Seriously, I came so close to buying new bed sets for my kids over the weekend. If you looked in my linen closet you’d know this is an ongoing issue.  I made the mistake of telling my husband about my almost-purchase (it had an adorable sports theme) on Sunday and he almost fell over. I didn’t share with him the fact that the store only had one left and that was the sole reason I came home empty handed.
• I’m not saving ebooks on my Kindle that I didn’t enjoy enough to finish.  Does anyone else have a problem hitting the delete button on their e-reader?  It feels odd.  Almost as bad as throwing out a paperback book.

What about you?  Anything you’re not going to do in 2012…..