Ah, Saturdays

It's a cold rainy day, with the temp hovering right at freezing. I'm glad to be inside and know that by tomorrow, it'll be back up to near spring weather...hopefully without the rain. Okay, we need the rain. It's been a dry winter, except for those crazy snowstorms that dumped on us and shut down school for more days than I can remember.

I love Saturdays, rain or shine. There are no screams of small children trying to murder each other, no lemon juice poured in my cable box (as happened this week), and I can usually do pretty much whatever I want to do. My oldest granddaughter is here on weekends, while her mom is at work and has two weekdays off. It's like the Rolling Stones said in their song. You can't always get what you want. But this particular g-kid is the more quiet one. Being an only child as I was, she manages to keep herself busy watching TV, playing with the cats--or trying to--or getting on the computer to play games. It's not a problem.

So what do I have on my to-do list today? Tons of things, but only a few will get my attention. There's a website client who needs some updates done, a book proposal that needs more work, dishes to wash, house to clean, and other jobs clamoring for attention. A typical Saturday. Hope you enjoy yours!

Hump Day

Yes, it is! I look forward to it every week, believe me!

But this isn't going to be about the fact that it's Wednesday or what it means to me or anyone else. It's just going to be a mishmash. Why? Since Jan. 31, when I received revision notes from my editor, I've been on a deadline to get them done...by Feb. 21, two days ago. They're done, and I've had a little rest. The pressure is off--well, most of it. Fingers are crossed that the changes made to BACHELOR DAD (September 2011, Harlequin American) are what was needed.

And then there's the Oscars or Academy Awards, whichever you prefer, coming up on Sunday night. I'll admit that I haven't seen any of the nominated movies. I'm not much of a moviegoer. I did go to the movie theater three times last year, and all were Sandra Bullock movies. And Mallory (the youngest) and I had kind of planned to go see the most recent Harry Potter this year. (Sorry, I haven't read all the books and don't remember the titles, much less in what order.) But because the last time we forked over the money for HP, we had to deal with kids kicking the back of our seat and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Mallory decided to opt out and buy it when it comes out on DVD. Since we do that anyway, I figure we just saved money and nearly three hours of stress. So no movies this time, and there was really only one that looked even promising to me. I will watch the Oscars Sunday night, if only to see who presents, what the women are wearing on the red carpet, and that all important moment when they show who is no longer with us.

And that's the last three weeks in a nutshell. :)

Twins, Clones, or Are We All Going Mad?

It was bound to happen. There are two Diary of a Mad Romance Writer blogs. There's this .blogspot one...

and there's a .wordpress one that belongs to Harlequin Superromance author Kara Lennox.

Weird, huh? Two Harlequin authors, two blogs with the same name.

It was a fluke that I discovered this. At first I was speechless. TWO of us? How could that be? I considered dropping my blog's name and going with something else...again...but since that can be a real royal pain, I've been dragging my feet on doing it. But now the whole idea of two of us has grown on me and makes me chuckle when I think of it. I hope Kara has a good laugh, too, when she discovers we're both mad!

If you have some time, click on over to Kara's blog. Lots of fun stuff to read there. I love that she and her hubby are remodeling a Victorian house!

Snow and Ice and Blizzards, Oh My!

If you live in the 2/3 of the U.S. that isn't experiencing the enormous winter storm that's creating havoc in the other 1/3, count yourself lucky. After reading comments on Facebook by those getting hit the hardest, I've decided not to whine.

It's strange that less than 10 days ago, my daughters and I were talking about the time we and several of our neighbors were caught in a blizzard 2 miles from home. Home at that time was a farm, where the nearest neighbor was 1/4 mile away.

The snow had begun while I was still at work, and for once the company owner gave permission for those of us worried about getting home safely the choice to leave. I left, drove the 10 miles to pick up my three girls--ranging in age from 3 to 7--from the baby-sitter, then started for home. We were halfway there when the station wagon I was driving decided to do a complete 360 in the middle of the road. Shaken, I made it slowly to a small gas 'n go, where we met up with my husband. We followed him the 2 miles north to our road, then turned west, but hadn't gone half a mile when we learned that the snowplow was stuck on the road...and blocking it. We and 6 of our neighbors who used that road to get home were stranded. The closest house was over half a mile away, and it was blizzarding. Not ideal conditions for small children who weren't dressed for walking around in that kind of weather. But then neither were most of the adults!

A neighbor who lived farther away heard about the trouble and drove his 4-wheel drive tractor to our line of stranded cars. A few at a time, he took us to the nearest house, where those neighbors had made coffee, hot cocoa, and sandwiches. By now we'd been stranded for over 4 hours. My brother-in-law showed up sometime later in a second 4wd tractor and took us home. Believe me, 2 adults and 3 kids in a tractor cab is a crunch! He drove across snow-buried wheat fields that were like washboards, causing us to hit our heads on the top of the cab several times during the 2 mile journey. Finally coming to a stop across the road from our house, he let us out. We tromped through a deep ditch full of snow that wasn't recognizable as ditch, crossed the road, then another ditch, and were finally home. By the time we were inside the house, it was after 10 p.m. Our 6+ hour adventure was finally over!

Times like these don't happen very often in our part of the state, so we're usually caught off guard when they do. I won't lie and say we had a fun time during that long ago blizzard, but we certainly did have an adventure we'd always remember.

Kindle and Me pt. 3

My Kindle is currently resting while I read my new paperback copy of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Fancy Pants. Her latest, Call Me Irresistable, waits on my Kindle to be read. Why? It's complicated.

I haven't even come close to reading all the thirty-some books I've downloaded, and I'm itching to buy more. Such as?

1. The next two books in Amanda Hocking's Tryle Trilogy.
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. Room by Emma Donahue
4. After by Amy Efaw
5. Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Those last two are YA books. Since discovering and reading Sarah Dessen's YA's, I'm drawn to them again. When I first started writing (as an adult), they were the kind I read and wanted to write. Instead, I ended up in romance, because I love the HEAs!! Still, I enjoy reading in other genres and discovered some fantastic YA and Middle Reader books available that by far surpass anything related to Twilight or The Clique series. Someday I'll compile a list of my favorite books and authors. Someday.

But no reading today, even though it's snowing outside, the temp is currently 5 degrees, and the windchill is all the way up to -17. Instead, as soon as I hit PUBLISH, I'll be making lunch for the four grandkids who are here for the day, because school is closed, thanks to that lovely windchill.

If you're in the area being hit by this huge winter storm, make use of it. Curl up with your favorite blanket, a hot drink, and a great story, whether in hardcover, paperback, ebook, or audio, and enjoy!