Journal

December 5, 2014
Yikes! Have I seriously not written since February? Wow. Sorry. Let me catch you up… I parted ways with my agent and signed a multi-book contract with a new publisher. I started working again; I’m now Marketing Director for a local media firm. My son got a concussion playing football this year and missed the last month or more of games. He’s just now recovering. My daughter had a great tennis season. We lost a dear family member not long ago, but there have been two births this year. I’m looking forward to a visit home to meet the little ones. My uncle is currently pretty ill. If you’re the praying sort, I’d love it if you’d offer one up for him and his family. My novel was delayed in release, but should be out soon. I’m pretty excited. And we’re gearing up for Christmas here. The house is decorated and shopping is well in hand. I even got my husband to paint! All in all, we’re busy but happy. Hopefully I’ll have more to say soon…

February 18, 2014
I hate that we’ve had so much snow that all the kids’ vacation days have dwindled. They lost Presidents’ Day yesterday. So this has been a full week of school. I missed them being home. It’s funny, when they’re here, they drive me nuts; when they aren’t, I miss them. I sound ungrateful. I hate that. I’m actually quite grateful for the life I have. It’s not the one I planned for, but I’m truly blessed. I might be 1000 miles away from home, but I have a wonderful husband and children (and dogs), a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, nourishment, transportation when we need it… So I’m not a NYTBSA. Maybe someday. Until then, back to my WIP…

November 24, 2013
Oops. Sorry I’ve been away so long. I keep forgetting you might be interested in something more personal than just my writing life. My kids’ sports schedules have just wound down for the seasons. We’re preparing for a quiet Thanksgiving here, as the drive is too long to make it home. We’ll also be decorating for Christmas soon. I’m enjoying having the kids home for break (I don’t have to get up early!) and I’m editing another manuscript for my boss while still working on my writing. Also, I’m feeling my age. I had to get glasses. Major bummer.

July 10, 2013
So it’s official. I’m a lousy journaler. In any event, in case you’re interested in my personal life, here’s what’s been going on:

My daughter graduated 8th grade in June. That was a milestone. You should have seen all the academic awards she got. She and my son battle it out to see who achieves more. I think the score is tied.

Daughter has tennis and Son has football (basically all summer), so I’m still at the schoool a lot. No rest for the weary. Add to those practices speed and agility camp for them both, and I’m in the car more than I’m writing. Plus, they both have private tennis lessons two times a week. It’s exhausting.

We got to go home for a week in June. Had a blast! Wish we were still there. I’m missing three graduation parties and two family reunions, but we just can’t swing another trip. (Did you see the schedule my kids keep?)

That’s about it here. One dog has a birthday coming up, so that will be fun. And if you read my blog, you saw that we had our own fireworks display on the Fourth. Otherwise, busy, busy, busy writing!

January 14, 2013
It’s been a while. I guess I’ve been so busy living my life I forgot to write about it. We held back the kids’ best Christmas gift. They tried so hard to act like they were happy with what they got, but we could tell they were disappointed with what they had. They didn’t show it, though. And that was the point. Sort of. They had (almost) learned to be grateful for what came to them. The spirit of the season is the gift of Christ, not the gift of commercialism. But we gave them their big ticket item a few days later and the joy that lit their faces could have powered the tree in DC. It was sad not being home with family, but we made the best of it. Now the house is basically barren. The decorations are down. Corey’s at work. The kids are at school. It’s just me and the dogs. And my computer… which crashes every fifteen freaking minutes. This is a hard time of year for me. It’s dark and lonely and I’m always homesick. Seems like a good time to call Gramma and share a cup of coffee over the phone before I get back to work. 🙂

August 27, 2012
Today is my engagement-a-versary. I got engaged 19 years ago today. Corey took me to a beautiful restaurant on Mt. Washington overlooking the river and proposed over champagne and French cuisine. They even made him a special dessert and me my favorite – creme brulee. What special memories. What a special man. I wouldn’t change my life with him for anything.

August 3, 2012
How old am I? My son got his driver’s permit today. He could have tested months ago; I’ve been stalling. I took him driving twice today. He was beaming ear-to-ear. I was clutching the door handle. I only had to grab the dashboard two or three times to keep from being thrown through it. (And that was with the seat belt on.) He mastered the strength of the brake pedal pretty quickly, though. Actually, he’s not a bad driver. He tends to crowd right a bit much for my taste (especially when the berm drops off), but all in all, not bad.

When did I get this old?

August 2, 2012
So, both dogs weathered the chicken bone storm. That was a relief. Casey’s birthday was July 31. We celebrated with gourmet dog food, frozen yogurt, and a dog toy. He destroyed the toy happily, and possibly ate the squeaker out of it, so we’re back on tummy watch. What a surprise. And now we are gearing up for Max’s birthday in a week and a half. Wonder how that will go?

July 25, 2012
My son thinks summer vacation applies to all aspects of his life. Consequently, he decided to eat some chicken in the living room and then walked away from his plate, not bothering to clean up after himself. Before I noticed his latest bout of sloth, the dogs did. They dove into his dish like it was manna from Heaven.

Of course Corey and I are slightly crazed, and our son feels terrible. We’ll be keeping a close watch on both dogs, who have birthdays coming up and I’m determined that they make it to them. And, hopefully, this incident will teach both kids that summer break doesn’t mean a vacation from responsibilities.

Man, I feel like a bad mom.

June 20, 2012
My daughter asked me to do P90X with her. I figured (1) I needed the exercise and (2) it would be good motivation for her to see Mom doing it and sticking with it, so I agreed. Is anyone else doing it/has anyone else done it? If so, my question is this… do you believe like I do that Tony Horton is a Terminator sent from Skynet to kill us all and take over the planet? No human can possibly be that energetic. The world won’t end with war; it will end with cyborgs exercising us all to death. The plan is just crazy enough to work.

June 14, 2012
My parents were here visiting for my daughter’s birthday. It was good to see them; I hadn’t seen them since November when I was in Pennsylvania for their 50th Anniversary. That was the last time I was home. They haven’t made the trip here since last summer. It’s a rather long drive, and the trip is hard on my mom. Dad played bocce with the kids and, having been an award winning swimmer in both high school and the US Navy, gave the kids pointers on certain swim strokes in the pool, particularly butterfly, which I never could do, so I can’t really help the kids much there. We also squeezed in his birthday and Father’s Day, since he was here, and Corey and Seth took Dad golfing. We went out to dinner a few times, plus enjoyed some home-cooked favorites. The best was just telling family stories, though. The trip was too short, and they’ve gone now, but I think a good time was had by all. Safe travels, Mom and Dad!

May 25, 2012
School’s out! Yay! The kids are home, we have a long weekend where my husband isn’t working and we can all spend time together. Looking forward to enjoying my family. (It probably won’t happen that way. There are always chores to do, and Corey always ends up working, but I’m a fiction writer. I have a good imagination. Let me dream a little before reality sets in.)

April 26, 2012
So, Max had to be put to sleep again to have staples put in where his stitches were. He keeps eating the wraps off, so we had to buy our own to put back on. Our little doggie is a menace. We used to say we should have named Casey Dennis, but I think may Max has earned that title.

In other news, today is my grandmother’s birthday. She’s 94, and maybe in the best health in the family. Happy Birthday Nana! I wish I was there to celebrate with her. She’s the best.

April 23, 2012
Max has had two surgeries since I last wrote, and he is back to the vet today for a follow-up. He has ripped open his stitches spar-playing with Casey and needs to be seen. Hopefully things go smoothly and he gets treated easily with no ill-effects. He’s a chicken to begin with; I don’t want him to dislike the vet. Fingers crossed!

March 27, 2012
My in-laws are gone, Casey is fine. The kids are back in school and the weather is great. With the house so quiet, you would think I would be able to get in the groove and do something, but I can’t. I’ve been running errands and doing housework and playing with the dogs so they aren’t lonely. Max’s paws look a little raw. Maybe they are having trouble with the concrete outside. I’m looking forward to Easter and taking a break from my seemingly useless diet. When Lent is over, I’m having a Pepsi Max and a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar. Plus my parents are sending chocolate from home, and Corey’s parents brought chocolate from another candy store from home. Yay! Then it’s back on the diet. Oh well. Two more weeks, a brief break, and back to the normal, sugar-free life I lead!

March 15, 2012
Casey is feeling much better. He’s trying to eat his bandages and chasing Max (our other puppy) around, so I know he’s on the mend. Yay!

My in-laws are coming tomorrow. Lots to do before then!

March 14, 2012
I’m so sad today because I had to take my lab Casey to the vet. The pads on both his front paws were detaching. He was leaving bloody paw prints on the floor and hobbling around. The vet sedated him; he fell asleep on my feet. Then the doctor carried him away and cleaned up his paws. When I saw him again an hour later, he had red bandages on both his feet. He’s still walking gingerly, but he’s going to be fine. My poor little Casey!