Just Because

Now that I have succeeded in preventing Sela from quitting writing, I find the prospect more and more appealing. Actually, it's not that I need a break from writing, more like I need a break from "writing related activities". I need to scale back on my extra-curricular activities. I need to learn how to say no.

I cleaned my side of the office yesterday. I've got new files, pretty storage baskets, and a reduced TBR file. Two fabulous finds in my clutter: a $60 rebate form from CibaVision, which I sent out today (one day before the deadline), and my copy of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.

It occurs to me that these are signs. I ask for signs all the time, but I think God usually sends them in Japanese. I don't even need them to be in English. I could make it out in Spanish, but Japanese, nope. Anyway, I am grateful. And I know I have to get back to basics, back to the joy of writing, back to feeling creative and special. Not because I must. Just because.

What does your name really mean?

Happy V-Day to You & Happy B-Day to Me

Your Candy Heart Says "Marry Me"

For you, love is serious business. You don't take dating lightly. And even if you haven't met the right person, getting married is something you expect to do soon. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic picnic in the park Your flirting style: subtle and calculating What turns you off: short term flings Why you're hot: you're a hopeless romantic with each new relationship

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

A Bit of Humor to Start Off the Week

Courtesy of my mom...

No. Really.

THINGS STRESSED WOMEN SAY AT WORK

1. Okay! Okay! I take it back. Unfuck you.

2. You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.

3. Well this day was a total waste of makeup.

4. Well, aren't we a damn ray of sunshine?

5. Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after.

6. Do I look like a people person?

7 This isn't an office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting.

8. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.

9. Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble wrap is cheap. You choose.

10. Why don't you try practicing random acts of intelligence and
senseless acts of self-control?

11. I'm not crazy. I've been in a very bad mood for 30 years.

12. Sarcasm is just one more service I offer.

13. Do they ever shut up on your planet?

14. I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable.

15. Stress is what you have when you wake up screaming and you
realize you haven't gone to sleep yet.

16. Back off! You're standing in my aura.

17. Don't worry, I forgot your name too.

18. I work 45 hours a week to be this poor.

19. Not all men are annoying. Some are dead

20. Wait... I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.

21. Chaos, panic and disorder... my work here is done.

22. Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

23. You look like shit. Is that the style now?

24. Earth is full. Go home.

25. Aww, did I step on your little itty bitty ego?

26. I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.

27. A hard-on doesn't count as personal growth.

28. You are depriving some village of an idiot.

29. If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport.

30. Look in my eyes... do you see one ounce of gives-a-shit?

Currently

Oh boy. I've been tagged by Karen.

Currently...


current clothing: pink thermal nightshirt
current hair: long, dark brown
current mood: discontent
current refreshment: diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper - it's yummy
current annoyance: I just wasted 2 hours watching The Wedding Date when I could have been writing
current avoidance: character sketches
current smell: cucumber melon dove
current thing you ought to be doing: sleeping
current thing or things on your wall: a wonderful photo of the beach at Ocean City
current IM/person you're talking to: does my cat count?
current jewelry: wedding ring, engagement ring, emerald ring, tennis bracelet, diamond earrings, gold chain and 4 leaf clover charm
current book: Monkey Love
current worry: don't worry, be happy
current favorite celebrity: Colin Firth
current obsession: Bejeweled 2
current love: my hubby
current longing: to work part-time outside of the home and part-time on my writing
current disappointment: My trip to Minnesota may be postponed again
current lyric in your head: No time left for you...
current music: I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness
current favorite book: Pride and Prejudice
current favorite movie: Casablanca
current wish: to win the powerball jackpot
current happy thing: luxurious sheets
current undergarments: lacy panties
current desktop picture: Landon and Santa
current plans for tonight/weekend: digging out from the blizzard

So what are you currently doing? Who will I tag next?

Play That Funky Music

It's time for me to admit, I am suffering from one of the worst writerly afflictions - A FUNK. I'm pretty sure the only non-writer who reads my blog on a semi-regular basis is my mom. (Hi, Mom!) So, I'm fairly certain everyone experiences this phenomenon every once in a while.

Really, I've got a ton of ideas floating around in my head. And if I don't work on my own projects, I've got a ton of book reviews to edit, two books to review myself, and a crit to complete. I just don't get it done. I'm not "blocked". I'm funked.

You know what I think I need? Cher.

I might actually pay Cher at this point to reprise her role in Moonstruck. She could slap me across the face and say, "Snap out of it!"

Anyone want to share her cure for the funk?

Or Cher's phone number?

Rejected!

I really, really, really wanted to get an interview with Jennifer Weiner for Romance Divas. I'm a big fan of chick-lit in general and J.W. in particular. So, I sent an e-mail to her via her website. I got one of those automatic replies with some general information and an e-mail address for J.W.'s publicist. Of course, I promptly sent a copy of the message to J.W.'s representative.

One week later, the following message was in my inbox: "At the moment she is on deadline for her next book so it is a pass". To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But I tried, right?

My Office

We've been comparing writing spaces over at Romance Divas Forum. My office is fairly chaotic, but it works for me. I do a lot of writing on my laptop and web-surfing on the desktop. Max likes to spend time with me while I'm working, so sometimes the laptop is not the best choice.

I'm back in Philadelphia. We ran into some car trouble in Florida and had to replace our transmission. Of course, it did give me another week to work on my tan!

I'm going on a business trip to Minneapolis in February. I'll finally get to see the Mall of America. Apparently, I'll get to see a lot of snow, too. Shiver me timbers.

I finally finished my backlog of editing for my book reviewers. Now I have to catch up on writing my reviews. The writing life. Glamorous and then some!

Hello from Sunny Florida

Hubby and I are in Florida visiting family for the holidays. We had a lovely Christmas/Hanukkah and hope you did as well.

I do realize that I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. I haven't updated my website either. Let's just say, life happens.

And when life happens, I don't do much writing.

But I've been thinking about writing a lot lately. I have a couple of projects brewing in the recesses of my brain. And I have a new sense of purpose - I have been praying to St. Jude about my situation (see life happens) - and I feel my writing is the way.

So, I'm putting together some personal and professional goals. New Year's Resolutions, I guess. I know you will help me keep the faith - and the goals - just like you always do.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

We took Landon to meet Santa over the weekend. Fortunately for Santa, Landon didn't freak out. On the contrary, Landon liked Santa very much. We even taught him what Santa says, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

A typical Landon and B.B. conversation:

"Hiya, Bee Beeeeeee!" (Taught him to say hiya, too! - I'm so proud).
"Hi, Landon."
"El-mro?"
"You want to watch Elmo?"
He nods.
I distract him. "What does the ducky say?"
"Crack, crack!"
"What does the kitty cat say?"
"Ma-ow, ma-ow"
"What does Santa say?"
"Ha, ha"
"Ho, ho, ho?"
"Ha, ha"
"Right. Ho, ho, ho!"
"El-mro! El-mro! El-mro!"
Whatever.

Finally...

The sound you just heard? My sigh of relief. That's right kids. I have found a critique partner, and so far, we are getting along famously. Tara is a Canadian living in Norway, and she is writing a WWII epic romance. She's a fantastic writer, and I feel pretty lucky that she wants to work with me.

I'm kind of stressing about my NaNo. It's morphed into a YA. Yipes. I only have 4 days to see where it's going. I really wanted to enter my NaNo into the GH this year. I need to get cracking.

Good news. Tomorrow, I'm having 4 brand new windows installed in Casa de Barbara. Adios, cold winters!

The new forum launches at Romance Divas Saturday. I got a sneak preview, and it looks mahvelous!

It's All About Me

Nabbed from Annalee!

1. First name? Barbara aka - Barb, Barbie, Babs, BeeBee, Babette
2. Were you named after anyone? My Aunt Barbara, my father and my mother - it's a long story.
3. Do you wish on stars? Yes
4. When did you cry last? When my friend Lisa's kitty died.
5. Do you like your handwriting? Most of the time. Unless I'm tired or just plain lazy, then it's chicken scratch.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Don't have a favorite. Does cheese count?
7. What is your birth date? Valentine's Day February 14th
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Nelson, After the Rain
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Of course. I'm a fabulous person.
10. Do you have a journal? You're reading it.
11. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not out loud. I'm really sarcastic in my head, though.
13. Would you bungee jump? HELL, NO!!!!
14. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No.
15. Do you think that you are strong? Mentally and emotionally, yes. Physically, I'm a wimp.
16. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
17. Shoe Size? 11
18. Red or pink? Pink
19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I watch too much TV.
20. Who do you miss most? My mom. I wish I lived closer.
21. Do you want everyone you send this to, to answer? I'm putting this in my blog. It'd be cool to see who lifts it.
22. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? I'm not wearing pants or shoes.
23. What are you listening to right now? The ticking of the clock.
24. Last thing you ate? Swiss cheese and wheat crackers.
25. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Periwinkle.
26. What is the weather like right now? A little chilly.
27. Last person you talked to on the phone? Helen S.
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Maturity and brain power.
29. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Annalee is very funny and cool.
30. Favorite Drink? Diet Sprite.
31. Favorite sport? Hockey.
32. Hair Color? Dark brown, I think. It's hard to tell, I'm growing out a few dye jobs.
33. Eye color? Hazel - green/amber/brown.
34. Do you wear contacts? Yep.
35. Favorite Food? Macaroni and Cheese.
36. Last movie you watched? All of Me with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin.
37. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving.
38. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? Happy endings.
39. Summer or Fall? Tie.
40. Hugs OR Kisses? Hugs.
41. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Creme brulee.
42. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? Hmm...
43. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? Hmm...
44. What Books Are You Reading? Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner and A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve and Public Domain by Bridget Midway
45. What is on your mouse pad? A cat wearing shades.
46. What Did You Watch Last Night? Martha Stewart Apprentice
48. Favorite Sounds? Bamboo wind chimes.
47. Favorite Smell? Roses
50. Favorite animal. Dolphins. Of course, if you mean domestic animal, I like cats and dogs. No birds or rodents, please - I'm afraid of them.
51. Where is the farthest you have been from home? Reno, Nevada
52. Do you have a special talent? Other than writing? Hmmm... public speaking, teaching/training, cooking, telling bad jokes. I'm multi-tlented. lol

I'm Making Some Progress

NaNo Progress Report - Day One

Word Count: 1680 (3% of 50,000 word goal)
First Word: Even
Last Word: Manilow
Favorite Line: It was time to change my life. Really. What other choice did I have? Although, suicide was always an option.
Treat: Nachos
Tip: Write in a different location. I took my laptop and sat in hubby's comfy chair in the living room.

Happy Halloween

First, let me just say this time change thingy is really messing with me. It always takes me a long time to recover.

Second, if you haven't visited my blog lately, you may have noticed I changed the look. My website is all business, but writing isn't ALL business, it's fun, too! I think Wonder Woman is retro-groovy and very me.

The picture on the left is of my grandson, Landon, out at the mall trick or treating. He's 18 months old and frankly he was not digging it. He did like the lollipops, though. The one on the right is of my nieces, Sarah and Katie. Sarah is dressed as Snow White, and Katie is Sleepy!

NaNo-NaNo

November is going to be a super busy month for me. I've been assigned to a district wide training project for November and December. I'm tres excited about it - I love training and public speaking!

I've also signed up for NaNoWriMo. I'm going to be writing a chick-lit. It's in first person, and I'm a little nervous about this - I haven't written in first person in many, many moons.

I've got a ton of stuff to complete by Tuesday. Two reviews to write and two to edit for Romance Divas, finish some character sketches, and get my story board together. Oh, and clean up the office! My desk is a mess as usual. I've been blogging on my hubby's computer.

Speaking of Romance Divas, our Tuesday night brainstorming chats are a big hit. We'll be continuing these chats indefinitely, so stop by the chat room Tuesdays at 9:30pm ET to check it out.

Ode to Fuzzface

My friend, Lisa, lost her precious 16 year-old kitty cat today. Fuzzface got out last night and never came home, apparently the victim of a coyote attack.

It's never easy to lose someone you love. And I hope Lisa can take some comfort in knowing she gave Fuzzface a good life.

Blah, blah, blog

It's rained all day here in beautiful Philadelphia. I didn't do anything productive. I just lounged around on the couch, ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it. I watched stupid, stupid TV shows and took 2 naps.

I feel like crap. I want to write. Need to write. But I feel like I don't have a creative bone in my body.

Yeah. Mars is in retrograde. And it shows. Most of my writer friends are going through the blahs, too. At least we're going through it together.

Welcome to the World, Katie Schweers

I'm an auntie again. My baby brother and his wife have graciously added to my ever growing Christmas shopping list.


Katie was born 10/20 at 9:43 AM, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20 inches long. Isn't she perfect?

Here she is with her big sister.


*****I'm Hosting a NaNoWriMo Brainstorming Chat*****

That's right. I didn't think I had enough to do to prepare for NaNo. Bwahahahaha! Stop by Tuesdays at 9:30 pm in the Romance Divas Chat Room.

You will have to become a member of RD to access the chat. But it's totally free. Come on. You know you want to.

*****I guess I'd better come up with a plan B*****
Nope. I did not win the powerball jackpot on Wednesday.

*****And Finally...*****

Another procrastination device. Mrs. Fields email blender.

First you type in some text. Then blend it! This is what the first paragraph of my post looks like blended: Beauty! I'm brainy, boring anathema. Acidify lavish dog-eared unwashed. Groovy! I'm smarting wretches. Lost shipping.

Uptown Girl?

I've always wanted to live in Manhattan.

You Are Midtown

You love so many things, you don't fit into any one label. Your city girl persona goes to a fancy restaurant one night and a dive bar the next.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

Remembering Dawn

I received an e-mail from my friend, Lisa today. One of our post-college gal pals was murdered on Sunday. By her husband. In front of her 3 year-old daughter.

I haven't seen Dawn in nearly ten years. And I would never say we were close friends, but rather, friendly acquaintances. I didn't know she was married or had a child. But I'll always remember the laughs we had dancing at Kasey's Cove and hanging out at Raquel's house. And her smile. She had the best smile.