Ode to a Tooth

Dear Internets,

They took my tooth.

As if I didn't have enough on my plate, they had to go and take my tooth. I changed my mind half way through, and wanted to tell the dentist, "Noooo! Stop! It's ATTACHED! IT'S ATTACHED!"

He took it anyway. Now my mom and I are both on liquid diets. How's that for justice?

Old age is catching up to me.

In other news, I am done with the partial of Speed and sent it off to my agent. Now I'm going to try to whip out the rest of it. I want to get started on the next project.

How's everyone else doing?

Signed: Toothless in Portland.

Something so Simple

I've been working on SPEED, trying to get the proposal as perfect as I can before sending to my agent. I am almost done with it and sent to a chapter mate for a cold read.

WOW. One, she caught a lot of stuff no one else did. Two, she made a simple suggestion that totally streamlined the first chapter. It was good before, it is darn near perfect now. It was just a simple switching of scenes. She told me that after the first four paragraphs, I should go to the second scene and then put the first scene second.

My mind was blown. Blown, I tell you.

Fresh eyes make a world of difference. Of course, she hasn't read the manuscript thing till her eyes were bleeding. She doesn't go to sleep with lines from the book repeating themselves over and over and over.

Welcome to my freakshow.

Hoping to get this out this week. As long as there are no kid issues, no parent issues and no work issues, I should be able to do it.

Wish me luck!

another quicky

Mom came through her surgery just fine. I have been running around, taking care of my dad and learning how to take care of Mom when she comes home. Oh, and Spanish homework and writing....

Anyway. All is well.

The Week Ahead

Won't be on much this week unless I sign on at my parents. This is why:

Monday: Write all day.
Tuesday: meeting with guidance counselor with dd, eyebrows waxed, free make up at mall, go to work for three hours.
Weds: Take Mom to hospital for surgery. Go get dad and take him to hospital. Wait for surgery to be over. Stay with Mom. Take dad home. Stay with Dad. Check in with my family. Do Spanish homework.
Thursday: Visit Mom in hospital. Take care of Dad. Write article. Run. Check in with my family. Do counseling class homework.
Friday: Visit Mom. Take care of dad, run.
Sat: Spanish class. Bring Mom home. Take care of Mom and Dad. Turn in Article. Hand parental care off to my sister.
Sunday: Sleep, run, counseling class.

Yeah.

Real Quick One

www.pcwebdoc.com

The best secret to have in your arsenal. They found a ton of crap (spyware, viruses, malware) on my computer. They got rid of them all and cleaned up my computer. It is now running better than it ever has. I think I'll do a check up with them every six to eight months. Love them. Way more than the Computer Geeks. And they don't come in your house!

Calling in Reinforcements

I'm losing the battle. It's bigger than me. It's bigger than Panda or Spysweeper.

Tomorrow, I'm calling in the big guns. Let's see if that malware is bigger than than the geeks at PC Webdoc.

(cue evil laughter)

Adware

I've been attacked by Adware and instead of running, going to work and staying calm yesterday, I battled for the life and soul of my computer. I don't think it's over yet, but I will be victorious. Wish me luck, my friends, I'm heading to the front again.
Teri

A Quicky

Just a quick blog because, well, I'm procrastinating on diving into the pamphlets and handouts I've gathered to find my parents (and myself) some resources for the challenges they are facing.

Just came off a four day juice fast. Before you pull "disapproving face," I did a lot of research from many different sources before I did it. I'm not stupid, nor do I have any kind of eating disorder, nor do I have the personality to develop an eating disorder. And it was very, very good for me. It showed me how many times a day I think about food even if I'm not really hungry. It showed me the difference between fake hunger(ie. boredom, stress, hormones) and real hunger. It also gave me a very energized, light feeling. As I know from my experience with nicotine addiction, sometimes you just have to stop something cold turkey, so to speak, to get a real handle on it. Of course, food isn't something we can give up forever and I am very glad to be chowing on fruit and vegetables and yogurt, today.

I went running this morning, something I'd abstained from while fasting, and was really shocked to see how far and how long I could run. I thought for sure I'd be a rung out rag after the fast, but no.

It's nice to do something good and healthy for myself with all the rest of the craziness in my life. Usually, I bake up a batch of cookies and eat ten of them when I'm stressed out. Doing what I'm doing seems a lot healthier to me!

Must run, pamphlets await!

Avoiding Overwhelmed

I hate living my life overwhelmed. That pit in the center of my stomach. The racing mind as I try to think of everything and knowing I probably forgot something vital. The anxiety. The irritation when others interrupt me.

I really hate it.

That's why when I got a full grasp of my MORE for the month of January, I tried very hard not to let it get to me. Even when I look back and realize I didn't write once on my WIP last week. Not once. I worked on career related stuff, but I didn't ever get to the creative part of what I do. That's tough.

In the middle of all the chaos, and believe me it's freaking nuts, I am doing something for myself and detoxing. I'm trying to fit running and yoga into my schedule. I'm trying to deep breathe and calm myself when I get too stressed. Take every day as it comes.

BREATHE IN BREATH OUT

My counseling group met for the first time since December last night. I'm learning so much! I hope to take a week long intensive at some point this year and am thinking of creating a writing workshop using it's principals. I know it's deepened my writing. I also started my Spanish class on Saturday in order to add to my skill set and be more useful at my job.

BREATHE IN BREATH OUT

Huge transitions on the home front too as my children make their first flutters toward adulthood and my parents face life without quite as much freedom. But this is life. This is what it's all about. Transitions and changes and growth. It's what gives writers fodder for their stories. What would a novel be without transitions, changes and growth? It's why I write and hopefully will find more time to do that this week.

BREATHE IN BREATH OUT

GCC Presents Eileen Cook!

So many books, so little time...



What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook


About the book:

Thou shalt not kiss thy best friend’s boyfriend…again….

There is no greater sin than kissing you best friend’s boyfriend. So when Emma breaks that golden rule, she knows she’s messed up big-time. Especially since she lives in the smallest town ever, where everyone knows everything about everyone else….and especially because she maybe kinda wants to do it again. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster. This is so not the way senior year was supposed to go.

Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

What others are saying:

“Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” – Meg Cabot author of the Princess Diaries

“Not since Judy Blume’s Margaret introduced herself to God has there been such a funny, geuine, conflicted, wanna-be-sort-good-maybe-later girl as Emma. Eileen Cook’s tone as she takes on the big ones – life, love, faith and friendship is pitch perfect.” – Jacqueline Mitchard author of Deep End of the Ocean and Midnight Twins

“Smart and fun and full of heart.” – Sarah Mlynowski author of Bras and Broomsticks

About the Author:

Eileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. When she was unable to find any job postings for world famous author, she went to Michigan State University and became a counselor so she could at least afford her book buying habit. But real people have real problems, so she returned to writing because she liked having the ability to control the ending. Which is much harder with humans.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Three Things In One

1. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. I go to sleep fine and then wake up at one or two or three and can't sleep till the morning. This is cyclic.

2. Last night I woke up at 1:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep until 6:30 am.

3. I didn't get enough sleep and my day is shot and I'm in a horrible mood.

There. I did my three things.

Three Things

Just realized I'm not very interesting. Ah well, too late to change now.


1. I have all four wisdom teeth. My orthodontist told me when he took off my braces that every dentist I went to for the rest of my life would want to yank them out, but unless I was having problems I should tell them to bugger off, there was plenty of room. He was right on all counts.

2. I don't have very many RL friends. I actually have two best friends and that is pretty much it. I just don't have time for more. I have a lot of acquaintances, and people I like, but real friendship takes time and that is a commodity that is hard to come by.

3. I am a woman who knows how to say no. No people pleaser here, thank you very much. My dh thought I was an anomaly until I showed him a study that said the happiest women are those who can say no. HA!

Another Three for the Week of Three

Another three random things about me.


1.I really hate changing light bulbs. I have no reason or excuse for this, I just do. If it weren't for my dh, I would be living by the light of my computer screen.

2. I have voices that live in my head. No, not just character voices, which writers know is normal--no matter what other people think-- but a mean voice that says, "you suck!" and the nice voice that says, "No, you don't!" Which one I listen to is totally dependent on how my writing went that day.

3. I used to be a white wine drinker, but now strongly prefer red wines. I tried a Riesling over the holidays and almost gagged. So sweet! I love pinots and merlots and some pinky wines. Other than that. Blech!

The Week of Three Things

Okay, everyday for the next week I am going to reveal three things about myself that you may not know. Not sure why I'm doing this... mostly because my first week of MORE, entails MORE busy.

1. Evidently, I am a brilliant scratcher. Just ask my family. All I have to do is touch my husband's back and he hunches over, refusing to move until I give his back a scratch. My son is pretty much the same way. My daughter loves watching movies while I scratch her legs and my poor wiener dog is so addicted to my scratching, that all I have to do is make scratching motions with my hands and he comes flying across the room. I don't know what to attribute this rare talent to... It can't be my nails because I don't take care of them so they are always different lengths. Who knows, but when you have it, you have it.

2. I love peanuts with beer. I became addicted to this fine culinary treat after attending a Seattle Seahawks football game a few years ago. Before that I wasn't a huge football fan and had never been a peanut lover. Now I am both.

3. I have a new agent. I am now being repped by the fabulous Amy Tipton from Fineprint Literary. I can't even tell you how lucky I feel to have signed with her. She has all the qualifications I want in an agent!

GCC Presents Need by Carrie Jones!

This is a GORGY cover! I'm picking this one up with my B&N Christmas gift card!

Need by Carrie Jones

Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.


Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.

About Carrie Jones

Carrie Jones likes Skinny Cow fudgsicles and potatoes. She does not know how to spell fudgsicles. This has not prevented her from writing books. She lives with her cute family in Maine, but she grew up in Bedford, NH where she once had a séance with cool uber-comedian Sarah Silverman.

The Meyers brothers are from Bedford, too, so you’d think it would make Carrie funnier, coming from Bedford N.H. Obviously, something didn’t work.

Carrie has a large, skinny white dog and a fat cat. Both like fudgicles. Only the cat likes potatoes. This may be a reason for the kitty’s weight problem (Shh… don’t tell). Carrie has always liked cowboy hats but has never owned one. This is a very wrong thing. She graduated from Vermont College’s MFA program for writing. She has edited newspapers and poetry journals and has recently won awards from the Maine Press Association and also been awarded the Martin Dibner Fellowship as well as a Maine Literary Award and the Independent Book Publishers Association First Place Award for her debut novel, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend

2009=MORE

I look at my goals and aspirations for 2009 and it all comes down to one word. More.

For 2009 I want more.

I want to do more, I want to see more, I want to give more, I want to read more, I want to accomplish more, I want to live more.

More.

I want more contracts. This year, with my new proposals and new agent, I will get more contracts and write more books than ever before.

I want to run more 5k's. I've already decided which ones I want to run and to top off the year, I'm going to throw in a 10k.

I want to learn more. This year, I'm going to learn Spanish. In order to give more the way I want, I need to add another language to my repertoire. (English and pig-Latin being the only ones I'm currently fluent in.)

I want more self knowledge this year. I'm going to finish the counseling course I'm taking and perhaps even attend the in-depth week long training course.

I want to see new places and I want to give more. Maybe a mission's trip?

Sometimes I feel wanting more is wrong. That the trick to life is being satisfied with what you have. I think women, especially are taught to be content with what they have, but I'm not satisfied. I want more. More life. More happy. More everything.

So yeah, 2009... the year of MORE, baby!

Mmmm Brunch

On the Menu:

Latkas with sour cream and applesauce
German pancakes with powdered sugar and lemon juice
Ham
Wienie wraps (actually little smokies wrapped in croissant dough and baked.)
Fruit with... well, just fruit.
Mimosas (campaign and orange juice)

Then a nice long nap