Date: 2008-05-13 10:32 Subject: The Merry Month of May Security: Public

 Is anyone else having trouble believing that we're already in MAY? That we're closing on HALFWAY through this year? Holy crap. What happened to all those months? I mean, I kind of remember them. I sort of remember Valentine's Day slipping by (not enough chocolate) and Easter (also not enough chocolate), but May Day went by like a Mario Kart bullet. 

Maybe the problem isn't a lack of chocolate but not enough brain cells. Time keeps speeding up and I keep slowing down, getting further and further out of sync with my life. Not to mention the world around me.

OTOH, being a hermit definitely has its upside. I left my hideout and what did I get? A cold. 

I"m still trying to decide if a spring cold is worse than a winter cold. The cold I have always seems like the worst one, so there may not be an answer to that question, other than that colds suck dead toads.

I am writing, though not as fast as I'd like, which means I'm still not doing a lot of reading. Does anyone else have that problem? Just can't get in to someone else's book because yours dominates the landscape of your mind?

When my word well runs dry, I've been turning to TV, instead of getting sucked into someone else's fictional world and losing mine. I'm liking The Big Bang Theory more and more. Not every episode is a home run, but overall, this is a very funny, very clever sit-com.

I watched the last episode of The Bachelor last night. If I was the gal he proposed to, I'd kick his butt for getting so cosy with the rival gal. How do you trust someone so willing to cosy up to so many women in such a short time?

Was sorry to see Brooke voted off Idol. I liked her a lot. I'm liking David Cook more now than I did at first. But I wonder if I'll eventually like his album? I loved Katherine McPhee's voice, but her album just didn't have my kind of music. It was very sad. 

 Had to upload a picture of our lilies! They are so lovely this year!

Did you hear Men in Trees got canceled? Huge surprise since ABC jerked them around from the get-go. I hear they are going to end it "satisfactorily." I hope that means Marin and Jack end up together. I love a happy ending. :-)

I haven't been doing the short stories, because I'm trying to focus on the novel and also working on some non-fiction, but if I an idea comes, I will work on it!

My son got Mario Kart and has been teaching me the ins and outs of racing. I'll never be that great at it, but I don't totally suck. It's so funny to see our Mii's in the crowd when we run the races with audiences--and on signs at the mall. Whoever makes that game system has  sense of humor. LOL! My son is going to order the WiiFit. If I get hooked on that, I may have to get my own system when he heads back to school in the fall. (vbg)

For now, I'm hoping you all are having a great week (okay two weeks! I was sick!) filled with great reads and your choice of yummy snack.
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Date: 2008-05-02 10:21 Subject: Happy May Security: Public Tags: american idol, big bang theory, books, dancing with the stars, may, television, the romance studio diva contest, top chef

Was it just me or did April seem really long? It was like most months, some good things, some not so good (like taxes). We flew to New York for the marriage of one of our daughters. It was really nice. The weather was perfect. Our other daughter lived there, so we got to see her, too. 

The wedding was on a yacht, very swish and sassy. The hubby was feeling sassy, too. We were posing for a picture and he decided to jazz things up a bit by pinching my tush. Only he missed. I'm not saying what he got, and I'm not posting the whole picture, but I think this picture says a lot. (evil grin)



I thought the look on his face was priceless...and says more than I could. Well, we can see my expression. Not my best look, but certainly apt for the situation.

Is anyone else watching Top Chef? Son and I are enjoying it very much, though I still wish the phrase would be, "Take your knives out of everyone's back and go home." I like Stephanie the best, but if she doesn't get her act together, she's going to be the next to go home. Two bad weeks.

Was sorry to see Brooke voted off Idol. I liked her a lot. Lost track of Dancing with the Stars, while waiting for my brain to catch up with me after our trip, but managed to see The Big Bang Theory this week. That show is SO funny!

Can you tell I haven't been reading? I've been writing, actually, though unfortunately not on the novel. :-( I'm in a non-fiction time crunch, but trying to write my way out.

And don't forget, The Romance Studio Diva Contest starts Monday! The voting is blind, but I'm in there, so if you're in the mood, stop off and read the excerpts and vote, vote, vote! 

Happy May one and all! May it be a month filled with flowers, great books, chocolate and time for family!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Date: 2008-04-21 14:49 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public Tags: flat stanley, md anderson, movies

 I had to write seven blogs for Novel Spot, so I'm a little short on words today. It was good for me, but SEVEN.Wow. It's for their "Behind the Scenes" feature, which is actually a really cool idea. It's a peek behind the curtain of the working author's life. Or in my case, the "blogging her brains out" author. 

In other news, I've started another contest at Author Island. Just click on "contests" and look for "Dead and Breakfast." That's right, for the first time, I'm giving away a print copy of our chapter anthology, containing my short story, Do Wah Diddy Die Already. I've got some more shorts appearing in anthologies. If you're curious, go to my website. The covers of the anthologies are there. Publication dates are either not set yet or in the fall. :-)

I'm concluding my second,serialized short story, Dance with Me, this week. It goes out in my ezine, then I post it on my website. It will go out early, because I have a family wedding this weekend. I'm already no  mail on my yahoo lists, so only receiving personal email and tons of spam until Sunday. And only when I remember to check it. :-)

I was involved in a fun project. An elementary school student sent me a Flat Stanley (see book by same name) to take around. So, after showing Flat around Houston, I'm getting ready to send him back to the student. It's such a cute idea, to have students make their own Flat Stanley and send them out. We even took him to MD Anderson with us. Got a few strange looks from those who don't know Flat.

Saw The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan. Wasn't sure I liked it at first. They teased it as a comedy and it wasn't, though it had its funny moments. Ultimately, I would say I liked it. The pacing was a bit off, but that might be because we pace our movies differently. Totally clean, good message. Pretty girls. (grin)

Have a great week!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Date: 2008-04-16 13:24 Subject: Crumbs in the Keyboard? If Only.... Security: Public Tags: computer monitors, global warming, iphone, leatherheads, nim's island

 I was cleaning my desk and unearthed one of those compressed air duster canisters, so I used it on my keyboard. If I'd been an archaeologist, I'd have learned WAY too much about me by watching what came flying out. 

Obviously I eat way more at my desk than I realized. 

And I'd forgotten my desk top was black. I used it on my lap top keyboard, too, and now I might not need to replace the laptop right away. That was good news. Amazing what a chunk of chocolate can do to smooth operation of the keys.

Normally I wouldn't clean my desk top (or my keyboard) this time of year. I gave up spring cleaning for, well, let's just call it Lent. It sounds better than giving it up because it sucks. But then I saw Nim's Island (wonderful!) and loved the concept of two monitors like Jodie Foster's character had. I talked the son into buying a new monitor so he didn't need his old one, so as soon as my new video card arrives by UPS, I'll be computing with two monitors. 

Not only will I be able to compare too documents without clicking back and forth between them, or having them be long and skinny, I can work and have my email up--which is really important to the smooth operation of my life. Mostly. 

And it looks really cool to have two monitors on your desk, like you're really important. Of course, it would look better if they matched and were bigger (eyeing the son's new monitor), but I need to lead the hubby to this particular water hole more slowly than that or he might think he needed two monitors, too.

And he so doesn't need them. 

I also saw Leatherheads (very fun!) and have been having a great time with my iPhone. It has an icon for You Tube. How cool is that? I mean, you never know when you might need to connect to "Ask a Ninja" in a hurry. 

And get this! We had COOL weather for a few days! One day it was cooler here than in WYOMING. If this is global warming, bring it!
Perilously yours,
Pauline