In One Month...

I lost...

(wait for it)



(are you sitting down)



(ready?)



THIRTEEN POUNDS.

My doctor hugged me, I nearly cheered, and I had a huge grin on my face when I walked out of the doctor's office. I also get to go off of my cholesterol meds and now I have to take Omega 3 fish oil and cinnamon pills. The cinnamon will have two benefits - it will help regulate my insuline and it will also help with my cholesterol.

I'm not going shopping for a new wardrobe yet - but I am very excited that the clothes that were once tight are becoming a lot looser.

This was the PERFECT news to get on a Friday!!!

I'm Going to RWA National

I just registered for RWA's National Conference yesterday. The money came through (via hubby - thank you!!!) and now I just have to save for my plane ticket and hotel fees. I'll be sharing a room with two other gals from my chapter, saving me even more money.

I am so excited! I have tried and tried to go to this conference every year, but finances always seemed to get in the way. This year, I was really worried the whole marriage implosion would further affect my chances to go. But it looks like I will be traveling to Atlanta in July. And remember that dress I wore for hubby's Christmas party? It will be perfect for the RITA Awards!!! (Unless, of course, I keep losing the weight. Then I'll either have to get it re-sized or go shopping again!)

I'm sure I'll be asking those of you who have been to RWA conference some questions and I'll also look forward to meeting some fellow bloggers who plan to attend this year!

I did manage to make a bit of progress on my plot problems last night. I love how it continues to stew in my brain while I'm doing other tasks. This morning, as I got into the car after dropping off my daughter at daycare, another intriguing idea hit me that I might be able to use.

It's Thursday - one more day until Friday, the best day of the week. I hope I can get a lot accomplished on the writing front this weekend.

Jumpin' for Joy!

When I woke up this morning, I didn't know what to wear. So I walked into my closet and thought, well, let's just try on this pair of black jeans and see what happens.

They fit.

Not only did they fit, but they were comfy enough to wear to work!

I haven't been able to wear this particular pair of jeans for probably two years!

I don't know how many pounds I've lost, but I know I'm losing inches. I was so excited I literally jumped up and down in my apartment. When I woke up my daughter, I told her about it, as well, and I said, "Mommy's tummy is starting to go away!" and she hugged me and said, "You're going to be skinny!" :-)

I just have to remind myself that it's going to take time to lose it all, but I love seeing results right now, no matter how small they may be.

In Writing News...

Did some research last night, but no writing. I was wiped out and just sat on the couch and read a book. I've come to a sticky plot point and I've been trying to work it out in my mind during odd moments of the day. Hopefully I'll find a solution soon.

One of those days...

I wish I could just go home and write. Forget the day job. Forget bills. Forget marriage problems and money problems.

Just immerse myself in my manuscript.

Maybe go to Barnes & Noble and write for awhile, then switch to a picnic table at the park, or even just plant myself on my couch with music playing in the background, a pair of comfy sweats on, with my Diet Pepsi and dark chocolate nearby.

Strange, how when those days actually present themselves, it's very hard to get to that point - to actually sit down and do what you've dreamed of doing. It's more the thought of the dream than the dream itself.

Is that what it will be like when I am finally published? Will reality smack me in the face like a wet fish? (Ewww...)

I've held the dream of being published since I was in the sixth grade. That's a long time. And in that time, I know I've built up certain expectations. I doubt all of those expectations will come true. But still...I'll take the reality right along with the dream. I can do no less.

To Recap

Sounds like you all were busy this weekend! I had a fair amount of down time and was able to get some more stuff hung up in the apartment. A few of my friends stopped by on Saturday to chat and one gave me a beautiful Victorian picture that she no longer wanted. It goes perfect with my living room decor! Thanks, Brenda!!!

My washer and dryer were delivered on Satuday and it is such a blessing to have them in my apartment. Prayer really works! I had prayed that I would be able to afford a good washer and dryer and God provided! :-)

The date with hubby went well on Saturday. We had a nice dinner - grilled salmon, yum! - and then went over to Barnes & Noble. Nice time.

And yesterday...ah...I got to write. I spent the majority of the evening working on my manuscript since my daughter was over at hubby's house painting her brother's room. I absolutely loved being able to immerse myself in my fictional world again. I also decided to print out my revisions just in case something happened to the laptop and I lost all that hard work. The new printer did great, until I jumped the gun and added paper at the wrong time, resulting in a big-time paper jam. After I took nearly the entire thing apart to get the paper out, it worked just fine.

Tonight I'm off to continue my work-out routine. I took last week off just to recover from the move and give myself some time to settle in. But now I'm ready to get more of this weight off!

What are you doing this weekend?

It's Friday and the atmosphere at the office is pretty much, well, Friday-ish.

Since I'm not in a frame of mind to come up with anything close to philosophical, I just thought I'd list what I'm doing over the weekend.

1) Installing my new washer and dryer (well, new to me, but they're not new, but used)

2) Decorating my apartment with all my family photos, etc., etc.

3) Buying a vacuum.

4) Going out on a date with hubby on Saturday night to discuss things.

5) WRITING!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

An Intriguing Honor

Yesterday, the former president of my chapter emailed me to ask if I would like to speak at a short story awards ceremony held every year in honor of one of Nebraska's authors.

"Sure!" I said, then immediately wondered if I'd made the right decision.

But I'm actually quite excited by the whole thing, even though I know my nerves will probably be a little on edge. I'm going to speak on historical research and writing, and I hope I can make it both humorous and entertaining.

Even though Bess Streeter Aldrich was born in Iowa, she and her husband moved to a small town in Nebraska called Elmwood. It was here that she set many of her short stories and novels. http://www.lincolnne.com/nonprofit/bsaf/bio.html

This event doesn't happen until April. But coincidentally, I'm also a volunteer judge at Nebraska's National History Day state competition on the same day. I've judged the event before and it's so much fun to see how the kids interpret history. I'm judging the performance division again this year - the kids write and act their own skit that follows the theme for the year.

In Writing News...

Not much to report. I thought about my story last night, but other than that, I haven't dug out the laptop since the move. I hope to do that this weekend. In fact, I will do it this weekend!

Tryin' to Catch Up!

Early yesterday morning, my daughter woke me from a sound sleep (ok, half-way sound since my dog had demanded he needed to go outside right now a half hour earlier) and announced that she had to throw up. Big sigh.

So we stayed home yesterday. And I didn't have the Internet. Thankfully, that little problem was remedied today and I'm glad to report that I am online at home. I felt disconnected from the world without it!

Needless to say, I'm swamped at work today, but I did finish judging my contest entries and made significant progress on rearranging my bedroom yesterday. My daughter is feeling much better (after sleeping until 3 p.m. yesterday! Yes, I was worried!).

Tonight I need to go over to my mom's and do laundry since I do not yet have a washer and dryer. I also need to go pick up my mattress at the furniture store that just happens to be clear across town.

And writing? Sigh...I hope I can do it this weekend!!!

Anyway, I wanted to apologize for not visiting your blogs lately. I promise to remedy that and SOON.

Thanks for bearing with me!

I Have A New Home

Literally.

I took Thurday and Friday off and moved into an apartment with my daughter.

Unfortunately, the reasons for doing so are not so grand. My husband and I separated.

I won't go into the gory details because let's face it - I'm sick to death of thinking about it. Suffice to say that it was time. Seven years is long enough to go through what I've been going through. Now that's not to say it was all bad because it most certainly wasn't - there were absolutely wonderful times. But when you're caught in a cycle, those wonderful times always disappear and the "bad" times creep up.

I found a great deal on a two bedroom apartment that is just across the street from my daughter's daycare and my mom's apartment. It's only a mile from work and I can have my dog.

Now my office is in my bedroom and I can look out the window while I write. And I can't wait to get back into writing. When you are in a situation that sucks the energy out of you, finding time to do much of anything becomes difficult.

Where the marriage will go from here is unclear. I'm open to anything right now. But some major changes need to happen.

But just being able to distance myself from the situation has helped tremendously. I feel lighter, more clear-headed, and healthier. I'm actually losing weight! With my new eating habits and exercising, I have more energy than I've had in awhile and my clothes are starting to reflect the changes. I know the stress I was under contributed to my health. But now I feel much more in control.

I might even ignore the boxes stacked haphazardly around the apartment and open up my laptop tonight. :-)

Didn't mean to keep you all in suspense, especially for a message that wasn't all that great! But I'm doing just fine - and I can't wait to catch up with all of you!

Big Changes A'Comin!

Lots going on in my life right now...and I'll give you all the news in a few days when things settle down. Unfortunately, none of my big news has to do with my writing career. Rather, it's life itself. :-)

I'll see ya in a few days...

That First Page

The first page of the book is perhaps the most important. It is here that potential readers sometimes look to see if they're immediately hooked by your story, or if they like your writing style and voice.

For awhile now, I've thought about the beginning of my book and how it just doesn't have that zing.

But to tell you the truth, I've put off changing it because I'm just plain sick of looking at it. I've polished it for contests, polished it for agents, polished it until if I look at it one more time I'll throw it into a blazing fire. (After saving a copy to the hard-drive, of course.)

After I came home from my chapter meeting last night, I sat in the living room, eating a bowl of cereal (Oatmeal squares, not yummy Captain Crunch, but oh well), and the solution to my problem suddenly hit me. And I wanted to get on the computer and write.

Unfortunately, I was exhausted and in no mood to stay up past 10 p.m. And to tell you the truth, when I collapsed into bed, I completely forgot about my idea.

Until this morning at work. Then I remembered. And got this silly grin on my face.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a chance to write it today since work is pretty darn slow. :-)