Is there anything better than ice cream cake to a woman on a diet? 👿
I had a birthday on the weekend. I won’t say how old I am, but you might notice the “+” beside the 39. That’s as far as the family goes in discussing my age 🙂
Very low-key, but nice. Fattening food, family and fun. At this point, that’s about all the excitement I want on my birthday.
What was your favourite birthday?
I got a present last night – a brand new (to me) set of billiard balls. Isn’t that exciting?
Until now, we’ve been using balls that apparently aren’t the right size. Who knew? When I bought them 30+ years ago, I didn’t even know there was a right size. But since I’ve been playing in the league, I’ve learned a few things. And the number one thing is – size does matter 🙂
I’m not a fan of buying anything used, so I was ready to shell out for a brand new set. I’d been procrastinating – such a shock 😯 – so I hadn’t gotten to the pool ball store. And last night, the league operator offered me a set last night. At the best deal possible, too – free. They aren’t new, but really, since they’re practically indestructible, they still work fine. And shiny-new doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that now that I have the right balls, I’ll be ready for the pro circuit in no time.
From my childhood
I’m a sucker for western historical romances. Something about the old west – gunslingers with six-shooters strapped to their thighs, lawmen, ranchers, “soiled doves” and saloon women, even prissy schoolmarms – draws me in.
When I was a little girl, westerns were a hugely popular genre on TV the way forensic shows are today. Whenever a wester was playing, you would find me glued to the set. Wyatt Earp, Gunsmoke, Rin Tin Tin, Have Gun, Will Travel, and of course, the king of the cowboys, Roy Rogers. Too many to mention, but my all-time favourite was Annie Oakley. This was the first time I’d ever seen a woman hold the leading role in a TV show. She was single and didn’t need a man to look after her or support her :gasp:, she was smart (at least I thought so at the time), and man, could she shoot! My best Christmas ever was the year I got my very own Annie Oakley cowgirl outfit complete with fringed skirt, vest and hat. To complete the ensemble, I got a Wild Bill Hickok double-holster set of guns. So un-politically correct now, but back then, they were just toys.
The publishing industry is cyclical. Chick lit was enormously popular for a while, but it seems to have fizzled out, while paranormal has become one of the hot genres. Erotica is hugely popular, but no doubt in time the market will be saturated, and it will die out, too, to be replaced by a resurgence of a previously popular genre or some new hybrid.
Over the past few years, western romances have declined in popularity, but there are still diehard fans out there. I recently heard about a new blog, Petticoats and Pistols, hosted by ten of the genre’s best-selling authors. If you’ve got a hankerin’ to find out more about cowboys, horses, and anything to do with those thrilling days of yesteryear (wasn’t that part of the theme of the Lone Ranger?), mosey on over there. I know I’ll be a regular visitor.
I’m so sick of telemarketers. 👿 I understand they’re just doing their job, but if I want to buy something, I’ll go to a store or call someone in the business and order it. And why, why do they always call when I’m either in the middle of dinner, or trying to have an afternoon nap? It’s almost as if they have built-in radar.
I discovered I can stop some telemarketing, so I’ve registered for that. But here are a few other tips I found out while doing an internet search.
* Tell them you’d love to chat but you’re busy at the moment. Ask him/her for his/her home phone number so you can call back.
* Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times.
* Tell them it’s dinner time, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation.
* Tell them that all business goes through your agent, and hand the phone to your five year old child. Ask your child to sing nursery rhymes
* Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up…louder…louder…louder!
* Tell them to speak very slowly because you want to write every word down.
* If they start out with, “How are you today?†say “I’m so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems…………â€
How do you handle telemarketing calls?
Is there anything that says summer more than kids playing on a waterslide?
I’m disappointed with the photos, though. I had problems with the camera. Okay, the problem is me. I’m no photographer, and I have no eye for photo composition. And besides, I haven’t mastered the split-second delay when you hit the shutter, and by the time the camera decides to take the picture, the moment is gone 😳
It may not look like it, but honest, the boys were having a great time 🙂 Made me wish I was a kid again, but just to be sure no adult wanted to relive their childhood, there was a warning on the box not to try it.
What about you? If you could be eight years old again, what would be the most fun thing to do?
Well, I’m practically all alone. Seventy-five percent of my critique group has abandoned me. They’ve flown off to Dallas for the Romance Writers of America national conference – four days of workshops, parties, schmoozing, parties, editor/agent appointments … and oh, did I mention partying? 🙂
Can we say jealous??? 
I’ve missed the past three years because, well, I really didn’t feel justified in attending since I wasn’t writing seriously. But no more! Next year the conference is being held in San Francisco. I am SO there! The day registration opens, I’m booking my spot and my hotel room. I deserve it!
I should spend the rest of this week writing to keep my mind off all the fun I’m missing. The sooner I get started, the sooner I’ll have manuscripts on editors’ desks, and with any luck, the sooner I’ll be getting THE CALL!
If you want to read about all the action at the conference, Suzanne McMinn, Michelle Willingham and Kacey Pickens will be reporting in.
Now I’m off to feel sorry for myself 😥
I heard that a lot over the weekend at the CPA Regional Pool Championships. Unfortunately my team lost in the quarter finals. :loser: I would have taken photos but when a player is focused on a shot, I don’t think they would appreciate flashes going off. And if nobody’s playing, there’s not much worth photographing.
So, it’s my match. Quarter finals. Two out of three. The score is tied 1/1. I’m at the table. My first instinct is to play a defensive shot. My opponent isn’t going to run it out, and I’ll get back to the table. But there’s another easy shot, and then the eight ball – the shot that could finish it. So I second guessed myself and decided to go for it.
The tables are really fast there, and the white ball kept going … and going … and going. It went into the opposite pocket. My opponent gets the ball, and wins the game.
No, there’s no I in team, but there’s an I in stupid. :wall: And no, I wasn’t the only one who lost and eliminated our team. But still … I had a gut feeling I should play defensive, and I ignored it. Lesson learned. Go with your first instinct. It’s usually right.
Do you ever feel deep down you should do something, and ignore it? And do you regret it?
