“No No Nanny”

The story of my first born...

My daughter is not Nanny, or Nan, or Nancy, or Nanette, but one of her first ever sentences, when she was younger than two, was when she woke up from a nap. I heard her and went in to find her head under the blanket, she peeked up giggling, and said, “Where Nanny go?” As the joking first refusal or correction since then, I've said, “No, No, Nanny.” Though when I call her something, No No is the choice.

No No is turning 15 next week (but today is our N day, so there we have it). Here she is with her lifetime best friend, who happens to live in Canada now, but we try to get the girls together once a year or so. I'm not too worried. No No has been a teenager since she was four. We've got the system down. It's funny. My son is a far easier child, much more like me in most ways—does his school work because 'it's just what you do,' engages in sports as a social event, but isn't terribly competitive, likes word play and reading. He's a chip off the old block.

But if I will have a writer in the family besides me, it will be No No. No No sees the world in larger than life terms. Everything is WONDERFUL or HORRIBLE. There is no middle ground. But she has an artistic gift... visual, musical, and verbal. She also LOVES to write, if it isn't … you know... organized. I thought maybe I'd tell some childhood stories on her to illustrate this, because they so perfectly display her gifts.

I have no idea where the silly streak comes from *shifty*

Noticing Notes

I sang the A,B,C's to her when she was about two. She segued directly into Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was two. I was 30. SHE KNEW it was the same tune, and until she started singing, I had not noticed. She constantly baffled me at this age. My life was falling apart in some ways. Her dad was a MESS for a solid 18 months during this time, so I was pretty much a single mom, and this little miracle would come out with these bursts of GENIUS.


ANGRY WORDS

I managed to keep some rules for myself though... I NEVER yelled.... erm... except when the dog (a dalmatian lab mix puppy with anxiety issues) drug garbage all over the house or chewed up a couch (which he did 3 times). One night when I was trying to get No No ready for bed, I told her it was time to get her jammies on. You know what she said to me (she was TWO—barely two). She said, “You're a dumb dog!” You see... when someone was mad and yelled in her universe, that was what they said... they yelled something about the dumb dog... Her little brain had calculated that when somebody really pissed them off, you called them a dumb dog. *snort*


Always a Critic

I didn't get out much at this part of my life. I worked at a Microbrewery. I was tinkling away very slowly at my Master's Thesis. But socially, I didn't have a lot of outlets. The day job was a contra-indicator for make-up (greasy environment and frequent sweat) and why else WOULD I, but at one point I was invited to a party. A friend was watching her (or maybe her dad, even though he didn't live there) and I was getting ready. She came into the bathroom while I applied eye shadow and mascara and frowned at me. I picked her up and she pointed. “What's that?” I laughed and said, “It's make-up. Don't you like it?” She scrunched her face and shook her head. “It's too spicy.” She said, definitively, sure she'd expressed herself perfectly... the thing is, SHE HAD. It just wasn't words I would have put to it--being constrained... you know, by how people USUALLY say things.

Then, at about 2 ½, I was singing to her... she covered my mouth... she shook her head... I may still have been her favorite person, but she had solidly decided I wasn't going away if she expressed that I couldn't carry a tune (which is sadly true)... She didn't let me sing again until she was about five when she realized I knew a lot of songs with really silly lyrics...

The criticisms now usually pertain to my clothing choices.  I'm not very hip (or so I hear).

No No is in green here, not the tallest—the person on the far left is actually male (possibly transgendered—he's LOVELY—BEAUTIFUL, and definitely plays up his feminine attributes—these are her friends from camp she went to Chicago with--I LOVE that they hold hands.  I don't know if it's generational or Ann Arbor, but they also tell each other they love each other all the time.  When I grew up we were paranoid about being called gay, so I hope TIMES have changed.)


No No has some challenges ahead. It's time for her to fully come to the table in terms of academic responsibility. She is smart, but not great at book learning or memorizing, and has REAL math and organizational challenges. She is approaching the years when we add driving, substance experimentation, and... dare I say it... sex... to the mix. She has been open about the topics to date. I hope my approach (risk reduction---decisions based on trust and communication with whoever your with, whatever you're doing) will keep her communicating.

She has such a strong personality though—a charismatic leader with her friends. And she is really committed as an athlete (which offers at least SUBSTANCE use protection—teams kick people off for pretty much anything. So I have to believe her future is very bright. It just may take a few years before it is unturbulent...

Lee Libro

Happy Tuesday!  Say what?  You know me and Delusional Thursday... Tuesday was my L day, but here we are on Thursday, doing it all again.  Say it with me--WHOOPEE!

But seriously, I was very excited when Authors Promoting Authors came forward with the Blog Book Tour to help authors with upcoming book releases to get their names and books OUT THERE, and this writer's network on the Blogosphere is fantastic--a wonderful, helpful bunch, so if all of YOU could help this process, and help THESE AUTHORS by tweeting, posting, etc., then hopefully the happy karma will come back to you when it is your turn.  So without further ado, I welcome my first guest for the blog book tour.

Thank you to Authors Promoting Authors for organizing this opportunities for both writers and Bloggers, and thank you Lee for joining me--you're my first, you know!

And without further ado (or take some ado if you like, but please keep reading)--I welcome Lee Libro!



Why I Self-Published My Novel, Swimming With Wings

While the title of my novel, Swimming With Wings, pertains to the story itself, in a sense, the title also might describe my experience of getting published. The newest technology available for authors allows one to break free from the traditional routes and limitations placed on the writer by the big six publishers. No longer is one at the mercy of the corporate “bottom line” as a gauge for being published. One can simply break out on their own, publish through a variety of print-on-demand or ebook platforms, and with the freedom of their individual spirit, let their voice be heard.

About Swimming With Wings

Have you ever felt like you were out of your element living here on earth? Have you ever imagined that in a sense maybe you really had wings and were mired down by preconceptions, whether they were religious, artistic or sexual mores?

In my first novel, Swimming With Wings, my central female character’s coming of age story spins from this dilemma. Swimming With Wings is a blend of southern literature, mystery and romance. However, unlike your typical “bodice ripper” or gothic romance, this love story sports a more cerebral brand of sexual tension, one based on differing moralities against the backdrop of the 70’s, a time when strict religious dogma was being challenged on one side by cults and evangelism and on the other by the birth of the new age. 

Meet Salvatore Roma, a light healer who can raise the dead, Lark Jennison, an eccentric, would-be debutant teen and Peter Roma, a suspected gypsy-turned-evangelist. Though they are completely opposite, the two main characters, Lark and Peter, find themselves magnetically attracted to one another as they struggle with small town judgments surrounding the mysterious deaths of their two fathers. The differences with which they seek answers place them on a collision course that, despite their deep connection, tears them apart. One seeks answers through a misguided cult-like religion; the other through free-loving artistic expression.

Intertwined with the present day romance is the story of how Salvatore Roma, Peter’s grandfather, came to be a mystical light healer. This juxtaposition forms a stark contrast with Peter's “being saved” interpretation of his ancestral roots and his divergence into a corrupted cult. Through it all Lark and Peter remain in love, but in the end who saves who?

Though it fits into the genre of Romance, Swimming With Wings is ultimately literary fiction, a story about searching for direction, the hidden influences of ancestral roots and the forces that shape belief.

I wrote the book partially as an expression of the soul-seeking, gypsy-like route many take to find love and a way to make sense of spirituality in earthly existence, outside of religious structure, especially where grief, prejudice and pain can color one’s experience of it.

My Experience of Getting Published

Defining the genre of the book was my first obstacle to getting the attention of agents and publishers.  Because of the complexity of the story and the many topics it touches, it was difficult to fit the novel into any one genre for marketing.  My initial querying process to was consistently met with the same response. Because religion plays a big role in the story, they kept labeling it as “Religious” or “Christian Fiction”, when in fact it’s anything but. On the contrary, the story is about breaking away from religion.

The story addresses a timely topic appealing to a broad range of audience, mostly people of my generation and younger who have discovered that often religion is counter to love and tolerance—to anyone who has found alternative ways and means that challenge the status quo of religion and more specifically that move one toward what we loosely term, spirituality. In the story, Lark represents the 1970’s roots of this movement in her compulsion to break away from structure, to cast away the “scaffolding” of religion in favor of the unfettered spirituality she feels through art. Similarly she sees M.C. Escher’s block print entitled Water and Sky as a simile for the evolution of religion to pure spirituality…and it’s no coincidence that her name is that of a bird.

And now after this most rewarding experience of having self-published, I’m on to my next project. I’m currently working on two additional novels. One is based on the true life story of her own great, great aunt, Dr. Alice Lindsay Wynkoop, accused and convicted of murdering her daughter-in-law on the surgery table, a nationwide case covered by media in the 1930’s. The other is a modern adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, involving a modern day neurobiologist who tampers too far with the chemistry of the mind, and in so doing, discovers the threshold of the soul.
Where to Order the Book

At 277 pages Swimming with Wings is available at Amazon.com in both paperback and kindle format. It is also available through the major wholesalers, Ingram and Baker & Taylor, to any brick and mortar bookstore or library across the United States. So, if you’d prefer to purchase it from your local bookstore, simply request it and they will order it for you.

For more information, to read an excerpt or learn about me and the novel, visit www.swimmingwithwings.com. To learn more about the writing process and read my own book reviews, visit www.literary-magic.com

Murder Mysteries

I used to read mysteries from time to time... it was the genre I preferred for 'light' reading, as opposed to the brain heavy stuff I love when I have no other preoccupations, or the thriller/suspense stuff I choose when I have emotional freedom, but not extra brain power. I've begun though, reading mysteries with a new eye.

In February, I read two Iain Pears Art Mysteries (and enjoyed them a lot) but that was background on ART THIEVES for my trilogy. At the end of February, it was suggested my voice fit very well with cozy mysteries and I began to explore the genre.

You know my FAVORITE thing about this? I have read a couple books by people I KNOW, and that is a totally exhilarating, impressive experience—to read a published book by someone I know.

I fessed up to being a lousy liar yesterday, right? I mean... I can NOT say stuff, but I don't tell anyone anything that is NOT TRUE. I just had to get that off my chest, because what I have to say might sound like sucking up.

THE PEOPLE I KNOW WRITE BETTER BOOKS THAN THE PEOPLE I DON'T. There. I've said it. Oh, I know. There are some darned impressive writers out there, but among the mysteries I've read in trying to figure out the ins and outs of WRITING ONE, I've decided I know some impressive people.



Brief reviews from people I don't know:


I began with two Kate Collins novels—both flower based, and I loved certain aspects of them. They were witty, light... My only real complaint was some use of stereotypes—there was a 'sex trade' story involving Chinese women who'd been 'stolen' which for starters, was incongruent enough early on that it was obviously related to the deaths, and frankly... not a light enough option to be treated lightly. I mean I don't think it was intentionally distasteful, but my feminist edges have been too sharply filed for this to belong in a cozy. It's NOT FUNNY, and though it wasn't exactly presented as funny, it WAS presented as characature. The other one I had fewer issues with, but there was still some leaning on stereotypes. What I liked best was the friendships the MC had with the women who worked with her.

The one I am in the middle of 'Snow Place to Die' also has a couple stereotypes—an Asian businesswoman who is ALL BUSINESS and the couple black characters fall neatly into boxes.

I have one in my stack upstairs that looks more promising... The Scent of Murder by Barbara Block, but then... the Collins ones looked impressive up front, too...



But among people I KNOW...

The first I read was a sneak peak that I possibly can't mention by a certain somebody who has helped me a lot. Her characters are FANTASTIC, her humor, fabulous, and the story wonderful... but I will save it for the book release.

The actual reviews for today are two books: A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater and The Prairie Grass Murders by Patricia Stoltey. They aren't 'as cozy'... but they were GREAT examples of mystery writing. So here goes:



A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater

[I've only had a few interactions with Beth, but she was among the first authors I began watching, as when I started this networking thing last May, so was promoting her newly released book, and she is very nice]

Claire Hanover is approaching a midlife crisis with an overworked (always absent) husband and an annoying paunch to her belly. She decides aerobics with friends might slim her (and attract the hubby's interest) but is tempted into getting a massage (at her home) by her hot instructor and massage therapist. During their first massage session, as she lays there in her underwear, he is shot in her home, and her husband is blamed...

What I love about this book is the real emotion—the self-doubt, partner doubt, the cynical friend. It all rang VERY realistic to me. There were two 'loops,' if you will, stringing in suspects, both of them plausible, and it kept pulling Claire into a battle of 'friends versus husband' when her husband had been pretty darned lousy.

It was sassy, periodically naughty, but only in a PG way, and a very fun read.







The Prairie Grass Murders by Patricia Stoltey (who also writes a lovely blog

[note, Pat sent this to me because she is a nice lady and I had mentioned that I was reading some mysteries, but I haven't paid for ANY of these (most are library lends), and I ALWAYS call it as I see it... that is sort of me—you know... naked.]

The book starts with a Vietnam Vet who is nearing retirement and wanting to visit the area in Southern Illinois where his family grew up. Willie is a bit odd, or so the conservative locals see it—marching to the beat of his own drummer. He has small features of shell shock—acute anxiety over loud noises and small places, but he also returned with a careful perceptiveness—the kind that keeps you alive. He decides to wander a drainage ditch, as he used to as a boy, and a Turkey Vulture alerts him to a particular location along the ditch. It's a tenacious bird... clearly hiding something. When Willie reports the body he finds to a deputy along the road, he is promptly taken to the county home and tossed unceremoniously in the loony bin.

But Willie, unlike some well meaning citizens who get on the wrong side of small town law enforcement, has a sister who is a circuit judge in Florida, and LKNOWS Willie is not bonkers, so something is fishy. She comes to first check him out of the crazy ward, then help him investigate... the plot thickens as important town citizens get pulled into the web.

I loved this story, primarily for the characters—they were smart. There was a stupid mistake or two, but they were of the variety people really make when pressed and stressed. Neither fell into stereotypes, though they maintained enough features for their 'kind of character' to be realistic. I loved the relationship between the two because of the balance. Sylvia is an important and respected judge, but she is also the 'little sister' so they struggle with the dynamic a little, each resenting any reining in the other tries to do.

I enjoyed too, the struggle to free themselves from their 'Norwegian sensibilities'. My maternal line goes back to Norway, and this small town could have sat on the Iowa/Minnesota border and included my extended family, so it was just a nice perk.

Pat's writing isn't as 'cozy', but on the other hand, the mystery is tighter—it wasn't 'light' but neither was it horribly gory, and it was far more realistic, so I think it would appeal to both cozy readers and more traditional mystery readers.



My Conclusions

Either this genre has seriously improved in the last decade, or I just hit a couple clinks from the older list of people I don't know... who knows, maybe since I am reading from the library, the really GOOD older ones wear out.

But I think it's more likely that I've just met the really impressive people, so if you TOO want to be impressive, an important first step is to be my friend.

That's my story and I'm sticking with it!


AND THIS JUST IN:  For writers ready for some feedback, there is a contest giving away some GREAT prizes, including critiques, and lunch with some big wigs.  Check it out.  http://sarahwithachance.blogspot.com/2010/04/something-fun-and-celebratory.html

Liar, Lunatic, or Loopy?

I'm obviously ONE of those, possibly two... Certainly not all three... misattributing inclinations aside.

I am a writer, so I KNOW my ABCs. I am a statistician, so I probably am okay at COUNTING. But apparently I don't know my days of the week... or something like that... It's not very surprising really. My friend Natalie used to tell me I was the smartest person she knew who couldn't tell left from right.

What am I talking about? Let me e'splain... SUNDAY I did a non-lettered blog because I was going to feature Lee Libro on Tuesday... As you can see from the side bar, I am featuring Lee on the 15th... until yesterday morning I was COMPLETELY convinced that TUESDAY was the 15th. I moved forward with my faulty thinking, and now I HAVE to figure out a day where one of my writer guests can double up with a letter.

So while I LIED to you, it wasn't intentional. And while I'm a lunatic, that isn't the whole story. But I am definitely 100% LOOPY.... so here we go... L. And why NOT talk about liars, lunatics and loopy people? As characters they have definite uses.

LIARS

Lying isn't ACTUALLY something that comes naturally to me... it doesn't occur to me. Lies of omission maybe—there are some things I prefer to avoid dealing with, and keeping quiet works to that effect sometimes. My husband swears it's still a lie, and it is, but I figure there is a distinction, because if I am asked something straight up, I ALWAYS fess up.

So I hadn't thought about lying characters very much... manipulaters? Sure... story skewers, yeah, but liars? HOW LIBERATING! It was Elizabeth who opened my eyes... Her advice?  All the suspects in a mystery should tell at least one lie, she said. BRILLIANT! What makes someone look more suspicious than being caught in a lie? NOTHING! Yet there are a LOT of reasonable reasons to lie. A person might be embarrassed about something. They might be protecting someone. They might be like me and just sometimes think it is easier to not say anything because they aren't prepared for the can of worms it would open.

Yes, mysteries definitely need some liars.

LUNATICS

Some people just perceive things wrong... they make faulty assumptions, or their working vision of how the world works is wrong. I LOVE characters who are living under a faulty understanding of the world. I think the most brilliant portrayal of that is Humbert Humbert of Lolita. He is a pedophile... a child molester. Yet he presents his helpless state as if he really believes he can't help himself. He is so horrible, but he hasn't a clue—it is amazing writing. And in the end, he finally has some inkling of the devastation he's caused... sure, he's feeling sorry for himself, but you get the idea his pain includes some self-realization that hurts a lot.

I think other psychiatric disorders are equally interesting. The books I've read that include dementia are often BRILLIANT. Depression is depressing, of course, but if there is a working through of something, it is also profound. Likewise with addiction. I think crazy people are among my character favorites...

LOOPY ME!

You know what REALLY bugs me? A book where NONE of the characters have a sense of humor. I don't care HOW DARK the book, if the book is devoid of smart alecs, goof balls, or ridiculous shenanigans of any sort, chances are, it will not be nearly as dear to me as a book which allows a chuckle now and then to release the tension.

It's probably because in real life people who take themselves too seriously wear on me. They make me tired. I have some I love (my mother, for instance) but they are SO HARD to spend much time with. So likewise, in books, I'd like either a few relief characters, or else a humorous angle to the personality of the MC.

Luscious Lars

Lovely Lucius...

Karmal Koating

I have to say, whatever religion I profess to, or not, at any given time, there is not a lot more appealing to me than the idea of KARMA. I don't think this is an akcident—that we are ALL drawn to the idea that people get what they deserve. In real life, I haven't had reason to believe this is really so—particularly when I look at people born to really poor cirkumstances, or with the lousiest of parents (or no parents at all). This argument for the failure of Karma is even stronger if you konfine that judgment to 'this life' (and honestly I do—heaven isn't something I exaktly put a lot of stock in for evening things out) but I think there is some truth to 'we reap what we sow' in some domains, and I believe in LITERATURE it is possibly our most useful tool for engaging the reader.



Where Karma Kongeals

I think in real life Karma holds true in konfined spaces, if that makes sense. It's like Kapitalism. It is a koncept only realistic in a klosed system. In an open system, there are too many kards—too many kracks... people see routes where akkountability fails, and krooks take advantage. I mean if a produkt is produced akross the ocean, how the heck do WE know if their business praktices are ethikal? Sheesh, there aren't enough watchdogs to make sure things produced HERE are good. My theory is that once the CEO DOESN'T know the name of an employee's KIDS, the system is doomed to fail as a check and balance--a katchment requiring good behavior, at least most of the time. (are my socialist leanings showing?--it realy has everything to do with what is REAL, not what it SHOULD BE—I just don't think the other works in a large system)

In a klosed system however, where people kan see what they get, karma and kapitalism hold their own. I think people who are krappy to OTHER people (MEAN people) eventually rein a KrapFest down upon themselves (and deservedly so). People who help others, who engage in kommitted akts to further the efforts of others... THOSE people, will also get their own... or so I need to believe, or I would lose faith in the human race.

In a world market, someone like Ken Lay or Bernie Madoff kan hide behind the board members they make very fat and feign ignorance for long enough to erase the paper trail. In a small system, right and wrong are held into akkount. By kustomers, kooperatives... karma has a far better chance.

Karmic Kalculations

This whole networking thing has a karma layer koded into it. If I'm nice to you, you're nice to me. If I do you a favor, you do me one. If I follow you, you follow me. The thing is, MOSTLY, it is pretty darned transparent. I like transparency. I follow blogs I like reading no matter who responds. (never mind that most of us respond in kind, other than the agents, who are their own kind of animal) But I also check follow for anyone who follows me or comments on mine... it is kommon kourtesy. I then go check it out several times, and if it amuses me, or if a reciprocity is begun (which typically also indicates amusement) then I add them to the side bar and they go on my permanent (or at least semi-permanent) watch list)

Okay. Now lets see where karma fits in that equation... it does (I promise). Coming to my blog (and commenting or following, so I know) earns a visit (pretty cut and dry there—an exact tit for tat). Kompatibilty needs to then be established. Do you interest me? Do I interest you? Is this a RELATIONSHIP? I enter into periodic relationships that are one sided. Chad STILL hasn't called. If it does something for me WITOUT response... I'm still there.

While unfathomable to me, I think I may have a reader or two without their own blogs who come here just because they like to... Stranger things have happened.

But the reality is, things expand by stretching our karma. We do something nice (visit) or somebody does something nice for US (refers to us—which also can start with us visiting—just less direct) and our network grows. We take part in activities that grow our network... Rinse, Repeat...



Karmic Kharakters and Konklusions

In spite of reality's refusal to fall into line, I still prefer a book with its karma in tact. I want a sense of justice by the end—the good guys have suffered (I really do like them to suffer—wonder what THAT will do to my karma)—but I want things mostly okay... I don't need (or even like) a nice tidy, happily ever after, but I want the bad kharakters to get what's coming and the good ones to prevail.

Think of Dickens, with David Kopperfield (could there BE a cuter David?) or Pip—those poor kharakters were taken through the ringer, and they didn't get the FULL ending they wanted, but they got pretty GOOD endings, didn't they?

Now I get why a writer who is uber-prolifik might want to shake it up now and again, so we don't get komplacent and THEY don't get prediktable, but if I stumble akross those books first, I somehow feel a little cheated unless they are VERY klever about it. (Seems to me Peter Straub, my go-to scary guy, has a few where the 'force' wins, and I can sort of get along with that if the protagonist has made some peace, even if it is hard on him..)

So what about all of you? Do you prefer a break even on the karma by the end, or do you have better tolerance for bad things happening to good kharakters and good happening to bad?

(blog that must not be named)

You know, I was putting together my first GUEST blog yesterday and came across a realization. My first guest will be Lee Libro, BOTH of which start with the Letter L, right? And I was doing J. Now watch this. J, K, L. Are you spotting what I did? On Tuesday, I feature Lee Libro with L and if I just skipped blogging Sunday (like the game was intended), I get to L on Tuesday... How FREAKY is that that I have a guest with a double L name arrive on the day intended for L?

What it means though, is today is my single day this month where I have no lettered theme.

You know what else is cool? Libro means BOOK in Spanish. I don't know if this is Lee's real last name, but I like the idea of an author with a last name BOOK. I ALSO though, started thinking about LIBRO (book) and LIBRE (free). You don't suppose it's an accident that book and free are almost the same word, do you? I just really like that idea.

The Phone Mimic Decoy Bird

There's a type of bird around here that I never saw out west. It's sort of pigeonish, but stupider and not nearly so devious. It's gray with a bulbous chest but sort of delicate and long of tail with a teeny tiny head. The thing is though, it has sort of a mechanical sound (a little like BoBo in the first clash of the titan, but not so extended).

Well whatever this seasons mating call is for this thing, it sounds EXACTLY like our telephone ringer, and it is making me NUTS. Probably four mornings in the last few weeks I've heard the phone ring god-awful-early, ignored it, heard it, ignored it, then woken up enough to realize it's these damn birds.

International party

I've added three new flags recently (I've now had visitors from 50 countries, which obviously means I am to nearly a quarter of the World with the Naked World Domination plans... The last three though, are Latvia, Turkey and now Moldova—I just LOVE having had visitors from places that seem so exotic to me, as I sit here in MICHIGAN.

So there we have it... not much to say but too much to not say anything... guess it's a good thing today was sort of a freebie...

Jostled Joints

I have been an avid exerciser for ages, and it works for me on ALL sorts of levels. I've never had sleep trouble, I don't jiggle nearly as much as my weight predicts I might...But you know what? My joints hate me. My hip joints are the worst because WHEN they ache is when I sleep—can't stay on one side too long or they about kill me. I used to not have that problem because I was a belly sleeper, but two pregnancies, each followed by a year of breastfeeding broke that habit (and I think changed my body shape) as now it bothers my back to sleep that way.

Anyway... my knees and ankles have periodically complained too, but that is only when I RUN. The walking they are content with (except when I step in holes when I'm not paying attention, which of course happens periodically)

So what does one do for JOINTS? I've heard fish oil helps, but for the life of me I can't get past the idea of it, not to mention I haven't had the attention span to take ANY pill every day since the hubby got snipped in 1999. (in fact Thing 2 was a result of my inability to remember even before THAT).

I'm thinking what I need is a hot masseur. If he could just give me a good daily rubdown, I'm SURE my joints would be jolly.













Jury on Progress

I'm up a pound from last week, but I gotta be honest... last week I had lost 12 pounds in three weeks (though only 10 in 4)—so I had a couple weeks of FAST loss... I think this is just a correction. After last weeks weigh in my weight was up the rest of the week, and I am very content to have only taken a one pound correction. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have my cream capris fit before my business trip (which is in 3 weeks and only about 5 pounds away) and that five pound roll-down will put me solidly back into my size fourteen wardrobe, which is the most extensive one I own I wore one pair of pants this week that is part of it, but it looks better when they hang on my hips a little, rather that 'fitting'.

The MEASURING is something I haven't mentioned in a while and today was a measure day. I've lost 5 inches in my waist, five across my hip bones, five+ on my butt and 3 on one thigh and four on the other (no, I don't have a clue how that happens). It makes me HAPPY. (so a 37.5 pound loss is about a 5 inches all the way up and down--thankfully only 3 in the boobs, but then I never have the good luck to GAIN there, so it's only fair)

It also makes me happy to change out the closet to my summer wardrobe and realize all the summer dresses I couldn't wear last year are waiting... many fit NOW, and another 10 pound loss (which I should hit by the end of May) opens a HUGE number of options.  Only one more snowfall until spring (Spring in Michigan begins at the 2nd snow after the forscenthia bloom)

Jippee for Joris!

(this is us on the London Eye in August 2008)

For those of you rusty on your Norwegian and Dutch, that is pronounced YIPPEE for YORIS.

I can't have a J day without giving a shout out to one of my favorite people. Joris and I have an unlikely friendship... middle-aged woman in Michigan, barely legal Dutch boy... and we met when he was a teen, but you frequent the same places for a while (in this case the Wizard War Thread at HPANA) and you form friendships. He is smart, with attention to the kinds of details that sail in one ear and out the other for me, so I've used him as a memory crutch for AGES, the expert on things like European History... and then all the graphics stuff. He helps my writing group with some regularity and has done ALL the book covers I have.

So JIPPEEEEEEEE! Joris, you're a superstar!

In Interest of Ignorance

I'm not a big fan of general ignorance. It leads to idiocy (often political)... but when there is a surprise to be had... I don't wanna know. I LOVE surprises... and what's MORE, I know myself well enough to know that nine times out of ten, I enjoy the anticipation of the surprise better than the surprise itself. (yeah, okay—THAT is probably just me—I can be a little tricky to satisfy).

When I was little I once peeked in the closet where the Christmas presents were hidden. I didn't know then what it would do. It RUINED Christmas, and I didn't even dare confess, as it was my own darned fault. Since that time, I ACTIVELY try to avoid learning. If I hear whispers, I go away. If someone says guess what I got you, I say, “I don't want to know.” My college boyfriend used to get upset that I wouldn't engage in the 'come on, please tell me' game... (I did once, because I knew he loved that game, but then the idiot TOLD me! IRKSOME!)

Over time, I've learned this makes me a little freaky. I don't know if some people just can't stand not knowing? It confuses me. I mean it's not like life's OTHER up-in-the-air ambiguities (I HATE those and almost care more about having things SET than having them go the way I WANT). But a surprise, by definition, is nice. You are getting something, and chances are, it won't be a sharp stick in the eye. What's the rush? Why on earth is it so important to know whether you are getting a sweater or a necklace?

NOT anticipating also keeps me from being disappointed if I sort of hope it's something REALLY special, then it's not. Being out of the habit lets me just always enjoy it... well, unless it's something I don't like.


On Books

I know some people who open a book and read the last page. This is a species of being to which I obviously not only don't belong, but will never understand. Are there any of you freaks out there? What is the appeal of this? Why the heck would you want to already know the ending? What pulls you through a book, if not the quest to find out?

Oh, there are a few books I've read more than one (but not many)--they really have to be carefully put together for me to REALLY enjoy them multiple times—at least for reads that are temporally close. On THIS, I know there are many who feel differently—they are probably people who read faster than me... my own reading list is just too long and there is not enough time, so the only books that make it with some regularly, are the Harry Potter books, and that is because I always notice some little cleverness I missed on the last 7 rounds.

Imaginary and Irksome Idiom

Several years ago, when I was desperately trying to convince my then 5th grade daughter that it was still cool to read with mom, I took a recommendation from a book store for 'His Dark Materials'. And the story is really pretty great, I love it, but MAN, was that hard to read out loud! Lyra talks like a freak! I know it was in an attempt to show that her world had some subtle differences from ours (the freak talk and the personal demons, primarily), and I suppose as a technique for that, it worked pretty well, but I think Pullman overshot.

Alternately, in 'The Clockwork Orange', where the punks use their cutsie little rhyming whyming technique while they beat up old people, you are drawn into a world that is just too horrible to imagine. The idiom increases the horror of it, because it illustrates that to these guys, this is all just play.

Idiom can be illustrative of real world differences too. Done well, it can make dialog illuminate race, poverty, region, nationality. But it is such a tricky thing to do adequately to get the point across, without making the language too hard to follow. I love the book Huckleberry Finn, but the first time I read it, at sixteen, following Jim's speech patterns was very difficult. Had it not been for my divine English teacher, Sylvia James, I might not have had the patience (she helped me with Shakespeare too—for whom language wasn't so much idiom, as old and poetic, and so unfamiliar to my sixteen year old ears)

I am in process on a trilogy which has half a dozen Romanian characters in addition to my American ones. Some of them have been in America for a long time, so I have just thrown in a word now and again, but a few are just here for the first time (or speaking English THERE to characters who go there). It is a tricky thing and I have no clue if I am drawing the line right on how much to tweak language. I want to get it across, without being cumbersome. (Never mind the cases where the characters are actually speaking Romanian to each other but I am putting it in English, because I want people to be able to read the darned books).

I have two friends I will ask to be first readers, one who lived in Romania, another who is Romanian but lives in the states. I hope that will be adequate, but I would love to hear what any of you have done to deal with tricksey idiom...



Impressive... erm... okay, just impressive...

Dibs on the one on the left.

Yeah, I definitely gotta get me one o' those...

Honoring Aitches

JK Rowling and the H<-->J Reciprocity Conspiracy [brought to you by Delusional Thursday]

JK Rowling has an H-Fetish (and who can blame her really?) but what you probably don't KNOW, is it's all about ME! You see Jo and I go way back with this brain connection—I've channeled her with some regularity for about 5 years now... I've blogged about it before—me using Orion as the daddy of Sirius and Reggie, and Cygnus as the daddy of the Black sisters LONG before the Black Family tree was published (okay, maybe about 3 months before... still, it was before)... Her having Harry wind up NAKED when he dies—I mean WHO, other than ME could be responsible for such things?

But there are more clues in the simple swap of H's and J's...

Jo starts with J. Hart starts with H. (see, this is good, right?)

Jo named her principle character in her first book HARRY (with an H).
Hart named her principle character JESSIE (with a J).  Are you buying this yet?

Jo has Hedwig, Hagrid, Hermione (not to mention a Hippogriff)
Hart has a Jack, a Jim...

But see all this is strictly minor evidence PROVEN when she used “Best Laid Plans” on page 4 of Deathly Hallows, and AWRY on page 11—my 2nd novel-length work, finished on the day before the release of Deathly Hallows, and so WRITTEN at the same time was called Best Laid Plans Sometimes Go Awry.

So there you have it.

Honoring Hope

Fellow Tart (though she's fruity, while I'm wet) got a HUGE honor yesterday. Writer's Unboxed (linked in my sidebar) is a collaborative effort of Agents, Publishers, and Authors (some real bigwigs, including the likes of Donald Maass). They have a SINGLE unpublished author they like to include in their ranks for their pre-published perspective, and HOPE was just chosen—out of all the three gazillion pre-published writers, and somebody I KNOW was picked!!! (and you know what, Hope's real name is JAN. See, that H<-->J conspiracy thickens).

Go read Tartitude. You will see why her voice was so loved, though I suspect her ability to NETWORK as an UNKNOWN played a role—the article mentioned her interview with Laura Kinsale, a famous author—so she undoubtedly impressed more and more impressive people to work up to that coup (smart will ALWAYS help, and it doesn't hurt to NETWORK smart as well as WRITING smart), but she writes SASSY too, which, you know... is a Tart thing.

So Hope-Jan the Tart, Hart Johnson the Tart says WELL DONE! (you see how I'm trying to catch her coat tails don't you? That's one of these tricksey things that isn't actually cheating in the Networking world)

*cough*

So hopefully I haven't annoyed my friend, as Jan and I connected aside from the Tart thing, having similar real life interests...




High Hopes vs. Hi-Ho Hi-Ho

This writing business can really get us down... rejections are downright depressing, aren't they? And I KNOW 95% of people get in frontward, the Querying route.... improve the writing, improve the writing, improve the writing. And it can't be DONE without adequately improving the writing. But then what?

Hope is hard to maintain in that world. And I SWEAR there are other options. They aren't normal or common, and they aren't easy... in fact they are downright unpredictable, or other people would use them more.

I have no CLUE how Hope got her gig—they mentioned essays she'd sent, so maybe there was an application process-- either that or somebody recommended her (which is highly plausible—I mean seriously, the woman can WRITE), but her SIDE WRITING got her that gig--not her book and query, and I guarantee (because I'm in charge of these things) when her novel is done and polished, one of those agents she is now WORKING WITH will read it, or at LEAST will look at her as a referral, rather than a cold contact.

It likewise looks like I might get in some backward route through my SIDE WRITING. My route is different... a reader recognized the appropriateness of my voice for a genre I had never considered WRITING and suggested I give it a shot. I am SO GRATEFUL she did. She writes in the genre and KNEW the required voice and just SPOTTED IT. All I had to be was me. (and prolific, and maintain deadlines—yes, there was a spotting of the habits as well as the style--I may do a lot of things I'm not supposed to, but I do a lot I am supposed to, too... the FOMS and all).

But my point is (yes... I STILL try to have a point on Delusional Thursday) I doubt those side doors say 'Tarts only", no matter HOW MUCH I'd like it if they did.

So keep your hopes HIGH—or you may feel like giving up. But I think some hard side work can really pay off, sometimes when you least expect it.


And because you've been so tolerant of my insanity...


A HUNK, and tres HINEY's with a message

Man, is that LEGAL? *fans self*

And something we can all get behind. *cough *

Glorious G

I have a LOT of things that start with G that make me REALLY happy, and I'm not even going to TALK about G-spots.... erm... except right there *shifty*... but that was just an honorable mention, right?



Gigs Growing Grand

I got GLORIOUS news yesterday... it isn't the FINAL news, but I QUOTE:

"XYZ (not editor's real name) wrote just now to say she’s reading the chapters and is “really impressed.” She said she’ll be back to me in a week or so . Don’t open the champagne YET, but you could probably go buy a bottle…"

You hear that? Agent is saying to buy the champagne! Don't open it means it isn't a done deal until the contract is signed and the ink dried, but man oh man I can FEEL IT!


Great Grandparental Gratitude

You know, I've blogged about grandparents before, or at least grandmothers, because I had the glorious luck to get the GREATEST regular grandmas in existence, and my grandpas weren't too shabby either (that's me and Grandpa Clay). You see, I was the first born of of first born and three of my grandparents were 2nd born (the 4th was an only child) so I was OLD among the line of descendents. I remember ALL of my great grandmothers to some degree, so here is what I remember:

Grandma Boyd: She lived in my home town, and when I was small was in a nursing home. I spent a lot of time with my grandma (my mom's mom) who would take me out to visit with relative frequency. I liked seeing HER, but I hated going out there—other old people would reach for me—a toddler or preschooler being paraded through people over seventy can have that effect. I've been somewhat skittish around really old people since then, though I've tried pretty darned hard to overcome it, and it seems to only kick in now when there are a lot of very helpless people (the oldest old, wheelchair bound or sickly).


Grandma Carlson: this is the line I remember least, though I remember when my grandpa died and I went home to stay. A cousin on the other side of my family learned, “You're related to the TROY Carlsons?” He acted like that explained quite a lot *snort *. And I remember being about four and going to Walla Walla, Washington for a visit—because if you've ever even SAID Walla Walla, Washington, you remember the experience.

Grandma Hart: Annie. This feisty old woman lived to be in her mid-nineties. She and my great grandpa lived in a teeny, tiny little house behind my grandparents, and I swear at age six, I was taller than her and could touch to ceiling in that little house. Oh, I know, you doubt me. Memories can do strange things, but that is how I remember it. I always adored her, I think because she seemed so friendly and small, though when her son, my grandpa, died, I learned some sort of horrible history... she will feature centrally in the most important book I have planned in my lifetime—my grandpa's very sad story. It will be strange to reconcile this woman who I remember well with the way she treated my grandpa for a while there.

Grandma and Grandpa Oleson: (my cousin, Gerry is with us) The set lived in Iowa, but in addition to my grandma living where I did (northern Idaho), so did two of my great grandfather's brothers, so they came to visit three or four times when I was little, and twice, I participated in the 'two days and two nights' drive to Iowa (how a long drive was described to me back then)--twice. I only remember my great grandma a little, possibly because any room my great grandpa was in, ALWAYS had him at the center. He was FABULOUS. Indulgent—sneaking me candies and reading me books. It probably helped that my other cousins to arrive before he died were all boys, so I got special treatment.

Guest Gala

I think I've mentioned that I am participating in a Virtual Book Tour being organized by Authors Promoting Authors, so I thought it was time to share my near future schedule of GUEST BLOGGERS with you. I will add a sidebar soon, so you have an easy place to check, but for NOW, look out for these authors promoting their books!

April 15-  Lee Libro
April 20- Nedyne Shorts Nettles

April 23 - Melody Dempsey

April 29 - Lillian Brummet

May 6 - Omegia Keeys

I encourage any of you who can to follow groups like APA and get involved with things like this. I figure many of us will someday be in a position to NEED to reach out, and this is a great way to do it. It's also a way to expand your blog readership, as people will see where their friend is visiting, and check out YOUR BLOG to see them. I know I'm hoping to have amassed a stack o' stalkers by the time I have a book release and I'll drag them ALL OVER... right? Teehee. Seriously though... this is my first time doing this kind of thing, and it really has a feel to it like 'this is the point'... authors helping each other get out there are reach potential readerships.

Glorious Glutes

I suppose this gives you some of the options out there... if you're shopping, I mean...

And in case you aren't sure what to do with 'im once you get him home...

Fierce Friends

You know what my FAVORITE relationship is in books? It isn't romance. It's not parents. It's not siblings... On occasion it's grandparents (but more on that tomorrow), but my favorite dynamic—the one with the most fantastic possibilities, is FRIENDSHIP. I think the REASON is that I have some fantastic FRIENDS.

Flawed Filial Foundations

I don't have any real complaints about my family (mother issues aside). In fact I have a fabulous family, albeit filled with freaky quirks. We're not however, short on flaws or neuroses, and THAT is probably why I have always ALSO needed my friends.


When I was in graduate school was my first exposure to the term 'Families of Choice'. Sometimes, even though families have to love and accept us, they don't. But friendships form families with foundations built in love, trust, shared experience—and for any of us with flawed families, which I think is everyone, they can provide a place for that unconditional acceptance we all need.

In my own family, I've never felt unaccepted (except by my mom's refusal to introspect a little when it is desperately needed, and her unwillingness to accept my husband's personhood, but that is, as I said, my only real issue), but there are some skills I NEVER would have learned there.

Foot in Mouth as Fashion: There are two kinds of people in my family. Those that say whatever comes to mind, no matter how rotten, and those who never say a THING no matter how necessary. In between there is an area called 'gentle truth' where a person says what is necessary if it will improve life or relationships, but not MORE because it's just mean to do so. I NEVER would have conquered this among family. (In fact conquering it is why my mother isn't speaking to me—how dare I tell her she needs to learn to be nice or she will alienate her grandkids?)

Fabulous Food: My grandma made the standards well, but I come from Seventh Day Adventists on one side (creative cooking anyone? No meat, but without the Asian/Indian/Italian fallbacks I would take were I to give up meat), and Norwegians on the other (no offense, Mari—other than the sweets, this is not my food of choice). Growing up I was convinced I didn't like any foods mixed together, and there was a LONG LIST of things I didn't like. What do you know... it was just how they were prepared... Friends have filled me in on HOW TO EAT.

Fun and Frolick: Like the foot in mouth versus silent dilemma, I also have alcohol abusers and tea totallers with nobody capable of a nice middle ground. Judgment from both ends (then again, this party girl decided young which set looked more fun, so I was just as judgmental for a good long time). In fact though, there are some people out there who don't fall into either extreme... Baffling.


Friendship

I'd like to think I am a fierce and faithful friend. I've had people I love go through the trenches, and a few of them, I've pulled back out myself. I am a Cancer, and the story with we crabs, is we will lose a limb before letting go. It's true. Once in my life, you have a permanent spot, and I will go to the mat for you. It makes it very disappointing if someone is needed and doesn't come through, but it also makes for truly deep bonds.

My husband periodically gets annoyed with my loyalty to people I haven't seen for years. He doesn't have relationships like mine (except the one with me), and he doesn't get how a closeness is maintained in spite of time and distance. He REALLY doesn't get how these friendships can be formed into fast and permanent things with people I've NEVER seen face to face, but I'm a woman of words. I've always gotten closest through writing. My pen pals have always known me better than my real life friends. When you tell somebody something, you risk being cut off, made fun or, or misunderstood. When you write it to them, you can say exactly as much or as little as perfectly explains what you mean.

We talk about writing as solitary, but I never finished anything long when I was writing into a void. Feedback from friends filled my confidence and fueled the fires. Fan Fiction formed the foundation, but only because I met others also driven to write, who liked what I wrote and kept encouraging me.

Fictional Friendships

Do you know what the most fun thing about this Cozy gig (that I should hear about this week or next) is? I am getting to write about best friends. The MC is the 'straight' to the over-the-top, outrageous best friend. Man, am I having fun writing both the FRIEND and the FRIENDSHIP. There are some people who get themselves in a bind now and again (including people who end up in the middle of murder investigations) and it is a FUN dynamic to explore.

My other books all seem to have friendship at the core, too (and the periodic false friends, just to keep life and literature interesting)

I think this is one of the reasons I like the Harry Potter series so well. Youth Fiction seems to keep the friendships front and center. Even an egomaniacal genius like Artemis Fowl ends up with tight friendships (after all, experiencing life threatening events together can do that).

So what is your favorite Fictional friendship? I want to know!


And because I'm bad...

Energetic Efficiency

[Yes, I'm a day ahead... yesterday's blog has the explainer if you are interested, but rest assured, there is a plan]

Sometimes when I'm writing, each word is a chore; drawing out the story is a painful extraction. But every once in a while I hit the zone, a euphoria of excited energy, and my efficiency skyrockets. So I've been thinking maybe I should identify how to create that, and bottle it. I could make a FORTUNE, not to mention rolling through these books I write with much more efficient speed.

It is almost a chemical elation, but it seems any drug that induces euphoria, dampens focused elan. I've asked Evan, Ethan and Eric, but eagerness is really all I can get out of them. That's not to say I can't appreciate a little enthusiastic event now and again, but they seem to prefer my hands occupied elsewhere.


Edgy Endings

How do you like them? Firm, taut, nicely rounded?

You think I am to the butt part already, don't you? Patience, Grasshopper... Endings are my most frequent complaint on a book. I can easily get sucked into story, plot, character... but if the ending doesn't satisfy, then I am disappointed... so I thought I'd go through what I like in an ending and toss it out there and see if I'm a freak... okay, so I know I'm a freak... but do y'all like the same kinds of endings as I do, or do you want something else?

Ending DO: Elegantly tie in dozens of details that have been sprinkled through the book.

Ending DO: End a long term tension with eagerly awaited satisfaction.

Ending DO: Entertain me with a really twisty, bendy surprise. I like the kind when I can SEE IT COMING on a second read, but the first read it bowls me over.

Ending DON'T: Edge off a cliff and abandon us. I HATE endings that are way too sudden or jarring. I need some sense of what life AFTER the climax will be like. Spoon me, if you will.

DON'T: Pull some sudden obstacle or antagonist out of thin air. (Oh, I know, the lack of E words in that is apparent, but the point of WRITING the darn book is not to string together a series of independent events. It is to craft a solid structure that can hold up on its own and this is my very most frequent complaint—that there is some contrived plot point that nobody could have seen coming, even in retrospect).

And now what you've all been waiting for...


Euphoric Ends

Almost makes me think I could take another six weeks of winter, eh?

All right now boys... turn around and drop 'em...


Okey dokey, so there we have it. Have a great week!

Directional Delinquency

So when I sign up for something, I pretty much always follow through, but I AM inclined to tweak things so I am participating in the SPIRIT of it, if not exactly according to the rules. Today is the day I 'tweak' because I have two things that I am signed up for in April that are in a sort of conflict.


Deliberation of A to Z

The invitation said 'every day but Sunday'. That would get us through the alphabet in the month of April. Yet here I am blogging on Sunday (silly Tart. Why would you do that?)

(Hey! I didn't know you could get a license to be delinquent! I need one!) See, I ALSO signed up to be part of a blog book tour series, and I have THREE authors who will be guest blogging in April and I don't want to burden THEM with the alphabet days. It would be a total fluke it the author name or book title fell on a day that matched, so THOSE are the days I am skipping alphabet letters... See? Tweaking, but still in the spirit of the thing...

It means I will be off on letters compared to everyone else from here on out, but hey... I'm a little off in other ways, too. It's sort of how I roll.

Do's and Don'ts of Drama

DON'T: Display Damsels in Distress. As a book theme, this is one I've got SUCH ISSUES with. I don't like women that need saving—at least not unless they eventually find the strength within themselves... I NEVER want a MAN to save them... bugs the heck out of me. I also don't like heroines who are delicate, dumb or domestic.

DON'T dictate or demean. I can make up my own mind, thanks. Just tell the damn story. And frequently I prefer an anti-hero to decency... in fact inner demons dealt with make dreamy drama!

DO: Display depression, derangement, demoralization or delinquency. Whether villains or heroes, these make for nice internal battles and interesting reading.

DO: Dress your Death Eaters (and any other amusing miscreant) in Drag. Lingerie training is underused as a method of putting someone where you want him, and as a personal quirk, I enjoy it greatly.


Date Day

I am headed to Clash of the Titans with Thing 2 shortly. I don't go to many movies, but I always enjoy them... And Thing 2 is one of my favorite people. Thing 1 gets home from Chicago late tonight and the Big Giant Thing is grounded.

Domingo Desnudo

That's Naked Sunday, Gringo. And it is about time we lobbied for it. Sunday has been a hold out for way too long. And for it, we have a delightful derriere.

So there you have it.

Cross Country Calorie Count

For those of you who are new (and I'm thrilled there are several of you!), Saturday is my fitness day. At New Years I began following Weight Watchers and being more diligent about the exercise (though that is the part I've always been relatively good about).

So yesterday I drove my daughter to Chicago. She goes to camp in the summer on the west side of Michigan and several of the kids she's grown close to are from the Chicago area; they had spring break last week, she does next, and so they are all spending the one overlapping weekend together. It was my first 'road trip' while trying to eat right, and it seemed like something that is a challenge for MANY (and it starts with C, since C is what we are on, Blogging A to Z).


Car Challenges

The biggest problem is sitting for long hours with just yourself and your appetite, and the temptation is to much on things that are easy to hold... So how did I approach it? Carefully.

Big breakfast was intended to allow salad to satisfy me for lunch... Before leaving town I have a bagel with cream cheese, capers and salmon: about 9 points worth of breakfast, but protein sticks, and starches fill. Chicken Caesar salad for lunch (6 points). Satisfying? Not really QUITE, but enough that I got through without chips or cookies. Then I faced dinner with only 10 points left... what to do? Quiznos has something called 'Two for five”--a SMALL sandwich called a bullet and a salad... made the day in points... felt a little deprived, but not desperately so... it worked. I drank WAY too much caffeine, but you know... it was a road trip...

Coffee with Colette

You know, one of the reasons I didn't grumble about driving to Chicago and back in one day (it's 4 hours to the city limits, then getting around within, so I drove around for about 10 hours yesterday) was that I'd set a coffee date with one of my online friends.

Colette is one of those special people who has dealt with life challenges that make my own look like a walk in the park. She has come through it with a serene wisdom that is inspiring. She knows what REALLY matters, and can look at the other stuff with an open mind. “It's scary, but if it doesn't work (or if it does) it's as it should be.” It was so nice to spend an hour and a half just visiting.


Combining Concepts

It's the second time I've met Colette in person. Among my early Harry Potter friends, most were clustered on the east coast, in Europe or in Australia, with a few scattered elsewhere. Colette was among the few adult women in the midwest—the one who lives closest to me. Over the years I've met several of these friends, most because of work travel to places I might not otherwise go, but Chicago I've ventured to on purpose now and again. Last time I saw Colette was July 2007. I know THIS because our mutual friend BrioNI was here for the book release of Deathly Hallows (BrioNI is Australian and our circle of friends had several going to New York City for Scholastic's big giant book release block party—two of our Australian friends flew to the states for it because the collection of people in NYC meant they got to meet a dozen friends all at once). BrioNI though flew to Chicago to begin her travels. So when I picked up BrioNI to visit Ann Arbor (which people mostly only do to see ME—I've had friends here from Australia and Norway, if you don't believe me) we met for breakfast with Colette. How is THAT for a roundabout story?

Anyway, my point in terms of fitness, is that I realized yesterday I was within 5 pounds of the LAST time I met Colette (5 pounds LESS, actually) so my efforts this year have reversed 3 full years of weight gain. I have 3 more before that to reverse, but I am making real process, but half way there feels pretty good.

Last week I was concerned that I'd had a fluke drop, and three days of weighing after that suggested that was the case, but the rest of this week has been below, and as of today, I dropped 2 from last Saturday, so I guess it was real.

I also have a really embarrassing confession, but as it is embarrassing after the fact, and as this blog IS about confessions, I will just say it... I am on my 4th day in a row where the 3rd digit... the hundreds place, has rolled down. Yes, for the better part of 3 years, I weighed more than 200 pounds... no more. It's done for good... feels good.

I also had my first power walk of the season that didn't require a hoodie, so my iPod holder, that goes around my arm, was necessary. Last time I used it, it embarrassingly almost didn't go around my arm. Now it fits fine (makes sense since my arm circumference is down almost two inches)--biggest inch loss is the big giant butt (my widest point has dropped from a humiliating 52 to 47)--still too big, but as I always do when I make these confessions, I will remind you I am 5'11”.

So there you have it... true confessions of a person trying to cease and desist on the fat front...

Cute Cheeks

Very nice, eh?  And clearly an athlete!