NEW BLOG!!!

Oay, so I had to completely change it.

Head on over!

Just click on the title of this post and it'll take you there...and in case I fudged it up....editortera.blogspot.com

Guess what all!

I'm changing my name! Woo hoo! Anyone who reads this that knows me personally, knows that Ann Klein is not my real name. It's my middle name and the first part of my soon to be last name. My real name is Tera. Instead of editing under Ann Klein, I'll be editing under Tera Kleinfelter, which will officially be my last name on October 11, 2008. I figure that I may as well start getting used to the name change now. =) I'm hoping I can figure out some way to change everything on this blog instead of having to start all over. Eek!

Wish me luck in getting everything changed over!

Back to the grind

So, today I had to go back to work after a long weekend. Blech. But at least it's only three days this week, one of which has already been completed, thank God.

I've decided that since I am now able to take a lunch hour at work, I'm going to be spending it reading. And I'm also going to be going to bed a teeny bit earlier so I can read, too. I've found that lately I've been spending all my time reading books I have to read, not that I want to read just for pure pleasure. Yes, I love the books I edit...if I didn't love them I wouldn't have contracted them, but I want to read and not have to work. LOL I've got a huge pile to go through, so I'll be working my way through it and giving y'all my opinion as I finish them. Most definitely giving my opinion on them. And keep in mind, I'm behind and I don't always go to the store and pick out new reads, so they might be pretty old. =)

I bought a pile of books a LONG time ago, so I'm reading Perfect by Judith McNaught right now. Only finished the first few chapters, but so far so good. Have I mentioned how much I adore Judith McNaught? Whitney My Love is one of my all time faves. Brilliance. I'll be letting everyone know what I think of Perfect, which I only bought about a year ago. LOL

Yay for Myles and Christmas!

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I know I sure did. =) Myles completely and totally surprised me this morning.

On Sunday, we had a big family Christmas at my uncles and aunt's house. After dinner and presents, my cousin and I went downstairs to play Guitar Hero III. Brian and I ended up staying down there for about two and a half hours. Yes, my hand was damn sore, but it was worth it!!! So, while Brian and I were downstairs and absolutely cracking up at his son, Cole, who was dancing to our mad guitar skills, Myles and my dad left to go Christmas shopping. I didn't find this out until today. =)

So this morning, we all get up at the butt crack of dawn -- ten year old little brothers like to wake up VERY early to open presents -- I am informed that I had to open my present first. So Myles hands me a gift (he wasn't supposed to be buying me anything) and I'm sitting there saying "No, let Matt open all his first" but I was forced to open it. Okay, twist my arm.

And what was it but what I've been KILLING for...a red Nikon Coolpix camera. Woo hoo! So yeah, he did GOOD. I open more presents later and he completed it by getting me an HP photo printer, extra ink cartidge and paper. Yes, I'm so looking forward to all the pics I get to take in Hawaii now while NOT using my outdated, inherited bulky Canon. Yes, he did very very very well. He's awesome. =)

So now I'm spending my evening getting some edits done...gotta have everything done by the 8th...and Myles is prepping the new rental to start painting it tomorrow. Only a couple of more weeks until Hawaii...wow. It'll be here before I know it.

Again, hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Now bring on NYE and our party!!!

It's almost here!

Yes, Christmas is almost here. =) We'll be leaving in the morning for my mom and dad's house and staying in South Bend until Tuesday evening. And for once, I'm not bringing my laptop!!!!! I might get online at my parents' house to check email quickly, but, no I won't be working. I'll be spending time with my thirty or so immediately family (yes, we're big...Myles says we're a typical Italian family...only we're Irish...I guess he's not used to big Irish families.) Monday we're going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and heading to dinner and such. I'm really looking forward to it.

We were supposed to go out tonight with some friends, but after working on our new rental we closed on yesterday that we need to have "flipped" by Jan 1 so we can get tenants in it, we just didn't feel up to it. I'm content to sit on the couch watching Property Ladder and getting some editing done. And eating Dairy Queen. But, we could be out with Jay and Nikki, riding around with some other friends, in the limo, drinking and making fun of Christmas lights. Gar. Now that I think about it, I wish we would have gone... Oh well.

Since this will be the last time I post before Christmas, I just want to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and hope that Santa brings everyone everything they asked for. Have a wonderful time with your family and friends and no writing or editing!!

Ah, a couple days in the life

The past couple of days have been pretty good. Yesterday was our buddy Jason's birthday, so we headed to our favorite bar, where Jason just so happens work, and spent way too much time there last night. But, oh well. It's a long weekend coming up. Drank too much and Myles ended up wussing out and staying at home, but I was a champ, got up this morning, got my Starbucks and some Mickey D's and I was good to go. Of course, I didn't want to be at work this morning, so I just read submissions instead of doing what I was supposed to do. And then Misty called and managed to convince me to play hooky in the afternoon and go Christmas shopping and such with her. Yeah, wasn't too hard to get me to go. LOL I gladly left, took a few hours of vacation and even snuck my credit card out of it's hidey hole and bought my Myles some stuff. I even gave him one of his Christmas presents early tonight, cuz, well, I get ansty and I couldn't wait. A Ferrari model for him to put together and some Ferrari cologne. Yeah, he smells yummy and he'll match the car. Woo hoo! Yeah, when we get from Hawaii, we'll be starting on that project again...damn timing belt. So the engine must be yanked again and we'll need to tear it apart, but at least not down to the bare block again like last time. Hopefully, no pistons were damaged or anything.

By the way, have I mentioned before that I'm a gearhead? =)

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake

This is my absolute favorite cheesecake in the world, one that everyone always begs me to bring to functions, and I GLADLY take it along. =)

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
4 squares Baker's white chocolate, melted
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees if using a silver 9-inch Springform pan (or 300 degrees is using a non-stick 9-inch Springform pan).

Mix graham cracker crumbs, 3 tbsp of the sugar, and melted butter; pat firmly onto the bottom of pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed just until blended.

Stir in melted chocolate and the extract. Pour over crust.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Ah. the holidays

Man, this weekend has been crazy with getting Christmas stuff done. Got all of my shopping done last night, with the exception of my mom (She's always the most difficult), got my cookie boxes made for my coworkers, got all my presents wrapped, got the cookie party taken care of, got Christmas cards done. Wow. Just a little bit more to go and then I'll be all set to go. I've still got to make some more cookies to take to work and for Myles to take to his work, a candy cane white chocolate cheesecake for Friday...and...I think that's it other than shopping for my mom.

Nothing else going on this weekend other than that we got about a foot of snow last night. Ah, in three weeks I'll be in sunny Hawaii and I won't see any snow for two weeks. Thank god!

This should be a pretty easy week at work with all of the holiday stuff. Then a four day weekend in South Bend with family, then three days of work, then a four day weekend, then three days of work, the weekend, then a half a day of work and I go to Hawaii!!!! Yeah, I'm so looking forward to this no work crap. I've sooooo needed a break. I haven't had a vacation for a year and a half, and before that it was about four years, so yeah, I'm due for one.

And that's all I have to say about that. Now off to edit! And make chicken and dumplings for Myles for dinner...poor guy did our driveway and the neighbors, and it's a REALLY wet, packed snow, too.

I succumbed to an infomerical

Yup, that's right. I bought something off an infomercial today. But it exercise stuff, so it's okay. It's a program called The Firm (No, not the movie with Tom Cruise) that combines cardio and weightlifting. So, yeah. This is me trying to fit into all those size 4 clothes in my closet from five years ago. I'm not the type that likes to work out in the gym where people can see me, so some DVDs and weights for home is poifect for me. =) It won't get here in time to have me ready for Hawaii, but lets hope for Florida in July...well, gosh, hopefully some major result before then. LOL I'm making it my goal to be in my old, skinny-ass clothes by May. And if I make it before then, well I rock. So, this is my Christmas present, which is a darn good one, because I think, in the long run, it'll last a lot longer and make me a heck of a lot happier than I am right now. Ooh, I can't wait to get my big black trash bag of old clothes out and go through them and actually be able to wear them! I have a lot of expensive, damn nice clothes in there. Ah, when I didn't have to pay a mortgage and utilities and buy groceries and could spend all my money on frivolous things. I miss being able to do that.

Playing a little bit of hooky

So, I cheated and told everyone I was sick and came home from work at 12:30. =P I've been stressing over getting things done and getting the house clean and all sorts of things, so I'm cleaning and getting all sorts of productive things done. Woo hoo! I might even get my Christmas cards finished tonight when I'm done...now if Myles will only remember get my damn stamps. Man, it feels so good to get everything done and clean and nice and tidy. Yes, I'm a clean freak, so for me to let the house go for over a week when I don't feel good is a BIG deal. Now, just to get ideas from family for their dang presents. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. It's like pulling teeth. Except for Matt, who's ten. He's always got ideas of stuff he wants. LOL

Only two weeks until Christmas! Wow. This weekend is the Cookie Party at my house that my friend Misty throws every year (she moved WAY out in the country, so it's at my place this year. It's nice to take the four-wheelers through the cornfields and drive them sity down the road and not get in trouble, though). Yet another reason for me to have the house looking poifect. And to get everything all in order for when we leave for Hawaii in a few weeks. It would kill me to have to come home to a mess, so it needs to be spic and span before I leave.

And, enough of my rambling. Have a great rest of the day, all!

Finally back to "normal"

For the frist day in about a week, I feel better. No fever, no aches, and I even have some energy back. Thank God. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get better. Suddenly, the whole flu shot thing doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore. Yeah, I always shirk it because I hate needles...well, I shouldn't say needles. Shots, to be more precise. And when they take my blood. Needless to say, I could never be an intravaneous drug user. LOL Even watching other people do it on shows like Intervention creeps me out.

And my tidbit of information today...Supposebly is NOT a word. Please, people. For the love of Pete. It's supposedly.

Thank and have a nice day. =)

I'm so not in the holiday spirit today

Yeah, I've come to the conclusion that people, Wal Mart, McDonalds, and those damn bell ringers are Satan incarnate.

Though, I'm guessing most of my ill will today has to do with the fact that I've got a bad case of the flu or some stomach virus or something. I just feel beat. Sore, body aches, headache, my skin feels raw. Yeah, it's not a good day. This week I've felt off, but I think it's culminating today. And what's worse, is that I leave in an hour and a half to go pick up my neice from a wedding her mom and dad are attending today. Ann wanted the Squirt at the wedding reception for a bit, but I took the opportunity to get to spend lots of time and the whole night with my Samantha. =) God, I hope I don't get her sick.

But, back to what I was orignally talking about...the Satan incarnate stuff. Okay, first up...people. Oh, let me count the ways. Yes, I am a smoker. It's a bad and nasty habit, but Myles has had trouble quitting and if he can't quit, than it makes it extremely difficult for me to quit. Anyways, I may be a smoker, but I still have couth and general...oh, I don't know the word, politeness, neatness....I'm drawing a blank on the right word. I go out shopping today to get my other neice her birthday present for tomorrow (a TON of craft supplies for her to have at my house) and I open my car door only to step in a huge pile of wet cigarette butts that someone had dumped out of their ashtray and onto the parking lot. How gross! Grrr.

And Wal Mart...all I wanted to do was get a damn box of Theraflu to try and make some sort of attempt to feel better (by the way, not working so well), and I had a hell of a time trying to complete that simple task thanks to the annoying people and the lines and the incompetent workers.

And McDonalds. All I wanted was a damn cheeseburger, some fries and a strawberry shake. I know it's not the bes food to eat when one is sick, but oh well. I'm sick, comfort food is allowed. What I got was a cold cheeseburger, some cold fries and an eggnog shake. Yeah, that was a bummer. Probably because everyone there was illegal and didn't understand a damn word of the English that was coming out of my mouth when I ordered. But I'm not even going to go there or else this post will become a novel.

And, at last, the bell ringers. Granted, the Salvation Army is doing a good thing and I've got to give major kudos to the people willing to standing out there in the freezing rain, but when I feel like shit and I have a headache because of it, it doesn't make me joyful to have to enter every store to the music of ear-piercing bells.

Yeah, this is a not a good day for me.

My trees. =)

The house looked pretty when the leaves finally changed. =) Now, the tree is empty and it look all blah outside. But now I have a new tree to look at that's all pretty. My Christmas tree! Woo hoo. I wanted to get a bigger one this year, but it just wasn't in the cards. How come everything money-sucking related always happens around the holidays? Oh well, maybe next year. So, here's my tree, and my special ornament I found this year....a pink/purple elephant. Now, I know some of you are thinking "Huh? An elephant?" But, if you know me, you know I'm elephant crazy. I LOVE them. Dunno when it started and dunno why, but it's been years now. I've got tons of them...eventually when we have a baby, the nursery is going to be in elephants. =) I've even gone so far as to get a pink elephant tattoo on my hip. So, yeah, I love elphants. =) And yes, instead of a star, I have an abominable snowman on the top of my tree. =) I love him, too.

When submitting a book or writing a book...

When submitting a manuscript, make sure you've proofread it EXTENSIVELY. Sometimes when you've spent so much time working on a book, it's hard to catch those little mistakes...like writing sever instead of severe and so one and so forth. Never send in a book without having someone reading it who has a good eye for those sorts of things. Another trick is to read your manuscript outloud to yourself. It may sound stupid, but you'd be amazed at what you'll catch that your eyes have skimmed over and missed. When you send something in that has a lot of minor grammatical mistakes, bad punctuation, missing words, wrong tenses or wrong/mispelled words, it looks extremely unprofessional and leads your editor to believe that you may not take your writing as seriously as we take our editing work. You may have a really good story with great elements, but sometimes we just can't overlook those mistakes.

And a writing tip. When writing, be sure you're writing and using all five of the senses. Make sure the reader is completely immersed in what is going on--the smells, the sounds, the way things feel, how something tastes, and of course, what the character sees. Sight tends to be the main sense used, and it's just not enough. To have a great story, the reader needs to feel like they are there and experiencing firsthand what the characters are seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, etc.

Oh, I gotta share

This is just too funny. Myles made this and sent it to me...had me laughing so hard I was crying. And yes, that is him and I...I have no clue what pic he used of me...I'm red. LOL

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1112176514

Things that make me smile--in no particular order

1. When I go to bed at night and Myles always comes back to tuck me in a give me a kiss goodnight.

2. My dad. I've got the greatest dad on earth and we have sooo much fun together. "I'm Rick James, bitch!"

3. My mom and how she talks to herself...how she even argues with herself. It's pure comedy.

4. My little brother and seeing how much he's just like me. He loves to read, he talks too much, he gets good grades in school, he's silly...he's great!

5. My friends. I have great friends. We all have so much fun together and I feel so lucky to be able to surround myself with a second family of my choosing.

6. People who don't like me. Yes, they do make me smile. I am who I am and what I am and if I don't like it, well, you've missed out on getting to know a pretty good person, if I do say so myself. =)

7. Random, simple gifts. My best friend, Ann (Yes, her name is really Ann), is really good at this. She's one of the most thoughtful people I know. Her Christmas present to me last year was the best...a calendar where she marked all important dates (her and her husband's birthdays and kids birthdays, holiday stuff we do, anniversaries, etc.) and also wrote a special message to me on every month. It makes me smile when I look at that calendar every morning. My other best friend, Misty, is great at that stuff, too. When I'm sick or feeling down, she'll pop over with some ice cream or a bottle of wine to cheer me up.

8. All of my "neices" and "nephews". They may not be mine by blood, but they are Misty and Ann's children, so that makes them family. All between the ages of 2-13, they are all so different and so wonderful. I love getting to spend time with them and watching them grow up.

9. My grandmother. She's the smallest woman I know and the feistiest. I definitely got my attitude from her. She's got to be the coolest grandmother ever. "I've got a wooden spoon in there with your name on it" is still her favorite saying, even though I'm bigger than her and no longer a toddler. Though, she didn't like it when my brother, two cousins and I all took our pocket knives up to the kitchen on day and carved our names into her wooden spoons. "But now you're not lying, Grandma"

10. My brother when he came home from Iraq. I think that was one of the greatest feelings in the world, knowing he was home safe and away from the danger he faced every day while he was patrolling in Baghdad. I won't be smiling when he goes back, though, probably in February.

11. Listening to Myles grumble when on trash day, I get home from work and go out to check the mail but don't bring the trash can up. I know it's wrong, but I can't help but giggle a little.

12. Watching Myles roll his eyes as I do one of my OCD things. Yes, I have OCD, even on meds for it. I have soooo many little quirks and things I HAVE to do, like straightening pillows, making sure shorts are in color order, having everything in the kitchen a certain way, evening straightening the pillows and blankets on the couches EVERYDAY when I come home from work. The meds help, but they don't take it all away. LOL Makes for a good editor, though. *wink*

There are so many more I could list, but this is already long enough. This time of year always makes me think about what I have and the things and people that make me happy and how lucky I am to have been blessed with each and every one of them.

Thank You!

I've got to send a big Thank You out to everyone who responded to my shameless begging for romance books. =) I know that as soon as I am able to give them all to Jennifer, she's going to be absolutely elated. Just today she was talking about how said she was that she lost all her books. Man, I hate keeping secrets!!!

I need your help!!!!

A girl I work with lost her home to a fire on Thanksgiving morning. They made it out of the house in their pajamas...not even any shoes on their feet. The Red Cross gave them money to get some clothes...thank God Wal Mart was open on Thanksgiving...but anyways, everything was lost. It looks like the fire was started due to a malfunction with their gas furnace. Everything is a lost. My fiance and I drove over there last evening to see if there was any way we could get some people together to help them go through stuff, but there is literally nothing left but charred walls. I can't even imagine how devastating this is for her and her family.

Jennifer is a huge romance reader, but sadly, she lost all of her books in the fire and right now won't have the money to buy more, since she has things like clothes and every househould staple you can imagine to buy. I'd like to get together a book gift basket for her and would appreciate any romance books anyone can donate to a really good cause. They'll need to be sent to my home address so I can get the present organized for her. Thanks so much to any and all who can help with this. Please contact me with any questions and if you are will to donate books, please contact me and let me know. Thanks!

Happy Monday!

I'm trying to be positive. :P Is it working yet? Anywho, it's Monday after a four day weekend, which was sooooooo nice by the way, and I'm a bit sad to be back here at work. Again, I can't wait until I can quit this place and just edit from home. That will make for a very happy Ann. But, at least i only have to work a few full weeks and then we'll have two four-day weekends for Christmas and New Year and then only a few days until we go to Hawaii for two weeks. Ah, that will be bliss. I'm thinking on the total of thirteen hours spent in a plane, I'll get A LOT of submissions read through. Yeah, that will be pretty nice.

And, I'm going to start something new on here. I've been sick of eating the same things, so I've been recipe searching and bringing back some of my old faves along with finding new faves. So, just to keep the spirit of gluttony going strong, I'm going to post the first one today for Loaded Baked Potato Soup. Oh my god this stuff is heavenly. :)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed, about 4 cups (fyi, I don't pre-bake my potatoes, I just peel and cube them and throw them in. Just cook the soup for a teeny bit longer until they soften and it's A-okay.)
4 fresh green onions, thinly sliced
10 to 12 strips of bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled (fresh cooked bacon is a must. Don't use bacon bits. The freshly cooked bacon is phenomenal in it)
1 1/4 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese (I just dump a bag in because I'm a cheese freak)
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven or stock pot over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour. Stir until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until soup begins to bubble.

Reduce heat, simmer gently for 10 minutes (longer if using uncooked potatoes). Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8 people. (If there's only two of you like there is us, it'll last for 3 dinners, which makes it really cheap, which I like.)

Ah, stuffed on leftovers

Hopefully everyone's Thanksgiving went wonderfully. Mine was great. =) Myles and I headed up to South Bend to my grandma and grandpa's house for dinner with the whole fam dam and then stayed the night at my Mom and Dad's. Poor Myles, though. Spending the whole day with MY family when you don't share our loud, annoying, mouthy, obnoxious genes can be quit trying. He came from a small, quiet family, so spending a day with mine is like putting a bookworm in a room full of jocks. Poor guy does well with us, though.

And when we got home, my parents' lab, Toby, went crazy and busted his tail open again...labs have a tendency to do that. Poor Tobias. There was blood all over the place and the poor dog wouldn't stay still because he didn't understand that Mom and Dad were just trying to help him by wrapping his tail up. Needless to say, he has about two inches of exposed bone...worse than he's ever done it before. Poor pooch is going in on Tuesday for a tail amputation. =( The vet said she has to do this to about four labs per year. My uncle breeds yellow labs and he had to have it done to his stud. Dog looks funny as hell now, but if you let it go, gangrene can set in or they can get septic and it can kill them. A doggie with no tail is better than a dead doggie, especially when you adore your dog as much as my mom adores Toby.

Not much else went on. We actually went out last night with some friends, which we haven't been able to do in a while, but it kinda turned out to be a bust. Instead of going to my fave bar, we ended up at another bar, which I'm not particularly fond of. Myles and I got there earlier than everyone and played a few games of darts...my arm is sore today from playing a total of seven games. And their drinks sucked, too. Turns out, the bar is on probation for serving minors, so they made really weak drinks. And, because of their probation, they closed at midnight, so we left at 11:30. By the time we got to my favorite bar, they were packed, which sucked because we had to squeeze into a table with someone I can't stand. I mean, really just don't like. Yeah, it was just all messed up. I didn't even get to sing. So, we were home by 12:30...what a bust.

Today, I'm finishing put Christmas stuff up. Woo hoo! And tomorrow is Thanksgiving dinner at our house for our friends, so that'll be good. More food! It's killing my Hawaii diet, though.

Ahhh, Friday

Yes, it's finally Friday. As soon as I get out of work, I'll be heading to pick up my little brother a birthday present and then heading up north to be "home" for the weekend. I like being home. =) Myles has a rough time with it, since he's not used to a loud obnoxious, constantly going family like mine. He can only handle it for one or two days and then he has to get out of there. =P He loves them all to death, but he's used to quiet family gatherings.

I think I might actually play hooky from work next Monday and Tuesday and head to Kingsbury to go hunting with my dad and cousin. I'm thinking that sounds like a darn good idea. It's deer seaon, baby! Or we'll get some pheasants. Whichever we can get. :)

And on a completely different note, something happened today to make me think that there might actually be hope for the world. I was driving to school and a funeral procession was driving by, going the opposite way as me. I still pulled over. It's just the right, respectful thing to do. (I was learned well by my parents) Normally, no one else pulls over, just blows by the procession if they are going the opposite way, or even passes the procession if it's two lanes. I can't stand that. I hate it with a passion. You are supposed to stop! But, today, everyone on the road pulled over until the procession had passed. It was amazing. I even called Myles right away and told him, since he knows this is a HUGE pet peeve for me. But yes, I finally gained some hope back for humanity.

Today will be a good day

Yes, I think it will. I'm spending my day at work getting some subs read through, plus, after work, a few of my bridesmaids and I are going to the bridal shop to look at dresses for them. After that, we're heading to my favorite bar to have some drinks and sing some songs and have some girl time. And I was even really bad and bought a pack of cigarettes this morning to smoke tonight so I wouldn't be a mooch. LOL Plus, I'm sure some of our "bar" friends will be there as well, so it should be a good night.

And I'm being bad and drinking caffeine this morning. I'm sure I'm going to pay for it a little bit throughout the day, but I couldn't resist a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha latte from Starbucks this morning. And to top it all off, I listened to my theme song three times on my way to work..."Asshole" by Denis Leary. Man, I love that song. =) Puts me in a chipper mood. And I'm sure that in itself speaks for itself when it comes to me, but that's okay. I am who I am who I are.

Editing Tips

One thing I've been seeing a lot of lately is more telling in manuscripts than showing. When you tell the reader what is happening, you're not drawing them into the story, making them visualize everything and urging them to read forward. I know if I get a book from the library or I'm standing in the store looking for a book to buy, I'll read the first chapter. If it doesn't catch me, I don't buy the book. To catch me requires two things: a good hook and good storytelling. If you don't manage to do both of those things, you're not getting my money in your pocket. And if you're submitting to me, you're probably not getting me to buy your story, either.

Don't just write "She was sad." You've got to give me...and your readers...more than that. Was she crying? Were her cheeks red? Or, maybe she wasn't crying yet, but you could see the tears glistening in her eyes, ready to roll down her cheeks as soon as she blinked. Paint the picture for me.

Tried to relax and only ended up more stressed and frustrated

So, last night, I decided I was going to get my violins out, stick some Kansas in the CD player, and play to my heart's content to unwind a little bit. That didn't work out as well as I'd thought it would. Since I haven't had time to play in a while, and my instruments have been sitting in the closet since we moved into the new house...a year ago...my strings had gone to hell. Took me a half hour to tune a violin, and then, every time I tried to play, the strings would slip out of tune again. After struggling for an hour, I finally gave up and went downstairs to go through some submissions.

One would think my evening would be fine after that, but no, all was not good. I'd only been sitting on the couch for a few minutes when I heard this horrid shrieking outside, which I knew could only be my cat. She doesn't play well with others. But the thing is, she's a royal bitch to her brother, Piper, and can be to Myles and I at times, but if any strays come around, she cowers in fear and poos herself. Yes, she gets the shit scared out of her, quite literally. I open the door and she comes tearing in while a cat half her size goes running off into the rain...mind you, my cat weighs thirteen pounds. Her stomach sways when she runs. It's quite comical. :)

So I'm getting the pizza out of the oven, the energy just wasn't there to cook anything "real" for dinner, and I look down to see Nikon standing on my white ceramic tile with drops and paw prints of blood all around her. Ugh. And, she's a royal pain in the butt most of the time, so trying to figure out what was wrong with her was NOT FUN. Looks like her ear got tweaked, so no huge vet bills like when she got into a scuffle with a raccoon that ripped her up pretty good.

But needless to say, I got to crawl around on my hands and needs cleaning up bloody paw prints. Grrrrr. I love the cat to death, but man she can be a pain. Piper is so much easier...he's just stupid, and skittish and drools when you pet him. LOL

Ahh, Monday

Not much going on today and nothing really of note to talk about. Except for the fact that it's November 12 and it's about 60 or 65 degrees outside. When does that happen? If this is what global warming does, I'm digging it. =) Normally it's 20 degrees and windy as heck outside this time of year. I don't think I'm going to complain about 60 and sunny.

I'm spending my day finishing up the first round of edits on a book and then I'll spend most of this evening reading subs. I've had to many edits lately, the subs have slipped, so I'll be getting TONS of those done this week. Now, if only I could find time to read something I WANT to read. =)

Midnight on Saturday...

...and I'm sitting on the couch in my PJs, doing my grammar homework. Yes, sentence diagrams are fun! Lucky Myles is out at the bar with his buddy, my Ann is out of town, and my Misty and her fiance have the kids, and everyone else...well, no one else I really want to hang out with. =P Or they're not here in Lafayette. Plus, I didn't drink because I didn't know if Myles would need a ride home from the bar, but he just calle and said he wasn't drinking much, so I wouldn't need to pick him up. So I wasted a perfectly good Saturday night being sober. LOL And on top of it all, I can't sleep because I'm on antibiotics and they keep me up ALL night. It'll probably be 3 or 4 before I can force myself to sleep. Ugh. At least it enables me to get TONS done. I'll have a REALLY clean house before the week is out...even cleaner than normal. And I'm a REALLY clean person. :)

Ahhh...Saturday

So, I've been sick, so I slept in until noon today. Not what I had planned, but oh well. I woke up nauseated again, to I decided to finally go to the doc, which I never do unless I HAVE to. I have to go to the doctor enough for other stuff, so if it's not my regular every three month appt, then I don't want to do it. =P Turns out, this cold I can't kick is what is causing everything. So now I have drugs! Woo hoo!

And a big fishbowl margarita from El Rodeo will make me feel better tonight. And some steak fajitas. Yeah yeah. :) Myles is going out with one of his guy friends tonight, so I'm going out with my friends David and Misty and their kids to grab to Mexican food, which Myles detests and which happens to be one of my faves.

But for right now, I'm going to get some more editing done and when I get home from dinner, I'll get even more editing done. And I'll probably edit all day tomorrow. Rock on.

It's finally Friday!

Yes, indeed. And I'm in a MUCH better mood today. :) I even get to leave here early. Woo hoo! The assessor is coming over to assess the house and I want to make sure every little this is perfect, so they assess us the highest possible. I'm not the money person in the house, for obvious reasons, and I think Myles said that the higher they assess us, the better it is for us to acquire more properties. *shrugs* There's a reason he takes care of all that and I just spend what he gives me/tells me I can. LOL

And tonight, we'll be going to our best friend's house to have dinner, play some Mexican Train Dominoes or rummy, watch a movie, and have some drinks. And play with my adorable neice, of course. My Squirt. =) I've looking forward to having a relaxing evening. I can't remember the last time I took an evening and didn't touch my laptop at all. I'll make up for it this weekend, though, that's for sure. I'll have the house all to myself since Myles has to work all weekend, plus, he and his one of his best friends are going out on Saturday night for a boys' night, so I'll have an evening to myself to edit, watch my chick flick, and eat ice cream for dinner. I've done well...it's been TWO WEEKS since I have had ice cream. Probably a world record for me. :P

Guess what?

Yup, I'm still in a "mood". I got set off pretty early this morning, too. I ALMOST said things to a coworker that I shouldn't have said. So, shall we list them yet again? Sure, why not.

1) Quitting smoking sucks! I finally figured out the nausea...I looked up nicotine withdrawal symptoms. And, you guessed it, what they call "quitter's flu" is pretty common. And, I'm thinking my pissy mood has something to do with this whole quitting smoking thing. :) Didn't really want to quit, I just can't justify spending over four bucks for a pack of cigarettes everyday. Between Myles and I we're spending about $60 a week on cigarettes...more if we go out because we smoke more when we go out.

2) Yes, I'm going to get political here. I overheard some co-workers talking about the war this morning. They said they don't feel sorry for our guys over in Iraq because 1) the war is pointless, 2) they're the ones who signed up for the military, and 3) it's not like they do anything over there anyways. I had to clench my fists to keep from smacking the lady. My brother jusrt got back from Iraq from a year-long stint back in July. First he was doing transportation, driving the tankers and running fuel, and then he was moved to an assasin squad in Baghdad. He may not agree with why we're there and millions of others don't, but no matter why our guys are there, they're still there! They are still our men and women putting their lives on the line for our country. And to make it even better, my bro probably has to go back in August for another year to a year and a half. And no, they don't just sit around over there. My brother brought back pictures, videos and stories that would make your skin crawl. He had rocks and rotten meat thrown at him by CHILDREN whose parents encouraged them to do so, and he was bombed and lost most of the hearing in one ear. Luckily that was all that happened to him. I don't care if you don't like what's going on with Iraq and Iran and anywhere else. I don't care if you don't like our president. You should count yourself damn lucky to live here in the United States. If you want to complain about the war and our government and everything else, go live in Iraq for a year and come back and tell me what you think after that.

Okay, I'm done for now. I'll try to refrain from anymore rants. Maybe tomorrow I'll post something happy. Like puppies and babies and kittens and flowers.

I'm in a "mood"

Yeah, that's right. I'm in a "mood" today. A highly agitated mood. About numerous things. Shall I list them? Yes, let's!

1) Anyone out there getting married soon...elope. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the big day in 11 months, but it's a bitch to plan and get everything done. Especially when I'm not the one who wanted a big wedding in the first place.

2) I love my inlaws, but dammit, we come from different worlds and sometimes it's a pain to make her see that. Topsfield, MA (affluent suburb of Boston) vs South Bend (and now Lafayette), IN. Yes, WORLDS apart. On the weding website, I put "formal dress." MIL asked me t take that off so that people wouldn't think they needs to wear tuxes. Well, maybe that's what it means out there, but not here. Here in Indiana, it means "Please don't wear jeans." Yeah...seriously. If I don't say that, half my family will show up in camo. Seriously. So as you can all see, the wedding will be FUN. Bluebloods and Indiana hicks.

3) Old people should be tested before they get their driver's licenses. Most of them shouldn't be on the road at all. I was stuck behind one this morning that was driving 20 in a 50. No good for me, Miss Speed Demon Race Car Driver.

4) I'm sick of having stuff at my house. But if I say no to people, I get to look like the bad guy. Ever since we moved a year ago into a much bigger house, everyone now wants to have everything at my house. Their Lia Sophia, Candelite, Arbonne, etc parties. Their kids' birthdaty parties. Holiday dinners for friends. EVERYTHING. Yes we now have the biggest house in the easiest location with an awesome backyard. But trust me, it took us a year and a half to find this house and we had to scrape our pennies together to get it. Not to mention it was a foreclosure that needed/still needs a lot of work. Two bathrooms are Barney purple...need I say more?

5) I'm sick of being sick. I'm sick of blowing my nose. I'm sick of coughing.

6) I'm sick of having nausea in the afternoons. Three days now. And yes, I know where everyone's minds go with that, but no, I'm not pregnant. =P

Okay, I think I'm done...I think.

Oh, too too funny

Oh, lordy do I have one for you guys. :)

So I get home from work and then Myles gets home and I go up to his office to talk to him and ask him how his day was. We're chit-chatting a bit and Myles says "Hey, while you're up here, I'm going to put you to work." So, we go to take the air conditioning units out of the two upstairs windows. We had to get them this summer because the central air just wasn't cutting it. We need a new zone installed upstairs, but since we're getting a whole new furnace and AC in a few years, we don't want to spend the money on installing a zone when we can just do it then.

So we got the first one out okay, which was the smaller of the two. Afterwards, I'm standing in my in-process office/future nursery making a space in the closet for the second AC unit to go. I then hear Myles, in a Tim Allen voice say "Oh no." I walk into the hallway and look down into our bedroom to see him standing with his head out the window, looking down. Yeah, not good.
Instead of waiting for me, he thought he could do it on his own and open the window just a quarter of an inch to close the side flaps so he could get his hand around and behind it. Well, a quarter of an inch ended up being an inch and a half. Need I say more.

So Myles turns around and looks at me, and we both just start cracking up. I mean, it wasn't funny, but it was funny. It was one of those moments where all you can do is laugh.
But he actually managed to fix it. He amazing with that stuff. But, yeah. It was funny as hell. So needless to say, the AC isn't square anymore and it has some red marks on it from the mulch below it. We like to think of it as "modern".

I'm HIGHLY irritated right now

And even more logs in this spot of the yard. :(

Yeah, look at all the logs down. :( I counted about 30 of them in this spot.

So, I woke up this morning...afternoon I guess...at noon. Yeah, pretty late. I took Nyquil last night and it knocked me completely out. Didn't wake up once. :) But anyways, I got up, checked my email and then went grocery shopping. When I came home, Myles told me he was going out back to have a smoke and figure out what we were going to do. Of course, my curiosity was immediately perked and I followed him out there to have a smoke myself. Yeah, I wish I hadn't. I was met with the sight of my beautiful, mutilated backyard. Yeah, mutilated.

A few weeks ago, the power company said they were going to come back along our ravine and trim around the power lines. Okay, trim. Just cut off a few branches that were touching or close to touching the power lines. Yeah, not. That's sooo not what they did. Instead, they cut a ton of our trees down. So needless to say, I'm not so happy right now. Here's some pics of the damage they did...the blank spots, yeah, trees used to be there.

Finally Friday

So, I left work yesterday at about 11:00 and went home to curl up on the couch. The couch didn't last long, so I went up to bed at 11:30 and slept until 5:30, when Myles got home from work. Got up, ate some Taco Bell and went back to bed. I'm still a little stuffy and I'm coughing today, but I feel better overall. Tonight we're heading over to one of our rentals to have a few beers with the college guys who live there and pick up some tools that have been over there for too long.

I've got a bunch of stuff to do this weekend between cleaning the house and editing and such. So, yeah, I don't think I'll have much downtime. Plus, it's almost time to get the Christmas stuff out to go through it and make sure it's all okay. I'm a Christmas FREAK. I think I'm putting up two trees this year. One in the living room and one in the family room. :) Plus all my table decorations and my mantle decorations. Yay!

Not much going on today other than getting my "work" work done and then spending this afternoon here editing. I've got a pretty good system worked out here. :) Man, I can't wait until I get pregnant in a year and can quit this job in a year and a half and just edit from home.

So, Halloween wasn't so good

Yeah, I seem to have caught some sort of cold bug, so I wasn't going anywhere yesterday after I got home from work. =P So, I wasn't about to go and sing last night. My "signature" song is Jewel "Foolish Games" and I wasn't about to try and croak it out. LOL Nor was I about to attempt any of my Bon Jovi songs, either. 'S not happenin'. So, I got in my pajamas, grabbed the book I'm reading, Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke, grabbed a beer, my smokes, and the candy and sat on the porch to hand candy out to trick-or-treaters. The weather was gorgeous! Between 55 and 60...on the last day of October! I'm not sure what's up with our weather--must be all that global warming stuff--but I'm loving it. I think I counted 104 kids last night. Then I stopped and went to bed to watch TV. =P

And today, well, I'm just gonna try and make it through half the day at work and then go home to curl up on the couch and read submissions and watch TV. And I'm still in shock...but it's November 1 and I'm wearing flip-flops and a skirt. I don't think this has EVER happened before. It's usually pretty dang cold by now in Indiana. 'Cept for maybe southern Indiana.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all! What's everyone up to tonight? Me? Myles and I will be heading out with our best friends and their daughter, my adorable neice, to take the Squirt trick-or-treating. :) Then, she's staying with a babysitter while Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Myles and Aunty go out to have some adult fun. :) Not sure if I'm going to get into my costume or not. This year I was Hugh Hefner's maid...Hugh being my Myles. We'll probably go to our favorite hick bar so we can drink and Ann and I can sing and dance. Three of our favorite things. Woo hoo!

And on another front, yesterday we put an offer in on another house. If we get it, this will be our 3rd rental. This one will take some work to get it ready, since it's a foreclosure, but it's worth it. Losts of painting and yardwork and cleaning to do. Eeek. But, if we get it, we'll get it done and get it rented and have more money in our pockets between rent and equity. And then Myles will look for yet another one. :P

Editing tip for the day:
Pay attention to comma usage. Read your sentences out loud, pausing where you have commas and see if it sounds right. I've been running into a lot of misplaced commas lately. These are easy fixes, people! =)

And I'll say it again...

...and again and again and again. Don't email me/us/whoever a month after you have subbed a story. Again, READ THE AUTOMATED RESPONSE! Ten to twelve weeks, people. If three months have passed and you haven't heard anything, then email. But I'll say it again, at any given time, we've got fifteen to thirty stories to read...and most of them were subbed before you. When you bug us, you irritate us and we start to doubt whether or not we'd like to work with you as an author if you're a pest. =) You're not the only one who wants their story read and published. Trust me on that one. LOL

And as an author...it is your duty to learn and utilize Track Changes. Every publishing house I've ever worked for has used them, so that's pretty standard. Learn the tool and learn it well.

Okay, enough for today...I think.

An Exciting Evening Correction

There weren't 8 other astronauts there. There were SIXTEEN other astronauts there. We managed to snag a pic of all of them. :) Including Gene Cernan. So there was the first man to walk on the moon and the last man. And Gus Grissom's widow was there as well. She donated a "lunar sample", i.e. a moon rock, to Purdue. :) Okay, I'm a bit of a space buff, too. =P Today we're driving up to my parents' in South Bend (Go Irish!), picking up my ten-year-old brother and taking him to a movie in Three Oaks, MI, In the Shadow of the Moon, by Ron Howard, which is a limited release movie. So, yes, we're basically driving seven hours, round trip, for a movie. :P

OH MY GOD

Yeah, tonight was phenomenal. Just got home. The night was much better than I expected it to be. :) We actually got to meet Neil Armstrong and the 16 other astronauts there. Wow. I'm pretty speechless. Here's a picture of my Myles and Neil Armstrong. Woo hoo!

An Exciting Evening

As anyone who knows me knows, my fiance is a MAJOR space buff. Well, more than just a buff, I guess. He's pretty much obsessed with it and is convinced he'll go to the moon before he dies. :) He's a phenomenal pilot and went to Purdue for it. At the time, they only excepted less than 1% of their applicants into the flight program...and he was at the top of the list. Needless to say, his poor vision hindered him from flying in the Air Force like he wanted to and getting into the space program. In the 90s you couldn't just go get lasik. =P So, anyways, as I work in Purdue and handle all the payments for the new buildings going up and all construction projects, I was privy to a great opportunity for him, which is my wedding present to him. THE Neil Armstrong helped raise money for a new engineering building, where the aeronautical and astronomical areas will be held. Alas, good old Neil was a graduate of Purdue. So, it's been almost three years and the building is done. Tonight is a black tie dinner being held in honor of the opening, and eight other astronauts besides Neil Armstrong will be there, as they have all graduated from Purdue. This is a BIG deal, especially for someone like Myles. Needless to say, not just anyone is invited. You've got to be friends with the current or ex-president of the university, or you have to be a HUGE donor. That automatically put me off the list.

But, never to dear, I have connections with the right people and managed to finagle myself an invitation to the $65 a head soiree. And that's where we're going tonight. Yup, my hubby-to-be gets to spend his evening in heaven, sitting in the same room as Neil Armstrong and eight other astronauts. Plus, he gets to see me in a cocktail dress to boot! Trust me, that rarely happens. After this, the next time I wear a dress will be on my wedding day in a year! =) So yeah, he's pretty damn excited and I'm just happy I could do it for him. I'm not looking forward to it, but it's for him and it'll make hime absolutely elated, and that's all that matters.

Now, if I could just get rid of the smell of rotting vermin in my car.

Tes, I said rotting vermin. Decomposing mice bodies. The stench of death. Yeah. Mice got in my car, built a nest, had babies, and then the nest feel into my blower motor. It was making noise so I took it out...yes, I took it out, I'm a major car chick...and found mice bodies. Not very cute ones, either. Cut in half ones. But dammit, even though they are gone, the smell is still there. One of the little suckers must have crawled into the ductwork and died. So now, everytime I turn my car on and the air comes out of the vents, I get to smell rotting vermin. Needless to say, we won't be taking my car tonight. Blech!

"Fustrated"

Oh my God, Myles was driving me crazy last night. He kept saying "fustrated" over and over and over. There is no such word! It's "fRustrated" dammit! There are two r's! His response was to tell me to go and get an East Coast dictionary and that it would be in there. Grrrrrr. Then he started saying "Drawring" to annoy me as well. Everyone from the East Coast leaves r's out when they're supposed to be there, yet adds them to words where they don't belong. Can anyone make sense of this for me? It's very irritating to listen to them talk sometimes. =P And then they make fun of me for saying "y'all." "It's so cute, say it again." Oh, two weeks straight with all of them in January is going to be SO much fun. *sigh*

And while I'm on the subject, pacifically...yeah, not a word. It's "specifically." If you can't say it, don't say it. And ethniticity is NOT a word either. It's "ethnicity." All of these drive me nuts. Oh, and here's one some people at my work use..."Valentime's Day." Grrrrrrrrr. There is no such holiday!!! And the kicker? Half these words have been used by some of my college professors. And I'm PAYING these people to teach me. Can someone tell me what's wrong with this picture?

I think I'm done for now...for now. Not for long, though. There's always something else to rant about. Always.

Finally back to normal

Yeah, things have finally settled down and are back to normal. I think all my tears are cried out and I've come to terms with everything, so all is well on that front.

However, on another front, I started The Diet today. Yes, indeed. More specifically, the Hawaii diet. There's now way I'm going to Hawaii for two weeks in January looking like this. LOL The major thing for me is all the ice cream and junk food I eat, so I'm cutting that out. Eek! Yeah, nto so good. But I can do this...I think. We'll see how it goes. I've got enough editing, writing, and submissions to read through to keep my mind occupied, so hopefully that works out well. Hopefuly. :)

Hope all is well with everyone else!

Feeling better

I'm feeling a little better today about things. Last night was pretty rough, as Dave's fiancee sent us pictures of his car. Those were pretty tough to look at. I will be MIA tomorrow evening, much of Thursday and much of Friday, as those are the viewings and services. So if you need me and can't get ahold of me, be patient, please.

Nothing else is really going on. We had our annual Halloween Party on Saturday night. We decided that Dave would have wanted us to continue to party on, so we did. Well, at least partially. It wasn't a "normal" party atmosphere, but that's okay. We still had some fun. My brother and his best friend came down from South Bend, so that was a blast. They were dressed as an Air Force pilot and an Iraqi. They'd gotten the whole haji get-up when they were in Iraq, as they're both in the Army Reserves. So needless to say, it was pretty interesting when both of them went running down the road, dressed like that, chasing each other. It was a laugh I REALLY needed, to say the least. :) They're supposed to go back to Iraq in 10 months, so I'll be pretty bummed when they leave again...especially since it's two months before my wedding. They'd better be back for that, dammit!

Hope all is well with everyone else.

The loss of someone dear

I've been a bit MIA this weekend and I will probably be for the next few days, just doing what I have to to get by. On Friday afternoon, I received the news that one of my bestest friends had died in a car accident. Sadly, he had been drinking, ran a stop sign and ran into a tree. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and the car rolled a few times. And to make things even more wonderful, he died on my "future" wedding date, October 11, since he died at about 11:15 at night, though he wasn't found until 8:00 the next morning. Myles was just as close to him as I was, so it's equally hard for both of us, instead of one of use being able to remain strong for the other one. Yeah, this pretty much sucks, but there's nothing I can do about it except to get through it. Here's a pic of Dave and Myles. My Myles is on the left with the glasses and my Dave is on the right, with his signature funky goatee. =) Damn, I'll miss him.

Sick and tired...literally

Yeah, I seem to have caught some sort of bug, and it's kicking my ass this weekend. I had intentions of getting soooo much done and had soooo many plans. Instead, I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV and praying that my meds start to work soon. So far, they're not giving me much pleasure. Also, everytime I glance behind me to look out into the backyard, (I like to look out into the woods) I see the huge spider that somehow managed to get between the screen and the glass. Lovely. Especially since I tend to be pretty arachnaphobic. I think it stems from watching Tarantula with my father when I was little. Not sure. :) All I know, is that I wish it would die, since I've already asked Myles to take the screen down and kill the little bastard for me. Yeah, he just laughed and teased me. I think I'm going to take it easy today and just chill in front of the TV and read some submissions during commercials. Yeah, I think that's about all I have the energy for today.

Ice Cream and Editing

So tonight Myles headed off to Chicago to see a Genesis concert--$100 for a seat in the nosebleeds. Too bad the guy that bought the tickets didn't ask if we wanted to pay that much for one. :P But, oh well. He'll have fun, even if he gets home at two in the morning and has to get up for work in the morning. And since I have the evening to myself, I went out and got a big 'ole thing of Cold Stone Creamery ice cream for dinner and I'm sitting here eating it and getting some edits done with the TV on as background noise. A poifect evening, if I do say so myself. :) I'm going to enjoy my quiet time tonight since it looks like everything is going to be pretty busy from tomorrow night on. Eeek. Birthday parties and Lia Sophia parties and baby showers. Lots and lots going on. I'm going to get as much done tonight and during work the next two days at work as I can. :)

Pics of the house stuff as promised

So, there's my painted cat. Hahaha. Yeah, I got her good. And there's the pics of what I spent my entire weekend a couple of weekends ago doing. Sooooo NOT fun. We painted the entire hallway upstairs, hung some of the Myles photography, and hung the chandelier. And just to clarify, for those who think I'm weird (and I am), I call him "the Myles" because his best friend's daughter calls him "the Myles". She just turned 4. LOL

A night for us girls

So, tonight I have my little neice (one of my best friend's daughters) over here. She's going to be two this weekend and Mom and Dad had to do some shopping for the Squirt without her around. :) Yes, I love her to death. She's allllll mine right now. She's kept me from getting any work done, though. And she takes over the TV. She HAS to have her Mickey Mouse. And her Uncle Myles. She absolutely adores him. He adores her, even though he's too "manly" to admit it. LOL So, of course, I had to take pics of she and I tonight, so her y'all go. =)

A random day

Just like I said in the subject, today is a random day. The mother-in-law is in town and tagged along with Myles during a trip to Lowe's. What was supposed to be a quick trip to Lowe's to get a sprayer and bug spray to spray around the foundation of the house turned in to much more than that. They came back with a new grill. Ay yay yay. Yeah. That's usually how things turn out with her. Now, she has decided that we need to grill out tomorrow, so they just left to go to the store for meat, which means they'll come back with a freezer-full of stuff. Literally. But I'm not complaining. :)

While they're gone, I'm using this as an opportunity to watch Moonlight, which I set to tape on the DVR. Oh my God this is a good show! I'm sooooo gonna watch it again. I HIGHLY recommend it. :) Oh yeah. I can't gush about it enough. :)

And when the Myles gets home, he'll be happy--I made him a home-baked punkin pie (Yes, punkin is spelled that way on purpose...My nickname is "Punkin" and I have no clue how it even got started). And I made some punkin cake. Yeah, I'm in a punkin and baking mood. So he'll benefit from it. :) I'm thinking some peach cobbler sounds good, too. And here in a bit we're heading to Mountain Jacks for dinner, so that means I'll get filet mignon tonight. Oh yum. Sounds good to me. :)

There's not much else going on today. I'm working a bit on one of my own stories, reading some submissions, and maybe I'll get to some editing later, but I'm going to spend the majority of the day working on it tomorrow.

So, that's all for now, folks. Other than the fact that the pinched nerve in my shoulder is bugging me again. Blech.

When you submit a story...

For the love of God, don't bother the editor about it a week after you sent it. Seriously. The automated reply says to allow eight to ten weeks for a response. We try not to take that long, but understand, you're not the only one whose story we have to read. At any given time, we've about about thirty of them. When you email us and "nudge" us, it doesn't make us want to read your story. It annoys us and makes us want to reject it. Yes, I said it--reject it. The story may be good, but when you bother us, it makes us wonder what it will be like to work with you, and possibly your agent, during the editing process. It's not JUST the story you're selling, it's you, too. Your story can be wonderful, but if if you make us dislike you, your story will get rejected. There are always more stories behind you. Remember that.

Oh wow, it's been a day

Yeah, it's been one hell of a day. I'm so sore, stiff and tired. I soaked in the tub for a while, and it helped for a little while, but now the pain has returned. I'm guessing I'll be in bed VERY early tonight. Um, like 8:30, which is as soon as it gets dark. :P I've got a lot of emails and editing to catch up on tomorrow, but I'll make it. The painting I have left to do is minimal, but then I have to clean up. Ugh. I think that's the part that sucks the most. But, thank the Lord, it's almost done. I'll post pictures once it's all poifect and perty. :)

Addios for now!

A VERY tired Ann

To edit or to paint the house, that is the question

And, well, painting the house won. :( Yeah, I'd rather edit, but now it's 8:15 in the evening and I'm finally sitting down to get some edits done. I'm guessing not too many will get done, given the way I feel right now. Blech. Plus, I now have two painted cats. They just wouldn't stay away! So, a striped down the top of each of their heads kept them hiding from me all day, which served its purpose in keeping them away. :) And I just send the Myles to pick up pizza, so thank God I don't have to make dinner tonight. I don't think I could handle it. LOL Wow, that's sad. So now, I'm off to do some edits on Rebecca Goings next book, Hearts Unbound. Wonderful story, by the way. And it's out in November from Samhain, of course.

Toodle-oo!

No, you haven't already ATE.

This is one of those annoying little things that just gets to me. Please, people, learn what a past participle is and how to conjugate your verbs. :) You have already EATEN, dammit. Eats, eats, ate, eating, and EATEN. The past participle of eat is NOT ate. :P And you have not drank a lot; you have drunk a lot. Gar. Is it just people in Indiana, or is this some sort of widespread virus?

Oh, and seen, yet another one that is misused. Except, in this case, it's the opposite of above. :OP You did not seen them at the mall yesterday; you SAW them. You have seen them in the past. Gar. I have actually received manuscripts where the author described something as "She seen the sun on the horizon." Yeah, that's pretty much an automatic rejection. Just a side note. :) For those of you who care.

Okay, I'm done with past participles today, though I'm sure that's NOT the last you'll see of my rants regarding them. I think the whole "seen" thing is one of my biggest pet peeves ever.

Ooops

Yes, I know--I'm not the best at keeping up on blogs. But I'm working on getting better. Besides, it's not like anyone really cares about every little detail of my life, right? :)

Actually, I was really busy with the FH this weekend, getting ready for my future mother-in-law to be here next week. At least I'll get a long weekend from my "real" job. But I digress. What started out as a simple paint-job on the upstairs hallway turned into a HUGE ordeal. The color we chose was too dark, so we needed new lighting. Also, we decided we didn't want to continue the dark color downstairs, so we made a trip to Lowe's to get a bit lighter of a color. I also found out that when Myles--fiance's name--has to be in the attic in 110 degree heat in order to cut a hole in the ceiling to install a chandelier in the stairwell *breath* and he gets covered in insulation and dirt and sweat...he likes to get "lovey". Yeah. Insulation-covered hugs are NOT pleasant. At least I could revel in the fact that he got an allergic reaction to the stuff. *evil smile*

I'll post some pictures of all my hard work soon, as it's still in-process. Doors and trim this weekend. Oh boy!

And a side note--cat's do NOT make good helpers when hanging lights and painting. Yeah, not so good. :)

Ooooh, my first one.

I suppose I could use my first post telling you about myself; who I am, what I do for a living, my likes, my dislikes, and all of that irrelevant bullshit. But I don't think I'm going to do that. I'm sure those are all things you'll learn if you continue reading my blog. I'll let you figure all of that out for yourself.

Yes, I'm an editor. A very picky one. :) I got into this job because I love books. I love to read, I love to critique, and I especially love to tell people when they've done something wrong and pointing out their mistakes. So, what could be better for me than being an editor? Absolutely nothing. I love what I do. Even though I have a full-time "real" job, I've managed to take this on as well. Though, of course, in a year I'll be drastically cutting the hours of the "real" job, or quitting it entirely in order to edit full-time. And be a stay-at-home mommy, too, when my better half and I start to have kids in about a year.

Other than that, there's nothing else you need to know for now. I'll reveal all my quirks and oddities in due time. :)