Scavenger Hunt!

If you’re following the DBP Scavenger Hunt, this post is for you! 

Thanks for stopping by.. you can find the answer to the question on Stephanie’s Burkhart’s blog a couple of posts down.  Next stop:

What is the name of the suspense series Melanie Atkins has with DBP?

Good luck!

Santa Claus is comin’..

We are in the final countdown until our trip home to Florida.  I must admit I am beside myself with excitement to see my family and friends.  It’s been a year since we’ve been home and while that doesn’t seem long to some people it is an eternity to me and my family.  My only hope is that I will be able to leave after the new year and return to the dreary, cold winter weather in Illinois. 

This time of year, I’m usually still hunting for the perfect dress to wear to the holiday party at work.  It not only has to look elegant, yet sexy (not to mention shave about 10 lbs off my figure), but it also has to withstand our annual attempt to perform the Thriller choreography.   Six and a half minutes of booty-bounces, crouching, and twitching offers a lot of “flashing” risk.   Considering I am still packing baby weight, I am more than a little relieved I got to skip the dress-hunt this year. 

What I did miss, however, was an opportunity to hang out with my friends to eat, drink, and be merry.  As it turns out, this year Angela did the Thriller by herself.  I got a text from her later that night saying it just wasn’t the same without me.   I felt the same way when Aiden and I did it at the RT Booklover’s convention this summer.  Well, Aiden was along for the ride (I was 5 1/2 months pregnant!)  Don’t worry Angela.. there’s always New Year’s Eve!   I guess I better practice…

Be on the look-out tomorrow for my turn on the Desert Breeze Publishing Blog Scavenger Hunt.  I’ll be posting the question and link to the next blog.   There’s tons of Giveaways on the Desert Breeze Connections email list and a super-fun 12 Days of Christmas blog party going on at Sandra Sookoo’s blog where I’ll post some memories about the kiddies and our holiday traditions. 

Now it’s only 4 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes until we leave!

Favorite Things

I’m a simple girl.  I like a particular look.  I wear understated makeup.  The minute I walk in the door after work, I’m in a comfortable pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt with my hair up in a ponytail.  My indulgences are few —

Magazine Subscriptions

I love magazines.  The bright colors, the articles, the scents.  They inspire me. Magazines make me want to try new make-up, a new purse, a new look.  It also surprises me when someone else is using a product I swear by.. it makes me feel very now.   My top favorites are Redbook, InStyle, Marie Claire, and Parenting. 

Maybeline ColorStay Lipcolor

I hate lipstick.  I can actually feel it on my lips.  I hate the greasy, heavy feel and I hate the way it comes off on everything I touch with my lips.  I love the way it looks.  Enter Maybeline’s ColorStay Lipcolor.  O-M-G!  This stuff is amazing!  It goes on and I practically need a chisel to take it off!  It’s lightweight and comes in many colors.  I have nine. 

MaryKay Timewise Age Fighting Eye Cream

I started wearing this every day when I was twenty-four, when I didn’t need to worry about wrinkles.  I’m thirty-three and still don’t have to worry about wrinkles.. at least not around my eyes.  I can’t say for sure if it’s a direct result of daily use of this little tube of miracle cream but I never let myself run out.. just in case. 

Coach bags

When everyone else was carrying Dooney & Bourke, I was gravitating to Coach.  Now, everyone is a Coach girl.  I was a Coach girl before it was cool. 

BlackBerry Pearl

Many people go on about their iPhones, their BlackBerry Storms, or their BlackBerry Curves.  Me, I like the Pearl.  I like that it’s small and that it has all the number buttons in the center and I like that I can feel the button clicking when I press it. 

LiaSophia jewelry

My aunt Jeanine sells this jewelry and it’s GORGEOUS.  I have several pieces that I like to wear on special occasions.  Other than that, it’s the beaded jewelry my mom makes or my standard watch, wedding set, and solitaire earrings Todd got me for our anniversary. 

Books

This is one area I do not compromise.  I probably spend about $300 a year in books alone.  I love books.

Just the Right Shoe

Since my ankle injury in 2005, I can’t wear the kind of shoes I love to wear so I take solace in collecting the miniatures.  I have an entire curio cabinet full of little tiny shoes and each one has its own story.  

What are some of your favorite things?  I’m always up for trying something new!

 

 

Thriller!

Have you ever actually listened to the words to the Michael Jackson’s Thriller?   I was jamming out to my iPod the other day and trying to get some words in for NaNoWriMo and the song came up on my random selection.    It’s really rather appropo considering the sheer panic I’m feeling trying to close the gap on my dismal showing so far. 

You hear the door slam

And you realize there’s nowhere left to run

You feel the cold hand

And wonder if you’ll ever see the sun

You close your eyes

And hope that this is just imagination

But all the while

You hear a creature creepin’ up behind

You’re outta time

‘Cause it’s Thriller

Thriller night

And no one’s gonna save you

From the beast about to strike

You know it’s Thriller

Thriller night

You’re fighting for your life

Inside a killer

Thriller tonight, yeah

For those of you whom I met at Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention this past April, you may remember me as the very pregnant woman doing the Thriller dance at Heather Graham’s Vampire ball… in heels.

Next year, be on the lookout for all of the Desert Breeze Authors as we attempt the chase the goons from out of our sight..

Desperate Air Force Wives of St. Clair County

So we’ve been up here in the northern Tundra, also known as Illinois, for 10 months.  In that time, we …

• Hunkered down in our first snow storm
• Started new careers
• Saw our first professional hockey game
• Survived our first tornado
• Spent two days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with baby #4
• Started high school (baby #1)
• Started middle school (baby #2)
• Joined, quit, joined another cheer squad (baby #3)
• Moved back to Florida (baby #2, *sniffle*)
• Published my second book

In a word – stressed.   Moving with the military has been an interesting experience.  We chose not to live on base because 1) it was too far away from my new job; and 2) I heard horror stories about living in close company with people who had nothing better to do than peek out their windows and gossip about you with the other wives.   Who needs that kind of drama?  As you can see, I’m really good at creating my own.  I don’t need any help, thanks.

Gearing up for RT

Next week is the Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention in Orlando, FL.  The last time I went was in 2006 in Daytona Beach and it was so much fun (despite spending more than 1/2 the time in the hotel room puking my guts up with the stomach flu!) 

This year I’ll be going as a Desert Breeze author and I am so excited to be a part of that group.  In the few weeks they’ve been open for business, the staff at DBP have shown extraordinary effort and committment to making the small press a success.  I’m fortunate to be a part of it. 

I’ve done my shopping for all the parties, put together my list of seminars I want to attend, and purchased the items for my giveaway basket in ClubRT.  All I have left to do is ship my basket to the hotel and keep working on my newest WIP, Shut Up & Kiss Me, before I go. 

The convention should be blast.  I hope to see some familiar faces.  I’ll be hard to miss.  I’m the circus-tent-sized pregnant lady waddling around and looking for FL sunshine.  =D

Contest Winner Announced!

I’LL DO ANYTHING… for Lingerie!

WINNER: PAM S!

That’s dedication, girl! Congrats!

Romance Author Chrystal Kincaid talks about life, love, and the pursuit of sanity!

NEW CONTEST!! March 2009

To celebrate the re-release of my book, I’ll Do Anything, I’m revisiting one of my favorite contests!

I’LL DO ANYTHING… for Lingerie!

Here’s how to win
Subscribe to my blog tell me about a time you went above and beyond for love. Leave your submission as a comment to this announcement. The best story will win!

Grand Prize
A $50 gift card to Victoria’s Secret & a copy of the newly revised, re-released I’ll Do Anything from Desert Breeze Publishing!

Just how far will YOU go for a delicious goody!

Good Luck!

Contest begins Monday, March 9th and ends Friday, April 3rd, 2009.

Romance Author Chrystal Kincaid talks about life, love, and the pursuit of sanity!

My Soundtrack

As I sat here “chair-dancing” to the Pussycat Dolls, I came to the sudden realization that listening to your iPod is like living in your own soundtrack.

Sometimes I am up for an 80’s flashback with a little Rick Springfield, Boston, and Journey to get the day going.

Sometimes I’m shakin’ my ass to Party Like a Rock Star and Gold Digger and dancing like I’m on MTV’s the Grind (I just totally dated myself there.. LOL)

Other days I’m jamming out to System of a Down or “classic” Limp Bizkit and feeling like I could take on the world and beat some serious ass.

If you don’t have an iPod, I highly recommend the purchase. For those of you who write, you can totally relate to my “soundtrack” theory. Many of us use music to set a mood for a certain scene. I remember when I wrote the garden scene in I’LL DO ANYTHING, I listened to Mazzy Starr’s “Fade Into You” over and over again until I got it just right.

I think tonight I’m going to add a new playlist – Kick Ass Workout

This soundtrack will include those songs that make me feel like getting up and moving around. Since the start of football season, we are spending a lot of time at the park for cheer & football practices. Todd and I have decided to make the best of it and start running on the track. I need more motivation than his sexy self jogging in front of me.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my hubby, but I used to tell people that if you saw me running you’d better call the cops ‘cause somebody’s chasing me. LOL

Todd is motivated to lose some weight because he got promoted to SSgt (USAF) and he bought a new uniform. He refused to get the right size pants and now he’s got to lose weight to fit into the ones he bought.

Apparently this idiocity is not limited to us, ladies. Men feel the pinch, too.

Romance Author Chrystal Kincaid talks about life, love, and the pursuit of sanity!

Over-Achiever

There are times in your life when you just have to let things go.

I planned our wedding for over a year; finishing one degree and starting another during that time. My ex-husband joined the Army Reserves and my son’s mild separation anxiety turned into a full blown “issue” as a result. I watched months and months go by without any opportunities to reconnect with my writing and it suffered as a result of all of this extra stuff I was doing all the time.

Then, to my great disappointment and regret, I found it my writing dreams simply wash away with the closing of Triskelion Publishing. I’ll Do Anything, which had seen some excellent reviews, is now frozen in Bankruptcy Limbo while Kristi & Ron Studts’ bankruptcy trustee try to sell off assets to repay their debt. At first I was angry, but now I realize that this emotion is futile as there is nothing I can do but wait and throw my paperwork at the courts when it’s my turn.

Now that the wedding is over and things are settling down a bit at home and work, there seems to be more time to just breathe and relax and think about the things I used to enjoy. I have read three books in the last four days. What a luxurious treat! That’s novels, mind you. NOT textbooks. I have cracked open my Shut Up & Kiss Me file and started editing and reaquainting myself with Gillie & Preston. What a pair those two are! I am excited to say that I’ve set myself a goal to finish them this summer.

I want a second chance at my writing. I want to do things differently this time. I’m more experienced now (and jaded) and know more of what I want out of my writing career. I didn’t make New Years Resolutions this year because I was so overwhelmed at the time that I thought adding more goals would just put me over the edge. Can you make Mid-Year Resolutions?? LOL

There just comes a time when you have to let go of the small things to see the big picture. My big picture is that I’m in love, my family is happy and healthy, and I am making some of my dreams come true. I got some valuable advice recently:

“You are one of those people who can get something 90% done in 4 hours, but spends another two days trying to accomplish the last 10%. Sometimes you just have to accept when 90% is just good enough.”

I needed that eye-opening observation.

Thanks Bob.

Romance Author Chrystal Kincaid talks about life, love, and the pursuit of sanity!