It’s that time again. National Novel Writing Month is here.. otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. I think about doing this every year and every year I say “I can do this…” then I don’t. I’m not even going to attempt it this year. I’m just going to write. Less stressful that way.

A Boy Like You is coming along (much to my surprise!) I should have a rough first draft in another month or two. To finish a book in less than a year would be awesome. It’s nice to have goals.

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!

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!

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!

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..

• 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.

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

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.