This is a conversation I overheard my oldest two Gremlins having the other day while watching Star Wars II – Attack of the Clones.

A -(9-yr old girl): “Ack! They’re kissing again!” Throws blanket over her head and hides, while mumbling incoherently to herself in total embarrassment.

B – (newly-turned 6 yr old boy): “What’s the problem, A?”

A: “I don’t like the kissing! Why do they have to have all that kissing?”

B: Rolling eyes while watching movie. “Anakin and Padme have to kiss to fall in love. And they have to fall in love so he can turn into Darth Vader. If they don’t kiss and fall in love, he’s got no reason to turn bad! Then there’d be no more movies! Think about it!”

*Sigh*…

*Big grin*

Does that just not warm your romance writer heart???? The six-year old boy gets it!

***

In other news…wild WILD weather here. Seriously. Last Saturday it was 75 degrees. DH got a sunburn on his neck and arms working in the yard. I got tan shoulders sitting in a tee and capris at the baseball game. Today? Snow. As in, not just a mix of snowy rain but S-N-O-W. My deck, yard, trees, cars…everything was white this morning. It melted pretty fast but still…snow? In April? In late April????? Wonky.

Hmm…Jan. 2nd to Jan. 20th. Not quite three weeks. This is a blogging improvement!

First of all, some news. The girls at RWKF have decided to take a blogging break. J’s going back to work full time, Lin’s tackling grad school on top of working full time AND writing for Sahmain, and me? Well, I go with the flow. My RWA chapter duties as the new pres. have taken up way more time than I’d like, and I’m still not back to 100% after being sick over the holidays (still fighting this ear infection. Gah! Talk about irritating). I’m also knee-deep in revisions my agent wanted on my last book and all that coupled with my almost-three-year-old who doesn’t like me to spend too much time on the computer lately has limited my online time. We’re not finished blogging at RWKF, just taking a break, so don’t count us out totally. I’ll let you know when we’re back up and running. In the meantime, I’ll try to check in here more often, and you can also find me at my chapter blog every other Friday.

My girlfriend got me a great Christmas gift which I keep meaning to share with you. It’s a desk calendar called “An Insult A Day”. I know, I know…what? But I guess you’d have to hear my humor in person to get that. I’m fairly snarky and my characters tend to be snarky as well. My g’friend thought the daily reminder would be a good way to “get in the snark mood” for writing. So far it’s just darn entertaining. A few snippets from the last few days:

She’s so stupid she returns bowling balls because they’ve got holes in them.- Comedian Joan Rivers.

I’ve been asked to say a few words about my husband. How about “short” and “Cheep”. – Comedian Phylis Diller

Don’t be fooled by the dumb blonde routine. This woman [Pamela Anderson] is as smart a rock.- talk show host Jimmy Kimmel

You have the charisma of a wax dummy. – American Idol judge Simon Cowell

See the allure? LOL

And finally, I’m taking an informal poll. What do you think about reunion stories? Love ‘em, hate ‘em, ambivalent toward them? Any you’ve read that have been done really well? How did the author tackle the whole past relationship thing? As you can see, I’m dealing with this issue in my revisions.

This is totally off the writing topic, but I thought I’d share a few of my new favorite things.

1. My Computer. Okay, not new, but I’m thrilled to have it back. For some reason I couldn’t ever download the new version of windows before, and when it went in for service, they put the new version on. Very cool. Now, if my files get decoded, I’ll be thrilled. Cross your fingers.

2. Victoria’s Secret Bare Bronze . Moisturizer with a hint of self tanner. Ever since I had a melanoma, I can’t really spend a lot of time in the sun. But my pukey-white Irish skin misses that golden summer glow. This is the first self tanner I’ve found that not only looks natural, it also smells good, too. Definitely worth the money.

3. Acne Free Skin Care System. I’ve used ProActiv for years but recently ran out. I decided not to order it again because I was stockpiling the toner and you can only buy it in a 3 part system. It’s also expensive and I hate paying for shipping every month. While at Costco though, I came across the Acne Free system which is comparable to ProActiv. The plus is you get twice as much for half the cost and it actually works BETTER. After only a week of using it, my skin looks incredible. If you use ProActiv, consider switching.

4. Sheer Cover Makeup. Also something you have to order, but they send you a three month supply so you’re only paying shipping once ever three months. This makeup is great. Goes on light and smooth, covers everything and looks completely natural. You hardly know you’re wearing it. A friend of mine shells out big bucks for Bare Essentials. This stuff is cheaper and works better.

5. Land O’Lakes Sugar Free Whipped Cream. I can only find this at Walmart, but it’s worth the trip across town. Mmm.. tastes great and is perfect on a cup of hot coffee. Also satisfies the sugar cravings so I don’t eat a pound of chocolate chip cookie dough.

6. Hollywood Fashion Tape. My dear friend and Nationals roommate, Alice, gave me a handful of these little white sticky tabs last year in Atlanta when we were getting dressed one morning. These things are AWESOME and I now use them all the time. Got a gap in the front of your blouse? You just stick one of these puppies between the buttons, stick the other side of your shirt to it and it holds it closed all day long. Also works if you have a dress or blouse that keeps dropping down to reveal a little too much cleavage. Just stick the tab on the outside of your bra, press your blouse to it and voila. Instant magic.

Okay, your turn. What are some of your new or not-so-new favorite things? Can be writing related or non-writing related.

Yes, it’s really me. Not Memorex. Shocked, aren’t you?

Vacation was fabulous. Hawaii was beautiful and warm and utterly relaxing. I have pictures to share, but don’t have them uploaded yet. I want to go back. In fact, I told DH anytime he wants to take a job transfer to the islands, I’m there.

In other good news I finally have my computer back!! Yippie-skippie!!! Yes, it’s been four loooong, heart-wrenching weeks for me without a computer. DH is thrilled I won’t be confiscating his in the evenings anymore. During those four weeks I learned some interesting things about myself… I NEED the Internet not only to converse with my writer friends and stay in touch with happenings in the world, but also for research. I am a “research-as-you-go” writer. Not being able to pop over and check a city or location KILLED me. I honestly don’t know how writers functioned before the invention of the Internet. I also learned writing long-hand is a lot of work. Very hard for me to do. For some reason my hand and pen just can’t keep up with my brain. Typing is much easier for me. Because of this I found it really easy to find “other” things to do instead of write. I’m so thrilled to have my laptop back now and am hoping I can really jump back to work.

On the agenda today? Reconfiguring my computer, uploading programs and software and wading through the backup files. I’ve been promised all my files are there, but they won’t be organized in any folders…just random files I’ll need to pull and categorize on my own. I have a feeling that will take a while. I have six CD’s to work through. Also on the agenda is blog-hopping a little, catching up with friends and wading through emails. I’ve been totally out of the loop.

Oh, and today was my day to blog at Romance Worth Killing For in case you missed it. I’m talking about delineations within the romantic suspense genre. Would love to get your view and opinion on the subject.

I’m so glad to be back. Everyone fill me in on what you’ve been up to during the last month.

Whew…that’s the sound of me exhaling loudly. Today was my dd’s 8th bday party. I pushed for a party away from home, she wanted to have a party at home. She won. I limited the invites to 10 kids, it blossomed somehow to 20. Again, she won (Hmm…seeing a pattern here.) It was chaos here today to put it plainly. Thankfully though, it’s now over. One more bday party and I’m done for the year. Starting in Jan. my kids have bdays just about ever five weeks. At what age do they stop wanting to have bday parties?????

What have I been up to? Hm. Let’s see. Writing. Basically, that’s it. Really in the zone with the WIP, and I love the feeling. Hoping to get to the halfway mark soon.

I booked our vacation to Maui today. We’re going in April. DH and I have never been to Hawaii, so I’m really stoked. Esp. since we’re going sans kids.

Okay, that’s as much update as I can manage today. If any of you have been to Maui, what things/places are a must-see?

Nothing significant happened today, but I have to say, it was a good day. The sun was shining, it was over sixty degrees here, and the daffodils are coming out. Writing-wise, I got some editing done, did some plotting I’ve been putting off and had a great conversation with my agent. For the first time in months, I feel like I’m on the right path. Why do we second-guess ourselves all the time? I look back at the past few months and can’t help but think if I hadn’t been worrying so much about editors and sales and what comes next, I could already be done with the darn WIP. I’m not, but at least now I feel like I *will* be done soon.

In other news, over at Romance Worth Killing For this week we’re cross-blogging with the girls at Romance Unleashed. The topic for the week is mis-information. Today was my day to post, so go check it out. And when you get done commenting, be sure to pop over to Romance Unleashed to read a NY pubbed author’s view of the same topic.

I’m nervously anticipating the 4th book in JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood tomorrow. My palms sweat just thinking about it (I blame Lisa for this condition). Must get some writing done tonight because I know tomorrow night I’ll most likely be reading.

So, all in all, though nothing major happened today, it was a good day.

How was your day?

Baseball season is almost here. For those of you who don’t know my DH personally, he’s a big baseball nut. Lives for it. Loves it. Loves to play it and watch it and coach it. He coached HS ball for years, and since our kids are now playing, has switched to coaching them.

Our oldest is a girl. And little league in our town is a big deal. There’s a whole “political” side to the league – who knows who, who’s friends with who, who’s parents are related to so-and-so. We tend to stay out of the politics and focus on the sport. DH has been coaching our daughter from the time she started out in T-ball. However, because it’s so “serious” here, they separate girls from boys right off the bat. Even in T-ball, there are no co-ed teams.

I’ve left the baseball decisions up to DH because he’s the expert. When the daughter was little, he decided to put her on a boys team. First of all, the ball was smaller, and her hands were tiny. And second of all, our daughter is a tomboy. All of her friends – then and now – are boys, and she wanted to play with her friends. When she started out, there were several girls playing in the boys’ league at her level. This year, she’s the only one.

We have always left the choice up to her. Play baseball or play softball. We don’t care. She’s chosen baseball year after year. Why? I’m not sure, but I suspect it’s because that’s where her friends are. Of the few girls she hangs out with at school, NONE play softball. Ability-wise she’s playing at the same level as the boys. She’s as tall, as strong and plays just as well. If we thought she could get hurt playing with the boys, we wouldn’t let her play.

Why do I bring all this up? Simple. Over and over from parents this year I’m hearing, “Why isn’t she playing softball? What do you have against softball? She should be playing softball instead of baseball.” So much so that I’m really getting tired of hearing it. People assume that because my DH has always been so involved in baseball that we’re forcing her to play baseball instead of softball, which totally isn’t the case. But what surprises me most is these comments are coming from women. Women, who are basically implying that my daughter can’t play on a boys’ team and shouldn’t be playing with the boys. That it’s wrong. I can’t begin to tell you how much that upsets me. I have always told my daughter she can do and be whatever she wants. And the choice is always hers. When my mother was young and going to college, she said there were basically three choices for women back then – be a teacher, a nurse or a secretary. She chose to be a teacher, and still is. Today, that’s not the case, and as we’ve watched women break the glass-ceiling, it still amazes me that in this day and age, there are people – including women – that are stereotyping us because of our gender.

I write strong, independent, tough heroines. The kind of women I admire and aspire to be myself. The kind of women I want my daughter to be. What am I telling her if that’s the kind of woman I am, the kind I write, yet I force her to play a sport she doesn’t want to play simply because she’s a girl? At some point, I’m sure she will play softball, and if and when she makes that choice, I will be there on the bench, watching every game and rooting for her the same as I have on every other team she’s been a part of. I just hate the fact that at the age of 8, she’s already having to deal with prejudice simply because she’s a girl.

My plans to crank out pages just isn’t working. Yesterday, DH had a minor outpatient procedure on his back. I had to take him and hang out in the waiting room all afternoon. I took my laptop and my ipod and planned to really get some writing done. Ten minutes into my book, my computer froze and then wouldn’t restart. Needless to say, I had a minor panic attack. First of all – wasted afternoon writing-wise. Second of all, I haven’t backed up anything in eons. And my biggest fear was I’d just lost everything I’ve written in the last six months.

Luckily, when we got home, my laptop booted up okay. Because we had company, I didn’t get a chance to back up yet, but I will. Today. Catastrophe #1 – Averted.

I then hoped I could get some work done this weekend. Great plan, bad environment. We ended up having my nephew here this weekend. He’s 15 months. Need I say more? Gosh, even though Gremlin #3 just turned two a few weeks ago, I’d completely forgotten what it was like to have a one-year-old in the house. This boy is the silent tornado. He gets into EVERYTHING. By 8AM he’d already dumped the dog’s water bowl on himself, unraveled every toilet paper roll in our house, opened his cup and spilled milk all over the carpet, picked up Gremlin #2′s UNO game and tossed the cards all over the living room, emptied the Tupperware cupboard and set my two-year-old off on a temper tantrum. I’ve spent all morning chasing him, yelling, “No! Get out of there! No! Don’t touch that!” I’m sure he’s going to grow up with disjointed memories of his psycho aunt who used to follow him all over the house.

So…(big sigh)…the boys are finally napping. Both of them. I made sure they went down at the same time. Gremlin #1 is at a bday party. Gremlin #2 is playing Playstation games. DH is working and the house is quiet. I have a million things I should do while the silent tornado is asleep, but I’m sitting here trying to unwind. I have a feeling I won’t get much writing done this weekend.

Catastrophe #2 – Averted for The Time Being.

So what do you have going this weekend?

***

Minor addendum…forgot to add. My agent’s blogging over at Magical Musings today. Great post about taking risks. Don’t miss it.

I am the queen of procrastination. I was thinking about this tonight as I was helping my daughter with her homework. Homework packets are due on Fridays. Generally, I’m good about making her get her spelling words and sentences written Monday night so we have all week to study them, but everything else – the math and writing and worksheets – I let slide until Thursday night.

(But you’re saying, Elisabeth, tonight is Wednesday. You’re ahead of the curve. Ah, silly grasshopper. Yes, tonight is Wednesday. But Monday, remember, was a holiday, hence I didn’t make the wee one crack her homework folder. So we’re scrambling. Spelling tonight…all the other crap tomorrow.)

Yeah. I know. I’m a bad parent. I’m teaching her bad habits. If you give me seven days to do something, I’ll wait until the sixth to hunker down and get it done. Why? I’m not sure. I think I have trouble producing until I’m on a time crunch. I know I can do it. I also know I can do it as well, if not better, when I’m solely focused and working down to the wire. Luckily for me, that means when I sell and am on deadline, I’ll be doing good. Stressed, but good. Unluckily for my daughter, it means she’ll either fail or end up just like me, unless her mother gets her act together and teaches her good homework habits (and we won’t even go into the fact I was a teacher for nine years).

Are you a procrastinator or do you get projects done right away?