Monday, December 31, 2007
party like it's 2008!
Any bets on whether I'll make it to midnight or not?
Hey Lee, I'll have a drink in your honor. We'll miss you. :)
Labels: friends, i need a drink
posted by Mel Francis @ 8:12 PM |
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happy 4:30 a.m.
Obviously, I couldn't sleep last night. Couldn't seem to get comfy. I was going to write but, of course, now I'm sleepy.
I'm sure if I go back to bed, I'll lay there and stare straight ahead.
I hate waking up predawn. It is one of my least favorite things of all time.
Labels: misc.
posted by Mel Francis @ 4:49 AM |
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Sunday, December 30, 2007
sucker
Go ahead. Mark the date. That may never happen again...
Labels: lurve
posted by Mel Francis @ 9:08 PM |
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back to me
Whatever.
Ian had a $100 gift cert at Hollister and he spent $60. He's totally right, boys and shopping don't mix. Sigh. I would've spent $150 and assumed Mom would catch my overage. But hey, I'm a girl. That's what we do.
Ruby has just found her place as Supreme Ruler of the Francis Household. Well, almost. The cats pity her because she believes she is the Supreme Ruler, but they know they are far superior. Poor misguided Pug.I'm getting to know my MacBook and I like it for the most part. It has a couple of annoying little things to it, like it just stops connecting to the internet whenever it feels like it and I can't just 'reconnect' it, I have to restart it. I'm sure there's a setting somewhere that we haven't found yet. But the good news is, the restart time is so much quicker than my PC. I never wanted to turn that damn thing off because it would be a good ten minutes before I could do anything. And that was a huge frustration.
Oh, I bought Fishdog the hardcover (I was 286 out of the 300 sold!) version of Wil Wheaton's latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. I am trying to let Fishdog read it first, but I finally caved and read a story. Now I know my husband is going to totally dig this book. But I'm afraid he's going to have to conquer Legends of Rock III before he'll sit down and read it. Sigh. I'm beginning to think getting Rock Band might not be such a great idea...we're all way too addicted already.
Happy Sunday, y'all. I'm about to grab my 2nd cuppa and pull up Love Sux and write a little. Gotta get the first chapter to editor by 1/15 (along with my acknowledgments, which I'm afraid might be a chapter by itself) Then I think I'm going to start plotting out (I use "plotting" in the loosest way possible)Back to Blue which is going to be a lot of fun.
Labels: books, damn kids, fishdog, misc., must buys, writing
posted by Mel Francis @ 10:06 AM |
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Saturday, December 29, 2007
happy saturday!
It was a brisk 28 degrees when I took my jaunt to Kroger, but the sun was out and the skies were blue. I love clear, blue, cold days. They make the temperature seem bearable. I think I'll take the dogs for a walk in a little bit.
Yesterday, when the fog began to lift, I sat down and wrote three pages to the first chapter of Love Sux. That felt great. I love starting a new book. Of course, I'm not really starting a new story with Love Sux, but it is a new beginning.
Okay, I'm off to enjoy my coffee and danish, then I think I'll see if I can finish chapter one. We'll see...
posted by Mel Francis @ 9:42 AM |
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Friday, December 28, 2007
clearing fog
But it's better.
I actually ate something today and I TASTED it. Whoot! I didn't really eat because I was hungry, I ate because I was so lightheaded and dizzy. I've been living on medication and water alone. Not. Good.
I literally slept the majority of yesterday away. When I wasn't sleeping, I was vegging out to soaps, Law and Order reruns, and reading Twilight.
I finished Twilight this morning. Wow. Someone, somewhere called this book 'seductive' and you know what, she was right. It is technically a YA but I was totally drawn into the world Stephenie Meyer built. Very engaging...and seductive. I highly recommend this read--even if you think you're 'so over' the vampire thing. You're not over this.
Y'all got any big plans for the weekend? I'm going to start working on chapter one of Love Sux! (the sequel to Bite Me!) I also have a new women's fiction story that has been brewing non-stop lately that I need to jot down. I'm tentatively calling it Back to Blue but I'm not sure if that's the real title. We'll see.
Labels: misc., must buys, sick, writing
posted by Mel Francis @ 12:36 PM |
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Thursday, December 27, 2007
bark bark
Because I'm sick as a dog.
I felt it coming on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day I felt kinda lousy but it was manageable. Yesterday I thought was the worst. But I was wrong. The worst so far, is today.
Ruby and I finally got out of bed at 11:00 after going to bed around 10:00 last night. We're watching soaps today. I started reading Twilight (the ONLY book I got for Christmas, can you believe that?) but it was too difficult for me to focus. So, I'm watching mind-numbing soap operas instead.I should hear from fabulous editor today or tomorrow about my revisions. I hope I nailed them. I have decided that if I can do revisions during the two weeks prior to Christmas while I unpacking and with a sick kid (yes, his Christmas present to me), then I can do anything. I just hope I did them right. LOL
posted by Mel Francis @ 12:49 PM |
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Tuesday, December 25, 2007
a touching holiday moment
This Christmas morning was no different. The boys were very happy with this morning's haul of gadgets, games, books and clothes. Oh. And candy. Lots of candy.
My favorite gift of theirs was Guitar Hero, Legends of Rock. Oh yeah. I am the goddess of suck, but it sure is fun. (pictures may or may not follow, we'll see)
Now onto the important part of this blog. My touching holiday story.
As you all may have read the other day, my momma was burglarized just one week before Christmas. It sucked...mainly because the assholes took only jewelry and most of what they took was irreplaceable in the sentiment department. Such as the pearl necklace that my daddy gave my momma the day my brother was born. Yeah, can't really replace that.
But we tried.
The next day, I called a couple of jewelers and I managed to get a hold of Pat Baker of Baker's Fine Jewelry in Bryant, AR. I told her what happened to Mom and said that I'd like to purchase a pearl necklace if they had the right size/length in the store. They did. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was for my momma, and honestly, I didn't care. I'll find the money somewhere.
I rushed to the store, purchased the beautiful strand, they wrapped it and I immediately took it to Momma's and placed it under her tree. It was there for a whole week...thank God she didn't see it. LOL
So today, after the kids had shredded all their presents and Mom was busy cleaning up, I made her sit down and open her special present.
I could cry right now, thinking about her reaction.
See the thing about my momma is, she doesn't show emotion (other than anger, she shows that one really, really well.) Funny how opposite we are in that manner. I cry when I'm mad, I cry when I'm happy...I'm an indiscriminate crier.
I can now say I've seen my momma tear up twice in her life. Once when her momma died--and today.
It was the most special moment ever.
Thank you to the assholes who burglarized my mom's house...because if you hadn't taken that necklace, my family wouldn't have been able to make this the most special Christmas ever for my momma.
She really liked the necklace.
Labels: family
posted by Mel Francis @ 1:26 PM |
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Saturday, December 22, 2007
done
I am tired but I think the story is stronger.
Now, I'm off to take a shower...cuz I'm a little funky.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
Labels: writing
posted by Mel Francis @ 12:41 PM |
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Friday, December 21, 2007
hi! i'm a mac and I'm a PIECE, er PC.
I have always considered myself to be "bicomputeral." I have always enjoyed different aspects of both Macs and PCs. Fishdog is a Mac guy all the way. I've always purchased PC laptops for myself because I was most familiar with them since that's what I'd always worked on when I worked 8-5.
So last year when my old Dell gave me the blue screen of death, I decided to buy a new Dell. I mean, why shouldn't I? My old one last me 5 years and I never had a problem. Actually, we had it rebuilt and it's still going strong. (Okay, it's a little janky, being held together with duct tape, but it is the little PC that could...)
I thought I loved my new Dell. It was pretty. And Vista had it's pretty little moments...(it really was trying very hard to be a Mac) but I just couldn't get it to work for me. After a few months, I was ready to chuck it. Seriously. I contemplated going back to XP but honestly, I wasn't even sure it was worth it because I loathed my computer so much. It would freeze up when I closed it. It would just restart when it felt like it. The 4 hour battery lasted 4 hours ONCE. Then it went to 1 and a half hours. I hated that computer. I can say one thing about the "Mac vs PC" commercials...they are dead on. Apple's marketing dept deserves a big fat raise. This sums it up perfectly for me:
Today I am typing to you from my brand new refurbed MacBook. It's a cute little thing. It will take me a little time to learn the ins and outs of it but thankfully I have a Mac Guy in the house with me who has offered personal tutoring sessions.
On a happier note, my momma bought me a new desk for Christmas so now I have a place to work. It's been pretty damn difficult doing revisions while not having a workspace. (please take note of who has made herself at home in the lower part of the desk)
Oh, and Happy Birthday Party, Feisty! I hope tonight rocks!
Labels: misc., must buys, writing, you tube
posted by Mel Francis @ 8:33 AM |
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
it's been a long day
First of all, my mom feels vulnerable and violated. I hate to think that this normally strong and independent woman will, from now on, sit and worry about being alone in her own home. Secondly, the sons of bitches stole my mom's jewelry. Heirloom pieces, some valuable in dollar and some only valuable in sentimentality. WTF is wrong with people?
The good news is, the police managed to get some fantastic fingerprints so if those motherfuckers have any record, they will be busted. Sure they won't serve much time, but they will get caught and right now, that's all that matters.
Fuckers.
I think we should lighten the mood. How about some new pics of Ruby? Look at her pretty new dress.
Oh yes, I went there. What are you going to do about it?
I feel pretty
I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
Labels: assholes, the 4-legged family members
posted by Mel Francis @ 4:51 PM |
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
hullloooooo!
Do you hear the echo on my blog? When I woke up this morning, I thought Hmmm, I should blog and when a tumbleweed rolled by, I realized it really was starting to look like a ghost town around here.
I'm trying (and obviously failing) to get into a blog routine again. I haven't felt the mojo lately. I'm sure it's because I've been blowing and going since before Thanksgiving. Moving is stressful enough, but to move during the holidays and while working on your first set of revisions? As my favorite Angry Beaver would say, That's just NUTS!
Fishdog is in Oxford this week, so dudes, call him tonight if y'all wanna go out for a bevvy. He'd appreciate it. Especially since he came home to discover the heat had gone out. Oh yeah, nothing like trying to get cozy in a 53 degree empty house (well, there is a bed). Brrrr. Just add 'fix heater' to our long list of things to do. (Thanks, Dino for putting him up for the night!)
Christmas shopping is done except for the stocking stuffers. I have to mail out 4 gifts today...one of them is my Romance Diva Secret Santa gift. I hope the person I picked loves it! I'm also mailing my CPs their gifts and my niece in North Carolina hers.
We still don't have a tree. Fishdog has been kinda Grinchy lately. Can you believe he actually suggested we CANCEL CHRISTMAS? hello!!! Are you kidding me? I've been living with my mother for 4 months. I deserve Christmas. And so do the boys. So, we're getting a tree today. I don't care if it's a Charlie Brown tree...it's still a tree. Fishdog says he's bringing me my decorations from Oxford. I won't over do the decorating--Christmas is only a week away. But I do want to hang the stockings and a wreath.Okay, I'm hitting my revisions now. They're due Friday and maybe a Christmas miracle will happen and I'll get them finished! :) It'll be down to the wire, that's for sure. What's been going on with y'all? You done shopping? You started shopping? Wrapping? Did you overspend this year or is that just status quo?
Labels: excuses for not blogging, family, fishdog, romance divas, writing
posted by Mel Francis @ 8:50 AM |
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
a good book
I read this book over the weekend and I posted a review for it on Amazon (which I RARELY do). If you are looking for a good book for a teenage girl 14 years and older, I HIGHLY recommend Angel's Choice.
Here's my review:
ANGEL'S CHOICE begins in typical teenage fashion. A girl, a boy, a party and a very bad decision. Angel Hansen is a senior in high school and her plans for the future included graduating, going to Yale, and becoming a novelist. She's always been the smart girl. But at the end-of-summer party, she has a lapse in judgement that will change her reputation and affect the rest of her life. With all options available to her, what choice will Angel make?
ANGEL'S CHOICE takes an honest look at teenage pregnancy and the decisions that go along with such a difficult situation. Taking a walk in Angel's shoes is not easy. But it is heartwarming and emotional and realistic.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted tackles a difficult topic without judgement. ANGEL'S CHOICE is heart-warming and sincere and a must read for any teenage girl.
Labels: books
posted by Mel Francis @ 10:14 AM |
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
my bad...
What's goin' on? Anything new?
Let me tell ya, I have lots of blogging material to get me through the next few weeks. A few topics you can look forward to reading:
Customer Service: It's What's for Dinner.
How to blow up your brand new house in 1 easy step.
All I Want for Christmas is to get my Revisions Done.
Procrastination is not only a gift, it's an art form
Living Among the Boxes
Wii care. Oops. Wii lied, Wii really don't care at all.
If I had a hammer, I'd fall and break my neck.
Today's blog topic, I'd like to introduce you to our newest family member. As you might recall, our beloved Charlie died back in August. Our sweet dog Pete, hasn't been the same since. He's been very depressed and with the move and everything, he hasn't quite bounced back. So, we'd decided it was time to get him a friend.
Meet Ruby:
She's my baby. I have always wanted a black Pug and now I have my baby. She's the most awesome puppy ever, and we are all totally smitten.
Okay, back to revisions. Or not. Remember, procrastination is not only a gift, it's an artform...
Labels: excuses for not blogging, moving, the 4-legged family members, writing
posted by Mel Francis @ 7:23 PM |
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