Happy New Year!

And belated Merry Christmas!

I've been out of town and since I got back I've been so tired that I have been napping most of the time. Ah, the joys of pregnancy.

We had a delightful Christmas. Nicky was really into the present opening this year. He loves all his toys. He even did a little dance when he opened his Puppy Computer (A Leap Frog Click Start) It's a lot of fun. Not that it keeps him from trying to steal my laptop but oh well. ;)

Well I just wanted to make a quick message so everyone didn't think I'd disappeared off the face of the earth forever. :-D

So Happy New Year!!!

Thursday Thirteen #31

Oy, it's been a looooooooong week. I've been working my booty off at work, and I'm just draggingly tired! If only this little munchkin would go to sleep, so could I!

I've been so uninspired with my lists lately! I'm going with a Christmas theme this week in honor of the upcoming festivities.

13 of my favorite Christmas Treats
(Most of which sound horribly disgusting to me at the moment because of my morning sickness!)

1. Truffles: It's like chocolate in one of it's most delightful forms! Nice hard slightly bitter outside filled with a creamy center.
   
2. Raspberry Truffle Fudge: Found this one on allrecipes.com. It's delightful!
3. Divinity: If you haven't had it, you're missing out! It's ridiculously hard to make! The conditions have to be perfect. Don't make it when it's raining, whatever you do. Then there's the beating! Oy, the beating! It's much easier since I got my Kitchenaid mixer though.
4. Eggnog: Mmm this stuff is good! Actually it doesn't sound so bad to me right now, and I do have some in the fridge! BRB
   Ahhh...
   What?!
   It's non-alcholic!
   
5. Candy Canes: The blueberry kind are my favorites! I did eat a whole package of the mint ones this year though as they had some serious tummy calming effects going on. Thanks for the suggestion, Susan!
6. Fudge: Just any old kind makes me a happy girl. Have I mentioned how much I truly dig chocolate?
   
7. Chris Mouse: It's something we used to get every year from Santa Claus. He must have picked them up from Swiss Colony. ;) Ain't he cute!
8. Godiva Santa: Santa improved his quality in recent years. :-D
9. Cream cheese with pepper jelly on crackers: I know it sounds kind of weird if you've never had it, but trust me! Yum!
10. Hot spiced apple cider: Yum!
11. Hot Cocoa: Only the homemade kind is up to par for me. My recipe costs like 30 bucks to make but makes enough to feed an army of Santa's elves.
12. Nuts still in their shells: I just love fresh nuts still in their shells. Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds! I love them!
13. Homemade Chex Mix: I haven't had this in many a year, but I remember it as being the best snack, evah!

Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas Cards!

I still haven't even found a decent picture of Nicky to put in mine! I think I'm going to try to get one this afternoon. I've been SO busy at work! I worked all morning on Sunday trying to get caught up and then all morning today trying to get caught up (I'm usually off today) but fortunatly I think I've almost got everything done. The stuff I've been working on is pretty fun though so at least there is that!

So here is the question...do you do Christmas letters? I've never done one before, and probably won't this year because well I'm just too dang tired to be creative. :-D I think they are pretty cool though. I love to hear what everyone has been up to all year.

Well, anyway, if you are expecting a Christmas card from me I WILL get them out the door eventually!

I am so ANGRY and UPSET!!!

So I finally got the results back from my progesterone test that I should have gotten on Tuesday! And my progesterone was a "little low." I forgot to ask how low. Anyway they are calling in supplements, but the thing is that if the STUPID FREAKING Lab Corp had done their jobs and read the big letters highlighted on the form with my blood then I could have been on the supplement since Tuesday.

I asked the nurse if I need to worry that this has already caused a problem with the baby, and she said it shouldn't have, but of course I'm still worried sick now. I can't help it. I'm a worrier. We lost our first baby at 7 and a half weeks so now I'm doomed to never have a pregnancy where I don't worry all the time. Which I know isn't good for me or the baby, but I just can't help it.

I AM SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!

If anything happens to this baby because that lab didn't do their jobs, there is going to be hell to pay!

Thursday Thirteen #30

First and foremost, if you're remotely interested in things of the two wheeled and motorized variety go check out my post today on Girlbike.com.

On to my 13!

You know what…I have nothing! I'm blank! Absolutely blank…so…

13 Completely Random Things About this Week

1. I had my first doctor visit for the little munchkin this Monday.
   
2. The lovely lady who took my blood is a very talented finder of veins, but I seem to have no veins so I got stuck three times and still didn't get enough blood for all the tests they run. Actually we might have established that I'm actually a zombie, because aside from having no veins and therefore no blood, I also have no pulse in my wrists. Which was good, because we finally managed to get some blood from one of those. I'll bet I'd be a vampire's worst nightmare. LOL
   
3. The lab that my insurance has an agreement with just forgot to run the most important test. Despite the fact that the lovely lady I mentioned before wrote in BIG letters and highlighted "Do Progesterone First" at the top of the form.
   
4. So today I got to go back again with my already bruised arms and get blood drawn again. Hopefully I'll hear back today on that.
   
5. My son is playing Cars on Wii right now. He's very good at it. He's only two!
   
6. His potty training is going smashingly! As long as he doesn't have a diaper on, he just goes and uses his potty. If he has a diaper or his little adorable toddler undies on (OMG they are cute) then he usually remembers to tell me.
   
7. I have been frequenting the United Romance Writers Association's new website. Go check it out! It's beautiful!
   
8. Speaking of websites. I need to do some work on mine. It needs a brief overhaul.
   
9. I've got my work group's Christmas party tomorrow. That should be fun.
   
10. Frontline is expensive!!! We had a flea situation crop up amongst the pet population in our household, and it had to be dealt with. I HATE FLEAS!!! So I went and got them all frontline. 50 bucks for all three pets!
    
11. I still need to finish wrapping all our Christmas presents!
    
12. I need a nap!
    
13. I had to switch to maternity clothes this week, because even though I haven't gained any weight yet my tummy is distinctly rounder and the other jeans just weren't cutting it.

While Mindlessly Googling Myself...

I found this!

"Lesley Speller of Kaos Kreations said, 'The percentage of people from 15 to 25 years old in Denmark who play roleplaying games is estimated at 23% according to a Danish roleplaying magazine called Alter Ego, so we will have a rather large audience.' Features of the website . . ."

Now I have no memory whatsoever of saying that, but we did own that domain so I guess at some point I must have. LOL

On a somewhat unrelated note, but also about google.

There is a woman in England who works in Education who is also named Lesley Speller. I know this because of the random googling of my name of course. I wonder if she ever googles herself and finds all these strange things posted by and about a weird wannabe romance writer in the US. hehehe

Prepare Yourself for an Influx of Whining

*To the tune of "I Feel Pretty"*

I feel crappy
Oh so crappy
I feel crappy
And poopy
And blahhhh

Obviously I'm not a poet.

That is all. I really just wanted to whine a little!

I want to write, but I'm so exhausted!

I ate my favorite Mexican food tonight, and I didn't even enjoy it! It's so wrong! Everything makes me feel crappy! Except for skittles...and cheddar peppers from sonic...

Oh well, I will survive! :-D

Thursday Thirteen #29

I'm going with a ready made list I have of my favorite quotes from Blood and Violets, but I seem to have stopped keeping track at some point in my list so it only numbers eleven. Therefore my First two are simply observations.

2 Observations Followed by 11 Favorite quotes from Blood and Violets

1. It's sooo cold in here!!!
2. NEVER check to see if your milk might have gone bad, when you have morning sickness! Never!!! Just don't do it! It's a bad plan!
3. "He was obviously enjoying her fear. It made her want to hurt him. Badly."
4. Bruno: "I’m not sure where you got the impression that you’re in charge here, but I think you’ve misinterpreted the situation."
5. "It was a shame she didn’t have some code she could give Ricky that they’d worked out in advance. Something that meant, I’ve been kidnapped by a vampire. Please send a swat team. If only she’d had more forethought, but planning for such things as kidnappings by mythical creatures had never crossed her mind. Silly girl!"
6. Bruno: "Girls are confusing!"
7. Alexander’s thoughts upon seeing Marie’s underwear when he was undressing her to put her to bed: "This was obviously a cosmic plot against him carried out by the fashion designers at Victoria’s Secret. He was definitely going to send Bruno to buy her some sports bras and cotton granny panties. His body couldn’t take this strain."
8. "Jerks shouldn’t be allowed to be so handsome. They should all be disgustingly ugly or at least have a big J tattooed on their forehead so that sweet, unsuspecting innocents like herself were warned ahead of time."
9. Bruno’s response to Marie asking whether the “dragons” Markus is referring to are another vampire family: “No, they’re not vampires. They’re dragons. You know, large flying lizards commonly killed by knights.”
10. Daniel referring to Marie: “Why her? Why that stupid, little bitch?”
    Alexander: “Because, Daniel, a bitch she may be, but stupid she has never been nor ever will be.”
11. Marie: “You’re not going to start with saying some kind of ‘this is a gift not a curse’ crap, are you? Cause really, if you are, I’m just not interested. If it’s a gift I’d like the receipt, so I can return it and buy a new scooter. Thanks.”
12. Marie: “I’m not at all the person you seem to think I am.”
    Alex smiled at her, and though she didn’t want it to, it warmed her to her toes. “You’re a lot more than you think you are, Marie.”
13. Marie's thoughts upon waking up and seeing that she's been shoved all the way to the corner of the bed by Alex: "That man, apart from being a vampire, which was bad enough, was a cover hog!"

I'm still trying to sort out some problems I'm having with Blood and Violets the only problem is that I just can't pinpoint what those problems are. Something just doesn't feel right... It's so frustrating.

Christmas Meme

Hey! My munchkin totally published this before I was ready!

I've been tagged by Jennifer Shirk.

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate - I'm pregnant so I think I deserve both! Sans rum of course. ;)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree? He wraps. Most things! But if he has something really big and cool he puts it together for us. Isn't that nice of him!

3. Colored or white lights on tree/house? Colored lights everywhere! The gaudier the better!!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I would if it weren't poisonous! Too many pets and babies in the house for that.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Right after we get back from thanksgiving.

6. What is your holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Chicken in wine sauce. I know its weird but that's what we always had at my grandmothers on Christmas day.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child. Everyone hanging out in my parents bed until six o'clock when it was deemed a reasonable hour to get up. LOL

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean the truth?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, cause my husband seems to be incapable of waiting. hehehe

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Well this year it has plastic balls and all the plastic ornaments I deemed sturdy enough for the babies.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love it! But I hate driving in it!

12. Can you ice skate? Heck yeah! I'm not good at it, but I can manage to make it around the rink.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Too many to think of one.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with family

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Chocolate Truffles!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Decorating the tree

17. What tops your tree? A burgundy angel.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving!

19. What is your favourite Christmas song? "Oh, Holy Night"

20. Candy canes. Mmm They are really helping with the morning sickness!

21. Favourite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street

22. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies!

Historical Romance Dialect...Your Opinions?

Following a comment I received on Dana of the Whispering Wood, I would like to know you're opinions on the "historical romance dialect," specifically the medieval version. You know the one I'm talking about. We've all read it. When it's done well, I even enjoy it.

The comment I got was basically that I wasn't using historically accurate words. Well the book is set in 12th century Ireland so they weren't speaking English at all. I suppose I could have written it in Gaelic, but goodness gracious, who would have understood it then?

I did, in fact, contemplate using this standard "medieval" dialect that I've so often read. In the first version of Dana I even used it. I came to the conclusion, however, that it seems for the most part too forced. I'd much rather have my characters seem more modern and human. I think often this dialect strips their humanity away by making them seem more like caricatures of a medieval historical heroine than a person for themselves.

But don't get me wrong! I'm not dissing people who write in this dialect. As I said, I do enjoy it. I just don't think it's right for me and my characters.

So what do you think? Yae or nay? Forsooth, I'd love to know your opinions! :-D

Oh, and just to be clear. I really do appreciate the time the person went to to make this and the other comments I received. I just don't agree with this particular one.

United Romance Writers Association

If you're a writer, go check out this group I just joined. :-D

Those of you who write romance, or books with romantic elements, may be interested in this new networking association for writers.

United Romance Writers Association (URWA)

The United Romance Writers Association is a forum for authors to critique, workshop, discuss and share info about the Romance industry. This forum is a private member group FREE to all Romance authors published and unpublished.

Authors of all genres are welcome, too – we don’t exclude anyone. We can learn from each other.

We make no distinction between published and unpublished authors. No levels of membership will exist.

URWA came about because of the limiting barriers thrown up from other professional writing organizations. We don’t want barriers. We want creativity and honesty, candid discussion and contribution, to the field of romance fiction.

We are small and growing and may evolve as we do. We need your input, expertise and ideas.

Note: This is a promotion free forum. Advancing the craft of romance fiction is the goal, book promotion is not.

To join the forum, click here

Because Bryon Insisted....

Here is his vampire score!

What vampire clan do you belong to? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Tremere You belong to the Tremere bloodline, the sorcerors of the vampire underworld. The Tremere command a terrible power over the blood of others. Many Tremere could pop a human being like a pimple with a wave of their hand. For this reason, many other vampires are wary around these cold, remorseless kin. All their time spent studying, however, has left them severely lacking in the physical department Tremere 71% Toreador 67% Gangrel 58% Ventrue 54% Nosferatu 42% Brujah 38% Malkavian 38%