Your Questions Answered

On Wednesday, The Spooky Whisk/Happy Whisk/Ivy asked these questions:

What is your least favorite household chore? And what is your favorite?

Well, I can definitely say I DO NOT have a favorite chore. I hate them all. Probably why they're called CHORES. Ha ha!

But you made me think. Out of the chores I do, or used to do, I'd say mowing the lawn was my least despised. I haven't mowed the lawn this year (we got a service which was pretty reasonable – better than paying the kids!), but I will most likely go back to mowing the lawn next year if I don't have a paying job by then. So whether it's my favorite or least despised, I don't mind that job so much. It's good exercise, too.

But then you probably wonder why we got a service if I didn't mind this chore so much. Good question! Well, when I was working, I really didn't have the time to do it. I wanted to write and writing time was rare. Not the case any longer!

I had a harder time figuring out my least favorite (or most despised) chore, though. There are so many to choose from. I guess I should pick the one I don't do so often, since that would be a good indicator of how much I hate doing it, but even that's a toss up between dusting and cleaning the shower. But since dusting is easier, I guess then my choice would be cleaning the shower. Why aren't they self-cleaning anyway? I get clean IN them, it would only make sense they would stay clean. But nooooo.

Those were the only questions I was handed on Wednesday, so I guess I can throw it back to you, dear reader. Which are your favorite and least favorite (or least despised and most despised) chores?

I will not be able to respond to any comments today as I will be in Columbus for a writers convention (Central Ohio Fiction Writers). It goes through Saturday evening. I'm looking forward to it. I have never been to this convention before. I expect it to be a lot of fun (and I expect to know a few more people there, too).

Hope your weekend is fantabulous!

 

 

Ooops!

Today is Wednesday, right? Well, I'll be…

Yep. Totally forgot to write a post.

Got busy yesterday and then our DVR started acting up (went into what I called a re-boot loop – even unplugging it and plugging it back in didn't stop the cycle!). We're seriously wondering if we should switch from Time Warner Cable to AT&T U-Verse. Anyone have that? Got anything good (or bad) to say about it?

I'd like to say I'll do better on my next post, but I know better than to make THAT kind of promise.

Can I take the easy way out and make this ask Stacy anything post? I'll provide the answers on Friday (yeah, trying to make that post easy, too – when I cheat, I cheat!).

Have a fun (and wet – if you're in the Dayton area) Wednesday!

 

iPhone, Exercising, & Writing

I noticed Blogger finally forced the changes on me. Ugh. I hate them. Oh well, what's a blogger to do, right? I may complain, but I won't switch to WordPress. Too much work (and I'm not sure I like it any better). Yep, I'm lazy.

* * *

Friday's trip to the AT&T store was not a hassle at all! I got there at 9:00 am, expecting to wait in line (expecting the store to open at 10:00 am) when I saw someone walking out holding an AT&T bag. Are they open already? I thought. Sure enough, they were! And there wasn't even a line! Better yet, they had the iPhone my husband wanted. By 9:45 am, my husband had his new phone in his hand (since I was kind enough to drive by his work and drop it off – am I too nice, or what??).

* * *

I've been exercising regularly since the beginning of July, determined to get back in shape. I guess I've been doing something right. So far I've lost 10 pounds (yay!) and have gone down a size (double-yay!). Best thing – even if I do manage to get another job, I'm in a routine I'll continue with. I love working out in the mornings.

Only one problem. I also like to walk outside on my non-gym days (that would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and it's getting darker (and a little colder) in the mornings. Starting later isn't an option; it screws up my whole routine. I might have to move to the treadmill (ugh!). Well, at least I can read on that, so maybe it won't be ALL bad. I just love walking outside more, though. I feel like I get a better workout (and I do try to run, even though I hate it).

* * *

Since I'm closer to the end of Book 5 than I am the beginning, I've decided to set a goal to finish the first draft. So…I picked Oct 31. I SHOULD get it finished earlier, but don't want to stress myself out too much. Halloween is a good goal and means I took 6 months to write it. Not too bad, you think?

Of course, now I realize I need to change certain events in my story. My writing hasn't stalled (that sometimes causes me to do that), but I finally figured out how I want it to end (and that's VERY good). It's not a major change, just the last ten pages I wrote, but may put a kink in my word count for the week (then again, it may open it up!). Ah well, that's what makes writing fun – trying different scenarios.

* * *

If you haven't had a chance to check out The WRiTE Club at DL Hammons' blog, why not? Just click on the picture on the sidebar and you'll be taken there. To be eligible to vote, you need to sign up (follow his instructions) and he's still taking submissions. A new fighting round is posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Sure, the writing is rough sometimes, and it's all anonymous, but it's interesting to see what other people are writing. If you have been over there, did you submit? I've submitted, but I won't say whether or not my piece has been posted yet. Gotta keep the mystery!

 

The Booker Award

Seems Jennette Marie Powell has gone and bestowed The Booker Award to me.

What is this award? Well, apparently I get to blog about my five favorite books and follow these two simple rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave me the award (click on Jennette's name and you will be sent to her site).

2. Give this award to three more bloggers, who will then link back to you (go to end of post to see if YOUR name is listed - bwahahahaha).

Anyway, here are my five favorite books – in the order they came to me.

"Lightning" by Dean Koontz. This is my most favorite Koontz novel and I tell everyone I know to read this book. It's not a true horror novel, my husband can attest to that, since I even got him to read it (he hates horror). It's just a great thriller. Even when I re-read the book, I have trouble putting it down. And I know what's going to happen!

"The Stand" by Stephen King. This is the first Stephen King book I ever read. It hooked me to find his other novels (which weren't as numerous back in the 70's) and I've been a fan ever since. I sometimes wish I had that original paperback version, but it's been long gone (now replaced with the uncut hardback).

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer. I've read this book four times. I fell in love with the characters. And because of this book, it encouraged me to start writing my own. You can't ignore a book that can do that, now can you?

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I read this book back in high school. Then I had to see the movie. Then I had to read the book again. I felt like I WAS Scout.

"Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. This book started me on my road to reading. Before I read this book, reading was a chore. I sometimes took six months to finish a novel. Then I took a reading class in high school, where your grade was based on how many credits of books you read. This book counted as four books – four credits. My mother owned the book. I thought, why not? I read that thing in TEN days. A record for me back then. I discovered I was just reading the wrong books. So the book that actually made reading fun has GOT to be in the top five. No doubt about it!

So those are my five favorite. They all affected me in one way or another, so it makes it hard to forget them.

To follow the rules (which is a rarity for me, I know), I must now pass this award to three others:

Todd R. Moody – Fireflies and Laser Beams (www.firefliesandlaserbeams.blogspot.com)

LD Masterson (www.ldmasterson-author.blogspot.com)

B.E. Sanderson – The Writing Spectacle (www.writingspectacle.blogspot.com)

You know, now that I mentioned all these books, I want to read them again! But I really need to get my pile of TBR books down JUST a bit! It would make my husband happy, anyway.

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!!

 

Updates

The internet is down as I write this (so is our phone). Good thing it's not indicative of the day I've had!

Writing is going well. I passed the 50,000 word mark AND the ending is starting to gel. Can I say PUMPED? Okay, I will! I'm PUMPED! I've just been forcing the writing out, hoping something would come to me, and it has. Talk about relieved.

Sitting butt in chair and writing something, anything, is soooo true! Eventually your mind (or muse) will figure it out. I'm having fun now.

I finally got the instructions I've been waiting for to submit my short story for an anthology contest my chapter is putting on for chapter members. They are looking to publish by November 1, so I shouldn't have to wait too long to find out if I made it. And if I make it, I expect you all to buy a copy of the book.

Ah, just kidding.

Well, not really.

Spider update: Yep, he's still alive. I assume it's a he, since I don't see any eggs. If I did, then I might have to do some slaying. So far he's just been busy catching moths and rebuilding his web. And so far, I refuse to open the back door. Ain't having him in MY house. How do you like this picture? I finally got one of him being active.

This Friday, I will be doing my husband a HUGE favor and will stand in line at the AT&T store so he can get the iPhone 5. His iPhone 3 died back in early August (the phone part broke, not the rest of it) and when he heard the 5 was coming out soon, he decided to wait. I know it's been killing him. He bought a cheapie phone, one that did not require a plan, just to get by. He's been barely getting by, too. I'm tired of hearing him whine about it.

So, yeah, I'm going to be good and hopefully get him one of the 5s. I figure it will be no different than when I had to stand in line at Dragon*Con to wait for a panel (or at the RT Con when I had to wait for a meal). I'll have a book. It'll be good.

 

 

Half Time USA

This past Saturday the hubs and I went to Wayne High School band's fundraiser – Half Time USA. It's where they get some of the local school's bands to come show their stuff – to an audience that wouldn't normally see their band play.

That's because Wayne High School is a Division I school, and about the only time the football team plays a smaller division is when they're forced to. And then the conference is to blame for that occasion, usually. If the opposing team was a state champion, they might seek out the contest. It's all about the points (and don't get me into that).

So we attended a show of half time shows, and for the half time entertainment my kids performed with the Wayne Alumni Band.

See – I still try to attend their events. Of course, the only reason we were able to attend this year was because our other plans had cancelled, which we would not have made in the first place if said kids had managed to tell us EARLIER they were playing. At least it all turned out for the best!

If you're interested in viewing the pictures, keep on scrolling, I've got a lot of them!

Bradford High School, Bradford, OH (Division VI).

Piketon Jr./Sr. High School, Piketon, OH (Division IV)

 

Piketon loves to dance (heck most of the bands here did!)

Franklin High School, Franklin, OH (Division II)

 

Only band here to have a baton twirler.

Tecumseh High School, New Carlisle, OH (Division II)

Xenia High School, Xenia, OH (Division I – we actually play them during the season)

Huber Heights Youth Football Club Drill Team (girls from third to eighth grades) - half time entertainment

 

Drill Team up closer

Wayne Alumni Band - half time entertainment (front row: daughter is 2nd from left - tenor sax, son is 4th from right - trumpet)

Tri-County North High School, Lewisburg, OH (Division VI)

Kenton Ridge High School, Springfield, OH (Division III) - Could not believe how large this band was (140 members) for a Div III school! Very impressive.

Amelia High School, Batavia, OH (Division II)

 

Couldn't tell if they were making a cat or not!

Little Miami High School, Morrow, OH (Division II)

Wayne High School, Huber Heights, OH (Division I)

 

Here, the Warriorettes are doing their kick line. Always a crowd pleaser!

Here are all of the bands after everyone had performed. We were impressed they all stuck around (in the past, they hadn't!).

 

Thanks for sticking around. Hope you liked them.

 

 

Spider!

Wednesday morning I was greeted with this creature. Thank goodness he was OUTSIDE!

Needless to say, I will NOT be opening the door until he's gone.

And no, he hasn't left yet.

For some strange reason, I don't mind staring at him as he goes about building his web. Of course, I'd be feeling a whole lot different if he were inside the house. I'm not called the spider slayer for nothing, you know! Then again, this guy is big, and he would be messy. I don't think I have a shoe big enough to squish him.

I'm glad he's outside.

We're both safer that way.

So, what's keeping your door closed?

 

Torchwood

My daughter introduced me to another show she's grown to love. I might have heard it mentioned last year at Dragon*Con, but didn't pay attention. My daughter and her friend mentioned it a lot at this past Dragon*Con (well, they mentioned John Barrowman – shown in front in photo – a lot) that I had to ask what it was all about.

 

Seems like it's something I would like. They chase aliens. Or as the premise is listed on imdb.com:

The members of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organization founded by the British Crown, fight to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats.

You see, I'm writing an alien story and I'm including a secret organization that tracks them (cause I have to have some kind of conflict for my hero, you know?). And no, I didn't copy Torchwood, because I didn't even know this show existed when I thought of it (so I'll just say – great minds think alike!).

Anywhooo… This series is a spin-off of Dr. Who. I have never watched that show, either, but my daughter assured me I didn't need to watch it to understand Torchwood (since she also watched Torchwood before she got hooked on Dr. Who).

So I watched the first two episodes last night. Yep, it hooked me enough to want to watch the rest of them. I can see my darling daughter grinning right now!

Have you ever watched this show? What do you think of it? What do you think of John Barrowman? Think I'll get addicted to him like my daughter and her friend have? I guess time will tell…

 

 

Which Do You Prefer?

The set up:

 

You read a blog of a subject you are interested in. You write a comment. Do you expect a reply?

a) yes

b) no

I do. If you do, too, HOW do you want the reply?

a) another comment on the post

b) a reply to the e-mail that was sent to the blogger
c) doesn't matter

I always try to reply to comments on the post. I guess I always thought that a string of comments could occur, in which case anyone could respond. Also, if a question was asked, I assume other readers would want to know the answer, not just the person who asked.

But I notice other bloggers will reply via e-mail. They can do that with me, because my e-mail address shows on their notification. Not all commenters have their e-mail visible, though.

Is it rude of me to make a visitor come back to my blog to read my comment? I never thought it was, because that's what I do. I like to check back to see what other people have said.

So, what say you, readers?

 

 

 

Dragon*Con - Days 3 & 4

In the past two Dragon*Cons I attended, I never did go to any of the Trek stuff. And here I am, a huge fan of the series and movies! What gives? No idea. Probably found something better to see. But I decided to change that this time around.

The Next Generation Cast: Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker) and Michael Dorn (Worf), had a panel and I was determined to actually see this one. I got lucky when the lined formed, too (In this picture, the front of the line is to the left, it wrapped around a little behind me, then continued on down the right waaaay down there). This hotel stuck with the 60 minute rule and I arrived maybe 65-70 minutes early. I waited around the café until the line formed. Little did I know, an unofficial line had formed outside (for the past two hours, I believe). Too bad for them. They fell in BEHIND me (and all the people who hovered around the café in front of me)! They were pissed, but I was able to get a third row seat. I felt a little vindicated from all the other lines that formed early.

Jonathan and Michael were pretty neat, too. You can tell they've worked together for a long, long time just by the way they interacted (and goofed off).

Here's a picture of Jonathan's reaction he would have given if someone had told him 25 years ago he'd still be doing cons. I can't believe it's been 25 years since TNG aired! I feel old.

My last celebrity panel wasn't really for a cast, but for a future show. Bruce Boxleitner is producing The Lantern City, a steampunk show looking for a home. I just wanted to see Bruce Boxleitner (because I loved him in The Scarecrow and Mrs. King) without the Babylon 5 cast (I never watched that show). I was kind of disappointed when I later learned he would not star in this television series. Why else would I want to watch it?

Anyway, I got in line really early for this (I had nothing else to do at the time having missed the second Firefly panel, plus the Westin was more lax in the rules) and was ninth in line. Here's a picture showing all the steampunkers waiting. Would you believe, even that close to the beginning, I still didn't get a front row seat? Apparently some cast members from Babylon 5 were sitting up front (anyone know who Mira is?).

This is where my seat was. Guess who was on the panel behind that BIG head? Yep. Bruce.

I still managed to get some pictures of him (having leaned to the right – a lot!).

And a picture of the artist in charge of creating some pretty nifty props.

Well, those are my pictures. I sure hope you enjoyed what little I took. I'd like to think I'll do better next year. And, yeah! I plan on going back. Maybe by then I'll have watched all of Supernatural and Torchwood (so I can attend those panels, too).

Dragon*Con - Day 2

On Saturday, the only celebrity panel I attended was for the cast of Vampire Diaries: Nathaniel Buzolic (Kol), Sebastian Roche (Mikael), Joseph Morgan (Klaus), Ian Somerhalder (Damon), and Paul Wesley (Stefan). This panel was one of the more popular panels, because the two biggest stars (Ian & Paul) were there. No women, though. How is it that actors from a series which is FILMED in Atlanta, cannot make Dragon*Con?

Well, I only went to see Ian and Paul anyway – ha ha!

The panel was okay. I think if it were only Ian and Paul, it might have been better. Those two are clearly friends who act like brothers! I enjoyed their banter.

But while I was standing in line for this panel, I managed to take a few pictures of some people in costume.

Couldn't resist the sock monkey head (my son likes those).

And then I saw Barnabas Collins while waiting for the panel to start. Pretty good makeup, huh?

I did attend an author's panel. Sherrilyn Kenyon was the big name on this one (Laurell K. Hamilton was also at Dragon*Con, but I did not attend her panel), although I recognized other authors there from past visits. Haven't read anything any of them wrote. Not yet, anyway. Yeah, bad me.

And here are some more escalator shots. If you click the picture, it will enlarge and you should be able to spot several costumes. Maybe even some you recognize!

And this guy came off the escalator and walked toward me. Yabba Dabba Do!!

One day left to show. Yeah, there are four days to the con, but I only took pictures on three of them, and I didn't attend any celebrity panels on Monday. Not because there wasn't any, there just wasn't any of any show that I watched. By this time, I also realized I was a lousy picture taker. I can't get up the nerve to ask people to stop so I can take their picture, even though I'm sure they would have been thrilled to have been noticed. Oh well… Some things will never change in that regard. This is why I need my husband there. He'd have NO PROBLEM stopping complete strangers.

Hope your Friday is wonderful!

Dragon*Con - Day 1

55,000 people. That's how many was reported to have attended Dragon*Con this past weekend. And man, did it ever feel like it!

 

I don't remember it being so packed last year. The lines were unreal. But then, last year I spent most of my time in the writer's tracks. Those places aren't near as busy as say…the panel containing one John Barrowman. I didn't see any of his panels (I'm not a fan of Torchwood – not yet anyway), but my daughter did. All three of them. Apparently, he was very popular.

This year I decided to attend more celebrity panels, so maybe that's why I noticed the people more. Who knows?

Which panels did I attend? I'll list the ones I went to on Friday today and follow up with the other days later (so I don't bore you or make this longer than it needs to).



Adam West & Burt Ward. Yes, the original Dynamic Duo! Lines were NOT supposed to start forming until 60 minutes before the panel, but fans always get around that. The panel was at 11:30 and I ventured over to the hotel at 10:00, only to find the line already outside and wrapped around the building.

 

My seats weren't great and my pictures kind of fuzzy. Ah, but I was there! They were fun to listen to. Funny guys.

True Blood Cast Members: Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), Carrie Preston (Arlene), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), & Joe Manganiello (Alcide). This is another line that formed earlier and I ended up be in the middle of the ballroom. Picture taking was awful.

 

And, since I wanted to make it to another hotel for the next panel, I ended up leaving early. It wasn't like I hadn't seen them before (and if I can't see Joe up close, then what's the use?).



Firefly Cast Members: Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb), Jewel Staite (Kaylee Frye), & Sean Maher (Simon Tam). My goal was to see Adam Baldwin and I got pretty good seats in this panel because my daughter lined up early. Adam cracks me up. Someone gave them some Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon, which they promptly opened up to sample! This was after they opened a bottle of champagne.

 

The best part? Adam called Nathan Fillion and then Nathan proceeded to call the others. They all had him on speakerphone. Don't know if it was all staged (it probably was), but it sure was fun!

Those were the fun panels on Friday. I attended some educational ones, too, making for a full day.

 

 Here are a couple of pictures I took of some costumes on Day 1 (I have no idea who they are supposed to be, so don't ask - or better yet, tell me!). Hope you enjoy them!