Ice and Snow, I Finished, and…Comments

Woke up yesterday to everything covered in ice. I couldn’t even see out the windows because they were coated. Then later it started snowing on top of all that ice. It was a pretty yucky day.

I am so not ready for winter.

I Finished!!!
That’s right. I finished my short story on Wednesday. Boy what a great feeling that was. It had been tooooo long since I’ve felt that way, too. It’s currently at 10K words, but that’s okay. It has to be between 8-12K long. I even got a blurb going, but I’m hoping to get some eyes on it before I share it here (or on my newsletter).

But it’s written. And I’m sooooo happy!

Commenting on my blog
I don’t get many comments on my blog, probably because not a lot of you read this. Does that make me sad? Ehh, sometimes. It is what it is. Doesn’t mean I’ll stop blogging because one of these days my books will hit it big and… Well, you know.

Still… I thought that I allowed anyone with an ID to comment on this blog. Seems Blogger changed something along the way (or I’m crazy—which is highly possible, too) and I only have three choices for receiving comments: From Anyone (including anonymous), from Google Users, or from members of my blog.

Since I’m the only member of my blog, I certainly didn’t choose that. And I have chosen “Anyone” in the past, but got hit spam. So my blog is marked for “Google Users,” which is where I thought it used to say something about other types of IDs, too.

Now, I know not everyone has a Google account, but if I change it back to “Anyone,” I might as well turn on modifications and approve each comment. And I’m not so sure I want to do that, either. That’s because I don’t always get notified of comments.

I can thank AOL for that. It doesn’t like to recognize my OWN comments!

What do you think? Should I open the comments up to “Anyone” knowing that it might be a few hours before your comment appears? And I realize if you can’t comment on this blog, it would be kind of hard to answer, so you can e-mail me (address is listed on this blog in a few places).

For now I’ll leave it at Google users. It’s only if I get enough of you who don’t have Google and wish to comment that I’ll change it. Because I know how frustrating it is to read a blog and not be able to comment. I tend to not visit those blogs again.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

I'm Not Ready for Winter

Winter is barging her way here. Winds have been pretty strong and now a dusting of snow is on the ground. I’m so glad I’m going on vacation somewhere warm.

Yeah, I know other people—people who live farther north—have it rougher than I do. But I don’t live there. I live here. I’d probably complain louder if I did live there.

I should know. I complained plenty when I lived in Alaska. Now there was a cold place. Didn’t get a lot of snow, though. Nope. Too cold. Saw more snow when I lived in New Jersey!

Yeah, I complained about that state, too. So you’ll probably wonder why in the world I settled in Ohio? Easy. We couldn’t afford California. J

I’m not ready for winter to settle in. So I guess I better soak up whatever sun I can during the next week.

I still plan on blogging during vacation (just like the last time). I still have my 13-post/month goal to save. Last month! Yay!! In 2017, I think I’m not going to worry about missing a post here or there. Too much stress. Haha!

Still haven’t caught that mouse. Grrrr… I really hope we catch him before Saturday. Or can I hope he’s left the house? Is that even possible? Probably not. Why go out in the cold if you have a warm place to stay, right?

So… You all set for Christmas? Taking a vacation so close to the holiday has helped me get ready sooner. Presents that need to be mailed have been mailed and I believe I have everything bought (just not all delivered). I’ll worry about wrapping when I get home.

Have a great Friday. And stay warm!

Stacy

Crochet Project and Novella Updates

I finally finished one of my pot holders (yes, I designed it)! What do you think?

It looks black, but it's actually navy.

 

And in case you missed my post, I’m making these to give away at RAGT and maybe RomCon. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be lucky to have two completed by June.

Or maybe not. I’m pretty much done setting up QuickBooks for my treasurer duties (it’s going pretty smoothly—and easily), so that will leave my weekends free to crochet. Next Sunday Hubby and I will be at B-dubs (that’s Buffalo Wild Wings for those of you who don’t have one of those restaurants in your area) for the Super Bowl party (we snagged tickets), which means I’ll have lots of time to crochet (we figure we’ll have to get there early to get a comfortable seat). In the past I’ve taken my laptop, but this year I’ll just take my crochet projects. I bet I get lots done, too.

At least, I HOPE so! But just in case, I’m also crocheting a scarf. If it goes faster, I’ll do more of those. But I do love those potholders. They’re so thick, you don’t burn your fingers with those suckers! And I’ve tested them.

No, not that one. I’m not giving away a used potholder.

I’ve got some good news… The cover to A Vampire Wedding is just about finished and it looks sooooo cooooool! If you’d like to see it a week before I show it to everyone (here and Facebook), you’ll need to be a subscriber to my newsletter. I want to give my subscribers first looksee. It’s only fair. They put up with my newsletters! J

So, if you aren’t a subscriber and want to be, there’s a sign up form on the side bar. If you don’t see it (or you’re too lazy to look), here’s a link for you: http://eepurl.com/bCN0Oz. Don’t say I didn’t make it easy for you!

So… Tomorrow is Ground Hog’s Day. Wow! Already! With the way the temperature was yesterday (in the 50s!!!—I swear it felt like spring out there), I’m thinking that little guy is gonna see his shadow. How does that make you feel? Happy? Sad? Indifferent? It’s certainly been a strange winter, though. At least it has HERE. You see, the snow missed us. Whew!

Have a great Monday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Water Issues

Have you ever heard a strange noise in your house? Did you investigate? Well, I do and I’m sooooo glad I did.

Yesterday it rained. A lot. But there was still snow on the ground. Snow that had apparently frozen our sump pump drainage pipe/hose (teach us not to check on that thing). This hose runs alongside the house (attached to it) and over the window well to the basement and then trails out into the front yard. The pipe burst over the window well and the sump pump was draining pretty darn quickly. The window well filled up and guess where that water went? Through the basement window into the basement.

I thought something had gone wrong with my husband’s fish tanks and instead I was hearing the waterfall that was flowing from the window.

Yeah, I freaked. After I placed a large empty trash can under the water fall (I was soooo glad there was an empty one down there!), I ran outside (my feet got soaked) and yanked to free the pipe from the house (remember, this pipe had burst, so water was kind of squirting everywhere!). Luckily it separated at where two pieces were joined. I managed to wedge the part that was draining the water so that it flowed away from the window and the house. I came back inside and watched the waterfall turn into a trickle and finally stop. Water filled the trash can and was about an inch from overflowing. Talk about being relieved!

I truly thought we had another burst pipe inside the house (like we did last year). The basement got wet where it always gets wet when it rains too much. Well…it might have gotten a LITTLE more water than usual. We don’t have anything of value down there, so nothing was lost. But man, I’ll be glad when winter is over. This stuff SUCKS!

Okay, on to what I read this week:

Feb 25: “Marked” by Rebecca Zanetti, #7 of the Dark Protector Series, a paranormal romance at 282 pages long. Blurb from book: Janie Kayrs has known Zane almost her whole life. He was her friend in the dream world. She trusted him. But that was before he kidnapped her, spiriting her away to an isolated cabin to learn what her dreams never told her. Like how dangerous he looks. How he got on the wrong side of the negotiating table. And how much sexier he is in real life… Zane is a battle-hardened warrior, used to command and solitude. But Janie has drawn him from the minute they met. His need for her could destroy everything he’s worked for, but the risk is too sweet not to take it. They call her the Chosen One. But when it comes down to the questions of peace or war, life or death, safety or passion, it will be Janie who makes the choice… Love is about to start conquering… It was nice seeing these two characters finally get together. Ah, but the Epilogue… Kind of sets up the next series, I guess. Should have known.

So… I have no question for you today. I think my brain’s fried. I hope your winter has been panic-free. I wish mine was. J

Happy reading!

Stacy

Is it Spring Yet?

Woke up yesterday to more snow. Five inches of the stuff. Actually, five MORE inches of the stuff. The stuff we got last week hadn’t melted yet. Heck, it hasn’t gotten WARM enough for anything to melt. That would require the outside temps to be above freezing.

Hopefully, that will all change tomorrow. It’s supposed to get in the 40s. Oh, and it’s supposed to rain. A LOT.

Great. Just what we need. Melting snow AND rain. A recipe for flooding.

Still, I’m ready for spring. February was brutal. I want some warmer weather!!

Today I am attempting to work out in the gym again. Back in January I ended up injuring my leg from walking on the treadmill. Turns out I probably tore my hamstring. Don’t know how I managed to do that. It’s not like I run on the stupid thing. But I’m allowed to ride the bikes and use some certain weights, so that’s what I’m gonna do.

I miss going to the gym (really!), but I’m not looking forward to starting all over again. It’s such a pain. I just hope my leg is getting better. The doctor put me on Mobic and so far it’s working great. Or I healed. I tend to do that after I see the Doctor. It’s like I wait and suffer and when I’ve finally had enough and make that appointment I don’t hurt any more. Never fails. Yeah, you’d think I’d learn and just go at the first sign of an injury, but that would require a working brain and apparently I don’t have one of those. That, or I just don’t like going to the Doctor. Maybe I should go with the second one. What do you think?

I got Blind Temptation back from my daughter on Friday (yay!), so I’m making the fixes to it now. Don’t know if I’ll get the book published in March, but I’m trying. I just want to get it done with so I can concentrate on finishing Ghostly Interlude. Now there’s a book that’s kicking my butt, but I think I came up with something. That tends to happen when I have to work on another project. Oh well, at least I have something to work with when I do get back to it.

I finally watched “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Not exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a zany comedy. Instead it was zany-weird. I don’t see how this movie was nominated for Best Picture. Makes me wonder what kind of people are on the Academy.

So… If you were to buy a new car today, which car would you buy? I usually have an answer right away for this, but I’ve been so happy with my Xterra, I haven’t wanted another car. And while my husband likes his Solara convertible, he’s been looking at those Dodge Challengers (I wonder if he wants the bright green one like in this picture—I like bright). I have to admit, it would be pretty neat to own one. Not sure I’d want to drive it, though. I like sitting up high.

Have a Happy Monday and try to stay warm!

 

Stacy