Thursday Thoughts #13: Welcoming a new year.

Good afternoon on this New Year's Eve!  Do you have big plans to party hard tonight?  Or will you be spending the evening curled up at home.

I'll be on the "curled up at home" side of the New Year's Eve fence.  For me, it's a night where it's safer to not be on the roads.  There will be too much drinking, and ultimately too much driving for anyone to feel safe.  Besides, I lost that partying-feeling many, many years ago.  LOL!

Welcoming in a brand spankin' new year is something that I've always enjoyed.  The prospects of the new year are exciting to contemplate.  What could happen?  What will happen?  Will this year be better than the last?  What new adventures will life take me on?

It's time to think about our future, what we want to do, how we want to change our world for the better.  Positive thinking is at its best when it's New Year's.  How can you not feel better when you're considering all the new and exciting developments to come into your life?

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I do consider the plans I have for the future.  I never air them, or even write them down, but I have my own personal list of things I'll do, books I'll read, life improvements, fun ideas, and even new people I'd like to meet and introduce myself to. 

We all have something similar, even if you don't realize it.  A running list of thoughts and ideas that dash through your head at the end of a long day.  The fluttering conceptions that flicker behind your eyes right before you lose consciousness each night.  These ideas make up our lives.  Hell, these are the ideas that start off a lot of my book storylines.  They are the sparks of life that my imagination uses to build a whole new (fictional) world.

So don't look at New Year's as a day to make plans you won't follow through with.  Use this time of the year to look forward to the fun times you will have.  Look closely at your internal list of things you want to do, and how you can accomplish the tasks.  It's all about welcoming a new year and the happiness it COULD bring, if only you'll allow it to.

Each new year has the potential for greatness, we just have to know where to look for that greatness, how to cultivate the seeds of excitment, and understand that we're the only ones who can harvest our own desires.

Happy New Year, everyone!  I wish you all great happiness, prosperity, and ultimate joy in everything you do in 2010!

Wanna Know Wednesday #47: The day my oldest was born.

Today is my oldest daughter's 13th birthday.  I can't believe she's already 13.  The years seem to have flown by.

The kids have been at my sister's house since Monday, so it was easy enough to get up this morning and get straight to work on the party preparations.  I had two pizzas, a bowl of punch, and one 2-layer chocolate cake ready and waiting by the time everybody arrived at noon.

I'd already given her the birthday gifts from me (we went to see New Moon & move her into her own bedroom).  My sister is taking her shopping tomorrow for some of those fur lined bookts all the kids are wearing these days.  My mom gave her a gold necklace and earrings.  And the in-laws gave her a Wal-mart gift card to spend.  That's definitely a good stash of birthday gifts for someone who has one only 5 days after Christmas.  LOL!

After the party was over, I helped set her up both a Facebook and a MySpace page.  Both sites require users to be 13 or older, and even though a lot of parents don't follow the rules and allow their young children on anyway, that doesn't fly with me.  I required that she actually be 13 before allowing her to have those pages AND I have them locked down tight.  She's perfectly fine with that, just as long as she has them.  LOL.

Today's Wanna Know Wednesday is all about my oldest baby girl....

10 Tidbits About Cassandra

1. She was a bald baby.
2. She has eyes that change from blue to green depending on what she's wearing.
3. Her hair is straight as a board now, but had lovely blonde ringlets as a toddler.
4. She has glasses because she's afraid to try contacts.
5. She doesn't like bananas.  Not because she thinks they taste bad, but because she ended up with a stomach bug several years ago after eating one and blames it on the bananas.  LOL!
6. She and Tim have the exact same temper.  Ugh!
7. She's only 5 inches shorter than me, and will probably be taller than me as an adult.
8. She takes longer showers than anyone else in the house.
9. She wants her own cell phone, but probably won't get one until her next birthday.
10. She is a smart girl who loves to read, write, and watch movies.  She comes by it all naturally, and that makes me a very proud mom. :-)

That's it for today.  I have laundry to do and a kitchen to clean up.  My entries will go back to nearly every day once the kids are back in school next week.  I'm looking forward to the brand new year and all of it's wonderful potential!

Um, what day is it? Oh, okay. Tuesday!

Good morning, good morning! How have you been since I last saw you?  Yes, yes, I know.  It's been far too long.  Four days is an eternity in the blogging world.  I apologize for that.

After the Christmas power outage fiasco, I had a lot of house cleaning, toy playing, battery hunting, mp3 player setting up, and the millions of other things that needed to be done.  Not only that, but I have a birthday party to tend to.  Our oldest daughter turns the big 13 tomorrow!  Eek!

Then, my sister surprised me by saying she wanted to take the kids Monday and not bring them home until Wednesday!  Wow! 

She showed up at lunchtime yesterday and off they went.  Tim and I took the opportunity to use our last two free movie tickets to go watch the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  It was very good.  Lots of funny parts, with a couple of slow spots.  But all together, it was a good movie.  :-)

After all that, we picked up dinner & brought it home to watch Dr. Who on the DVR and "Angels & Demons" from Netflix.  As for today, we have absolutely no plans for today.  I don't know what we'll do.  So far we've only been out of the bed for a hour and I've been cleaning out e-mails, touching base on Facebook, Twitter and Plurk, and now posting this.  Who knows about the rest of the day? LOL!

Okay, that's it for now.  I need to...  Well, I don't know what I need to do, but I am getting off the computer for some breakfast.  LOL!  Have a great Tuesday & I'll see you back here tomorrow for a Wanna Know Wednesday.  :-)

Happy Boxing Day!

No, no, that doesn't mean it's time to box all of those relatives in the nose of out the door (even though you probably want to after yesterday's craziness).  LOL!

It's the day after Christmas.  Did you get everything you asked Santa for?  How about those gift cards you collected?  What will you use them on?

Our Christmas Day turned out to be a very adventurous one.  On Christmas Eve, the electricity went off at 9:30pm.  Now, normally when that happens, it's back on within the hour.  If, for some reason it's still off when we go to bed, it's always back on by morning.

Unfortunately neither was correct this time.

I played Santa by candlelight after all the kids went to bed.  I vaguely recall seeing my alarm clock blinking in the middle of the night.  However, when the kids woke us up at 5:45am the next morning, the power was still off.  We opened gifts by candlelight (which isn't as sweet, fun, whatever you wanna call as it sounds) and waited and waited and waited for daylight to arrive.  Ugh!

16 hours later, after playing hundreds of board and card games, after canceling my Christmas Day lunch and rescheduling for dinnertime, after feeling like I'm going to strangle one particular husband, after emptying the contents of my fridge into two big coolers, and worrying myself to death over the freezer stuffed to the gills with food, the power finally came back on.

I was hand washing my second sink full of dishes when the lights came back on.  It couldn't have done that before.  LOL!  Thank goodness for our fireplace that kept us warm all day and the candles that I love to have around the house.

It'll definitely be a Christmas the kids will remember for a very long time. 

The rest of the day was filled with cooking, cleaning, laundry, Xbox, PS2, radios, and tv shows.  Everyone made up for the power shortage.  LOL.  I was exhausted when I fell into bed last night.

All in all, aside from the power outage, our meal turned out great, the kids got loads of new goodies to play with, my family was happy and healthy together, and Tim gave me a gorgeous double heart diamond necklace... that he picked out all on his own!!  Woohoo!

Here's the picture from the Zales website.  Mine has only white diamonds, not the black that it shows.

I like it!

Okay, one last thing before I go.  We've had a busy day just cleaning up all the shredded wrapping paper, stray instruction manuals, and torn open packaging.  Then we went to spend a few of our gift cards and get groceries.  Not real exciting, but town wa super crowded.

Oh, sorry, I digress....

Today's the day I announce the winner of my December-Twitter Giveaway!  This person was randomly drawn from all the entries and will receive an autographed Alex & Fiona book of her choice.

****Drum roll****

Congratulations to Christine (@cz415ad)!!  Be sure to email me your mailing addy and book choice so I can get it right out to you.  :-)

That's it from me today.  I hope you all have a memorable Christmas, with power.  ;-)

Thursday Thoughts #12: Holiday Foods

Happy Christmas Eve to all of you who celebrate it.  Do you have any big plans for today?  I figured I'd go ahead and post this entry while I had a few free minutes to do so.

I currently have a turkey in the oven that's been cooking for just at an hour now.  It'll be done just in time to take it down to the in-laws' house fresh out of the oven.  I'll also warm up some homemade dinner rolls that I made last week and put in the freezer.  Everyone loves those dinner rolls!

We'll be eating and then opening gifts.  Their living room floor will be littered with discarded, torn, shredded gift wrap paper, along with empty boxes and those awfully frustrating toy packages that take four adults and numerous cutting utensils to get into.  But all in all, we'll have a good time and walk away with full stomachs and happy children.

After all of that, we'll have just enough time to bring our new gifts home, pick up more gifts and food, and head over to my sister's house for the family fun for my side of the family.  For my side, we always do a buffet-style dinner with finger sandwiches, chips and dips, desserts, and numerous other goodies.  I'm taking my bbq smoked sausages (as per requested by my sister).

What is it about holiday foods that make us want to scarf them down with mucho gusto?  Why does cheesecake give us such a happy feeling during this time of the year, and yet we look at it with calorie-laden disgust (though secretly lust for it) the rest of the year?

I love holiday foods!  I even permit myself to enjoy any and all of it during the holidays (with special awareness of how much though).  Yet, if someone were to offer me pecan pie with a mountain of whipped cream on top at any other time of the year, I would graciously decline.

Maybe it's the cold winter months.  This time of the year makes many people feel like eating and hibernating.  What better to indulge in than the happiness of holiday foods!

Nonetheless, no matter why we eat it, I'll always look forward to those holiday meals, treats and desserts that only taste their bests during this time of the year.

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!  I hope you have a wonderful, love-filled day.

Wanna Know Wednesday #46: I'm thankful for...

The big day is nearly here.  The kids are excited, Tim's asking one more time if he can open his gift early, I have cooking to do tomorrow and Friday, and a certain slowness is surrounding the house.  Time seems to slow down when you're waiting on something special to arrive/happen.  No matter how much you wish the days to speed away, they just will not oblige.

I had a fairly peaceful day yesterday.  I managed to do very little, including finishing a book I was reading.  I don't know how it happened, but it played out that way and I was very happy it did (after Monday's room cleaning & moving fiasco).

Today doesn't look too busy either.  However, tomorrow will start the craziness.  I'll get up early to cook a turkey & heat up dinner rolls to take to the in-laws' house. We'll have lunch and open gifts there before heading to my sister's house for dinner and more gifts.  After all of that, we'll come back home to make Santa's cookies, prep the reindeers' carrots, open one gift (I buy the kids new pjs every year to be opened on Christmas Eve), and then rush the kiddies off to bed.

Oh, and Tim will be getting his Christmas Day ham ready to smoke the next day.  It will be a busy, yet fun day.

With all the craziness, I'm glad I finished our shopping before now.  You couldn't pay me enough to go anywhere near a mall, grocery store, or the always busy Wal-Mart.  I hate crowds to begin with, but those last minute holiday shoppers can be downright spiteful if they think you're even thinking about the item their hands are reaching for.  Nope, not me!  You can keep that insanity all to yourself.  LOL!

Since it's the time of the year to reflect on happiness, love, and the people you cherish the most, here is my Wanna Know Wednesday for this week:

Christie is Most Thankful for--

1. Tim.  I love that man to pieces.  Probably far more than he'll ever fathom in his lifetime.
2. My babies.  These kids are spoiled, love to fight & argue, have the eye rolls down to a science, an yet I can't imagine life without them.
3. My health.  We should all be thankful that we're still here for one more day.
4. My home.  It may be small, but it's ours.  Well, as long as we keep those mortgage payments going out every month.  LOL!
5. My family.  I wouldn't know what to do without my mom, sister and grandmother.
6. My friends.  Both online and off, I have some of the most wonderful friends around.  You guys and gals are the best!
7. Creativity. Yes, I can be thankful for something that comes from myself.  LOL. I'm thankful for the fact that I can come up with stories over people enjoy and, dare I say it, love.
8. Books.  There's never a day that goes by that one book or another isn't on my mind for some reason.  Could be one of mine, or one I want to read, but there's always a book there somewhere.
9. Rex the Super Pup.  I didn't want an indoor dog, but I'm glad the kids & Tim convinced me.  He's a doll and a lot of fun to play with.
10. The internet!  For without this precious commodity, none of us would be HERE today.

Okay, that's if for today.  I hope you're not out there in the last-minute shoppers checkout lines, but if you are just know, I feel for you.  ;-)

I'm exhausted!

Oh goodness, it has been a busy few days.  Yesterday we spent the entire day cleaning the girls' rooms. Our older two girls share a room.  Well, we were planning to empty it out completely, clean the carpet, walls and baseboard before putting it all back.

It turned out that we weren't fated to have a day that easy.

The oldest has been begging for months to trade rooms with our youngest, therefore having her own room and the younger two would be sharing.  I finally gave in and that process was thrown in with the plans to just clean one room.  LOL!

We started before 10am and finally declared the day over a little after 6pm.  At the end of the day we'd clean two empty rooms from top to bottom, moved three girls' stuff back into their rooms, and two of them traded places.

It was exhausting!

At the end of the night the girls even exchanged the gifts they'd bought for each other.  They just couldn't wait any longer.  LOL!

Today, well, today I don't know about.  I'm still tired and would like to just have a quiet, easy day...  I know that won't happen though.  None of them can tolerate a day of nothing, especially Tim.  Something will happen, I don't know what, but something will.

Before I go, a little reminder that my December-Twitter giveaway will be ending soon.  If you haven't already entered, stop by and tell me what's on your holiday wishlist.  Use hashtag #wishlistforChristie and you'll be in the running for an autographed Alex & Fiona book.  :-)

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you have all of your holiday shopping done, or that you at least survive the hectic last minute shopping.  LOL!

It's finally the Friday before Christmas.

Happy Friday everyone!  It's a rainy one here this morning.  Seems like it's always raining here these days; reminds me of why I hate winter. 

Oooohhh, the online Christmas party was so much fun last night!  I want to thank everyone who came.  I had a blast talking to all of you.  Congratulations to Lisa S. for being the winner of an e-book copy of A Midnight Infatuation.  I hope you enjoy it!

The discussions last night were numerous, varied, and quite interesting....

Here's the list of conversation topics from last night's online party. Definitely not in order, since that would've been near impossible with all the drinking and the speed of the chat. LOL

Sex, Music, Sing-Alongs, Boob Jobs, Sex, Birthdays, Cats, Dogs, Sex Toys, Lingerie, Snow, Christmas Sluts, Cars, Alcoholic Beverages, Men on their knees for me (hi Larry!), Writing, Blogs, Sex, Money, Places Lived, Kids, Wrinkles, Botox and Age! Whew! I think that's about right.

I had a great time, and we'll definitely be doing it again.

Today is the last day of school for our older girls.  Turns out that my oldest has decided to never ride the school bus again.  I'll be picking them both up from school every day now.  It's okay though, I always hated riding the bus, and I didn't have the option to be picked up.

They will be out of school until January 6th, 2010.  Wow, 2010!  This year went by very quickly, and for the most part I'm glad its over.  I'm looking forward to the new year, new opportunities, fun, good times and great success on the work front.  I'm confident and excited about future prospects.  :-)

Ooohh, before I go, Tim's gift to me arrived yesterday!  He still hasn't received a shipping notice, nor has the order status updated on the Zales.com website.  So if anyone is ordering there, be forewarned.  Tim is quite relieved that it's here; he and the 4yr old wrapped it right away.  LOL.

Everything's done, ready and waiting for next week.  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season no matter which holiday you celebrate.  Lots of hugs and wishes of happiness to you all. 

Thursday Thoughts #11: Time to party!

Good afternoon to all of you wonderful people!  I'm in a super cherry mood today.  The 4 yr old slept all night last night... and so did I!!  I'm feeling mighty fine today.  :-)  Not only that, but I finished the shopping for my Christmas dinner today.  Even got the stocking stuffers and cookie dough for Christmas Eve.  Everything is set, in order, and all-around ready for Santa's arrival.

Last night our oldest daughter had her first Quiz Bowl meet.  She had a great time, and I'm gad she did.  However, I was bored out of y ever-lovin' mind.  The younger girls were bored and hated sitting around for hours (I don't blame them one bit).  I didn't even take them into the rooms for the Quiz Bowl because they wouldn't be quiet.  So we sat out where no one was and let them dance, giggle, play and run around until big sis was done for the night.  It was nearly 8pm when we got home (and the 4 yr old goes to bed at 7).  We were all tired.

Well, today's the day for my Christmas party!  Woohoo!  Time to chat, drink and have a good time.  I'm sure most of you have already seen my previous entry with the details, or possibly the reminder I sent out on Facebook a while ago.  However, if you haven't, here they are again....

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Time: 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Eastern
Where: Christie's ChatRoom

It's a Java chatroom, so don't be worried if a box pops up making sure your Java software is updated.  :-)
 
I hope to see you all there!  And remember, each guest will have their name entered to win a gift from me at the end of the night.  :-)
I hope you're having a fantastic Thursday!

Wanna Know Wednesday #45

Good morning.  Well, I was wrong yesterday.  Tim didn't receive his shipping confirmation last night for the gift he bought me.  And he's frantic.  Poor guy.  This probably wouldn't be a big deal if it weren't for the fact that this is the first time, in the 15 years we've been married, that he's chosen a gift for me that I didn't pick out myself.  Usually I literally walk up to something, pick up, hand it to him and say, "Buy this."

Of course I did have to give him ideas, and point out some items I like in the stores, but he actually went online and bought it one evening while I was in the shower.  He came into the bathroom gloating that he'd done it and I don't know what it is.  LOL!  I love surprises like that.  :-)

Since the man barely knows how to do more than just check his e-mail a couple times a week, I had to sit down last night and find out what the problem was with his order.  Making sure not to look at anything more than just the order number, I contacted Zales for him.  Turns out he's ordered something "Special" so it takes a little longer to ship out.  However, Zales has a guarantee right now that if you ordered before today, the package WILL arrive before Christmas; that's the only reason he ordered it online.

So now he's a little calmer; I've informed him that he's too high strung; and maybe he'll stop worrying about it.  Geez, it's not like it won't get here eventually.  LOL!  There are still plenty of shipping days before Christmas. 

Anyway, hopefully his gift will arrive so that he'll feel better about it.  I can't wait to see what this "Special" item is that he's getting so worked up about.  :-)

Okay, it's Wanna Know Wednesday, again.  Only seven more weeks and then this series will be retired.  Some Wednesdays I just don't know what to list.  This week included.  LOL. 

10 Things I Plan to Do During the Rest of the Month

1. Watch the last of the holiday cartoons I enjoy.
2. Host my online Christmas party tomorrow.
3. Finish up the December-Twitter giveaway next week (have you entered?).
4. Go to my oldest daughter's first Quiz Bowl meet (tonight).
5. Cook, cook, cook!  Lots of that next week.
6. Have a 13th birthday party for my oldest (her b-day is the 30th).
7. Plan a 5th birthday party for the youngest (her b-day is Jan. 15th).
8. Clean house from one end to the other (while the kids are home to help).
9. Try not to lose my sanity.
10. Anything I can possibly do to stay busy, enjoy the holiday season, prepare for the new year, and try not to think about my manuscript sitting in the e-mail inbox of a New York editor.

Yep, that's about it.  I'll stay busy and have a good time.  One way or another!

Okay, I'm out.  The washing machine just stopped, so I need to throw in another load.  Keep your fingers crossed for the high-strung husband.  LOL!  Have a great day.  :-)

Christmas Party Details...

Happy Tuesday morning! What do you have planned for today? I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Tim's still waiting for the gift he ordered me to arrive via FedEx; and he's getting pretty anxious. I keep reminding the man that he still has plenty of time, but he's determined that if he ordered it last Thursday it should already be here.  LOL!

The poor guy has such a difficult time thinking of anything to get me for Christmas or birthdays, and this time he did it all on his own (I have no idea what it is, just that it's from Zales).  Now he's worried it won't arrive in time.  I'm sure all will be fine and that he'll receive a shipping e-mail by the end of today.

Speaking of Christmas...

I mentioned the other day that I'll be hosting my very first online Christmas party this week. Here are all the details!

• Date:  Thursday, December 17, 2009
• Time:  7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Eastern (maybe longer if we're partying hard, LOL)
• Where:  Christie's ChatRoom

We'll chat, sing songs, enjoy drinks and eats, and all from the privacy of your own home. Just use the link above, choose a username and enter (no password required). At the end of the night, one lucky guest will go home (log off) with a holiday gift from lil ole me.  :-)

When I have a chat people always have a great time. My LTTM ladies can attest to that. ;-)

I hope to see you there!

Now I'm off to get my Tuesday started and eat some breakfast.  Have a wonderful day and mark your calendars for the Christmas party!

It's the last week...

That is, it's the last week before the craziness of Christmas sets in.  People will be running around like headless chickens, searching for just the right last minute gift, and forgoing all traditional mannerisms and etiquette.  This is suppose to be the happy time of year, but each Christmas I discover that people are just plain mean when it comes to shopping.

Luckily, I have all of mine done, and I have no reason to be out in that craziness.  I'll stay in my safe little world where I can enjoy the excitement of my children without worrying that someone will run over them trying to get to the last video game, doll or bicycle on the shelf.

I wasn't planning for it to be, but this weekend turned out to be a very busy one.  Saturday was a non-stop go, go, go.  Tim wanted to go to town, and then when we got back, I sat down long enough to check emails and then I rushed off to take the oldest to see New Moon at the theater.  She's been begging to go, so we made it part of her birthday gift.  She'll be thirteen on the 30th.

I was actually surprised at how much better this movie was over the first one.  I've read all the books, but I found the first movie disappointing and lacking.  New Moon, on the other hand, was fast-paced and very good.  They cut out a lot of small parts, but only one of those parts really needed to stay.

All in all, we had a good weekend.  Oh, and I accomplished getting the girls to sit still long enough to take their Christmas picture yesterday.  I think it turned out very well.

Now it's time for a new week!  The older girls only have this last week of school left and they they're out for Christmas break.  I'll have them home for two weeks.  Eek!  LOL.  I don't plan on getting much, if any, work done while they're here.  However, I do plan on having a good time with my babies as they anticipate the arrival of Santa and beg to open presents early.  :-)

Lastly, don't forget about my first Online Christmas Party this Thursday.  I'll post all the details in tomorrow's entry, along with the link to the chatroom.  I hope everyone will be able to stop in and chat.  It'll be fun!

That's it for this morning.  Have a wonderful Monday and a fantastic week before Christmas!

Thursday Thoughts #10: It's just a reading...

Good afternoon everyone.  How has your Thursday gone?  I ended up spending half of my day in town, and I'd only planned on going to one place.  LOL. Oh well, all of my errands are done and I did finally make it home.

Today's blog entry is about something near and dear to my heart.  Through personal channels, I've received a promise to read from a New York publishing house editor!  Eek!  I'm very excited, but have to keep reminding myself, and the people around me, that this is only a promise to read... not a promise to publish.  Though I'd be more than thrilled with a promise to publish.  LOL!!

Normally this isn't the traditional route one takes when aiming to get a novel into a NY editor's hands.  Usually you have an agent first, then your agent handles the process of getting the novel into the right hands.  I would like to be overly excited and just KNOW that this is the beginning of big things to come, but I'm staying neutral, only a little giddy and maybe a touch jumpy.  LOL.  I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't turn out to be something more than just a read.

Yes, yes, I know.  I WILL be disappointed, but I'll be less disappointed than if I were running around expecting the most from it.

Soooooo, all of you out there, keep your fingers crossed for Time for Death as it makes its way towards New York, and maybe even toward a life of book shelves!  ;-)
Have a great Thursday!

Wanna Know Wednesday #44

Good morning everyone.  Well, it's almost noon, but we're still in the morning.  How has everyone been?  I know I only missed posting yesterday, but it feels like it has been a week.  This is one of my daily enjoyments, so when I don't post it feels like my day just isn't complete, something's missing.  :-)

Yesterday was one hell of a day here.  With Tim being unemployed, finances ar becoming strained, especially with the holidays and upcoming birthdays.  Yesterday was a bad mail day for financial news.  I had a mental break down for about half an hour, I deserved that time.  Then afterwards I brushed off and started working on the situation.  Here we are, almost 24 hours later, and all has been worked out to our benefit.  Woohoo!

I'm in a much better mood today.  No tears at all, only a much cheerier disposition.  :-)

Let me see here, next Thursday is my online Christmas party.  I have it all set up and ready for the party.  Be sure to stop by next week for the link to the party.  We'll have a great time!

Don't forget about the Twitter giveaway.  It'll continue to Christmas Eve & then I'll chose a winner of an autographed Alex & Fiona book.  All the detail are on the website.  Stop by!

Since it's Wednesday, it's time for this week's Wanna Know Wednesday!  Today's topic is....

Books I've Read in 2009

1. Twilight  by Stephanie Meyer
2. Grave Surprise  by Charlaine Harris
3. New Moon  by Stephanie Meyer
4. Sunlight  by Moira Reid
5. Librarian by Day  Paige Tyler
6. Eclipse  by Stephanie Meyer
7. An Ice Cold Grave  by Charlaine Harris
8. Breaking Dawn  by Stephanie Meyer
9. Dead and Gone  by Charlaine Harris
10. Doomsday Can Wait  by Lori Handeland
11. Undead and Unwelcome  by MaryJanice Davidson
12. Real Murders  by Charlaine Harris
13. A Bone to Pick  by Charlaine Harris  (reading right now)

I highly recommend all of these books.  I enjoyed them all!  :-)

Okay, I'm out of here for today.  Tomorrow I'll be back with my Thursday Thoughts... it'll be about something exciting I found out yesterday.  Until then, have a fantastic Hump Day!

Online Christmas Party!

Who wants to party with me?  Technically, there aren't many of you who could physically party with me, but we can certainly party together online! 

On Thursday December 17, 2009, from 8pm - 10pm EST, I'll be hosting my very first online Christmas party.  Come, eat (your own food), and be merry with me!  Settle down in your comfy computer chair, have a glass of wine, and snack on some cheese and crackers while we chat, joke around, and just have a good time.  We might even sing some Christmas carols!!

At the end of the night, I'll give a Christmas gift to one lucky guest.  I'll post all the details close to time (where the chat is, log-in info, etc.).

Speaking of Christmas gifts, don't forget about my December-Twitter GiveAway that's going right now.  All the contest details are here, so pop by and tell me what your Christmas gift wish is for this year.  :-)

All righty!  Today's Monday, the start of a brand new week, and I get to go back to my writing work.  I'm very excited to pull out my manuscript of Time For Death, go over it once again and get it all ready to send out into the world.  I'm planning to have it sent off to several people by the end of the week.  Then it'll be time to jump back into Time for Battle to get it finished up.  I'm sure Liz'll be happy that I'm back to giving her the time of day.  LOL.

Speaking of Liz, one of my lovely beta readers informed me last week that she was going through "Liz withdrawls".  LOL!  Looks like I better hurry up with book 2 before she starts having seizures from the withdrawls.  ;-)

I'm of now.  I hope you all have a fantastic Monday.  I'm going to work until I have to pick the oldest up for her orthodontics appointment this afternoon.

*Smooches*

The day after the snow.

Good afternoon on this very chilly Sunday.  Have you missed me over the last three days?  It has been a busy weekend for us.  Friday night the kids went to my mother's house while Tim and I tried to finish up our Christmas shopping for the kids.  I have 1 more "Santa" gift and 1 regular gift, plus stocking stuffers to buy.  I also have a gift from the kids to Tim and their gifts to each other to buy.  Not too bad, but I am behind at this point in the game.

Then yesterday morning we woke up to snow on the ground.  It was just a light dusting, probably no more than a 1/4 inch, but it was snow nonetheless.  We don't get much of that around here.  :-)  And it only hung around for a few hours before the sunlight hit it and melted the tiny white flakes down into puddles.

I called to see if the kids were up and out playing in it, because it wouldn't be long before it melted.  They were though.  My mom took a bunch of pictures of them for me, so at least I didn't miss it.

Then later, we picked them up and planned a family outting.  The kids thought we were only going to see Santa, but afterwards we drove them across the street to the movie theater for a surprise showing of A Christmas Carol in 3-D.  Everyone had a great time and were very well-behaved.  The movie was good, but the 4 year old didn't enjoy the Ghost of Christmas Future part.  It was very dark and a bit scary for her.

While she covered her 3-D glasses with her small hands, I patted her leg and assured her that once this part was over everyone would be happy and bright.  She liked that idea and happily enjoyed the ending.

That brings us to today.  We went to visit the in-laws this morning, and had lunch with them.  And now we're back home.  The oldest is doing her laundry (because I have a rule stating that if they don't bring it to the laundry room then she has to wash them herself), Tim's playing Xbox, the younger two are watching cartoons, and I'm roaming around the internet trying to catch up on what I've missed.  LOL.

Tomorrow starts a new week, and thus, time for me to get back to work.  I took my week off and now I'm ready to get back into it.  Gotta make some money to make up for all the Christmas gifts I've purchased.  LOL.  Plus, my writing helps me with the seasonal "unhappiness" that always hits me during this time of year.

I'll be glad when Spring arrives.
I hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday.  No matter what you're up to today, take some time to relax and enjoy the people who love you most. :-)  I'm off to do just that!

Thursday Thoughts #9: Why Vampires & Werewolves?

What is it about vampires and werewolves that intrigue people?  They're both creatures of the night, which in and of itself is intriguing enough.  Darkness is scary, a time when all good boy and girls should be safely tucked into their beds with the covers pulled up to their ears, wondering if the boogie man was about to pop out of the closet at any second.  But there's also something sensual about darkness, something enveloping, something that brings out the curiosity in all humans.

Werewolves are monstrous, dangerous, some are ugly, but in their human form they're generally described as strong, large and handsome... well, at least the men are.  The mystery around how the full affects their body, changing them from handsome human to monstrous, blood-thirsty beast is more than most can handle.  However, for those who find it interesting and exciting, they're rewarded with an experience very few are presented with.

Vampires on the other hand are known for their higher intelligence, their long lifetimes, their smoothness in conversations.  They tend to glide through the night in such a manner that only a select few even know they exist, and most of those people won't live to tell about the encounter.

Danger is exciting.  The "bad boys" are sexually intriguing.  Even if the idea of blood drinking makes your stomach curdle, the thought of offering yourself up to someone so full of power, strength, control and sexual prowess is enough to make many people (women especially) weak in the knees.

So, why werewolves & vampires?  Because we lust after darkness, the desire to be controlled, the want to turn a "bad guy" good, and yet to be controlled by someone stronger, offering our minds and bodies up to them totally.  They don't even have to be handsome (does anyone really think Béla Lugosi was handsome?) to be the object of our affection.  Strength, control and the real need they have for us to keep them alive is enough. If they have good looks, then all the better!

I figured today's Thursday Thoughts would be something related to what I do.  I've always enjoyed a good vampire and werewolf movie.  I love the night!  I love the feeling of excitement and rush of adrenaline when you're way out past curfew... maybe that's why I was terrible about sneaking out as a teenager.  LOL!  Sorry, Mom.  Give the oldest a few years and I'm sure I'll get paid back.

It humors me to think of how the "Twilight saga" has gotten so many people excited, both young and old.  And yet, these same stories have been around for centuries.  It feels like our exclusive club of vampire lovers have been invaded by a new younger group willing to take over... even though they come nowhere near having as much knowledge on the subject as the older ever-loyal members. 

Most of the new members will move onto the next big thing once this is over, but there will be a select few who will take their new-found love of darkness with them throughout the rest of their existance.  Those will become the next leaders of the Vampire & Werewolf Loving Club.  To them, I thank you for reading, watching and helping to keep alive the genre that I adore the most!

Wanna Know Wednesday #43

Happy Hump Day everyone!  It's a wet, rainy, dreary day here this morning.  That didn't keep us from going out in it though.  LOL.  We had to get some groceries and run by the bank.  When I told the 4 yr old to get dressed she asked, "Do you know that it's raining out there?"  LOL!  She's such a ham.

We made it back though... maybe a littler wetter, but definitely safe and sound.  :-)

According to the Weather Channel, we'll have rain all day, clouds over the next four days, and a possibility of snow showers on Saturday.  That's pretty early for snow showers here in north Georgia.  Usually it's not until after the new year.  We'll see if it happens though.  Don't want to get the kids excited until we see fat flakes falling from the sky.

So, it's the time of the year that every time a parent takes their small children shopping (even just for groceries) we hear the phrases that won't stop until we leave the store...  "Can I have this?  Will you buy me this?  I want this!"

Holiday displays run amuck these days.  Kids have voices that live in a constant state of whining, begging, pleading for something, anything that's within the grasp of their small hands.

Yep, my 4 year old has joined the ranks of these holiday begging soldiers.  I've heard so many Oooohs and Ahhhhs and I want and I need and Buy me this and of course....  Pleeeeeease!  It's enough to make a parent pull their hair out.

In the holiday spirit of giving, today's Wanna Know Wedneday will be......

10 Gifts Under My Tree

1. 1600 Xbox Live Points
2. MP3 Player
3. Books
4. Journals
5. Strawberry Shortcake games
6. Twilight Jewelry box
7. Twilight Poster
8. Star Trek dvd
9. A Tupperware set
10. A photo calendar

There are more, and there are more to get.  These are just the first ten that came to mind.  All three children got books and I need to get them each a new pajama set.  We have a Christmas Eve tradition that they get to open one gift and it's always new pjs.  It's fun and they like to see what I've picked out for them.

Santa still has to make a trip to Toys R Us this weekend, too.  Then I'll be all satisfied with everything being ready for Christmas.  Of course, five days after Christmas is our oldest daughter's 13th birthday and two weeks later is our youngest daughter's 5th birthday.  I'll have to figure something out for their birthday gifts too.
This is a busy time of year, but I so love it.  The lights, the happiness, the fun and games, the parties, the time spent as a family... I love it all.  :-)

I'm off to do laundry now.  My monthly newsletter went out this morning, so I hope everyone on the list enjoyed it.  Thank you all for reading.  *Smooches*

Have a great Wednesday.

It's December. Time for another giveaway.

Good afternoon, lovely readers.  I hope your Tuesday is going fabulously.  It's a cold, dreary one here today.  The baby girl is definitely all better today, too. She's back to getting in trouble and demanding her way in the world.  LOL.

Since it's December 1st, I wanted to let you know that I'm holding a new giveaway.  During this month I'll be taking entries via Twitter for a random drawing on Christmas Eve.  All you have to do is use the hashtag #wishlistforChristie to tell me what your Christmas gift wish is.  You can read all the details on my website's Contests & GiveAways page, and in tomorrow's monthly newsletter.

Since this is my week off of writing work, I've felt kind of lost at what to do with myself.  I don't mind that feeling for a week, but definitely no more than that.  A week off is relaxing... more than that is unnerving.  LOL.

I started reading Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (Aurora Teagarden series) today.  I'm on chapter six and it's pretty good.  I don't find it as appealing as her Sookie Stackhouse or Harper Connely books, but it's flowing well enough that I'll keep going.  I'll be done with it by the end of the week and jump right into book 2, since I picked them both up at the library yesterday.

I like to get lost in a good book, and tend to read through them very fast when they're good.  I also like hearing from readers that my own books flow so quickly that they read them books in a matter of hours instead of days.  I know of at least two ladies who told me they received on of the books that morning and finished it that night.  LOL. 

Now I'm off to think about cooking dinner.  Tim was suppose to grill, but now he's not "feeling it".  We'll see...

Have a great evening!