The only resolution I kept last year was finishing my book...now I'm in the throes of editing so I can pitch at my next conference. The writing part is defnitely fun...editing not so much. It's a buckle down, ignore the phone, avoid the tv and all fun thingd task and drives me crazy. Still it has to be done if I want someone to want the story, right? Newest resolution...get the edit done, pitch successfully and keep my fingers at the keyboard no matter what! Happy New Year all!

As I get older, I give a lot of thought to making promises...especially to myself. Those are the ones I tend to keep the least, rationalizing that there's always time to restart a project, get better in the fitness department, read more, write more, travel more, and on and on. While the rationalizing assuages my conscience for a time, the blunt bare truth is I get caught up in everyone else's promises and put my own so far back on the stove that most of them boil dry. No more.

2008 is…

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Fall is in the air here in Central Illinois. I know because I woke up this morning to a crisp chill breeze floating through the open window in my bedroom. I smiled. Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the departure of allergies and the emergence of gold, red and all the colors in between on the neighborhood trees. There's football of course, although baseball is still around, and the occasional (and illegal inside city limits) smell of burning…

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I love football. Sometimes I don't understand the nuances, but I love to watch the game. I can't tell you why exactly, since sometimes it can be deadly dull. There's nothing slower than slogging through mud and rain in search of those ten yards using only running plays; especially when those plays don't seem to be doing a darn thing. Pass! I scream (in the stands, at the big screen TV, at the radio). Throw the damn ball...there's a receiver wide open in the end zone! Of course, no one…

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We've fallen into a rut when it comes to Sunday's main meal. Every other week or so, my husband and I actually manage to be in the same place at the same time. When we are, I make it a point to ask what he has a taste for when it comes to dinner. The last few times, his answer has been predictable. Meat loaf. He always prefaces the choice with 'your wonderful' or 'world famous', which is intended to flatter me. Now I like meat loaf as well as anything, and I have a favorite recipe, but I…

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I love Friday nights...the work week is over (well, there is the Saturday shift at B&N but that's fun, not work), and I can throw the business attire in the closet for two days in favor of cropped pants and a tee-shirt. Tonight I made myself some red beans and rice and popped Second Sight with Clive Owen into the DVD player. Not so much writing done this week between work and real life projects like kitchen cabinets, but Saturday and Sunday are blank slates to be filled with (hopefully)…

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What can I say? I had this really nice picture of me raising a glass of 'the creature' in Edinburgh but somehow my 'helper' uploaded this one of me ready to tackle Balloch Country Park near Loch Lomond. For the record, I do have hair (brown), and the cap says "New Orleans" Maybe I'll get that whisky picture on somewhere else on this page :o) Until then, at least I've gotten rid of shadowy creature guy!

The above truism seems to be my mantra these days. While I've always written, even did a column for the high school newspaper back in the day, I take rejection very seriously. Too seriously according to my fabulous and talented daughter. She maintains I would have been a great children's writer if only I had forged ahead despite those early" we're not looking for a story in this vein" form letters. Me? Not so sure. After all, there are only so many ways to tell the story of a bunny who…

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