This morning’s walk was sponsored by bottles today: 1 Mad Dog 2020, 1 Miller Lite, and of course, 1 Bud Light.

I’ll probably never be able to look at Bud Light again without thinking of the lads.

The total distance of today’s walk was 3 miles. I ran for almost a 1/2 mile during the first part of my walk and then I ran for about a quarter mile on the last part of my walk. I hate running, but it makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something.

Besides, I had a big FAT dose of reality last night.

I was looking for pics from the conference in Reno so I could post them today. Well, I found them. And I didn’t recognize the chick staring back at me!

I tried to tell Grant this past weekend how big I was last year but he didn’t believe me. Unfortunately, I now have the pictures to prove it. And that lit a fire under my feet. I’ve lost almost 25 lbs now, but that picture of me from last year is probably 15 lbs heavier than my “before” picture I took in January.

How does that happen? I was an athlete once, dammit. I played basketball, ran track, and played softball. For YEARS. Soccer wasn’t big in my area at the time, if it had been, I would’ve played that, too.

I’m sorry to say, I will be posting very few pictures of last year’s conference. Maybe I will after the fact so we can have a comparison…but probably not.

This morning’s walk was sponsored by bottles today: 1 Mad Dog 2020, 1 Miller Lite, and of course, 1 Bud Light.

I’ll probably never be able to look at Bud Light again without thinking of the lads.

The total distance of today’s walk was 3 miles. I ran for almost a 1/2 mile during the first part of my walk and then I ran for about a quarter mile on the last part of my walk. I hate running, but it makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something.

Besides, I had a big FAT dose of reality last night.

I was looking for pics from the conference in Reno so I could post them today. Well, I found them. And I didn’t recognize the chick staring back at me!

I tried to tell Grant this past weekend how big I was last year but he didn’t believe me. Unfortunately, I now have the pictures to prove it. And that lit a fire under my feet. I’ve lost almost 25 lbs now, but that picture of me from last year is probably 15 lbs heavier than my “before” picture I took in January.

How does that happen? I was an athlete once, dammit. I played basketball, ran track, and played softball. For YEARS. Soccer wasn’t big in my area at the time, if it had been, I would’ve played that, too.

I’m sorry to say, I will be posting very few pictures of last year’s conference. Maybe I will after the fact so we can have a comparison…but probably not.

RWA’s National Conference is next week in Atlanta, GA.

I can’t wait.

This will be my 3rd conference and each year they get better and better. Not necessarily because of the workshops, though I do learn from most of them. I think the conferences get better each year because I am growing more as a writer. I know what’s important to me, I know how to milk every moment and apply it to my craft, and I get to meet and hang out with some fantastic people who have similar goals.

It’s a great feeling.

Frankly, if you don’t have a good time or learn anything at conference, it’s your own damn fault.

The conferences tend to be full of buzz and excitement and I can’t help but be revved up when I leave.

Here are some pics from Dallas 2004 , the first conference I attendedGina Black

Jen Breton, Me, Pam Trader, and Maria Geraci dressed and ready for the Golden Heart/Rita Ceremony

Sarah Schroeder, Me, Scott and his famous kilt, MJ Selle, Maria Geraci, Michele Young, Barb Ferrer aka Caridad Ferrer, and Gina Black

And last but not least, me and Maria.

RWA’s National Conference is next week in Atlanta, GA.

I can’t wait.

This will be my 3rd conference and each year they get better and better. Not necessarily because of the workshops, though I do learn from most of them. I think the conferences get better each year because I am growing more as a writer. I know what’s important to me, I know how to milk every moment and apply it to my craft, and I get to meet and hang out with some fantastic people who have similar goals.

It’s a great feeling.

Frankly, if you don’t have a good time or learn anything at conference, it’s your own damn fault.

The conferences tend to be full of buzz and excitement and I can’t help but be revved up when I leave.

Here are some pics from Dallas 2004 , the first conference I attendedGina Black

Jen Breton, Me, Pam Trader, and Maria Geraci dressed and ready for the Golden Heart/Rita Ceremony

Sarah Schroeder, Me, Scott and his famous kilt, MJ Selle, Maria Geraci, Michele Young, Barb Ferrer aka Caridad Ferrer, and Gina Black

And last but not least, me and Maria.

seriously.

I’ve had 1.5 hours of sleep. I’m dog tired. But, at the same time, I’m completely wound up. Still. It’s 8:40 pm, and I’ve not had a lick of sleep.

Of course, Fishdog managed to sleep just fine today. Why can men do that? Just pass out when they decide to?

I bet they lads had no trouble sleeping, either. Hmph.

I laid down for about 30 mins. this afternoon. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

That’s okay. I’ll take a couple of benadryl and force myself into a coma as soon as Fishdog gets home from softball.

Speaking of the lads, I heard from Grant. They drove through some ugly storms but made it to Daphne safe and sound. I’m sure that right now, he’s having a beer and settling in for a good night’s sleep. Here’s hoping the sandman doesn’t waste all his dust on the men tonight.

Yesterday started out with a sweltering hour and a half walk with the fishdog. It was awesome…except for the last 10 mins. I was half-past ready to be home by then. Yesterday’s walk was brought to you by the following cans: 3 Bud Light, 3 Coors Light, 2 Miller Highlife, 1 Keystone, 1 Budweiser, and 1 Miller Lite bottle.

We came home and I spoke with Grant and confirmed we’d come to Memphis for dinner, etc. I made my handy dandy prepaid reservation via Travelocity, got the confirmation, took a shower, and went to see Pirates of the Caribbean.

What a great movie. Wow. Loved it. Want to see it again. Gina was right, the music is phenomenal. (Yes, I know…it should be…but still…I’m amazed when I hear something so powerful and appropriate)

We take the kids to their friends’ house after the movie, go home, pack, and hit the road for Memphis. We made it there in great time. Things were looking good.

Until I walked into the hotel and tried to get my room. “I’m sorry, we have no record of your reservation and we’re overbooked. You’ll have to stay somewhere else tonight.”

Wrong answer.

I explained very clearly that I was sorry they had overbooked but that I had a reservation, a confirmation (which I showed him) and I would be staying at this hotel. I didn’t care if it was a closet with a cot in it…

Keith was my guy (thank all that’s holy) and he was so nice. His boss wasn’t(boo; hiss). I explained to Keith that I would stand at the reservation desk until they had a cancellation and then I would take that room. I sent Mark to the bar and I waited. I never once lost my head and I never said anything ugly or condescending. I hate it when people do that. I told them that I understood their circumstances but that I also knew that somebody would cancel and I wanted to be first in line for that room.

Keith smiled at me–a very sweet smile and he said, “Okay, ma’am, give me a moment.”

The lobby was full of people trying to check in. I watched as Keith offered them a free night at another hotel, just to free up some space. He managed to get 10 people to accept. He came back to me, took my slip of paper, entered my information and gave me a room at half price. I only paid $50 for the room.

The night was looking up.

We meet up with all the coaches and meet some new ones, grab our boys and take them to eat at The Butcher Shop. Mercy it was a good steak…though the lads were a little disappointed they didn’t offer Fries..only baked potato.

I realized after we got to the restaurant, I left my ID back at the hotel. Now, I may be 37 but I still get carded quite often. As a matter of fact, the reason I realized I’d left my ID was that I had ordered a pitcher of beer for dinner and our wonderful waitress, Edwina, carded me. (she really was wonderful. She put up with a lot of “banter” from the lads and she played along.)

We call Karl back at the hotel and ask him to please go to the front desk. I call the front desk and speak to my new best friend, Keith. I explain what happened and ask him to please give Karl a key to my room so he can grab my ID. Keith says no problem. He remembers me and will gladly help out. I hang up thinking problem solved.

Karl calls back and says that my new worst enemy, Keith’s boss, nixed the plan. I utter a few choice words because now we have to drive the 20 mins back to the hotel to fetch my ID.

It was okay because we really didn’t miss out on anything since Beale Street is open all night long. We go to Silky O’Sullivan’s first, and order this bucket of poison. It’s called “The Diver”, and it’s the most foul thing I’ve ever tasted. They mix this concoction of beer, some liquors and I think grenadine in a giant bucket and throw in about a dozen straws for the world to share. I tasted it for the story, then quickly ordered a beer.

We didn’t stay there long because it was quite dead and frankly, all the birds were too tall for the lads. Apparently they like their women a little on the shorter side of Amazon.

So, we headed down the street to Alfred’s. Now, that was a party.

We met up with some of the other coaches from the Oxford camp, Karl and Nizzy, as well as some of the new guys. We all danced non-stop until we left between 3:30 and 4:00. We picked up two extra lads (Capt’n and Luke; great guys, btw) since Fishdog was the Designated Driver and we had the mom-mobile. They were all starved so we took them straight to Steak and Shake where we had a late night/early morning snack. My vanilla malt rocked!

Finally, I got to sleep sometime between 5 and 6 this morning. I’m working on about 1 and a half hours of “kip” as the lads say. I haven’t done that in years.

Of course, throughout the night, the lads took every opportunity to remind me how young they were at certain times in my life. It was quite annoying…I have to say. I’m not really old enough to be Grant’s mom. Technically, I could be Si’s….but frankly, I don’t think of myself as old enough…so from now on, I’m going to think of myself as their older, wiser, and much better looking sister. 🙂

“C’mon mum, you love the banter,” they kept saying.

I thought so, until I became the subject of said banter. LOL (not true. I love the banter. All of it. Well most of it. Except for the untrue banter which they will never banter about again…)

It was great fun. We said goodbye this morning, all of us moving quite sluggishly. Grant will be near Mobile, AL this week and Si will be only 40 mins from us…so we’ll get to see him later on this week.

Now, I’m dead tired. I’m hitting the bed for some much needed rest. We rockstars need our kip, you know.

Yesterday started out with a sweltering hour and a half walk with the fishdog. It was awesome…except for the last 10 mins. I was half-past ready to be home by then. Yesterday’s walk was brought to you by the following cans: 3 Bud Light, 3 Coors Light, 2 Miller Highlife, 1 Keystone, 1 Budweiser, and 1 Miller Lite bottle.

We came home and I spoke with Grant and confirmed we’d come to Memphis for dinner, etc. I made my handy dandy prepaid reservation via Travelocity, got the confirmation, took a shower, and went to see Pirates of the Caribbean.

What a great movie. Wow. Loved it. Want to see it again. Gina was right, the music is phenomenal. (Yes, I know…it should be…but still…I’m amazed when I hear something so powerful and appropriate)

We take the kids to their friends’ house after the movie, go home, pack, and hit the road for Memphis. We made it there in great time. Things were looking good.

Until I walked into the hotel and tried to get my room. “I’m sorry, we have no record of your reservation and we’re overbooked. You’ll have to stay somewhere else tonight.”

Wrong answer.

I explained very clearly that I was sorry they had overbooked but that I had a reservation, a confirmation (which I showed him) and I would be staying at this hotel. I didn’t care if it was a closet with a cot in it…

Keith was my guy (thank all that’s holy) and he was so nice. His boss wasn’t(boo; hiss). I explained to Keith that I would stand at the reservation desk until they had a cancellation and then I would take that room. I sent Mark to the bar and I waited. I never once lost my head and I never said anything ugly or condescending. I hate it when people do that. I told them that I understood their circumstances but that I also knew that somebody would cancel and I wanted to be first in line for that room.

Keith smiled at me–a very sweet smile and he said, “Okay, ma’am, give me a moment.”

The lobby was full of people trying to check in. I watched as Keith offered them a free night at another hotel, just to free up some space. He managed to get 10 people to accept. He came back to me, took my slip of paper, entered my information and gave me a room at half price. I only paid $50 for the room.

The night was looking up.

We meet up with all the coaches and meet some new ones, grab our boys and take them to eat at The Butcher Shop. Mercy it was a good steak…though the lads were a little disappointed they didn’t offer Fries..only baked potato.

I realized after we got to the restaurant, I left my ID back at the hotel. Now, I may be 37 but I still get carded quite often. As a matter of fact, the reason I realized I’d left my ID was that I had ordered a pitcher of beer for dinner and our wonderful waitress, Edwina, carded me. (she really was wonderful. She put up with a lot of “banter” from the lads and she played along.)

We call Karl back at the hotel and ask him to please go to the front desk. I call the front desk and speak to my new best friend, Keith. I explain what happened and ask him to please give Karl a key to my room so he can grab my ID. Keith says no problem. He remembers me and will gladly help out. I hang up thinking problem solved.

Karl calls back and says that my new worst enemy, Keith’s boss, nixed the plan. I utter a few choice words because now we have to drive the 20 mins back to the hotel to fetch my ID.

It was okay because we really didn’t miss out on anything since Beale Street is open all night long. We go to Silky O’Sullivan’s first, and order this bucket of poison. It’s called “The Diver”, and it’s the most foul thing I’ve ever tasted. They mix this concoction of beer, some liquors and I think grenadine in a giant bucket and throw in about a dozen straws for the world to share. I tasted it for the story, then quickly ordered a beer.

We didn’t stay there long because it was quite dead and frankly, all the birds were too tall for the lads. Apparently they like their women a little on the shorter side of Amazon.

So, we headed down the street to Alfred’s. Now, that was a party.

We met up with some of the other coaches from the Oxford camp, Karl and Nizzy, as well as some of the new guys. We all danced non-stop until we left between 3:30 and 4:00. We picked up two extra lads (Capt’n and Luke; great guys, btw) since Fishdog was the Designated Driver and we had the mom-mobile. They were all starved so we took them straight to Steak and Shake where we had a late night/early morning snack. My vanilla malt rocked!

Finally, I got to sleep sometime between 5 and 6 this morning. I’m working on about 1 and a half hours of “kip” as the lads say. I haven’t done that in years.

Of course, throughout the night, the lads took every opportunity to remind me how young they were at certain times in my life. It was quite annoying…I have to say. I’m not really old enough to be Grant’s mom. Technically, I could be Si’s….but frankly, I don’t think of myself as old enough…so from now on, I’m going to think of myself as their older, wiser, and much better looking sister. 🙂

“C’mon mum, you love the banter,” they kept saying.

I thought so, until I became the subject of said banter. LOL (not true. I love the banter. All of it. Well most of it. Except for the untrue banter which they will never banter about again…)

It was great fun. We said goodbye this morning, all of us moving quite sluggishly. Grant will be near Mobile, AL this week and Si will be only 40 mins from us…so we’ll get to see him later on this week.

Now, I’m dead tired. I’m hitting the bed for some much needed rest. We rockstars need our kip, you know.

It’s 8:45 am and I have big plans today.

Will go walking in fifteen minutes. I didn’t walk yesterday morning so I should have last night, but the heavy heat of summer is finally upon us and I just really didn’t feel like cutting through the humidity for a walk.

We’re finally going to see Pirates of the Caribbean today at 1:00. I can’t wait! I love me some Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Hell, I love me some Keira Knightly. She’s a babe. And the movie will be chock full of accents and since I’m currently in need of an accent fix, I’ll take it.

Both boys have plans with friends tonight. Mark and I are planning to go to Memphis for dinner with the lads and we might *gasp* spend the night! If it doesn’t work out with the lads, we may just go anyway. We don’t get to Memphis much, even tho it’s only an hour away–so since we’re childless for the evening, I’m thinking that we should go no matter what.

Now, I’m off to walk. When I get back, I’m going to write. Then to the movies. Then to Memphis. You wish you were me, don’t ya? Go on, admit it. It’s okay. Sometimes I have to pinch myself just to make sure I’m real. LOL

It’s 8:45 am and I have big plans today.

Will go walking in fifteen minutes. I didn’t walk yesterday morning so I should have last night, but the heavy heat of summer is finally upon us and I just really didn’t feel like cutting through the humidity for a walk.

We’re finally going to see Pirates of the Caribbean today at 1:00. I can’t wait! I love me some Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Hell, I love me some Keira Knightly. She’s a babe. And the movie will be chock full of accents and since I’m currently in need of an accent fix, I’ll take it.

Both boys have plans with friends tonight. Mark and I are planning to go to Memphis for dinner with the lads and we might *gasp* spend the night! If it doesn’t work out with the lads, we may just go anyway. We don’t get to Memphis much, even tho it’s only an hour away–so since we’re childless for the evening, I’m thinking that we should go no matter what.

Now, I’m off to walk. When I get back, I’m going to write. Then to the movies. Then to Memphis. You wish you were me, don’t ya? Go on, admit it. It’s okay. Sometimes I have to pinch myself just to make sure I’m real. LOL