Writer's Path

foodie adventures in our backyard

2011-11-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, and since most of the people who read this blog are my family and they have heard, but in case you haven't we are creating a cookbook based on family recipes. It will be updated for today's cook and filled with shortcuts, tips and cheater specials - cause there's nothing like making comfort food in 20 minutes or less! But of course to do a cookbook, you have to do lots of testing.

so this weekend we were testing our 'cowboy chili rolls' so I needed to find spring roll wrappers and I needed the special kind that are really crispy.. After a short consultation with the family spring roll experts (Jojo and Cindy) the hubby and I trekked over to an asian market waaaay on the other side of town. It's called Tri's Market and was completely awesome. A foodie's paradise...however there were a few things I still can't figure out how they might cook...

Like: fresh duck heads:

Or chicken feet:

They had an impressive fish market and good prices on various meat cuts I'm not all that familiar with....
We found some wonderful Bok Choy, a whole slew of unusual mushrooms and a hot Asian chili sauce that I had in a Mongolian restaurant in a Casino once but that I hadn't been able to find anywhere. It was a fabulous outing and I'm sure I will be back frequently.

I did get my spring roll wrappers and we are finalizing the recipe for the Chili rolls - just working on the dipping sauces now. I'll keep you updated on the progress and maybe even post a recipe or two alone the way! I also hear there is an African market somewhere in town so I plan to search it out and see what interesting things it offers too.

On the Way Home

2011-10-09T14:44:00.002-06:00

Our last day at sea was pretty uneventful...I watched the Lincoln Lawyer and Rio. Hey, its what was on. I really liked the Lincoln Lawyer but then again I like most Matthew Mcconaughey movies. I have to say I like Rio, right up until the end when they just slapped a happy ending on the thing. Storytelling has really gone in the dumper is all I can say! There was a cold front that came through as we steamed up the coast of Florida and the sea was really choppy. I like that of course, but there were a lot of people who can't deal with a little extra swagger on the boat! I'm looking forward to seeing my doggy when I get home. All in all it was a great time though I may have to take a vacation from my vacation if we keep doing jungle hikes!

Mom's HOME!!!

Eatin Turtle

2011-10-09T14:39:00.000-06:00

So we’re floating toward Grand Cayman this morning andlaying in bed. I say, “you know it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if we just blewoff the beach today.” He says, “You know I was hoping you would say that causeI’ve had about enough of that tropical sun!” So we didn’t go on our excursion.We did get off the boat and roam around town. We found a little restaurantcalled ‘Paradise’ down a ways from the shopping area. It sits on the water andallows people to snorkel right from their deck. We sat and watched peoplesnorkel and ate a bite of lunch. They had sea turtle on the menu among otherthings.

For those of you unfamiliar with Grand Cayman, they actuallyfarm green sea turtles as a source of food. Literally tens of thousands ofturtles nest there so its been a source of food since people have lived on theislands. It just seems bizarre to us because in the US if you so much as toucha sea turtle, you will be arrested for some kind of animal welfare foul. Anyway Iwanted to try it. They had a burger and they had soup. The soup seemed moretame so I went that direction. It was actually pretty good. Much like yournormal beef stew. The turtle meat was like a cross between beef and pork andwas a little fatty so more like pork I’d say. It definitely did not taste likechicken!

I really just wanted to try it so I did and it was fine. Wealso shared a chicken wrap which was very good – and yes it tasted likechicken! We puttered around then got back on the boat and napped again. I wasglad we didn’t go to the beach as it was an oppressively hot day and I wouldn’thave lasted 20 minutes!

Staying In

2011-10-09T14:34:00.002-06:00

So today we stopped at Isla Rhotan, Honduras. Unless youwant to rent a car or go on an excursion, there is nothing to do here but shop -which is my least favorite activity. So I bought a Christmas ornament and gotback on the boat – Kevin didn’t even get off. We had decided to take a day offand rest and with everyone else off the boat we had it mostly to ourselves. Welearned a long time ago that it’s the best time to use the pools and whirlpoolsas you feel like you are all by yourselves. We suited up and went to the backpool which is the adults only pool and there were only a very few people. Theclouds covered the sun on and off and we swam in the pool, used the whirlpooland enjoyed various fruity drinks.

Actually I didn’t do as good a job as I should have with thesunscreen and did get a little more red than I would have liked. A sunburn canmake me sick really easily and tomorrow we are supposed to be on Seven Milebeach in Grand Cayman so we’ll see.

We did go up and eat at the supper club which was nice.

Cave Tubing & Tacos

2011-10-09T14:31:00.002-06:00

We had to leave right at 8 am for the tour in Belize – weare going cave tubing!! I’m a little concerned as we are both out of shape andnow definitely middle aged. I hope we can keep up as I hear it’s a little bitphysical. Belize is interesting. It used to be called British Honduras butbecame its own country in the early 70s. I was surprised that there are only312000 people in the whole country and they have the highest literacy rate in CentralAmerican at 93 percent.

From the port, it was an hour and fifteen minute bus ride tothe site. Mostly is was this type of scenery but the last 20 minutes or so was big time jungle. Then we suited up: inner tube, check! Helmut, check! Life Vest,check! Watershoes, check! Bug spray – ummm, well you remember the Prevacid? Ithink I left the bug spray sitting beside it so we’re just going to have to runthe gauntlet of mosquitos!

Hi ho, hi ho, itshiking through the jungle we go! Actually I was expecting the jungle to behotter. As a veteran of jungles in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica andother rather steamy locations, this one was pretty pleasant. Not too hot –until you are suited up in all that gear!! And why can’t anyone make a lifevest that circulates air??

We waded through the water coming out of the mouth of thisgiant cave. The water was crystal clear and very cold which was something tolook forward to after our hike! There are no animals other than some very tamefish because the big bad reptiles thankfully don’t like cold water. Anyway weslogged across the river then up the opposite bank which entailed climbingthree flights of stairs. That was the hardest part of the hike which was verymild. The trail was wide and easy to navigate and had very few inclines at allso no big deal. Its just that you sweat off about ten pounds carrying the gear!

Of course once you reach the entrance to the cave and plopon your butt in the inner tube, that cold water feels great. Its like a coollazy river flowing through these caves. We all had headlamps attached to ourhelmets and they gave us light as we floated through the caves. Pretty awesome.After about an hour we ended right where we started. They had cooked some greatchicken tacos all homemade and they were great. We did way better than I thoughtwe would for being so out of shape and had no problem at all. And we didn’t geteaten alive by the mosquitoes, though a big swarm followed us all the waythrough the jungle!

Of course when we got back to the boat we took a looooongnap – that heat really takes it out of you!

Ahhhh, Mexico.

2011-10-09T14:25:00.001-06:00

Don’t you just love Mexico? The people are great. Theyactually want you to have a good time and they have a great attitude – muchbetter than some of the Caribbean islands who barely care whether you’re thereor not. We went straight from the boat over to the next pier where we boardedthe catamaran to take us to Passion Island. It was a 45 minute ride so itsquite a ways. When we got there it was gorgeous!!

White sand a beach thatliterally stretched for miles. There is no development around it so it was thefew little buildings, beach chairs and natural dunes. Very awesome. We camewith about 80 people and had the place to ourselves for the first hour or two –it felt almost deserted.

Except for the excellent staff who had a fruity drinkor cup of beer ready every time we turned around. The ticket was all inclusiveso it was all you could drink and all you could eat. The lunch was very good –chicken grilled outside and homemade guacamole with chips was our favorite butthey had salad and fruit and fish and lots of other stuff. Even when the nexttender showed with more people there were still less than 150 total and lots ofbeach so it was the least crowded beach I’ve ever been on – and a great valuefor $70.

There was also lots of shade which I really liked so Ididn’t get too toasted. I hopped in the water several times and there was alight breeze so it was really nice – reminded me of Hawaii with the cool waterand constant breeze. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Once back on the boat we took a long nap and then had dinnerwith Trina and Eric again. We are looking forward to tomorrow as we have a veryactive excursion planned!

Sailing on the Ocean Blue

2011-10-09T14:21:00.001-06:00

Today is a great day at sea! Calm water and beautiful blue –tidy bowl blue in fact. I’m always amazed at how blue the gulf water iscompared to other oceans – even the Caribbean is a much darker shade and notnear as pretty.

Today we spent exploring the boat and finding everything. Iwas so proud of myself for packing my Prevacid (the new tummy wonderdrug) so Icould eat virtually anything I wanted. And I did yesterday – I mixed variousliquors, fruity drinks, wine, cokes and various other things…so this morningimagine my disappointment to find that I had packed the EMPTY bottle of pillsinstead of the new full one! Obviously my mind was already on vacation as Ipacked. So I’ll have to take it easier and drink lots of milk (booooo).

I played poker today with a variety of peeps from all overbut mostly from Tampa Bay. There are a lot of older people on this cruisesversus what you get on the boats that go from the other side of Florida. I wasshocked that by midnight the casino was almost deserted and the nightclubs wereempty…which is fine by me but not what you see on the bigger boats where theygo until 3 am or so.

I know everyone is looking forward to Cozumel tomorrow asare we. This time instead of just doing some shopping, we decided to book an allday excursion to Passion Island – where they film the Corona commercials. Ijust hope there is some shade because getting sunburned at the first stop willmean disaster for the other since they are all back to back. We will see how itgoes.

All Aboard!

2011-10-09T14:19:00.000-06:00

We arrived about 11 ish as we normally do at the cruiseterminal on cruise day. We had no issues and were checked in and ushered onboard within an hour. The boat is the Legend – one we haven’t been on so far.The ship is definitely laid out differently than what we are used to because weusually stay on deck six because the promenade is on deck five. But on this boat, the promenade is on deck 2!So a little adjustment is in order. Lunch was salad – we are trying to eatbetter this cruise, and after a little exploring the cabin was ready. So greatto be back ‘home’. Duncan is our cabin steward for the week and I’m thrilled tohave a steward with a name shorter than 13 letters that I can pronounce! Wesailed away from Tampa Bay at 5ish – but the bay is pretty big so an hour laterwe were just sliding under the bridge at the mouth of the bay! The water isn’tthe pretty blue yet that it is in the gulf but I’m sure it will be by the timewe get up tomorrow.

We have noticed that this boat is far from full. Kind ofnice actually and we’ve seen very few ankle biters – also good news and mostlyattributed to the time of year. At dinner, we met our dinner mates. Eric andTrina, newlyweds from Tampa Bay. Eric is 32 and a minister, and Trina is 40 anda day care director. Nice people. We puttered around the casino, I played alittle poker and then we called it a night. Tomorrow is a fun day at sea so wecan sleep in.

Off to the Birthday Cruise!

2011-10-09T14:16:00.002-06:00

We are off cruising once again. This time we will be goingout of Tampa Bay and the ports are Cozumel, Belize, Isla Rhoatan(Honduras), andGrand Cayman. We’ve been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman before a couple of timesbut Belize and Honduras are new. Of course I failed right off the bat to followup on my administrative duties and check us in so we were in later group B& group C to board our flights. Can you say middle seat?? Actually itwasn’t that bad – it never is on the way out, it’s the way back where everyonegets bitchy.

I’ll admit it was sad to leave Bubby, but he will have Lyssato play with at night and of course his day pack (Liz and Chris) will still bethere so I’m sure the little doggy will survive. I’m just ready to get some vacationunderway!

We are staying at the Riverwalk Sheraton in Tampa and itspretty nice. There is apparently an ER nurses convention in town so we’ve seenlots of nurses. There are also a couple of weddings going on in the hotel. Oneis Greek or European of some sort (lots of cheek kissing) and the other seemsto be locals. They both seem to be pretty formal affairs. Although after seeingsome of the girls dresses (bandaids would cover more and show less) and shoes(stilts are lower) I have to wonder – since when did formal attire include ‘Howear? If you can see clear up to the va jay jay in their wedding gear what theheck do they wear to the clubs? I hate to think.

Here's a view of Tampa Bay. We ate at a place called Mangroves and it was nice. Then wespent some time lounging in the pool under the stars… a great way to startrelaxing. Tomorrow, the boat!

So Here's What Happened....

2011-09-16T11:03:00.000-06:00

I know I have been absent from the blogosphere for quiet some time, but it usually takes just one stupid incident to bring me back. So here's what happened: I was creating a fabulous omelet the other night and I thought, "some tortillas would be great with this". Of course, I used to have a gas stove so when the tortilla monkey struck, I'd just pop one on the open flame to give it that wonderful crispy taste. But now I have a fancy schmancy black glass electric cook top. Previously I'd tried crisping one directly on the glass - it took me an hour to get the burnt tortilla off the glass so that wasn't an option. The cleaning ladies had hidden all the skillets again (save the one I was using for the omelet) so I came up with the bright idea of putting some foil over the element so the tortillas wouldn't stick. I was very proud of myself for being so smart! Well apparently aluminum foil melts at a very low temperature (I missed that day in chemistry!) and so while my tortillas were crisping, the foil melted to the cook top. Here's how it looked:

And this was AFTER I'd scrubbed on it for a while. Booooooo. Of course my spouse was just glad HE hadn't done it because he would have been in the dog house forever. In fact, we have a new cook top because he destroyed the last one with a huge pot of beans - but that's another story. So I was bummed. Years ago, I would have searched for a book on how to fix it but now of course there is Goggle. Google is your friend. So I searched and apparently there are a huge number of people unaware of the melting point of aluminum when in contact with a glass cook top so there were many recommendations for getting it off. I went to bed determined to try some of them out the next day.

After work yesterday I arrived home arms loaded with possible options to take the metallic mess off my cook top. (We got BarBQue too because of course there could be no cooking while I was working on this project). My trusty sidekick, Obiwan Helper Dog (Rocko) stood ready to assist:

Or maybe he just wanted more BarBQue I don't know.

I surveyed the players which consisted of : Crisco spray oil, WD-40, Drano, Goo Gone, and Easy Off. I also had the cleaner recommended by the manufacture which I'd tried the night before. The Windex was to clean off each chemical in between tries because I didn't want to fumigate myself by mixing chemicals. I also had a razor blade as a last resort but I DID NOT want to scratch the cook top.

I tried each on in turn and the drano was pretty good at getting some of the metal off but it wasn't too good to my skin (I know I could have worn gloves, but I forgot them at the store so I just went with it - it also bleaches out anything it touches so my purple shirt is a gonner). The oil actually helped flake some of the aluminum off and the WD-40 was even better. I was also surprised at how well the WD 40 conditioned the cook top. It made what scratches there were hardly noticeable. The goo gone was a joke and so was the easy off. I tried the easy off cold and hot. The cold was fine, but the hot I would not recommend as it left a shadow on the cook top. Here again gloves would have been a good idea. So here's how it looked after two rounds of everything:

Not as bad but still not usable. Then I got the bright idea of using the WD-40 AND the razor blade...it kept the blade from scratching the surface and did a great job:

There are still little shadows, but I'm hoping those will go away as we use it....all in all I was very pleased with the outcome. Of course my dad could have told me to use WD 40 from the start. In his tool box he always had Duct tape, WD 40, Baling wire and some epoxy. I now have those four items in my kitchen drawer (I have picture hanging wire instead of baling wire but its the same idea). Oddly enough there is very little that can't be fixed or temporarily helped with these things.

What does this have to do with writing? Not a damn thing, but it serves as yet another illustration of how far I can go to avoid writing on my next book!

New Ideas, New Year

2010-12-27T12:42:00.001-07:00

So here we sit in the offices of TAG Publishing (we being my business partner Liz and myself) pondering our strategies for the new year. Of course in order to know what you want, you have to know what you don't want and there have been many things this past year on the "never again" list. I'll spare you the details, but will share confirmation that hard lessons learned are often the most valuable education you can get. This next year however, promises to be our best yet. We've had several very positive occurrences at the end of this year not the least of which has been a six fold expansion of our business. We will be coming into the new year with over 100 authors, a milestone for us for sure but something that we fully intend to be a stepping stone to our next goal of 1000 authors!

I'm sure everyone ponders their life's progress at this time of year - its hard not to, but do you think "Another one down" (and breathe a sigh of relief) or do you anxiously look forward to the fabulous things this next year will bring? Honestly this year for me its both. There were some struggles, and loss of loved ones which makes me want to leave the year 2010 far behind. But I also know that many of the issues and people we encountered through the year are leading us to a very bright future and that excites me.

When I was younger I can remember taking a moment each December 31 and thinking back to where I was the year before. I would ponder the events of the past 12 months and measure my growth both financially and personally. Then I'd solemnly resolve to set loftier goals and push myself harder. But I'm not doing that this year - not because it is not a good practice (it always has been) but more because now I realize the importance of not taking myself so seriously! I'm thrilled to have weathered the various storms this year with my humor intact. I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing and so excited I get to keep right on doing it. I have a husband that puts up with me, kids that are self-sufficient and a dog that loves me. It really is a wonderful life and I don't need anyone else to validate that. I know I will have an excellent 2011 simply because I decided to make it so and I hope all of you do as well.

Christmas light Extravaganza!!!

2010-12-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

For the first time in a long time, the spouse and I decided to go out and look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Most of the people in our part of town do it up big time so there is usually quite a bit of traffic which is why we don't usually join in, but this time - what the heck....so off we went. And you know there were several interesting sights:

Of course the fact that they give holiday hayrides through our streets is always kinda neat...until you get behind the wagon hauling people slower than my bulldog walks. It is a pretty red wagon that hauls probably 25 people and is drawn by mules - who couldn't seem less thrilled. As we rolled along at the speed of smell, I couldn't help but notice how unusual the lights were from years past. Only a few years ago, you'd drive down these streets and see perfect displays with matching lights and colors. Now it seems people are more into the real spirit which is : do what makes you happy. Every house seemed to have a mish mash of colors, flashing lights and Christmas figures. Its kind of like when you let your three year old dress herself - quirky, cute, but wouldn't win any contests. I liked it - perfection is so overrated anyway.

One of the yards was decked out completely in purple which was very unusual but there was something about the lights that made your vision blur - almost like an epileptic seizure coming on. Kind of a "Gee that's pretty, too bad you can't look at it". Down the street from there was a house with some sort of scene on the roof. At first I thought it was just mounds of snow, but it turned out it was supposed to be snowmen...the spouse thought they looked like Ninja turtle snowmen. There was a house up the street from ours that had four huge wreaths hanging in a line at the street - very cool looking.

Of course we also had to swing by Steve's house. He is one of those guys who has the full on, 100,000 light display set to his own radio station so you can watch the lights perfectly timed to the Christmas tunes. When we got close to his house, of course it was like grid lock....spouse used a term with the word 'cluster' in it. I thought it was interesting how most of the houses around him didn't even do lights and I guess I can see why....I'd just enjoy his too!

All in all, I think its proof that people don't really take appearances all that seriously anymore and that, in my mind, is a very very good thing....Merry Christmas!

Is the Christmas movie dead?

2010-12-10T12:56:00.001-07:00

I saw a report come across the news that said studios were just not making Christmas movies anymore. It stated the reasons to include the fact that there is so much competition from non-seasonal pictures that it doesn't make sense. It also stated that there just weren't any 'new' or different stories out there. This caught my attention for a several reasons.

Of course as a connoisseur of many a Christmas film, I would agree there are lots of crappy ones out there. Invariably, when a great Christmas tale is done for film, aka A Christmas Carol, Its a Wonderful Life, or The Christmas Story, it seems that all Hollywood can do at that point is some knockoff. Of course they want a sure winner so its easy to think that doing a knockoff is safe. But then to complain that there just aren't any good stories out there is pretty much crap and we as writers know it.

Its very similar to the publishing industry professional who tells a group of writers that "humor just doesn't sell" or "no one wants to read memoirs". Yet the success of a book like Sh*t My Dad Says - now a TV series - flys in the face of those statements. It also shows writers that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The guy that wrote that book started it as twitter posts and gathered hundreds of thousands of followers. It was proof people loved it and he thus got a publishing contract.

These days writers have tremendous ways to build their audience and market for any book or style they choose to write in and the public decides what is or is not good and this allows a writer to follow their gut instead of trying to conform to what someone else tells them the 'market' likes. Of course, if you're wrong you know it immediately and that's a good thing too because a publisher can say you're crazy but there's nothing like instant public feedback to confirm it.

I think that the new digital age will user in a whole plethora of genres and books that can't even be imagined now and that includes the types of stories available as Christmas tales. Our job as writers is to stop playing it safe and push the envelope on what we dare.

One other ridiculous aspect of Hollywood and the publishing industry is that they have a memory of about four weeks. So whatever they aren't buying this month, they will start buying next month. The trick is to stop caring what they think and just start writing.

The New Look and New Book!

2010-12-03T16:00:00.002-07:00

Well, I finally decided the personal website(www.deeburks.com) was in need of an overhaul so I worked on that this afternoon and it went really smoothly. The biggest reason being that I have a new book out! Liar's Fire has been many years in the making and I'm excited to see the feedback. I'm also organizing a blog tour so hopefully you will be seeing the book in many new places shortly. I have to say I love the cover and the feedback has been that its pretty HOT...which is in line with the content of the book.

In other news, business has been very busy. Our little company has grown tremendously in the past few months as we are absorbing a number of authors from another company in to ours. They all seem to be pretty excited and that bodes well for their books. We are also converting all their books to Kindle so that will be an additional avenue for them to reach new readers.

This month, our advertising starts for our new contest, Eternally Yours. If you haven't already guessed, this is a romance novel contest so any of you who have a romance manuscript you'd like to enter, the online enrty form will be available late next week on our company website, www.tagpublishers.com. Our other contest, The Great American Novel, closed Oct 31 and we'll be announcing the winners Dec 20th.

On the home front, the tree is up and the bulldog is eyeballing it, but so far no disasters. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.....

Bulldogs and Baby Birds

2010-05-22T14:37:00.004-06:00

So why is that dogs seem to think that dead things make the perfect gift? One evening a few weeks ago he was out in the back patio and suddenly appears with what looks to be some sort of large dried egg shaped brown thing....until I looked closer and saw it had WHISKERS!! It was a dried up cat's head...yet Rocko was so proud of it. It was as if he'd found a gold nugget! When I tossed it over the fence he was devastated and almost didn't get over it...

Then, the other day he is again on the back patio holding something that looked kind of white and fluffy in his mouth. When I finally got him to let it go it was a fat little baby bird. Apparently it had fallen out of the big tree in our backyard and again Rocko seemed to think it was the find of the century....of course Kevin immediately pointed out that the dead bird wasn't his fault as it brought back a reminder of the now infamous 'baby bird incident' a few years ago. For those of you who are unfamiliar, I'll share it here:

It was a fine spring day and we were out on the deck enjoying our little patch of heaven and the new garden. But there was a little bird nest tucked into the corner up under the roof line....Kevin decided to get the garden hose and get rid of the nest before the birds laid their eggs...unfortunately he didn't check the nest first. So he starts his water blasting and before we know it we see a tiny little bird *splat* on the deck.....so sad!! But there was still another baby bird chirping away in the nest! There was no way the mother was coming back to the wet, destroyed nest and its hard to know what the humane thing is to do. Since they weren't going to survived without the mother, he squirted the rest of the nest out of the overhang and the second bird splatted too...but was still kickin...so he picked the little fledgling up with a dustpan and took them both out to the dumpster.

this is where it gets ridiculous....have you ever had one of those conversations with your spouse that makes you think you are both crazy? Me too. And this conversation centered around if it was more humane to put them in the dumpster and let them die eventually, or just give them to the neighborhood cat and have it over quickly. He voted dumpster, I voted cat. At the time, I was working at CoreData and so I of course shared the incident with my coworkers, one of who had been faced with the same dilemma .... a baby bird fell out of a tree in her backyard and she rescued it before her cat could pounce. But she was convinced the baby bird could be saved. In a effort to keep the bird alive, she wrapped it in a little cloth and put it in the middle of her stove which was warm (she had a gas stove). A short time later when she checked on it, the bird was dead!! She'd cooked it!

After that story I didn't feel nearly as bad about the baby birds because I think being allowed to die in a dumpster or by cat are both more humane that being roasted by a do- gooder!

The Value of Sleep

2010-02-15T19:29:00.002-07:00

So at 4 am this morning, as I whacked my snoring husband for the thousandth time, I had to wonder, "Why is it that when I want to sleep all things seem to conspire against me?" Not that this was the only thing on my mind. I also contemplated how it could be that earplugs which see so well suited to block out high level industrial noise or even the drone of aircraft, could not seem to block the noise eminating from this man's mouth. Or how it could be possible that snoring could vibrate our whole king size bed. Its only recently that I've really understood the value of a good sleep. I've become a bit of a night owl over the last year as our call volume has picked up so substantially during the day that I work much later into the evening. Only lately I've realized that rather than helping me catch up on my work this is really hindering me.

I know, it sounds a little counterintutive (that's intellectual talk for batty) but just follow along. First of all, at night it seems to take me three times as long to do the same amount of work as it does during the morning. Then of course there's the effect on my relationships. I'm bitchy...okay, bitchier. I snipe, gripe and order people around - yes, more so than usual! Then there's the laying in bed wondering if its worth the effort to go downstairs and dig out an icepick when I could just shove a pillow down his throat.

The only cure that I can see is to bring back the afternoon nap! you know when you curl up with a pillow in a very quiet, warm place...with a margarita....oh wait!! that's a siesta....you know Mexico is such a good idea this time of year. Go nap!

11 year old Used Car Saleman

2009-12-13T11:29:00.006-07:00

So me & Liz went over to the Troop 80 Xmas tree lot to get a beautiful fragrant tree for the castle. As we strolled trough the rows of smaller trees, we were met by Zach, our personal boy scout salesman. He showed complete confidence as he extolled the beauty and quality of the scout trees, taking the time to spit to the side like any good 'ol boy, and pressing home how we'd be helping our local boy scouts. When we told him we were looking for a 'big' tree his eyes lit up and he led us to the barn that housed them. AS we followed along behind him, we both thought he had a very promising future in used car sales - or mabe amway.

We quickly found, with Zach's help of course, a beautiful nine foot noble fir. Zack also direct us around the corner to select a tree stand and get the tree netted all the while he chatted, spit, chatted, spit. He stuck with us all the way through the check out line, offering hot chocolote, pictures with our troop salesman, and every possible upgrade he had in his arsenal. Turns out he is completing with the other scouts to win an all expense paid trip to Wilderness camp which sounds like a huge big deal to him. I have no doubt he will emerge at the top of the list this year with his fabulous sales skills.

We're really looking forward to the party on thursday which has also turned into a booksigning for Warren Mcclenegan and his new humor book, Reel Livin'. Here's the cover:

We're hoping for a good turn out to congratulate him on a great accomplishment. We will also be displaying the covers of the many of the books we have coming out over the next few months so it should be an exciting time.

Greeting Card Rules

2009-11-10T13:32:00.006-07:00

So I was just wondering how long you keep a greeting card. I cleaned my office and unpacked the rest of the boxes from the move (a year ago!) and ran across several old cards people had sent. I was just wondering if there were any rules on when to throw out greeting cards. When you think about it, once you've read the sentiment you have no more use for the card, but I've always felt it rude to immediately toss it. My hubby, on the other hand, will usually read the card, smile or nod and immediately toss it. This has always bothered me. I somehow feel obligated to retain the card at least until the occasion has long passed before getting rid of it as if somehow tossing it six months later will be less offensive to the sender - who has no idea what I do with the card and probably doesn't care if or when it gets tossed!

This brings up a real problem for me with the whole idea of greeting cards - and not just because I regularly miss the occasions that they are for. The only reason I buy the darn things is out of obligation to the one getting to the card so they won't feel 'forgotten' - or as a convenient place to put money for their gift. But since the only people I buy cards for know how I feel ( and would just as gladly take any cash handed directly to them), why would they feel forgotten if Hallmark doesn't give them a sappy sentiment? Since when did paper scribbles (which I could write much better BTW) come to symbolize relationships? People feel obligated to buy them, then people feel obligated to keep them and then they end up in a landfill....wtf?

No I'm not just ranting today, but its getting to the time of year to look at buying Xmas cards. I don't do personal Xmas cards. I tried it a time or two years ago but decided it was a ridiculous waste of time and energy and I really kind of suck at that sentimental thing.

But I remember years ago when I was in Jr High, helping my mom do Christmas cards and found that I knew almost no one on their list. How can you grow up with two people and know hardly anyone they know? Don't you wonder sometimes how people got on the list in the first place? Of course I quickly learned not to ask as I would get some thing like "Oh you remember! When you were three they lived next door to us in Plainview and had those two cute little girls you and Cindy played with until that incident at the birthday party. But her hair grew back. And then there was that day your grandpa showed up drunk and passed out on the lawn and their brother helped drag him home and clean up the puke...." ..........ho ho ho .......

Throwing in the towel...

2009-10-28T15:50:00.004-06:00

No I'm not throwing in the towel, I'm just dumbfounded at how many other people do so at the drop of a hat. I'm working on numerous books for clients that are focused toward small businesses so the subject of running a small business has been uppermost in my mind. Not that I'm ever far from the subject because, hey, I run a small business. But every once in a while I see something that stops me dead in my tracks and makes me wonder, "What were they thinking???" Happened to me today in fact. I was taking a break from writing this afternoon and going through the mail. Included was the monthly issue of Shopper's Window which is a local pulp showcasing ads from local businesses. So I'm flipping through this little publication, making fun of Liz cause she was on a call and actually working when this ad catches my eye:

Now I ask you, What were they thinking? Why would I even want to go to a place that was obviously just about to give up and call it quits? And they paid for this ad! I can think of a dozen ways to market yourself and NONE of them involving begging people to show up at your door because you are this desperate. Case in point is we have been doing some marketing for an author client of ours for a couple weeks and today it started to pay off as we booked a speaking engagement and radio interview. There are so many ways to get yourself out there as an author or small business person that will help and improve your exposure and cash flow - but unlike this business, you can never ever let em see you sweat!!

Christmas lights and 2010...

2009-10-22T15:33:00.002-06:00

So today I'm gathering up interviews for an article for a feature article for the December issue of Credit Union business magazine. Its on trends and business forcasts for the industry for 2010. Its interesting because I have to interview very large organizations as well as very small ones. The difference in the two is staggering. Of course the behemouths have multiple layers of "press 1 if you know the person's extension, press two for loans" ad nauseum then you finally get someone who transefers you to someone who calls someone that's not there only to send an email for them to return your call. So I went the other direction and called the little guys. I got a person (like live and breathing and everything!) who didn't know the answer to my question but immediately transfered me to a guy who said, this is Keith the CEO can I help you? Now I ask you, when's the last time that happened? I've always been a huge believer that if someone calls our business, someONE should answer the phone! Not a machine or endless voice option loop.

Its one thing I always tell our writers and clients - if you call, we will answer. How hard is that? maybe its the society we live in that seems so impersonal, or the fact that I'm just getting older but I would take a real human who can't answer my question over a impersonal machine anyday. Its like Meg Ryan says in You've Got Mail, "Whatever business is, it should personal." So that's my rant for the day.

In other news, Christmas is coming!!! Oh yipppee! My favorite season. A week ago they had christmas toys at the Petco, so Barky got a candy cane striped squeaky bone. He also got a Rope Dog which he proceeded to disembowl and scatter about the house. Today I had some christmas light pros come by and do an estimate for lights for the castle...they should be up before thanksgiving. I always love the holiday season - mostly for the great movies. They had the remake of miracle on 34th street on HBO last weekend which was a great start to the season!

Fabulous Fruity Drink Recipe - The Tidal Wave

2009-10-05T13:38:00.004-06:00

I had a great new fruity drink on the boat. What they've been doing on all the carnival cruises this year, is that early in the week they have a 'Mixologist' competition and passangers compete to create the best fruity drink which is then available at a special price the rest of the week. The winner on our boat was called the Tidal Wave - and its blue. Now I know what you're thinking, because I thought it too: If it's blue its gonna suck. This is because its the rule of fruity drinks that if its red or orange, then its probably pretty good - but if its blue or green then it sucks. Its like suckers, the blue and green ones are always the last ones picked. But of course I had to try it and ordered one anyway knowing it would probably suck. Well surprise, surprise it was one of the best fruity drinks I've ever had so I asked the bartender for the recipe:

The Tidal Wave

(equal parts)
Vodka
Peach Schnapps
Blue Curaqao
Pinapple juice
Sweet & Sour Mix
Garnish with orange slice and cherry - and of course a little unbrella)

last day....

2009-10-05T12:31:00.002-06:00

The last day on board is always depressing. Mostly because you have to pack and contemplate going home. All in all this was one of the better cruises we've taken probably because I REALLY needed a vacation and also because we went to some locations that were totally different than the Mexican and Caribbean locations we've been to before. I even watched some movies while on board - I can't remember the last time I saw a current movie! This trip I saw Marley & Me which was very touching and then I also saw The Proposal which I also liked. I wasn't sure I'd like Sandra Bullock as the evil 'devil wears Prada' type, but it turned out to be really great. I also saw Benjamin Button, and although I like the uniqueness of the premise, I didn't think it was very well executed. Some parts were downright boring, but I'm sure I'm in the minority there as many people I know loved it.

I also read two books on the plane - the first was on the way out and is called 'The Children's Blizzard'. It is a creative account of the 1888 blizzard that swooped down over the Midwest suddenly in one afternoon killing hundreds of school children on their way home which is why its known as the Children's Blizzard. The subject matter is very intriguing and interesting but I have to say the writing was a bit lackluster. It is also noticeably uneven meaning that there are passages of scientific information written so differently in tone and feel from the rest of the text that it seems 'stuck in' by someone else. Its a little bizarre, but then I tend to read things like an editor rather than an actual reader.

The other book I read was Dave Sadaris' book, When You are Engulfed in Flames. Of course Dave is a humorist and I've read his essays before. This one was touted to be about death and dying but I'd say less than 50% of the book was about that. Quite a bit was about his being gay and in a gay relationship -which was totally funny and realistic and makes you think about the stupid things you say to, wonder about, or ask, gay people. I laughed out loud in several places which is certainly the mark of an excellent humorist as I'm not an easy laugh most of the time. So if I find it funny, then its usually REALLY funny. I also thought that a couple of the essays could have been cut out or shortened, but over all a good read - just maybe not a read for everyone.

Tomorrow we disembark in Ft Lauderdale -BOOOOOOO!!!

Pukin on the Boat!

2009-10-05T12:23:00.002-06:00

Not me, but all those pansies with motion sickness. If you've looked at a map, then you can see that Panama is a loooooong way from Ft Lauderdale. This means the captain has to gun it back toward Cuba to make it on time. This wouldn't be a big deal in the gulf where the sea is totally flat, but in the Caribbean its a little choppier and any additional speed gives the boat a little sway and shimmy which you can really notice at the back of the boat. Of course neither one of us gets sea sick so we had a fun day at sea but the decks were noticeably deserted. Another fun activity today was going out on the deck facing the waves which were spraying water over deck three(that's about thirty feet or so above the water level) and leaving a layer of salt on everything. You don't often get sea spray in your face on a cruise but we did this trip!

Most of the day was spent relaxing and playing in the casino, along with a little shipboard shopping. In the afternoon we could see the mountains of Cuba and the ship came very (very) close to shore. Got some great pics of that along with another beautiful sunset and a full moon. A dreamy evening on deck for sure.

Panama!

2009-10-05T11:50:00.004-06:00

This morning we got up at 5 am....yes that's 5 am, something I swore I'd never do on vacation, but our day long excursion to the Panama Canal starts at 6:45 and I really wanted to see it. The first leg of the journey takes us by bus (nice buses again!) across the country to Panama City and the Pacific side of the canal. Panama City is pretty awesome with many very tall skyscrapers. On the way over we had yet another tour guide who was interesting. Although we traveled on a wonderful highway, he proceeded to tell us how marginal, average or bad things were. Now really, if you are in a location and don't like it that's fine, but if you're a tour guide do you really want to share that? I have a client in Panama and know that much of what the guide was saying was his own opinion rather than reality. His English was also marginal.

There were a total of 450 people on the tour from our ship, 11 buses worth. We boarded two large ferries for the trip half way down the canal and once on board, the difference between the tour guides was night and day. The one on the boat was very educational about the canal and all the great things that Panama was doing to expand the canal and enhance it. They are currently widening the canal from 125 feet to 700 feet to both accommodate bigger ships and facilitate two way traffic as right now one section of the canal is only one way which means it takes a ship 8-10 hours to navigate the canal depending on the traffic volume. They are also adding a another set of locks - a 10 billion dollar project. The weather was great for this type of trip as it was overcast and misty so it was very cool and comfortable for the tropics.

As we approached the first set of locks it was really astounding to see them work and know that they are 100 years old. They raised our ferries in 8-10 minutes through each of the 3 locks which is amazing to see and experience. There was a tour we could have taken that just went to the visitor center and watched the ships go through the lock but that would have been such a rip off there is nothing like experiencing it yourself and I would definitely recommend putting on your "things to see before I die" list. Of course during our last dinner in the dining room before we bailed for the supper club, the subject of the panama canal excursions came up and the consensus was that they were just going to have a peek but didn't see the value in actually going down the locks as it was another $79. Seriously??? Of course these are the same people who don't want a cabin with a balcony or window because there's nothing to see but water........

Bats, Monkeys and sloths! OH MY!

2009-10-05T11:36:00.004-06:00

We have docked in Costa Rica and are off on our excursion. The first part is by bus through Limon, where our tour guide starts educating us on Costa Rica. His name was Eric and he was very educational. The buses were also large and comfortable with great air conditioning! Eric told us that Costa Rica is only about the size of west virgina and has about 4.5 million people. The took the money they would have spent on the army and put it into education and are now also using it to build up their reputation as a great ecotourism destination. He said that they now teach ecotourism as a subject starting in grade school all the way through high school as their #1 industry is now tourism.

The bus ride took us to a banana plantation which was also very educational. It was the Del Monte Filadelfia plantation and I had no idea that bananas weren't native to central America because they are everywhere and grow like weeds. But they were brought there in the 1890s from asia. We watched as they processed the bunches of bananas and both me and Kevin thought it would be really weird to be a worker in the plantation and every day have people come by and take pictures and video of you doing your job.

The bus then took us to a little train that is a refurbished 1940s train they use so tourists can ride through the jungle and along the shore to take pictures of wildlife. Anytime someone spotted something, we'd stop for everyone to take pictures. Along the way there were howler monkeys, several sloths and lots of jungle which is pretty neat as long as you're in the train and not walking through it. At one point, the tracks run alongside a beautiful black sand beach that is completely deserted and undeveloped. We all got off the train and tromped around taking pictures for a while and that was pretty cool. The waves were beautiful.

Once back on the bus, we went to the river and transferred to boats. The boats were pretty loaded and rode about six inches above the water which of course has caymans and crocodiles in it (though we didn't see any). What we did see were bats hanging upside down on a tree trunk, lots of various birds and exotic butterflies as well as numerous sloths again. Coast Rica must be sloth central and they are the perfect animal for photo ops as they move so slow. The boat ride was fun and when we got back to the dock they had a little buffet of fresh bananas, pineapples (which were also imported as a crop) and fresh coconut. If you've never had a tree ripened banana, its fabulous!!

All in all it was a great fun day as we saw a little bit of everything that Costa Rica had to offer. I'd definitely go there again!

South to Central America!

2009-10-05T11:25:00.002-06:00

Another fabulous day at sea and it seems I've become allergic to my computer. Its the first time in three years I haven't worked on board the ship and I've only checked email twice so far. I think its good that I'm starting to section off my time so I'm not always working and unable to relax - and believe me I'm relaxing right now! Today was the Texas Hold 'em tourney on board. They are giving away a free cruise but I got my butt kicked early on - still it was fun. I basically didn't do much today but putter around, shop on board, play black jack and enjoy the ocean. What better way to spend the day?

The seas are picking up now that we're out of the gulf but I think the waves are still tiny - apparently some of the other people on board don't agree as the boat was rocking a little more than they liked -of course most of them had the Cozumel hangover that added to their issue. We had another fabulous dinner in the supper club and I played poker until midnight or so which was an early night for me but we have a big shore excursion in Costa Rica tomorrow.

Cozumel!

2009-10-05T11:09:00.004-06:00

I've always loved the water around Cozumel -its that surreal blue that pictures don't do justice too. On our very first cruise, a short three years ago, we were in Cozumel and it was different - they'd just had a hurricane a few months before and were scrambling to get things back in order but it was charming as you could walk the streets of the town. Now its all built back up and quite touristy near the pier. Lots of bars and shops and a huge fence between that part of the city and the rest - I'm sure to give the touristas a feeling of 'safety' but it was kinda ridiculous. We shopped and then had lunch at one of the bars overlooking the water - it was very calm and peaceful. But as always happens on a cruise to Cozumel, people were totally plastered. I'm not sure what it is about the place, but every time we've been there people were drinking so much they could hardly stand up! Its tequila people - nothing more, nothing less. Okay I'll admit its a fun time, but I'm just too old for the hangover. I had two margaritas and was woozy!

One of my missions in Cozumel was to find Rocko a real bulldog collar - you know the kind that's black with the little silver spikes because they have some great leather craftspeople there. I don't know if you've perused the dog collar section at your local pet store but the collars are, well, gay! They are all pink and prissy and just not suitable for a ruff tuff bulldog - okay he's really not ruff and tuff but he thinks he is. They did have doggie shirts on the boat that said 'cruise dog' and I was really tempted. But of course Kevin was standing there going, "Now really, what would Caesar do?" Caesar Milan is always getting onto owners for treating dogs like kids, but its still tempting. I guess I can have a bracelet made up with the initials WWCD for pet owners like me who are tempted to sin by buying the dog a wardrobe. Anyway, we didn't find a collar so I was disappointed.

Kevin convinced me to give Steve one more chance, so we had dinner in the dining room. It wasn't any better and quite honestly after having such a great meal at the supper club (at a cozy table for two!) I just wanted to eat there every night. So we bid farwell to the dining room knowing they'd never see our buts again on this cruise.

Fun Day at Sea!

2009-09-28T17:05:00.000-06:00

First fun day at sea! On our way to Cozumel and we slept in. I always sleep great on the boat, something about the slow rocking (or maybe its just the alcohol!). Ordered our regular room service then down to explore the ship. Went through the stores – pretty much the same and explored the boat from top to bottom. I was really surprised that we didn’t hear hardly any of the deck part even though our room is the closest. We played at the casino and of course I had to play poker even though it’s the crappy electronic table. There are these two guys who are Mexican, but speech English in a New York accent. They are loud and excitable though seem to be harmless. The turned the poker table into a craps table with shouts, banging the table and yelling in Spanish. One guy even looks like Tony Soprano so its like the Mexican Sopranos play poker! Their chicks even look like mob girls – its kinda funny.
We dressed up since it was the first elegant night and headed out to the supper club. It was great as always and I didn’t have to listen to Steve and his wife talk about how a balcony cabin just isn’t worth is because all you see is water. REALLY?? It a cruise FYI. We spent literally hours the first day staring at the pretty blue water which was so calm it was eerie and needless to say, I made reservations at the supper club for tomorrow too. The official excuse is that we wanted to eat earlier so Kevin could watch Monday night football, but the real reason is that I’d rather pay an extra $60 not to put up with Steve and I know eventually I will tell him to take a big dose of shut the F*** up but why ruin the whole week?
We thought about going to the shows but blew it off to play blackjack after dinner and I did really well but it seems I’m like the only player who understand the concept of ‘dealer dollars’. Every bet you play a dollar for the dealer and when you win, they win too. It a good luck thing but I swear some of these people act like they are paying their mortgage with their winnings – as if. Anyway, we closed down the casino at 2:30 am. Tomorrow, Cozumel!

On the Boat!

2009-09-28T17:04:00.000-06:00

Boat Day!!
So today is the day we finally get on the boat. We arrived at the port terminal without incident except that all the people on the hotel shuttle act like they’ve already had a few shots of tequila! Wait was short – about 20 minutes and then we’re onto the boat. It s really like coming home. We’ve sailed so many of the conquest class that we know where everything is already so it makes it really easy. Our room is on the tenth deck – highest up we’ve been so far and we’re a little concerned that we are right by the hot tub and pool and are wondering about the noise so we’ll see. We left at 4 pm and pulling out of port in Ft Lauderdale is always exciting. As we passed through the jetties, we were on the opposite side of the boat and got a great photo of the beach going south. The boat hugged the coastline as the sun set and as we passed Miami, there were several other cruise ships leaving port on the way to the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands – all wonderful cruises as well. As night came on we could see the lights of the keys and a thunderstorm in the distance. Our dinner is at 8:15 and we went down to the lobby bar for a few drinks and great music.
At dinner we met our dinner mates : a young couple from Miami celebrating their 5 year anniversary, a young couple from Miami who are experienced cruisers and then there was Steve & Ieda. Steve is a retired lawyer and travels the country with his RV in a caravan. AS the young couple talked amoung themselves I realized that even retired lawyers are annoying and have very little social skill. In fact they rank right up there with IT guys in that respect except they think they are the smartest people in the universe. AS the night dragged along I was really glad I’d made reservations at the supper club for tomorrow…..
We played a little at the casino then crashed for the night. All in all, very glad to be back on the boat!

The Cruise Extravaganza Begins..

2009-09-25T22:37:00.000-06:00

Woo hoo! And we’re off! Well, not off on the ocean yet, but off to Ft Lauderdale. Me & Liz took Barky (Rocko) to doggy summer camp yesterday and there were so many people making a fuss over him he didn’t even know I was gone so I can now cruise guilt free - although the castle was eerily quiet without him.

So we packed up and I went to check us in online on Continental and they offered us a first class upgrade for $79. And I had one of ‘those’ moments when you wonder if its worth it. I mean we all still get there together so does it really matter? Now I will admit that I’ve never flown first class. I’m a hard core Southwest Airlines person and first class flies in the face of flying for ‘peanuts’. But in this case I felt I was more than justified since continental charges $55 for 2 bags – Each way. And if you upgrade then you get three bags for free so if I can fly First Class for $79 round trip that saves $31 net – for both me and Kevin.

So after we got off the puddle jumper and onto the real plane in Houston for Ft Lauderdale, we settled into the cushy first class seats. Then they served us chicken fajita wraps that were hot and fresh fruit on real plates with real silverware. They also serve all the beer and wine you want FREE and your earphones are FREE too! I had no idea they did that on these shorter flights and of course now we’re hooked. But it made me realize that they are really soaking everyone who is paying coach. We got the flights for less than $400 each on Expedia and the upgraded to First Class and paid no baggage fees, no booze fees and no other fees AND our luggage was marked priority and came off the plane first and we were on our way. It just goes to show that you really have to do the math because just because you assume you are saving a buck by squishing into that uncomfortable middle seat in coach between Tonya the Talker and Sam the Smelly, doesn’t mean it’s true.

So anyway we get to Ft Lauderdale just fine and dandy and arrive at the hotel for the night which I paid with my Starwood points for free AND they didn’t have many people there today so they upgraded us to club level (don’t you love upgrades on stuff that’s already FREE?). We then went down to the lobby bar and had our first official vacation fruity drink. Kevin had a Pina Colada and I had a Mai Tai (make that two). Kevin kept getting brain freeze but I was down for the count. We started the day at 5 am so it didn’t take much to put me out.

After a short nap we got headed over to Truluck’s for our birthday dinner. The place was nice of course and had a hoppin’ bar with live music. We decided to try the Alaskan King Crab since we’re rarely ever in a place that really has good seafood and Truluck’s is known for its crab. I have to say it was totally better than lobster. For dinner Kevin got the Joshua Crab (cousin to the stone crab) and I got the Prosciutto wrapped Mahi Mahi. Mine was excellent! Of course if you wrap bacon around anything its going to be good. Kevin said his was okay. Not because the Joshua Crab was bad, but he just liked the King Crab so much better. He said it was like following lobster with a plate of tadpoles. They put a candle on a piece of chocolate cake for our birthday. Happy Birthday to us! Now tomorrow we get on the boat!!!

Subtitles & Pimp my Dog!

2009-09-17T20:04:00.007-06:00

I realize that its rare for me to post again so soon but today was too funny to let go without comment.

So I was watching Discovery tonight and they had this show on about the wild pig explosion in the US....of course they interviewed some very amiable guys from Louisiana who hunt these pigs to control the population. Skeeter and Bubba (Yes, those were their names for real) had accents so thick that the show had inserted subtitles. Which I can understand 'cause every time I watch Swords I really wish they would have subtitles for those thick Boston accents...but anyway. So I'm pointing out these subtitles to my husband when we realize that the subtitles are WRONG! Every time Bubba talks about his dogs chasing the pigs and says, "They's on um," the subtitles read, "They own one." Don't you wonder if the discussion in the editing booth came down to a 'rock, paper, scissors' decision of what them good ol boys actually said? Way to confuse them Yankees Bubba and Skeeter!

In other news this evening, Kevin took Rocko out around the neighborhood as he normally does each evening. When they return, Kevin says, "You're not going to believe it. We got approached by a Dog Pimp!" Apparently they were strolling by a house a block up from ours and this guy working in his yard starts running after them and says, "Is that a male bulldog? Cause I have a couple of young purty female bulldogs." What is this, VEGAS?? Of course when Kevin told him that Rocko's boys were toast, the poor guy seemed really disappointed. Good thing doggys don't understand English because the news that Rocko could have been the subject of a doggy threesome would have devastated the poor pooch. Can you imagine the Forum column in the next Bulldog Penthouse?? On second thought, Rocko may have a future as an erotica writer.......

Pig ears and cruiseliners

2009-09-15T08:34:00.004-06:00

As most of you know by now, we have a new addition to the castle - Rocko the bulldog.

He's about six months old and quite high maintenence right now as we're still working on the housetraining. I know the first question, "so if you can't keep fish alive, why did you get a dog?"

Well I love a challenge I suppose. But I'm amazed at all the cool stuff they have for dogs now including Pig Ears. I swear they must be like doggy crack! Rocko will chew on one until it is oblitereated, then spend hours (or days) hunting for the little leftover bits (bacon bits?) in the carpet. So I did a search yesterday to see the nutritional value of a pig ear and apparently the are just south of potato chips. Darn. Why is it that the one thing he really loves is so bad for him? I'm still giving him pig ears.

A short two weeks away is our Panama Cruise!! I can't wait! It seems like forever since we'd had a long relaxing vacation. We leave from Ft Lauderdale and then go to Cozumel, Costa Rica then on to Panama. Its an 8 day cruise which I really like as there's lots of days at sea! I'm trying to get several projects finished up before we go so I can really relax and enjoy the ride!

TV makes me Hungry...

2009-08-12T11:24:00.005-06:00

So a couple nights ago I was watching No Reservations and Anthony Bourdain was in Mexico....Ahhh...the tacos, enchiladas and super fresh guac.....I so want to be there. We will be stopping in Cozumel on our cruise to panama, but that's still six whole weeks away!!! I was too hungry to wait so we went over to Leal's and had a little teaser.....brisket tacos are the bomb!!

So this week we also saw the rerun of the season opener for Man vs Food which featured Amarillo. One of the places, Coyote Bluff, has the Burger from Hell - a supposedly wicked hot burger. We'd never been there and Kevin really wanted to go, so he said he'd pay if we went. So last night we drove over to grand street. It took us a little while to find it as its very small. The parking lot (actually its dirt and potholes) was very small - and full of maybe 12 cars. We entered the restaurant (read SHACK) The decor looks very "found it on the side of the road" with rusted signs on the walls, an old bathtub in the middle of the floor filled with ice and beer and maybe 12 tables. They can't serve more than about 30-40 people at a time. all the tables and booths are a hodgepodge of diner chairs, cast off benches and things that seem to be nailed together from old crates While the tables are all odd size and several lean precariously - but they were all full of eager patrons. A very cozy atmosphere. I would estimate the square footage to be in the 400 foot range - TOTAL, including the kitchen.

We sat within about 6 feet of the back door - which is probably good since the front door was blocked by people waiting for us to eat faster so they could have a turn. If there had been a fire we'd probably have been the only ones to get out!

You might think that I'd be put off by this, but actually its was kinda cool. The menu is on a large chalk board (over the bathtub) and they only take cash and checks. some people may find that a bit backward, but its been my experience that a tiny restaurant that doesn't take debit cards means that their stuff is so good that you will pay cash or starve. That was true in the this case as well. We treated ourselves to a big plate of chili cheese fries which were great and then both had the much touted Burger from Hell. It tasted great! Although neither one of us thought it was all that hot. It had Japalenos and habaneros....but I really like habaneros...

Its funny when you sit in such a small joint in close proximity to other people - it almost feels like a family gathering as people ask how hot our burgers are and should they order one too. Its exactly the kind of place my dad would love and we'll have to take him next time he's here. We'll also have to bring some of our international clients there too and see how they respond. It should be a good laugh!

I would totally go there again but we have to quit watching TV....it just makes me hungry....

When it rains.....

2009-07-23T08:23:00.003-06:00

The ceiling falls in!!!

So here's what happened: Me, Ryan and Kaci went out for my sister's wedding a the end of June. Kevin stayed at the castle. So while we were gone there was a big thunderstorm that dumped like 3 inches of rain in an hour on the castle which never happens. So the castle roof sprung several leaks - one up front through the one of a kind wood ceiling (yikes!), one in the turret skylight, and one right over my recliner in the back of the house. within a couple of hours, the one over my recliner had turned into a torrent!! water down the wall and a 2 ft x 2 ft section of ceiling came tumbling down. So, while I was in Santa Fe with my son and brother at a casino after the wedding, I got a panicked call from home.

So its not bad enough that the ceiling of my precious castle falls, but that I now have to deal with contractors! I'm convinced they are the devil incarnate - with a few exceptions. We also found out that there are really only two roofers in town that specialize in clay tile roofs so we had to wait on them to get around to it. One guy comes over and says that it will be $3600 to fix it and $15000 to do it right. Crap....we called the insurance company even though we were skeptical they'd pay. So the next guys come over and I'm expecting another several thousand dollar estimate, and they say that the flashing has just pulled away from the house and they can fix it in a couple hours for $275. So I guess the real cost to fix the issue is somewhere between $275 and $15000....did I mention I hate roofers? Its like financial Russian roulette. So needless to say we took the $275 bid and David (our favorite handy man of all time) is fixing the inside damage for a few hundred...so we feel like we squeaked by on that one.

Then....
There's always a 'then'....this week the air conditioner started making this noise like a screeching rat...great...more contractors......so we called a couple of air conditioning guys and no one could get to it for a few days...so I was getting ready to go buy deodorant in bulk when David said he knew a guy. I love when people know people....anyway he called Daniel and Daniel came over to check it out. The castle has an upstairs and a downstairs unit. Daniel said they are about 20 years old and we need to start budgeting for new ones.....to the tune of $4-$7,000 EACH....where are the Rolaids when you need them? But he was able to fix it for less than $500...Whew!! another financial mine field skated right through. BTW if any of you want David or Daniel's numbers, just email me. Good contractors are extremely hard to find!

On the writing front, we're zipping right along with numerous projects. Todd's radio spots start airing on 12 Canadian radio stations this week and his show starts next week. This bodes well for the launch of his book this fall. We finished up one book for Joe Vitale and will be starting the second one shortly so that's well on its way as well. We've been approached by the people behind 'Beyond the Secret' -the sequel to 'The Secret' to possibly do some work on the book version, we'll see if that works out.

On the investment front, the Milam property is for rent again. We went in and put in new carpet and painted so its looks like new again and we've been getting lots of calls so hopefully it will be rented by the first of the month. Also the restaurant in Thailand is moving forward and is on track to open October 1, the start of their busy tourist season. The cherry orchard in Australia is still waiting to get rolling so we'll see how that works out.

As usual there's too much going on in the summer for me to even sleep, so if you see the light on the castle at 4 am that's me burning the candle at both ends.

What do you mean its summer??

2009-06-18T09:04:00.003-06:00

When did the seasons change? I know they did because hailstones are hitting my window instead of snow...but so far I'm missing it as usual. It seems like the last few summers I've missed simply because summer is our busy season. And of course this year, I decided to take a week off right in the middle of it and play the World Series of Poker. It's on my bucket list and I've thought about doing it the last couple of years, but the timing just didn't work out - and there was that whole thing about maybe not being able to compete at a World Class level.

Well this was the year and I went for a week the first part of June. I have to say it was very surreal and a little intimidating at first. Now that ESPN plays the world series events constantly, everyone has a good idea what the event looks like and I have to say its just like stepping into your television set and suddenly being there. Same room, same players, same everything - And thousands of people all with poker on the brain and nothing else.

The first event I played was the NL $2000 (Event #11). There were 1646 players and when you sit down at your table and see Chris Ferguson, Phil Helmuth and TJ Cloutier walk by to sit down at their tables in the same event, it gives you the jitters. Over the course of the event almost every major pro that I've seen on TV busted out of this event and that's even more weird. To see major players - bracelet winners - get up and leave while you still have chips in front of you makes you want to stand up and do the Snoopy Dog Happy Dance!!

I played extremely well that first tourney, and can't think of one hand I would have played differently. In the end I finished in the money - 160th - so I made the top 10% and took some $$ home. I wanted to prove to myself I could play at this level and I did. I told my sister that I cashed in my first World Series Event and she asked how big a deal that was. Big. Like HUGE. They track every world series cash you ever have in your career and then you are forever known by that track record. There was one guy I was talking to while playing a cash game who said he'd played fifteen world series events and only cashed once - which made me feel good! I also got to play some of the cash games which was great because I've really been wanting to play some live Omaha as its hard to find a game at home or even in most of the casinos in Vegas. But they had several of them going on at the World Series due to the large contingent of European players and that's the predominant poker game over there. I met a guy from Germany and one from Phoenix who were really great Omaha players. They taught me more in a few hours than I've learned in the last couple of years about Omaha so it was very valuable.

Some of the cool things I saw in passing were: Doyle Brunson on his motor scooter (he's hell on wheels!) - Phil Ivey receiving his 6th bracelet - Mike Caro trying to get away from some dumb blondes there for a tanning convention - A whole slew of young twenty something players who have never had a job and who also think that 100 grand really isn't worth their time to play for - Several domestics in the hallway always seeming to involve guys who want to keep playing and wives who just want to eat dinner already - Chris Ferguson standing in line to pee - watching the feature table from the ESPN bleachers - Talking to Sam Grizzle at the Omaha cash table - having Sam Farha and Eric Lindergin watch the play at my table for over an hour(they weren't watching me, but who cares?) - seeing Humburto Brennis' latest fashion statement - watching Annie Duke in the Omaha 8 or better event - and many others too numerous to mention.

On my return home I had my first real struggle with jet lag. I'd always kind of scoffed at the idea that jet lag could kick your butt for several days - but it did. Even though there's only 2 hours in time difference between Texas and Vegas, most of the events and games didn't start until 2 pm or later and we played 12-14 hours at a stretch so I quickly adjusted to sleeping all day and playing all night. Once back in Texas I just couldn't seem to snap out of it and found myself napping on and off all day. It was weird and has taken me a full week to get back to normal.

And yes, we have books galore in process as usual. A great variety this time around with clients all over the world - from former Olympic stars, to radio personalities, to race car drivers it promises to be a fun summer writing even if I don't step outside to personally experience the soaring temperatures. This is always why I'm so ready to go on our yearly birthday Cruise in Sept as the busy season winds down. This year, we'll be floating down the Panama Canal and hopefully visiting a great casino in Cost Rica!

Our Book on Jay Leno!!!

2009-05-18T20:09:00.002-06:00

So its the busy season obviously - so busy I haven't posted in a month but that's good. So one of the books we wrote last fall, Lucrative Love has really been making waves. The author is Tom Feltenstein, and last Friday the book was mentioned in a skit on Jay Leno!! See it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu00Y5Ga5_w

Tom has really gotten a lot of press and we even helped him with the tag line for his billboard that he put up in West Palm, FL. He's a very funny guy!!

Anyway, we are back in the swing of things with more writing projects and various other books that we are publishing AND the WSOP -that's World Series of Poker for all you fish out there - is only a few weeks away. I'm traveling to LV June 3 - 10 and will play up to three events. If I do well, I'll also buy in to the main even in July. I can't wait as this has been on my bucket list for a while and now I'm doing it.

Cruise update: we finally made a decision on where to go on the birthday cruise the end of Sept. The winner was the cruise out of Miami that goes to Costa Rica and Panama. There's even a shore excursion on a ferry that takes you on a ride completely through the panama canal. Very excited about that and will be stocking up on mosquito spray!

so totally excited!!

2009-04-12T19:09:00.002-06:00

Not only is my Jen coming home for her very first visit to the castle(3 more days!!), but we learned today that one of our favorite authors, Joe Vitale, will be co-authoring a book with us to be published by TAG Publishing!!! We are also doing one for him that goes with his new attracting wealth seminar which I've been listening to and its pretty neat.

Business is booming as usual for spring time and we're glad to be back in the swing. This year I've also committed to adding more to our little real estate portfolio. Contrary to what a few people told us, owning rental property has been a great experience and there are some wonderful deals out there right now. We want to build it up to have lots of cash flow and also to get the capital appreciation. The office has taken a few field trips this last week looking at some properties and next week we're seeing some more. I think there are a couple that have real potential - we'll see.

I also got some waterlilies and irises for the pond. The fish love them, playing hide and seek in the lilies almost like its a real pond instead of a glorified aquarium...of course that blue gravel is still a bit of a give away, but I don't' want dirt in the bottom of my pond.

My much beloved little Kia has moved on to a better life. No it didn't die on me, but my Dad's car did on the way out to the castle. So he took mine for a few days and fell in love (who wouldn't). So he bought my car and I got a new one....well new to me...a Kia of course but this one is a V6...I hate having to turn the air conditioner off to get up the on ramp on the interstate so hopefully this one will not have that issue....

New Writers and Updates

2009-04-02T12:05:00.003-06:00

Things are moving along well for TAG. We've taken on a couple of new writers in the past few weeks that can offer us some depth just in time for the busy season. We're also doling out projects as they come in to our regular stable of writers who are hard at work again. Its nice to get back in the swing of it again and I'm amazed at how much more organized I stay when I'm busy.

We're once again working on the websites as they went by the wayside over the past few months and we will be producing a couple of Cds - one on how to get a book published with our company and then a set on how to write a non-fiction book to expand your business. We've had so many requests for the how to set that we decided to meet the demand. As soon as we have them ready, you all will be the first to know.

I'm getting better at handing things off to Chris (our marketing assistant) instead of being my normal control freak self and that is working well. I think hiring a person is one of those steps that some writers wonder about. When do you know you're ready? The truth is you don't. But once you hire someone, you'll be amazed at how you ever got along without them. The determining factor for me was when I was working 12-14 hours per day (and so was my business partner) and we just couldn't get it all done.

We talked about hiring someone and so each of us made a list of the tasks we did each day for a week. The first thing we looked at were those tasks that took a large amount of time or interrupted our work flow that didn't produce much. This biggest culprit in that area was lunch. We used to do lunch with writers or friend a few times per week. We realized that this was draining our time and so we limit those outings to one every two weeks and we never do business over lunch anymore. We have people come to our office and that way we stay in the flow of work.

Once lunches were deleted (or severely restricted) we looked at our lists and picked out the second most time consuming culprit - errands. Trips to the bank, post office, fed ex, office depot, and a myriad of other tasks was eating up a huge chunk of time. We also discovered that we spent a lot of time doing very small projects - Internet research, press releases, web copy and other tasks that took up way too much time for too little return. We thought we needed someone with some writing skill and could easily justify part time. So we hired Chris last October. As we were able to focus on the things that made us money, projects, authors and money poured in. Way more than justified what it cost for us to have an extra person. By December he was working over 30 hours per week and in January he started full time.

The lesson here is that by taking the risk to add someone we expanded our business to the next level and having realized that we will be looking for more people to add to the staff to take it to an even higher level. We've had that 'aha' moment and are well on our way.

STOP THE MADNESS!!

2009-03-17T15:12:00.003-06:00

Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment so I'm blogging as a way to avoid the thousand things begging for attention. For those following along, an update on the pond. We had an additional floater due to the algae bloom and sad to say it was Spot...the calico fantail. Bummer. But then today Gina called and said the new shipment of sea kittens had arrived for my viewing pleasure. I'd planned to replace the one dead red cap and the bubble eye...and of course, now Spot. However, some how the quest for three new fish turned into seven! How does that happen? Well, I kind of know how it happens, I can't seem to buy just one of a certain kind of fish. Its like they need a friend of their own 'kind' to pal around the pond with. So I got two redcaps, two gold and white something or anothers, two calico bubble eyes, and one very large flashy replacement for Spot. I'm not sure why I never buy a companion for Spot since all the others have a little friend. I guess since he's always been such a loner - kind of the James Dean of the pond, just a little too cool to have any competition. Maybe Spot#2 will need a friend, we'll see. Again, the beautiful thing about fish is if they croak, you scoop them out, feed them to the neighborhood cat and then get another one just like it.

On the work front, can you say holy moly?? Have projects lined up from here to the Arctic - just waiting on the flood of paperwork to come through so we can get started. TAG has also signed some new authors with cool book ideas and they are exciting I must say! We got the ARCs back for a fiction client that we're doing some marketing for and they look pretty good. I am amazed they can print them in 48 hours these days!

In other news, Jen is coming home for a week in April!!! So excited...she hasn't been home in forever. Last I saw her was on the cruise last summer and she hasn't even seen the castle yet! Anyway should be a good time. Well must get back to work, it won't do itself.....

5 things I did last weekend...

2009-03-09T09:10:00.003-06:00

Its been an eventful couple of weeks at the castle. Here's this list for last weekend.

1. cleaned the pond - we had a couple of tragedies at the pond. Two floaters. The problem is the algae is just taking all the oxygen so the little fish suffocated...bummer...I had asked Gina to send a guy over to clean it...unfortunately it was a kid and he half assed it so as usual, if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Me & Kevin caught the survivors, took all their toys out and scrubbed the walls down I have to say it is sparking!! So we went over to fish pros and bought three more fish to add to the crew and i had Gina order some replacements for the deceased.

2. Talked with David and Andrea - as friends and now authors for TAG, I was excited to hear they may be moving back to Texas!! California is overrated anyway and you can't beat the cost of living in Texas. They are also making good progress on their book.

3. Went to the depot and got more stuff to hang some of the paintings that I haven't hung yet from the move (now almost 8 months ago!!). I didn't actually get to the hanging part, just got the stuff. The pond was a priority.

4. Got some mothballs - we are having cats issues and they are really annoying. Not our cats mind you, but everyone else's in the neighbor hood. Our exterminator dude suggested moth balls to put under the bushes and around the yard where they like to leave their calling cards. I have to admit, the smell of mothballs would certainly turn me off!!

5. Drank too much wine - I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but it turns out that Pinot Noir is very easy to drink...so we did...me & Kevin both....it also goes great with Oreos.....gee no wonder it seemed like the weekend just slipped by....

5 things....

2009-02-17T08:13:00.003-07:00

I saw this on Britta's blog about 5 things she did this weekend(http://brittacoleman1.blogspot.com/) and decided to participate. I agree that whole "25 things about me" is way to intimidating so here goes....5 things I did this weekend:

1. watched my husband try to unstop the sink....I'm not sure what exactly happened, but apparently, while he was furiously plunging he created some sort of vacuum that made the refuse water shoot out the vent pipe that is on the roof right above the kitchen window....so...as foamy, liquid plumber laden water was draining off the roof, my husband just stands there going "that can't be good."

2. had rib eyes and lobster for valentine's dinner - okay they were lobster tails...and it was the same experience I always have when eating lobster...two bites, six dollars, really???

3. Worked on TAG Covers - Warren's is on my last post.....Andrea and David's I'm finishing this week before Vegas and I really like the colors they have picked...a dark teal - very pretty

4. Went shopping to walmart - I know this is probably something that other people do all the time....but I very rarely ever go to walmart...and they really didn't have anything so it was a wasted trip for the most part...so on the way back we stopped at Exotic Aquatics and got some stuff for the fishys...(oops, I mean sea kittens!)

5. Watched Todd's book hit #1 on Amazon.com in two categories - Financial planning and budgeting/money management. We'll be in Vegas this next weekend at his next seminar(http://www.tdean.com/) ....of course, being in Vegas will probably produce a really interesting '5 things' list for next weekend!!!

Warren's Book Cover

2009-02-16T12:06:00.002-07:00

This is the cover of Warren's first book. We are thrilled to have him as one of our newest TAG authors and I have to say this book is one of the funniest I've ever read. Its all about the misadventures of his Dad and brothers on their annual fishing/camping trips. We're planning to launch it right before Father's Day in time for the summer camping and fishing season. It would also make a great gift those who want to give Dad a chuckle for Father's Day this year.

And yet another new author

2009-02-13T11:34:00.002-07:00

Things have been rolling full steam ahead for TAG Publishing! We have yet another new author. A humorist who has written about his misadventures camping and fishing. We worked with a fabulous artist on the cover - its only been a week or so and its already done!! As soon as we get the title confirmed, I'll post it for everyone to see. We are really excited!

Its been pretty amazing the last few weeks as great projects have found us, we haven't even had to go looking which is how it should be. We'll be off to Vegas at the end of next week to help Todd Dean with his next seminar (www.tdean.com). Of course I'm sure I'll squeeze in some poker on the side! One cool note on Todd's book, More Money Than Month, is that it hit #2 in financial planning books on Amazon.com this week. He was beat only by Suze Orman's new book so that's pretty good.

We are at the half way mark in the ghostwriting/freelancing class and it seems to be going well. It's interesting to think how far we've come in such a short time. It really only been three years since we started down this path and we seem to be moving at lightening speed! I quit my 'real' job less than two years ago and now its like I have created an entire career out of thin air - or perhaps I should say a blank sheet of paper. When things come together this well, you know you have finally found your calling....

great weekend.....

2009-02-01T17:25:00.002-07:00

Had a total fabulous weekend in Orange County!! We went to Anaheim for Todd's seminar and to meet with some publishing clients (people we've been talking to for a while about the book thing). The seminar was great - even better than Hawaii! We're tweaking as he goes along and assisting as we can. Given the overwhelming response of attendees, everyone could benefit from his financial seminar!! He's really helping people. (www.tdean.com)

Anyway, one of the clients we met with was an old friend form high school. We haven't seen each other in literally years - like twenty years. But it was just like we'd been apart for a week and things were totally the same. Its amazing how that works. Even better, she and her husband are writing a practical relationship book that is really fabulous from their experience as relationship counselors over the past decade (I mean really great stuff!). We talked and came to an agreement and I'm thrilled to announce they are the newest authors to who will be published by TAG Publishing!!! We are so excited as we think they have fabulous potential and a real heart for helping others. We also talked to two other clients we're still in negotiation with, but as soon as I know something, I'll announce it.

I have to way the weather in Anaheim was beautiful!! A wonderful warm breeze! it was wonderful and while yes, we were right across the street from Disneyland (my own personal version of hell), we were on the 12th floor and got a great view of the wonderful fireworks display.

Granny had a Secret

2009-01-27T12:15:00.002-07:00

So today me & my business partner got on the subject of female empowerment. Not the Gloria Steinem, down with men type of stuff, but more on the business acumen of women and how difficult it would seem to us to be expected to stay home. Its different if you choose to as I did when my kids were little, but to have that expectation forced upon you is different.

So I was telling her about the book I read about the whale ship Essex. It revolved around the community of Nantucket in the early 1800s where the men would be home for a few weeks or months and then frequently gone for as long as 2 or even 3 years at a time. The women ran the entire town, all the businesses, municipal government, everything. They were truly empowered and apparently loved it as some of them noted in their writings that they married whaling men specifically for the freedom it gave them.

The author of that book also noted that in the renovations of one of the historic homes, they found some letters along with a plaster penis ....hummm.....Granny had a little secret! She didn't need a man at all if a stiff piece of plaster would work....I found it really funny that the author would even mention it but it just goes to show that we are not so different as those who came before us - no matter how much we think we are.

On another note, the Ghostwriting class started again last night at AC and even though it was cold and snowy several brave souls showed up....

Books Read in Transit

2009-01-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

The only time I get to read anymore is on an airplane. On this last trip I read Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers – it was really interesting. In it he examines those who become successful and why. One of the most intriguing ideas he presents is that we are a product of where we come from and a person’s ability to rise above and succeed is dependent on a series of lucky breaks. He also noted that the amount of time it takes for someone to gain superior expertise in a particular profession is around 10,000 hours. Very interesting.

I also read In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. It is a historical narrative of the ship Essex that was sunk by a whale in the 1800s and was the inspiration for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. The true story is pretty gruesome as the survivors were forced to eat their shipmates as they died and at one point they even killed one who was still alive and ate him. One of the most interesting parts of the story is the psychological changes that take place in a survival situation. It makes you ask yourself what you would do in the same situation – or maybe it just had that effect on me because I happened to be on a cruise and wondered what would happen if the boat sank! The book also tells what happened to the survivors later in life and how the actions were viewed by others. Again very interesting.
I will be on a plane again at the end of the week on my way to LA so maybe I’ll get a chance to read some more.

Mexican Cruise Day 8

2009-01-26T10:35:00.001-07:00

The weather got a little chilly as we rounded Baja and neared California. We saw quite a few whales which was pretty neat. The last day is always sad. Its also the time when everyone is trying to print off their boarding passes in the library….Little old people have significant difficulty with the technology thing. We packed our bags after dinner and would have sat on the balcony but it was too cold. I’m looking forward to being back at the castle again but will miss the warm tropical weather. All in all, I’m really glad we went. Had it not been planned, I would have put it off as I always do but I need some downtime!! I have no idea what our next vacation event will be but I’m sure we’ll take our birthday cruise in Sept though I’m not sure where we’ll go…we may even go back to Hawaii…

Mexcian Cruise Day 7

2009-01-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

Another fabulous day at sea!! I was going to work – but I blew it off and played poker most of the day. The day was mostly uneventful. EXCEPT – there’s always an ‘except’ – for the little incident we witnessed right before dinner. Me & Kevin were sitting in the lounge area enjoying some wine before dinner watching all the people and of course there were a few that were very drunk. One in particular happened to be a dwarf girl in an electric wheel chair….she did a donut right beside Kevin and was laughing and talking loud…you almost felt guilty laughing at her– but it was funny. Then she was zooming down past the restrooms and totally took out this little old man. I know – again it shouldn’t be funny but you had to laugh. The sauced Oompa Loompa takes out grandpa on the high seas…so politically incorrect but so funny. We ate in the supper club instead of the dining room and it was wonderful.

Mexican Cruise Day 6

2009-01-22T14:51:00.001-07:00

Manzanillo! This is the first port we stopped at where tourism isn’t the main industry. They have a HUGE shipping port, factories and other industry. They bussed us into the downtown area where there were many cantinas, shops and all kinds of everyday business. The neat part of this place is that it is full of locals just going about their daily business and ignoring the tourists for the most part. We sat at a little cantina and watched kids go to school in their uniforms and then walked around to shop and also saw people doing their laundry at the laudromat, getting their daily tortillas from the tortillaria and many other activities. I found a hand woven rug with an Aztec design and a big colorful serving dish with chili peppers for the castle. I also got Harlee a cute little linen dress with pretty embroidery on it. We stayed a few hours and it was nice.
I heard several other people say they didn’t like it because it was dirty, but we didn’t see any of that and compared to old Acapulco it was sparkling! We had some great guacamole and margaritas and didn’t worry about it as the place was really clean. Kevin gave their Banos an A+ (comparatively).

One thing we didn’t do was go to the pharmacia….when in Mexico, buy cheap drugs!! We totally forgot about that! I also didn’t find the chocolate liquer for Liz so she’ll have to settle for Kaluha….

Mexican Cruise Day 5

2009-01-22T14:50:00.001-07:00

So we woke up already parked off the coast of Zihuatanejo (that’s “Zae watt ten a hoe” for all you gringos. They also have excursions over to Ixtapa (Icks Tapa) for those who choose. I chose a quiet day on the boat….Its hot, I’m tired, its Mexico….so there….Kevin got off and said it’s a little fishing village not much to see. They used the life boats to tender everyone in to shore.
So one thing I left off from yesterday is the whole explanation of why I don’t pee in Mexico. While we were in old Acapulco shopping with the Loenardos yesterday, the shop owners kept giving him free beer. So of course, after a short while he has to go. The only place close is the ‘Banos Publico’ – which is a public restroom….he said he was almost afraid to whip it out…the floor was dirt and the fixtures looked as if they were original turn of the century. The sink is on the outside where they have a convenient coke bottle filled with half shampoo and half water to wash your hands…then little napkins to dry off with. Of course the Leonardos assured him it was one of the best Banos in the area….so needless to say I held it….
The biggest highlight of the day was watching Kevin doing the Macarena at dinner…..

Mexican Cruise Day 4

2009-01-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Got up decently early. We’ll be docking in Acapulco at noon which is great as we’ll get to see the view coming into port which we don’t usually get to do as they come in early to most ports. We had our room service and hung around on the balcony as we neared the port. In the shallower water, there were sea turtles everywhere – they’d pop up by the boat every couple of minutes – I guess the boat disturbed them and they had to pop and see what the deal was. Bonnie and Howard are going on an excursion today to release baby sea turtles so I’m anxious to hear how that goes. Yesterday I thought I saw a whale – several others did – but I just got one glimpse so who knows. As we came into port a pod of dolphins zipped by us followed by what I have to describe as two planks lashed together with an out board motor. I couldn’t decide if it was two fishermen or Gillian and the Skipper making a run for it.

Acapulco Bay is really beautiful and we decided that since the boat will be docked until 1 am, that we’d wait until it was a little cooler and then get out and wing it and hopefully find a great place to eat and maybe shop a little.

I spent the afternoon in the library working but I was also highly entertained by the crew as they took some of the lifeboats out for maneuvers as they often do at the various ports. These life boats aren’t the little inflatables, but the 50 person hard shelled fully enclosed types – so they aren’t small. The lifeboat right in front of the library window had an issue. At first it got stuck as they were winching it out over the water and then about the time six or eight ship’s officers showed up to see what the deal was, one of the cables broke and they dropped it on top of the rail. It bounced off the rail and swung out and smacked the side of the hull until the other cables caught it but it was funny to see the guys in white uniforms scatter like mice. The head guy started yelling something in Italian that I didn’t understand, but I’m sure it translated to something like “Who’s dumbass idea was that?”

They had to call some repair guy from the port and he showed up looking like a surfer dude from California. Again, don’t know what was said but one of the guys in a dark blue jumpsuit (these guys are the maintenance crew who keep everything running) was telling the story to the repair guy and they were all laughing – until a white uniform showed up. So I have to believe they were definitely having a chuckle at some officer’s expense. It’s interesting how much you can gather just from watching people interact even if you don’t understand one word they are saying.
We got off the boat about 4:30 as the sun was going down. There was a breeze and it was in the low eighties so it was nice. We met a cab driver named Leonardo. The first cab guys you met at the terminal are the ones who are the ‘offical okie dokie’ guys there to make sure you don’t get in with an unscrupulous cab driver. We also learned they are the only ones who are allowed to drive Tahoes while all the other cabs are Volkswagens – not the sedans mind you but the bugs. This is because in the old part of town the streets are very small and only the smallest cars can navigate them. Kevin was a little hesitant at first, but when he found out he could be in a VW bug he was thrilled. Besides, I’ve met enough slimy Mexicans to be able to tell the good ones and Leonardo was a good one – reminded me of my ex’s dad actually and very nice. We told him we wanted to shop for jewelry and find a good restaurant and that’s it.

He told us we had to see the cliff divers, but we thought it was really a tourista thing so it wasn’t on our list (we watched the opening of the Love Boat for years and saw the cliff divers so how great could it be?). Leonardo took us to a small jewelry story on the edge of their big market. He cautioned us that many of the 400 booths in the market did not sell real jewelry – just the junk - so we needed to stay with the ones he pointed out. They probably get kickbacks from those booths, but as it turns out I found exactly what I was looking for at the first one and at a great price so I don’t care if they have a whole cartel going. Kevin got a couple of shirts and Leonardo Sr had to go back to the terminal to pick up a scheduled group so he turned us over to Leonardo Jr who was a beginning cab driver and had a Grand Marquis.

I know many of you have heard me say that once you go Mexican you never go back – for seconds - due to the fact that my first husband was Mexican. However, I have to say Leonardo Jr would make a nun rethink that. He was HOT! About 25ish with a mustache and great smile. He took over from his Dad and drove us to a great restaurant called El Zorrito….and I have to say it is perhaps the best Mexican steak I’ve ever had in my life!!

Leonardo Jr. also said we just had to see the cliff divers and that it was really nice at night as they have it all lit up – not too tourista. So after dinner he drove us over and we got in free (not for the $35 admission fee (apparently only stupid gringos pay that price!) and we watched front row as nine of these guys swam the little channel of churning water and then free climbed 510 feet up the sheer side of this cliff – while they were wet! I now think that all those free climbing hot shots on the discovery channel with their chalk and safety gear are wooses! Try doing it in a Speedo covered in sea water with a whole crowd of spectators watching. What really got me was how fast they were. They scaled this cliff in less than a minute flat – they have to have amazing spidey senses… and then they jumped one by one from various levels doing flips, jumping backward – showing off really. Then suddenly three of them jumped at once!...after that a guy jumped from the very top spot…it was amazing and I’m so glad we went. We then returned to the boat and needless to say the ‘Leonardos’ got a big fat tip…..Viva La Acapulco!!!

Mexican Cruise Day 3

2009-01-19T10:33:00.001-07:00

We rolled out of bed about noonish and ordered our regular morning room service. We sat on the balcony, drank coffee and were generally lazy. I was going to go back and work – but it just didn’t happen. I played electronic poker all afternoon instead and didn’t even check my email. I looked around at the jewelry so I could get an idea of the prices. When we get to Mexico I want to have a good idea of price ranges on the boat so I can tell if it’s a better deal. Sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not, especially if you look like stupid gringos – which we do. Bought a couple of T shirts cause I’m already out and Kevin’s not doing laundry until tomorrow when everyone else heads into Acapulco. Had dinner again with Bonnie and Howard and then played a while more in the casino. We also sat at the atrium bar where ‘Pat’ plays every night. He is the best country singer ever – sounds just like George Strait! And he does a great Willie and Waylon impression. Went to bed about midnightish…we were pooped…thank God there was no midnight show! We’re getting to old to hang with it….

Mexican Cruise Day 2

2009-01-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Our first day at sea!!! I’m wired (as in I have internet) and ready to roll. Of course we’re still on Texas time and got up at the crack of dawn – us and about 1000 little old people on the boat. I found the library/internet café and it’s really a nice set up. It was still very chilly out on deck and at one point we were completely fogged in – talk about creepy! But I stayed in the library and put in a full day’s work which was great since yesterday I didn’t get much done due to the travel day.

We didn’t do much around the ship except lose money at black jack. We had a great dinner with Bonnie and Howard and then decided to stay up for the midnight comedy show. It was not the best, but they usually have great comics on Carnival so we’ll try the next guy. We stayed up til 1 am – that’s pacific - so 3 am our time so we were tired and will totally sleep in tomorrow.

Mexican Cruise Day 1

2009-01-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Of course most of the other people in the hotel were going on our cruise too so we joined the rest of the parade of people wheeling their luggage across the street to the terminal the next morning…even I couldn’t justify paying a cab to make a U turn. The cruise terminal is very very dinky…which is good and bad. Good in that there were virtually no lines. Bad in that this is the last cruise on our VIP status and there was no special VIP lounge….bummer. But we were still first on the boat so who cares? The boat is called the Spirit and I like it much better than the Triumph but not as much as the Liberty or Conquest. We’re not even going to discuss the Eurodam extravaganza. It was business anyway but I would sure never pay to go on Holland America. Carnival does it so much better and the sad thing is they are the same company! It’s like Wal-Mart and Saks being owned by the same corporation and Wal-Mart kicking their butt! But enough about corporate America.

Our stateroom was a new experience this time. We got one of those extended balconies near the elevators – it was the same price as the regular balcony so we opted for more space. We had no idea how much space!! It is a foot & a half wider and three times as long as a regular balcony. We have as much square footage outside as in! It reminds me of that long hallway in the Shining, but with an ocean view and deck chairs….totally cool.

We set sail at 4 pm – it was getting dark as the sun sets very early on the west coast and as soon as that sun started dipping the temperatures plunged!! We were shivering as the boat pulled out of San Diego bay. I got some great pictures of the skyline and military base as we went by. We also saw a pod of dolphins as we left. It didn’t take long for the decks to clear and everyone scurried inside.

We met our dinner mates for the first time – Bonnie and Howard from LA. They both work for the electric/water company in LA so Kevin had something in common with them. They seem nice and very normal.

I’m looking forward to two days at sea to work a little and relax a lot. Our first port of call is Acapulco so it will be a couple of days before we get there.

Mexican Cruise Travel Day

2009-01-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Day one of our fabulous Mexican Cruise although it’s really not a cruise day, it was a travel day. We left Amarillo about 10:30 am and landed in San Diego about 3 pm Pacific. The flight connected in Las Vegas so it was pleasant. There were also a ton of Chiropractors on the flight but I didn’t talk to any of them about a book…I’m still working on the spinal decompression book and one at a time is plenty…although he may be my favorite Chiropractor ever. He’s so nice and unassuming – a rare thing in doctor ranks. Anyway, the hotel was a $10 cab ride from the airport….so yes we probably could have walked but hey, I wanted a cab. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Bay which is a whole 20 steps from the cruise terminal and our boat docked right in front of the hotel.

We ate at a little restaurant built over the water called Antonio’s and yes, I had sea kitten – fillet of sole to be exact. We sat out on the balcony in our hotel room and enjoyed the near perfect 75 degree weather (no wind) until the sun went down. It was a beautiful first day and can’t wait to hop on board and get away. I’ll still be working of course, but I can do that anywhere which is the absolute beauty of being a full time writer!

And we're off!!!

2009-01-13T17:47:00.004-07:00

The last two days have been insanely busy!! Not only has every dormant author decided to start working on their book again, they all had to call to chat before I left. Yes, I feel the love but I'm ready to feel the tequila infused air of Mexico a lot more.

We've come across two great projects for our publishing company and are very excited to see how they go. I'll be revealing more as thing progress on those. I've also caught up a few things so I'm getting everything cleared out for the new onslaught of projects as seminar season kicks off. It usually doesn't get swinging until the end of Feb, but this year its starting mid-January. I guess its a sign of the times as people seek answers to the problems (financial and otherwise) that they have.

In other news, I'm a little wary about leaving the fishys in care of Liz and Chris for the week. I've left them before but it wasn't the dead of winter so I'm just hoping that they keep them from being fishcicles by the time I get back. Speaking of fish I saw something hilarious today. It's an article about the fact that PETA has 'rebranded' fish as 'sea kittens'. I know - I'm still laughing. Anyway it seems they think that fish need an image make over so all those bad people will stop torturing them by catching them and *gasp* eating them!!! Can you believe it? They even have bedtime stories and everything for wacked out people to read to their poor impressionable children. Here's the link - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99249669

You know, perhaps they should 'rebrand' cattle - they could be 'milk horses'. Chickens could be 'egg parrots' and carrots could be 'Chia Roots'. The world has gone mad - MAD I tell you! This will give me something serious to talk about on the boat when I've had one too many.....

Mexico here we come!!

2009-01-06T10:44:00.002-07:00

So finally we get a vacation that's just to relax. I know that it seems like a travel a lot, and I do but not very often just to relax. Of course I will still be working on the boat from my laptop, in fact i think some of my best work comes from relaxed cruises, sitting at the bar with a fruity drink close at hand.

On this journey, we're headed down the Mexican Rivera. I'm looking forward to the warm sea breeze and great Mexican food. Since its Mexico, we won't be doing much off the boat. While it may seem exotic for someone from the great white north, its not all that different for Texans. I really wanted a cruise that had lots of days at sea and wasn't a hustle and bustle of shore excursions to places that were unique and different. When its like that you feel obligated to get off at every port, but Mexico is Mexico so it allows me to relax and soak in the sun.

As soon as we get back from Mexico I leave for LA and then on to Vegas in Feb. Its the start of seminar season so our business will be picking up again and running full tilt until the holidays next year.

For those waiting on a castle update, the newest issue is that it seems to be mating season for some of the neighborhood cats and since we seem to be the only yard without dogs they choose to exhibit their loud kitty foreplay on the back patio while the labs next door bark themselves into a frenzy. I may rent a dog for a few weeks so they will at least take their sex screams out to the alley.

Fish Sticks

2008-12-20T22:04:00.003-07:00

So...I knew it would happen. We've gone back and Fourth about the fish needing a heater. Spouse says no, they are fish....I say yes, they aren't trout, they are exotic goldfish....So anyway, I peek out to check on them this evening before locking up the castle, and there is a solid sheet of ice on the pond!!! And yep, no heater plugged in....grrr...and double grrrrr.....all I can say is that it's a good thing I checked or I woulda had frozen little fish sticks by morning....and my spouse would have been responsible for the deaths of 11 helpless little fishies not that he would feel bad about it. Tomorrow I will purchase a padlock for the electrical box and hide the key.....

I have been hooking up with new and old friends via facebook recently and I've been amazed at how great it is. This last week, one of them posted a video of the Gruver High School production of Lil Abner that we did in 1981....it's a hoot to see how young we all looked then! There is only a fleeting glimpse of me in the back but if you can pick me out of the crowd, I'll give you a free copy of my book....

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=40482486197&ref=mf

Buy your beach house now....

2008-12-09T14:18:00.002-07:00

I can't even tell you how great Hawaii is....Todd Dean's seminar went very well so we're all looking forward to LA in a few weeks. Now that work is over, we can be touristas for a few days. The whole TAG team went on a sunset cruise last night. They took us out past Diamond head and the view back to Waikiki was beautiful at night. We saw some really huge turtles from our balcony yesterday summing just a few yards off shore. Since we're 26 floors up we know they were pretty big for us to see them...and a surfer went by one and it was more than half the size of his board...so yeah....pretty big.

Tonight everyone is excited cause we're all going to the Rockin Rockin Luau....that's the one at Paradise Cove...its a six hour event and we have seats right up front so we expect some great fun. I know I will not want to get back on the plane on Wed. Especially since I know its snowing at home. Heather has been of fish patrol and reported today that there are so far no floaters...so that's good.

Its really odd the way business flows your way when you least expect it. We've been contacted over the last two days by three people out of the blue who have heard of our group. Of course the only way you can hear about us is word of mouth since we don't advertise and don't take just anybody as a client. A couple of these people are prominent sports starts and business people so word is definitely getting out - helped in no small part by the fact that we had a #1 on amazon. Amazing what that does for your credibility.

We're also working on some books coming out under our own company imprint...more on that later...must go now and learn the Hukilau......

4 days til Hawaii!

2008-11-30T12:27:00.003-07:00

Can't wait to dip my toes in the Pacific and have 82 degree days every day for a week! Lots to do before hand and loose ends to tie up as always but its more exciting to have Hawaii for a deadline. Who wants to have to work on the beach? But then again, the fact that I can work on the beach if I choose to is a huge perk.

The fabulous Todd Dean was on the Wayne Resnick show in LA again last night and of course was great! See his website at http://www.tdean.com/. We're finishing up the workshop info for his conference next week and can't wait to see the response.

Now for the castle update....

My brother helped get our xmas lights up and they look fab and now everyone on the block is lit up...its kind of neat to be on a block where everyone plays the Christmas game - although at night the sightseers really clog the streets. Not a big deal this year as we'll be in Hawaii for a week. The lights all have sensors and a timer so the show goes on whether we're here or not. Of course Steve's house is one of the main attractions in this part of town. If you go down the street between sonic and jiffy lube on Georgia, Steve's house is on the corner on the next block. He has about 70,000 lights and the show is set to music you can tune in to on your radio..its pretty neat actually.

The ghost has been pretty active lately. Of course Kevin is still in HUGE denial, but whatever. If he heard the knocking at 3 am he'd be freaked to. Other than that things are going well. The fishys seem to be doing well in the cold - their heater keeps the water above 42 so they seem happy. I'll have to have someone come check on them while we are in Hawaii.

Business for TAG is still running strong and this is usually our slowest time of year so we're excited that we have lots of work to do and our writers aren't twiddling their thumbs as they sometimes do around the holidays. Of course all this work does cut into my xmas movie viewing - but I'll suffer through it......

#1 On Amazon!!!

2008-11-18T13:14:00.002-07:00

I'm thrilled to report that one of the books I ghostwrote has just gone to #1 in its category on Amazon and its quickly climbing the overall list. It's Joe Vitale's newest book, Expect Miracles and its just in time for the Christmas season. Needless to say our value as ghostwriters just took a big leap! I have a feeling that several of the clients we're working with right now will really bring TAG into the limelight as the ghostwriters to have do your book.

One of those clients is of course our very favorite - Todd Dean. We're finishing up the seminar workbook (chris is) that will be used in Waikiki in December and getting the presentation ready. Todd will be appearing on Island Television News This Morning (ABC Affiliate) in Hawaii on Dec 2 and we're really thinking that will help kick things off.

Its hard to concentrate on work when the universe love us so much.....

Waikiki here we come!

2008-11-04T19:33:00.003-07:00

We booked flights today for the whole crew...me & Kevin, Liz and Greg, and Chris and Maegan. The whole TAG Team...pun intended. Chris seemed excited and I have to say that he is doing a stellar job on the companion workbook to Todd's book for the seminar attendees. Maegan is his squeeze. We got to meet her last week and she seems really sweet...and WAY too skinny. We told Chris she needs to gain about 80 pounds before Hawaii.

A quick pond update - we got a new Plecko since the others died. He is HUGE. Gina thinks his size will help him no be so affected by the cold. I also did quite a bit of research on them and apparently, while they are algae eaters, they are a type of catfish and somewhat none discriminate in there foraging habits. I was a little concerned that he might not get enough to eat since we killed off all the algae. I discovered that the larger Pleckos like zucchini slices. So I went and bout a zucchini and followed the instructions posted on the Internet and softened them in the nuke-o-wave. I dropped in a couple yesterday but the fish ignored them. I was a little dejected, but today I go out and - no zucchini - and he was much more active than he's been. I deduced he was hunting for more zucchini so I dropped in a couple more. We'll see if he gobbles those too. Of course I didn't want a dog because they are a hassle to feed and here I am cooking zucchini for a fish....oh well..

The IRA book is coming out Oct 30 and you can get a copy on amazon or b&n or pretty much anywhere. I'm anxious to see it but I still think the cover stinks. I'm catching up on many other projects so I'm contemplating my next new project...I'm sure it will be in the financial area especially since the market is so ripe for it.

Sad Day at the Pond....

2008-10-28T19:47:00.002-06:00

Sad sad day at the pond....I go out to feed the posse and there is a floater....and its the big one that looks like a shark so very sad!! so then I take out all the little castles around the pond and check everyone out. Sadly I find the two other algae eaters dead but hidden inside the coral and logs! So the total is 3 dead..out of 11. Not a great percentage. Of course I was on the cruise all week but Kevin swears he fed them and everything. But still....bummer... So I checked out the rest of the crew and honestly they don't look well so I call Fishy 911 (Gina at exotic aquatics) and she will be by tomorrow to check them out and test the water to see what it could be. Sad Sad Day.....

In other news, we (me and Liz) are back from the cruise. Since it was a working cruise, it wasn't as much fun as the others but still, if you have to work why not do it on the high seas? Our day on the beach at Grand Cayman was sooooo worth it!! Beautiful water, pina coladas, great music...totally fab! Other than that is was like being at an Amway convention for a week and everyone wants to talk to us.......not a bad gig necessarily but tiring. Lots to do on our return so we're hard at it. Chris (our marketing assistant) got to work from home the week we were gone and I have to say he made great progress. So we told him we were planning to take him to Hawaii with us in Dec. when the seminars he's working on are presented for the first time. It sounds very generous, but in reality its to save our bacon! if something goes wrong he can fix it whereas we would be totally in the dark.

Another good thing that happened on the cruise is that Todd's web guy was there and we got to talk (REALLY talk). I have to say I really like this guy (Ernest Barbaric) and he has his own company. He is fab if you are needing some web work done so check him out www.ernestmedia.com. He's in Canada, but if you can overlook that he's a great strategist so give him a buzz and see what he can do for you!

Jackpot!!!!!

2008-10-11T18:47:00.002-06:00

Well this was an extremely exciting week! First of all we sent out the first round of press releases for Todd Dean's book, More Month Than Money. He was going to be in LA so we sent it to 12 major media outlets in the Los Angeles area. Less than 48 hours later, the producer of the Wayne Resnick show on KFI 640 AM called to book him for Saturday. KFI is the Number 1 talk radio station in America so we really hit one out of the part. We also did a quick promotional ebook version of the books since the Hardback won't be available until November. When I told the producer we were going to offer the ebook free to their listeners for 7 days, they were thrilled!

The publisher was also excited and now we will be going on their yearly cruise that they take all their authors on. It leaves next Saturday and is doing the Jamaica, Bahamas, Grand Cayman itinerary which is good because I've already been there and can focus on the authors instead of sightseeing....still its great to be in the Caribbean now that fall is here!!!

We're hoping the radio appearance will help fill up Todd's seminar in Waikiki on Dec 6 which we will be attending as well.....very exciting stuff. We named our new marketing company TAG Media Solutions and with a score like this on, we should be well on our way!!

New Marketing Assistant

2008-10-03T13:18:00.003-06:00

So we hired an assistant this week. His name is Christopher and so far he's been pretty good. He's awfully quiet though but I'm sure he'll come out of his shell eventually. He's helping us with all the marketing we are now doing for our authors so its exciting!

We are also going to Hawaii the first week in Dec to help Todd Dean with his seminar. It so exciting to see one of the authors really make their book work for them. I also heard from Michael Nicholas yesterday and he just got the copies of his books too. He's sending us a whole box!! Not sure how long that will take from England but I can't wait to see them. He put some pretty neat videos up on his website too. You can listen to him at http://www.optimaltrack.com/.

Regina's book is also due out in a few weeks and I'm anxious to see it too. Its funny we work on so many books, but then its like they all get printed at once! We have several more interesting projects in the works and the web guys are still working on our website which we hope to have up ASAP. I'm glad we have Michael's ebook now to add to the site as it is really a wonderful book on leadership!!

I also booked the January cruise last week. We're going to the Mexican Rivera for 8 days! I always hate the end of January - everyone is in a bad mood (they spent all their money) and it so freakin cold! So this year I'll be enjoying a week of sun an surf and leave all that icy wind & snow behind.

How to Marry For Money

2008-09-24T20:02:00.003-06:00

So we started a new book for a client called "How to Marry for Money". It is very much a smart ass how to manual for the lovelorn and finacially destitute - and its a lot of fun. Also on the menu is a sassy real estate book, a new solution for back pain, and the details of the worlds best money seminar. As busy as things are, they are really quite fun and entertaining as we don't get to do creative books very often.

Also working on the next couple of installments of my leadership series for CU Business. Hard to believe its been almost a year since it started. Its been a lot of fun and I've met some great business gurus like John Maxwell and Tom Feltenstien.

Also on the agenda is the final push for the ebook site. I talked to the developers today about how many people can download at once and he started in about bandwidth and mega giga bites....kind of like when Charlie Brown's teacher talks...wha wha wha.....that's all I heard. I just wanted to know if twenty thousand people downloaded at once would it work...he answered me but I still don't know. The correct answer is "of course it will" even if it won't, I wouldn't know the difference and I'd feel much better about the whole thing.

We also got three more fish - I know i KNOW...its eleven now and if they keep shitting in the pond, we'll have mud soon but oh well...we also now have lights on the fountain at night so its like a miniature Caesar's Palace...if you're around, come by and take a peek... Harley (my niece) was over this weekend and named the big fat one Nimo...I forgot what she named the other one...anyway when I have pictures, we finish the official naming....

Since several people know that we're writing a book about marrying for money, the question has come up....What would you do for a million dollars? So I ask - how low would you go?

Pond drama....

2008-09-19T13:05:00.003-06:00

So...today was the day to go and pick out the lucky little goldfish that will get to inhabit our pond. I had thought we'd get six decent sized (4 or 5 inch) ones and that would be enough. Wellllll......there were two black ones (Esmeralda and Elvis) and one large calico(Spot just doesn't sound right for a fish). There there were two orange and white ones with these weird bubbles below their eyes....but they were smaller....THEN.....there were two yellow/black ones with pompadours....THEN there were two smaller gold ones with pompadours......sooo

You guessed it, they are all ours....NINE gold fish (plus one large and two small algae eaters to suck up all the fish crap).....so it will be a full pond....but most of them aren't that big. Of course they will all grow. Gina said if they get too big, we can swap them out for smaller ones so they don't overwhelm the pond. What a concept...too bad you can't do that with dogs, where every time your puppy outgrows the 'cute' phase you swap it out for another puppy! Dog lovers - don't email me, I'm not a dog person and don't care. I'm all about pets you can flush if they croak.

I have been working a lot, but that's normal for this time of year. We got a video camera to film some short clips for clients for video blogs and websites and of course as soon as I figure it out I will post video of the pond participants....

More tales from around the castle....

2008-09-09T17:20:00.002-06:00

I know I know....this is a writing blog...BUT several of you have asked for an update on the pond and photos of Elvis and Esmeralda. Well, there was a delay of game (that's for you Britta!). The pond peeps couldn't come give it a look until last Sunday so E & E (as they are now being referred to) are on order and set to arrive Thursday!! So excited!! Tom and/or Gina will be coming by next Sunday to get the pond ready. We have also ordered blue gravel for the bottom cause I don't want to have to look at cement at the bottom of the pond.

They said it would take about 150-200 pounds of gravel ...which seems like a lot, but I guess they know their stuff. They are also ordering us a center fountain so we'll see how it looks....they said we could have about 6 or 8 decent sized fish so it will be E & E, Ed & Betty, and another couple as yet to be named. If you have any ideas, send them along.

I also found some new cleaning ladies and they are fabulous! Don't speak a word of English, but I say if someone wants to work they should get to work! God knows we run across numerous writer wanna bes who have no clue how to work!! The castle now sparkles and I feel a little bit guilty that they didn't ask for more money.

Business on the writing front has picked up a bit as more publishers are seeking us out!! Yea TAG! And that is only because the writers we do have want to work...go figure....work ethic speaks volumes no matter the country you are in or what language you speak.

The ghost was silent for a few days but the other night I heard him (or her) knocking..I 'd hate to think we'd run it off!!!

there is life in Baton Rouge!!!

2008-09-02T20:40:00.002-06:00

I finally heard from one of our writers in Baton Rouge. Andrea. She told me it was really devastated....estimates of electricity back on in four to six WEEKS!! I can't even imagine. so of course i gave her the update on the Palin situation.....and what else was going on in the country. I can't imagine stopping life for weeks and hearing no news, no nothing...good to hear she and hubby Jeffrey are doing fine...still wondering about Camille and Heather though. Andrea and Jeffrey are helping man the radio station...sunny 103.3 go to the station website for live broadcasts....anyway she is going to try and get in touch with Heather and Camille tomorrow so we'll know that they are okay.

In other news, the castle has a ghost! there is this weird tapping in the pantry on occasion that we can't figure out... it almost sounds like a kid in the pantry knocking to see if you will come and check it out....and of course nothing is there. Its not scary, just interesting I think....cause its loud enough to make anyone in the kitchen or den go check it out. My husband is a HUGH disbeliever but then he never thought we'd have a castle either - JOKES ON HIM!! of course he was whining tonight because the 'man cave' doesn't have the balcony view....he keeps saying he has the 'projects' view - I mean really!!!! He used to have newspapers on the windows at the old house so you'd think this would be great.

I also found a guy to get the pond ready for Esmeralda and Elvis. His name is Tom and he's from Exotic Aquatics. He's coming to clean everything and get it ready to be a good home for our future goldfish clan. He'll even order Esmeralda and Elvis to our specs......so I wonder what one of those fish with a pompadour is called?

Stories from around the castle....

2008-08-27T19:30:00.006-06:00

I'm getting used to the boxes you know.....but not getting far in the unpacking. Still lots to go and since work backed up during the move, I've been putting in long hours so who knows when the boxes will be gone and really - who cares?

So I'm taking it somewhat easy tonight and of course nothing is on TV. I added myself to facebook at the urging of some business friends and I'm surprised at how people have found me. Kevin is playing with timers on the sprinklers again - too bad he can't figure out how to make them go off every time someone lets their dog take a dump on our yard.

And what is the deal over here with everyone having a horse for a dog? If you want a horse, get a horse! A dog should not have to be walked with a golf cart! Our favorite client from Toronto will be in next week and then we'll be in Toronto with the Publisher Sept 24-26. Hopefully I won't have to endure the breeze from the ice cubes they have on that big lake up there...I mean really! February is not the time to hop into Canada.

YOu know how you get a really cool new fridge with all the latest features that seem really neat....like....um...i don't know - this really annoying beep if you hold the door open too long? So it sounds like a great thing right? And in theory it is if you're just staring into the depths of the fridge hopeing something will appear - this noise will snap you back to life and remind you, hey its the same stuff that was in there twenty minutes ago. Sounds great...right? NO.

See the little beepy noise is very effective for me - it beeps I close the door. But it doesn't seem to have the same effect on my spouse. It beeps - he ignores it. It doesn't bother him - it bothers me. Another ten seconds pass. More beeps and still no response. So now, its beeping and I'm complaining "HEY! It beeps for a reason!" And I get a blank stare. "What?" grrr...of course now that he KNOWS it bothers me its the funnest game ever - for him....

At least the moat is gone.....Yes I said moat. Last weekend, the fact that the sewer lines haven't had the roots removed in ..oh maybe five years became evident as a moat of raw sewage poured over our lawn and down the gutter around the castle. I'd even said something about wanting a moat but one with turds of unknown origin was not what I had in mind. Anyway, Paul the plumber to the rescue. The only good thing about the moat, was that all those people who let their dog/horse crap in my yard, also let them lap up the 'moat' water and then lick them in the face!! Yes, daddy loves his little horsey!!! Bwahahahahah

We Made It!!

2008-08-19T11:39:00.004-06:00

So we are moved in!! - Not unpacked mind you, but moved. They delivered the bedroom furniture and the matching desks for our office. The red couch makes its appearance on Thursday along with the Frig. You know you never realize how attached you are to your frig until you are without one....I've had to ice down my bottles of wine in the sink for the last few days.

We absolutely love the house!!Kevin is on cloud nine and has been trying out all the neat features of the house - like the doorbell on the backdoor which is really annoying to me since I come downstairs to answer the front door and no one is there. And then there are all the various jets that come out of the wall in the master shower. I didn't notice them really or play with them - I just took a shower cause I wanted to get clean. Of course I'm a girl and that's what we do. Kevin however had to play with all the gadgets so he took a long shower then proceeds to tell me how cool the 'butt hole' cleaners are in the shower and how its the cleanest his butt hole has ever been. Really? Did ya have to share that??? Oh the joys of marrying a redneck. He has also arranged his 'man cave' with his desk, computer, TV, video games and beer frig which is the envy of all the guys who have been to the house so far.

Hopefully we'll be out of the boxes soon and can start having people over. For now, back to work!!

We move this Saturday!!

2008-08-13T14:26:00.004-06:00

Its been a flurry of activity around here this week getting this house ready to lease. I have to say our renovations look pretty snazzy and we put the 'For Rent' sign out in the yard last weekend. We got quite a few calls so I'm sure we'll have it rented in no time.

We haven't packed as much as I'd like - okay I haven't packed as much as I should - Kevin is already packed and ready to roll. We have given away ten years+ worth of crap and I'm sure will be giving away more. I went and verified furniture deliveries for Saturday and me & Liz picked out two matching executive desks for the office. So the it will be two desks and the red couch so far in the office.

I'm really excited and went to the pet store to look at some fish for my new outdoor fountain/pond. I thought I wanted some KOI so I got a KOI for dummies book - turns out I don't' want KOI - They get really big and need all this special stuff. What I need is a fish that looks pretty and doesn't really need to be feed on a regular basis - turns out that's called a goldfish.
So once we have the little fountain cleaned, I'm planning on getting a few bug eyed goldfish - Perhaps a Black pair named Esmeralda and Elvis or a bright gold pair named Ed & Betty - what do you all think?

The Red Couch

2008-07-24T07:05:00.002-06:00

So we've moved the closing date for the house up to the 16th.....eager to get there you know. Things are going well on the fix up for the rental and we've found the bestest handy man ever - his name is David and he can fix anything! So he's basically remodeling our house $50 at a time so it will be ready to lease out by Sept 1.

We bit the bullet and went furniture shopping this past weekend. We really only urgently need a bedroom suite - most of the rest can wait. However, over at Texas Furniture they had this little red couch I've had my eye on. Its curved and very girly and I wanted it for the office since we'll actually have room for people to sit in our office now. Anyway, I've looked at it several times and haven't gotten it because it was just a little pricey....then Saturday I went over to see if they'd sold it and they had marked it down to half price! Needless to say I snatched it right up! What can I say? The universe loves me! So now you all can get to visit the red couch when you come to the office - its really cute!

Today and tomorrow we have a client in from Calgary, CA. We're working on his book and some other programs he will be launching. His name is Todd Dean and he is a radio personality up there. We met in a couple weeks ago in Dallas and he's a nice guy. Actually I think he just wanted an excuse to come back to Texas...I mean who would live in the great white north on purpose??

Listen Up You Blog Stalkers!!

2008-07-08T20:47:00.005-06:00

It has been pointed out that I have been incredibly remiss in my blogging - which is true...I've been swamped since the cruise which turned out to be a trip of a lifetime for everyone. I think we inducted a whole new generation of cruise lovers!! Jen & Ryan seemed to be quite smitten with the boat and ports of call and Ryan even went para sailing!

I'm not sure why the person who was the most reluctant to get on the boat (all that water you know!) ends up being the one tethered to a speed boat like a kite in St. Thomas. As most of you know I would highly recommend a cruise.

So anyway, like I said, we got back and I am swamped - which is good. We got our ebook site in the design phase and after some misses, they finally hit one out of the park!! The design is awesome and we should be ready to launch in the next month or so. We're presenting the idea in Dallas this week for one of our publishers and so far everyone who has seen it has loved the concept. It looks like a winner!

Added to the flurry of activity during this, our busy season, my husband finds a house online. We've been haphazardly and not really seriously looking at moving to a nicer home. We've gone to many open houses, but nothing has really struck as right. Not even close enough to investigate the financing. So we go and see this house which is really just a few block from where we are now. For those of you in Amarillo, we currently live in white trash Wolflin. This house is in REAL Wolfin. Anyway, I really liked it. So we began investigating financing and over the last few weeks everything has completely fallen into place. We're keeping our current house as our first investment property and will be leasing it out soon. We close on the new house the third week in August.

Since I'm so busy I'm seriously considering piling all our current crap in the yard and setting it ablaze...out with the old, you know. Below is the virtual tour of the new house and if you see a blaze in the yard of a house in white trash Wolflin soon, you'll know we moved.

Virtual tour:

Click here to view: http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?t=1380282&sk=1&prt=10003

It's Tomorrow!!

2008-06-06T15:01:00.004-06:00

So tomorrow is the big day. We fly to Miami to begin our family cruise extravaganza. So far we seem to have everything in order. There was a very small blip this morning as Kaci's car broke down in Stinnett. Her Dad picked up the car and took it back home and I picked her up and brought her to Amarillo so no big deal. At least it will be fixed when she gets back.

I also picked up Kayla and we did the last trip to WalMart. We should be good to go and I think I have everything about packed. Didn't quite finish a couple of projects, but I guess it wouldn't be normal to actually go without work to do so I'm bringing them along.

We leave for the airport at a 6a tomorrow and should touch down in Miami shortly before 2pm so it will be a long day, but a relief once we all get there...of course there will be cruise updates!! so stay tuned.......

13 days til the cruise.....

2008-05-26T15:31:00.010-06:00

Actually 12 days until we leave...we Fly into Miami on June 8. Everyone is so very excited and I for one, can't wait. Normally, I wouldn't take a vacation this time of year as summer is our busy season, but with everyone graduating and other people bringing their kids, this was the best time. Though work will pile up, I'm really looking forward to getting away. The map at the left shows where we will be going.

Here's one of the locations we'll be visiting:
Its the fort in Puerto Rico as you round the island coming into port.

Though we will be cruising the eastern Caribbean on this trip, Kevin and I are planning our regular birthday cruise for this fall. We usually go at the end of September and started it on our 40th birthdays (which are on the same day). We've continued to keep it up as cruising is very economical and life is too short to go for long periods of time without seeing the beautiful blue waters and feel the soft salt spray from our balcony. We'll be heading to the Mexican Rivera out of LA so it should be a good time. And its Mexico so we probably won't get off the boat that much - I'd prefer to stay on board anyway most of the time.

I'd have been saying that I hope to work on my book on the cruise for weeks - but I'm not saying that anymore. I WILL work on my book. I suppose some would find it odd that the one thing that I do every single day - write - is also the thing I look most forward to when I go on vacation. I guess that's a good indication of what your true passion is, if you do it every day and still can't get enough then its what you were meant to do. Anyway I will be finishing my new book on the cruise - and updating about the trip on the blog so stay tuned.

Memphis, Graduation, and Good Times

2008-05-17T20:54:00.004-06:00

So I just got back from spending most of last week in Memphis. The hometown of Elvis, on the banks of the Mississippi, and keeper of secrets......yes, secrets (but more on that later). My parents and I all converged on Memphis for the graduation of my son from college. He is now a graduate of Rhodes College and to the thrill of the family and my son, HE HAS A JOB. He got his dream job at the corporate office of Auto Zone in Memphis. His does some kind of financial stuff (don't' ask me exactly what as it involves spreadsheets and stuff). But we were all VERY extremely proud of him.

So now I have two graduated from college and doing well in real life (with jobs and everything). We have another one graduating high school this year and one that's 16 so we still have a couple to go.

Memphis was totally fabulous. I had always envisioned it a very dangerous city (which it is if you look at the murder rate) because I watch The First 48 and its seems like every horrible murder happens in Memphis. However, I have to say that I totally loved it. The river was tremendous and I got an up close look from Mudd Island. The old peeps and me went down to Beale Street for a birthday lunch for my dad. Had fried green tomatoes, collard greens, grits and BBQ. We stayed downtown at the Madison and it was great. The valets were fab, and service impeccable. I got to treat my parents, but it was pretty obvious they aren't used to that level of service. Due to some issues with their room not being ready the hotel treated them to a suite and they learned pretty quickly why a $40 steak is better than sex and how fabulous room service really is.

My mom has been an Elvis fan her whole life and actually sneaked out late one night as a teenager in Dallas to watch the Elvis train roll through. She finally got to go to Graceland and will adamantly deny that the King is really dead (although she seems to think his estate is commercializing his memory??????).

The whole fam went to Rhodes for Graduation and it was really very nice. The weather was slightly overcast and the graduation was held on a large lawn surrounded by a forest of trees on the campus. I have to say that its something special to see your kids launch themselves into the real world.

In a few weeks we will all be off on the family cruise to the Caribbean to celebrate the grads and get together as a family before they all start acquiring spouses and reproducing. We're traveling essentially the same itinerary as me & kev did last year and I really think they will all love it. To top it off, my sister and her kids are going as well as Kevin's sister and her family so it should be a fun time.

On the home front, I'm catchin up on numerous books in the works and talking to many clients to get their projects underway. Thanks to all for the good wishes on my new book in the fall, The Trouble with Money. It is a book on reducing financial chaos in your life and we'll be teaching it as a class at Amarillo College.

Now for the 'secrets'.....I'm currently reading a book called "The American Plague" by Molly Caldwell Crosby. It is the story of how the epedimic of yellow fever almost destroyed Memphis in the first decade of the twentieth century. It is very haunting and yet educational. It was really intersting going to Memphis because 100 years later you can still see evidence of the result of that epidemic which is incredible......I'd advise everyone to learn about it and understand how it affected the population ....and if you have to go to Memphis and eat cheese grits (and visit Elvis)...to really understand it, then all the better....

2008-05-01T09:48:00.001-06:00

www.candacehavens.com

The Trouble with Money

2008-04-26T15:11:00.006-06:00

Good news! I have the preliminary mock up for my new financial book, The Trouble with Money. It may change a bit from this but it will be very similar. (the swirl is a watermark that will not be on the final)

The book is basically a look at what hang ups people have about money and why. Then I discuss how these money habits or erroneous beliefs can get them in really deep S*** financially and what to do about it.

It is interesting that I receive a certain amount of criticism for discussing money and financial issues so openly. Most people know that I have a strong background in finance, experience in the financial industry, and an MBA. But because my main source of income is writing they seem to believe that I'm not supposed to be interested in, or know anything about, money.

I'm sure all the business people out there are reading this thinking, "WHAT??" Exactly. Everything I do, whether that is writing, consulting, selling on the Internet, or playing poker is done from a business mindset. This does not mean that I only think about money, but it does play a part in what choices I make and where I choose to spend my time.

Often people just think about money as the amount in their bank account and they judge how they are doing in life by that amount. What they don't think about is money in relation to time. If you run out of money, screw up your credit score, or blow your retirement account on jet skis and tequila, it can be fixed, repaired or sold on Ebay (except for the used Tequila). But if you run out of time, that's it. There is no more and no second chance.

Time is and always will be your only non-renewable resource and as such, is the most valuable thing you have. This is why I am such an advocate about everything that I do bringing in the maximum dollar amount possible while taking the least amount of time. I know time is infinitely more valuable than money and spending time stressing over financial crises is a waste of life's most valuable commodity - especially when you could spend that time DOING something about it.

When I look back and think of all the time I wasted in endeavors that didn't serve me in the long run, it made me very conscious of how easily it could have been avoided and the financial issues in my life smoothed out. With the economy in a bit a slump there are millions of people living on the edge of that same financial chaos having no idea how to help themselves. I hope some of them will use some of their most valuable asset (their time) to read this book and understand that there is no financial crisis you can face that is hopeless. The release is set for fall and I hope you all will check it out.

WPT Ladies Event....

2008-04-14T11:46:00.006-06:00

As many of you know, I'm currently in Vegas indulging my poker playing. It is sort of my 'secret life' that isn't really secret. Last night was the WPT Ladies event and I placed 26th (or 27th I'm not sure which) out of a field of 150. Not bad, but not in the money. It is really interesting how you can feel irritated when you play bad (even if you cash) but feel good when you don't get into the money because you played well. Part of the psychology of poker I suppose.

Speaking of which, I pulled up Travis' blog this morning and he had a post about Amarillo Slim (http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/). One line really caught my attention - he said : "Gamblers tend to be motivated by one of two things, cold hard cash, or fame. " Ummm....no....most of the time it's neither. Of course I'm speaking of poker players specifically but I can tell you that for the vast majority it's not about the money or getting your face on TV.

It has been said that playing poker is a hard way to make an easy living. Very few individuals make enough money over the long term to gamble full time as a profession - so why do they do it? Interestingly enough, the motivation of a gambler and of writers are virtually identical. They both work in industries that 'look' easy to outsiders. The population at large assumes they have fortune and fame at their fingertips and want for nothing. In reality, most have traveled a very hard road filled with years of hard work, trial and error, and massive rejection or failure.

The motivation of both of these professions is not money. It is not fame. It is the desire to be good enough. The desire to be the best. For the writer, the years of struggle that culminate in a book finally being published are deemed 'worth it' when their book is placed on a shelf shoulder to shoulder with Nora Roberts, John Grisham, or Tom Clancy. Does it matter that they made almost nothing in the transaction? Does it matter that 35 agents once rejected the manuscript? Does it matter that they probably don't have a prayer to hit a list? NO. What matters is that they were good enough. They competed and were recognized. Their emotions wouldn't be more intense if they'd made a million, what matters is that they won the race.

Poker feeds these same emotional needs. Like writing, it is one of the few arenas where anyone can play, but only the best win. It doesn't matter if you're a millionaire or a reject from white trash land, you stand equally side by side with the best in the world and you compete. You sit down shoulder to shoulder, as I did last night, with individuals who have literally won millions playing the game and you try your hardest. I sat at a table last night with Kathy Leibert, a woman who has won millions playing poker and just last week got second at the WPT event at Foxwoods. We played, we talked and we enjoyed the event. In the end, I was 26th and Kathy was 20th.

I am good enough, I can compete, and I will win the race - that's what matters.

New books plus Vegas.....

2008-04-05T13:08:00.005-06:00

A quick update since its Saturday and I have so much to do that I don't know where to start...so I'm starting with a blog to get the creativity flowing. There is so much going on that I divided it into sections:

My books:

I have several in the works as always. The one that will be coming out in a couple of months is a book called: IRAs & IRA Investing. It's for Atlantic Publishing and will be great info for those of you who are interested in retirement investing. It was my specialty when I was at Prudential and I sure don't want to let that knowledge base go to waste. The cover is a little bland but I'm sure they are trying to convey a 'serious' tone. I think a cute little piggy bank would sell better though. Here's a preview -

We are also doing "I'll Start Monday" which is a diet and health book to support UC Fit. We have partnered with a guy who is starting the program and the book will be part of the launch in the fall. It is being done by TAG Publishing and will be available by August. As soon as I have the cover I'll post it and see what you all think.

I'm also doing another book called "The Trouble with Money" It is a book about the hang ups people have with money that keep them from making more money or that encourage them to make poor financial decisions. Its how to move from financial chaos to an investor mindset to turn your financial life around - and it WILL have a cute cover that is less intimidating and more about helping real people with real problems. This one is also being published by TAG Publishing.

On the ghostwriting front:

We have a conference call with five new writers(new to us anyway) that will be coming on with our group this summer. They come from a variety of writing backgrounds but all have strengths in various areas so we're looking forward to them coming on. We are just now hitting the busy season and so we want to be as prepared as we possibly can to handle the volume. We expect to top 100 projects by the end of the season and so will at least double our output from last year. We are still looking for more writers, but are being very choosy.

Vegas:

Off to Vegas again this week (Thurs-Tues) to play with the big boys. On Friday I'm playing a satellite into the Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio and on Sunday I'm playing in the WPT Ladies event. Wish me luck!

Good Books

2008-03-14T15:12:00.003-06:00

Hard to believe two posts in one week! Its like the end of the world or something. During all my recent travels I had lots of time on planes to read. I haven't posted a list of current favorites in a while so I figured I'd catch you up on my current ones in no particular order:

Twisted Creek by Jodi Thomas

I got to read an advanced copy and actually teared up at the end!! The flight attendant kept saying, "Ma'am are you alright?" So that's like the best compliment I can give that it actually brought some emotion out in me. It's due out in April so don't forget to pick up your copy.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I know its been on the bestseller list forever but I like it anyway (I don't usually like the ones that make the list for some reason). I think I like it because it's a framed story and I have a particular affinity for that particular concept which includes works such as Forrest Gump, Fried Green Tomatoes, Amadeus, Interview with a Vampire. And its about the circus - who didn't dream about running away with the circus after getting your mouth washed out with soap for the thousandth time? Okay, maybe that was just me...

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

This one centers on the Influenza epidemic in 1918 in a small town in rural Washington State and what happens when they try to keep the epidemic from coming to their town. The characters are really great though the subject matter is a bit dark. I have to admit it's really a page turner - I don't usually let my baggage take a free spin on the carousel in baggage claim just to finish a chapter!

Issac's Storm by Eric Larson

This one is actually nonfiction and is about the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. Its pretty good as it intertwines the survivor accounts into a narrative. It contained a lot that I didn't know about the race between Houston and Galveston at the time and how they dealt with the aftermath of the storm. Unfortunately it had some similarities to Hurricane Katrina's aftermath which says we haven't come far in the last 100 years.

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

This is also nonfiction and is a National Book Award winner. I have to say it is spectacular!! And not just because I grew up in the areas and with the descendants of the people he talks about. It is just very well written and includes a lot about the people who endured the dirty thirties and the time they live in. I remember my grandma telling some of the same stories that the survivors in this account did so it brought their experience home to me. I highly recommend this one to any writer who is interested in this era. I would also recommend reading the one about the Galveston hurricane before this one as the stories are intertwined in some strange and unexpected ways though they were written by completely different writers.......

happy reading!

Canada is Freakin cold!!!!

2008-03-11T18:55:00.003-06:00

Yes it is. I'm sitting in Toronto looking out over Lake Ontario with its floating ice cubes and wondering why anyone would come to Canada on purpose in the winter. Although it looks like it would be really nice in the summer, its cold and dreary right now. The people, however, have been stellar and the service fantastic. I met my new ghostwriting client at the Royal York this morning and it turned out to be a fabulous day. His name is Joe Vitale and he is another of The Secret gurus but his expertise is in the marketing arena so we got along great. I also learned he lives in the hill country which begs the question, why are two Texans meeting in Canada?

The answer is that the publisher is shooting a TV special on Joe tomorrow and he was going to be here anyway, so it was convenient. But we both agreed we'd rather be in Houston than in the great white North.

In other news, the Virginia trip last week was informative and I think LSP is heading for a good future on the distribution side. The jury's still out the project management piece and I'm still working with the writers to address their concerns. Its given me a great chance to talk to everyone at length again, as we get so used to communicating by email, and its been a great reconnect.

The feature story I did for CU Business is due out this month and I can't wait to see it. It will have part of the interview I did with John Maxwell and I'm anxious to get it out there and see what the feedback is. I'm crossing my fingers. I'll post the PDF on this site as soon as the mag comes out (don't want to steal the editor's thunder!)

I finished up the Pilates book this week, but am still working on the geese parable. I think I have the characters down a bit more now so its flowing easier. I'm also still working on the IRA Investment book and the editor has been kind enough to extend the deadline to accommodate my travel schedule, although it really chapped me to have to ask - I hate not meeting any deadline and this is a first book wise for me. However she's been pretty understanding so I'm sure I'll make it up to her.

getting ready for VEGAS!!

2008-02-08T09:11:00.001-07:00

so we're off to vegas next week for the credit union convention that I'm speaking at. I did land the Maxwell interveiw and it went incredibly well. I spent a day rewriting my kickoff article for the leadership series for CU BUSINESS with the stuff from the interview and the editor loved it! He even gave me a bonus!!! Dr. Maxwell also sent me a galley copy of his new book Leadership Gold and I told him that I'm more than thrilled to promote it during my talk in vegas. He really is very nice. It was an exciting week!

I also finished up the parable for Bob. It took forever!! I've gotten so used to doing non-fiction that I forget how creatively draining fiction is. I'm still not all that excited about the last two chapters, but we'll see what they think. I'm finally finishing up the wheelchair book - I feel really bad that I had to put it aside for the Bob thing, but I'm hoping she'll understand.

Lots of little stuff to do before Vegas, and one big thing - TAXES....ewweeee. This year has been crazy and I'm still getting 1099s from aritcles and stuff I wrote that I totally forgot about! I have a big pile of them on my desk and haven't even started gathering our business tax stuff....gotta get that done this week and over to our accountant dude......

squirrels eat cars....

2008-01-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

OH YES THEY DO!!!.. so I'm just this unassuming little writer person and Gumbai the squirrel tries to make an example of me. I don' t know if I am just working for the man, buying into the reality of republican life as we know it, or hoping for the best when I turn that little piece of metal hoping my car will start. Which ever, the road kill that was previously destined to be on Larry King live has now made my formerly fine KIA ride a four door paperweight.

Yes its true. I hopped in the KIA to run up to market street to get my rotisserie chicken and the whole vehicle started shaking like a meth addict in lock up!!! I was real scared until we opened the hood. Hidden inside was a little nest that some squirrel had decided to make his home. On top of which he'd also decide that the main wires to my engine were incredibly tasty.

I thought that this was a big deal. But according to the D&K guys, it's really common. Our tow truck driver said his sister had it happen to her. Go figure. It was totally new to us and really it wouldn't be that big a deal, but the squirrels at our house constantly throw acorns at all visitors and generally make our lives miserable. So now I dont' feel the least bit bad if I squish one. They are horrible little rodents and I don't care...so there. Report me to PETA already....I dare you!

hooterville - the sequel.......

2008-01-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

so...just when you think our hooterness has dissipated.....the amityville.....al la squirrel and plumber... commences......

so the first thing was that we had a plumbing issue....not unusual.....its an old house! But the plumber they send....Lupe....was totally unfamiliar with the house. We know to ask for Paul...he's been our plumber for more than ten years. He knows the pipes....he knows that Curly and Moe put this house together....but do they send Paul????? NO....they send Lupe....who piddles around for two hours figuring out what Paul already knows. Then he snakes the drain for 15 minutes and charges me $120 bucks. Of course while he was wasting time he finds out that I'm a writer and he ASSUMES that I make big bucks....which granted I do, but hey what does that have to do with my pipes???? So he overcharges me (Paul never does) and I'm totally fuming....but I figure, as long as he fixed the issue its not that big a deal - right?

So then this guy sits out in the drive for freaking ever...and then finally he rings the bell again. Come to find out he has no clue where the key to his van is - and he thinks he lost in underneath the house!! So I'm of course laughing as the guy spends the next 45 minutes searching under my house for the key to his van - serves him right for over charging me.... which still would have been fine if the problem was fixed.

BUT the problem is that it was not fixed. The washer is draining, but the dishwasher is not....so I try to remain calm...a tough thing for me. I don't hear from them most of the next day. So by 5, I'm speed dialing everyone and their mama. Finally the owner calls me back...they are swamped and he is going to send over Paul...so excited!!!!! That's what we wanted in the first place!!! woo hoo...Paul is the bomb! So sure enough he pops over....fixes the problem in less than fifteen minutes.....teases me that my xmas tree is still up and leaves...he's just the most fab plumber ever!!! more on the squirrel thing in the next post.

catching up

2008-01-24T15:50:00.001-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a really long time...been busy...also have been working from my laptop a lot because I had surgery in Dec. Not the kind of surgery you dread, but the kind you look forward to after the birth of that first tax deduction. I had a tummy tuck. All went well but the downtime was a bit of a bummer. However the results are great! Its really fabulous that you can just write a check and they make you beautiful...I can see why some women get addicted to it.

The ghostwriting is now moving back into full swing after the xmas lull. More projects coming in from our main publisher. Two other publishers contacted us this week and we now have projects from them - so its is going very well indeed. My feature for CU Business magazine was due today, but I also heard back on the contact info for John Maxwell's office - I've been trying to get an interview with him to kick off the series so hopefully that will happen by Monday or Tuesday. I called the editor and he was excited so we're putting it on ice for a few days to see if the interview happens. It would be great to get to promote an interview with him as well as the series in Vegas.

Plans for Vegas are all secure and we're staying at the Paris where the credit union conference will be held. Kevin made reservations for the restaurant at the top of the hotel, but I'm pretty sure he's not going to like French food - at least we'll have a nice view.

I also got word that I'll be flying to Toronto in March to interview another guru that I'll be ghostwriting for so that's on the schedule too. We're also making the plans to attend Ryan's graduation in Memphis in mid-May. The family cruise will be coming up shortly thereafter in June and I think that will be great fun for everyone.

So far nothing on the schedule after June, but its early yet.

I live in hooterville.....

2007-11-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

That's right folks........our hooterness is definitely showing as it often does in the fall. Just today I'm buzzing down the block in my little car, and what doth my wandering eyes behold, but three guys in flannel shirts skinning Bambi in the drive way. Only in Texas could they wield long knives in the middle of a decent neighborhood while skinning and chopping up a deer that they have hanging from a tree - in front of the house.

Of course, a couple of years ago when I worked for a financial firm that processes debit cards, my boss drove to work with a dead deer in his truck which dripped blood for several hours before he took it to the processor. Interesting thing was, people would just walk by the truck and say, "Hmmm, guess Dave got 'im a deer this year." And keep right on walking.

As far as other goings on, I got to see Leanna Ellis this weekend as she flew in to talk to the local writers' group. Her new book is called Elvis Takes a Back Seat and comes out in Jan just in time for the King's Bday. It was great to reconnect with old friends again - I don't get to do much of that these days.

On the writing front, I'm finalizing the leadership series for CU Business magazine. It will be a feature to introduce the series and then 10 article on various aspects of leadership. I think it will be a fun and informative series, and if I can piggyback a book deal, all the better. As for the ghostwriting, our group is expanding and growing tremendously. We're now rotating 50 book projects at a time and its amazing to look back at the volume we've produced over the last year. It's also exciting to think where we're headed as we become more involved in the process everyday.

Not bad for a bunch of writers from hooterville, TX.......

plotting, scheming, and other pursuits...

2007-11-01T09:53:00.000-06:00

The busier I get the worse of a blogger I become. Natural I suppose. After returning from the wonderful trip to CA(see last post) I was home almost two whole weeks! Then it was off to West Palm in FL. Work again but still it was nice to get to go somewhere warm as its starting to really cool off at home.

In FL I got to meet several of our clients that TAG has been ghostwriting for. It was great to see some of the covers and media they had received as well! Most of the time, we finish the book and are pretty much out of the process so it was neat to see the end result. We are also going to be very busy as we have even more projects in the pipeline. Good thing we found more writers and editors this last month. While they're twiddling their thumbs right now, the flood is soon to come!

The TAGsters have also been very responsive to the idea of doing their own books and are working on several good ideas. We'll see what comes of the plans. If I've learned anything from the gurus, it is that incremental change is the key to sustained success it's not about making it overnight. We are adding to our expertise incrementally both as contractors and as business owners and it is really building into something worthwhile. Speaking of stuff we've added, see our trailer on You Tube for Picks & Shovels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH0damLPvrg

post cruise update.....and then some

2007-10-11T22:20:00.000-06:00

So, I've been reminded numerous times by those near and dear (and not so near, but still dear) that I haven't wrapped up the Cruise. We stopped in Tortola, but spent an AMAZING day on the boat cause we were too tired after Antigua to get off!!..Then on to the Bahamas... the scene of the "crime" as most of you are aware....when we got married on Cable Beach, they were building Atlantis - actually it was a giant hole in the ground - so it was exciting to see what they did. I have to admit that in the end, I was disappointed. I thought it would be a great 'Bahamian' experience but it's more like Vegas south with a Carribean theme. Since they have no competition, they have few table games with any kind of player advantage (this means NO poker!!!) so I was stuck playing black jack with a $15/bet minimum...forget the fact that I won a grand, it was still a bit on the 'less than great' side. If I were paying to go to Atlantis, I wouldn't - so there. The end of a cruise is always depressing, and the lightening storm in Orlando that soaked our suitcases was a cherry on the top. You don't really think about all those T shirts you buy that are bright red sitting in the suitcase with your precious whites....till you get home and they have somehow mutated into a pink melange......oh my!!!! What???? Were they mating and gyrating furiously during the storm??!!

So then I was home for 5 days........a short stretch in anyone's book. Then I was off to the ranch in northern CA once again for 9 days. Nothing is as serene as northern CA in fall....except for the deer (its mating season) and the mountain lion alerts (apparently mating deer are yummy to the local big kitty population) and the traffic!!! Who hits bumper to bumper at 85 miles an hour on the way to the airport at 4:30 in the morning!!!!????

It was still an incredible week. The highlights of which were hearing Bob Proctor, Gerry Roberts and Paul Martinelli speak. We've worked for these guys almost 2 years now and this was the first time live! I have to admit they were different than my perceptions which was very good. I also got to hear Mark Victor Hansen talk about their new E-book business and his goal of selling 1 Billion books this year (yes that's with a B). It was incredible that the idea that me and Liz have had for the last few months is exactly on target with his ideas. Not only was he very encouraging, he said our goal of $1 Million by Dec 31 this year was a piss ant goal!!! So we've raised it...as you all know....... and asked for a little help from our friends. We'll be in the US, Australia and India in just a few short weeks and our goal is to make millionaires out of every single TAG member that jumps in with us. Nothing like confirmation from the big guys to encourage you along the way!!!

Update from the Cruise #4

2007-09-20T10:58:00.000-06:00

Antigua!!! I have to say I’ve looked forward to today as we booked a catamaran cruise so we’d know if we want to do one with the kiddies next year. I was a little concerned as I’m not a sun person and generally can’t spend more than ten minutes in the sun without getting toasted – and tropical sun is especially brutal. But we were on a large double decker catamaran with plenty of shade. Even though there were easily 60-70 people on the boat it didn’t seem crowded at all. The one we chose was a 6 ½ hour trip where they circumnavigate the whole island, drop you at a private beach to swim for a couple of hours, feed you lunch and then bring you back to the ship. Once they got the catamaran going, it was wonderful!!! The breeze was fabulous and the views stunning. They pointed out the great beaches, celebrity homes (I took a photo of Oprah’s new house) and other points of interest. It was a very fun ride as we hit the Atlantic side and the waves got bigger. Our cruise director was also on this excursion and it’s always a good thing if you see crew members from the ship as they know the best excursions. After a couple of hours, they pulled up to the private beach, lowered the stairs and we walked right out on the sand. They had snorkeling, or you could just soak in the beautiful water – which is what we did. Except Kevin forgot he had his wallet in his pocket so it got soaked. While we swam, the crew fired up the on board grill and grilled chicken and steamed red snapper for lunch. It was very good and was served on real china – no paper plates and plastic ware! And did I mention that it was an open bar? It was all included. They had beer and fruity drinks, then red and white wine was served with lunch. After lunch we got to swim a while longer as they cleaned up and then we were off again. We got back a bit early so they dropped us off at a second beach for a short swim before heading into the dock. All in all it was well worth the $99 each and definitely a “have to do” with the kids next year I think they will love it! We didn’t do any shopping and got back , went to dinner and hit the hay. John and Joella are doing the catamaran tour in Tortola tomorrow but we decided to have our own “Fun Day at Sea”. We’re too old to go go go everyday and I did get a bit sun burned and need a day to rest up so we’re sleeping in…..

Update from the Cruise #3

2007-09-20T10:57:00.000-06:00

Today is the fabulous St. Thomas!!! Kevin bought tickets to the Sky Ride which is a tram that takes you up the Mountain…in the Caribbean that’s anything that approaches 800 ft. There was a little shop and bar at the top of course and we sat up there and enjoyed the beautiful views and the breeze. I also got a great little coral and turquoise necklace at the artists booth. There were three Carnival ships in port lined up and the ship we are taking next year with the kids was behind ours. It is the Triumph and sails out of Miami. After our Sky Ride, we decided to go to the other side of the island to Coral Cove. It is a really neat marine park where you can take pictures of sharks, pet the stingrays without getting wet and play in the tanks with the star fish, anemones and sea cucumber. They also have an undersea aquarium that you can walk down to and see out into the bay as if you were scuba diving which is pretty nifty. Everywhere we went there were iguana all over the place – they are kind of like squirrels at home just not as cute. But they were everywhere. We went back to the outdoor mall at the dock and decided to have lunch at a place called Delly’s bar where the specialty drink is the Bushwacker. It is a coffee, amaretto thing like liquid tiramisu. Anyway its very good and you don’t really realize how much liquor it has in it as you suck down the first one. So of course, I ordered another as our fish and chips arrived. The fish was hand battered mahi mahi and was wonderful. So by the time I finished lunch I was very glad we were within crawling distance of the ship….needless to say we took a short nap when we got back on board. We got up in time to see the ships pull out of port. It’s a very tight fit for three big cruise ships and I wondered how they were going to do it, but they backed it up and swung it around no problem missing the next ship by a mere 50 feet or so. I have to think it must be like trying to parallel park a foot ball field on water but they are very good at it. That night I went to the onboard watch sale and picked up a very sparkly fossil watch for next to nothing. We went to bed early as we have booked an all day catamaran excursion on Antigua tomorrow.

Update from the Cruise #2

2007-09-18T21:23:00.000-06:00

Here is the second installment of news from the cruise….

Day 3- Sunday – Today is our first fun day at sea as we steam toward our first destination of Puerto Rico. I spent most of the day actually working. I plugged my little laptop into the bar and wrote, sipping on the fruity drink of the day and watching the waves roll by. I love that I can now work from literally anywhere in the world and enjoy myself tremendously. Oh, and BTW, after a few hours and several fruity drinks it sparks an incredible creative writing session where numerous new ideas burst forth – I didn’t say good ideas just ideas. Tonight is also the first formal night aboard ship and it was great fun. We stayed up for the midnight comedy show as is our usual habit – cruise ships usually have great comics. He was the guy that has cerebral palsy who won Last Comic Standing. He was very funny. We also attended the Broadway type show that was right before but ended up leaving. I have very little tolerance for so called culture. The seas were slightly choppy but quite fun in my opinion. Neither one of us suffers a bit of motion sickness so it works out well.

Day 4 – Monday – I again worked on my laptop at the bar most of the day. I did venture into the spa to get my teeth whitened. They offer it for $199 on the ship and its $500 at home. It really worked well and took that grey look off the enamel caused by an overindulgence in red wine. We didn’t get into Puerto Rico until 5 pm and we only had about 5 hours there. We didn’t stay that long. There are some wonderful historic sites that I wish we’d toured, but the sun went down so fast I don’t know that we would have seen much. Since we’re scoping all these ports for the cruise with the kids next year we want to know what to do and what not to do so we’re trying some new stuff. One of the things we tried was a local dish called Mofongo. It is basically a bowl of what I thought was potatoes, stuffed with meat and gravy. Turns out the bowl is mashed plantains – which are not sweet and act very much like potatoes. It was good, but not something you’d want to eat every night. Then, instead of a dinner mint, they brink you an after dinner drink called coquito – OMG it’s the best stuff every like cinnamon eggnog on crack!!! It comes in a tiny little glass of less than an ounce and is a wonderful blend of coconut cream, cinnamon, Puerto Rican rum, sugar, cream, and egg yolk – and it tastes as rich as it sounds. WE left Puerto Rico at midnight right about the time we were again in the midnight comedy club. This time we were listening to Happy Cole who was even better that they guy last night. I bought his CD to listen to when I get home.

Update From the Cruise #1

2007-09-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

So we’re steaming along through the big blue ocean and here I am updating my blog…isn’t technology great?? So far its been pretty wonderful – as expected. So here’s the update.

Day 1 - Friday– We flew into Ft Lauderdale to spend the night. Probably unnecessary, but I always have that dream where we’re standing on the dock and the boat has left without me – so we always come in early to avoid the stress caused by flight delays and thunderstorms. Anyway we got a cheap room at a hotel which shall remain nameless and went down to the bar shortly after arrival to get our first drink of the trip (okay not first, but first out of an airport). The bar was a very small operation tended by a woman who apparently has a deep love for cats judging by the way she kept letting them into the back room and feeding them in between preparing drinks. We decided that we’d rather no eat there (go figure) and asked the cat woman for a recommendation to someplace “nice”. She said that the Rustic Inn was famous for its ambiance and was right on the water. Have I mentioned that it’s HOT in Florida?? I mean like HOT HOT HOT!!! Anyway we hop a cab to this well known local place where the specialty includes all types of crab….and the ambiance includes mallets that are used to crack said crab and splatter everyone including the diner with bits of seafood. The mallets also double as congratulatory instruments for when a birthday, anniversary, etc is announced - you are to pound them on the table mercilessly in celebration. This is proof that everyone has a different definition of “nice” and the word ambiance is used rather loosely these days.

Day 2 – Saturday - We, and many of our fellow cruise goers, piled onto a bus the next morning and were spirited off to our wonderful ship – the Liberty. Our room is very near where ours was last year with a balcony toward the back of the boat and its weird that many of the same crew on this boat were on the Conquest last year so it’s like old home week at the bar…go figure. The first evening we got to meet our dinner mates for the week who turned out to be a fabulously normal couple from Missouri named John and Joella. They have been a lot of fun.

5 days til the CRUISE!!

2007-09-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

As I made my obligatory flip flop run today for the cruise, it occurred to me that I hadn't updated in a while...actually almost a MONTH! So here's what's up since I last shared with my fans (all two of you). We leave on 9/14 to fly to Florida to hop a boat to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.

I can't tell you how bad I need to get away for a while. Our group has produced so many books in the last two months that it boggles the mind - but we did it and so I think we have reached a whole nuther level of production capabilities. We've also had some contact with several people that have offered to help our little endeavor in one way or another which underscores the amazing generosity of people.

The covers are done for our first two fiction releases and our nonfiction release for fall is a short six weeks away. We'll be producing a video trailer for our books thanks to more help from amazing friends who happen to have offspring in the video production biz. I'll be doing some editing on the cruise, but I don't mind...its kind of funny that when you love what you do, you also consider it recreation.

Classes are well underway at AC again and we're teaching a critique class and the ghostwriting class. The novel class didn't make, but quite honestly I was so swamped I wouldn't have been at my best anyway - maybe it will make for spring.

The garden is winding down and somehow I still feel like I missed the whole summer. It's this whole working around the clock thing I guess. I have talked to several outstanding people in the last couple of weeks while doing some research so I'll be sending out more magazine queries before I leave on the cruise and we'll see what happens. Right now I'm looking very forward to fruity drinks and no phone for 8 days!

So here's what happened.....

2007-08-10T22:24:00.000-06:00

You all know I quit my job...on a Thursday(July 26)....so on Friday I got a call from the publisher that we do ghostwriting for. They wanted me to fly to California to interview a person who is a personal friend of the guy who owns the company. And of course I said YES!!! So on Saturday I was on a plane to Sacramento....then drove north west about 70 miles to a place called Clearlake Oaks. Clearlake is a fabulous lake second only to Tahoe for beauty.....anyway..... stayed 2 days at one of their lake houses...then was moved up to a multi million dollar Casa for the next two days. Hills topped with vineyards.....great beef on the hoof in the valley (about 60 miles due north of Napa) like Texas only with no humidity....or wind.....or weather......just gorgeous......and this ranch had such a peace about it.....really fabulous. At first I was a little disoriented since I didn't have Internet access and cell phone reception was spotty....like being cut off for the first time in I don't remember when. So after the first day I decided to quit stressing and just go with it. I met the most amazing people and learned much about myself and the person I'd like to be. All while interviewing this woman who has gone through amazing and tragic events and yet run a company for 40 years that is on the cutting edge within the personal development industry. Her name is Jayne.

So after I got back, we were slammed with projects. Australians, Europeans, British (no apparently they are not European - who woulda guessed?) and we're trying to get everything finished before the Cruise in Oct. Not the birthday cruise my hubby and I are going on Sept 15, but a cruise on Oct 6 for business that many of our ghostwriting clients will be on. Sucks to be us right??? NOT!

Anyway we're hauling butt toward this cruise. So I got back from my respit in CA on a Wed. Then the most fabulous thing happened.....I got an email on Friday from a marketing person for the 26th Annual National Credit Union Convention. She had read an article of mine about creating Buzzzzz to increase your bottom line in Credit Union Business. AND SHE ASKED ME TO SPEAK AT THEIR NATIONAL CONVENTION!!! In Vegas! What a fabulous opportunity. So of course I'm going!

So I emailed the publisher of the magazine to let them know the good news and he requested a call the next Tues to discuss future issues. So on Tues, while we're talking about the possible ideas, I tell him about Jayne and the work she is doing. He loved it! In fact he will be featuring her on the cover of the January issue and I will be interviewing her for the cover story. I will also be writing a monthly column for them next year on the field of human development/human potential. How fab is that???? And that was just this week. Stay tuned folks cause it's looking like a wild ride to the end of 2007!!! And BTW I will be speaking in Vegas on Feb 19-22 if any of you want to drop by!!!

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehhe

59 days to my next CRUISE

2007-07-20T12:41:00.000-06:00

Gee time flies!! This year on our birthday cruise we'll be off to the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. I remember the Bahamas like it was yesterday but its actually been nine years! My husband calls it a "return to the scene of the crime" since we were married there. On the beach. In our swimsuits. Not sure exactly what day - those fruity drinks were free you know.

I'm now working full time at the writing, my stint in corporate America finished for good. It's weird to finally get to do something you've wanted to do for twenty years - and fabulous. Speaking of which, I am swamped with Projects but I am also deferring more to our other writers as they are able to handle more projects. I can't even tell you how great its been to have so much good help from the writers and editors. They take a huge load off of me.

Tomorrow Liz and I will be speaking at the PPW meeting on ghostwriting and answering questions about how The Amarillo Group (TAG) works. From a conceptual standpoint its very different than most other freelance or writing associations and sooooo many people are interested!

My friend, Jodi Thomas is back from her hop across the pond and did a little promoting of our ghostwriting book at a conference in England. There seems to be just as much interest over there as here. I also had lunch today with a Brit who is interested in being our UK connection and I think the arrangement shows promise since we have so many UK clients and their needs are so specific.

On the home front, our garden is nuts this year. We're actually giving away tomatoes and it's only mid July! Everything is producing abundantly and keeping up with it is quite a chore - but worth fresh veggies.

The collegiates will be home the second week in August so that will be fun. They so rarely get to come home anymore. We decided that since all four kids were getting older, we need to take one big family vacation before the are all gone for good. Jen's already a grown up, Ryan graduates college next spring, Kaci graduates high school and Kayla will be 17. The only vacation that makes sense to us at this point of course is a cruise. The kids can run amuck on the boat all day and we can still do our thing. We also decided that we'd invite both sides of the family and if they want to join us, they are welcome to. We're calling it the Virden-Burks family cruise (like a Chevy Chase movie with sharks instead of a dead granny). We're planning a tour of the Caribbean (without Jamaica if we can avoid it) but don't know if we'll go out of Ft. Lauderdale or Tampa at this point.

That's all the news for now, must get back to the writing that actually pays!!

Is it summer?

2007-07-08T18:39:00.000-06:00

I hear it is, but haven't really looked out lately to see! Busy as always. Since Austin, I've written three (almost four) books, been chewed out by two clients, loved by two more. Pretty average I'd say. I've been amazed at my ability to ramp up and meet the increasing management demand for TAG even to the point of engaging in administrative overkill (long story). We've taken on two new writers, and are talking to two more next week. Our project load has doubled in the past two weeks and I have to say I'm really proud and encouraged that our existing writers have stepped up production and are handling everything that comes their way.

The last freelance/ghostwriting class is next Wed and as busy as I've been I almost hate to see it end. There are several promising writers who I think you will be seeing in print shortly. I really enjoy the class although more and more people are asking why I do it with all the projects we have. I must admit part of it is just being able to spend a few hours talking to writers who are serious and want to get into the business. I remember when that was me and it has completely changed my life for the better and I hope it does the same for them.

I read a short essay a while back about finding your purpose. That purpose being what you were put on the earth to do. I have to say writing is it. It's something I do into the wee hours, not realizing the time has slipped away. Something I think about constantly and can't wait to get back to. I wish I could describe it better, but it's an acknowledgement that what I've know about myself since I first picked up a pencil in grade school was right. I was born to put words on the page. It is truly who I am whether I am helping someone else complete their book, or working on my own i know that people world wide will read words I've written and hopefully take them to heart.

A recent event reminded me of how short life is and how sad it would be if I didn't spend my time doing what I love. So I've decided to let the weeds grow, ignore the dust bunnies and spend my time immortalizing thoughts and dreams by putting words on a page.