Candy Havens
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "candyhavens" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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03:52 pm
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Hey
Come by and see me at http://witchychicks.blogspot.com/
-Candy
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11:51 am
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Wow
I always say this, but time really has been getting away from me. Life is nutso right now.
Hope you moms out there are having a good day!
Around here... Jeff (the oldest) had his car broken into again. The first time felt like a violation. This time I'm just angry. He has a crazy new alarm on there now so hopefully that'll put a stop to it. The insurance company kicked my mom out of the nursing home. Not a good thing at all. Poor dad. I've had a couple of weeks were work was just hard. Interviews postponed, that sort of thing. BUT I had a chance to talk to some interesting folks including Daniel Dae Kim ("Lost"), Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters"), Cat Deeley (So You think you can dance) and some other people I can't think of right now. :-) I'm in the middle of my book, which is always a tough time for me. I think that's what makes everything else so hard. My brain never let's it go.
In the good news dept... My sister-in-law graduates from college tomorrow with her teaching degree. We are celebrating this afternoon at big party. I'm so, so, so proud of her. She's a widowed mom with two young girls and she's had a tough couple of years. But she persevered. Whenever life gets tough for me, I never have to look far for inspiration. :-)
Oh, the diet is going pretty good. So far I've lost 32 lbs in 10 weeks with Medifast. I'm down two jean sizes, which has been really nice.
I'm doing flowers for all the mom's and grandma. How about you guys? What are you doing today? And did your mom ever give you good advice? Mine always has... But the thing that I remember from an early age was advice so much as a phrase "Of Course YOU Can!" She has always, always believed I could do anything I wanted. That's probably the greatest gift she and my dad ever gave me. :-)
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08:16 am
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Cool Stuff
My friend Jennifer Archer (jenniferarcher.net) tagged me to recommend a book. I have a big one today.
The first book, DARKEST NIGHT, in Gena Showalter's new Lords of the Underworld series will rock your socks. It debuts today (GO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!) and I will tell you that I picked up the arc to read and could not put it down. It's that good. The hero, Maddox, may be one of my favorite guys ever. He's so tortured, and broken, and when he falls Ashlyn it makes me sigh. :-)
Here's the blurb: All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she’ll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member – a man cursed to die every night, only to awaken the next morning knowing he has to die again later.
Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments. . .and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction—and a soul-shattering test of love...
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07:35 pm
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Crazy Days
I had a great weekend in Austin at the Nebulas. I met so many amazing people. Seriously kind and generous and so smart and funny. I laughed a lot, and learned even more. I was a little ashamed that I didn't know more of the authors, there were some very popular folks there that I'd never heard of and I realized I needed to open up my reading world a little more. I've been doing that the last few years, but I need to do it more.
I came home ready to write. Tired, but ready to write.
I wasn't around much last week because I was working on copy edits. Nothing too tough, just time consuming along with everything else that's been going on. I'll send those off on Tuesday, and then I'm hardcore jumping into my dragon book. Also going to see Iron man and a couple of other films this week. I'm looking forward to Iron Man. I pray it doesn't suck. :-)
So I miss you guys. Tell me what you did this weekend. What are you reading? I'm digging into Kressly Cole's A Hunger Like No Other. I lost the darn thing and found it when I was packing to go to Austin this weekend. Loving it!
How about movies? Seen any good ones?
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03:21 pm
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Friday Woot!
Can I tell you how happy I am it's Friday? (I always say that.) It's been an insane week. (Wait, I always say that too.) I'm brain dead. (OMG, I always say that toooooo.)
Okay, so obviously I have nothing original to say. Oh, I'm going to be in Austin next week signing books. It'll be at the Omni hotel on Saturday, I'm checking on the time for you guys. Anyhoo... Bunches of cool people will be there, including lots of the Nebula award winners.
You need a laugh. I know you do. So check this out. I love that my book is already committing crimes and it's not even out yet!!! http://www.authortalk.tv
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11:44 am
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Zombie Strippers
Hey Gang,
Check out my post on http://witchychicks.blogspot.com/ and tell me about you. :-)
-Candy
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02:50 pm
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Friday!!!!
It's freakin' Friday. Woot. Whatever day it is, it's better than yesterday. :-)
If you want a great laugh you have to check out http://www.authortalk.tv My buds Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe never fail to make me hoot out loud. And they give me credit, but I swear it's all them. We had so many technical difficulties that night, it's amazing it came out at all. :-) Watch all of their interviews, you won't be able to breathe by the end.
Scary music here.... I got the taxes done. My brain hurts bad, but the damage was minimal. I've never been so relieved. :-) It took forever, but it was worth it. My tax consultant is an amazing woman. That's all I got to say.
Okay, so funny thing. I promised myself if I lost a certain amount of weight I could buy two CDs. I lost 25lbs in five weeks with Medifast... so off to Target I go. Wanted to get Kate Vogel (sp?) found it right off. Then I was reaching for another CD and accidentally picked up Marie Digby instead. Didn't notice until I climbed in the car and put them in. I love her, and Kate. Two great CD's. Two new artists for me. Very fun!
Have you ever made an accidental purchase? If you could buy yourself a little treat this weekend, what would it be?
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03:13 pm
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Dog Poo
I knew when I stepped in the dog poo at 3 a.m. as a storm tried to lift the roof off of my house, that it was going to be one of those kind of days. ;-) Just so you can laugh along with me... I jump up, listening for tornado sounds, and sirens... Hear something weird Parker's room, step in dog poo on the way. Hop back to the boy's bathroom, it's pitch black, electricity is out. Try to do my best in the dark. Wash foot in tub. I want to kill dog (it's the oldest one and he knows better. But I think the storm scared the, um, poo out of him). Pray I have no after effects and head downstairs in search of a flashlight. Get back upstairs, flashlight goes out, but not before I find dog's mistake and make sure my foot is in the all clear. (I'm sorry, there's just nothing grosser.) The youngest was sleeping through the loudest friggin' alarm you've ever heard. (I swear he sleeps the sleep of the dead). When the electricity went out the alarm went off. He turns it off, and is asleep again before head hits pillow. (So not fair.) During all of this, my oldest has to head off to work and puts the little pup in my room in his kennel. It's almost four now, and as I climb back into bed praying for a few hours sleep, since I had one of my bad nights and didn't get to sleep until 2, I hear another weird noise. Pup is puking in his kennel. Sigh. I get up, pull out his blankets and dump in the wash. Realize since lights are out, can't really wash, close lid. Take pup downstairs to his play pen and toss him (gently, I promise) in. Call husband because he's on the road and I'm worried about him. He almost drives off the road laughing when I explain all that's happened. It's almost time to get youngest up, so I decide to forget trying to sleep. Realize driving him to school probably isn't safe since I've only had about 45 minutes of sleep. We decide he'll take one of the cars to school and drive himself since he's legal. He leaves, I climb into bed. Ten minutes later the phone rings. "Mom, I can't get the car to start and I'm at the donut shop." Laugh hysterically, tell him not to worry I'll be there in a minute. I honestly have no idea what I had on the bottom half but I did notice when I returned home that my shirt was on inside out. Parker didn't say a word. So that's what happened to me before 7 this morning, and quite honestly the day sort of went downhill from there. ;-) Sigh. BUT I'm laughing about it all and that's what matters. And after seeing all the damage the storm caused, and hearing from friends with broken windows, smashed cars and terrified children, I realize my day isn't so bad.
What I want to know today is what you to do escape the real world? Play video games, watch certain movies, go for run (you people who do that are sick I tell you, sick.)? What do you do to stay sane. :-)
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07:32 am
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Come Visit
Hey Gang,
I blogged on the witchy chicks http://witchychicks.blogspot.com/. Come visit and share your happy stuff. :-)
-Candy
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09:19 pm
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Fun
Okay, so it was another working weekend at the Dreamin' in Dallas conference but OMG, I haven't had that much fun in a really long time. I mean I laughed so hard last night and for so long, that my stomach hurts. The culprits, Gena Showalter (genashowalter.com), Jill Monroe (jillmonroe.com) and new friend Kresley Cole (www.kresleycole.com). I wish I could tell you what happened, but I can't. Most of it's top secret stuff (for reals). If I talk about it, I'll receive death threats. I've been warned. But it was fun. Been a long time since I've just cut loose. I need to do that more often. And yes I did actually attend the conference, participated and learned a few things. One thing I needed to remember. The writing is all that matters when it comes to this business. :-)
I came home today, (after a quick stop at Ruby's to buy a new pair of reefs (red leather ones), and a peace sign necklace and matching earrings. I needed them. Really. I did.) Took a nap and then sat down to work. I feel better than I have in a long, long time and the words are there. I promised myself if I was good and wrote a certain amount of pages then I could read. I also came home with a ton of new books to read. I participated in the charity booksigning on Friday night. (Sold out. Whew! I love it when that happens). I'm hoping they made a ton of money for the cause.
So what have you guys been doing? What are you reading? When I'm done with my pages tonight I'm pulling out Kresley's A Hunger Like No Other. Gena says it rocks. It won a friggin' RITA, it should rock. :-) I adore Kresley and her sense of humor, so if any of that is in her books I'm going to love them.
And Gena, Jill and Kresley, if you're reading this... Same Ship, different day. :-)
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09:02 pm
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Day Three MidSouthCon
For a weekend that started with a Klingnon, a pirate and sailor, it hasn't been that bad. :-) I had a blast with the folks in Memphis. But man, they wore my butt out today. :-) Started with breakfast with a great group of folks. Let's see... I did a new media panel. No one showed up at first, but as folks trickled in, it turned out to be a lot of fun. I was on my soapbox about, if you want to be a writer, sit your butt and the chair and do it, then submit. You know how I can be. :-) I'm pretty sure I scared half the people in the room.
Then it was lunch with the volunteers and other GOH's. Much fun sitting between Len W. and Selina R. She's what Yard Dog Press is all about and she makes me laugh – alot. I wanted to mug Len Wein for his shirt, which had the Super Friends on the back. He makes me laugh too. No wonder he's a Comic book God.
The Joss Whedon panel was well attended and lots of opinions in that room. From what I gathered, we all think Joss has had enough time away from television. It's time for him to come back with some coolness. There was the world's longest closing ceremony (I only say this cuz it was nap time and I was really, really sleepy. Still didn't get my nap and it's past 9.) :-)
They took us out to the Three Pigs for BBQ. Very good stuff. But the best part was when Kat backed into the pole protecting the sign at the Three Pigs in Charlie's van. I've since dubbed her Pole Kat (She's been the most incredible liaison for me this weekend), and the name has stuck. We made a quick trip to B&N for Bob and his wife to get some books on Tenn. They didn't carry my books. And I was tired and didn't say anything. The guy did tell me the B&N at the mall had them, so I figure as long as the are in Memphis, it's all good.
Came back to the hotel for a short stop into the Dead Dog party. But I couldn't stay long. I'm so friggin' sleepy and now I have to pack. Where the heck am I going to put all this art I bought? Oh, and the cutest T-shirts. Tell ya more about those later.
What the heck have you guys been doing? And why isn't any one posting? Tell me what you did this weekend, and what you are reading....
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09:21 pm
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Day Two MidSouthCon
Well... I'm having fun. :-) People here are great. I was busy today, but didn't really have that much to do. I did a reading, not very many folks showed up, but some did and they loved The Demon King and I, and they bought books, which of course pleased me. I sat in on some of the comic book panels. I've always wanted to write a comic, don't know if I could, but I'd love to try. I think Bron would be great fodder for that sort of thing. I did a book signing with a bunch of folks, and again not a lot of folks. Sat in on the Yard Dog Press readings, which made made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. Definitely checking out their books. There was a Banquet. I'm sure the food was great, but my tummy's a little ick, so didn't eat much. Now I'm starving. ;-) But the best part of today just took place. I was in a room full of Browncoats (Firefly/Serenity Fans) who were absolutely a blast. They had a lot of great questions for me, and some seriously interesting insight into that show. I'm doing another panel on Whedonverse tomorrow and I can't wait. Thought about heading down to the bar, just to hang out, but I'm finally in the mood to write. And I have to get up early tomorrow for something called Coffeklatche.
Oh, and in the midst of all that I bought some art by Mitch Foust. I can't remember if I met him yet or not, but I really like his stuff. He's a local Memphis guy, and well I like those tough looking chicks. :-) And, um, if Steve asks, it was for charity. It was, for reals, I promise. :-)
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08:51 pm
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Day one MidSouthCon
Actually, it's my second day here in Memphis, but the con just began. The people here are so nice, and I'm having a good time. BUT it's all a bit surreal. I'm kind of high on cold medicine so I can breathe and speak, at the same time. ;-) I was standing at the elevator with a klingon (sp?), a pirate and sailor. I know that sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke, but it's the truth. :-) I've seen Mad Eye Moody (for reals dude) and bunch of pretty fairies.
I did meet one of my heroes, and thank goodness I didn't gush. Len Wein, who created Swamp Thing and Wolverine, to name a few. He not only does comic books, but film and television. I totally love this guy and I'm sitting on a panel with him, pretending not to be uber goober fan girl. :-) He's kind by the way, and has a great sense of humor. We were on a panel about super powers, with Bev Hale and Lee Martindale. What a hoot!
I met artist Bob Eggelton and his wife Marianne Plumridge. What a talented couple. Love their stuff. Esp. the dragons.
You know, as surreal as all of this may be for me, I wonder what the kids (that are here for a basketball tournament) think about all the costumes and craziness. :-) They'll have some fun stories to tell their friends. I'm headed down for a meet the guests thingy, so toodles. More later.
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03:56 am
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Wake up everybody!
Okay, so it's almost 4 a.m. and I haven't been to bed yet. Stupid steroid shot. Though, I have managed to get quite a bit done. Midnight I'm lying up there staring at the ceiling and I decide, might was well go down and print everything out for my trip to Memphis.
Try going back to sleep at 1, at 1:30, I remember that I need to write a new commercial for medifast, and to edit my stories. Throw some laundry in, pick up the kitchen, write a scene for my dragon story and several ideas for scenes. Then write some notes on a special book, that I can't talk about. Sorry. Really I can't. But it's very cool. I can share the possible title... While I Slept, the Devil Came to Visit. Or The Devil Came to Visit While I Slept. Anyhoo. Then I pay bills (this is not a sleep inducing activity. FYI on that one.) I look at my stories again, since I'm obviously sleep deprived. Still don't find mistakes, which means those will have to wait until I do get some shut-eye.
At 3:30 I take a long soaky bath. Then I think of more scenes for dragon book. Wonder if I should spray tan again before going to Memphis, wonder how the hell I'm going to get thru this day on the four hours of sleep I got Monday night cuz I couldn't breathe. ;-) Wonder if Carly will get voted off of American Idol. If so may stop watching cuz that means America is stupid. There are two people left on that show who should not be there, and if they stay and she doesn't, I may move to Ireland. (I know she lives in San Diego. But she's Irish and we should show our support.) Then I wonder about the BIggest Loser. I was so proud of the chicks this week. They rocked. I wish I wasn't so into that show, but it's really inspirational for me. I feel bad about talking trash about the first couple of seasons.
I'd watch television, but I'm too antsy. So I figure I'll fix the kids a good breakfast (Jeff's gonna freak when he wakes up in a bit.) Do what work I can and wait for the rest of the world to WAKE UP! ;-)
So what do you do when you can't sleep?
Or better yet, What do you do to get to sleep?
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05:05 pm
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It's definitely Monday
Argh. So I was going along okay for a Monday. Was slammed with the flu this weekend, but I managed to muddle through the day and get things done. THEN I get this email from a listener. She's furious that my books have so much sex and language. Sigh. She promises that she will make sure she tells all her friends what an awful person I am so that no one ever buys my books. :-( She was most upset because she bought the books for her 15-year-old daughter and didn't look at the books first. You guys know I'm the first to admit my books aren't for anyone under 21. I wish crap like this didn't bother me, but it does. I know you can't please everyone. Sigh.
Anyhoo.... So what are you guys up to this week? I keep forgetting to tell people I'm headed to Memphis for Midsouthcon this week. If you're in that area and want to get together to chat shoot me an email at tvscoop@sbcglobal.net. I've never been to Memphis so I'm really looking forward to it. :-)
Okay... on the girly side... I found this purse in the Nordstrom catalog that I cannot live without. Well, that was until I paid bills. :-) Then I decided I could live without it until the book checks come in. :-) I'm also partial to the Ed Hardy glasses with the dragon on them. There's just one problem: I can't spend $250 on a pair of sunglasses. I can spend that much on a purse, but I'm so tough on glasses. And I LOSE them!
Would you spend that much on a pair of sunglasses? A pair of shoes? A purse? A dress? What's the most extravagant thing you've bought yourself in the last year?
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08:14 am
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Octopus
I had Octopus for dinner last night. It wasn't bad. My son wanted it, and I'm into trying new things. I don't think I'd order it again, but I tried it.
So I have something you have run out and buy! It's a candle called Sun and Sand from Yankee Candle. I promise you, it smells like the beach. One of my favorite smells ever. Love it!
I need you guys to go to http://witchychicks.blogspot.com I did something else I'd never done -- I wrote a piece of Flash Fiction. It's funny how I started writing one story and ended up writing something else. Please make sure you comment (makes me look good.)
I want to know something you bought yourself recently that makes you happy (uh, keep it clean. kids read this) :-)
-C
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01:24 pm
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Ya know....
Hey Gang,
I've been trying to take a couple of days off to sort of get my bearings. Life was a little out of control, so since the kids are gone this week, I've been doing some regenerating. ;-)
Spa day yesterday with waxings, nails etc. Today I did spray tan. I've been eating right and reading a lot.
I'm telling you right now-- Gena Showalter's new series is going to pop like nobody's business. It's the Lords of the Underworld and begins with Darkest Night. I laughed. I cried, and I stayed up all night reading. I'm not kidding. I LOVE THESE BOOKS! BUT They should come with a damn warning. I'm serious. You cannot put them down. I was exhausted the next day. :-) The first book in the series comes out in May and YOU HAVE TO BUY IT!!!!
I also finally read Julie Kenner's Demon's are Forever. Loved it! Love this series. The book has been in a sack in the back of my car for months, and when I found it I sat down and devoured it.
Okay, now for a little serious biz. Most of you guys read my books. And you've probably noticed that things that are important to me empowerment of women, stopping child abuse, etc. end up in my books some how some way. One thing that was really bugging me two years ago when I wrote Charmed & Deadly, was what's happening in the Congo. I just saw that HBO is doing something April 8, on what's happening there and I'm grateful. I know the atrocities are tough for us to take, but we at least need to make people aware.
See, this is what makes me just a little bit crazy. One minute I can be talking about spray tans, the next atrocities around the globe. ;-) It's what makes me me.
So I want to know a couple of things....
What causes are close to your heart?
What's the nicest thing you've done for yourself in the last few weeks?
-C
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10:30 pm
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This is what I decided
Good news and interesting news. Good news is my editor approved my book I turned in, and the concept for the second one. Whew. I can breathe. They came up with such a beautiful cover for The Demon King and I, and I really didn't want to disappoint with the words. :-) If you want a laugh... I gave the second book a temporary title (my editor always comes up with my titles for me.) Any hoo... for now I'm calling it-- Drum roll please... Dude, Where's My Dragon? No, no, it won't really be called that, but it just makes me laugh.
In the interesting news... They are moving my mom to a nursing home tonight. I know, she's way too young, but there's no other choice. She has to be watched 24/7 and needs a great deal of medical care. And here's the fun part -- she's going to be in the same room with my Grandma. (Snort.) Trust me, if you knew them you'd laugh. They are both incredible women, strong, stubborn, and just a little bit crazy these days. They are saying that mom's problem is probably still drug related, though they are worried about possible damage from the meningitis. One minute she's great, the next she's telling me about a dormitory she stayed in last weekend at Columbia. (My cousin goes to school there, but mom's never even been on the campus.) Today was my favorite. She made dad call me on the cell so she could tell me she was going to Australia with my Grandma. AND they're going to swim with the blind sharks. I'm telling you she made it sound like the most logical thing in the world. She also mentioned that she was going to visit with the troops (You know our men and women of the armed forces are there keeping an eye on the dangerous situation with the Aussies. You never know when a surfer might go bad.), but she wouldn't sing, because she didn't want to offend anyone.
This is my world right now. :-)
So I decided when I woke up this morning that I was just going to be happy. No matter what happened. Gennell, you're kind of to blame for this. Every time I start to feel sorry for my situation, I think about you. How hard you work and all you have on your plate, and how incredibly positive you and Chris are. So thanks. You are my inspiration these days. I believe people are put in your path for a reason... Even if you trip when you see them. :-)
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09:37 pm
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Okay
Hey Gang,
It's been a wild week. Good things... Had a baby shower for my cousin Kendra and it was so much fun. I've never given a shower on my own, but I learned from the best, my Mom. :-) On that note... Mom is back in the hospital. Kind of scary cuz we just can't figure out what's going on.
I need your help. I'm chatting on romancenovel.tv/forum this week. Please, please, please come ask me questions. :-)
-Candy
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06:10 pm
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Huh...
So yesterday it was almost eighty, right now it's sleeting and snowing. That's Texas for ya. :-) Austin was great, wish we could have spent more time there. The kid, my kid, might just be talented. He made it through to the finals of the Classical Singers competition, which means we'll be heading to NYC at the end of May. (He's bleeding my dry with all this travel. He'll also be in NYC this month and is doing a European concert tour this summer.) :-) I was so proud of him because his allergies kicked in that morning in a big way. He could not breathe through his nose when he went into the audition, and he still made it. The competition was tough, tough, tough.
On the way home we had to stop at the prime outlet mall and check out Calvin Klein and Kenneth Cole. With all these formal events he needs more clothes and shoes. We found shoes and one pair of pants, but his older brother ended up with the bulk of the clothes we found. You wouldn't believe everything we got for less than a $100 and it's really, really nice stuff.
Saturday I was under the weather in a big way. I think the last couple of weeks caught up with me. I felt like I'd been drugged or something. Well, maybe I was. I think I'm overly sensitive to the new Zyertec over the counter medicine. I did manage to read all the contest entries that were due for today, and two entire books for the RITA's, so at least I accomplished something.
Sunday was more of the same. I didn't change out of my PJ's until about 5, and that was only to change into new ones. :-) I did manage to do some housecleaning, some being the operative word there.
This morning I woke up to an interesting email. Someone was interested in the film rights to my Charmed series. Never know how these things are going to work out, usually they don't. But it's fun to think about what "might" happen. :-)
So tell me what you did this weekend. And now that I'm free to read whatever I want, I'm stealing some of your suggestions from last week. Oh... and this week I'm beginning the second Carruthers sisters book. It's the one with dragons and I'M SO EXCITED!
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