March 31

Today the sun is shining. The lake is like glass with small ripples caused by tiny unseen whirlwinds. The pair of Mallard ducks is back again this year. Along with the small contingent of Canada geese that nest here until the babies are big enough then fly North. The sky is hazy blue and smells of smoke. It's prairie burning time and patches of dark smoke can be seen in the distance. No leaves yet. The trees are still bare, except for the buds on the pussy willow and the small bumps on the other brown branches. The banks of the lake are mucky from where the water has receded. Patches of green floating algae push against their edges. It's quiet as the Earth waits for the warmth of the sun to awaken it further. Happy Wednesday my friends. Cheers~

March 30

It's a full moon, spring break, Passover and Holy Week. That's a lot of stuff to digest. The full moon leads to Passover, of course, which generally leads to Holy Week. Spring break is an added bonus this year. So I am thinking of holidays and family celebrations and traditions. I like to watch the new show "Parenthood" on NBC. I like the actors and then I fell for the characters. They are a big family that tends to pull each other through tough times and the funny and heartbreaking situations of parenthood. In this show they tend to get together for dinner at the grandparents home outside in the back yard at least once a week. It's set in California so this seems to be okay, but I keep wondering what about the bugs? lol- Back to subject, do you think about holidays when writing your books? Do you think about the implications of family and friends? These things-yes even the full moon-effect people in real life. That means they should have some effect on the characters in your books. Right?

Just my random thoughts on this busy week. I hope you enjoy your day. Cheers~

March 29

Wow, last week was a mess- I had two March 24th posts and no March 25th- sigh. I posted on the 25th and titled it the 24th-that is where my state of mind was last week. Things are still slow on my computer today and it has been suggeted that a four year old lap top might really be aging to a point of no return. To which I answer- nooooo- I just bought it! lol. Everything is so disposable these days. All I can do is back up, back up, back up and keep squeaking out another day on my beloved HP. Hey, my HP desktop is six years old- it might be slow and running XP but it still does the things I need it to do. And it has a flat screen monitor. Do you watch NCIS? Have you noticed that they are still using the big monitors. Gibbs, I understand keeping the big monitor, but not McGee- the computer geek of all people should have gone flat screen years ago. But I digress, :) All you fellow bloggers have you noticed the new tool bar in blogger? Looks cool- but where is the spell check? Of all things to leave out-spell check is not one of them. Can we take out the line through button and replace it with spell check?  Any ideas?
Cheers everyone- have a great Monday.

March 26

I want to wish a very happy, happy birthday to my dear friend Debbie. I hope you have the best day ever!!

I'm still dealing with slow computers and a work list a mile long, but I have taken a zen attitude about it all. I will fix what I can and what I can't I will let go. The slowness of the computer is simply a reminder that I need to stop and do a mini meditation to reduce the stress level in my life. Perhaps get up and take a small walk or pet the dogs. Bad weeks happen. Bad things happen but you don't have to let them define you. :)

Hope you are writing well and have a super weekend. Are there any Spring flowers in your area?

March 24

The view from my window is one of Spring. Not the Spring you imagine with green grass and flowers, but the spring of patchy blue-gray rain clouds with the sun streaming through. The lake is too full and sparkles around the trunks of the trees on the banks. The wild geese and ducks holler and battle each other. Birds sing and fight for territory. The French pussy willow is in full fuzz while the rest of the trees have barely discernible buds. In the bare branched woods you can see the squirrels jumping from branch to branch. A pair of chipmunks play mating games. The earth is mud and smells loamy and thawing. The real spring is edgy and angry and dirty and sexy. It promises the green to come-along with baby bunnies and ducklings still weeks away. I can't wait. Cheers~

March 24

I never realized how connected I was to the internet until I lost it for so many hours this week. I have mountains of work to do to catch up. I'm not certain if the computer is in the clear yet. I was on with tech support for over three hours yesterday as the anti virus program had a trogan attached- yea- but the good news is I have a free one year subscription for tech support. The tech people are nice considering I bet they get a lot of irate people on the phone. Still I find it crazy how the whole world changes when a virus slips in.
Oh- my next thriller is going to be about a killer computer virus... I take inspiration where ever it comes. :)
Hope your week is better. Cheers~

March 23

My adventures with antivirus software continue. This morning I cannot open my firefox browser. The security systems are still a mess and it took an hour before I could even get on line. Sigh. I had asked for my money back yesterday but they promised me their tech could fix it. (Did I mention that each time they re-install the darn thing goes through a 7 hour scan?) Just in hours lost of work on my lap top I'm into this for 19 hours. It's why I'm reluctant to call them back up this morning. I have a life. I have work. sigh. But I also want a product that works or I want my money back. Funny how only last year this virus protection plan worked well for me.
Did I mention that the tech told me my 3.5 year old lap top was "old?" Sheesh. So, what, you're supposed to pay $600-800 a YEAR for computers. Please.
Yes, crankiness abounds in my world right now. My goal is to get as much work done as I can this morning, then call and get my money back- and, of course, try something else. Wish me luck. I hope your week is better than mine. Any good news out there? Leave me a comment I'd love to hear. cheers~

March 22

Happy Birthday to my mom-in-law Marlene. I hope you have the best year ever.

There is a computer story to go with why this post is so late. As I posted last week, my virus protection was about to expire. I didn't like last year's software, so I switched back to what I had the year before. Oh, boy... Sunday was a 7 hour "deep scan." I was stuck at my computer making sure the screen saver didn't make a mess of the scan. All to discover there were two "cookies." Sigh. Which the program fixed in two minutes.
This morning I logged on to repeated warnings and "bug" panels. After several e-mails I called the tech support. They took over my computer to "fix" it-asking me to stay with the computer to help when they needed passwords. Five hours later, I had to tell them I had to log off because I was chauffeur today and had to make dinner, etc. But, they told me I could call again tomorrow. Sigh. If I'm late blogging tomorrow you'll know what is going on.
And no- I don't have a virus...

March 19

I am once again out of the office and on a wifi network. I love that I can post from almost anywhere. The energy is different when you go out in the world. I know several writers who opt to write only in coffee shops. I'm not certain that would work for me. I am easily distracted. I sometimes will write with music playing but mostly it's the quiet of the office. I know a NYT Bestselling author who writes with CNN blaring in the background. So- when you write do you like it quiet? Do you have a favorite sound track or do you have the TV blaring? Inquiring minds want to know. Cheers~

March 18

It's Thursday already. Wow time flies. I realized that my goal of reading more has gone by the wayside. Even the books I have to read for class have been staring at me from my nightstand and endtables. There always seems to be a more pressing issue--like who got kicked off American Idol. Sheesh. Procrastination at its best. Now that the sun is out, the snow all gone and the ice off the lake, I find all I want to do is go for a walk. Or do outside chores like muck out the dog yard instead of read. I think I have lost my reading mojo. As a kid I'd much rather read than go outside and do chores. I wonder what changed? And how do I get it back? What about you- how's your reading going?

March 17

Happy St. Patty's Day- when everyone is a little bit Irish. How ironic that just 100 years ago if you were Irish in any way you were seen the same way many people see Hispanic immigrants today. It seems the newest wave of immagrant is always the worst kind of people in America. The silly part is we are all immigrants--unless you have Native America ancestors. So for me, celebrating the Irish is celebrating the immigrant in all of us. So- wear a bit of green or orange and celebrate your heritage and Spring! cheers~

March 16

It's Tuesday and only four more days until Spring! Big dog George has come home. He is not well, yet but on his way. He needs hourly care so we set up a schedule. The vet says it is an infection of his gastrointestinal track- who knows how they get it. Dogs put their noses everywhere. Little dog Gracie is having a struggle with George getting hourly food and pills and she doesn't. Her nose is a tad bent out of shape. The doggie characters are so funny. George is clearly an "oldest" and Gracie is clearly a "baby of the family." There are scientists who say dogs don't have personalities- we humans assign them one but I disagree. I think every living thing has a personality and we humans recognize them. Hmmm- there is a story in there somewhere- between a scientist and an empathic. Cheers~

March 15

Oh, it is the Ides of March- beware the Ides. lol. I'm late posting because I've been running around. Big dog George is still in the hospital. I went to see him at 9:30 am- he didn't look so good. All crazy eyed and wanting to come home. sigh. Had to restrain him and push him back into the kennel. :( But I go back this afternoon to speak to the vet and hopefully bring him home. We'll see. School has piled up on me and I am behind. Plus registration for next semester starts soon. I think they took away more than an hour this weekend. It feels like I missed three days. How are you doing with the change in time?

March 12

Big dog George is sick. He was restless yesterday-could not get comfortable and would not put his head down. He did not eat his dinner or his favorite green bean snack. This morning he wouldn't move and refused to eat cheese. So we hauled him to his least favorite place- the vet. They admitted him for tests.
Meanwhile little dog Gracie Lu (boo-boo) is upset. Why is George getting so much attention? And then we had the audacity to leave her home alone and take him somewhere. She is never left home alone! Boy did we hear about it when we got back. And, she says, if he comes back smelling pretty and with a bigger bow then hers she'll be pissed! :)

Aren't pets wonderful?

March 11

Oh boy, I am having a day. It took me an hour to even get on the computer. The first start up took 30 minutes then froze and I had to do a hard shut down and then start all over. Once I did that I got a notice from my virus software telling me that it was their newest update that may be causing the problem-but there will be a patch soon to fix that...or maybe my computer is just incompatable. (Seriously, that's what the pop up said. sigh.) I don't think they want that if they want me to buy another year's worth. *shakes head*
Then I replied to a comment on my Sunday blog and it didn't take. Got lost in cyber space. Sigh. Come on people I have work to do and it's all on line! *frustrated grrr*
On the happy news side, I have my windows open. So, okay it's 38 degree and the bichon is shivering but I love the fresh air and I'll tuck a blanket around the dog.
Tell me how your day is going. Is it simply a bad biorhythms day for me or is there something in the air? (Hope it's just me. But if not, feel free to complain.)

March 10

Yesterday I went to see Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland. It was a great deal of fun. Others have reviewed it as thinly plotted and that the Mad Hatter's makeup and eyes were too bizarre. But I had a lot of fun with the colors, the fantasy and the madness of it all. When Alice asks her father, "Have I gone completely around the bend? Am I mad?" He replies, "Yes, I beleive you are, but then all the best people are."
All the best people are a little bit mad. :) I like that. It explains a lot. Don't you think?

March 9

I find it interesting that the two weeks before I need to renew my security software on my computer I'm suddenly getting all kinds of warnings that this virus or that Trojan has been caught. When the rest of the year is simply reports of cookies found and deleted. I have long suspected that some computer viruses are actually created by security companies to increase sales. I guess that is a jaded way to look at things but the world can be a jaded place sometimes. Right now I have Trend Micro, but I have not been happy with how inconvenient it is when it does a scan. I may go back to my old software.
What about you? Do you have a favorite software?

March 8

So it was really weird for me not to write any blogs this weekend. I've been blogging every day and twice on Sunday for two years. It's hard to let go of a habit like that. What do I do with myself? What do I do with the time? How do I not give in and fill the hole with some new project. Who am I if I'm not blogging/writing?
It all comes down to living a well-rounded life. If you let a thing-such as blogging, PR, writing or work-define you, then you have set yourself up for constant disappointment. Who you are, your worth is not based on what you do or do not do. You are who you are whether you do everything or nothing. Being balanced and well-rounded will put your life in perspective when rejection, illness and disaster strike. So, time to dig out that scarf I was knitting, time to take a walk outside and listen to the returning birds, time to play a game with my family. Unclench the jaw and just breathe. Happy Monday.

March 5

The last time they forecast snow and it started to fall- I went out and made snow angels in the part of the yard that had not been walked on. As soon as I came in the snow stopped and the weather cleared. So they are my anti-snow angels-blessing us with better weather. lol To tell you how deep the snow is here- those angels are still going strong after three days of close to 40 degree F weather. The lake is still snow covered and frozen.
But the sun is shining and so yesterday I made lemonade, put on sunglasses, took a beach towel out and put it on the deck and laid in the sun for 20 minutes. It wasn't bad as long as the wind stayed off you. It was almost like being on Spring Break.
So- how about you? What if anything are you doing to combat cabin fever?

March 4

It's command day- March forth! lol- we used to tease each other about it as kids. In a way it's good advice. Take your dreams, your talents, your experiences and march forward through life. The only way to get anywhere is one step at a time. I am working on the Master's thesis one page at a time. I am doing the spring cleaning one task at a time. And if you look really closely through the snow and ice you'll notice that Spring is coming--one bird at a time. Cheers~

March 3

The internet is slow today. I have no idea why. It is part of the randomness that is life. :)

I have more work to do on my MA pages- I was supposed to work on them yesterday but instead started the Spring cleaning I talked about the other day. Just bits and pieces, like dusting the ceiling fan in the foyer, and dusting the cobwebs from the corners and off the walls. Funny how they all pop up out of no where once the sun comes out in March. Funner still how I procrastinate from my writing. How is it that I'd prefer to be up on a chair chasing cobwebs then in my office doing something I love? hmmm- fear of failure or fear of success. Either way it's a bit crazy. How about you? Do you put off doing what you love and instead find yourself doing silly things-like wiping down lightbulbs? :)

March 2

I noticed that Daylight Savings Time starts up again this month. I believe it starts on the 14th. Just another sign of Spring. Yesterday I took down all my winter decorations in the crazy hope that doing so will make the snow melt faster. I'll let you know in a couple of days if it worked.
Today I'll be working on my MA pages. There is still much reading to do and with so much snow outside now is a good time to do it. Cheers~

Well- that was fun. I just posted this to my Sunday blog-huh. I've never gotten the two mixed up before-lol. Well, now that it's fixed, we'll see what else interesting happens today. ;)

March 1

Yeah March- the month when Spring starts. (19 more days) It's also the month when I start my Spring cleaning. I don't do it all at once. I do it bit by bit with the goal to be done by the end of the month. That's the best way to write a book- page by page. Otherwise the job feels overwhelming and you put it off and nothing get done. So small goals, like write a page a day five days a week. Or clean a room a day. Wash three cookies jars--I have a monster collection and they get pulled down and washed twice a year. One small bedroom or one large closet means that much Spring cleaning is done. It's the same with pages and chapters, outline and synopsis.
One of my favorite sayings: How do you move mountains? One small stone at a time. Cheers~