Houston... we have no problems

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Change of Venue for the next few days: HOUSTON

I'm writing today from Houston Texas, where I came with Hubby for the closing on his purchase of assets from a large company here.  This is a hugely exciting deal for us and I could not be more proud of him.  He has worked NONSTOP on this for so long that sometimes I can't remember what he looks like :)

This has been an insanely uphill battle from the beginning- we are talking CLAWING our way up.  Last night I was musing about how he has made this entire thing happen out of nothing.  He has woven all of these seemingly unconnected pieces together... like a huge intricate spider web.  Seriously, it is amazing that it has all fallen into place.  I am so lucky to have such an intelligent, savvy and likable man for my spouse.  Gonna call him Spider.

Texas is BEAUTIFUL!  The city is really cool because there are all the incredible buildings but then there are these AM.AZ.ING homes- no wait- estates- everywhere with these winding roads and huge reaching trees right in the city as well!  

The humidity reminds me of when I was little, growing up in Virginia.  It's weird how just the air takes me right back to childhood!  I can hear the cicadas in the trees.  When I was little, there was an outbreak of them and they were EVERYWHERE.  Seriously, people didn't want to go outside!  I think they were the ones that only come out every 17 years or something.  If you don't know what they are...check them out here. They are CRAZY little creatures! 

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Anyway, I am happy to be writing and working on my book from Houston.  It's a beautiful, sunny day and I'm looking forward to writing and then going to the pool this afternoon.  I'm reading the third book of Stieg Larson's "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" which I am excited about.  For some reason, I can't seem to put this series down!  I have flown through the pages and I'm really excited to hear what happens in the final book.


I was saddened to learn that Stieg Larsson died from a heart attack before any of his books were ever published.  In 2008 he was the second largest selling author and was the first author to sell more than one million e-books on amazon.  I can't imagine putting in alllll the work he did- the books are all really long and very complex- but never getting to see them published.  And not only published, but they became a legendary trilogy.  

I'm the happiest girl today.  Life is good.  Not even a tiny complaint.  In fact, I am just so thankful for all of the things I have in my life. 

Thank you, Houston, for all of the good things you have brought our way.

the little things

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It's the little things that make life so sweet isn't it?  

I had a great day yesterday writing and finished the rewrite for what I have of book one.  YAY!  Huge accomplishment.  That would be good in and of itself.

I have kept what I'm writing under wraps for the most part.  But, feeling like what I have written is pretty good, I decided to share parts of it with some of my family members.  

I do have to admit, a tiny part of me wanted to be taken more seriously.  I wanted them to believe that I am really writing a book, not just sitting at home twiddling my thumbs.  

I have never read any of it to my dad.  Well, I might have read him one part a really long time ago, but it wasn't nearly the storyline it is now.  So yesterday, I had him over for lunch (and a haircut) and I told him I was really excited to share the beginning of my book with him.   I was a little nervous because my father was an english major and is an attorney to boot.  He edits a lot of documents for a living.  Plus he is very smart, and I was a little nervous he would just tell me it was good, but not really seem like he meant it.

So I read the very beginning and he was acting like he really liked it.  He seemed to be into it, but he needed to get back to work.  Then he said that he would call me and I could keep reading the first chapter to him while he drove.  So I kept reading while he drove.

Then all of a sudden, he's like, "Oh  crap!"  I thought maybe he was hitting traffic, and was worried about getting back.  But no.  

"What happened?"  I ask.

"You have got to be kidding me!"  

"What?"

He starts laughing.  "I was so involved with your story that I missed my exit!"

:)

Such a little thing.  But it meant so much to me.  

Eight Years Ago Today

I met Hubby eight years ago today.  I think that's pretty freaking cool.  We are the happiest married couple I know, and for that, I am proud. 

Eight years ago, I was working somewhere we will call Big Glass Building and I was an administrative assistant.    I worked out of one office three days a week and out of their other one, 25 miles away, on the other two days a week.    

I had been hearing about this hot new guy, but it was almost comical how I would not quite be able to see him.  He'd be walking into a conference room and I would see the arm of his jacket or something.  It was kind of funny.  Anyway, he worked on the floor above me at the time.  So he'd been there for almost three months and I'd never met him. 

On the first Monday of every month, we had a meeting with everyone in the company.  However, Mondays were usually the days that I was at the other location, so I didn't usually go.  But that day, they were doing a spotlight on me (I know... that seems kind of funny now.  I dont know any other companies that do that... but maybe they do).  Anyway, so I came to the meeting and they did the spotlight at the beginning.  

Well right as they finish, I happened to look behind me at someone shuffling in.  

ENTER NEW GUY.

Wow, I think.  He is totally sexy!  Mmmnn and those green eyes!  I turn around quickly but am very aware that he was right behind me the whole meeting.  

When the meeting was over, I ran into Receptionist on the way back upstairs.  Receptionist's boyfriend had been really mean to her and they were in a fight and she was a mess.  She asks me if I can watch the phones for a minute while she goes to the ladies room to compose herself.

Of course I said I will, so I was at the front desk manning the phones.  So I'm answering and some guy from our office called the front desk to help him figure out what time it would be in Hawaii right then.. blah blah.... 

So Im trying to remember what the time difference would be when... in walks New Guy.

I look up and muffle the phone receiver and ask him if he happens to know what the time difference would be in Hawaii.  He answers immediately, because sexy New Guy knows everything I could ever want the answer to.  He goes around the corner and is gone for a few minutes. 

Then he comes back and leans his arms on the receptionist counter.  

"Hey.  I'm NEW GUY."

I lean a little closer to him and look up at him through my lashes.

"I know who you are."

At this, he smiles and can't keep my gaze.  He says, "Oh really?  And how do you know who I am?"

I give a little shrug. "You know, the ladies here... they talk."

"Oh really?"  He is captivating and I can't catch my breathe.  It's like time has stopped.

Then of course, someone walks in and I have to handle something.  Someone needs a form or something.  We break our conversation, as if we can't let anyone else know.  He gives me a smile and a head nod and retreats back around the corner.

I'm dizzy.  He is having a crazy affect on me.  Finally Receptionist comes back and I go to my office.

I had a workspace in the same office as my boss.  On this particular day,  Boss tells me that he has someone coming in to talk with him and he had forgotten to tell me to book the conference room.  It's an important meeting.  Unfortunately, all the conference rooms are booked, so he tells me that I am going to have to be scarce for an hour or two.  

This has never happened before, so I decide to go down to the break room.  I'm walking down the hall when I pass the office three doors down from mine.  As I'm passing it, I hear a "hey."  It's that voice.  Deep and sexy.  

I turn, and there is new guy.  Setting up his new office.  Three doors down from me.  

He starts making small talk with me and my stomach is doing those flip flops like I'm 14 again.  He invites me into his office, where we proceed to talk.  For an hour and a half straight.  

Feels like its five minutes.  I have never met anyone like him before.  He is nine years older than me.  He has three kids.  He had just come over from another company.  He lives and hour and a half from where I live.  He asks me all sorts of things and when I talk, he listens.  Like I'm the only one left in the world.  He smiles and is a little flirty with me, but not too much.  Just a hint... which intrigues me.  

I don't find out for many months that after I left his office, he called his best friend and told him that he had met the most amazing girl that he was in love with her.  True story.

The next morning, I had made peach cobbler and brought it in to the office.  Fall is my FAVORITE time of year, and there is nothing yummier than peach cobbler with peaches right off the tree. 

I send out an email to the company letting them know that there is cobbler in the break room for all to enjoy.

Minutes later, I get an email from New Guy. 

"Hey Peachy,

I am out of town, but I wish I could try out some of your cobbler.  If you want to email, here is my personal email address NewGuy@hotmail.com

New Guy"

And that's how it starts.  We begin emailing.  All the time.  He starts showing up at a business class Im taking for work, with ice cream, trying to get me to ditch early.  He made me homemade guacamole.  He takes me up the canyons to see the beautiful fall leaves.  I don't know why I trust him, but I do.  We talk like we have to tell each other everything about our entire lives.  In fact, we want to know more about each other so much that we start writing "Random Thoughts" ... just a 'stream-of-consciousness' writing about anything that has happened to us in the past.  

Things like "This guy in third grade had a crush on me and when another guy liked me too, he punched him out on the playground.  I have only ever had salmon out of a can so I don't think I like fish.  I love to sing and routinely perform.  I got the scar on my chin when I was six- we were playing tag in the kitchen that had wood floors.  I was wearing socks and a chair was base... I slid right into the chair, splitting my chin open.  I hate the dark.  I love listening to the crickets outside at night...."

Our company is full of rumors, so we decide to keep it quiet.  The second floor is under construction so we meet there for five minute 'rendezvous.'  He shows up at the other building I work at with bagels and orange juice for breakfast.  

He is intoxicating.  I can't get him out of my head and the days blur together- a string of moments when I am with him.  

He shows me a song.  It's by Ben Folds, called "The Luckiest."  It describes us perfectly and I can't believe I've found this man.

The words are:

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here

And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

What if I'd been born fifty years before you
In a house on a street where you lived?
Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike
Would I know?

And in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
And I know

That I am
I a
I am
The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties
And one day passed away in his sleep
And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days
And passed away

I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong
That I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

We will end up dancing to this song at our wedding.  

My favorite line is "In a wide sea of eyes, there is one pair that I recognize."  That completely sums up how I feel every time I see him.

After only three weeks, we are at Einstein's getting ready to leave.  We are in our separate cars, facing different directions, windows down.

The air is crisp now and the leaves are all turning.  Its scarf weather and I have the heat on a little.   We really need to go but neither of us wants to leave.  

"I think I'm in love with you," he says and I can tell he means it.  I'm scared, but I say it back, a huge grin threatening to break my face in half.   

We date nonstop, every second we can be together.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for me to figure out something that ruins this whirlwind, and brings me back down to earth.

But it never comes.  We date for two years.  Then he proposes to me on Laguna beach at sunset on Valentines Day.  

I love everything about this man.  I truly do.  It not just something I say, when I say we are the happiest married couple I know.  We really are.  

I know that I am the luckiest.  

Happy eight years baby.  Love you always and forever.

tips tips tips... write write write...

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"Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a black sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead."  Gene Fowler

Here are some interesting tips I found today for writers:


http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/bestseller.html


http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2009/05/24/54-tips-for-writers-from-writers/


http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/nytimes_bestseller.htm


http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html


http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingroadblocks/tp/block.htm


I really enjoyed these in particular- they are the top 10 tips from authors....


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/10-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-two

everything will be okay...

I sent the this to Hubby today.  Closing for the deal he is working every waking second (and many non-waking) is Monday.   He's under the gun, and I was trying to find something positive to help give him a little extra boost of energy.  

Its that moment, right before its over, when you're just not sure if you have it in you to keep going.  Whether it is in a marathon, in a work setting, finishing a book, dealing with family situations or personal struggles... everyone has been faced with that exhausting moment when you are just not sure if you can find the strength to keep going. 

I liked the advice because it helps you remember that if you pinpoint something in one moment of time, it might look like a failure, but if you move further down the road, you realize that what looked like a failure was just another step in your journey that made you stronger.  

It kind of reminded me of the advice I used to get from my great grandma, whom we affectionally called TuTu:

"You will feel better when it stops hurting."

 This has never once helped any situation I have been in.  Ever.  But, it always made me smile.

I love this song and it think if you play it loudly enough when you are stressed and not feeling optimistic, it will somehow seep into your bones and give you that extra push.  

So turn it up!  

perfection....

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Its that feeling. The one where everything falls into place and its like you were never meant to do anything but this. Where you just can't get it wrong and everything fits perfectly.

I had a day like that yesterday with writing. Yesterday I was on fire and I loved every second. Time just flew by and I got soooo much accomplished. That's the part of writing that I love. It really felt like I was just watching the characters play it out- they just did what they would naturally do and it just worked.

I have been purposely vague about my book on here. I guess I haven't really even revealed anything that would lead you to believe I am a good writer or that I can even finish it. I don't know why it makes me so nervous to put a little of it out there. I was reading Kristen Lamb's website (this is a great website for writers to check out!) where she gives tons of great writing advice, and there was a part discussing whether or not to post part of your book online and why we decide for or against sharing our work publicly.

She was saying that often we think that we can't share our idea because its the most unique and unbelievable idea for a novel that has never been thought of before and it would be much to risky to share it. (Her point was that this is NOT the case) Ok, I admit I had similar feeling to that... I do feel like my idea is different and fresh enough that it is really worthy of being published. Not yet of course, but someday.

And for some reason, I feel like if I put it out there someone could steal the idea. Which is a little silly and probably kind of snobby of me to think that its sooo good that its worth stealing. Not to mention it is nerve-wracking to put it out there before its perfect. There is still so much work to be done.

I still feel too uneasy to put some of it on the world wide web. Maybe someday I will feel a little differently. Or maybe I can just hurry up and finish it. :)

So today I am so excited to get back to it. I think I should be done with the reworking by tomorrow and then I will be back to my favorite part of creating new material!

I used to write on here what books I was currently reading until I found goodreads. But I think I should at least mention it sometimes because I think it is extremely important for me to be reading as much as I can. It will ultimately make me a better writer. I find that I am heavily influenced in my writing based upon things I have come into contact with recently. So I am really trying to make reading a part of my daily routine. For example, check out how many books Mette Harrison has read during the month of August! Her website has been extremely helpful to me as well. There have been days where I have gone to her website just to get motivated! Thanks Mette!

Anyway, right now I am reading Kathryn Stockett's The Help, and the second of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl the Played with Fire. I am really enjoying both of them. Completely different genres and totally different writing styles, which is great for me to learn from.

I have yet to come upon a website like mine, where it is someone that is working on a book that has not been published at all. I'm sure there are people out there, and I would be very interesting in finding them!! Hmmmm maybe I should do a little digging....

skype

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So I tried out Skype last night. I know... Im WAAAAY behind in technology I guess. Anyway, I "hung out" with my BFF in Las Vegas for two and a half hours! That's crazy! It was sssoooo much fun!!

Some random tidbits from our conversation that were way more fun on Skype than on the phone:

• We made dinner at our houses together... apart. I made tacos and she made lasagna.
• We both had wine... and Patron shots to celebrate us being in the same room... sorta
• We both did a dance at some point.... just because we could.
• She helped me when I got something in my eye... because if you get close enough to the camera... its like you are right there.
• I showed her a new painting I've been working on and she was surprised at how big it is (thats what she said)
• Our dogs all freaked out at the sound of the other dogs, but when we put them up to the camera, they didn't really get it. come on, who doesn't know how to skype??
• The best/worst part of the conversation was when she was talking to her hubby on her phone (on speaker) and accidentally knocked her wine glass over causing it to shatter and spill red wine everywhere, which made her dogs freak out (she has 4) and then her son came in the room and we were both telling him to stay put cuz there was glass and I was just on the other side witnessing everything with my eyes all wide.

It was kind of weird to hang up and not have to clean up the wine and the glass... it felt so much like I was at her house and should be helping with it! Seriously a strange feeling!!

But, it was really fun. You've gotta try it out if you haven't. BFF and I are going to make it a weekly occurrence, which I am really excited about. We used to be neighbors, ya know, so we got used to seeing each other all the time. If only we'd known that we wouldn't always live by each other, we would have taken better advantage of it!

A toast to Skype... bringing people that are miles apart to the same bottle of wine.

(if that's not their tagline... it should be!!)