Cyber Week

     On-line Christmas shopping may use less gasoline than cruising the malls but I'm  here to testify its just as stressful. I've spent the better part of the day filling out forms, sending off orders, revising orders, canceling orders, putting in card numbers etc., etc., etc., until my head is spinning.
     I shouldn't complain. At least my legs don't hurt.
     And part of the shopping is finished. Only part, mind you. But, really, I'll get it finished in time. I promise. All I have to do is to come up with gifts for four grown men, three teen-age boys and a couple of small kids. Now the kids are no problem...if they were all kids it would be a breeze. (Oh, for the days!) And, I'm sorry, but I HATE handing anyone cash or cards or anything of the sort. I WANT to give gifts. I just can't think of anything appropriate.
     I'd bend and give the men lottery tickets because they could be fun but it would be just my luck for the one who has quite a bit to win several thousand dollars and the ones who really could use the cash to sit and watch with drool dripping off their chins. So that's out.
     Shirts? My husband is a good example. Do you know how many shirts there are in his closet? I'd hate to count. On top of that, he has an iron-clad policy to never let a piece of clothing go, even if he doesn't wear it. He has shirts that have never seen the light of day but do you think he will let me give them away? Oh, no. He might want to wear them someday. In reality, he wears one of perhaps four shirts all the time. (Two are exactly alike and I watch like a hawk to keep them washed.)
      Teens? Oh, right. They would take anything as long as it is electronic and costs over $500. I wish I had enough money to buy five I-Pads because they are all in love with mine. However . . . that's out.
     At least you can find things that women will like. Maybe only temporarily but they WILL like them. Women seem to just enjoy unwrapping shiny packages and exclaiming over glittering bracelets, unnecessary purses and scarves and jackets and strange kitchen gadgets, even while knowing they will never be used.
     Why do men and boys think you should NEED something to enjoy getting it?
     They should watch and learn. Christmas presents aren't about things you need. They're about things that are there to be unwrapped and exclaimed over.
     All the suffering I do? I wouldn't do it if it were'nt FUN in the long run.

Busy is Good (Right?)

     Wow! Great weekend . . . with only one little drawback. A sick stomach that will NOT quit. It seems to be leftover from the flu stuff we all had last week. But I refuse to let it put me under again. I do not have the TIME!
     Report on Saturday's meeting: good, good, good. Only thing that went wrong was no book sales but that was because there were about thirty other authors with tables all set up and selling. I was late getting there and spent all my time catching up with people I hadn't seen for months and didn't devote myself to my business. Gets me in trouble every time. Anyway . . .
     Sometimes I'm a little cynical when it comes to workshops, etc. I've done this so many years it can get old. But not so Saturday. Things were fresh and new. Malena Lott, from over around Norman, OK, had an absolutely mesmerizing program and I came away with lots of new thoughts and perspectives. Great presentation and a wonderful person. Didn't get a whole lot of time to get acquainted but perhaps later. I'll look forward to running into her again. She has lots and lots to offer. If you write, better check her out.
     Then I stayed for the panel discussion on self-publishing. While this is not an avenue I've pursued in the past I know plenty of authors who have. There have been good results and bad and it seems to be like a lot of things. It has to be thought out thoroughly and carefully done. The panelists know their business and had much to suggest. It seems to be a very valid approach.
     The last presentation was by Mary Nida Smith and I was really looking forward to it because it was about blogging exclusively. But I simply couldn't stay that long as we had the music program at McDowell Saturday night and I had to drive fast to get home for that. I know Mary and it was too bad I had to miss her but she has a great web presence. We'll connect more there and I can milk her for all its worth. Ho.
    Then the music was great, I did a (!) fantastic (!) job of belting out a couple of songs, did my 'dooty' as hostess, visited like mad, sold a copy or two of Trash to Treasure, took out my I-Pad and worked for awhile on a short story and, finally, couldn't put off running down any longer. So I bid 'farewell' early to all my friends and came home where I crashed about midnight.
     Sunday morning we got up early and headed out for Miami where we spent unnecessary amounts of pennies in some slot machines. Later we ate a little lunch, came home, took a nap and called it a day.
     What a weekend.
     And all I really have to show for it is the upset stomach.
     Well, yeah. Two paragraphs of a short story.