The Bandwagon

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I know we've talked about this before, bad boys versus good boys. It's been brought home to me this week as I've been watching ER reruns with Clooney - I love bad boys.















But the question today is WHY? What is it in ME that draws me to bad boys? Is it a nurturing thing, a need to take care of these damaged guys? But that can't be it, either, can it, since, say, Sam Winchester is just as damaged as his brother but is NOT a Bad Boy.

Is it a need to change the bad boy into a good man?

Is it a need for corruption? I'm essentially a Good Girl - do I need a balance of wildness?

Is it envy for the freedom Bad Boys have, the disregard for social mores?

What is it in women that draws them to bad boys?

(Let me tell you, I wish I had some pictures of the dh scanned - he was a Bad Boy. Mmmm.)

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A few weeks ago I wrote the synopsis for Something to Talk About, thinking I'd enter the PASIC contest. Well, I didn't enter, but I liked the way I'd worked out the story in the synopsis. The grand gesture at the end is PERFECT.

It's not coming out that way at all in the story.

The hero is a widower who worries that falling in love again makes him too vulnerable. He's already had two crises of faith with my heroine, and after the second, something happened to realize he doesn't really want to live without her.

In my synopsis I have him making another mistake, then making up for it with a grand gesture, but I think three crises might be too much.

Also, he seems pretty determined to have her at this point.

So I'm thinking the heroine is going to have to have the crisis. After all, this is her best friend's widower, and the town already thinks she is trying to step into her friend's shoes. Still, that doesn't seem big enough. Initially I was going to have her mother, who ran off 14 years ago, return here, shake things up, make my heroine wonder if she really ISN'T good enough for the hero, but I'm afraid that makes her seem too weak. Plus, I'm already at almost 350 pages...is that conflict strong enough for a book this big?

Honestly, I had this all figured out Thursday morning, but by the time I started writing Thursday evening, everything shifted.

I just love this book and I want it to be GREAT. I have another grand gesture in mind, but I have to give them another crisis to overcome first.

I sent Trish a gift but forgot a card, so here ya go, Trish! Happy birthday!

















Happy birthday!!!

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As the season winds down, there are fewer options on the Tivo. We're almost down to just one screen, no scrolling necessary. Just in time for summer, and I cut back to one DVD at a time from Blockbuster. Time to break out those bought DVDs, I guess.

What's left?

1) Lost
2) Battlestar Galactica
3) NCIS rereuns
4) The Unit reruns
5) The Office reruns
6) ER reruns (from Clooney days, because, well, it's Clooney.)

I'm looking forward to:

1) the new USA series about the US Marshall, In Plain Sight
2) the new season of Army Wives
3) the new season of Burn Notice
4) the new season of Psych

What's on your DVR?

I saw a pic of JDM yesterday shooting the finger. I was...disillusioned. Hate when that happens.

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The dog next door is a Weimaraner and she keeps climbing up on their trampoline - very funny.

I have to get gas today, and the last time I drove by the gas station by my house, the gas was up ten cents from the LAST time I got gas there. No telling what it is now, four days later. At least I only have to drive to school 8 more days (7 with kids, 1 workday). Even though I don't go far from home during the summer, I'm thinking of how to save money because of gas, and the home electric bill is supposed to go up at least 30%.

I already combine errands - I never go out just for one thing. I have a bike, but honestly, I do not see myself riding it where people could SEE me (even though it's pink!) I could walk to the library and the barbecue restaurant by my house. There will be days I don't leave the house (hopefully lots of those, depending on the boy, who STILL doesn't have his permit.) I've turned the thermostat 4 degrees warmer than last year.

I cooked at home more last week, and since the dh is home this week, he'll cook (YAY!)

We're unlikely to go anywhere except maybe a state park this summer. I told my guys it's a good thing we enjoy our house.

My mom's RV is now a very expensive potty on their land.

My mom and I are seriously considering carpooling next year (hers is the school across the highway from mine.) If not, I'll carpool with 2 teachers in my grade level. (For someone who values alone time, this is a Big Step.)

Have you made adjustments because of rising costs? Any hints to share?

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These are a few of my favorite things, summer style:

1) Fresh lemonade candle from Bath and Body...smells sooooo good.



2) White Tea with Raspberry from Lipton - I drink more water this way!



3) Keebler Waffle Bowls - they're tiny but tasty!

4) My Adirodack chairs



5) My outdoor cooler



6) blooming hibiscus



7) staying up as late as I want/no alarm clock

8) My pink laptop



9) Sour Cotton Candy



What are some of your favorite summer comforts?

Oh, just found out Taylor Kitsch is playing Gambit in the Wolverine movie! Sawyer would have been spectacular, but I like Taylor.



We didn't go see Indiana Jones yesterday - I wasn't feeling well and went back to bed at 10 AM. Bummer.

I wrote 11 new pages yesterday and the book woke me up again! Glad I'm off today to write, though the roofing estimate guy is coming in a couple of hours.

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I caught up with my writing goals this week! And STTA woke me up this morning, and I know how to fix BD. YAY!

Goals this week:

1) see Indiana Jones
2) go to grocery store
3) getting roofing estimate (CRINGE!)
4) get last set of grades turned in (YAY!)
5) keep class occupied
6) write 35 pages of STTA
7) revise 35 pages of BD
8) get to Blockbuster
9) keep up house

The dh is on vacation - should be a good week!

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Yesterday was a TERRIBLE day, including a shouting match in the drive-thru of Starbucks (I NEVER do that, but he almost hit my car!!!), whiny students and NO BREAK, Field Day in 90+ degree weather and Problem Child at full PC mode (and then he didn't get picked up till late because he's been kicked off the bus). I had thought a 3 day weekend at this time of year was ridiculous, but now I'm grateful for it.

I came home, had a glass of wine, which knocked me OUT, and I still went to bed at 10! Today is writing, writing, writing....and watching National Treasure 2 again.

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I really liked Grey's Anatomy's season finale. I liked Izzie and Bailey and Meredith's sister. I loved how Meredith gave Cristina the sparkle pager to get her mojo back. I knew when Alex was being so gentle with Rebecca that he must have done something like that before. Poor Alex. I wish they hadn't made Rebecca disturbed, though. I liked George and what the sister told him in the observation room. I LOVED the ending. I would have ended it like that. But you know, you KNOW how they're going to begin season five. You just have to know.

Field day today, from 12 to 2. Argh. I'm heading to the grocery store for sunscreen and popsicles, then going to get my mom since she needs a ride.

We're getting a roofing estimate Monday and I'm skeered.

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Another great review for Where There's Smoke! Where There’s Smoke Review

We got the TAKS results back yesterday and my kids did NOT do well in math. Over half of them failed. I'm so discouraged. We were working on Math like three hours a day. Only one failed the writing, though, and he's SPED and ESL.

It's been awhile since I blogged about TV, mostly because I spent last week watching the first season of Veronica Mars. WOW, what an addictive show. Seasons 2 and 3 are next on the queue. I loved the overarching mystery of Lily Kane, I loved VM's attitude and friendship with Wallace, I loved her belief her mom would come back, I loved her relationship with her dad, but I was absolutely intrigued by Logan Echolls. What a terrific character. I kind of see him and Alex Karev from Grey's having similar lives (though Alex wasn't wealthy, I don't think.) Very compelling stuff.

So I've only seen the last two episodes of Supernatural once. I'm not sure what I thought would happen, but every time they talk about a big battle, and then it's one demon against our boys...just different than I envisioned. I can't believe what happened to Dean, and while I was pleased Sam was able to fend off Lilith's attack, I keep thinking about the episode in Season One where he was locked in the closet and forced his way out with his mind to save Dean. And why didn't they ever pursue the story about Mary knowing the demon and her friends dying (which is actually being addressed in the Rising Son comics.)

I guess Men in Trees is done. Really, once Marin and Jack got together and the agent and Plow Guy moved to New York, what else was there to tell (though I loved Patrick working for the agent and making the office do things the friendly way). Still, will miss that gang.

NCIS has been saying for weeks one of their main characters would die and that happened last night during the two hour finale. That didn't shock or bother me as much as the very very end, which was similar to The Unit season finale last year. I wonder what will happen next year.

Grey's Anatomy is getting good again. Their season finale is tomorrow night.

Lost is good, but not as compelling as it used to be for me. Maybe when I don't have as much competition for my attention I can enjoy the season finale.

What TV shows have you been watching? Which season finales surprised you most?

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Where There's Smoke got another good review today. I've been pretty lucky. Where There’s Smoke review

Also, I got a Resolution from the State of Texas, recognizing me and my first two novels. Pretty cool and official looking.

I went to bed last night at 8:30 and got up at 5:30. 11 more days....

One of my pet peeves in romance is when you get to the end, the big "I love you" and one of the main characters says to the other, "I knew I loved you the minute I saw you," or something like that. I tried to figure out if I'm just grouchy, or why this bothers me so much. I think the reason it bothers me is that you've just had this story full of doubts and tribulations and worries, and dang it, if he loved her from the minute he saw her, what does all that middle stuff matter? Why did they have to go through those steps, why did they have a black moment? See, I think the journey they travel together is what makes them fall in love. My characters fall in love pretty quickly, because my books usually happen over a short amount of time. But they learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and learn to accept each. The "I loved you the minute I saw you" line smacks too much of predestination, I guess, and while there is that in romance novels, it seems to weaken the lessons they learned on their journey together.

Thoughts?

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First of all, I got another gushing review for Hot Shot: Hot Shot Review

I'm caught up on my BD goal but not STTA. I know what I want to write next, but it's just not coming out well.

Okay, so I'm listening to High Noon on my iPod and reading The Hollow, both Nora books. I have to say High Noon is AWESOME, one of her best stand-alones in a long time. There was this one scene...I couldn't believe she did what she did. I was in awe. BUT I've also been able to predict when some bad stuff is going to happen when she starts a scene in the POV of a person whose POV she hasn't used before. Big fat clue. I don't know if I pick up on it because I write, but immediately I knew that couldn't end well.

And then ending, well, it seems a bit of a coincidence, but I'm not done yet.

As for The Hollow, I LOVED Blood Brothers. LOVED it. As soon as I got The Hollow, I started reading it. But I'm having kind of the same issue with it that I had with the Morrigan's Cross trilogy. You've got 3 men and 3 women working together, 2 couples have already hooked up and you know that last guy and gal are thinking, "Uh-oh," or, "That's what's left?" I dunno. Fox is pretty beta, though he's got some dark spots in his past. And Layla's a waif, for want of a better word. Not my favorite combination. Still, I'm about 80 pages from the end.

What have you been reading lately? Or picking apart?

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I don't know if it's being sick, or taking the medicine, or being the end of the year...I'm just really slow right now. I can't get anything done in a reasonable amount of time. The only accomplishment last week was watching the entire first season of Veronica Mars and getting to Bath and Body Works twice. And depositing my royalty check along with my last tutoring check.

This week:

1) manuscript paper back to WRP
2) newsletter
3) Something to Talk about to p. 270
4) BD revised to p. 110
5) SARA?
6) turn in grades
7) Field day
8) Grey's Anatomy Season Finale (I'm sure the ds will find a project to work on like he did during the last episode...grrr)
9) keep up house (I'm getting better about this)

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Boy, I perked right up when I remembered that tonight is the season finale of SPN! I'd better nap when I come home, because I'll have to wait to watch it till after Lost....

I survived the field trip - the glass blowing museum was cool, but they had a glass turtle that cost MORE THAN MY CAR.

I don't have much going on for my monthly newsletter. Maybe I should skip it? Last month I had reviews and guest blogging. This month, just the Wayback news.

I'm still not very hungry. This can only be good. I actually was getting hungry last night at about 7:30, for the first time in almost a week.

14 more days of school....

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I'm going back today. Field trip. Joy.

I had a burger, some fries and a taco yesterday. Am a little hungrier today.

Found out we won't get our rebate check till June because through Turbo Tax, you don't have direct deposit so much as a refund anticipation loan. So we'll get a paper check mid-June. Sigh.

Got my first royalty check, only...it's made to my pen name. I don't have any id in my pen name!

Decided not to enter PASIC. Too much work. Did write my synopsis, though - yay.

I'm blogging at Allie Boniface’s blog today. Come say hey!

I took the day off again because I had a 99.7 fever last night. I had to slam together some lesson plans....This morning no fever, still terrible cough.

Sunday night I slept 12 hours, then parked on the couch and watched ER and Grey's Anatomy. Today is a Veronica Mars marathon.

All day yesterday I just had one slice of pizza. Thought I'd have leftovers for lunch today - alas, no. Still not too hungry.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Yesterday, I would be up two hours, sleep two hours. That medicine knocked me on my butt. I did finish reading Your, Mine and Ours? and started The Hollow, and got through most of my blogroll and read all my MJ email. Weirdly, I feel guilty about NOT writing, though I only missed the one day (I wrote Friday night!)

Woke coughing at 4, ready to go back to bed already.

This week is getting busier…

1) Still need to write that synopsis for StTA, send contest entry for PASIC
2) Send stuff to online critique
3) Guest blog on Allie’s blog
4) Fill out info sheet for Bull by the Horns (the new title for Texas Forever)
5) Promo at WRP
6) Newsletter
7) Field trip
8) Boy’s last AP test
9) Write 35 pages on StTA
10) Revise 35 pages on BD
11) Keep up house

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So I have pneumonia. At my son's insistence, I went to the minor emergency clinic yesterday and that's what they told me. The cough is horrible - Thursday night I coughed so hard I thought I broke something.

The dh picked up my meds - $70 for cough medicine and antibiotic WITH the insurance! Yow.

The bad (other than the coughing that makes me feel like I broke something) is that I put off Mother's Day shopping. My MIL, my mom and my SIL's birthday gifts all need to be bought. Not to mention food/drink for tomorrow's party. And my contract needs to be mailed. And I need to get to the library for some things on hold.

Then my brother's coming to put in the AC unit we bought LAST May (but remember, he hurt his back. He's doing better but is still too skinny.)

Busy day.

Thanks to Trish, I dreamed about cleaning my house and "culling," as she calls it. But whenever I dream about my house, I dream there's an extra room, and in that extra room there is ALWAYS a Rococo (sp?) sideboard. I've never opened this sideboard. Last night, I knew I wanted to keep it, even though it doesn't go with anything else I have, it's beautiful, but when I went to open it, I woke up.

Sigh.

I also dreamed a river ran under our house. Weird.

I watched SPN and Moonlight last night. Moonlight had the music up so loud I couldn't hear the dialogue. And SPN....I guess the medicine was working pretty good by then because I don't think I understood the ending. If Bella needed the gun, why sell it?

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I got a contract for my Wayback Rodeo story yesterday! She wants me to redo the ending, but apparently all I had to do was say I'd change it and she sent me a contract! Edits will be around July, so it will probably be out in the fall! WOOT!

I have a terrible cough. I need to get to the dr. today.

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The boy had me watching Colbert last night. Imagine my surprise when this was his guest!





He is opera singer Nathan Gunn, and WOW, would he convince ME to go to the opera!

Meanwhile, I'm watching PS I LOVE YOU and Jam over and over. I love my story so much I don't even want to read!

New Supernatural tonight!

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I love my WIP. I do. I enjoy working on it. I even went past my daily goal yesterday and didn't even notice. When I staggered to bed, I was thinking about the next scene.

But.

The other night I had a dream. It was about a couple - and they were already a couple, kind of like the show Standoff, about the hostage negotiators - who worked for the Secret Service or some federal agency. They didn't protect the president, but went after bad guys. In my dream, the heroine was getting ready to back off the dangerous stuff, and she wanted the hero too, as well, and so he went and got a job as a lawyer or something. The last thought in my dream as I woke up was that she knew he wouldn't be happy in that life.

I am dying to see where that story goes. I even cast my hero, after last week's NCIS. DiNozzo never did a thing for me before, but seeing him decked out in soldier gear - GAH. Of course, I can't find a picture, so this is close enough.



Remember, this was the year of revisions? Ha. Haven't revised a complete story yet.

NAL rejected Breaking Daylight yesterday and Kerry Donovan asked to see something else, only I don't have anything else that's not otherwise tied up. Yikes. I'm not bloghopping much, I'm still working on not being overwhelmed by promo stuff, and I have a schedule. I just need to stick to it.

Today, two of my favorite things come out!!!






SQUEE!! If the ds wasn't buying them for me, I would be at WalMart right now getting them.

Okay, I will remain faithful to my WIP....for now.

We saw Iron Man yesterday and I LOVED it!!! I knew RDJ would be awesome!

Already we’re planning our summer Sundays. We go to breakfast and then hit the movie theater. Looks like we’ll have a lot of busy Sundays.
May 9 - The dh wants to see Speed Racer. Urgh. Looks too flashy and weird for me.
May 16 - I know Trish is looking forward to the second Narnia movie, but I didn’t care for the first.
May 22 - Then there’s Indiana Jones!!!

May 30 - I was not convinced I wanted to see Sex and the City till I saw the trailer.

June 13 – The dh wants to see The Happening.


Also June 13 – we’re on the fence about The Hulk. Love Edward Norton, but the CGI is weird.


July 2 – Hancock is intriguing.



July 11 – I saw the trailer for this on the Golden Compass DVD.



July 18 – Dark Knight, absolutely.



Also that weekend is Mamma Mia, which my MIL will want to see.


July 25 – X Files!!! I couldn’t find a trailer I trusted on this one.

August 1 The Mummy – also couldn’t find a trailer I trusted.

Wow, that’s a lot of movies!

What are you looking forward to?

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I had a good dream yesterday, which I’ll talk more about later this week, and a weird dream last night. I dreamed I went to NYC with my dh and my dad and my grandmother (the one who died.) I dreamed we left my gma to check in by herself and when we tried to go back to get her, Marianne Arkins was with us in the elevator, which moved diagonally. We ran into Cindi and her friend Corrinna and went to a giant grocery store and Patrick Duffy was there. Other than leaving my gma alone in NYC, this part confused me the most. Why Patrick Duffy?
We never did find my gma before I woke up. Hmmm.

1) Get PS I LOVE YOU on DVD
2) write synopsis for StTA so I can enter PASIC
3) go see Iron Man TODAY
4) get ready for Mother’s Day/Mom’s birthday. I don’t think we’re partying here, but I need to get Mom’s gift and my MIL’s gift
5) write to p. 210 on StTA
6) start revisions on Breaking Daylight, which means I need to round up my notes, which are in different notebooks
7) keep up house

Hey, not too bad!

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I wrote the first kiss for my h/h over again this week. Those are always so hard to write, especially since I haven't had my first kiss in over 20 years. So I looked at some good first kisses to see what they have that I need to put in my book.

This one from Friends is an all-time favorite.



From Moonlight - the look on his face!



Also from Moonlight, not technically the first kiss, though the first time he kissed her.



Here's Veronica and Logan's first kiss from Veronica Mars.



Sydney and Vaughn's from Alias. That one almost looks like it hurts though - they meet mouth first.



Buffy and Angel.



Sawyer and Kate had a VERY sexy first kiss.



I love Luke and Lorelei, and their first kiss really matched their courtship.



And as much as I love my JDM, this first kiss in Accidental Husband (the kiss in the elevator at the end of the trailer) is not sexy at ALL! He does a much better job in PS I Love You, which of course I couldn't find.



How do you psych yourself up to write the first kiss for your characters?

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Yesterday I got to school and heard my problem child had to have the police called because of an incident on the bus. He had to be restrained and cuffed. He cussed out one of the teachers and is suspended for 3 days. I'd had him removed from my class the day before for threatening one of the students, saying he was going to stick him. Last week, he'd said he'd bring a gun and get two of my students. Yes, he's coming back to my room Tuesday. I'm not scared for myself, but I worry what he'll do to the other kids. Because he's 10, they don't want to send him to alternative school, but he's as big as me. I figured since he's gone today, it was safe to take off.

So, Grey's Anatomy was GREAT again last night! I love the twist with Callie. The last scene was wonderful, especially in light of what Izzie found out. I liked Izzie again last night.

My favorite quote, when Callie asked Meredith and Cristina if they ever got mistaken for a couple:

MEREDITH: "No. We sleep with boys like whores on tequila."
CRISTINA: "Then try to marry them or drown ourselves."

I laughed all the way through the commercial break.

Supernatural was good, but seemed short to me. The monster was creepy, and I guess I was waiting for more JDM. Sammy was ADORABLE. ADORABLE. Okay, one more time. ADORABLE. I think the girl Lanie was on Grey's Anatomy in season 2 as Laurie Metcalf's daughter. My dh and I were trying to place her. My favorite quote, after Dean's end of episode emotional speech:

SAM: "Me, too."
Dean says something like, "That's all you can come up with, me too?"
SAM: "You want a poem?"

Lost was only okay. Whiny Jack gets on my nerves.

Can someone tell me why I spent $200 for a class ring that's 2 months late AND is sitting here while the boy is in Austin? Argh!!

Anyone else remember Kids in the Hall? That's what that picture reminds me of.

New TV again tonight. Jeffrey Dean Morgan will guest star on Supernatural. Why it can't be the whole him instead of just his voice....

I was less than impressed with last week's Grey's, so Shonda has some work to do to bring me back.

I watched the old live version of ER yesterday and wow, was that show good. I stopped watching when Carter left, but that show had punch.

So no one else watches NCIS? The teachers in my unit do.

Speaking of school - TAKS IS OVER!!! We have to stay quiet today because 5th grade is testing, but we're done! WOOT! Real teaching can take place...I'm thinking handwriting and spelling and centers....