LA's Imaginary World

Scripts and the Beach and Flat-Bed Trucks…Oh My!

2009-03-19T15:31:00.003-04:00

I have let time slip by AGAIN! And I hate excuses, but I seem to be surprisingly full of them. Let’s leave that all in the past and move forward, shall we?

• April 1st starts Script Fenzy! From April 1-30, you write a complete 100 page script. Brought to us by my NaNoWriMo friends…www.scriptfrenzy.org.

• My sister and family arrive in 2 days for spring break on the beach. I am WAY excited! I haven’t seen her since our Phoenix trip last July and we always have LOADS of fun. Ya know…the kind of fun that makes you want to pee your pants?

• Kurt’s band plays a festival this Saturday, which should be a lot of fun. They play in a parking lot of a restaurant on a flat-bed truck. See, what wouldn’t be fun about that?

Beyond all of that exciting upcoming stuff…I have been diligently passing the time these last few months.
• Finished the first edit on my manuscript and also my agent query letter. Bought the Publishers Marketplace 2009, done research, picked my first agents to submit to….and am now officially scared to death. For some reason, I can’t quite take that next plunge and submit. I know it is because I am petrified. I know there will be a lot of rejections and that this is my one shot at this manuscript with each agent. I just need to get up the courage and DO IT!
• Have been learning the basics of Dreamweaver and working on some family business projects.
• Did a Burlesque/Vaudeville show with the Risque Business troupe. Mad fun! I played the stupid sexy nurse and a blonde actress in a film noir scene. We are scheduled again for another performance the end of April.
• I was appointed to the board of the Showcase Arts Foundation, Inc. – www.showcaseartsfoundation.org. Very cool.
• And many, many other assorted what-nots.

So, that’s it for now!

Faith, Hope, Love-
LA ☺

I Won!!!! I Won!!! I Won!!!!!

2008-11-28T19:35:00.004-05:00

I did it! For the past 28 days, I have weathered the storm and completed my very first novel. Un-freaking-believable! I am so excited and am so proud of myself that I actually did it. I have wanted to do this for so long and it has been a dream of mine to be a writer.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has been the most wonderful thing. Starting on November 1st, I had to start a brand new novel, starting with word number one. I had until midnight November 30th to submit 50,000 words. That meant a pace of 1,667 words a day. And, I even finished it 2 days early!

I am a winner, but that simply means the satisfaction of knowing I did it. I had the dedication and perseverance and completed it. Even a huge procrastinator like me!

I feel absolutely wonderful and can't wait to take a few moments to actually sit back and read my story, something I have not done yet. But I started with an idea and I wrote it from beginning to end.

And I can't start wait to do some edits!!! :)

My next goal is to shop for an agent. I CAN do this!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Happy Holidays!!! Disco!

2008-11-26T09:19:00.000-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Day 14 in NaNoWriMo...New office at work...PLAY THIS WEEKEND!

2008-11-14T09:24:00.006-05:00

I am still in the game! Phew! This was the crucial week to determine if I was going to make it or not. The excitement of that first week is over (the honeymoon phase) and the fatigue has set in. Finding the time to squeeze in those precious 1,667 words every day gets tricky (especially after writing almost zero after a crazy weekend). But, I have made it so far. I took extra time on Monday and Tuesday and made up for my lackluster weekend.

I am currently at 21,860 words. This weekend I will be halfway there. And my story actually has a plot and is moving along nicely. I still have a lot of suspenseful twists and turns to add to it. Man this is exciting!

We moved a bunch of offices at work this week. I now share an office (a rather large one) with our in-house copywriter, Nancy. Quite honestly, our new pad is the COOLEST! Woohoo! We are thinking of adding beanbags and a bubble machine. :)

Tonight starts the last weekend of my current play, Italian American Reconciliation. It is a really, really fun play. My part of Janice is so evil (but really she is just misunderstood..heehee) and the whole first act sets up how horrible and mean I am. And then I get to stand on a 4 foot balcony and yell at people. Heehee...what a fun part! I hope we have a huge audience and everyone enjoys it immensely!

Alrighty...TGIF...gotta get some work done.

Peace-
LA

Day 7 in NaNoWriMo

2008-11-07T16:05:00.003-05:00

Wow! It is Day 7 already in my newest writing adventure. What a crazy week! Before I elaborate, here are the stats:

NaNoWriMo goal for Day 6 (to finish 50,000 in 3 days): 10,002
My current word count: 10,945

I am 20% of the way there!!! Woohoo!

Thank goodness I had stockpiled some words on the weekend, because I needed that extra padding!! I have at least been able to complete a minimum of 1,000+ a day...but not always the required 1,667.

My play, Italian American Reconciliation, opens tonight. So, every night this week I have been at play practice. And then, after that is when I start my writing. it has been crazy and I am a little bit tired..but MAN...IT IS REWARDING! Over 10,000 words in 6 days???? I am so happy. And it isn't just a rambling of 10,000 words, it actually has a story line! :)

My thought process has the story divided in thirds...so in about another 5,000 words I will make the move to my first story turn...and oooooooo...the last third is going to be REALLY good!!! This first 10,000 has been really easy. It has flowed right out, but I have a feeling that it is going to start getting a little harder.

But, I can do it! :) And in the process, I will dazzle everyone with my theatrical talents (HA!)

Later-
LA :)

Day 2...Still Going Strong!

2008-11-03T13:52:00.003-05:00

After my first 48 hours as an official NaNoWriMo novelist...I completed 5,137 words. Yeah! I was hoping to get in another 1200 words so that I could complete 4 days worth of goals (to stockpile for the week), but I felt like going to bed instead. I know, I know...sleep will eventually need to take a back burner as the rest of the month entails.

So far...so good. Even though K has band practice so I am on my own to pick up the girls from school, get dinner and homework completed and then be at play practice from 7-9pm...I still feel confident that I will gt my required 1,667 words in for the day.

:)

50,000 Words in 30 Days!

2008-11-01T23:43:00.002-04:00

I am soooo excited because NaNoWriMo started today. Well, actually I started writing at midnight so it seems like it is the 2nd day. Here is the scoop:

National Novel Writing Month - write a 50,000 word (approx. 175 page) novel in 30 days from November 1-30th. Woohoo!

You may be thinking, ARE YOU CRAZY? While the answer is still negotiable, it can be done...even with a full-time job, a busy family and other responsibilities (like, um, the play I am in that opens in 6 days). But the point of this amazing experience is actually setting a goal and a deadline and completing it. As long as I record 50,000 before midnight on November 305y, I win. A prize? Money? A publishing deal? Nope, none of those. But the satisfaction of knowing that I did it. Knowing that if I set my mind to it, I can accomplish it. Even with all of the other crazy and stressful things in my life.

So, my goal for the next 30 days (well...29 now) is Quantity not Quality (editing starts in December). I came up with an idea and started with that. We will just have to see where it goes. It was kind of funny, because I wasn't quite sure which direction I should go in...should I stick with my chick lit genre that I have been writing in? Or do something totally different? Well, I decided to go with the latter. Let's see what happens!

I need to write 1,667 words a day to complete the goal. So far for day one I have 3,116. I realize I better stockpile as many words as I can on the weekends. :)

Oh, Jess and Laine are also writing this month in the Young Writers division. Jess is doing 4,000 words (134 words a gay goal) and Laine is doing 15,000 words (500 words a day).

I am very, very, very excited at this point and cannot wait to see what the result is at the end of the month. This might finally be what makes me finish something. Woohoo!

Off to bed.

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Happy October!

2008-10-13T11:05:00.001-04:00

October is my favorite month.

Up to about 10 years ago, I loved it most because it was my birthday month. And I actually used to LIKE my birthday. But, that is the past. Let’s leave it there. Now I love it because the weather turns a little cooler, the fall decorations are awesome, my pumpkin candle smells yummy and it is the excitement of my daughter’s birthdays’ (although E’s is Nov 3rd…it is SO darn close).

This past weekend was spent at my town’s Oktoberfest celebration. What fun! It is the size of the fair from my childhood, and my girls’ had a blast riding all the rides. And, when the German band started playing and everyone was walking around with giant boots of beer, it made me giggle. Good times.

Way, way back were the days of football games in October. I can still remember cheering at games and having to wear gloves and sweat pants. Brrrrr. ☺

October is also the wacky fun and craziness of Halloween. Always a good party and a good time had by all. I will take my girls’ trick or treating around the neighborhood again this year. Tradition.

It was last October that I chopped my hair off and got my new haircut. I still like it…but am ready for longer hair again. I still have that mentality that your hair gets shorter as you get older and I still don’t want to accept that. Although, I can finally say my age now, I still pause and take a big gulp…but I can say it. Good thing, because 2 weeks from today I will be one more year older. Sigh.

Older. Older. I have been told that this should be the best time of my life. I have lived and learned and should be in a secure place. Who am I kidding? I still have a bajillion goals and dreams that I am not that much closer to making happen. But I have learned a lot…and I have a lot of “wish I could do-overs”. I try not to dwell on them. Instead, I keep coloring my gray hairs and slathering on my wrinkle cream.

Let’s just celebrate the beautiful month of October.

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Another One Bites the Dust....

2008-09-14T21:52:00.003-04:00

Another weekend, that is.

How sad. All week long, I get so excited about the weekend. A time to get things done around the house, time to play with my family, time for "me". But, here it is, Sunday night and I don't feel that I achieved much of anything. Yes, we did grocery shopping. Yes, I got in 3 loads of laundry and ran the dishwasher twice. Yes, my daughters and I went for a walk, a bike ride and swimming today. And yes, I even got a couple of short naps in...but I still don't feel like I accomplished anything.

Sigh.

Sunday nights are always a time of regret for me. I had such high hopes on Friday, but pretty much did not get to check off much of my list. And the week for us flies by with almost nothing getting done. So, now I will fall into bed in another hour, read for a bit and then dream of how I can't wait for the weekend.

Viva the weekend!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Elvis?

2008-09-08T22:03:00.000-04:00

Well...I just returned from my first trip to Las Vegas. Unfortunately, it was a work trip, so I didn't really get to enjoy the city too much. Dang! My goal before arriving was to be able to find Elvis and also see some "working girls" (if you know what I mean). While I am sure I was probably oblivious to many of these "girls", and heck maybe even a plain-clothed Elvis too, I came back empty-handed on both accounts.

I did learn the basics of Craps, when to double down and how quick the Roulette wheel can bring you fortune...but I observed all of those from afar. You see, being someone with very little money, the thought of gambling scares me to death. So, me and my $3 spent a lovely night at the penny slots. The thrill of the ching-ching bling-bling was still quite exciting. Oh, and the 99 cent margarita on Fremont was quite tasty!

My work had me reporting in at 5:30am on some days and at work events until midnight, so I was a tired puppy. Especially also trying to get used to that 3 hour time difference.

So, I am hoping someday to take my hubby out there on a well-deserved vacation where we can have the time of our lives!

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Fay is FAY-bulous!

2008-08-18T21:36:00.002-04:00

Well...just sitting around waiting for little ol' Tropical Storm Fay to come a' knockin'. Or I guess that should be come a' blowin'. Anywho, looks like she may avoid the Tampa Bay area altogether, so no worries, right? Hmmm...I also thought I was avoiding a guy named Hurricane Charley 4 years ago and ended up driving 4 hours to Orlando (ummm..you may say "it doesn't take 4 hours to drive to Orlando"..and I will say, "well, duh, but everyone was going there") and right into the so-called eye of the hurricane. Long story, but after my Charley experience, I just don't seem to have too much panic regarding a Tropical Storm.

So, even though the 1st day of school has been canceled, and my husband's work is officially closed down, it will be a normal work day in LA's life.

Bummer. I was really hoping to sleep in and get some laundry done (seriously, I am WAY behind on laundry).

Faith Hope Love-
LA :)

Irish Pub Theater! Oh My Lucky Charms!

2008-08-13T13:52:00.001-04:00

Well, this Irish Pub Theater is becoming old hat now!!! 2nd time is a charm. Actually I think I enjoyed the 1st time better...because this time my scene was LAST (I was told it was because of the old "let's save the best for last"...hmmmm, maybe now that I think about it...maybe she was LYING), and by the time it came around (like 2 hours later) the place had lost about 1/2 of the crowd. I was bummed. I wish we could have went on in the 1st set. Nonetheless, it was still good and funny and included A LOT of ad-libbing! Let's just say that my scene included:

*a chair that squeaked like a fart when sitting on it
*a scene partner who forgot lines
*a scene partner who starting choking on a french fry (I really think it was a ploy just to cover up the fact that he forgot his lines...a COVER UP)

But, I was praised by many for my ad-libbing skills...so, kudos to me! HA! Oh, btw, it was the opening car/cafe scene from When Harry Met Sally. Fun stuff. I love Meg Ryan.

On another note, my new-found acting friends are also wannabe writers like myself! Woohoo! It is great when you find a group of people that you have common interests. It is such a nice feeling to have a social life and FRIENDS! HAHA! Anyway, this weekend we are having a writer's group meeting...SCAT...and I am invited! I submitted my first chapter of The Cross Country Adventures of Ann and Beth. I am nervous to get their feedback/constructive criticism...but know it will be worth it. Hopefully it will give me that KICK IN THE BUTT that is SOOOOOO needed (no further comments on that right now...).

Okay my leprechaun friends...until next time!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Freaky-ness in the Park

2008-07-18T23:13:00.002-04:00

Today was quite the Freaky Friday! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!) My theater group did Theater in the Park tonight. My daughters did scenes from their kids play, which debuted last weekend. And then my gorg-e-ou-so daughters (E-12 and J-8) and I did a scene from Freaky Friday. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone really loved it. It was also quite the family affair, because my talented hubby was the sound man who pimped us out with tons of sound equipment and made us sound wonderful (even the howling wind).

Having fun, fun, fun with the theater group! Up next, the library performance where I do a dramatic monologue from Wisdom of Eve. Kind of a challenge for me...because, well, it is dramatic. I am much more comfortable playing the goofy parts. :) but, it is all good and I am enjoying it mucho!

Alrighty, I certainly hope I change back into my own body by tomorrow morning...heehee!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Anyone Know a Good Agent?????

2008-06-25T15:20:00.004-04:00

Yeah, I expect to be signing a contract any day now. LOL! Last night was my acting debut at Flanagan’s Irish Pub. It was a quaint little event, but the place was packed. I have joined my community theater group and can I say that I am having a simply FABULOUS time? I have been told by some (and I am not modest at all..heehee) that I am a “natural” and have “it”. Too funny…but again, lots of fun.

Anywho…I did a monologue last night from the play listed below. I learned it in 1 ½ weeks. Here it is (but much more energetic when I did it..heehee):

SCUBA LESSONS

A monologue from the play by Joseph Zeccola

KELLY: Did you ever wake up and know it was gonna be your day? I did. Today. First time. I woke up five minutes before my alarm went off. The sun was shining, the birds chirping, I felt warm all over and then... ... I read my horoscope. “Today is your day!!! What you dreamed about becomes real. Romance figures prominently. Musical notes involved.” Okay--I don’t get the musical notes thing either--but that’s not the point. The point is it said today is my day. And it has been--all day!!! I got on the scale--I was five pounds thinner, and that was after getting out of the shower. On my way out the door, my manager tells me he’s going to fix the broken closet in my apartment I reported six months ago. Normally I wouldn’t believe it, because I have rotten luck. But I’ve had this feeling all day. And that’s leaving out the best part of my horoscope: “Romance figures Prominently.” [She looks around the cafe.] He’s not here yet. Martin. My date. Actually it’s a blind date. Both Dan and I have blind dates tonight. Which would normally scare me. To tell the truth I was terrified. Until this morning. I know, I know--what are the odds of finding Mr. Right on a blind date? I mean, someone who would count on that is an optimist, at best. At worst ... well--let’s not go there. I’m being an optimist. I have faith. You know my luck is actually worse with men. Until recently I’ve been convinced I have bad guy-karma. Which is why I told Dan to meet his date here, too. I had a friend at work set us up. Raul. He’s gay. We decided to meet our dates at the same place just in case they were ugly. If I knew my day was gonna be like this, I would have told him to fend for himself. [Notices a mug on the merchandise rack. She picks it up.] Do you see what I mean?!! This is my favorite painting on this coffee mug. I was in here two days ago and they didn’t have this mug. This is like some giant cosmic accident. It’s fate. Did I tell you I found a parking space in less than five minutes. My favorite painting. "The Scream." Dan says only freaks like that painting. I think only tactless jerks call their friends freaks. [Looks over to DAN and RAYNE.] It looks like the jerk’s doing okay so far. He hasn’t pissed her off yet. She looks okay. Seems a little thin for Dan though. He’s Italian, they like those buxom women. Or at least he does. And he thinks he speaks for every guinea on the planet. He doesn’t like it when I call him a guinea. [Short pause] Guinea. Oh. That’s Dan. He likes me. But we’re not. No. I mean he’s sweet. We always do stuff like this together. Well not like this. We do things. We go to the movies. We go for walks--in the park or mountains. Sometimes we even hold hands. Sometimes we come here and get coffee. Well he gets coffee. I don’t like coffee. Or tea. Actually I hate tea; but, we’re just friends. It’s hard to explain. Dan and I ... ... we just--we wouldn’t get along. We bicker constantly. Dan calls me the ex-wife he never wanted. I call him evidence to the need for artificial insemination. [Pause.] He’s really not that bad. He’s just that bad for me. Dan just needs to find a woman who isn’t annoyed by him. And who isn’t meeting her soulmate tonight.

You are impressed, right? HA! This whole theater thing has been taking up a lot if my evenings, and I do still have that other small thing I need to accomplish. What was that?? I know there is something…Oh yeah…WRITING A BOOK by the end of summer.

I need to get cracking on that.

Until then…break a leg.

Faith Hope Love-
LA ☺

Ballerina Girl

2008-06-13T15:36:00.003-04:00

What was your dream profession when you were growing up? I wanted to be a ballerina…despite the fact that I never took a dance class and quite honestly probably had a zero chance of being any good as a ballerina. But, I used to dance around my room and dream. When I went off to college, my freshman year I took my one and only ballet class. Ummm….I wasn’t very good. I blame it on the fact that I was 18 and not 6. Although I did take jazz class the next year and really got into that. But, that was it. I am now a "not-so-thirty-something-anymore-really-short-legged-wannabe-dancer”.

And, yes, I think I can dance.

I love that show. Mia Michaels is an awesome choreographer. I love all her pieces and wish I could conform my body into those odd configurements. She has so much emotion in all of them.

I think I have enough passion and creativity that I could have been a choreographer. Well, that is if I were a trained dancer. Heehee…

But, ya know…Kat Deeley has zero dance experience. I could definitely be her. A very short version of her…and no accent.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Faith Hope Love-
LA ☺

Short and Sweet (like me...heehee)

2008-06-10T16:43:00.003-04:00

Yep…let’s make this one short and sweet (and see how short I look beside her????). I promise I will write more later to make up for my 6 weeks absence. Wow! What a slacker I am.

I have been busy. (Excuse)

The end of the school year was crazy. (Another excuse)

My husband is starting a new band. (What does that have to do with me? Excuse)

Work has been crazy. (Excuse excuse excuse)

I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. I am unmotivated. (That’s more like it! Take some accountablility!)

That’s about all I can say.

More to come…but here are the past 6 weeks highlights:

• It is officially summer vacation – the girls’ are now in 7th and 3rd grades….yikes!
• K quit his current band and is forming a new rockin’ band…exciting!
• Work really is busy and I have assumed some additional responsibilities…ugh!
• I have joined my local community theatre group and am having a blast…YEAH!

I haven’t advanced much on my book. But, I have set a new goal of finishing it by end of summer break. 10 weeks and 20,000 words! I wrote 820 yesterday at lunch, so that is a good summer start. Still a long ways to go though.

Sigh.

Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly.

Faith Hope Love-
LA ☺

Monday Morning Heebie Jeebies...

2008-04-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

Do you believe in signs?

My lovely Monday morning started off with a bang this morning. I have to believe that it was testing me in some sort of a way. A decision-making exercise? Learning how to simplify and slow down? Patience?

Let’s see, I got up at 6:09am (thanks to one hit of the snooze button) and headed into the bathroom to do my morning “release” and heard a noise. To me, the distinct sound of “something” falling. Yes, I just knew what it was. I opened the shower curtain, and sure enough was greeted by an antennae-waving palmetto bug wishing me a good morning while he was hanging upside down on my back scrubber.

Hmmm…decision-making time. What the heck do I do? I HATE these bugs. If you live anywhere in the south, you know what I am talking about. But they are inevitable. They are part of our tropical environment. Also, they can run really fast and have been known to fly through the air…so not always the easiest to conquer. So, fast decision-making on my part, I slowly lifted the brush off the shower rack and moved it towards the toilet. My friend seemed unfazed and kept waving at me the whole time.

Thump! I whack him into the toilet and do a quick flush. Well, that little stinker got to the safety of the side of the bowl right before the final water went down and went to hang out under the rim. So I stood there and watched. And waited. What should I do? Get out the toilet brush? Instead, he finally ventures out and takes a stroll around the bowl. FLUSH! I send him swirling, again, to sewer heaven and this time he finally makes his exit. But I still stand there and stare into the bowl…wondering if, by chance, he would enter again doing a backstroke. I finally decide to hit the shower (although you can bet that I will look into the bowl every time I go to the bathroom now…just in case).

Let’s move ahead. I am now freshly out of the shower and head into the kitchen and flip the light switch on. Due to my recent incident, I decide to do a quick glance around the room (the whole turning on a light in the room makes the ugly bugs scamper). Nothing. So, I fill my animals food bowls, which consists of me going in and out our laundry room door approximately 3 times. But, as I go to push the door open the 4th time to get the ironing board…BOOM...right there at eye level is a relative of my latest sewer friend. Um, where was he like 30 seconds ago? Needless to say, I am shocked and disgusted and ugh…I hate those bugs.

Again, what do I do? They run fast. They give me the heebie jeebies. I grab one of K’s sandals and I give a whole-hearted thump. And, by golly, he falls to the floor. Well, to make sure he isn’t playing opossum (we have had a really, truly dead opossum in our backyard though and it was the most DISGUSTING thing…anywho…), I gave him 3-4 extra thumps on the floor just to make sure.

So, needless to say, that was a grand start to my morning. My husband will try to beat me though with his story of how a big venomous snake chased him yesterday…but I will let him have the honors of that.
Anywho…I think I started the week off with some good decision-making skills and should be ready to face the week with high expectations. Or maybe, events will happen this week that will make my skin crawl. But let’s be optimistic! Woohoo! I am a leader! I can make decisions! I can take care of myself!

Faith Hope Love-
La ☺

The Seven Year Itch...

2008-04-17T10:28:00.001-04:00

It is a cliché that has been known to occur. Many people experience it in their marriage. Well, unfortunately (or fortunately?), my husband and I experience it in our location. We seem to be on a cycle.

Let’s review:
• Seven years in Orlando
• Seven years in Indiana

And now we are back in Florida. For seven years?? Well, when we relocated this time, we promised that this is it. We are back in Florida. This is where we want to be. No more moving. This is it.

Deep in my heart, I want to say yes. I want us to settle down and create strong friendships and ties to our neighborhood and cute little town. I want my girls’ to actually stay in a school for longer than a year.

But I can’t make any promises. I am fickle in that way. I get bored. I want more. The grass is always greener. The many what-if’s out there…

We have been in the Tampa Bay area for almost 4 years now. On the positive side, I am mostly pleased. I love the beach…I love the water…I love the warmness. I have a cool job where I can wear shorts and flip-flops, and I am surrounded by incredibly creative people. We have Disney annual passes. My husband is able to play music, albeit not quite full-time like he would desire (yet!). And my youngest daughter has been at the same elementary school for 2 years now (my oldest has been in 5 different schools in 5 years…although next year will be a 2nd year at one school).

On the negative side, the housing is incredibly expensive. Our escrow has grown $400 in the 2+ years we have owned our house. My husband had to take a 50% cut in pay for us to live here. Financially, it is really rough. Also, we don’t have the great neighborhood like we had up North with the cul-de-sac and all the kids driving around their Barbie Jeeps. My oldest doesn’t have any friends in our neighborhood because of our wacky school system.

And I always have that “the grass is greener” mentality. I don’t know if it is because I am such a dreamer??

Who knows what the future holds. All I know is there is no way I am giving up my dreamer mindset. That is what keeps me sane and motivated.

Next stop????? Austin, TX???

Faith Hope Love,
LA ☺

Ride the Wave!

2008-04-16T10:36:00.002-04:00

Obviously I go in waves. I get on a huge kick that I am gong to write, write, write. And I do. And then the sea calms down and I have a dry spell where I go for weeks without writing a darn thing. Go! Go! Go! Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

It makes me angry at myself, because I know what is inside me and the goals I could reach if I just had enough discipline to do it. Come on, quite honestly, a mere 500 words a day would only take me about ½ hour in actuality…but I guess it is more the inspiration and drive that I need to maintain.

I have an outline for my book. I know the events that are going to happen (and with the wonders of cut and paste and can change those up as much as I like). So, it is not like I don’t know “what” to write. It is more like I need the motivation to write.

Okay, I have motivation. My motivation is to complete my book(s) and to get them published and possibly have a comfortable career as a writer. That is my end-goal. My dream. My undying motivation.

So, what is the problem? I obviously am looking at it at this point as a “job” and I need to stop doing that. I think that is what puts the kibosh on my motivation. I am already at work ALL day, then I come home and work (dinner, chores, helping the girls’ with homework, etc). I want “my” time, which unfortunately usually consists of sitting in front of the TV.

Sigh.

So, here is my challenge to myself. Change my mindset of writing as a “job”. It is a tool at this point that could possibly be made into a “career”. I need to write daily. Something. Anything. Even if it is a post n this blog, at least I am getting into the writer mindset.

1. Write something every day
a. Blog post
b. Book
2. Complete a minimum of 2,000 words a week in my book

I still love waves. They are one of the reasons I live in Florida. But, I would much rather live my dream of being a writer and taking my laptop to the beach to listen to the waves while I write than be the wave myself.

Live the dream.

Faith Hope Love-
LA ☺

I would rather be golfing...

2008-03-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday! Happy Good Friday!

I am slaving away at work today, while my main man is still asleep in bed. Poor him. Since he has a day off all to himself, we thought he should have a K Day! Which he declined, because he said it would be too expensive. When I asked what his expenses would be…he declined to answer. Uh huh… Now I will get the guilt trip forever about how he didn’t get K Day…but I got LA Day! I think I will text him now and tell him to go golfing…

So, I was able to get in my required 500 words yesterday. Unfortunately I have fallen short for the other days of the week. But, I need to remember that “stick to one goal” and REALLY get it done. I am close to 13,000 words. I think I can…I think I can…

We have a “no band zone” weekend, which means we can actually go check out some live music in our area. It also means I can actually get to bed at a reasonable time.

Later.

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Trying to be Zen...

2008-03-20T09:07:00.002-04:00

Hey, Hey, Hey! It has been a crazy, busy week! More so than usual. YAWN!

Been a groupie with the band…hanging on the beach with my sister and her family…celebrating with bearded leprechauns…updating the Music Zen blog…trying to clean my house and be a mom. Oh, and work. Oh, and wait…I am also supposed to be writing a minimum of 500 words a day.

Goals. Ugh.

One of my fave blogs is Zen Habits. You really should check it out. It teaches you about creating simplicity in your life. I really need a dose of that. He talks about slowing down and working on one goal at a time.

I feel like I have 100 balls up in the air at all times. How am I supposed to narrow that down to one at a time?? I know, I know…I need to set priorities. Besides my family, my biggest priority at this time is to complete this book so that I can possibly start the ball rolling on my dream career.

I just have to actually DO IT. And that is the hard part…

Needless to say, I did not achieve 5000 words last week and am already behind for this week too.

Here is a quote from Leo’s (the guy who writes Zen Habits) post on 3/18/08:

“One of my favorite Zen monks, Thich Nhat Hanh, simplified the rules in just a few words: ‘Smile, breathe and go slowly.’ It doesn’t get any better than that.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Back to the Grindstone...

2008-03-11T11:52:00.004-04:00

Ahhh…so I have been absent for a few days (sounds like I missed school..heehee). Over the weekend, my hubby and I created our new music blog. Check it out: http://musiczen.blogspot.com

We had a wonderful weekend, but I must admit that I did not complete my writing goal. In fact, I came in WAY below the mark. I guess my goal was Imaginary (for last week). I actually think it is one that can be achieved, but I did not have “it” last week. I spent way too much time trying to fix that silly slow computer, and then the rest of the week I pretty much had the “bluhs” at night. So, I will work on that this week.

I did actually feel a little depressed on Friday morning when I got up and it wasn’t LA DAY. The previous Friday was sooooo wonderful. Why can’t I have LA DAY every Friday? So, I told my husband “Okay, how about once a month?” He said okay, but kindly reminded me that I had already used up this month. Actually that isn’t true…the last (and first) LA DAY was in February, and that wasn’t even a real day anyways!

Besides, getting some writing done, I am quite excited about this next week. K’s band plays a really fun club on the beach this weekend and I have company coming in for Spring Break (which means I get to go hang out at their beach condo for the day! Yeah!). And then next week is St. Patty’s Day…and K’s band plays that night which should be a lot of leprechaun fun!

In case you haven't visited my myspace page and seen Jeffrey Gaines....ahhhhh...I love this guy! He is awesome live. Check this out:

So…let’s see…goals for this week:

1. Let’s try to shoot for 5,000 words again (gotta set them high!).
2. Still looking for freelance work.
3. Miraculously shed 3-4 more pounds to look awesome in a bathing suit for this weekend.

Okay…we are off to take my boss on her belated birthday lunch.

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Hello Cleveland! Rock N Roll!!!

2008-03-06T11:17:00.006-05:00

So, I think I have a pretty cute haircut. It is the asymmetrical one that has become so popular thanks to Posh Spice. My sister, L, and I were thinking of joining the Spice Girls on tour. I would be Paprika Spice and she would be Old Spice. We have the moves and the voices, so it makes sense.

Well, Old Spice went out and got herself a new rocker chick haircut (a la Rod Stewart). As much as I hate to be a copycat, I am thinking of doing the same look in the front. My family is blessed with incredibly thick and bulky hair, so layers or much-thinning are required (and so is a Farouk…but that is another story).

As for last night’s American Idol, the only one I really like was Brooke White doing Pat Benatar (extra cool rock chick!).

I only accomplished about 500 words yesterday. I powered up the laptop at Panera at lunch (the turkey artichoke sammie is sooooo good!)…but that darn laptop drives me crazy. I probably wasted 15 min waiting for it to boot up and then shutdown. There is an issue.

My cute hubby (major rock star) is considering becoming certified in a bunch of different computer applications. Just for my sanity with our home computers, I certainly hope he does! And can figure these suckers out! Kill the Bug! Kill the Virus! Make it FAST!

BTW…my hubby is quite adorable and a killer guitar player (in case I haven’t mentioned that yet).

I need to run some errands at lunch so I don’t know if I will get to my lunch a la teen lit. I may need to get my writing done tonight. And I need to get rockin’ & rollin’ on that 5000 word goal for the week! We are planning on heading over to Disney on Saturday, so that day will be shot for writing.

Have a rockin’ day!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Hello??? Is it me your looking for?

2008-03-05T09:39:00.007-05:00

Back in the day, I was a big Lionel Richie fan. That was before I met K and he changed my outlook on music. So, when David Cook on American Idol last night started playing Hello by Lionel Richie, I got a little concerned. But, he did a great job and it was my fave performance of the night. I do have to say though; overall I thought they picked crappy songs. Hail to the 80’s!!!!!! I did fire up the laptop around 7:30pm. I figured, well I can write while watching American Idol (I am a good multi-tasker). But, that dang computer (that we bought our daughter in November) seems to have caught a bug or something because it is sooooo slow. I have ZERO patience (must be the Type A personality) and slow computers drive me batty. So, I spent most of the night running spy-ware programs, disabling start-up programs and deleting stuff from the laptop. Needless to say, I shut it down at 10pm and went to bed. I didn’t get any writing done.

So, I am hoping for a successful lunch hour writing session today. I still need to get in about 1000 words a day for the rest of the week to get my 5000-word count goal. I can do that.

If you are also an aspiring writer, please check out a great blog: http://writetodone.com. He posts twice a week and gives great tips.

That is it for this morning. I will write more later!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Lunch A La Teen Lit

2008-03-04T14:41:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness for lunch breaks. That is where I now do a lot of my writing. I can’t seem to do that “get up early” routine and write. If I set my alarm 15 min earlier, it just means I hit my snooze 1-2 more times. It seems that my nights are too chaotic at home with my family. Let’s see, after working all day (and being brought out of deep sleep 15 minutes earlier that morning), then dinner has to be made (after deciding what to make), homework needs to be monitored and checked, and then there are all of those great reality TV shows on that I can’t resist. So, after the girls’ are in bed, technically, I could write, but I am pretty much spent.

So, my new routine has been to bring the laptop with me to work. For lunch, I head to a cute little park on the Bay, eat a quick and pretty much tasteless lunch and then write for 40 minutes or so. At least I am able to get in 500-1000 words this way. So far today, my word tally is at 634 words.

Since I have this great desire and “taste” for writing now, you would think I would sacrifice a little to complete it. You would think. I hear that J.K. Rowling spent endless evenings in a local coffee shop to complete her novel(s).

But, I think I still feel like I want a life in the meantime. I have set-up a goal and a timeframe associated with it. So, in my mind (warped as it may be), I feel that I can accomplish it, even with my nasty TV addiction I have. Come on, American Idol is on tonight!

So, for now, lunch it is.

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Can I do this every day????

2008-03-03T15:02:00.004-05:00

The thought of only having LA DAY once every four years is quite frightening! I strongly will fight for at least once a month. Although I will soon run out of vacation days by doing that, I obviously need another plan.

Needless to say, the first annual LA DAY was hugely successful!

I started off by sleeping in a little (heehee…guilty pleasure). The best part of the day though was after I dropped my oldest daughter, E, at middle school, I journeyed to Starbucks. I ordered a chai tea latte and a slice of pumpkin bread and then powered up the laptop. I sat there for not quite an hour and pumped out just over 1700 words. It felt wonderful. I was in the zone. E told me that I should have worn a beret and pretended I was French..heehee. But, then I had to leave at that point to catch my 11:35am movie (Juno…good, quirky movie).

The rest of the day consisted of lunch, home to take my dog for a walk and then out to the causeway to enjoy the beautiful day and the waves. I attempted to write some more there, but had a few snafus with the laptop booting up.

While at the beach, I really wished I had brought my camera. I profess to be quite the amateur photographer, but know that once I can afford a decent Canon DSLR I will automatically turn into a full-fledged professional photographer (okay, maybe not, but having one of those cameras would be really cool). I have been dabbling in learning Adobe Photoshop, which would make sense because that is what the company does that I work for. I do marketing for them, but they are an educational media company who specializes in teaching all things Adobe. If you, at all, are in that profession and want to get great educational opportunities…check these out:

www.layersmagazine.com
www.kelbytraining.com
http://www.photoshopuser.com/

Anyways, when I got to the beach, there were these awesome looking birds walking on the shoreline. Okay, I am not one who knows different kinds of birds (kind of also like I am with plants and flowers…my sister L has to always tell me what things are after I have described them for her), but these birds had the shape and size of seagulls (I know what those annoying birds are) and they had these really cool black and orange beaks. Also, a twig started floating in the water and the sun reflecting on it would have been a great shot. But, no camera. No luck. Would have been…could have been.

All in all, the day was absolutely phenomenal. It gave me a snapshot of what my life could be like as a writer. Okay, I know it was a little flamboyant. I wouldn’t go to movies everyday and ignore all errands and housework (ugh…I made the dishes wait until Saturday), but still…it just felt GREAT. It gave me a glimpse and made the desire in me even stronger to get this first project done and keep on moving to the next.

So, here is to moving forward and achieving those goals! Here! Here!
Happy Monday everyone!

Faith Hope Love-
LA

Back to the real world...

2008-03-02T22:31:00.006-05:00

Well...tomorrow is Monday. Back to the grindstone of my 9 to 5 job (actually I work 8:30-5..heehe). Don't get me wrong, I like my job. Just the high that I am on from LA DAY, makes me a little sad. But, then on the positive side, I also think LA DAY gave me a little more motivation to strive to achieve my goal and get my book(s) published.

I think one of my biggest problems is remembering that whole "baby steps" mentale. I have so many ideas and thoughts going through my head, that I sometimes don't know where to start. With that in mind, in order to keep me on track, I am going to post what my goals are for this week:

1. Write 5000 words in the Teen Lit book
2. Search for possible freelance writing/editing gigs (Let's get this party started!)
3. Continue counting calories and eating healthy (I recently just lost 12 pounds and would LOVE to lose 15 more!)

And then like a million other things...

Hmmm, I may revise this list as the week goes on. By the way, the Teen Lit book is just under 10,000 words...so we are getting there.

Alrighty...I am a tired pup. Time to hit the sack. I just finished a book this evening (How To Be Cool by Johanna Edwards). So, now I need to go pick out my new book. My evening ritual consists of reading every night before going to sleep. It is one of my HAPPY PLACES.

Good night everyone. I will post my LA DAY success story tomorrow.

Faith Hope Love-

LA :)

Teens...Teen Crushes...Teen Fantasies...OH MY!

2008-03-01T08:49:00.004-05:00

Ok, LA DAY was a SUCCESS! I will have another entry later today about it. In the meantime, here is a small excerpt from E & I's teen lit book that we are currently working on:

So the night will be dark
And we will stay
Stay Up
Stay Up
Stay Up All Night

I am bored. I wanted Paula to spend the night, but her parents wouldn’t let her. Another wasted weekend. Mom and Dad are out and Janie is watching TV. At least I think she is watching TV. I am supposed to know what she is doing since I am technically babysitting, but since she is eleven I don’t feel the need to hover.

I don’t feel like writing anymore, so I close my laptop and flop onto my bed. MTV is on in the background. I close my eyes. My kitty, Victory, jumps up on the bed and paws on my stomach.

“Are you going to keep me occupied?” I ask her as she purrs. She is such a cuddly orange-striped tiger kitty.

I am bored, bored, bored.

“Hey, get in here NOW!” screams Janie. And, yes, it is a high-pitched scream. She has never really gotten into that inside-voice thing.

I nonchalantly rise up off the bed, grabbing Ms. V along with me, and head into the family room. Janie is lying on the couch but quickly jumps up into a sitting position. Her eyes are wide and, oh my, is that spit I see dangling out the side of her mouth?

“Look! Look!” She is apparently quite excited.

I decide to humor her and actually look at what she is pointing at. On a normal day, I pretty much ignore her but I figure I was bored, so what the heck?

I look at the TV program that she is drooling over (Seriously, I think she is foaming at the mouth. What are the symptoms of rabies?). She is watching her favorite television program, The Road to Stardom. It is one of those reality TV shows where your goal is to become the final contestant, and then you too can become the next American superstar!!!!

Okay, I typically watch it all the time too. But, tonight I wasn’t in the mood. My sister and I both pretty much have the same dream to become famous singers and tour the world with screaming fans at our feet. And loads of money to go shopping with. And a hair and makeup crew. Someone to straight iron my hair for me. Nice. And a stylist. Although I have a pretty good fashion-sense, but it would be nice when I am tired and don’t want to think about what to wear.

So, I move my glazed-over eyes from Janie’s drool mouth to the big screen TV that she is pointing at. Quite animatedly pointing, by the way. She is very worked up. Can an eleven year old have a stroke?

On the big boob tube is none other than the rising star of The Road to Stardom, Joey Johanson. All of sixteen and strikingly gorgeous. Seriously, not a single flaw on this boy. He is the cover boy for teen idols. Tall. Okay, maybe he isn’t tall. It is hard to tell because he is on TV, but he is taller than the girl contestants. And since I am only 5’2” he would be tall to me, right? Okay, so tall, dark and handsome. Well, not really dark. More like a dirty blonde, but that is dark if you are a blonde. And he is certainly handsome. His hair is longish, grazing his shoulders. And he has this beautiful smile. Ahh…melt my heart!

I push Janie over and plop down on the couch to start my own drool session. Joey. Joey. Joey. That isn’t me chanting, it is the studio audience. He strolls down the steps on the stage with the spotlight following him. He is singing the intro to the designated song of the week selection. It is slow. And his seductive voice is making my heart skip a beat. He walks to the front of the stage and reaches down to touch some of the girls’ in the front rows hands. Lucky girls’! He does a little shimmy shake with his hips and I start to feel warm. Then he looks up and stares straight into the camera.

Girl I want to feel your hair run through my fingers.
Girl I want to touch your lips with mine.
Ellie I want you.
Ellie I want you.

“Oh, isn’t he so dreamy?” Janie sighs. “Ellie? Hello? Are you paying attention?”

“Be quiet. I can’t hear him serenade me when you are babbling in the background.” Because I am quite certain that he is singing to me and is trying to get through to me telepathically through the television cameras.

Ellie I want you.

I want you too Joey.

“Why are you puckering? You look stupid. You know he isn’t really singing to you, right? How could he be when he is singing to ME?”

Janie can be so childish. Why in the world would he be singing to an eleven year old when I am thirteen and just right for him? We could write beautiful love songs together that would chronicle our passionate love affair. And I have a new outfit that would look great with the one he is wearing right now.

Joey and Ellie. Mr. and Mrs. Joey Johanson.

Come Aboard...we are expecting you...

2008-02-28T21:37:00.003-05:00

Both of my sisters' have a wicked sense of humor. But, they are different, ya know? My oldest sister, who is 10 years older than me, used to let me come visit her on my spring breaks or during summer in my high school years. She would always come up with a "theme" for my visit. The only 2 I can remember are The Love Boat theme (yes,it is recurring) and the Game Show theme. There would be different activities all week, itineraries, funny games, etc. Man, those were good times. I also remember when she got married (I was like 13), I wrote her a song with her new married name in it to the tune of the Brady Bunch theme song. Yeh, good times. Good times.

So, tomorrow is February 29th. Yep, Leap Year. I work at a very fun educational media company and one of our partners decided that since it isn't a "real" day, then we don't have to work! So, it is our 1st Annual Leap Year Holiday. Enjoy it, it only comes every 4 years.

For that reason, today was my Friday. Which is a wonderful feeling! I have officially dubbed my holiday tomorrow as LA DAY. It is MY day. No housework. No errands. Nothing that I "have" to do. I really need to go to the bank, but I am thinking that can wait until Saturday morning. I plan on going to an 11:45am movie all by myself (no arguments on what to go see). Then, maybe have a little lunch at Panera (I love that place). And, here is the most exciting part...I am taking the laptop over to the causeway beach with a beach chair. I am going to dig my toes into the sand and WRITE. No interruptions. I am sooooo excited.

Our (reminder that the book is being written by my eldest daughter, E, and I)book is at about 7200 words right now, so I still have quite a ways to go. I try to squeeze in at least 500 words at a time on a lunch break or in the evenings. So, having a couple hours all to myself with no responsibilities.....ahhhhh! I am hoping to get a lot accomplished!

Just as a side note, if you get a chance, check out my fave blogs listed at the top of my page. I will be adding to it at all times, but these are some of my faves right now.

I need to go plug in the laptop so it will be charged for LA DAY tomorrow!

Love...exciting and new...Come Aboard...we are expecting you!

Later.

Faith Hope Love--
LA :)

A Place to Start...

2008-02-28T14:13:00.005-05:00

As a reference to why I started this crazy blog is a good starting point. A few weeks back, a co-worker made the comment to me - "You are living in an Imaginary World!” I got so darned tickled by that comment. It really stuck with me. Although he was referring to his workload and deadlines, I could not help but to apply it to my entire life.

So, sit back for a few and let me educate you on my background (I know, I know…it sounds WAY exciting. Better grab a snack.).

Do you remember back to your big aspirations in high school? For some of you that may not have been as far away than it is for me (UGH), but I vividly remember wanting to be a Cruise Director on a cruise ship. Don’t laugh, but I wanted to be Julie McCoy from The Love Boat. Okay, you can laugh a little. Go ahead, I will wait. Anyway, I was a very perky little cheerleader type who loved to be in the middle of the excitement and to get everyone around me to join in. I thought it would have been a good calling. Then, they found out about Julie’s little um, sniff, sniff problem and the shows with Vickie after that were never as good.

Then I went to college. I majored in Advertising and envisioned myself being a high-rolling advertising executive (like in all the good movies in the 80’s…okay…so now you have probably estimated my age). My boyfriend at the time (now my adorable husband) was going to be the next big rock star and we were going to drive off into a beautiful sunset in southern California and live happily ever after.

Instead we moved to Florida and I entered my tenure as a Mouseketeer. Still always thinking I would be an excellent celebrity or at least Cruise Director of celebrities, I did get to meet a lot of exciting and influential people during that time. While I didn’t become the next Michael Eisner, I did quite enjoy my time there and the many, many adventures. That will be a post for another time.

Within this time period, my husband and I started our family. And let me just state for the record that my daughters are the absolute joys of my life. I will definitely post more about each of them.

And then, for a lack of better terms, let’s say I hit the dark period. We had moved back up to the Midwest. I wasn’t happy with my job or where we were living. I felt stifled. I wanted more. And it wasn’t a problem with my relationship with my family; it was where my “professional” life had led me. I think back to those carefree days when my Cruise Director mentality made me smile. Why had I never ‘made” it? Why did I feel like my career could have been so much more?

I know life is about the choices you make. If we would have moved to Los Angeles after college, I am sure our lives would have turned out much more different. If I hadn’t of moved back to the Midwest, I would never have met my now dearest friend. Choices you make.

Still, what could I do to make myself feel accomplished in my professional life?

During that “dark period”, I wrote a sitcom script. I started dabbling in writing, which is something I have always loved to do.

As of 3 ½ years ago, we moved to where I now call my HAPPY PLACE (another reference that will come around often). I am content in my environment and the beauty that surrounds me. Now, I just need to fulfill that Cruise Director fantasy.

Well, even in my Imaginary World, I know I will never be a Cruise Director, nor probably don’t ever want to be one anymore. I do know that I am a leader and a creative (and I like to think humorous) individual. So, I have identified my passion and set a goal to arrive at my goal within that passion.

I love to write. I like using my mind to create. And I love humor. Quirky silly things. I think a giggle a day is mandatory. So, my Imaginary World now consists of me becoming a full-time published writer. TAH-DAH! (Spread the Pixie Dust! Start the marching band!)

Over a year ago, I started my novel (chick lit…I AM ADDICTED!). Last May, I wrote my first children’s book (which I am starting the second installment…it is a series). And a month ago, I started my first Teen Lit (YA) with my 12-year-old daughter (also will be a series). She is also an awesome writer (did you notice how I just complimented myself there??).

Oh, and did I mention that I also have a full-time job? And my husband plays in a rock band and we are out most weekends way, way too late? (for people our age, that is)

My challenge: baby steps. Take one project at a time and complete it. My first goal is to finish the Teen Lit, find an agent and then get that puppy published.

Once I am able to become a full-time writer, I believe I will feel contented in my career. It isn’t a Cruise Director where love is around every corner, but it is my own Imaginary World.

Stay tuned!

Faith Hope Love-
LA ☺