I am a very fortunate mother.  Besides all the obvious reasons (10 fingers 10 toes and all that other stuff), my kids don’t listen to that God awful music that so many of my friend’s kids listen to.  I have My Honey to thank for that, what with him being a musician himself.  The two of us are big time fans of a cross genre of music.  We are such fans, we still own a turn table and a zillion LP records.  If you don’t know what they are, I don’t think we can be friends.  Please educate yourself.  Anyway, once the kids came around, we made a pact –    No Barney, no how, no way. Nothing of that ilk.  Pretty simple.

So now I am delighted to say that my kids are onto a lot of classic rock.  They know Springsteen and are particularly fond of the Seeger Sessions recordings, and they know the Joshua Tree album pretty much by heart.  Sassy is partial to Where The Streets Have No Name.  Now, this is not to say we have escaped completely.  I still hear Hannah Montana coming out of the Hello Kitty boombox (again – I just thought if I was going to show my age, I ought to go all the way).  I can live with Hanna – after all, I subjected my mother to some fairly wretched music in my day.  But, I’m not the only one who lucked out on this nifty deal.  I remember Isabella’s little girl knowing the lyrics to Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers when she was very young.  She is a real smarty pants anyway, that one.

Recently, Sassy and The Bandit have found a new favorite.  I couldn’t figure out what they were talking about when they kept asking for the “wewillwewill” song.  My Honey clued me in – they’re asking for Queen.  QUEEN! I’m so excited.  They love We Will Rock You.  Isn’t that awesome?

The other night The Bandit is marching around the house singing, “You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, kicking your can all over the place” over and over and over again.  Of course, those are the lyrics he would latch on to.  Pretty soon, I’ll have them head bobbing to Bohemian Rhapsody.

It warms my cockles.  It really does.  Ah, Freddie, how I miss ya.

That is one of my favorite lines, “cross your crossables”, and I totally stole it from Ava, by the way.  It is the assignment of the day.  I submitted Out of Heaven to editors tonight.  Everyone think positive thoughts.

It is the love story of the Archangel Gabriel who desires to spend one mortal life with the woman he has been in love with for eons.  He is granted permission if he can make the mortal woman she has become fall in love with him – but he is only given one day to accomplish this. Of course, as a mortal, she has no idea who he is, only that this magnificent man is apparently stalking her.

I have given you a little snippet here.  Enjoy – and as always, comments are appreciated.

Tonight I sent of the paper work to Romance Writers of America to be a “PRO” writer.  Not nearly as exciting, or exclusive, as it sounds.  The requirements are slim.  All I needed was proof that I’ve submitted to an agent or editor.  Lord knows I have plenty of those.  So I filled out the application and I’m sending it in.  What the heck.  Now I feel more official.  I get a nifty pin to attach to my name tag at the meetings and everything.

I didn’t need to send in the subsequent rejection, but damn it, if they want proof I’m working, then they can have the rejection, too.  I don’t want it anymore.

Isabella wrote a fantastic post tonight.  Before you venture any further with this one, go read hers below.  I’ll wait here for you. 

Welcome back.  It’s really good, isn’t it?  She’s a funny lady and a very gifted writer.  I want to put that out there for the universe to take note of (and any passing editors or literary agents that happen to stumble by).  The specific conversation that she is referring to was one the three of us have had quite frequently the past 6-8 months in one form or another.  That big ball of Karma has bowled each of us over like lowly pins in that really hateful bowling alley of life lately.  Unfortunately, that wretched bowling ball nearly did me in a while back (almost 8 years ago.  Holy Cow has it really been that long?).  As I stumbled around trying to make sense of a senseless tragedy in a cruel and unfair world, I discovered Buddhism.  With the help of an amazing counselor who metaphorically smacked me around a little bit, I came to realize that the childish view that Westerners hold of fairness is a hindrance more than an aid.   At some level we all know this.  How many times are we told, “Life’s not fair”?  We tell it to our kids and we think we get it until real trouble arrives and the concept seems crushing.  We obey the rules, we do unto others, we try to be good people, but none of that means anything.  We all want to believe that there is some giant tally board in the universe that keeps score, but until a person lets go of that ideal, they are doomed to a life of frustration.

On that depressing note, I’d like to add a little levity.  I love writing.  Isabella loves writing.  Ava loves writing.  We are fortunate that the universe directed us to each other because it’s always a blessing to find others to share your passion.  I love these women.  They are good for me.  We will all work hard with a goal of publication and fame and a visit to Oprah’s couch (You are coming Ava so just hush up) but more than that, I hope that I continue to write even if I never get published.  I know that I am good at it, and it gives me pleasure.  Isn’t that all one can hope for from a life’s pursuit when so much is out there to bring you down?

So those of you out there typing away towards that goal, I’m cheering for you.  Enjoy yourselves and the people you bring to life.  The best part about writing is that you are “The Universe”.  You can make the bad people come to justice, and the lovers live happily ever after. 

Besides, what the hell do I know anyway?

I am sitting here tonight with my assistant.  I haven’t spoken of him much, but then he’s usually hiding under the bed in order to escape the attentions of The Idiot Dog.  The dog LOVES him, but his attentions are not returned.  In fact, the dog as all kinds of welts on his face and ears from loving my kitty too much.  The cat can take care of himself, but why should he have to exert the energy?

This fantastic cat of mine used to belong to My Honey, but three months of bed rest with each kid endeared me to him nothing nothing else could have.  He is a giant, ginger tabby with enormously long whiskers and eyebrows.  Imagine Andy Rooney if he was a cat – those ridiculous eyebrows only in white whiskers.  He also has feathers between his toes that extend about 1/2 inch from each foot.  That just goes to show you how little moving around he actually does.  He has very long hair and right now with the humidity, he looks like he’s been run through the fluff cycle of a dryer.  My favorite thing of all though, is his belly.  The hair there is curly and soft and he loves to have me scratch his tummy.

Right now he’s assumed a very sphinxish position on my desk.  He really wanted to lay on the key board, but unfortunately I’m using it right now.  He had to settle with laying across all the cards I have stacked up up here from my birthday.  Every time he moves you can hear one of the musical ones sing.  He did seem slightly put out when a cartoon started singing, “Do your boobs hang low, do they wobble to and fro….” (thank you, Dona) but Ladies Night by Kool and the Gang doesn’t seem to bother him at all.  Apparently, he’s a fan of 70’s disco. 

The Kitty has a little dance he does when he’s trying to get you to come back to bed with him.  He’ll sit in the middle of the living room, staring at you as only a cat can.  The minute you stand up, he jumps and turns in the air and runs towards the bedroom, all the while looking over his shoulder to make sure you’re following him.  He will do this over and over and over until you give in to his seductive dance.

In fact, I’m feeling a little sleepy now.  I think I’ll humor him and dance on to bed.  Good night, Dear Reader.

I have to show you readers the adorable birthday cakes that Ava made for me.  If you read through the list of My 40 Favorite Things she had requested I write up in honor of turning 40, you will recall that Lady Bugs were #37.  Would you look at how creative Ava is:

Aren’t these the cutest damn things.  Each one was a different flavor with a different cream fillings. 

Also noteworthy for remarkable creativity was my Sister-in-law.  She dedicated herself to trying to fulfill each of the items on the list.  There were gift cards for ice cream and books, a tiny elephant, ball point pens from Disneyland, a note pad from Hawaii, a great key chain and another pen with pictures of my family, and Oreos and Red Vines.  There were many, many things all wrapped in a “Tiffany” box.  She did really well and I giggled with glee as I went through the whole thing.  My absolute favorite item was a small capsule, that when put in water, will grow my very own pirate.  Isn’t that hysterical?  Thank you, Charlotte.

My Aunt, known in these comments as mysticmama, brought me potted pink and white tea roses in honor of The Sea Rose.  Cute, huh?

Isabella was thoughtful enough to get me a bottle of fiber.  God, I love her.

I had a wonderful birthday.  Thank you to all of you – and you know who you are – for making this milestone a memorable one.

Did you all hear the primal scream at 5:00 PM MST? That was when it happened. I turned 40. Apparently, I did not turn into a pile of ash, nor did a plague of locusts descend on the Southwestern Desert. I know, no one is more surprised than me. My Honey and the rug rats did very well, birthday wise. I was fed lobster and chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. My kids gave me a very cute dress. It was a very good day. The best thing of all was a KINDLE!!!! My Honey got me a Kindle! I don’t know how he guessed that I wanted one. Perhaps it was when I forwarded him a link to the site, or when I made him sit on the couch and watch the promotional video about it, or when I said, “whatever else you bought, take it back and get a Kindle.” I think I cinched the deal with the PowerPoint presentation.

Anyway, I didn’t get any writing done because I was busy playing with it. I was a stalwart fan of books – I still am. For years I talked a monumental pile of smack about the inherent evil of electronic books. I couldn’t imagine a time when I would ever give up the simple pleasure of turning pages, holding a book in my hand, the musty, comforting smell. Not all books are available on the Kindle, but the ones that are cost much less than a traditional book. It holds zillions of books and it weighs practically nothing. I’m totally in love. With the Kindle and My Honey. Thank you, baby.