Some Year-End Loose Ends

I've got a few things to take care of before I officially begin my Christmas vacay tomorrow. No, I'm not going anywhere. It's all mental, baby.

First, I've received some blog awards! Thanks so much to Shelli Johannes at Market My Words. She gave me the Helpful Blogger award.

I'm giving it to Casey McCormick (Literary Rambles) and Steph Bowe (Hey! Teenager of the Year).

Marybeth Smith gave me this:

It has rules (I have to list 7 things about myself and pass it along to 7 people), but I'm ignoring them. I sorta feel like I bare my soul on every post as it is.

I'm giving it to Lisa Amowitz, Tere Kirkland, Roni Griffin, Tess Hilmo, Angie Lofthouse, Melanie Avila, and Indigo Ravenwood.

Tara McClendon gave me the Blogging Writer Award.

I can do whatever I want with it. (No, really. It has no rules. But Elizabeth Spann Craig came up with it.)

I'm giving it to Katie Ganshert, Jessica Nelson, Suzy Hayze and Paul Greci.

Second, I sent off my revisions for my novel even though Booksta won't be in the office until January 4. And let me tell you, I've lost about 1000 pounds since Monday. The Revision Diet. Try it. Or don't.

But a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Now I'm free to edit yet another book. And, shhh, don't tell anyone, but I might start my next project. Or I might not. But tomorrow, I'm definitely sleeping in.

And eating pie. And ham. And singing Christmas songs and watching Christmas movies. And wrapping presents. And going to the post office again. And, and, and...

What do you have to finish up before you can enjoy your holidays?

So Sue Me

Oh, I know, I know. I said I was going to UnBlog. I did this post way last weekend, if that makes any of you feel better. All right! I cheated a bit and did some of it last night when I found out I had another award. Sheesh. It's just one day!

I received some blog awards, and I thought I'd post them this week. J.B. Chicoine gave me the Kreativ Blogger award. I also received this award from NWA at Chronicles of a Novice Writer. And she's going to the conference at UVU, so she can't remain anonymous forever! Woot! (And mwa, ha ha!) And I got it from Scott Mitchell at A Writer's Blog. And I got it from Katie Salidas at Step 1: Write, Edit and Revise. Then I got it from Lin Wang at Flames and Shadows. And then from Icy Roses at From Elysium. And from Amanda at Ramblings of a Drifting Mind. Thanks a million guys! I *heart* you!

Anyway, this one has rulez. Here they are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Okay, so I've done or will do all of that. I know you're on the edges of your seats to find out 7 things about me. Here goes.

1. I attended 4 universities before graduating. This wasn't because I kept getting suspended for rowdy behavior or anything. It's just because, well, I like to complicate my own life. So yeah. 4 universities and then I earned my Bachelor's degree. Never let anyone tell you you can't do something.

2. I like to play tennis, despite my whale-ish physique. I think "like" is too soft of a word. I adore tennis. I would play every day if I could. Tournaments and stuff. I'll watch any tennis, at any time, on any channel. I love it.

3. I got married 7 months after graduating from high school. And that came after a 7-week engagement. I don't think my parental units were thrilled. But hey, I'm coming up on 13 years of marital bliss, and neither of us have died. Yet.

4. I think some of my cells are made of potatoes. I love potatoes. Any way you slice, bake, mash, hashbrown or fry 'em. Sign me up.

5. I can play the recorder very well. I even played Jingle Bells at a family Christmas party once. Srsly. I have mad musical skillz.

6. I'm a restless soul. I'm going into my 10th year of teaching. The first three years were spent as an upper grade music specialist. (Toldja about the recorder. I wasn't joking about my abilitiez.) The next four years were in 3rd grade. And this is my third year in the computer lab. I'm already feeling itchy to get another assignment, like if I stay doing something for too long I'll, well, I'll... I don't know, but it makes me nervous. So maybe I'm not restless. Maybe a better word would be psychotic. The jury is still out on that one.

7. I have major food issues--the kind you need a doctor for. For example, I don't like onions, but I simply can't get enough onion rings. I eat tomatoes like apples, but absolutely cannot stomach a cooked tomato unless it's been made into a sauce. My food cannot touch. I will not eat mushrooms in any shape, form, consistency or cooked condition. Nada. I need therapy for my food issues. Or so some say... They know who they are and they don't read this blog. Thankfully.

And...that's more than you wanted to know, right?

Right.

Since I received this award seven times, I'm going to go all wonky on you and nominate whoever I want for the Kreativ Blogger award. These are some of the best bloggers out there.

1. Lisa and Laura Roecker
2. Katie Anderson and Sarah Frances (Plot This)
3. Shelli Johannes
4. Beth Revis
5. Abby Annis
6. Tess Hilmo
7. Suzanne Palmieri
8. Jamie Theler (Bookmom Musings)
9. Aaron Polson (The Other Aaron)
10. Amanda Bonilla
11. Marybeth Smith
12. Ryan (The Life of an Aspiring Writer)
13. Katie Ganshert
14. Jenn (Purple Clover)
15. Kate Karyus Quinn
16. Jenn Johansson
17. Natalie Whipple
18. Jeanette Schneider
19. Corey Schwartz
20. Katie Salidas
21. Scott Mitchell
22. Ben Watson
23. Carol Anne Strange
24. Jessica Nelson
25. Danyelle Leafty
26. Sara Tribble
27. Casey McCormick

So go check them out. Follow. Comment. You won't be sorry.

I also received the Silver Shoe of Sincerity Award, again from NWA. Thanks Novice! No rules except one. The person you pass it on to has to show absolute sincerity in their comments. So many of you do this here on my blog, which I appreciate immensely.

But the one I picked?

Scott Mitchell. He deserves the sparkly shoe for his awesome, well-thought out comments and witty snark. Do witty and snark mean the same thing? *shrugs* I like it.

And Christine Fonseca. Ha! I can pick two if I want. Who's going to stop me? Ooh, blog police! We should totally form a squad or something. Anyway, she gets 'da shoe for always commenting, her unending reserves of patience, and for talking me off the ledge on a daily basis.

Thanks guys!

And one final award. I received the Literary Blogger Award from my good pal, Ali Cross. She's in my critique group and really gets me. The hair, the horrible hyena laugh, all of it. Thanks Ali! Can't wait for Tuesday night! And you should go read what she said about me, cuz it brought a little tear to my eye. Shocking, I know. You guys didn't peg me for a crier, didja? I'm all about the surprise element. I'm kind of like a ninja in that regard.

I also received this award from Jenna at As the Plot Thickens. She had rules on hers. I guess I get to pass this one on to whoever I want.

Hmmm...

How about those 27 people up there? Yeah, let's go with them. Heck, let's throw all reason out the door (I'm the captain of the newly formed Blog Police Patrol. Hey! The BPP! You down with BPP? Yeah, you know me! Ahem.), and say that if your name or blog appears anywhere in this post, you get the Literary Blogger Award. Congrats! You guys know that I read blogs like I breathe air, so I really do nominate you all. The world would be a sad, dark place without blogs.

Have a good one. I swear I'm not going to do any other blogging this week. I swear I swear I swear.

Superior Scribblers

Hey, that could be the new title of my blog! I like the alliteration stuff, what can I say?

Ahem, anyway, I was graciously awarded the Superior Scribbler award by Nichole and Ali. Now Ali I know in real life; we get together every couple of weeks to make each other cry. That's called a critique group, in case you didn't know. They're totally different in real life, too. None of this online stuff where you can wipe the tears and no one knows. Oh no. This real-life critique group slashes you open and watches you bleed, then they laugh and feed you yummy treats. Good times.

And Nichole lives right here in my own city and we haven't met. She's married to the brother of one of my good friends from work, though, so it's almost like meeting. And we like to follow each other around to local hotspots without the other knowing, so that's like meeting too. Right?

Yeah, sure, let's go with that.

Anyway, they both gave me the Superior Scribbler award!




This one has rules, and you should know how I feel about Rules, I think. I usually don't follow Rules very well; in fact, I wrote an entire book about a girl who breaks Rules like it's the latest fashion. So yeah.

But this time, I did. So there. Here they are:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.


2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award. (Nichole and Ali, in case you missed in amidst my rambling about real-life people and bleeding and yummy treats.)


3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.


4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.


Okay, so I did all that. You wanna know who I've chosen for the Superior Scribbler?? Do you? Okay, okay. Remember that I could only pick five. I think you're all fantastic and deserving of an award. I chose the people who have made a huge impact on me as an author.

Suzette Saxton
H.L. Dyer
Carolyn Kaufman
Mary Lindsey
Christine Fonseca

Thanks to everyone who supports me and provides encouragement here on the blog. Have a great weekend!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

You know how to finish it. Say it. Out loud. (Name that movie! LOLOLOL)

Anyway, I digress. This post is going to be a lot of digression, so I hope you're in the mood for some stream of thought writing from el@n@. That's my new name. My sister is certifiably insane. And she did some tweeting yesterday on her name (which has an i, now replaced with an !). Since I don't have an i, she said I could be el@n@. So here I am.

Anyway, Eric over at Working My Muse gave me this Lemonade Stand blog award. Thanks! I'm supposed to nominate 10 people, and send the award along. I just nominated 15 people for the Premio Dardos award, and I can't even think of 10 more. If I do, I'll post them soon, promise.

So on to lemonade. When life gets you down, what do you do? I try to surround myself with good people. Play a few games (guitar hero) and just forget about whatever is bothering me. Most of my stress is self-inflicted. Do you do this? This self-inflicted stress-inducing?

Ugh. I just get in the way of myself. I have to constantly step back and remind myself that this whole publishing thing is a journey, not a result. Sometimes I find myself frustrated because I'd like to think I'm a pretty smart person. I've worked hard through some stacked odds to get what I want.

And so this whole publishing thing is sort of hard for me. I'm used to working hard, persevering, and ultimately getting what I want. This is a little different than that.

I've decided I'm going to climb into the sidecar of a motorcycle. Remind myself that it's not the end result I'm striving for (but of course, getting published is still The Goal), but it's also the learning experiences along the way. The writerly people I get to interact with. The new novels I get to read. And write. Sometimes I think all I'm focusing on is the lemons and not the lemonade. Being the driver and not the rider. Achieving The Goal and not enjoying the How.

So a new sidecar goal to go with The Goal: enjoy the ride. I'm imagining myself in one of those sidecars on a motorcycle. I don't have to drive. I don't have to watch the speedometer, the upcoming curves in the road, the weather. I can look for those purple blossoms on trees, seagulls flying, deer in the meadow, whatever. I can enjoy the ride.

I've got my helmet on, ready for the rejections and critiques. I've got the goggles strapped in place--hopefully they'll help me see clearly who to listen to, which agents to research and query, and what to write. I've got the leather chaps, waiting to protect me if I happen to crash and burn.

I'm ready to enjoy the ride. Are you?

Mindless Musings Wins the PremioDardos Blog Award!

Can I get a woot! woot! (Woot! Woot!)

Anyway, Lady Glamis over at The Innocent Flower gave me the PremioDardos blog award. And let me just say that I would blog if my mother was my only follower. Sadly, my mother doesn't even know what a blog is, and she would never understand the word "woot." But I adore blogging so much, and I'm so glad that all of you are here to traverse (oooh, big word points!) on this journey that is Mindless Musings.

I guess I'm supposed to award it to 15 people. I thought that was a lot. I feel like I barely know 15 people. But here's my best shot. I really try to follow everyone who follows me, as well as everyone who follows the QueryTracker blog. I wasn't kidding the other day when I said I follow, like, a billion blogs. I may joke about some things, but never blogging. *stern face*

Anyway, here's my list of Bloggers Made of Win:
1. Lisa and Laura Roecker at Lisa and Laura Write
2. Carolyn Kaufman over at Archetype Writing
3. H.L. Dyer's Trying to do the Write Thing
4. Kate Karyus Quinn at The Lover's, The Dreamers, and Me
5. Beth Revis at Writing It Out
6. Rebecca at Gibber Jabber and Sometimes Useful Nonsense
7. Gretchen McNeil at Seanchai
8. Cathy Bryant at Word Vessel
9. Jessica Verday at Jibberings
10. Christine Fonseca at The Musings of Christine Fonseca
11. Brian Kell at The Eyeball Afterlife
12. Carrie Harris at The Wonder That Is My Blog
13. Emily Murdoch at Lefty In My Write Mind
14. Stephanie Boman at You Can Read My Mind
15. Annie Louden at Annie Writes About Writing

Phew! That's it! Oh, wait! Here's the award.


I guess if you've just "won" this prestigious award, you're supposed to blog it out, pick 15 of the blogs you can't live without, and pass on the love. Of course, this is purely optional. I mean, I'm not on blog patrol today.