irrelevant (and sometimes questionable) ramblings

Forgive the Miss Piggy moment, there, folks.

I am currently eyeball-deep in ideas for kissing games. No, not for my own personal use — I don’t need games for that, do I, B.E.? — but for the upcoming nuptials. I don’t know about you, but I’m SO not a fan of the clinking of glasses to get the bridal couple to kiss. So I’ve gathered together a few ideas of alternatives.

1. Hershey’s Kisses — in this one, you fill an opaque bag with two colours of Hershey’s Kisses. When a person wants the bride and groom to kiss, they come up and select a kiss from the bag. If the kiss is silver, the bride and groom kiss. However, if the kiss is red (or whatever colours are available), the guest must then go back to his/her table and kiss someone there.
2. Kissing Die — with this one, you create a large, soft, six-sided die. You put a pair of lips on 3 sides, and the numbers 1,2, and 3 on the other sides. The guest rolls the die and if it lands on lips, the bride and groom kiss. If it lands on a number, for example, two, the guest must then go and find two other guests to kiss.
3. Putting Green — here you set up one of those hole-in-one putting greens on the dance floor, and guests must come up and try to score a hole-in-one. If they do, the bride and groom kiss. If the guest misses, he or she must go back and kiss someone at their table.

So far, I’m leaning toward 1 or 2. I’m going to hunt for some more ideas, too. I’ve done the “sing a love song” one before, and I’m not so keen on the trivia ones. I’ve also seen the “donation to charity” one — where a guest must put a monetary donation in a glass jar to get the bride and groom to kiss… but I’m not sure I want people to have to shell out more cash (especially those who have travelled a long way to get here).

Any suggestions from those of you out there in cyber-world? I’m happy to hear ‘em all…!

I have nothing to say. I’m saying it to you, however, to let you know I’m still on this mortal plane.

I’m halfway done my revisions. The goal is to have them done by the end of this month, so my lovely new editor can hopefully buy the book.

(Puh-leeze, puh-leeze, puh-leeze….)

And today, along with baking banana-chocolate-chip muffins and doing laundry, I made a plethora of telephone calls for a number of wedding-related reasons. Honestly, I’ll be so glad when this shindig is over. It’s too much like work planning something of this magnitude! I completely understand now why people hire wedding planners to do all of this for them. That’s lovely, except some of us don’t have enough extra cash to hire someone like that.

Oh, well. One day at a time is my current mantra. And I really am enjoying this process, to a large degree. Anyhoo. It’ll be nice to settle into some sort of routine. I’m not entirely sure what that means, yet, or what that encompasses, but I’m sure it’ll sort itself out eventually.

I won’t be gone as long next time — I promise. Thanks for checkin’ in…!

Sometimes, thinking about what we’d like to have in our lives — and I’m talking big-ticket items, here — can be a kind of motivator. I’m not entirely convinced it will help me increase my book output this year, but it’s fun looking, regardless.

So in that vein, here are a few of my dreambuilding choices.

1. I’ll take one of these, probably red like this, or some other funky colour, with tinted windows and all the bells and whistles.
2. And then something like one of these, complete with one of these, preferrably off the back deck.
3. Then, I would like to indulge in some of this, and this, and this, on a regular basis.
4. One of these would be fun — so we can play Wii, entertain and have movie nights.
5. Lastly (at least for now), some fun for the kidlet (and the grownups, too!) — I think maybe one of these and one of these would be great.

Oh, c’mon. It’s not called “dreambuilding” for nothing, right? It’s all about figuring out just what sort of boot in one’s pants one might need to get going.

Yes, I’m listening to myself. Honest.

In the meantime, though, I think I’ll go look at the pictures once more…

This is what happened in my messed-up head last night:

Dream Mater: You know, I think it’s time you quit playing around with this silly writing business and got a real job.

Me: What? No! Why would I want to do that?

DM: Well, it’s just that there’s so much inappropriate language in there.

Me: So what? This is what I want to do, and you’re not going to change my mind.

Yeesh. That’ll put anyone’s morning a little off.

In good news, though, the scale was my friend this morning. The number on there was one I haven’t seen since July or August! Yay! Definitely a good sign — especially after all the food eaten on the weekend. Urp. Long as that number keeps going down, that’s all that matters.

“If I could be…”

Try and think of an existing person or character that you feel matches your personality or emulates qualities that you wish you had!
Make sure that you tag a bunch of people so that it can get passed around! Oh, tag the person you got it from or tagged you!!!

1. A superhero: Emma Frost. Never heard of her until I saw this. Yup, I wanna be that.

2. One of the friends from Friends: Um…can I say none? They were all pretty dippy. If I had to be a sitcom character, I’d much rather be Susan from Coupling.

3. A cereal box mascot: The Lucky Charms leprechaun — ’cause everybody’d be after me Lucky Charms! (Bwahahahaha!)

4. U.S. President: The first woman prez, whoever she may be.

5. TV news anchor: This is tricky, because I don’t watch much TV, but perhaps Lisa LaFlamme of CTV fame. She’s very attractive and seems quite smart and savvy.

6. Action figure/Doll/Toy: Hm. The only one springing to mind at the moment is Barbie. Being rather petite myself, it might be amusing to be *that* busty. Temporarily, of course.

7. Piece of clothing: I have no idea. I’m tempted to steal another answer I’ve seen and say that I’m some sexy celebrity’s boxer shorts…but I don’t even know whose boxers I’d be. (Donna, you don’t even have to answer. I know whose you’d be. Hehe.) I suppose I might have to be a black velvet corset. Ooo…!

8. Cartoon character: Betty Cooper from the Archie comics.

9. A kitchen item: Is there even a sexy kitchen implement? The only one coming to mind is a wooden spoon…for obvious reasons. *ggg*

10. Famous actor/actress: Helen Hunt. I’ve always loved her.

11. An animal: Some type of cat, I think. Panther, maybe. Something sleek and mysterious.

12. From another country: Hm. Maybe England. Or Australia. Or someplace sultry in South America. Perhaps something completely different from my own ethnic makeup.

13. A late-night talk show host: No idea. I don’t watch much TV, remember??

14. A fast food joint: McDonalds. Yes, I know. I can’t help my Big Mac cravings.

15. With someone right now: B.E., of course.

You’re ALL tagged! Put your answers in comments, if you would!

Or, How Kris Is Trying To Get Her Groove Back.

*sigh*

I’ve stared at the computer screen for over an hour. The words feel like they’re stuck at the moment, and I just can’t break them out.

Part of me is fretting about the time, because I’ve got an appointment a little later, and I keep checking the clock. This is an excuse, I know.

Right now, I’m contemplating even cleaning the toilet and de-greasing the oven. You know things are bad when…

I know. I know, I know, I know. I have to break on through to the other side (thanks, Jim…) and just do eeeet. These aren’t hard revisions — not at all. They just. Need. To. Be. Done. It’s probably a good thing that there are no chips or chocolate in the house at the moment.

Please ’scuse me whilst I go wallow in a little more self-pity for a bit. Perhaps I need to get up and walk away for a few minutes. Perhaps vodka. (Is it noon yet?) Perhaps… oh, I don’t know.

All I do know is that the revisions won’t do themselves. And the book won’t sell itself, either.

Sad, sad, sad, pathetic smut writer.

*thwacks head on keyboard* 

… freezing rain, that is.

Monkey wrench* #1 — school buses aren’t running. This means that:

1. I am home today, because the kidlet isn’t going to school and
2. All day long it’s going to be: “Mooooooooommy! Mom! Moooooom!”

*sigh*

Oh, well. Seeing as how I was up, showered and dressed before finding out the news, I’m ready to go for the day. The question becomes, now, just what do I do with these extra — kid-friendly — hours….?

Believe me, I can come up with stuff. Paper filing? Laundry? Sorting boxes of shite? Miscellaneous wedding bits? Not a problem. The question now becomes, though, do I do those things, or do I curl up with a book…?

Well, see Monkey Wrench #1 for the answer to that question…

Ciao for now, folks. Catch you on the flip side.

*And there is no Monkey Wrench #2. I figured that one was enough.

Reading: Belgarath the Sorcerer by David & Leigh Eddings.
Listening To: Offspring getting ready for bed.
Working On: Revisions for Sweet Tart.

I’m just a-testin’ the new idea for the blog. Well, okay, not new, ’cause I’m stealing it from Donna Alward. Perhaps “new to me” might be a better choice of phrase. Not sure I’m likin’ this yet. I *hate* having to fiddle with HTML…

Initially, I wrote the title of the post as one word, but I changed it, because “Catherding” looks too much like “catheter” or something, and that’s just not what I’m trying to do here.

The point of Cat Herding, however, is as a comparison for wedding planning. Trying to put a big event like this together is like trying to herd a bunch of cats. They keep going in different directions, or slipping out of your grasp altogether. Another good analogy would be attempting to fill a bucket with sand by using a sieve.

Don’t get me wrong, things are actually going fairly smoothly. I’m pleased with all the big things that have already been accomplished — it’s just all those niggly, catlike details that keep causing me anxiety.

Throw in book revisions that need to be done, as well as upcoming income taxes to be completed and filed…plus eventually I’ll need to start thinking about packing all this shite of mine (I know, not a short-term worry, but it’s something like Vulture Snoopy, hanging ominously over my head…). Ugh.

On that note, then, I’m going to bed to bury my nose into my book and escape for 20 minutes before I crash. G’night.

All righty. I just found out that the Romance Writers of America annual writers’ conference for the summer of 2012 is being held in Anaheim, California.

I would love to go to Anaheim.

I would love even more to be able to have a book to sign at the bookfair. Mind you, this goal’s a bit more lofty, but hey… what good are goals if you don’t have to reach for them?

But holy wow, the cost of conference has risen — I just looked, and the registration for this year’s event is $425… Yes, FOUR-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. And that’s US Funds. *choke* Yes, it’s a business expense, but I’ll have to save my sheckles, that’s for sure…

Anyway. That’s the long-term goal, I think. Reasonably doable, aye? (Please say yes…! Ulp!)