Happy 4th of July!

Here in the good ol’ US of A, we’re celebrating Independence Day. But for my international readers (allowing for time zone differences), it’s still the fourth of July, right?
So Happy 4th!

Another Mystery Solved!

My husband, affectionately known around these parts as “Mr. Kiddoc,” has baffled me for years.
He can make things disappear without a trace. Give him a set of keys or a remote control or a scrap of paper with a phone number on it and– in under a minute– it will be gone. He won’t even [...]

U Got the Look: Novel Marketing and Prom Ensembles

Well, Prom season is upon us. You may wonder what the heck that has to do with marketing a novel. Well, I’ll tell you.
But first, I’d like to introduce this into evidence:

That’s me (with my sister) on my way to the prom circa 1992.
Now, if you’re like me, after looking at this picture, you’re rubbing [...]

Be Careful What You Wish For! (In Deep Smit 1/30/09)

Another Friday and again, I am deeply smitten with my own husband (affectionately known on these internets as “Mr. Kiddoc”)
Case in point:
I’m driving, Mr. Kiddoc is shotgun.
(several quiet moments pass uneventfully)
Mr. Kiddoc turns from the window. “I’m thinking maybe I should become a rock star.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Of course, I don’t play any instrument.”
“Well… no [...]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween! (In Deep Smit 10/31/08)

It’s Friday again, sure. But who can pay attention to that when it’s also Halloween?

For your Halloween amusement, I’m sharing some Halloween pic of yours truly over the years.
I’m the toy soldier here. My sister is Little Bo Peep.

You can’t see my ladybug back in this picture.

Freshman year of high school.  Very 1987.

And here’s [...]

Wisconsin Travelogue– A Twitter-esque Eureka

So, I survived 36 hours sans internet this weekend.  And I realized what the theoretical point of Twitter is, although I don’t think it can work that way in practice.
One of the Blog Chain Gang, Leah Clifford recently posted her writing schedule and I had a Eureka Moment.  That’s what twitter should be like… except [...]

In Deep Smit– 09/19/08

Another Friday has come along. And today, I am in Deep Smit with our local hangouts. Yesterday, Mr. Kiddoc and I picked up the Thursday Special at our local pizza joint. It’s $5.99 for a large, one-topping pie. So we took our pepperoni pizza up to the state park where we [...]

In Deep Smit– 09/12/08

I am getting these Deep Smit posts out later and later. Work has just been beyond busy lately, as I’ve been working more than usual to accommodate some of my staff’s schedule requests. But the upside of that is that once I leave here tomorrow, I don’t have to work another overnight shift [...]

Happy Labor Day!

As appropriate, I suppose, I am laboring today.  Well, laboring and mainlining caffeine as I didn’t sleep much this weekend.
We were celebrating my BIL’s wedding to his beautiful new wife.  It was quite a cosmopolitan affair.  The bride was Taiwanese, the groom Mexican, the food was Italian.  We had both Mariachis and a Taiwanese choir [...]

Reflections

Yesterday was the memorial service for my Aunt Sue. The service was held in a church near Chicago, as she is buried near here (she’d been living in California for the last 20 years or so, but before that she lived here for over 60 years).
Since she was not a member of the [...]

Welcome to My Boudoir… Care for an Informative Brochure?

Well, another mystery solved here on Trying To Do the Write Thing.
A couple of days ago, we received a UPS tag on our front door that they had attempted a delivery.
Neither my husband nor I had ordered anything. It isn’t our birthdays/anniversary. No friends or relations admitted to sending us surprises. We [...]

Wise Old Woman: Remembering My Great-Aunt Sue

I got word today that my great-aunt Isabelle “Sue” Dyer passed away last night.
It wasn’t unexpected; her health had been in decline for quite some time. I haven’t seen her since before my husband and I got married, but I still miss her.
Never married, she lived with my great-uncle (my godfather) until he passed [...]

Mommy Deerest or How NOT to Report an Emergency

Last night I officially had the crap scared out of me. I was working a shift when I received a call from my father.
“Your mother’s been in an accident,” he said. “She hit a deer. She’s bleeding but she doesn’t know from where.”
Needless to say, I was careening towards full-blown panic. I [...]

Every Car Has Its Life-Threatening Defect

So, virtually every car has some sort of glitch.  Our old minivan had a transmission that was prone to crapping out without warning.
And my luck dictates that if a glitch is possible, it is probable.
So, recently I was driving home from work in my dream car.  The weather was fabulous, and, inhibitions removed by lack [...]