Trying to Pick a Headshot

Long Time, No... Uh... Write?

So, it's been awhile since I posted on this blog. With all the other blogging I'm doing, you'd think I could spare some time once in awhile to just pop by and post? Apparently not.

I did want to let you know a couple of important things that have happened in my life lately.

** I got a request for a full submission of my Steampunk novel. I'm sending that in as we speak.

** I got a request for a full submission of New Nineveh (inspy contemp, Genesis), which as been renamed to Once a Smokejumper after the editor who requested it said she'd never be able to sell that title. Very well. :-) I like the new title better, anyway.

** I sent Once A Smokejumper in to the Golden Heart.

** I finaled in the Beacon contest, with two manuscripts. Both currently complete. Both waiting for an editor/agent request.

** I finished two novels during NaNoWriMo (Yes, I'm Psychotic).

** And... I finally heard back from Harlequin. The editor sent me the absolute best rejection letter I could possibly have gotten. She essentially said that she loved my voice and my writing, and wanted to see something else. NN has some really glaring plot difficulties that my CPs pointed out to me, but I didn't want to listen to them. I'm here to tell you, they were right. :-) And the editor backed them up. I'm in the middle of fixing them, as we speak, and am going to fix them before I send them to Carina. But I'm really just hoping to get a chance to get that book published someday. It won't be with Harlequin, which is fine with me. Because the next one might. :-) I'm nothing if not an optimist, eh?

Oh, and it looks like my job will be going full time next year. Perhaps not right away in January, but at some point after that. Maybe in May. Or September. We're not sure. But for sure, next year sometime. So yay! I'm excited about that. I love my job, my staff is amazing, and the work we're doing is glorifying to God. There is no better job to have.

God is good, in short. :-)

Review: Wonders Never Cease

Wonders Never Cease
by Tim Downs

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Cost: $9.68

What I Liked:
This was a completely unpredictable story. Every twist of this plot was equally as strange and unexpected as the one before. For a non-thriller, there was an awful lot going on in these pages.

What might seem like an innocuous experience, a little girl telling a "story" during show and tell, turns into a full-fledged parental nightmare. Only both her "parents" aren't being present to her troubles. Her mother's boyfriend, Kemp, has decided to cash in on this little girl's experience, and on the tragedy of another person. And he hopes and prays that no one finds out.

But there's more going on than meets the eye. And I love books like that.

Honestly, it was a little hard to suspend my belief that a publisher and an agent and a writer would all go along with this crazy idea just to make a buck. Especially when they're already making money. I know the writer knows what he's talking about, so I tried to suspend my disbelief, but it just sounded so strange. And the plot about the starlet coming out of her coma... it was... well, again I know it's fiction, so the point is that it didn't really happen. It just seemed really strange.

I didn't really like any of the characters, except Matt--the girl's teacher--and even then, when I first met him, I didn't like him. I kept thinking that Natalie, to be able to stay in a relationship with a guy like Kemp, had to be just an idiot. But the ending was satisfying, and I appreciated that comeuppance was gotten in the end, at least for some of those who deserved it.

All in all, I think the writing is good, and I certainly enjoyed the uniqueness of the plot. It's a good, well-themed, inspirational, nicely-tied-up book to read.

Book Blurb:
It's a brilliant plan, if Kemp McAvoy says so himself--and Kemp never hesitates to point out his own brilliance. Kemp is a night nurse for a beautiful but aging movie star in a medically induced coma. And with the help of her agent and a struggling young publisher, he's concocted a can't-fail scheme that will make them all rich.

Olivia Hayden is about to receive a heavenly visitor--an angel with a message for all humankind. All it takes is a blinding light and little adjustment of her meds, and when she awakes she'll think it was real--and they'll have an instant best-selling book.

The scheme seems foolproof. All they have to do for it to work is be good angels and stay out of trouble. But Kemp McAvoy has never been good at staying out of trouble--and he doesn't realize there may be out-of-this-world consequences for impersonating an angel.

From award-winning author Tim Downs comes this warm-hearted story of mistaken identity and unlikely redemption that will have you both laughing and looking at life from a higher perspective.

My 2010 Reading List: Update

Okay, I know I said no updates, but I couldn't help myself. Since I keep track of what I read every year, and I keep a journal from September 1st to August 31st, I've recently closed out one year. But back in January, I made a list of the 30 books I wanted to read this year. Here's been my progress.

* A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute - DONE



* Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian - DONE

* The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

* A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth

* Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome

* Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman

* Mort, Terry Pratchett

* The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton

* Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

* Perfume, Patrick Süskind

* Black Lyon, Jude Deveraux - DONE


* Devil's Bride, Stephanie Laurens - DONE

* Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas - DONE


* Once Upon a Knight, Jackie Ivie - DONE


* The Duke & I, Julia Quinn - DONE


* A Gentle Feuding, Johanna Lindsey - DONE


* A Knight's Vow, Lindsey Townsend - DONE

* Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, Sarah MacLean

* Highland Warrior, Monica McCarty - DONE

* Highland Rebel, Judith James

* The Sensation, Rebecca Flanders

* Angel's Wings, Anne Stuart

* Songs in the Whirlwind, June Masters Bacher

* Water for Elephants, Sarah Gruen - DONE


* Highland Dragon, Kimberly Killion - DONE


* Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters, Ben H. Winters - DONE


* Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris - DONE


* The Highlander's Touch, Karen Marie Moning - DONE

* Obstacles Welcome, Ralph De La Vega - DONE

* Ministries of Mercy, Timothy Keller
 
So I'm at 16/30. Not sure I'm going to get through the other 14, given the size of my TBR pile, and that's To Be Reviewed, not To Be Read. Lots of books to get through. I do want to get through a couple more of these BBC books, which are about the first ten in the list. But we'll see.
 
I also really want to read this Tim Keller book. And hopefully review it here. We'll see how that goes, too. If wishes were horses, I'd get a lot more books read. And written. Anyway, there have been some gems in this pile. And some duds. My favorite has probably been the KM Moning book. It set me off reading the rest of those books in her Highlander series. So that's a good thing. Great writer.
 
What about you? Read anything good this year?

Life Gets In the Way

It has been a *long* time since I've posted on this blog. I'm sure most of you thought I'd given up, eh? Well, you guessed... right. It just wasn't intentional.

You see, I have several other blogs that I maintain. I review for four review websites, I have four additional blogs (two group blogs I manage and two personal blogs), in addition to trying to write actual books. It's just unreal. Some of these blogs, I will never post the addresses for on here. You won't want to read them, honestly. But some of them I might.

Suffice to say, it's hard for me to keep up with everything.

So this poor little blog, my Silent Word, drops to the bottom of my Blogger Dashboard and just sits there. And eventually, I stop wanting to update it. Not because I don't have anything to say, but because I'm not quite sure where to start.

I guess I'll say, if you were hoping this was an update post, I hate to disappoint.

This is an I-refuse-to-do-an-update-post update post. That is to say, there's plenty of stuff to update on. I've got two full requests on my steampunk, the Genesis finals have been announced, Harlequin has the full of my inspy, I'm in several contests, and I'm querying agents for the first time. But that's not why I'm writing this post.

I'm writing this post so that the Silent Word Blog can go back up into the rotation on my Blogger dashboard. So I'm going to essentially skip everything that has happened between July 24th and September 23rd. Instead, I'm going to just pick up here. And the next time I blog on here, I'll have something interesting to say. It will not be an update post. It will probably be some annoying opinion post or some kind of research post that I felt compelled to do. But I will not update. I promise.

Or, if I do, it might be a Day Zero list update. We'll see.

Anyway, good to see you back, Silent Word. Perhaps we'll see each other again very soon. Much love.

Thanks to Clint for This...

Thanks to Clint for this fun "quiz". I actually used part of my novel, so that's a good sign. I'm going to go back and do it with a big of blog posting, just to see what it's like. This was fun. :-)

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Big News

Big news, Silent Word followers--trusted friends.

I had a Harlequin editor request a full read of my Genesis-finaling manuscript! :-) Of course, I'm thrilled, and finding myself more and more excited as the days go on since the call.

If you want to read all about the call, you can go to my foodie romance blog, but suffice to say, it was a fantastic experience getting that call, even though my heart probably stopped for a moment.

Thank you, especially, to my friends who read this blog. You are my first and best supporters! (And my family, most of you... haha!) Love to you all

Googoo for Gaga

We just finished a week of Young Singers Club. We had younger kids doing a Disney-themed week, and the older kids doing a Glee-themed week. Both groups had a ton of fun. I thought it was a blast.

For our Glee songs, we picked:

"Don't Stop Believing"
"Lean On Me"
"Defying Gravity"
"True Colors"
"Bad Romance"

Cassidy Cook, our choreographer, did a great routine for the Gaga that I wish I could have recorded. But I had to run sound, so it was a lot more difficult to do anything else during the actual show. But I did manage to get some pictures of the girls during one of the breaks. So I'm including one of them.

These girls were goo-goo for Gaga. They adored Bad Romance. And they went all-out. They did costumes, make-up, full choreography, an introduction skit, and big attitude. It was a lot of fun to see. These kids really came alive through the week, and they were a fantastic group of girls to coach.

Now, Cassidy and I have to get ready for Mamma Mia/Mary Poppins that will be happening next week. I'm super excited for it. But I know it's also going to be a hard week. I hope we can have as much fun with Abba as we did with Gaga. :-)

I'm sure we can!

Young Singers Club: Glee

Empowering Students Through Musical Performance

This week at Young Singers Club, I have been working with the Glee kids. We've also had a Disney camp going at the same time, but I haven't spent much time with them. I've been working with Cassidy Cook as a choreographer, and we've been having a great time.

Tonight is our recital, so today, we're prepping for a big gig. It's intense. It's a lot of fun, but it's very intense. Most of these kids have never had a gig like this before that they've had to work this hard to produce. A lot of them have some kind of performance experience, but it's been sort of low-key. So this is a new and intense experience for them. But I think it'll be good for them.

I've been seeing them grow through the week, but the most interesting part has been the way they've sort of grown into different people in their personal selves. Our motto is "empowering students through musical performance" and we use performance skills to help the kids have fun and to become more confident and engaged in their lives. It's been a great experience. And it's great to see that what we want to happen is really happening.

Anyway, the recital is tonight at The Rock. The Glee girls have been working hard on their songs, and especially on some difficult choreography for Lady Gaga's Bad Romance (which, as a romance author, I find very ironic). It should be a fun show!

Happy Fourth of July

Just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Fourth of July to everyone. I have a super busy day today (church, then set-up for camp, then picnic, then prep for camp, then sleepy-time). We're not having a big family gathering together today, which will be new.

Years past, we've had the entire family here. Grilled brats, potato salad, baked beans. It's been a tradition for a long time. Last year, Bailey (Kristopher & Andrea's daughter) held her first sparkler. Kevin was here. The year before, Garrys were here. It was great.

This year, everyone's gone. So no big party. But I'm going to Kath & Brian's instead. I'll bring corn salad. It'll be good-times-noodle-salad. Fun.

But I did want to say Happy Fourth. Happy Independence Day. Please don't watch that movie. But have a happy day!

Big Changes (NEWS)

Wow, there have been lots of changes in my life lately. Just wanted to do a quick post to update everyone (friends of mine) who read my blog. Here's the big news in my life lately.

For those of you who don't know, I've spent the last nine months writing (wait for it...) fiction. Yes, fiction. It's been a roller coaster. Finaled in the Genesis Contest (the National Christian Fiction Writing contest), which has given me inroads to a lot of publishing houses. Should have news on that very soon.
** I've finaled in three more writing contests. Two with the Genesis Finalist ms, and one with my Scottish historical! They're all RWA chapter contests, but the people reading the entries are still editors and agents, just like the Genesis. (Being a chapter contest means that I probably had less competition than in the Genesis, but the final ms's all still go to big-time agents and editors, regardless.)

** I've finished two more books. Should be editing them this month, in addition to finishing the re-write on my Genesis ms and completing that ms for RWA Nationals, where I have a meeting with a Love Inspired editor and a New York agent.

** I've started teaching writing classes through RWA chapters. Should be more information coming on that soon. (In case you want to sign up for one, haha!) :-) Teaching World-building, food writing, grammar... lots of things.

** I'm in a new band. Five friends and I have started a band called "Not That Serious". I have a feeling our name will change after not too long... although we're really not that serious. :-) We did our first gig on June 26th. Will likely be doing another one at L&B sometime in the fall. And will be doing another gig at Christus in the Fall as well. I'll keep you all posted. Probably through my blog and Facebook.

** I've started teaching summer performing arts camps with two very good friends of mine. It's a program that was started in Santa Barbara, and we're borrowing curriculum and aligning ourselves with them. It's basically a plant of that camp. Here's our website. We're doing Glee/Disney next week, and Cassidy Cook will be joining me for the Movement/Production rotation. Should be VERY exciting!

** I've taken a new job. I'm the new Director of Music at Springhill Presbyterian Church. Here's our website. There's three of us that are new staff who are not on the Staff Page yet, but look for us to be on there very soon. :-) A new community director, a director of music ministries, and a site/youth/young adult director. Stephen (the new site/youth/ya director) is a friend of Tim & Nicole. It's a small world after all.

Other than that, I'm writing most days. When I'm not at camp. I'm going to RWA Nationals in July. Going to ACFW Nationals in September. Going to Baltimore to see Kristy & Robert's new baby in September. Still doing Strengths coaching on a very limited basis. Reading and reviewing books, still. Doing lots of different things. Got some good feedback and encouragement at my Seminary reunion. Love those peeps.

Looking forward to the end of summer. :-) But very much looking forward to ORLANDO in July!! Mickey Mouse land, here I come!

Contest Final

I am a 2010 Genesis Contest Finalist!

Go here to read the full story about The Call. :-) Thanks, all for your support!!

One Down, How Many To Go

Here's the turtle blanket, finally finished. This was one of my Day Zero list to-do's. So I'm really glad that's done. Looking forward to being able to start on the next crochet project, now! :-) We shall see. Anyway, just wanted to post a picture here for those of you who don't look at my other blog.

Technically, this is five down, not one. :-) But who's counting?

Clash of the Titan-Gnomes

For Mother's Day, my mom got a GU gnome from my little sister (who is not only a Gonzaga alumni, but could seriously win a contest for being the biggest Zag fan on the planet). You know, my sister who once bargained with me to get back my giant Gonzaga coffee mug (my 12-cupper) she'd bought me one year for Christmas, because they stopped making them and she couldn't live without it. My sister who took me to a GU/Duke game at Madison Square Garden and made me sit between rabid Kennel Clubbers. My sister who used to camp out for days at a time to get tickets when they were in the old stadium. Yeah, that sister.

She is as rabid (if not more so) a GU fan as I am a Duke fan. She also hates Duke, and is not afraid to say it. (Okay, I will admit, when we were at MSG at that game, the Duke fans were total douches to the GU fans... I never would have done that, and yes, it was classless.)

But because my sister has been such a GU fan for so long, now my parents have become fans as well. And my mom is as big a GU fan, almost, as she is an MSU fan. (Not quite, because she works for MSU, but close.) So when she unwrapped the GU gnome, she squealed like a little kid. It was great.

But then I went downstairs as she was rabidly taking pictures of it to send to my sister, put on Facebook, and plaster her office, and I said, "Oh, cool. I could get you a Duke gnome" because the company that makes these gnomes makes them for all collegiate teams (or so the packaging claims).

To which she looked at me cock-eyed and said, "I don't think so."

Apparently the Duke-hate has spread through my entire family now. Feelin' the love.

So I went on her Facebook page and said, "Maybe I could get you a Duke gnome."

To which she said, essentially, "I don't think they would get along."

To which I reminded her, they are not people. Plus, my sister and I manage to get along. So she has a Duke daughter and a GU daughter, and we haven't torn each other in half (yet). Why couldn't she have a Duke gnome and a GU gnome on her mantle?

To which she has not yet answered.

My guess: Duke hatery has taken over my family. What is this world coming to?

SF for Grads

Just went into Barnes & Noble to buy a few copies of Strengthsfinder 2.0 so I could give them to a couple of clients tomorrow. And I went to where they usually store these books, only there were NONE there! This is very unusual, because I buy these books on a very regular basis, from the same store, and they always stock back up very quickly. There's not another person doing SF around here that I know of (and I will almost always hear about it), so I was a little shocked that there wasn't a single copy in the whole store.

We went around the store looking everywhere. The saleswoman kept saying "They're in the Business Motivation" section, which is just a couple of shelves. I kept telling her, "I checked, I know the book cover, it's not there. Trust me." She kept going back to look for it. It wasn't there.

Where did we finally find it?

On the table marked "For Graduates" that is a special collection of books to buy for 2010 Grads. I had to smile. There were probably 10 copies on that table. If I was going to have to find them somewhere, that is exactly the place I want to find them. It means the message is getting out.

Learn your Strengths, and learn them early. They will be the way you discern where to go from here. They are the best indicators of what your direction should be in life.

Good move, Barnes & Noble. I heartily approve.

Day Zero Project: Update

I've been diligently working away at my Day Zero Project list. I have a few more that I've finished and a couple that I've started since I updated last time. I keep updating on my sidebar, but I figured I should post a few thoughts on some of the things I've done recently, if for nothing else other than Posterity. :-)

So here we go... Completed:

11. Go to a book signing - I went to Kane Conlan's book signing for The Manipulators when I was in Calgary. I blogged about it here, and it was a lot of fun. 

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25. Comment on 100 random blogs (100/100) - This was part of my "getting to know the blogosphere" idea. And I'm considering bumping this number up again. I originally started with 10, then bumped it to 50, then to 100, because I was moving through them so fast. So I may move it up to 200 or 250 even. We'll see. I'm forever finding new great blogs to read.

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27. Make a new friend - I have actually made two new friends, through my critique circle. One of them I talk to almost every day now. It's been great. I also made a new friend when I went to Calgary. Lynette and I had been acquaintences through Keely, but when i went up there, I felt like I found a new friend. It was great.

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28. Influence a person to make a day zero list - I got Mary to make one, earlier. But then I also just got Julia to make one. Yay! I have loved having this list, and will probably do something like this for a long time into the future. I've found it to be a good motivator for me because it has a time-frame that's specific, and it's not so daunting.

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33. Get a critique partner - I have gotten several great critique partners through ACFW, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have good writers reading my work. I miss my old writer's group a lot, but I'm happy with what I've found, as well.

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40. Read a book written by someone I disagree with - I read (and reviewed, here) Sarah Palin's Going Rogue. I feel good about the experience and I even noticed that when I recently heard of her being the keynote speaker in Boston at the Tea Party, I had a little more compassion for her redneck jawing than I normally would have.

53. Give up sugar for a week (7/7) - I did this while I was in Calgary, and let me tell you, it was *not* easy. I continued to do it throughout all of Lent, to the best of my ability, but that one week in Calgary, I had absolutely no sugar. It was intense. I'm not sure I noticed an immediate difference, but I definitely noticed some difference during Lent, and not necessarily in a good way. But more about that later.

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58. Visit Keely - Did this in February. It was such a blast. I love Calgary. Can't wait to go back.

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68. Go back to Portland - Did this in April. I definitely missed Portland. Believe it or not, I love the rain. I know, I know, as much as I complain about the snow, you wouldn't think I'd enjoy it that much, but I really loved it. I love the smell of rain and the weather. Plus, it was pretty nice a couple of days that I was there. And I got to see my family and do some shopping. It was a lot of fun.

72. Go on a road trip with a good friend. - When I went out to Portland, Mary came with me, and we got to road-trip it for a couple of days (one there, one back). It was very fun. We had a box of healthy snacks, and we didn't stop for meals. We had a harrowing ride through the Gorge the first day, where Mary did some great driving. But all in all, it was fun. Lots of music listened to. :-) 


80. Attend a play - I went to see the One-Act festival that Kath acted in just before I left for Calgary. It was so much fun. And hilarious. I'd forgotten how talented local playwrights can really be. They were very fun, and the one Kath was in, I loved. 

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84. Sell my Nintendo DS - Just did this today, actually. And I'm about to mail it off right now. I'm so excited to be rid of all these electronic devices that I'm not using anymore. Definitely a good reminder to me about gadgetry, and how much I *don't* need it. :-)

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97. Start tracking my financial information - I haven't been great about this. And generally, I don't like to have to write things down and keep things. But after doing my taxes this year, I realized that I really need to do a better job of keeping track of what's going on in my financial life. Plus, now that I am opening an IRA and buying stock, I need to have records. Good records. Complete records. Aaah, adult-hood. Here you are.

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101. Get Keely to use Skype - After the M&H phone fiasco, both Keely & I decided that we would try to use Skype more often. So when I was up there, I got my webcam out, and her webcam out, and we Skyped while we were in the same town. :-) That way, I knew we could do it. And now we Skype when we're not in the same town! :-) It's a great money-saver for me. And for her, I'm sure.

Not yet completed, but on the docket:
2. See a movie in 3D - Never got to see Avatar in 3D... so I'm thinking maybe something this Spring. Everything seems to be coming out in 3D lately, so I figured I'd try it.

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3. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years - I went back and read some of the things I wrote when I was in college the first time around, and I was amazed at how much I'd changed. I used to make my students write letters to their future selves, and I would send them to them in 5 years. I just sent out my first batch last summer, so I thought I'd do the same for myself. Should be fun. 

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15. Attend a rally for a cause I really care about - When I went past the tea party rally last week, I thought to myself, I need to remember to be on the lookout for rallys to go to. Going to the Methodist Church, they usually keep us pretty informed if there is anything, so I'll keep my eyes peeled and let you know if I find anything.

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20. Make bread from scratch - I'm hoping to do this sometime this spring.

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23. Buy a new camera - My camera has been broken since a fatal day in Madison Square Garden where I dropped it down the escalator on accident. So I've been needing to buy a new one. But I use my iPod more often, so I wanted to replace that first. Now that's done, next on my list is to replace my camera. Since I've sold my DS, and all the games with it, I will have some cash flow coming in. So I'll put some of that aside to replace my camera. I'm very excited to get a new one, and will be checking eBay a lot over the next several days to see what kind of deals I can get on used digital cameras.

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36. Start a retirement fund - My parents gave me some seed money to start an IRA last year, and I still haven't done it. So that's something I want to make sure and do this Spring. Especially if I stay in Bozeman and stay at the bank I'm with right now, which it looks like I might just do. So we'll see how this goes.

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45. Not log into facebook for a whole week (0/7) - I'm planning to do this in May, after SNL is over. I was going to do it this week, for Screen-Free week. But with SNL going on, I need to have access to Facebook in order to manage that event. So after SNL, I'm going to take a Facebook haitus. I'm not going to take a blogging haitus, because that's professional time I need to put in for development of my platform, and everytime I miss days with blogging, I pay for it. (Not with money... but loss of interest.) So I won't take a haitus from that, but I will not log onto Facebook for an entire week. Maybe longer...

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60. Visit Maggie - Before my sister moves to San Diego, I really would like to get back out to Boston. I want to try to figure out how to make this happen. I loved Boston, and I only really got to spend a few days there. I suppose, it's not a huge priority, but I would like to try. If not, I guess "Visit Maggie" can include San Diego as well. :-) But I would also like to get to Providence and see Dooley's. We'll see.

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87. Apply to a job at Bethel or MSU - I was going to apply for the Academic Adviser job at MSU, but they took down the public posting before I could. So I'm going to keep my eye open at both Bethel and MSU. It is my ultimate goal to work on a University campus someday, so I will keep trying.

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96. Attend an author's conference - I just registered for RWA Nationals and am heading to Nashville in July. I'm very excited for this opportunity, and very grateful that my parents decided to invest in my career by sending me to this very prestigious and exciting conference!! Thanks Mom & Dad. I couldn't do this without you both.

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Well, that's it for now. One of my Day Zero items that I decided not to put on (because I have no control over it) was to celebrate with Duke when they won the national championship. And while I had no control over them winning the championship, it is sure a great time to be a Duke Fan. And I will always be able to say that I saw this 2010 Championship Team play live in Madison Square Gardens. (Even though they broke my camera, haha!) So that was definitely a highlight that didn't make the list. Go Blue Devils. :-)