Tiger Eyes is Coming!

I received a bit of an early Christmas gift last night, in my email inbox. My electronic copies of Tiger Eyes made their appearance, so I guess it really is going to be released on the 21st. The feeling of getting those copies never gets old, but I have to confess--there's a little more of a rush when the box of print copies arrives. With Eden's Pass, I forgot to let the Powers-That-Be over at Samhain know I'd moved (oops. How do you forget something like that???), so they went to my old address. Fortunately, the woman who bought our townhouse was kind enough to have her mother bring the carton to me. Unfortunately, the woman was a smoker and had the box in her car for about two weeks before she had the time to deliver them. It  took a long time for the smoky smell to dissipate. Blech. But still, she didn't have to bring them at all, so what's a little stinky at that point?

But still, it's a wonderful thing, to get that email file and unzip it. Yay!

So, there's just about two weeks until Christmas and I'm happy to say I am pretty much finished with all my shopping. Wrapping is another story, but the shopping is just about finished. This year, I actually had ideas for people, which is a switch from most years. And, I enjoyed shopping as well, which never happens for me. I'm not a shopper. I go, I get what I need, and I get the hell out of Dodge. But this year, it was a nice way to spend an afternoon. All I have left to get are stocking stuffers. Then I'm finished. My record for Christmas shopping? Two hours. I was nine months pregnant with my first child (The Girl, who'll be ten at the end of the month. How's that for poor planning???) and basically bought everyone the same thing, only in a different color. :-)

All that's left is to find out who all will be here on Christmas Day (originally I was supposed to be doing Christmas dinner, but now that's kind of up in the air.) I might end up doing Christmas Eve instead, which is fine, but people--you have to let me know.

And the wrapping. I hate the wrapping more than the shopping and I think there should be a law that all gifts must come in perfectly square, nicely solid, boxes. I suck at wrapping odd-shaped things. Really. I make a really lousy elf.

So what are your holiday plans?

'Tis the Season

A few years ago, I blogged about putting my Christmas decorations up too early (ironically enough, that blog post was titled 'Tis the Season as well. I'm recycling myself now. Yikes) and in that post, I wrote about how my new neighbors already had their Christmas tree up. And you know something? They still won't let me forget I wrote that. :D

But this year, I've seen a LOT of decorations up already. Before Thanksgiving even. At first, I thought, WTF? Can we get through Thanksgiving first? But then, I thought about it a little more and decided that it really wasn't such a bad idea.

So, I put up my Christmas decorations.

I think for a lot of people, the crummy economy, dismal unemployment rates, and general blah of what's going on in this country and around the world has people looking for cheer wherever they can find it. And that's partly why I wanted my decorations up. That, and it's been a rough year for my family on a personal level. I needed to see cheeriness and that's what those silly decorations do for me. I love this time of year, and all that peace on earth, goodwill toward man. I love Christmas specials and Christmas songs and seeing the line of kids waiting to sit on Santa's lap that winds all around the first floor of the mall (I don't loving being in that line, though. It's far better to observe it from a distance.)

So this year, when I saw my neighbors across the street had their tree up on Thanksgiving, it made me smile. It looks pretty, all lit up. And the houses are starting to look pretty as well - so many lights and wreaths and grapevine deer- they are putting my in a holiday frame of mind and I need that this year.

I will be happy to see 2010 go. Aside from my book sales and my nephew's birth, it's been a terrible year. Here's to hoping 2011 will be better.

What about you? Are the Christmas decorations all going up too early for you? Too late? Have you put yours up yet?

Oh, and I wanted to say a very loud, very public thank you to Maria Zannini. I recently discovered her awesome blog and her equally awesome books. Well, she gave me a nice shout out on her blog and so I wanted to return the favor.Go. Check her out. You'll thank me, I promise. :-)

And to All, a Good Night...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Man.

Happy Wednesday!

A lousy title, I know, but I couldn't think of anything because... well because I suck at titles, for the most part. :D

 Anyway, here's a little chuckle for the holidays.

So I'm completely (as far as I know) caught up with the whole new computer thing. Thank God. I don't ever want to do this again because very few things suck as much as when the computer just goes pffft! and that is all she wrote. They may make writing a little easier, but I know I never lost a single WIP when I was hammering them out on a the old electric typewriter. I spent a fortune in White-Out (the delete and backspaces keys are my two bestest friends, you know), but that's teeny-tiny in the world of inconveniences when compared to losing entire manuscripts...

My Christmas shopping is done (all except for tags, which I keep forgetting to buy. Jeez, I hope I can still find them...) and everything is wrapped, so I guess that makes me ready for the holiday. Yay! This is the latest I've ever finished and I don't like it. Not one bit. Next year, I will be done by the 15th.

That's about it for now, I guess. Revisions are a-waiting and I'd better get to work, seeing as how the Boy and the Girl have half-days today and will be home very soon.

And, since I have nothing more, how about a little mancandy for the day?

Now, who wouldn't want to find Hugh in their Christmas stocking???