Happy Birthday Liam!

My little guy turned 6 today! I really can't believe how quickly time flew by; as cliche as that sounds. I suppose it is because he is such a mama's boy, and I am totally okay with that! I love my little boy!
He wanted a Mario themed birthday cake, and while it was grander in my head than the actual execution, I did have a lot of fun making the figures. I made them out of chocolate that I melted and colored. It was the first time I had tried the technique and I really enjoyed it!

And Liam's response when he walked in the door from school and saw it? 

"Mama, it's better than I imagined it would be!" :)

What's on my night stand right now..

and because I alternate out one of the four from the series constantly...this week it is...

A Small Victory

I just finished writing a short biographical essay for the NPO, A Small Victory. They support grieving  parents after the loss of their babies. This is an amazing organization that could use your support. Check them out at www.asmallvictory.org 

From their website:

Every year, roughly 576,000 babies die between 14 weeks gestation and one month of life. There are more deaths due to miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal loss than there are to cancer (565,000/year) or heart attacks (460,000/year). And that is not even including the one in four who miscarry in the first trimester of pregnancy. There are literally thousands of families out there who need support so that they can have a healthy approach to grief, and they need hope to know that they can live on remembering their lost children.

sometimes you can't query on your own...

I recently completed my first novel, a young adult book called DELICATE. I wrote it in about five weeks, but I am happy with it. I am currently getting my query letter together, which for those of you who haven't written one let me state for the record that it is NOT as easy as you'd think. It is not "just a letter", and yes I know that "that doesn't seem so hard".

I sent a sample chapter to Firebrand Literary for their 1st annual Query Holiday. I am trying not to be obsessive about checking my e-mail repeatedly, hoping for a response!

I am hoping to finish my query soon and get it mailed off to a few literary agents. I will let you know if I have any success!

Some things that I learned in 2008

*To never argue politics with friends;

*After gaining a ton of weight thanks to my pesky little brain tumor, that people are WAY nicer to you when you are thin!

*That I put up with way too much crap and don't stick up for myself nearly enough anymore;

*That I have terrible taste in men;

*That I have awesome taste in friends!

*That I am smarter than I give myself credit for;

*That just because you are related to someone by blood, doesn't mean that they are your family;

*That I am stronger than I give myself credit for;

*That I usually make the easy decision, rather than the right one;

*That there are certain people in my life that will always let me down, I just need to accept that and stop expecting anything different from them;

*That there are certain people in my life that will always be there, and that it's okay to let them in;

*That I don't need to feel guilty every time I leave my kids;

*That I am not responsible for anyone else's happiness other than my own (and my kids--the rest of you are on your own!) :)

*That I can finally tell my soon-to-be ex-in-laws exactly what I think of them and not feel about it (btw, it was WAY better than therapy!!)

*That I am so blessed to have such awesome brothers, they are my rocks and I love them so much!

*That I don't go to church enough anymore, I will do better in 2009!

*That I have serious doubts about the institution of marriage, but that doesn't stop me from having hope that someday I will have my happily ever after!

*That I spent way too many years being unhappy and I won't ever waste another one like that!

Buh-bye 2008!

I don't normally care about New Year's. I don't make resolutions. I don't go out and ring in the New Year at a bar. (This New Year's Eve Montee and I had a wild party at her house with Coco, watching Saved & Bend it Like Beckham, and ate chips & queso from the oh-so authentic mexican restaurant, Casa Manana! so truly, my life is suuuppppeeerrr exciting! :) ) Anyway, just because I don't go all out with a New Year's Eve celebration doesn't mean that I am any less thrilled that 2008 is over. I have never been so ecstatic to put a year behind me.  

2008 brought me a split with my husband, a brain tumor, a 60 pound weight gain, and a major feud with my older sister.  To say that I am happy to put it all behind me would be an enormous understatement. 

To all the people that always say "It can't get any worse", I beg to differ. IT ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS CAN and 2008 proved that to me time and time again.

There were some positives in 2008, I am thankful for the friends that stuck by me through it all, for the clarity that all of the troubles brought me as far as figuring out who I am and what I want for myself, I have a new empathy for people that I didn't have before, I read a lot of great books--I hadn't cracked a book in years, but I read more than I could possibly count last year and some of the stories have really stuck with me as well as inspired me to start writing my own novel. I am about 3/4 of the way done and I couldn't be more excited about it!

So 2008, glad you are behind me, but thank you for the lessons!