A Busy Winter

Photo found here: http://bit.ly/umwQ5n 

It's been an interesting winter so far, to say the least. And by interesting, I mean far from the norm. My norm.

Growing up, I severely disliked my mom (like all teenagers across the world) and thought she was cramping my style and making my life miserable on purpose. Of course, now that I'm an adult, I realize how smart and wise she was, and glad that she ruled with an iron fist (some of the time), and actually thankful that she caught me when I did some pretty stupid things. Now, she's the best friend I have. 
She moved away about six months ago (but it feels like a lifetime) for an extended vacation. It's been a weird six months. Not being able to see her a few times a week. Not having someone to do things with that Hubby would rather skip. A piece of me has been missing for six months and I'm not functioning properly. That's the first "out of the norm" thing.

The second is, we had Thanksgiving at our house this year, with 20 adults (my mom being one, yay!), 5 children (3- to 6-years-old) and two infants under a year old. I loved it, of course, and can't wait to get a bigger house so we can fit everyone in the kitchen and instead of the living room. I forgot to take pictures to show you all how beautifully it all turned out. I made boat loads of food to make sure there was enough (we ran out of stuffing last year), and I forgot to send leftovers home with the guests (note to self: buy cheap Tupperware for next year). As a result, my fridge was wall to wall stuffing, turkey, yams, and mashed potatoes. In fact, I was eating Thanksgiving Dinner for lunch and dinner up until a couple weeks ago.

Christmas is going to be crazy this year with my mom being gone and with a new niece and nephew added to the bunch. So, seven total to buy for. I actually had a Christmas list for Hubby to choose from and he didn't (surprise, surprise). Oh, and, in a manner of a month, I've had close friends/family either get engaged (2) or exchange promise rings (1); and when it happens bam-bam-bam, it's a bit overwhelming.

We still don't have any snow. And while I'm not terribly upset by this absence, it's weird. We usually have snow by now. A lot of snow. We haven't seen one flake. I admit, I don't like driving with idiots who don't know how to drive on freeways in the snow. I don't like having to shovel and salt the driveway and sidewalks. I ESPECIALLY don't like having to replace my sensational high heel collection with sensible foot ware (Excuse me while I gag). But it doesn't feel like the Christmas season without a bit of white on the ground. I miss seeing The Machine run around like a black dart through the park and our back yard, her mouth open like a shovel, scooping up the snow. But, *sigh*, it looks like a non-white Christmas.

I made my mom's trademark Christmas cookies yesterday (I call them the cookies from hell) for my husband (they're his favorite and very tasty, but hard to make) and immediately called my mom and said, "You can never, never, never, EVER die, because I'm never making these cookies again!"

There's an agent looking at my book. My ENTIRE book. She still has my book. I've been told that the longer they have it, the better your odds are. At least, that's what I've been told. Did I say that already? That bit of news still has me a little delirious.


I have three completed YA novels under my belt, all of which I am in love with. I'm a quarter to a third of the way through three others, all of which I adore, as well. I've joined SCBWI and a subscription to Writer's Digest which prove I'm both dedicated and motivated with this whole writing "thing". I'm gearing up for my second writer's conference in San Francisco and I'm going to start another writing group (I hope) in January. I'm almost up to date on all my BR's and that's saying something! I've read about 25 books this year, and since I started keeping track in the summer, that's pretty hot.

Things are a-movin' and a-shakin, people. I'm feeling good about it all.

What about you? How is the end of your year shaping up?