2008 West Virginia State Fair--Final Tally

Though it is two months come and gone it's time to tally up this year's state fair results. Drum roll please.....

Mom

1st - Dipped Candy -- Coconut Balls..2nd year in a row
1st - Apple Cake
2nd - Fudge -- Black Walnut
and most importantly...
1st - First Lady's Candy Box -- This pretty much means Mom's the number one home candy
maker in WV.

Me

1st - Apple Pie, Double Crust -- YES!
1st - Pie - Peanut Pie -- Just like a candy bar
2nd - Pecan Pie -- My first
2nd - Coffee Cake -- My challenge category since I'd never made one before
3rd - Blueberry Margarita Pie -- You read that right
3rd - Sour Cream Cinnamon Muffins -- I forgot the extra cinnamon

Overall, we did quite well. The county paper had both of us on the front page last week. Mom's had most of the notoriety. Next year's plans are already under way.

FYI, things have improved since my last post. Improved but not 100%. Ah well, that's life.

Let's FOCUS People.

Sigh.

Do you ever feel like you're adding more to your to do list than you're taking off?

1. Finish final class assignment.
2. Continue fleshing out characters for my rejection submission.
3. Actually get that rejection submission started.
4. Work on work stuff.
5. Start prepping for this year's state fair. Ribbons, ribbons, ribbons.
6. Practice my crusts.
7. Register my Relay participants.
8. Decide if we'll throw Mom a birthday party -- in July.
9. Keep an eye on said mother during her recuperation from surgery.
10. FOCUS! Especially on 1 through 9. More importantly 2 and 3.

There's more, I just can't think of them at the moment.

At least I finished one today. I can officially erase number six from the list because I now have a nice double crust waiting in the fridge for tomorrow's new recipe. Berry something or other, I haven't named it yet. It might be a double crust or it might have a crumb topping, I'll know more when I'm standing in front of it. My writing, and eventual publication is important, but ribbon fever has won out for the moment. Hey, what can I say? I have last year's ribbons to defend.

On the writing side, things are progressing as much as they can under the circumstances. Until I finish this last class I won't be able to launch myself into my story. I think I've finally worked out the plot and the conflict - yippee! - now I just need to flesh the two leads out. RT was as invaluable as I'd hoped it'd be. I won't be going to San Fran this year for RWA but maybe 2009.

Focus can be a hard thing for me sometimes. Sorry Judi, but it is. I know it's all in there, I just have to beat it out of me.

A Month?

Has it really been a month since RT?

RT Convention - Days 3, 4 & 5

Overwhelming.

What other word can describe the feeling an RT Virgin gets when they first realize the enormity of the RT experience?

It's Saturday and I'm still overwhelmed.

More later.

RT Convention - Day 2

Ever since my college days, Tuesday has always been an oddball day for me. More than Hump Day, more than Manic Monday and way more than Friday (sometimes) Tuesdays always stand out.



That being said, today's Tuesday was okay. Class started at 10:30 and flew by. I didn't get as restless in my seat as I expected. I'm so used to being on my feet for most of my work day sitting still for so long plays havoc with my legs.



I've learned a lot over the last two days. Judy McCoy is an awesome teacher. I feel this week will go a long way to helping me with my writing or lack thereof.



Every time I hit the lobby it's full of new faces. Now it's starting to hit me. There's going to be so many people in this building! I'm such a withdrawn person. However, I've discovered I need to let people approach me, not the other way around. I just hope to meet people and find new friends for next year.

RT Convention - Day One

Going into this whole aspiring writer's course, I had no idea what to expect. Would they force me to state my goals and dreams in front of strangers? Would I be grilled over my genre choice? Many hours and days and months were spent agonizing over every possible torture angle.

In the end it turns out I had nothing to worry about. My flights to PBurg were far more nerve inducing than that walk to the classroom this morning. I felt a little odd man out because everyone seemed to know someone, but that's really just me and my own personality I suppose.

Nope. I had no reason whatsoever to be nervous. Judi McCoy is absolutely the right person to teach this course. She is honest, funny, tough and nice. Linnea Sinclair was a hoot and Charlotte Hubbard made me feel at ease. I've never read either of these authors before, but now I will!

The plotting season at the end was fun and eye-opening. Thanks to Terry, Wendy, Adrianna and Charlotte for being such great plot partners.

Day One -- Success. Two thumbs up.

Pittsburgh or Bust

It's 1:30 a.m. I need to be up at 5 to catch the plane I only decided to take this past Tuesday. Can we all say Tired with a capital T? I know I can.

I'm nervous. I'm nervous of the beginner's class, I'm tied in knots really. Sigh. I just want to get more than 4 hours of sleep every night. I can't sleep on planes either. Too uncomfortable.

Let's get this thing started. See y'all there!

Spring, Glorious Spring! Or How to Be an RT Virgin

Spring has finally arrived and not a moment too soon.

It's so nice to say spring has started and winter is over. It could snow tomorrow... Warm days, green trees, happy singing birds. I sound a bit too happy about it all, don't I? But, hey, what can you do about it? Spring! Spring! Spring!

Alright, all that happy, peppy puppy feeling out of my system. Let's move on.

Today is the day after spring, the 21st. In one month I will be back from the Romantic Times convention. My first ever convention. Ever. Being an RT Virgin can make a lady a little anxious. I'm not nervous about the convo itself. I dress the way I dress, I talk the way I talk and I stand against the wall like no other. You see, I know I'm going to not feel as though I fit in before I even get there, so that's not the problem.

Nope. I'm anxious about making the LIST. My packing LIST. What? You were thinking of something less important? The LIST will have to last for eight days. Eight Days. Eight. Do you know how long that is in fat days? Pretty long sister. What if I don't have enough clean...anything! It scrambles the mind.

Pittsburgh, you better watch out.

230+

All i had to do was ask....

Last September my father's sisters asked me what I would like from them for Christmas.

Now, I'm well beyond the age of flipping through the Sears & Roebuck and marking up my Christmas wishes. If they gave me nothing but a nice card I would be happy. However, since they were kind enough to consider my desires....

"I'd like a big, big box of books. I mean a big, big, big box of books." I held my arms out to demonstrate what a thirtysomething considers big. Oh, and I kindly offered them an out. "Or a nice bag. Whichever."

To be honest, I expected the whichever. The request was really an attempt to just get a nice whichever.

Imagine my surprise on Christmas Eve when six boxes of books were waiting for me under their tree! How awesome are they?

By the way, I got the whichever as well. A nice messenger bag. Go figure.