Poker Face

Wow…Yesterday I blogged at SFC about dinner with Shelli and Emma (complete with pic of much despised okra!). Today I’m going to talk about all the cool folks I met (and I’ll upload some pics later). I totally went to Nationals with the intention of meeting up with online friends, networking and most importantly of all, having a great time. If the time I spent in the bar is any indication, I succeeded! :woot:

All I can say is WOW, WOW, WOW! I should have taken notes because after a while, everything ran together–I’m sure some of this will be out of order, and if I leave anyone out, please forgive me.

The first person I got to meet Tuesday after I checked in was Kristi J…outside, smoking my first conference ciggie (please don’t throw rocks). I also got to meet Kristin and Jax from Romance Divas…both of whom are sweet a sin. I totally have hair-envy on Jax….I want pink hair too. :yes:

Then got to meet Crystal Jordan after she got her First Sale tattoo–yes she got the call Tuesday morning! She’s now an Aphro-girl! Finally got to meet Feisty, but it took us until Saturday afternoon to get all four Naughty and Spice girls together for a pic!

On Tuesday I ran into my favorite best budette Pam Britton, who called me an hour later and ordered me to the bar. Who was I to say no? She was there with her best good buds, Rae Monet (who I know from LSB) and Jen Scully, who was kind enough to sign a book for me to give away on the blog (stay tuned–I have tons of books to give away here and elsewhere), and Dee S. Knight (also from LSB). I’m thinking we should have all of them come guest blog. Speaking of guest blogs, Colleen Gleason was sweet enough to offer to pay us a visit too! networking.jpgI can’t wait!

Pam, Denise, Eve, Shelli and I did dinner, via a ride in a Hummer Limo–as Pam said, “How many opportunities are we going to get to do that?” Well, not many if you’re me. LOL Before we took off, Pam had to say hi to her friend Sheri, who she introduced me too (yeah that’d be Sherilyn Kenyon followed by the sound of my jaw hitting the floor). The margaritas at TGI Fridays were great! As was the company. I think Shel has a pic of Pam kissing a horse. :doglick:

Afterward it was….you guessed it, back to the bar (this must have been Tuesday).

Wednesday was the President’s Retreat (I’m the secretary for my local chapter so I went too). Did I mention I sleep poorly in strange places? 3 hours sleep combined with um, non-excitement meant I was :cry: despite the plethora of chocolate surrounding me…at one point my phone even rang (oops–sorry ya’ll) and it scared the bejesus out of me because I thought I had it on mute and, well, I was dozing and didn’t even realize it. There was much playfullness between Shelli and I (that was the only way I could stay awake), and I ditched bowed out of the second half in favor of a nap, then headed to the bookseller teatea.jpg where I clung to Pam and Rae for all of five minutes. Then I ran into Rosemary Clement Moore (one of my fave YA authors) who was talking to Marjorie Liu (squee!!!!!), and Beth Williamson (OMG), and Larissa and Steph (if they don’t watch out they’ll be the next PB & J!), and a plethora of Aphro Authors including the incredible Kate Douglas and my best new friend Rachelle Chase and wow I was like a total extrovert walking up to folks I didn’t know and introducing myself.

I guess you could say, I was wearing my poker face :yes:

It’s funny because it’s SO true

Old article from The Onion:

NOT BOSTON OR NEW YORK—Something nearly worth reporting occurred either Saturday or Sunday—although no written records of the event exist, analysts claim it was the same day the Yankees beat the Mets to take the Subway Series—when the Minnesota Twins squandered a large late-game lead to the Brewers, but then won the game when Jason [sic] Morneau hit a walk-off home run in a manner eerily reminscent of Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. “Manny Ramirez has really started heating up at the plate as of late, and you know what that means—opposing pitchers had better watch out,” ESPN’s Sean McAdam said when asked about Corey Hart’s eighth inning homer that cut the Twins’ lead to two. “But if the Yankees rotation stays healthy and Abreu keeps swinging a big stick, it will be a tight race down the stretch. Should be a fun summer.” Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Jeff Suppan, and Joe Nathan were unavailable for comment, as they are not Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling, Johnny Damon, or Alex Rodriguez. 

 

Light and day

This is my favorite time of day, for a few reasons:

1. I’m done with work
2. It’s light out now when I’m done with work
3. And, the light looks like that

It’s so pretty and simplistic: trees made of silhouettes and the sky made of blues, oranges, pinks and purples. I just love it.

I have some kind of tooth issue that I am ignoring, inasmuch as one can ignore shooting pain when chewing on the affected side, random cheek tingling and extreme facial sensitivity. I’m sure it’s nothing.

I am going through my 2nd cookbook looking for new recipes, and it’s called The Newlyweds Cookbook. It’s so sweet and cute and not true to life because the recipes break down the duties, like this:

He does: Cuts the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces…

She does: Brings the chicken mixture to a boil, stirring often…

Whatever. Jason & I get all irritated with each other if we’re both in the kitchen at the same time, because we have a smallish kitchen and it’s not conducive to being toe-to-toe with someone when boiling water and exact measurements are involved. There’s a lot of “excuse me’s” and “watch out, boiling water coming through’s” and “are you sure that’s enough onion powder” comments, and it never ends well. So here’s our version.

Whenever Jason cooks, I:

Play floor hockey with the cats (they’re surprisingly nimble)

And whenever I cook, Jason:

Catches up on emails.

It’s win-win.

My favorite recipe from this cookbook, the one that made me exclaim “WHAT?!?” and curse my laziness at not noticing it sooner: Bacon-Wrapped Chicken in Cream Sauce. Yeah!

 

Whose surname?

When I was born, I was given my father’s surname. When I was seven, I asked my mum why I didn’t have the same surname as her and my sister (who both have my mum’s ex husband & my sister’s dad’s name, which is why it wasn’t originally given to me) as our household consisted of only the three of us, and at the time we were not in contact with my father. We changed my surname to a double barrel so I still had my father’s name, but also the name my mum and sister used. As far as I’m aware, my mum did not need my father’s permission to do this, but she did need a witness to the name change (her own mother, my grandmother, did this).

I’m happy with my double surname. In fact, it’s quite useful, as I can legally use just one or the other if I wish, as the legal documentation does not include a hyphen between the surnames.

Just thought I’d input from a different perspective! 

Ops!

I forgot to mention that if my little boy still wanted to nurse, I would absolutely still be nursing, and I’m not giving any reasons. This is not something that needs to be justified anymore than the original decision to begin breast feeding in the first place. My body, My baby, My choice.
Also forgot to say, another great post Ruth!!!! Keep ‘em coming!