dolphins and me

Merry, merry, everyone! Hit the beach yesterday for some wave watching with my Hub and Teen Son. The girls were with friends on beach cruisers. The weather around here hit 77 degrees, giving us quite the warm Christmas Day--always a switch for my Pennsylvania-born husband.

So we're sitting in the sand, admiring my shiny new "booksigning" ring--a golden dolphin jumping through a diamond hoop (a gift from my hub!)--when a pod of real, live dolphins swims by. Can it get any better than this?

Wherever you are this week, have a great one!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(How's that for originality? I really mean it though :)

And may God's peace be yours!

Celebrities who look like me :-)

Found this on Robin Lee Hatcher's site. Too fun not to share, but what's up with that Debbie Harry comparison? I. don't. think. so.

And check this out, a younger Christie Brinkley and I apparently share features. I'm good with that :-)

p.s. If you try this at home, let me know how you fare. I had to shrink to fit. Kinda like when I try on jeans...

Late Nights and Dinnertime

Found the secret to chaos-free Christmas shopping. Um, other than shopping early and/or buy by Internet, that is. Anyway. Hub and I hit the mall last weekend at 8 pm, and wham!, five gifts bought in under an hour. We took a celebratory chocolate cake break at Macaroni Grill to mark the occasion.

Then last night, Teen Son and I hit one store at dinnertime. Yeah, it was still busy, but not overly so. Bunches of gifts bought in about an hour. Celebrated with a couple of pizzas.

On another note, welcome to the 'beta' version of my blog. Sorry if you have trouble posting comments--that's still a problem with old blogger vs. new blogger accounts. But I'm having a makeover and my web designer told me that I'd eventually be made to switch anyway. So I decided to go willingly now. Watch for the new "me" in the coming year :-)

It's beginning to look a lot like chaos...

Found my checkbook at the bottom of the kitchen garbage can today.

And today's trash day.

And, thankfully, Teen Son "forgot" to take out the garbage.

Ho-hum. Anyone else frazzled by all the merriment? Anyone else behind on your shopping? My (ex) friend Angela has finished all hers. Brat.

I'd like to take this moment to give a shout out to my blogging friend, Chaos-Jamie, and to ask if I can borrow her name. Pretty please? ;-)

On Lowen & Navarro

Seen Happy Feet? If so, you've heard my cousin, Dan Navarro, singin'. He sings lead on Leader of the Pack and does a flamenco intro and backgrounds to Robin Williams’ vocal on My Way. Love it! Elementary Girl’s been begging to see it, so no more delays!

On a tender note, cuz Dan’s long time writing and singing buddy, Eric Lowen, has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Lowen & Navarro have been performing concerts and recording albums for years. My hub, Dan, and I have seen them perform many times because they’re that good. Pat Benatar recorded one of their songs in the 80s, and gave them a hit. Remember We Belong? Yup, they wrote it. On stage they do a mean “Spanglish” version of it. Cracks. Me. Up. Unfortunately, Eric’s no longer able to stroll through the crowds with his guitar, but he’s doing a fabulous job of spreading the word of this insidious disease. Click here to see the documentary-style clip. In it, Dan and Eric appear with Queen's Brian May (now there's a history blast for you) and singer Lynn Carey Saylor, who has re-recorded We Belong.

Also from Saylor's site:

...donations are now being accepted for The Eric Lowen Trust. Donations will help to offset the enormous costs of fighting his illness and help support his family, which includes 5 minor age children.
The Eric Lowen Trust 2554 Lincoln Blvd. #255 Venice, CA 90291 U.S.A.

If wishing to donate via PayPal, the address for that is EricLowenTrust@LowNav.com

Encouraging letters, well wishes and mentions of how much you enjoy the song are also greatly appreciated and can be emailed to Eric Lowen directly at elowen@lownav.com

wave riders

I'm repeating a picture from a previous post because, well, I want to :-) Actually, our painter, the poor guy we periodically call to paint over the fingerprints in varying heights along our walls, is also an avid surfer. Call his voicemail, and you usually get a message stating he's "at a board meeting." Get it? "Board" meeting?

Anyhoo, we've got some bare wood around here that needs some priming and painting and I actually got our 50-something painter-guy on the first ring. Turns out he'd just had "the best ride of my whole year!" He'd just entered into a turn when he glanced over and saw two dolphins taking the wave with him. Can you imagine?

This is why I write about the sea.

sunny saturday

It’s Saturday, and all I can say is, “Whoo-hoo!!!”

The marketing and writing hats have been replaced with sweats and a lazy attitude. I’d post more, but my mind’s gone to the beach.

Have a beachy weekend, and I’ll see you Monday!

Move over Steve, Rodney

So I wander into a local bookstore yesterday, postcards & chocolate in hand, to let the staff know about my new! debut! chocolatey-good! novel. Alas, no eye contact. No interest. Nada!

So this is how it's going to be?

I'm like Steve Martin in the Pink Panther: "How 'rood'". And like Rodney Dangerfield, "I get no respect."

update: Phoned the manager later in the day (she hadn't been available earlier) and got a much warmer reception. Think it was the chocolate?

All I want for Christmas ...

UPS dropped off a big box of postcards today bearing the cover of Chocolate Beach.

If you're one of the tens of people :) pre-ordering my debut novel to give as a gift this Christmas, I'd be happy to send you a signed postcard to wrap up and put under the tree. (CB will be available on or around Feb. 1, '07.) Email me your snail mail address through my website: www.juliecarobini.com

Merry Christmas!

livin' the dream

Ever been awakened from a fabulous dream? The kind where you're swinging in a hammock on some tropical beach. Sun's overhead, but not too hot. Wind's on your face, but not too cold. Everything's just so, then your neighbor's dog barks like a rooster at 4 am, yanking you straight out of paradise?

Yeah, me too.

Spent the past week with my head buried in Gaby's story. Gaby's the heroine of my second novel. I love Gaby. I want to tell the world about Gaby. But the marketing end of novel writing has pulled me away for a few days. Chocolate Beach is nearly here (someone give me an Amen!), and I've got to do my part to make sure its presence doesn't recede like a fast-moving tide.

Kristin Billerbeck talks about the passion of writing--this "high like no other"--on her site today. Compared to other aspects, such as editing and marketing, she says she never wants to take it for granted. And over at Brandilyn Collins' site today, fiction and truth collide in a hilarious way. Gotta be some way to market that!

about The Nativity Story

I came. I saw. I wept. As did another member of mi familia.

Want to read the novel? Angela Elwell Hunt adapted the story from the screenplay by Mike Rich. Find it here.

Sometimes you just have to pass it on.

Despite the city of Chicago's paranoia, we'll be taking the kids and ourselves to see this movie over the weekend.

Peace.





tag: The Nativity