Summer surprises

Finally feeling better! How strange to get a cold in mid-summer. It's unAmerican, Lol. Ah, well. Wanted to mention that my friend, author Carrie Padgett, wrote an article about a couple of my Otter Bay Novels for Salt Fresno Magazine. This was a complete surprise and it's wonderful! Hope you'll check it out. Here's the digital link to the magazine (it's also available in print): http://www.sierrapacific.ws/salt/july2011/

After clicking on the link, just use your cursor to turn the pages until you hit page 9. I'm next to an article on Soul Surfer, which is pretty nice company if you ask me :)

3 bucks, 2 bags, 1 me ...

Had a party here on Friday night for College Boy's fellow camp staffers, a yard sale early the next morning, then picked up Teen Girl at LAX late last night (plane was two hours delayed). Today, I'm sick. Waaaa! I know people say that men are babies when sick, and women are toughies, but basically, I'm a baby. And my man does a good job taking care of me (Honey, will you pick me up some cold medicine and make me breakfast, lunch, and dinner? kthanxbye!)

At least I'm honest. I hate being sick (doesn't everyone?), and on days like this all I want to do is hide in my room with my remote and a stack of dvds and magazines. So glad it's Sunday and an "official" day of rest, because otherwise I'd be forced to face the world.

On a happy note, my daughter's back from her 2+ weeks in New York where she studied how to take the fashion world by storm. I'm seriously jealous of her. Okay, not. But happy. Really, really happy to see that she traveled on her own, made a ton of new friends, saw the sights of NYC more than once, and learned so much about fashion design from Marist College. You raise them up and hope they fly with confidence, and when they do? You get to breathe a sigh of relief ... even if it's a little wheezy from a cold.

p.s. Know where I snagged this title from ... ? :)

Start spreadin' the news ...

So Teen Daughter is still in NY on her pre-college trip (studying Fashion Design) and last eve, the college took a trip to the city. They visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and viewed the Alexander McQueen exhibit, Savage Beauty, had dinner at Ruby Foo's, then took their seats for a Broadway musical. Priscilla Queen of the Desert recently won a Tony for best costumes, so it was a natural choice for Fashion students to see. But what wowed my daughter was the finale because ... my cousin, Dan Navarro, co-wrote it. We Belong (remember Pat Benatar sang it??) is a song my fam can sing in our sleep! My kiddo texted me from the theater, beyond excited. I contacted Dan and it turns out that he and his son were in the theater the night before. Considering they live in CA, this is a mighty small world were livin' in!

Cheers, Friends!

Relax ...

Relax: To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon the water is the most perfect refreshment. Love this sign. Sometimes that's all I want to do ... just sit and look upon the water and think about, well, nothing. For some reason, I'm reminded about our trip to Pennsylvania about this time last year. We attended a family reunion at Parker Dam and, at one point, several of us rented kayaks. The day was humid and I found myself alone in the middle of the lake just resting my eyes on the water, noting the expanse of mountains around us. I remember wanting to stay there as long as possible so that I could recapture the loveliness the next time life became less-than.

Something about water, you know? It's mid-summer, what have you done to relax?

Wednesday tidbits

Kidless this week because College Boy works at a summer camp (and lives there), Teen Daughter went to NY for a pre-college program (that's the "lunch" she and her suite-mates had the other day. Oy!), and Pre-Teen Girl is away at church camp. No pressing writing deadline at the moment either, so what a blessing to have so much time for my sweet mama who had to be admitted to the hospital a few days ago. She's back home now and resting (hospitals are terrible places for that!), so that's another relief.

Did you hear that William and Kate were in nearby Carpinteria? Many reports said they were in Santa Barbara, but the truth is, the polo club where William played is located in Carp, the next big town north of Ventura. Snobbery abounds around here, tho, because Santa Barbara apparently sounds so much more "Grey Poupon." Whatever!

Off to mail a package to my travelin' girl who will spend her 17th birthday in NY. Is it okay to admit I'm a bit jealous??! :) Actually, I'm thrilled for her. She's having a ball!

Have a beachy week, my friends ~ and drop me a line when you can.

Free summer read

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're enjoying your summer. Wanted to let you know that K. Dawn Bird is featuring Fade to Blue today and she's giving away a copy. I love this book and the feedback received so far. Would love for one of my blogger lurkers (you know who you are :) to win it. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment over on K. Dawn's blog.

Ciao for now :)

Lazy day of summer ...

Had one of those days that's the stuff of dreams. Well, maybe not some people's, but in my laid-back beach chicky's dreams anyway. No soccer, so we dallied around the day together with various members of the household spilling in and out.

The hot sun shone overhead, so D & I set up pre-teen girl and friend in our pedal kayak. Gave them a good shove and a wave, then we walked Charlie the Dog to the beach. Along the way, we passed neighbors on bikes and on foot, and strangers too. This was one of those days when people stroll about with lazy smiles on their faces.

Later on, we headed out for iced coffee, then passed our girls and friends heading back down to the beach. Hubby had some work to do, so I sat in my lounge chair and sketched some possibilities for our backyard re-do on the cheap. (You should see the stack of Sunset and Coastal Living magazines I went through!)

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm bragging because the truth is, life is often, no it's usually, fairly chaotic. I've got deadlines, family beeswax and taxi-driving to do, but for some reason, not today. Have you had those kinds of days? Sure hope so! I'm thankful for a true beachy day ... and for the freedom to live it that way.

Happy 4th of July weekend to all my buddies in the USA. And a beachy rest of the weekend to all my friends ~ wherever you are :)