We're full o' beans

So my friend Deb and I hit the 101 freeway this morning, a route that takes us along the coast to a tiny beach town just north of us. It's Deb's birthday, and coffee is how we celebrate. Preferably in large cups and far away from our disheveled homes. But the thing is, we both have kids, three each, who have to get to school first. Just to wake up enough to make lunches, drive the school bus, and look decent, we both have to drink coffee first. Which kinda defeats the meeting-for-early-coffee purpose, but we both do it, and neither one talks about it. It's understood.

So we sat outside on this breezy beachday, guzzling caffeine and laughing about nothing much. Later we strolled along, poking around in antique stores and surf shops until reality called us back home. It turns out that the kind of coffee doesn't always matter that much--today she was a decaf drip (and I mean that in the kindest way) while I sipped a vanilla latte--but it's the company with the java that makes the day just so much better.

So, what kind of coffee are you? Wanna find out? I took this coffee quiz last February, but it seems I've changed. Change is sometimes good, ya know? Take the quiz, then hit a coffee house with a friend. Do it soon.

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

tags: coffee, friends, latte, coffee quiz

Welcome to the CAC

I used to think that LOL looked dumb, just hanging there in so many emails, posts, etc. I always read it "EL-OH-EL", and then would just screw up my face with a big, "Huh?" After awhile I figured out that it meant "laughing out loud" (yeah, I'm slow). And somewhere along the way, even though I told myself I never would, I started LOL-ing it through my own comments. That, and the occasional, "Btw", is about as acronym-savvy as I've become.

One breeze through Pre-Teen Daughter's emails, though--and, yes, I do snoop--and I found a whole new crop of married letters (But don't even get me started about all the grammatically-offensive shorthand I found there as well!). So here are a few of my favorites: BFF (best friends forever), KK (Okay, I don't know what this means but it looks so cute in all of those girlie emails she gets), TTYL (talk to you later), ROFLOL (rolling on floor laughing out loud), and UR (you are).

Okay, that last one's kind of dull. But still.

Anyway, I've come up with some of my own contributions to the Cyberspace Acronym Circus. Feel free to add your own, but one rule--keep it clean, people:

CMU--crackin' myself up
RME--rolling my eyes
BOOMM--bored out of my mind
GTTB--going to the beach

Quote for today

Started (okay, re-started) a Bible study recently, and found myself mulling over this quote from Priscilla Shirer:

"On the stage of life, you're so busy trying to play somebody else, who's going to play you?"

Shirer believes any one of us can be held captive by the "pharoah" of comparison. As a writer who reads way too many author blogs, yeah, I can relate. And as a mom who reads way too many mom blogs, again, I relate.

Anybody else?

Monday Lift-off

Did anyone else see that ball of dust that was my weekend? Sheesh. Busy, busy, BUSY...but it's Monday afternoon, and I'm finally feeling alive again. Yep, the after-the-weekend malaise has lifted.

Anyway. On to more important news. First off, Gilmore Girl Fanatic is calling for new season predictions. You'll want to stop on by.

The girls write out gals have posted the ACFW awards, although apparently they were having too much fun to remember the title of one of them. Ahem.

Let's see, oh, and my new friend Cara Putnam arrived home from the big conference with her first contract. Congrats Cara!

As for me, I'm anticipating the marketing fun I'll be having with Chocolate Beach in the coming months (can anyone say, 'Free Chocolate'?), and actively brainstorming new twists for my next seaside novel. Now...off to do some, uh, research...:)

See you at the beach!

News Flash!

Just received a call from my agent who's in Dallas to attend the ACFW conference. The news? Bethany House has just picked up my next novel. Yeah, baby! Details to follow, but I can give you one hint: it'll be set in a seaside locale. (Big surprise there :) There will, of course, be plenty of other surprises in store so...stay tuned!

Surfboards and woody wagons

Picking out fabric to recover my dining chairs should've been easy. Gobs of luscious designs and textures packed every aisle. Chenille, tapestry, linen and jacquard--you name it. For years I'd covered (and re-covered) the chairs in "family-friendly" fabrics, those with surfaces slick enough to wipe away small fingerprint-shaped smears of all kinds.

But my children are older now, I thought, and so am I. It was time for grown-up chairs. So I perused and fussed, and fingered and fretted. Swatches made their way home with me only to be tossed aside like soiled rag dolls.

I made one last attempt to make a decision, pacing the store, my mood becoming darker by the second. And that's when I saw it: a half-hidden section of beach-style fabrics. Wouldn't you know it? My heart lifted as if the sun had just burned through a blanket of fog. Who needs formality anyway? Have a seat:



tags: surfers, fabrics, whimsy

Robyn tagged for this meme because I was too lazy, uh, busy, to do the last one... Thanks, A LOT, Robyn :)

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Handed out cheese samples at the Swiss Colony in the Eagle Rock Plaza.
2. Secret shopper for Taco Bell (I’m not making this up).
3. Ghostwriter for trade magazines
4. Tour & Travel Sales Manager in the hotel industry

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. Sleepless in Seattle (although that silky shirt Tom Hanks wears is getting mighty dated…)
2. The Sound of Music—yeah, I pretty much agree with Robyn on this one
3. Notting Hill (“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, wanting him to love her." With lines like that, what’s not to love?)
4. Pride & Prejudice (Here again, the lines get to me: “You bewitch me, body & soul." Now that's romance!)

Four Places I have lived:

1. Eagle Rock, CA
2. Lake Gregory, CA
3. Diamond Bar, CA
4. Los Angeles, CA

Four things I like to do:

1. Go to the beach (duh).
2. Run (when knee’s not hurting), otherwise I walk it.
3. Do anything with hubby ;-)
4. Hang out with my kids, especially when they’re all getting along!

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Chocolate anything
2. Tamales, enchiladas, tacos…basically almost anything Mexican
3. Grilled seafood
4. Guacamole and chips (could eat it for dinner!)

Four places I would like to be right now:

1. No question, the beach
2. The beach
3. The beach
4. On Moonstone beach with my Dan :-)

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Amazon.com , you know, to see if any brave, dear, wonderful souls have pre-ordered Chocolate Beach (I can sorta tell by the Amazon rankings…it’s a sickness, really)
2. Local realty sites because, unfortunately for my long-suffering husband, I’m always on the lookout for my dream house.
3. My blog & website, to see if anybody has popped in for a visit.

*I’m starting to see a troubling pattern here…it’s all about ME, isn’t it!!!

4. A private blog that chronicles the recovery of my good friend Jeanette, who recently had a stroke. Btw, I visited her yesterday and she’s showing progress every day. Praise God!

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Ridgway/Pittsburgh, PA (Family!)
2. Yosemite, CA (ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!)
3. Niagra Falls (sigh)
4. Sonoma, CA aka Wine Country. (Bellisimo!)

Four friends I think might respond—-hmmm

1. Holymama!, because she always likes a good meme
2. Vintage Wine Design all the way from Stockholm!
3. Alison Strobel Morrow , because she's got spunk
4. Tricia Goyer because she's got so much extra time on her hands (Not!)

What a Feeling...

Trish Ryan introduced me to a novel approach to book marketing. You.won't.want.to.miss.this.video.

The Flash Dance reference moved me, in particular.

So much to do!

Busy stuff going on around here but I thought I'd take a minute to say, "Hey," to my blogging buds. Hope you all are getting into the fall groove. We don't see many leaves change along this end of California, so for those of you in the East, I hope you'll take an extra glance at those fiery colors for me when the time comes.

For those interested in watching a fun fiction experiment unfold, stop by Charis Connection.

For those dying to discuss violence in Christian Fiction, stop by FaithinFiction.

Here's a shout out to my brother Dan Navarro, who claims he hasn't gotten much (okay, any) press on this blog. (sheesh) You'll find him listed on the staff page of a prestigious architecture firm. (There, is that good?)

Have a fabulous day, wherever you are, and I'll check in soon!

A Chocoholic's Dream

All the chocolate you want...without the fat. Tell me I'm not dreamin'!



tags: chocolate, chocolate lover

write stuff

Unlike other author blogs, I don't regularly post fiction writer helps. That would be kind of like the blind leading the blind (forgive the cliche and possible violation of politically correct standards). That said, a lot of writers stop by here (thanks for that, btw), so I thought I'd give a shout out to a super site for yet-to-be-published novelists. Randy Ingermanson, physicist-turned-writer (you know, because the pay's just so much better :-), has a site you should check out: Advanced Fiction Writing.

Tell 'em I sent you.

tags: fiction writing, novel writing

High 5, Low 5

Not feeling the love?
Click here and there will be a high five waiting for you.
Left handed? No problem.
Industrial accident? No problem

What can I say? I've been in a funk lately, and this cheered me. I got it from here, who got it from here.

Try it. There now. Doesn't that feel better?

tags: feeling blue, high five