Saturday, June 28, 2008

National Rose Month

June is National Rose Month!

If you’re considering sending some roses to your loved ones in celebration, here’s a guide to rose color meaning:

Red: Symbolizes love and romance
Pink: Symbolizes admiration, appreciation, gratitude
Yellow: Symbolizes joy and friendship
White: Symbolizes innocence, purity, new beginnings
Orange: Symbolizes passion, excitement, enthusiasm
Lavender: Symbolizes enchantment, often used to express feelings of love at first sight

Personally, I doubt I’ll be sending any roses, but since I’m always looking for an excuse to buy flowers—because I love having a big vase of flowers sitting on the table—I may celebrate by buying some to decorate my home. Of course, it would be a lot cheaper if I could grow my own, but that’s not an option for me--apparently I have a black thumb when it comes to growing flowers :(

Friday, June 27, 2008

Current And Recent Reads

Here’s what I’m currently reading, and it is yummy!

Exclusive by Eden Bradley, Jaci Burton, and Lisa Renee Jones




Here’s what I previously read:

Mrs. Cooney is Loony! by Dan Gutman



Yes, it’s a children’s book. I read it with my niece when she was visiting this month, and I loved it. My niece liked it too :) If you have children in the 6-10 year age range, you should check it out. It’s part of the My Weird School Series.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Visiting Washington, DC

Another place we visited while my mom and niece were here was Washington, DC. We’ve been to DC several times because we live fairly close (4-5 hours away), but my niece had never been and the last time my mother visited was when she was a small girl.

This was the first time we ever visited in the summer. We've always gone in the fall or spring. And we won’t ever go again in the summer because it was much more crowded (I guess I should have expected that, eh?).

If you ever have the opportunity to visit DC, you should. There’s lots to see. But here’s some advice for you:

1) Do not go in the summer, it’s too hot and too crowded!
2) Be aware that the traffic is awful and the parking is even worse. We were there on a weekend and there were still traffic jams and it took us almost an hour to find a parking space.
3) Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and be prepared to walk and walk and walk.

We were all exhausted by the time we left.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Is My Fear Now An Actual Phobia?

As I’ve mentioned before, heights make me very uneasy. They always have, for as long as I can remember. But I think it might now be entering the range of an actual phobia.

Acrophobia (an irrational fear of heights) has traditionally been thought to be caused by a traumatic experience involving heights. So, did I have a traumatic experience involving heights? Well, actually...

When my youngest son was about 5, we went hiking on Chimney Rock in the North Carolina mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful there (that’s where The Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day-Lewis was filmed, by the way). Youngest son refused to hold my hand, because he thought he was too big for that. It had been raining earlier, and I had just said, "Son, be careful, the ground is wet and you’ll slip." No sooner had the words left my mouth than he slipped and fell...right down the side of the mountain. I managed to grab him--barely--by one arm. I’m very proud to say that as he dangled off the side of the mountain with me hanging on to him by one arm, I did not panic. Well, not too much anyway. I pulled him up, I chastised him (strongly!) for not listening/not being more careful, and then I cried.

We’ve been back to the mountains since then, but we stayed far away from any cliffs. This month was the first time back on a cliff. The only reason we were there is because my mom and niece were visiting from out-of-state, they’d never been to the mountains, and they wanted to go.

We went to the top of Grandfather Mountain (our first time there). When I got a glimpse over the side (and no, I didn’t intentionally look over the side, it just happened) my heart started racing, I got dizzy, I got sick to my stomach, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I could feel myself starting to panic and I was desperately fighting it (hey, Mom has to try to maintain some semblance of control!). I’ve never had a reaction that intense. I could not wait to get down off that mountain. And I can assure you that I will not be going back!

So, maybe I have my son to thank for my now intense fear of heights. I’ll just add it to the list of other things I have to thank him for like those gray hairs that started appearing when he hit his teenage years.

Monday, June 23, 2008

A Special Birthday Present

My birthday was earlier this month. My family is not real big on celebrating birthdays. Some years I don’t even remember/realize that it’s my own birthday until someone brings it up. And frankly, after 29 I didn’t want to remember them! But this year I got a very special birthday present... on my birthday my oldest son graduated high school. Pretty cool gift, eh?

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Winners Are....

I had 75 entries in my June (Stock Up On Summer Reading Material) contest. A huge thanks to everyone who participated!

I had my youngest son draw two names out of the hat, and the winners are:

Prize #1 (includes books by Lena Matthews, Gena Showalter, and Rhonda Nelson): Ashley A. from Wisconsin

Prize #2 (includes books by Jodi Lynn Copeland, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Leslie Kelly): Carol M. from Pennsylvania

Congrats, ladies! Happy reading!

Please remember to check my website and blog the beginning of July for information about my next contest.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

2nd Annual ‘Stock Up On Summer Reading Material’ Contest (ends 6/20/08)

Last June I ran a 'Stock Up On Summer Reading Material' contest, and it was so successful, I’ve decided to make it a yearly event. This is a contest where I help YOU stock on reading material for those times that you’re lazing by the poolside, en route to your vacation destination, etc.

There will be two winners, and each winner will receive multiple books.

Prize #1:
Stripped Bare by Lena Matthews (Samhain Publishing)
Catch A Mate by Gena Showalter (Harlequin)
The Loner by Rhonda Nelson (Harlequin Blaze)

Prize #2:
Operation g-spot by Jodi Lynn Copeland (Aphrodisia)
Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Avon)
Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly (Harlequin Blaze)

Entry requires reading a short excerpt from my novella Finding Passion and answering a question. Visit my website HERE for all the details.

The last date for entry is June 20th.

Please note that you must be 18 or older to enter the contest!

Good luck!