A Time For Everything

Check off another great experience in this journey of being a hockey fan. Last night DD and I went to our first ever official watching party. While the team is on a road trip, fans are still gathering to watch and cheer.

Last night the watching party was at closer-to-home than usual venue, Texas Live. With a 100' screen and a wicked sound system, it was almost like being there.



The Dallas Stars in arena announcer was there as well, providing many of the same announcements as if at a game--like announcing Dallas's goals when scored. There were also give-aways of tickets to an upcoming game as well as signed stuff. Sadly, neither DD or I won anything, but the experience was so fun.

So much so that we're attending the next one on Thursday. Which is mostly only possible because DD is enjoying spring break, so we're taking advantage.

Hope you're having a great week...as you can tell, I am!!

So the Puck Soup Live event was freaking awesome. Had a wonderful time and got to meet my podcasters!! Here are a couple of not-so-good pictures because I am a horrible photographer. I am also bad at selfies and had to ask each of the guys to actually take the picture for me. In addition, I'm horrible at smiling for the camera, so in one of the photos I took, I have a horribly dorky expression on my face and you don't get to see that one.




Next up--the NHL Draft this evening.

Have a great weekend!!

Two years ago around this time, I started watching hockey. It might have been more mid-to-end-of-April than the beginning of May, but whatevs--

I embraced hockey and fumbled around trying to figure out how to watch my Dallas Stars play hockey whenever the mood struck. Alas, my first year attempts were in vain and I didn't get to watch much Stars hockey.

Last year, I was all into playoff hockey again even though the Stars didn't have a chance, and I finally figured out the best way to get Stars hockey on my TV--I had to upgrade my cable package. Which meant, of course, the monthly cost would go up. I spoke with DH and he had no issue with that and so, this past year, Fox Sports Southwest and Dallas Stars games were available to me.


Despite the Stars just missing the playoffs again, I am a happy hockey fan.

Watching the Vegas Golden Knights defy every expectation this year has been a lot of fun. Their whole fan experience looks fantastic and I hope that I can make a trip to Sin City one of these days to enjoy the spectacle in person.


I have also been rooting for the Pittsburgh Penguins, back-to-back Stanley Cup champs (2016, 2017), to get the three-peat. I can't say it's all been fun and games there because they played a tough opponent in the first round and are currently playing in the second round. Playing the same team they've vanquished the last two years in the second round--a team that you can imagine wants to end the heartbreak. A team who has never made it past the second round in about a dozen years. A team with a star player who deserves a Stanley Cup win in his lifetime. (Maybe next year, Ovi?)

Let's go PENS.

Let's go KNIGHTS!

Have a great Monday and a great week.

My beautiful DD and her friend went to a local Jamba Juice to meet former STARS player Marty Turco and current player Devin Shore. The Stars were giving out free stuff and the girls brought me home some goodies! LOOK!

A Youth Large Jamie Benn jersey!! And, yes, it fits. :0)


A Stars pennant!

And some smaller goods...

And then they saw THIS at Target...

I've been wanting the Stars faux-LEGO zamboni for a while and the girls bought this for me too.

I am blessed.

This past Saturday, I drove down to Austin and back (a three hour drive one way) to meet, thank, and congratulate the creator of one of my favorite current fandoms: Check Please!


Check Please is the story of a small southern gay boy who chooses a college in the upper northeast in order to live his life out of the closet. The Check Please universe is filled with well rounded characters who all have a role to play within the narrative. The creator, Ngozi Ukazu, does all the work herself.


Anyway, her storytelling and artwork are amazing, and I wanted to meet her and let her know how much enjoyment I've gotten from her work as well as derivative works (fan fiction). Also, she's gotten a publishing contract and her work will be in bookstores sometime this fall.

Here is art of one of my favorite characters, Kent Parson, who Ms. Ukazu confirmed was based heavily on my favorite Dallas Star, Tyler Seguin. Oh, and, yes, it's hockey-based, which indeed launched my current hockey obsession.


It was a long day, but well worth the drive. :0)

Frankenstein on the stage. Well, sort of...

All y'all know how much of a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch I am right? Yeah. So in 2011 he did a three month run of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Ben and Johnny Lee Miller switched roles between the doctor and the creature daily!


Anyway, I'd been wanting to see the performance, but the National Theater in England said they had no intention of issuing the performance to DVD. I was definitely disappointed by that news. BUT THEN, I got an email saying that there was going to be an encore theater showing (the fourth one actually) of the play and I didn't hesitate to buy a ticket right then and there.

So in October, I will see my celebrity crush pulling off yet another--what I'm sure will be--brilliant performance.

Three weeks form today, I'll be winging my way to Atlanta for a fan-run Sherlock con. It's my first trip to Atlanta and to a con. I'm both excited and a bit anxious. I've flown enough in the last couple years (thanks, Sonshine) for that part of the trip not to be a worry. But the hotel is across town from the airport, so I still need to research and plan for traversing the city somehow.

Attending such a popular con by myself is a bit daunting, but I've wanted to experience fandom on a larger scale than just reading and writing fan fiction and from my side of keyboard and monitor. So I'm doing it.

There are going to be tons of people wearing costumes (basically dressing up as characters from various universes of Sherlock Holmes), and I thought about it, but the one unique costume I came up with would have been a bear to travel with. I decided to just stock up on Sherlock t-shirts and just be what I am, a fan girl.

Along with all the cosplay going on, there will be panels just like at any con. I need to look up the topics and decide what I want to attend and if I want to do any sightseeing while I'm there.

Anyone been to Atlanta? Did you like it? Any must sees?

Look what I got!!!!!! Fan girl swoon moment, let me tell you--




I have a dear friend named Janie Crouch--we're online writing buddies. But we're also Sherlock and Benedict Cumberbatch fan girls. We seem to be the only two in our shared circle of friends and I can't tell how fun it is to gush over the show, the characters, and fan fiction.

Recently, Janie moved to Germany as her husband got transferred there for his job... And since she was so close to London when the Sherlocked convention took place, she was lucky enough to be able to go.

She graciously sent me the autographed production stills of these two since she actually had her picture taken with them both. (I'm sooo jealous.)

They have been suitably framed and are hanging and spare nails in the dining corner of the kitchen for the time being...



As a way of thanking Janie, I'm sharing the fact that Janie has a new book out--Untraceable from Harlequin. So if you read romantic suspense, take a chance and buy her book.

Ten years ago, on this day, the final episode of one of my favorite TV shows, JAG, aired.



I have a group of friend who met because of their love of the show. Of course, we've grown and changed and moved onto other shows, but our friendships have remained. JAG was my first foray into fandom. I love being a fan girl!

Tonight those of us who live in the DFW area are getting together to hang out, eat dinner, and watch the last episode all over again.

Several years ago, our whole Texas contingent, plus a couple of extras took a weekend trip to Port Aransas and visited the USS Lexington. Some scenes from JAG's pilot episode were filmed aboard her. We had a blast.


Have a great Wednesday.

Where to begin? First another apology for not posting Monday or Tuesday (like I said I was going to), but it's been crazy and here's why...

Writers retreat!!! The writers retreat portion of the weekend started Friday and continued through to Sunday. I had to cut my attendance short, but was loads of fun as well as productive while it lasted. Plus I made a new friend.

Writers group meeting!!! Writers group meeting on Saturday was fantastic as always and I had a great time visiting with my lovely friend Nancy.

Saturday evening was Sonshine's band banquet which is why I had to leave the writers retreat. Sonshine received two honors: Outstanding Junior Band Member (as in freshman, sophomore, junior, senior). He's gotten Outstanding Freshman and Outstanding Sophomore as well, so here's hoping the new band director will love him just as much! He also received Outstanding Jazz Band Member.

The really fun part was giving the band director her gift: a cardboard stand-up of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart. She was ecstatic. She'd been trying to convince our local Office Depot (Tony Stewart's sponsor) to give her theirs. But as I learned many years ago on my quest for a standup of my favorite driver, stores and bars are not allowed to get rid of those things. I wish I had been able to get a picture of her face when she saw it, but this will have to do.



Annual JAG weekend!!! Sunday I headed back to Dallas to hang out at a friend's house for part of the annual JAG weekend, which also started Friday. Many years ago, a group of women met online in chat rooms and forums to discuss the TV show JAG. JAG aired from 1995 to 2005, so when I said many, I meant it. Though I'm not sure exactly when all the fan hoopla started, but at least by '99.

Anyway, they formed friendships and eventually decided to meet in person. I was not among the original group, but was adopted a few years ago. Believe it or not, fellow members of my writing group were among the original group and when they learned my online fan girl identity, they invited me to a get together about five years ago. And the rest is history. We have gals from Tennessee, Minnesota, and somewhere in the Midwest who drive or fly here to attend. No pics, though. I just enjoyed the day.

And on top of all that--my proof reading business has suddenly taken off, thanks to my wonderful CPs who have put my name out there. I took on a client who had to have her manuscript turned in to Harlequin by Tuesday, so I worked all weekend in between all the other activities, staying up late and getting up early to get her manuscript read twice. WHEW!! And she's paid me already. I am Snoopy dancing with excitement. My goal with this endeavor is to pay off our debt. I'm finally on my way.

I also have two other proof jobs lined up as well as a project to create a series bible for two separate book series for another author. I'm now booked through the middle of June. Can you say WOW!!!

And if all that weren't enough--and despite my binge eating all weekend--I lost some more weight and fell into the 130s range. WOOT!!!

So what's going on your world???

It really was a very good weekend...

I already shared my stickers and my friend Molly's book, so now...the rest of the story.

I know, Paul Harvey I'm not!

So, Saturday, Rita Award winning author Cindy Dees spoke at my writers group. It was an awesome presentation about Big Characters and Big Scenes. Cindy was able to query over 40 editors on what they look for and this was the result. And she's nice and she's funny and she's a member of my chapter. Cindy writes Romantic Suspense for Harlequin.

On top of that, I earned another charm for last month's editing. And as I mentioned yesterday, I had a charm I gave myself for finishing Snowball and submitting it. (No, I still haven't heard back.)

So the horseshoe is from the chapter, the key from myself to go with the lock...




Oh, wait--I've gotten ahead of myself...on Friday, DD was also working on a surprise for me:

Yes, that's a wand. It's also a pen.


I'm sorry, I just can't help myself. :)

And when I got home DD had yet another surprise waiting for me:

I haven't been able to get my pictures from my old hard drive, so we're going to just skip this week altogether and see what happens next week.

Instead, let's just celebrate the fact that it's FRIDAY!!

I've got lots to do tomorrow in preparation of my trip and before I leave for Oklahoma City (Sunday at 8am.). My trip has been extended to two nights. YAY!! It'll be hours and hours of brainstorming and revising (maybe) and chatting and getting to know two new friends better. We'll do a bit of sight seeing while we're there, too, so pictures next week for sure.

So last night, I watched a movie in my writing room on the big screen for the first time. And no...I didn't choose Harry Potter, I watched another of my favorites: Penelope! It's a cute, fun, live-action fairy tale starring Christina Ricci and the yummy James McAvoy. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Remember I mentioned my Batman fan girl status a few posts ago? Yes? Well, I found the action figure I mentioned:


And that's about all I have for now.

I'll be posting Monday's entry from OKC!

Have a good weekend.

Of course, it's been summer since June 21, but it's been nice. But real summer heat has finally hit Texas. The actual temperature is supposed to hit 106* today. UGH UGH UGH

I didn't take my doggies out for their walk last night because it was just so hot. One missed it, the other didn't seem to care. I promised Sammy that I'd take her tonight. UGH

In other news, I have revised my contest entry. I finished it yesterday, mid-day and then put it away to rest. It's now about a 1/3 of a page longer than the allowable 10 pages, so I have to find a new place to cut it off. Or start the story farther in as one first-round judge suggested, which means I could submit a little more of the story. Decisions, decisions...

It's official, I'm a Batman fan girl. I bought myself a tee-shirt on Saturday. (I was already in the store when I saw it--I didn't go in search of it on purpose.) I'm also considering seeing the third film in the theater again. I rarely go to the movies, but for me to see the same film in the theater more than once: it's serious. :) No fan fiction of the horizon, though.


The writing room is almost finished. The latest addition is a 50" HD television, now hanging on the wall. DH bought it for the fireworks store, and went and got it for me and mounted it. I was just going to buy a small TV for in there along with a new Wii balance board so I can get back to doing Wii Fit aerobics. But, hey, I'm not going to complain.




I haven't watched a movie on the TV yet, but I'm looking forward to that. I just can't decide what to watch first. (It'll probably be Harry Potter.)(Probably 6 or 7.1.)

All we need now is a desk and a pair of comfy chairs and this room is set.

Hope you had a great weekend and here's to a good week.

The men have returned for good. DH will be back to work today and Sonshine turns into Marching Band Boy tomorrow morning.

The three/four week break was great. I had fun. I met online fan friends face-to-face. I caught up with other fan friends. I cleaned my house really well. I finished some small projects.

I didn't lose any more weight though I exercised like crazy the first two weeks. I wrote and revised little last week--though I did get a bunch done this weekend. I didn't finish some of my small household projects.

Now it's time to look forward, get back to work, both day job and writing wise, and set & meet some new goals.

A week or so ago I mentioned my intention to be more interactive with my family. I'm terrible about staying in contact and this is my family--*my family*. I get so involved in everything going on in my life right here in North Texas that I forget about them because they're not right here. And it's really sad. Granted, they could contact me too. But someone has to go first right? And that someone is going to be me.

So one of my new goals is to be in contact with various members of my family on a semi-weekly basis. So in every two-week period, I pledge to be in contact with every member of my family. That's about seven people/families: my mother, my grandmother, my step-mother, my two brothers (individually), and my two sisters (also individually). (Time to add a page to my spreadsheet.)

This is so not what I expected to write about today, but sometimes these things just happen. Though I really do know how I got here. :)

Last weekend, as you may recall, I invited four women I'd only known online to my house for the first US BBC Robin Hood fan meetup (hence all the cleaning and projects). The weekend was a blast and now I'm going to share pics. Not of the ladies because I don't have permission to put their lovely faces on the 'Net, but some other things, like:

This is the lovely gift they all chipped in to get me for opening my home to them:



It's just a black lacquer finish box with a tile (I guess) with the Outlaws mark on it. It was a surprise and very thoughtful of them.

These are things I bought/made for them, because no fan meetup is complete without fandom related goodies.



So we have a travel mug with a unique insert--we each liked a different character, so there's a different character image in each one; an inexpensive photo album with a picture of Robin's gang in the front photo insert and inside is a card with the meetup info. Then we can all print of pictures from the weekend to put in there and preserve our memories, there's a small squirrel (an inside joke from the show); a button that says "jigger off" (a show-related expression); and an outlaw tag (made by my own DD).

The ladies were most pleased with their goodies, too.

And this last picture is of my Robin Hood action figure standing next to a bottle of Huntingdon wine--in several versions of the legend, Robin is considered the Earl of Huntingdon, so...


And there you have it!

Have any of you met new friends online and then subsequently met them in person? What was the common event, hobby, or thing that brought you together?

But I was relieved that everyone left as early as they did--not because I wasn't enjoying getting to know them and spending time with them.

But because having company for extended periods is a strain, especially if a) you're not used to being around a lot of people all the time, and b) they are people you don't know and you're trying to present your best self and you're the hostess and you can't disappear to grab a two-hour nap though you desperately need one. :)

The first Robin Hood fan meet up went off without a hitch. And we're all still alive to tell the tale.

We talked and laughed, learned about each others husbands and/or children and jobs. We watched (only) eleven episodes of the show during our time together. And watching a show you love with several like-minded friends is way more fun than watching alone. I think all of us have this problem. Our significant others had/have no interested in the show, nor do we have any in-person friends with whom to share the experience.

It may have been fitting that the first meet up was at my house as this is several blocks away:


I hope we can swing it again next year or the year after and have a couple more US fans be able to join us.

And that's it for today. It was a long weekend and I took Friday off, so I've got to get caught up.

If I'm not here on Wednesday it's because I couldn't get on the Internet to post. If I don't see you, have a wonderful Fourth of July!!

My first fellow Robin Hood fan girl arrived last night, and we went to eat at a local BBQ joint--awesome brisket--and then spent the evening chatting and sharing life stories and talking about writing. (She's pursuing publication also.)

The rest of our peeps should be arriving in another two hours or so and then the real fun will begin.

In keeping this short and getting back to my house guest, we'll get straight to the final installment of...

The Twelve Days of Jen

On Wednesday I said I had only one gift left to share, but I lied. I realized just last night that there was one more gift that I'd forgotten to mention or even get a picture of. That has been rectified and so I share with you the last two gifts.

Firstly, the one I'd forgotten: new dishes: twelve place settings for a mere $100 and no useless saucers.



Remember back in April or so, I posted about my Revereware kettle that was on its last legs:


I did tell my family that I absolutely was getting a new one as one of my birthday/Mother's Day gifts. They were all so excited to see my reaction when I opened it, but it was rather anti-climactic, I thought, since I knew I was getting it.


Regardless of the lack of surprise (the set of HP books was a real surprise), I was thrilled to get it. :)


I've shared all my cool gifts and now I'm off to have fun with my friends. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.

I've still been productive, but I'm feeling the strain. I'm getting tired so easily, but the end is in sight.

Last night, I spent way more time than I should have putting up new mini-blinds in the bathroom. I won't go into detail, but they do look good now that they're up. I had planned on adding a window treatment only to realize for the second time (doh) that the brackets for the rod did not extend far enough past the top of the mini-blinds to actually be able to install the rod. I knew it was going to be an issue and even looked for longer brackets when at the Home Depot exchanging the too-short (width-wise) blinds I bought the other day. They carry them, but had none in stock. Ugh!

I'm also on stand by for a trip to the fireworks store. DH may have to come home to sit in trial and listen to the prosecution's forensic expert and ensure he accurately represents the findings. Experts are not supposed to be biased either way toward the defendant, they're just supposed to present the facts. Many a time has DH told an attorney--a defense attorney-- "your client is guilty as sin, make a pleas or take a deal". Seriously.

Anyway, this trip couldn't come at a worse time. I still have things to do before my big weekend. On the other hand, it's forced rest. All I have to do is drive there, be present while the boys run the show, and drive back. The problem only lies in how long it'll all take. If it's today, no problem. If it's tomorrow...well, I have dinner plans.

Quick update--just talked to DH and they don't need him after all. So I'm off the hook. On the other hand, he's expecting to be busy at the store this weekend, so now I have bribe convince bribe DD to go down there and help out. She's not going to be happy about that.

On top of all that cleaning, I've been revising. Not as much as I would otherwise, but I'm still making progress. I'm also writing again. I need new words to earn the next charm, you see. So yesterday I opened an old project, one I'm going to use for my chapter's 30th anniversary anthology.



Where was I? Oh, yeah, I wrote over 1100 words yesterday, which felt really good. I've done nothing but revisions for about three weeks now and I'm feeling a bit weary. But I'm gonna push through and finish the damn story. Eventually. My new deadline is July 21st, my next writers group meeting.

Speaking of revisions and writing, I'd better get to it. But before I sign off, let's check out another giftie. Oh, heck, let's do two. We're almost done.

The Twelve Days of Jen

I raved about this movie several weeks ago, well, I guess a couple of months go, actually...I enjoyed it so much I told DD I wanted it for my birthday. And I got it. :)



And at the end of the birthday/Mother's Day shopping frenzy, there was still some cash left, and I wasn't about to let DD just have it--that's my money after all, so I told her to just give it back to me.



One more giftie to go and I'll share that on Friday.

In the mean time, keep cool!

So I have fifteen followers now. How cool is that? Okay, so I know a lot of people have way more than that, but I'm always tickled when I see a new one. Hey, Lara!!

Fan girl meet ups are imminent!!

This weekend is my JAG meetup. Tonight is dinner (leaving at 2 today to go early and visit), tomorrow is hanging out at someone's house and visiting some more. I've changed my mind about going. These are my friends and I only get to see most of them once a year. So I'm going to go and hang out and have fun. (After I run some errands in the morning.)

I know there's a parallel here to my family whom I'm terribly bad about keeping in regular communication with. (Hi Mom.) I know, I know. Really, I do. One of these days, I'm gonna do better. I swear.

Next weekend will be Robin Hood meetup. Other folks have met up in twos and threes so I think this will be the largest gathering--there will be five of us. One will be coming from Minnesota, one from Colorado, one from Kansas, and one from southern Texas. Two will fly, two will drive.

I'm just thankful they agreed to come here this time as I wouldn't have been able to justify the expense of going somewhere else to meet people I'd never met before. And since they are coming here, the least I can do is pay for the food. I'm also putting together goodie bags for one and all to remember our time together. I need a few more things for those bags, but I'm running out of time. Time to brainstorm.

In preparation for the RH meetup at my house, I have been busy cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I normally clean this time of year anyway while the men are gone, but because strangers are coming, I've amped it up just a bit to include things I might not normally do. Like clean the ceiling fans and the windows (just certain ones). Clean out the fridge. Mop all the floors. Cut down the dead hedges. (That may fall by the wayside, though.) Anyway...you get the idea.

As I was cleaning last night, I came across a picture of Marching Band Boy.  During UIL competitions, there's a photography company that moves amongst the kids while they're on the field and captures images of them. Then you can go online later and look for your kid and buy copies. I've bought a mug the past two years as well. By the time he's done with high school, I hope I'll have a set of four. :) Any how, I came across a picture and my heart just swelled right up. In case you're new here, I brag about my son a lot. I love my daughters, I really do. But my son...he's something else. Yeah, he's sixteen. A typical teenage boy, not wanting to do his school work and copping an attitude and everything else that goes with that age and gender. I know that, I acknowledge that. But he's so awesome. So here he is (though not the UIL photo as I don't have a scanner.):








And now to wrap this up, another installment of the Twelve Days of Jen. We're getting close to being finished now...

A candle warmer lantern...


The one with the candle I got for Christmas and I thought a pair would be nice. The light bulb is not powerful enough to melt the candle all the way through like the other candle warmers you can buy that heat from the bottom up, but it provides a nice little light in the kitchen at night so that I don't have to turn on the big fluorescent light every time I want a drink of water. But I think I'm going to find some decorative wall bracket/plant hangar thingies and hang them in my writing room.

And that does it for this week! Happy Friday and see you back here bright and early Monday!!

So . . . Friday, Sonshine and the HS band left on their band trip. First stop was the Texas state capitol building, where, after a tour of the building and watching the state legislature convene, the kids played a 30-minute concert on the south steps.

I decided to drive down there to see them. Pics and video of that will be up tomorrow. :)

That was really exciting. It was.

But today I'm going fan girl squee and share silly pics of my side trip to Pflugerville where parts of one of my favorite TV shows (Friday Night Lights) were filmed.

Picture 01: The exit sign on I-35 northbound


Picture 02: We've left I-35 and are on FM 1825. Four miles to Pflugerville. While I was prepared to enjoy some scenery on a longer drive, I was quite glad that it ended up not being too much of a detour.


Picture 03: The stadium sign...even though I was playing hooky from work, it completely slipped my mind that it was a school day and that I probably shouldn't have been on campus. However, the school parking lot and stadium were right off the street, so I snuck in, took a couple of quick pictures and then got back on the road home.

Picture 04: The stands that are featured during the football game sequences--the show was also able to use Pflugerville football game footage as their own.