Top 10 Blog Posts of 2009

Per Google Analytics, here are YOUR...

Top 10 Readers' Favorite Blog Posts from 2009

10. It was Kinda like Playing Dress Up, But Not.
(Yeah I really liked this one too! Though I'm not sure I'd like to experience that day again!)

9. My Birthday Wish List
(These all go for next year two. Minus Mini E! Me an him have had good times together!)

8. Not So Fun Sized
(No need for short jokes!)

7. We're Splitting Up
(It's amazing what this title does to people! I was just talking about my websites! LOL)

6. Dish to Pass
(Ahhh...good ol butter)

5. Poppins as Compiled by Facts and Numbers
(Ok I'm going to admit that regardless of what I say below. THIS is probably my favorite post!)

4. Is Coffee the Key to Success?
(Apparently....)

3. My Big News
(Or was it actually kinda small news that was big at that moment)

2. Craigslist Listings Gone Bad
(Classic...this one was fun)

And of course I'm sure all my long following blog friends can guess that the NUMBER ONE Post is.......

1. The Fate of "Roger" the Ant
(This puppy even won me an award!)

I considered leaving it at that, but pretty much most of my favorite blogs weren't in there. Now maybe I have different tastes but...I don't want to leave you out in the cold.

So ... per Poppin Analytics these are (in no particular order) MY ...

Top 10 (ish) Writer's Favorite Blog Posts of 2009

10. Why Motherhood is Masochistic

9. Where's my Red Pen

8. The Fate of "Roger" the Ant but only when paired up with The Invasion

7. Why Gnomes are Gnessesary

6. The Importance of Owning a Lawnmower

5. Who Cares about Lions and Tigers and Bears

4. Yawn...My Adventure Last Night

3. Tour de Chateau Poppins

2. Home Schooling and Me

1 1/2. Getting Pretty FAIL

1. Isn't it Ironic

What were your favorite Posts? Did I leave any out? It's been a PHantastic Year blogging for everyone. I want to thank all my followers for stalking me through it all and I'd really like to thank everyone who comments for making me feel loved ;)

Can't wait to write for you some more in 2010!!!

Even I have Goals!!!

It looks to me like everyone is coming up with lists of goals as 2009 draws to an end. I simmered on this for a moment, considered whether or not I should do it myself. I mean I'm not much for following trends, BUT then I decided to go with the flow. It sounded fun enough!

So here we have it kids.

Poppins 2010 Goals

1. Consider giving up dairy. I feel that as long as I am giving it consideration I am making a large step forward. Maybe next year I'll actually do it. But I really like cheese!


2. Acquire more gnomes. I have come to the heart felt decision that 4 gnomes and 2 gnome pictures are not NEARLY enough for a Gnome Connoisseur like me. (That's right! I no longer feel that the term 'Gnome Lover' applies to me! I'm SO much more than that!)

OMG Someone PLEASE make me some of these!!!

3. Stay free and clear from #blogwars! While at the very same time making sure to enjoy every moment of them. (Now this is going to be more difficult than one might expect. I have to watch my P's and Q's and make sure to NOT AT ANY TIME let anything embarrassing about me slip. I'm really good at embarrassing myself on this blog so it's going to be quite the challenge!)

4. Finish editing my book, write a KILLER query, score a perfect agent and sign for an awesome book deal with a HUGE publishing house. It can happen...you just wait and see!

5. Go to the movies ... a lot ... this is going to be one of the best movie years EVER! Percy Jackson, Toy Story 3, Eclipse, The Deathly Hallows, Shrek 4 ... and seriously the list goes on. I'm stoked!


6. Get a second car. I'm hoping this can be accomplished after I complete number 4. I'd REALLY like a mini van with a DVD player and heated seats. Is that really too much to ask for?

7. Have fun with my blog and remember it's not about how many followers you have, it's about how many of those follower love you! (Luckily for me ALL of my followers love me ... right? Right! RIGHT?!?!)

8. Continue building awesome relationships with all you awesome bloggers and writers and mommies. You guys have truly made 2009 one of the best years ever! I'm in love with each and every one of you. But I'm sorry, I'm married. So I'm going to have to keep our love at bay.

9. Find new and innovative ways to waste time and/or keep up my obsessions with twitter and Facebook. (Easiest goal to obtain EVER!)


10. Be me .... um ... or figure out who me is. That might be a better start.

So what are your goals for 2010? Has 2009 been good to you?

I got SPOILED for Christmas!

Christmas was a little bit tight this year. So my husband and I kept our focus on the kids and bought Rock Band 2 (Just the game, we have The Beatles Rock Band with the Rock Band 1 Set) and a few new songs. Nothing too exciting, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Needless to say this Christmas came with zero expectations. I hadn't asked for anything.

SO ... when I got totally spoiled by my friends and family I was in my own little Chateau Poppins World!!!

And I couldn't NOT share with you some of my favorite presents!!! Well all of my presents were my favorite, but I think you'll understand why a few of these REALLY appealed to me.

Starting to get an idea yet?

Well let's look at these items a little bit closer shall we!
(OMG I'm so excited just thinking about them!)

First up was my Biggest Surprise because it was on my door step when I got home Christmas Night? I didn't even know the post office delivered on Christmas!

Look at these cute little Stationary Cards I got!!!

Homemade for JUST ME by my Mindy!!!

So I pulled out the cards and just look at how cute they are!!!

From the desk of Marybeth Smith
(And she even spelled Marybeth as one word. I'm in love!)

So at our family party on Christmas Eve I got pulled aside. Earlier this year I had inspired my sister to paint something incredible (wait till you see!) and apparently she loves me so much she gave me the painting. BUT not without a box to put it in.


OMG How cute is THAT!

And when you open it up it has all these Gnomes and Gnome Facts!

But the best part I didn't notice till the next day...Look at the umbrellas. (Tears are glistening in my eyes right now guys.)

She even decorated the bottom of the box. My sister rocks

And so inside the box held the coolest painting EVER!!!

And I inspired it!

Oh but I couldn't leave this out...FLUFFY BLANKET!

And to top it ALL off, one of my BFF's sent me this...(Along with some super cute Twilight stuff!)

Aren't we Adorable!

AND on top of all that I got a bunch of other stuff ... Including a super cool dutch oven with all the fixins for Cherry Cobbler and Chili and Cornbread from my parents for camping this summer (Going back to those childhood memories! My parents rock.) A gorgeous necklace from the in-laws and all sorts of other stuff. I can't even think I'm so overwhelmed with all the #windinmyhhhaaaiiiirrrr!

So thank you to all my awesome friends and family and super awesome husband who apparently has something brewing in the background for me once the Holidays are over...sneaky husband!

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

PS I hit 201 Followers which totally means Party Time! I'm shooting for the first of the new year, so you better watch out. We're going to ring in 2010 with a big bang!

Happy to be Home!

Happy Day after Christmas Loves!

(Too much Pirates of the Caribbean last week...I'm addicted to calling everyone Love now.)

Got some fantastic posts planned next week. Gonna show you my favorite gifts from the big day. Can't wait! They involve gnomes and umbrellas and pictures! Three of my favorite things (As well as raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens of course. Oh...wait...wrong movie!)

Also I am now 3 followers away from 200. That in itself is a Christmas Miracle! So tell your friends about me and tell them to follow me because if I hit 200 I'm going to have a contest of some sort with prize(s) and gnomes and a big fat party at Chateau Poppins and you are ALL invited! (What? You haven't been to Chateau Poppins? You MUST stop by. Just Click here!) My 3 chefs are already preparing the catering menu as we speak, so if you have any requests let me know!

Also I have prepared a special post for New Years Eve, so mark it in your calendars and make sure to stop by. It will be a party indeed. (Though my 200 Followers party will be more like a Yummy in your tummy party party YEAHHHH!!!)

Don't worry Carrots. You are totally invited to the party in my tummy! As long as you bring your friend Dip

Well I hope you recover from you Holidays before the work week starts. I'm just happy to be home after going to 1 party on Christmas Eve in my home town and driving home on ice then coming back to my hometown on Christmas and going to 4 parties! So if you don't mind I'm going to return to lazing about in my bed and editing. (Because for some sick sick reason I find Editing more relaxing and entertaining than all my Christmas presents! I know...I totally need help!)

Happy Lazy weekend Loves!

A Letter to my Dear Friend Christmas

Dear Christmas,

Thank you so much for arriving sooner than I was prepared for. It was so nice of you to forget I needed at least a month more to do my shopping, wrapping, holiday eating and other exciting holiday tasks.

Luckily, my children can't wait to see you. Please don't tell them Santa is just a figment of mommy and daddies' imaginations just yet. We really appreciate the leverage Santa gives us. How else are we supposed to get our kids to clean their rooms, listen and behave? Just one more year Christmas, or five.

I also wanted to thank you for this awesome cold you gifted me this year. It was not enough to have a double ear infection on my birthday, but now a sweet rocking cold for Christmas. You shouldn't have! (No really, you really really shouldn't have...sigh...)

In closing loving awesome Christmas, please feel free to take your time next year. We love to see you every year, but you just seem to sneak up on us. Please bring with you better Christmas music, more parking spots at the stores and an abundance of Christmas Bonuses! (Why yes that was plural. You can never get too many bonuses!)

Well I guess I'll be seeing you in a couple days. Watch out for the snow and travel safe!

With Love (Or something like that),

Poppins


Dear Blog Friends,

OMG it's our First Christmas (and/or other holiday) together! We totally need an ornament for it! Well I just want to wish you all a very Happy Holiday. I'm not sure how much I will be posting after today, but I'm sure I'll be here to ring in the New Year with you all.

So Merry Christmas and Happy Yule/Winter Solstice and Happy Hanukkah and Merry Kwanzaa and have a Lovely Muharram ... did I miss anything?

Love you guys!

And so I was Tagged....

Let met tell ya what! My lips are way chapped after all that snogging yesterday! Remind me to bring my Lip Smackers during the Tour de No Kiss Blog Fest hosted by Frankie over at Frankie Writes (about #windinherhaaaaiiiirrrr) I'm going to have to come up with a No Kiss scene before then. I think I'm way too naive to know if I've ever taken part in an almost kiss myself! But January 2nd friends...January 2nd....

So on my road to recovery after such an epic snog fest I read in my comments that Simon over at Constant Revision thought he would be funny/cool/irritating and tag me in this little Tag Game going around. I'm not sure who started it, but it's probably better that way. So without further adieu...

1) What's the last thing you wrote? What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?

The last thing I wrote was the current MS I am working on right now. It is all sorts of awesome wonderful and we are in love and it woos me every day. It's a dystopian sci fi -ish YA novel. (As in it involves time travel) It makes me want to be 13 again so I can fall in love with one of my characters!

The first thing I wrote...hard to say. I really have been writing every since I could read Hop on Pop. I THINK the first book I wrote was a book about monsters. Nice monsters. In my closet. (Monster's Inc. totally ripped my idea off!) Now I feel the need to go looking for it.

2) Write poetry?

Not since I was forced to in grade school. I wasn't really that bad at it, but I didn't really enjoy it either.

3) Angsty poetry?

Isn't MOST poetry Angsty? Well at least half of mine was.

4) Favorite genre of writing?

I adore YA. (I hope that doesn't make me creepy) I just like reliving the fun life on not having any responsibilities even though it felt like you were holding the weight of the world on your shoulders! Plus young love is so adorable and pure. I do prefer it to be fantasy or sci fi-ish as well. Paranormal is fun too!

5) Most annoying character you've ever created?

I'd have to say one of the characters in my first MS, Rachel. I loved her and hated her all at the same time. I couldn't stand the things she did but I felt bad and totally understood why she was doing them. She was a blast to create!

6) Best plot you've ever created.

The one to my newest MS. It is so intricate and complicated in such a lovely perfect way with all these twists and turns and ... did I mention we are in love?

7) Coolest plot twist you've ever created?

The one at the end of this book. BUT like I'm going to tell you about it. What fun would that be. Let's just say it left people saying they were still thinking about it the next day (OMG seriously...isn't that like the best compliment ever! Or ... maybe the worst ... I'm shooting for best!)

8) How often do you get writer's block?

I spent the entire summer with writer's block. It was awful. So I read over 20 books and didn't stop reading until my mind got going again. Now I'm in idea overload. I can't keep up with any of them.

9) Write fan fiction?

Never. Not a big fan. People have tried to get me to read some too and I just can't bring myself to do it. Why ruin an already great story?

10) Do you type or write by hand?

Both. Sometimes I'll write a chapter short hand then elaborate as I type it out. All small ideas get written by hand. Each book I write has an entire notebook dedicated to it.

11) Do you save everything you write?

Yes and it drives my husband CRAZY now that I have 30 million copies of everything clogging up our hard drive!

12) Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?

My newest MS. I had the prologue written for months and all my ideas down in the notebook but I just couldn't figure out how to get it moving. So I picked it back up for NaNo and forced the words and once I started I couldn't stop! It was WONDERFUL!

13) What's your favorite thing you've ever written?

Something I haven't really started writing much of. It's kinda a memoir, but with totally different names and I intend on deviating from what really happened quite a bit. But I've written three chapters almost exactly as it happened and I love them! They are hilarious and oh the angst I went through was totally worth it to get it all down in writing!

14) What's everyone else's favorite story you've written?

Most people have only read the two manuscripts. And of both they tend to like the newest one better. But my sister has read the memiorish MS that I started and assures me I'm going to hit it big with that one. Gotta love sisters! Best confidence builders EVER!

15) Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?

I suppose my MS is somewhat angsty romance. But that is really just on the side, and not too angsty. But definitely teen!

16) What's your favorite setting for your characters?

The future that I've created in my newest MS. LOVE IT!

17) How many writing projects are you working on right now?

I am solely devoted to one right now. But I have a few that are waiting for me to give them attention again.

18) Have you ever won an award for your writing?

Well as Simon pointed out...do all those blogger awards on the side count? ----->

No, but to be perfectly honest up until recently I've never entered any of my writing into a contest. I did enter my latest MS into the First 200 words YA contest. But I won't know anything until February. So we'll just have to wait and see.

19) What are your five favorite words?

Angst, Snarkasm, Actually, Phantasmagoric and Totally (Good thing I write YA eh!)

20) What character have you created that is most like yourself?

Every one of my characters has something of me in them. I can't say that any certain one is more like me than any of the others. And if there was one that is, I probably wouldn't point it out because they have more of my bad qualities than good ;)

21) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?

I'm not sure really. I kinda just make them up as I go along. I know that's pretty lame, but it's how I do it!

22) Do you ever write based on your dreams?

My latest story came from a dream. I had this scene in my head and decided I needed to elaborate and figure out why they were doing and saying what they did. That scene never made it into my book....

23) Do you favor happy endings?

Not a big fan of happy endings. They are not realistic. I do like happy elements in my endings, just not tooooo happy. (What does that say about me??? Glass half empty anyone?)

24) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?

I can't help it. I hate to see little red or green lines under my words. But besides that, if MS word doesn't pick it up, I can' usually move past them.

25) Does music help you write?

OMG NO!!! How can you guys do that?!?! I can not listen to anything except the sound of my fan as I write or I get so distracted.

26) Quote something you've written. Whatever pops in your head.

Paper back writer (paperback writer)
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It's based on a novel by a man named Lear
And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer.

It's the dirty story of a dirty man
And his clinging wife doesn't understand.
His son is working for the Daily Mail,
It's a steady job but he wants to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer.

Paperback writer (paperback writer)

It's a thousand pages, give or take a few,
I'll be writing more in a week or two.
I can make it longer if you like the style,
I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer.

If you really like it you can have the rights,
It could make a million for you overnight.
If you must return it, you can send it here
But I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer.

Paperback writer (paperback writer)

* * * * *

Sweet...now that THAT is done...I shall get back to editing. But not before I tag a few people. The problem is, almost everyone has been tagged. Hmmmm..... I tag Mindy and Hilary. Sorry Ladies! I Hope you enjoy.

Kissing Day Blogfest : In Honor of Mistletoe

Yay for kissing day. I once wrote an entire post on kissing, though you won't find it on this blog. It included the history of me and all my kisses and ended with "the kiss that hurts".

What?

A kiss that hurts?



Oh yes. The kiss that hurts.

We've all been there. Kissing the man we love goodbye because he is leaving on a business trip. Or kissing him hello because something terrible had just happened and you thought you would never see him again. Or even a kiss that signifies a break up that you are not entirely sure you want, but know you need.

The kiss that means nothing but at the very same time means everything. The kiss where you close your eyes and your face tightens because your entire mind is wrapped around that kiss. The kiss where you place your hands on his face and hold on for dear life because you never want to let go, though you know you are going to have to in a very short amount of time. It takes your breath away until your lips part. And afterward you step away staring at each other and gasping for air. This is the kiss that hurts. My unlucky character got to experience one of these. For a bit of a different reason, but it still hurt nonetheless. And to make it worse, my MC, who is painfully in love with him, had to witness the entire ordeal. It is possible that this kiss hurt more for her than the two involved.

They stopped on an empty street corner. It was dark and damp outside. The only lights surrounding them were from the street lamp above and the blinking traffic light beside them. “Rachel, I know you are going through a rough time right now with Oliver, but he is your husband. Regardless of whether or not I notice more than he does, he is the one you are with. Not me.”

I was proud of Michael for telling Rachel this. She needed to hear these words. Michael needed to hear these words. I feared he often forgot this himself. Unfortunately, as quickly as I was feeling pleased about Michael’s acknowledgment, Rachel was doing the unspeakable. She leaned in toward Michael. The next thing I knew she was kissing him. It was not like the kiss I had encountered with Greg. This was a kiss where I wished I could have been her. Their mouths had become one and his arms grabbed her closer until there was no longer any space between them.

I fought to think about my kiss with Greg, every little detail I could remember. I thought about the horrible breath that lingered from the extensive amount of onions he had consumed. I thought about his pointy tongue trying to penetrate through my firmly closed lips, but it did not work.

Time, up until this moment for the most part, had slid by unnoticed. But this moment - This moment where I longed to be Rachel’s lips pressed up against his, and Rachel’s waist held firmly by his arm, and Rachel’s hair flowing over each of Michael’s fingers - This moment lasted for what seemed to be an eternity. Again, I could not shake the feeling that there was something more, some force working against me.

The laughter was louder and more pronounced this time. It was also more malevolent. I knew it was near and knew it was meant for me. Someone was reading my thoughts or watching me. They were witnessing my failure to influence Michael, and they were entertained by it. I could tell the laughter was that of a woman’s, but did not see any other person or soul anywhere near. It was just Michael, Rachel and I as far as I could see. But the laughter continued, as did my frustration.

However, I continued to hold my concentration, to provide distraction. For one slight moment I felt confident it may have helped as Michael broke through their embrace and gently pushed Rachel back. When I looked into Michael’s eyes though, I knew the accomplishment was small. There was agony in his eyes as he stared at Rachel and watched her fight back the tears glistening in her eyes. It hurt him to see her hurt.

“I’m sorry Michael,” she said slowly, refusing to let the tears fall, she was feeling somewhat humiliated. “It was just that the moment was right, and I’ve wanted to do that for months now, and I just let the emotion overtake my common sense. It will never happen again, I promise. Please don’t tell Oliver.”

And without any notice she had turned away and began sprinting down the road away from Michael. Michael stood there, like a statue. He seemed stunned by the passing events. I could only imagine the thoughts cascading through his mind.

I knew the thoughts running through my own mind. I felt guilty. I knew this was my fault and I knew he would not have continued to kiss her had I not had the idiotic moment of weakness where I wished I were Rachel. I couldn’t stop Rachel’s actions, but I did have some small control over Michael’s. I had to make this right.

So that is my kissing scene. It's actually the only kissing scene in that manuscript. Sorry for all the poor grammar and such. It was my first novel and I had MUCH to learn after I wrote that. Well enjoy you kissing fest! I'm off to read some blogs!

Editing vs. Parenting

I've come to the conclusion that editing a manuscript is indeed very similar too parenting a child.

What? You don't see the correlation? I can prove it! Seriously!

Both keep you up ALL night!

• Manuscript -If you aren't attached to the computer screen taking out all your passive sentences then you are up thinking about how to show your readers that Jane was angry instead of telling them. I mean seriously, it's not enough to just say Jane was pissed off. Instead we need to show the fire in her eyes and the throbbing vein pulsating above her left eye!
  

• Children -It can all be said in a matter of few common complaints. "But I'm not tired!" and "I'm thirsty." or "It's too cold." and "It's too hot." and don't forget "I had a bad dream can I sleep in your bed and toss and turn and kick you in the face all night?"

Both refuse to listen...

• Manuscript - MS complains, "But I don't want remove any more words from my pages!" I reprimand, "Seriously MS, how many instances of the word 'that' do you really need?" MS will argue, "But look how pretty all of them look on page 12." In which I will argue back, "You will remove at least 11 'thats' or I will remove them for you!"

• Children - Child complains, "But I don't want to clean my room!" I reprimand, "Seriously child, I can't even walk in the room without stepping on 12 legos and breaking my foot." The child then argues, "But those are my special legos, I can't put them away or I'll lose them." In which I reply with, "You will put those legos away or I will throw them away."

Are you seeing the similarities yet?

Both require books upon books to learn how to do the job.

Both require massive losses of sanity.

Both require gobs of time.

Both get in the way of my time on Twitter!

And BOTH give me a headache!

Luckily I am so incredibly devoted to both jobs that I would never give up on either. Lucky book and kids! What would they do without me?

(Though without both I'd probably have a lot less #windinmyhaaaaiiiir!)

Seriously? Seriously!

I can't believe how fast today is going, and it's only 9:30am! Someone remind me why I just didn't roll out of bed at 4:30am again...oh yeah...it's cuz my bed is super cozy.

It's almost the weekend and I don't have much to say because I have about 5 billion places errands to run today. (Thanks Holidays! Next year you do the shopping for me!) I mean how else can I feel Wind in my haaaaaiiiiirrrr?

This is what I'll look like at the end of the day...

But I did want to point out that I am nearing 200 followers and I'm thinking about maybe doing a contest when I reach that pretty number. What do you think?

Ok some questions to ponder and put up for discussion in my comments today.

Why is it snowing in Texas more than Michigan this year?

If you could have a netbook of any color what color would it be? (And you can't choose green because I've already claimed all the green netbooks)

How excited are you that winter vacation is right around the corner and/or starting!?!?!

And most importantly....

When can I expect the mounds of Christmas cookies you are all sending me?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND KIDS!! MISS ME!!!

You might not know this, but...

I guess people kinda like me. They possibly even think I'm funny! Do you think it's the Wind In My Haaaaaiiiiiirrrr?

Well because of this love (Yeah I totally took it up a step. I'm pretty sure they love me. I mean have you seen me? What's not to love?) I have been given a few awards! So put on your best dresses and those lovely little tuxedos (Not both at once ... how awkward would that be!) and come walk the red carpet with me.

Check out my dress!

I totally look JUST like that in it too!

So my first award arrived from Elizabeth at Mystery Writing is Murder. (Who by the way wrote an AWESOME book!!! Read about it here, then buy it!) I love this award because it comes with NO rules. I like awards with no rules! (Cuz there have been some hideous rules going around out there...and I swear that even though I created the award, I had nothing to do with the rules! But I am enjoying them.)

She awarded me the Blogging Writer Award.


At which I say ... write back at you lady! You are a ROCKIN writer!!!

My next award has been presented by Natalie (OMG I love that name!) from her self titled blog Natalie Bahm (I mean listen to the way it just rolls off your tongue...Natalie...Ok I'm gonna stop sounding like a creeper now.)

She awarded me with the Loyal Friend and Visitor award.


This award also did not come with any rules (YAY AWARD!) but I decided I wanted to award my top 5 most loyal visitors regardless. Because without you, my comments section would go empty!

1. Julie over at Foursons seems to really like my blog :) I see her comments almost every day. I like Julie! Her Thank You Very Much posts are by far my favorite! Thanks for being loyal Julie!

2. Jessica over at BookingIt has been a loyal follower and commenter since almost the very beginning! I throw big smiles towards Jessica! Her blog is always thought provoking and super informative in the writerly world. Thanks for always coming back Jessica!

3. T. Anne over at White Platonic Dreams was pretty much one of my first followers. And can you believe she keeps coming back for more. Even after all my crazy posts about Harry Potter and Gnomes, she's never walked away! Her blog is wonderful resource for writers as well. (Not to mention entertaining!) Thanks for not letting my gnomes and Harry Potter be a turn off!

4. Jody from another self titled blog, Author, Jody Hedlund has also been around for quite some time. Jody is a super busy lady with her new agent Rachelle Gardner (JEALOUS) and her book deal! If you want to know what it's like step by step in the publishing world surf through Jody's blog. Absolutely informative and fantastic. Thanks for still visiting me even while your busy lady!

5. Katie from another self titled blog Katie Ganshert (What's up with the self titled blogs yo? It's like you are all authors or something!) She also recently signed with Rachelle and is working to get her book ready for publication. She's got great info about editing and writing and has such a blessed heart! Thanks for not thinking I'm too crazy to keep following!

And there are tons more but if I keep listing all you guys, I'll be here all week!

So my final award came from the two Shannons! (Did you girls plan this?) Shannon Messenger from Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming. Both awesome girls and super new followers. (Maybe that's why they are handing out awards, they just don't know how crazy I am yet?!?!)


Now this little ditty came with Rules. Sigh....(mumbling possibly naughty words...possibly...)

Rule Number One!

Write 7 Things about You (Me)

Rule Number Two!

Pass it on to 7 Friends

Rule number two comes first. I'm going to make you wait to learn 7 new things about me. (Can you imagine there being 7 things you DON'T already know about me?)

7 Friends

Shannon @ Ramblings of Wannabe Scribe (She gives away signed copies of twilight...just sayin)

Frankie @ Frankie Writes (Wind in my HAAAAAIIIIIRRR)

Elana @ Elana Johnson, Author

Kiersten @ Kiersten Writes

Carrie @ Carrie Harris

Mindy @ CMOM Productions

Scott @ A Writer's Blog (Bombard him with comments so he can't play Bejeweled!)

So um...can you tell I'm a writer? Yeah me either!

Now...sigh... 7 Things About Me (Are you even still reading this???)

1. I have 4 Blogs ... That's right, 4. Sigh....why can't I get anything done again?

2. I get goosebumps when I hear children's choirs sing my favorite Christmas songs.

3. I have 8 Novels started, 2 Finished and a new idea in my head right now!

4. The first Roller Coaster I ever rode was The Raptor at Cedar Point and all the Roller Coasters I rode after that sucked. You couldn't force me to go on a Roller Coaster now! (Unless you offered me an agent, then I'd totally consider it...eh eh eh *wags finger*...I said CONSIDER!)

5. I'm paranoid. Like really paranoid. As in my phones need to be right next to my bed in case someone has to call me in the middle of the night for an emergency. As in I won't even let my 8 yr old go outside for more than a minute without me. As in I know I'm dying soon, I just don't know how yet. That kind of paranoid. I'm pretty sure its a side effect from reading too many books.

6. Because of number 5 I do NOT read Steven King or Dean Koontz. I made that mistake once.

7. (YAY SEVEN!!!) Hmmmm...this needs to be a good one... When I was little I was terrified of fires and my siblings teased me that my room was going to start on fire so at night I would unplug EVERYTHING from my walls just in case. (I mean I'm not really THAT paranoid...just a little bit. It's practically just an ounce of paranoia...my leg hurts, do you think it's gangrene? Should we amputate?)

So there, now you have a clearer picture of how crazy I am. Now you better leave lots of comments or I might get paranoid that you don't like me!!!

Congrats to all my award winners!!! And thanks for all the awards!!!

Dear Wednesday,

Please leave and send Friday in your place. I know I'm going to regret this in about two weeks, but I am SO ready for Christmas vacation. I'm ready to sleep in. I'm ready to put away the mommy taxi! And when you send Friday with its ever loving two weeks of happiness, please make sure to send it with three mute children!

Thanks!

Love,

Poppins

Recomendations and Agents

Husband Poppins My dear loyal and absolutely devoted, not to mention handsome husband (Is that better dear?) and I got in a chat about recommendations. He's big into Linked In. I like the site too, though it's not twitter. (Just sayin...)

On Linked In you put your resume up and connect with former/current employers and/or employees and/or co-workers. As you connect you are able to leave each other recommendations (As long as you have worked together in the past) and boost one another's credibility. It's an awesome feature and I don't doubt it helps in the hiring process.

Our conversation began when we started talking about agents I like and how I know some of their clients via blogging/twitter.

He said, "You should get recommendations!"

Now I think this a great idea, but I felt like 'eh'.

I explained that to me it seems like an unspoken rule between writers that we don't cross that boundary. Kinda like the unspoken rule that you never date your best friends ex. Or the one where it is mandatory to tell a good friend that they have food in their teeth.

Nobody flat out makes these rules, they are just kinda there.

OR maybe it's just me. I love my bloggy friends! I would never want them to think I am stalking following them just to earn me some recommendations. That is totally NOT the reason I stalk follow/read my favorite blogs and chat it up with my twitter folk! (Now in twitter language would that be Twolk? I'm totally trade marking that one!)

So what are your thoughts? Would you ask a friend for a recommendation before you queried their agent? If you have an agent, have you ever had anyone/everyone ask for a recommendation?

Please share your feelings. I am incredibly curious! (And I'd love to prove to the man that I am right about my unspoken rule that I may or may not have created all on my own)

A Holiday Confession

First things first. I have to thank Jessica for getting Snoop Dogg in my head. (For an explaination click Here) And the worst part about it is I only know the words "Snoop Doggy Dooooooogg." Thanks dear. You're a peach!

Second, have you seen my newest challenge?. First I sign up for the editing challenge and now I've agreed to take part in the Official Kissing (aka Snogging) Day BlogFest. (The rules are in the link and I totally think you should all participate.) Nothing better than a day full of snogging to lift our souls! And come on, it's in honor of mistletoe. (Just like the Cho Chang and Harry kissing scene. I love how the mistletoe just appears. Where can I find the Room of Requirement and if I require Patrick Dempsey to be under the mistletoe will he appear?)

And now it's time to tell you something shocking about me. Brace yourself.

Are you sitting down?

Please set down your coffee. I don't want to be the cause of any spills.

Ready?

I have never seen mistletoe.

GASP!!!!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Seriously. I've never seen it. Which means I've never kissed under it. Which means I am totally jealous of all of you that have!

Who wants to send me some mistletoe for Christmas?

Where do you even find mistletoe?

But I totally loves me a kissing scene under mistletoe. Especially when the two kissers aren't prepared to kiss each other. Ok ok...I'm getting ahead of myself. Snogging Blogfest isn't till the 21st! I'll do my best to hold back.

Oh and speaking of the holidays, did you know people purposely bake fruitcakes!!! Jody you totally put me to shame as a homemaker.

Enjoy your Monday kids!

And thanks again Jessica for making me repeat the D O Double G in my head over and over!

Harry Potter Fantastic Favorites!

So I gave Shannon over at Rambling of a Wannabe Scribe (one of my new favorite blogs!!!) my Favorite Gnome Approved Blog Awards. She completely rocks! And she decided to put together a little "Favorites" Q and A for winning the blog. It was a three part blog series and her last one was my absolute Favorite! The Harry Potter Favorites!!! Did I mention that Shannon is awesome? Ok so I couldn't help it. I totally need to answer these questions. They are absolutely some of the most important questions ever!

So because it's Sunday and I have tons of other things I should be doing but am now in Harry Potter mode ... here we go ...

Favorite Book: The Half Blood Prince. I was completely drawn into all the horcruxes and could not put this book down for even a moment.

Favorite Chapter: Chapter 26 of The Half Blood Prince - The Cave ...Harry and Dumbledore go into the cave where Tom Riddle tortured two young children to find the hidden locket. I could picture every moment in this chapter. The movie did not do it justice. (But it didn't suck either) although it was a close second to Chapter 1 in The Goblet of Fire. I loved that scene!

Favorite Scene: The Deathly Hallows where Ron and Hermione finally kiss. It was like "It's about damn time!" and it was entertaining all at the same time.

Favorite Muggle: There really aren't a whole lot to choose from. I really do love that Hermione's parents are muggles though. That entertains me :)

Favorite Teacher: I'd have to go with Slughorn. He was by far the most entertaining teacher.

Favorite Class: Potions. Though Snape was kinda a dink, imagine the possibilities with creating the perfect potions. Imagine going to a writers conference and slipping an agent a little Amortentia ... they'd fall in love with you and want to sign in an instant!!!

Favorite Gryffindor: Ginny! I adore Ginny. She's my favorite everything.

Favorite Hufflepuff: Cedric Diggory. Isn't he everyone's favorite Hufflepuff? I mean look at his cute little red cheeks! (Looking at this picture and thinking is cute makes me feel just as naughty as I do when I say Taylor Lautner is hot!)

Favorite Ravenclaw: I'm with Shannon...all I can think of is Cho Chang. (Well except for her friends. And I totally didn't like her friend Marietta. That little snitch!)

Favorite Slytherin: Slughorn!

Favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher: Lupin. After all he was pretty much the only one who taught the kids anything! Plus without him how would Harry have ever learned how to do a Patronis???

Favorite Quidditch Match: The one where Ron kicks some major arse. Especially in the movie because he just looks like an idiot and it makes me laugh.

Favorite Wand Ingredient: Dragon Heart String. I'd totally want a piece of Dragon in my wand! Does that make me a pyro?

Favorite Wizard Band: Wasn't The Weird Sisters the only one? That's the only one I remember (And yes completely by memory! I've read Harry Potter THAT many times!)

Favorite Library Book: I admit I hit up Google...I tried so hard to keep Google out of it...but I couldn't. All I found was "Quidditch through the Ages"... that'll do!

Favorite Textbook: Hogwarts, A History

Favorite Hogesmead Store: The Three Broomsticks. I want to meet Aberforth's goat.

Favorite Diagon Alley Shop: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and get me a Pigmy Puff!!! I've always wanted a Pigmy Puff...sigh....

Favorite Weasley Twin: Fred ... it's the name... sorry. (Friends from high school need not comment. Thanks!)

Favorite Fight: The one between Ron and the Locket. That Locket was a bizach to him! All making him believe Harry and Hermione were a thing when clearly Harry is in love with Ginny. I was more than happy once Ron stabbed it with the sword!

Favorite Couple: Harry and Ginny all the way. Ginny is my favorite character overall so I was super excited when she finally got the boy she wanted. And I love that she told everyone he had tatoos!

Favorite Scene in a Graveyard: The moment where Harry's parents and everyone comes back to help him and Lord Voldemort flips out cuz he disappears. Eat that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!!! FAIL!

Favorite Villain: Bellatrix. She's like uber B! Just her hair alone makes her quite the awesome villain. Though she is kinda whiny. That is a pretty big turn off. So I would probably say Voldemort if he wasn't already the obvious choice :)

Favorite Trelawney Prophecy: The prophecy from the Hall of Prophecies. I felt it was so well worded! Plus I really liked the orb.

Favorite Ron Line: Bloody Hell!

Favorite Dumbledoreism: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." I know that is really kinda cheesy, but I think it is so true in life. But my favorite snarky comment is "--yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often. Best to say nothing at all, my dear man."

Favorite Beast: Is a Pigmy Puff considered a beast? If not I'm going to go with Thestral. Those are wicked cool, though I wouldn't be able to see one myself.

Favorite Movie: The Order of the Pheonix at the IMAX. The 3-D scenes in the Ministry of Magic are unforgettable. I loved that scene!

Favorite Scene in the Hospital Wing: The one where Ron asks for Hermione in his sleep right in front of Lavender. (I'm mean!)

Favorite Method of Getting to Hogwarts: Well you can only take the Hogwarts Express of course. I mean there are magical enchantments preventing you from apperating and all that other cool stuff! Duh! I mean I suppose you could fly, but I'm super afraid of heights.

Favorite Patel Twin: Parvoiti. I love the line, "Arm, leg, I'm yours!"

That was slightly harder than I expected. But super fun! Enjoy your Sunday!

Every Other Friday...and Seriously, I can't read Chinese!

I'm not sure many of you know, but every other Friday I write over at If You Give A Girl A Pen. Kinda like, If You Give a Moose A Muffin, but way more dramatic and if you give a girl a pen, chances are she's going to need a glass of wine if the pen is red and it's editing time! Well today was my Friday so go Check It Out! Leave some comments, show the girls some love!

Now another thing that I imagine would seem very obvious...

I seriously can't freaking read Chinese. I can't speak Chinese. I only eat Chinese! (The food ... not the people. The people are way too chewy!)

So why in the name of Bob (A friend wrote 'For the Love of Bob' in her manuscript...I'm not sure who Bob is, well besides my daddy, but I totally loved this sentence. So today I'm speaking about this Bob too!) As I was saying....why in the name of Bob would these anonymous non do gooding spam happying dougnut holes think I would enjoy reading their dang Chinese comments which are no doubt about the size of my .... toes and telling me I need to lose weight when the holidays aren't even over yet and (Seriously! I'm not getting on a diet till at least after the first of the year thank you very much!) all that other stuff I'm not interested in?

Just saying...

How are you dealing with all this new Blogger Spam? I reported it twice...still no luck. Anybody want to buy me a Chinese/English Dictionary for Christmas?

Any Friend of Yours is A Friend of Mine!

So here is what I've noticed, as I'm sure all of you have as well.... We are ALL friends.

I know I know...how cute and cuddly and blah blah blah ...

But seriously! Look in our followers boxes. We all share MANY of the same followers/friends.

Since I began blogging I started with a few followers and I followed them back. We all had about the same number of followers too. Then slowly we all began to grow. But we grew together. Their followers became my followers and I started following all of them and it was a big gigantic circle!

Isn't it amazing?

I think the best part is that I can say "Yay Katie and Elana for scoring agents recently!" and a good 50% of you know who I am talking about!

How cool is that?

So a big shout out to all my followers' followers' followers! I love following you too and lets keep the circle going cuz I totally love you guys. You (*cough* and your comments *cough*) make my day!

Are there any of your followers that I am not following? How many of my followers are you following!?!

Getting Jipped from My Snow Day!

At first I missed GR. All my friends were there, my family, my favorite Target. I wrote it letters, I begged all my friends to move with me, and I cried for hours on end! It was a very rough time or me. (Ok well I didn't really cry, except when I found out Target was half way across town. That was a rough moment.)

Things got a little better. I made some friends in Lansing. I got to go to some MSU games. (Go Sparty!) I got used to the smell. (If you weren't aware, Lansing has a NASTY smell. It's a cross between a landfill and burnt food. Not pleasant. But you get used to it. Kinda like Bay City and the sugar beats!) My friends from GR even come to visit me every so often. (I love you guys!!!)

I came to terms with my move. All was going well.

And then it snowed.

At first I was all, "Ha ha GR, you guys suck. I don't have snow and you doooooo!"

Sure it was immature and slightly mean, but what's a girl to do?

I felt good about my smug attitude. I laughed at their misery and reveled in the fact I had moved so far away from the crappy weather. (I don't understand why my friends don't visit me more often. I am Such A Great Friend!)

And then it happened.

They popped up all over Facebook ... Status Updates like ...

Snow Day :o/ ...

Drive safe out there.......I know I won't be leaving my house today.......so be safe out there.....

To go back to bed, or help husband shovel? hrmmmm tough call.

Hopes that the e-mail and text notification system she set up at school worked for all those who signed up. I received my text within 5 minutes of it being posted on Facebook

That's right. GR equals snow day today and Lansing equals getting out of bed and getting the kids ready and trudging out in the slush and and and...

Can I move back to GR now?

Its A Christmas Miracle!

Oh little Tiny Timmy, how did you know such good things would happen!?!?

So far December has been a lovely month! This week is full of accomplishments!

I must share...it would be wrong to leave you out of the loop.

So without further ado!

• Last weekend I baked 2 dozen cookies! The real accomplishment is the fact that I baked anything at all. I don't bake. I DO however burn, add too much flour and deflate cakes! But I successfully created two batches of Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies last Saturday. AND....People liked them.

• I showered yesterday. Um...wait...that was a daily accomplishment...scratch that!

• Can you believe someone is giving away MY award today!!! How exciting is that! Maybe one day it will make it back to me. I'd be thoroughly entertained. But just the thought of my little gnome creation going into circulation has me smiling.

• My children cleaned their rooms yesterday ... WITHOUT complaining. HUGE Christmas Miracle!!!

• Harry Potter comes out on DVD today...well I guess that's not an accomplishment...or a Christmas Miracle. BUT it is still exciting!!!

• We saw Santa across the street from Blockbuster last night. He stood waving to all the cars. Not really sure why, but it entertained my son. I can't believe he made his way to our city. What an awesome man!

So there you have it. A list of Christmas Miracles.

Oh yeah! And I forgot to mention, I guess I kinda finished my book yesterday too.

What? You need me to repeat that? Sure!

I FINISHED MY BOOK YESTERDAY!

(Sorry I didn't mean to yell...)

So I finished my second novel and the decided to have a moment of stupid when I thought it would be a great idea to join Krista and Sherrinda (and I think T. Anne now too?) in an Editing Contest.

The entire book edited by January 1st, 2010! What was I thinking! Better go get to work.

I'm a Mean Mom...Just so You Know!

Why is it that the day that I NEED to write my son decides all his toys are boring? Ok well he thinks that every day, but today it happens with tears.

Tears because his legos aren't fun.

Tears because he played with his cars yesterday.

Tears because he doesn't want to color.

So I said to him, "Well if you don't like your toys that much, I am going to call Santa and tell him he doesn't need to bring you any toys this year because you don't like them."

Tears again.

"But I do want new toys for Christmas!"

So I say, "Then show me you enjoy playing with them!"

It didn't work.

Should I resort to TV to get my work done? I really don't like resorting to the TV.

I decide to compromise.

"If you go play with your toys for a half hour you can watch TV for a half hour." I said.

So he comes in my room 2 minutes later and says, "Look, I made this yesterday." as he holds up a lego car.

Seriously. I don't want to know what he did yesterday! I want him to play with his toys today!

Why didn't I send him to preschool this year again?

In which I may possibly have crossed a line...or two....

I asked my four year old what I should post about today, knowing that he tends to have interesting blog topics.

I said, "Tell me boy, what should I blog about today!" (ok well not that dramatically, but it sounded more fun!)

He said, "Me! I like hearing all about me!"

Can someone tell me why I couldn't have that kind of self confidence when I was a teen. Seriously! If I could bottle up his self assurance I could sell it to teens (*cough* and writers *cough*) and be a multi billionaire.

My ad ...

Come buy my confidence in a bottle! It will keep you up longer than a long lasting viagra!

Ok that doesn't really work.

Let's try that again ...

Confidence in a bottle ... Turn your angst into assholishness!

Crap that's not good either.

One more try! I swear I can do this ...

Not feeling the love for the reflection in the mirror? Try my Bottle of Confidence, you'll feel so awesome you'll want to make love to yourself.

No that's not what I was going for either!!!

I guess I could just go with the whole theory behind it ...

Confidence in a bottle ... Feel like a four year old again!

Yeah so if that was the case I probably wouldn't sell it. I'd probably hoard it all for myself and take advantage of the nap time!

Well if you guys can help me market it I'll see about bottling it up!!! Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Don't forget to stop by and read about my Gaping Plot Hole of Destruction!

No Peek Chicken (I totally should have peaked!)

I got a recipe from a friend yesterday for dinner. It sounded delicious so I thought I should definitely try it. PLUS (bonus item) I had all the ingredients which is amazing given it was two days before grocery shopping. So here is the recipe...

You take about 4-5 chicken breasts, season to taste and set aside. Then mix together 2 cups of rice, one can cream of mushroom soup, one can of cream of celery or chicken (doesn’t matter) and ½ soup can of milk and a half pouch of dry onion soup mix (do not add water to the mix) put it all in the bottom of a well greased 13x9 baking dish, put the chicken on top and pour the rest of the onion soup mix over the chicken (the onion soup mix is KEY to the recipe). Cover with tin foil .Bake for about 2 hrs or until chicken is done.

Sounds good doesn't it! So there were some spots where I did get slightly confused.

Like ... one can cream of mushroom soup, one can of cream of celery or chicken ... I wasn't sure if this meant I should add one can of cream of mushroom soup WITH on can of either cream of celery or cream of chicken OR if I could just use one can of any of the three. But did I bother to ask? Not a chance. I'm an experienced cook, I knew what to do. Just one can...definitely just one can....

Also notice there wasn't a temp to cook at. Well I did ask, she said 350 and so I decided if I did it at 375 it would cook faster! (Experienced cook talking here)

So I whip it all together and throw it in the oven.

Now here is what you need to know about me and rice. We don't get along ... at all. Not even a little bit. My rice is usually watery, hard and slightly undercooked and/or burnt to the bottom of the pan. Over the years I have learned to master minute rice BUT this recipe did not say anything about minute rice, so I used regular brown rice.

So dinner came around and ok...I totally peeked a couple time to make sure everything was going ok and to check on the rice. I checked after an hour, rice still hard. I checked after an hour and a half, rice Still hard. I checked after two hours and the damn rice was STILL hard. And lucky for me, so was the freaking chicken. ARG!!!

So I pulled the dang meal out of the freaking stove and served it up. It was kinda like a crispy rice/dried up chicken type of meal.

Here's the best part.... my kids loved it! While my husband and I are all,

"Do you want the rest of my chicken?"

and

"Oh no, you eat that chicken, I don't want you to be hungry."

and

"Maybe you should give me a little extra corn."

My kids are all,

"Daddy I'll eat your rice!"

and

"Is there any more chicken!"

Seriously! I give these kids beef stew (cooked perfectly...not rice like) and they won't touch it. Chili takes at least an hour to choke down two bites. But burnt dried out chicken and burnt undercooked rice is like the best meal they've had all year!

Needless to say, I'm still hungry.

So as an experienced cook I came to a few conclusions...

1. I should have used two cans of cream soup.

2. I STILL can't cook rice.

and

3. If in doubt, ask for clarification on the recipe!!!

Come read about my new book idea!!!

Click Here!