let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

*Sigh*.

That was a nice long break. I had Christmas with my family, helped out at my sister's, had New Year's with my husband and some close, wonderful friends, went to my sister's to help out again, and saw the in-laws.

Got crapometered. Miss Snark's comments, while short and to the point, will help out a great deal with my query letters.

Finished editing the last book, started the new book. I'm loving every second of it, for now.

Used some gift cards to go crazy on Amazon...got Uglies, On Writing, Magic or Madness, The Elements of Style, 78/14 Reasons, and Brother Odd. I was a good girl, and started with Elements of Style last night, in spite of all temptation to read any of the others. I know you can't believe I didn't already have a copy--doesn't every writer? Well, I did...but I lost it before I could finish it. So now I'm plowing through, determined to soak up every bit of knowledge that I can. It's kind of exhausting...there's a lot packed into that little book.

Used other gift cards to go shopping on Sunday. I got the most fabulous pair of high-heeled, brown leather, knee-high lace-up boots for $31.99...so with my gift card, I paid $11.99. Not bad, says I. Not bad at all! Can't wait to wear them with a cute skirt, although they'll work fine with jeans, too.

And now, it's snowing. I'm not a big fan of snow, having grown up very near PA's snow belt, but I feel sort of...relieved. It's been a really weird winter, and the warm weather, while nice, has thrown me off a bit. It felt so right to look outside this morning and see a thin layer of snow covering my car and the driveway.

Oh! And I'm trying to quit smoking again. This is Day Three, and thus far, I haven't killed anyone yet! Yaaaaay me! I even went without the patch from dinner until bedtime last night. It actually might stick this time, I think. I'm kind of excited about reaching each next milestone, and being able to say, "A week without a smoke..." "Two weeks..." "A month...". I can see myself as a non-smoker. That, my friends, is a first. I like it.

Now, off to the salt mines...er, the wonderful next book that I'm really enjoying, even if I'm kind of stuck in Chapter Two, unable to find a smooth way to slip in all this information that I need to get in there. Or something.

Bye!

-Kristin