Another Birthday Gone and Blog Hop Wrap Up

Birthday flowers from my boys!

Hi everyone! What a great Labor Day weekend. Things were truly hopping around here with the blog hop. Locally, after a huge thunderstorm rolled through here and cleaned out the air, we finally got a refresher course in what the mountains and blue sky look like without wildfire smoke haze obscuring everything. Ahhhhh! As an added bonus, the weather has cooled off, FINALLY. Sooooo done with summer heat. Bring on fall!

Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes! The birthday stretched to three days this time, to accommodate everyone’s schedules. The Helvetican and I went for sushi on Saturday, yummy, then the family party was on Sunday, with my sister and dad hanging out with us for grilled chicken and ribs. My mom called and her hubby sang a birthday song he wrote.

The kids all remembered my birthday this year, and it was so much fun. The Princess wrote a song about my birthday with ukulele accompaniment. She also made me a Doctor

Tardis card, made by the Princess.

Who Tardis card, complete with the Tenth Doctor inside. Perfect nerd-girl gift! The boys went all out, with cards, coupons for free household chores, cards, flowers, Diet Coke, dark chocolate of several varieties…yes, I’ve trained them well. Then last night, we hit our favorite Mexican place, whose chile verde-smothered chimichangas are divine. I’m calling it a successfully completed birthday.

Inside the Tardis card…The Doctor, of course!

Romancing the Hop ended last night, and I have winner announcements! I plugged all of your comments into the Randomizer to come up with a winner. Miriam Roman wins her choice of a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card. Congrats, Miriam!

FYI, there were 9,000 comments left across the blog hop! Wow! The Hop Grand Prize winners are:

Kindle Fire Winner:

Laurie Goudge

(from It’s the Journey that Counts’s Blog)

$130 Amazon Gift Card:

Ellie

(from Carrie Ann Ryan’s Blog)

Swag Pack:

Cassandra

 (from Dana Delamar’s Blog)

Today’s plan? Get a magazine article out the door because today is deadline, and maybe sneak in a nap. Anything else is a wonderful bonus accomplishment.

What did you do this weekend? Any big plans for your week?

An Intro to a Friend for Her Birthday!

Today, a woman I have known for a great many years is celebrating her birthday. That’s a great time to introduce her to you, don’t you think? Of course, she has so many books out, you may know her already!

MJ Fredrick is one of the hardest working women I know, and honestly, I think she is blessed with more hours each day than the rest of us. Or she stole Hermione Granger’s time turner. Or she’s an alien. Somehow she manages to teach music to elementary school children, maintain a blog and impressive Pinterest boards, actually complete projects inspired by Pinterest, sew (beyond basic mending), keep up with her favorite TV shows, raise a fine son, spend time with her hubby, maintain a social life, and STILL publish a hefty number of books. Her writing speed amazes me. She works with several publishers and has also jumped into the self-publishing arena. She writes everything from historical to contemporary, from romantic suspense to paranormal.

I am in complete awe of MJ. Always have been. So, happy birthday, my friend! I hope it’s fabulous!

If you have a moment, please pop over to her blog and wish her happy birthday: http://mjfredrick.wordpress.com/

And if you like contemporary, small-town romance, give her new Bluestone series a try! You can find them at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Happy Valentine’s Day

I won’t be going out for Valentine’s Day tonight, because my Helvetican works. Instead, we’ll go out to dinner on Thursday, when he’s off. It’ll be more like a Valentine’s Week.

He gave my Valentine’s present to me yesterday, so I could enjoy it a little early.

 

New pajamas! Silky, microfibery, pink and brown mini floral, comfy, perfect-fitting jammies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And candy, but not your basic box of chocolates. No. He went for the vintage candies that are hard to find now, like Razzles and Fizzies drink tablets.

 

 

 

And, finally, a new vintage metal sign for my office. It’ll keep Rosie the Riveter company on the wall.

 

Now, none of this is classically romantic, but oh, be still my heart. The man knows me. And rather than grab a quick and easy bouquet of roses as he leaves work today, he spent the time to go find me really cool stuff that he knew I’d appreciate.

How will I reciprocate? With something he’d never expect. I’m sending him flowers at work! What gift would your honey give you to show that they really know you?