Ya'll are lucky I love ya...

Cause I have the tv off and a Janet Chapman book calling my name. The Seduction of his Wife for those of you who are wondering. I started it last night and am enjoying it, but I digress. As always, I'm tired and ready to go to sleep but last night I succumbed and put down my book at 10:30pm and could not get to sleep even though I was so pooped! Ticked me off. Tonight the plan is to read longer, if I can't sleep and I can't concentrate and nothing is on tv, might as well enjoy a good book!

Today I drove up to Karen's place and let me say, driving in my spiffy new car was much better then the rental I drove last time I went north. I didn't feel like I was taking up a whole lane this time. I don't know if you know this but it seems like every other road is Peachtree. Seriousely, someone told me there are over a hundred different variations of Peachtree. It's ridiculous! Then today I noticed a parkway called Sugarloaf! Hello!!! How in the world am I supposed to get into shape if all of the streets are making me think of food?!?! I thought I was going to gain weight from the fried chicken, I wasn't thinking of the roads! I did pass a peach farm/market on the way to Karen's. I totally wanted to stop there on the way back to check out their produce and I wanted to buy some boiled peanuts. I love boiled peanuts but unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs and I didn't have an umbrella. Fortunately, I can stop there next time but ya'll know I have no patience. Who wants delayed gratification, I want it now!

I stopped by my new apartment this morning, I like it even more today! Of course, I also noticed I am going to need to get either some curtains or blinds for the living room before I can walk around in my undies. Bummer! But I did notice my light fixtures are cool in the kitchen, yay! I also noticed that within a mile of my house there is a grocery store, Target, Nordstrom's AND a Borders! Why do I need a car, I'm never leaving my neighborhood. Oh wait, I do have a job I have to drive to and let's be real, I'm not walking in this weather, LOL.

Today, I'm bringing you Military Barbie. As many of you know, way back when, I was in the Army. I know, me! But I was actually a pretty good soldier in that I was good at doing what I was told to do. I went from my parent's house to Uncle Sam's and since I was a very obedient daughter (my how times have changed) I was a very obedient soldier. I actually had a great time in the Army. After 5 years though I was ready to get out. Sadly, I had no problems with the Army itself. I just hated running and we did a lot of running. I did not want to spend another 15 years running and I figured if I re-upped for 2 more years then I might as well stay for 20. I worked as a video documentation specialist so while stationed in Korea I worked at AFKN which was the military tv station there. My field was mostly men. Oh darn, LOL. Here I am with the guys in my department. I can't remember why we were dressed up, we were usually in BDUs but at least I look good in the pictures and really, that's all that matters.

It's done!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a car, woo hoo! It's been an exhausting process and I am so happy to be done with it all. I actually ended up getting a 2007 instead of a 2006 because it had what I wanted and I got a good deal on it plus it had the color I wanted, ice blue. The interest rates aren't the best right now but I am just so happy to be done! I got a Hyundai Accent. For some reason they are really pushing the Elantra but I wanted the Accent because it's smaller and has better gas mileage. So three days, two dealers, three visits and lots of phone conversation I am the proud owner of a spiffy new car. Power windows, what a concept!

Since I've been in Atlanta I have been so exhausted. Most of it is mental, I know. I keep waking up at the buttcrack of dawn and taking over an hour to get back to sleep. I am hoping with my move this weekend and now having a car I can work on having a little normalcy in my life. Now don't laugh, I can do normal, LOL.

I chose to share this picture because it was so typical of how life was growing up. I love this picture. I come from a family of 9 kids, couch room was very limited. We usually only had one couch and you know I like to lay down so basically we dog piled each other. This was a typical evening of us lying down to watch tv. Andy and Kimberly are faking their sleep, Adam is the ham on the floor and David is the baby of the family. That baby now had his nipples and tongue pierced and more tattoos then I can count, LOL.

I was shocked at tonight's Supernova but I did notice that Ryan had yet to sing with the band. I thought for sure Storm was going home. I hope Tommy realizes that he can't sleep with her when she's in the band, it could get ugly, LOL. Dilana certainly had a wake up call. I thought she has come across sh*tty the last couple of weeks, her ego just got too big to be contained and that's why she was in the bottom 3, America doesn't like to see that. I'm glad she was in the bottom, she needed some humbling.

Things are coming together...

Slowly but surely. Good news, I have an apartment! It's in a great area, Buckhead. It's the only condo on the block, the rest of the street is really nice residential homes and it's a small complex, only 12 units and the neighbors seem nice. I got a 2 bedroom for $40 more then I paid for my one bedroom in LA. The unit is not that big but I don't want something very big. The only problem is the paint, the previous tenant worked at Loews so he painted the walls all different colors. The good news is I get to pick the new colors. One of the walls is red, I'm keeping that, I think I'll make the other walls in the living room cream, white is too harsh. I don't know what I want to do in the bedrooms, if you have any suggestions feel free to share them (you know I share mine, LOL). Here are a couple of pics of the place without the paint job.
Oh yeah, the kitchen is small too but let's be real, how often am I going to be using it? I didn't even bring any pans with me so it'll be cereal for me to begin with.

Today and yesterday Dao and I have been wheeling and dealing trying to get a car. OK, Dao has been doing the wheeling and dealing, I've been sitting there being the auto buying pansy I am, LOL. Hopefully I will have a new car tomorrow which will be great because then all I have to do is move and oh yeah, buy necesities for my home, like furniture, bed, tv, microwave and I may need some pots and pans! But I do have chopsticks! I couldn't leave those behind, they were red, LOL.

OK, for the highlight of the blog! Pictures of me! Remember what I said about my parents not beeing big on pictures? I don't know who's birthday party this picture is from. From left to right is my older brother Xuan, cousin Eric, me and my brother Gramer. I am wearing my favorite winnie the pooh dress. I loved this dress.

I don't know what happened to the pictures from this class. All I have left is the small proof that was stapled on the envelope. This is either a 2nd or 3rd grade picture. You can't tell from this picture but I have no two front teeth. I had bad teeth, my dad says it's because of the french baby milk they used so I had no front teeth until my big teeth came in, hence the different smile then what I have today. It's probably why I show so much teeth now, LOL.

One more week....

I was thinking this countdown thing can be confusing depending on when I post and when you read so just in case there is any confusion my birthday will be next Tuesday, Sept 5th (the release date of the new JR Ward, LOL). It would have been better if it had fallen on Mon, a national holiday and you could all take the day off to celebrate my birthday but you could always make it a holiday if you would like, LOL.

After an hour and a half on the phone with tech support I am able to scan pictures, woo hoo! The things i do for you, errr, I mean, work. Of course we need to begin at the beginning. If you can believe it, my mom says I used to be afraid of the camera. I know, imagine that!There are not actually a lot of pictures of me as a kid, my family was not very picture horny. I actually cut this picture out from my green card.

Of course, I quickly got over being scared of the camera. You know I tell you I always do the cheesy big smile because if I don't my mouth is hanging open. Well here is the proof! This picture was taken at my grandpa's. I have another one taken at the same time where I'm posing (I know, a shock) but that one is packed up. As you will notice, I am follicly challenged. I was about a year and a half here. My dad says that's why I had long hair for so long. My first major cut was when I was in my early 20s.

I also wanted to remind everyone that celebrity duets will be on tomorrow night. Dao and i are very excited about this show. Lucy Lawless, Alfonso Ribeiro (the fresh prince of bel air), lea Thompson and others will be singing with the likes of Smkey Robinson and Gladys Knight, I can't wait to see it!

Also, just in case you didn't know, Karen's novella, INTO THE DREAMING will be re-released tomorrow also:)

And one more thing, check out Rachael's Blog Fresh Catering (link on the right). She posted a pasta kimchee recipe I am dying to try. Nancy, show your dad! Plus, she mentions me, LOL.

The Emmys

I watched the Emmys tonight, I love awards shows. My favorite is the Golden Globes, I'm always trying to figure out how to get there but since it's hosted by the Foreign Press and it's so small I haven't had any luck. But I have been to the Emmys and I have met Conan O'Brian.

I worked at the Museum of tv and radio for 8 years. The first few years I worked there I followed the rules a bit more then the last few years, LOL. We did an Evening with Conan the fist TV festival I worked. I had been at the museum about 6 months. My co-worker who started the same day I did LOVED Conan so we went to go see him. Afterwards we went up to him in the greenroom although that was a big no no but she was such a huge fan that we did it anyway. OK, guess I didn't follow the rules but I didn't take a picture. I know! I'm totally bummed at that. Conan was incredibly nice. He was funny and sweet and he would have stood there talking to us all night. In fact, our boss told us to stop talking to him so he would leave because they wanted to leave so unfortunately we had to say goodbye. We saw Conan again in the garage driving out. He stopped and he petted his BMW convertible sports car and says, "you like?" and my friend answered "rental?" He growled and drove off. It was hilarious. I have always been a fan of his since because he was friendly and genuine and talked to everyone (unlike Andy Richter). I thought Conan did awesome tonight and I'm happy for him.

I can't remember which year I went to the Emmys but it was the most boring Emmys ever! It was hosted by David Hyde Pierce and Jenna Elfman. I had a former co-worker who worked for the television academy and I went as his date. We had nose bleeds seats which I didn't mind. We were in the Shrine Auditorium which is beautiful. I had a great time just looking around. For some reason, if you're not a celeb you don't get to walk down the red carpet, we had a separate entrance, LOL. The Emmys were boring but I did love going to the Governor's Ball. That is when I could walk among the celebs. I actually was a big fan of Camryn Manheim so we walked around looking for her. My friend even asked her co-workers were Cam was, their reactions were funny. I finally found her and just yelled out her name and opened my arms and she yelled and gave me a big hug. She was awesome.I also got my picture taken with Chris Rock but that was not a positive experience. He stopped, let me take a pic and left. Never said a word to me. Is it too much to say hi or anything? I don't actually approach a lot of people so it was disappointing. I don't even have a copy of that pic, I sent it to my sister. But it was fun to walk around and look at everyone.

I think I am more a fan of the Emmys then the Oscars because I watch a lot of tv but not a lot of movies. Tonight, I was happy to see The Office win (although I would have loved to see Scrubs win). But while it was an entertaining show (the bob newhart bit was fun) not a lot of entertaining speeches. I liked the director who picked people to not thank. That was the best acceptance speech of the night. I always love it when they either make me laugh or cry and no one made me cry tonight. Oh well, if I need a good cry I can always go slice an onion.

9 more days to go....

In case you couldn't do the subtraction from yesterday's post, LOL. Well, I tried again to get my scanner to work, was online chatting with an HP professional but apparently he is not a Mac professional so I have to wait til tomorrow to call! I know, how irritating! You have to wait another day to see what pics I have in store for you.

But I won't leave you empty handed today. This pic is of Su and I and the band Nelson, you read it correctly, Nelson. In case you don't remember, and really, why would you, they are the twin sons of Ricky Nelson, they used to have some hits in the 80s back when they had long blonde hair. We did an event with them while Su was visiting back in Jan. so she got to sit through sound check and listen to Gunner (he was on celebrity fit club and is on the left of the pic) be a total butt while Matthew was all cool and laid back. We were actually doing a tribute to Ricky Nelson and they got up and sang a couple of their father's songs. They also called up their little brother Sam Nelson, he became my new crush. He was so cute on stage and he sings great. Su and I called him baby Nelson (not to his face).

We didn't stay around for the rest of the event because we were hungry, big suprise I know! So we went across the street to eat at my favorite sushi place and when we were driving off we noticed that the Nelsons were still there so we pulled over, put some lipstick on and went to go get our pictures taken with them. Not that we're big fans, we just thought it would be fun, LOL. The event was over and they were getting ready to leave but Matthew being the sweetie he was totally was into it. I told them I wanted Sam in the picture too (you know how shy I am, LOL). And so we got our pictures with Nelson. Too bad I had the wrong bra on with that shirt, so when the flash went off it looked all shiny but hey, it was suprising I was wearing one at all.

The Countdown has begun...

it's officially 10 days and 4 years until my 40th birthday!!!!! LOL, of course, I'm joking. I'm not counting down to my 40th but I am counting down to my 36th! In 10 more days I'll be one step closer to 40. Not that I mind, I mean, I don't look my age (it's cause I'm Asian) and I certainly don't act my age (I wouldn't say it's cause I'm immature, more that I'm young at heart, LOL) so at this point, age is just a number.

To make the countdown exciting for you and me I am going to be posting new, never before seen pictures. OK, the countdown will be exciting for me, LOL. Unfortunately, I spent the last hour trying to figure out how to get my new scanner to work and so far, no luck. So my brilliant debut picture will have to wait until tomorrow where hopefully I can get on the phone with HP and figure out why it's not working. Nes, it's not because I have a Mac, I did check to see if it was Mac friendly, LOL. But since the countdown has begun I have to leave you with some kind of picture!

Here is a picture from Kimberly's 21st birthday in Vegas. She does not drink so apparently I decided (I didn't realize that at the time) to get drunk for her. This will not be happening in 10 days. Notice the towel on the floor, I missed the trash can. Unfortunately, that shirt never recovered from that trip, no matter how many times I dry cleaned it, LOL.

SUPER.....Sonic!

Nope, not talking about the basketball team (stopped rooting for them when I moved away from WA, what a fair weather fan I am). I have been seeing commercials for this drive in fast food joint called Sonic. I had a friend mention this place to me before but I have never lived anywhere that had one, now I do.

I wanted to go to Sonic because not only are they old school and you pull into a spot and order and a waitress brings it out to your car (go into the way back machine and remember when A&W used to do this, loved it, dang, now I want a root beer) but because I had heard that they had tater tots covered in cheese and chili? Hello!!!! Come to mama! And then the commercials are all about their Sonic Blasts which is their version of a blizzard (do you all know how much I love ice cream?). So today, I decided this is what I must have for lunch. I am a girl with priorities. Do I go to the bank to cash this check with money I really need or do I go to Sonic? You know I went to Sonic (don't worry, I went to the bank later on in the day).

I felt weird just ordering tater tots and a blast so I felt I had to order something else too. I didn't want a burger so I went with a dog. I don't eat dogs too often but every now and again they're yummie. They have coney dogs which are skinny, soft bun and slathered in, you guessed it, chili and cheese (I added onions, anyone want a kiss?). I wish that they had a regular size but they just come in super long, what's a girl to do? Go for length, of course!

Service was quick! I didn't even have time to open the book I brought with me before my food was at my window. First thing I did was take a bite of my blast, deeelishious! Next I unwrapped my tater tots. Sad to say, those were a disappointement. I think I need to try the tots alone next time. Nothing fancy, just ketchup. But the dog, the thing I threw in last minute was awesome. Unfortunately it was big so I couldn't finish it but dang, it was a good ass dog! Of course my eyes were bigger then my tummie so I had to rush home to put my blast in the freezer. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can eat some more of my Sonic Blast!

Even better, the dog didn't make me sick, sometimes you pay a price for eating bad for you food, today, I did not, yay!

Driving Ms Daisy

Today I rented a car. I wanted a compact but ended up with a midsize Dodge Caliber because they didn't have a small one, lucky me. Let me say, I am not ready to drive anything that big. I couldn't see over the dashboard! I swear! I moved the seat as far forward as I could and adjusted the steering wheel but I spent the whole time driving sitting as straight as possible because just so I could see as much of the road as possible. I felt bad for the cars around me, I tried to give everyone a wide bearth but I think I was straddling the line a bit, not by choice, I just couldn't see! So not only am I driving on roads I don't know, I'm driving a car I don't know, let me just say, it's probably best that all of you live somewhere else. Normally I drive like a grandma, can you imagine a granny who can't see and doesn't know where she's going?

Anyone want a ride?

Road trip picture.

Just because my camera is on the fritz doesn't mean I don't have hundreds of pictures of myself to share with you, I know, whew, what a relief! Nancy hasn't seen this picture so I thought it would be a fun one to share and it was also from my other road trip this summer, from the Netherlands to Spain. Of course, that trip was better because one) my destination was Spain and not Atlanta and two) I wasn't driving. I spent the entire time sleeping. I was literally only awake when we stopped for gas or food. Of course, I couldn't resist having my picture taken here (Nes pointed the sign out to me). Just think, 5 minutes before that picture was taken, I was sleeping. Not too bad huh? This was taken at a gas station in France. Let me just say, the gas stations in France are incredibly clean and they look like big mini-markets where you can find fresh fruit and sandwhiches and they're so brightly lit. One thing I had problems finding in their gas stations were newspapers. My friend wanted a specific French newspaper and out of all of the gas stations we stopped in there and back only one had newspapers. Just an FYI for you.

Reality TV Update

Since I spent the summer away from home I have been out of the reality tv loop but luckily, Dao has cable and Brvao repeats everything a million times.

I haven't seen last week's Project Runway but I have seen most of them. I feel secure enough to give you my opinions. I was irritated the day Bonnie was voted off because she made what she had sketched and the Macy's guy liked it when she sketched it and he felt like she knew INCs audience. My friend Julie met Bonnie, she's moving to her neighborhood and her hubby works with Julie. She says Bonnie is prettier in person and super cool Too bad I didn't notice her until she got the boot. Too bad that guy who got the boot cheated cause he had a lot of talent but he should have gotten kicked off when he did not accesorize his dog, talk about cocky! Buh bye! Cannot stand Angela, high drama! I did like the tattoo guy but the more he talks the less I like him. I am sad the cute blonde girl is gone, she was sweet. Who I really want to win is Uli. I like her clothes and I love her attitude.

Gene Simmons has a new reality show on A&E and I love it. It's called Family Jewels. It's like the anit-Osbournes. Not that I didn't enjoy the Osbournes when they first came out but they got old quickly. In the Simmons household there is no drugs and no booze and they actually look like the love each other. I love the relationships they all have with each other. I think it comes on Mon nights at 10pm.

I have been following Big Brother All Stars, not religiousely enough to watch every episode but I have been reading online updates and catching the eps when I remember. I want either Janelle or Will to win. I can't even believe I am saying that about Will, cause I love to hate him but he plays the game so freaking well, I can't help but enjoy him.

I caught my first episode of Rock Star:Supernova last week. What I dig about the rock star judges is that they're nice. They would actually rather build someone up rather then break them down. Not that they won't tell you like it is but I find these tattooed up rock stars pretty charming. One of the singers sang a version of Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel that was absolutely beautiful. If anyone knows where I can download a copy from, please share.

That's all I can think of for now. If you have any shows you are watching that you think I should be let me know or if there are any that you're looking forward to.

The big day!

Tomorrow I officially start my new job. I haven't worked a real full time job since Jan of this year. How weird is that? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time off and did a lot of traveling because I had the time. I think it helped me get closer to a lot of my friends. This past year had a lot of highs and lows but the highs definitely outweigh the lows. If I didn't quit my job and move to OR I know I wouldn't be getting ready to start my dream job with Karen and you all know what a rutt I was in in LA but I was too comfortable to move. Life kicked me in the ass and here I am, on the other side of the country ready for my next adventure.

The funny thing is, I'm looking for my adventures in the smaller things in life. I don't think I need anymore kicks in the butt anytime soon, LOL. I want to find the balance and structure in my life that I have been missing this past year. I look forward to a little stability and normalcy because you all know me, no matter what, life will not be boring but I would like for life to be simple for awhile.

What was I thinking?

I listened to my body last night. It said it was tired (of course, it always says it's tired) but since I haven't been getting a lot of sleep I decided to listen to it and I went to bed early. I mean, really early for me. I would normally go to bed around midnight back in the days when I had a job and that will probably be my schedule once I get on a schedule but since I am still not on one and my body has been whacky (as in not letting me sleep my full 8, is it cause I'm getting older?) I went to bed at 9pm. I had absolutely no problem falling asleep which is wonderful. The bad news, I woke up at 3am! That is unacceptable! I will be going back to bed soon, not because I'm so tired but because the thought of being up at this time of day hurts me, LOL. I would much rather be going to bed at this time of day.

Yesterday I drove through rush hour in Atlanta to take the rental car back. Seriousely, with as much as I paid for that thing, they should have picked it up! Since we were in the area Dao and I went to eat at this southern restaurant that Su, PC and I found when we went to the airport a couple of weeks ago. I resisted the urge to get the fried chicken again and got grilled catfish instead. Of course, all is not healthy in my world, I did get the mashed potatos and gravy. I am, after all, only human (shocking, I know).

BTW, we stopped to pick up Dao's mail and I joked about checking to see if there was anything for me. There was! My BFF was totally on the ball and I got my copy of Midnight Desire from Emma. Of course I have the books in the compilation BUT this one is signed by my BFF, LOL.

The Eagle has landed....

It may not be a very graceful landing but I'm here!!! I think I drove 15 or 16 hours today, that's taking out my breaks, my butt is numb and I'm exhausted! I started the day in Nebraska and hit Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia! Much better then spending all of one day in one state, LOL. I felt like I accomplished something today, especially since last night I didn't think I would make it here until late tomorrow night. Now, I'm going to go to bed and sleep the sleep of the not so innocent. Thanks for sharing my adventures with me, LOL.

PS: Thanks to my guest blogger Nancy who not only blogged for me when I could not but she also stayed up the last hour of my trip to keep me company! If you can find your own Nancy you should definitely get one for yourself!

And here is what is left of the trip

This is all that is left, the map site says 8 hours and 45 minutes, do you think they included rush hour in that?
She may have to take a nap but Leiha is detrmined to make it to Hotlanta today!

May she rest in pieces...

This is where the poor old car is parked...




And for all of you who were worried about our poor, aboused, worn out, sleepy Leiha - Here is a picure she sent.




Yeah - She looks like she's having a great time to me to!

She is traveling through rush hour trafic in St Louis right now and just passed the arch.

Check in time

Nancy wants me to check in, mainly so I can read her wonderful posts in my stead, LOL. I am about half an hour away from St Louis, I slept in my car last night, mainly because I was so far behind on my trip and also because I haven't been sleeping well so i didn't feel like wasting my money and my body, being the contrary thing it is, slept great. I only planned on sleeping an hour or two but I slept for almost 4 hours, which is what I slept the night before in the hotel. I awoke a bit groggy so I bought me a frappacino at the truck stop. I am not a coddee drinker but this isnt' really coffee, more sugar then anything but it didn't help so since it was raining I pulled over after an hour and a half and went back to sleep for another hour, I swear, I've gotten the best sleep of my trip in this car!

When I woke up the first time this morning I was closer to the border then I thought so I finally got out of Nebraska! I was only in Iowa for a tiny bit before I hit Missouri which I have been driving in all day. Isn't Neb. the Cornhuskers? I did not see an ear of corn while I was there yet driving through MO there are fields and fields of corn, the show me state is showing me lots of corn (nancy says I have too much time on my hands coming up with this stuff, LOL). MO is also fond of their fireworks. They sell them everywhere. I would hate to live close to someone who buys all of these fireworks (which would be my brother, he loves them!).

When I awoke the second time this morning I went in to get me something to eat and drink in the truck stop and I smiled at some old fart when I went inside. He was there when I left so i said bye and he asked where I was going. I said GA and he said if he had the time he would go with me. Did I mention the motel I stayed in the previous night did not have shampoo and I am out? I look likt sh*t. Just goes to show you, some people have no standards (and I must not have been upwind of him).

I have about 650 miles to go on my trip so I'm hoping/planning on getting into Atlanta late tonight. Hopefully I can get through St Louis before rush hour. Did you know I will be going through my old stomping grounds? I used to live across the river from St Louis in Granite City, IL. Went to HS there. Too bad I didn't keep in contact with anyone. I could sure use a shower. I also looked at the map to what was comng up and I will be driving through Clarkesville, TN. Another old stomoing ground. Went 2nd-5th grade there. My best friends were Bahavna Patel and Jodie Gillis, we met in 3rd grade. We were the smart girls (as if there was any doubt). I loved 3rd grade. Had the best teacher ever. It was her first year as a teacher, Ms. Webb. We used to do contests and games all of the time, you know I loved that. A lot of them we were matched up by height, girls against boys. Guess who went first a lot?

There's my trip through memory lane. A long time ago when I was in the Army I drove through Clarkesville, it was a pretty white trash rundown town. Very different from my childhood memories. You can't go back. I will post here once I get in. Hopefully, I won't be too late, LOL.

On the road again... Almost

Well our worst fears came true, yesterday afternoon Leiha's car broke down just a little past the Wyoming/Nebraska border. She has spent most of last night and all of today in beautiful Kimball Nebraska. Don't you all worry, she is fine, just a little irritated and taking things as they come.

You know it wouldn't be Leiha unless there was a good story...

So yesterday afternoon (around 3:30 pacific time) Leiha's car was going slow but she didn't think to much about it until she heard noise coming from under the hood. She pulled over and as she reached the side of the road the car quit running. At this point in the story I screeched "OH MY GOD - Was there a town nearby" But no there were not towns around. Being the resourceful gal she is Leiha called 411 to find the name of a tow truck company. The operator asked her where she was and all Leiha could say was "I don't know" and the operator told her "Then I cant help you." Thank goodness Linda T had map quested the trip and printed all thirtysomething pages. Leiha picked the town that was the closest to the Wyoming border she had just passed, Kimball. The operator put her in touch with a nice tow truck man in Kimball.

You know that is not the end of the tow truck story. Now he wanted to know where she was and Leiha's answer was (yes, you guessed it) "I don't know". He helpfully asked, what is around you? Leiha gave him a grand description of the area, "fields". Then he asked what was to the north and Leiha answered "fields". Then he asked if there were any identifying markers anywhere around and there was a sign about a half mile up Leiha couldn't read. Off went Leiha, to see what the sign said, when the man asked if she was jogging. Turns out he was late for an appointment but was waiting to find out where she was before he left. So picture this: Leiha was jogging down the side of interstate 80 in the middle of Nebraska in her pajamas (her favorite road trip clothing) trying to read a sign a half mile down the road. A couple of nice guys pulled over to offer help, but they didn't know much about cars so they couldn't help that way. They offered her a ride or some water but all Leiha wanted to know is "Where am I?" The nights in shining armor (Ok - I don't know if the car was shiny or not, I forgot to ask) went on the way while our damsel in distress went back to her truck to wait for the patient tow truck driver. Leiha did finally see the sign by the way - and it is a good thing the guys found her before she read it because it was an add for something in a town 50 miles away!

By the time they got the car pulled into town and Leiha checked in to the local motel it was after 5 and the shop was closed so she had to wait until today to get the diagnosis on the car. Poor Leiha, once she was checked into the hotel and started to get comfortable she realized she had left her book in the car. She also forgot her glasses so she had a JR Ward moment because she was wearing sunglasses inside. She said she had to watch TV with all the lights on. Of course because Leiha was a woman on a mission she had not stopped for lunch and the motel was by the interstate so there were no restaurants near enough to walk to so she missed dinner also. I asked her if she at least had road food with her and she said "I left my glasses and book in the car, do you really think I brought road food?" Point taken.

This morning they took the car to a shop for diagnosis. Lucky for Leiha the nice tow truck driver makes his own wine, she sampled a few and the choke cherry was her favorite. Remember how she hadn't had lunch or dinner the day before? Well she hadn't had breakfast either, so she was nice and mellow when the car guy told her the Honda was official dead. I think the technical description of what happened was that the motor was blown, but don't hold me to it. The car had over heated and had gotten so hot inside even the rubber in the engine had melted - there was no saving it.

Leiha hit the yellow pages and luckily found a rental car place in a town about 50 miles north that had one way rentals and would deliver the car! What luck! That was at around 1:30 pacific time. The car was delivered about 5:45 pacific time, Leiha transferred all the stuff from her car and is back on the road as I type this, about 6:15 pm. She is in high spirits and is looking forward to passing the next Flying J truckstop where she will take a break and use the wireless internet to check her email and check up to see if everything I put here is correct. (No pressure)

She said to tell everyone there was one great thing about today.... She won Emma Holly's contest (Emma swears it was not rigged even if they are BFF's) and will have her book waiting for her when she gets to Atlanta!!! See there is always a silver lining.

Any errors or misspelled words are all my fault and should no way reflect on the owner of this blog,
Leiha's Nancy :)

Where in the US is Leiha San Diego?

Well she has done it, Leiha has passed the contental devide.
She just passed through Rawlins WY (at Noon Pacfic Time) and is anxious to breeze through Wyoming and get into Nebraska. Yesterday she was in 4 states... Can she beat that record?

This is were Leiha is now... Rupert Idaho

She should make it to Ogden tonight, lets cross our fingers her hotel has internet or you all will be having to read my horible spelling.
Leiha's Nancy

Greetings from the road...

I have to say, I have been a road warrior today and am kicking some major butt! I haven't even taken a nap! Don't get me wrong, I wanted to but it was too dang hot so I loaded up on the coke and turned my book on tape back on and am powering through. I decided to stop though for dinner and to check in with you all and the I'm going to drive for a few more hours and see how it goes. I don't know where I'll be stopping tonight, currently I'm in Twin Falls, ID. I figure I have at least 3 more hours of driving in me, if not more. I know that as the days progress I'll drive less and less so I need to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak, or rather, while I am less tired, LOL.

Driving thrpugh OR was beautiful, ID, not so much. I think this is the first time I've been through ID. If I have been through I don't remember since it would have been my dad driving and I have to say, I wasn't missing much. Scenery wise, it's no OR. My tummy is already starting to get a little finicky, was it the bag of funions I ate? It was the smaller size bag. Anyways, I stopped for a quick bite and nothing appealed to me so I ordered the potato soup which is not very good. I am really in the mood for a simple ham and cheese sandwhich. Maybe I'll find it along the way somewhere.

Nothing exciting happening so far. I am listening to Cerulean Sins by LKH right now. I brought it with me for my flight to Europe and didn't listen to it, I am totallly engrossed now which is probably why I have been able to drive as much as I have been. Once I'm done with this I think I will upload Naked in Death. I bought one of those radio transmitters where I can hook my ipod up to it and play it through my car radio and I am loving it! The only drawback is I can't charge my phone since it plugs into my car charger but when i stop tonight I'll recharge my phone and be good to go! I will try to stop in tomorrow and give you an update on where I am. Who knows, my hotel tonight may have internet. You won't even notice I'm gone!

This is it!

On to the next phase of my life. I'm sitting here in my favorite sweat pants (I must travel in comfort) and a tank (no farmers tan for me, thank you very much) and waiting for Linda's homemade blueberry muffins to come out of the oven (momma didn't raise no fool!) and then I'm off! Linda printed me out the route for my trip, all 49 pages of it (how am I to survive without her?) and it says that it should take 39 hours. So I'm hoping to make the trip in 4 days with plenty of rest room stops in between, LOL.

Once I get to a gas station I will stock up on my favorite road foods which is funions and beef jerkey. Every now and again I like to change it up with munchos, I think with 4 days I'll have a chance to try both. Don't worry, I will also pick up some fruit along the way and not eat too many burgers (I'm an Arby's girl *G*). If anyone has any other suggestions for road food please feel free to post. Nancy will be blogging for me while I'm away. I promise to check in every night. Let you know my progress. With the way I like to take breaks it may take me a couple of days just to get out of Oregon!

My car is packed to the rim. I thought I purged when I left LA, that was nothing compared to what I did this time around. I went back for my stuff when I left LA I can't do that this time so my sister was the happy recipient of a lot of my things ad well as Nancy (I gave her my bookcases, waahhh) but she will be mailing me my books, LOL. The rest of my things went to Goodwill, a truckfull! So I'm starting from scratch, but don't worry, I did bring all of my photo albums and pictures so while I won't have furniture I will have the beginnings of my new museum in my home and remember, admission is cheap so feel free to come by and check it out! There's nothing wrong with sitting on the floor and sleeping on an air mattress as long as you get to look at pictures of me!

I can't believe I am moving to a state...

that doesn't have a Happy Hour! You read correctly. I know, I couldn't believe it either! When we were at RWA we were trying to find bars with happy hour and we couldn't. We finally asked someone over at the Hyatt and she informed us that happy hours were illegal in GA. You can't change the price of the drinks, you have to keep them at the same price all of the time.

Now you all know how I feel about the happy hour. It's the happiest hour of my day! So sadly, today will be my last happy hour for awhile. Linda, my partner in happy houring and Nancy, my partner in life will be joining me in going out and saying goodbye to Portland in style. Right now we're waiting for Nancy to get in from Seattle and maybe we'll start with a pitcher of margaritas before we head out the door. We'll try and get pictures tonight to share.

An ode to the self portrait

You all know how much I love to be in pictures and the best way to make sure there are plenty of pictures of myself is to take them myself. Plus, it's a good angle for my chin and my boobs, LOL. I have made Nes a convert and there were times at dinner where JK was watching Nes and I take pictures of ourselves, too funny, sadly, too true. Here are a some of my favorite self portraits from Europe in no particular order.

I think I have mentally recovered enough...

from the trauma of losing my post the other day. I will attempt to re-write it, just remember, it's hard for lightning to strike twice but then again, only I will know if the post isn't as brilliant as the original. Alright, who am I kidding, you know I'll tell you, LOL.

You're never too old for a sleepover! At least, that's my opinion. Of course, a sleepover is a lot of fun when it involves nudity and men (errr, man) but when I say sleepover I mean girlfriends! Sure, I've spent the days prior to this hanging with my peeps but this is different. We were going to a house and having a slumber party! When Karen Marie Moning (I can't help that I'm a name dropper) found out that a bunch of us RBLs were coming to Atlanta she invited us over to stay the night and of course we all jumped at the chance! Instead of the party ending on Sunday we got to extend it by another day, woo hoo!

Sunday morning, after watching her stuff her bags until they could not hold one more thing I bid Jenna good-bye (if you haven't had a chance, read about her airport adventures on her blog, linked at right, pee your pants funny) I went with the girls in search of food. You know it's always an important part of my day, figuring out what I'm going to eat. There were lines everywhere in the hotel and we didn't have a lot of time so we took a chance on the mall food court, which was conveniently connected to the hotel and not only did they have breakfast but it was cheap, woo hoo! When we came back we all dispersed. I went downstairs to wait for Dao who was kind enough to come buy and pick up my three huge bags of books so we wouldn't have to try to move them in the rental that Lina and Mich were picking up. We decided an SUV was not going to hold all 6 of us and our bags and boxes of books (dang that Su and her book whorish ways) so they got a mini-van which Ms Mich is extremely familiar in driving, thank goodness! Linda and Su were in charge of the transport of the luggage and boxes. That bellman earned his keep, that cart could not hold one more thing, LOL. Pamela Clare joined us and we all convened in the front like a well oiled machine. We were aiming to get out by noon and I think we were out by 12:05pm. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. OK, I had nothing to do with the timing but I'll still take credit, LOL.

Once we hit the road I do what I love to do on a road trip. I went to sleep (yeah, that could be a problem on my next road trip). Linda even lent me her travel pillow which was heavenly considering I was in the back row surrounded by books. Of course, maybe I should have stayed awake to learn how to get to Karen's house since I will need to know that in the future but I couldn't resist my nap. Actually, I just wanted to avoid talking to Su, LOL. Who, by the way, was kind enough to point out my new home, it was a lovely trailer park. I told her as long as it had DSL, I'm there, LOL. Once we go close to Karen's we called her and she and Neil came down to meet us. Apparently, it's difficult to find there place. This is really where I should have paid attention to the drive. Did I? Nope, we were too busy talking, I wasn't in the backseat, I was in the backseat of the backseat, I can't pay attention to things like where we're going!

The funniest part of the trip was when we were going uphill. Our mini-van just wasn't having any of it. Mich had it floored and we were going about a strong 5 miles an hour. Neil had to pull over while we tried to go uphill. If the bottom panel of our car opened up we would have all been doing the Flintstone feet but since it didn't, we just laughed our asses off as we crawled up the hill. Karen and Neil's house is beautiful. The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. Not that I want to live there, mind you, she was telling us stories of bears and such and I prefer the sound of a car door slamming then the sound of a bear, thank you very much. I should warn Karen that if I show up and there is a bear in the yard I'll be staying in the car, LOL. I think nature looks beautiful, from the inside of my car!

Once we got the grand tour we plopped ourselves down and spent the afternoon just talking. It was great fun because you know there was a lot of laughter involved. Neil reads as much as we do so we talked about everything! Once we got hungry Neil grilled burgers for us, I LOVE grilled burgers and these were huge but Su and I did our duty and had one and a half each, LOL. Afterwards Neil sang for us. While I am not a fan of country music I think he could convert me. Sitting there listening to him sing had us all awestruck and the coolest part was I loved the songs he wrote more then the covers. After that it was dessert time, brownies and ice cream! I could say there was no room at the inn but you know I made room for dessert. Not a lot but I still had some, LOL.

For some reason I was really tired still. Guess I needed a longer nap in the car, LOL. So We actually called it an early evening with all of us going our separate ways. Some of us went to bed, some read, some watched movies and pilfered scotch. The morning was the perfect pace for me. Getting up whenever we wanted (some are early risers, I am not) and taking showers whenever the mood hit while we sit around talking. Last year when we had the beach house in Jersey really made me appreciate it whenever we're gathered in a house. It's much more intimate then a hotel and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, a lot of the ladies (I use that term loosely) had to fly out that day so we had to leave, well, Karen had to escort us out, LOL. This time in Georgia has changed the course of my life. All I wanted was a great time with my girlfriends and I got that but I also have a new future. Thank goodness Lina talked me into joining her in Atlanta.

BTW, this post was even better then the one I did the other day!

It's after midnight...

which is pretty much my normal time to blog but it has been a long day of flying but I feel a responsibility to my blog readers, especially since I didn't have anything up last night! I'm still upset about that, LOL. Today I flew from Atlanta to Seattle. Shouldn't be a big deal. I had an hour and a half layover in Houston but other then that, no big whoop! I should have known better! The flight from Atlanta was awesome, there was no one next to me, we left on time and I slept for a little bit, not a lot but that was ok, I wanted to sleep on my longer leg.

We got into Houston a little early so I actually had 2 hours before my flight so I stopped to eat at a restaurant and have a drink also. It's ridiculous that my drink cost almost as much as my dinner but I figured if I had a drink I would sleep better on the plane. Plus, the drink was really good. I can't remember what it was called but basically it was half a hurricane and half a margarita, and it was delicious except for the fact that it froze my throat, LOL. I had grabbed Kimberly Dean's High School Reunion to read for my flight, it was a light fun read with lots of hot parts which I enjoyed. The problem was, it was a fast read and I finished it! I have 80 books waiting for me at home, 5 books in my suitcase and I'm stuck without a book to read! Thank goodness for my Ipod. About the time I'm getting antsy and wondering why they haven't loaded us they announce the fact that we don't have a plane because of mechanical reasons. I'm ok, with not flying on a plane that has mechanical issues but I'm not ok with waiting another 2 hours for a plane! They said it would be an hour before our replacement came in, it was 2! So I walked over to Borders. I absolutely do not need another book, BUT, the new Lisa Kleypas is out and I have to have that book and I didn't score it last week so I went to Borders and their paltry romance section and they did not have it! How can they not? It was just released a week or two ago and she's a big name author! I was bummed! I refused to buy any other books because I don't need them so I was stuck with just my ipod since for some reason I couldn't get online. I wouldn't have paid for online for an hour and a half layover, I would have paid for 4 hours!

Since my buzz was long gone I went to the bar to kill some time with a very dirty martini (why did Sherrilyn Kenyon laugh when I ordered my martini extra dirty at dinner? I wonder, LOL.) It was perfect. After calling my friend to moan and whine I finally headed downstairs to await my plane. Finally it gets there and we board. So I do what I always do when I get on a plane and try to go to sleep as fast as possible. The more I sleep, the faster we get there. The problem, we were ready to go but the plane was not. Apparently they were loading on mail. Now I am a fan of the USPS, I use it all of the time but I don't want to be sitting on the tarmac for another hour while they load it! Yep! That is what they did to us and since we were sooo delayed they offered free headphones, whoop-de-do! Anyway, I slept before we even took off which means I spent most of the flight awake, it was horrible! I didn't want to watch Failure to Launch, I wanted to watch the back of my eyelids!

And what's with them being so anal about things on the flight? I had my ipod off for takeoff but I had the ipod in the pocket in front of me and the earpiece around my neck but they didn't want the cable running across so I had to take the earpiece off. Cause if we got in an accident that was what was going to kill me? I say, if people don't want to put their seatbelts on they shouldn't. If I get into a car accident a seat belt can save my life. If I go crashing to the ground or explode in midair, they're not going to say, if only she wore her seatbelt. That's all I'm saying!

So 4 hours after I was supposed to get in I finally landed! I'm happy to be almost home! I am in Seattle I have to head to Portland on Thursday. I figure I could spend one day with my family before I move cross country, LOL. OK, so I wanted the free meal, sue me!

bummer

alright, I wrote a blog post tonight but then I hit spell check and it locked up my puter so there will be no new post tonight, I is tired, LOL. I will try to re-write it tomorrow but I'm flying so there are no guarantees.

More books, more authors, more fun!

Saturday was the last official day of RWA. We were taking it easy this day. We were a little tired (I wonder why, LOL). By the time we got moving for breakfast I was ready for lunch, luckily, the cafe we went to serves both so Linda and Mich ate breakfast while Su and I ate lunch. They were really cool at the cafe and let us samples all of the soup before we made our choice. Afterwards it was time to hit a couple of more booksignings (where I actually practiced some restraint). Su and Mich decided to head to the pool but I didn't feel like rolling myself into a suit so I went with Lina to the bar since she hadn't eaten yet. OK, so we had a drink also but we didn't go there for a drink. The great thing about my girlfriends and the way we travel is we're totally comfortable going our separate ways if we want to. We don't all have to do everything together. Since Lina and I had had a snack the other girls went off for some food and Lina and I hung around the room. She was reading, I was napping. You know I try to sneak in a nap whenever I can and with this bunch, that can be difficult. Let me just say, nap time was over when the girls came back, LOL.

By that time, Lina and I were hungry so we went back to the bar. Then Linda joined us for a drink. I love this picture cause my boobs look fab! Well, and I love Lina and Linda too, LOL. We were all going to go to Morton's for a champagne POP but it started to rain so Lina and decided to hit the lounge bar while the other girls did their POPs. Pamela Clare joined us for drinks and then later Julie Ortolon and Bonnie Vanak popped by to say hi. Afterwards we rendevoused with the girls in the main bar. We had a low key evening with Jenna dropping by and Dianna Love Snell came by to celebrate her win, she won a RITA that night which is the Oscars for romance authors so we were excited to be able to be there to celebrate with her. And here is a pic of the RBL gang on our last night of RWA.

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

RWA on Friday! This is when we really hit the motherload. Su and I saw a sign about a signing that Ballentine was having at 10 am that morning. We saw the list of authors who were going to be there so we thought we would try and crash it. What's the worst thing that could happen? We really didn't know what to expect. I was thinking it would be a little room with a few authors in is signing books. What we got was beyond our imaginations. It was 2 publishers at the same time and in both rooms it was tons of authors, Avon had so many authors they were changing them out every half hour and to top it off the books were FREE! You read it correctly, FREE! We were in hog heaven! I mean, there were literally so many books and so many authors that we needed a box to carry them all. Lina, Linda and Mich were practicing some restraint but Su and I truly earned the reputations as book whores. We got so many books by so many authors it was insane. I wish I could name off everyone I saw but I think I came home with about 80 books and about 60 of them are signed. The publishers booksignings were going on for 2 days. Shhhh, don't tell them we crashed. It was fun because some of the authors we knew (our wonderful RBL authors) and some just remembered us from the literacy signing, we were a tad enthusiastic there, LOL. But what was really cool was how excited people were about RBL, we literally had an author say we were just talking about you this morning and then point us out to her publisher! How cool is that?

Once we recovered from all of the booksignings it was time to get ready to go meet Karen Marie Moning and her hubby Neil for dinner at the Ritz. While talking to Susan Grant earlier in the day we learned that there was a big party being thrown by Harelquin. Apparently, this is THE party. Of course we wanted to attend. Sue was going to try to get us in but then turns out Jenna was going to so we decided to go with Jenna. So we dressed up for dinner which was perfect since we were meeting KMM at the Ritz. It was awesome to see Karen again, it's been several years and we just don't get a lot of time during the year to talk with her being an author and a newlywed and it was so much fun to meet Neil too since I had heard about him forever. So off we went to dinner at the Grill (I got the most awesome salmon, cooked perfectly) and it was so much fun to catch up. Of course, this will also be the dinner where Karen offered me a JOB! It came as quite a shock which is funny because she did offer me this job a couple of years ago in New Orleans, LOL. I wasn't ready then to move my life to GA but I'm ready now so it was perfect. She was ecstatic, I was ecstatic, Mich was crying, I was crying. It was awesome! My life just shifted but in the most awesome way.

Jenna joined us for dinner a little late and turns out that the Harlequin party was at the Ritz. Good thing we know people because we would have been trying to crash a party at the Marriott that wasn't happening. It must have been the fact that we were all dressed up or it could have been because we were walking in with Jenna but it was easy to get into the party. I was actually a little sad I was so full from my wonderful dinner because not only was there an open bar but there was food and it was calling my name. Too bad I couldn't answer the call. What I could do was dance and that's what we did all night long. We closed the place down. It was so awesome to look around the room and see so many authors just getting their groove on. I mean, it's Nora Roberts getting her groove on!Lina and I had to pause in the dancing to get a pic with her! Then of course, there's the Asian sammich. We have the triple Asian and the cracker sammich. The cracker is Pamela Clare and the other Asian is Gennita Low (Jenna) and of course, my partner in crime was my fellow whore, I mean book whore, Su.
And I have to share this pic of Mich and Linda and I, we danced our asses off that night (yeah, unfortunately my butt is still there, LOL). Look at all that thigh I am showing! Good thing I decided to wear underwear, LOL.

Big News!!!!!

Alright, I figured my bloggers got first dibs on my exciting news so I'm breaking into regularly scheduled convo to announce it. Hmmmm, normally I like to play the guessing game but that would be torture to make you wait while you all guessed, ok, it would be torture for me not to tell you since I have been sitting on this news for almost a week now! It's big!

You ready? Well, I don't know what to tell you first. I guess the fact that I'm moving to Georgia is pretty big. Yes, it's true, I'm moving, AGAIN! What can I say? There no moss under my feet. I have to be honest, if I had a place to pick to move, GA would not be anywhere near the top of my list. I never really pictured myself living in the south, although I do love the food, I've been eating a lot of fried chicken, which will have to stop when I move. I love fried chicken! But I digress, LOL. There is a reason for this dramatic change in my living arrangements. No, it wasn't that during my visit here I decided I have to move here, considering I am currently homeless and all of my stuff is in storage, it's not an impossible idea, considering that one of my best friend's lives here and she has invited me to move down with her. But I never took it seriously because it was GA and what does GA have to offer me?

Well, what GA has to offer me is a JOB! And not just any job but a dream job. A job that is just screaming my name. A job that is so cool that some of you will be jealous. I have to say, I am a lucky person. The timing is perfect on this job offer. My plan was to spend this week looking online for a job for when I got back home to OR next week. But instead, I spent this week, making plans for my new job. Are you dying of curiosity yet? Not all of you are because some of you were there when the momentous occasion happened. I was literally offered a job over dinner last Friday night. Want to know what I'm going to be doing? Guess I can hold it in no longer. I will be working as Karen Marie Moning's personal assistant!!!!!! How awesome is that? OK, for you non-romance readers, she would be an author extraordinaire. Someone who I worship and adore and more importantly, LIKE! I will be working with someone who I can be myself with. I will be working in the romance community which you all know I love. I won't be slinging hash which was the future I was seeing for myself, LOL. This job is so perfect for me how can I quibble over packing my things and moving cross country? It's not the first time I have done it and it probably won't be the last. I told everyone the move from LA, that was hard. I had been there a long time and my life was established. While parts of leaving OR will be hard, mainly Linda who has been there for me in so many ways it makes me cry just thinking about it and my sis and nephew, cause while we have had our ups and downs, she is still my sis and I love her. Leaving them will be hard but I am very excited about this new direction my life has taken. I haven't been this excited in a long time and I look forward to the journey.

What I am not looking forward to is the drive, you all know how much I just love road trips! I am literally going to be home long enough to get my stuff in order (more purging, wahhh) and then I'm on the road again. While I'm road tripping it I will either pop on occasionally via internet cafes or will have my personal assistant, Nancy, pop in and let you know where I am and where I am heading, LOL.

It's becoming a blur

I honestly couldn't remember where we had eaten until I looked at the pics (thank goodness Lina had titled the pics, LOL). Thursday was our low key day. Since I was staying with Dao I joined them in the morning. I hung out with Lina while she finished getting ready and the rest of the girls were eating. It was nice to start the day off relaxed. After that we all went down to the goody room because Jenna told us she would be there giving away books and you now know what whores we are (well, some of us anyway). While we were waiting for Jenna to show up (she was late) we also picked up some other goodies. We also met up with Bonnie Vanak who is an author from our other board as well as Marjorie who also brought books down, lucky me cause I didn't have this book (I did have Jenna's already but I didn't have a signed one!).

We had plans to meet with the fabulous Liz Carlyle (yes, another author!) at 2 but we weren't sure if it was for lunch or drinks. Luckily we ran into her as she was going to lunch so guess we were meeting for drinks, LOL. So we decided to go out for lunch. I tell you, the hardest part about this whole trip was figuring out where the heck to eat! It really was a touch decision every meal. This time we went to Max Lagers Bar and Grill. I got the duck quesadilla and it was fabulous! So big I couldn't finish it, although you know I tried! My one complaint, the table was so high it felt like I was in a high chair.

After lunch we met up with Liz who is a woman of her word. She called to find out where we were and said she would be there in 8 minutes, you know I timed her, she was there in 7! We went to Champions Sports Bar in the hotel where we spent many an hour. It was wonderful to have the luxury of sitting there talking to Liz for a couple of hours. We talked about everything, it was awesome and as well as being a fabulous writer, she's a fabulous person. And I loved hearing her voice, I could listen to her talk all night long.

After drinks it was time to get ready for dinner. We spent forever trying to figure out where to go. I picked Patty's Patch or something along those lines. Dao, Joey and her friend also joined us for dinner so there was a crowd, like normal, LOL. It was a southern food restaurant but the food was just ok but the company was fabulous. Afterwards the rest of the gals when drinking and partying and I went home with Dao. I was in bed my 11pm. I blame the jet lag, LOL.

Picture time!

Alright, I finally got all of the pics uploaded to coordinate with my posts so make sure you scroll down so you can see me as Gennita Low, me as a traditional dutch girl, Capt Jack Sparrow and I know Mich is looking forward to seeing us eat some eel.

The goody room!

I can't believe I forgot to mention the goody room! The goody room is a room where authors and publishers lay out goodies (duh), LOL. It's mostly all promotional items such as bookmarks, pens, magnets and all kinds of other fun things. I asked one of the ebook authors that I had had dinner with the night before to go into the goody room for me, I love free stuff, LOL, but she told me it wasn't manned which means that us peons could go into the room if we so wished. Well, we wished, LOL.

So off we went. The first stop had a book inside of a plastic bag so I grabbed not even paying attention to what was inside because I used that bag to put all of my goodies in. Don't worry, it was a small bag and I didn't go tooooo crazy, LOL. I don't use bookmarks so I didn't grab any of those. I went for the magnets (I like to use them to put pics of me on my fridge) and pens (Nancy, spoiled brat, loves those). But there were also chocolates and candy and keychains and all kinds of fun stuff.

After we grabbed our goodies we went up into the room to look them over. That was when I noticed what book was in the bag I had grabbed. It was a BLACK LACE book! For those of you who don't know, it's a line of erotica written by women for women. You should have heard the squeal that came out of my mouth when I found it. Then I actually looked at the bag and it did say Black Lace on it, LOL. When Su and Mich looked at their books they had different BL books so of course my number one priority was to go downstairs and get one of each, LOL. I can't help it, I love these books and they were free! Plus, I hadn't read any of them. So off we went, back to the goody room. We also went the next morning where some of the authors were giving away their books that weren't bought at the literacy signing. Jenna told us what time she was going to be there so we were there (she was late, LOL) waiting for her, vultures that we are. But it was awesome because not only did Jenna (Gennita Low) and Marjorie M Liu bring books but several other authors dropped off books too. Let the book whoring begin!

RWA the first day

Wed was the first official day of RWA and was when the girls were coming in. Linda caught the red eye so we picked literally rolled out of bed to pick her up. After we got back and got ready we went to the mall to do a little shopping while waiting to hook up with Lina and Su. Once they got here it was off to eat. One thing you should always know about Su, if she's flying into town, she's hungry, get her to a restaurant quickly!

The cool thing about the hotel is there are authors running around everywhere. We saw Dianna Love Snell while waiting to check in. By the time the girls checked in and we all got freshened up it was time for the literacy signing. Over 400 romance authors in one spot, we were in heaven! Dianna was trying to get us in early to the signing so we waited at the door the authors were going into. Too bad she was at a different door and her phone was dead, LOL. So we saw this huge line of people waiting to get in and we thought, well crap, we're going to have to go to the end of the line and then when the doors opened they also opened the authors door, which would be right where we were standing so we still got in first, LUCKY, we know, LOL. After that is was a mad dash. We were literally running from one author to the next. I decided to only buy books I didn't have so I didn't buy that many but I did talk to a lot of authors. I also sat in for Gennita Low while she went off to talk to other authors. Too bad no one came over at that point since I was practicing signing her name. Oh well, since I had so much time Su and I picked up Jenna's camera and took pics of ourselves impersonating Jenna, LOL. You know all us asians look alike. Jenna literally went to the signing from the airport so we made plans to have a late dinner with her. Once we all finished with our purchases we went to wait in the bar while the authors finished up. When we went to go let Pamela Clare know where to meet us since she was also joining us for dinner who should be talking to her but Julie Ortolon! So we grabbed her too, LOL. So we all met at the bar where Marjorie M Liu joined us (asian power!). We had a drink (or two there) then headed over to a mexican restaurant we had seen the day before. Marjorie didn't join us but Joey, another friend did.

So without reservations 10 of us went to the restaurant a half hour before they closed, I'm sure they were thrilled about that but we had a fabulous time. Lina bought us all a shot, what better way to celebrate our first night together and in a mexican restaurant!

Since Mich decided to join us in Atlanta I gave up my spot in the room since Dao lives in the area so I went home while the rest of the girls hit the bar. I know, it was painful for me too but it was for the best, I needed to save some money, LOL.

Whew, what a week!

So much to share with you but I would hate to blow my wad on one day and so I will practice a little self restraint and not do one super long blog, LOL. As most of you know I have been in Atlanta for RWA (Romance Writers Association) this past week. Of course, you also know I am NOT a romance writer but hey, why let that stop me?

Tue night was the beginning of the action. Ms Mich came to town and I fixed her a fabulous shrimp salad lunch. It was my friend Dao's idea. I thought SHE was making lunch but no, she was buying things for me to make lunch, LOL. Well, the salad turned out fabulous, I grilled the shrimp on the foreman grill (Dao did do the seasoning, to be fair).

For dinner after we finally found the hotel (mapquest sucks) we joined Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love Snell for dinner along with several other authors. I don't want to brag or anything (OK, I do) but Sherri did sit next to me (I sat first).Of course Mich had to hone in on my pic, wench! Poor Dao has no interest in any of our books or authors yet here we are surrounded by authors talking books. I tried to convery how awesome it was the fact that we were having dinner with all of these authors but she didn't really care.

It was restaurant week so we had a prix fix menu. I had a wedge of salad with bleu cheese, beef tenderloin and some kind of cheesecake. Dao was getting tiramisu so she made me get something else. The tiramisu was better but lucky for her, I was full by then, LOL.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel where we spent even more time with the authors. We saw Nora Roberts in the bar. Yep, RWA hasn't even officially started and we're already gawkers!