Hello NaNo ~ Day 6

Well, it's day six of NaNoWriMo and I'm only at 8,851. Not too bad but not up to NaNo par. If we divided the 50,000 words by 30 days it's something like; 1,666?
So if we divide 6 by my count of 8,851 we get 1,475...

I've been slacking for reasons beyond my control. Okay, okay, maybe I could have controlled it but I didn't want to.

I like my story (3rd of the trilogy) and the premise came to me in a flash. (notes right beside my laptop, but getting from where I am in the story to where I want to be at the end, isn't exactly crystal clear. And I keep looking backward at part one of the trilogy sitting in editing hell on my desk. I was going so good on that one before the NaNo hit me, I didn't want to stop.

My daughter, some friends, and I do NaNo every year so I kind of felt like a wimp turning it down.

So, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo I'll be showing up here around early every morning for the rest of November. Should be easy because I have two 12 year old dogs who love to run around the house barking at 3 a.m.. I don't think they can tell time.

Right now I think I'll go take a little nap.

Free Book, Soul Mates

Love dogs? And FREE ebooks?

My book, Soul Mates (A different kind of love story) is now available FREE on Amazon. 

When a deal with God goes terribly wrong a woman is reincarnated as one of the smallest dogs on the planet. Follow the adventure as she seeks her place in a world where she has little control.

Soul Mates (A different kind of love story) is free on Amazon for the weekend. Enjoy a story about a dog that who's spirit never gives up.

I wrote this book on the idea that maybe our Soul Mate isn't a lover or spouse but someone we connect with on a more spiritual level. When soul meets soul and people do the right thing, they can find the thing they've been searching for; unconditional love.

If you like it, leave a review on Amazon. I'd love to hear from you. To find out more about the writing of Soul Mates visit my website.
I hope you enjoy reading Soul Mates as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Happy Reading!

Keeping track of submissions...Oy!

I was sending out queries for my latest WIP. I got a little interest but one sweet editor gave me quite a critique (Thank You!) and I'm rethinking my opening now. So the brakes are on until I redo it. However when I started sending it out I put it all in a file somewhere on my computer so I could track who/when sent/when returned and not query the same one twice. (How embarrassing would that be?) But here's the problem...
I can't find it. It's hiding somewhere in my computer but I can't remember what I named it or where I put it. Hmmmm....
Now the Halston update:

Stitches are out. (She didn't like that at all-we had to pin her down to get them out.) But the biopsy on the tumor came back as a class 2 out of 3. This means there is a really good chance it could come back, somewhere. So they recommend something called Neoplazene (hope I spelled that right) which is a newer drug that stops cancer cells from dividing. So we're probably going to do it. I've looked it up and it seems to be fairly safe. The only side effect is vomiting and diarrhea which can be controlled by lowering the dose. Most of the case studies I've read in dogs show good results and at Halston's age(13) she'll probably be on it for the rest of her life.
It is what it is.

Halston

Just called the vet. Halston is doing good and we can pick her up at 6:30
Yay! Thanks so much for your prayers and postive energy.
:)

Halston needs prayers...

This is Halston. She was born at the Seeing Eye up in Morristown, NJ. That's a place that raises guide dogs for the blind. Halston was given to our family to raise for 18 months. And we did. We took her to Guide Dog Puppy Club every month. As a group we took the dogs on trains, planes, into stores and libraries and even some school functions. It was a great time and the kids loved it.
Then one day a van from the Seeing Eye pulled up in our driveway to take Halston back. Our job was done. We had to give her back so she could be trained to lead blind people around. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. We walked Halston out and they put her in a crate in the van. As the crate door closed and she realized we weren't going with her she went crazy. Barking and clawing at the crate door as they closed her in. The kids burst into tears and ran back into the house. I tried to tell myself we were doing a good thing for the blind person who would some day have a great dog like Halston to guide them, but it was so hard.
About a week later the phone rings and my youngest daughter answers it. It's a lady from the Seeing Eye. As I take the phone both kids are bouncing up and down in front of me with hands clasped, praying to get her back.
See, if the dog fails guide dog school for any reason the puppy raisers are offered the dog back.
The lady on the phone says Halston failed, do we want her?
:)
Of course we do!
They fixed her first and then four weeks later we headed up to Morristown to pick her up. We were guided into a room and told to wait. Then the door opened and there was our Halston. Thinner but definitely the same happy dog we gave up. She ran into my arms and sent me sprawling backward as she attacked with wet licky kisses. It was wonderful and Halston has been lighting up our lives ever since. 13 YEARS!
Last week I found a lump on her chest. Wednesday they aspirated the site and it came back as mast cell cancer. Sunday (yes, my wonderful vet is open on Sundays) we did xrays and blood work. Both came back clear. A good thing! Now she is scheduled for surgery on Friday to remove the lump.
Please pray that everything goes good and she comes out of this happy and healthy. Halston needs some prayers.

Does she need a friend?

This is Halston. She's 13 years old. She came into our lives from the Seeing Eye school for the Blind. She was supposed to be a seeing eye dog.
We were puppy raisers. Halston lived with us from 6 weeks to 18 months. Then the Seeing Eye sent a van to pick her up. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. When you raise a dog for the Blind you have to write a report that goes back with the dog. In Halston's report I said she seemed afraid of loud noises. Fireworks, thunder, parades and anything else that goes boom.
A week after she went back to the Blind school they called and said she failed school. After reading my report they took her out in traffic to see how she would do in a busy area. Halston failed. It was too noisey for her delicate little ears. So we got her back.
Happy Day!
The whole time we had Halston we also had Lokie, a Sheltie, a year older than Halston. They were best friends and often cuddled together, bathed each other and romped in the yard together.
When she was about 8 Lani came to live with us. Lani was a greyhound mix.
Last November we lost Lokie. She passed on to the rainbow bridge.
Last month Lani moved to Florida with my daughter.
Now, for the first time in her life, Halston is an only dog. :(
We're thinking of getting her a friend. Go to the shelter and let her pick out another dog. Probably an older, couch potato like her.
What do you think? Good idea?

This is Lokie...

Lokie is 13 years old. She's a Shetland Sheepdog. When we take her to the dog park Lokie herds the rest of the dogs, running in circles and yapping.
When she was younger she did tricks like Hi Five, Bang(we point our gun finger at her and she keels over dead), Speak, and the normal sit, stay, lay down, and roll over. She's the easiest dog I've ever trained.
Now Lokie is 13 and for a while now she's been having trouble with her back legs. She struggles to stand and it takes her a while to get anywhere. In the past week she hasn't been able get up the two steps on the deck so I carry her up. In the rain on Sunday dh went out and built her a ramp to get up on the deck. Which she was afraid to use. So dd went out and got a rubber mat and I nailed it on the ramp. This morning she still wouldn't use it so I went out and carried her in the house.
She's eaten very little in the past few days and this morning she turned her nose up at breakfast. When I got home from work tonight and went to find her, she couldn't stand at all.
I carried her out to the living room and offered her food and water. She took a little water.
:(
I sat on the floor and brushed her, cuddled her for a bit and tomorrow we have to take her to vet.
It doesn't look good....
Please pray for Lokie. She's the best dog in the world.

When Dogs Become Cats

I'm working a job where we have to dress professionally. Gone are the jeans, hoodies and football jerseys. (sniff) But its not that bad, I'm actually beginning to enjoy it. Now my biggest problem is getting out of the house. It's not getting out the door by (gulp!) 7:30, or going out into the freezing cold to scrape frost off the car...no, it's the fact that the dogs have suddenly turned into cats! They've started to rub against my legs like hungry felines.

Three dogs generate a lot of hair. The shedding gets so bad that at times there are tumble weeds of hair blowing across the floor. When I sweep (hardwood floors) I think I collect about two or three puppies each time. It's that bad.

So now every morning I get dressed for work these three pups decide to become cats and rub against me. They can't walk past me without touching---AND I'M WEARING BLACK! Especially the youngest, Okalani (top) who likes to wind through a person's legs like an agility dog weaving through the rubber spike jaunt. The Lokie ( Center) likes to rub her face against you. I think I heard her purring this morning. And then there's Halston, (bottom) who just has to stand within inches of you as she commands her hair to jump off and cling to your DARK BROWN PANTS!

So being a virgo I've developed the following coping skills.

Coping mechanism #1 I bought those "repels pet hair" dryer sheets and ...eh. Not much of a difference. The dog hair still rules.

Coping mechanism #2 I decorate my house with lint brushes. One in every room especially by the front door. Its the last thing I do before going out the door.

Coping mechanism #3 Bought the Bissell Pet Hair Vacuum. So far so good. The only drawback is I actually have to use it. (Eeeeek!)

My advice to you is to buy stock in Lint Brushes....I think they'll be going up substantially.