I'm a huge wimp

Yes, it's true. I like to keep scary news to myself. For example like when I get pregnant (this is not an announcement, just an example, I am not pregnant), I don't like to share until I'm well into my second trimester. Why? Because half my pregnancies end in miscarriage and as much as I love telling people good news, I hate telling people bad news. But, in my attempt to put myself out there, I will say, that, yes, one of my books is under agent review. I'm crossing my fingers. I'm holding my breath (but only for short amounts of time because, well, because I need air). I'm expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Now, if in four weeks I have to share bad news with you, I will be sad, you might be sad, and we can all collectively pick up the pieces of my shattered life and move forward. LOL Now, commence to shower praises upon me so that my head gets nice and big and I don't lose all my confidence in four weeks if I'm faced with my own personal tragedy.

A Rarity

Finding my husband and I in the same picture together is a nearly impossible task. Usually one of us is behind the camera. When the rare event occurs, I am always pleasantly surprised. My father-in-law sent this to me, a shot he captured over Christmas. I was so happy that I felt the need to post it.

One of my hobbies is photography. If one were to flip through the scrapbooks, which depict the last ten years of our life, my face rarely makes an appearance. (not that I'm complaining, I prefer to be behind the camera. My kids are way cuter.) What about you? Do you find you're in front of the camera more or behind it?

Done

I finished my book Captivated over the weekend and am now setting it aside for a week before I read through it and start on edits and add some final touches.  I changed the background on my blog to celebrate my little flower fairy.  Finishing a book is definitely a bitter sweet feeling.  I always miss my characters when I'm done writing them.  And for the first time in a long time, I don't have a project to jump right into.  So it may be time for a little break.  (we'll see how long that lasts.)  

The Family Blog Has Arrived

So, I know a lot of you "lurkers" out there follow my blog to get a glimpse of the fam.  And I've been promising for a while to start a family blog so I could stop boring you all with my quirks and crazy writer talk.  Well, Jared finally did it.  He started the blog.  Now, I know he's twice as funny and five times as good looking, but don't completely abandon me for him.  If you're interested in getting family updates though (Mother West, I know you'll be happy) go to:  westacular.blogspot.com  (you might want to push mute before you head over--Jared's choice in music is ... uh ... interesting)

Why I should stop going to the gym.

Okay, so maybe I'm just looking for excuses. Maybe I'm sabotaging myself. But, I believe that working out is actually doing me more harm then good. Let me explain before you lecture me. You see, this last year I lost thirty pounds by changing my diet, eating smaller portion sizes, and writing like a madwoman (thus resisting the urge to snack). So, I thought to myself, self, it is time to get back to the gym and tone up. This last week I went three times. I know, you're super proud of me, right? Seriously, I was pretty proud myself because let's face it that is more times than I worked out in the entire year of 2008.

Well, I noticed a horrible attitude I have adopted as a result of working out. And that attitude is that since I worked out, and the stair stepper told me I burned a whopping 200 calories, I could now treat myself to that 900 calorie vanilla ice cream twister with oreo mix ins. Hmmm. It was so good. And I definitely deserved the half a bag of mini candy bars I consumed the next day, right? Oh, my goodness, if I keep working out, I fear I might gain all my weight back. Sigh. I guess I'll just stay home and write. Or perhaps....maybe.....I don't know.....I could work on exercising a little self control. Any advice? Do you find that working out helps you justify extra snacking??

Disclaimer: Working out has in fact been proven in who knows how many studies to be a benefit to your health and longevity. Please do not follow any of my advice. Please do not take me seriously at any time. Please do not eat oreo twisters while working out. Do not tell your doctor and/or personal trainer that I told you to stop working out.  And definitely do not attempt to eat half a bag of mini candy bars while writing a fight scene in your MS.

Do you like to flush money down the toilet? I know I do.

"Um, Kasie," he said, looking at his hands for a moment before meeting my eyes again. The nervousness was apparent on his face.

"Yes?" I asked warily, not wanting to hear the dire verdict.

"Looks like you're going to need two new toilets. I can't seem to get whatever is stuck in the elbow out."

I looked past him to the toilet that was off its bolts and lying on its side in the middle of the bathroom. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid not. I wish I was." He proceeded to demonstrate by winding a toilet snake up through the hole. It got stuck halfway. "What did he flush down there anyway?" he asked, looking at my two-year-old son who I held in my arms.

"Toilet!" my son yelled out happily. For someone so adorably cute he sure could get into a lot of trouble.

"I have no idea."

That night, my husband and I stood in an aisle at Lowe's trying to decide on which toilets to pick. 'Just don't go with a cheap one,' the handyman's words rang through my head. 'Or it will just happen again.'

"Honey, this one claims we can flush an entire bucket of golf balls down it without it getting clogged." I said as my children whizzed past me, screaming.

"Golf balls are round," he responded with a sigh. "Did you know toilets were so expensive?"

"Yes, I buy them often."

After settling on one of the many that claimed to be "virtually clog free" we had them installed the next day. As I stood talking to the handyman he said, "You should get toilet locks so that your son doesn't do this again."

"Yeah, I know, I'm already planning on it."

Right at that moment we heard a giggle followed by the noise of a flushing toilet. I took off running towards the bathroom, the handyman at my heels.

"Toilet," my son said with a laugh when we arrived in the bathroom. A whole roll of toilet paper lay soaking in the toilet.

"Man, he's fast," the handyman said.

"I know. I know."

Check

Remember that goal I made on New Year's Eve about my resolutions for the year of 2009? I know, how can you forget, right? Well, I went to the gym today so I can officially check number (uh, I don't remember what number it was and I'm too lazy to look [hello, I went to the gym today, I'm exhausted]) off my list. Wahoo! I'm doing great.

Have you ever noticed that when you stop going to the gym for a period of time that you can't lift as much weight as you used to? Well, I noticed that today. It's frustrating to go backwards. I think the same applies to writing (of course I would relate it) if I don't do at least a little every day then I have to recondition my brain. Fortunately, I'm much better at writing every day than I am at going to the gym.