Lauralynn Elliott's Blog, page 21

Fun in Vegas…not

This is probably not a good time to be writing this post because I’m a little emotional right now, but I can’t go into why. But I’m not happy right now.

Anyway…I have found I don’t like Vegas. Everything smells like cigarette smoke. The laws here are different than in Tennessee. You can smoke anywhere, and people do. I feel like I’m going to come back with lung cancer. I ended up working filling swag bags and doing other volunteer stuff all day. I’m tired. The kick off party was good because there was an amazing Elvis impersonator. But I felt so alone at the party. I ended up sitting with a couple because no one seemed to be talking to them and I felt bad. They were a sweet couple but seemed shy. Someone really nice I had met earlier ended up sitting with us, so that was nice. This place isn’t for me, though. I don’t know most of these people. There were a couple I know from Facebook, and it was REALLY nice meeting them. But I miss being with my friends. I want to go back home. But I have four more days here. I miss my ROW80 people because I’ve been so busy getting ready for this event that I haven’t interacted.

I’m hoping I will enjoy the classes the next couple of days. That will take my mind off things that have bothered me. I don’t even look forward to the costume ball because I’ll just feel alone again. I’m tempted not to go. I just shouldn’t be here.

I hope this sadness I’m feeling is temporary and I will be back to my optimistic self tomorrow. I will NOT cry.

What I Want to Bring Back from Vegas

My brain is all over the place right now. I leave for Vegas tomorrow evening for the RNConvention, and I’m nervous, excited, and other emotions that are all over the place. I haven’t even posted in about four days because there’s been so much to do. I also haven’t had time to comment on other people’s posts, so I hope I’m forgiven.

Anyway, there’s a buzz all over Facebook about this convention, and there are so many excited people posting on the event page about all kinds of things. But I’m seeing a trend that’s bothering me just a bit. Yes, I KNOW it’s Vegas. And Vegas is about fun. But this is a convention with lots of classes that Jimmy set up for us to learn. He worked hard on getting the speakers lined up. But I’m not seeing ANYONE saying how excited they are to be attending these classes. It’s all about drinking and dancing. I’m not criticizing this at all, because I know most of these people have never been to Vegas, and many of them have never been to any writing conferences. It’s okay to have fun. (I’ve even posted about how I’m worried about what clothes to bring.) But I think some people have missed the whole point of the convention. As writers, we need to learn all we can about this business because it’s not as easy as it used to be. When I first started publishing, there was very little competition. Now there’s LOTS of competition, so it’s hard for readers to find us unless we stand out. Yes, we need to write a good book. But then readers have to FIND that book. It’s getting harder. I’m hoping to learn some marketing strategies as well as how to write a better book.

So what I want to bring back from Vegas is lots of knowledge that will help me in my business. Well, that and something for my husband from the Pawn Stars shop.

Which of My Books….

Okay, I’m doing this just for fun. I was just thinking in the shower (I think instead of sing) about which of my books was the most (fill in the blanks). So I thought I would share.

Which book is the sweetest? Probably “See Me”, although it does have a violent scene.

Which book has the most humor? “See Me” gets this vote, too.

Which book is the most emotional? “Soul of a Vampire”

Which book is the scariest? “The Gnome”

Which book is the most sexual? “Starfane”

Which book is my favorite? “Haunted Lake”

Which book is my least favorite? Hmmm. Probably “Club Blood”

Which book was the hardest to write? “Soul of a Vampire”

Which book was my first one? “A Rocky Path”

Which book has sold the most copies? “Guardian Vampire”

Which book would I like to do a sequel to (not counting the Vampires’ Curse books which are already a series)? “Haunted Lake”

Which book does my mother like best? “Starfane” (this is kind of weird to me since you can see what other question this book is the answer to, LOL)

Well, I can’t think of any more questions. Those of you who have published more than one book, please feel free to answer any or all of these questions about YOUR books in the comments. Also, if you have any more questions you would like me to answer, feel free to ask!

My Dress for the Costume Ball at RNConvention

Some of you have asked for it, so here it is. This is the dress I’m going to wear to the costume ball. It’s a regency style dress, which has the empire waist.

Incidentally, this is the FIRST public picture I’ve ever posted of myself. Unfortunately, it’s not a very good one, but I wanted you all to see the dress.

Sunday ROW80 Update 7/28/13

There’s really nothing to report today. After the awful travel experience I had Sun-Wed, I didn’t want to do anything but sleep. I wanted to write on Saturday, but my husband wanted to go on the lake on my son’s father-in-law’s boat. We got to spend time with my son, his wife, and his wife’s father. I tried to ski, but the rope handle broke and hurt my hand.

I really hope I get some writing done next week. The week after that is the RNConvention, and there is going to be so much to do that I won’t have time to write. But, at least most of the time will be spent in classes that should help me as a writer. There’s a costume ball, movie night, bingo (with novel covers as the squares), and a welcome party on the first night. I’m not much of a party animal, so if things get wild, I’m going to my room. I’m there to learn AND to have fun, but some people have a wilder idea of fun than me. LOL. I HOPE I sell all my books at the book fair so I won’t have to have them shipped home.

Fitness Friday – Losing Weight Anyway

Most of you know what kind of ordeal I’ve been through this week with all the airport stuff. I hadn’t even thought about how I was eating, and I certainly didn’t get any exercise in. But as I got on the scale at home, I had a pleasant surprise. Here are the stats.

Stats for this week:

Beginning weight: 193

Today’s weight: 167.5

This week’s loss: 1.5 lbs.

Total loss: 25.5 lbs.

On an unrelated note…my dress for the costume ball at RNConvention in Las Vegas is almost finished. I’m supposed to go by this evening and see how everything fits and get the hems figured out. I have no idea what kind of shoes I’m going to wear, so I hope the hem will be okay. For a little teaser, this is the material for the main part of the dress.

Great News!!!

I noticed I had three texts, but I was on the road coming back home from the airport, so I didn’t know the good news. I drove up and saw Chipper welcoming me home. Then I saw something else…tied back up to his run was…DUKE! I couldn’t believe it. My husband, son, and son’s fiancee all texted me, but I didn’t see them until I had already seen Duke. It turns out that my brother saw him down the road, but couldn’t get him into his truck. So he called my son and he went down there, but by that time, my husband had already seen him on the way to church and picked him up. What has probably happened is someone had him tied up and he got loose and started home. That’s the only explanation I have for why he has been gone so long. It’s lucky I had bought him a collar right before he disappeared so my husband had something to tie him up with. We are going to have to find a better way to restrain him. I wish we could afford a fence. The bad thing is that my brother actually puts up fencing as part of his business, but I STILL can’t afford it. Bleh.

After all the trouble I had on my trip, it was nice to come home to my precious dog. Btw, the trip back was happily uneventful.

Frustrated in Burlington, VT

Sooooo…I’m still sitting here in my hotel room waiting on my bag to be delivered by the airline. They say it will be on the flight coming in at 12:00, but with all the delays the past two days, I’m not optimistic it will be here on time. I missed the whole day of the conference yesterday. I’ve already missed a half day today. If my bag doesn’t get here in time for me to take a shower, brush my teeth, and put on my makeup before 2:00, then I’ll miss the bus to the tour,which is going to be an all day thing, ending with a reception. I don’t know why they can’t come back here and have the reception like they usually do. If I don’t get on the bus and do the tour and reception, that means I’ll only be able to do the half day conference tomorrow. And my boss has wasted all that money on this conference. All because the airline 1) delayed EVERY flight I was on, even though they had to change my flights four times, and 2) Sending my bag to NY even though they changed my flight to go through Detroit. They ASSURED me when it was changed that my bag would be changed as well. That didn’t happen. And they offer, from what I saw online, to refund the fee I paid for checked baggage…in the form of a travel voucher. The thing is, I’ll probably NEVER use this airline again, so what good does a voucher do? They should refund my MONEY.

I couldn’t sleep last night (after staying up until after 1:00 waiting on my bag, which didn’t arrive) because I was so upset about this whole thing. I had gotten up at 3:30 yesterday morning, so I’m SO tired. I’m tempted, when my bag finally comes, just to take my shower and go back to bed. Forget about the tour and the reception. Just SLEEP. And then, hopefully, I can get a lot of good out of the speakers at the conference tomorrow. There are actually three speakers tomorrow. And maybe I can network with a couple of customers somewhere in between the speakers. There are at least three people I need to see.

I’m so sorry to vent like this. No one wants to hear all the whining. But, after all, it’s my blog. I can tell by how few comments I got on this subject yesterday that it’s not what people want to hear. But that’s okay. I’ll try to post something cool and interesting someday soon. LOL

Fun at the Airport…NOT

In all the times I’ve flown, I’ve never had the awful experiences I’ve had this time. I’m already going to miss the first day of the conference. This is a work trip. I could have honestly DRIVEN to Burlington, Vermont in the time it’s taken me on this trip. First, my flight from Chattanooga to Atlanta yesterday was delayed multiple times. Finally, it was delayed to the point I would miss my connection in Atlanta. They rescheduled for the next morning…Chattanooga to Atlanta to New York to Burlington. Then I got a call that the flight from Chattanooga had been delayed again after I had already gotten up at 3:30 am. Then, somehow, the part of my itenirary from Chattanooga to Atlanta got cancelled. I had to call and fix that. Then, after I got to Atlanta, I found my flight to NY had been delayed an hour…which would make me miss the flight to Burlington. So then they changed my flight to go to Detroit instead of NY, which was fine with me…except for two things. 1) I have to stay in this airport 3 extra hours and 2) this flight has also been delayed. If it’s delayed any more, I will NOT make my flight to Burlington. And I have a feeling that’s the last flight to Burlington. WHO has a conference in a place where there aren’t that many flights coming in? Why couldn’t they have left it in Chicago? I would have driven. I have no idea what I’ll do if I miss that flight. I don’t want to be stuck in Detroit. *sobs*

Honestly, I’m about ready to find a flight back home. If my boss hadn’t already paid for the conference and the hotel, I just might. I honestly don’t know what to do but pray the flight from Atlanta isn’t delayed.

Milling Grain

A friend and I went yesterday to a place called Bread Beckers in Woodstock, GA. We have another friend who mills her own grain, and we were interested in doing that if the benefits seemed to be worth it. We both came to the conclusion that it was, so we both purchased a grain mill and some grain. I got hard white wheat, soft white wheat, and hard red wheat. Her main purpose is to help with some health issues her son has. My main purpose is to help regulate my blood sugar, as well as for overall colon health.

Why mill yourself instead of just buying whole grain flour? Well, this is how it was explained to me. You should only mill what you are going to use RIGHT THEN. The hull on the outside protects all the vitamins within. When the grain is milled, oxidation begins and the vitamins start disappearing. The sooner you use the flour, the more vitamins you get to keep. You can mill extra and store it, but you will lose a lot of the vitamins, although you will still have the protein and the fiber. It took me about 30 seconds to mill what I used last night. Because, even though it was late, I just had to try my first batch of bread. I was skeptical of the taste, although I was willing to tolerate it if it had the health benefits claimed. It tasted amazing! I had a slice last night, and for breakfast this morning, I had some with homemade paneer cheese fried in butter. The bread was a nice brown color, partly from the red wheat and partly from the honey. As a diabetic, I was a little uneasy about using honey, but I realized that there was just a little bit of honey, and the whole grain probably balanced out everything. Some people make the mistake of thinking diabetics aren’t supposed to eat carbs. We are supposed to eat GOOD carbs, such as whole grains and beans. Not so much white bread.

Okay, what does this mean about eating out and eating bread or hamburger buns that aren’t whole grains? I believe in moderation, not obsession. So, yeah, I’m going to eat bread at O’Charley’s or burgers at Steak N Shake. But not ALL THE TIME. I’m not going nuts about this, just like I didn’t go nuts about only using homemade beauty products. I do what I can, but I don’t go crazy with it. I plan on making lots of bread with this new milled grain. There’s really no reason to buy bread in the store anymore, so I know I’ll always have healthy bread at home. This means not only will I be eating healthier, I’ll be SAVING MONEY. I don’t know if my husband will be on board with this or not, since he was already gone to work when I got home last night. We’ll see.

Incidentally, this store is a cook’s dream. All kinds of kitchen gadgets, large and small. And they have all kinds of grains, not just wheat. They have beans, brown rice, spelt, corn…just about everything. I wish I could have afforded a bread maker. I have one, but it doesn’t make a large 2 lb. loaf. My friend ended up spending LOTS of money there. I was a little more conservative since I’m broke. LOL