Jen FitzGerald's Blog, page 96

Atlanta here I come...

(Midtown Atlanta--image source: Wikipedia)
Three weeks form today, I'll be winging my way to Atlanta for a fan-run Sherlock con. It's my first trip to Atlanta and to a con. I'm both excited and a bit anxious. I've flown enough in the last couple years (thanks, Sonshine) for that part of the trip not to be a worry. But the hotel is across town from the airport, so I still need to research and plan for traversing the city somehow.

Attending such a popular con by myself is a bit daunting, but I've wanted to experience fandom on a larger scale than just reading and writing fan fiction and from my side of keyboard and monitor. So I'm doing it.

There are going to be tons of people wearing costumes (basically dressing up as characters from various universes of Sherlock Holmes), and I thought about it, but the one unique costume I came up with would have been a bear to travel with. I decided to just stock up on Sherlock t-shirts and just be what I am, a fan girl.

Along with all the cosplay going on, there will be panels just like at any con. I need to look up the topics and decide what I want to attend and if I want to do any sightseeing while I'm there.

Anyone been to Atlanta? Did you like it? Any must sees?

Happy Wednesday...

Yeah, I got nothin'...

Have I told you lately....

How much I love my iPhone???

Yeah. It's my little pocket pal. It hit home again last Friday when I was waiting in line at the drive through ATM. Oh, three people in front of me??? Let me just pull out my smart phone and pull up the fic I'm reading. Walking to the post office and need some tunes??? No, problem. Hit play. Think of something, anything that I know I'm not gonna remember by the time I get to a pencil and paper??  All I have to do open my Notes app and poke it in!!

 How much I'm enjoying watching NASCAR again???

Yesterday DH and I watched race three taking place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was somewhat of a nail-biter as the weather out there was a bit crazy. We're making race day a bit of an event with special snacks.

How close I am to being done with the epic birth sampler of love???

Yes, indeed. I finished the last E and went on to the N. Gotta stitch like crazy this week to not only finish the N, but to get her birth details added. Then it's off to Michael's for framing.


Hope you had a great weekend!

American Fun Facts!

Let's have some more fun facts. So, in honor of the state of my birth...

List of California Facts and Trivia

1.    California's Mount Whitney measures as the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Its most famous climb is Mount Whitney Trail to the 14,495 feet summit. Wilderness permits are required.
2.    In 1925 a giant sequoia located in California's Kings Canyon National Park was named the nation's national Christmas tree. The tree is over 300 feet in height.
3.    More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States.
4.    Pacific Park, on the venerable Santa Monica Pier, re-creates the amusement parks once dotting the ocean areas along the Pacific Coast. Featured are 11 amusement rides including the 1910-vintage hand-carved merry-go-round appearing in the movie "The Sting."
5.    Alpine County is the eighth smallest of California's 58 counties. It has no high school, ATMs, dentists, banks, or traffic lights.
6.    Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World and hosts an annual Avocado Festival. More avocados are grown in the region than any other county in the nation.
7.    In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson, served as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the deepest mine in North America.
8.    An animal called the riparian brush rabbit calls Caswell Memorial State Park (near Manteca) its home. Endemic only to the state's park system, the critter lives in approximately 255 acres stretching along the area's once-vast hardwood forest.
9.    In city of Pacific Grove, there is a law on the books declaring the molestation of monarch butterflies to be illegal.
10.    The largest three-day rodeo in the United States is held on the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff.
11.    Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange by-products were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in 1922. The fair is held in Pomona.
12.    Located in Sacramento, the California State Railroad Museum is the largest museum of its kind in North America.
13.    Several celebrities are buried at Hillside Cemetery in Culver City. Included gravesites are those of Al Jolson, George Jessel, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny, and Percy Faith.
14.    California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode region of the state.
15.    Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the country.
16.    On Catalina Island in 1926, American author Zane Grey built a pueblo-style home on the hillside overlooking Avalon Bay. He spent much of his later life in Avalon. The home is now a hotel.
17.    Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest winter population of bald eagles in the continental United States.
18.    Author Richard Dana (1851-1882) wrote the novel "Two Years Before the Mast." He inspired the name for the beach community of Dana Point.
19.    In Atwater the Castle Air Museum has the largest display of military aircraft in the state.
20.    The Country Store in Baker has sold more winning California State Lottery tickets than any outlet in the state.
21.    Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno County history, Vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only ten minutes.
22.    The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater.
23.    The first person to personally receive a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood was actress Joanne Woodward. She received it in 1960.
24.    Death Valley is recognized as the hottest, driest place in the United States. It isn't uncommon for the summer temperatures to reach more than 115 degrees.
25.    The first motion picture theater opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.
26.    Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine, the oldest living species. Some of the gnarled trees are thought to be over 4,600 years old.
27.    San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.
28.    Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree. Its trunk is 102 feet in circumference.
29.    Yorba Linda is home to the Richard Nixon Library.
30.    The Coachella Valley is nicknamed The Date Capital of the world and The Playground of Presidents.
31.    One out of every eight United States residents lives in California.
32.    California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product.
33.    California has the largest economy in the states of the union.
34.    If California's economic size were measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.
35.    Los Angeles is ranked the fourth largest economy in the United States compared to other states.
36.    Simi Valley is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
37.    It is estimated there are approximately 500,000 detectable seismic tremors in California annually.
38.    During his engagement at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Otis Redding stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito. While there he wrote his last song and greatest hit: "The Dock of the Bay."
39.    The state motto is Eureka!, a Greek word translated "I have found it!" The motto was adopted in 1849 and alludes to the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada.
40.    California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey, The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State.
41.    There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in California annually.
42.    California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year.
43.    The redwood is the official state tree. Some of the giant redwoods in Sequoia National Park are more than 2,000 years old.
44.    The California poppy is the official state flower. The California grizzly bear (Ursus californicus) is the official state animal.
45.    California holds two of the top ten most populous cities: Los Angeles and San Diego.
46.    Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.
47.    The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.
48.    Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.

Happy Birthday to my Brown-Eyed Girl

Twenty-eight years ago, one of the most beautiful babies ever was born.
Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter.

 At two weeks, I think.

First grade school picture.


With her baby brother at the beginning of this year.
Love you bunches baby girl.

Talk about productive!

Everything I set out to accomplish this weekend was done. I spent Saturday working in twenty minute sprints in order to make progress on every project without feeling stuck on the less enjoyable tasks (Things like cleaning bathrooms...).

Most importantly -- I completed a letter on the epic birth sampler of love and started the next one. In fact, I got the base done and the letter part done too. I just have to stitch like crazy to get that letter's little girl done so I can go on to the very. last. letter.





I also finished reading my book aloud. It's very helpful to actually hear the flow of the words, the eye will trip where the tongue does. It also forces me to actually read every word, helping me to find missing words. I can also hear repeated words or phrases, and repetitious concepts can also be discovered. The whole process took me about four days--primarily because I had Friday evening and all of Saturday to focus on it.

Sunday I focused on the sampler and the Scottish highlander epic. I'm giving the other writing projects some space so that the next time I read them, they'll be a little bit fresher. Plus I've missed the Scottish highlands and the story needs its fair share of my attention. My goal is another 35K on this one for a total of 80K. If I'm not mistaken, that doesn't include the 22K for part one. Which means, it'll be over 100K when all is said and done--WOW! Where sis all those words come from??

And the house is clean and the laundry is done, so all in all, a very productive weekend-- even with a 3+ hour break for NASCAR. :) (Jimmie Johnson won, btw!)

How was your weekend?

Milestones

It's taken me a couple of days to decide what to post for today. I was trying to be proactive by coming up with a topic in advance and jotting down the bulk of my thoughts before tweaking for the final posting, but a true milestone happened yesterday and so, that's what I'm going to share. :)

I'm going to be a (self) published author by November! That's the goal, anyway.

But that's not the milestone. Not yet anyway...

Last December, my writer peeps and I were sitting around Cotton Patch for our after-the-meeting get-together and my dear friend Clover said, "Anyone interested in doing a box set for Christmas next year?" Pretty much everyone at the table said they liked the idea and we moved on to other varied and random topics. But that question and the possibilities stuck in my head all through the holidays, and ideas percolated.

When we reassembled in January, I asked if Clover meant it and if everyone was serious about participating. Everyone agreed and we brainstormed how we wanted things to work. I started writing my contributions at the beginning of February and yesterday morning, I sent it out to the other participants! It was pretty exciting.

That was the milestone. My first major for-publication effort was sent out into the world for the opinion of others. Yikes. YAY!

So this is it. I've danced around the idea of being published for years--like twelve of them, but the route of traditional publishing never appealed to me. Luckily for me, the romance publishing industry began growing and changing back when I first joined and now the options are much more to my liking.

The next milestone will be to finish and publish a book. I want to have something else available should someone enjoy my storytelling in Christmas thing so much they want to see what else I've got out there. It's not going to be much. One book, possibly two.

One's in a completely written first draft state and waiting for me to start reading the paper copy I printed. The other's not quite done and will be in a similar state once it is. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Hard work. Energy-sucking work. Energizing work.

So that theory of mine that things are going to calm down after my trip to Atlanta...yeah--maybe not so much. :)

WHEEEE!!

Feeling pooped...

I'll admit that I'm generally not as busy as most people. Especially not since Sonshine graduated from high school and left for the Navy.

But this past two months--let's say three--have been rather busy and I gotta admit I'm slowing down and feeling a bit weary. I still have another month and a bit of busier-than-normal to get through, but at least it's slowing down.


I'd like to read, read, read and watch my three favorite movies right in a row. And could I have someone take over my household duties for the duration...?

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity

Now if you're familiar with that phrase, you probably know that Darryl Waltrip hollers it at the start of each race he broadcasts... I've been waiting for this day since we added actual TV to our Internet package back in November...NASCAR!!


Many moons ago I really got into NASCAR. I know it's not a sport for everyone,  but I enjoyed it tons. DH and I were able to attend two races back in 2001--the spring race here at Texas Motor Speedway and the race in Phoenix in October. DH even scored pit and garage passes. That was a fantastic trip!

We watched it for several more years, but the kids got into high school and other things needed focus--and we got rid of cable which meant our only way to watch NASCAR was gone.

Since Sonshine left for bootcamp, I've had a hankerin' to start watching NASCAR again, but without basic TV channels, it was difficult to say the least. But now we have it, and DH and I had been looking forward to the Daytona 500 for a year--since our aborted attempt to live stream it last year.


I bought race-day treats and we sat and enjoyed hours of left turns! My favorite driver, Sterling Marlin, retired many years ago and so I'm in the market for a new driver to root for. I think I'm going to need to catch a few more races before someone really tickles my fancy.

Are you a NASCAR fan? If so, who's your favorite driver?

Time is running out...

DD's birthday is just over a month away and her epic birth sampler is still a work in progress.

I have 2.5 letters left to complete in addition to her birth stats. Then there's taking it and getting it framed... Probably a week, maybe two for that, leaving me three weeks to finish. Yikes!!! I'm trying to get 20 to 30 stitches at least done per day... More if I can. I'm actually halfway through the E that follows the L, so...