I’ve been trying to lose some weight.  I’ve been working really hard, too.  I’ve been watching fat and calories.  And I haven’t cheated.  I’ve been exercising — walking, riding my exercise bike, and climbing the four flights of stairs (92 steps) to my office at least twice a day. 

It’s been a little over two weeks.  But nothing seems to be working.  For the first few days, I was riding my exercise bike for a minimum of 15 minutes.  I quickly increased that to a half hour.  Then last Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I did an hour of either exercise bike or a combination of the bike and walking.  I was still watching everything I ate — lots of water and protein with very little fat or carbs.

Nothing.  No results.  I even bought a new set of scales because I was convinced the old ones couldn’t be working right.  I measured, too.  I’ve lost maybe an 1/8 of an inch around my thigh.  Woohoo.

So then yesterday morning I weighed again.  No change again.  In total frustration, I skipped breakfast and didn’t eat a bite until after a 45 minute walk during my lunch hour.  Then I had a little thing of jello and a Slimfast bar — total calories, about 300.  When I got home, I had a handful of almonds.  They’re high in protein and minerals and help to curb your appetite.  That was about 120 calories.  For supper I had salad.  I put some low fat ham (70 calories) on it and ate a pickle, too.  Total calories for all that couldn’t have been more than 550.  I used low fat dressing spraringly, so I really think the salad and pickle probably had less than 550 calories.  After supper, I rode my exercise bike for 45 minutes.

So that means yesterday I had less than 1000 calories, and I exercised for a total of an hour and a half, plus I climbed 4 flights of stairs twice. 

This morning when I got up, I weighed again. 

I gained two pounds.

^#*$%  ~#*^%!!!!!!!!!!!

Nita

I got a rejection in the mail yesterday from an agent I queried — last JULY!

To be quite honest, if it takes an agent that long to get back to me, I don’t think I’d want to work with her anyway.  You know?

I’m still waiting to hear from the agent I had a request from about 5 weeks ago.  I would actually consider five or six weeks to be an excellent turn around time.  Two or three months is acceptable and expected.  Four or five months would even be reasonable if we were talking about a big publisher, editor, or agent that has thousands of queries each month.  But seven and a half months is a little much by anyone’s standards. 

I don’t mean to sound hateful about it.  It’s just that even though I’m usually a bit disappointed when I receive a rejection, this one didn’t bother me at all.  I just looked at it wondering why, after all this time, did she even bother to reply? 

Nita 

Rick Miller performs Bohemian Rhapsody

This guy is great.

Nita

Hey, that’s not bad!  I’ll take it.   

The winners of the Romancing the Tome contest have been announced:

Coeur de Louisiane is proud to announce the winners in our ‘Romancing the Tome’ Contest.
 
Historical (Five places due to a tie)
1st - My Sweet Angel by Sydney Alfrido - partial requested
2nd - Shooting Stars by Anna E. Muzzy
3rd - A Real Husband by Nita Wick
4th - The Stranger She Married by Donna Hatch
5th - Fire at Midnight by Lisa Marie Wilkinson
 
Inspirational
1st - Sarah’s Hope by Michelle D. Rodgers - Complete Requested
2nd - Song From the Heart by Denise G. Weeks
3rd - Here Comes the Wedding Planner by Kristin Wallace
4th - For Love of Glory by Andrea Shuman
 
Paranormal
1st - Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch
2nd - The Vampire, the Witch & the Wardrobe by Suzan Harden
3rd - Marooned by Jennie Manlick
4th - Boo, Baby by Jennifer A. McAndrews
 
Series Contemporary
1st - Fractured Paradise by Christine Keach - Partial Requested  WooHoo!  WTG Lexi!
2nd - Unconditional Love by Diane Burke
3rd - Charm School Warrior by Karen E. Foley
4th - Without Limits by Leslie Anne Lighton
 
Single Title
1st - Publish or Perish by Kerensa Brougham - Partial Requested  Congrats, Kerry!
2nd - Come to Heal by Lyndell “Babe” King
3rd - American Man by Jennie Manlick
4th - Murphy’s Law by Jennifer Kamptner
 
Honorable Mentions…
Hold on Tight by Robyn Grady
Until September by Barbara Longley
Countdown to Love by Cheryl Martin
Dark Guardian by Robin Perini
Hit or Myth by Maya Reynolds
 
Overall Winner of a RWA National Conference Fee goes to…
Shooting Stars by Anna E. Muzzy

****

Congrats to all the winners!

Nita

I didn’t make the finals in the Great Expectations contest.  They have some great final round judges.  I was really hope to final in historical category to get my work in front of that Avon editor. 

I was really surprised to see that none of the entries I judged in the contemporary category made the finals.  And all of them were so good!  Obviously there was some tough competition.

Here’s a list of all the finalists:

NTRWA congratulates the following finalists of the 2007 Great Expectations contest. We wish everyone the best of luck in the final round. 

~~ HISTORICAL CATEGORY ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR: Tessa Woodward, Editorial Assistant, Avon Books

A Wicked Disguise by Anke Fontaine

Sager’s Passion by Elaine Levine

Mesquite Tree by Kaki Warner

A Secret Heart by Deb Yates

~~ INSPIRATIONAL Category ~~

FINAL ROUND AGENT: Kelly Mortimer, Mortimer Literary Agency

Rose Colored Glasses by Tina Joyce Butts

Buried Beneath the Midnight Blue by Cynthia Hickey

Catrin’s Quest by Jan Scarbrough

Restoring What the Locusts Have Eaten by Betty Woods

~~ Long & SHORT Contemporary Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR: Diana Ventimiglia, Editorial Assistant, Harlequin

Venus in Blue Jeans by Margaret Batschelet

A Dash of Desire by Teri Brown

Illegally Yours by Lora Kenton

Deadline by Donna McGoldrick

The Doctor’s Chateau by Mona Risk

~~ MANSTREAM with romantic elements Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR: Rebecca Soukis, Editorial Assistant, Red Dress Ink

The Truth About Dogs, Men & Politicians by L. Faye Hughes

Life, Love and Maggie Baldovino by Jane Myers Perrine

Widow’s Walk by Grace Stanners

No Strings Attached by Beth Watson

I Do…Don’t? by Beth Watson

~~ Romantic Suspense Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR: Allison Lyons, Editor, Harlequin Intrigue

A Deeper Blue by Marjorie Allen

Against Doctors Orders by Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare

Man with a Mission by Vivienne Constable

The Carnelian Code by Karen Davenport

~~ Single Title Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR:  Keyren Gerlach. Editorial Assistant, HQN

Twist of Fate by Amy Baldwin

Double Rainbows by Yvonne Harris

My Life As A Star by Ruth Kaufman

Walk, Trot, Shoot by Bev Pettersen

~~ SPECIALIZED Category       Fantasy, Futuristic, Paranormal & Time Travel ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR:  Chris Keeslar, Senior Editor with Dorchester/Leisure

The Stone Warrior by Donna Maloy

Cracklin’ Rosie by Micqui Miller

Thrill of the Night by Tracy O’Hara

The Wolf Within by Melanie Scott

~~ Steamy Hot Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR:  Laura Barth, Editorial Assistant with Harlequin Blaze

Under the Precious Sky by Christie Craig

Fatal Intuition by Viola Estrella

Love in Bloom by Miqui Miller

Szechuan Sizzle by Kiki Opdenberg

~~ YOUNG ADULT Category ~~

FINAL ROUND AGENT:  Michelle Grajkowski, Three Seas Literary Agency

Lost and Found by Shoshana Brown

The Year my Magic Broke by Robyn Enlund

Legend of the Fox by Donna Maloy

Enter the Parrot by Kiki Opdenberg

Congrats to all the finalists!

Nita

Here’s some flowers and chocolates for all my friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

I found all kinds of pretty pictures to use.  Here’s another one.

Don’t you just love all the pretty, romantic stuff you find at Valentine’s Day?

Nita

I was trying to post a video earlier — the one about Murder Before Valentines — and I accidentally deleted the stuff about my cruise!  Darn it.  And that means the comments attached were deleted, too.  Sorry, Mary Alice and Jenn. 

Anyway, I loved seeing the pictures of the cruise destinations so much, I’m going to re-post and add a couple extra.

We’ll be on the Carnival Elation cruise ship.  Here’s a pic:

Our first stop will be Grand Turk:

There we’ll do some snorkeling.  The next stop is Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

Then the last stop is Nassau:

See, here’s the route on the map:

I am so excited!

Nita

Murder Before Valentines

This is from my friend, Mary Alice Pritchard.
Nita

I’m sure this is pretty commonplace to a lot people, but it’s yet another first for me.  Earlier this year, I had my first professional massage and my first professional pedicure.  Those were included in the spa package that my hubby bought me for Christmas. 

Then tonight there was another first.  We went out to eat this evening at a Chinese buffet.  Yes, we’ve done that many times before, but tonight we chose a different restaurant than usual.  We’d eaten lunch there before, but not dinner.  So anyway, while there, I notice that they have something I’d never tried before — sushi. 

I stared at all the different kinds for a few minutes thinking, “It’s raw fish.  Eeeeewww.”  But I figured, “What the heck.  Let’s be brave.”  I picked up two different kinds and took it back to the table.

After sampling my hot and sour soup, I worked up the courage to try the first bite.  I cut the “rolled up thingy” in half.  I was pretty sure you’re supposed to eat it all in one bite, but I wasn’t THAT brave.  LOL  Slowly I brought it to my mouth, reminding myself that there are lots of people who love this stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.  No, it wasn’t the best stuff ever, but I thought, “Hey.  That’s not too bad.” 

I told my husband, who was watching me very skeptically because he’d never eaten sushi either, “You should try it.”

“Nah.  That’s okay.” Was his reply.

“Awe, come on.  It’s not bad.  Really.”  I coaxed.

He finally gave in and tasted it.  He thought it was alright, too.  So then we tried the other flavor.  “Hmmm,” I thought.  Neither kind was anything like I’d imagined.  After that I ate a few other things I’d picked up on the buffet like some grilled shrimp and crab.  I tried a little of some spicy chicken dish, too.  I like spicy stuff, but this wasn’t really anything special.  So I put it aside and returned to the sushi bar. 

I tried two other flavors, this time adding some of the house teriyaki sauce.  Even better.  Okay, I’ll admit.  I wasn’t brave enough to try the raw, stuffed shrimp.  Sorry.  Just couldn’t do it.  LOL  My husband wasn’t as impressed with the sushi as I was.  He didn’t go back for more. 

I did, however, get him to try something else he’d never had — crawfish.  I’m a country girl from the deep south.  I grew up with crawfish.  Heck, we used to go catch ‘em, too.  But my hubby had never tasted it.  The bite he took earned another, “It’s alright.” from him. 

So, 2007 has started out as a year of firsts for me.  Oh, yeah, I got my first request for submission from an agent this year, too.  I hope we can keep this string of “firsts” going.  On Monday I’m off for a flex day because I have to work next Saturday.  (It’s my turn.)  We are going to a travel agent to see if we can book our first cruise!  Yay! 

So what about you?  Any “firsts” lately?  What do you think of sushi? Crawfish? Cruises?

Nita  

Don’t you just love old photographs?  We’ve been going through some of the old newspaper clippings and family photos we found at my father-in-law’s house.  Many are just snapshots from the 1950’s or so.  But there are some that are much older.  And so much more interesting.  LOL

There’s just something about old portraits.  They scream nostalgia, romance, and history.  Let me share a couple.

This one is a military band, but we’re not sure from when — possibly WWI.

This one is Alta, the daughter of my husband’s great grandfather:

It’s sad, though.  The back of the picture says she died when she was 18 years old.

Here’s one that’s a little happier:

We’re pretty sure this cute little guy is my father-in-law’s older brother.  This would have been taken about 1930. 

Do you think anyone will ever look on our photos with the same kind of awe?

Nita