So I'm back to the Velvet Underground... Or, I Went Grocery Shopping and I Liked It

So I'm back to the velvet underground

Back to the floor, that I love
To a room with some lace and paper flowers,
Back to the gypsy
That I was
To the gypsy...
That I was.
Gypsy by Ms. Stephanie Lynn Nicks

Hello, everyone. I'm back! I'm not sure if the PA burbs qualify as the Velvet Underground, but, like Stevie meant in her song, I'm back to the place I love and feel most comfortable, and where I'm learning to live alone again.

Where am I back from? An amazing Caribbean cruise with my kids. Here are a few pics to prove my point.

This first pic is of the beautiful Magen's Bay in St. Thomas.

The second pic is me pointing at a female pirate's booby. Yup, you read that right. Apparently, this nice Irish gal, Anne Bonney, tracked down her runaway husband in the Virgin Islands and murdered him. She also slept with many ship captains and then killed them. She was quite the role model in her day.

Pic 3: Adam & I sharing our first cocktail before we set sail.

Pic 4: Movies Under the Stars on board the Ruby Princess. We watched more football than we did movies.

Pic 5: Ethan, me, and Adam after Ethan's birthday dinner at the Crown Grill - think Morton's Steakhouse at sea.

Pic 6: Ethan and Adam in the Michelangelo dining room.

Pic 7: Ethan - on his birthday! - swimming at St. Maarten after we went helmet diving.

The cruise was filled with many wonderful experiences, including a new book idea. Sitting in the library on board the ship, I watched the ocean pass by and scribbled the first five pages to a new women's fiction story. I'm very excited about it, however, I still have to finish editing my YA novel. According to my editor, this draft may well be "the one" - the final edit before AA takes the book out on submission. So, in order to finish YA Draft 7 and forge ahead on WF Draft 1, I need to get "discipline." Some people get religion, others get milk, I have to get discipline.

Where do I find this so-called "discipline?" Can I save up cereal box tops and send away for it? Buy it on Amazon.com? Find it on one of those late-night infomercials? Is it tucked away next to the gold in the California hills? I'm hoping it's located back in the calm, turquoise waters of the Caribbean, because that's a damn fine place to be. (Which is why, I've already booked my next cruise for later this year!!!)

Along with pondering self-discipline, I learned several important things about myself on this trip:

1) I need to eat breakfast.
I know this sounds like a big, fat "DUH!!!" but I've never been a breakfast eater. My normal schedule is to get up around 8AM and have a protein shake around 10AM. Then, maybe lunch, maybe not, and a big dinner. WHAT an idiot.

So, get this. (To those of you who know me well, you may want to sit down for this next part. Seriously. Consider yourself warned.) What's one of the first things I did after coming home from my trip? I went to the grocery store! (I hear a lot of thuds out there. I hope there are defibrillators nearby.) True story. I went to the grocery story and (same warning applies) I LIKED IT!!! Katy Perry, move over. Kissing girls is nothing. I went grocery shopping and I liked it...

For those of you who don't know me well, I'd rather walk naked in Antarctica or worse, go moose hunting with Sarah Palin in Alaska (where she can see Russia from her house!) than buy groceries.

But there I went. I bought fresh fruit (not the cut-up kind - actual whole melons!!! You can cut them yourself! Who knew?!), brown eggs (from cage-free, vegetarian-fed hens - yup, I'm a card-carrying, liberal tree-hugger), low-fat, whole-wheat English Muffins, and orange-pineapple juice. I also got green and red peppers, cheese, Rosemary crackers, and shrimp (peeled and de-veined) to go with my wonderful red wine habit. (Healthy in moderation, or so me and the Mayo Clinic believe.)

2) My bed should not double as my office. (Don't argue with me. I'm on a roll.)
So, I've chosen to move my lap top down to the kitchen and do my writing there instead of sitting like a lazy bum all day in bed. I also intend to make myself tea. Every day. That's right, you heard me - TEA! (Chai with skim milk and sugar, if you must know.)

For those of you who do know me well, you're probably thinking, "Who are you and what have you done with our spoiled, rotten, lazy, JAP, Debbie?"

Never fear, she's right here; just going through a major life transformation. I'm taking care of myself now. There's no one to blame but me if I'm not as healthy and happy as I can be. And I hate being wrong, so, I may as well try and get it right.

I'm finding taking care of myself is like kissing girls and going grocery shopping.

I like it. ;-)

Thanks to Stephen Powell for the inspiration for this post.

Drenched in Awesome - Penny Lane ROCKS!!!

Poem: I have a friend. Her name is Penny. We both love cupcakes and Katy Perry.

Here's her latest post. Please tell her how uber-awesome she is, and follow her to the ends of the Earth.

To All My Dear Readers,
Hugs and best wishes for a holiday season filled with happiness, laughter, good health, and hugs, and a new year (like Penny) drenched in awesome.

That is all. Carry on with your holiday cheer.

MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE Gets a Tan! Plus, Chelsea Handler Naked?

WARNING: Pictures of sizzling hot women appear in this post. If you're the kind of (moron) who's offended by that type of thing, walk away NOW!

My book's in Acapulco, Mexico. It's true, my parents, sister and brother-in-law are sitting on a beach in Acapulco reading MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE. Mind you, they're doing this while I sit in my room on the computer 24/7 sending them final edits as fast as my small fingers and even smaller mind will allow. It's fun to think my book is traveling the globe even as I slave away like some sort of 18th century beer-swilling wench. Come to think of it, a nice, cold beer might make this whole endeavor much less stressful...

I'm excited I'll be sending off my full soon! I've kinda sorta been promising for like more than a month that I'd send it... BUT, I've been staying in communication, which is key. I've also got three partials out to uber-fantastic agents, and I've started querying others as well. I'm LOVING this book, and am hoping someone who can help make my literary dreams come true will share my gooey sentiments.

Plus, I really, really, really want to get started on MURDER ON SONGBIRD LANE. (Don't you hate it when people overuse the word really?) Like I said, I wrote the first page, but I've forced myself not to look at it again until MTC is out the door.

Speaking of looking, here's a little eye candy for you. We got tickets to see Chelsea Handler, Goddess of Comedy (and clearly the hottest comic in America!), in Atlantic City over Labor Day Weekend. As my niece, Arissa would say, how awesomely awesome is that? Sadly, for my husband and all the other men (and, probably some women) in the audience, she won't be appearing in "all her glory." We'll also be staying at the same B&B we stayed in for our anniversary. What a PERFECT end to a work-filled summer.

IN OTHER NEWS...
For those of you who love Katy Perry or want to be turned on by a drop-dead gorgeous rising pop star, check out my new article on the sizzling hot songstress.

And, I've given in to peer pressure and am now on Twitter. Follow me if you wish. I promise not to tweet about doing laundry or what I'm eating.;-)