For the first time since we moved to Maine, one of our pipes froze last week. It was -28 when Richard took the kids to school that morning. He was pretty grumpy when Ali reported her car wouldn't start because that meant he had to get out in that cold. I, of course, expressed my deepest sympathy...before rolling over, pulling the quilt under my chin, and going back to sleep. Heh... …
Just after Christmas, while feeling jealous that all the relatives got to see my new nephew while I haven't yet met him in person (I did meet him when he was still in my sister's tummy), we planned a trip to Virginia to see their family. I even convinced my mom to fly there and meet us. We would have a grand time, my sister, my mom and me, along with the boys (her baby and husband, and my hubby and the two youngest boys). I was so excited! We made our hotel reservations and my mom bought non-refundable plane tickets. In the meantime, we've been waiting for a few months for the judge to make a decision in our lawsuit against Amazon. We were alerted this week that the court has requested oral arguments from our side and from Amazon. …
Our holiday was incredibly grand and we sure didn't like seeing it end! We had friends, family, games, snow, too much Christmas candy and much, much more! As I write this, I can still hear the Christmas wreath outside, tapping against the window in the wind. I need to remember to ask Frank to take those down. While he's at it, he'll also take down the outside lights. I'm ashamed to admit those are still up, too! …
Our holiday guests have departed (sniff) and we are officially "on vacation" for the rest of the week, recovering from the mayhem. Please be careful on New Year's Eve, everybody! Angela BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - Want to read real book proposals that landed these contracts? Simon and Schuster - $100,000; Berkeley Books - $25,000; Osborne-McGraw-Hill - $19,500; Random House $15,000; and many more! See a complete list here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/3332.html QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments - Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman's Day - $2,800; Redbook - $3,500; Ladies Home Journal - $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com - $2,000; Lifetime Magazine - $3,000; Life Extension Magazine - $6,480; Natural Remedies - $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html …
We have a house full of family and friends this week to this issue will be abbreviated. We wish all of you a wonderful, warm, loving and FUN holiday week!! Angela P.S. WANT A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA? How to Reborn a Doll in a Day by Angela Hoy. See pics here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1670.html Also: BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - Want to read real book proposals that landed these contracts? Simon and Schuster - $100,000; Berkeley Books - $25,000; Osborne-McGraw-Hill - $19,500; Random House $15,000; and many more! See a complete list here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/3332.html QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments - Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman's Day - $2,800; Redbook - $3,500; Ladies Home Journal - $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com - $2,000; Lifetime Magazine - $3,000; Life Extension Magazine - $6,480; Natural Remedies - $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html …
Well, we did get that ice storm last week and it was a bit nerve-wracking. Richard is always ultra-prepared for everything. He never lets the truck's gas tank get more than half empty and, when they said we might get ice, he stocked the RV with food, drinks, extra gas and even extra propane. If the power goes out, we can simply carry our computers out to the RV and live out there for as long as we need to. We have a satellite Internet dish out there, too! Between our regular Internet connection, our dish, and our phones, we can always get online. …
Three weeks ago, I posted two pictures from the 2008 Hoy Family Picture Puzzle Book. I promised to post the clue photo the following week...and I forgot! …
Doing our part to keep the economy moving, we've almost finished our Christmas shopping. …
I've been checking the weather without luck every single day so I was shocked when Frank woke me up on Saturday morning to tell me it was SNOWING! It was blowing pretty good so I ran through the house, waking up all the children to tell them to get dressed for the annual Christmas Card Photo! Whoo hoo! Of course, the older kids had to call their significant others so we had to wait for them, too. …
In past years, I've published articles about unique and inexpensive gift ideas for writers to create... …
At BookLocker, we're smack dab in the middle of our busiest time of the year. Everybody, of course, wants their book published by Christmas. We usually get a book to market within a month so the last-minute authors are flooding us with their manuscripts right now. Shwew!! …
Richard bought me an iPhone for Mother's Day months ago. I LOVE my iPhone! After dropping it numerous times on everything from the carpet to cement, I finally managed to kill it...by leaving it in my pocket one night. I realized it was missing the next morning and, after looking high and low, offered a reward to the child who could find it. …
Last Friday, we jumped in the truck with Max and Mason and took a six-hour drive to Burlington, Vermont. The ride was absolutely gorgeous! Most of the fall leaves had already fallen but what remained were yellow and copper, painted amongst the evergreens and mountain rocks. There was snow at the top of Mount Washington. That was a treat to see! Driving through that part of the country, surrounded by colorful layers of mountains, cascading into the horizon, is beyond description. I was wondering what I'd done good recently to deserve being in that spot at that moment in time. God sure did some special work with his paintbrush on that stretch of highway! …
Per my missive here on October 8th, Mason refuses to say, "I love you." Since he'll say anything else, including, "Bye Bye, Poo Poo" (while waving into the toilet), and since he'll sing anything (including the Duff Beer song from the Simpsons, thanks to the teachings of his Uncle Chris), I've concluded that the only reason Mason won't say he loves me is because he knows how badly I want him to say it! …
We had our last big RV hurrah of the year last weekend, taking Max and Mason to a campground on the Maine coast. …
Max got sick on Saturday so he spent the day curled up next to me, watching TV, while I worked on my laptop in bed (my favorite spot). He had a severe sore throat and his temperature got up to 102 in the afternoon. He felt much better on Sunday so we went leaf watching. …
Last Friday, Maine was put under a hurricane watch - the first one in 17 years. We were worried that the electricity might go out during the middle of the Fall 2008 24-Hour Short Story Contest. Just a few hours after discussing our concerns, the electricity did go off...except it was only Friday night and the storm was still over a day away. The entire street was plunged into blackness. Hmmm... …
As I've written here before, we stopped eating most meat several months ago. I eat seafood occasionally, chicken very rarely, and pork and red meat almost never. We started cutting back on meat for three reasons: 1. to lower our cholesterol; 2. to avoid the chemicals and hormones they pump into livestock now and 3. because I read the book Skinny Bitch and my eyes were opened to the horrible things that go on in slaughter houses (not just animal abuse, but also meat contamination). Every time I've ever had food poisoning, I've been able to trace it to some form of meat. Sometime last April, I started getting this weird heat sensation on the outside of my left calf... …
Before moving to Massachusetts for a year, and ending up in Maine, we lived in Shoreacres, Texas. While we lived there, our house flooded once during a tropical storm. We only had a few inches of water in the house but the damage was extensive - new floors, new sheetrock, new insulation, new paint...the works! Sadly, during Hurricane Ike, the water from Galveston Bay was over the slab of 100% of the homes there. Officials estimate 39% were heavily flooded and almost 10% were completely destroyed. The city has done a great job of keeping residents informed HERE. …
Richard is back in Maine after a short trip to Corpus Christi, Texas for a family illness. He managed to fly out just ahead of Hurricane Ike... …
Richard had to take a quick trip to Texas for a family illness. I decided to stay in Bangor and hold down the fort here. Problem is...school started this week. So, I'm working, trying to keep the household in order (with help from Alyssa, thank goodness), homeschooling Max, watching Mason, and running errands. Things are pretty hairy right now but I'm managing to keep up with everything! …
After bragging about our cool summer weather, we had a real humdinger of a weekend! It was around 90 degrees...on the day we attended the Folk Festival. Oh, it was beastly! However, the hot weather only hung around for two days. It's supposed to be 49 tonight. What a swing, huh?! …
August is always our slowest month of the year. I guess everybody is on vacation or lounging around the pool. Slow author sign-ups mean more time for me to enjoy spending time sitting outside by the river, playing in my garden with Max, watching Mason dig in the dirt with his bulldozer, and listening to the teenagers' chatter. …
First, I need to report that my health is back to 100%. I'm completely recovered from what I'm now referring to antibiotic poisoning. The medical bills came in and my two-month illness cost over $5K. But, the important thing is that I am completely recovered and back to living a normal life. Hallelujah!! I even went out for sushi this week. I ordered the huge combo platter - 5 types of sushi and 6 types of sashimi. My mom said, "You are flirting with disaster!" …
After my weekend of hell, waiting for my body to wage internal war in my gut while withdrawing from five weeks of antibiotics, I'm feeling much better. Still have some residual effects but I'm no longer homebound. Yea!! …
Last Wednesday, after the new GI said he thought I had antibiotic induced diarrhea and gave me new meds (not antibiotics!), we decided to jump in the truck and race to Virginia, praying we'd get there in time for the big surprise. …
After posting about my recent diagnosis of diverticulosis and diverticulitis, many of you wrote in and kindly told me you thought I perhaps had something else and that I should consider a second opinion. Well, you were right! …
While my hypochondria is usually a stressful annoyance (that's probably an understatement), sometimes it's good to be extra cautious but sometimes it can get a bit ridiculous. They should ban people like me from medical websites... …
After being diagnosed with diverticulosis and diverticulitis, I was feeling pretty good last week - once the antibiotics were gone and I was off the steroids. On Saturday, we went out for Chinese food. I ate very mild stuff - seafood, white rice, a few bites of eggdrop soup, and half an eggroll (that was probably my mistake). That night, I got very ill. Sunday morning, I was better. Sunday afternoon, I was just fine. I was feeling so good that I went shopping and then cooked a large meal for the family (since Richard's been doing all the work around here lately). On Monday morning, I had a full-blown attack - severe abdominal cramps, blood, everything I'd experienced when I was really, really sick. It was awful. …
How dumb am I? Here I've been whining about the daily, annoying pain I've been experiencing in my colon for the past five weeks, all the while forgetting what the original attacks felt like. On Sunday night, I got a reminder! …
Last week, I reported that I was diagnosed with Diverticulitis after almost a month of pain...and other symptoms that you really don't want me to post here. Some of you wrote in that it's a good thing I wasn't diagnosed with diverticulosis. Unfortunately, I was. I didn't post that last week because I was in a rush. …
I am writing this quickly because Richard is trying to get the issue out. Wanted to wait until after my Colonoscopy today (it was actually a Sigmoidostopy) to post this. After three weeks of frantic worrying, I finally have a diagnosis. I have diverticulitis. It requires a bit of a lifestyle change (different diet) but I can live with anything that isn't life-threatening. So, we're feeling very, very blessed today. Thanks sooooo much for all the well wishes and prayers!!! :) This Week's Maxism: "All skulls are bald." Hugs to all! Angela BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - Want to read real book proposals that landed these contracts? Simon and Schuster - $100,000; Berkeley Books - $25,000; Osborne-McGraw-Hill - $19,500; Random House $15,000; and many more! See a complete list here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/3332.html QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments - Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman's Day - $2,800; Redbook - $3,500; Ladies Home Journal - $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com - $2,000; Lifetime Magazine - $3,000; Life Extension Magazine - $6,480; Natural Remedies - $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html …
I want to thank everyone who wrote in last week with ideas about what might be wrong with my colon. I would particularly like to thank (snicker) the people who wrote in with graphic details about colonoscopies. Uh, thanks. Unfortunately, I don't have a diagnosis yet... …
On our last big trip, we ended up going to the emergency room twice, once for Max having a bad stomach virus, and then after Frank ran a golf cart into an electric fence while herding cows. We'd been on the road for seven weeks for our recent trip and it looked like we were going to get lucky on this one. Unfortunately, we couldn't avoid it... …
This week: Dinner with author Jimmy Moore (Livin' La Vida Low-Carb) and his hilarious wife, Christine! Dinner with author Bill Henderson (Cancer-Free -- Your Guide to Gentle, Non-toxic Healing), one of the most loving and gentle souls we've ever met. :) Memorial Day Weekend with my sister and her hubby, a Marine. And I, um, hit a tree with the RV... I said oops. Richard said something a bit louder. ;) …
We've had quite a busy week on the road! On Wednesday and Thursday, the RV was in for repairs at LazyDays in Seffner, Florida. LazyDays provides RVers with just about everything they need while their rig is being repaired, including a large waiting area that features Starbucks coffee, toys for the children, a special area for pet owners, and free breakfast and lunch. As soon as we checked in for repairs, an RV salesman magically appeared, asking if we'd like to look at new RVs... …
We got up at the crack of dawn, kissed Richard and Mason goodbye (that type of boating is not good for toddlers), and drove to the dock... …
This issue is a bit abbreviated because I took off a long weekend while Richard's dad and step-mom were here and... now I'm paying the price. I am SO BEHIND! UG!! Anyway, here's what I did in the past week... …
After stopping in Georgia, we drove to Flagler, Florida. The campground, Beverly Beach RV and Camptown Resort, was right on the ocean. Our RV was parked facing the surf and it was breathtakingly beautiful! After we stopped, pulled out the slides, and got set up, Richard checked his email while Max and Mason piled out of the RV and ran down to the beach with me, barefoot and carefree... …
On Saturday evening, we were feeding the ducks at a campground pond. They were pretty aggressive. Okay, they were incredibly aggressive... …
We spent Saturday in Washington DC. We had dinner in China Town and Max drank one too many glasses of juice... …
As I wrote last week, we escaped Maine, and are heading for the Florida Keys. We often take our business on the road for extended trips in our RV. Since our business is conducted almost entirely online, we can take off indefinitely, provided we have an Internet connection... …
Well, the Amazon/BookSurge Threat stole my Sunday. I usually take Sundays off, to preserve my sanity... …
The large golden egg, which was good for a $20 bill that was perched on the mantle, was found by... …
Speaking of leaving the nest, we're leaving in three weeks, heading south in the RV, and taking the business with us. Whoo hoo! The snow has slowed down dramatically and it looks like we'll be able to get the RV to the shop for the pre-trip inspection. …
