Since it’s pushing midnight here in New Zealand, and it’ll officially be Christmas Day very soon, I wanted to wish you all…

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

AND A SAFE, AND HAPPY 2012.

Hugs!

Maree

Just when I thought I had all my Christmas presents sorted, I realized I had one left over. Seems I got a little carried away by the gorgeous fireman selling calendars at Botany Town Centre shopping mall. Gorgeous men raising money for a worthy cause such as the Child Cancer Foundation tend to have that effect on me. So I bought three.

In my defense, I gave one to my daughter *g*, but I can hardly justify putting two up in my office. Well, I could but…. Let’s not go there.

So in the spirit of Christmas, I’ll give my spare 2012 New Zealand Firefighters Calendar away on Christmas Day.

BTW, this is the Men’s Calendar, i.e. the one with all the hunky male firefighters on it *fans herself wildly*

If you’d like the chance to win this calendar, please head on over to my Facebook author page and leave a comment.

(Please note that in order to leave a comment on a Facebook page you have to “like” the page. Sucks, I know, but them’s the rules.)

For a sneak peek at what could be gracing your wall in the near future, here’s the link to the NZ Firefighters Calendar website where you can check out the various slideshows.

I’ll draw one commenter at random on Christmas day and DM the winner. International entries welcome.

Merry Christmas!

Maree

That said, at least I understand a little of why we’ve had such a mess inflicted upon us, courtesy of this neat little book:

Spell Bound; The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling by James Essinger.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem inclined to read it and become enlightened (and perhaps save his long-suffering mother another diatribe about the illogicality and plain stupidity of English spelling.)

So if you’re foaming at the mouth trying to get your youngster to understand there’s a perfectly valid reason why ”cough” doesn’t rhyme with “dough”, and why we don’t spell words the way they sound, then this little gem of a book might be for you.

BUT, if your kid is whining in your ear about the spelling list he has to learn for the Spell-a-thon, and you don’t feel like forking out NZ$30 and wading through 300 odd pages of lively explanation that ranges from “the sophisticated writing systems of the ancient Sumerians through to the tongue twisters of Middle English, the popular National Spelling Bee, and the mobile phone text-messaging of today” to give him or her an explanation that will satisfy them, then this 10-minute-long YouTube gem from The Open University could be a better option.

If nothing else, it’s an entertaining and educational ten minutes–and it doesn’t get much better than that.

Enjoy!

I haven’t posted anything purely for the fun of it for a while.

So….

Check out these wild shoes by Israeli shoe designer Kobi Levi — as Carrie would probably say, “They’re fabulous!”

Just click on the thumbnail to enlarge. (And thanks to my mate Tracy for emailing these to me.)

:-)

M

Edited to add: OMG, why did I not see that pink heel was meant to represent bubblegum sticking to the sole of a shoe before??? *face palm* Obviously I need to rename that photo ;-)

I’ve finally gotten around to unpacking after our annual RWNZ conference–only because I need some of  the stuff still in my suitcase *wry grin*. But to my horror, I couldn’t find my camera. Oh noes! What have I done with it?

Turned out it was stuffed in the bottom of my handbag, along with a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t need to be in there. Little wonder the darn bag felt so heavy when I was out and about running errands yesterday. Then, another moment of panic when I took a squiz at the vids of Nic Harrison’s sword-fighting workshop that I KNEW I’d taken, and there was only one video recorded? Nooooo! How can that be???

Deep breath. Mentally walk through that Friday afternoon… and…

Oh yeah. My camera ran out of batteries, so I used my iPhone to take photos and vids. Duh. (And thank God for the iPhone!)

Anyway, I was sooo looking forward to Nic’s Live By The Sword workshop, and it didn’t disappoint! Even better, Nic and his cohorts (Shay, Silver & Robbo) very kindly gave me permission to post my photos and videos here on my website (and possibly YouTube if I can figure out how to do that), so y’all can get a taste of what you missed out on.

First up, some photos. But before I try to remember how’n the heck I insert a photo gallery, I think one photo deserves a place all of its own.

Here we have Silver, in full period regalia–right down to authentically crafted chain-mail that weighs around 15kg (if I recall correctly).

Gotta love the slightly less authentic accessory–time travel, anyone? *VBG*

Next up are the still shots, then I’ll post the action vids.

Okay, I think that worked but typically, won’t know until I publish the post. *mutters something naughty beneath her breath* And remember, they’re thumbnails, so I haven’t actually cut off anyone’s head! Just click on the thumbnail for the full shot.

Now for the reeeally fun stuff — the action videos. OMG, they were awesome! I was sitting right up the front and captured some amazing action. I’ve just spent an entire morning reviewing my notes and watching these vids. If I ever decide to write in a sword-fighting scene, you can be sure I’ll be begging these guys to check it for authenticity!

And…. wouldn’t you know it? The vids all  exceed the maximum file size for the site. AAAAARGH!

Looks like I’ll be exploring how to set up a YouTube account and posting links to them instead.

I’ll er, keep you posted!

M

(Update: see next post for YouTube vids of Nic’s “Live by the Sword” workshop)

Had a bit of fun with my fortnightly Writers Gone Wild post today. (Actually, it was yesterday NZ time. But I’m not even going there until I get some more coffee in my system. US timezones do my head in.)

And here’s a question for you:

What do these things all have in common:

1) Pink hair

2) Eye-glasses with pointy rims & fake diamonds

3) Yoga pants, sweats or pjs

4) Bunny slippers (The bunnies have fangs, BTW.)

5) Pet snakes

6) Cocktails, tea, or coffee

7) Hawt half-naked himbos

8) A ton of chocolate

Curious?

Of course you are! So hop on over to Writers Gone Wild and check out my take on that fantastical creature I’ve christened The Ultimate Romance Author. BTW, did I mention there were photos?

:-)

M

Thank you Jenna!

But, as with any unexpected windfall, there are rules:

1. Thank and Link To the Person who Nominated You. ~ Done and dusted
2. Share Seven Random Facts About Yourself. ~ Uh oh. Do I have to???
3. Pass the Award on to 10 deserving blog buddies. ~ Mmmm. Let me think of some suitable victims–I mean, friends with really great blogs!
4. Contact those buddies to let them know.  ~ Ditto above…

Okay, on to the random stuff.

Seven Random Facts About Me:

1. My worst habit is working at the computer in my pjs… and only getting showered and changed until a few minutes before the kids come home from school.
2. I have the self-esteem of a flea. If you’ve met me in person and you find that hard to believe, let me say I’m just very very good at pretending. I do write fiction after all.
3. I love the intimacy of Ceroc partner dancing. And I hate it when guys, er, get the wrong idea. Dudes, that wedding ring I wear isn’t just an ornament, yanno?
4. The best thing about being an author is the excuse to research my craft. And for those of you with minds in the gutter, that means reading. (Not practicing certain things that shall remain nameless on my DH. Okay? Good. Just so’s we’re clear.)
5. My favorite color is purple.
6. My favorite food is dark chocolate–no surprises there.
7. I’ve started collecting those flashing-light cocktail glasses from my local Denny’s. Three down….

And now to the victims… I mean, the lucky winners of The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award!

1. Kylie Griffin
2. Eleni Konstantine
3. Anne Kane
4. Jennie Brumley
5. Rowena May O’Sullivan
6. Gracie O’Neil ~ Romance She Wrote
7. Helene Young
8. Mel Teshco
9. Lily Cain
10. Paula Roe

M

We’ve never done the big expensive present thing in our household for Mothers’ Day or Fathers’ Day. We’ve always encouraged the kids to make a card… and try to be nice to each other for the day (or at least a few hours, LOL.) As they’ve grown older, we’ve hinted that breakfast in bed is a pretty good way of thanking us for everything that parents do for their kids. And now, they’re old enough to make coffee… and even carry a tray into our bedroom without spilling everything — oh happy joy!

So this morning, imagine my delight when DS brought me apple juice, DD brought me toaster-waffles with maple syrup, cream, and bananas she’d sliced into heart-shapes, and then DS finished up with plunger coffee. Oh yeah. The Best Breakfast Evah!

Alas, now it’s back to real life. AKA washing (I have to keep an eye on the cycle because the damn machine is playing up), monitoring a TradeMe auction to sell son’s bike that’s finishing up in about an hour (what was I thinking???) , editing my manuscript (nearly there and then it’s on to the dreaded synopsis), and getting ready to trek out to my mum’s because today is her birthday as well as Mothers’ Day.

Still, breakfast in bed was lovely while it lasted. And it’s not raining or blowing a freaking gale, so that’s a definite plus.

Wonder what DD will come up with for Fathers’ Day breakfast? I’ll keep you posted on that one.

So Happy Mothers’ Day, ladies, and however you celebrate it, I hope yours starts off as wonderfully as mine!

:-)

M