Libby Lu's

My daughter, Alexis, just had her 6th birthday this past Saturday. I took her and her cousin, Katie, to Libby Lu's for make-overs. I never even knew this type of store existed until running across it in the mall. It caters to young girls and is absolutely amazing!! For anyone who has a young daughter, this is a perfect treat for them!

They changed into DIVA outfits, then had their hair done up in Celebrity DJ styles - (you can choose one style out of 5 different ones) - got their nails and make-up done, then even did a dance at the front of the store with the girls who work there. They also made their own body spray and face mask stuff - then got a large bag that they stuffed with goodies like make-up, jewelry, and other stuff.

It was a wonderful visit and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

CNYRW X-mas Party

Our local RWA chapter, Central NY Romance Writers, had our December meeting this past Saturday - which consisted of our annual Christmas party. This was my 2nd party with this group and once again, it was a blast. We have a wonderful group of men and women who are extremely friendly and fun. Christmas carols were sung, gifts exchanged, and our hilarious Rose Queens did a wonderful job at the Rose Ceremony this year!

(For those of you who don't know what that is - as writers we keep a year long tally of all of our writing accomplishments, and depending on what those were, we get a specific color "rose" for each accomplishment. The "roses" are tallied and awards are given out.)

And for the 2nd year in a row - I have received the "Rose Cup" Award for the one with the least amount of roses. Here's a pic of my award:

Isn't it just lovely? Can you tell what it is? Hint: the girls got it from a nurse. I laughed so hard when they whipped this little baby out as my award! Gotta love Kari and Barb for this one!!

But on a more serious note, when I got home and was looking at this little cup, it made me realize exactly how little I've accomplished as a writer this past year. I received the same award last year - and that was fine as I'd only just started with my writing career in October 2006. But now after having a full year go by, I really haven't done much. I haven't even finished a full ms yet and that depresses me. I won't beat myself up on this, I know most writers spend years working before they are published, so I don't expect to be an overnight success. I know I have much to learn and probably more rejections to face along the way. My main hurdle to get over is time - I've got to get in more time to write and get the writing done. It's very hard with the full time job and my responsibilities towards my family, but I've got to get it done.

So, I'm going to hang my rose cup at my desk where I can look at it everyday, and by golly! I'm going to get writing!!

Merry Christmas!

'Tis the Season!

The time has come. Christmas quickly approaches and along with that, all the joys and beauty of the season.
I love this time of year. It is absolutely my favorite. From the day before Thanksgiving until that wonderful, happy morning on Christmas, there is a huge smile on my face (except when I'm at the day job, of course! LOL!) and songs singing through my spirit. Christmas is a time for joy amongst all people, but also a reflection of the spirit within yourself. Time to spend with friends and family, exchanging not only gifts but bonds of love that will last a whole lifetime.
My joy at this time of year mainly stems from the happiness that lights my children's faces whenever they see colored lights stringing from neighbor houses, or blown up X-mas decorations sitting outside on lawns - and the best time: Christmas morning when they discover all the wonderful presents Santa and Mom & Dad have given them. I cherish this time of year and try to capture as much of it as possible on camera, so that we will never forget the happiness we experienced together.
I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. Lift your spirit and be happy. Have a very Merry Christmas!!
Shannon

Tarot Reading

We had a chapter meeting on Saturday - our RWA writer's chapter CNYRW - and two of our wonderful ladies gave a lesson on using tarot to help our writing / characters. It was extremely fascinating. I've never personnally done tarot before - I'm not against it, just never tried before - but after learning more about it, I am definitely interested.
After the lesson, the ladies asked anyone if they wanted a reading and I volunteered for one. She told me to think of my question in my head - not to say it out loud - and focus on that question as I shuffled the cards. I had 3 cards "jump out" as I shuffled - they fell out as I was shuffling - I'll explain more about that in a moment. Once I was done, I handed them back to her and the only question she asked me was if the question I had thought of was related to my writing or to my life. I answered my life - the question I had thought of in my head was "What should I do about my day job so that I can be happy?"
The reading was amazing - the first card is the "present card", the one about you. Well my card was "STRESS". Hmmm, that definately fit me to a T. And the explanation regarding the card that my reader gave me was right on the money with my present situation.
I really wish I could have had a tape recorder, or wrote everything down - but basically the cards read so much about myself and my reader gave me so much insight that I was astonished. I know that I need to be myself, need to focus on my creativity so that I can reach higher. The message really spoke to me about my unhappiness with my current job and that in order to reach the light, there will be sorrow and change, but with that comes something better. There's so much more that was said, but I won't boggle you down with details - my reading was amazing and I encourage anyone who hasn't tried it to do so.

Phantom of the Opera

Ever since this production began playing in Toronto, it has been one of my biggest desires to see it. One of the "must-do" things on my list in life to accomplish - and I was finally able to check it off the list on Saturday! And I was not disappointed in the least - the show was AMAZING!!

The music was soul-wrenching. The characters and singing were brilliant and beautiful. The cosmetics of each scene were superb and each costume exquisitely designed.

I went with my grandmother and aunt, and about 60 other 70-year old people, (it was a senior citizens trip that our local VFW hosts). We sat up in the nose bleed seats, but in the Crouse-Hinds Theater, it doesn't matter where you sit. The theater is situated so that everyone can see the stage perfectly. I cannot stress how wonderful this show was and how everyone should experience this. The play really filters through to your soul as you are watching it.

The pictures I have posted are not of the cast of the play I saw - but pictures that are free on the Phantom of the Opera website. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures during the show. But the costumes are identical.

So take it from me, you have to see this play. It will touch your heart.

MEDIEVAL TIMES - woah baby!!

OK - now for the moment you've all been waiting for! (well, at least it makes me drool.) Our trip to Dallas, TX could not have been complete without a visit to the Medieval Times Restaurant:

This place was absolutely amazing - so realistic in every way.

Here's me and Holly - who I just know will probably KILL me for posting this - but I just have to share!! She's my buddy and it's not very often I get pics with her & I together:

Here's Holly, myself, and our friend and fellow Celtic Heart Romance Writer, Corrina (plus she's the president of that online group and tons of fun to hang out with!):

This is the entrance to the Torture Chamber and the dude that was guarding it - (not one of the Hot knights so don't start calling me a liar yet!)




The Torture Chamber was pretty intense - I still don't know if half of the stuff that was in there was real or not! There was this one really ugly device, that for some reason I didn't get a pic of, but it was called the Breast Ripper. Yeah! You can just imagine what that little sucker did!! AHHHH!!

Here's a pic of the arena - very cool!

This is the place setting that we had - mind you, NO utensils! We even had to drink the soup from the bowl or dip our bread to sop it up with.
(don't mind the large blue cup on the side - that held my new favorite drink: Maiden's Kiss. Oh yummy!)

One of the guys who served us our meal and drinks. He was really nice - again, not one of the HOT knights. They're coming....patience....

Here's some pics of the show:

Oh yeah - Mr. Hot Blue Knight!!

We were seated in the Yellow Section, so we had to cheer for the Yellow Knight. This pretty white carnation was tossed into the stands and guess who caught it! Oh yep, yours truly! I was such a giddy schoolgirl that evening!

Hold onto your shorts!! Here they come!!

OK - so just look at the HEIGHT of these guys! It's amazing - they don't build 'em like that up here in NY - (sorry Jake, I love you and you're the love of my life - but damn!!) I'm 5'7" and they still tower over me!

That's it! I hope you enjoyed the post - I know I enjoyed the experience!! :)