So, how was your weekend?

Mine was quite nice. Very nice.

On Saturday we went into the city to see Curtains a new musical comedy starring Niles from Frasier (David Hyde Pierce). It was very good. Kinda reminded me of The Producers (but better I thought).

We also explored more of the city. It was fun having it just be me and the hubby so we didn’t have to do the usual touristy stuff we do when we go with other people. We found lots of cool new places to eat (though didn’t eat at any of them) and walked by a pretty cool neighborhood park in Hell’s Kitchen (the park was packed, too ’cause it was a beautiful day).

Sunday we slept in and then went to Target to run some errands. I got a new coffee maker for $5. Cheap yes, but I have a feeling my coffee consumption is going to skyrocket (I’m going from a 4 cup one to a 12 cup one).

Other than that, we relaxed. We played Bocce (the Easter bunny brought it) and laid outside on a blanket. It was perfect weather, a bit cloudy and cool, but I’d rather that then getting sunburned.

I also flipped my calendar a day early and May looks nice and easy compared to April. In fact, I’m already reveling in all the free time I have (and by free time I mean writing time since I have two deadlines at the end of the month).

What are you up to?

Ok, I’m going to admit something totally embarassing.

I’m bringing this up because last night the hubby went out to the movies (I’ve blogged about my dislike of going to the movies before) and I was going to stay home and watch my own movie (either on TV or DVD).

OK, the sad thing is that I was about to get out the DVD for this embarassing secret movie but instead I heppened to find it on TV.

What is my humiliating secret?

I’m almost 30 years old and I love High School Musical.

It almost hurts just to type it there. I totally realize these kids are half my age (if that) and it’s not like I’m crushing on them or anything - that would just be gross. But I totally can see why thirtheen year old girls everywhere love it!

OK, your turn, time to admit something embarassing about yourself. Don’t make me be the only one.

I can’t use the pretty Thursday Thirteen template with this post ’cause the pictures make it go all funky. I’d say they’re my favorite pictures, but really, they’re my favorite pictures that I don’t have to open Ofoto to get. The pictures are in no particular order but all of them are from the last 2 years or so:

1. A tiger from the National Zoo in Washington DC

2. Orangutan, also from the National Zoo

3. Cherry blossoms in DC

4. Frog (A Mexican Dumpy Frog) at the National Aquarium in Baltimore

5. NASCAR (yeah, go ahead, call me a loser, it’s still a cool picture) race from Dover 2 years ago.

6. Nate the snake (he belongs to my SIL’s father)

7. Cool aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Virginia

8. Relaxing in a hammock in Hawaii

9. Where the lava meets the water in Hawaii

10. Cool lava rocks (also Hawaii)

11. Beach chairs (also my current desktop photo) in the Bahamas

12. “Baby” Manta ray in the Bahamas (sorry about the flash)

13. Montauk Point lighthouse

First, I think I decided on my business card. I decided to go the super fun way. And while it won’t match my website at all, I think it’s memorable enough that it won’t matter.

Though I do love Kaitlin’s idea of a man/woman shaped business card. But I’m going the cheapy way.

Second, I’m not one hundred percent sure that my email is working. My computer says it is, but my email has dropped off from getting probably close to 100 a day to about 20. Methinks something might be wrong.

Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

The super awesome summer weather we’ve been having is supposed to turn back into spring this week. But I’m not complaining. I’ve got to buckle down and get lots of writing done!

And hopefully spring weather will make my rhodedendrons bloom. I am SO not a plant person but for some reason I’ve become obsessed with my rhodedendrons. The blooms have been there for probably more han a month. But they’ve also been encased in ice several times.

My neighborhood has forsythia out the wazoo though!!

And I can tell it’s spring from the constant traffic of birds (robins, big blue birds and a very loud cardinal), bunnies and squirrells outside of my window. I swear I’m afraid to leave doors open too long for fear one of the bunnies is going to hop right in the house, that’s how close they get!

On the other hand, my eyes have been burning for a week straight and my sinuses are clogged with spring time pollen. I think if maybe I didn’t have allergies spring might be my favorite season. But I do, so it sucks.

But really, I need to stop obsessing about the wildlife in my yard and get to writing!!

Write, write, write!

What do you like most about spring?

Yesterday actually ended up being a really nice day.

I got lots of stuff done (though I don’t ever expect to be completely caught up on anything). The hubster came home at lunch time and spent the rest of the day kind of whiney, but he mostly entertained himself or slept (’cause you know how bad a cold can be - it could kill ya!).

Since it was a beautiful day I took my laptop outside for a bit and got some writing done. I think it was actually good, too! But then it got windy and I came back inside. I still got some more stuff done though which is a good thing.

And last night (finally to the point of the post) I started thinking about business cards.

I most definitely need new ones. I made my own two years ago and while they looked okay at the time, they haven’t really held up well. I did some searching both at VistaPrint and 123Print and found several card templates that I like.

See, I think I’ll probably re-do my website in the upcoming little bit, but I’m not sure 1, when and 2, what I’ll do. It may be as simple as getting a new header (I’m not so sure about my girly anymore). Then again, I might decide to re-do the entire thing if I come up with a new header design that I really like but doesn’t match the current color scheme. (I think I’m pretty set with how things work, I’m mostly talking about the look).

I just don’t know.

If I was sure I’d be keeping this website I’d get business cards to match, but since I probably won’t be, that leaves my business card options open.

Of course, I could get cards that would match the new theme I’m thinking of (but then what if I decide I hate it). Or I could get something totally random but may make people remember me.

I mean, really, what’s the purpose of business cards anyway?

And of course, I can’t remember what to put on the cards. All I can come up with is name, web addy, email addy and…that’s it. (That also equals writing Emma Sinclair a whole lotta times - at one point I had my blog addy on there too, but it just seemed to be too much Emma Sinclair-ing going on).

I don’t want to put my actual releases, but I guess I could put “Books Available From…”

What do you think about business cards? Do you have ‘em? What do they look like? What should mine look like?

So after our visitors last week I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things.

We had a great time with our visitirs, though remind me to catch up on a few years sleep before I ever decide to have a baby. I don’t know how something that sleeps, eats and poops can make you that tired!

Anyway, we took them to the airport on Saturday afternoon, came home and putzed around a bit until I fell asleep on the couch. Then, on Sunday morning, the hubster and I both woke up sick.

Between the two of us, we’ve got a really bad case of the flu, luckily (knock on wood) neither one of us is quite so bad on our own (well, except to hear him you’d think he was dying). He’s god a cold (a quite deadly one I assure you), I’ve got the sore throat, headache, icky tummy, feverish feeling.

But at least the weather is beautiful. They’re calling for 80 degrees today!!

But I’ll spend it inside trying to catch up on everything and maybe (hopefully) even writing a little bit.

How was your weekend?

Stole this from Kaitlyn/Bridget. I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean but I figured it was a good way to kill time and blog space while I’m not around.

The ones I’ve read are bolded…

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown) - Read doesn’t necessarily mean liked.
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) - I actually have a first edition copy of Gone with the Wind that was my Nana’s. It’s not in great shape anymore, but I’ve read it a few times.
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) - I think I maybe finally gave up half way through this one. I just couldn’t take any more!!
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) - Thought this one was better than DiVinci code, but that’s not saying much considering they’re basically the exact same book.
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) - Does it still count if I read it as the Sorcerer’s Stone?
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18 The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling) - Or as I refer to it, Azkabob.
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) - This is perhaps the most forgettable book I’ve ever read. I’ve actually read it numerous times because I’ve forgotten that I’ve read it before.
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) - Ouch, but yes I’ve read it.
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) - I’m not actually sure I ever actually finished it.
44.The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible - Cover to cover - including all the begats.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) - This is one of the hubsters favorites.
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58.The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96.The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford) - I have a biography of Barbara Taylord Bradford though and this is one I’ve wanted to read.
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

41. Hmm, not bad. There are probably a good 10 on there that I refuse to read - anything that’s been turned into a lame ass movie (and no, I haven’t seen the movies either and remember, my definition of “lame ass” and yours may differ). And another pretty big handful that I own in my house (between the hubster and library booksales) but haven’t read.

How’d you do? Any books that you’re dying to read or refuse to read on this list?

I won’t really be around for the next few days.

My friend from high school is coming to visit with her almost seven month old baby!! Yay!! I’m so excited!

We’re going to trek into the city one day and go to the Empire State building. She says that’s the one thing she wants to do but she doesn’t know why, but it’s totally ’cause she loves Sleepless in Seattle.

Other than that I’m not really sure what we’ll be doing except playing with the baby!!

Anyway, I have posts set up to post the next few days even if I’m not around so I’ll hope you’ll come visit anyway (I find my Thursday Thirteen partiuclarly amusing, but I may be the only one).

Have a great rest of your week and weekend!!

So, the other day Sela asked on her blog - When did you really become a writer?

Not when did you start writing, but when did you become a writer.

I didn’t answer the question because, honestly, some days I still don’t feel like a writer, regardless of those 13 books over on the sidebar.

I started wondering if the reason I don’t feel like I may be a real writer is that I don’t treat it like a real job.

But, the thing that I like the most about being a real writer is that I don’t have to treat it like a real job. I can make random trips to Target in the middle of the day. I can work in my jammies. I can go for a week without leaving the house or spend a few hours a the mall, whatever floats my boat, as long as the writing gets done.

Which, luckily, it seems to.

Maybe it’s because I enjoy it so much (sure, it sucks sometimes, but I still love it) that it doesn’t feel like a real job which means I don’t feel like a “real” writer.

I don’t know.

I do know that occasionally I wonder what it would be like to have a real 9-5 job again, or maybe even a part time job somewhere at the mall. And then I realize that nope, I couldn’t do those jobs in my jammies, and I’d have to deal with people, and there’s lots of other crappy stuff I would have to deal with.

And I wouldn’t want any other job now, even if sometimes I feel like I’m a big faker and not a real writer.

What do you think is the greatest thing about being a writer?