Lots of Love

So, recently, my blog hasn't had too many lighter posts. Time for a little change. It's Valentine's Day, the day of love. (Or at least the day we're told we better spend money and let everyone know that we're loved, right?)

Well, today I thought I'd write a little love note, to some special people in my life.

First, to all the writers.
I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and partners in crime. (Candice, Kasie, Renee, Natalie, Jen, and Chantale) Writers are a quirky bunch (some a little bit more certifiably crazy than others -- sword fighting in the aisles anyone?), but hey to each their own, right? Thanks for the laughs, for protecting our "special corner" while I, ahem, you know what, basically for a fabulous weekend at LTUE. I love you girls!

THIS is SUSPENSE!!!

Oh look! More authors! More people that I am so grateful for. (Brodi Ashton, Natalie Whipple, Bree Despain, and James Dashner.) Dinner with such amazing people was just what the doc prescribed. We are all glowing because we are all so fantabulous we're practically angelic. Or else the flash went wacko on my camera. It's one or the other.

Look! MORE awesome authors! (Cute preggo Natalie and Renee) I am so blessed with great, supportive friends. Even when others go totally wackadoodle on me and try to cause me stress, all these lovely ladies here and previously pictured and even those who aren't pictured in this post help keep me laughing and sane. Oh, and the boys, too. Like Dashner. There is just a plethora of female authors in the YA world.

LOOK EVEN MORE AWESOME AUTHORS! (Are you seeing a trend?) I love all of you. And I love yummy food. This was a good night. :-)

And all the authors who I don't know, but whose books inspire, uplift, and transport me to your worlds of intrigue, danger, and romance--I love you, too. But not in a scary, stalker kind of way. Just an "I hope I can be like you some day. And maybe meet you, too" kind of way.

I also love my family. I am so blessed to have three of the (in my completely unbiased opinion) best kids in the whole world. SHH and I heart attacked the boys' door this morning (and surprised them with some new shoes for when spring gets here).

The cute Valentine's Day "Card" we made the grandparents. Yep, I refuse to support Hallmark this year. We're all about the cheesy homemade goodness. I have the best parents. Love their guts.

And my four little sisters -- I don't have any giant cards for you with my kids feet plastered on them, but I do love you all VERY much. My first and most special besties. :-)

And of course the rest of my family and my other amazing friends, who are some of the coolest people and most wonderful friends on this earth. MWUAH!

Aw, tenderness, right? You know I love ya SHH. My friends are the wind that help me to fly, but you are the one who builds (and constantly repairs) my wings.

Had enough mushy-mush? Well, it's not over yet! I love all of you, too! This blogging world is amazing. I have met so many amazing people through my blogging adventures and I am so grateful for all of you--your support, every comment you leave (I honestly cherish them all), and just how rockin' you all are. BIG AWKWARD ONLINE HUGS TO EVERYONE!

Who do you love today?

Falling in love...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Any romantic plans for today/tonight?

I am very lucky to have an amazing hubby to celebrate V-day with, and two adorable little boys. We're going to have our "official" ultrasound this morning to see our baby girl again. Very exciting! I am in love with all of them--all the people I am lucky enough to call my family. We're just planning on having a family dinner, and celebrating together at home. Pretty low key, but hopefully will be fun.

I'm also in love with my new WIP. I got this idea the end of last week, and started writing. I have one document full of notes about the plot and characters, and the actual document, which is already 6,000+ words. (In less than five hours total of writing--despite my excitement level, I had to curtail my writing time over the weekend. SHH got home from Mexico Saturday morning, and I figured it wouldn't be too nice to say "Welcome home! See ya, I'm going to go write!") But even with the lack of writing time, I'm pleased with how much I got done. Not too shabby! It's been a long time since I've been able to feel this excited about my writing, or that I've written something new this fast. Yes, I usually do write quickly, but recently my self-doubt has been a hindrance. Words have been painfully slow, plots hard to decipher, characters kept slipping through my fingers. This new WIP has been flying out, and I LOVE it. I am definitely in the infatuation stage. I'm hoping it lasts long enough to bust out a first draft. Then we can move on to the "figuring out what your flaws are" stage, where I can hopefully continue to cultivate my love for this project, despite it's inevitable problems.

Who knew the stages of writing/revising could be so applicable to real relationships? Ooh, except for this stage: the "I've figured out what your flaws/trouble-spots are and now... I'm going to fix them all" stage. In real life, you love someone in spite of their flaws (or maybe because of them). In writing--you find the flaws and you grind them out. You whip your WIP into shape, and make it perfect. Or as close as possible, anyway. But for now, I'm just focusing on having fun and enjoying being in love.

Lots of love for me to be happy about today. How about you?