The Beacon: A journal

Introducing Xander

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:57:00 +0000

Alexander "Xander" James, was born Aug. 8 at 3:28 a.m. He weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.

It's been a busy five weeks since he was born, but everyone is happy and healthy and trying to get enough sleep.

More to come soon. To see more photos, check out my Flickr album from the first week.

Put the fire department on standby, I'm 40!

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:18:00 +0000

Sometimes life gets so busy, it's hard to keep up. There have been so many things I want to blog about, but haven't had the time -- Loki's double ACL surgeries and recovery, Dave breaking his hand while snowboarding, pregnancy updates, getting the house ready for little "Oliver" (that's his public code name right now), and a quick trip to London to see some good friends married.

Well, I might yet go back and update about those things, but right now I wanted to pause and wish myself a belated happy 40th birthday. Yes, I crossed that threshold on Wednesday and turned 40.

The trip to London last weekend was the beginning of my celebration. That was how I'd dreamed of celebrating turning 40 long before I became pregnant. I'd thought that option was out of the cards, though, until Marc and Lesley choose that weekend to get married. Suddenly, a 40th birthday in London was back on the table! (Although, I was technically back home in Chicago by the time my official birthday rolled around.)

Marc and Lesley were so sweet and even arranged for a birthday cake in the middle of their wedding day. It was perfect -- on their rooftop with views of Southwark (up until 6 years ago we could see Tower Bridge from their rooftop, now we had to be content looking at the surrounding hotels that towered over us.) Marc's Mum even baked and decorated a cake for me -- gorgeously done, too.

When we got home from London on Monday evening, I was treated to my second birthday cake. Jaye had been staying at the house to watch Loki and Thor while we were gone, so she'd left a small little cake on the table, complete with 40 candles ready to go. It was difficult, but I manged to leave the cake unmolested until Wednesday night.

Then on Wednesday, Dave lit all 40 candles for me, which I quickly managed to blow out, but not before setting off the smoke alarm. No joke.

My birthday celebration continues this weekend when we go out with friends for dinner. Nothing like having a whole week of celebrations!

So, do I have any profound thoughts on turning 40? Not really. Except to say that 40 seems to be one of those landmarks intended to make you realize that you really are getting older. But, the good news is that being almost 6 months pregnant while turning 40 is a great antidote to that "I'm getting old" feeling. See, it's all part of my scheme to stay eternally young, especially since in 20-some years we'll get to go right from paying for college to retirement, with nary a pause in between.

Kiss the Moose!

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:54:00 +0000

We were on vacation in Park City, Utah, last week and found this huge moose outside a store on Main Street.

A loose re-enactment of how this photo came about.

Me: Dave, pose with the moose so I can take a photo.

Dave: No.

Me: Come on, kiss the moose.

Dave: No.

Me: Those big red lips are begging to be kissed.

Dave: No.

Random passer-by: Kiss the Moose!

Everyone: *laughter*

Me: At least stand near the moose.

Dave: If I must...

Me: Get a little closer.

Dave: *makes exasperated growling noise*, *puts on smile*, *graciously poses with moose*

Me: Thanks, Honey. I love you!

The Comet, my superhero alterego

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Sure, the comic book cover calls me The Meaty Masked Lash, but that's a production error. It should really read "The Comet", wielding her tail of vengeance (and looking far skinnier than I am at the moment).

Make your own superhero at The Hero Factory. If you post it somewhere, leave me a link in the comments. I'd love to see your superhero.

Karaoke Madness, 2009 edition

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:33:00 +0000

My living room at 4:45 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 8: Two party-goers are about to leave, one has stumbled down from the guest bedroom where she was napping, and eight are still singing into the microphones, voices shot.

I'm one of those eight people. At times my eyes drift off into a thousand-yard stare, but I'm still going. Miraculously. I'm 12-weeks pregnant at this time and haven't been able to stay up past 10 p.m. on most nights, but no one there except me and my husband know this little secret yet.

Everyone is singing along to Africa by Toto. Why? I don't know. I mean it's Toto. Sure, the theme of the party is Bad '70s Karaoke, but I'm pretty sure Toto isn't '70s. Oh well, I'm too tired to care. We all keep singing. It's what we've been doing for the past eight hours or so. We've forgotten how to stop.

5 a.m.: Two more people have left. We're down to seven total. Everyone quit drinking hours ago. Empty wine glasses and water bottles litter the room. The stereo is blaring American Pie, which is our official last song of the evening. We always end on American Pie.

Midway through the song, we see car lights on the street. Are the police issuing parking tickets? Not sure.

Near the end of the song, a big white light shines through the drapes of our front window, illuminating the room. Yep. I'm pretty sure that's the police.

I walk over and turn the volume way down. We finish singing. The police go away. They didn't even ring the doorbell. Turning down the volume must have been enough. I don't even think the neighbors called to complain. Must have been a routine patrol.

Post-party after 5 a.m.: The clean-up crew kicks into action. Recyclables are collected. Glassware is carried into the kitchen. Food is put away.

Three people head out to find $5 parking tickets on their cars. (Oh, those wacky suburbs and their middle-of-the-night, on-street parking laws!) The remainder of us stumble up to our respective beds and guest beds.

The party is declared a success.

So what is this karaoke madness?

It's a party we've thrown three years in a row now. We set up a computer with iTunes and use a shareware program called MiniLyrics that will scroll the song lyrics on the computer. We borrow a mixing board, microphones and speakers from our friend Rod, and go crazy with the singing. Really crazy.

Oh, the evening starts out orderly enough. The hosts and the brave guests start with some songs we've prepared. The more reserved quickly discover they can act as backup singers. By the time the night is through, just about everyone has ventured onto the stage in some way, shape or form. It's silliness. Some people choose to sing pure karaoke, most choose to sing along to the popular version of a song, two people have even brought instruments and truly serenaded the group.

Some people have a lot of fun because they love performing and watching the performances. Some people have fun because the atmosphere is an automatic ice-breaker -- you don't have to work hard to make conversation.

My favorite memories of the night?

All the fun costumes people showed up wearing. Mark, Mike, Brian and Angie in some vintage thrift-store finds, Kelly and Gene in their love-child hippie ware, Michelle in her glittery hat, Jules in her Ring of Fire boots, JC in her Mary Tyler Moore outfit and updo, Hilly in his pirate shirt and wig, Dave in his cowboy hat and John Denver shirt. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.

There was the number where Dave kept putting different hats on Mario while he sang. It was totally spontaneous, and Mario kept soldiering through the song, being a good sport about the silliness.

Dave's outrage when Hilly's Superstitious performance was rated the best of the night (even though he'd won the title for the same song last year, and Superstitious didn't even fit the '70s theme.)

Mark pulling out his flute to play along to Jethro Tull (really late in the night).

The fact that just about every girl managed to talk Mark into singing a duet.

The dogs wanting to be underfoot all the time. Thor eventually finding a hiding spot under the DJ table so he could be near me.

The three 28-year-olds working so hard to pull us out of our 70s mellow-song rut and livening things up with some Baby Got Back and Fresh Prince.

Hilly and Paul dancing with anyone and everyone.

Jaye taking video from her comfy spot on the wing-back chair in the bar, scolding anyone who stepped in front of her.

Jaye and Mario trying to make Kyle jealous by posing for photos on the wing-back chair.

Dave talking wrong lyrics into my ear as I'm trying to sing You're My Best Friend.

That's what comes to mind in the five minutes I took to think it over. I'm sure I'm missing other fun moments. (If you were at the party, feel free to remind me of other moments in the blog comments.)

Need photographic and video evidence?

Check out the 176 photos and 20 videos we uploaded to Flickr. Evidence is collected from cameras belonging to Kelly, the Hillys, Mike and me (thanks Jules and eveyone else who picked up one of these cameras and snapped off some photos). Also thanks to Dave and Jaye for the video.

What did we sing for all those many hours?

Here's the official list as transcribed from our notes.

Haley & Jaye, Yesterday's Once More (Carpenters)
Dave & Haley, Billy Don't Be a Hero (PaperLace)
Mark, Band on the Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)
Mike, Jackie Blue (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)
Kelly, I Feel the Earth Move (Carol King)
Tom, You Take My Breath Away (Rex Smith?)
Brian & Michelle, Whenever I Call You Friend (Loggins & Nicks)
Mario, You May Be Right (Billy Joel)
Jennifer, You're So Vain (Carly Simon)
Stacy, Coin-Operated Boy
Gene & Kelly, Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Keiki Dee)
Mike, What's So 'Bout Peace, Love And Understanding (Elvis Costello)
Hilly & Paul, Wildfire (Mike Murphy)
Dave, Mandy (Barry Manilow)
Michelle, Get Right Back to Where We Started From (Maxine Nightengale)
Amber, Cecilia (Simon & Garfunkle)
Joanne, Beautiful (Christina Aigulara)
Jennifer & Mark, Summer Lovin' (John Travolta & Olivia Newton John)
Hilly, Rock With You (Michael Jackson)
Mario, Lola Live (The Kinks)
Mike & Kelly, Do That To Me One More Time (Captain & Tenille)
Amber, This is How we Do It (Montel Jordan)
Jennifer & Jaye, Delta Dawn (Helen Reddy)
Haley, Rock the Boat (The Hues Corporation)
Stan, Locomotion (Grand Funk)
Dave, Jaye, Mark & Haley, The Rose (Bette Midler)
Amber, Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)
Gene, I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren)
Rod & Tesha, You Dropped a Bomb on Me (The Gap Band)
Mark, After the Loving (Engleburt Humperdink)
Hilly, The Joker (Steve Miller Band)
Joanne, You Make Me Feel (Aretha Franklin)
Stacy, Bring Me Some Water (Melissa Ethridge)
Mike, It's Too Late (Carol King)
Kelly, You Are Everything (Stylistics)
Amber & Shannon (& April???), Fresh Prince Theme Song (Will Smith)
Mario, Me and Julio Down by the School Yard (Paul Simon)
Mark, Reminiscing (Little River Band)
Hilly & Mark, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (Leo Sayer)
Tom, Vehicle (The Ides of March)
Gene, Moondance (Van Morrison)
Rod & Tesha & Angie, Baby Got Back (Sir Mixalot)
Hilly, Superstition (Stevie Wonder) -- reprise from last year
Mike, Brother Louis (Stories?)
Haley, I Am Woman (Helen Reddy)
Dave, Little Willy (Sweet)
Joanne & Mark, You Don't Bring Me Flowers (Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand)
Mario, Hard Luck Woman (Kiss)
Angie & Tesha, Schoop (Salt N' Pepa)
Amber, I Wish (Skeelo)
Stacy, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves (Cher)
Mark, Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
Haley, You're My Best Friend (Queen)
Mike, Brandy (Looking Glass)
Mario, Weekend in New England (Barry Manilow)
Stacy, Wig, Wham, Bam (Sweet)
Angie, Come Through My Window (Melissa Ethridge)
Haley & Mark, Top of the World (Carpenters)
Mike, Kung Fu Fighting (Karl Douglas)
Dave, Leaving on a Jet Plane (John Denver)'
Paul, Wichita Lineman (Glenn Campbell)'
Mario, Radio, Radio (Elvis Costello)
Amber, The Next to Be with You (Mr. Big)
Mark, Coming to America (Neil Diamond)
The Gay Pirate Duo (Dave & Hilly), I Want to Be Your Everything (Andy Gibb)
Joanne, If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys)
Mike, Laughter in the Rain (Neil Sadaka)
Mark, Carefree Highway (Gordon Lightfoot)
Stacy & Mark, The Impression that I Get (Might Boss Tones)
Mario, Everything I Own (Bread)
Mike, Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill)
Mark, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
Stacy, Only the Lonely (The Motels)
Dave & Chris, Escape (The Pina Colada Song), (Rupert Holmes)
Mario, Burning Love (Elvis Presley)
Mike, Highway to Hell (AC/DC)
Tom, I Can't Hold Back (Survivor)
Haley & Angie, 3 a.m. (Matchbox 20)
Angie, It's in His Kiss (Cher)
Stacy, Angel from Montgomery (Bonnie Wrait)
Mark (aka Panfir) on the flute, Bouree (Jehtro Tull)
GROUP SINGALONG
Afternoon Delight
Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
Renegade (Styx)
Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees)
Paradise by the Dashboard Lights (MeatLoaf)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
This Beat Goes On/Switchin to Glide (The Kings)
Fox on the Run
Don't Stop Believin'
Carry on Wayward Son (Kansas)
Beth (Kiss)
Turning Japanese
Africa (Toto)
I've Done Everything for You
Love is Alright Tonite
American Pie (Don McLean)

Dear Internet, I've been keeping a secret...

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:52:00 +0000

You see, dear Internet, I'm pregnant.

There. I've said it. I'm pregnant. 14 weeks today, to be exact. At the end of my first trimester. The baby is due Aug. 19.

Already my jeans are getting tight in the waist on me. But that's partly due to the increased eating I've been doing. I've discovered that if I keep cramming food in my mouth, then I won't get sick.

The biggest symptom has been the fatigue. I've been getting 10 hours of sleep a night, plus trying to sneak in naps. I never knew I could be so exhausted all the time. This made the cold, snowy and dark month of January particularly depressing.

So what makes a couple happily married for 14 years decide to get pregnant? Well, we had never ruled out kids, we'd just never pulled the trigger and decided to try. And with my husband's 40th birthday behind him and mine fast approaching, it seemed like we were at the now-or-never moment.

We didn't tell our friends and family that we were trying. So, when we made our rounds over the weekend to let people know, we were met with some very priceless reactions. There were even some tears. We'd good and truly convinced everyone that it was never going to happen.

Of all our friends and family, only one couple admitted to even suspecting, and that was because they'd noticed I'd stopped drinking altogether and my boobs seemed to be getting larger.

Truthfully, I haven't missed the alcohol, and I'm still in the same bra size, although now they're a lot denser and fuller.

What I have mourned, though, is having to give up restaurant Diet Coke. You can keep the canned stuff. I never did love it. But the restaurant stuff, it's pure heaven. What's the difference? The canned stuff is sweetened with aspartame, while the restaurant/fountain Diet Coke has saccharin in it. According to the books I've read, aspartame can be consumed in moderation while you're pregnant, but saccharin is right out.

Well, so that's my big announcement. I promise not to turn this into a pregnancy blog, although I'm sure pregnancy topics will come up. But first, there are some posts I've been meaning to write about my dog's bad knees and a karaoke party we had a few weeks ago. Oh, and there's our upcoming snowboarding vacation in Park City, Utah, next month, where, of course, I will not be snowboarding. Nor hot-tubbing.

Ah, the glamorous life of a 39-year-old, first-time pregnant woman. After all that excitement, I think I'm ready for another nap.

News on the writing front

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Sadly, it's not my news. Happily, it is news about some writers I know and love.

Cathie Linz

Cathie Linz in my local writers group and is one of the most nurturing and supportive writers I know. She's a big proponent of protecting the writing process.

After publishing about 50 series contemporary romance novels, she branched out into single-title contemporary romance. Smart Girls Think Twice (Berkley Sensation) is, I think, her 55th novel.

I took these photos at a signing she did a few weeks ago at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill. Despite a horribly snowy day, she had a nice turnout of people.

Linz is known for her warm humor in her stories. Oh, and she once borrowed my name for a heroine in her book The Cowboy Finds a Bride (Harlequin Duets #17), although she did modify the spelling to "Hailey Hughes". An author's prerogative. :)

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a New York Times bestseller, and it's probably only a matter of time until you see one of her books adapted to the big screen.

She's also a member of my local writers group. About 12 years ago I was lucky enough to have her read my very first draft of the first chapter of my first attempt at writing a book. She gave me incredible feedback that bolstered my confidence in my writing while still pointing out areas to work on.

Before I read her, I was a committed reader of only historical romance. Her books were the first contemporary-set romance novels I read that successfully sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. They still have that ability.

Phillips' newest book, What I Did for Love: A Novel, comes out next week in hardcover. She has a booksigning set up on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill. I really hope I can make it.

Grace d'Otare

Grace d'Otare is one of my very best friends in real life. She and I have shared rooms at conferences, critiqued together, and even decorated her Christmas tree together. Of course I'm excited to be able to share some of her latest news.

She writes erotica, and her first short story, The Queen's Tale, which was published electronically last year, will be included in a trade paperback collection of stories called Naughty Bits due to be released in March.

She also has a new short story, The Pirate's Tale, that is coming out even sooner. It's a February release from Spice Briefs that will be available for electronic download from various sites -- definitely the Harlequin website at first, but probably Amazon Kindle soon.

The Pirate's Tale is the second in the series started by The Queen's Tale and packaged under the unifying logo of "A Maeve and Devlin Story". And this time, Grace's story gets a proper beefcake cover. :) Oh, and this story is a take on the tale of Blackbeard.

Rumor has it that Grace has sold a third short story, The Dancing Girl's Tale, I believe it's called. ~~There is no date yet for its publication.~~ Publication has been set for November.

Destiny d'Otare

Destiny d'Otare is also one of my very best friends in real life, and I am quite excited to report that she has also sold a short erotic story to Spice Briefs. Her story is called Knightley's Tale and is part of the "A Maeve and Devlin Story" series started by Grace d'Otare.

Destiny's story is an erotic take on Jane Austen's Emma. ~~It does not yet have a publication date so, unfortunately, I can't tell you anything more about it.~~ Late-breaking word is that it has a March 2010 publication date.

Benign and doing fine

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:51:00 +0000

It was a nerve-wracking week at my house last week as we worried about the sudden appearance of a growth over Loki's eyelid.

On Christmas Day, it was just a tiny little bald spot. A week later, New Year's Day, it was a noticeable lump, and two days later it was turning red and ugly. The vet said it could either be a harmless histiocytoma or a mast cell tumor, which is cancerous, but she couldn't tell without sticking a needle in it and taking a sample.

Because the lump was so close to Loki's eye, and Loki would barely hold still to let us look at it, let alone poke at it, the vet said she couldn't aspirate it without sedating Loki.

The plan was to treat it was with a topical ointment for a week and see if it responded, which would mean it was the harmless histiocytoma. If it didn't respond, we would remove it.

We couldn't chance it getting any bigger because if it was a mast cell tumor, we needed to be able to remove it with clean margins to make sure we got all the mast cells, and being on the eyelid, there wasn't a lot of extra tissue to work with.

We were especially worried about it being a mast cell tumor because Loki had a previous grade 2 mast cell tumor removed from her belly in late 2007.

The lump continued to get uglier throughout the week, so on Friday Loki went in to have it removed.

At the last minute, we noticed a second lump on Loki, this one on her lower lip. It was right where her canine tooth hits, which the vet said meant it could be a simple callus, but since she only had it on one side of her mouth, not both, it might be something more so she'd go ahead and remove that lump, too, during Loki's surgery.

Fortunately, Loki came through her surgery fine, with a small shaved patch over her eye and some pretty white stitches. The vet was pleased with the margins she got on both lumps, and promptly sent them off to the lab for analysis.

Loki has been good and barely notices her stitches. She hasn't had to wear her cone since the first night, and really likes to take her medicine, which we hide in a big glop of peanut butter, swallowed whole.

The vet called my husband yesterday with the lab results. The lump over the eye was indeed a histiocytoma. Good news! And the lump on her lip was a benign tumor. The vet was very pleased. I don't have any more information than that. I plan to ask more questions when we bring Loki in to get her stitches removed on Monday.

Finding a routine again

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Why is it that when I've stepped away from the blog for a little while, it always feels difficult to write that first post again?

Whatever the reason, I'm going to try to quickly jump right back in again.

Holidays were good. Lots of time spent with family and friends. Fun but exhausting. Didn't spend much time on the computer.

All I know is that if the friendly game of Texas Hold'em we played on New Year's Day is any indicator of the year ahead, it could be a good year, since I won that friendly little game.

OK. Good. That first post is out of the way. Let the blogging resume like normal. :)

Holiday Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Weather fatigue

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:08:00 +0000

I'm getting ready to leave work and start my Christmas holidays. Yay! Except I have to drive through yet another weather event. I heard a term that resonated this morning: weather fatigue.

It's winter and I live in a place known for harsh winters, but even here we get tired of having weather events on top of weather events. It's exhausting, especially when you have to worry about driving in it.

Last Tuesday it was snow. My commute home took more than 3 times what it should have taken. I was lucky to get home so quickly.

Friday morning it was freezing rain/sleet and snow. I didn't go in to work until it had mostly passed, but the roads were still bad. Almost got into an accident while going straight on the expressway. I was in the center lane, and someone merging ahead of me did a 360 that almost put him right into my path.

Saturday night the temperatures plummeted to below zero.

Sunday the wind was so strong, we had wind chill of about -30 degrees Fahrenheit. My shower and closet are on interior walls, but they back up to attic space. Well, my shower froze, but we got it thawed before any damage was done. Out of curiosity, I put a thermometer in my closet, and it read about 20 degrees, which is well below freezing. I think we'll be adding even more insulation to that attic soon.

Last night things finally warmed up, and that's why we're getting more snow.

Good news is that we'll probably have a white Christmas. Bad news is that there's more snow and "wintery mix" in the forecast between now and then.

The photo at the top? That was taken a few minutes ago from a window here at the office. The white background is usually a view of O'Hare airport. If you or someone you know is having trouble flying through Chicago right now, this photo would explain why they're having trouble.

Thanks for reading my little whine. I feel better for having written it. I'll post something more cheery tomorrow.

Writing: Navigating through a minefield of egos

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Trying to figure out how three authors can work together to write one novel is tricky. We're feeling our way through the process, most of the time excited about what we're producing, but sometimes wanting to strangle each other.

Other writer friends are watching us closely, hoping we don't implode and curious to see if we can make this work.

We met our first real test of our partnership this week when we sent off the book proposal to an editor. Our proposal consisted of a 10-page synopsis and the first three chapters of the book.

Editing took us longer than any of us thought as we navigated through each others egos. I'm happy with the result. I think we all are.

But while the experience is still fresh, I thought I'd document a few lessons I learned so that they are here for me to reference again as we move further into this project. And who knows? Maybe this will help someone else who's trying to co-author a fiction project.

1. Trust each other.

2. It's OUR book, not MY book.

3. Respect my partners' voices and don't edit them out.

4. Remember that our voices have to meld into a coherent narrative and can't be individually jarring. Tamp down my voice where necessary.

5. Don't say NO. If someone suggests an edit, it means something is not working for her. Either accept the edit, offer an alternative, or dig deeper and try to figure out if there's another way to resolve it. A blanket NO only irritates.

6. We can't read each others minds. Communicate.

7. It may not be my process to fully clothe and document every aspect of my character's body, personality and history, but if I don't provide that information, then my partners will make it up for me, and I might not like it.

8. Someone has to take the helm, be the lead writer and have final say on edits.

9. Appreciate the hard work my partners are putting in. Thank them.

10. Have fun!

Oh, and while the proposal is out there, send it some positive energy, please. And don't be surprised if there's no status update on this project for several months. The publishing wheels can move slowly.

A bucket list meme

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:46:00 +0000

I found this on Aerten's Blah, Blah, Blah site a few weeks ago. It looked like fun, so I had to try it.

Things I've done in my life (in bold):

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Want to play along? Copy the list to your own blog (or email) and highlight the things you've done.

Christmas getting to know you -- revisited

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:44:00 +0000

OK, really weird. I saw this meme on Beannachd, and decided to give it a go. I knew it was familiar and that I'd done an email version of it a long time ago, but thought it was just that, an email version.

Then I saw this meme on Fragileheart's Journal, and that solidified my decision to participate.

Then, after I filled it out and got ready to post it, I looked through my archives and realized that I posted this exact same meme (up to question No. 24) two years ago, and my answers are surprisingly consistent. Scary almost. If you like, you can compare answers here.

I guess the blog has been around a while when I start forgetting that I've posted something before.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. Depends on the gift.

2. Real tree or artificial? A pre-lit artificial tree. It wouldn't get done otherwise.

3. When do you put up the tree? About two weeks before Christmas. It used to be that we'd celebrate my grandfather's birthday around Dec. 11 on the same night we put up the tree. That date now sticks in my head as the ideal time to put up the tree.

4. When do you take the tree down? In an ideal world, New Years Day, but in reality, by *ahem* late January. I think New Years Day is my Mom's old rule of thumb from when she had a live tree.

5. Do you like eggnog? No, thank you.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Bionic Woman Action Figure. Or maybe the Holly Hobby doll. Truthfully, I wasn't really into dolls, but then why were they my favorite gifts? Maybe it was my dart board or the ping-pong table.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband. He'll ask for clothes, but he really only likes things he picks out himself. Or he'll say not to spend much money, but it's hard not to because he has expensive taste.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Loki and Thor. They're dogs, not people, I know, but we do buy them a stuffed animal and a treat every Christmas.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? In a box somewhere. I've never put it up.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I aspire to mail my cards. Haven't done so in a few years.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing springs to mind. Really. Does that make me lame?

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably. At a work-type exchange.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pumpkin pie.

16. Lights on the tree? Multi-colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Currently, the soundtrack from the Nightmare Before Christmas. I actually did a post about my then current favorites two years ago.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? All the family is within 20 minutes drive, so even though we're not hosting Christmas at our house, we don't have very far to go.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen. But do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Does that make me psycho, Reggy? LOL)

20. Angel on the tree top or star? We had an angel until last year when I replaced it with a star.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? My hasband and I exchange on Christmas Eve (but after midnight), and we have the dogs open their presents on Christmas Eve, otherwise we have to get up too early on Christmas Day to do all that we want to do.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Having to work, and trying to keep on a diet.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? None. My tree is nostalgia tree, with all sorts of ornaments I've collected over the years. Although I have collected a number of glass hearts. My husband wants a theme tree. He hasn't gotten one yet. :)

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Give me a good filet mignon and some shrimp and I'll be happy.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A good camera bag. That's my No. 1 request.

26. Will you bake any cookies? Yes. I have a cookie exchange to go to this Friday. Baking is slated for Thursday night. I'm making something involving Oreo cookies and chocolate.

Want to play along? Consider yourself tagged.

Ideas for totally random gift giving, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Where I shamelessly plug items that friends are selling, and other random things that strike my fancy (because this is my blog -- and I can).

Part 1 -- Items that are just for fun or a little bit artsy

The All-World Monster map from Big Stick Inc. "Nobody ever dared to chart the native regions of the earth's most fearsome monsters until BigStick." The map's Godzilla is just a fire-breathing T-Rex, but I can forgive that. I love the idea. (Poster only: $25)

Daisy the Curly Cat merchandise, featuring the blogosphere's own Daisy the Curly Cat, because it will make you happy. It makes me happy. (Magnet: $5.49)

The Buddha Board. Use water to paint on this slate-like board, then watch the image slowly fade and dry. Forces you to realize that nothing is permanent. Can be a great way to get the creative energy flowing. Fun to keep on the kitchen counter, by your desk, or where people congregate. ($30)

Notecards from Heatherby Designs. "Elegance in every envelope." Specializing in macro photography of food. Prints are available also. (Notecards: $18)

An original piece of art from Kelly Naylor, aka Aerten, a fabulously talented artist and blogger. This is one of her encaustic images, which was painted using wax and has much more depth in person. Looks like chocolate to me. (This piece: $85)

An original print by Waterstone Photography, aka Lisa Morris-Murry, aka Lisa365, another fabulously talented fellow blogger. I love the colors in this piece. ($15)

Jewelry, bookmarks and gifts for "Twilighters", aka people who love the Twilight books and movie. These items are made by Heather Weaver, aka Geek Mom. I think this bookmark is gorgeous, but there are also some pretty sweet T-shirts. (Bookmark: $7.99)

Coming soon: Food and Book gift ideas.

Link love

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:56:00 +0000

It's the first of the month and time to thank those people who make blogging fun and to reflect a little on what's been happening this month with this blog.

Let me give a big thank you to my top EntreCard droppers for the past 31 days.

The Junk Drawer
On the Bricks
1 Blog and 2 Sides
Cromely's World
Moments Caught in Flight
EU Watch
I Do Things
Where the Long Tail Ends
Life's Context
Daisy the Curly Cat

Let me also give a big thank you to my top commenters. You keep the conversation going and make this blog more dynamic.

1. fragileheart (54)
2. Monique (29)
3. Claire (25)
4. Laura (20)
5. The Hunter's Wife (19)
6. Daisy (16)
7. Kelly (13)
8. Don M.F.H. (11)
9. Karina (11)
10. Periapex (10)

Blog stuff in stats

Here's an abbreviated update on the blog stats that I started posting last month.

Age of blog: 3 years and 4 months, approximately
Total posts: 564
Total unique visits (SiteMeter): 13,960
Total page views (SiteMeter): 18,836

Most viewed posts, ordered by popularity (Google Analytics):

A Steamy Romance Novel
Dear friend with whom I haven't spoken since 1993
Looking for hidden meanings
About me
Wordless Wednesday: San Francisco
Life: 8 Random Things About Me
Doodle Outer Space
Let's talk about Puerto Rican food
Life: I'm a card-carrying member...
Going for a blogging trifecta

Thank you everyone stopping by in November. I hope to see you many times in December, too. :)

Doodle Week with the Buddha Board

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:30:00 +0000

So, I got a little behind with Doodle Week. The slideshow above shows all my doodles for Wednesday through Sunday. There are no masterpieces here, just simple doodles.

This time I pulled out my Buddha Board to doodle. It's a really cool thing that I bought myself last Christmas. Basically, it's a slate-type board that you paint on using water. As the water dries the image disappears. It's based on the principle of living in the moment.

I'm participating in Doodle Week this week.

For more about Doodle Week and to view other participants, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Cannon Fodder

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:10:00 +0000

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
Click here for more about Wordless Wednesday and to see other participants.

Doodling poppies in winter

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:50:00 +0000

It's Doodle Week again. I took a hiatus during October, but I'm back to participate in November.

What is Doodle Week? Surely, you remember. If not, here's the run down. Laura, Claire and Mo over at Doodle Week headquarters come up with seven themes -- one for each day of the week -- and we out here on the blogosphere try to doodle something to fit the theme.

Here are the themes this month:

Monday - Draw a poppy for Remembrance Day (Veterans Day)

Tuesday - Winter. Time for the season of snow.

Wednesday - Snowflakes. Draw a whole blizzard if you get inspired.

Thursday - Holiday stress. However you feel it, whatever your holiday.

Friday - Turkey Day. Thanksgiving in the United States. Give a turkey a doodle and he'll roast in the oven just like the rest of them.

Saturday - Which of the five senses is your favorite and show us why in a doodle.

Sunday - What sense or ability do you wish you had. Doodle it!

If you'd like to participate, too, just Doodle something and post it on the Internet somewhere (on a blog or on Flickr), then visit DoodleWeek.com and post the link. As easy as that.

So, keeping in mind that a doodle is just a version of a scribble, with no expectation that it's good or anything (or even accurate!), here are my doodles for Monday and Tuesday.

Mine were done on Paint Shop Pro while I was properly trying to concentrate on something else.

Happy Doodling everyone!

An overdue ramble ~ totally random

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:29:00 +0000

I'm overdue for a blogging braindump, so here we go:

~Twitter~
It's sad but true, but when I want to know what I've been up to now, one of the first places I consult is my Twitter-stream.

~Invisalign~
The new braces are going well. I'm almost two weeks into it. I start my second tray tonight. I'm still lisping a little bit, but fewer people are noticing, so it's getting better. Why the lisp? The retainer hits me across the back of my front teeth, so when I make an S or T sound, my tongue hits the plastic.

~Blogger Followers~
My photo blog has just exceeded this blog with followers. That blog is a little more focused in topic, so I think that helps. Plus, I've been concentrating my Entrecard drops on that one.

~Obama~
Yay! I haven't officially blogged about it, but I'm THRILLED that Barack Obama won the presidential race. I've been closely following him since I voted for him in the senate primary four years ago.
I guess soon I can retire the "Smush Bush" stress doll I bought back in 2004.

~Anonymous linking~
So, I discovered this site, anonym.to that allows you to create links to websites that won't trace back to your site. Not sure why you'd want that, but it's out there. How did I discover it? Through my Flickr stats.

~Flickr stats~
For the most part my Flickr stats are pretty regular. I get about 50 views of photos a day, give or take, with it sometimes spiking up into the 200s or 300s if I've shared an album with family. Over the summer it suddenly spiked to over 1,000 views on one day only, but I couldn't find any apparent reason. No one photo was getting significantly extra views. Today I looked at my stats and found that the photos of my Invisalign retainers are getting a lot of views -- like 75 in one day -- but it's not from a specific source, just Flickr and this Anonym.to site I mentioned above. It's not like I captured the look of my retainers with incredible photography. Make me wonder why so many people are viewing those photos...

~Blog Blast for Peace~
I meant to participate in Blog Blast for Peace earlier this month. I didn't. But let me just go on record now as saying that peace is good. I highly recommend it. Please, can't we all just get along?

OK, actually, I would have put more effort into the post had I written it. Who can argue against peace?

~NaNoWrite Month~
While I'm on the subject of things I wanted to particpate in but didn't, let me throw in National Novel Writing Month. I should have been doing this. But, rest assured, I am back on the writing bandwagon. It's been slow-going. I mean how long does it take to write a 10-page scene?!?! Apparently a couple hours a page. Gah. But I am trying to get it polished up -- this is no messy first draft -- because it's part of a book proposal that Jules and JC and I are working on together. It *will* be in the mail by the end of the month.

~Doodle Week~
For some reason, I didn't participate in Doodle Month last month, either. Don't know why, since I've been involved since the beginning. But, it's coming up again soon and I intend to redeem myself. Maybe on Thanksgiving Day I can get my nephews to help me doodle? Hmmm....

~Smoosh Your Boobies~
Claire and Olga the Traveling Bra had a fun idea for ending Breast Cancer Awareness Month last month. They held a contest for people to put paint on their breasts and smash them against paper, creating art. Another thing I wish I'd done, but couldn't find paint in the house at the last minute. (OK, could have used latex paint left over from our walls, but, really, I didn't want to go there.)

~WoW Expansion~
So, World of Warcraft came out with its expansion set Wrath of the Lich King. We haven't bought it yet. Holding out for over the Thanksgiving holiday when we have some time off (and I'm not otherwise writing). I know it will be a total time suck once I get into it -- a really, really good total time suck.

~Christmas Shopping~
When we were at my sister-in-law's house on Nov. 1, she had all her Christmas shopping done and wrapped. The gifts were stacked in a corner of the dining room, waiting. Inconceivable to me. But, now, I'm starting to think Christmas. I'm putting together my Amazon wish list, which neatly allows you to add products from other web pages not related to Amazon.com. Neat feature. Plus, I'm putting together my own gift-giving guide, where I shamelessly plug my friends' merchandise and other things that strike my fancy. Look for it soon.

~Weight Watchers~
I went back to Weight Watchers last week. So, because I'm counting points, I'm looking at the nutrition information on food, especially at the restaurants I like to frequent. I had the nutrition info from the website of my favorite lunch spot that I'd printed out two years ago. It showed my favoite flatbread pizza as having 9 points. Doable. For some reason I reprinted it last week only to find that they'd updated the flatbread pizza section. That same pizza is now 15 points! What makes it especially hard is that I'm allowed only 21 points a day, plus the 35 anytime points for the week. Well, as you can guess, that pizza is now right off my menu. Gah!

~My stupid emo baby name~
In the spirit of the newly born Bronx Mowgli, my Simpson-Wentz Baby Name is Harlem Cruella.

What's yours?

A Loki and Thor interlude

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:57:00 +0000

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I know, it's a little too early for holiday stuff. I'm sorry. But Loki and Thor want to wish you an early Season's Greetings.

Wordless Wednesday: Croc bait

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:28:00 +0000

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
Click here for more about Wordless Wednesday and to see other participants.

A peek into the life of Simba

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:01:00 +0000

It's not easy being a world-famous lion. Once the rush of movie stardom ends, some kid throws you in a garage sale where somebody buys you for a buck and says, "Hey, my dogs would like this."

So, here we find you, Simba, on an October morning, sunning in the grass. Neglected like so many other of Loki and Thor's stuffed toys. You've been dropped, stepped on, rained on and mostly dried out. But you're a lion and you like the outdoors. If only you'd been dropped in that tall grass, right? Better to hunt from.

Then, after several days of laying in the backyard, you get picked up and sent on a dangerous voyage through the washer and dryer, where several weaker toys have met their doom. But you survive this trip and arrive safely to the shelter of the toy bin in the family room, clean and sweet-smelling.

Later in the week, we find you laying around in the dining room, then in the guest bedroom, sadly neglected again. Or perhaps you're just too lazy to walk yourself back to the toy bin today?

What's this? Thor is actually playing with you in the bedroom? Is that comfortable, being held by your face?

Oh wait, now I see why you don't like the toy bin. There a giant snake trying to eat you! Oh no!

Then you disappear for another week. I begin to think that maybe the snake finished you off, but then where do we eventually find you? Outside again! Sunbathing after playing in the rain with the other stuffed toys.

So it's once more through the wash-and-dry cycle, then safely into the toy bin, to be ~~abused~~ enjoyed another day. There's no sign of that snake this time.

By the way, your eyeballs are looking kind of faded. Did you know that? At least you still have eyeballs. You should have seen what happened to the first Simba. It wasn't pretty. Go talk to Mousie, he'll give you an idea.

Note: I don't really have conversations with stuffed toys. Stalk them with my camera for a few weeks? Yes. But have a conversation?No. At least, they haven't started answering my questions yet. When they do, that's when you should start getting worried. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Truth in Labeling

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:33:00 +0000

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
Click here for more about Wordless Wednesday and to see other participants.

Musings on a cold and drizzly Veterans Day

noreply@blogger.com (haleyhughes) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:46:00 +0000

It being Veterans Day, and me not having taken any photos for a while, I decided to grab my camera as I was walking out the door this morning and see if I could get away at lunch and snap some photos. I did.

A nearby park has a Memorial Pavilion that I'd noticed during a work picnic several weeks ago. So, braving the cold weather and the drizzle, I headed over there. Unfortunately, I was having trouble getting inspired by anything inside the pavilion. No one had laid any wreaths or left any flowers. It had a drab, concrete, institutional feel about it, and I don't seem to be able to photograph drab, concrete and institutional very well. I'm working on it.

At the end of my visit, a carload of skateboarders arrived looking to use the shelter of the pavilion. They kept their distance from me and my camera, but I did get this photo. Perhaps, while they were keeping out of the rain, they looked around and thought about the Veterans who had sacrificed their lives. Perhaps. Especially because the pavilion has a plaque recognizing two residents of their own generation who lost their lives in the current wars -- both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm sure there must be some sort of Veterans Day observance happening in Des Plaines, where the pavilion is located, but I could find no sign of it at the memorial or by doing a quick Internet search. They had a service there last year. I know, because I could find a YouTube video.

I guess I'm a little bothered that there was nothing at the pavilion to draw attention to the day. On the VFW website, I saw a post lamenting that fewer and fewer people show up for official observances. That might be true, but you don't have to be part of an official ceremony to appreciate the sacrifice of veterans. Maybe if the pavilion had been decorated with a few wreaths or some bunting, then the random people passing through today and throughout the week might have stopped and taken notice.

Just thinking out loud here. That's what a blog is for, right? I suppose I should take my own words to heart, and next year try to remember to bring my own token of observance.

Or maybe it would have been more appropriate for me to be photographing the pavilion on Memorial Day. In the United States, Memorial Day at the end of May is the holiday intended to honor veterans who died in war or as a result of injuries sustained in war, while Veterans Day is intended to honor all veterans, especially those still living.

Any veterans out there reading this? You have my sincere appreciation.