I tried to take Miss Maggie for a walk this morning. It was actually rather amusing. The only way I could get her to move was if I jogged. Then she'd run for twenty or thirty feet before laying down on the pavement. So I ended up carrying Princess Maggie for a block a two before attempting the walk thing again with basically the same results.

She still isn't house trained. Somehow I've managed to reverse train her ... she thinks she has to be inside to pee. Now I hear that girl dogs are more difficult to house train than boy dogs.

My mother-in-law fell on Tuesday and broke her ankle. She's having surgery today and will probably be home tonight. The tricky thing is that Mike's father is basically wheel-chair bound. He can use a walker for short distances if someone is there to help. Helen helps him bathe and dress, prepares his meals, drives him to coffee every morning at 6 a.m., picks him up when he's through visiting, takes him to the doctor, etc.

I'll be with him today, either at their house or at the hospital if he decides he wants to be in the waiting room during the surgery. I'll take my laptop with me because I'm in the zone, that place where I get sometimes where the writing seems to flow and I get up at 6 because I can't wait to write. It would be nice if the rest of the world would just stop during those rare times, but alas, the laundry pile is growing and the puppy is still peeing and those pesky kids think they're supposed to eat dinner every night.

SURPRISE ...

I watched the last half of Along Came a Spider (2001) with Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors, the other day. Monica Potter, Nicolas Cage's wife in ConAir, plays the part of his partner. Missed the part where is former partner is killed. Often I'm able to figure out what will happen before it does. This time I never saw it coming. Potter's character was so incredibly ... open, honest, sincere, compassionate ... inadequate descriptions, and guess what? She turns out to be the bad guy. Girl.

I did a google search on Mr. Freeman. His first part, uncredited, was in Pawnbroker in 1964 playing a man on the street. Forty-two years later he's been in seventy movies and television programs with more on the way. One movie in post-production, three in the filming stages and three announced.

Some of my favorites: THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (loved it, loved it, loved it), Sum of All Fears, Kiss the Girls (love Ashley Judd), Unforgiven, Driving Miss Daisy, Batman Begins.

There are several I want to see. First is High Crimes, another one with Ashley Judd. I watched several trailers and it looks interesting.

Today I'll be running errands: Dry Cleaners (drop-off, pick-up), grocery store (groceries, Jill's book), Champ's (soccer socks), deliver pictures of Miss America taken with her Oklahoma Star to star's house. Evan has a soccer game at 4 and I need to walk.

Before, after and in-between I'll be working on Deep Breaths. Jaclyn (not her permanent name but haven't found the perfect one yet) is planning on doing something dangerous and stupid just to prove to her hero that she's not crazy.

ROUGHING IT ...

I finally managed to get back in the rough draft mode on my WIP. I have this tendancy to start at the beginning every time I sit down to write, a really nice place to start when referring to the rest of life in general, yes, but not when chapter eighteen needs to get out of my brain. My characters are beginning to fret. I'm almost positive I heard my hero telling me, sweetly, of course, to get in gear and stop editing chapter one. I can't really blame him. He has been confined to the same room since chapter four.

We brought home our new puppy last week. We've finally given her a name. Maggie is adorable ... she's a puppy ... but she's started this new trick where she morphs into a little demon, snarling and snapping. Then she's scary. I was told to roll up a newspaper and thump her on the nose whenever this happens. I watched the Caesar the Dog Whisperer last week and there was a dog that was biting. Caesar held the dog down, sideways on the ground, until he stopped resisting. I'm not sure I want to try this with Maggie.

I'm really looking forward to the OKRWA meeting on Saturday. I'm going to work on my rough draft now. I'm feeling inspired and my hero wants out of that room!

MY BRAIN IS FULL ...

Had an incredible time with Dana at the Nola Stars Conference in Shreveport. One of the published authors explained the method she uses to complete an entire plot for a book, including motivations, goals, theme, crisis, climax, etc., in an hour and a half. Very good information.

Talked to Caren Johnson from the new Firebrand Literary Agency and got some good advice and encouraging words about my WIP.

On Monday, Mike and I attended a Photoshop Seminar in OKC. The guy teaching the class does things with photoshop that are un-be-liev-a-ble.

Got a good report from Dr. Warn this morning concerning the problems I've been having with my corneas. Another couple of weeks and I'll be good to go. Other ailments that I've struggled with from time to time pale in comparison. God is good.

Evan passed his driver's test with a score of 85 and has driven by himself several times. His first solo drive was on Sunday. As he left to deliver some photos, Mike and I stood at the window and watched him drive down the street, our pride mingling with parental concern. A milestone for all of us.

Our new puppy comes homes tomorrow. We haven't been able to agree on a name yet ... no telling how long that will take. I'll post pictures soon.