…with yard work.

I’ve never spent so much time outside with my hands in dirt as I have for the past two weeks. Hubby and I have dug, mulched, planted, pulled, stripped, stained, bought (and bought), watered, made so many trips to Lowe’s garden center I’ll be surprised if the employees don’t recognize our faces while we’re still in the parking lot…and the end result is so pretty!

We never cared about the yard before. It got mowed on special occasions. It’s so hot and windy all the time, plus I am completely bug-phobic (ask about my cricket dance–on second thought, don’t), so I’ve never been big on spending time there. But I got a little crazy and decided I wanted a real backyard, seeing as we did build a fancy deck a while back and it would be nice to use it. After all the recent work, the patio is livable space instead of dirty storage–and I haven’t seen any bugs (knock on freshly-stained wood)! Yay!

The surprising thing is, I seem to have a clue. I haven’t been the little woman watching in high heels from inside the house, and I know the man wouldn’t dare argue with me, because he has witnessed my inner nature girl getting down and dirty in the recesses of our lawn. (You may interpret that however you wish.) Whether my thumb is truly green remains to be seen–we’ll see if my plants survive the next couple of weeks.

I did plant a couple of the flowers in the picture–red lilies. Aren’t they colorful and gorgeous?

I know I said I’d make the GH post pretty, but I lied. The official list is up on the RWA site, and really, what else do you need?

In other news, my May release is finished! Final. Completo. No more edits and out of my hands! Hurray!

If I hurry, maybe I can sneak in some of the million things I have to do this weekend before I get started on the next one. I know I want to rewrite a couple of scenes. But not right now.

***Click here for the official list***

OMG! I can hardly keep up with the list of people in my writing groups! You gals are going to fill the entire list!! Here goes what I’ve pulled from my massive inbox so far… (I’ll make this pretty and add titles later, promise!) Congratulations, gals!!

(P.S. This is not an all-inclusive list, just a shout-out to those I’m acquainted with. Check out the blogs I listed in my last post for complete lists–though it looks like RWA is on the ball this year.)

RITA:

Julia London (ARWA) – Novella

Sherry Thomas (ARWA) – Historical AND First Book!

Golden Heart:

Louisa Cornell (Pixie) – Regency Historical

Kim Howe (Pixie) – Romantic Elements AND Series Suspense!

CJ Eernisse (Pixie) – Historical

Amanda Brice (Pixie) – YA

Katie Graykowski (ARWA) -

Kelly Ann Riley (Pixie) – Inspirational

Bev Pettersen (Pixie) – Romantic Elements

Kate Parker (Pixie) – Historical

Jenna Stuart (ARWA) – Historical

Pat Detweiler (007) – Historical

Laurie Kellogg (007) – Contemporary Series

Jacqueline Floyd (Pixie) – Contemporary Series

Kayla Westra (007) – Inspirational

Anne Barton (Pixie) – Regency Historical

Julia Whitby (Pixie) – Romantic Elements

Laura Martello (007) – Romantic Elements

Tatia Talbot (Pixie) -

Joan Swan (Pixie) – Romantic Suspense

Shelley Coriell (Pixie) – Romantic Suspense

Cate Rowan (007) – Paranormal

(That’s THIRTEEN ‘08ers on the list again this year. Do we have a talented group or what??)

Calls go out to the 2009 RITA and Golden Heart finalists bright and early tomorrow morning. Are you nervous? Are ya? I don’t have a hat in the ring–alas, today marks my last few hours ever as a “current” Golden Heart finalist. I’m not even going to National this year, but I’m still nervous and excited and full of nostalgia. I know a few of my writer buddies are going to end up on those lists!

So to leave tomorrow’s post for names, I’ll go ahead and throw out the party paraphernalia now:

Check out Judi Fennell’s blog for a “live” posting of finalist names as they are reported. Cindy Procter-King is also hosting a party–if you final, let these ladies know and get your name up there for the world to see!

For a preview of what this will be like, here’s Judi’s post from last year–read the comments, you can taste the excitement! (Note: that is a link to LAST YEAR’S list. NOT this year. That’s TOMORROW, at the links in the above paragraph. So don’t panic! )

I’ve heard RWA will be posting the official, complete list of finalists on its website by 2 pm central time (Wednesday the 25th, duh, but I know how your brain power flies out the window in situations like this). That’s much earlier than in previous years, so there shouldn’t be as much angsty waiting this time around. Good luck and have fun!

It’s not the same when you’re old like me (35 days ’til I turn thir…thir…I can’t even say it). Instead of grinding on some sweaty hot stranger on a beach, I spent it with the fam. But that’s okay, because:

a) hubby took the week off;
b) I’m remodeling the back patio and it’s going to be soooo cute; and
c) I rode this with my dad. At, uh, considerably older than thir…thir…that number, he’s still a party animal!

This was at Sea World San Antonio. Took the kiddos on Texas Splashdown (that’s not us in the picture, in case you can’t tell ) and they had a blast. I thought it might be too much for the little guy, but he liked it almost as much as his big brother. Of course, he licked the handrails while waiting in line for two hours and came home with a fever.

So that was my entertainment for the week. Spent the rest of the time pulling weeds, spreading mulch, and scouting out patio furniture, which was entertaining in its own right. I’ll be hosting some pretty BBQs this spring/summer!

How was your week? Stop in on Wednesday, when I’ll be back with cyber-champagne and lots of happy dancing for those who get RITA/GH calls, as well as links to a couple of sites where you can watch the finalist names roll in.