2012 year in review & some resolutions

A love doing retrospectives like this - it's a great way to reflect on the year & take stock in my life, etc. It really puts things in perspective. Often I've thought that I had a horrid year, and then when I look at the meme I'm like "oh hey, my year was actually pretty awesome!" That's not to say there wasn't drama - face it, living with a teen(s)... there's gonna be drama! 1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? I'm sure I'll forget a lot, but I traveled to several countries I'd never been to, published a sequel novel, moved to Washington, DC, won a Disney racing award (twice!), was a guest of honor at a convention, got my coast 2 coast Disney medal, dressed up in a Star Trek suit and pretended I was an away team at Disney World. Met the Speaker of the House (and went to his Christmas party). Flew business class internationally (that was AWESOME), visited the CONGO and watched a Lion hunt a Warthog! Saw Big Bad Voodoo Daddy & Don McLean in concert!

Thrift Fashion, a post for Jill

Several weeks ago my friend Jill gently reminded me that I hadn't done a Thrifty Fashion post in a long while, so I am doing one now for her. :) Happy Christmas everyone! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren't there like a bajillion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another? We probably don't, and I don't think I'm a fashionista at all, but apparently some of my friends and family do, and they asked me to do one, soooo... I figured this would be kind of fun to do. So there. You can see my first post HERE, where I go into the basics of my style & kind of what my shopping "motto" is (never pay full price for anything), and that patience is a virtue (wait 3 years to find a specific pair of $250 Fluevog shoes for $40? Why yes I did...) ~~~~~ Outfit # 1, Special Agenda? Nope. I just wanted to be comfortable and warm on this chilly morning. Anthropologie sweater, $30 (store year end clearance) Grey blouse, $3 (thrift store) Anthropologie Purple knit skirt, $25 (store year end clearance) Purple Penny Blossom by BrightCopperPenny (she makes geeky themed ones too!), $7.50 Tan suede boots, $6 (thrift store) Bling (necklaces, costume jewelry on sale at Claire's - yup!), $30 Total: $101.50. At full price would have been: approx $350. [...]

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A guest post from Author, Marianna Roberg

[caption id="attachment_834" align="alignleft" width="369"] Me (Queen Amidala) and Marianna (Sith Witch) at a Star Wars party I put together right after Episode I came out. Yes - we made our costumes, and yes, we have always been geeks. :D[/caption] Many years ago, when I was 18 (it was in the last century!) I discovered a wonderful thing called "fanfic." I read and read and got my Star Wars and X-files fix, and in doing so, made friends with a another young lady online named Marianna Roberg. Of course we didn't know each other by our real names, no, but eventually we chatted a lot more, grew to trust each other, and realized after a while that lo and behold we lived only a few blocks from each other! So of course we had to meet & solidify our friendship. Then about a year and 1/2 later I graduated from BYU &  I went and joined the Marine Corps, moved to the other side of the country and  we lost touch for a few years. Until once again on a Star Wars forum I saw the handle I recognized so well & bam! Marianna & I were back in touch again. I was absolutely delighted that she was able to make it out to see me this past October during Crystal Coast Con, and after a bit of talking/catching up, I asked her if she wouldn't mind sharing some of the challenges/experiences she's had with her writing/life over the years, and I'm so grateful she was willing to do so. I've always been a fan of Marianna's writing, so if you are looking for something new to read, please check out her Broomcloset series: http://amzn.com/1475221312 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Not long ago, I visited Janine and her famil [...]

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A Writer's Workshop

We held our 4th annual Writer's Workshop that my husband and I host in our home. The players change a bit every year, but we've have some consistency as well. The original members at this point are me, my husband Ronald T. Garner  and Aaron Allston. Bryan Young & Conley Lyons started joining us the 2nd year & have been permanent fixtures every year since. And my dear friend Maggie Allen joined us for the first time this year - additionally, it was her first workshop ever! [caption id="attachment_817" align="alignleft" width="300"] Me & Bryan on our way to the Air & Space museum - workshops aren't just about tearing up each other's stories. We have fun too![/caption] This brings me to my first point, why are workshops important? I was going to write this really insightful post about why all writers need to workshop their stories (even experienced Pro's like Aaron), but I saw that Bryan beat me to it & did it far more eloquently than I ever could. His full post is here, but I'll paste some highlights below. http://www.b [...]

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Geek Media Expo wrap up

I know I haven't updated recently - long story short my website was having all sorts of problems, but seems to be working just fine now. Sooooo right before Halloween I was a guest again at Geek Media Expo (GMX) and it was once again AWESOME. We took out whole family and on Saturday night the 4 of us dressed up as the Avengers - Captain America, Nikki Fury, Tony Stark, and yours truly as Thor. The costumes were very well received and I think we may have our Christmas card photo. :)