Getting Ready for Romanticon

There are just a couple of weeks left before heading off to RomantiCon. I'm trying to decide what to pack and what to wear. I have a few goodies for readers coming with me and one special stow-away.

No, not a long-hair Chihuahua, but my miniature dachshund. Wendell travels with me most places that I go. He loves to curl up in the passenger's seat and snooze. I foresee a lot ot time curled up in the hotel room for him, but he hates being borded.


At present it seems we're going to need to build an ark in the backyard. It's been raining for over a week now and some parts of Atlanta are flooded. This for an area that had been under severe drought conditions for several years.

The good part, I guess, is that our lakes and resevoirs are almost back up to normal levels...almost.

blogging, blogging, blogging

My surgery was, obviously, postponed until the 25th. It's not something I'm nervous about, exactly. I'm not apprehensive about the surgery at all. I've had it done before, albeit over ten years ago. The most uncomfortable part of the surgery as I recall it was the blood pressure cuff they use to compress your arm as part of the anesthesia. They basically wrap a large rubber strap around your arm to squeeze out the blood, tighten the cuff and then give you an anesthetic to numb your arm. It wasn't a big deal the last time and took only a few minutes for the actual surgery to be done.

I'm more worried about afterwards. My SO does not do well when I'm sick or somehow incapacitated. It's like a personal affront. *Sigh*

Romanticon

I'm trying to figure out what to wear for Romanticon. I'm not a dressy-up kind of person. I'm more of a big old slouchy pants and a t-shirt that's seen better days kind of person. The mixer on Friday is a psychedelic theme. I'm thinking early 70's, late 60's hippie kind of thing and that just isn't in my wardrobe. I may actually have to buy clothes.

And the author appreciation dinner. What exactly does one wear to that? I've seen pictures of the RT convention and the RWA conventions and the ladies were very dressed up, evening wear sort of thing. That definitely isn't in my wardrobe. *double sigh*

I did get the first of my promo items today. I'm buying things a little at a time. Instead of just "business cards" I've got magnets. I already have book marks that I had made a long time ago. I have two other things I'm planning on getting for give aways. I know that you have to balance output with expected return, but I have to admit, some of this is just me indulging the fantasy.

Romanticon isn't just for authors. It's being held in Ohio and is for anyone who loves romance and erotic romance. It's my virgin convention so it would be really nice to see a lot of people there. Its not just for published authors, readers and those aspiring to publication will find some very interesting workshops as well.

PETA

Now I am an animal lover. You can't come to this blog without realizing that. However, the whole "Obama killed a fly" outrage from PETA is ridiculous. I'm still hoping its a joke. I personally don't kill spiders. Spiders are useful and they kill and eat the icky bugs. But anything else in the insect and arachnid family (especially the ants, centipedes and scorpions) are fair game. I know they play a useful part in the circle of life, but they can stay out of my house.

Growing up.

*Sigh*

My munchkin is six months old now. He’s transitioned from infant to baby. This three day weekend we are taking the next step in growing up. Going to bed by himself.

We started last night. We have a routine that we’ve started. At bedtime we go upstairs, we get in pj’s, and while his has a last little bottle we sing a specific series of songs. Then, while he’s still awake, we put him down in the bed and say good night.

Last night he cried. After five minutes, we checked on him reassured him I was still here. Five minutes later I went in again. This time after patting his back and assuring him I was still here and he was okay, I started playing his heffalump (a stuffed blue elephant) and left the room. In less than a minute he was asleep.

Tonight, I started Heffelump immediately upon putting him down and he didn’t cry at all.

I can’t believe this will go this smoothly from now on. I’m sure he has a few more cranky crying bedtimes in store for us, but I can’t believe I forgot about his heffelump that first night.

The soft blue elephant (called Heffelump for the Winnie the Pooh song “Heffelumps and Woosles”) was the first gift I bought for Z. It was on impulse. We would play the heffelump for him before he was born. My SO was skeptical, but I had faith. We discovered immediately in the hospital that it had worked. (see pic) The singing of his heffelump calms him down within seconds unless he is in the midst of a full blown melt-down.

Someone recently suggested buying another heffelump and changing them in and out so that if one is damaged and has to be thrown out, there is still a heffelump. That just seems so wrong. Like having a spare SO that you change in and out incase something happens to the original.





I've been making plans for the coming RomantiCon. It will be my first convention as an author. It will also be my first signing unless Jewels of Ursus is released before hand. Even then I'm nervous about setting up my own signings.

I've also been giving some thought to podcasting. Wondering if it might be a good idea to offer some of my work as audio books through podcasts. I'm looking into the idea.