Better late than never...

The answers:

1. Colin Firth as Darcy
2. Tie: Jeremy Northam as Knightley/Colin Firth as Darcy
3. Colin Firth as Darcy

The questions can be found here. (Make sure to read fellow Noodler Janet Mullany's comments...she's so Britishly honest!)

Better late than never...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/better-late-than-never.html

Happy Weekend!

I got some good news on Friday that I hope to be able to announce soon. Cross your fingers!

And if that good news comes to fruition, there will be other good news to follow.

Here's a hint:

Happy Weekend!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/happy-weekend.html

Accepting the Challenge

About a week ago, a colleague in my professional referral group challenged each of us to consciously do something particularly nice for a stranger before the next meeting.

Things like letting a slower-moving car take the prime parking space you could have had, paying for the drive-thru order for the person behind you at Taco Bell, letting a person with a smaller grocery order go ahead of you in the grocery line, etc.

So today I accepted the challenge. (Although, when I write that, I think it sounds like I found it difficult or was reluctant to do; and that wasn't the case at all.)

Taking my daughter through the Wendy's drive-thru (I only got an iced tea for me, although I did snitch a few of her fries!) for a treat, I got up to the window to pay and said, "I'd like to pay for the order behind me."

The gal at the cash register just started smiling, really wide and nodded, and said, "As soon as she's done with her order, no problem."

Unfortunately, it took about ten (I am not kidding) swipes of my credit/debit card through the reader before she was able to complete both transactions (the stripe on my card is worn...I can't help it if I never carry cash!), and then she had to call someone for help. Sheesh. All I could think of was, the lady behind me is probably getting ticked about the delay of that stupid lady in front of her (me) at the cash window.

Then finally, another person came into the little booth where the drive-thru gal was working, and looked at me and said, "You want to pay for the lady behind you?"

I nodded.

"Do you know her?"

"Nope."

Now she's grinning and smiling, and the two of the gals in the booth are joined by a third person, and they're all scrunched in there, looking at me and grinning--and all I can think of is the lady behind me is getting even more ticked!

"Why are you doing that?"

I said, "Why not? And if she asks, just tell her I said to do it for someone else sometime."

So finally, they figured out what they were doing (I'm still not sure why it took so long) and I was able to move forward, get my order, and go on. And the guy at the second window who gave me my order was also smiling really nicely, and he said, "I gave you both credit card receipts in your bag."

When I drove off, I saw the gal in the cash register window leaning out the window and talking to the lady behind me. And I smiled.

So now I'm going to extend the challenge to you! Do something nice for a stranger today, tomorrow, next week. You don't have to tell anyone about it, but I'd love to hear if you do!

Accepting the Challenge

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/accepting-challenge.html

So cute I had to post

Loki, an orphaned squirrel monkey. While squirrel monkeys aren't endangered per se, their habitat is being destroyed by deforestation in South America.

So cute I had to post

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/so-cute-i-had-to-post.html

Gah!

I'm sorry in advance if I'm going to offend any of my fellow writers, but I was reading a newly-released thriller, and read the line "his loins stirred." All I could think was, "Was he making soup?"

There are just some phrases that I can't read without rolling my eyes 'cause they're overused, among other things. That and "heaving bosoms" happen to be two of them. Oh, and "he entered her."

Gah!

Gah!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/gah.html

I'm stuck.

The wonderful thing about being a writer is that you can pretty much be God in your books. Creator, destroyer, manager, etc... That's not to say that your characters don't have free will--and exercise it once in awhile--'cause they do.

Which brings me to my problem. I'm stuck. I've got my heroine in a really bad place. Really bad. There's no escape.

So how am I going to get her out?

My husband suggested an earthquake. Wouldn't that be convenient? I'm God here, so I could make it happen. But will I? No.

The problem is getting her out of her mess without resorting to "conveniences." But I've gotten her in a pretty good mess. So I don't know.

For the writers out there...what do you do when there's no calvary in sight?

I'm stuck.

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/im-stuck.html

Tag--I'm It!

Trish tagged me, so now I have something to write about other than my hair problems.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago exactly was when I found out I was pregnant with my first child! I was working at a health plan at the time and in the last semester of my MBA.

What were you doing one year ago?
Getting ready for my dad's funeral. He died on January 18, 2005.

Five snacks you enjoy...
Popcorn with lots of real butter
Nachos
Chocolate chip cookie dough
Almond-milk smoothie with bananas (when I'm good and being raw)
Cheetos (curly not crunchy!)

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics....
Every track on the original Phantom of the Opera 2-disc soundtrack
Most Christmas songs (including Twelve Days of Christmas)
(that's more than five, I know...)

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire...
Put an addition on my house
Travel to Italy, Angkor Wat, and Japan (see my Seven List Meme!)
Help fund a halfway house for abused children
Buy a new car
Buy more stocks

Five bad habits...
Biting my nails
Not exercising
"Forgetting" to floss every other day
Letting my husband clean the bathrooms (that's not really a bad habit, is it?)
Eating in bed (I don't think this is a bad habit either, but my mother would)

Five things I love to do...
Read
Sleep in or nap
Write
Eat
Stay in a five-star hotel

Five things you would never buy or wear again...
A Tom Cruise movie
Gauchos (I may have to take this back as they are coming back!)
Bows in my hair a la Madonna in the '80s
Heels over three inches high
Pantyhose

Five favorite toys...
Computer
(I dunno....I don't have a lot of toys, really)
My Pink Pearl (and I don't mean eraser!)

Five people I'm tagging...
Jana
Elly
Janice
Charity
(how about four? Everyone else has already been tagged!)

Tag--I'm It!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/tag-im-it.html

My Hair!

Well, here's the before and after pics, after a fashion:

(my 4 year old daughter took the after picture...I know it's blurry, but you get the idea)

(PS note my cross--the same in both pics. That was one of my congratulations-for-getting-a-book-contract presents I bought myself.)

It's not that I hate the shorty cut, it's just that it takes too much time to do it! And it never stays the way I want it for more than 30 minutes.

When I get another better pic of the shorty cut, I'll post it.

My Hair!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-hair.html

Best Keyboard in Americana!

Well, now. I'm strutting around prouder than a peacock 'cause my dear husband, who laid down the keyboard tracks on one song for a local band's release CD, has had his work called exactly that: best keyboard in Americana on Garageband.com! (scroll to the bottom of the page) For three weeks in a row!


For those who are interested, the band is The Matt Keil Band, and their CD is being released on February 9.

Best Keyboard in Americana!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/best-keyboard-in-americana.html

The Signing of the Contracts

Well, today I did it! Signed my first publishing contracts with my lucky pen.
(Yes I got my hair cut. That's a totally different story. Talk about Big Regrets.)

The Signing of the Contracts

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/signing-of-contracts.html

In Memory of Maryanne

As a struggling writer who is friends with many other struggling writers (published and unpublished), I have the pleasure of reading many chapters or scenes from stories that may or may not ever be finished, or published.

As a contest judge, I've read 40-55 pages of countless entries in various contests.

As a critique partner, I've read the stops and starts and chapters of many books that are on their way to being published, or have not been finished. I've met characters and loved them and been sad to see them languish in that world of never-finished stories.

As a member of the Wet Noodle Posse, the finalists of the 2003 Golden Heart contest sponsored by the RWA, I've read the beginning chapters of most everyone's finaling manuscript...and then some.

And then there are the hundreds of books I pick up and read--or at least start--each year.

Sadly, there are times when the characters and scenes don't stick with me. There have been some contest entries I've barely been able to get through, and unfortunately, some published books that haven't kept my interest.

But then there was Maryanne Cappelluti's entry in the Golden Heart contest: Bachelor #2. I only read the first chapter...maybe two. But I remember loving it! I wanted more. And I knew she had acquired a well-known agent who would get that book published. So I knew that some day I would read the rest of the story.

Maryanne became ill, and put her writing career on hold. Every so often, I would remember Bachelor #2 and wonder what happened in the rest of the book. It truly was one of those stories, premises, and character setups that stuck with me.

I learned last evening that Maryanne succumbed to a severe form of scleroderma, and passed away. She is survived by her husband and teenaged children.

My heart and prayers go out for Maryanne's family. She was a funny, warm, enthusiastic person. A wonderful writer and I'm certain, a loving, caring mother and wife.

With Maryanne's passing, not only do I say good-bye to a humorous, fun-loving woman, but also to the characters in Bachelor #2. They will forever be an unfinished story to me...just like Maryanne's short life.



The Wet Noodle Posse remembers our sister:
Remembering Maryanne: A Tribute by Diane Perkins

In Memory of Maryanne

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/in-memory-of-maryanne.html

Today's Post

is at the Wet Noodle Posse blog.

Here's a hint:

Today's Post

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/todays-post.html

Researchers Find Largest Prime Number!

As reported today, researchers at Central Missouri State University found the largest known prime number. It's 9.1 million digits long.

I'm glad for them...what a coup that must be to find the superlative of anything.

I just have one question: why? Why is this important?

Researchers Find Largest Prime Number!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/researchers-find-largest-prime-number.html

Inquiring Minds

were wondering about Angkor Wat (yes, misspelled in my previous entry). In college, I took several classes on Asian art and architecture (particularly architecture), hence my fascination with Buddhist and Hindu temples and tombs.

Angkor Wat is a Hindu temple in Cambodia (now Myanmar) and here is a picture of it (courtesy of my brother Tim, who actually visited the place a year ago):












Here is an inner hallway:














And one of the towers:





















(Can you tell I'm jealous? But isn't my brother a great photographer?)

And just for kicks, here's a picture of what has been called the most perfect piece of architecture ever built: The Taj Mahal, a tomb designed and built for Shah Jahan of India's beloved wife.

Inquiring Minds

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/inquiring-minds.html

Getting off our duffs

We had a lovely holiday season--relaxing, fun, not-too-stressful. I couldn't have wished for a better one, except, perhaps, that our white Thanksgiving hadn't given way to a green Christmas.

But by the time New Year's Day rolls around, we're tired of breathing the same air, being off-schedule, and lazy. There's a time for it, and we took it...but last night I decided it was time we took the new year by the horns and got off our duffs.

At six pm, my dh and I saddled up the kids (and dog) in their outer gear, allowed the littlest to carry a flashlight, and we all went for a "night hike." The kids couldn't have been happier!

Our "hike" consisted of walking up the street (up and around the hill that leads to the interior of our sub) in the darkness (six pm in Michigan is dark!) to a small park. The air was crisp and clean and cold and it felt so good!

There was just enough snow at the park for us to recognize rabbit, deer, bird, and dog tracks. My son tried to fool me by pointing to small round holes in the snow, right in line with his own footprints...but I foiled him by identifying the round holes as his walking stick. (Moms are much too smart!)

It was lovely, and a wonderful way to start the new year. I hope we end it in the same way: enjoying being together in the fresh and cool air.

Happy 2006 and many blessings to all of my friends and family!

Getting off our duffs

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/01/getting-off-our-duffs.html