Sunday Sundries--Vegas, Baby!

At the beginning of April, my husband and I went to Las Vegas for the third time. We had been there twice before, in 2008 and 2009. There were lots of changes.

While my husband was playing in a poker tournament, I took my Deuce bus pass and started taking pictures. A large section of each of my novels will be set in Las Vegas, so I went up and down The Strip, went down to The Freemont Street Experience and then down to the outlet mall area.

All up and down, there were these mobile billboards for different escort services. Well, and many limos.

This was one of my favorites--the Eiffel Tower reproduction in front of the Paris hotel and casino. We got to go up to the top a few nights later. It was too cold and windy, but still a pretty awesome experience.
I loved the detail on The Flamingo.

Here's a detail from the entrance to Harrah's. We stayed there in 2009 and it was pretty fun.

The bus ended up stopping at The Venetian for a few moments. While I was able to get a few pictures of the outdoor gondola ride (we took the inside ride in 2009), I was fascinated by the fake windows.

This was the fanciest Walgreens I'd ever seen:

We had to go in to get some things earlier.

I took this picture of a display in there, because one of my heroes gets a pair of glasses, thinking they might make him look a little older. I also found this and took it to be a sign:

One of my heroines looks like a blue-eyed Audrey Hepburn.
They moved the Welcome sign when they imploded The Sahara last year to the end of The Strip:

Down on Freemont, I had to take a picture of the Harley-Davidson shop:

One of my characters buys a shirt there. Also, I thought this was kind of weird:

One of the things they have down there now they didn't have in 2009 is a zip line. I wanted to go on it, but was carrying a bag. Can you see the rider on the upper left of the picture?

Finally, Vegas is covered with weird carpets. Here's one in The Tropicana:

Weird, huh?
I had Chris take a picture of me on the walkway over The Strip wearing my Pittsburgh Penguins hat.

The hat was a minor plot point--I get asked when I wear this or my Penguins T-shirt if I'm a hockey fan. Especially funny this year, as the Penguins are playing the Boston Bruins in the finals for the playoffs. One of my other characters is a huge Bruins fan. Me, on the other hand, not so much. I happened to have a layover at the Pittsburgh airport and I love penguins.

So, I hope you like my weird perspective of Vegas. I tried to see details that my characters might notice. Which was your favorite?

Sunday Sundries--Favorite Last Minute Trips

So, for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, my husband who does occasionally have a romantic bone in his body, suggested a day trip to Louisville, KY, to visit bookstores. We left town in the morning and had lunch at the Big Boy in Corydon.

Gotta love anyplace that serves sweet potato fries!

The drive to Louisville is very pretty.

We ended up at the Half-Price Books store on Hurstbourne first:

We found all kinds of fun things. Some of my characters are game designers and they had a section of games and all things geek:

We also went to the other Half-Price on the other side of town and the Books A Million in the area too. We got quite a haul:

This is just one of three piles of books. Not that we needed them, but it's what we've always done when we went out of town. I love running around with my husband to find out of the way stores. We spent the night and ate at Waffle House in the morning, making another stop off before we headed back home.

My first novels start out in Las Vegas, with four sisters on a bachelorette party for the oldest, who is getting married later that week. They had to move the trip and the wedding up when she got pregnant. Since they went during the week, the rates were very reasonable.

My parents were always up for an adventure too. Sometimes, before the time of cell phones, I'd try to call them and find out later they had gone over to one of the area casinos.

So, do you have a favorite, spur of the moment adventure? I highly recommend them, even if it's just getting out of town for lunch.

Sunday Sundries--Slambook Question: Favorite Travel Memory?

Please forgive me for not being diligent in keeping up this blog over the past week--I was on vacation with my husband to Fabulous Las Vegas! Not only did he play in a poker tournament while I traveled about doing research for the parts of my book set there, we went to celebrate early our 25th wedding anniversary.

Yeah, I'm about fifty pounds heavier than I was 25 years ago, but I'm working on it. I am wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins hat I got flying through that airport many years ago. I got it because I like penguins, but it's a humorous ice breaker because many people think I like hockey. You betcha I put that in my fiction.

This picture is in front of The Bellagio Hotel, where some scenes from one of my books takes place. A character, Mary Margaret, is a gardener and there is a wonderful area at the back of the hotel. This is a picture from our trip there in 2009:

This year, they had a butterfly house, along with the other amazing sculptures and flower beds:

I felt a shiver of delight go down my back. I knew my character, Mary Margaret, would have the same reaction. It is one of her favorite travel memories.

Another of her favorite memories is of the family trip to Gatlinburg, TN. I tell the story about how Mary Margaret got a hematite band at a gift store there that she lends to her sister to wear as a fake wedding band, "to keep losers away at the bar." It's a minor plot point, but I thought about how she would have stood in the gift shop, trying to figure out what to spend her money on, second guessing her decision a dozen times.

She would love the small gardens and planters all around Gatlinburg, as well as the rolling hills:

I didn't put any of that in the novels, but I asked her the favorite travel memory and that's what she told me. It gave me such a great back story, such insight into her. No one else needs to know, but I do.

Mary Margaret realized that she loves to travel--it was one of the most important things in her life. I send her to Japan in the second series of books. While I have never been to Japan, it's on my Bucket List. I've been lucky, because I've been able to travel quite a lot, first with my parents, then on my own and now with my husband.

I turned one of my favorite travel memories into a honeymoon story for Mary Margaret's sister, Elizabeth. Again, it won't necessarily appear in a book (though I might sell it on a website as a standalone), but it gives a lot of background for my characters. Elizabeth and Will go to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Will is a medically retired Marine and one morning, they go to Pearl Harbor. 

We were there on September 11, 2003 and it was truly one of the most moving moments I've had. I can only imagine someone with military combat experience seeing it for the first time.

So, what would be your favorite travel memory? Don't be afraid to ask your characters what their choices would be to gain insight to their reactions and actions.

Sunday Sundries--Bling Edition

Okay, so I wasted a bunch more time this week. I think God was on to me, because he kept crashing my Jewel Quest III program on the desktop. So, I decided I'd better get to work.

Another time suck today has been Pinterest. I have a board under my "real name" and one under Julee J. Adams [http://pinterest.com/juleejadams/] and spend entirely too much time goofing on both boards. I've been obsessed with jewelry lately. It's my birthday month and I've been wearing amethyst earrings most all the time. I broke down a "Jewelry I love" board into five boards, because I had over 800 pins.

So, I thought I'd talk about some jewelry for my characters. In the first part of the first novel, Mary Margaret lends her hematite band to her sister Lizzy to keep losers away at the bar. It's one of those cheap, magnetic ones like this:

Mary Margaret got it in a gift shop on a family trip. Will jokes with Lizzy that, "It didn't work, did it?" He tosses it out the car window and offers to replace it with a wedding ring. When reminded it wasn't hers, he later buys a little diamond and emerald band for Mary Margaret to wear, "...until my brother replaces it with something more substantial." Like this:

Lizzy's engagement ring is an oval solitaire that's quite substantial. Will jokes about how she should pick out "...something that would be good in a bar fight." I got to go to the Tiffany's in The Forum Shoppes, in Las Vegas (right by the VIP entrance) where Will purchased it for her:

I found this reference online that was helpful:

At the top is a one carat diamond, the second is a two carat and the bottom is a three carat. Lizzy, who starts to go by Elizabeth, is overwhelmed by the selection, but picks what she thinks would be the simplest and thus less expensive ring. Here's a one carat oval in platinum from the Tiffany's "build your ring" site:

Here's one I found on Pinterest that is about right:

Not too shabby for someone who usually wore plain gold ball earrings before.

When her sister, Mary Margaret falls in love and gets engaged in the second series of books, her fiance', Rob (Will's brother), takes the diamond from the earring he used to wear, which was one of his mother's. Here's her ring:

On what is to be her wedding day, Mary Margaret gets another ring to wear that looks something like this:

Mary Margaret gardens and I knew this pendant was something Rob would buy for her at the first opportunity:

She also gets as gifts, later in the series, many flower brooches. Here's an example:

Let's not forget the men. Here is Rob's ruby cufflinks he inherited from his father:

And here is something his brother, Will, who is seriously geeky, would wear:

"Star Trek" delta shield cufflinks.
So, have some fun and think about what type of jewelry your characters would wear! Love to all, see you next week!

Sunday Sundries--Chocolate and Sweets Edition

While things won't be apparent to anyone else but me, I've started organizing the stuff for Fate and Faith in a different way. I had everything on my computer, including thousands of silly kitteh pictures and snarky eCards, and my husband reminded me that it was slowing it down. They are all on flash drives now, soon to be copied and secure in a firebox in the basement and a safety deposit box at our credit union.

Respect my paranoia. And back your $#&% up too, okay?

So, anyway, let the fun begin, as I access my thumb drive.....Guess who made a pan of dark chocolate brownies last night?

This is definitely a destination, when we go to Vegas next year for our 25th wedding anniversary. Part of my novels are set there, so if I get off my lazy a$$ and get published, I can deduct some travel expenses as research. This is the World's Biggest Chocolate Fountain at the Bellagio Hotel on The Strip.

I am so there.
I posted this on Facebook and got lots of laughs:

ROFLOL! This is truth:

Thank God I've been able to lose weight and keep it off by indulging moderately.
Speaking of:

 Was able to get some new clothes yesterday, but I immediately went to the "fat girl" section of the store. I looked around until I realized I could actually shop at the regular sized section. The selection and prices are so much better and I'm grateful. But, there will always be:

Truth. But it melts with body heat, so it can't hold you in the dark.

Love this one:

Maxine is one of my heroes. Then, I found another one:

If I'm not mistaken, those are some malted milk balls....
A philosophy of life:

Well, except things like broccoli and lettuce, but you get the idea.
And finally, I have some note cards with this sentiment:

Please and thank you. Y'all have a great week!

Every ten years or so

My friend, Pam Asberry, posted about how we tend to “change” every seven years (Every Seven Years). It has something to do with our bodies producing new cells. I know a hairdresser told me one time, when my part changed and cowlicks started acting up that it seemed to be true. Pam also shared a bunch of fun pictures I hadn’t seen of her with her kids, from the time we lost touch.

She got me thinking. You know how dangerous that is. My life truly seems to change about every ten years or so. Or as I said after I applied for the job I got downsized from last year, “About every ten years, I tend to do something that scares the $#%& out of me.” Life-changing events seem to occur then for me too.

So, here are a few pics that may amuse. Several of the things I have incorporated into my fiction, because that’s how I roll. But, you’ll have to wait for that….

1968. I recognize the dress from 4th grade. Right before this picture, I fell and skinned my left elbow. I still have the nasty scar. It was a weird year, because I'd just gotten my first pair of glasses. Mom noticed I had trouble seeing my brother on the plane and while we were waiting for the glasses to come in, I had to move to the front of the class. Funny how I date most of my pictures by which glasses I was wearing. My vision without correction is now 20/200, despite special drops in my eyes every night during my teenage years. Glasses continue to be an important part of my life. I tried contacts, but my eyes are fairly close together and I think I actually look better with them. My opthamologist said it was the first time he'd ever heard anyone say that. Anyway, my oldest brother was killed the next year, so my life definitely changed. 

1978. College picture. One of the few times I actually liked my hair. College was the first time I'd been away from home for more than two weeks at a time, the first time I was making decisions on my own. The first time I really fell in love. I was still suffering from mono and developed a severe depression my sophomore year, that resulted in me spending four days in the infirmary and missing two finals. I was able to make them up, but it resulted in me changing my major from pre-med. I'm grateful it happened, though it was a difficult time to live through.

1988. How do I know? Hideous dress, old apartment, Elton John glasses and gardenia hairpiece I wore at our wedding at my waist. While I was thrilled to marry Chris and knew it was the right thing to do (he just took out the kitty litter trash and started a load of laundry, God bless him!), the retail store I managed took a hit in sales that year due to construction in the area, so hours were slashed. I worked 65 hours the week of my wedding and many more each week for most of the year. Later that year, we bought our house. I don't recommend getting married and buying a house in the same year, but it all worked out somehow.

1998. Fangirl personified, as this was taken at the Rivercon Science Fiction Convention Chris and I were Fan Guests of Honor for. Chris started the SF conventions in our city and I'd volunteered at a bunch, so we were thrilled by this honor. I'm wearing a T-shirt for Contact 15 (our pro guest was Kris Rusch, who wrote some "Star Wars" novels). Chris and I met at a Contact and discovered we'd both attended as teenagers a "Star Trek" fan club event. Small world. I've met so many friends, authors and artists at conventions, I am very grateful.

2008. Chris and I on top of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas, celebrating our 20th. No, we did not go on the rides, because we had to get the airport shuttle for our flight home, darn. A good portion of my first novel is set in Vegas and I was thrilled to discover a lot of details to "make it real." While I'd been writing seriously again for almost two years, this was when the story really started coming together, actually walking down The Fremont Street Experience, taking a ton of pictures, playing the "Star Trek" machines in the casinos and discovering the VIP entrance to The Forum Shoppes.
So, looking forward to 2018. I plan on still being here and having a good time! Here are a couple of other fun pictures that fell in between:

1972. Stylin'. Don't know what the damage is at the top, probably my loud pants blinded the scanner.

1993. Contact 11 Toga Party, with me in the classic "Roman Holiday" toga. There was a wedding reception in the hotel, but everyone wanted to party with us!

Thanks for wandering through my photo album and please share a picture of you on my Facebook page from an important time of your life and comment below.