Meme alert: Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To

My blogging buddy Modern Mom tagged me last week in one of those little meme challenges. The original version is pretty lengthy, and because I’m so damn long-winded, I’ll just respond to the first part. Here goes.

Eight Things I’m Looking Forward To

1. The Las Vegas Writers Conference, April 16-18. Between workshops, seminars, panel presentations, and pitch sessions with agents, editors and publishers, this conference has something for everyone, no matter what stage of the writing life you’re currently living. Money’s tight these days, I know, but if you’re in Las Vegas stop by Thursday night between 7:00 – 10:00 for a “Meet the Authors” open reception, sponsored by Stephen’s Press. This will be a great way to meet and network with other writers. Be sure to look for me and say hello!

2. The Laughlin River Run, April 25. This is one big freakin’ biker fest! I went last year for the first time and had a ball. I wrote up a full account in my very first Living-Las-Vegas article—check it out. I LOVE the biker culture, especially biker bars, which will be the topic of my May 6 article. My friend Lisa and I did a little research last Sunday down at the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, Nevada, about 25 miles south of Vegas. What a cool place—I can’t wait to go back!

Here we are. Yep, we can tell our grandsons this is how Granny and Nana spent Easter Sunday.


I don’t ride myself (duh—I’m way too Princess and the Pea), but my sister Lori does. She kicks ass.


3. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, April 24 - 26 and April 30 - May 3. (Alas, I’ll be there only from May 2 -3, leaving New Orleans on the 4th.) JazzFest is a freakin’ blast, and it’s not all about jazz, either. I prefer the stage with the regional zydeco and Cajun bands, and there’s nothing like eating a breakfast of beignets and café au lait in the gospel tent. Big, giant artists also make the scene; this year I’ll be seeing Bon Jovi (not really one of my favorites, but certainly worth a look) and Neil Young (one of my VERY favorites). This will be my thirteenth JazzFest; my sister Lori has been there for 10 of them. Look, sometimes we dress alike!


4. Mother’s Day in Boise. Mom and Stepdaddy just bought a house up there and they close at the end of the month. I can’t wait to check it out. Did I ever post this picture of them? It was taken on their wedding day, February 18, 2006 at the Tropicana here in Vegas. See… it’s never too late for a Vegas wedding. Aren't they cute?


5. Memorial Day weekend. My blogging BFFs Julie and Dar are coming for a visit and I can’t wait to meet them! They’re staying with me, which gives me an excellent reason to do a super-cleaning, which I hardly ever do anymore. I hate to say it, but now that beloved boyfriend and I have been together for a few months, I’m not quite the super-cleaner I was in the early days. (Don’t worry, honey; I may let my place go, but I’m way too vain to let myself go.)

6. The party to celebrate Courtney and John’s wedding, June 20. This is going to be so much fun! As you probably know, John and Courtney are both singer-songwriters, as is my son, Christopher, so between them and their friends, there’ll be lots of home-grown music. Mom and Stepdaddy will be there from Idaho and I’ll be bringing my BF back to Albany to meet my kids, grandson, and the other family members I haven't exposed him to yet. Yay!

7. The Saratoga Racing season, late July – Labor Day. I LOVE the track! I usually make it back for Labor Day weekend and catch a couple of days of racing at the top of the stretch. But the Vegas version of a day at the races is fun, too. I’m gonna send you to another Living-Las-Vegas.com article I wrote.


8. Jackson Browne’s concert at Red Rock casino pool. I love Jackson Browne! (I know, I’m a girl.) But I really love him—did I tell you my son’s full name is Christopher Jackson? You don’t think he was named after Stonewall Jackson, do you? Or, (gasp!) Michael Jackson. The pool at Red Rock is a great place to see a show; I saw Peter Frampton there last summer and (again) I wrote a Living-Las-Vegas article about it.

On top of all these fun things I’m looking forward to, my book, Bastard Husband: A Love Story is really coming along! I purchased my ISBNs, submitted the paperwork for my LLC (Aging Nymphs Media), and Gregory Kompes is working hard on the internal design and cover. Here’s a mock-up. Simple, but I like it. (The title’s strong enough!) What do you think? It won’t be long, folks!

Okay, with these meme challenges, I’m supposed to tag eight other bloggers. So to keep it interesting, I thought I’d list the eight most freakin’ demented women I know (and I mean “demented” in a good way).

1. Julie (47 and Starting Over)
2. Linda (Linda and Her Twaddle)
3. Carmen (Poker Girl in Vegas)
4. Sandi (Lucky Thirteen Plus One)
5. Debbie (Write on Target)*
6. Kristin (Fertile)
7. No idea what her name is but I love her blog (The Letters I Wish I Had Written)
8. Tasha (The Housewife Diaries)

* Sometimes appears normal but is demented underneath, I guarantee.

Alright, girls… What are you looking forward to? (Or go to Modern Mom’s blog for the full meme.) And Hurricane Mikey, why don’t you play along, too? You know, break up the estrogen fest a bit…