I didn't write yesterday

There, I admit it. I spent the evening making 12 dozen cookies for clients and this is only the beginning. The weeks between Black Friday and Dec 15th are my busiest weeks. I bake every night and deliver cookies every day between appointments. I try as hard as I can to give something to all my current clients and past clients who keep in touch. It's not easy, but that's how I roll. I start by sending out Christmas cards on Black Friday, I spend the weekend prior writing roughly 150 cards and this is just what I do for clients. I still have our family Christmas letter I have to write and mail (no I don't Facebook or email it). I am old fashioned, I like ink and paper and the tangible historic value of the printed word.

So today I am supposed to be at our parish's marketing meeting at 6:15 and I totally zoned out and got home at 6 pm after my last appointment and starting making dinner and baking.

I am not Mrs. Fields. This year I purchased a great book with pictures, so I can see what my cookies "should" look like. No matter what I do they always look like a golden brown oyster shell. Then a lady at Bible Study said recently, "use a base cookie." Which I learned is a refrigerator dough cookie that you melt nuts/chocolate/dried fruit on top to look like a fancy dessert. Right! I have to make assorted cookies, so I am playing with the whole base cookie thing and other recipes. My most recent batch are less likely Hell's Kitchen contender's and I don't mean the show. I actually got two nice emails after I dropped off goodies today and that normally doesn't happen. They understand that I am a marketing consultant and not a pastry chef, so I go on the premise that it is the thought that counts.

So I am going to sign off and at the very least write a paragraph in the novel and go to bed.

Where do I start?

Ok, let's get this out of the way, I am not a grammar expert. I can't tell you what a cliche' is, so expect plenty of them. I don't care about hyperboles and such. If you are an English teacher, feel free to show my blog as a "how not to." I don't care. Editors get paid to do something and I intend to give them an opportunity to do their best work. It's not like I have an editor sitting next to me, so if my writing annoys you, God love you if you are still reading.

I have always loved writing since I bought a Smith Corona typewriter at a garage sale in my early twenties. My greatest fear is I will spend too much time blogging each night and not enough time writing my novel.

And no, I can't write in the daytime, I have coupons to sell! Do I sound like I have an attitude, well I really don't but this blog is giving me an attitude, so work with me. My kids tell me I do have an attitude, but I think I know where they got their's from. I am also concerned that I will say "I" too much.

My original goal in the Smith Corona days was to be the next Erma Bombeck. I just loved her books and now I can't read them. They didn't hold up well in my estimation. May she rest in peace, Erma Bombeck was an original humorist in her day and she sold lots of books!!!!!!!

I no longer have the desire to write humor, unless it is part of a story verses her style of writing comedy into book form. I feel her work was that of an early Rosanne Barr and instead of hitting the nightclubs she just wrote it all down and got it published. Forgive me if Erma was a standup comedian and I am too ignorant to know. I am aware that she would do short bits on morning shows and as a guest on a late night program, but that was just part of the book tour, so I don't think she was a regular at the Improv.

Anyway, I started going to writer's workshops, enrolled in a community college to pursue journalism and got a job as a local stringer for some weekly papers. Why they hired me I do not know? The editors were constantly sitting me down and explaining each correction. I did learn a lot. One of the things I used to misspell a lot was alot. I just love compounding words, but I am told my compounds aren't allowed. I just think it is crazy that cornflower and rainstorm can be combined but alot is illegal in the scheme of proper writing and don't get me started on texting! So you can see why I don't bother.

Well, that's enough for a starter. I am baking holiday cookies for clients in between writing my nightly novel entry. More to come.