Time Flies

How is it possible we have just 30 days left in the decade of the 00s? Remember 1999 when we were breathlessly waiting to see what would happen to the world's computers when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000? Does that really seem like 10 years ago?? To me if feels as if this decade has flown by. On Jan. 1, 2000 I had a 4 year old and a 1 year old who are now 14 and 11. My daughter, who hadn't yet started school, is now in high school. My "baby" boy is a fifth grader. My husband, who was a chief in the Navy in 2000, has now been retired almost eight years. We moved to Rhode Island in August of 2002. This month we marked our seventh year in this house, the longest we've lived anywhere in 17 years of marriage.

In an article well worth reading, Time Magazine is referring to this as the Decade from Hell, thanks to the contested presidential election of 2000, 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic meltdown and other things you may have forgotten about but which left a lasting mark.

For our family, in some ways this has been the decade from hell. My husband and I lost three of our four parents as well as numerous aunts and uncles. We began the decade with two dogs, Roscoe and Consuela, both of whom have since passed away. These have been difficult, life changing losses. But our glass remains much more than half full. Our children are healthy and thriving (and FRESH), we have a wonderful family and delightful friends who make for a tremendous "village" in which to raise our children, I've realized my lifelong dream of becoming a published author, and thanks to my books, I've made so many lovely new friends.

Speaking of friends, I'm expanding my Marie Force Facebook account, so if you haven't already, please send me a friend request! I look forward to seeing you there. In 2010, I plan to start the new decade off right by greatly expanding the action on my blog. I want to talk books! I read like a crazy woman so next year I want to keep track of all the books I read. I'll be reporting in here and keeping a list to see what the grand total for the year turns out to be. I'd love to talk books with you, so tune in often to find out what I'm reading. I also want to talk more about what I'm working on so readers will know what to expect from me down the road. You might be surprised to learn that I'm working on my first-ever historical romance! I'm having an absolute ball with it! What do you think? Can a tried and true contemporary girl go historical? Hmmm.... Finally, in 2010 I plan to offer up one of my unpublished books to my blog readers as part of the promotion leading up to the book currently named "See You Next Time." More to come on that soon!

Now tell me, have you already decorated for Christmas or are you like me and put it off as long as you can? And did this decade go by as quickly for you as it did for me? Do tell!

We Gather Together...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! November has been quite a month around here. We had some rather major renovations done to the front of our house that include a new front porch, sidewalk and stairs down to our driveway along with the rebuilding of two portions of our stone wall, which were previously falling into the driveway. What a major improvement! I'd post some pics here but I've lost the charger cord for my digital camera and it's DOA. Imagine gray-ish cobblestones. However, in a stroke of modern trickery, it's actually stamped concrete. Have you HEARD of all the stuff you can do with cement these days? Well, I'll be honest. I had no idea! My dad said he's never seen it before. I said, yes, you have, you just didn't realize it was cement and not stone. It's quite cool and it's taken our front yard from hideous to fabulous! In the midst, there was jackhammering, digging, big machines, oh, and construction workers. Lots and lots of construction workers. One of them reminded me of a lesser version of Alec Baldwin and then he bent over and showed me his vertical smile. Okay. Yuck.

While my house was being jackhammered to within an inch of its life, I who never leave the house, somehow managed to get the flu. My family and I got the seasonal flu mist on a Friday and I was sick by Sunday. Coincidence? I say not! Of course I was the only one who actually got sick—no surprise there—and was I ever sick! Seven straight days of 101 fevers, a hideous cough, and an appetite that wouldn't quit. Can you stand it? Most people get the flu and can't eat a thing. I get the flu and I'm ravenously hungry. Where's the JUSTICE? It's not fair, I tell you. Not one bit fair!

In other news, today is my lovely nephew Jesse's 14th birthday. Jesse is a great kid, a wonderful student, and a talented film-maker and skateboarder. Happy, happy birthday to Jesse!

Now, I took the day off today so I could work in the kitchen all day. On the docket are two pumpkin breads, stuffing, green bean casserole, peeling and prepping 15 lbs of potatoes, and hitting the grocery store one last time for the final items. My dad is coming at 6 to help me prep the 26 lb turkey because I can't bear to touch the thing when it's not cooked. ICK! Since my dad loves turkey more than life itself, I bribed him into doing the dirty work for me this year with promises of dinner tonight. Now I have to think of something to make! Maybe chili...

On a final note, I'm grateful to all my blog readers who come by even when I'm on an extended hiatus, who email me just to say hello, and to all of you who've bought my books and taken the time to tell me you loved them, you'll never know how much you mean to me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!