Off To A Good Start

I welcomed the New Year with a very good friend in Las Vegas. We danced a little, drank a little, ate a lot and then watched the fireworks atop the Treasure Island hotel. We were staying in the most beautiful suite in one of the most luxurious hotels on the strip- dual sink vanity, water closet, deep tub, separate shower; sunken living room, view of the strip and desert and mountains; and the most comfortable beds ever created- and we were young, beautiful, single women enjoying our youth and our friendship.

Prior to flying out west I had set up my literary reading and it went smoothly. When I returned, another event that I'm helping to coordinate for February also fell into place. Add that to my impending publishing in Blue Lake Review and a few other great opportunities that have come my way so far and it looks like 2012 isn't going to be a huge bitch.

Also, in order to avoid becoming a huge bitch myself, I made sure to sign up for regular yoga classes and am finally activating my Crunch Fitness one-month membership and weekly dance class vouchers. I mean, I already look pretty hot:

but that can easily backslide. All it takes is one enchilada. So to that end I'm taking action; I'm taking my fitness journey to the next level.

AND, I'm excited about the other goodness coming my way:

• Finishing my novella
• The first draft of my novel
• My MFA degree (pretty please?? I sent my papers in July 2011!)
• Getting more stories published
• The last payment of one of my student loans (May 2012, Bitches!!!)

2012, you're a right-good peach. I think you and I are gonna be real sweet friends.

*smooches...filled with hope for the new year*
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how's your year shaping up so far?

In 2012, I Will Have A Full House At A Reading

Gone are the days when only five people showed up to hear me and my fellow writers bare our souls through our stories. In fact, I'm going to pretend those days don't even exist. The past is the past. This is the year people will fill the seats at my events and leave wanting more. I can almost feel it in my bones!

In two weeks, when La Pluma y La Tinta hosts it's 3rd Annual January reading, all of my New Yorkers will be there to support real literature. No, there won't be a celebrity host (just me!) or alcohol (unless you count what we'll be drinking at the bar afterward) or any other incentive except enjoying some great poetry and stories.

This is a free event, but our host-venue would surely appreciate your donations. So you're coming, right? RIGHT?

*smooches...feeling that this year will be different*
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I'm telling you, I just KNOW y'all gonna come through this year fo' sho'!

It's Mari's Birthday!

I'm a bit sad that we didn't have a little celebration before I flew to Vegas and she drove back to D.C. I can't think of any year that I've missed her birthday, but hopefully she knows she's my sweet little booger-faced baby doll and I love her to bits and pieces.

Happy Birthday, Mari!

Enjoy these tunes, just for you, from the year you were born :)











*smooches...just for Mari today*
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y'all know what to do; wish Mari a happy one!

Colorful.

A friend posted a link to a John Meyer quote that read:

"Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I've got a few missing. It's ok though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type.. I'm like, 'hey girl, magenta!' and she's like, 'oh, you mean purple!' and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, 'no - I want magenta!'"

ME: What am I???

FRIEND: 128 color; sprawled across the floor.

ME: LOL! Why I gotta be sprawled, though?

FRIEND: Because no box can hold you.

*smooches...enjoying a dose of truth*
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it's hard being this fabulous, but it's my cross to bear. So I'll bear it.

Jaded Photographs: January 2012 Edition

"Ride Or Die Chicks"

*smooches...wishing you all a Happy New Year*
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I'm looking forward to more good-looking fun w/these heffas. I love them so much!