Laura Bowers

I'm in a major MEME mood, so I checked out the ladies at memegirls to see what's cooking.  Love this one!

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? If you're as name obsessed as we are, fill out this Meme Girls original meme and share your name- and your favorites- with the blogging world. Then tag five friends to do the same.

1. First Name:      Laura

2. Middle Name:     Lee

3. Name you go by:    Laura, but in high school, everyone called me Laurie for some reason.

4. Name(s) your parents call(ed) you:    I'm opening the door wide open here, but my parents called me Peetie.   Yes, Peetie.

5. Other nicknames (past and present):   Again--door wide open.  I was also called Lump.  Yeah, I know.

6. What did you call yourself when you were little?     Anything but Lump.

7. Were your parents considering any other names (that you know of) before they settled on yours?     Sarah or Honey. 

8. What does your name mean?    I had to break out the baby name book I use for writing to answer this one:  "A crown of laurel leaves."  By the way, if you're working at a coffee shop, don't leave a baby name book on the table unless you want people to ask when you're due. ;)

9. Do any famous people share your name?   Laura Ingalls Wilder

10. Can you pronounce your name backwards?    Arual?  Not without sounding tipsy.

11. Favorite girls' names:   Jordan Leigh.  If I had a girl, she would have been Jordan Leigh.  Love that name!

12. Favorite boys' names:      Broc and Cooper.  Okay, they're my boys' names.  I felt obligated to go with these!

13. Favorite name you've ever read in a book:     Ayla from CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, by Jean Auel

14. Favorite name from a TV show:    Mr. Magoo.  Honestly, how could you not love that?

15. Favorite name for a dog/cat:    Macey.  I wanted to name our puppy, Jamie, that but I was overruled.

And a bonus question for the writers among you:

16. Favorite character name:   Mac McGerp from THE LAST BURP OF MAC McGERP, by Pam Smallcomb.

Five people I'm tagging:

kellyrfineman
onegrapeshy
carriejones
alison23
slayground

And YOU!!

melissawyatt   said "So here's the thing: turn to page 123 in your work-in-progress. (If you haven't gotten to page 123 yet, then turn to page 23. If you haven't gotten there yet, then get busy and write page 23.) Count down four sentences and then instead of just the fifth sentence, give us the whole paragraph."

I'm going to bend the rules a tad and go with what's on Page 23. It's odd how much plot the paragraph on 123 gives away! I'll share that later. ;) And please keep in mind that the following is quite rough!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mona stepped out, wearing a pair of skin tight jeans and a crop denim vest. She shook her hair out of the curlers and turned to her daughter. “What do you think of this look? Can you guess which video it was from?”

Sabrina rolled her eyes at her mother’s outfit. Mona Owens has the biggest Shania Twain obsession this side of the mason Dixon line, and often dresses up in different outfits worn by the country star in her videos whenever she goes out. “Yeah, for the Any Man of Mine video, and don’t try to change the subject. Why can’t I go to Dad’s this weekend? Why do you need me around?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, speaking of melissawyatt , at a conference, Melissa once gave me some kick-butt advice that I still follow. She suggests making the following format changes to a rough draft before printing it out to read:

* Switch the font to Garamond, or a serif font that's more "open" than TNR.
* Single space the entire manuscript.
* Move the side margins in one inch each and the top and bottom margins in one and a half inches.
* Adjust the paragraph indent to two or three spaces instead of five.

By doing this, your story will look more like a "real book," rather than a manuscript, and it's amazing you differently it reads in this format! Try it once!

(Thanks, Melissa!)

I also was able to attend the launch party for Paula Chase Hyman on Saturday night to celebrate the release of her book, SO NOT THE DRAMA! Bob and I had a fantastic time, and it was so cool meeting Paula, a fellow member of The Class of 2k7. More details--and pictures--will be coming tomorrow!

Have a fantastic week!

This meme is old, but I'm in a meme mood, so here goes.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate. The site of egg nog creeps me out, so I've never even tried it before.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrapped, most definitely. And we don't put any presents under the tree before Christmas. It takes away the magic of seeing them on Christmas morning!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Both. We put white icicles on the garage, porch and three dormers, red lights on the porch rails, and colored lights on the bushes. It's not Christmas until Mom has blown the lights at least four times.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No, as much as I love to over-decorate, we've never put up a mistletoe.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
The weekend after Thanksgiving, every year. And what doesn't get done by that next Monday simply isn't done.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Creamed corn casserole. I could shove my entire face in it! Oh, and green bean casserole. And the spinach dip with pumpernickel bread my mom and I gorge on.  (I always allow myself to gain a few over the holidays.)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: 
My mom was never the Betty Crocker type. But, for the holidays, she would go all out and make the most amazing food, like baked Alaska, and such.  Our old farm house would be packed with relatives, since she came from a big family, and we'd crash in sleeping bags in front of the tree. But those big Christmas celebrations came to an end when family arguments caused nearly everyone to hate each other. It's sad, really.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. What truth? Is he cheating on Mrs. Claus or something?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Nope.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Like this.



11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Somewhere in between.

12. Can you ice skate?
I've never ice skated before, but I'd like to try some day!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
When I was a kid, my parents had a print of a Saturday Evening Post cover hanging in the hallway of a little boy who had to sell his St. Bernard during the depression. It always made me so sad, and sometimes I'd sit on the steps and cry when I looked at it.  But it was my favorite, and I loved how it made me appreciate the things I had. One day, I told my husband how much I missed that cover, which I thought was done by Norman Rockwell.

Well, Bob made it his goal to find that Rockwell print. He had friends search the internet, and even went as far as calling the Norman Rockwell museum.  A lady then told him the cover was actually done by Angus Mac Donall. He found a place to order the print, and had it framed for me. When I opened it, I started to cry just like I did when I was a kid, and it's now one of my favorite things!



14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
The birth of Jesus, even though we sometimes forget.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
My mini-cheesecakes. Seriously, I don't like to brag, but they're amazing!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Going with Bob and my boys to this one restaurant/bar every Christmas Eve at noon where we have a standing invitation with friends and associates. They sell the most amazing crab cakes, there's a basketball/video area for the kids and whoever happens to be free stops in. (M.G. - if you're reading this, come join us! Call Bob for the details, and tell V.K., as well!)  We always have a blast!

Also, this is so silly, but after everyone goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, I always put on the movie, "A Smoky Mountain Christmas," with Dolly Parton and watch it while I finish up wrapping or baking. It's such a campy movie, but I love it!

17. What tops your tree?
A star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. I always feel awkward opening presents for some reason.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Jim Reeve's "Mary's Boy Child," and I love the Bare-naked Ladies remake of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yuck!

I'm tagging who ever hasn't done this yet!

zeisgeist tagged me to do:

Ten Wonderful Things that start with the letter B:

1.  Bob, my husband.  Say it with me now . . . awww!
2.  Broc, my eldest son.  One more time!  awww!
3.  The Bible
4.  Baseball, best sport ever
5.  Burt's Bees Wax
6.  A big breakfast
7.  Beauty Shops.  Hmm.  Someone should write a book about them.  Especially if they're for rent! ;)
8.  Bunn Coffee Makers - fresh coffee in THREE minutes! 
9.  Blue Heelers, best dogs ever.
10.  Britney Spears divorcing K-Fed!

(Ten Wonderful Things that start with the letter C:

1.  Cooper, my youngest son.  Sorry!  Couldn't leave my Coop-man out!)

Five Bad Things that start with B:

1.  Blisters on your heels from wearing boots that pinch but look really, really cute so you wear them anyway.
2.  Bad breath.
3.  Bitchy people.
4.  Blaring radios, which is a sure sign I'm getting old.
5.  Birds that nest in your dryer!

People I'm tagging:  I'm behind on my friend's page, so if you've already done one . . . do it again with the letter X!  Work it, baby!

newport2newportandrearicetanyaleestonecarriejonesjuliebowe

kellyrfineman-I did see yours, so you are spared.  Unless, of course, you feel brave and want to tackle the letter X!  

I'm jumping on the accent bandwagon going around livejournal because all the cool kids are doing it . . . 

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
North Central
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Huh? Inland North?  I'm a Maryland gal, folks.  And I say soda, not pop.

Here's a true story for you. I was at a London pub once when I was twenty-one, and this elderly man could tell I was from Maryland by the way I spoke. Which was surprising, because some people think I sound a little Southern.  Guess I'm an accent hybrid!