My Last Evening in California.

I had a wonderful time here in a somewhat sunny California.
I left Sunday morning and flew down, first to San Jose, and then down to LAX. It was weird, because when I went to Hawaii, I didn't mind flying at all. And even then, this time I had a much nicer trip down. But I did not enjoy the flying. I think it had everything to do with take off and landing. My ears did not like the pressure change, nor the pilot's constant tilting of the plane. I wanted to read and listen to music, but instead I found myself leaning back on the seat with my eyes closed, sipping on my little soda.

But once I landed and slept, then it was nothing but fun. On Monday, it was a shopping day. Khristina took me to a HUGE shopping mall, where there was way too much to want to buy. Instead I settled for a cute headband:





some hand rubs:





and a roller tube of perfume. I know, some of you are saying, more perfume? But hey, I'm going through the stuff. Plus, I'm finding that I love to collect designer perfumes. lol



The next big thing we did was take a trip to Disneyland. Since it was my first time, and she hadn't been in years, we wanted to splurge and go for the 1 Day Park Hopper Pass. That meant we had access to the whole park all day and could go between California Adventure and Disneyland. We did everything. Pirate, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones...
We did go on Splash Mountain, but just before we were about to hit the first drop, the ride broke! Psshhhh....

Here we are, stuck on the ride.



We both got the same headband, they were our "safety buddy" system for Disneyland. LOL. They were quickly traded for our Minnie Ears:




Just as we left, outside of California Adventure, California was spelled out in huge colorful letters, we posed with the ones that we open. Because other people were posing on them as well. Here are my faves:









Finally, this must be my favorite pic out of all of them. This was taken just after I went on the roller coaster ride called, The California Screamin'. Screamer is right, we lost our voice after riding that one. And it was one of the most intense rides I can remember being on. LOL, all it did was make me want to take a trip to Six Flags. Some day baby, some day.




Here's a pic of the roller coaster.




I had a great time here. But I do look forward to going back to a much calmer, more quiet Oregon. California, for me, is a great place to visit, but I don't think that I could ever live here. I love my mild climated, less traffic, everything closes at 8 Oregon. This place does however, have some awesome theme parks. And my next park on the to do list is Six Flags.

Now, tomorrow morning there will be a very long 16 hr drive. Here's to a peaceful, stress free road trip.

I Promised.

I said that I would keep you guys, my few and faithful readers updated on my goals to get my Alphabet book published. So here is the latest update. This morning I sent in my query letter, manuscript, and three (yes i finally picked a third letter. took me long enough, i know. LOL) sample letters. I got an automatic email sent to my inbox telling me that my email went through, and if I don't hear back from them within 6 weeks to move on elsewhere. So, now I wait...I guess the timing is good, I'll have work to keep me busy, and I'll be going to California in about a week so my mind will be occupied. That way I won't sit at my email all day pressing f5 over and over again. LOL.

So here's the the two letters I picked from.



I almost, almost went with this one. I really liked 'I.' I thought it was cute and artistically good. But when I thought about the work that went into 'O,' it was a no-brainer. So I sent in 'O' with 'Q' and 'C.'





So I guess I'm hoping you guys will send out good thoughts for my book. I really hope this works out. Only time will tell. LOL I was always really reserved about sending in my letter, but now, in the last week or so, it just felt right. And so many times I haven't listened to my instincts, and now, this time, I decided that I should listen to them.

Here's to the long wait!

Finally Picked a Cover!

I finally picked a cover design, and not only that, I finished it! So it hasn't been lying in my notebook as just a pencil sketch, it is fully drawn and colored. So, now the unveiling. LOL.



If you would like a gander at my five other drawings/sketches, here is the link to my facebook page. It has all my other letters and poems as well. Let me know what you think!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31350796&id=1307546666#!/photo.php?pid=31350796&id=1307546666&fbid=1488655458839

This book has taken years, but I am so happy with how it had turned out so far. With the progress I made in the last few months, I hope that by the end of the next week, at the latest, to send out the query letter......eeek! And don't worry, I'll keep you posted. ;-)