Top 10 vacations!

It's been a long time since my family has been able to take a vacation, so I decided it was time to start thinking about one. I asked some of my favorite authors where they liked to go, and I added a couple of my own.

Here's my list of the top 10 vacations:

1. Carla Capshaw’s favorite vacations were in Italy and Japan.
2. Kim Vogel Sawyer had a great time taking a cross-country trip from Kansas to California with her husband and daughters. They saw some beautiful country along the way, including the Grand Canyon, and she cherishes those memories.
3. Sandie Bricker loves to go to San Diego as a tourist. She stays in a particular hotel where they have English high tea, fireplaces and journals in the rooms, and live jazz every Friday night. She enjoys going to Sea World, taking a whale watching cruise, or walking around Seaport Village.
4. Tamela Hancock Murray and her family have gone to Myrtle Beach almost every year for 25 years.
5. Lena Nelson Dooley enjoys taking trips to Minnesota to visit relatives.
6. Margaret Daley loves to travel, and her favorite places include the Southwest United States, England, Scotland, all over Europe, Tahiti (one of her all-time faves), Belize (loved looking at the Mayan ruins), Hawaii (favorite island is the Big Island with the volcano), Alaska (cool helicopter ride and fun dog sledding), Bermuda, Costa Rico, and Biloxi (to see family, fish, and enjoy the sun & fun).
7. Paige Winship Dooly loves the beach and the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri.
8. Tara Randel and her family spent many memorable Thanksgivings in the mountains of north Georgia. Just a few days in the cool weather, collecting colorful leaves and visiting quaint towns made for wonderful family memories.
9. I love San Francisco because of the cultural blend, pastel colors, hills, water, and fabulous food!
10. Even though I live in Florida, I still enjoy going to any tropical place where my husband can play golf, and I can enjoy the warm weather and sunshine by day and a seafood dinner at a laid-back restaurant on the beach in the evening.

Top 10 coming soon!

Starting next week, I’m going to feature some top 10 lists—strictly for entertainment. People are always asking me questions, like what do writers do when we’re not writing, what inspires us, and what our home life is like. I’ve polled some of my favorite authors and asked them to send some of their top 10 answers to add to my own lists. I’ll post a new list every couple of days, so drop by occasionally and take a peek into the world of a few of my published author buddies.

Books arrived!

Last night my husband walked into the house carrying a box filled with copies of my brand new book, If the Dress Fits! This means that bookclub members will be receiving their copies very soon!

Even though this is my seventeenth published book, I’m as excited as I was when copies of my very first book showed up on my doorstep. The process of writing the synopsis, submitting, writing the book (the most fun part!), working through issues in copy editing, and looking over galleys is long and requires lots of eagle eyes, but it makes the final result much better. I’m thankful to my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, my editor, JoAnne Simmons, and Barbour Publishing's Heartsong Presents staff for all their hard work and commitment to excellence!

Conflicting emotions and writing time!

I’m thankful my daughters have grown into such responsible women. Really I am. But seriously, why do I feel so sad when I watch them doing what we raised them to do? Didn’t the Lord put parents in charge of teaching our children to stand on their own and be able to make good decisions?

My older daughter Alison flew down to visit for a few days. I love having her here, but seeing her reminds me that she’s not a little girl anymore. She’s a grown woman with a husband, a full-time professional job, a house with mortgage, and a couple of animals she and her husband so responsibly take care of. I’m going to force myself to focus on the moments she’s here rather than thinking ahead to when she’ll get back on that plane.

The “baby” of the family, Lauren, isn’t a baby anymore. Not only is she almost finished with college, she’s thinking about moving away if the right job comes along. She’s smart, witty, and very responsible with her job, which means she’ll be a great catch for any employer who is sharp enough to realize how much she has to offer.

I’m not sure if I’ll suffer from empty nest syndrome, but based on how I feel now, I just might. Hmm. Maybe I already am.

Over the past few years, I’ve had to work around everyone else’s schedule for my writing, and it’s worked out quite well. Now that I have time to write whenever the muse strikes, I wonder how I’ll do. Having only a few minutes here and there has made the time seem more precious. I need to change my thinking and value larger chunks of time as much as I do the stolen minutes.