Defining Tiffany Aller

Carrie recently posted her own results, so I went to check out mine. Fun stuff - give it a try!

Tiffany Aller --
[adjective]:

Benevolent to a fault
'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Happy Halloween

I love seeing all the kiddos on Halloween! I'm so glad we got a few this year.

The official tally:
(7 PM - 8 PM ~ I didn't get home until 6:55 and it totally died off after 8, finally shut outdoor lights off at 9, and then still got 3 more!)

Little kids (0-6) - 8
Medium kids (6-12) - 4
Big kids (12-18) - 5
Adults - 1 - yes, this ballsy mother did have her OWN pumpkin in which she was collecting treats. I was floored...and yet I gave her a treat!

The costumes: Spider Man, Dracula, Ninja, Power Ranger, Witch, and a whole bunch who didn't bother to dress up or who weren't memorable enough for me to list.

I think it would have made their little minds explode if I'd asked them to do a trick. I did that in Arlington one year and just stumped the kids. You want a treat? Do a trick, dang it! The kids that really piss me off are the ones with NO COSTUME AT ALL. Uh, hello? Have you missed all of the commercialization of this pagan festival? Dress up, dang it! For very little cash - read, none - you can at least dress up as SOMETHING!

And when did adults start trick or treating with their kids? Accompanying them is one thing - but getting treats for themselves?!

And I guess no one does Unicef anymore, huh? I laid in a stock of coins just for that, but not one kid had the boxes we used to carry. Audrey Hepburn would be disappointed. I know I am.

Oh, well...all in all, a fun night helping parents incur dentist bills, and ensure my husband doesn't add to his waist line by having to eat the leftovers! :-)

Traveling Tuesday

Last Tuesday I was in Washington, D.C. for the day. This Tuesday, I'm traveling a bit as well...but just around the metroplex! So far today, I have gone from home to the office to the airport Hyatt for my conference to lunch up in Grapevine to my house to pick up speakers to my office to the airport Hyatt and then back to my office...I'm due in a meeting in 15 minutes and then back to the airport Hyatt for the late afternoon session. Ye Gods! I'm tired!

I just thought I'd vent on something today: the attitude accepted by some people that it's ok for a woman to accept that she'll "always" make less than a man and subsequently not to strive for more.

My Pampered Chef director is the one who started this in my mind. Chris and I visited with her and her husband a week ago Sunday, because we're just getting back into the demonstrating business...after 6 or so months off when we were too busy to do anything with PC. I made the mistake of making a comment about current and future wages and that I didn't want to end up in the same boat as my mother, only earning 1/2 as much as my dad's Social Security because she didn't have enough work credits of her own to earn on her own. My director, a very sweet woman only 5 or 10 years younger than my mom, told me not to worry, that women should always elect to just earn 1/2 of their husband's SS because they'd never qualify for as much using their own income.

Excuse me?

I compounded the situation by attempting to explain myself, telling her that until I took a rather, er, HUGE paycut to come to American Airlines(40 freaking percent!)I'd always made more than my husband, year over year, for five years prior. Coming to AA was the first time I ever made less, and so I determined that I'd work even harder at my outside activities (writing, judging, PC, etc.) to make up that difference because I'd be damned if I'd change my quality of living.

So then she used that opportunity to tell me that if I'd just schedule more PC shows (she basically considers me a slacker because I only schedule shows from other shows...I have neither the time nor the inclination to solicit from everyone I know) I'd make good money.

At that point, I just shut my trap. But there's no way that would every be true. I do PC for fun and to get fun products. The average show requires 1.5 hours of pre-work, 1 hour of setup, 2 hours of demonstrating, 1 hour of break-down and order-taking and a final 1.5 hours of entering sales, converting internet orders, working on host orders and transmitting. For that seven hours of work, I'll clear around $75 on average or $10 per hour. On the flip side, my freelancing would bring in about $200 for the same number of hours worked and doesn't require me to get out of my jammies, leave my house or spend money on gas.

All this, just to be happy with making less than my husband.

Dream on! One more promotion at AA and we'll be back to even salaries, but I'll damn sure keep writing and judging...and even an occasional PC show once in awhile. I'm never happy settling for just enough...I'll always want more.

And that's not a bad thing!

Hope you're all having a good day! Off to my meeting and then the conference again!

Tiffany

Manic Monday #2

These are fun questions! Good way to start the week.

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be and why?
Siblings. Being an only sucks BIGTIME. It sucked when I was a kid and was so alone so often and it sucks even worse no with two aging parents, one of whom has Alzheimers, and no one to help. I mean, Chris is great, but he has his own parents to think about. You can bet that we will move heaven and earth to ensure that our future family has more than one child in it.

Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now?
Both. Morality is, in a word and pardon the French, fucked. Morals have continued to decline in every generation but the process seems to have excessively speeded up during the 90s and today. The line of acceptability keeps drawing nearer to the ridiculous. If this decline doesn't totally screw humanity, however, there'll be great changes as well, in medical technology as well as technology in general. Irregardless (or regardless...whichever you prefer!) I'm hoping I'm not around to see that bad parts but live long enough to see the good developments.

At the beginning of a relationship, do you trust your new partner unless there is something specific to make you do otherwise, or do you withhold your trust until he/she has earned it?
Hmm...to some degree, I withhold trust. However, I never dated someone unless I knew quite a lot about their background. If they weren't already a friend, I'd run background checks and do Google searches...I'm the paranoid sort. If something didn't add up, I walked away. I'm not the type to think that inconsistencies will work themselves out - they won't. If someone looks hinky, they most likely ARE hinky, and I just don't need that in my life. Chris obviously passed all of my gauntlet tests with flying colors - I actually found some of his police agency test scores in checking his background and knocked his socks off when I mentioned it! He also passed the most important test - my pets liked him from day one. Which, for my snobby pets, says a ton.

Weekend Recap and Goals 10/29

Hey, ya'll!

It's only technically Monday at this point - middle of the night Monday - but I'm trying to get a head start before heading to bed on recapping last week and getting ready for this week. So here it is...

Last week's goals:

1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
Like I just told Patti today, it's completed...I was waiting on a friend of mine to give me a link to her site and she hemmed and hawed and finally said she'd prefer not, so now I just have to post what I've got. Not sure why I haven't yet...it's not hard. Just haven't. Will work on this coming week. (Not adding to goals list, just will get the dang thing done!)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
Got it.
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
Got it, to the extreme! Chris and I worked our butts off on this - 2 hours on Saturday, 90 minutes on Sunday. Not only do we have a FABULOUS outline, we also have character development and plotted out plot points. It rocks. Chris is awesome. I can't wait to start!
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
In progress. We're down several boxes and have thrown a lot away. I'm thinking one more good night's work will finish us off. For the office, I still have to rebuild a desktop but everything else is coming back into place well.
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
Kinda...I did a bit of writing for each, but not quite a thousand words. I did, however, re-read all writing on both and make a whole bunch of edits.
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
Didn't quite hit on Monday, but just posted today! Yay, Lindsey! Fun story!
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
Again, didn't happen on Monday, but got done on Saturday. All that remains for the stairs is plastering over the boo-boos that the carpeting hid.
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
Yeppers. No line, either. Primo spot. Near potties, but not toooo near.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
Yeppers. Sold to Chris' new rookie partner. Glad it'll be someone we know.
10. Have a good week!!
Sure did. I had an excellent week.

What else I accomplished: press release for Patti and marketing plan leading up to her book release. Author interview with Patti, to be posted later this week to Associated Content. Started reading galleys for The Daddy Spell to post a review to ArsCompendium as well as possibly Associated Content. Girls night went well. Paid for and received Margie Lawson's Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior Lesson packet...looking forward to beginning to work through. Identified a few long-term freelancing opportunities to pursue. Like I said...it was a good week. Blogged 6 times in 5 days to my writing blog; 3 times in 5 days to my non-writing blog. Re-read two great books. Prepped for a very busy upcoming week at work.

Speaking of...this weeks goals:

1. Attend Fall Leaders Conference - every fall, American Airlines has a week of conferences for managers of a certain level and up. I'm one level too low on the totem pole and have no direct subordinates, so I ordinarily would not be able to attend, but because of my department and my boss, I'm not only going for one session, but all three! Setup Monday, prep Tuesday morning, first session kick-off Tuesday PM, last session wrap-up Friday AM. Then it's NASCAR time, baby!
2. NASCAR races - two times of year I live for. We're camping only Friday and Saturday nights this race...I have to be at work on Friday during the day, so we'll just head out Thursday night to stay a bit for quals and then head back out to set up our campground and get into the mania of it all Friday after lunch.
3. NaNo starts on Thursday - have I mentioned I'm excited? For this week, the goal is to write on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Sunday off for NASCAR. (I'm already prepped...have 3 spare batteries full charged so I can be up and running...probably won't find internet out there, but I'll be able to write!)
4. Post Patti's press release to a variety of free press release sites; publish Patti's author interview after rewriting from somewhat disorganized notes. (Oh, I'll admit I was just typing everything I heard so it's a mess right now and needs to become WAY more cohesive...my fault, not Patti's...I wasn't pre-prepped with questions, so the disorganization is on my end.)
5. Blog 5x for writing blog, 2-3x for non-writing blog. No weekends unless the spirit moves me.
6. Finish reading The Daddy Spell galleys for Patti and write/post book review.
7. 10 freelance articles.
8. Apply for a few identified ongoing freelance opportunties, including (fingers crossed!) About.com. (Excellent pay, mucho credibility)
9. Plastering on staircase; more organizing upstairs; finish rebuilding desktop.
10. Have a great week!

And I hope you'll all have excellent weeks as well!

Tiffany

Friday Feast #2

Good morning, everyone! It's a beautiful - albeit cold - day here in north central Texas and I'm in a great mood! I'm going to share that mood with this week's Friday Feast!

Appetizer
Name a great website you would recommend to others.
I love Craigslist - I have found a ton of writing jobs there, have found service providers and put out requests for services, and have also sold and bought "stuff" through the site. GREAT format - love it!

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?
Hmm...I'd have to say about a 2. I typically only dream when I'm sick and have a very high temperature, but once in a blue moon, I'll dream when I'm healthy as well!

Salad
Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?
I did! During the summer after third grade, we adopted a precious Yorkie named Peppi. Peppi was the victim of divorce - his owners were divorcing and couldn't decide who got the dogs, so they were all given up for adoption. We had Peppi until the summer after my 10th grade year, when he passed away from cancer. I loved him dearly!

Main Course
If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?
Hmmm...now that's a fun question! I think I'd want to advertise some kind of kitchen gadget or new food item...they could show me all homey-looking in my kitchen, whipping up something yummy. Fun!

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of hard candy?
Lemon drops! YUMMY!



I hope everyone has a great weekend! I have a girl's night out tonight, a speech and debate tournament to judge tomorrow, my husband's former Captain's retirement party tomorrow night, and then housework on Sunday, mixed in with a visit from Patti to chat about ways to market her upcoming novel, The Daddy Spell, soon to be released by The Wild Rose Press. Whew...flying through the weekend and then it'll be time to start all over again on Monday!

...and, just as a teaser...I've accomplished, or know for a fact that I will accomplish....a vast majority of my goals for this week. YAHOO!! I'm so excited by that! And a VERY special THANK YOU to Patti for recommending Margie Lawson's lesson packets on Defeating Self-Defeating Behavior - I just received mine and can't wait to start going through...perhaps accomplishing all of my set goals can become a norm instead of a surprise from now on! (New link to Margie over on the side panel!)

Tiffany

Thursday Thirteen #2



Good morning, ya'll!

I'm at least posting this while it's still morning for many of you!

Yes, if you're noticed, I've been playing with a variety of stat counters. I think I've hit on one that I really like...the stats are public - check it out and let me know what you think! I've pre-loaded it with the stats from the other counters I've used, so there are no details for the first 15 or so visits.

And now...on to the daily MeMe!

Thirteen Reasons I Write

1. We'll get the unpleasant reason out of the way first: to make money! No one likes to discuss the commercialization of writing, but yet we all love when we get a paycheck. So the number one reason I write, right now, is to make a little bit of extra money to supplement my income. Yahoo for $$$!
2. To learn: a lot of my freelance ghostwriting is done on subjects where I have very little knowledge. I have learned so much in the two years I've been freelancing that it's incredible - I can now speak knowledgable on topics I would have never had a clue on before.
3. To help: whatever use my clients have for the writing or creative designs I produce for them, it is helping them in their job or their business in some way. That's incredibly fulfilling to me!
4. To inform: many of the writing I've produced under my own name is to make others aware of an event or a topic that may be relevent in their own lives. If I can add just a little value to someone else's life, I've done my job!
5. To gain exposure: I have several hundred articles produced as a ghostwriter but only a fraction of that as a credited writer - still under 100 pieces of web content under my own name. But each piece of web content that carries my own name gives me just that much more exposure. To wit: my 40 articles on Associated Content garner a total of about 1000 unique views per month. Not too shabby, considering I haven't added any new content in over two months!
6. To network: I occasionally write freelance pieces solely to have in my repertoire as a way to meet other like-minded writers, or potential clients. Writing is a very powerful networking tool!
7. To be a part of a community: I belong to two close-knit communities - one for fiction and the other for freelancing, and the support of those other writers is absolutely fundamental to my own writing!
8. To have a release: Mostly on the fictional side of my writing, putting pen to paper is a fantastic way to let go of the stresses of the "real world" and slip into another world where all that matters is the release of thoughts and ideas.
9. To tell a story: I have four current works-in-progress, and all of them have story lines that I simply feel compelled to share with others. In various stages of completion, each story continues to speak to me...and I suspect will not be silenced until each project is concluded!
10. To fill my time: Idle hands and all that...and although I have very little free time, I try to maximize what I do have in a productive way - plane rides, breaks between forensics rounds, etc. all become times to write.
11. To entice others: I want the worlds of fiction that I create to be like a Siren's song, enticing my readers to step into another world, for however brief a time. Granted, I do not write in the fantasy genre, so my other worlds are simply mirrors of our own world with fictional events and characters, but each setting is crafted to provide a break from reality and a doorway to somewhere else.
12. To fulfill goals: I dream of seeing my name on the front covered of a book one day, of walking in the front door of Borders or Barnes and Noble and seeing my latest work for sale as a New Release! or Bestseller!
13. Because I love it! That's the most important reason...and so I've saved the best for last!



I hope you all have wonderful Thursdays!

Tiffany



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



Wonderful Wednesday

My church has a program called Wonderful Wednesdays for Women. It's held every Wednesday morning from something like 8:30 to noon...so obviously it's aimed at housewives and stay-at-home moms, neither of which am I. But I had the opportunity, while unemployed three years ago, to attend a few times, and although I was a generation younger than most of the women there, it was very fun and fulfilling. I was thinking about that this morning, while on the way to work: needing to get more church back into my life.

There was a time, growing up, that I never, ever missed a week at church. I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition (with an occasional Presbyterian service thrown in, a la my mother) and by the time I hit high school, I was nearly fanatical in my beliefs - I literally went to church several times per week (ok, I also went to a Catholic high school, so some of it was mandated) and come the holidays - Christmas and Easter - I'd go every day straight for weeks. In college, I dropped back to simply 2-3 times per week - every Wednesday at 7 AM at the Catholic Campus Ministry house and once or twice on Sundays. I was the pianist for the Sunday evening college-focused service at the local RC Church in Bloomsburg, and also went in the morning in Scranton if I was awake enough after getting out of my overnight shift at AAA.

After I moved to Texas, I joined a Methodist church. As I've often explained, I did not do so because I have any major beef with the Roman Catholic church. Rather, I lived with the parents of the guy I was dating at the time for about two months after I moved here, while I was settling into my first post-college job and finding an apartment in a strange area and such. Granted, I'd been here before to meet his parents and do job interviews and such, but it was a tremendous help to have somewhere to stay until I could figure out where to live...and get my all-important first professional paycheck, to boot!

The McAlears attended this fabulous church in Southlake, and to be polite, I attended with them each time I visited Texas and then on each Sunday while I lived in their house. After I moved into my own place, I continued to attend...I told myself that I was simply continuing to be polite, and "on the side", I also visited a number of RC churches in the area, trying to find one to call home. After awhile, I realized that none of the dozen or so Catholic churches I attended felt nearly as homey as the Methodist church that I was visiting every week. And so, my accidental conversion. I threw myself into church life - joined a newbie Bible study and joined the choir, which met every Wednesday night.

Has anyone noticed the continuing theme of Wednesdays, yet? Wonderful Wednesdays with Women, Wednesday masses in college, Wednesday night choir...weird!

In any case, I attended every single week I was in town...until about 4 months after I got married! Then...it just starting seeming almost like a chore to get up on Sunday mornings to go to church. I wasn't singing in the choir or playing my violin in the orchestra any longer. It just kind of...fell off. In the past year, we've been to church perhaps 10 times. Pitiful. And I miss it.

So, sitting here this morning, contemplating this Wonderful Wednesday, I'm realizing that I've spent so much time trying to budget my hours to fit in work and writing and activities that I've forgotten what is far more important - my faith. It is said that faith conquers all, and I happen to believe that to be the absolute truth. So instead of worrying about how everything fits together, I'm realizing that I instead need to worry about getting my priorities straight. Whether I produce 15 freelance articles per week versus 10 is far less important than whether I live a life that is true to my beliefs. Sleeping an extra hour or two on a Sunday morning doesn't compare to the wonderful glow of hearing the passionate pastor at my church preach. And using my husband as an excuse (he works nights and often does not arrive home on Sunday mornings until 5 AM, so I tell myself that I can't drag him out of bed so shortly thereafter and shouldn't go without him) is just contemptible.

So on this Wonderful Wednesday, as I look at blocking out a schedule to establish for at least the winter while my mother-in-law is visiting so that all can still be accomplished in our lives, I am reminded that instead of fitting in as many activities as I can, I instead need to fit in the things that most matter: God, family, then anything else.

Hope you all have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Tiffany

Too Too Tuesday

No MeMe today - sorry! :-) I didn't find one that I liked with a Tuesday theme. I guess that means I actually have to write something original, huh?

I had a very long day - and it's only 6:45! My alarm went off at 4:25 this morning, and by 6:10, I was on a plane headed to DCA, Ronald Reagan National Airport. This was a tagalong trip for me - since I'm still so new to my team at American, I'm still learning the ropes. I'm about to be permanently assigned as the Internal Consultant to the Joint Leadership Team in San Jose, CA and so today's trip was to see another city's JLT in action. I sat in on a phone call for the Minneapolis JLT a few weeks ago (I'll be covering that city, as well, temporarily, for the next few months) but I wanted to get an idea of how other cities ran their JLTs as well.

I was very impressed with DCA - just like MSP - despite anything the media would have you believe about the horrible relations between American Airlines workgroups, on an airport level, everyone really does play nicely in the sandbox. The meeting wrapped up in just over an hour and the IC and I had a bite to eat before boarding our plane back home. Lots of flying for such a short meeting, but I'm glad to have gone!

I got back just in time to meet my husband at the airport - his flight arrived just minutes before mine, on his way back from visiting family in Kansas. With dinner in the oven, I thought I'd take two minutes to post!

Writing - got a bit done on the plane today, but honestly, not a lot. That's ok...I'm not going to pressure myself this week. Beating myself up for not achieving certain threshholds is not going to make me a better writer...I need to continuously remind myself that I already have a 40+ hour a week job, plus additional sidelines such as judging speech and debate and my Pampered Chef business...it's not like I sit on my butt doing nothing with my time...but I can't help but feel inadequate when I set a writing goal and do not meet it. If only there were more hours in the day, right?

I've got NaNoWriMo on my mind today...Patti is considering working on the sequel to her soon-to-be-released novel, The Daddy Spell, during NaNo and so I've got my own proposed project on my mind. I just posted to my writing board that, with 10 days to go until November, I'm already un-optimistic about succeeding...and that's just a crappy attitude to have, isn't it?? If I go into November with such a crappy attitude, it'll be like a self-fulfilling prophecy and of course I'll fail.

NaNo sets the goal of 50,000 words over the 30 days of November, but I just don't feel like 50k will do justice to the project I have in mind...I'd rather shoot for at least 75k...which would mean 2500 words per day IN ADDITION to everything else I already do and my mother-in-law arriving for the winter and two work trips and, oh yeah, THANKSGIVING! ARGH! But then I think about it like this...if I can set a schedule for just adding on to my NaNo work and actually observe that EVERY SINGLE DAY, it's really not that unrealistic, right!? I've been working on schedule ideas, so I'm just going to go work harder now to get something into place. Perhaps I'll take a little pressure off myself and call it NaNoWriMoMo and do November AND December...now there's a thought...

Anyhow, I'm definitely rambling by now. Hope all is well with my readers!

Tiffany

Manic Monday #1

Another MeMe - this looks like a fun one! This one provides "thought" questions to jump start your brain on Monday mornings - and boy do I need it this morning, running on 3.5 hours of sleep and trying to get back into budgeting here at work! So...here we go!

Would you be able to serve on a jury and sentence the defendant to the death penalty if he/she were found guilty of a crime that the court felt warranted the death penalty?
Yes. I absolutely believe in the death penalty and its use in American society. I don't believe in it because of proportionality - as the kids I judge in LD debate argue, we aren't going to start raping rapists or stealing from thieves. I also don't believe in it because I have a God complex and want the power over someone's life or death. I do believe in the death penalty, however, because I feel that there are simply some crimes so heinous and some criminals so horrifying that there really is no other suitable punishment for their transgressions than death. Having said that, I believe in the very judicious application of the death penalty - it is not appropriate in all cases and should never be applied without great thought and an overwhelming body of evidence testifying to the commission of the crime.

Have you ever faked being ill to avoid doing something you didn’t want to do?
Yes, yes I have. It's been only rare occasions, however, few and far between.

Would you state you were guilty of a crime you didn't commit to free a loved one?
This is a very odd question to me. It's a variation of the "would I jump in front of a speeding bullet to save a loved on" question. And my answer, as it is for the variation, is more than likely, no. Not because I'm selfish; but because I don't see the point in the self-sacrifice of my life or freedom. Would I try to aid my loved one? Of course. Would I lie to take their place? No. That seems a simply ridiculous concept to me. They're captured for a reason; it seems far more prudent to learn that reason and work to correct any mistakes in that reasoning than to simply trade places.

Weekend Recap and Goals 10/22

Good morning, y'all! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. We were busy - we spent some time on Saturday working in the house and running errands, I demonstrated at a Pampered Chef party Saturday night while Chris was at work, we visited with my Pampered Chef director for a couple hours on Sunday afternoon, and then got to the Fort Worth Air Show *just* in time to see the Blue Angels! That, in itself, made my weekend complete - boy do I love to see them fly! Came home, grocery shopped, cooked dinner together, hung out and then Chris headed to his off-duty job while I worked to - *gasp* finish my Web page!

Yes, that's right, the dang thing is done. Finished. Finito. Unfortunately, it got done at about 3:23 AM, and my alarm was set for 7 AM this morning, so it's done but not posted. Tonight, tonight! YAHOO!

That's the perfect lead-in to this week's goals - writing and otherwise.

1. Give the ol' Web site one last lookie-loo and post the sucker. I know that I'll revise as time goes by, but after so long, I'll just be happy to have the dang thing posted! (Monday)
2. 10 freelance articles (Ongoing)
3. Outline for DNA - I keep putting this off, and that's just not good, since NaNoWriMo is only 10 days away! (Wednesday)
4. Continue sorting through attic storage boxes and finish setting office back up. (Tuesday and Thursday)
5. 1000 words each for The Mommy Letters and Going Home. (Whenever!)
6. Finish critting Palindrome for Lindsey. (Monday)
7. Finish trim on bottom stairs. (Monday) (What can I say - I'm feeling ambitious today!)
8. Secure campground for NASCAR weekend.
9. Sell final NASCAR ticket - 1 is sold, 1 still hangs in the balance! :-)
10. Have a good week!!

And I hope you'll all have good weeks as well.

Smiles,

Tiffany

Friday Feast #1

As this blog develops and begins to stand on its own, I'm sure that I will post "original" posts - in fact, I know I will, because I post to my Writing.com blog fairly frequently, and I'll probably replicate some of those posts here. But for now, I'm in MeMe mode! So, for your reading pleasure...the Friday Feast!

Appetizer
If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?
I would undoubtedly be a yip-yap dog - probably a Yorkie.
a) it's my favorite breed
b) I'm not exactly large
c) I sure can be annoying sometimes! :-)

Soup
What does the color purple make you think of?
Should it make me think of something in particular, per se? I guess I could think of the book/movie. Often, it makes me think of Tinky Winky. Other times, I care not!

Salad
Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning?
Well, there's two ways of answering this. How long should it take me, or how long do I drag it out to? If I get out of bed right when the alarm goes off, head right to the shower, don't read (excessively) while drying my hair, skip breakfast, don't pack a lunch and forget to let the dogs out, it takes 30 minutes flat. If I hit snooze a few (few?!) times, do read, still skip breakfast, remember to pack a lunch, let the dogs out, chase the dogs, pet the cats, check my email, and grab a soda...usually an hour fifteen. My goal is an hour.

Main Course
How many cousins do you have, and are you close to them?
I have a ton. My dad is one of ten children; my mom one of four. And then there's my cousins by marriage - Chris' cousins. All told, the number of first and second cousins is about fifty, including spouses. My oldest first cousin is 30 years older than me...my youngest (on my side) is 15 years older...on Chris' side, the youngest is 8 years younger. Quite the span. I used to be super close to Rachel and Nicki, two second cousins who were more like my little sisters, but time and distance have made that not so, which makes me sad. Nicki, at least, still talks to me...Rachel became a bit of a wild child and I guess I just don't fit her lifestyle at this stage...but maybe again someday!

Dessert
Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (Example: SFO = Sweet Funny Otter)
TAA - ok, we're totally going below the line here...kiddies, avert your eyes.
TAA - t!t$ and a$$!

Thursday Thirteen #1

Howdy, y'all, and welcome to the inaugural post of my newest writing venture: a blog about...my writing!

Rather than bore you with a convoluted biography or introduction, I'm simply going to go ahead and launch into my Thursday Thirteen.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you'll come back soon!

~Tiffany

Thirteen Things about Tiffany Aller

1. I love sharing...at length. Just ask the ladies at the Online Romance Writers Circle - thank you, Kelly - and you are blessed.

2. This gives me a way to share my thoughts without overloading on posts to the ORW Circle boards...self-serve updates!

3. Blogger/Blogspot is more universal than my writing blog hosted at Writing.com, so this venue will promote a wider audience.

4. As my various Works in Progress make...progress, I can use this blog as a way to post updates!

5. This can be another accountability tool: if I post goals here, I'll really feel bad not accomplishing them, if I have loyal readers checking up on me!

6. TiffanyAller.Blogspot.Com wasn't yet claimed - I had to do it!

7. Ah, yes...another excuse not to do actual writing. Yahoo!

8. I don't have enough neglected projects...how about a(nother) blog?

9. I already have three other blogs (plus 6 adsense websites!) that (try to) I keep up with - a writing blog at Writing.com, a personal blog that I use for mass updates and silly surveys at MySpace, and another blog right here at Blogspot that I'm not quite ready to share yet, as it is in it's infancy and currently exists primarily for me, myself and I. This blog will keep them company. :-)

10. Blogging is cool...15 years ago, I would have killed anyone who read my diary. Now...I'm hoping you come here to read my public diary!

11. Come on, now. Everyone's doing it. Duuude.

12. Promotion, promotion, promotion.

13. I love having readers - y'all come back soon now, y'hear?








Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



Comment Policy: Nature


Don't be rude to me or my readers. Don't belittle, demean, or call names. If you do, I WILL delete you. (It is, after all, MY blog)

Comment Policy: Link


Comments on this blog are made DOFOLLOW for the Google Spiders.

Spam will not be tolerated.

Disclosure Policy


This policy is valid from 18 October 2007

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog sometimes accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. Some advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner of this blog may be compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Notwithstanding, the views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog's owner. I may claim or appear to be an expert on a certain topic or product or service area, but I will only endorse products or services that I believe, based on my expertise or experience, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.


To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org.
Modifications to policy drafted by Tiffany A. Aller.

Usage Policy


The works displayed on this site are solely owned by Tiffany A. Aller, or are copied, quoted or linked from other sources with explicit or implicit permission only.

You may copy, quote or link to any portion of this blog provided that you do not change any work as it is presented and provide attribution to Tiffany A. Aller as the license owner of the material. You may not receive any compensation for the republication of any portion of this blog without the express written permission of Tiffany A. Aller.

Although derivation of the material presented in this blog is not permitted, you may, in manners usual and customary, use either visual or textual templates as the framework for your own work on your own site.

To view the summary or full Creative Commons License that governs this site, visit Creative Commons.