If Things Look a Bit Odd…

…around the blog, you can blame me! For months now, I’ve been meaning to edit my blog’s style sheet so I wouldn’t have to manually left-justify the posts or worry about how long my titles are (they were full justifying, so I always had to shorten them so they wouldn’t go onto two lines and look all weird), and so I could make the font for the titles a bit smaller. I managed to do both, but when I saved my changes in Notepad, my nicely spaced style sheet scrunched itself into one huge paragraph, and now I’m terrified of making things worse by trying to fix it myself. This mess is all behind the scenes, thank God.

From your end, if you don’t look closely, you might not be able to tell that while the blog titles are smaller, the “Leave a Reply” font, etc. is not. They should match! And, with the smaller title font (which I like – the big pink always bugged me a bit), I’m wondering if the body font of the posts now looks a bit too big. Opinions?

I’d planned to make changes to the sidebar, like moving the Newsletter sign-up box below my book covers, which might have required installing a plug-in, and I’d also planned to experiment with my block quotes. But then I inadvertently screwed up the style sheet’s formatting.

I’ll figure it out sooner or later. In the meantime, if you find my goofs offensive, close your eyes!

Guest Blogging Alert (Mine)

I’m hosting Dara Girard on the blog next Tuesday, August 18th, so consider this pre-warning (or pre-invitation, depending how you look at it), that Me, Myself, and Eye is also blogging at Nobody Writes It Better that day (Tuesday, August 18th, for those with the memory retention of a gnat). August 18th is a special day for me. It’s my grandfather’s birthday. Or it would be if he weren’t six feet under. Now, now, I’m not being rude. If he were still alive, he would be turning 110 on August 18th. But, alas, he expired at 106. The nerve!

My grandfather believed that he could do anything—and he pretty much did. He’s a prime example of how You’re Never Too Old to achieve your dreams. Which happens to be the topic of my blog next Tuesday…August 18th…at Nobody Writes It Better. I hope you’ll join me.

Healthy Writer

My fellow 007 GH finalist sister, Trish Milburn, has just opened Healthy Writer, a blog devoted to encouraging sedentary individuals to get in shape (you know, those of us who sit in front of a computer all day). What a great idea, Trish. Check it out!

I admit, I am pretty sedentary in nature. Look under Athlete in the dictionary and you won’t find a picture of moi, that’s for sure. I walk every day, sometimes twice a day, thanks to my dog, however. I don’t know if I’d adhere to my schedule without the dog… When you have a dog and you’ve trained them to expect two walks a day, unless one of your kids (like mine) is responsible for the afternoon walks, you’re going on two walks a day whether you like it or not. Dogs are personal trainers in a hair suit.

Every other day, the day we aren’t going on a short (15-20 minute) morning walk, the McBeag and I go for what I call a “run/walk.” It doesn’t qualify as a “run,” because we don’t run all the way. We run about 10-15 minutes to the dog park, then she gets to sniff or attempt to drown herself in the creek (depending on how hot it is), or play with other dogs, then we walk the rest of the way home (about another half hour). If I have to walk her again in the afternoon (every Monday while both kids are home, then two or three times a week once Eldest Son hies himself back to university), then she only gets the short 15-20 minute walk again.

As for the running, I’d try to extend the duration—but the dog park’s in the middle, what can I do? And I can only stand so much torture. I’m not a running fiend, never have been. It’s easier with the dog. Her attempts to sniff everything along the road keep my mind occupied. Without her, I Hate Running. It’s good for my heart, which is why I do it, but it makes my back ache. Oh, well, that’s what massage therapists are for. I could not run every other day without my twice-monthly massage.

How do you cope with the sedentary nature of a writer’s life?

Oh, Canada!

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HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I’m blogging at Nobody Writes It Better today, marking my inaugural post for the Golden Heart 2007 finalists’ new group blog. Hop on over and say hello. I’m giving away a copy of my Canadian-set romance, HEAD OVER HEELS (which takes place in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., if you want specifics). (But of course you’ve read it already, so you should know). (If you haven’t read it already, don’t worry, I can tell). (And will disreward you accordingly). (If you’ve already read it, you can still enter the contest and snag an extra copy). Big caveat: you have to comment there, not here. You can still comment here if you wish, but doing so won’t enter you in the contest, just score you brownie points for being extra-friendly and Canadian-like.

Don’t make me look like a Comment Wuss now, you hear? I want lots and lots of comments on my post.