Countdown to New Years - Day 22

I was just about to crawl into bed when I realized that I hadn't posted for today! I would have been so angry at myself in the morning had I missed it...to be honest I probably would have posted tomorrow and changed the date, but deep down I would have known I didn't do it! LoL

What was it that made me happy today? Tonight I sat down and wrote my final exam for the online course I've been taking through Sheridan College. Yeah! I finished the course :)  I will admit that many bad words escaped my lips as I worked my way through the questions, but damn it felt good when I finished. 

And, despite already suffering from "retail holiday brain", I managed to pass the exam with an 85% . 

Yup, I'm feeling a little chuffed right now :)

Countdown to New Years - Day 23

I'm sitting here with the button of my pants undone wondering how I'm every going to make it up to bed, and if my husband has the energy to roll me up there. My favourite part of today was getting to go out to dinner with out best friends. No kids. No work. No distractions. Just the four of us making jokes and eating a fabulous meal. It was so much fun!
But, I'm so full right now....good thing this chair is comfortable because I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while.

Say What? Eh?

Canadians and Americans are similar in some ways but very different in others It isn’t until you travel somewhere or speak to someone from another province or country you notice that while we all speak English, not all words are used the same way.

As a Canadian author with an American publisher and American editors, this cultural language difference has cropped up more than a few times. I’ll admit that one of my favourite parts of getting “edits” back on a manuscript is reading the comment bubbles from my editors. Aside from the typical “u” and the “re/er” changes, I’ve been questioned on words like

Hydro Bill:  “Do you mean water or power because we just call it all, electric?”  

And Runners: “I think you mean tennis shoes or sneakers (?), please revise.”

I wrote a series of books set in a small town outside of Algonquin Park and then countered my editor with the reasoning that since the books are written in Canada, I'm using a Canadian dialect and should get to keep all my "u"'s.(Even if you don't hear them). Thankfully, I have awesome publishers that agreed it was fair but that didn't stop them from teasing me in the comment bubbles.

Out of curiosity I started looking for the differences and found a list in one of my husband’s books,  Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader – Perpetually Pleasing edition.  (You can laugh but they’re a great resource when looking for obscure facts.)

This is a few examples from their list:

Canada:                                                      USA:

Elastics                                                       Rubber Band

Chocolate Bar                                           Candy Bar

Rippers, Peelers, or The Ballet                Strippers

Tap                                                            Faucet

ABM                                                           ATM

(Automated Banking Machine)                (Automated Teller Machine)

Pencil Crayon                                             Coloured Pencil

Now there was a couple I didn’t entirely agree with…

Bunny Hug                                                 Hoodie

This must be a Canadian regional thing, because I’m sure I’ve heard the term Bunny Hug (out east or west, maybe) but I’ve always called them Hoodies.

BFI Bin                                                       Dumpster

I’ve used Dumpster all my life and had to google BFI Bin to see what that actually referred to. Do any of you use BFI Bin when referring to the …dumpster?

They have a serious case of candy confusion...Did you know that In the US they call their "Rockets", Smarties?

Smarties, the chocolate filled/candy coated favourite is totally a Canadian thing. Who knew?

Are there any similar examples you've noticed in your travels? Have you ever noticed a different in East Coast and West Coast terminology or expressions you've heard in another country that you weren't quite sure what they were talking about?

((reblogged from my social media course at Algonquin College))

Biting off more than you can chew....or thinking you're superwoman.

Where's my cape! I really need a cape! No not to help me fly or look super-fly as a superhero, I was thinking more along the lines of hiding under one with a bottle of wine and a box of fudge.



We've all done it. Taken on projects and made decisions that sound great at the time...and they are great ideas but then suddenly you realize that the alligators are up to your ass and getting higher. Oooops...

 It just means I need to focus, *hah* for those who chat with me on FB - you know that I have magpie syndrome....Oh! Shiny.....





This month I'm juggling:

~ Camp NaNoWriMo. Yes, I'm attempting to write at least 50K this month. Actually my goal is 60K. I'd like to have a Black Hills Wolves, 1 Night Stand and my Beyond Fairy Tales books finished and ready for edits by the end of the month.
~ A Three week Blog hop with Regina Andrews, Ann Tracy Marr, and Susan Roebuck
~ Two social media classes that are part of the certificate I'm working on through Algonquin College.
~ A Mystery Knit Along based on "The Once and Future King". This is where I get a single "clue" or part of the pattern every week but I won't know what the finished project will look like until it's done. All I know is it's a lace scarf and I plan to wear it to Philly Author Fest in November.

So far I've managed to keep up...although I admit I'm about 7K behind my writing goals for the month but I'm determined to get to at least 50K and have two books finished.

The cool thing about my college courses is that I'll have to be more active with my blog and keep it up to date for my course, Hopefully I'll develop some good habits in keeping this up to date. *fingers crossed* ;)

I'll still pepper a bit of my day to day life in here but I'd like to start inviting other authors who I enjoy reading and are all around awesome people to guest post here time to time. Also, I used to do the Monthly Picture with Lori King where we'd write a short story based on a single photograph. That was always fun as well.

What would you like to see on here and keep you coming back for more? Bad jokes...I have a plethora of those ;) Blogging has changed so much over the years, what is it that you look for in a blog. Inquiring minds want to know and the comments are open below!