Finally, I gave up on writing something deep and meaningful… and decided to write something that was fun instead. Let’s face it: we all need more fun in our lives.

I have always loved murder mysteries, so I decided to take the plunge and attempt to write a novel. It was an interesting exploration quite different from journalism; a cadence between cranking out new scenes on my iPhone and editing on my laptop. I also found I couldn’t get more than two scenes ahead of myself in the book without losing my way; so long, careful outlines just didn’t work.

For the longest time, I didn’t know who was the murderer myself, and I thought this was good because then my writing wouldn’t become to predictable. I tried to walk along side the main character and learn about things when she did.

As I’m a reader who has always enjoyed walking along a library shelf and picking out a book based on its cover, I was thrilled when Brett designed me this awesome cover. I am planning on returning to editing soon once I get more feedback from my first round of friendly reviewers (friends and family). Then, Brett and I may see if we can get it published in Apple’s iBookstore.

Here’s a quote from the article:

In a study last year 30 people who complained about stress ate a little bit of dark chocolate every day for two weeks. In the end the most stressed-out participants showed the most improvement. Researchers found that dark chocolate might help lower your stress hormones.

Did I read “dark chocolate every day?” I think I did. So when you’re feeling really stressed, try chocolate!

I’m glad I just bought that 2 pound bag of Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips for snacks… maybe I’ll let Brett have some for his stress relief too .

Read more here.

I certainly have not made many concerts lately. I’m hoping for some good aggressive stuff soon. Lots going on, but I must be getting ADD, as it takes more to hold my attention now… =)

I did want to mention that there are some free happenings at Washington University I just noticed, starting tomorrow. I’ve only done it once, but it was pretty sweet if you don’t mind all the students mulling around that have excellent talent all around them and just use it for background music while they do their homework… =)
http://stljazznotes.blogspot.com/2010/01/jazz-at-holmes-announces-winterspring.html

I may have to check out a few of these, as they have local artists as well as some out-of-town guys. One I recognize right away is Jay Oliver (keys), which used to play for Dave Weckl (drums).

Keep me posted of any good tunes, and I will try to do the same!

Have a kickin’ week!

• We’re alive! We won’t be taking that for granted anytime soon.
• Jesus loves us
• A great new house with wonderful offices for our businesses

We thank our family and friends for all of their love and support this year (and every year). Give us a call and stop by sometime.

May 2010 bring each of you much joy, success, and happiness.

I’ll let you know what I decide to do.

I get a lot of questions about how my family has been doing because we’ve all had a pretty rough time of it since Mom died in 2008. But God is great!

My dad is doing very well. He’s enjoying retirement in all ways: bike riding with my uncle, bowling with the boys once a week, fishing, and walking a lot. He’s seeing a wonderful woman, Fern, and he’s been finally watching his sugar intake, so he’s lost weight and got his diabetes more under control.

My sister is back at work after having shoulder surgery. She took a tumble last December while teaching ice skating, and it’s taken some time for her to recover from her concussion and a torn muscle in her shoulder.

My brother has graduated college with degrees in graphic design and drawing. He’s looking for that special full-time job, so if you know of any feel free to send the leads his way!

After the bloodclot episode, my leg has healed and is like new! Brett is also recovering well from his recent stint in the hospital. We love our new house and new workspace. We will be having an open house very soon, but we haven’t gotten it together yet.

Thanks to everyone for your friendship and support!!!

To celebrate, check out my Word Out blog posts on www.ColemanUnlimited.com.

I’ve written a lot, and I’d love to hear from you all on what types of things you’d find useful or interesting.

My latest blog post on Word Out

My latest post is a somewhat humorous review of Quickbooks, the small business accounting software. Brett even contributed to this post by sharing his recent “things that make you go hmmm” IM conversation with Quickbooks customer service. It’s pretty funny… you’ve got to check it out!

You’ll also find tips on writing, how to email effectively, Facebook privacy settings, and many other interesting topics.

A couple of reasons:

–We bought a new house and moved five days later

–Brett ended up in the hospital

–Our businesses had provided a lot of work to do (thankfully!)

–I was in the middle of my last Master’s class

Brett is home from the hospital after surgery on a growth on his pituitary gland. He’s doing great. We’ve got our offices mostly set up in our new space, and my class is over! Whew!!!

Now we’re slowing digging out, and things are returning to normal.

If you want to get our new address, drop me an email or contact us through this website. Thanks for your friendship!

Check it out and give us your feedback. Exciting new features:

• RSS feeds personally selected by Brett for your reading pleasure
• Wonderful new bios written by me
• A handy-dandy website planner page
• Explanations of many techie things you’ve been wanting to know (under resources)
• Updates on our current projects
• A completely updated portfolio of our work
• Completely searchable
• And, of course, it’s all web 2.0!

If you like the writing, guess to whom you should send your compliments? If you liket the design and technology, send your kudos to Brett.

Brett suggested I submit it to one of his favorite personal finance blogs, GetRichSlowly.org. So we did. The editor, J.D. Roth liked the post and offered to publish it. It went online yesterday at GetRichSlowly.org.

Today I get my Google Alert, and it was picked up everywhere! Plus, on the website, it’s caused quite a stir with 46 comments already. I have to admit: I feel a little like a celebrity, happy for the exposure, but a bit timid about the criticism.

Check it out:

• On Get Rich Slowly (lots of interaction)
• On the Word Out blog on ColemanUnlimited (original)