Working on some stuff right now but thought I'd post a humorus true adventure. This is sort of a Chicken Soup for the soul type of story I like to call Domestic Bliss.

Have you ever had one of those days you wondered why you bothered to put forth an effort to accomplish anything? This was my day of domestic bliss…


Let me start by setting the scene. We had a galley kitchen that opened into the dining room on one end and a breakfast bar with a pass through into the family room on the other end. My husband was kicked back enjoying Sunday football on television, and I decided to bake a cake.

I proceeded to get all my ingredients together for a Hot Milk Sponge Cake; something I hadn't made in a long time. It's delicious but a whole lot of work. I began measuring out the flour. By the way, what is it with flour? No matter how carefully you deal with the stuff, the kitchen always looks like the dusting in the aftermath of a small explosion.

Okay, I've got all the dry ingredients together and the bowl set aside. I got eggs, sugar and vanilla going in the mixer, then began warming the milk moving from mixer to stove careful not to scold the milk. I'm in the rhythm now; on a roll, so to speak.

I combined all ingredients into one bowl then poured the batter into a bundt pan, placed it in the oven, set the timer and began cleaning up the kitchen. It's amazing how one person can create such a mess in such a minimal amount of time!

The kitchen was small, so I crawled around the floor with the dustpan and brush in an attempt to sweep up the nuclear fallout of flour that managed to migrate everywhere. Finished, I started to get up but, stopped in a squat to dump the dustpan into the small trashcan I kept under the ledge of the breakfast bar. That done, I stood up and BANG! My head met the underside of the counter with a dull thud. The pain blackened my sight and a millions stars sprinkled across my vision. My husband swears to this day, the counter lifted several inches with the impact.

"God! Are you all right?" He asked coming into the kitchen concern written all over his face.

Meanwhile, I'm cursing and laughing at the same time, rubbing the knot on the back of my already aching head. I nod to assure him I'm not going to fall out nor did I think I had a concussion. After a quick hug and a small stint with the ice pack, we both went about our business. By that time, the cake was ready to come out of the oven.
I took it out and placed it on the rack to cool for about ten to fifteen minutes. You wouldn't believe what happened next…
I got the cake plate and set it on top of the cake pan so I could turn the still hot cake out onto the plate. Well… the plate somehow went AWOL and the next thing I knew the cake had taken flight. I watched mesmerized as it passed over the breakfast bar and into the family room. My husband looked as if he were watching a tennis match; his eyes traveled between my face and the airborn cake. But, he was quick to recover. He jumped up and after one-bounce rescued the hot cake from the floor on the rebound, flipped it from hand to hand and finally, landed it upright on the cake plate. I still stood in the kitchen grasping the cake pan laughing so hard tears were streaming down my cheeks and my stomach muscles ached.
To this day, we get a gut-busting laugh over that episode. I guess you can say, without a doubt, that sponge cake had bounce.

Writing...

is exactly what I've been doing this weekend!

D~

Writing Sensibility

Ever hear that if you don't use something you lose it? Or a writer should write every day to keep the muse active?
Well... I have to tell you though I never was a writer who wrote every day, I did have my own system. Problem is I let the muse lay for far too long. And I let the branding and visibility slide right along with it. Life sometimes gets in the way. Time slips ever faster. Don't let it take your writing to the wayside.

Words of advise:
Don't do as I did.
Keep actively writing.
Keep something going whether jotting down an idea, a scene, a cluster writing episode even a journal.
Keep in touch with your muse.
And most of all, keep your name out there.

Otherwise, like mine, you muse may just take an extended vacation.
And all the PR work you've done will have been for naught.
Now I'm off to trick my muse into coming back from the islands. We've got work to do!
And yes, I will rebuild.
From the ashes we can build another day...
Moody Blues

Merry Christmas!

Oh my! Time does get away from me these days!  Seems Halloween was approaching and now Thanksgiving has blown by. 

Yikes! Christmas is knocking on the door like a big, bad wolf. Speaking of wolves, Pita and Niko are quite annoyed with me at the moment along with some other characters I've left in limbo.  It's time I get back to it, ya think?

Life sometimes becomes too overrun with...well, issues that take us away from our comfort zones. Mine is writing and gardening, neither of which I have spent much time at.  Ah well...

Pull up those bootstrings, my dear, and get a move on. The only one who can get it done is...

well...

me:)

D~

Woo Hooooo!!!

OMG! I am so excited.  I just got a 4.5 diamond review on my erotic short, Eternal Obsession!  Snoopy dancing over here.  I have to tell you guys that this couldn't have come at a better time as I am heading off to surgery on Monday and have been a bit of a nervous wreck.

Anyway check it out: http://gotromanceholiday.blogspot.com/2010/10/eternal-obsession-by-dayana-knight.html

D~

October is upon us...

...and the weather here will be much cooler and dryer. Yay! The reason I live in Florida.  I love this time of year and as you are all well aware, Halloween/Samhain is my favorite holiday.  As I dig out my Fall decor, I think how fast the years flash by.  I have been on an unscheduled sabbatical this year, it seems, from writing.  The reason not any one thing or event but a multitude of things.  It seems that I have had to deal with many life-changing things this year, but such is life.  A writer's life is hit or miss so with that said, I hope to be very busy with the muse in the coming new year and the last part of this year. 

Today was the first time in forever that we could work outside and clean up our much overgrown backyard. It felt wonderful to be outside for much of the day!  I am very motivated with the freshness of the coming season to spend a lot of time outdoors.  Funny, people up in the northern states hide in the winter and here in Florida we thrive.  The AC is a thing of the past. Fresh air blows the stagnant air out of the house and life seems nothing less than perfection.

And oh! I haven't even broken the news of my new arrival to you all!  Labor day weekend we rescued a Sheltie/Collie mix and Bea now has a brother!  His name is Shane and he is thriving.  He looks a lot more Collie but is much smaller than a standard Collie much like my GypsyLee who passed over the Rainbow Bridge almost three years ago.  He had a horrible skin issue and the previous owner had shaved him. You NEVER shave a Sheltie or Collie!!!  But since I had to give him two medicated baths a week I have to admit I was kind of glad for the mistaken shaving:)  It definitely helped in getting the soap where it needed to go and now the infection is 99% better.

Bea(right) and Shane(left) get on quite well and one more dog has been rescued into a loving 'forever' home.  We have rescued two dogs now from The Mid Florida Sheltie Rescue. If you or anyone you know is interested in adopting a Sheltie, please give Barbara Davis a holler. The web address is: http://www.midflsheltierescue.com/. Unfortunately, there are plenty of dogs that need to find their 'forever' homes. If you can't adopt a Sheltie at this time, and maybe just want to donate, Lord knows, they could use whatever you can find it in your heart to give.  They are a full non-profit shelter and take wonderful care of the dogs from shots, neutering, grooming--everything the dogs need. Some even receive life-saving surgery.

Sorry to bend your ear but as you all know animals--expecially canines--are closest to my heart.  Thank you for letting me share as always.

I hope you are all faring well.  I'm off to work on something. Not sure what... But mark my words, it will be a story plot of some sort:)

Have a wonderful week.

D~

No... I haven't lost my way:)

I'm here and working behind the scenes.  I am working on breaking out full throttle.  I am working at bringing Dayana back into the limelight.  I will not get lost in oblivion.  Isn't keeping yourself visible the hardest part of writing? Hmm...not sure of that.  Sometimes the entire art of being creative can cripple.  But hey, LIFE happens and talent/motivation sometimes ebbs and flows like the tides. We all must deal with the cards we're dealt, right?  Well, look out 'cause I'm shooting high and I'm going to be lighting up the internet, LOL

D~

So much going on lately!  You know about me but one of my best friend's just underwent major surgery in which they ended up taking her entire lung.  She'd been diagnosed with a nodule in one of the upper lobes of her lung and best case was just pluck the bad boy out but as with cancer diagnoses nothing ever goes as planned, so she is presently convalescing, and I am along to do whatever necessary.  She is such a motivated individual! I am so impressed with her sense of will and spiritualism.  She does have her moments as would anyone but she is doing great. Not one pain pill! Can you imagine?

Remember all my Three Dog Nights and Doggie sleepovers? Well, that friend and bestest neighbor in the world just left for Colorado yesterday.  She and I became quite close over the years, and I have to tell you it hurt to watch her go.  But such is life. People come and people go and of course all my and Bea's furry friends with her!  But the good news is, it's only temporary.  She left Florida to take care of her mom who is failing.  She will be back when... Well...
you get the point.

Writing, writing, writing...

Oh how I wish I were... But let me tell you, I certainly and collecting lots of fodder to write something!  All the recent events?  Something is bound to take hold and ramble its way onto paper.  I will be visiting some blogs this fall and getting some teasers out there as well.  My holiday(Halloween) is fast coming, and I hope to have something going on for that. Just wanted to let you all know what's happening in Dayana's world:)

As always, thanks for dropping by.

~D

It seems the wolf is at the door. The writing bug still evades me but then it's looking like I'll have some quiet down time to get something going in the very near future.  I have been doing some diagnostic testing of late and will be considering some invasive surgical options to handle my issues. The least invasive will give me about seven to ten days down while the bigger more invasive procedure can put me out of work(the day job) for three to four weeks! Plenty of time to mull over some writing ideas, you think? Nice quiet time to tie some projects, that are already in the works, up?  What will I do with myself all day while I convalesce. I plan on finishing those blasted projects, at least that is the plan.

Don't get me wrong, I am not happy about having to deal with procedures and/or possible surgical

interventions but hey, isn't it better to look at the positives as opposed to the negatives.  This may just give me the time and space I need to get the writing bug going again. What else am I going to have to do? Life just seems to get away from us, and I don't know about you but I never seem to have enough time in a day.  I have so many good intentions but I don't seem to be able to get to everything on the "To Do" list ever!

I looked out my picture window this morning and the weeds have taken over my poor garden so densely I don't know where the flowers begin and the weeds end. Yikes! I'd been planning a weeding escapade it seems for several weekends...  I just don't seem to find the time or energy to get out there in the heat and get it done.

Now that's embarrassing, LOL I did, however, tackle several wonderfully nagging projects today. One was to move myself back into my office and out of the family room! Even cleaned up both spaces and got rid of stuff I hadn't looked at in years!  Feels good to accomplish things like that, you know?

Now that my workspace is clean, organized, and in a comfortable environment once again there is no excuse to get something accomplished.

Thanks as always for stopping by.

D~