Antietam

After the book signing in Maryland, I found that I had too much energy to sit quietly and read. I pulled out my handy GPS, clicked on points of interest, and found that I was only about 6 miles away from the Antietam National Battlefield so I headed out for what ended up being an educational and sobering afternoon.

On September 17, 1862 100,000 soldiers engaged in battle at Antietam. 23,000 of them were killed, wounded, or missing when the 12 hour fight was over. It was the bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War. It was during this battle that Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was christened "The Angel of the Battlefield". After watching the 26 minute movie on the battle, I took the driving tour of the battlefield, stopping at all the markers along the way to read about the events that had transpired.

So there I stood on the battlefield, 147 years after the fact, and just wanted to weep for the sorrow and the destruction and the lives lost. I don't know why these things always hit me so hard but they do. As I was driving away from the Antietam National Cemetery, where 4600 soldiers were buried, a Tim McGraw song, "If You Are Reading This", was playing on the radio. It's a song about a soldier dying in war and when it hit the chorus:

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed where it would go.
If you're reading this I'm already home.

I finally gave in and had myself a good cry - for the soldiers then and now.

The First of the "Someday"s

Have you ever thought to yourself "someday I'll do that"? A couple of weeks ago I received the Nora Roberts newsletter. In it, it talked about an upcoming book signing for the next JD Robb book. (For those of you who don't know, this series is my favorite and I buy the books the day they come out). I thought to myself "that would be fun to do someday". That's when the epiphany hit me. My brain went into a little tirade "you're single, you have no commitments tying you down, you have a job that pays you well, plenty of FF miles, plenty of vacation time - did you think there was going to be a better "someday" out there to do this? Today is someday!" (the rant actually went on longer as once my brain gets started it just goes and goes but that's really the gist of it). I decided then and there that this was my year to do those "someday" things. Starting now. And with that, I found myself booking a flight, reserving the Eve and Roarke room (the main characters from the JD Robb series) at the Inn Boonsboro (owned by Nora Roberts and her husband), and heading to a book signing in Maryland.

There is quite a protocol to these book signings. First you have to get your group ticket. The bookstore where the signings are held is a small store (owned by Nora's husband) and so they do the signings in groups. Lucky for me a group A ticket came with my room reservation so I didn't have to stand out in the cold at 10:00 in the morning waiting to get my magic ticket. This picture was taken from the balcony of the Inn. Definitely the way to do it if you ever find yourself thinking "someday maybe I'll do that".

Next, you had the option to purchase your books ahead of time or after the signing. The volunteers for the book signing ate breakfast at the Inn and recommended that we buy our books ahead of time and avoid the lines, so once I saw the ticket line had died down, I headed over to Turn the Page to pick up my reserved ticket and do a little shopping. I bought "Fantasy in Death", which in and of itself was exciting because it was three days before the actual release and I was holding it in my hands. Cathy Maxwell was also signing her new book "The Marriage Ring" so I bought that one as well. I then visited all the little shops on the street and had a great time browsing and chatting - I found that with all of us in town for basically the same purpose everyone was super friendly and super chatty! I also had lunch at Vesta (a restaurant owned by Nora's son - do you see a theme here?) and had an interesting conversation with a local at the next table who just a touch crazy - fortunately it was harmless crazy. It was a good reminder of why I prefer room service most days :).

Then the moment was upon me. It was time for the book signing. I got in line with all of the Group A people and quickly realized that I had failed to take something into account. You can have Nora sign any of the books that you buy in the bookstore so many people ahead of me had multiple books and only her books. This left me standing in front of the two other authors, whose books I had not purchased ahead of time, for quite awhile so I did the only thing I could - I asked them to sign their latest book for me...it seemed like the polite thing to do :). I had a great chat with Tracy Anne Warren. When she asked me who to make the book out to and I said Tracy, she asked me "spelled correctly?" and I of course said yes - and added that my middle name is also Anne spelled correctly. It was a bonding moment. I also bonded with Joyce Taber who was in line in front of me. She makes a line of jewelry based on Nora's books that is sold in the bookstore - so yes now that I had met her, I wanted to buy something from her too (and did). Finally, it was my turn with Nora Roberts. She signed my book, we did the quick chit chat, and then I was on my way to read my newly signed book...after stopping at the cash register to pay for those additional books I had just had signed.

All in all it was an amazing weekend. The Inn was lovely, my room was very comfortable, it made me smile to sit in the Eve and Roarke room and read the latest Eve and Roarke book. It was a perfect way to kickoff my "Someday"s. (And the book was excellent, in case you were wondering).

Joining the Digital Media Age

I have finally joined the digital media age. Over the course of the last few days, I have moved all of my CD's to a computer so that I could easily add it to my MP3. I have never actually had music on my MP3 as I don't actually listen to music unless I am driving in my car - which rarely happens. As this required that I touch every single one of the 150 CD's that I own, it became apparent that I have not actually purchased new music since about 1999! I must say, it's great to have three different ways - CD, computer, MP3 - to not listen to the music.

12 in 12: Healthy Skin

It's time for the next 12 in 12 goal. Last month was all about fruits and vegetables and went really, really well. It helped that I was home all month so I was able to grocery shop! This month is all about skin care. I am a sucker for beauty products. Every time the woman who does my facials suggests something, I buy it. The problem is, I never use them! So, this month, my goal is to actually follow the skin care regiment I have bought into. Every day, twice a day, I am going to follow the prescribed plan. According to the claims I should have radiant, younger skin at the end of the month. Can't wait to see that!