We are going to my daughter April’s tomorrow to celebrate Mother’s Day. She invited the whole family so I’m looking forward to being with everyone.

WRITING PROGRESS: My goal is to finish my novella in a few days and submit it. I should’ve had it finished by now. I did take a notebook with me so I could write during lunch but couldn’t concentrate and write. My last day of scoring the science tests for the Alaska project is Monday. I don’t start the Pennsylvania project until Thursday.

WHAT I’M READING: How to Marry A Marquis by Julia Quinn - it’s a historical romance. I’ve never read Quinn’s books and I am enjoying it so sure I’ll read more of her books.

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow!

April and Christina drove from Cincinnati to our house on Saturday night to do their sister’s hair and makeup. Amanda looked so pretty and had a great time at the Prom. It was held in the ballroom of the Newport Aquarium and the theme was “Miami Nights” which is funny because Amanda likes “CSI Miami” and loves Horatio and Eric on the show. The view of the Ohio River from the ballroom was neat. We walked thru the aquarium rooms to the ballroom and glanced at the fish on the way.

She danced a lot and even got a kiss from Seth, the boy, in the above picture on her left side.

Seth has always been very nice to Amanda at school. By the way, he and a couple other boys took their shirts off and just wore their tux vests later in the evening. They did some amazing dancing in the middle of the ballroom with a big audience around them. A lot of the kids told Amanda how pretty she looked. She took pictures of her classmates and they took photos of her with them. From the time she was in elementary school, she has been in many regular classes. I realized my efforts and her teachers’ dedication have paid off with her being around typical students so much of the time. Instead of being stuck away the whole school day in a special education class, she’s been able to participate in many regular classes throughout her school years.

Prom 2009 is definitely a night for Amanda to remember with happy memories!

Sarita Leone chose Helen Ravell’s ebook, Summer Wine. Excellent choice, Sarita! Sarita said, “The cover grabbed me right from the start and the story sounds like something sweet and light, just perfect to begin the summer.” I love the cover, too! I definitely want to read this book! Click on the title to buy from the DBP site or buy the kindle one from Amazon.

Helen’s book received a 5 rating from Fallen Angel Reviews.

BLURB:

He was hot and charming. She fell for him hard and fast. They were on the way from Australia to the US to meet the mother-in-law from Hell, the jobs they had lined up didn’t pay well, and her engagement ring was cheap, flashy bling, because that was all they could afford.

What did it matter? They had each other, and poor but honest is the stuff of fairytales.

Then Sam admitted he wasn’t poor, which meant he hadn’t been honest either. Things suddenly looked a whole lot grimmer. A different fairytale all together. The ring Claire thought was fake was real, and the man she thought was real was… well she’d just have to find out.

EXCERPT:

The lights in the cabin dimmed and she reclined her seat into the sleeping position, turned sideways, and tucked her left hand under her head.

She attempted to switch her thoughts off to get some rest, but no matter how she shifted, her engagement ring dug into her cheek. Claire sat up to remove it and slip it into her bag while she slept, but paused in the act of twisting it off. Her eyes widened.

Claire nudged Sam, stretched out in the seat beside her. “This is a diamond, isn’t it? A real diamond.” Her voice squeaked.

Sam opened sleepy eyes. “Of course it’s real. I wouldn’t buy you a fake for your engagement ring.”

She looked at the ring in horror. “Oh my god! I can’t wear this. Take it back. Take it away. Put it somewhere safe. That thing must be worth a fortune. What if I lost it? What if the stone fell out? What if I damaged it?”

Sam’s brows lifted, and he shook his head just slightly. “It’s the same ring it was yesterday or ten days ago. You weren’t worried about it then.”

She puffed out a breath. “Ten days ago I thought it was a Cubic Zirconia or something. Just as pretty, but its worth was in what it meant. But this is a real diamond. It must be worth — I don’t know — I don’t have any idea how much diamonds are worth. I don’t know things like that, never expected to. I can’t take this kind of responsibility. I can’t carry that much money around on my hand.”

He folded her hand into a fist. “Keep it where it’s been since I put it on your finger.” He shook his head again, scowling. “I can’t believe you thought it was a fake. God, Claire that would be tacky.”

Claire realized the conversation was about to slide into emotionally murky waters.

How could one explain to one’s husband that his wife no longer wanted her engagement ring because the stone was real, not fake, and too much like evidence of conspicuous consumption? She had to treat the ring as she had before. If it had come out of a bubblegum machine, she would have been careful with the ring because of what it symbolized. She would be equally careful with this one. Its cost was irrelevant.

It was easy enough to say. Believing it was a different matter.

Sarita Leone! I put all forty names on slips of paper and Amanda drew Sarita’s name. Congratulations, Sarita. Go to Desert Breeze Publishing to pick your ebook! There is a great selection of books. Email me the title and I’ll get it ordered right away. Thanks everyone for the comments. I’ll have another contest soon!

I started a new scoring project today. This time it’s Alaska Science, 4th and 8th grade tests. I regret signing up for it now because the project is much longer than I expected. When we finish scoring the Alaska tests, we move on to the science tests for Pennsylvania. I looked again and no where does it say we move to Pennsylvania and gives the ending date for Alaska as May 13th. Also I did not like the training we had all day. The 4th grade was easy but the 8th grade tests on the respiratory and circulatory systems have so many parts to score. I missed a lot on my 8th grade (everyone did) training tests but I passed all the qualifying tests. I feel like I’m back in school. Why didn’t I sign up for another reading project? I actually thought it’d be fun to do something else.

Prom pictures will be posted Sunday or Monday! Enjoy your weekend!