Sonja Foust, Romance Author

#27 Say “yes” to something I normally wouldn’t: DONE!

2010-07-26T18:54:52Z

Bet you’re wondering what I said “yes” to, right? A hard rock concert. Now, I’m cheating a little, because Robbie asked me to go to said hard rock concert with him, and I would do just about anything if Robbie asked me to do it… However, left to my own devices, a hard rock concert is not on my short list.

We went to the Carnival of Madness, featuring 10 Years, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, and Shinedown.

The venue was pretty awesome– the new Raleigh Amphitheater, right downtown in front of the shimmer wall.

But, notice that there is no shade, anywhere. Also note that it was 113 degrees (that’s regular temperature, not heat index temperature) on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. when the concert started. It was hot. Each band noted the hot, with varying degrees of colorful adjectives. But the consensus was that it was hot. We survived.

Robbie is ready to RAWK!

Me, the stage, and the hot hot sun.

Robbie has declared me uncool because I liked Puddle of Mudd the best out of the opening acts. Apparently they are way too mainstream for me to like and then get cool points. So, since I am not allowed to claim Puddle of Mudd as my favorite (even though they were), I declare Sevendust my acceptably cool favorite of the opening acts, mostly because the drummer (Morgan Rose) can do the metal scream like I have never heard in my life. Also, their bassist (Vince Hornsby) was a total performer and kept blowing kisses and pointing at the audience and stuff.

Shinedown was awesome. Not sure if it was because they had all the cool effects– I guess that was part of it. But, they were also really good performers. Exciting moment of the night? Brent Smith, lead singer, came down in the audience and stood right in front of Robbie and me. Both of us were too stunned to take pictures. But it happened– promise.

Shinedown's sound and effects booth-- The other bands got bupkis for sound & effects, as far as we could tell.

So, the moral of this story? Go ahead, say “yes” to something you normally wouldn’t. You’ll get a new experience out of it and you might even have some fun in the process!

The Bride

2010-06-25T20:44:20Z

See the whole scrapbook!

No related posts.

Weekly Fatass, Edition 8

2010-07-27T19:05:52Z

Week 3 is typically the week I start to slip… I get a little less intense, skip a few more days here and there, forget why I started this whole business in the first place… And I can feel it happening already at the end of Week 2. And I will. not. give. in. If I can make it past Week 3 and into Week 4, I think it will get easier, but it’s going to be pushpushpush this week to keep up the momentum! Here’s what I did this past week:

Tuesday, July 20

Day 8 of P90X: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
How it felt: OMG tired. I haven’t been this tired since, like, college. I can barely keep my eyes open. Sleeeep. Sleeeep. Poppppppiiiieeeessss, sleeeeeep my pretty. On the plus side, I still dragged my sleepy butt out of bed and did this workout at 6 a.m. and I killed it, thank you. I will be doing unassisted pull-ups and one-legged push-ups in no time flat.

Wednesday, July 21

Gyrokinesis – Tried out a different kind of class with a friend. She does dressage (“horse ballet” is the closest definition I can come up with for non-horse people) and is looking for a way to elongate. I just like to try new things. The intro class was interesting, though not too intense. I could definitely feel the alignment and lengthening. Will try it a few more times and hopefully see it become more of a workout.

Thursday, July 22

Day 9 of P90X: Plyometrics
How it felt: Dude, that was hard. And, I have to tell you, I’m typing this after my workout and I smell really bad. (TMI?) I’m a day behind on my workout so no little break on Monday for me unless I can squeeze two in on one day this weekend, which I might attempt.

Friday, July 23

Nothing! Failjuice.

Saturday, July 24

Day 10 of P90X: Shoulders & Arms
I was also supposed to to Ab Ripper X, but didn’t get to it. Shoulders and arms was awesome though. Got a nice burn, and was sore the next day.

Sunday, July 25

Ended up going to the pool instead of working out, so I’m going to call it good on yoga and move on. Tomorrow I’m going to have to do two workouts to compensate for the ones I’ve missed. Yay?

Monday, July 26

Robbie is evil. I will go on record. He convinced me to go out to eat instead of working out in the evening because I was too lazy to get up in the morning. I can feel myself slipping by tiny degrees off the wagon and I will not let that happen.

Tuesday, July 27

Day 12 of P90X: Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
How it felt: Lame. I haven’t been drinking enough water and I skipped a couple of days, and I totally felt it today. No more skipping. It’s bad. Bad bad bad. Hoping to get in some cardio tonight, either in the form of running with Jamie or Kenpo X… Maybe both.

HCRW at RWA National

2010-07-26T16:26:26Z

This week is the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I’m not going to be there, but if you’re in the Orlando area, you should stop by and say hi to a bunch of great authors, including Heart of Carolina Romance Writers authors! Here’s the schedule (with thanks to Beth Williamson for compiling it):

Literacy Signing – Wednesday July 28
5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Walt Disney World® Dolphin Resort, Pacific Exhibit
Hall

- Elizabeth Amber: Dane, The Lords of Satyr
- Karen Anders: Deliciously Dangerous, Dangerous Curves
- Katharine Ashe: Swept Away by a Kiss
- Jenna Black: The Devil’s Playground, Glimmerglass
- Claudia Dain: Daring A Duke, How To Dazzle A Duke
- Lydia Dare: A Certain Wolfish Charm, Tall, Dark & Wolfish
- Mary Margret Daughtridge: SEALed with a Ring, SEALed with a Promise, SEALed with a Kiss
- Abby Gaines: The Memory of a Kiss, Her Surprise Hero
- Kelly Gay: The Better Part of Darkness
- Cindy Holby: Breath Of Heaven
- Sabrina Jeffries: The Truth About Lord Stoneville, Wed Him Before You Bed Him
- Deb Marlowe: Her Cinderella Season, Tall, Dark and Disreputable
- Qwillia Rain: Unfair Advantage [Diablo Blanco Club 1], Ariel’s Pet [An Invitation 2]
- Susan Ralph: Starting From Scratch
- Alexandra Sokoloff: Book of Shadows, The Unseen
- Beth Williamson / Emma Lang: Ruthless Heart, Unbridled

Publisher Signings:

Pocket: Friday, July 30, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Kelly Gay
Sabrina Jeffries

Berkley: Friday, July 30, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Claudia Dain
Beth Williamson

Bantam Dell: Saturday, July 31, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Jenna Black

Sourcebooks: Saturday, July 31, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Lydia Dare (Jodie/Tammy)
Mary Margret Daughtridge

St. Martin’s: Saturday, July 31, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Jenna Black
Alexandra Sokoloff

Also, Alexandra Sokoloff is signing at the Scriptscene mini-conference.

If you’re going, I hope you enjoy yourself! Have a drink in the bar for me, and have a great time!

Weekly Fatass, Edition 7

#8 Grow My Own Tomatoes: Done! (Kinda)

2010-07-23T13:51:39Z

I pulled the first tomato off of my tomato plants yesterday. Here is the result:

Yeah, not the prettiest tomato I’ve ever seen. And it’s got a rotten spot on it, so I’ll have to see if I’m actually going to attempt to eat part of it or not. I guess I waited too long to pick it… But I grew my own tomatoes! For the first time ever in my life! And, hey, even if the results aren’t pretty, I did it, and it still counts.

#8 Grow My Own Tomatoes: Progress & Side Effects

The Groom

2010-06-25T20:42:38Z

Robbie in all his wedding day glory. Ain’t he cute? (You can look, but you can’t touch. He’s mine now. Mwahahaha.)

See the whole scrapbook!

Weekly Fatass, Edition 7

2010-07-19T14:13:15Z

The Week in Sum

On the one hand, I’m really proud that I did the whole week of P90X and am on track. So that’s the good news.

Know what the bad news is? I gained 5 pounds this week. Yes, a disgusting and unbelievable 5 pounds. I admit that some of this may be due to eating a little more, but I’m not eating a lot more, and I am exercising a lot more. And don’t tell me it’s muscle either, because it’s not. My clothes don’t fit. I am fatter. Fatter, I tell you. Life is so unfair.

Ok, end rant. On to the details of Week 1 of P90X and the first 7% of the progress toward my goal of completing a full cycle of P90X.

Tuesday, July 13

Day 1 of P90x: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
How it felt: A little rusty, but I know from whence I came, and I’ll be back in tip top shortly.

2.5 mile run/walk (mostly walk)
How it felt: Hot! Jamie and I decided that perpetual motion is the key, and we walked hard.

Wednesday, July 14

Day 2 of P90X: Plyometrics
How it felt: Whew, doggin’ it, as Tony Horton would say. Next week will be better though.

Thursday, July 15

Day 3 of P90X: Arms & Shoulders, Ab Ripper X
How it felt: Elllllioooottt. Oooouuuuuch.

Friday, July 16

My first fail. Oops.

Saturday, July 17

I’m a day behind now, but it’s ok. I’ll just skip my day off on Monday.

Day 4 of P90X: Yoga X
How it felt: I hate Yoga X, mostly because I used to think I was pretty good at yoga, but this one kicks my sorry butt. Every time. And today was no different, except that I tried really hard not to get frustrated, and, whaddaya know, staying relaxed and not getting stressed about not being able to do everything actually allowed me to do more than usual.

Sunday, July 18

Day 5 of P90X: Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
How it felt: Holy crap I’m tired. Also, my right shoulder is now giving me hell. It was my left shoulder exactly a week ago. What gives?

Monday, July 19

Day 6 of P90X: Kenpo X
How it felt: Would have been nice to have the day off, but it’s too bad for me for messing up on Friday. Tomorrow? Week 2 begins! Week 1 is toast!

Shooting Stars Playlist

2010-07-19T14:04:07Z

Guess what? Shooting Stars is now available in PDF format! Yay! That means that you can buy it and put it just about anywhere where you read eBooks, so go ahead and download it!

In honor of its newfound PDF-iness, I’m posting the playlist today that I listened to when I was writing Shooting Stars. Desperado kind of became the theme song for the whole book, so I put that one last, but other than that, it’s not really in any particular order, except that Supermodel goes with the prologue. Hope you enjoy it!

Supermodel – Jull Sobule
Landslide – Dixie Chicks
Right Through You – Alanis Morissette
Queen Of Hollywood – The Corrs
Angel – Sarah McLachlan
Smile – Michael Lord
Tomorrow Is A Long Time – Nickel Creek
Heartbreak Town – Dixie Chicks
3×5 – John Mayer
Always You – Sophie Zelimani
Desperado – Eagles

#7 Take An Art Class: Scheduled!

2010-07-16T14:24:02Z

This week I discovered Wine & Design, which basically combines remedial painting and wine. What could go wrong, right?

They claim that there is no experience necessary (which is good, since I have none). A local artist comes in and shows you how to paint the painting of the day, so everyone goes home with a finished painting. You bring your own wine, drink up, and paint.

I’m going on Friday, July 23rd, so if you’re interested, please sign up too! I’d love to make a night of it and meet some friends there or make some new friends. Happy painting!

The Wedding Day

2010-06-25T20:41:29Z

My favorite picture on this page is, of course, the one with Robbie acting weird. (I guess we really are perfect for each other.) Top right. He was trying to get his suit on and that was his first attempt at tying his tie. You can’t see it in the picture, but I think he was also wearing white sweat socks at the time. In his defense, it wasn’t really because he thought he could get away with wearing white sweat socks with his suit on his wedding day. It was just to make me mad.

See the whole scrapbook!