Hope to see you somewhere in my travels!

Please join me for an exciting live chat over at www.thesecondroad.org for the LIVE SUNDAY CHATS! I will be hosting this Sunday at 8:00PM talking all about my book and all things recovery which during this time of the year with hte holidays creeping up like a nasty wedgy–there is no better time to come together!

I hope to see you there

If you’re around today tune into Equality Arizona Radio program as I will be on the air live for a full hour!

Saturday from 10:00am – 11:00am (PT) for Equality Arizona Radio.  Listen live at 1480 KPHX in Metro Phoenix or throughout Arizona (and the country) streaming live on the web!  Click the blue button to listen up!

If you want to join the conversation during the live show call 602-258-8800 in Metro Phoenix; outside the area call 800-989-1480.  You can send questions to be answered on air to radio@equalityarizona.org.

The crisp air and hint of color on the leaves is making my heart warm with thoughts of hooded sweatshirts and slush and scratch of leaves at my feet. As much as I complain about living on the East Coast with all its pollen and sinus glory…I wouldn’t trade the change of seasons for anything. The way Mother Nature comes in and cleans house every so often is one of the greatest gifts to behold. As she gently blows cool air into the warmth of summer and harvests the earth making everything bright in her wake is such a beauty to encounter. Fall is hands-down my favorite time in the calendar year. I do hope we have a nice long fall this year. Pennsylvania has had a tendency as of late to rush into each season without the ability to savor.

I personally don’t want to see a snow flake until early December and then I want at least one of those intense and crazy blankets of old-school Pennsylvania white to cover the entire state for a good three to four days. I want the world to stop and nobody to leave there home until the storm passes. Cuddle up against wooded fires with loved ones and laugh and enjoy each other.

I just came back from Louisville Kentucky where aside from my aching head each day from a higher pollen count than PA—I had an amazing time! I was at the annual NOVA Conference or North American Victims Assistance Conference. www. trynova. org to learn more of this great organization. It was a great time to see old faces and friends and to meet new ones. Thank you to all who came to my workshop on writing. It was an honor and joy to meet each of you on your personal journey of healing and writing. I was so overwhelmed by the strength of the people I met…rape survivors, homicide survivors all looking, seeking and yes, finding our purposes together. Learning together how to turn tragedy into triumph. To take the worst and make the best out of it. To find our inner strength, our voices—together. To see the actual place and time one goes from victim to survivor to thriver is a beauty in and of itself. Thank you for sharing your pain and hope with me. Thank you for rejuvenating me and my spirit. Thank you for reinforcing Gods purpose in my life for me.

Today I prepare for a visit from my parents and I couldn’t be happier at the mature closeness and relationship I have with them today. My immediate family is so small and in that–fragile in my mind. Every moment I get, I savor.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and take time out to enjoy the change in season even if you aren’t on the east coast there is still definitely change in the air in multiple ways.
Take time to stop and watch the magnificence at work…

Sunday August 17th, 2008
Pride of the Greater Lehigh Valley
Opening Ceremonies Speaker followed by Meet & Greet
Cedar Beach, Allentown PA
12:00 – 6:00PM
http://www.prideglv.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=150

 I will be speaking for about an hour and signing books afterwards so come spend the night with me!

Friday June 20th, 2008
Barnes and Noble, Lehigh Valley Mall
801 Lehigh Lifestyle Center
Whitehall, PA 18052
7:00 – 9:00 PM

Also check out the article that ran in The Morning Call yesterday about my visit.

Valley native ‘Blackout Girl‘ writes her story

And they did, for about the amount of time it took the security guard to get down the elevator and then it started again, so again, I called, and security came and knocked…it was a never ending cycle all night. Needless to say I faced my first full day in LA with only about 5 hours sleep, which for me, is not enough. But it was LA so my spirits were high and after we hit the gym we noticed about six large trucks parked all around our hotel with the name Fox Studios imprinted on the doors.

“Oh my god, they must be filming something here.” I squealed with joy. “You think?” my sarcastic ass partner came back. She has a knack for being a wise ass.

After some probing of the security guards that began pouring out of the trucks we found out they would be filming an episode of Prison Break in our hotel!

We were stoked! We took our butts out on the town in LA for the day, we hit Rodeo Drive, I drooled over very overpriced expenses ass shit I couldn’t afford. I did manage to snag a hot sweatshirt like Juicy Couture jacket 50% off! We made our way back to the hotel just in time to see the star of Prison Break filming a scene in the parking lot of our hotel. So like any tourist I pulled out my cell phone and snapped a picture of that bad boy. Roma threw and fit about how I was going to get thrown out, blah, blah,…

I maybe gay, but honey I ain’t blind and this boy is a smoking hottie. Here is my pathetic picture of Wentworth Miller.

Later while we were eating at the hotel pool they moved the shot into the pool and he was about five paces in front of me eating a piece of pizza…I wanted to be the cheese…then he blew his nose and I ponder for a moment whether its contents would be worth anything on ebay…then I snapped out of it!

Same deal with the party hotel that night when we retired to our room but worse this time. And at about 4:00 am I smelt an old familiar wafting scent across my nose that made me bolt upright in bed….”that is pot, there smoking weed.” I said to Roma. I was stunned for a minute thinking how could they do this on a non-smoking floor, until I was quickly reminded that this was the same crap I had done in my past. I called security again but the whole hotel was in full swing and they simply responded with, “We’re sorry Ma’am, but it is a holiday weekend.”

The next morning, having only another three hours of slept under my belt, I stomped down to the front desk to speak with a manager who took one look at my partner and I and our weary eyes and said, “Wow, you look tired.” He immediately upgraded us to a suite twice the size of ours on the 9^th floor that proved to be nice and quiet for the rest of our stay. Apparently several others complained and they moved us all to one corner of the hotel which suited me just fine.

We had turn down service and chocolates on the pillow every night after and I slept like a baby. Now this was the Hollywood treatment I was hoping for!