Smarter than a 5th grader? Not so much, really.

Well, let's see. I pretty much suck at math. In fact, it was wen my kids were in the fifth grade that I stopped being the go to girl for all homework. They figured out very quickly that if they wanted a decent grade in math they should ask someone who wasn't their mama.

I'm dicey at best at geography. In fact, I really miss the world map shower curtain that used to hang in my brother and SIL's guest bathroom. I used to work on my geography skills while visiting - but no longer! Now, there are just lame polka dots all over the place. Darn Manda and her redecorating. I'll never learn all the names and locations of South American and Middle Eastern countries now.

I fail at technology. When my son was in fourth grade, I got my first cell phone. He was doing homework in the backseat of the car on the way home from school and he asked me if he could borrow my phone so he could use the calculator. My response was, "The phone has a calculator?"

He adjusted his glasses and patiently explained that the phone also had a calendar and an alarm clock and a bunch of other useful things. Who knew? Not me. I still rely on him every time there's new technology in my life.

Okay, I will cop to likely having more English skills, and more general knowledge of history, psychology and maybe a smidge more science than the average fifth grader. I know a lot of random stuff...like how to figure out how much fabric is on a bolt without having to measure it and roughly how much fabric most articles of clothing require. I know how to give injections to animals and how to hook up an IV to a cat.

But that stuff is really event specific knowledge and definitely wouldn't win me money on a game show...so yeah...not so smart akshully. Feeling quite relieved that my bosses don't have time to read my posts or I could be in trouble.

Smart News

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this breaking Dakota Rebel news:

I had a book come out today!!! It's the first new release I've had since February so I'm pretty excited. Hopefully you are too. I would post a cover but Blogger is being stupid and won't let me upload anything. I believe that it has been uploaded to the side bar though for your viewing pleasure. And you can click here to go get your very own copy.
Ultimate Ultimatum Blurb:
Annabelle has been dating Mike, Kyle and Josh at the same time for quite a while. She believes they are all happy with the arrangement until one night they drop an ultimatum on her.They inform her that she will have to pick one of them or they will decide for her. Torn by her love for all of them she figures that she would rather be alone and heartbroken than to have to choose between them. But when the time comes to share that decision with the men, she finds out they've had a different plan in mind the whole time. One that will ultimately satisfy all of them.


We now return you what you came over for:


I don't know that I am smarter than a 5th grader. I was going to post something all smart ass about sex, but I'm pretty sure 5th grade was when I had sex ed. So I probably still knew more about everything back then than I know now. I know pleasure stuff that would have been quite icky to my 5th grade brain, but other than that I don't know what to post about.

There is the depressing stuff I didn't know about in 5th grade. Like loss and death and heartbreak. But I don't think I am any smarter for having experienced it now. In fact, sometimes loss makes me damn stupid and all I can do is sit and rock and cry. Much like a young child.

I know that child birth is more painful than anything anyone could ever imagine. But again, that doesn't make me smart. It might make me stupid for agreeing to go through with it again actually.

For sure I am dumber than most 5th graders when it comes to Math and Geography. Math is hard and it always was for me. I may know a smidge more English skills, though they have all those rules fresh in their minds about conjugation and tense and punctuation. Me, I have editors. (Whom I LOVE, by the way. Have I told you lately?)

So I guess my point is that I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader and I am probably lucky I know enough not to stick forks in light sockets. Here is a picture of a hot, wet man.





XoXoXo
Dakota Rebel

Mia's Out Sick

Mia's out sick today but she'll be back to entertain you next week. Let's send her some get well vibes!

The City That Doesn't Sleep

I’m actually planning to take my dream vacation next year. My oldest son will be a senior in high school and my younger son will be a sophomore. My husband and I plan to take them with us on this awesome trip. Some people will probably think, OMG you’re crazy! Why on earth…? But it’s something we’ve been looking forward to for years.

I make no bones about NYC being my favorite place in the world. In fact, I’m looking forward to making a trip over there in September when I go to Authors After Dark which is held nearby. Next year, my husband and I plan to take the family to New York for New Year’s Eve. We’ve always wanted to go for that. My husband and I have been to the Big Apple, but the kids have not, so we plan to do it all.

Besides the ball drop, there will be the Empire State Building, the Museum of Natural History, Ground Zero Museum, Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Jeckyll and Hyde Club, Times Square, shopping, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the subway…

The trip will be very kid-centric, but I’ll enjoy every bit of it.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

It's funny, the topic is dream vacation and this week I'm packing for vacation. Sadly, we're not headed out for my dream vacation, though. My dream vacation would be to travel through all of the UK and Ireland. I want to see it all. Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.

I want to visit friends and family in Wales and some more in England. I want to wander around inside stone circles and explore castles. I want to wade in the surf and collect rocks on the shore. I want to visit the church where my Grandparents got married.

These are just a few of the places I'd like to visit someday soon.

To dream a dream

I have to admit that,right now as I write this, a dream vacation would be any room in which I can get more than two consecutive hours of sleep without waking up to charlie horses and an achingly full bladder. But I digress...as I usually do.

That is not the point of this week's topic. At least I don't think so. I don't know, there are an awful lot of moms who post here so sleep might be a dream vacation for most of us. I could be right on point without even meaning to be. In which case go me!

My second choice of dream vacation would be to go back to Las Vegas with the Mr. I feel like maybe I missed out on some opportunities on our honeymoon. I didn't take advantage of the free booze as much as I could have. I didn't even go to a pool the whole week we were there. We only saw one show.

I would like to go back there with him and fully take advantage of the 'sin' part of Sin City. And since I came back from that honeymoon and instantly got pregnant, I am fully in the mindset to pop this kid out and head off to the desert for some drinking and debauchery.

A cruise also holds fantastic possibilities. At sea for a week, or two, on a ship where everyone caters to me? Oh yeah baby. I can live with that too. I see myself as an on ship only girl. No dangerous excursions for me. Nope, I want to sit on the deck occasionally, in the dining rooms a lot, and in my stateroom even more. Bring me fruity drinks with colorful umbrellas. Pizza, pasta and chocolate buffets you say? Bring it on. Crystal clear ocean water to gaze out upon but not have to actually dip a foot into, yes sir. I may take a dip in the pool occasionally, then again I might not. Who knows? Who cares? I just want to be pampered and spoiled, even if I have to pay through the nose for it. I'm fine with paying for services. It's America, that's what we do.

How about you? Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

XoXoXo
Dakota

Just had one!

I was just on my dream vacation. I got to hang out with writer Julia Rachel Barrett in California.
She drove us all over Napa, St. Helena, Sausalito, San Francisco, Rodeo Beach. I hiked up a dead volcano (I'm waaaay out of shape for that even though I walk 3 miles a day at an incline. Julia and her Mr. had to keep stopping for me to catch my breath.), and the hike up and down the mountain to the beach side. There was other hiking involved. I've decided Julia is the hiking-est woman I know. I loved it. It was tough but so beautiful.

We did wine and cheese tasting, went to a Giants game at the AT&T park in the bay, shopping, dining, and all kinds of awesome things. We found semi-precious stones in Carnelian and Jade along with sea glass and sharks teeth. We flirted. We ate. We talked. We laughed. We commiserated. We joked about dating. Incidentally, Julia insists I have to date a Jewish man because he's a gazillion times less likely to be a serial killer. LOL.

I had an incredible time with her. She's not only as genuine as she seems online, but she's beautiful and kind, generous and loyal. If you haven't met her, you should. Click her name above to go to her site. Also, you can go to my blog to hear more of her awesomeness.

I love this woman.

My Dream Vacation --

I have a dream vacation -- but I'm not quite sure its not more of a dream tour....

It is an unlikely starting point - as the only sense it makes is to me - the beginning and the end of my dream vacation is Ireland.....


There is no real reason for the order - it just is.

1. Galway, Ireland





















2. Scotland













3. England
















4. Mont St. Michel, France


















5. Hawaii


















6. Paris, France




















7. Netherlands


















8. Caribbean Islands













9. Olympic National Rainforest In Washington State













10. Crete

(all of Greece really)




















11. Tahquamenon Falls, Upper Peninsula, Michigan





















12. Teton National Park












13. Italy













14. Mexico - 'Ruins'















15. Washington DC























14. Ireland

















I should add that some of these places are either where I have or will set a story and some of them are also used as the basis of a new world I want to create. My characters also have dream vacations and they don't always go in the direction I was thinking they were going....

Simone.

I Am Your Density…

(Quote: George McFly, Back to the Future, 1985)

When I set out this topic of Soul Mates, I figured we’d take a writing slant on it. Wrong again, Brynn. So I’m going to follow suit in the direction we’ve gone. Sorta.

Call me a cynic, but I don’t believe in any one soul mate. Wait! I’m a romance writer and I don’t believe in soul mates? No, not one in particular. I believe there are many souls destined to be our connection—the ones with whom we have affinity. They are the ones with whom we’re destined to work through our lives. They share a role in the tasks we must accomplish.

I do not believe there is a person who is the other half of my soul. Our souls, as fractured and blemished as they can be, are complete. We each have the ability within ourselves to be strong, powerful and meaningful beings. We have it in ourselves to find joy and to be whole.

To say, as in folklore, we are half of one soul, split at the beginning of time and destined to spend our existence searching for that other half is a sad thing indeed, and a theory I refuse to buy into.

To say there is one person who understands and connects with you in every way and on every level, who brings a sense of peace, calmness and happiness when you are around them—

Are you both drinking the Kool-aid? We’re human with our own agendas, thoughts and perceptions. I contend it’s impossible to be in such a surreal existence without drugs. We are destined to piss each other off. Nobody lives in utopia and if they think they’ve found it in a relationship then they don’t know the other person very well. Or they’re blithely going along as if there aren’t any issues. Or they’re both smiling and repressing so much that there’s going to be a world destroying explosion and they’ll both wonder what happened…

This sounds pretty negative coming from a romance writer, I suppose. It’s not really. I believe in love and I believe in relationships. I just don’t buy into one end-all-be-all. I believe in working toward happiness. In finding joy and contentment—in ourselves. What a heavy burden that would be to put on another person. No human individual should be the source of your happiness and peace.

Our true soul mates are all around us. They each give us different things. Love, support, teaching, responsibility, opportunity, reality checks… They are the people we love and care about the most, the people we worry about the most and the people who affect us the most. They might be people we’ve known since birth, people we’ve known for awhile or people we’ve known for a moment yet instantly “know”. Is it one soul recognizing another or is it social and genetic programming? That’s a whole other story. But I’ll leave you with my personal theory:

Soul mates are the group of people you’re stuck with through time. Don’t piss them off.

Red Hots and Soulmates

I met Matt when I was 15. He was tossing red hot candies down my cleavage. I proceeded to dump my coke on his open calculus book. It was true love. Actually, it was a while before I realized that I loved him. Right then, I was pissed as hell at him.

For the record, I still get pissed at him - occasionally showing my displeasure by making a handprint sandwiches. Normally, I'm not terribly passive aggressive, but there's something satisfying about smashing a sandwich. One time, I was so tired, I forgot to put the top pieces of bread on his sandwiches...he thought I was really pissed that day. Nope, honey. Just really tired.

We dated through my junior and senior years of high school and through college (long distance relationship) and when we were done, we still genuinely liked each other and got married. If you count the seven years worth of dating, we've been together 28 years. Which when I look at it seems impossible. Seriously, how can we possibly be old enough to be in a 28 year relationship, but there it is.

Here's the great thing - I wouldn't change any of it. Not the hard stuff and certainly not the good stuff. While I still think 22 is a little young to get married, I don't regret it at all. He still manages to surprise me. He still makes me laugh. I'm glad to see him at the end of the day. we miss each other when we're apart, but we're not joined at the hip, either. Even though I drive him crazy some days, he gets me and loves me anyway.

He's not perfect. But he's perfect for me.

In the last few years, I've watched several marriages implode. One of the ones that unsettled me the most was the marriage of people we'd known for almost as long as we've known each other. I used to think their relationship was perfect. For years, I was convinced that they had this unattainably ideal relationship, but after about fifteen years, the cracks started showing. I didn't realize that all this time, I was only seeing what they wanted me to see. A month shy of their 21st anniversary, the divorce was finalized.

I've realized a few things. Relationships are messy, fraught with pitfalls and it takes two people working together to make them work. There is no such thing as perfection, but there is a willingness to try and a desire to make the other person happy. There's also respect. Most of all, there's love.

We're not perfect, but we're perfect for each other. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Soulmates

I knew, before I'd even met him, that the Mr. was meant for me. I saw him across a crowded bar, I didn't know his name, and right then it didn't really matter. I grabbed my friend and told him "You see that guy over there, the one in the hat, I'm going to marry that guy." And my friend said "You're drunk, you should probably sit down."

I wasn't drunk...well okay, I was. But I knew that my heart had just found it's missing piece. I just knew. I fell in love that night and have been in love with him ever since.

Fortunately for me the Mr. agreed that I was meant for him too. It would have been pretty awkward if he hadn't recognized me as his true love that same night.

I tell this story not just for the 'awww' factor (though it is MIGHTY high). I tell it to show that I really do believe in soul mates. I believe that had I not met the Mr. that night I would have continued to wander aimlessly through life until I did meet him. We were made for each other.

There are nay sayers who claim that soul mates just make for a convenient romance plot line, but I say nay to the nayers. Soul mates exist. Granted, not everyone gets to find theirs, and I feel sad for those people who don't get theirs. But it happens to some and when it does it is rarely convenient. But damn is it fun.

XoXoXo
Dakota

A twist on the soulmate discussion

I've recently taken a new view on soul mates. I used to think that soul mates had to be your life partner... you snookums that you married/lived with/had babies with, person. The one you fantasized about and slept with etc.

No longer!

I'm stepping out of the romantic author box and into a new territory of exploration. You see, I have this person in my life who is always there. Always on the other end of the phone, always lifting me up when I'm down, always nailing my feet to the floor when I'm way off my rocker. I have a soul mate and there's nothing sexual about it. I don't swing that way, after all. My soul-mate is a "she".

She knows my story. She's seen my dark moments and my insane ones. She's made me laugh and talked me into reason. She is the only person in my life EVER who has made me feel like a complete person. Yes, I can stand on my own two feet without her, but with her, I fly.

There are best friends and there are best friends. I'm not jealous that she has other best friends, and she's not jealous of mine. There's no judgment from either of us, only support. I don't know what awesome fates brought her into my life, but I am eternally grateful that they did. She'll never be out of it, again. I love her with everything in me, and I have never said that about anyone. Somehow she wiggled past my defenses and changed me for the better.

She's my soul-mate, a sister from another life, whatever you want to call it, that's who she is. Is she my soul-mate? I don't know if there's another person out there who I'll feel similarly about, but I think my connection with her is different than any woman-man relationship could be. I can tell you that I *hope* there's a man out there who has similar attributes, but if I never find him, it's okay. I'm blessed to have found the girlfriend I have.

In all her manifestations, I adore my Bronwyn. No pressure, hon. ;)

My Verdict On Soul Mates

One would think that because I am a romance writer that the idea of soul mates is a done deal - a no brainer. And it is. Sort of. I have argued with one of my older sisters about this point to no end. She doesn't believe in soul mates - at all. I still think she's nuts - she's one of the married ones and has been for over two decades. She doesn't consider her husband a soul mate...her reason is that people who are widowed/widowered (is that a word because it sounds strange - but then so does myriad details - I so didn't come up with these rules) fall in love again and that if they only have one soul mate then they wouldn't fall in love again and therefore wouldn't remarry...

My opinion -

Soul Mates exist.
You can love someone other than your soul mate.
You can have more than one soul mate.

Nothing I've read says leads me to believe that you can have only one soul mate or that you can't love anyone but your soul mate.

Soul mates to me are two or more souls that were in essence made for each other and compliment each other perfectly at the soul level. The souls of soul mates are familiar with each other and join instantly which is a heckuva a lot shorter and easier than for the people they are attached to.

Soul Mates are kinda like the trees in picture -- with branches and roots so intertwined that you really don't know which ones belong to whom.

Souls love too.

Simone.

Quirky Characters - I Love 'Em

As a reader and a writer, I've always preferred characters over plot. For me, it doesn't matter how tightly woven and brilliant a plot is, I'll hate it if the characters are flat or carbon copies of every other character out there. The kinds of characters I like best have quirks - little oddities and behaviors that make up their personalities. These are the characters that are the most real to me. These are the characters I want to have over for supper - okay, not really because I hate to cook and I'm bad at it - but I'd like to hang out with them. Maybe we could get takeout.

Some of my very favorite quirky characters are:

James from Maggie Stiefvater's Ballad and Lament. He's hilariously funny and a little OCD - he writes words and phrases all over his hands and arms as a way to both remember things and to give himself a sense of control over his world. He's obsessive about music - loves Audio Slave and loathes Pearl Jam with an unholy passion and oh yeah, he plays the bagpipes.

Jules Cassidy from Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters series. He's an FBI agent. He's also gay. This isn't what makes him quirky, however. I'm sure there are plenty of gay FBI agents in both real life and fiction. One of my favorite quirks of his is that despite his awesome badassery, he has the theme from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the ringtone on his phone. I find this both delightful and endearing.

Cyrus from Jennifer Armintrout's Blood Ties series. Okay, here's the thing - Cyrus is warped and twisted and wrong on so many levels that I can't believe he's made my list. This is a guy who thinks nothing of serving up artfully arranged, still warm corpses for supper, yet is unabashedly looking for belonging and love. Granted, I've seen similar "daddy didn't love me" themes before, but Cyrus manages, even in his most evil moments, to still be charming and sympathetic. I finished the first book in the series with a sense of dawning horror because I realized I felt bad for Cyrus and...kinda liked him...a little.

There are certainly more quirky characters on my list, but these were the first few who sprang to mind, but unfortunately, I'm running late for the evil that is driver's ed.

Quirks

quirk  [kwurk]
–noun
1. a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism: He is full of strange quirks

I LOVE quirky characters. I love them in life and especially in books. Peculiarity makes for the fun. Sure, every quirk needs his straight man, but only to show how awesome he is in the first place. There is nothing like some good quirks to make your characters really shine on the page.

The following are a few of my favorite quirky characters:

Lula - OMG. This former 'ho' and hilarious character from the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich has to be one of my top five favorite characters ever. She is bold, brassy, ballsy and hilarious. Her favorite clothes tend to be animal print or neon colors and made of spandex, which on her size 16 frame could intimidate some people. Me, I wish I had the guts to dress like that...ok, not really. I know I couldn't pull it off.
Quote - "Hell. I can delicate your ass off."


Queen Betsy - I've waxed poetic about Queen Betsy before. I believe I went all fan girl on Mary Janice Davidson, and for good reason. This is quirk at it's best. This woman can be talked into anything for want of a pair of Manolo Blahniks. She is smart, but naive enough to be adorable instead of annoying. She is the queen of the vampire world, but it someone I would totally go shopping with if I could.
Quote - "Hell couldn't be worse than a WalMart after midnight, right?"

Bronwyn Green - Yes, our very own Bronwyn is my very favorite quirky girl and boy oh boy is she a character. She is hilarious, sweet, and full of the best stories known to man. She attracks other quirks, some more crazy than quirky to be honest, but damn if she doesn't know how to have a blast. I adore this real life quirky girl and I just know you all love her too.

Life is hard, it's rough and it's harsh and it's cold. But when you let in a little quirk it makes everything seem better.

XoXoXo
Dakota

Quirks and Oddities

Character quirks and oddities are part of the personality that makes the character more three dimensional. They are things like food needing to be separated, or a certain food texture that is completely unpalatable. They can also be things like having to eat all food with a spoon, always needing to wear something of a specific color, or refusing to eat at any chain restaurant.

Quirks had dimension and believability to characters and can cause any amount of stress, because once the character reveals their quirks - the writer must deal with them.

Happy Reading,

Simone.

Tips For Remembering Life

I don’t know how useful I’ll be on this point, because I'm not particularly balanced and I tend to forget I have a life, but here goes…

Believe it or not, having a family, is the biggest reminder you’ll have. They will not let you forget theirs is life away from your career, and they’re not subtle about it either. If they feel neglected or would really like clean underwear, really, they will let you know.

Yesterday, I told my son I was grounding him from his X-box if he didn’t shape up. Since he was being a snarly young teen, he told me he wanted to ground me from my computer.

Why is it that families often think we are playing on the computer? Admittedly, I am on my PC a lot. I write for three companies and have an agent I’m sending work to as well, I edit and I do book covers. Essentially more than three full-time jobs. So yes, I am on the PC a lot. At least, twelve hours a day six days a week and a sizable chunk on the seventh day.

I literally schedule my time away.

In the past year, I’ve made a conscious effort to spend a few hours every evening away from the PC. I’m not good at it, but I’m trying. During that time, I have family time. I read for pleasure every day, but at least one day a week, I read for pleasure for a long stretch of time. I read on my ereader with my laptop turned off so I’m not tempted to read mail, and I don’t answer my phone.

Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of me time. I definitely value the time I do take. So, like I said, I schedule it. I think in this day and age, many people need to do that. You have to decide, besides work, what are your priorities. Not obligations. Priorities. What is it that you need to give special attention.

Do things immediately come to mind? The ones that do, do you think they’re silly and how could they be priorities? Don’t second guess yourself. What’s important is important.

Family of course comes to my mind. As a writer, you can get caught up in your electronic world, but you need to remember the people you live with. Make an effort to spend time with them and don’t begrudge the time. Go somewhere; do something fun. Watch a movie. Play a game together. Have a picnic. Work will still be there when you come back.

Life is not always about the fun though. Sometimes it’s about the dishes and laundry and dirt that will build up around you if you ignore it. I use a timer. For example, I set the timer on my stove whenever I put in a load of laundry so I remember to go change it. I take 15 minutes out of every hour to get up and do something away from the screen, whether it’s to stretch, clean or get something to drink.

Define what is important for you and your “me” time. I love to read (good thing, huh?). I make sure I do it. I love movies. I watch a couple a week (though sometimes it takes me all week to watch just one), and when a movie I really want to see comes out, I go to the theatre to see it and I don’t whine about how much it costs. It’s an event and I get popcorn and a drink and let the silver screen take over.

I find space for my alone time. I get stressed if I don’t have solitude every day. I’m no good to anyone if I don’t. I get frustrated and growl-ly and feel like the world is closing in on me. Summers are worst because the kids are home all day. Make a list of getaway plans—not only what but how you’ll accomplish it. “Taking a walk” is good, but if you have little kids, how do you accomplish that? Make a plan.

Remember that sleep is not optional and is essential to having quality of life—not just for fueling your work day tomorrow. Everyone would like to remind you that showers are also not optional. Don't short yourself there. Remember to bathe. Remember to wear nice perfume you enjoy. Paint your nails, if you like it. Put on lotion. BRUSH YOUR HAIR (sadly when I'm really slammed, brushing hair might happen in the car on the way to the kids' school)

And I guess, sometimes, you just really need to ground yourself from the computer. Few of us can afford to be away for long, but it won’t kill any of us to take a day away. And for Pete sake, if your taking a vacation, a real vacation not a writer conference type, do not take the computer with you!

Life? What's that?

This probably isn't the best topic for me this month. I'm feeling more than a little stressed by the day job and all of the other things I need to get finished so I can sit down and write again. But, I suppose that's life, right? Trying to keep all the plates spinning without dropping any.

I'm not very good at that. The not dropping any part. In fact, I frequently drop plates and break them and then step on the shards of glass with my bare feet. I forget appointments, I send out email to the wrong people, I forget to respond to other email, or to return phone calls. It's not unusual for my family to tell me they have no clean underwear. Since they're all strictly forbidden (by me) to use the washing machine, this is a plate I need to remember to keep spinning.

With all the attention on the day job, the writing and most importantly, my family, I'm not very good at taking time for myself. My family will always come first - no matter what - and I'm good with that, but with work and writing, there's always something else I need to finish and I get very anxious (read: completely wigged out) if I fall behind. However, I'm quickly coming to realize that I'm getting burned out. I don't have anything resembling the most important point in Simone's post - balance.

I'm making a concerted effort to take a little time for me each day - whether it's reading a chapter in a book that I'm excited about, working on a new cross stitch project, working on the book of my heart, or just sitting in my backyard enjoying the flowers - it doesn't matter as long as I take a little time to decompress. Even if it's only 2o minutes, it's still 20 minutes where I'm not madly spinning plates and 20 minutes closer to something that resembles balance. Who knows...by the end of the summer, I might work up to half an hour.