Lory's blog

You can't judge a book by its cover...

2012-01-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

...but you can get more readers if you pick the right title.

You can certainly increase your blog traffic by picking the right title! I am very thankful for my few loyal readers but maybe I should include the words "Navy," "Secret" and "Weapon" in all of my titles!
(I am not complaining--I have neglected this blog terribly. I get page views every day, so I am happy with that, for now, even if they are often in the single digits. Having said that, I had over 250 a few days ago! I can't say it was the spectacular writing--there were only two sentences!)

For more fun: I was searching for an image of a book cover to include with this post and found these amazing book sculptures!

While I am one who hesitates to dog-ear my pages, this artist has certainly brought new life to outdated/older encyclopedias and dictionaries! Check them out!

The Navy's secret weapon

2012-01-27T14:36:00.002-05:00

I know I am not the only one who thinks of Mr. Limpet when there is a story about bomb-detecting dolphins. Of course the dolphins were well trained!

Ready....set....Write!

2012-01-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

For my writerly friends who haven't seen this--check this out! Writing contest--this weekend only--over at Janet Reid's site!

Fun Friday

2011-12-31T00:31:00.001-05:00

I rarely post movie reviews here. (OK, it's been a while since I've even posted a book review but I am feel confident in saying that this is the first time I've posted a movie review.)

You don't even need my review: it is hard to go wrong with a film produced by Steven Spielberg. If you have kids, especially bored kids at home over Christmas break--check this one out.

If you have a teenaged daughter who will not get out of bed if the clock has not yet flipped to "p.m" and two boys who are UP and READY to do SOMETHING in the morning, even if it is a cold, rainy day (especially if it is a cold, rainy day) you might consider going to the movies and you might consider "Tin Tin."

I'd never heard of Tin Tin until I was in my twenties. I am not a big comic book aficionado but an old friend was shocked that I'd never even heard of the comic and presented me with a copy of "Tin Tin and the Red Sea Sharks." I read it. It was good, as far as comics go but again, I'm not a huge comic book fan.

The movie trailer excited my boys and reminded me of good friends and a good comic book I had...somewhere. So this morning, the boys and I headed off for a Spielberg/Herge adventure. We had the (11:30 showing) theater to ourselves and it was great! The boys loved the movie and it reminded me of an animated Indiana Jones movie. Not a bad way to spend a rainy Friday morning. Not bad at all.

As a bonus, I found that lone comic book and my son was reading it in bed before falling asleep a few minutes ago!

Food for thought

2011-12-12T09:24:00.000-05:00

I just logged on to begin a post about inspiration at this time of year and found this one--still sitting in my drafts from the week after Thanksgiving. It appears that I have been working on the same idea for a month now. (I'll post the new one tomorrow). Happy Monday!

I pray; I attend church; I find the Bible fascinating though I'll admit I don't open it on a regular basis. I have taken enough women's bible study classes to know that I would not care to attempt what this woman did. Sure--I could try but it would be like trying to sit through algebra class again. You know, it would be HARD.

During a recent homily, a priest suggested we treat Advent more like Lent. (He admitted he did not expect anyone to find this Homily popular.) Rather than enjoying the Christmas season now, he suggested we use it as a time of preparation, contemplation and repentance. Then, on Christmas Day we would be ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus and continue to celebrate for the following eight days. (His suggestion to the children that they request presents for eight days in a row DID seem a bit more popular!)

Finishing my book is important--to me. The universe has bigger issues to worry about. You have bigger concerns. The book is important to me but not as important as family. More interesting but not as important as getting dinner on the table tonight.

I knew completing a NaNo novel this year would be nearly impossible but absolutely impossible if I did not try. I quickly decided to use NaNo as a way to get many more needed words into the WIP I am revising and watch the little blue bar move to the right, at the same time. Even with that cheating mentality, I did not get enough words into the WIP let alone start a new project.

This time of year is busy enough. Every year I say I need to let something go but end up doing everything halfway. So I took the laptop with me on a trip to Florida for Thanksgiving with my kids. (I had a fantasy about leaving my kids with their cousins and finding a Starbucks in my hometown.) Instead, I let my son play games on the computer (the one computer he is never allowed to touch) and watched my youngest play in the dirt. Aside from my son's time on the laptop, it was a mostly unplugged, unscheduled weekend with family. It wasn't perfect but it was perfectly good. Twenty years from now, my son won't remember if I finished my book this year or not but he might remember playing football with his cousins in the yard. He will remember the pie. Sweet Mercy, there were so many different delicious pies!

I have worked on the WIP. It still isn't done. It is not ready but it is better. I am learning to slow down and listen more (and if a main character in the book learns that lesson along the way as well, that's just gravy).

Be careful what you ask for!

2011-11-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

I asked for help.

I have three good kids but the older two have perfected the art of selective hearing. They hear what they want, when they want. The youngest simply thinks that every word that anyone says is always directed at him. (He's the youngest, he is cute, why would you be talking to anyone but him?) None of this is new, of course, but I don't have the best memory and forget to take all factors into account before I start my rants.

I've been complaining about the lack of help rather than simply requiring my kids to help. I've been telling middle son he must fold laundry before he can play video games. They know what needs to be done but won't do it unless asked. Or, in my daughter's case, she needs it in writing! (If I give her a list, with boxes she can then check off, she will do the chores. Not on the list? Not going to get done.)

After lunch, I told my youngest to go upstairs and I would be right there to read him a story before his nap. "No," he said. "I am going to do laundry."

Funny. Cute. Sweet. "Go upstairs and I'll be right there," was all I said.

Unfortunately, I have taught my children that "I'll be right there" means they have at least three minutes, probably more.

So by the time I got up there, he was in his room. He didn't want to take a nap but he was where I asked him to be. We read a story, I kissed him goodnight and as I reached the door, he yelled, "Wait! Can you bring my hamper back into my room?"

"Your hamper? It's over..."

Hmmm. Not there. "Where is your hamper, buddy?" Oh. It hits me as I ask. "Is it in the laundry room?"

"Yes! I was doing laundry."

Indeed he was. Blue liquid was pooled on my laundry room floor, spilled after he put some in the machine with his dirty socks, pjs and the dirty towels. He can't read yet so he just turned the knob until it got to a spot he liked and turned it on. Turns out he picked the stain fighting cycle, which takes over two hours.

I received help. And in another hour or so, I am going to have some super-clean towels!

Indebted

2011-11-11T19:10:00.000-05:00

A college roommate used to remind me to "make a wish" every time the clock read "11:11." I had never heard of such a thing before but now I do it often (and think of her each time)! Today, on 11/11/11 my wish is that each and every service member returns home safely--and soon.

When I was young and stupid, I declared that I would never marry a military guy. I grew up in a warm town near three naval bases and I knew there were only two things in life that I would never do:
1. Become a military wife.
2. Live in any location where it got cold enough to snow.

So I left home to go to college, met a guy with an ROTC scholarship and while the Army paid for him to go to medical school, I married him. He graduated and I became the wife of an active duty service member who, later, was assigned to Alaska.

I had my first child at an Army medical center and thought that "nervous" or "apprehensive" would be good terms to describe how I felt about having so many residents--most no older than me--coming and going, in and out of my room. I didn't realize that only a few short years later, each one of them would have a chance to assist laboring women in Iraq and Afghanistan. That sounds a tad more nerve-wracking.

Two of my children were born at that medical center. They saw men and women in uniform every day for the first few years of their lives. My daughter would yell, "Daddy!" and point at some man in uniform every time I took her to the PX or commissary. These were approachable heroes--my kids were impressed but not afraid.

Those soldiers put on a brave face before each deployment and a happy one upon each return. Of course they are afraid but they do not show it--the definition of courage. With the possible exception of one soldier. He was young, obviously new to Post, far from home, trying to find his way around the PX when a toddler in pigtails grabbed his leg and yelled, "Daddy!" I'm pretty sure I saw a flash of fear, that day.

All a-twitter

2011-11-09T11:49:00.001-05:00

I was hesitant to join Twitter. I ~~waste~~ spend too much time on facebook and was afraid that I would get sucked into twitter, as well. I was right.

I thought it was cool that I could follow anyone, including other writers. I can follow writers I have met, writers I have not met, even writers that I have apologized to while getting a book signed while explaining I'm not really a stalker. But now? Writers are following me! (Even writers who have said that I am so not a stalker and that she kind of enjoys having fans!)

NaNo or No?

2011-10-31T10:35:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again! Gearing up for Halloween, my youngest's birthday, Thanksgiving and...NaNoWriMo!

For my non-writerly friends: NaNo is National Novel Writing Month, in which in a frenzy of frenetic writing, you attempt to compose 50,000 words in 30 days. (See? I'm already warming up, using wordy phrases rather than simple explanations like, "you write fast.")

One of the highlights of the SCWW conference was finding an agent who likes the idea of my book. I pitched him the basic story, he asked several follow up questions and said he would be interested in reading the first 30 pages -- after the book is closer to 90,000 words and "good." Which means I still have at least 10,000 to 15,000 "good" words to write.

I did not meet my 50K goal for NaNo last year but did begin a new novel that I love. Unfortunately, that one is still languishing in my hard drive at 30,000 words.

Can I write a novel in 30 days? No.
Can I write 50,000 words in 30 days? Yes.

Should I sign up for NaNo? Probably not. I just have a hard time resisting, even if it is just for that blue status bar and the pure joy I feel watching it creep to the right.

I'm not really from here

2011-10-31T00:38:00.001-04:00

My backyard backs up to a corn field. I live in Orville Redenbacher's home state. I have no idea how long an ear of corn can last before, you know, things fall apart.

My son has to build a grasshopper for a science project. (Each student has to research an insect, write a report and build a model). We were thinking of using an ear of corn to make the grasshopper but my daughter reminded me that it will sit in a display case for "a while." I have no idea how long that grasshopper would survive on display before it began to deteriorate. I feel like I should know.

Looks like we're going with Plan B. Or C.

Back to work

2011-10-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

The good news is: I can still be taught!

The SCWW conference is over and I am ready to get back to work! I knew the book was not perfect but I went to the conference anyway, knowing I would still learn a lot. I signed up for a critique, query and pitch. I was most afraid of the pitch. When people ask what my book is about, I tend to ramble...

(If I could get the idea across to you quickly, I'd write short stories, right?) Wrong.

While much of the information put out at conferences can be found on various websites or in countless books, it can sound different when you hear it. Thank God I took Chuck Sambuchino's class on Friday afternoon. When he said, "For those of you pitching at this conference..." I sat up and listened. He talked about summarizing your book in one sentence. (I couldn't do it then but I'm getting better.) He went on to say that the second paragraph in your query letter should be about 3-7 sentences. That paragraph should be your pitch when you sit down in front of an agent. I heard the lightbulb click.

I learned many other useful things in that hour and fifteen minutes. (There was more but I had to leave for a critique.) I took those suggestions and reworked, revised and rehearsed my pitch all over again. It worked. The agent requested 30 pages!

Of course, anyone can have an idea. That doesn't make me a writer. This same agent was not blown away by my first two pages in another seminar but now I have a second chance to impress. I have recognized that I was not just rambling about my book before--I was rambling in it, as well.

None of this is a guarantee that anything further will ever happen with this book but it is a step forward.
I was going to skip the conference this year, knowing the book wasn't completely right, yet. I was going to skip the pitch, out of pure and simple fear. I went and was inspired and challenged. If only I hadn't been too shy/embarrassed to offer to buy Chuck Sambuchino a drink at the bar, to thank him for the helpful advice! Maybe that will be my goal for the next conference...

Olly olly oxen free!

2011-10-07T09:05:00.000-04:00

My three-year-old still puts his hands over his eyes so that you cannot see him. He puts his head under pillows and, every Tuesday and Thursday, puts his head inside the back of my shirt as he walks into preschool. (I have to spin rather quickly to "find" him!) His actions are cute but not are not effective means of hiding.

I started this blog under a pseudo-anonymous name. I thought if it didn't turn out too well, or if I posted something I shouldn't have, only a handful of people would really know it was me. Over the years, I've shared the link in a few places so now it comes up as soon as you Google my name. This was not an effective way to hide.

I say I need a critique group but I don't do the work to find one or start one. It has been so long now--I hate to admit to anyone how long it's been since I have participated in such a group but waiting a little longer is not an effective solution.

Earlier this week, I impulsively commented on a facebook post from a local bookstore. This store happens to be my new favorite place to sit and write. I love going on Thursday mornings and often have the place to myself! (As a writer, the peace and quiet amidst shelves of books is perfect; as a mom, the peace and quiet is priceless!) Another writer was enjoying the space yesterday but posted on the site that she would love for other writers to join her. I spoke up--on facebook--using my real name.

Looking back

2011-09-18T13:11:00.002-04:00

It has taken far too long to tell you about Karen Abbott's American Rose. I was lucky enough to win a hard copy of this book! (That makes this delay inexcusable but please forgive me and go out and buy this book. Now.) The book is the story of New York as much as it is the story of Gypsy Rose Lee. I am so glad I read this book before my trip to New York in August! It helped me to see so much of the city in a new way, especially Times Square. I love history and it never ceases to amaze me how little human nature differs, over time! It was a great read I won't soon forget. (I can't! My daughter is enamored with the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" and there is a stage mom in every episode that reminds me of Rose, Gypsy's mother! Almost 100 years have passed since Rose was pushing her daughter, June, along the vaudeville circuit claiming that her daughter was destined to be "somebody." I hear the same words in my living room today, but vaudeville has been replaced by reality television.)

I am sure you read The Help long ago. I have been meaning to read the book forever but just got around to finishing it last week. Though wonderful reviews abound, I knew I had to read the book when I read about it in Food & Wine magazine. (They featured many of the recipes from the movie.) Kathryn Stockett's writing was wonderful. I love southern writers and southern writing but so many writers slow the story down by trying to capture dialect. I have had to stop and re-read so many words so many times to understand what the characters are supposed to sound like. Ms. Stockett's writing is spot-on. Perfect. Her characters in this novel are unforgettable, the writing is compelling and the food sounds delicious--though it will be a while before I enjoy chocolate pie again!

Brotherly Love

2011-09-15T17:12:00.000-04:00

Overheard:

3yr-old: "C? Can I tell you a secret?"
10yr-old: "Sure."
3yr-old:"I love you."
10yr old: "I know."

I hang my head (Mea Culpa VIII)

2011-09-14T10:04:00.002-04:00

I have amended an earlier post but as most of you have no reason to re-read my entries, I include it here, as well. While I do aim to write fiction, I don't want to be known as a liar.

To that end, I submit my confession:

I was notified via facebook of an inaccuracy in this post, this morning. I have some great friends (with amazing memories!) who pay attention to what I write here. My own memory is not so good and I do not fact-check my posts well enough. I regret to admit that I have not completely avoided meat for two decades.

I tried. I failed.

Nearly two decades ago, I was working for J. We were working quite late one night and he bought dinner for everyone. I was hungry famished. I was tired. There were no veggie options and I caved. I confess--I ate a turkey sandwich. Nineteen years ago.

As long as I am confessing (and before my family members rat me out) I also ate a bite of kielbasa on Easter. In 2008. My son saw it and has proudly told everyone that I am not a real vegetarian.

I am a fraud.

Stalked by some bad battery karma

2011-09-13T23:02:00.001-04:00

Every parent who has seen the Toy Story movies knows where the writers got the idea. There is some toy, somewhere in your house, with a dying battery. Batteries do not die quietly. Toys do not come equipped with a "low battery" light or a status bar, telling you just how much time is left. Toys...turn psycho.

I am not talking about the toys on your child's floor, nor the ones lying on the top of the toy box. Those toys have been played with recently. Those toys have received attention. Those toys are good.

It is the toy you haven't seen for a while. Maybe it isn't at the bottom of the full toy box but it is wedged in the middle, somewhere. In the middle of the night, while your family is sleeping, that toy will beep for no reason. When the children are in school, the dog is napping and the house is quiet, that toy will talk. And if you should dig for that toy, find that toy and hold that toy it will stop. (Think Rex in Toy Story 3: "He held me! He actually held me!)

But my latest silence-stopper? The potty.

Yes, for the THIRD child, I bought a potty that sings when you, well, you know. Except this one doesn't. It can--it simply won't--because no one uses it. Little guy uses it as a stool to step up to the sink. He uses it to hold his books while he uses The Big Potty but he does not sit upon it. So it has no reason to sing.

What to do if you are a potty with no reason to sing? Well, sing for no reason at all! It is 11pm. Everyone, including the dog, is asleep except for me--and the potty. So it sings.

Registered!

2011-09-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

After much indecision, wavering and stalling, I decided not to go to the writing conference in October. As I sat down to compose a post about my reasons, I found a similar post I'd already written and posted three years ago. THREE YEARS ago.

I realized that I have no choice. I try not to accept excuses from my kids and it is time to stop allowing them, myself. I am going to the conference. Part of my hesitation was that my draft isn't "ready." But is much closer than it was last year (when I said it wasn't "ready.") It is not perfect. Of course, if it was perfect, I wouldn't need feedback.

So I have submitted pages for critique. I signed up for a pitch session and query session, as well.

So now you know. And now, I have to go revise other pages and forget that I have already sent some to complete strangers before I curl up into the fetal position and start sucking my thumb.

Moving past Teeewwwsday...

2011-08-31T13:10:00.003-04:00

Hey, boys and girls! It turns out, you're never really too old to have a theme for the day!

My youngest came home from preschool yesterday with an alligator pouch he'd made (full of "A" pictures) and an alligator dance. You won't be surprised to learn that it featured a big "chomp!"

On the way to pick up the older two from school, I heard a little more chomp chomping from the back of the car. This time, it was the dog. Hers wasn't so much an alligator impression as she was trying to taste the DS game left in a cup holder.

We picked up my son first and while he mourned the loss of his Mario game, we picked up my daughter. She placed a tiny present into my hand: the bracket that held her braces to her back molar.

I admire my friends and relatives who are dental hygenists and dentists. I have never had any desire to put my hand inside anyone's mouth. So after trying to coax Playdoh out of the dog's mouth a little later, I decided to open the wine, declare that I was off-duty and ordered pizzas for dinner. (Yes, one was cheese-free!)

Who moved my cheese?

2011-08-29T11:24:00.002-04:00

We talk about the "first 12-hour date" but that wasn't really our first date. The first one was a lunch date. I had a cheeseburger (and fries, I assume). He had an apple.

The following summer, I decided to try giving up meat for 30 days. Those thirty days turned into two decades, although for years my husband tried to wait me out, convinced it was "just a phase."

Just a little over a week ago, my husband decided to go on a "plant based diet" for 30 days and invited me to join him. He eased into it--the first day he just avoided "anything with a face or a mother." It's been a vegan week since--no dairy, no eggs. Unless you count the "butter" on our popcorn Saturday night. I don't. (Elaine Bennes covered the whole "is it real butter" issue for us, a while ago!)

We'll see how long this phase lasts! I know he'll make the 30 days--he sticks to his goals. He gave up wine for 40 days. (He invited me to join him on that venture, as well, but I couldn't commit to that one. This latest kick is much easier. Wine qualifies as "plant-based.")

Our first lunch date was during the week before Labor Day, twenty-two years ago. If you had told me then where I'd be now, I never would have believed it.
I never would have seen myself as someone who could give up cheese.

_________________________________

An amendment for my loyal readers:

I was notified via facebook of an inaccuracy in this post, this morning. I have some great friends (with amazing memories!) who, apparently, do pay attention to what I write here. My own memory is not so good and I do not fact-check my posts well enough. I regret to admit that I have not completely avoided meat for two decades.

I tried. I failed.

As long as I am confessing (and before my family members rat me out) I also ate a bite of kielbasa on Easter. In 2008. My son saw it and has proudly told everyone that I am not a real vegetarian.

I am a fraud. Now you know.

School daze

2011-08-24T09:32:00.000-04:00

The older two went back to school on the 16th and my little guy started preschool yesterday. So you're probably thinking that with all three kids in "school" I finished revising the novel, finished reading a book and folded all the laundry, right?

I was really, really close. I went to the dentist, bought a new bra and a coffee. Whee!

But I am revising the novel. At 0-dark-thirty. I've been getting less sleep during this last week than when I had newborns but I just might get this done, yet! (Delirious, bleary-eyed edits have GOT to be good, right?)

How's your week going?

Greetings, Friends!

2011-08-18T09:38:00.003-04:00

Liebster means "friend" in German. I don't speak German (despite having a German maiden name) but am honored to be nominated for a friendship award, in any language! Many thanks to Jen McConnel for this honor! (I am also VERY late in posting this thank you here. I've known Jen less than a year but unfortunately, she has already learned that I am always late. I'm working on that!)

This award is intended to connect bloggers, specifically those with less than 200 followers. In accepting the award, I must:

* Show my thanks to the blogger who gave me the award by linking back to them.
* Reveal my top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
* Post the award on my blog.
* Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the internet—other writers.
* And best of all – have fun and spread the karma.

I want to thank Jen McConnel again for the lovely nomination and she is also my first "pick." I met Jen at a writing conference last October and she has been very encouraging here, on this blog, as well as in reading and commenting on some of my writing. I sent her a confusing, mess of an excuse for a "draft" and God bless her, she still read it!

I am also nominating Tracy. I've never met Tracy in person but we became online friends when we were both Kansas writers. (She still is but I've moved over to Indiana). Tracy always has an encouraging word here and inspiration on her site.

I'd like to introduce you to Caryn Caldwell. Caryn is another writer I've never met but always so encouraging! She is another mom-writer but is further along in her journey than I am--I love reading success stories!

Renee shares some wonderful ideas about getting into the world of your characters--as well as real survival stories about trying to balance writing with being a mother and wife. Renee is yet another "friend" that I've never met in real life but I knew I'd like her as soon as I saw the title of her blog!

Aaron is the other friend on this list that I have met in person. In fact, I'm sure we met before the internet existed! He's an excellent writer and we attended a writing conference together 14 years ago but we'd been friends for years before that. I decided to take the plunge and begin writing my own blog after reading his. So, who knows? If not for Aaron, I might not have started a blog, would never have met so many writers online and would never have learned the German word for friend. :)

Consequences I can live with

2011-08-03T15:48:00.000-04:00

I love spending time with my children. I also love to read. I think it is important to read to your children.

But a day off from any one of the above wouldn't kill anybody.

After spending two hours at the muddy playground with my youngest and the dog today, everyone needed a bath! My exhuasted son did not want to get back out of the tub and was quite irritated that I kept trying to drain the tub.

"Mommy! If you touch that drain ONE MORE TIME, you will not get to read me a bedtime story!"

Summer vacation

2011-07-17T23:58:00.000-04:00

How is your summer going?

Every year, I think the summer will be a time when I will get more writing done and every year, I am wrong! If I can't pull it off during the school year when two of my children are gone most of the day, I don't know how I think the summer will be easier!

The summer always seems to fly by but it has been great, so far! My daughter and I flew to Florida for my cousin's wedding and our whole family drove down to Florida two weeks later to spend a week on the beach! My son completed one Taekwondo camp and begins another tomorrow. My daughter attended a gymnastics camp in Indianapolis but her friend could not go--so that was a little bit of a commute each day but still an easy drive.

I am just now getting to the rewrite I had planned for the summer so it is progress--but I'm still far behind where I wanted to be. (It probably doesn't help that I keep thinking how nice it would be to be writing on the beach!) One day!

Having said that, I need to get back to work. I have not yet registered for the writing conference on the beach. Last year, I did not take full advantage and really need to get this rewrite finished if I am going to go, again!

How are you enjoying your summer?

I feel fine!

2011-05-20T10:49:00.000-04:00

It's a beautiful day, I'm taking the dog and youngest child to the park and I'm singing.

Enjoy today as if it were your last, just in case, but I'll plan to check back in with you tomorrow!

In which I confess my Sin

2011-05-17T11:46:00.000-04:00

It's not a new rule. It isn't my rule. It is simple. If you want to write, you are going to have to write stuff down.
(And if you're a mom, you have to write stuff down; if you're over 30, it's likely you have to write some things down; if you don't sleep enough or if you were scatterbrained to start with, you have to write stuff down.)

If you write, you know your ideas--the good ones, anyway--do not come when you ask for them. The ideas come while you're walking, driving, showering, cooking and sleeping. Which is why there are pieces of scrap paper on my nightstand, in the laundry room and in my pocket when I go for a walk or a run. The laptop is always on in the kitchen, so if I think of something while I'm frying eggplant, I can type a quick note. I have a few apps on my iPhone so if I'm driving or running, I can at least jot a few words when I have a chance to stop. I haven't found a way to keep a notepad in the shower yet but I don't always get in there, every day, anyway! ;)

This isn't new. Life is busy. We are trying to get other things done so we might have time to write or, if we make the time, we are trying to call up the inspiration on cue. So the good ideas wait until you have a quiet moment to sit and breathe.

I had a great one last night! I remember that it was great enough that I included an extra-loud prayer (in my head, anyway) along with the others, that God help me remember today as I was just too tired to write it down.
Apparently, my faith is not as strong as it should be. As a writer, I know that is the biggest writing sin! If you don't write it down before you go to sleep, it will be lost by the time you wake. I prayed for it to stick in my head--and I can remember the two characters involved and where they were--but that's all I've got. There is a stack of paper, pens AND pencils on my nightstand but I was too tired to pick up a pen.

You have been hearing me talk about The Great American Novel for decades but you've been wondering why I don't just finish it already. You had your suspicions but now, I admit it. Writers who are too tired and lazy to pick up a pen aren't going to get very far.

(If one of you was suddenly gifted with a GREAT SCENE involving characters who aren't yours, in a story you don't know, sometime around 12:30am this morning, please email me. I know God heard my prayer so I'm thinking when I didn't write the idea down, He went ahead and gave it to someone else.)

Muslims and schools in Pakistan, Jewish prayer books and Heaven

2011-05-02T23:33:00.000-04:00

If you want to get along with people, you don't discuss politics or religion. But I'm hoping if they're part of book reviews, with education and parenting mixed in, you'll still come back and visit my blog from time to time.

I might be the last person who finally got around to reading Three Cups of Tea. But if I'm not, and you haven't checked it out yet, go out and pick it up now. I'll wait. You can finish the rest of this blog post when you get back. It is an inspiring, true story that proves how much difference one person really can make in our world. In addition to being inspired, I learned quite a bit about Islam, India and Pakistan.

Last night, I finally finished reading People of the Book. I recommend it highly. This one is not a true story but a fictional account of the journey of a real book, The Sarajevo Haggadah. It's an intriguing take on how the book got to be where it was and the lives of people who came into contact with it.

Heaven is for Real was a quick read. As I'd seen an interview with the author, his wife and their son, I knew that the little boy survived, in the end. However, reading another parent's anguish over their child who was near-death, kept me turning the pages long after I should have been in bed. It is certainly a book of hope. The message is simple: Heaven is real.
My only fault with the book is that Mr. Burpo claims that "almost-four-year-olds" aren't capable of guile or lying. To some extent, I believe that is true. A young child making up stories that completely agree with accounts in scripture would be difficult, indeed.

I have just been chuckling as my three-year-old has been telling me some very detailed stories lately, about a non-existent school that he attends, where no adults are allowed. But that's his story.

Old stories

2011-04-28T13:55:00.001-04:00

If you are like me, life may not afford you the time to sit down and read an entire book in one sitting. And, if you are like me, you may find that you think about the story or the characters during the day when you aren't reading that book. So, if you are like me, and you take a gander at the news online when you aren't reading, you might find it particularly cool to come across a news story that ties in perfectly with the book you have been reading!

I am making my way through People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. As someone who loves both history and books, I am really enjoying this history of a very old book! I haven't finished it yet but was excited to see this story online, a few days ago! I can't help but wonder about the past of this 500-year-old Nuremberg Chronicle! They say it proves that you never really know what you have in your basement but, as we are the first owners of our current home, I'm pretty certain ours contains nothing but insulation and dust!

I am constantly telling my husband when the homes near my daughter's school put "for sale" signs out. (Those homes are well over 100 years old.) I love the unique design of each house, love to think about the stories the house could tell, wonder about who lived there during the last century but I'd never even thought about what might be left in the attics! (I'll never know. Where I see old charm, old stories and character, my husband sees old pipes, lack of central air and pending roof repairs!)

People of the Book offers a fictional history of a real codex. Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert is offered the chance to examine and restore a 500-year-old codex, the Sarajevo Haggadah. During her examination, she finds a small insect wing, a stain on one of the pages and what appears to be salt on one page. In the chapters that follow, the book alternates between Hanna's life and people of other centuries--illuminating both what their lives were like back then and how they left their mark on the text.

Speaking of texts, it's time to get back to revising my own, unless I take yet another break to finish reading!

Whether the weather bothers you or not...

2011-04-19T22:22:00.000-04:00

...it bothers my kids.

The tornado warning ended officially at 10:15pm but tell that to the kids! We are all fine but they have pulled the sofa beds out in the basement and are quite comfy!

A house on the next street over WAS hit by lightning today so I guess I can see where they'd be a little concerned. Guess I'm not getting much work done and/or sleep for a bit...

...but we're good. Goodnight!

April showers, May flowers...June books?

2011-04-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

April showers bring May flowers...and might help budding books grow, too!

Since my last post, I spent most of my time on the computer planning our spring break vacation, then changing those plans, changing them again and finally going back to plan A. After plan A (driving down to Destin, FL) was arranged, we spent the next week there. The weather was not expected to cooperate but it did, and it was a much needed break from the still-winter weather here.

Since our return, I have accomplished some spring cleaning, helped with field trips and service projects, read and started planning our summer vacation. ;)

It's time to get back in gear! Especially as our next trip may take us back down closer to where my "other" book is set. The "other" book is the one I began during NaNo in 2010. It flowed nicely, seemed easy to write, but I keep putting it off, feeling like I should organize and polish the first one that I've been working on forever. (It just might be time for me to admit that if another book is actually easier to write, I should focus on that one!)

Spring is here, I think. After sunshine and record temps on Sunday, the rains came and cooled everything back down again. But the sun is out today, flowers are blooming and a few new ideas are budding, too. It's time to help a book grow!

A little luck of the Irish

2011-03-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's hoping you all have a lucky day!

A genealogy project is on my "to-do list" (along with publishing a few books) but in the meantime, I don't think I have any Irish blood flowing through my veins. I married a guy who is part Irish AND who is an alumnus of The University of Notre Dame. He seems to be a pretty lucky guy, so maybe there is something to it! ;)

It's been a productive mom-day morning so I'm hoping, if I am lucky, it'll be a productive writing-afternoon!
My next non-writing project is finding that right project! I do a few things in our community but not much--certainly not enough. Just in case I wasn't aware of my shortcomings in that arena, I am currently (slowly) making my way through both The Rule of Benedict and Three Cups of Tea. The former is a spiritual book that makes much sense but I can only absorb a few pages at a time. It's a good reminder that good intentions are not enough. The latter is an inspiring tale of one person who lives that idea and proves how much difference one human can really make in this world! It makes me feel inadequate, thinking of the small impact I've made so far but is a compelling story!

Speaking of making a difference and people who could really use a little luck, I've been reading a few articles about the delays in getting "text-to-donate" donations to the poor people in Japan. If you are considering sending funds to help in the efforts over there, please donate directly to an organization (use their website, call them, etc.) rather than texting. Phone service providers are waiting until the end you a billing cycle before sending the funds so if you text your donation, it could take up to three months to get where it needs to go!

Enjoy the blessings today brings! (Everything else can wait for tomorrow!)

Our little apple didn't fall too far

2011-03-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.

~ Ferris Bueller

When I was 16, I thought Ferris Bueller was cool. When I was 19, I thought I'd met a guy like Ferris. He could talk his way into things, out of things and eventually, even talked me into marrying him!

An advantage to marrying a clever guy is that you may give birth to a son who is quite clever.

Alternately, you run the risk of giving birth to a son who thinks he is quite clever--or thinks his mom is new.

I'm not new and I'm not this mom.

Sweet!

2011-03-05T12:55:00.001-05:00

I had to do something with the bananas. My daughter and her friend were dancing around with them (a cute ending for a math video they'd been filming) and broke the stems off of the fruit. They've been here a few days, anyway and are at the point where I usually declare that I need to make banana bread or throw them out. I hate to throw out food so I make banana bread...and no one eats it.

So...I used one of Jessica Seinfeld's recipes this morning, and made peanut butter and banana muffins (with carrot). (Ssshhh).

I got distracted (surprise!) in the middle however, and only put in half of the required amount of brown sugar. Thinking no one would eat these now, either, I went ahead and sprinkled some brown sugar on the top of each muffin and hoped for the best.

My son just ate three.
(Maybe 3 is a bit much--he ate two and finished his brother's--but that has to be better than the 2 or 3 doughnuts I let him eat last weekend!)

The Book Thief

2011-03-03T22:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has taken me this long! I mentioned the book in an earlier post but just finally finished reading The Book Thief today. If you haven't yet read it, go forth and read it. It's a beautiful book with a simple message: Words can save your life.

It's just a small story really, about, among other things:

* A girl
* Some words
* An accordionist
* Some fanatical Germans
* A Jewish fist fighter
* And quite a lot of thievery

I couldn't post this immediately upon finishing it as I was still crying. Since I've become a mother, I admit to crying during movies, television shows and even a few commecials but it is a rare event when a book moves me to actual tears. Markus Zusak has created characters I will not soon forget.

Rainy days and Mondays...melt the snow!

2011-02-28T09:38:00.000-05:00

Rainy days and Mondays...melt the remaining snow!

AND Mondays are usually my days to "catch up." Last Monday was a day off for the kids, so I didn't catch up so much while they were home. My daughter started with a fever Tuesday evening and was home from school the rest of the week. I felt sick the week before and last week so after getting her on antibiotics, I went ahead with some myself. (I'd been exhausted, stuffy, foggy, had a sore throat, earaches but blamed it on lack of sleep until her strep test came back positive!!) Huh.

My son had a few friends over to ice-skate and spend the night this weekend so now...it's just the 3-year-old and I! My husband was trying to stay out of the way Saturday (when one friend was over, early) so he caught me up on almost all of the laundry folding so that is no longer a looming, insurmountable mountain! ;)

It's raining but that means the snow is gone (for now). After a few days on meds, I no longer feel like diving into the frozen lake! I made it to bed before midnight, last night so life is looking good! I have high hopes for catching up on writing, during the little guy's naptime, today! (Here's hoping I didn't just jinx that!)

Enjoy your week!

Seeing Red

2011-02-18T13:11:00.001-05:00

My son's assignment was to write a poem about a color. He chose red. I enjoyed seeing the drafts progress. This week, he brought the final product home. He typed it in computer class and printed it on red paper.

RED

Red is blood
Stained on the rug.
Red is fire
That burned a wire.
Red are the stripes on the American flag
That I wish were plaid.
Red is the color of Santa's hat
Don't forget he's kind of fat.
Red is the lava inside a volcano
If you get too close you will become a mashed potato.
Red is the color of Santa's sleigh
If you yell, he might fall in hay.
Red is the heat
Coming from the sun.
Red is fire
Coming from a candle.
Red is such a wonderful color
It can make you happy forever.

Is it Monday, yet?

2011-02-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

You can have Friday. I'm ready for Monday!

I spent last weekend assisting with two science projects. It's been a busier week after school this week. My son has been in basketball practice on Saturdays but they just began having games against other teams, recently. One Monday night, one Tuesday night and now, one that was canceled during The Storm last week has been rescheduled for tonight. I'm driving three additional teammates, so after dropping my daughter off at gymnastics, we might dash home for bathroom breaks and let them change before the hour drive to the away-game tonight.

At least the three-year-old is taking a nap today! ;)

This Saturday features a science fair, a birthday party and perhaps getting my daughter to gymnastics to watch her friends compete. She competes on Sunday, after which I am scheduled to work the next competition while she watches more friends.

Writing? Reading? Yep. Promised I'd get that draft sent out today. (It's still officially "today" until Monday, right?) ;)
******
Update: the boys lost the game so they played well but made for a grumpy ride home. It's all good. All kids are in bed and I have wine. ;)

Happy Friday!

Reading and Writing (but no arithmetic, whatsoever)

2011-02-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

I don't deserve to win this book. Of course, I would love to have it but I don't deserve to win another, until I've at least read the last one!

You deserve to win it! Go over to Joshilyn Jackson's blog and tell her you want Evenfall!

I won one of the copies of American Rose in Joshilyn's last drawing and while I really, really want to read it, I haven't gotten to it, yet. So this book should go to someone who might get to read it sometime this year! (And then we can compare reviews after I read it, after The Book Thief, and American Rose, and finish Jen's book and finish putting mine in order and...well, let's be optimistic and say July-ish.)

Reckoning

2011-02-07T11:12:00.001-05:00

Why're you trying to second guess me?
I am tired of second guessing
What will be your look this season?
Who will be your book this season? ...
~ R.E.M., "Second Guessing"

Once upon a time, a girl met a boy. Or a boy met a girl, however you want to put it.

Many months later, she had no recollection of the first meeting but he remembered her. He decided to call her, as she was no longer dating his friend. He left a message with her roommate. She did not call back. One day, after two shelves worth of sticky-note phone messages, she answered the phone herself. (Our story takes place long ago, before caller I.D.)

The boy begged her not to hang up and then convinced her to join him for one lunch, on campus.
After lunch and a walk, he asked her to join him for dinner, that weekend. She explained that she was already busy on Friday. (It was true. She already had a date with a very nice guy on Friday). This boy nodded and quickly said that he was busy Friday, too, but would like to take her out on Saturday. She was at a loss for a quick excuse so she said yes. (She could call and cancel, later.)

The weekend in question was Labor Day weekend, however, and our girl was not creative enough to come up with an excuse that would keep her busy for the rest of a long weekend. Saturday night the boy picked her up in a friend's car and popped a cassette into the tape deck. The girl started to relax, a little. He had chosen one of her favorite bands! This was an album that she loved but did not own. It brought back memories of riding in friends' cars back home. She started to think the boy had pretty good taste and the evening might not be a total waste, after all. In fact, if all went well, maybe she would get to know him well enough to borrow the tape!

Twenty-one years later, a woman was running errands and heard an old favorite on the radio. She smiled as the song brought back memories of riding in friends' cars back home and a particular first date, as well. She even laughed as she realized that she never did borrow that tape.

She came home, downloaded the song and has enjoyed listening to it often, lately. She asked her husband if he had ever really owned that tape, or just borrowed it from the friend who told him to play that particular album. Her husband swears he owned it. Of course, he gave away all of his cassettes a few moves ago, so there is no proof. When questioned, he was able to provide the correct title of the album on the first try, so it's possible.

Snow days

2011-02-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

You have seen the storm rolling across the nation. You can't see my state on the radar right now but we're still here, under that blanket of clouds, just like most of you.
In anticipation of the storm, my husband emailed me from work Monday, asking if we had all of the necessary supplies. "Yes," I replied. "We have plenty of wine and printer ink. Oh, but we need milk." :)

We attempted to get my daughter to gymnastics as the edge of the storm rolled in and we never made it to Taekwondo but we stopped, on the way home, for the rest of the kids' essentials: junk food.

So we're set. I was grumpy, yesterday, as I'd planned to get much writing and reading done while I was "stuck" at home. Unfortunately, with three wild kids who were also home, and who riled to dog up, too, I didn't accomplish much but cooking. (I had the oven and the stove and the slow cooker going!)
Today the BIG snowflakes have arrived and are falling. I gave up on being productive and made chocolate chip pancakes for the kids. So now, they are building a fort, the dog is napping and I just might get something accomplished, after all!

WooHoo! Winning over whining!

2011-01-24T09:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday!!!
(What? This isn't your favorite day?)
I'll admit, I was dreading this one. My in-laws were here for the weekend. (That isn't dreadful; they're wonderful people). But the kids stay up later when they're here. Our guests had to get up and leave even earlier than I normally wake the kids for school. I wanted to be up to have coffee and tell them goodbye, before waking the kids. But I don't do early, well!

While I was trying to get a few last winks in before I had to get up, the dog heard our guests getting ready and began BARKING. So I rose to quiet her, started with the coffee, and have been going ever since. The youngest child (the only one who does not have to be anywhere, today) was the first child to wake, of course. So I was thinking we would both shoot for a nice NAP today. But by now I've had far too much coffee to ever actually sleep, anytime soon, so I'm typing, cleaning up, chasing the dog, forgetting what I was typing, reading blogs and then standing in my kitchen trying to remember what I was doing. I'm moving, I feel busy but I haven't accomplished much. I look much like this:

So I stopped, tried to stand still and check in here. I read the comments for my last entry. I had not yet made to Joshilyn Jackson's blog this morning but Tracy had! I was so excited to see her comment (thank you, Tracy!) and hopped right on over to FTK. There is my name, right there on her blog! You can go see it--under "Winners and a whiner!" (I often fall into the latter category but today I fit in both!) Thank you to you all! (If it weren't for my readers here, I'd have no reason to link to her.) I can't wait to read American Rose! (OK, one more thing to "fit in" but it'll be worth it. Look for a review here, soon!)

Spending what I don't have

2011-01-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

I have not been shopping, just spending far more time than I can afford on silly wanderings around the internet. It is time to get back to writing and reading. (I am finally reading The Book Thief, at the moment. You should be, too, if you have not yet done so!) I heard (read) about The Book Thief over on Joshilyn Jackson's blog, put it on my Christmas list and am finally getting around to reading it!

I am already taking a break from the things that I should be doing, however, to tell you about another great book that I have not yet read. Another book that I have found via Joshilyn Jackson's blog, as a matter of fact. I want to read it. You will want to read it. So I am telling you about it for two reasons:

1. Pure selfishness. I want to read this book. Joshilyn Jackson is picking four lucky winners to receive a free copy of American Rose. If I post the link here, and then comment over there, I am eligible for the drawing.
2. You will want to read this book. Go on over to Joshilyn's page and leave a comment yourself. Maybe you will win! (And maybe you will loan me the book, when you're done.) ;)

Are you ready kids?

2011-01-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, I have an opportunity to use this blog to issue a public service announcement.

Be careful.

Karma is usually fairly reliable at making things right in the world. Sometimes Karma is quick-acting and sometimes it takes years, but what goes around comes around. Occasionally, incidents slip through the cracks and sometimes, Karma lets us off with a warning. But Karma did not want you to know that! (Not realizing how important this secret was, I let it slip on facebook, Tuesday). I told the world that Karma was Kind, and let me off with a warning. Wednesday, I received my reprimand.

Tuesday morning, I said--out loud and in front of the kids--that "we shouldn't all have to drive 20mph on a road that had been plowed." Stupid. I never should have said it. But it was too late, the kids heard and began to chime in with their two cents: "Yeah! We lived in Alaska, move people! Mom, honk your horn!" I did tell them that was enough and I did not honk my horn but the words were out there, floating around in the universe.
Tuesday afternoon, going faster than 20mph under an overpass (also stupid) I had just enough time to swerve to miss the car in front of me that had just spun entirely around and was now facing me.
Karma was kind. By all rights, I should have hit that car. I am very lucky and grateful but posted on facebook that Karma was Kind and gave me a warning.

Wednesday morning, I was trying to help! A friend that volunteers at the school library with me was trying to rescue a book that had fallen inside the book bin. The heavy book bin has a platform/floor that is supported by springs. (The more books you put in, the more it lowers to allow them to fit.) There is enough space around this "floor" however, for books to occasionally slip through the gap. The only way to get the books out is to tip the thing all the way over, let the platform fall all the way down and then reach in. It is heavy. I told her to wait and I would help. We found a few books, a sticker, a pencil and a candy wrapper. She asked if I was ready to help her stand it back up and I reminded her that the platform slams down quickly. You have to be careful where you put your fingers or it will hurt! We started lifting it back up, I reminded her again to watch her right hand. We set it back up and the thing slammed down. It still smashed my finger.

Karma did not like me telling everyone that she has a soft spot.

That was yesterday. I'm starting to think about getting an x-ray. In the meantime, my typing style is a bit altered. I keep thinking of a Spongebob episode* my kids love--Patrick tells Spongebob to lift his pinky when he lifts his teacup to drink. "It's fancy." I, of course, am not drinking tea and should not be typing. Too stubborn to avoid the keyboard , I am trying to type with 9 fingers, holding my left index finger aloft. It's fancy.

*The episode is "Tea at the Treedome" and can be found, somewhere, online if you would like to view it. I just spent twenty minutes (Yes. 20. Minutes) trying to find the perfect link for you, all to no avail. I found the name of the episode, so, there you go. This is the kind of thing I end up doing when I should be getting something, anything done!

Oh, it makes me wonder...

2011-01-12T08:13:00.000-05:00

You just never know what is going to come out of a child's mouth. Especially when that child is three years old. And you know, sometimes words have two meanings.

"Mom, I used to be a star!"

I smiled. (Usually people much older than three are the ones making that claim!) "Really?"

"Yep. I used to be a star. But now I'm in a kid."

Oh!

What ever happened to predictability? The milk man, the paper boy, evening tv?

2011-01-04T19:32:00.001-05:00

Before I had children, I made silly, blanket statements. I said judgemental things like, "I won't let my children watch mind-numbing television. They will never play a video game with any amount of violence." Before children, I could not understand how any reasonable person could put their child on a leash, like a pet.

I have three human children, now. The only claim above that I have stuck to is that I do not own a "child leash." (Clearly, if I was going to "cave" on one, that should have been the winner!)
Before we brought our current dog into our home, we vowed not to give her any "people food" of any kind.

Today, Gracie is one year old.

Our dog has tried most forms of "people food" by now and though we do not give her chocolate, I made her a cake. A meatloaf cake. With cheese "icing." WHY?

Because my children have seen FAR too many old episodes of "Full House," including one with Comet's birthday. (You will be shocked to learn that their dog was served a meatloaf cake frosted with cheese "icing.") And because I ask all of my children what what type of cake they would like for each and every birthday but the dog cannot speak for herself--all three children agreed, unanimously, that Gracie wanted a meatloaf cake with cheese icing.

I do not eat meat. The idea AND sight of ground meat disgusts me. But I cook meat for my family, occasionally. Today--I put my hands in a bowl of ground turkey, raw egg and a few other delicious ingredients--and made a meatloaf cake. For our DOG.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T10:50:00.003-05:00

Cheers!

Here's to a polished draft (or two) in the new year! Cooking, playing games with the kids and putting together photo collages are creative in their own right but seem to sap the rest of my creative energies. (The ideas are still pinging around in my head but I can't seem to get--or take--the time to sit down and sort them all out.)

The youngest is pleading to play "Mousetrap" as I write this, middle kid is sick and the oldest is at gymnastics. I have hopes and plans for both boys napping, today! (Which never works out but it feels like the season for dreaming!)

Have a Happy New Year! Good luck to you, and in all of your pursuits, in the coming year!

And now (again) for something completely different...

2010-12-12T00:29:00.006-05:00

I am proud to be an American. I was born on the Fourth of July, for Pete's sake.
I am a former military spouse, my three-year-old already not only knows the Pledge of Allegiance but knows where to put his hand. We are proud Americans.

Despite what late night television commercials tell me--or you--I do not need this to prove it!

Perspective

2010-12-10T19:18:00.002-05:00

We are driving past the frozen lake, on our way to pick up the "big kids."

"Oh, no!" my three-year-old yells. "There is snow on top of the water! The birds can't swim!"

"That's OK," I say, "they can just walk on it until the ice melts."

"Oh. I didn't know. I never been a bird, before."

A little pick-me up

2010-12-08T19:08:00.004-05:00

Only two mugs of coffee into my busy morning, I stopped at Starbucks for a little more help.

This afternoon, after picking the kids up from school, they all asked to stop at Starbucks for their after-school snack. So I got yet another latte--with this suggestion, wrapped around it! :)

I need an undercoat

2010-12-01T14:15:00.003-05:00

I know what you're thinking. You think the blonde roots have resurfaced. (They haven't, what you see is grey.) You think I mean I need an overcoat.

It is snowing. It isn't icy, it isn't slippery, I can handle snow. The wind today, however, will cut through you. Not a little jab. Not through to your bones but all-the-way-through your bones. This is butcher-knife wind.

As a mother and sometimes-responsible pet owner, I know the dog would enjoy a good 2-mile run. (Good for the dog and safer for my offspring, who will not be pounced upon immediately upon entering the house, IF I take her for a run). Said pet, a golden retriever, has an undercoat. While I can see the wind blowing her fur everywhichway, she is unfettered. She lies in the snow, rolls in the snow and eats the snow. A moment later, I am almost reduced to tears when I open the door to call her in. Not because I don't want her in the house but because I opened the door. I let the wind in. It hurt.

I have the fire going, am wearing my slippers on and hold yet another hot mug of coffee in my hands. I have to go pick up the older two children from school in half an hour, so they won't be standing out in the wind but I don't want to go out there. I need an undercoat.

No Nano banner

2010-11-30T18:49:00.003-05:00

Technically, I CAN type fast enough to type over 35,000 words in the remaining 5 hours to meet the goal. IF I don't do anything but type, starting now. And that is with no time to debate about plot lines, dialogue or take a bathroom break.

It ain't gonna happen.

And I am OK with that! I got my "winner's" banner, last year. And last year, I used an idea that I had already tossed around quite a bit. This year, I started with a brand new idea on Day 1 and I really like the new story and where it is headed. Having said that, I am tired; the youngest is sick and tired; I took time off for Thanksgiving and have really cooked dinner here a few nights in a row (not shocking but not conducive to high word counts, either).

I will keep working on this novel and I will keep you updated.

Congrats to all of you who made it to the finish line, this year! Thanks to all who have listened to my ramblings about Nano and enouraged my progress, such as it was!

Rainy days and...Tuesdays

2010-11-30T09:18:00.008-05:00

Do not, on a rainy day, ask your child what he feels like doing, because I assure you that what he feels like doing, you won't feel like watching.
~Fran Lebowitz

A gloomy, rainy Tuesday should be a good day to hole up and get lots of writing done.
Unless you happen to be in the house with a three-year-old and a puppy who are also holed up, staying in from the rain.

The rambunctious puppy has a new bowl of breakfast. (The little guy dumped her first bowl into her water dish. I guess he thought she'd like it more like cereal, this morning.)

She (the dog) is staring down the boy who is pretending to watch Max & Ruby but is really trying to figure out which Christmas decoration to dismantle next.
**Correction: in the time it took to type that, I realized the boy is actually surrounding himself with toys--the DOG's toys. No wonder she is staring, biding her time, waiting to pounce.

The dog really needs a run. And now, I have one of these. Which makes it easier and fun to run when the wind is at my back, pushing us along. The return trip though--pushing a wind SHIELD AGAINST the wind--seems like a little too much effort, at the moment.

Will I write today? Absolutely.
Will I reach my Nano goal today? Not unless this weather not only lulls little children and big dogs into nice naps but into nice, long, coma-like naps. Now I'm feeling sleepy, too...

To perk myself up, I'm also over here, reading Joshilyn Jackson's blog. Go on over. While I recommend her books, I insist that you read her blog. Even if it is about a Monday. Go!

There are goals and then there are Goals

2010-11-28T15:28:00.006-05:00

I want to reach the goal of 50,000 words by the end of Nano. It is wonderful to see the color slowly inch farther right on the status bar and it is fulfilling to get to post that "winner" banner after the contest is over.

The larger goal is to come up with a draft of a new story that I can then mold into a real novel.

I might achieve the second goal but doubt I will make the first one.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with family. It was great to see siblings and cousins but I did not make my children take dictation along the way! That meant no writing for three days. Yesterday, our family went out to lunch, put up the Christmas tree and watched a movie. Lovely family day but I still never got around to writing.

Today, after Mass and lunch, I sat down and found out about a whole new chunk that belongs in my novel. I'm excited, this one is fitting together so much faster and neater than the book I've been working on for years! I began Nano with almost no idea of what I would write and this thing is writing itself--WHEN I sit down and give it a chance! I am working on it now (except for this break to tell you about it) and hope to get this chunk finished before dinner. (I just have to hide a little longer or convince my daughter that the outdoor lights can wait until tomorrow!)

How is your post-Thanksgiving weekend going?

The Three Rs: Reading, 'Riting and Recording your mom's NaNo novel

2010-11-23T10:25:00.004-05:00

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all. ~Rita Mae Brown

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. ~Douglas Adams

I optimistically signed on to do Nano again this year. I am not even close to the half-way mark, yet.

I agreed to take the kids to my sister's house tomorrow. She lives four hours away. Clearly, the only solution is for them to learn to take dictation. It's a useful skill.

Childhood wisdom

2010-11-22T23:50:00.002-05:00

The voices rise from the backseat, Sunday night, after a long drive and a longer day.
"Mom! She keeps hitting me!"
"I am not hitting. I am just violently touching him."

Today, after I told the three-year-old not to touch anything. (He had just finished a few Cheetos and had very orange fingers). I found an open drawer and reminded him that I'd asked him not to touch anything.
"I made a fist," he tells me, "like this." He shows me the fist.
"Then I used the side of my fist to pull the handle. Like this. I didn't touch it."
I try not to laugh but smile. "Actually, that was pretty smart," I say. "But I still don't want you opening that drawer." I shake my head. "You are a smart kid."

He nods. "Sometimes."

In which I make excuses for my pitiful word count

2010-11-22T13:11:00.002-05:00

My husband was out-of-town this past weekend, so it was a scramble to get my daughter to her gymnastics gym for team photos, back across town for my son's Taekwondo testing and then back to get my daughter. (Just when you think you can pull of the illusion of being in two places at once, you have to be in two places at complete opposite ends of town, at the same time!) I dropped her off early and raced to Taekwondo to wait (they were running behind. So I kept the toddler occupied as best I could during the wait and then stuck him in a corner wtih an assortment of trucks, construction vehicles and cars when the testing began. My son earned his blue belt! Yay! But he was done much later than we'd planned so we raced back to get my daughter before everyone left the gym. (At least, she was able to watch another team practice, after photos were done, so it was kind of extra preparation for her meet on Sunday).

Saturday my son's basketball practice was canceled so I only had to get my daughter to gymnastics practice and then get them all to Mass that night, as we would not make it on Sunday. I think I actually got a few hundred words written on Saturday.

Sunday, we got everyone settled in the car for the drive to Chesterton. The drive is less than two hours but seemed long to the kids. My daughter worries that she will be late, my middle child just doesn't want to be there and the youngest is 3. (Everything takes a long time, when you're 3!)

She was to be there 15 minutes early and we arrived with 5 or 10 minutes to spare, on top of that! We checked her in, only to find that the meet was running approximately one hour behind, at that point. After that first hour or so, her team was ready to begin warming up and my boys were ready to go! We made it through, though and six hours later, we were back in the car for the ride home. They ate lunch and dinner in the car (and the boys made many visits to the concession stand, during the meet).

We were home a little after 9pm, got the kids in bed, poured a large glass of wine and got some of the details of my husband's weekend trip to New York to see the Notre Dame game with his father. Poured a little more wine while I finished up a few dishes (he'd done them but I make sure that coffee pot is in there!) and checked email.

For some reason, I felt too tired to write at that point.

Today! Today is Monday! Mondays are good for me! Yes, Monday mornings are crazy and we did have to make the extra trip to one school after my son left his sitting on the kitchen counter but then I was already out, so stopped at the store and ran a few other errands, too. Made it back home to give the little guy his lunch and a NAP! (We actually do still work in a few, from time to time, and after this weekend, he was READY!) So now I'm set. On Mondays, I can eat lunch and write! :)

Catchin' up

2010-11-18T08:58:00.010-05:00

OK, y'all...not that I like cheating but it might be time to start putting some recipes, songs and a prayer or two into this NaNo novel!

Or at least take a closer look into what's there and see what their new dog just dug up, behind the house. Hmmm....

How's your week going?

***Status update***12:24pm***

Progress! (Sadly, not in the writing but it still counts as catching up!)
It has been exactly two weeks since my youngest got sick in the car. I removed the car seat, scrubbed the car, sprayed the car, rinsed and repeated countless times.
I disassembled the car seat as much as I could without tools, threw everything that I could into the washing machine and then put the rest in the laundry room sink and scrubbed it with bleach and water. I let it dry and put it in the upstairs hallway so I'd remember to take the time to reassemble it and put it back in the car. TODAY, it only took me a little under an hour to remember how to put it back together and get it secured back in the car. *Only* two weeks, exactly, from start to finish!
(Looks like he ought to outgrow it ANY.DAY.)

Social consciousness

2010-11-16T18:54:00.012-05:00

You just never know what your kids are gonna say!

The boys are watching Lilo and Stitch. (I only gave them the choice of that or Finding Nemo. The little one is tired, cranky...no way he was sitting through iCarly!)

Even the dog is cranky. It's cold and wet outside. We needed some tropical fish!

My son has a religion quiz, this week. So I prefaced my preference with, "We are Catholic and of course, Catholics believe that when you die, your soul doesn't come back again. But IF the Hindus end up being right, I hope I come back as a fish."

My son's response? "MOM! How can you say that?! You could be reborn in the GULF!"

(He still curses BP every time we pass one of their gas stations.)

I love this kid!

Whee!

2010-11-15T22:48:00.003-05:00

It's all downhill from here, right? (Or as my 3-year-old would say, "abajo!")
(That kid watches a lot of Dora the Explorer!) ;)

The mid-point of the NaNoWriMo challenge was today, and I am far behind. Time to pick up the speed and race downhill! Who's with me?

2010-11-15T12:39:00.002-05:00

50,000 words in 30 days just isn't enough pressure for me. I like to see if I can catch up, from way behind, near the end. *sigh*

How's your Monday looking?

The voices are getting louder

2010-11-11T13:48:00.007-05:00

I mentioned characters and, perhaps, an actual person from the past speaking to me.

Yesterday, I was upstairs and heard my son calling me from the backyard. He was out there with the dog, so I came running down to see what was wrong. When I made it to the backyard, I found them running in the grass. Both were FINE. So I asked why he'd yelled.
He shrugged. "I didn't."
Oh.

Last night, I was in my bedroom when I heard my daughter call me. (I thought it was her. I am always getting in trouble for going to the wrong room when the other has actually called me.) But this time, they both frowned at me for coming into the wrong room. Neither of them called me. I was sure my youngest was asleep so I gave up.

At 4am, I nearly jumped out of bed when I heard a door slam. I looked at my husband--he'd heard it, too. We looked at each other, then heard the gate at the bottom of the stairs slam shut. We both got out of bed but after I second, I told my husband I was sure it was our older son. (He offered to sneak down and scare the snot out of him but wisely refrained.) When I did not hear any refrigerators opening or water running, I went to check. He was in bed. I checked my daughter's room, and she was in bed. Our youngest never gets out of bed in the middle of the night. Ever. (If he wakes--he cries, calls or just sits there but he does not even get out of his bed in the morning until someone comes to open his door).

But it had to be him. His door was still shut but that would explain the slammed door we'd heard. Sure enough, I went in and found his bed empty.

I went downstairs and found him standing in the dark living room. "I heard Daddy calling me so I came down here," he said, "but now I can't find him."

(I got him back upstairs and we assured him it was a dream. He wasn't completely convinced. He asked his Dad twice more why he'd called him.)

While I was putting him back in bed, I remembered the Bible story where the son woke his father three times, asking why he'd been called. The father finally realized it was God calling his son. My son was, apparently, only called once. And he is three. I don't think God has a message for a three-year-old that can't wait until morning.

Clearly then, there are only two possibilities:
I've invited spirits into the house that want to mess with us (now I know I'm not the only one hearing them) or, the dog has taken up ventriloquism.

Back from the dead

2010-11-08T08:37:00.003-05:00

I started to have second thoughts about how "cool" my visit from my ghostly friend was. This weekend, we were hit by a nasty stomach bug. I started to think this might be the end and maybe she was coming to help me to the other side! ;)

My youngest had it Thursday and was fine by this weekend but the rest of the family was hit hard. We seem to be on the mend now so at least it was fairly short-lived but I am far, far behind on my word count!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Here's to a healthy, productive week!

Haunting dreams or delirium--I'll take it, either way!

2010-11-06T08:49:00.011-04:00

I closed the new document this morning at about 12:15am. I finished writing about a woman who has not yet given birth but her daughter will be an important character, later in the book. As I slid into bed, I was thinking of who she will be when she grows up and I thought she might be the first African-American nun. She has someone else to deal with by then though, so I knew she would at least be familiar with some Native American traditions. I got up and wrote it down, quickly before falling back into bed.

After being woken repeatedly in the early morning, I was delirious enough to even think I was still in a dream. Someone snuggled up on the side of me (the side with no real, physical child attached to me) and tapped me on the shoulder. She whispered a little of her story.

Too tired to wake up (still), I hit Google as soon as I had coffee. The first black nun in Georgia was born in New Orleans, daughter of a slave and a native American.

As a writer, it is a little like magic when your characters become your imaginary friends and talk to you. If you are writing a historical novel and real people (or people who used to be real, live people) show up and do it, that's just COOL.

Frantic Friday

2010-11-05T11:53:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was busy but not with much writing. So I'm far behind on the word count goal.

Fridays are normally "my" days. (My youngest goes to a "Mom's Time Out" on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays, I volunteer at my older son's school during that time. Friday mornings are mine. But Thursday afternoon, the little guy got sick. So he's staying home, this morning. It is a Toy Story marathon morning here, with many interruptions to occupy the dog who is ready to PLAY. Somewhere in there, I've got a lot of work to do to make up for being very, very behind on my word count on the new novel.

At the moment, though the toddler is asking to make lemonade. And hiding in the pantry. I wonder if it's dark in there...
I bet somebody had a pantry 150 years ago. And a kid who liked to hide in it...

I wonder if I can count blog posts as part of my word count? ;)

Wednesday's whine

2010-11-03T13:38:00.007-04:00

I saw it coming, last week but was really hoping I was wrong.

The three-year-old has been three years old for three days. Hasn't napped in two. He is growing up, ready to give up naptime--but I'm not! (Especially not during the month of November/Nano!)

Stay tuned for Thursday's post:
Tearing
Hair out
Until
Red, bald
Scalp
Distracts people from
All the
Yelling

Tuesday to-do list

2010-11-02T10:34:00.004-04:00

Another load of laundry done, this morning? Check.

Get kids off to school? Check. (In reverse order, unfortunately, so one was a few seconds late. Not a lot--but late enough to need a tardy slip. Back to the "regular" order, tomorrow!)

Vote? Check. The three-year-old even tried to help.

Get dog groomed? We'll be there in an hour.

Catch up on my Nano goal? Oh....right. 400 words in, this morning. Here's hoping we still get a nap in for J, during or after the dog grooming!!!

(If not, we'll hope for Plan B: where J takes a late nap, after I pick up the older two and drop oldest at gymnastics. He can nap while C does homework and then, maybe, I can get a few hundred more in...)

How's your Tuesday going?

Reminders

2010-11-01T11:50:00.020-04:00

It is November 1st, my youngest son's birthday, All Saints' Day and the first day of Nanowrimo! If you have not signed up yet, there is still time! Go! Register! Write! (And then come back and finish reading my post.)

Speaking of reminders, I wanted to tell you how Souvenir turned out! I picked up the book at the writing conference, after meeting the author. The story Ms. Fowler has crafted is gripping.

I love it when, the day after I have finished a novel, I am still thinking about the characters. Meg is a little younger than I am but has a daughter a little older than mine. I kept turning the pages to see what Savannah, her 15-year-old daughter, would choose. I was afraid to see but more afraid not to! The books is about choices and consequences, for Meg, Savannah and Carson McKay.

(OK. So I also love it when a book I am reading can teach me about the book I am rewriting!) Which reminds me, it is time to get to work on the new one!

A dream is a wish your heart makes

2010-10-30T08:33:00.012-04:00

Once upon a time, I wrote a book. I talked about it here, and I was going to show it to people at the writer's conference last week. I missed the official deadline to send in pages for a critique and used that as an excuse to mess with it a little more.

If my book were Cinderella, she'd be standing here, in rags. She was dressed and ready for the ball, looking all put-together and then her stepsisters ripped the entire thing apart. I did the damage of two evil-stepsisters, all by myself! Now I'm just hoping I can also take on the role of fairy godmother and craft a new, shiny dress, complete with glass slippers. I am praying that there will be a happy ending to this revision journey so I can stick with the Cinderella analogy. I can't think about poor Humpty Dumpty.

I am reading Souvenir, by Therese Fowler. I love it. My problem is, I know it. The Theme seems very familiar to my Cinderella. I can't decide if that is a good thing or not. It might have been Shakespeare, or my creative writing teacher in college, who said "There are no new stories." But these two are very similar when you look at the bones. I have not finished the book but I think I know how it ends. (Maybe it does not end like mine--stay tuned!) The details are different, of course. Hers is set in Florida, while mine is in Alaska. Hers takes place now (or a few years ago) while mine takes place a century ago. I have not come across a moose in her story but she includes sex, drugs and rock and roll. My Cinderella just has sex.

I hope the next post will involve my Cinderella, pages fluttering in the wind, heading towards the sunset in a carriage pulled by two horses. I really hate to involve all the king's horses and all the king's men.

Chompin' at the bit

2010-10-27T21:50:00.005-04:00

I signed on to Nano again. With no clear idea of what I would be writing about. Again.
Then, I got a shower!
In the shower, I got an idea for a novel!
I wrote a note about the main idea, almost got to dinner and saw the whole thing. This one will work! (I love the current WIP but I've been having a "relationship" with it for 8 or 9 years. It's not it it, it's me.) The new idea is great! BUT. I can't cheat. I can't write the first word now, if I want to count it as my Nano novel. Right? Right. Right?

Whew!

2010-10-27T13:21:00.005-04:00

No nap on Monday, no nap on Tuesday. It was starting to look like my youngest was ready to give up his naps! He will be three on Monday--the same day Nano begins. Which is why he cannot give up his naps, just yet! ;)

He argued about it today. (This is the child who has never given us any trouble about going to bed or taking naps). I know the end is near but I really need him to keep napping, for at least another month!

I had to wake him up, this morning to get him and his siblings to their dental appointments by 8am. After HIS first visit to the dentist (he has been dying to get behind that magic door!), I dropped his siblings off at their respective schools and took him to his Time Out program. He played with kids and had a snack while I went back to the elementary school for library time. When I picked him up, he had a few treats he'd been given for Halloween. He had a little sugar in the car and a little more with lunch. That was probably not the right menu for someone getting ready to go to bed!

He is finally asleep! I played fetch with the dog and now she is asleep. I have an hour until I have to leave to get the older kids. I can finish the dishes or fold clothes or take a shower or write or read. But I am daydreaming about taking a nap.

Hum dum dum ditty dum

2010-10-26T09:33:00.011-04:00

Oh the wind is lashing lustily

And the trees are thrasing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily

So it's rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be

It feels that it will undoubtedly

It looks like a rather blustery day, today

It sounds that it may turn out to be

Feels that it will undoubtedly

Looks like a rather blustery day today

~ Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery Day, Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman

Long days, Mondays. Longer yesterday--middle child had to be at school at 0-dark-thirty to ride the bus to the Red Ribbon Breakfast. Poor kid had a nosebleed on the way to school (yes, they wear uniforms--nice WHITE shirts). He received a new, red t-shirt at the breakfast to wear over his uniform and won a prize from a drawing: a giftcard for Playstation Network! So, he's good!

My daughter has gymnastics until 9pm on Mondays so everyone (but the little guy) seems to go to bed a little later on Mondays.

Tuesdays are the easy days. Tuesdays are the days I know I will have time to get the stroller and run with the dog while I get the little guy to the playground. So the three of us exercise, on Tuesdays. But it is WINDY. And WET. I can't open the windows so my house smells like a mix of new carpet (installed yesterday) and wet dog.

But I have time to sneak in a little writing, during Dora the Explorer episodes. Maybe I will even get around to sharing more details from the conference last weekend. (I promised details after I'd slept, which hasn't really happened yet, so maybe...) Or read a few more pages. I started Therese Fowler's Souvenir on the plane ride home. I hope to finish it soon. The first half rocks!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

The Conference

2010-10-25T23:09:00.006-04:00

I have written three accounts of the South Carolina Writers' Workshop for you. All of them are FAR too long for any of you to want to read. I'm working on that. Here is the (very) condensed version. (Which, I think, is fair. I promised an account once I'd slept--and that has not happened, yet!)

In the meantime, I will just tell you that it was an amazing weekend! I wanted to walk on the beach and hear Joshilyn Jackson's keynote speech. I walked on the beach, took her course, talked to her, had her sign my book, and talked to her a little more!

Getting there, Thursday, was Hell and I was sure I had made a mistake. Friday was great! Saturday was amazing! (Did I mention yet that I had a conversation with Joshilyn Jackson??)Sunday was a blur!

Now I am tired, inspired, have new friends to email, a draft to revise and a better blog post to draft. At least there is still a week until Nano! ;)

Mission accomplished

2010-10-24T21:52:00.010-04:00

I cannot say that I got much sleep or got much writing done. I learned a lot, met some new friends and, most importantly, got that new mug! ;)

(The old mug. I swear, it says "Haystack!")

More on the conference and the writing after I have actually slept!

I need a new coffee mug

2010-10-18T13:43:00.004-04:00

My favorite coffee mug sprung a leak, years ago. It now holds pens, pencils and whatever-else-the-kids-put-in-it, next to the big computer in the basement.

"My" mug (when I'm not using a travel-mug) was the "Mama Bear" mug I received at a baby shower for my oldest child. It started leaking around the handle, last month.

So I'm down to my green, glass mug. It used to have gold letters saying:
"HAYSTACK
Program in the Arts & Sciences
Canon Beach, Oregon
School of Extended Studies"

No leaks, yet. It has held up fairly well. Except now, the gold letters read:
"HAYS AC
Pro am in the A s & Sci
Canon O gon"
(and the last row is simply a blur)

I am headed out-of-town this week to see what conferences are like in the 21st century. I wonder if they still sell things like coffee mugs.

These genes don't fade

2010-10-12T13:29:00.005-04:00

It is that time of year again--people need new jeans. One child's were too short, another's are too tight. Some of them have holes and they're all a little faded.

I wish I could stretch, tear or fade a few of the other genes they've inherited.

After school, my son will go up to his room to change his clothes. Before he has his belt off, he realizes he needs to visit the restroom. (He usually leaves the belt in there, on the floor, to make sure that he has to step over it the next morning before telling me he can't find it.) Then, back to his room, he shuts and locks the door. About a half an hour later (after some Lego ship has been reassembled, another disassembled, "Tech Decks" relocated and "Mighty Beans" counted) he emerges from his room in play clothes. He comes downstairs for that after-school snack and settles in to complete his homework. "Settling in" requires sitting on the dog, running with the dog, falling to the ground and allowing the dog to sit on him for several minutes before yelping for help, running outside with the dog, running back inside and taking something away from his little brother and asking if he can have that snack, yet. Once he finally eats his snack and asks what else he can have, I forcibly move him to another room, lay out his homework, hand him a pencil and shut the door. He will break that pencil, come out for another one, s_l_o_w_l_y walk back to that room, shut the door, play the piano, get back into his chair and yell for help, because he doesn't understand what he is supposed to do.

By the time I get to that room (I have to pacify a toddler and dog before I can get in there) he is rolling his eyes. After I read the directions and either ask him questions or begin explaining one way to approach the homework, he will yell that he doesn't need me, tell me he isn't stupid and demand that I leave NOW.

By now, he has killed at least a good hour and his sister is completely done with her homework. She will skip by and say something like, "If you could EVER finish that, you could probably have time to come play a video game with me." He will then proceed to finish all of his homework in less than 10 minutes. (I should really have her skip by earlier in the afternoon!)

It is just frustrating to watch him waste so much time every day.

As for me, I have some "quiet time" this afternoon while the two-year-old and the dog are both napping and the other kids are at school. I have been obsessing over the first pages of my novel as I plan to show them to real, live people at a conference next week. I was so happy to have this time to revise them again. So. I have consumed not one but two bowls of soup, checked in on facebook and have--for the first time in years--changed the layout of this blog. Isn't it pretty?

After I rinse out a few dishes and fold a basket of laundry, I should be able to get to work. Unless I need to play with the dog.

Delirium has set in!

2010-10-05T23:20:00.004-04:00

Reviewing for the upcoming religion quiz went well, tonight.

Me: "Tell me who persecuted the Jews but then converted, even became an apostle and a saint?"

My child: "I know his name starts with a 'P' and has four letters."

Me: "Okay, good. A little more?"

M c: "Is it Peru?"

Me: "Yes. Exactly. Saint Peru. He was from South America. Now can we try again?"

M c: "I don't know."

Me: "What is my mother's name?"

M c: "Paula?"

Me: "Yes. Now...if you needed a name with only 4 letters that sounds like Paula, you'd have..."

M c: "Aula?"

And we're done.

Deadlines and such

2010-10-02T22:05:00.004-04:00

I am still around, just not updating the blog as I should. I am coming down to the wire on the Final Draft.

Ran into some issues at the end of the summer, so I did not get the pretty draft done in August, nor did I post any of it here, as I had intended. I wanted to have a cohesive draft done then, so I would have time to polish the whole thing in time for a conference in October.

I registered for the conference to give myself an absolute deadline. (Sad, at this age, that I still need a deadline to really put anything together). Sad or not, the conference is now 3 weeks away and my draft still looks like a bloody puzzle. It's chopped up, marked up, scratched out and out of order. But I have 3 weeks.

Forget historical fiction

2010-09-16T13:18:00.003-04:00

I've got to learn how to write contemporary fiction. So I can use everyday life events. Like when the toddler gives the dog a Skittle.

Or when I can't find the time to run with the dog so the Universe does it--the wind is blowing a basketball around the backyard and she is LOVING the game!

Wait! I'd bet they had both basketballs and backyards 100 years ago. I'll try to work that in! ;)

Back to regularly scheduled programming

2010-09-02T13:57:00.003-04:00

The last month was filled with just a little too much real-life drama for me to focus on the other dramas playing out in my head. So as far as deadlines go, I've had to move to Plan B.
The big kids are back in school, the little guy starts going back to a "Mom's Time Out" program next week and I am back to my version of "normal."

Trying to catch up on revising and added two new pages today. If I could just stop myself from accessing the internet, I'd be done with this thing!

Here's hoping your September is off to a good start!

You knew it was coming

2010-08-09T23:03:00.004-04:00

Well, my few loyal readers, I have let you down again. But if you're still here, reading, you aren't surprised.

The WIP is not quite there. I have so much done but can't wrap it up with a neat little bow, just yet.
Life has been surreal here, lately which would be great for composing but not so much for focusing and editing.

I have allowed myself a very brief extension.

The kids go back to school next week so my worst case scenario involves me finishing it up soon thereafter. Life certainly does not get any calmer or easier with them in school but we'll be back in a more structured routine.

8-9-10

2010-08-08T23:42:00.008-04:00

When I first gave myself 30 days to revise my novel, I thought a blanket 30 days was reasonable. After NaNo, I thought revising in 30 days would at least be do-able.

I didn't realize until after I'd "set the date" that 30 days would be August 9, or 8-9-10. I like the logical order of that date!

For the record however, I'm giving myself until midnight tomorrow. Every time I start to organize, I write more. I've come up with a few good parts, I think, but the original draft is still in a shambles. I write pieces here and there, planning to put them in order later. Now that later has arrived, I'm still not quite there. But I still have 24 hours and 13 minutes.

So.

2010-07-26T12:18:00.004-04:00

My deadline is approaching, the weather is beautiful but there is a fresh coat of paint on my deck railing. So. I can't sit out on the deck with the laptop and watch my kids play in the sprinkler. (I did request the non-magnetic paint with no tractor beams whatsoever but kids and dogs gravitate to it, regardless). So. I suggest a day at the local waterpark! Yeah! I rock, right? How fun?!
I have been told that it will be "the most crowded place on Earth today, Mom." So. They don't want to go. On this beautiful, sunny but finally, not TOO muggy day...they want to go to the video game store. No. So my daughter suggests "school shopping." What? Yes, she wants to go school shopping. I took them for uniforms last week (she was worried they'd run out of the grey sweatshirts--in July--so we got those). Now she wants to go get folders, paper, pens--instead of swimming. Because she doesn't swim, anymore. She does backflips in the pool.
We have all day today, you see, because gymnastics is closed this week. So she wants to go flip somewhere else or shop. The boys do not.
So. They are playing in their rooms and I am moving things around on my blog. (Though it's tempting to go sit out on the deck, alone. They might destroy the house but I wouldn't hear them out there, until the new, covered deck came crashing down on my head. Which would also ruin the fresh paint.)

We all have work to do!

2010-07-20T09:36:00.004-04:00

My deadline is fast approaching--and I haven't made it very far, yet!
We taught the dog to "drop the ball" yesterday and she was great at it! Today, she is looking at me like I am speaking Dutch.
My son wants to watch an episode of a tv show AGAIN so I paused it and told him we can resume the show as soon as he can tell me what six times seven is. He left, to go play in his room.
It seems we all have a bit of work to do!

Maybe I just need patio furniture!

2010-07-12T08:46:00.004-04:00

After I stayed up far too late (intending to write but not getting very far), I got up this morning to try again. I've been given some unanticipated quiet time as I am the only one up besides the dog but she wants to PLAY! A big dog biscuit/chew in exchange for a few undisturbed minutes on the computer isn't really SO wrong, is it? ;)

Otherwise, I considered sitting out on our newly covered deck with the laptop while I watch her run around the backyard. Option 2 is certainly better for her but I can't find my tv tables and can't figure out how to balance my coffee cup and my laptop in just a lawn chair!

It is time to pick out a table and chairs for our new pretty deck!

Deadlines and assistance

2010-07-09T11:43:00.004-04:00

OK, I would love to have assistants but since I can't justify or afford even one of those, I will settle for some assistance.

It seems I am eternally working on the WIP but never making much progress, unless I have a deadline. (Self-imposed deadlines do not seem to work too well!)

I have decided to attend a writing conference this year, vowing to bring a polished MS with me, just to give me a deadline so I will have to get it done.

At this point, it is far from polished. At this point, it is still a mess. I should set an earlier deadline to make it somewhat coherent, at least. To that end, I am giving myself 30 days (a self-imposed deadline) but I am posting the deadline here to make me stick to it.

Y'all will hold me to it, right?

Mama Bear is Angry

2010-06-22T16:19:00.005-04:00

It is not nice to call people names. (Tell me when I get something wrong.)

Took all three kids to an indoor bounce-house to play today. It is full of many inflatable bounce houses and obstacle courses. Kids climb, bounce and fall. Soft, inflatable, bouncy fun but when you have several kids in an enclosed space, kids will bounce into each other. I get it. I can't help it. I take my kids there, anyway.

The older two were in the same Spongebob bounce house today until my son came out, ran to me and began sobbing. I figured he'd bounced into someone else but asked him to calm down and tell me what happened.

"Someone called me an idiot!"

Oh. We have been through this any number of times and you have to ignore kids that say mean things.

"Did you bounce into someone?"

"Yes," he sobs. "I didn't mean to! We were bouncing and I accidentally kicked someone."

"Okay. Did you..." (I don't even get to finish asking if he apologized.)

"I said SORRY! I told him I was sorry and he said he was okay but his mom came in and called me an idiot. I want to go home."

What?
"What mom?"
"I don't know. I just want to go home."

Keeps sobbing. An employee comes over to see if my son is hurt and if he can help. I explain that only his feelings are hurt but many people are looking. Which makes him more embarrassed. "I just want to go home."

I tell him to go splash his face with cold water and as he turns, another kid looks at us, looks down and says, "I'm sorry."

I ask if this is the boy he kicked and my son nods. I ask the boy if he is okay (clearly, he is--he just sprinted by us) and he says yes and that he is sorry, again.

My son just keeps sobbing so I send him off to go splash his face with cold water.
My daughter comes running up and asks where he is. I tell her and she says, "yeah, some lady just came in and called him an idiot!"

"Did your brother kick the boy?"
"Yes, but it was an accident, Mom. We were all bouncing and well, he did not mean to."

Now I have confirmation. While she is his sister, she is his sister. She is THE FIRST ONE to give me every detail when he does something wrong. Occasionally, he does kick and she would tell me so. But she is also thrown by an adult calling him a name. And now I am angry. But I take a deep breath. We had storms ALL night last night, maybe she did not get any sleep. Maybe her son is recovering from something and she thinks he is fragile. But then, why bring him to a BOUNCE house?

I ask my daughter if she can point out the mom but she can't. I ask her to take her other brother on one more slide and then get their shoes. My son comes back from the bathroom and as we go to collect shoes, my daughter touches my arm. "I found her! I wasn't sure but then she called her son over. It's that lady--the one in the recliner, with the blanket."

My son grabs my other arm. "DON'T say anything, Mom! I just want to go home."
"I just want to talk to her for a second, honey."
"NO! Mom, PLEASE, can we just GO?"
He is distraught enough so I don't say anything but look back at mom, who has her feet up, blanket up, smiling and laughing with her husband and I realize that from where she is sitting, she has just watched our whole minor episode. She has seen how upset my son is, she has seen her son apologize, she has seen other people check on my son and she has sat there, snuggled up in her blanket and is having a grand time. I still don't say anything but as another employee cuts our bracelets off, I glare. Her husband looks up for a second but nothing from either one of them.
I am sure they've forgotten but my son was still whimpering the whole ride home. I explain that even grown-ups make mistakes but that the mother should have known better. I explain though that sometimes parents get upset quickly if they beleive their child is hurt. I offer any number of excuses but my son was still whimpering when we made it into the house. "I am not an idiot."

No. He isn't. But I have my doubts about this lady.

Rewriting

2010-06-13T23:12:00.005-04:00

Writing without rewriting is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear. ~Patricia Fuller

Of course, the above quote is true. We all know it is true. And yet, editing/rewriting the WIP is not easy, not fun, not how I was going to spend a Sunday, though I was excited to have the chance. I had some unexpected alone (quiet!) time this afternoon and pulled the draft out. I grabbed a red pen and the pages are bleeding. The good news is, I was very happy to find a few good lines in there!

(I took out entire paragraphs, even a page or two but there were a few really nice words and ideas!)
Rewriting can be productive. In addition to thinning out the pages, I came up with at least forty or fifty new ideas! (One or two might actually pertain to the novel at hand!)

Fun or not, productive or not, it has to be done. Because this mess, as is, is much uglier than me dancing out of my front door in my underwear. (Which would not be pretty, just in case you were curious).

Summer!

2010-06-01T10:35:00.004-04:00

The kids are out of school, the pup is a bundle of energy...I don't think I will be very successful at posting more often than I did during the school year! We'll see...might get to sleep in a little more so maybe that'll be enough!

I still have a few books that I have started reading but need to get in gear! I am going to get the kids going on a summer reading list and I want to start one, too! What are you reading?

Enjoy your summer!

Advice from a slacker mom

2010-05-11T12:01:00.004-04:00

Things happen.

You may, for instance, have a puppy who might still be small enough to fit through your picket fence. You might even embark upon a home improvement project during this puppy stage and decide to have work done on your deck, which would leave small nails and pieces of lumber lying in the grass, attracting said puppy like a tractor beam. In such cases, you may find it easier to walk the dog in the front yard.

If you have begun such a project, you can guess that rainy weather is on the way. If you have a toddler who loves to run (who doesn't?) and who loves puddles (who doesn't?) at home during this reconstruction phase, you can absolutely guarantee that it will rain. You will want to plan ahead and make sure said toddler is dressed early, ready to just slip on rain boots so he can come along to walk the dog.

If however, you have not planned far enough ahead and said toddler is already tiring and approaching naptime, you might start to consider alternative plans. You may assume it would be easier to just leave the child inside, where it is warm and dry. You think about doing something that you know in your heart is wrong. You may be tempted to sit that toddler down at the table with a snack and allow Dora the Explorer to babysit while you run the dog outside for a few minutes. I can't say what works for your family.

Just a word of advice: if you are tempted to attempt such a maneuver, I suggest checking to ensure you have not left a carton of eggs on the kitchen counter before you run outside.

And so it goes...

2010-04-28T10:52:00.004-04:00

"Hey, Mom! That sign says STOP!"
"Yes, Honey! You're getting so big--you can read!"
"Mmm-hmmm. Just like Daddy."

"MOMMY!! My fingers are STUCK!"
Mom takes a deep breath but does not move the pocket door. She tells the two-year-old to take a deep breath, too, which he does--and then slides his own fingers out, by himself.
"WOW! YAY! Honey, you did that all by yourself! What a big boy!"
"Uh-huh!" (Smiles) "Just like Daddy!"

When it is time to get dressed, he puts his arms in the sleeves of his shirt, he holds on to Mom's shoulders as he steps into his pants, one leg at a time.
"I did it! I got dressed ALL BY MYSELF!"
"You are such a big boy!"
"I KNOW! Just like Daddy!"

Unfortunately, those jeans are a little too big. They keep sliding off. A moment ago, he ran right out of them! But he picked them back up and put them on--all by himself.
"Wow! Son, you put those pants on with no help! You did a great job! You got them on, but they are backwards."
"I did it! Just like Mommy!"

Nature vs. nuture

2010-04-21T09:44:00.004-04:00

No matter how you raise them, little boys are genetically predisposed to act like little boys. (Especially my youngest--he is ALL boy!)

Puppy dogs, no matter how much you treat them like toddlers, will still behave like animals. I cannot blame a pup for trying to bury a bone (even if the "bone" is an edible dog biscuit.) I can't blame a dog for trying--until she tries to bury it in the leather couch!

A Room of One's Own (Or, How to have the Perfect Vacation without leaving town!)

2010-04-20T13:28:00.006-04:00

If taking the road less traveled really makes a difference, it must, at some point lead to a room of one's own. At least for a night! That is what makes all of the difference, at least in my world!

I talk about attending writer's conferences, I envy writers who leave for a week or a weekend to draft their novel but I plan to just hide in my basement. Which never works. Someone always finds me!

A few weeks ago, I took all three kids plus the pup on a road trip, leaving my husband home alone for a few days. He was working and was on call that weekend, so he assured me that he did not get a chance to relax while we were gone. (These seems impossible to me, as we left him in an empty, quiet house!) In any case, when we returned, he suggested I take another night off at a hotel to write, or sleep, or whatever it is that I do.

This past weekend was it! After a week of griping and yelling, I told him I would not go. I did not deserve it. (I needed it but I should have been nicer, first!) Whether he disagreed or just wanted a break from the yelling, he booked the room for me and sent me on my way. I took a draft, the laptop and off I went.

I decided I could make much progress in one night if I just stayed up and fixed it. After I spent far too much time staring at the comfortable bed full of way too many pillows, I amended my plan. I decided I would be a much better writer and mother if I fell into that bed! (Revised plans--much like revised drafts--make much more sense!)

So my book is better but not done. I still did not sleep eight hours but I SLEPT! And the family? They're better, too. They all got a break from my stressed-out behaviour and rather than cringing when I came back in, they were happy to see me. The husband even shook his head and admitted, "I didn't get it. Now I understand why you are so stressed."

Thus ends The Perfect Vacation.

I get my best ideas in the shower

2010-04-09T23:34:00.004-04:00

I know you've heard it before but I came up with THE End. Well, the concept for the end. Typed up the idea but now to wrap it all up.
This book WILL be done THIS year.

One month later

2010-04-07T23:01:00.004-04:00

A day late

2010-04-07T10:06:00.002-04:00

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
~ Don Marquis

(I'm still behind but I can laugh about it, now!) ;)

Freud's Dad???

2010-04-06T21:51:00.003-04:00

I should not be posting after an argument so this will set here...at least, for a little bit.

Eventually though--I want other parent's opinions. I KNOW I get touchy--OK, a little bitchy--or WAY bitchy--about a few things but when it comes down to it, no one ever goes into therapy and blames their dad.

Or do they? If you know of ONE person who actually goes into a therapist and says "If only my DAD had done this...(or hadn't)," please tell me. You will be my favorite person. Evah.

2010-04-05T21:04:00.003-04:00

After answering a question about grammar, then offering an explanation on punctuation--I announced that this summer, I will be conducting English Boot Camp for my kids.

"English POOP camp?"
"NO. BOOT."
"Bwahaa ha!!! Mom said Poop!"
"No, boot."
"Hey, Mom? Are we having English poop camp?"
"HA!!HA!!HA!!!"

Does that word EVER get old?

In which I retract the idea that a new puppy is giving me more time to write!

2010-03-18T14:17:00.002-04:00

While the pup still prefers to sleep on my feet, that doesn't allow me to go very far! While I would love to stand here all day and write, I can't really do that when the mountain of clean laundry to fold is as tall as me. Or can I?

Our youngest

2010-03-04T21:58:00.004-05:00

The good news is that I have no excuse not to write--the laptop is on the kitchen counter and our new pup lays on my feet WHENEVER I stay still.

Of course, my family would probably prefer that I fold a little laundry--but she wakes up as soon as I move my foot--so I'm staying and playing, er, writing.

The Historian

2010-02-23T16:39:00.006-05:00

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, truly is worth sinking your teeth into! ;)
I've been trying to post a brief review for a few weeks now and may never get it done. Go ahead and read it, if you haven't. I might have an actual review by the time you're done!

(I realize it was a hit about five years ago but, as usual, I'm a bit behind!)

Busted

2010-02-09T10:32:00.004-05:00

Trying the "Sugar Busters" plan again but forget to check some things that really ought to be safe--at least, in my mind! My husband bought a platter of deviled eggs from the store for the SuperBowl. I usually make my own but he knows the kids like them and he was buying other snacks.

So, now that I've snagged quite a few for myself over the past two days--now...I look at the nutrition info and ingredients. Sugar AND corn syrup. Both. In deviled eggs. Why?