There is nothing like a writing conference to re-charge your creativity. Attending an "Un-Conference" is, so far, even better!
Unfortunately, I've been sick on-and-off since it started so I only imagine the level of awesomeness for attendees who attended all of the sessions, today! More to come...I'm here all week!
If you would like to follow along all sorts of writerly advice, go visit over on Twitter:
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Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Fun Friday
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!
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!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Food for thought
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).
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).
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Summer vacation
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?
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?
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
April showers, May flowers...June books?
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!
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!
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Conference
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! ;)
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! ;)
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Summer!
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Summer reading
Do you have a summer reading list?
Each year, I believe that the kids and I will read more during the summer. The kids are reading a little more, grudgingly, as we've told them they have to in order to play video games or go to the pool.
Keeping them busy during the summer does not leave much more time for me to read during the summer than any other time of the year, however! I have these fantasies of reading through a few classics and a few new bestsellers but at the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to finish an entire book!
What are you reading?
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
We're back
We are getting back into the swing of things here after being gone last week. Hopefully I'll get back into writing and blogging a little more regularly, soon! I am trying to catch up on laundry and sleep. (I always tell my husband that I need a vacation after our vacations!) I was complaining that I had to reschedule a hair appointment before we left so the gray is making another appearance (matches the dark circles under the eyes) and then I totally forgot about my new appointment today until it was too late. (I really have to start sticking reminders to my kids!) (Of course, if these are my worst issues, life is pretty darn good!)
Last week was busy but it was great! At the last minute, we decided to take the kids to Washington D.C. The kids, of course, were most interested in the hotel's pool but we were able to see some great, historical places and some interesting museums. The National Air and Space Museum was the biggest hit with the kids.
We were able to catch up with one of my old friends from back home and his family. We had a wonderful time and my daughter even included the dinner in her school journal. Her assignment was to write what she did over Spring Break, so along with her favorite D.C. sites, she wrote that she had dinner with "old friends." When I smiled, she explained that E is her friend. (I love that to N, a 16-month old that she just met is an "old friend!")
Of course, they tired easily and "almost died" from the walking (these are the same kids that can dance and perform gymnastics to Radio Disney for hours) but they had some fun along the way! The baby won't remember any of it so hopefully we can get back when everyone is a little older. Perhaps we'll do some hiking/training in advance before we go back!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Old Folks at Home
We returned from Florida on Tuesday. It was great to see everyone and spend some time at my mom and dad's "resort." (I'm not sure my parents see it quite the same way but for my kids--it's a bit better than many other vacations! True, there are no roller coasters but they get breakfast cooked to order, lunch and dinner with no wait--in fact, they're reluctant to get out of the pool to eat--and there is the pool! A pool in the backyard! No car ride, elevator ride, no keys necessary to get to the POOL!) As if all that weren't enough for a summer vacation, they have cousins to play with! So it's a nice break for them (on other vacations, they are each other's only peer). This summer they've met a few kids in our new town but don't have many friends yet so it was wonderful for them to have cousins around to play with all week!
While we did visit my folks at home, they are not yet old. The title of the post is of course, also the title of the Florida state song. The first line of that song, "Way down upon the Swanee river..." put me in mind of the other story while I was home. People boating and fishing on the Suwannee river in Florida are being hit by jumping sturgeon! Talk about some old residents! These ancient fish jump right out of the water--no one knows exactly why. The river is lower this year than it has been, more people are out on the river so the problem has become more noticeable.
We celebrated my mom's birthday a week early while I was there, which was nice. Her actual birthday is tomorrow so Mom: if you read this in time, Happy Birthday!
While we did visit my folks at home, they are not yet old. The title of the post is of course, also the title of the Florida state song. The first line of that song, "Way down upon the Swanee river..." put me in mind of the other story while I was home. People boating and fishing on the Suwannee river in Florida are being hit by jumping sturgeon! Talk about some old residents! These ancient fish jump right out of the water--no one knows exactly why. The river is lower this year than it has been, more people are out on the river so the problem has become more noticeable.
We celebrated my mom's birthday a week early while I was there, which was nice. Her actual birthday is tomorrow so Mom: if you read this in time, Happy Birthday!
Monday, March 26, 2007
There's no place like home!
We are back home, after traveling across parts of Kansas and Missouri. We saw scenes similar to the one on the left many times from our car windows, though not with such spectacular colors in the sky! This photo was taken shortly after a thunderstorm and we did see a few of those! (In fact, the caption beneath this photo said that only Florida and the Gulf Coast receive more thunderstorms than this area. No wonder it felt like home so quickly!)I've been visiting other blogs today to catch up and found that Tracy drove from one end of Kansas to the other! I also learned that our very own Flint Hills are featured in April's National Geographic! The photo here is one from that issue. Take a look when you have a chance. It makes me want to take the family on a hike through the prairie on our next day off!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Break's over!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Back in the middle of things
We made it back on Sunday and got my mother-in-law back home on Monday. However, it takes me longer and longer each time we leave to get back into the routine! While I'm thankful the hubbie had Monday off, it throws my routine off just a little.
The trip went well. Notre Dame won the game so it was a pleasant trip! ;) We were able to visit with friends and that was fun! We met one of the hubbie's former classmates and his wife and drove down to Colorado Springs with them. We were able to meet up with another friend/classmate the day of the game.
Of course, I was more excited to reconnect with Jen--a friend from highschool that I haven't seen in years! I was able to meet her two little girls as well. Her oldest reminds me of my oldest a few years ago! She finally warmed up to me--even let me take several photos of her--and then I got a few of her face! (The first several are of the back of her head as she'd smile and then turn away just as I snapped the picture!)
It was really wonderful to spend time with them--even if it was just breakfast. I'll have to get my kiddos over there before we move further away again.
I bought a new novel to read on the trip but I have not made much progress on the NaNo novel since we left. Thursday morning is the first morning this week I did not have some other obligation so I intend to spend it with the laptop.
The trip went well. Notre Dame won the game so it was a pleasant trip! ;) We were able to visit with friends and that was fun! We met one of the hubbie's former classmates and his wife and drove down to Colorado Springs with them. We were able to meet up with another friend/classmate the day of the game.
Of course, I was more excited to reconnect with Jen--a friend from highschool that I haven't seen in years! I was able to meet her two little girls as well. Her oldest reminds me of my oldest a few years ago! She finally warmed up to me--even let me take several photos of her--and then I got a few of her face! (The first several are of the back of her head as she'd smile and then turn away just as I snapped the picture!)
It was really wonderful to spend time with them--even if it was just breakfast. I'll have to get my kiddos over there before we move further away again.
I bought a new novel to read on the trip but I have not made much progress on the NaNo novel since we left. Thursday morning is the first morning this week I did not have some other obligation so I intend to spend it with the laptop.
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