A little late

What is the measure for snowmen? Should you build them as big as you are or as big as you think they should be? This was the snow earlier this month. Alabama doesn't get enough snow to build a snowman often, this was a treat for the girls.

Summertime and the living is easy

I'm soooooo ready for warmer weather. Wish everyone at the Springmingle, good luck with critiques and wish I was there but money, budgets and work makes it impossible to make all the events I would like to attend. I'm looking forward to the Historical fiction workshop in Nashville on the 13th.

I did something today I've not done in many years... I took Kane and Ella to a birthday skate party at the skating rink and I skated... yep the old girl still has it ... well not as smooth as it was thirty years ago but I went forward and backward and I only had to balance out of a near fall once. You know arms waving and skates making that thump thump sound as you try to get them under your body.

Who knows I might go bungee jumping next...NOT

Well it has been awhile since I posted something I wrote... this is the first page of the very first thing I tried to write...




Prologue


Spring’s first breath had renewed life in the middle Tennessee countryside. The red bud trees in the back yard were starting to show their colors and the cottonwood tree down by the barn had put out purple buds. Buttercups, tulips and crocuses bloomed in the flowerbeds around the porch. Katherine Conner gazed out the screen door, but she didn’t see any of God’s springtime glory. All she saw was the little black and white dog waiting at the end of the sidewalk. Belle, Joey’s blue heeler stared down the driveway. She was looking for Joey.
Katherine walked outside and sat down on the porch steps, then called Belle to her. Looking into the dog’s intelligent eyes, Katherine sobbed.
“He’s never coming back, you know. There’s no need to sit and wait for him.” Sitting on the porch steps, holding onto her dead husband’s faithful dog, Katherine released the heartache of the past two days.


Okay I confess, I removed three adverbs and two passive sentences before I pasted it in this blog. HA

When is it time to stop playing around?

Okay, I'm in a cycle here and I can't get out... hahahaha that makes me think of that commercial "Help I've fallen and I can't get up!" See... I'm in a cycle here... I can't stay focused on things. I'm quilting one minute, playing with the dog the next, watching American Idol the next (and darn I only picked one of the four that was booted) and then I have my notebook doodling... YES I said doodling not writing. This new short story is running in my brain all the time and I keep changing it. Okay... I'm writing it down so it has to happen... I will write Flamingo Rodeo this weekend. I will not quilt, play with the dog..I will fed her and if a ball gets thrown, so be it, but I won't call it play...I will not write in my notebook or any single sheet of paper but sit and type this story from my brain into a word doc
Okay I feel better.

I feel like the Panda at the top... it was fun getting there but what do you do now??

March is Celebrate Women's History

How to Celebrate Women’s History @ Your Library
Telling the story of women’s work is never done.

I pulled the picture and blurb from the ALA magazine. Find women that helped shape America then write an article or book about her Here is the link to the entire article.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/womenshistory2010

Focusing on women as a library market segment offers so many more creative opportunities for reaching out to your community
“Writing Women Back into History” is the theme for National Women’s History Month, March 2010, the annual celebration of women in the United States. For years women’s contributions were routinely underestimated or ignored even in the history of our own profession. While this still remains the case for much of history, the second wave of feminism reinvigorated interest in, and work on, “women’s history” at the academic and community levels. Now children learn about Sojourner Truth as well as Betsy Ross and we understand that Abigail Adams contributed to the founding of this country as did her husband, John, our nation’s second president.

Making my list and checking it twice

I was looking through blogs and checking 'Coming Soon' at Amazon and Books-A-Million making my wish list for books that will be released in the next three or four months. Here is one that I'm going to look at when it's released. Has anyone done a arc read on this book.

Monster Slayers written by Lukas Ritter Release date 05-10-2010

When vicious, dog-headed gnolls kidnap everyone living in the small village of Hesiod, only Evin and his fighter friend Jorick manage to escape. With help from an ancient guidebook of magical beasts called A Practical Guide to Monsters, the two boys and a new friend--elf wizard Betilivatis--must trek through ancient ruins and face one menacing monster after another in order save their families.

But Evin soon realizes that not everything is as it seems. Someone--or something--has taken leadership of the gnolls and has dangerous plans for the kidnapped villagers. Betilivatis often disappears mysteriously and has strange conversations with someone only she can see. And Evin is having unusual dreams of a place he's never been, a place that feels more and more real with each passing day.

The pace never falters in this page-turning adventure, as Evin, Jorick, and Betilivatis bravely battle gnolls, a chimera, an ormyrr, and a lich, and it ends with a shocking twist that will make readers want to start the story all over again.

I'm chuckling to myself because my spell check went crazy on that posted review. hahaha

More titles to come

which jacket ...?

Now I need some city girl help here... I'm country and wouldn't be caught in the pink one but I sort of like the other one. Of course both of these are expensive and way out of my price range, but you know if I sell this story I might just treat myself to the little black one.

Just for your information the boots yesterday were on sale at the site I found them on...389.00 regular 500.00 lets go buy two pair hahahahha

Just because the shoe fit ... it might not fit the situation

You know yesterday I said my character was like a flamingo at a rodeo... here are the boots that get her into a romantic situation... what do you think, cute or totally wrong.

Wait, I know they are wrong but Carrie is city not country girl... city girl that is a girlie girl and has never been to a rodeo. Now, cute or wrong.

Hayden is going to save her... I'm going post opinions for her jacket tomorrow.

Hey I might be old but I didn't have to look on the Internet to get ideas for what Hayden would wear or how he looks ... uuuulalala... What? It doesn't hurt to look at the menu as long as you don't order. :) Okay let me state that this is not a children's story but adult romance with a little heart fluttering and goo goo eyes but that is all. How much can you put in 800 words.

Think Flamingo

I'm writing a short story for my LongRidge course and I'm trying to paint a picture of the main character (Carrie) being like a flamingo at a rodeo... hummm dang that does sound interesting... work fingers work!

I will start the word a day again next week.

Today was a heart warming, soul healing day.... the sun felt wonderful, the blue sky made it seem that anything was possible and the free time sparked creative ideas.

Thank you heaven father for this reprieve from winter.

Now for the good stuff. I did a writing workshop (that was very un-organized) but I think great. The kids listened... really listened and wrote... pretty awesome stories. They asked questions, gave answers to my questions and we even did a story line... character, setting, problem, solution... they all are going to write a story using our story line.

It was a piece of cake...NOT I was sweating like Elvis only I didn't have scarves to wipe my face.

My thoughts on the book, "Leaving Gee's Bend"

What if your ears were so long it was a chore to keep them up? I feel this way some times. :)

If you have not read Irene Latham's book Leaving Gee's Bend... you have missed a treat for your reading soul. The book is filled with common sense tools to handle bad situations and the most enjoyable part was that I knew, loved and cheered for the characters.

A character driven book that slips in history and southern flavor.


Here is the paragraph I love the best... on page 203

I knew what she was saying was true. But tears came into my eyes again anyhow. Wasn't nothing I needed that wasn't right here in Gee's Bend. And wasn't a thing that could happen that I wasn't strong enough to get through.

Character growth at its best. Way to go Irene.

I have a 10 year old grandson and when I read him the first chapter, he wanted to read the rest. That is my trick to get my grandbabies to read books I want them to read... I read the first chapter or two and then say... "If you want to know what happens, read the rest."

Not 100% yet but learning

Like this picture, I feel I have hair in my eyes. I still learning my way around this Windows 7 but I have to say it's not really that bad and I think I'm going to like it. I'm going to transfer my files tonight or tomorrow ... keep your fingers crossed for that HA Keep anything you can cross, crossed

I have two reviews to post but can't seem to get away from "What does this do?" and then fixing what it does

I'M BACK

New baby in the house... do you remember how it felt to have a new baby? You had to adjust to this new being and it had to adjust to you.. well we do not have a two way street here!! I have to peck and find my way through Windows 7 whistles and bells oh my!!

It keeps binging at me, but I will figure this out.

I have missed everyone and look forward to reading blogs that I've missed.
I have to write an article for the Kidsville News, catch up on my critique group's submissions ... an we meet next Saturday, catch up on emails and blogs, get everything set on this computer so I know where things are and still have time to work, sleep, do housework and other semi-needed things. :)
It's so good to be back in the land of OZ

I will be blogging again tonight or tomorrow

yea yea I will no longer be searching through the land of no computers, trying to find friends, new book reviews or missing emails...I will be found...hahheeee
I have this picture in my head of a preacher slapping my fingers and saying type... you know like they say HEALED hehehee I think I'm high on excitement I'm getting my computer but OH NO I'm not getting the one I ordered from DELL that little adventure will be in my first blog on my new computer which is not the one I ordered but is a Dell...the Dell company doesn't care if they sell computers to home users or any user that buys least than 3 computers... OOOps getting into the story... fingers typing when my mind is saying STOP no really stop... stop already.
:)

computer hasn't left Dell yet.... why give a shipment date if you're not going to keep it

Hopefully I will be back with post 02-19-2010 I need a blogging pill or a email fix or HELP I need a computer... I feel like a junkie on the street, can you give me a little snort of spam to tie me over until tomorrow...sigh
checking at work is no fun because I can see what I have but don't feel right to email on the clock. On lunch right now... chocolate that is what I need.

Still waiting for computer

Grrrr........I hate waiting

Taxes and death....

Still waiting for new computer and will catch up next week if and when they decide to ship it.
Tax season is in full swing and remember I work for an accountant.
One little tidbit of information... got something about the government is going to give rebates for refrig, dishwashers, washers, dryers, that have the engery star starting in April...might want to check with your accountant.

Not dead, but computer is

Sad news computer passed away yesterday afternoon, well in thruth it was dying the end of last week but took it's last breath yesterday. Good news, new baby arrives tomorrow YEA