I'm baaaaaaaaack! It's been awhile since I've posted. First vacation - we had a great time by the way - then home to a couple of deadlines, two family reunions and then on top of everything else, I hurt my back. Wasn't able to get into the chiropractor until yesterday! Am very sore today but at least it's a 'healing' soreness - everything is back into place. Apparently, my hips were going in two different directions than normal. Could barely walk or sit for a couple of weeks - everything I did was painful. Hopefully, now I'm on the mend.

We took a LOT of pictures on the trek to California and back. I ended up with over 300 on my camera. Of course, now that I'm home I keep thinking, why didn't I take more pictures?

Top picture is of me and guess who? We went to Hollywood and the kids wanted to go to Universal Studios. They've built it up a lot since my last visit in hmmmmmmmmmm. Since I rarely watch new movies or tv shows, all the references to 'stars' and scenes from newer shows was lost on me. But, I had a good time watching people and seeing the kids have a fun day. It was the only day in California that turned out to be beastly hot. Most of the time it was cold.

Middle picture was taken on Rodeo Drive which seemed like a high priced tourist come on to me. I loved all the flowers though - California is awash in the most gorgeous flowers and trees. One of our tour guides told us that the jackaranda (hope I spelled that right) tree only blooms one week a year. We were there on that week. The flowers were small and purple, like wisteria. Some streets were planted with hundreds of the trees. In one town - am not sure which one now - each street was planted with a different tree - either all oak, all maple, all whatever. Any tree had to match the street's official tree.

The picture on the bottom is of some of us on the rocks in San Francisco Bay. To our right would be the Golden Gate and Alcatraz. This is the first time I'd been across the bay to Sausalito. It's a wonderful little town, very relaxing and quaint is the only word that comes to mind. True there are dozens of touristy shops and boutiques - but they didn't seem to be overly priced and we had a great time looking in them. We were on our way to Muir Woods where we saw some giant redwoods. Not the biggies -- maybe a third as big as the ones in the redwood forest.

Am not sure I'll do a recap of the whole vacation on here. Maybe bits and pieces now and then. I just couldn't let Kitty come here again and find nothing going on in my life. Hi, Kitty!!! :)

Miracle Book? The picture is the best I could manage - my camera batteries were low and I didn't have time to run out to the store. Looking at the picture you'd never know that the book on the right is a miracle. Scuffy and olive green - but neverless a miracle. You see, it appeared out of nowhere.

This is all true but even today (it happened yesterday) I have a hard time believing it myself. The Quest of Mary Selwyn is the sequel to a book I found about ten years ago at a yard sale, Uncle Frank's Mary. I loved the first book but there was a problem. Without spoiling the plot for anyone who might someday read the books - UFM ends with a very annoying, unsatisfactory conclusion. You absolutely HAVE TO HAVE the sequel to know what happens to four main characters. The author leaves the reader with a doozy of a cliffhanger. It's like reading that the Titanic hit an iceberg and was filling with water and . . .read the sequel. So there was NO CHOICE. I had to have that sequel - wherein lies the problem.

This is a very rare book - first published in 1917. My search to find the sequel on any of the used book sites went on and on. A friend did some research at a college library and came to the conclusion that no such book existed. Somewhere inside I knew it had to exist - or I hoped anyway.

Somewhere during my search, I got one of my cousins interested in the books. A whiz at ebay, she found several of the original series (yes, it was a whole series) and was on the lookout for The Quest of Mary Selwyn. She

found a copy before I did - at a ridiculously reasonable price. The book on the left is hers - the blue one. After years of searching, I borrrowed her copy and read the book. The author did NOT disappoint! The conclusion of the story was one of those ones you remember always.

It also left me with a very - um - strange attitude. I coveted that book. I wanted my own copy. Which brought me to problem two. A few copies of The Quest began to appear on used book sites. The lowest priced one I saw was $1395. and yes, that's thousand. Gulp. While I did pay a LOT for one of the author's books - autographed, of course - there was no way I could pay that much for a book. Even my computer didn't cost that much!

So began my own quest for a lower priced book. I haunted yard sales, tag sales, garbage bins of books - hoping for that FIND. Zero. Nada. Nothing. I didn't quite give up ever owning my own copy of Mary Selwyn but it was somewhere up there with winning a lottery and buying a BMW.

Until yesterday. I set a goal to deep clean my bedroom before leaving on vacation. Yesterday I tackled the black hole of calcutta #2 (my closet being #1) - the dreaded built in bookshelves. They are so handy to stick things on that I have books, mugs, dolls, postcards, letters, cards, coins, bobby pins and various other stuff. The dust was so thick I chocked trying to wash it off.

So I'm virtuously cleaning off the shelf with my Mary Selwyn books - the pitiful few that I own - sigh - when I pull out a book I've never seen before and didn't recognize. (And yes, like a mother who knows her children's voices - I know my books! I can spot an empty slot and know what's missing.) I looked at the strange book with an eerie sense of where did this come from?

The Quest of Mary Selwyn - green cover. A book I didn't buy. A book no one gave me. A book I didn't own or steal or otherwise come into the possession of . . . a book I wanted more than any other book in the world was on my shelf. A miracle.

I now own a copy of The Quest of Mary Selwyn. I can return my cousin's - okay, I was going to return it anyway - honest - but I just liked having it for awhile. :) I own a book no one could have put there but God. Kind of gives new meaning to God giving us the desires of our heart. Pretty cool, huh?

There's even more of a mystery with this book. Scratched into the back cover with some kind of pencil are the cursive words, "Get my money in the bank in the morning." And no, I haven't a clue. But if God expects $1395, He's going to have to send it. :)

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MaYo? So, how is everyone doing with MaYo? Okay, Kathi - that's enough out of you! :) Kathi managed to get over 100K DONE! She's still got two more weeks so I'll expect another two full book manuscripts!

I've heard from several people and they are more or less in the same word length as me. May is just too BUSY to keep up with all that writing. I'm about at 12K which is good. Even if I don't finish my goal of 20K, I'm happy to have a start on all new words for a short manuscript. The whole book - short chapter book - is plotted and coming along well. I'm hoping to take it on vacation and do some tweaking.

Congratulations to one of my crit partners - Diana! Diana finaled not once but TWICE in the Genesis contest. Way to go, Diana!

I'm still waiting for my scoresheets to see where I might have gone "wrong." But, I've come to a realization that no matter what the judges found, it's just someone else's opinion on my work. Even last year when I did final, I didn't find all that much I could or was willing to change in the manuscript. Most of the comments were either something that didn't need changing or reflected someone's personal pet peeve or something they'd just learned in a class. I even found this with the final round judging which surprised me. Judges are just people and they bring their own predjudices, likes and dislikes into the judging arena.

While I think that I try NOT to do this myself - judged in two contests this spring - I find myself having to step aside and say, "okay, I don't exactly agree with this but am I putting too much of me into the judging?" Although sometimes I will inject a little aside to the author but I don't let it count on the scores.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing what the three judges had to say about my venture into historical romance. I know from past experiences that all three will probably have differing opinons on what worked and what didn't. That's the most frustrating thing about contests to me.

Guess my score sheet for the Genesis isn't too bad. I finalded and won second place my first year and didn't show at all in my second attempt. Since this will be my last year to be eligible for entering, I guess it's not too bad.

I am more than ready for the end of school - Leaves - anyway on May 29th. The boys and I will be finishing up our boxed curriculum for a few more weeks - maybe until time to leave for vacation. Time to figure out what books and projects I want to take along.

Hope everyone has a great two weeks as we wrap up MaYo!

Worried about the economy? Welcome to this blog tour for the upcoming book: Learning to Live Financially Free! You'll read a little about the book and the authors - Marybeth and Curt Whalen. (Photo is of the Whalen family.)

So enjoy the tour as I welcome Marybeth and Curt Whalen!

About the Book:

(North Carolina) - The fear and reality of tough economic times, foreclosures, bailouts, bankruptcies and falling stocks strike fear in the hearts of many Americans today. With investors, newscasters and bankers giving advice, who can you trust? Marybeth and Curt Whalen share their financial successes and failures in their new book, Learning to Live Financially Free: Hard-Earned Wisdom for Saving Your Marriage & Your Money. If a family parenting six children can get out of debt and live financially free, anyone can. The Whalens readily admit they made their share of mistakes the first ten years of marriage. Becoming more disciplined and intentional in spending and saving helped them learn valuable lessons for better financial stewardship--lessons you'll want to learn too.

Learning to Live Financially Free not only focuses on building a stronger financial understanding in the home, but also encourages couples to communicate, thus building better, stronger marriages. The Whalens clearly comprehend the need for careful money management and commitment in marriage. Money-strapped families will find peace of mind as they begin the process of becoming financially responsible and debt-free.

Marybeth and Curt Whalen know what it's like to juggle marriage, kids and money. Their new book will encourage readers to manage their money and marriage more effectively.

About the Authors

Marybeth Whalen is a speaker and contributing writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries. The author of For the Write Reason, Marybeth has also written for Parent Life, Money Matters newsletter, The Old Schoolhouse, Hearts at Home magazine, and Homeschooling Today. She contributes regularly to the daily online devotions of Proverbs 31 Ministries.

Curt Whalen is a trained financial counselor through Crown Financial Concepts. He has years of experience helping couples establish budgets, solve financial problems, and learn to communicate more effectively. He has written articles for TEACH Magazine and Money Matters Newsletter and has contributed to books by authors Lysa TerKeurst and Melanie Chitwood.

Are You A Financially Focused Couple?

Instructions: Give yourself 1 point for every "yes" answer, 0 points for every "no."1.Do you have regular budget meetings?2.Do you communicate about daily expenses?3.Do you discuss large purchases before they're made?4.Does each spouse have an equal vote about money decisions?5.Have you planned for your future through life insurance and a will?6.Do you agree about tithing and giving?7.Can you both list out your debts, including the amounts and monthly payment for each account?8.Do you have a plan that was written together for paying off debt and saving money?9.Do you encourage each other to save money?10.Have you discussed the spending habits and attitudes about money that you carried into the marriage?
Tally up your score and use the guide to the right to see what category you fall into.
0-2 points: Don't get discouraged. There's nowhere to go from here except up! 3-5 points: You are taking steps towards being a financially focused couple.. Keep working together and you will get there.6-8 points: You are almost 100% financially focused. Keep up the good work and get intentional about those trouble spots.9-10 points: You are a financially focused couple and could show us all a thing or two! Consider sharing your wisdom with other couples who are struggling in today's uncertain times.

Tomorrow we'll look at ten secrets to saving money!

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MaYo Day Seven -- So how is everyone doing so far? This marks the first week of pounding those keyboards. I'm up to 4900 words which is good. Only 16,000 to go to reach my 20K goal - more or less. :) So much has been going on I haven't had a lot of time to work on writing fiction.

Yesterday I took one of my writing days to read and reflect. Sat in the car while the boys were in school and read two books. It was a lovely rainy day so no one bothered to stop and chat. Except for a dash into the library to check email and another dash into a store for something to go with my ham sandwich - I just let the day float by.

Don't know how refreshing it was ---LOL! Didn't get any great revelations of plots or how to fix my current projects, but I had a good time.

Everyone check out a first for me. I'm a GUEST BLOGGER at my friend, Patty's website -- http://www.thewritingacademy.blogspot.com/ Head on over and se what a "Six Year Old Taught me about Writing."

I'm in the midst of several projects so more later.

Time for MAYO!

Okay, it's been awhile since NANO or JANO or even FEBO. Most of us are either starting a new project, stuck in an old one or floundering as summer approaches. While there's plenty of freedom in summer, there are also new situations that stretch your writing time thin. Kids out of school, pool parties, vacations, and plain old let's enjoy the sun while it shines. So what's a writer to do?

MAYO!

The rules are simple. Let's take May as a last 'blitz' before the busy summer months are upon us. Instead of 50K as in NaNo, let's all aim for only 20K. That's less than 5K a week! It's either a whole book - if you are writing short books for children. (Hand raised here.) Or half a book or pesky editing/revising project.

So is anyone up for the challenge? I challenge you to post a commitment here and then write 20K sometime during May. It can be a new project, an outline for a project, a short story, revise and edit a 20K project or do something - even 20K worth of query letters to push your writing career out of its spring standstill.

Someone recently told me that PUSH stands for -Pray Until Something Happens. While that's a wonderful idea, I'd like to revise it for writers.

PUSH your pen until something happens!!! Keyboards accepted too.

So, who's going to join me??? I know it's short notice but we've got a whole month.

The Desk Part 2

Well, as you can see by the picture the desk is now somewhat in place. It's still untidy because I'm slowly going through files, junk, etc. trying to find the best place. You can see the new wallpaper but the picture doesn't really do it justice. It's actually prettier than I expected. The room is also in a state of flux as I still have to:

1. Finish the wallpaper.

2. Paint some of the woodwork and the ceiling.

3. Refinish the floor (summer job.)

4. Bring in the bookcase and put the books on it.

5. Find a decent desk chair. I'm sitting on an old sewing chair which has to be the most uncomfortable one ever made.

6. Get some pictures framed and up on the walls and desk.

Eventually, I'll get everything done but for right now I'm taking my time. The computer is on the desk, all the cords and plugs are woven through the holes in back of the desk and everything but the speakers work. I'm finding I really enjoy having a handy little drawer for pencils, tape, glue and small desk type odds and ends.

Not much happening to write about lately. Easter and Easter break came and went. I managed to get some things done during the break:

1. Cleaned out a lot of email folders and files.

2. Caught up - almost - on crits.

3. Made a list of writing projects I have to do.

4. Wrote a couple of unit studies for the new Gryphon House books. Not as many as I could have but I tried.

5. Read a couple of books.

6. Started some research for the Stepmother book.

7. Worked at getting all of Cattle Rustler into a file. This is turning into quite a project but I'm determined not to give up and quit. I will finish this book.

8. As always my project list outgrew my time span but I did get a few things marked off my list.

We have about eight more weeks or school - or maybe nine - so I need to get a lot of things done before the boys are out for the summer. Am not sure what my writing schedule will look like for the summer ----

Time will tell.

Just in time for another blast of wintry weather, the doll's have their coats! Finished the doll coats for my nieces, Heather and Taylor, about a month ago. Now I'm working on doll p.j.'s. Taylor's coat has a button that reads, Cute as a Button.

Guess it's time to dust off the cobwebs and try to update this blog. I am still working on getting Carol's desk acclimated to the room. Most of the wallpaper is up, the floor is partially varnished and the desk is back against the wall. Have the computer on it and most of the wires woven through the appropriate holes. There's still some work to be done but I'm going to take my time and do it slowly.

Not a whole lot is happening on the writing front. Did finally hear from the editor at History magazine. He bought the Drummer boy article even though he didn't get it in time for the deadline. Something had happened to his email!! Thankfully, he asked me to resend it and the pictures for inclusion in the next issue - which I'm assuming is May.

There was some mixup about the pictures too so I had to resize them in jpeg and send them along. It all came out fine since he bought that article and gave me an assignment for an article on Sybil Ludington for July.

It's nice to have some good writing news as most of it has been rather grim. Didn't win the scholarship to attend ACFW '09 in Denver, then had word today that my entry didn't final in the Sandy Writing Contest. In fact, I haven't even gotten my scoresheets. :(

I did get a rather nice rejection letter from an agent. She didn't feel she could do justice (which was a nice way to put it) to selling my children's book, but asked me to send something else. She did like my writing.

Am not sure I'm not in a writing slump. There seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it all. Will be glad when school is out.

Today I’d like to welcome author and speaker, Jill Savage. Jill’s recent book Real Moms…Real Jesus, just released, and I wanted to ask her about her real mom moments..

Jill, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
Mark and I have been married 25 years and we have five children. Anne is 24 and married to our wonderful son-in-love, Matt. Evan is 21 and married to our beautiful daughter-in-love, Julie. Erica is 18 and a college student at Heartland Community College. Kolya is 15 and in the 8th grade. We adopted Kolya at the age of 9 from Russia---the God story about his adoption is included in the Real Moms…Real Jesus book. And Austin is 12 and in the 7th grade.

Tell us about your newest book Real Moms...Real Jesus?
Real Moms…Real Jesus is a book designed to help moms understand that when Jesus lived on this earth he was fully God, yet fully man. We don’t often think about the fact that he was a human being and he lived the full human experience: pain, hunger, fatigue, frustration, betrayal, disappointment. He experienced it all!

There’s one verse in the Bible about Jesus that simply says “large crowds followed him everywhere he went.” Well, isn’t that the life of a mom? Large crowds follow her to the bathroom. They follow her to the kitchen. To the grocery store. She’s in high demand! And when Jesus lived on this earth, He was in high demand, too.

Why did you want to write this book?
Most of us long for a friend who understands. Yes, we need girlfriends who understand what our life is like. But we also need to understand that we have a friend who understands in Jesus. Too many of us think of God as being distant and unable to relate to our daily struggles. But nothing could be further from the truth! He understands and he wants us to build our friendship with Him. He wants to not only be our Savior, but also our Friend.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?
I hope that readers will gain a new perspective about their relationship with Jesus. I also hope to weave God’s truth into the daily life of a mom.

What unique elements will the reader find in Real Moms…Real Jesus?
Each chapter looks at some character trait in Jesus’ life that can help us in our life as a mom. In between the chapters are interactive vignettes that provide brief, refreshing glimpses into our real, messy, busy lives.

There are also questions at the end of the chapter for further consideration and suggested Bible reading in the book of Matthew. If the reader chooses to pursue the suggested reading, she will have read the book of Matthew completely by the end of the book!

There is also a leader’s guide in the back of the book so it can be used in a group setting.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?
Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!


Any closing thoughts?
I am very excited about this book! I believe that if a mom can strengthen her relationship with Jesus Christ, she will feel more equipped to be the mom she wants to be. I’m also offering an online book discussion on my blog beginning Tuesday, April 7. If you’d like to join us, you can subscribe to my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

I’d love to hear a reader’s thoughts after they read the book, too! You can connect to me through my blog at www.jillsavage.org.

Thanks, Jill, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your real mom, real Jesus moments with us.

You can purchase your own copy of Real Moms…Real Jesus by clicking here.

And be sure to check out Hearts at Home, their conferences for moms, and all their online resources here.

Moving in Carol's desk - Part 1

Well, Carol's desk is now in my dining room/pc room. The brother-in-law and Jarrod moved it in on Sunday. The BIL also took apart the old desk and the dinette bench that has been here forever. My brother built it in years ago. It was wide, deep and a handy storage place for blankets and extra pillows. We put some cushions on it and used it for seating, sleeping (it was big enough and I slept on it for about six months one year) and as a place to sit while using the computer. My grandmother always called it "the coffin" because she said it reminded her of one. :)

Tearing out the bench left a huge area of the hardwood floor unvarnished. It also exposed the places on the wall that were not papered. So it looks like my lovely, beige and ivy paper will have to go. The wallpaper store doesn't have anymore as it was a clearance roll. Sniff, sniff. . .

So today we got the desk together. Can't put anything on it yet since it will take some rearranging of the computer to get everything put in place. Also, the desk still has to be moved to put up the new wallpaper. Rushed up to the wallpaper store today and managed to get three rolls of a nice, gray, blue stripe. Difficult to explain but I'll post pictures later.

The cats are thrilled with the new piece of furniture. It's not in as great shape as I'd hoped, but it's still serviceable and has lots of nooks and crannies for all my stuff. Am looking forward to finally getting things organized and not having to reach over a dozen boxes to reach my computer or printer. I'll have to teach myself to sit a different way but change is good for the brain. I hope.

Part two tomorrow - the wallpaper.

Short Delay . . .

I couldn't decide whether to label this post a 'short delay' or a 'minor setback.' In actuality it was neither - but I thought people probably wouldn't want to read about an almost MAJOR DISASTER. (And nope, it wasn't QUITE that bad either.)

Not long ago, I won a slot to pitch one of my children's books to an online publisher. Okay, so I totally bombed the interview. But, all was not lost. The gracious editors told me to submit the book - the whole thing -- when I felt it was "ready."

So--I got it out and did some revisions. Took it slowly and added some tweaks and perks and a few other minor things. Reread the book once, twice, three times. Thankfully, it was only 25,000 words. Short is good when you have to read it three times.

The third time I noticed something peculiar. Very, very odd. The manuscript for reasons of its own had shifted into a different font than I usually used. How it happened is anyone's guess. Frankly, I wouldn't hazard even an opinion considering my ability to do unspeakable things to electronic things just by looking their way.

So, I left the manuscrift in the weird font until I judged it "ready" to send. I changed the whole manuscript back into Times New Roman and then THINGS HAPPENED.

All of the quotation marks VANISHED. And they didn't just disappear, they changed into giant AAAAAAAA's. EVERY SINGLE QUOTATION mark. As if that wasn't bad enough, all the apostrophe's changed into equal signs. ALL OF THEM. Okay, I'm calm. I can deal with it. Sure, easy to fix.

So--the apostrophe's were easy. I did the find/replace feature and all the equal signs vanished. So then I tried the same thing with the giant A. Do you know what happens when you try to replace a giant A with a quotation mark? All the giant A's vanish. All the small a's vanish. You get quotation marks--lots and lots and lots of quotation marks in the WRONG places - like the middle of words. I never quite realized just how many a's you can have in 25,000 words.

Okay, so it wasn't going to be so easy to send this manuscript off. I worked three hours one day replacing quotes line by line. Didn't finish. On Wednesday, I virtuously took the laptop the the library to FINISH the thing, or else. So what happens? SOMEONE ELSE IS IN MY HIDDEN CUBBY!!! GRRRRRRRRR.....

Happily, I noticed a study desk and a PLUG right underneath. So now I have a second place to plug in - even if it is right out in the middle of the room. I sat down and kept at it for two and a half very long hours. Until I'd read through the manuscript a fourth time and replaced all the giant A's. In reading it that time, I realized just how many sentences I begin with A's. This time through, I changed a lot of 'as,' 'after,' and 'and' with stronger words.

So--it's off. They may like it. They may not. I feel relief for following through on an opportunity.

And now---it's time for the Daphne and the Genesis contest entries. Also time to write more unit studies for Gryphon House's new book titles. This time it's Insect, Animals and Ways to Save the Earth.

Feel like I'm slowly, slowly coming out of the backlog of everything.
Eventually, I will get everything done.

Tonight I'm feeling better for getting the VERY LAST of the Christmas presents done - um, for last year. Had planned to make my niece's Heather and Jenny each a framed scrapbook collage to celebrate a 2008 event. Jenny made the National Honor Society and Heather graduated from high school. My slowness was the result of having lost the program from Heather's graduation. But, tonight I finished assembling and wrapping them. Will have Jenny take them home when she comes on Friday night.

Also managed to put together some copies of my published stories in a scrapbook to take to school tomorrow. Some of the girls in my Fiber Arts class keep asking, "What do you write?" Now, I can show them.

Now if I could just finish those dirty darn doll clothes!

Baby steps and a crash . . .

When I was growing up, the standard time to begin a new journal was January 1st. In fact, I can remember getting a new journal or diary for Christmas and waiting, breathless with anticipation, to write down everything that happened over the jam packed holidays. Usually, to my absolute disgust, when the 1st came, I was too worried about the fading days of vacation to give much thought to writing anything. School - that dreaded place - loomed in the distance and who wanted to waste precious FREE time with writing?

Now that I've gotten a bit smarter (well, there's still lots of room for improvement, I'm sure) I generally begin a new journal whenever I either a) fill up a notebook, b) get tired of the current notebook and never want to look at it again or c) decided I'm going to turn over a new leaf in my life and the pages of a current journal with disappointments or disasters is holding me back.

For the April issue of "Cookies and Milk," I decided to go with a Make Your Own Journal activity. (See photo above and yup, I made it myself.)

While I don't anticipate starting a new journal anytime soon - having gotten out of the habit since last fall - I did decide to turn over a new leaf. I'm starting with baby steps. Seems like with Carol's illness and passing, then my getting sick among other disasters, so much has piled up for me to do. While there's no way to do everything at once, I'm finding if I just whittle away one or two catch up details every few days, it doesn't seem too bad.

Today was really the first day I've felt like myself in a while. Caught a cold and it seemed to drag on and on. Then last Tuesday, I crash landed on my bedroom floor.

All the electricity in my bedroom (the house is very old and was rewrited a few years back) comes though one section of wall. I have a nice surge protector strip and plug everything in there. Sometimes I need extension cords, but most everything that has to plug is near that wall ---well, except for my lamp.

Since that wall is also home to built in bookcases, I have to pull the lamp about halfway into the room so that it is convenient to my reading chair. Since I'm not about to let Martha Stewart take photos of my bedroom for her magazine, it bothers me not a whit that I often have a lamp, sitting on my old fashioned school desk next to my reading chair and that the cord is like a mini-tightrope across the room. I've gotten well practiced at ducking under it to go into the alcove, or if the lamp is closer, stepping over the cord. Until Tuesday.

I had the laptop and lamp both plugged in. When I stepped OVER the lampcord, my feet got tangled up and the lamp and I both crashed to the floor. Instant darkness and the tinkly sound of glass - this was not good. I was winded, my kneecaps were huge sores and my arms were bruised in a dozen places. My first thought was the laptop! Had my tumble pulled the laptop off the desk????

Don't know if I ever prayed as hard as I did while crawling away from the glass from the broken lightbulb and back to the laptop cord. Ever so slowly, I followed the cord and it led to the laptop ---thankfully, still on the desk! Hopefully, I will learn to be more careful from now on and unplug the laptop instantly after using.

I suppose it would help if I didn't have three desks in my room. Um, yes, three. One is the old desk my parents bought for my first real bedroom in our first forever house. It's still in good shape, proving furniture was better built in them days, by gollee!! I also have a laptop desk - round - and low enough that I don't have to raisse my arms too high to use it. It wasn't too expensive at Wal-Mart, but the screws come loose at odd intervals and writing is often a tipsy event as it wiggles and twists. Then my third desk is a very old fashioned school desk of the wrought iron and wooden seat variety. It came from one of my old schools when they replaced all the desks with the separate tables and chairs. It's painted "Barn Door Green," one of my favorite colors with white accents. I use it as a table for my lamp, my current reading and "get to it now" stuff - as well as a handy beside my reading chair. My laptop can be found on any desk at various times. Suppose this means I need baby steps in better habits . :)

As I'm whittling down my "to do" list, I have the doll coats almost finished and am working on the little fleece pj's. My new sewing machine and I have finally gotten into a flow and it's much easier to use now. Still haven't explored all the 70 stitches - relying on 3 or 4 - but will eventually get there. Baby steps . . .

Since I've spent so much time lately talking about Carol - off the blog mostly - I thought you all might like to see a picture of her in happier days. I'm thinking this is either her high school or college photo. She had long, brown hair that she wore in a ponytail. Her usual style of dress was bright and bold! Lots of psychedelic flowers and prints from the 70's.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I spent some time reflecting on last year. On Friday, I drove past the Loveland Post office and saw all the heart shaped signs posted out front. They do Valentine's Day big in the city of Love - selling sidewalk hearts with special greetings. I read that "Grandma loves Brittany and Chad," "Tom loves Shelia," and "Happy Valentine's Day Sugar from Ben!"

Because of the valentiney name, Loveland gets cards and letters from all over the world to postmark and send off. They have special "Valentine Ladies" who sit at tables in the lobby to postmark with a special Valentine only stamp.

I love Valentine's Day - in fact, I think it's my favorite holiday. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved making valentines from those heart shaped doilies and glitter. Some years I got creative with other material and cross stitched or sewed a valentine greeting. About ten years ago, I bought some pink and red crepe paper fabric and made a batch of Valentine's for my family and some select friends. To my surprise, my friend, Kitty, made a scrapbook for me one year and sent the Valentine back with a line, "Remember this?" I loved it - a Valentine with a past.

Last year, I made some bookmarks for different friends and some of my nieces and nephews. For the first time, I stood in line at the Loveland post office and got the special postmark. It's free but they are so busy as the holiday nears you have to wait in sometimes long lines. I didn't mind. Even though I seldom get many Valentine's in return, I love sending them and would do it even if I never got another one myself.

So yesterday, I was reflecting that because of the recent stressful events in the family, I hadn't had time to do anything for Valentine's Day. Not even buy some of the little kid meal tickets from one of the local restaurants to give to my nieces and nephews. For the first time in a long time, I was reduced to ecard Valentines. It sure felt like a sad state of affairs - although as the recepient of some wonderful ecards myself - I enjoyed every sentiment!! So maybe the people who got mine didn't mind not having a homemade one this year.

As I was thinking about friends and friendship, counting up the many wonderful people in my life, I feel so blessed to have so many friends and so many close ones at that! Some of my friends I've had for a long, long time, others are more recent friends. During the past year, many of my friendships have become deeper and stronger - old and new friends have grown closer. Then sadly, some friendships have become distant and we aren't as close as we once were. I always dislike when that happens. Maybe I end up cherishing my friendships too much - maybe the fault lies in me for caring so much. But, I guess I should figure that as relationships grow and bloom, there are some that fade away for reasons unknown to me. Makes me sad to think about it --

Not long ago, I found a cute Valentine in my keepsake box. It had a sweet grey kitten poking at a heart and it had a kid type verse. Inside, some little girl had written -- You are my bestest friend, Judy. The only trouble was--I couldn't remember having a friend named, Judy! Yet, the card has my name on it and my teacher - so we were in the same class. And I liked her well enough to keep the card all these years since third grade. Makes me wonder - didn't she move, go to a different fourth grade, did we chose other friends, dislike one another on sight the next year or what??

Guess it proves a point - that friendship is a rare and precious gift. Maybe the true test of a lasting friendship is whether or not you remember the name on the Valentine card twenty years down the road!

Happy Valentine's Day - belated!

Got tagged today on Erica's blog. The tag is to open the fifth folder of pictures on your computer and then open the fifth picture in the folder and post. So, here is mine. This is an old picture of my nephew, Drew, which was taken on Valentine's Day - in 2006, I think. He's playing with a red balloon and that's at my brother's house.

Today is a kind of disconnected day. Still no good news about my cousin, Carol. As most of you know all of January has been taken up (or most of it) with her being in the hospital. Because she told Mom and I that if she were ever unable to speak for herself, we should tell the doctors to do everything possible to keep her alive. We were all in agreement that getting food and water - even through Iv's or a feeding tube are not extra ordinary means to keep someone alive.

Every day has been a constant battle with the hospital. It's just too heartbreaking to go into details. All I can say is - have a good, binding power of attorney or a living will and make your feelings known. Then the best thing you can do is stay well and out of the hospital because most of them don't listen to your wishes anyway.

Carol is now in hospice but is alert. I'm hoping that she is able to speak and say - listen, I'm not ready to go yet.

With all the worry and stress, I haven't been able to get much of anything done this past month. Writing has been done in dibs and drabs - none of it very good. I barely managed to get my assignment done for the History magazine. No word yet.

Then today, I had an online pitch with a publisher. I had seven minutes and they gave me ten but I think I bumbled the whole interview. Didn't have enough time to come up with a decent 100 word pitch - although I wrote and rewrote several over the past week. I had a list of questions and answers ready. Was able to sound clear and knowledgeable on some of them. The pitch bombed I think. The editors had some questions I couldn't answer and some that I answered "wrong." One of the moderators later told me that I'd said a couple of things that showed my mindset was clearly not on the same page as the publisher and what type of manuscript they wanted.

Despite all that--they did tell me to go ahead and send the entire manuscript when I thought it was ready. It's finished but in light of what they said, I'd like to revise it again and add a few other elements to bring it more in line with their guidelines. So, I'm sure it's a good thing. I'm just too tired to think about the work involved right now.

We had another blast of wintery weather on Wednesday and NO SCHOOL. Tomorrow is our first day back in two weeks. I need to take Mom to visit Carol so will probably not make the Fiber Arts class.

Oh--forgot---I'm supposed to tag five people to open the fifth folder on their pc and post the fifth picture - so I tag ---

Judy

Leona

Linda

Lynn

Sharon

For some reason most of my Christmas pictures came out very blurry and fuzzy. I think I have another memory card with other pictures of the tree - sure hope so as tree number two turned out to be lovely.

Because it's midnight and I was too tired to search through more pictures, I thought I'd use this one. It's probably going to be the main character in one of my works in progress. Or maybe not. This is the picture that I found to use on a one sheet for the ACFW conference last fall. Didn't get to pitch that book anyway . . .

Found this picture on a website called something like "Lost Relatives." It's page after page of people who are unknown which is a little sad. When I used to visit antique shops a lot, I loved looking at old photographs. They had such stories to tell! Often wished I'd bought some of the ones I still remember.

Anyway, I put this lady up here to remind me that I do have goals and that I need to get started on them soon.

Actually began January 1st with several good intentions and followed through for several days. On the 1st, I actually skipped a holiday dinner at my brothers to get caught up on crits, to read two research books and get semi-caught up on email. I'm beginning to think email is like laundry - one only has the illusion of being caught up.

By next week, I should have the final draft of the Drummer Boy article. Once I resolve the picture dilemma, I'll send it off to the magazine a whole week early. That has to look good. :)

By next week, I should also have a final, complete, not going over it again version of Cattle Rustler. It's been a long time coming. I've written, rewritten, written again, had good crits, bad crits, right crits, wrong crits and sometimes very frustrating crits. It's been entered in contests, scored an Honorable Mention in one and failed miserably in others who thought the character was a "little young" for a young adult book. Well, duh--as the teens say. But, I think a ten year old is perfect for a children's book.

By next week, I will have whittled down the pile of research books I need for a) the drummer boy article, b) the horse book and c) the historical romance.

By next week, I will have revised my anthology piece for my writing group, finished two full book crits for friends (well, I hope!) and finished sending out the last of my Christmas gifts. (Okay, so they're a little late.) :)

By next week, I should have two doll coats cut out for my niece's new Christmas dolls - if I remember to buy the material while I'm out tomorrow.

By next week, things should look a lot better.

I'm happy to be hosting a blog tour today for Linore Rose Burkard! If you love books set in Regency England, you'll enjoy this wonderful new book!
Linore is a member of my Ohio ACFW chapter and I had the chance to meet her this September. Hopefully, it won't be the last time as she is a very funny and delightful lady!

Short description of Before the Season Ends



England, 1813: Romantic woes at home send Ariana Forsythe to her Aunt Bentley's town house in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Under her aunt's watchful eye, Ariana is soon steeped in high society--and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London's current darling rogue.



Then, unexpectedly, rumour of a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her faith and her future are at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent's attention.



Will Ariana's faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it is Ariana's heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to a man who cannot share her faith, how can it ever turn out right?





Linore Rose Burkard creates Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul. Her characters take you back in time to experience life and love during the era of Regency England (circa 1800 - 1830). Fans of classic romances, such as Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Sense & Sensibility, will enjoy meeting Ariana Forsythe, a feisty heroine who finds her heart and beliefs tested by high-society London.



Ms. Burkard's novels include Before the Seasons Ends and The House in Grosvenor Square (coming April, 2009). Her stories blend Christian faith and romance with well-researched details from the Regency period. Her books and monthly newsletter captivate readers with little-known facts, exciting stories, and historical insights. Experience a romantic age, where timeless lessons still apply to modern life. And, enjoy romance that reminds us happy endings are possible for everyone.



Publisher's Weekly affirms, "Ms. Burkard's command of period detail is impressive, evident in material details, but also in dialogue. Her novels even help non-Regencyphiles learn the difference between ladies' pelisses and spencers...On the whole, it's a tasty confection."



Ms. Burkard began writing when she couldn't find a Regency romance with an inspirational twist. "There were Christian books that approached the genre," she says, "But, they fell short of being a genuine Regency. I knew that many women like me want stories that are historically authentic and offer glimpses of God's involvement in our lives. So, I finally gave up looking and decided to write one myself."



Ms. Burkard was raised in New York, where she graduated magna cum laude from the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. She lives with her husband and five children in a town full of antique stores and gift shops in southwestern Ohio. Her hobbies include working on four new Regency novels, family movie nights, swimming, and gardening.

If it works, there will be a picture from Thanksgiving on here. We shall see. . .

Hope everyone had a happy and merry Christmas. Mine whizzed by much too fast once I got into the holiday spirit. Had some trouble with the Christmas tree at first. It had been so cold that we opted not to cut one down but went to Lowe's instead. They had three measly trees left, dropping needles but we went ahead and picked one against my better judgement. Dad tried to put it up for me but we ran into another problem - the stand was too small.

Bought another stand and then ran into problem number two - the tree had a crooked trunk and had no intention of standing in the stand. Dad gave it a valiant effort, even building a wooden frame to hold the tree in the stand - but it still had a tipsy appearance.

Since I'd wanted a fresh tree anyway, I asked Sister #2 and her hubby to cut one down. They found a beautifully shaped tree. I'll have to post some pictures because it's one of the prettiest trees we've had in years. The red icicles weren't my idea but one has to make concessions. . .LOL!

Christmas week ended up being brisk, breezy and actually quite warm. We hit 70 degrees the day after the holiday!! It's supposed to get cold again though so I'm not hoping for a return of winter/spring.

Got back into the writing groove on Saturday. Sent out worksheets, sent out articles for the student newspaper at church, worked on a first draft for another writing job and sent off a first chapter to a literary agency offering a query holiday. Today I managed to do a bit more. Tomorrow I have to dive back into my many projects and decide what I want to work on first. Finishing Cattle Rustler for good seems a possibility.

Have been reading some books on plotting before writing. While it seems it might help some, I can't say that it's always foolproof. I can remember sitting down and doing a storyboard for Cattle Rustler. Had the whole thing planned out - knew exactly what would happen, when it should happen and how it would end. The problem was that after I wrote it that way I realized I'd rewritten the same book as my first Jenny. So, back to the computer - had to redo the ending. Once I realized that, I realized I had to rewrite more. Then I sent that version out to my new crit partners who made more suggestions. Realized I needed to rewrite the beginning so I did. Once I did that, I decided the new ending didn't work because there was no motivation for Jenny to get into the trouble she did.

So. . .I think I have it this time and I'm writing it for the last time. However it turns out, it does.

I'm also looking at a couple of contests for my adult manuscripts. Really need some feedback on my horse book and Stepmother. So that should take care of January!

Just a test to see if the photo upload is STILL working. I think I have everything on my pc working RIGHT now. It's a great feeling. Right now, I need all the great feelings I can crumble together - especially in light of a defunct cookie press, a tipsy Christmas tree, a zillion pre-Christmas things to do and the fact that I've spent more time trying to get my pc in shape than working at Christmas prep. Ah, well -

This is a photo of my dad with some of his great-grandchildren at a September wedding. We have Samantha, Kris, Stephanie, Taylor, Dad, Mariah, Austin, Emma, Drew, Braedon, Mackenzie and Hayleigh in front with the doll.

Whoa! Well, clearly I have solved the photo upload problem. Thanks, Leona for the suggestions! This is also clearly not the Thanksgiving mug shot --LOL! These little cuties are the Dionne Quintuplets and they are dressed very appropriately for today's snowy weather. I've long been a quint collector and wish I had this postcard in my collection - sigh.

Last night I tried several things and ended up with both my emails not working. My MSN account would open the emails, but not let me reply. So I went to my Hotmail account which is really the same thing but opens on a different page. Go figure. I really love the Hotmail account better as it has emoticons, colors and is easier to use. For some reason while I was on the photo upload fix, the Hotmail stopped opening the email. So I could open and read on MSN, but not reply. I could not open or reply on Hotmail. This morning it fixed by angel power, I'm sure. There is no other explanation.

This week has been hard from a computer angle. My worksheet batch got scambled and refused to open at my editor's end. I tried five times to resend. He kept emailing back - nope, not right yet. My plan had been to download MSWORD on here anyway and go to that almost exclusively. (Even though I do like Word Perfect.) So, had to download word, retype the worksheets into word (only three as I had already downloaded word on the laptop and written some on that.) Then, send them in and wait. Sure was relieved on Friday to get an email - they look fine now! Whew!! Got paid later that day Praise God.

With all that, I didn't get to do much fiction writing. Am rethinking part of Cattle Rustler now and will probably work this week at rewritting those chapters. Am not sure what that will do for my plan to have the book in final form by the end of the year. :(

Managed to read part of one of the Kentucky Derby books yesterday after the spinning class. To my surprise, I discovered that the man who started the race --Clark committed suicide on my birthdate a hundred and forty three years before I was born. Very strange coincidence.

Time to get a ride next door to watch White Christmas, one of my favorite Christmas movies.

Hmmmmm--for some reason my blog has stopped allowing me to post pictures. Will have to figure this out somehow.

Not much activity here. We started back to Leaves yesterday after our Thanksgiving break. For various reasons, we were 45 minutes late for class. So - okay - it takes me awhile to get back in the groove!
Have been feeling kind of icky anyway.

I am slowly working through the edits on Cattle Rustler. Hoping to have it finished by the end of December. We shall see - Christmas and all the preparations for that will be in there somewhere.

Got the assignment for the Drummer boy article! Need to send out a couple more queries this week. I'm setting a goal to send out ten a month - unless I get so many assignments it would be foolhardy to add more work to my list.

We got our first spitting snowfall. It didn't last but it looked ominous. Funny, I'm not a fan of snow but I love anything snowman. Am drinking a nice hot cup of tea out of a snowman mug right now. Mmmmmmmmmm....