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Just Dancin’ into the Winter Holidays

Celebrations, Cool Stuff, Family, IMO, Kids, Life, ProductsWrite a comment

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. #UbiChamps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving! Today kicks off the final sprint to the end of the year—a joyous and frenzied time that has been known to leave me feeling frazzled. Then too, there are all those seasonal goodies threatening to expand my bottom line and make me feel frumpy (and look lumpy).

But this holiday is going to be different, and my salvation has been found, believe it or not, in a video game. The epiphany came last week when I was stressed to the hilt with a to-do list that seemed to go on forever. I felt like I had no time for anything…no time to work-out, no time to play with my children, no time to chill. But then my 4 year-old begged me (yes, I am ashamed to admit she had to beg—I had been putting her off all morning) to play JustDance with her. (Even without the Minnie ears, which she has recently insisted on wearing daily, she is very hard to resist).

Fast forward to half an hour later and I’m sweating and laughing. It was awesome! I got a work-out in AND I was spending time with my daughter, AND I was having fun! We zipped through a series of songs including Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe (my four year old’s favorite), So What from P!nk and On the Floor by J.Lo. After those and a few others my heart was pumping and I felt like I was burning some calories!

Then last weekend, my 9 year-old  daughter Miss A was invited to a sleepover party and she took Just Dance 4 with – the game was a hit! All the girls got into it and had fun…the host mom texted me a pic with a thank you for keeping all the girls entertained.

 

And Miss A felt pretty cool because, “even my friend’s big sister wanted to play, and she’s in HIGH SCHOOL!” Here’s what else Miss A had to say about JD4:


As the days get colder and colder, it’s getting harder to get the girls to go out and play afterschool. I was delighted when the other day we came home from school, and instead of the usual routine of fighting over who gets to watch what on t.v. the girls put JD4 on and enjoyed a fun afternoon.

So instead of sitting zoned out on the couch or beating each other up for the remote they were exercising and getting along?!? Woo-Hoo! 2 points for Mama!

 

After the big meal tonight I was tired from making all that food, painfully stuffed from eating it, and cranky from washing all those dishes…when I popped JustDance4 into the Wii for the girls I thought I was going to sit and watch and be a little bit grumpy. But soon enough, the inherent fun of the game got to me, especially after seeing the character for the Rick Astley song, Never Gonna Give You Up. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but all I’m going to say is “orange underpants.” Also, some crazy stuff happens in the background of this video, causing my 4year old to react like this:


It was also pretty funny to see my husband dance to the B-52’s Rock Lobster. He picked the song, and our daughters thought it was very weird indeed.

All this dance time earned my family enough “MoJo” points to move up a level and unlock a bonus—in this case it turned out to be a Mash-Up video of Call Me Maybe. The husband was done, so I stepped in for this last dance. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the mash-up, but it turned out to be crazy fun. The song stays the same, but the dance is performed by a montage of JustDance characters, Miss A was excited to see the return of on her favorite dancers from JustDance2 and I was giggling when underpants man (see the above note about the Rick Astley song) made an appearance. Before the mash-up the girls were getting tired and ready to call it a night, but they had so much fun with the new version of the song they wanted to keep playing to earn more points and unlock more fun stuff.

Speaking of unlocking fun stuff, JustDance announced they are releasing a special “extra” you can download, and get your groove on “gangnam style.” Find out more via this video:

If you want to know what other songs come pre-loaded and ready to play, check out the song list on the JustDance official website.
And I know you’re going to want one of these for your house too, so hop on Santa’s lap and tell him to slip JD4 into your stocking. If you don’t want to wait that long to practice your Moves Like Jagger, head over to Toys R Us and grab it (they have some great promotions, you could stock up on all the JustDance games!)
Don’t want to leave the house but still want the game? Order JD4 from Amazon and you can sit there at your computer, in your orange underpants if you like.

Revved Up and Recharged

Life, WritingWrite a comment

I’ll just put it out there right now – I’m a sucker for a good compliment.  Though I have no problem working hard for the personal satisfaction of knowing I’ve done a job well, I also enjoy the occasional ego stroke. Tell me I did a great job planning a party or that my outfit is cute and I’ll probably ‘Aw Shucks’ it, but inside I’m beaming like a little puppy, basking in the glow of your praise.

With my writing, it’s a bit of a conundrum. Compliments – while nice, aren’t all that helpful. To improve her craft, a writer needs to suffer the slings and arrows of honest critiques, and worse – be ready to face rejection by agents, editors, reviewers, and even readers. I swallowed my first bitter Rejection Pill early this summer – and despite my best intentions to suck it up and keep going, the experience set my writing back for months.  As you can see from my last post (way back in July – I’ve been MIA on the blogging front) – I was in poor spirits indeed.

In May, only a few weeks prior to the start of my summer slump (the rejection I mentioned came in early June), I had entered a writing contest. Now, nearly six months later – the results of that contest are in and I’m feeling better about myself and my writing and have dug out the ol’ horn and polished it up for some tooting.

I am happy, proud, and excited to announce that my paranormal romance manuscript took First Place in its category in the 2012 Molly Contest sponsored by the RWA Chapter Heart of Denver Romance Writers.

I received my winner’s notification via a phone call over a week ago, but now that the results are posted on the HODRW’s website, it feels more official.   Also, since the call came while I was sitting in the car pool line with two four year old girls giggling and screaming in the backseat, I was worried I may have imagined the whole conversation. But nope – it was real, and I’ll even be getting a fancy plaque to prove it. (Picture to come, of course I’m going to post a picture! Toot-toot.)

I know that while it’s nice to win a contest and have my writing recognized as being pretty darn good, I still have a long road ahead of me. Breaking into publishing is hard, heart-breaking work. But I’m not going to lie – winning the Molly has recharged my batteries, given me a much-needed confidence boost, and revved my writing engine.

 

 

Dream Chaser

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I’m in a rut.

I’m feeling blue, and bummed, and just kind of blah.

As a way to shake myself out of this mental hole I’ve dug for myself and get back on track, I created my own little motivational poster. The picture is of Miss A running along the Lake Michigan shore line, fast and free with the whole world waiting to be conquered.  I love this picture. Love it for the moment in time it captures, the memory, and the promise it whispers each time I look at it.

The quote is something I made up by accident in an e-mail to someone. I’m sure similar things have been said in similar ways, and sure it’s a little greeting-card-esque. But it’s true.

Get up and get moving. Dreams don’t catch themselves.

 

 

 

Friday Fast Five: Strawberries, my Chicago(North) Pride, and Happy Belated Mother’s Day to Me

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Another Friday has rolled in on waves of heat and dooms-day looking clouds.  Like many, I’m hoping those clouds stop teasing and make good with a storm!

1. We could use a good storm – it’s been a dry summer, and while I’m happy the near-drought conditions will help keep the mosquito population low, it isn’t good for just about anything else…including strawberries. The heat and lack of rain yielded a harvest of tiny berries this summer, and the girls almost missed their annual trip to go berry picking. We snuck (I know, it’s supposed to be sneaked – but I just like snuck better, so pbbt) in a trip during the last week the local U-Pick fields were open, and enjoyed a gorgeous breezy Monday morning before the temps went triple digits later in the week.

My girls love berry picking, I suppose it’s the novelty of it – as the past time is poked fun at on the often funny and always un-PC blog, Stuff White People Like.

2. When I take the girls berry picking, I don’t go overboard and get the 10-lb box or anything. I know lots of people like to make jam, but the idea of canning my own preserves sounds like torture. Nope. I usually find one or two new recipes to try, and hope the rest of the berries get eaten before they turn into a science experiment at the back of the produce bin of my fridge. My current favorite strawberry recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens – it’s basically a peanut butter brownie with the fresh strawberries layered on top, so you really get to appreciate how fresh those just picked out of the field berries are. If you have fond memories of pb&J sandwiches, you’ll want to give this recipe a try: BH&G Fresh Strawberry Bars. (I would have included a pic, but the first batch disappeared too fast…I plan to bake up another batch today – so I may add a pic in later.)

3. This past Monday was also my turn to bring dessert to my Chicago-North RWA meeting, so I brought some of the strawberry bars along – if you asked me for the recipe that night…well, here it is! 😉  Joining Chicago-North was one of the best things I have done for my writing.  CN is a critique chapter, and I’ve discovered so much can be learned by listening and participating in a good critique process. At the moment, the chapter is bursting at the seams with good news: book releases, new book deals, and awesome book reviews…the positive vibe is infectious and so helpful at a time when the writing world seems full of “the end is nigh” publishing prophecies. My TBR pile is stacked high with CN writers – and at the top of the pile are: Erica O’ Rourke’s BOUND (the final installment in the Torn trilogy), Hannah Martine’s LIQUID LIES (the first in a new series called The Elementals), Holly McDowell’s much anticipated HUNTED (first episode of KING SOLOMON’S WIVES)  from the fascinating, innovative publisher Coliloquy. I also hope to read Carrie Lofty’s highly praised new release STARLIGHT (the second book in her Christie Family series) – but first, I still need to read FLAWLESS.  Yep, that list will keep me pretty busy for the rest of the summer!

4. Mixed in with all this reading is my own writing, of course, and I continue to strive for more BICHOK time to meet my word count goals. I am also striving to continue meeting my other goal: to read a writing craft book a week – this week’s book is Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages. So far much of what Lukeman covers is stuff I already know (less is more, watch your use of adverbs, make sure to research an agency before querying them) but it is still useful information – and I can still learn from it! For example, I know it is best to be concise, I know more is less…and yet I like to swim in details, and have a tendency to go overboard. The following observation from Lukeman helped me remember why it’s best not to color everything in for the reader:

It can be demeaning to the reader when the writer fills in every last detail for him. It assumes he as no imagination of his own. As readers, we bring so many of our own associations to the table anyway, so we’re going to substitute our own picture of a car, say, no matter how much effort the writer puts into describing it.

Each chapter ends with writing exercises meant to be employed on your current WIP. So writers immediately have a chance to put the book’s lessons into practice.

5. To be a productive writer it helps to have a work space that is conducive to, well, work. On the good writing days – the days when the thoughts are pouring in and the words are pouring out fast and furious it doesn’t matter where I’m writing: at my desk or in the car pool line…but on the not so good writing days – when my thoughts are muddy and every word is a struggle, then each small discomfort is a distraction, each distraction an excuse to not write. One such distraction was the lamp on my writing desk. I hated it. I like my light to be a soft glow, but this thing provided a garish glare.  Often, if I had planned for a nighttime writing session, the light from the lamp would give me a headache, and I would cut my session short. This year, the husband’s Mother’s Day gift to me was running late.  I didn’t mind, and it was totally worth the wait – for yesterday it arrived…and I am a very happy writer. My “office” is tucked into the room we call our Star Wars Bar (what was intended to be a dining room, but is now a museum of sorts displaying my collection of Star Wars memorabilia). Knowing the above, you’ll know why this made for an absolutely perfect gift:

The "Rebel Alliance" lamp - complete with Anakin Skywalker lightsaber base.

Like it? You can get your own over at Entertainment Earth. They also have a Galactic Empire version with Darth Vader lightsaber. You know, if you want to have both and bring balance to the Force.

Friday Fast Five: Kick a$$ red heads with bad hair days, What the Swiss do better, Effing birds, and the Latest Chapter in Appliance Hell.

Kids, Movies, Recipes, Tantrums, UncategorizedWrite a comment

Yay! It’s actually Friday! The only reason I’m on time with this post is because I missed my morning spin work-out at the gym.

1. The reason my butt is sitting in front of the computer now instead of on a stationary bike while I cry and swear (the Friday instructor is cruel, but she gets results) is because I ran late trying to tame the monster that is Lil’ G’s hair. My youngest child is blessed and cursed with my mane of wild red curls and, like her personality, getting it to obey is a monumental task. It also involves tears and swearing. Though I won’t say which of us does what.

2. On the subject of crazy red hair, I am taking my girls to see the new Disney movie BRAVE this weekend. Lil’ G intends to wear Merida’s dress to the theatre (Also: Halloween costume, check). The girl is such a dead ringer for the character, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up signing autographs. I am looking forward to seeing the film too; yay for kick-ass red head heroines!

3. Every kick-ass heroine needs to start her day with a great breakfast, right? Well, Merida is Scottish, and Scots are known for loving their morning bowl of porridge. Me, I prefer the Swiss version. The Swiss are known for excellent chocolate, time pieces, and –  I’d like to add –  oatmeal. A month or so ago the family had breakfast at the Corner Bakery and I made the life-changing decision to order the Swiss Oatmeal. Ok, it wasn’t life-changing…but it was really good! So good I consulted the mighty Google to find a copy-cat recipe. Here are a few of my favorites:

4. While enjoying a yummy healthy breakfast of Swiss Oatmeal, you’d think it would be pleasant to hear the sound of birds chirping, right? Sure…as long as the chirping isn’t coming from your effing chimney. We recently discovered we have birds living in our chimney. The good news, I suppose, is the fact they are living – I’ve heard horror stories of dead things caught in chimneys (and no, I’m not talking about that ridiculous Santa story from Gremlins). It was the husband’s turn to consult the mighty Google, and he learned that we have a family of Chimney Swifts living with us. At first I was annoyed, but now Chester (yes, my family named at least one of the chimney chirpers) has become a part of our daily routine – we hear him happily chirping and fluttering away. Besides, even if I wanted to hire a sweep to clean out the chimney and the nest – it is against the law to do so…Chimney Swifts are a protected species, and advocates suggest homeowners do what they can to make their chimneys more accommodating for the migrating birds. Like in this article: Being A Good Chimney Swift Landlord. Um…I’m not going to kick the ones that have moved in out…but I’m not hanging a welcome mat out on my roof either, thank you very much. Apparently, as a local newspaper explained, while the bird is becoming rare in other parts of the country, it is thriving here in the Mid-West. Well, I hope Chester and his family enjoys his stay. He better not poop too much in there.

5. While birds in the chimney turned out to be not frustrating enough to earn a spot in Appliance Hell, the same week we discovered Chester, our a/c went on the fritz. Lucky for us, I noticed it just before we left for vacation, so we were able to make an appointment for as soon as we came home. Even luckier, it was a not-too-expensive or time-consuming fix, and the a/c was working again in time for the nasty heat wave that hit earlier this week. If you notice your air conditioner is running normally, but the air coming out of the vents is not cool, it might be your capacitor (no, not a flux capacitor…though wouldn’t that be cool). It’s a thing that kind of looks like a pop-can sized 9-volt battery.

Sometimes the capacitor will "pop" - and that's what ours looked like: a pop can that exploded.

Apparently it’s possible to fix this problem yourself, if interested check out this post on Do It Yourself HVAC Repair. I prefer to pay someone who knows what they’re doing…who, in this case, turned out to be a former student of mine. I still live in the area I used to teach high school, and occasionally will run into old students (and by old, they really are getting old – with jobs and kids and oh, God…that makes me really old!). This young man asked me if ever taught at so-and-so school, and of course I had, and though I didn’t remember his name immediately, I recalled who he was once we talked for a minute. Thank goodness he liked me as a teacher (or at least, he didn’t hate me). I suppose if he held any grudges, it would have been easy to make me sweat a little…literally.

And with that horrible pun, I shall wish you a happy Friday and hope you have a cool, relaxing bird-free weekend.

The Man Who Would Become the Father of My Children

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When I first met the man who would become the father of my children, he was a long-haired smart-ass who worked at the video game store across the hall from the houseware store I worked in at the mall. He drove a bright yellow Dodge Omni and took pride in seeing how many parking spaces he could take up (this isn’t as a$$hole-ish as it sounds, we mall employees parked in a back lot that was always empty).

One day I was sitting with a friend in the mall food court before my shift started. He passed by and we waved a casual hello to each other. “Who’s that?” she wondered, interest perked. Being me, I couldn’t resist the chance to play matchmaker, but my attempts backfired…and long story short, I ended up dating him instead. I was 16 at the time. That was nearly 20 years ago. Is it possible to find your happily ever after in a mall food court? Yes, yes it is.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I had managed to find myself a wonderful husband and father. Little things clued me in, and as I noticed them, they dropped into the bucket of my self-conscious, filling it with reasons to say yes when he popped the question six-and-a-half years after our mall romance started.  Things like how loving he was to his mother…not a Mama’s boy, no, but tender with her, concerned for her happiness-that kind of thing. He took time to do little things to let me know he cared for me, silly things like stuffed animals and cards for no reason…and he does the same for our daughters now. He was there whenever I needed him; whether it was to change a flat tire for me, or stay at my parents’ house for a week to kick my younger brother’s butt out of bed and make him go to school (my mom was in the hospital, my dad worked 3rd shift, and I couldn’t miss the time at college).

He’s not perfect (thank God, because I’m not either), but we do well together. And we make gorgeous kids.

When we first talked about kids, the idea of changing a diaper or cleaning up puke made him cringe. His friends joked he was going to have buy a wetsuit. He ended up having to change Miss A’s very first diaper, and has surprised us all with how well he deals with snot, vomit, poop, and all the other assorted yuckiness that accompanies parenting. (I didn’t say he likes it, but when it’s 2 in the morning and one of our girls has throw-up in her hair, sheets, and nightgown – he doesn’t shy away from taking part in disaster recovery).

In many ways, he’s still the boy from the video game store across the hall. He hasn’t given up his sense of self, and still indulges in the things that make him happy. He also encourages me to do the same (it’s another great trait of his). Our daughters will grow up seeing a couple who can enjoy going off and doing their own thing, and I hope they learn that they never need to change who they are or what they like just to make someone else like them.

His birthday cake from this year, fatherhood hasn’t deterred his love of video games, and in fact gives him more chances to indulge!

One day, I know our daughters will happen across their version of the boy in the video game store. The choices they make are their own, of course…but I feel confident that by choosing someone who loves and respects me, I have taught them to look for someone who will do the same, and expect nothing less.

Happy Father’s Day to my Husband. And to my own Dad, whose love and commitment to family ensured I would know a good man when I found him.

They were big boots to fill.

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Friday Fast Five: My First Romance Novel, Writing Advice à la King, & the Most Amazing Salsa/Salad Ever

Books, Cool Stuff, Family, Hallmark Moments, IMO, Kids, Life, Uncategorized, WritingWrite a comment

Yes, it’s Saturday. I understand. If I keep this up eventually I will need to do one of 2 things: change “Friday Five” to “Saturday Six,” or just get my sh*t together and post on Friday.

1. Vacations: After Lil’ G (our 2nd and last offspring) was born, the husband and I decided we wanted to provide something that was missing from most of our own childhoods: the annual summer trip. For three years running now, we kick off our summer with a few days spent a couple hours north at a hotel off the shores of Lake Michigan. We play on the beach, lounge and read on the deck, explore the odd little shops in the small downtown area, and go for long walks on the pier. The husband and I drink too much booze, the girls eat too much ice cream.  It is a glorious way to make memories and recharge our batteries. We’ve already booked our trip for next year, and I am already looking forward to it!

2: The One That Started it All: My reading material this vacation was also a little trip down memory lane. On a recent trip to HalfPriceBooks I came across the first romance novel I ever read. I was 13, and babysitting for a trio of boys who I can probably blame for early gray hair. After the heathens were in bed I noticed a paperback sitting on top of the t.v. The cover certainly caught my attention (keep in mind I was really into the show The Young Riders at the time):

The book had a stubborn redhead, a surly hot half-Cheyenne, and sex on a horse. What’s not to love? After that I cleaned my library out of Lindseys, which, if you read romance, you know – is a lot of books. Ignoring the dirty looks from the librarians who must not have approved of a junior high girl reading massive amounts of “smut,” I moved on to the the other big names of that era like Catherine Coulter and Jude Deveraux, then in high school I fell in love with EVERYTHING from Laura Kinsale. I know the man-titty covers get a lot of grief, and while I was reading Savage Thunder this past week I often found myself hiding the cover and feeling some of the awkwardness this mom describes in a recent post on Smart Bitches…but I will just come out and say it-if the book had the cover it currently sports (as seen on the HarperCollins page HERE) my 13-year old self might have passed right over it and flipped on the t.v instead, hoping to catch an episode of The Young Riders. Oh, what a world I would have missed.

3. On Writing: So not only did reading that first romance novel inspire a life-long habit of reading more romance novels, it also planted the seeds of aspiration to write my own. Along with lofty summer writing goals involving word count and BICHOK time (Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard for those of you not in the know), I have decided I will try and read a “craft” book a week. Lucky for me I have started with a great one. On Writing by Stephen King is a great read in and of itself, fascinating for the story King tells aside from the writing commentary. I knew I was going to love this book the moment I read the first line of the second foreword (there are actually 3 forewords in the book, the guy can do what he wants – this is Stephen King after all). King states, “This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullsh*t.” If the book is short on pages, it isn’t short on great advice. It is loaded with gems any writer would do well to stash in their treasure box. Like this one, which I want to kiss him for, because I understand exactly what he is saying:

Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.

Then there’s this advice he passes on to us, from his boss at a newspaper job:

When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story. Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.

As I said, the book is full of this kind of good stuff, but you’ll have to read it for yourself. I do want to note one other thing though, King does a lovely job describing how he owes much of his success as a writer to his wife’s unwavering support:

Whenever I see a first novel dedicated to a wife (or a husband), I smile and think, There’s someone who knows. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is enough.

I am so very blessed in this respect as well. My husband has offered me nothing but staunch support for my writing. He makes me want to work hard to be worthy of his unwavering belief in my ability.

4.  Rejection: Recently I experienced what I know many, if not all, writers go through: the dreaded rejection letter. I know writing, like acting, is full of moments like this – moments people will say: sorry, but your work isn’t “right.” Whatever their reasons are, it still hurts. King talks about how he collected his rejection slips on a nail hammered to his bedroom wall. Many famous, talented, epic writers were told their work wasn’t “right.” The secret to their success is they kept on writing anyway, and so will I.

5. The BEST Summer/Salad: Let’s leave rejection behind and move on to happier things, like food. A few weeks ago I attended a picnic and tasted the most amazing dish. It was incredible, and though I stopped myself from going back for thirds, it wouldn’t have been too horrible if I did – the recipe is actually healthy.  I tracked the bringer of amazingness down and found out she got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa (whom I adore). If you want to wow your taste buds and make every person at a summer picnic worship you as a pot-luck goddess, you need to check this recipe out: Guacamole Salad.

Friday Fast Five: Books, Buckets, and Breakfast

Family, Kids, Life, Recipes, Uncategorized, WritingWrite a comment

Let’s pretend not to notice how long it’s been since I wrote a FFF post, shall we? I’d like to say this is the start of a more regular blogging schedule, but the self-recrimination I’ll indulge in when I don’t manage to follow through may be too overwhelming. So I hope you enjoy today’s Friday Fast Five…I also hope it’s not another five months before I do it again.

1. Summer Reading Clubs: One of my favorite things about summer is lazy afternoons spent with a book. For me, reading time is a reward in and of itself. But for kids, who have so many other things tempting their time, a broader external reward system may be required. Which is why I love summer reading programs. First, check your local library-they are sure to have a great summer reading plan with lots of fun incentives. Miss A and Lil’ G are headed over to our library this weekend for their Summer Reading kick-off. The library even has a program for adults that includes raffles for e-readers and other great prizes.

Lil' G, showing off her new library card!

Though Borders is no more (our local one is still a big empty space of sad), other bookstores have great programs. Check out Barnes&Noble’s Summer Reading program. Kids get a reading journal you can print out straight from the website to keep track of the books they read throughout the summer. When they finish, they can turn it in and receive a free book from a specified list. Last year Miss A was excited to receive the 39 Clues book penned by Rick Riordan.

My favorite summer reading program for kids is the one HalfPriceBooks runs. Print out the monthly reading tally sheet and keep track of your child’s reading time. At the end of each month (June, July & August), your young readers can turn in the sheets in exchange for a $5 HPB giftcard. If you’ve shopped at HalfPriceBooks before, you know that five bucks can buy alot. Also, the tally sheets are entered in a monthly contest: the reader who logs the most book time from each age group scores a $20 giftcard. Getting my girls to love reading has a secret selfish motive,  it means they won’t bother me when I’m doing it- and we can all enjoy doing this:

2. On the topic of reading: I was recently turned on (ha! pun kind of intended) to Roni Loren’s Loving on the Edge series. I have yet to read the first in the series, Crash Into You, but bought the newly released novella Still Into You, because A:the premise of a married couple who still love each other, but have lost the passion in the scramble of daily life, and B: Roni is hosting a sweet contest on her blog right now, send her proof you purchased Still Into You, and you’re entered to win your choice of some snazzy prizes. Check it out – contest ends Tuesday, June 12th. I’d wish you luck, but I want to win too. ETA: See my quick review of Still Into You over on GoodReads.

3. Summer Bucket List on Pinterest: An admitted Pinterest-addict, I have been controlling myself and spending much less time on that visual smorgasbord (and, spending way too much time on Twitter instead-yes, I realize I’ve traded one vice for another). Which is perhaps part of the reason my newest pinboard is looking so naked. I am committed to giving my girls a healthy dose of chill out and do whatever the heck you want time (because, in this overscheduled world we live in, kids don’t get enough of that), but I also want to make some great summer memories doing cool, silly, creative, wild things. I’ve got the usual planned: time at the lake, strawberry picking, plein air painting at the botanic garden…but need some new ideas to wow ’em (and me too). If you have some fun summer activities, please let me know so I can fill my summer calendar and my lonely pinboard!

4. Plan to make the most of the summer: as a mom and a writer: Ok, so as noted above, I‘ve got the am getting a plan in place to make the most of this summer in my mom role…but how about that other role? Finding writing time is already a struggle with only 1 kid home, now that both girls will be home 24/7 (school ended today)-my time will once again be owned by two demanding redheads. Short of plugging them into Netflix all day, I need a plan to keep them active while building my word count…here are some ideas:

A- a fantastic, fabulous friend with a giant new swing set in a fenced backyard has offered to have the girls over for playdates for a few hours at least once a week. There is a Starbuck’s right down the street from her house, where I can park it and type, but still be close enough to rescue her if my kids get to be too much.

B- even though I was looking forward to sleeping past 6am since I’m not obligated to spend the first waking hour of my day making hot, brain-building breakfasts and packing trash-free lunches, I am thinking a few times a week I need to plan to get up at the usual 6am and write for at least an hour before Miss A and Lil G make their morning appearance. I’d say I’ll try and get up at 5, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure.

C- Break up fun days with writing days. One day a week I plan to have a “big fun” day scheduled, where I take the girls and we do something active, creative, and adventurous. Hit the stuff on my bucket list (see above). To balance that, one day a week shall be a “chill” day, when the girls can lay around in pj’s, watch t.v., play video games, raid the snack pantry, and leave Mama alone to write, write WRITE. I will leave my computer to check on them periodically, you know, when I need another cup of coffee. Knowing I have at least 1 day a week dedicated to each “goal” will help relieve some of my stress (I hope).

5. My Nutella breakfast that actually IS low-cal and healthy: So I recently discovered Nutella (I blame Pinterest) and have fallen hard for it’s wicked yumminess.  Eating an entire jar of the stuff for breakfast is not going to jive with my efforts to drop some pounds, but I have found a happy (and delicious) compromise. My new favorite breakfast: a whole-wheat sandwich thin (100 calories) or whole-wheat bagel thin (110 calories), spread with 1 tblsp of Nutella (1/2 a tablespoon on each side of the thin) this is only 1/2 a serving of Nutella, so it only totals 100 calories  (and if you lick the knife, I won’t tell). Then top each nutella-smeared thin with some fresh strawberry slices (there is only around 50 calories in a cup of fresh strawberry halves, so go ahead and pile a few extra berries on your plate to make it pretty). Did you do your math? This yummy, nutella-y, fruity, breakfast is only 250 calories.

Sweet heaven on a plate. You can save your sinning for after breakfast.


Ray Bradbury: The Passing of a Literary Icon

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Many of you, like me, probably had your first introduction to Mr. Bradbury in a high school English class, reading Fahrenheit 451. By the way, I’d also like to take a moment to say thank you to Mr. Hansen, my Soph Honors Eng teacher, for including this book among the many others our class read, discussed, and felt-sometimes love, sometimes hate…but always passionate-about.

A few years later I was cast as the extraterrestrial Ylla in a production of The Martian Chronicles at Stage 2 Theatre in Bradbury’s hometown of Waukegan, IL. This was an exciting project for me. I was only 17, and it was my first “real” show-meaning it had a run of longer than a few weeks and I actually earned a paycheck (a pathetically SMALL paycheck, but it was still really cool!). Playing a martian who could converse through telepathy was an interesting role. I got to do some voice-over work for my “mental dialogue” that was then played during the show.  Quite the learning experience!  To top it off, Bradbury, known for his loyalty to his roots, provided the vocal narration for the production, in a series of recordings that were played as each scene transitioned from one to the next, following the episodic chapters of MC.  I have a newspaper clipping with a picture of me as Ylla, along with my Martian husband, Yll-but I have no clue where it is hiding, or even if still have it. This production was nearly 20 years ago, and I’ve had no luck finding details about it on the interwebs either. 20 years ago, or not – I can still remember kneeling on stage in the dark, waiting for the show to begin. The strange musical arrangement created for the show began: a blend of wind chimes and other discordant yet harmonious sounds that silenced the audience more effectively than the house lights going down. Then, as the stage lights slowly grew brighter, the voice of Bradbury described the scene, and I slipped more fully into the skin of my character.

That Bradbury was a literary titan is inarguable-who knows just how far and wide the impact of his words were felt:  just take a look at this article in The Guardian, and you’ll see what I mean. From President Obama to Stephen King, he influenced the minds and imaginations of so many, who exponentially influenced many more. His life was is a testament to the power of words, and the significance of an engaging story.

 

All Things Irish 2012: Day 3

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Is your doll ready for St. Patrick’s Day?

During the first 17 days of All Things Irish I talked about how much fun Miss A had taking her American Girl Doll Nellie (an Irish immigrant) along to her first feis. Nellie, of course, was dressed in her Irish dance duds too.

My favorite part of the outfit is the shoes - those tiny ghillies are adorable!

Unfortunately, the AG Irish Dancer outfit is no longer sold (there’s always e-bay!). Over at Build-A-Bear, however, you can get a cute Irish Dancer dress for $12.50. I have had some luck with B-A-B stuff fitting American Girl Dolls, so it’s worth a try if you can’t find the AG version (or if the price is too outrageous).

And speaking of American Girl dolls,  for Miss A’s b-day last year we took her and Nellie to American Girl Place and let them have some fun in a photo session:

Isn't this so cool?!? The doll's outfit came with a matching head piece for Miss A too.

And since I mentioned  tiny ghillies – check out these mini Barbie-sized ghillies!  (And if you don’t know what “ghillies” are, take a look as this post from last years All Things Irish).

Miss A has the Irish Dancer Barbie, and this Irish Princess Barbie:

Ok, I admit, I haven't let her play with this Barbie - she is just too pretty to take out of the box!

Speaking of pretty Irish Princess Barbies, apparently, there are LOTS of them!

Photo part of a news article: http://www.examiner.com/doll-collecting-in-nashville/st-patrick-s-day-barbie-dolls-irish-barbies-past-and-present

 

If you’d like your American Girl doll to be Celtic Princess too, check out some of the gorgeous outfits I found on Amazon:

The seller is Carpatina LLC, and they have some AMAZING dresses for AG size dolls…there are many more I love (but I need to remember I’m not buying them for me…I was never into dolls as a kid, so I must be making up for it now or something).

I mean, look at this one: A French Medieval Dress with Cape? I want to wear this myself!

 

I’ll try to control the impulse to do some internet shopping, and see you tomorrow for Day 4!