Book and Color Lover

Photo by: Chotda

To keep up with the world of design I read blogs. Big surprise, huh? One of my favorites is Colourlovers.com. Even if you're not a graphic designer, go check it out. It's a feast for the eyes.

The picture above comes from a post about organizing your bookshelves by color. And they're serious! This particular line caught my eye: "If you’re really anal, you can create sleeves for your books and code them by color (fiction=yellow, textbooks=blue)."

I love color and organization, but I am NOT that anal. I have to admit to loving the effect though.

Two Tag

This tag was on Georgiana's blog back in November. You can see how behind I am on these things. Still, I kept it because it seemed like a fun thing to do. And since today is a snow day and I'm feeling lazy--okay, procrastinating getting any actual work done--I thought I'd post this meme.

Two names you go by: Jennifer and Jen (or Mom in my house)
Two things you are wearing right now: pajamas and socks. Hey it's a snow day and I slept in and made pancakes.

Two of your favorite things to do: read and sing

Two things you want very badly at the moment: To find more time to write, and I wouldn't object to a little more money or some better design software.

Two favorite pets you have/had: I've had a ton of cats and two dogs and I've loved them all. Doesn't seem fair to pick a favorite. They all had their unique qualities. Right now I'm going my longest period in my life without a cat. Charlie, aka Dog Vader, is more than enough animal for our little house.

Two people who will fill this out: Mich and Diana.

Two people you last talked to: Calvin and Sissy, who are here at the dining room table with me. Calvin is using his inhaler/spacer as a weapon to shoot bad guys while watching Justice League. And Sissy is popping in and out of here while doing a Jane Fonda step aerobics tape of mine from the 80s. I tell you, the workout clothes and hair are enough to make you bust a gut laughing. Sissy doesn't seem to appreciate that though. She takes her work outs very seriously.

Two longest trips you've been on: Now, is this time wise or distance wise? Road trip with Mich from Arizona to Indiana. It was only three days but almost 2000 miles. And a two-week trip to London. That was fun.

Two favorite holidays: Christmas and Fourth of July.

Two favorite beverages: A really good Merlot and Earl Grey tea. Alas, my poor Diet Coke doesn't make the cut anymore.

I think we got about 6 inches of snow last night and they're calling for about 5 more inches today. It's 26 degrees right now and not snowing at the moment. The snow plow already sent my trash can flying. Luckily the trash guys got here at 4 AM, only a day late. Charlie kindly informed that they were stealing my trash at that early hour.

So, if we get all our chores done around here while it's still halfway decent, we'll probably head over to Mich's where she's got a wood stove and more room for rowdy kids.

Wordless Wednesday

Mission Complete

I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful 2 Timothy 4:7 (NLT)



Lance Corporal Cameron Babcock, USMC, was buried today. He was almost 20.

I didn't know Cameron but I sing next to his mom Ann. We sit and freeze together during rehearsal. She's become a dear friend to me. She was the first person in church to ask what my "story" was and to take the time to really listen. She's also one year younger than me.

It would take more than one hand to count the number of friends I've known who've lost children. SIDS, two drunk drivers, heart defect, car accident, suicide, cystic fibrosis, and an accidental shooting.

The death of children is where my theology falls apart. To believe that this child's life is over--is complete--is something I can't wrap my mind around. It's become harder since I have children of my own.

As we watched the video of Cameron's life and his time serving in Iraq I was struck by how young all those men were, boys really. Young enough to be my sons. The young Marines in dress blues who came to honor Cameron and share their stories and their grief... So much responsibility, so much life for such young men.

Yet something even more powerful came home to me during Cameron's funeral. The power of story. I came to know Cameron through his funeral, through the stories people told, through the video his dad Jeff put together. And it made me realize the power and the burden we as writers have to share people's stories, to continue their lives onto others through words.

Cameron's story isn't over today. And neither is anyone else's if we're faithful to share it, to allow that story to continue to touch lives.

Mission completed, Solider. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Some Weekend Reading Fun

My friend Julie Lessman is over at SORMAG giving an interview about her book and reveals a very interesting tidbit. Stop by and check it out.

I'll be posting my review of A Passion Most Pure here soon and Julie has agreed to come on my blog. So stay tuned for all that fun.

A More Literary Tag

I meant to post this yesterday, but I went to the eye doctor and got my eyes dilated and I couldn't look at the computer screen for hours.

Jeanne tagged me with this cool meme about books. These are always so hard because it's like picking your favorite child. But I'm going to give it a stab. Like Jeanne I'll have to eliminate the Bible for most answers because that's just a given.

1. One book that changed your life.
Wow, so many. I think nearly every important moment in my life has been influenced by or at least marked by a book. If I take nonfiction off the list, it still leaves a long one, so I'm going with my earliest memory of how profoundly story could effect me. I think I was still in grade school and read a collection of O. Henry's short stories. From "The Gift of the Magi" to the "Ransom of Little Red Chief" the breadth and depth of Henry touched me in a powerful way and made me want to do the same.

2. One book that you have read more than once.
What book haven't I? Books are like friends and I like to visit my favorite ones often. Though lately I've had so many new books I want to read that I haven't been able to reread old ones in awhile.

But probably the books I've reread the most are the Little House on the Prairie books. I've probably read each book at least a dozen times. When I was a kid, my mom would forbid me to check them out at the library, instead making me get something new. I would, but I'd always sneak Laura Ingalls in the bottom of the stack somewhere.

3. One book you would want on a desert island.
War and Peace comes immediately to mind, given its size. And then it's followed by the Seinfeld joke about the original title War, What is it Good For?

4. Two books that made you laugh.
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel and Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress

5. One book that made you cry.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

6. One book you wish you'd written.
The Time Traveler's Wife

7. One book you wish had never been written.
There's some stupid books out there, but I can't work up enough loathing for them. Mein Kampf is about the only thing that comes to mind, and really, even if it hadn't been written, the ideas and the idiocy it spawned still would exist.

I did make an attempt to read Naked Lunch once and got through maybe a page and a half. I didn't really get the point of why someone would want to write that book. I know, pushing bounds and experimental fiction and all that. Still. Makes me want to puke just thinking about it.

8. Two books you are currently reading.
Amy Grant's book, Mosaic and A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman.

The Amy Grant book is interesting because you get to hear the story behind the music. She was about the only thing I was allowed to listen to growing up, so reading the lyrics brings back memories.

Julie Lessman is a crit partner and friend, and I am just thrilled to be reading her first published baby! And it's so well done. Not to mention I get mentioned in the acknowledgments (my first time!). I'll be posting a review here when I'm done and hopefully get her to come on for an interview.

9. One book you've been meaning to read.
Just one? I have a whole bookshelf plus a list on my computer. Next on my nightstand is For Parents Only, and I'll probably dip into another suspense novel. I'm kinda on a kick with those right now. But I do want to read Richard Russo's Risk Pool and Tom Perrotta's latest sometime soon.


10. Five people that I tag:
Mich, Diana, Malia, Sabrina, Jenny, and Chris if he has time.

Thanks, Jeanne. This was a fun meme, even if it did make me think.

Tackle it Tuesday

This is a two-parter for me. No pictures though (unless you want one of me on the phone!). We got new insurance, and we all needed eye and dental appointments. So I spent yesterday finding new doctors and setting up appointments. Amazingly enough, I got two appointments for myself today, so I'm off doing that and running errands.

This has been on my list for over a month and I'm sooooo happy to get it crossed off. Plus my eyes have been hurting so I'll be curious to see if the eye doctor says I need a prescription adjustment.

Happy Tackling, y'all!

My Lifebook

Mich and I made Lifebooks this weekend. Head over to her blog to see her explanation of them. They were her idea, but I really like it. In fact, before I even finished mine I had already thought of ways to make an expanded version.

Normally I get myself kind of hamstrung by projects like these because I want to plan them out and have them be perfect. Not this time. I grabbed what fabric and ribbon scraps I had laying around. Sissy and I were going to use them to bling out our old jeans. I knew I had more stuff in the garage but this was going to have to do. And I grabbed whatever journal I could find at CVS. Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Depot are all too far away for this kind of spontaneous thing. I almost grabbed a sketch pad and used it.

So, because this one had ribbons on the spiral that I liked, I just covered the cover. If I could have found my batting I could have padded it.



The cool initial in the center is from a laser cut sticker Kimmie had.

I made a title page with scrapbooking paper and stick on letters and stuff. I didn't plan anything or measure, just let myself play and see what came out.



Then I had to figure out what categories I wanted and how to divide up the pages. I left my book over at Mich's or I'd tell you what they were. But I think I had Goals; Dreams, Ideas, Plans; Art (this is books I want to read, books I have read, music to listen to, movies to see); Talks with God; Doodles (next time I am adding a sketch pad section; Random Thoughts; Memories. Okay, I'm missing two but you get the idea. I just wanted a place were I could be me without a whole lot of organization. Each section can be a different size too.

So for each of these sections I also made a pocket and a tab like Mich.



The darker paper is the pocket. And there's another pocket on the other side of the page. This also makes the page sturdy enough to sandwich the tab in between there.

Anyhow, I need to finish mine and I can't wait to use it. It's a fun project. Even the girls got into it and made themselves ones out of half-size binders and puppy material.



So, what do you think? Anyone out there interested in making one?

Continuing with the protection theme...

I give you Dog Vader.



Sissy took this picture. Clearly, we have too much time on our hands.

Wordless Wednesday?

Or maybe not so wordless Wednesday?



These are magnetic words on my refrigerator. I was playing around with them and thought it looked kind of neat. And would be rather ironic for Wordless Wednesday. Yeah, me and my warped sense of humor.

And if anyone wants to take a stab at finding the hidden meaning or analyzing my psyche, be my guest.

At Least I'm Safe from the Trash Man and the Snow Plow

Our family is good proof that God has a sense of humor. You have to be a character to be a member of it, pets included. Case in point, our black Lab, Charlie.



Labs are not known for being great watch dogs. They're more likely to lick you to death or beat you to a pulp with their nonstop tail than to attack you. But for whatever reason, Charlie has taken it upon himself to be a watch dog for two things: our trash and our snow.

Now, he has no problem with the mail carrier. I don't know if it's like this in other places, but here, we don't have real mail trucks. We have carriers who drive their own personal vehicles, from the passenger side no less, with little flags attached signifying they are delivering the mail.

When our mail lady has packages for us, she pulls into the driveway and honks. Her lap is so full of mail that it would be hard for her to get out of the car. So we come out to see what she has. We being Charlie and me. He has to look in her car to see if she has anything for him. She pets him but that's it. Still, he keeps hoping someday a package will be for him. So he likes the mail carrier.

The trash man is another thing all together. The best I can figure is he thinks the trash guy is taking our stuff. Which he is. But it's stuff we want him to take. Or rather, I want him to take. Charlie would probably like to examine all of it thoroughly before it goes to the street. Regardless, from the moment the truck comes around the corner until it disappears down the street, Charlie's at the front window barking and growling and carrying on, letting us know that someone is taking our stuff. Of course I pet him and tell him he's a good dog for letting us know that.

His battle with the snow plow is a little more adversarial. After our last big snow, the kids and dog went outside to play. The plow was coming up the street for the first time.

Charlie heard the rumbling, which probably sounds quite a bit like the trash truck. He stopped and started barking at it. It kept coming at him, despite his protests, which grew louder. The final insult, though, was when it threw a great wave of snow on him--which he hates--that sent him scurrying back to the house.

War was declared but from now on, Charlie would be safely behind the living room window.

But at least I know if someone is trying to steal my trash or my snow.

A Brand New Bag

Sissy got a bunch of craft projects for Christmas, which is fun for both of us. Look what we made.

Here's the front.


Here's the back.


I was excited about this project because I was looking for a bag to hold my various notebooks, pens, iPod, etc. Especially since my car doesn't lock, and I can't leave anything important in it.

The bag on the right came with Sissy's kit. I bought the green bag at Wal-Mart for $2 and decorated it with items from Sissy's kit. Fun, huh?

Stay tuned
I don't do New Year's Resolutions really. I figure if something needs to be resolved, do it now, don't wait until the new year. Anyhow... I've been working on some organization systems and stuff using the Simpleology plan I mentioned before. I'm almost finished with the course and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll be sharing what I've learned next week.

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

So we'll see what comes of all of that. Yeah, I know, you can't wait. :)

Wordless Wednesday

I caught this this morning. The sun peaked out just for a minute while it was snowing.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

My New Year's tradition is to take the tree down while I'm watching the Rose Parade. When I was in high school and lived in California, I actually went to the Rose Parade. Of course since we had to get there the night before to reserve our spots on the street, and all the New Year's Eve revelry kept us up, we pretty much ended sleeping through the parade!

So my tackle for the day will be to take the tree down. Guess I don't need to post pictures since I posted earlier what my tree looked like. You can imagine what it will look like gone. :) I love having the tree up, but I'm glad to take it down, too, and reclaim some of my living room space.

Peace on Earth?

What happened to my Christmas village?



I'm not up on all the warring toys, but I think these are either Bionicles or Transformers or maybe both, either fighting in, or attacking, or defending my Christmas village. Ah the joys of having a boy.

Reminds me of Christmas two years ago when Calvin was using the PlayMobile Nativity set as weapons and the Christmas tree as the basis of covert ops.

Sigh.

All That Glitters Isn't Gold (ha! I wish)

Either I got in a fight with Tinkerbell or my daughter gave me a makeover with her new makeup kit.

Sharing the Meaning of the Season

We had one of the most memorable Christmases this year, but maybe not for the reasons you'd think. It's been a hard year. I had told the kids not to expect much for Christmas. One of my clients had gone under and didn't pay me. It was a significant amount, money that I was expecting to pay December and January's bills plus Christmas. I could get the kids one gift each and bills still wouldn't be paid. I felt terrible.

The church secretary called me and said someone wanted to adopt a family for Christmas and would we be willing to be adopted. I was a bit surprised. I hadn't shared much of our story with anyone, but a few people knew we'd had a hard year. So I agreed, but I didn't tell the kids. I didn't want to get their hopes up in case it fell through.

When she called back a couple weeks later to ask when I wanted to pick up the gifts, she told me there were eight boxes.

"Oh, that's nice," I thought. "The kids will get four presents each. That's really sweet."

"Eight boxes two feet by two feet," she continued. "The pile is up to my shoulders. Plus they're bringing you food for Christmas dinner."

I was so stunned I couldn't speak.

I told the kids that someone had adopted us for Christmas and that we were going to pick up the gifts at church. When we walked into the room, Sissy's face lit up. "Mom, this is exactly what we prayed for! God took care of us!"

I started to cry.

It took two trips with a hand truck plus several more trips by me carrying food and our little Jetta was overflowing. Food sat on the back window and under the kids' feet. We couldn't have gotten one more thing in that car.

When we unloaded the presents and put them around the tree, they had to be stuffed into every nook and cranny. I'd never seen so many presents in all my life.


What amazed me what how much time and thought was put into the gifts. It wasn't just a matter of spending money. Clearly whoever bought the gifts knew my kids enough to know their tastes. Plus there were homemade cookies and hand-knitted afghans for each of us. They even got gifts for me.

We always hear how it's more blessed to give than receive. But in Blue Like Jazz Donald Miller makes the observation that it can be hard to receive because it implies need, and we don't like to be needy people. We like to be the ones who have the surplus to give from.

I know that's true of me. This year has been very humbling for me. It's hard for me to accept other people's help. It's hard to write this blog post. But the Bible says to tell of the Lord's wonders and faithfulness. Psalm 78:4 says, "We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did."

Because bottom line, this is about God and His faithfulness. He provided for us. Not just for our needs, like He's promised to do. But for some of our wants as well. And abundantly. What a wonderful lesson for my children. And me too.

I don't know who adopted us for Christmas. I do know they will be rewarded in heaven, but I also hope they'll get some little reward here on earth too.

Advent Vespers at Valparaiso University

A couple of weeks ago we (Mich and our kids) attended advent vespers at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University. I told you I was behind on blogging. It was a beautiful experience. As I'd mentioned before, we don't come from a ritual-rich church background but I feel it's important to experience it occasionally as a way of focusing on God's holiness and on the rich traditions of the Church.

I had never attended any services at Valpo's Chapel so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had spent some time poking around their website which explained the meaning behind the different parts of the church, including the stained glass windows, the baptismal font, and the crucifix. I was eager to see them for myself. Also, this advent vespers focused on using a variety of art forms to express the message of the Gospel. If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know this is something that fascinates me. So I was excited to see how this would play out.

Unfortunately, we were late so we didn't get to see the visual arts displayed on the ground floor of the chapel. But the combination of church ritual, candlelight, dancing, classical organ music, university choir, hand bells, and orchestra, along with Scripture readings made for a rich spiritual and sensory experience. Even Calvin remained entranced for the full hour and 45 minutes. I have to admit, when the choir came up to the balcony where we were seated and surrounded us and began singing, I started crying at the beauty of the voices so unique and yet so perfectly on pitch. I was so touched.

Another thing I treasured about the evening was the printed programs. Many of the visual works were reprinted in the Order of Service, along with wonderful quotes about faith and art, and the words to the songs. This is something that I will keep by my desk and refer to often for inspiration.

I think we have found another tradition to add to our Christmas, one that is full of meaning.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

A couple of Saturdays ago we went to Hensler Christmas Tree Farm. Which might seem a bit unusual since we already have our tree up and its fake. And we're allergic to pine.

We didn't go to get a tree.

We went to see Rudy and Angel. Reindeer in case you can't tell. I think they're napping. It was a balmy 25 degrees.

We watched the reindeer a bit, walked through the petting barn where we saw donkeys and peacocks. I took pictures of the kids in a wooden replica train and in front of an old Model T truck which became our Christmas pic. We also took a ride in a wagon pulled by Belgian horses. Those boys were huge!

After watching everyone select and cut their trees, we were pretty chilly, so we went inside to get hot chocolate, hot cider and cookies. They had a pianist playing Christmas carols so as we were eating our snack Sissy and I entertained those nearest us by singing along. Who can resist singing to Christmas carols? Apparently some people but not me.

After our snack we checked our their ornaments, handmade wreaths, and quilting display. It was a fun trip, and I think it will be a regular holiday tradition made perfect by the addition of snow.

Saturday Night Fun

Photo credit

I'm still alive and have a lot to blog about, but between getting snowed in and the Internet going out, I've been playing catch up all week.

A couple of weeks ago Sissy participated in a cheerleading camp hosted by the local high school cheerleaders. The finale of it was that the girls would cheer in the stands at the high school basketball game and do the dance routine they learned at half time at the varsity game. So Calvin and I went to watch and video tape.

I hadn't been to a high school basketball game since I was in high school, and I was pretty much expecting to see what I saw then.

Boy was I wrong. First of all, I'm now old enough to be the players' mother.

Second, we arrived during the girls' game and they were GOOD! They played as aggressively as the boys and were far more talented in shooting and running plays than the girls on my high school basketball team were.

Third, I don't remember basketball being played on Saturday night. Then again, the production they put on was worthy of Saturday night entertainment. The boys' team came in with an introduction and warm-up routine worthy of the pros. Between the cheer routine, the music, and the tossing of t-shirts to the audience, it was quite the event.

The press thought so too. The local radio station covered the game live with two reporters. I also saw three photographers and one print journalist.

However, some things remained solidly Midwestern. Like the guys on the opposing team who thought long white knee socks with baggy basketball shorts were a great fashion statement. Or their coach, a Pat Riley wannabe, complete with the decades-old couture.

But I really can't make any judgments about anyone else's fashion statements when close to home I had issues of my own to deal with. Part way through the game I happened to look down at Calvin and really notice what he was wearing. His thermals. Only his thermals. No pants. Hmm. Luckily they were black. I usually have to remind him to put on a coat and gloves, and sometimes socks. Never thought I'd have to remind him to put on pants. Then again, he's a West Coaster. He's never worn two pairs of pants at the same time before.

A Christmas Gift?

This cracked me up, though granted, I have a warped sense of humor. I think I might buy it for myself.

101 Reasons to Stop Writing looks like those inspirational posters or calendars with the glossy photographs but with the reasons we've all thought of to stop writing, printed out for the world to see.

And as contrary as I am, I just might find it good motivation.

Tackle it Tuesday

Not a huge tackle today. A low pressure system moved into the area and my knees are killing me.


But my dining room table has been bugging me for awhile. Does anyone else have this problem? Why is it the dining room table attracts all sorts of papers, craft projects and homework? I think in our house it's because it's the largest horizontal surface. Lately we've just been pushing stuff aside to eat. Not any more.



I notice our advent candles are a little bare looking and our candle chimneys need to be cleaned. And I wish the radio could go some place else. But at this time of year, we have to listen to it every morning to hear about school closures and delays. Ah well.

My Kind of Music

Who knew Midwesterners had rhythm? This group of guys from Indiana University, Straight No Chaser, sings a capella in cool combo of creativity and tradition. I love it. Credit to Chris Mikesell for the link.



If you prowl around You Tube, they have a couple more videos, including one at Hardees where they serenade the staff.

Kudos!

To fellow Misfit Angie Poole and writer bud Chris Fisher for being nominated for the Pushcart Prize in short fiction. Way to go, guys!

Hey, I Made the Newspaper!

The front page even. Luckily, below the fold. The above-the-fold story was about the Pak-a-Sak getting robbed. That wasn't me. But A-1 below-the-fold coverage is quite nice, thank you very much. Even if it is a small town paper. That's me in the middle if you haven't figured that out yet.



The photographer came to our Tuesday dress rehearsal of our Christmas performance, which is this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm actually glad that it's earlier in December rather than later, like I'm used to. It's an hour-long program of all singing, with a bit of narration. Ten songs. Lots of standing. Lots of water. Say a prayer if you think about it. We're supposed to have snow and ice this weekend and I've been fighting a migraine. Tis the season.

Winter Wonderland

We got our first substantial snow last night, as in, the school's were delayed opening two hours, and I got to stay home from work. I think we ended up with six inches of beautiful powder. Makes me want to go skiing, except for the fact that Indiana is so flat.

Our Black Lab, Charlie, was so funny when I let him out this morning. He pranced around the snow in the back yard like a horse, clearing trying to figure out what had happened and what he was supposed to do with this stuff.

For my part, I sat in the parking lot last night with my Starbucks watching these perfect snowflakes fall in the light of the lampposts, looking like glittery sugar and watching their perfect little snowflake selves on my windshield. I know my goal this winter will be to get pictures of snowflakes.




But for now, you get the oak tree in my front yard and some mock cherry bush in my back yard. I was hoping it'd keep it's bright red leaves when it snowed because I think that would look so pretty, but alas it was not to be.



On another note, this is a picture of the tree of boxes that is our Advent calendar. When you pull the box out with the date (and eat the chocolate inside!) you reverse the box and put it back in to make some sort of scene. The kids love it. Me too, actually.

On the First Day of December I Decorated My Tree

Okay, so that doesn't really work with the meter of the song. Nevertheless, it's true. The kids and I had fun putting the tree up and recalling memories associated with the ornaments.

While we decorated we listened to Nat King Cole, Mannheim Steamroller, Lyndsey Lloyd Wallace, and Take 6. Interesting story behind the Lyndsey Lloyd Wallace CD. She was on the worship team at Saddleback Church and recorded her Christmas album while I was there. I got to sing back up on one of the songs. I was in the local Christian bookstore when I heard the song playing over the speaker system. I kind of stopped in awe for a moment. I always thought that kind of "Hey, that's me" moment in a bookstore would be because of a book, not a CD.

To top it all off, it snowed today. The kids went out and played in the snow then came in and had hot chocolate and watched a movie.



We also began Advent tonight. I know it doesn't really begin until tomorrow but we got this adorable Advent tree made of boxes of chocolate at Starbucks and it starts on the first. Our church tradition doesn't have a lot of rituals, and most of the time I appreciate that. However, we've been in the habit of celebrating Advent with candles, carols, and Scripture readings. I think some rituals can be meaningful and build memories. So tonight we said an Advent prayer for children, discussed John the Baptist's call to repentance and fruit (and what that means), and sang "Come O Come Emmanuel."

Hopefully the traditions and rituals will help us all to remember the real reason for Christmas.

What Kind of Writer Am I Anyway?

I got this fun quiz from Georgiana.

What kind of writer are you?

You're a Narrative writer! Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code font>

Hmm, kinda funny really. It's a fun quiz with a few saucy options in the answer section. Take it and tell us what kind of writer you are.

A Little Behind

I'm doing some cyberspace cleaning. I have lots of things I've bookmarked that I'm slowly getting to. Like this nice award Mich gave to me. Back in AUGUST!



"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world."

Aw, isn't that sweet?

So I in turn nominate
Jeanne
Diana
Sabrina
Elaina
I'd nominate Mike but I think the whole pink and flowery thing is too girly.

And feel free to take up to three months to accept your award. Just like me.

Wordless Wednesday

Me Multiplied



I took this picture at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. Turned out rather interesting.

Warning: Sitting Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

I found this interesting article via the Thinklings.

Given that those of us who are writers sit a lot in front of our computers, this study should cause us to do some thinking. I know for me, I have a lot of back and neck pain from being in front of the computer, and I have to take frequent breaks and work out with weights and do yoga to counteract the effects of sitting and computer use (I've been bad about doing it lately and paying the price).

And of course many of us through talking have shared how we've gotten out of shape and gained weight when we've taken office jobs.

But this article takes it to another level, seeming to imply from the study that sitting can contribute to the disease process. This is interesting, and not far fetched when you realize the body uses a combination of gravity and muscle contraction to move blood, oxygen, and waste throughout the body and so movement would facilitate all of that.

Now one thing the article didn't address was sitting on an exercise ball, which I often do when I'm working on the computer. That necessitates movement and muscle contraction and I think would be better than sitting in a chair. Whether it's as good as movement, who knows?

I also thought the article was in many ways encouraging. For me, I need to think of ways to stand more during the day. That shouldn't be too hard once it becomes more of a habit. Certainly easier than trying to figure out how to add more workout hours in my day.

And I can relabel housecleaning "exercise."

Video for Writers

This is a funny video I found about writers on Terry Whalin's blog. Makes typewriters seem so romantic.

Turkey in the Snow

On Thanksgiving Day even.

And, by the way, the kids got to see their first snow and they were enthralled.

I got to drive in it. I was less enthralled.

Another Installment in Home Remodeling on a Budget

When we moved to Indiana, we downsized by over 50%, which meant giving up my office. And the bedrooms were too small for me to put my computer desk in. And you saw in yesterday's Tackle it Tuesday what happened to the small secretary's desk in my room. I tried to use it for my computer but the height was wrong and it hurt my wrists. Which meant I was relegated to the living room.

But that ended up driving me crazy. The chair, while comfortable, wasn't great for my back and I needed a space of my own. I was contemplating the garage for awhile but it was either too hot or too cold, and frankly too dark and dreary.

As with most houses, especially older ones, there are spaces that make no sense. For example, the one bathroom in our house has two doors. One goes to the laundry room. I don't know why. There's another perfectly good access point to the laundry room. So this second door to the laundry room has a shallow closet with a door but no rod or shelves. While my cat was alive, it was her room. Once she passed on to kitty heaven, I saw potential for it to be my room.

It started out looking like this. I took the closet door off the hinges and I found a quart of "oops" paint at Lowes for $3 in a nice sage green. I'm standing in the bathroom taking the picture and the laundry is just out of sight to the right.


I bought a 10" laminate shelf ($9) and braced it with some scrap wood and that became my desk surface. I had some shelves already that I trimmed to fit and added above.


I found an old curtain and hung it so I couldn't see the laundry while I was in my office. Once I brought in a bookcase, my white board, a lamp, and all my fun office stuff it looked like this.



This is the furnace which I make good use of as a magnetic board, posting pictures the kids have done for me and those inspirational magnets.


This is a close-up of the desk. I put self-stick cork tile below the shelf so I could pin up reminders and fun things. And you can see the desk top is just wide enough for my lap top. I made sure to install it at the right height for me to use comfortably.


So for $12 and a weekend's worth of work, I found a room of my own. I'm liking it very much and getting a lot more work done in my "office."

Tackle it Tuesday

I'm happy to be doing my first Tackle it Tuesday. This is the desk in my bedroom. It has become the catch-all for stuff I need to file or put somewhere else but I don't want to get lost, ruined, or messed up by the kids. But now that I have created my office out of a unusable closet (more on that later this week hopefully) and cleaned out the garage so I can get to my filing cabinets, this desk needs to be cleaned up!



And here it is clean!




I think the bedroom should be a place that's restful so it's been good to get that cleaned off. And now I can actually shut the lid like it's supposed to!

A Laugh for Thursday

If you want to had a little humor to your day, check out two of my Misfit friends. Having a wacko sense of humor is definitely a requirement to be a Misfit.

Heather's blog about the frustration of writing.

Mike's interesting interview. And don't forget to vote.

And, here's a warning. Keep your coffee or beverage of choice far from your computer when you're at these sites. Oh my.

Manage Your Time

Mad Writer Genius Randy Ingermanson is talking about time management on his blog. I plan to implement some of his suggestions over the next couple of weeks, and I'll let you know how it goes. Because we can always manage our time better. Or at least I can.

If you do it unto the least of these...

I read a few business blogs, always trying to learn more. So I was a bit surprised to see an article on Internet Business 101 challenging readers to buy packages of athletic socks and hand them out to the homeless and listen to their stories. You can read about it here.

When we lived in California we ran into the homeless quite often, bought them food, worked in shelters with our small groups. But in Arizona, and now out in the Midwest, they've sort of fallen off my radar screen. Granted, I'm in a pretty small town. I'm sure if I were in Indy or Chicago it would be a totally different story.

What I learned from James Brausch's blog wasn't what I expected. But I learned something else: the power of a pair of white socks and a listening ear.

I'd encourage all of you to take up James's challenge too.

History for 100, Alex

I saw this on Georgiana's blog and it cracked me up. Since I have a Bachelor's in history I had to take it.

You Passed 8th Grade US History

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade History?

Whew! It'd be kind of embarrassing if I didn't pass. Of course now I'm wondering which question I missed. I have a suspicion it was one of their questions that I thought was wrong anyway!

Deja vu?

I had an interesting experience this morning. I woke up to check the news feeds of the fires in Southern California since I'm still a California girl at heart and have all my family there. And I saw my current book playing out on one of the screens. Well, not exactly, but I wrote about it over on the Misfits blog. Go check it out.

Informed Consent by Sandra Glahn

Informed Consent is a fast-paced medical thriller with an intriguing plot. While the CBA has embraced legal thrillers as much as the ABA, I haven't seen nearly as many medical thrillers, though they are as equally as popular. So I was happy to see Sandra filling that slot.


And now, here's an interview with Sandra.

What’'s Informed Consent about?
Jeremy Cramer, the next Einstein of research, is a medical resident specializing in infectious diseases. While working on a way to revive water submersion victims, he makes surprising discoveries, while also living with massive guilt over incidental infections that occur (which he could have prevented). Even as his marriage teeters, his career continues to skyrocket. Then, with a few twists along the way, he finds everything he has fought for threatened by the most personal, most heart-wrenching, choices of all.

I love exploring bioethics, and this book allowed me to consider end-of-life issues, patient rights, a compassionate response to HIV-AIDS…lots of edutainment.

How did you come up with this story? Was there a specific 'what if' moment?
The story had a thousand or more “what if” moments. I'’m pursuing a PhD in Aesthetic Studies, and I worked on the setting, characters, a lot of the plot, as well as my narrative voice during three novel-writing classes taught by a novelist who writes fiction reviews for Publishers Weekly. And I got some great feedback from fellow students who don’'t believe in Christ about ways to address faith issues more naturally. I also took a Dante class, which influenced my choice to give my characters five of the seven deadly sins. (I'’m saving the other two for a future work.)

But the elements in the plot designed to keep readers up at night came through a brainstorming session with medical doctor, William Cutrer, with whom I’'ve coauthored three medical novels.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you or was when you first started on your writing journey?
I still struggle with expressing character emotion. I feel like I’'ll insult the reader if I stop to say “the shock of the news hit like a two-by-four in the back of the head.” I figure if I tell the horrible circumstance, the reader has enough imagination to feel what any normal soul would feel. I want to say simply “His dad died in a plane crash,” and let the reader fill in the emotional blanks. Yet everybody experiences shock and grief differently. For some the room spins. For others it shrinks. For some it grabs in the pit of the stomach. Or it feels like a physical jolt. It’'s part of my job as a developer of character to choose how this character will react and respond. When the emotions get intense, I need to slow down and let the reader enter the character’s head. But I’d rather get on with the plot.

Take us through your process of writing a novel briefly— from conception to revision.
Once I have a germ idea, I come up with the beginning, middle, and end. Then I figure out the in-between points. Next, I create the main characters. I have four pages of questions I answer for each. About thirty percent of novel-crafting for me is the pre-writing imaginative work on the plot and character sketches. Then I choose a setting. I ask myself how I can use setting to communicate something. Where was Jezebel when she stole the vineyard? In Jezreel. Where was she years later when dogs ate her? Jezreel. The setting tells more than a place. It says something about the character of God. So I try to choose a setting that communicates on a deeper level. All the time I’m making these choices, I deliberate about the best way to tell the story. First-person? Third-person? Who will be the main POV character? Why?

After that I craft a proposal. It starts with a one-paragraph synopsis. While my agent shops it around, I develop the summary into a chapter-by-chapter outline. And then I make a file for each chapter and start dumping in ideas.

When my agent has some success, he calls. Here’'s what happens from there…

Editorial person really likes it
He or she takes it to the marketing meeting
I wait forever for that meeting to happen
Marketing approves it
I wait for them to agree on an offer
They issue an offer
I reel from the shock of how low it is
I negotiate
I wait for them to draw up the contract
I receive and sign the contract
I write the book
I send the book to the publisher.
They send the first half of the advance
I spend it all in one place
I wait for them to edit it
I wait a while longer for them to edit it
They send back the manuscript with lots of changes needed immediately
I edit it again
I wait
And wait
They send a galley proof, which they need back immediately
I edit it yet again
I watch helplessly as the release date gets delayed--again
I wait forever for my progeny to arrive in the mail
Finally, I hold my masterpiece in my hands
I find a typo

What made you decide to write a book that deals with AIDS?
The church in Africa is doing a fantastic job dealing with HIV-AIDS. The North American church— not so much. So I wanted to tackle some of our misconceptions, challenge some of our stereotypes, and hopefully help readers consider their own involvement with AIDS patients.

Favorite dessert?
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Chocolate gets better with age (mine). (So does Advil, but it’s not a dessert.)

Sandra Glahn, ThM, teaches in the media arts program at Dallas Theological Seminary, where she edits the award-winning magazine Kindred Spirit. The author of six books and co-author of seven others, she is pursuing a PhD in Aesthetic Studies (Arts and Humanities) at the University of Texas at Dallas . She recently released her first solo medical suspense novel, Informed Consent (Cook). She is the co-author of three other such novels, which include the Christy Award finalist, Lethal Harvest.

You can find Sandra at her blog or her website.

Tag! I'm it!

Georgiana tagged me with the 10-20-30 meme. You have to say what you were doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago. Let's hope I can remember!

Um, ten years ago I was seven-months pregnant with my daughter. That I remember. Living in the OC, just a few miles from the beach. Sigh.

Twenty years ago I was in college at the University of California, Riverside. I'm guessing at that point my major was still English. I don't think I'd switched it to Business Administration yet. I can't remember if I was working for IBM then or the local newspaper. I do remember I was living in a cute art deco bungalow and drove a 66 Mustang.

Thirty years ago I was in third grade and Mrs. Bunch was my teacher. I liked her a lot. She had a daughter my age (we ended up in the same class in high school). I had a blue bike with a banana seat and got to ride it to school, about a mile away, through some empty fields and orange groves.

Whew! I think that used up my brain cells for the day.

I tag Michelle, Jenny, Diana (who's always looking for memes), Mike (who needs to update his blog and it's fun to see what he can't remember), Angie, and Chris. It's really sad that I know people too young for this meme!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part 5 (finally!)

I bet you were wondering if I’d ever get back to it, huh? Sure you were. Well it ends on a good note.

In August I got a call from a woman at my church whom I’d never met who said she’d heard I was interested in starting my own web site design business, and she had a business proposition for me. I was a little confused and a little intrigued. I didn’t remember saying I really wanted to start my own business, more that I was doing web sites. I guess that’s a fine point of distinction. Anyhow, we agreed to meet at the park because we both have kids, and we started talking.

Turns out she’s a graphic artist and is friends with a photographer. Both of them wanted to go out on their own and start a design studio but felt they needed a third person: me. Sarah, the graphic designer, had already come up with a logo and a name. Think Studios.
I went on line and found that was already taken so we ended up with ThinkStudio3, which I think is way cool anyway.

Angela and Sarah know everybody. Through their connections we got our first job photographing a pilots’ reunion. I happened to bring my video camera and decided to make a movie. You can see it here (let it load before trying to play it). It’s not great, because I ended up having that gall bladder issue in the middle of it, but it helped us realize that we wanted to do video along with photos for any events we do.

As it turns out, one of the couples at our church just bought a building downtown and turned part of it into an art gallery. Through some bartering, they’re leasing us a really cool office space in it. So we will be part of the artistic community.

The past couple of months we have had to make a lot of decisions. We’ve met with some business consultants who were so impressed with our little video and web site that not only have they recommended us to their clients, they’ve asked us to do some work for them. We’ve generated a lot of interest while trying to build the proper foundations of the business at the same time. Feels a bit like trying to build an airplane while it’s flying.

At this point, we’ve decided we don’t want to do run-of-the-mill stuff. We want to do unique and creative things. We’re doing web sites, marketing plans, events, and something unique called a Legacy Project. Think of what Ken Burns did for the Civil War, baseball, and jazz. We’re hoping to bring that combination of photos, history, and technology to individuals and families. We want to record their history the way Ken Burns recorded America’s history. I should have a sample online soon to show you.

So, that’s what’s keeping me up and nights and keeping me from my writing. I just absolutely love it. I never could have articulated it before but it is my dream job. I’m getting to use both of my degrees (history and business administration) and all my widely varied artistic experience. Only God could have orchestrated that. And he brought me together with two amazingly talented women who I’d love to hang out with, regardless if we were business partners or not. Every time we’ve had a business meeting people have remarked at how much fun our meetings are.

Our website’s not completely done yet. It keeps getting interrupted by potentially-paying work. But you can check it out at www.ThinkStudio3.com.

Check Me Out

I'm over at the Misfits blog today.

Tomorrow (I hope) I'll have the final installment on my summer vacation saga. At least it ends on a good note.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part 4

Continuing with the theme of loss...

I ended up losing my gall bladder too. I had no idea my gall bladder had issues, but apparently it had been bothering me for awhile and I just thought it was acid. It started out with my suddenly having severe pain directly under my ribs. I broke out in a cold sweat and called the doctor, certain I had a bleeding ulcer or something.

The doctor's office got me in. The receptionist said it was because she was afraid I had appendicitis. I didn't tell her I'd lost that disposable part of my anatomy over 30 years ago. But as soon as the nurse looked at me, she said, "Classic gall bladder." Huh? I never would have guessed. The doctor agreed and ordered an ultrasound and told me to go on a low fat diet. I supposed the low fat diet helped somewhat, but the pain was still so intense, I couldn't walk more than a few steps.

Two things happened. One, because my insurance is still based in Arizona, I couldn't find an ultrasound place closer than 3 hours away that would be covered. Two, I kept passing out because I wasn't eating enough protein in my attempt to eliminate fat. One day when the pain and the passing out collided, Michelle insisted on driving me to the ER. The good thing was sometime in the seven hours there, that I don't remember because of the drugs, I got an ultrasound. The bad thing was I promptly threw up in Michelle's car when they released me. Luckily I had a barf bag with me.

The ultrasound showed I didn't have any gall stones, which was good because it meant I wasn't in any danger of one of them blocking my bile ducts and putting my life in danger. But it did mean I had to do a nuclear scan to see if my gall bladder was functioning properly.

It wasn't. When I saw the surgeon four days later, he scheduled me for surgery before even sending me to the lab for the nuclear test. He was that convinced. The test proved him right. The only thing I regret was that I felt bad enough that I didn't think to make any glowing in the dark jokes the day I was radioactive from the test.

So, six days later I was having my gall bladder out in an outpatient surgery. I couldn't believe how quick it was and how much better I felt after I had it removed. Recovery was better than I expected. I'm still on a low fat diet, trying to discover what I can safely eat. It hasn't been a radical change, because I've generally had a good diet. But it does mean I have to eat smaller, more frequent meals and have to do some advance planning. What's interesting is that I lost my taste for Diet Coke and other sodas (except root beer, oddly enough) and most fatty foods. They really don't taste good. I do have to make sure that I get enough protein, which can be a challenge but I make a lot of smoothies boosted with protein powder.

We really don't know why my gall bladder decided to bail on me. I don't have a lot of the risk factors for it, nobody in my family has had gall bladder issues. It was just one of those random things. Ultimately, though, everything is turning out okay.

Tomorrow, the conclusion of this tale, with some really good news that came out of this summer.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part 3

Something else died this summer. My beloved Mac. If you’ve read this blog for awhile, you’ll know I’ve had issues with my Mac, really the first time I’ve ever had a Mac act up and I’ve owned one since 1986.

This would make the fourth time in a year my Mac would have to go in for repairs. After the last time, I was told by the technician that if anything else happened, to let him know and he would make sure I got a replacement machine. So when the hard drive went out AGAIN I called Apple. (Note: normally I don’t buy extended warranties, but in this case, buying the three-year Apple Care warranty has been a very good investment. With all the beatings laptops are subject to, I think it’s practically a requirement).

While the technician on the phone couldn’t authorize a new machine, she referred me to Customer Relations. There I was able to convince them that being without my computer, which is my only way of making a living at this point, was extremely detrimental to my cash flow, and given how much time Apple had already had this computer, it was time to give me a new one. They agreed and within two days I had a brand new MacBook Pro. Top of the line. Now, my G4 Powerbook was three years old and they don’t make it anymore. So to give me a machine with the equivalent screen size (17”) and backlit keyboard, I had to get a brand new one. Needless to say, kudos to Apple for doing the right thing.

The downside was, even though I tried to back up everything as much as possible, I still lost some data. Mostly pictures as far as I can tell. The good news is, the newer, faster machine would come in handy in ways I couldn’t imagine at the time. Which I’ll talk about in Part 5. Even in the midst of something that was hugely frustrating, God was working in ways I couldn’t see.