I won!

I want to thank the academy! I won Josi Kilpack's book contest! She has a new book, newly published! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Let me just fill you all in on something. It takes A LOT of work, time, research, more time, back aches, more time, carpal tunnel and more time to get a book on the shelves! For those of you who have never written a book, THIS IS HUGE!!!!!! (Yes, I am aware I am using too many exclamation points!)

You go girl! I am so happy for you but especially happy for me! he he. I love a good contest and I needed something fun to read! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

I'm sick!

I'm sick! I hate being sick! It completely disrupts my life. I feel tired, achy, and groggy from drugs. I don't sleep well, and I'm ornery. I guess I should count my blessings as this the the first time I have been sick this season. (that I can remember anyway).

So, I can't work out or go anywhere or do anything fun, but write. Which is okay I guess. I wrote about 5,000 words yesterday. My thirteen year old was also home sick from school. He was amazed how much time it takes to do research for scenes in my book. There are things I just don't know. Thank heavens for the internet.

Yesterday, I spent a while on utube watching foals being born. I have a scene in my book where I describe this wonderful event, but I wanted to have it perfect. Jake watched with me. I loved it, he thought it looked horrible. I think it was good for him. Anyway, the scene in my book turned out great

So, today I still feel like crap. I don't know if I'll take so much time writing but who knows. I think right now, I want to lay down and feel sorry for myself.

Old friends

The coolest thing happened yesterday. There was a writing class at the library last night and I don't usually get to go since it's on the same night as boy scouts. My hubby and oldest son go every Tuesday.

So, there was no scouts last night. I got to go the the Stephen King discussion on the book he wrote on writing. I was so excited because I really wanted to go to this particular class.

Well, there was this guy there who had never come before. He looked vaguely familiar. He told us his first name, then we began a great discussion. There were only eight of us so it was a fun, small class. A little ways into our talking, I asked him his last name. He told us and true to my silly nature, I say, "Shut up! Brock Cheny! I can't believe it!" I got up and hugged him. I had to tell him my maiden name because he didn't recognize me either! We had been good friends in high school but haven't seen eachother for over twenty years! TWENTY YEARS! It was so cool! I was so glad I went! It was wonderful to catch up. He was one of those friends who I just loved, like a brother, ya know? So cool.

Anyway, it made my night. Now I wish I would have worn make up! He did say I look like Meryl Streep though, so I'll take that as a compliment. I have actually connected with quite a few old high school frinds lately through facebook. Love that!

No rest for the weary

I've noticed a trend happening. The more I write, the messier my house is! Dang! I just have more important things to do than clean house.

I love to tease my hubby when he comes home. I say, "So, what are you making me for dinner?" He'll give me a funny look, then I say, "Hey, I have worked hard all day writing a fabulous story! I'm starved!" He laughs and we both wonder what to feed our five starving children.

So, I've had to make rules for myself. I can't write until I do at least two chores. I also have to do a bit of plumbing paperwork. I hate that part. My poor hubby comes to me--almost on a daily basis--to point out some mistake I've made on the plumbing stuff. I have informed him that he could hire a professional if he likes. I have writing to do! =)

It's a good thing he has a good sense of humor.

I also count myself blessed that I have four kids big enough to help. My thirteen year old rolls his eyes and says, "You're not working. You LIKE to be on the computer." That is true, but I hope to have money coming in one of these days because of the time I spend at the computer. I guess he thinks if it's work, you have to hate it. What does that say about the way I've raised him? I've ruined my children! =) I think I should start saving for their therapy instead of college.

So, off I go to do a couple of chores since I have obviously sat down at the computer before my allotted time! Dang! Oh well, no rest for the weary.

Pressure!

I did it! I finally submitted my three "First" Chapters! Yikes! It was so scary! Every time I read through them, I kept finding things to change. I figured if I didn't submit them quick, there would be nothing left!!!!

I hope it worked, I hoped they all went, and I hope they know who submitted them! I keep thinking I made mistakes or something, but I guess it's all over now. Now I just wait and see.

I keep wondering if I submitted the stories in the right order. I'm sure I did but I keep wondering! Are they good enough to win? Did I catch all the mistakes? Did others who read them catch the mistakes? Please of please, let them be perfect!!!!! ARGGGGG! I can't take the pressure!!!

TGIF

Hallelujah for Fridays! I love Friday. I need Friday. One of the things I like is knowing that the hard stuff if over for the week.

I love that Bry and I have a standing appointment on Friday nights. We never change that. At least most of the time. If we do have to change for some reason, we go out on Saturday instead. It's so easy now that we have a live in babysitter.

We pay Jake so he knows we value his time, but this also motivates him to do better. He gets a dollar tip if everyone got along and another dollar tip if the house is clean. I love it and he does a great job. He doesn't get paid as much as a regular babysitter would get, but something is better than nothing!

This morning, a friend of mine came over and we edited each others "first Chapters" for a writing contest we're entering. Every time I read mine, I see things that would be better a different way. Man, oh man. When do you stop editing? That is the hardest thing. How do you know when it's your "best"?

Oh well. I guess I'll find out someday! Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

What a life!

I just watched the inauguration of President Obama. I loved it! I cried even! I hope and pray he is the one to make great things happen. I pray for the safety of his family and hope his time in the White House will be a wonderful memory when it's over.

So, I watched this little video that my sister sent me in an email. I SOBBED clear through it. It makes depression, being over weight, tired, sad, and feeling sorry for myself seem extremely shallow. Please watch it. Nick.

Now to something else fun. Last night I went with Lisa to the Depot, at the Gateway to see OAR. They are a rock band who I'd never heard of. I knew only one of their songs and I can't even tell you what it's called. Lisa had tickets so off we went.

First off, we stopped to get our hair done at the best Salon I have ever been to. The "Garden" in Bountiful. Seriously, it's amazing. We both got trims and styles and felt like movie stars by the end. My hair turned out awesome! So did Lisa's. Sorry, no pics available at this time! lol

Then we ate at Baccio's at the Gateway, one of my favorite Italian restaurants. Toward the end of our time there, in walked three of my sisters and three of my neices, plus a few other women. They'd had a girls night out to go see "Bride Wars," then out to eat. How fun to run into my family! I had been invited to their fun little shin dig but had plans of my own, obviously.

So, down the street we walked to the Depot. We get to the entrance and are asked for our tickets and ID. Lisa had forgotten her ID but we didn't worry about it as we are both perfectly aware that neither of us has a problem looking our age. (Not because we want to though)
They wouldn't let her in! They had to go get the manager and make a big deal out of it. We told them she has a son who is twently one but I guess they didn't believe us! Long story short, they let us in.

So inside we go. Everyone is drinking of course, and there are no seats. Most people were standing, watching the band. I kept thinking that any minute, someone would spill their stinky beer on me. It was remarkable, I have to say, that the place had no smell of alcohol at all. I was surprised. We looked at eachother and couldn't help but laugh. We had to be the oldest people there!

Our tired feet begged for release, so we headed upstairs to see if we could be lucky enough to find a chair. We found people our age there, although we were the only ones not drinking. We wound our way to the front, right over the stage, on the side. There were a bunch of stools lined up by the wall with no behinds sitting in them, so we snatched our chance. We couldn't see the band, as there were a group of people in front of us at the balcony, doing their thing. But that was okay.

We bought ourselves diet Coke with lime, pulled another stool in front of us for our feet, sat back and bobbed to the music.

The show in front of us became increasingly hilarious. The more the people drank, the wilder they danced. Lisa and I had a blast just people watching. There are some strange people out there, folks, and most of them were in the Depot last night!

All in all. It was very fun, it made us feel very old, but we laughed alot. We made it home, unmolested, by midnight. Woo hoo for girls night out!

The president in my house

I just heard something funny and had to share!

We were just watching TV and an advertisement came of for some restaurant, I can't remember which one. So, there is this guy going from one restaurant to another telling the waiters what he wants to eat and how much he wants to pay for it. Each waiter gives a funny response.

The last waiter happens to be black. He tells the guy that he can't have what he wants for that price.

So my son, Gabe, who's four, turns to me and says, "That Barack Obama guy won't give him any dinner."

I busted up laughing. I thought it was so cute. Now all black men are Barack Obama. lol

What a night

So, Lisa invited me to go see that group that sings the song where it says, "I turn the car around." I don't know the name of the group or the name of that song, but I said yes!

It doesn't start until 8:00pm on Monday night. Let me just say, I am NOT a night person. In fact, I am frequently in bed by eight, watching a relaxing show on TV before I turn it off for the night.

Bry took me to Maddox last night, where we spent entirely too much money, but we enjoyed an okay meal. The thing was, we went late. It was 8:30pm when we left the restaurant. I was absolutely dead. It felt like midnight. The point is, I'm worried about staying awake. Not to mention the drive home. Lisa, your on your own. I'm nightblind anyway.

Wyatt has a new thing he does. He uses his bottom teeth to pry open things like shampoo, soap and what ever else he can get his hands on. Last night, sitting right next to me, he somehow got a bottle of baby powder down, pried it open and proceeded to dump it all into his open mouth.

He began screaming and choking. It scared me to death. I had been right there, sitting on the bathroom counter plucking my unibrow when it happened. I hopped of the counter, grabbed Wyatt, began scraping powder out of his mouth, rinsed his mouth with water, then called poison control.

That guy said that it wasn't toxic but to watch him. He said Wyatt could throw up or keep coughing. Well, Wyatt didn't keep crying or caughing, and he never threw up. He did great. I fed him some dinner and he went about his evening as usual. His diapers, since then are another story.

How scary. Scary because of how fast it all happened. And to think I was right there "watching" him. But, all's well that ends well, right?

So, have a good day folks, and don't forget to "watch" your children. he he

Touching video

My sister sent me this link in an email. It's about women, about us. It maked me cry, so I thought I'd pass it on to all of you out there who might need a good cry too! I sure love you all. Thanks for always being there for me!


For Women

Good book

I'm reading a new book. It's by Julie Wright. As she is a new cyber acquaintance/friend, I thought I'd check out her work.

During my reading, what started out as semi-anylizing, soon turned to complete involvement in the story. I hate to lay it down.

I have been reading it in the tub, while I relax after my work outs (for the last few days). I find myself saying "one more chapter," while my four year old watches another half hour of Max & Ruby!

It is a wonderful story I feel immersed in. I find myself thinking about it throughout my day. I checked out this particular story because it was the only one on the book mobile at the time. Now, I want find to find all of Julie's books. Hope they're all this good! he he.

Anyway, take a gander at this story. You'll love it.

For any of you who think I'm just trying to brown nose, well, all I have to say is "nanner nanner!"

Starving

My little four year old has Reactive Detachment Disorder. It's been tough, and I especially have a hard time. He was a very hard baby, but has grown into an adorable little boy. He still does things that drive me insane, but he is very cute.

One of the things he struggles with is food. As he has gotten older, it has gotten worse. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I get mad. He's constantly coming to me asking me "Why does Heidi get an apple?" Why does Seth get cheese?" etc..... At first, I would just say, "Because they wanted it. If you want it too, just ask." But he doesn't get it. He still comes to me multiple times during the day asking why so and so gets this or that. ARGGGGG!

So, I thought, "Let's try something different." I put out a plate in the morning with a large orange, an apple, a big pile of grapes and a large handful of corn chips. I told him, "These are for you! You can have anything on this plate whenever you want, all day long. Don't eat it all at once."

Can you guess what happened? Yep. He started eating at 9:30 am and by ten, it was all gone. As he was eating, I lectured him about saving some for later, and that he wasn't getting anymore. These were his snacks for the whole day. It didn't matter. (and before you wonder, yes, he gets three meals a day besides snacks)

Of course, at about 2 or 3 pm he came in asking for a snack. I told him "no." That he'd already eaten ALL his snacks. "Tomorrow, you should save some."

I felt bad, but I want him to learn a lesson here. He acts like he's always starving. Like he'll never have another meal. We did "play therapy" during the summer but it didn't make a dent in the food side of things. I hope it gets better. We'll try again tomorrow.

My nominees

Lisa gave me a very sweet award! This is so appreciated and makes me feel great of course. Lisa and I have been friends for quite a while and I would have to say, I love her blog too. She doesn't write often enough for me though! Sure love you!

So, I am supposed to nominate others for this same award. So here we go.

Yolanda has become one of my dearest friends. I LOVE her blog and I would have to same the same for her that I said about Lisa. She doesn't post nearly enough! She is a strong woman who loves her family and is dedicated to her responsibilities. I love you, girl.

Sundial Josi has quickly become one of my favorites, who I check everyday. I love her posts, I love her writing. She has published like 8 or 9 novels and they are wonderful. I first started reading her books to see how good she really was. What I found were page turners that I couldn't put down. I really love her, and I admire her grit. True grit, girl. True grit. Love you.

Tash is wonderful and had the audacity to move away from me. She started her blog a while ago, but has just started keeping it up. It helps us stay in touch as I miss her dearly. She has cost me quite a bit of money in antidepressants! Although I do save money with shopping. I never go anymore! I miss you girl! I love you even more and will never forgive you for leaving!

Writing on the wall is my favorite blog about writing. I especially love Josi and Julie Wright. Actually, I really like all their posts. There are 4 or 5 published writers who post. Julie and Josi comment on my blog thought, so they are a little more special! They are wonderful! I take everything they say, plaster it in my brain and never forget it! I check this blog often. Sure love you guys.

So, there we are. There are some others I truly love too but I have to go or Gabe wont get lunch before school. They are....Jeri, Holly, Bozark, Charlotte and others. Love you all. Have a great day!

Oh, the pain!

Have you ever had a rib go out of alignment? Let me just say, the agony equals labor, and I ain't a kiddin.

I picked up a basket of clean laundry (granted, it was pretty dang full) and put it on my bed. It was sudden, like a knife in my back. I still don't know what I did that brought it on. Luckily, through past trials and errors, I know my body well. I've had a rib out of alignment before.

Most people don't even know it's possible, or that it's even happened to them. They think they've just thrown their back out. Severely!

So, I made an appointment with my chiropractor, took an 800mg ibuprofin pill, and laid down to relax on a nice soft bag of frozen vegetables. Nirvana.

What a night

I went to a wrestling match tonight for Jake. I missed my writing group to be there because I wanted him to know that he comes first.

I sat there for over an hour with four tired, complain/screaming children, on bleachers, surrounded by strange smelling people and an ornery baby. Jake was last on the list. LAST!!! Then, when it came to his turn, there was no one to wrestle! The other team hadn't brought enough kids and they had all wrestled two or three times already.

So, for Jake to have a turn, he had to wrestle a kid on his own team. I really tried to be supportive and happy, but deep down, way inside, I was pissed! (pardon my french)

I had missed my writing class for this! Ya, ya, I know. It was worth it for Jake blah blah blah. I adore my son, and I hope he knows that, but man!!!

By the time we came home, I was ready to sell my children on ebay! Bedtime was moved up to 7:oo and they'd better stay there! lol

Thank heavens my Wellbutrin XL came in the mail today.

A new idea!

I just had a Stephanie Meyer moment! There is a time in the morning where I sleep very light. I usually have vivid dreams during this short period. I have always loved to sleep as I always have vivid dreams. It's like going to the movies for free, and I am usually the star. lol

So, I woke up at 7:00am, and thought, "Man, that was a really good dream. It would make a great book." I continued to lay there like an idiot, then had a "I could 'a had a V8" moment. Duh! I jumped out of bed, turned on the computer, and wrote it down.

In less than a half hour, I had written four pages. This has never happened to me before, where I had a dream good enough that I could conceive of developing it into a plot line with real potential.

I won't tell you what it was about, not that I think anyone would steal my idea, (of course not, that never happens) but because I want to see if it turns out as good as I think it will.

I love that feeling you get when a light bulb flashes on, and you come out with a great idea. It makes you feel like a genius! Anyway, the title I have for the story now is "The Adoption". Now, if it gets published, you'll all know you were there the morning it was born!

Oh bother!

I spent New Years Eve at my sister's home. I was reluctant to go since they'd had the flu going around their home a few days before. In fact, my whole family, (Dad, sisters and all their kids) had had it. But everyone had been well for the last 2 to 3 days. So I deemed it safe and off we went.

We had a blast, of course.

Last night, Wyatt started crying at two in the morning. He had thrown up in his bed and was soaking wet. Bry put him in the tub and I got new jammies out. I put him in bed with me where he tossed and turned until 5am. I had sent Bry out at around 2:30 so he could sleep longer as he had to work all day today.

Finally, at 7:00am, I couldn't take it anymore. Wyatt never had gone to sleep, but had tossed and turned for hours. I had spent that time watching "Rocky" movies, one after another, constantly pulling Wyatt away from the edge of the bed.

I handed him off to Bry. I never did go to sleep though, because he screamed for two hours more. We finally figured out that he was dying of thirst, (duh) so we gave him some sprite, which he inhaled like a dying man.

He threw up a couple of more times during the day,but has since done a little better. Then at abound 4 or 5pm, Gabe started throwing up too. I have a bad feeling about this. My sister told me that no one was immune at her house. They'd even had flu shots and still all got sick.

Well, dang. Something to look forward to for the weekend.