People are sensitive about babies

June 19, 2014June 19, 201420 Comments

Did you know that? They are. And the sensitivity extends to kids in general.

I’m not one of those people who gets offended every time someone says, “You must have your hands full!” when I mention how many children I have. Why should I? They’re absolutely right.

bunnies What prompted this sudden outpouring of…um…incredulity? Well, a friend of mine shared a link to a Scary Mommy post on Facebook this morning. I read it, I laughed, and then I clicked on a related article on the same site called “10 Things Never to Say to a Mom Expecting Another Boy.” Also, the Day 12 prompt for Writing 101.

Anyway, back to the article at hand and my incredulity. Most of the things the author suggested you should never ask a mom expecting another boy are fairly harmless, in my opinion. Things like, “Were you trying for a girl?” Or, “Your husband must be SO excited!” I guess the reason those questions don’t bother me is because I was so desperate to have a girl (really, there’s no other word for it) and my husband was excited to be having a boy, and I will be the first person to say so, whether you asked or not.

I already had one boy and I wanted one of each, so my answer to the question, “Were you disappointed when you found out it wasn’t a girl?” is always…

Home at twelve

June 18, 2014Leave a comment

The Writing 101’s Day 11 challenge is to write about where you lived when you were twelve. I’ve covered the age of twelve, and revisiting my childhood home, in other posts, but this one is different. As I began thinking about my old house, lots of things came back to me, and I’ve tried to capture a few of them here.

SCAN0038 When I was twelve, I lived in a two-story red house on the corner of Pine Street and Main. The local Pioneer was across the street to the north, and we had a huge back yard. At least, I thought it was huge. Then again, I thought the house was huge, too. Trees filled the yard, and flower beds existed in various states of decay. They weren’t the only things in that state.

If I close my eyes, I can still see the white linoleum that was always dirty near the front door and the peeling wallpaper of the dining room. I can still see the sun glaring off the screen of our old RCA TV (’80s vintage, of course). I can still see the colorful patchwork of carpet hidden by all the crap that littered my room and the kitten posters on my seafoam green bedroom walls.

00000001 My mom hated that color – she wanted me to pick something a shade darker, but I loved it. It was better than the ugly shade of blue that matched my parents’ bedroom, and a heck of a lot better than the Pepto Bismol pink…

Happy food!

June 18, 2014June 18, 20143 Comments

download So for the Writing 101 Day Ten post, I’m supposed to write about my favorite food, and do it in my own voice. But everything I write is in my own voice, so what does that even mean? I mean, I have different voices, obviously – there’s the voice I use with my kids, the voice I use with my kids when they’re in trouble, the voice I use when I’m talking to other adults, the voice I write novels in (and that changes depending on the story), the voice I write blog posts in, the voice I write my diary in…

I guess I’m just going to have to pick one, aren’t I? 😀

Alrighty, then. I have about as many favorite foods as I have voices (apparently I have a lot of those), but the one that immediately comes to mind is pork chops and rice. I usually replace the pork chops with chicken breasts, though, which is also fantastic (maybe even better than the pork chops), and my dad would often substitute steaks. My mom used to make this dish, and I adored it. Couldn’t get enough.

But the rice is the best part. The recipe:

Next up on the Summer Reads Blog Tour is…

June 17, 2014June 25, 20141 Comment

Once again, I’ve got some great book recommendations to share with you. To find out more about the Summer Reads Blog Tour, check out Lisa L. Wiedmeier’s blog, original home of the following post.

Now, without further ado, here’s this week’s guest, Carrie Fetzer!

Summer Reads Blog Tour – Week Three

Welcome Carrie Fetzer!

This week it’s our beloved Carrie’s turn to share her favorite reads with you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have her come into my life and support me the way she has. Last November, I half jokingly put it out on the page that I needed a page administrator, and our lovely Carrie messaged me! Not only did she volunteer, but she’s run with it wholeheartedly.

She’s done an amazing job with keeping the conversation going, and filled a huge gap for me when I needed it most. This was supposed to just be a temporary position, but Carrie wanted to stay on! The best part of having her admin my page?

The legacy of words

June 13, 20144 Comments

One of the blogs I enjoy reading belongs to Icess Fernandez Rojas, and today she posted a letter to her readers. The following is an excerpt:

I took to writing the last scene of the latest Jennie Manning story on my typewriter. I like using it and wished I could use it more often. There’s something about the way the keys hit the page. There’s a connection to the words there, an authenticity that a computer screen can’t duplicate. I’m not sure that authenticity is the right word but it’s the right sentiment, the trueness of the experience of writing. This is what I’m referring to — the purposefulness of words (since there is no deleting or backspacing), the rhythm of the keys tied to the fingertips, then the arms, the shoulder, the neck, the brain. That delicious, intoxicating rhythm when the brain is practically drilling the story onto the blank page. This is something that a typewriter can do that a computer can’t. –Icess Fernandez Rojas

I love the way she describes the process of writing with a typewriter, especially as it so closely mirrors my own feelings about writing longhand. I write all my stories longhand, and the pencil is my writing tool of choice because I just can’t stand to have a page full of scribbles where I’ve made mistakes and I don’t have enough White-Out to get me through a whole project.

Plus, there’s only so much White-Out you can put on a page.

Anyway, if you haven’t checked out her site already, what the heck are you waiting for?

It’s a fabulous Photo Friday!

June 13, 2014August 22, 20144 Comments

Today’s theme being close-ups, this is one of my favorites:

100_0343

This is just outside my high school after Miss Tadpole’s spring concert. She was in kindergarten, Bubbles here was in preschool, and Seymour and I were three short months away from tying the knot. It was a happy time for me, and exciting. I think both emotions are captured in this picture.

Don’t forget to stop by Charnele’s blog to see what she has posted, and have a great weekend!

A look outside my window

June 11, 20143 Comments

IMG_20130718_134021 Today’s challenge was to go somewhere public and write a detailed report of what we see without using any adverbs. I’m not sure I succeeded on eliminating all my adverbs, but the following is what I can see through the front door of my office. It’s a pretty sight, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

As I sit at my desk, trying to avoid the mound of paperwork that needs filing, I can see a fraction of the courthouse square. Most of the parking spaces on the street sit empty as the day draws to a close; the courthouse has closed for business and its employees have all gone home, free from the shackles that still restrain me.

Brilliant sunshine gleams against a vivacious backdrop, blasting away the few clouds that litter the sky and casting charcoal shadows on the emerald grass. A woman down the block strolls the main drag, enjoying the warmth. Leaves flutter in the late spring breeze as it sends the flower baskets suspended from the streetlamps swinging.

A rusted-out delivery truck ambles past, searching for an address; the noise from its grumbling engine disturbs the stillness. A happy little bluebird sings a sweet song, but I can’t hear it over the engine’s roar; I only see its little beak open and close, open and close. But when the clock in the tower begins to chime the hour, the dings and dongs reach my tired ears, filling me with joy at the prospect of a quiet evening at home.

I’m a guest again!

June 11, 2014Leave a comment

Today I’m guest posting over at Don’t Delete Me about writing in general. Stop over and check it out and, while you’re there, have a look at some of J’s other posts. They’re all pretty great. 🙂

A chocolatey challenge

June 10, 201412 Comments

The Chocolate Bar Challenge is a blog tour in which participants choose up to eight of their favorite books and then pick the perfect chocolate to go with each of them. I was tagged by the lovely AFE Smith and since the only thing I like better than books or chocolate is books AND chocolate, this seemed like a fantastic idea.

Now, on to the deliciousness! In no particular order, of course. 🙂

First up, it’s my all-time favorite book, Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi. It’s set in Trenton during the Revolutionary War and follows Jemima, a staunch Patriot who can’t understand why her parents allow a Tory to tutor her. But things aren’t quite what they seem, and as the war takes an unexpected toll, she learns some hard lessons about freedom and responsibility. It’s a fantastic book, and I’ve read it so many times I can quote it at length.

I think the best chocolate to pair with a great comfort read like this (because it’s one of my favorite comfort reads) is a milk chocolate Dove bar. Smooth and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness…