This morning I awoke to the news that the lovely Kina Diaz DeLeon has nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Needless to say, I was beyond flattered (as I am every time someone nominates me for something like this). As with all things, there are some rules involved, and here they are: Continue reading
After a weekend spent mostly offline, I have finally almost caught up with everything that happened online over the weekend. I still have a ton of reading to catch up on, but other than that, I think I’ve managed to update myself on all things social. Maybe.
Zzzz.
I seem to be suffering from some serious sleep deprivation, though, as I can barely keep my eyes open. I barricaded myself in my room over the weekend with the a/c, my writing supplies, no internet, and plenty of caffeine so that I could get some work done on The Lokana Chronicles. My wonderful Seymour kindly took care of Cricket and Thumper and left me alone for the better part of 48 hours, but sadly, I didn’t accomplish nearly as much as I wanted. I made lots of progress, I just didn’t meet my goal, which was admittedly steep.
But! I feel like the progress I did make will vastly improve the story and it really felt wonderful to be writing again. Aside from blogging, I haven’t done much writing lately and I’ve missed it. It was mentally exhausting trying to figure out how to flesh out my story without making it seem like I was just throwing in a lot of filler, but the results are worth it, in my humble opinion (at least, I hope so).
And now, I must be getting back to the grindstone. My posts may be a bit more sporadic over the next couple of weeks; between revising The Lokana Chronicles and preparing for our next family camping adventure (coming this weekend to a campground near you!), I will be offline quite a bit for the next little while. But don’t worry – I’ll make sure to fill you in on all the adventures we have, as I’m sure there will be plenty!
Have a great week!
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
You know, I’ve had something brewing in the back of my mind for quite a while now as a blog topic and some of the posts I’ve been reading lately on T.L. Tyson’s blog have more or less cemented the idea in my head. However, I’m not sure it’s fully fermented yet and at any rate, I received an email over my lunch break that pretty much blew said idea sky-high. Any thoughts I might have otherwise entertained posting about today were blown to smithereens when I read the following words:
…I’d love to see the whole thing…
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So today’s photo post is all about the weekend! I went to my cousin’s wedding this weekend and it was beautiful. The church was gorgeous, everyone was dressed to the nines, and the reception was lovely. My uncle (the groom’s father) is a beekeeper and made the unity candles that were used during the service in addition to providing the party favors for the reception – miniature jars of honey! Yum yum. 🙂 The wedding featured three officiants: Rev. Ramona Bouzard from Wartburg College, David and Laura’s alma mater (I also went there for a year – go Knights!); the minister from the church they got married in whose name escapes me at the moment; and Laura’s father, Randy. Randy performed the vows portion of the ceremony and when Laura’s voice broke after the first line, he said, “You don’t have to cry just because I am!” That was my favorite part of the whole service because it was so sweet.
However, I’m so tired that I can’t seem to type (and I’ve been trying to since I sat down to write this post yesterday). So instead of me blathering on about how hard it was to watch my cousin marry the woman of his dreams because he’s really more like my kid brother than my cousin, I think I’ll just let you all have a look-see at some of the pretty, pretty pictures captured by Heather Rissler Botine.
Hope everyone has a happy Fourth of July tomorrow! Stay safe, wherever you are!
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
And now, an excerpt from “Spinsters Abroad,” the first chapter of Love at the Speed of Email:
I don’t feel ready for kids yet. I don’t have that powerful soul-deep hunger to be a mother that I hear some of my girlfriends talk about. I’m not sure I ever will. But I am starting to catch myself wondering sometimes, in a much more abstract fashion, whether I’m going to miss out altogether on those beauties and struggles peculiar to parenthood or on learning how to be genuinely vulnerable in a way I suspect that only the bond of marriage allows. And whether, if I do, I’ll wake up in fifteen years and still believe that it was worth it – this choice that I have made again and again throughout my twenties to pursue adventure and novelty and helping people in faraway lands rather than stability and continuity and helping people in a land I claim as mine.
These are melancholy moments. These are days when I wake up and wonder whether I wouldn’t perhaps feel happier, more fulfilled or less restless on a radically different path. When I would really like to come home to someone who’s vowed to be interested in how my day was. When I just want someone to bring me coffee in bed or rub my shoulders uninvited.
Yet, right alongside these wonderings that sometimes dead-end in dying alone at ninety lie other wonderings, other fears.
After a nomadic life that has largely been defined by coming and (always, inevitably) going, am I even capable of the sort of commitment demanded by marriage and children and a place called home?
I touched on this confused tangle of longings recently with a girlfriend for whom I was a bridesmaid a decade ago. Jane is now living on a verdant pecan farm in Australia ten miles from my parents’ place, complete with a sweet prince of a husband, two little girls, a dog, two cats, a horse, and a veggie garden.
“You know, I want your life sometimes,” I confessed near the end of our conversation.
Jane laughed. “My brain is turning to mush with no one but the kids to talk to all day, and when you say that you spent – Eloise, I told you to stay at the table while you finish your milk! Sit back down please – when you say that you spent last week in Boston at a conference and you’re off to New York next week, I want your life.”
-pgs. 24-25, “Spinsters Abroad,” Love at the Speed of Email by Lisa McKay
Photo courtesy of Lisa McKay
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
Love at the Speed of Email is the story of old-fashioned courtship made possible by modern technology – the tale of two people separated by the Pacific Ocean who build a long-distance relationship entirely via email. Along the way, the narrator – a global nomad who has spent her life as the transient resident of eight different countries – must confront troubling questions about where home really is and what it means to commit to a person, a place, or a career.
Lisa looks as if she has it made. She has turned her nomadic childhood and forensic psychology training into a successful career as a stress management trainer for humanitarian aid workers. She lives in Los Angeles, travels the world, and her first novel has just been published to some acclaim. But as she turns 31, Lisa realizes that she is still single, constantly on airplanes, and increasingly wondering where home is and what it really means to commit to a person, place, or career. When an intriguing stranger living on the other side of the world emails her out of the blue, she must decide whether she will risk trying to answer those questions. Her decision will change her life.
Lisa McKay is a psychologist who specializes in stress, trauma, and resilience. She currently lives in Laos. Love at the Speed of Email is her second book. To learn more, visit www.lisamckaywriting.com.
For more fun with this fantastic author, stop back tomorrow for Day Two of this special four-day event!
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
That sound you just heard? You know, the one that sounded like a dead body being dumped from a second story window? That’s the sound of me crashing after Cricket’s birthday party. The coffee I had with my milk and sugar this morning wore off sometime around 11:30 a.m. and zzzzzzz…
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
Between preparing for Cricket’s birthday party and participating in the follow party hosted by Charlotte Castle on Facebook yesterday, I’m feeling a bit zombified today. The follow party was great fun – I’ve made some new friends, gained some new followers, and had some great conversations. But this zombie feeling isn’t likely to let up soon – Cricket’s party is tomorrow and I still have lots to do yet. I’m taking a break for now, though. I need a good nap.
I’m still struggling to believe that come Monday, Cricket will be two years old. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital, all excited and filled with joy at the prospect of the new life that was ours to mold. I must admit, my favorite part of having kids with Seymour (namely, Cricket and Thumper) is that we don’t have to share them with anyone else (Tadpole and Tomcat each come from previous marriages and, while we normally get along pretty well with our exes, there are always times when things don’t go the way we would like them to go or when we don’t get to have the kids when we would like to have them because they’re with their other parents – it’s just part of being divorced). For instance, Tomcat and Tadpole are with their other parents this weekend and as far as I know will not be able to come to Cricket’s party tomorrow. It’s a disappointment, but it comes with the territory when you’re a divorced parent. That’s just the way life goes.
Anyway, my boys are getting so big that it’s hard to believe. In just over a month I’ll be doing all this again in preparation for Thumper’s first birthday! To be honest, I’m just glad he’s made it to his birthday because when he was born, we weren’t sure he would. His birth was vastly different from his brother’s – instead of a joyful event full of smiles and visitors, it was an anxiety-ridden event full of worry and panic. It all seems like such a long time ago, but at the same time, it feels like only yesterday. It’s funny how time pulls that off.
And now, to nap. Don’t forget to stop back Monday, when I’ll be kicking off four days of posts featuring Lisa McKay and her latest book, Love at the Speed of Email! You won’t want to miss it!
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
It’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Why the heck can’t it be five o’clock here? I just want to go home and sit in my lovely air-conditioned living room and relax with my guys. *sigh*
Also, check out The Page Turner! It’s a super cool blog run by a great gal and one of yesterday’s posts featured The Lokana Chronicles! Needless to say, I was pretty stoked. Be sure to check out the pages 105 Tips for Writers and A Page Turner for a look at the awesome Page Turner software. The software isn’t live yet, but it sounds like they hope to start beta testing pretty soon. I personally can’t wait to start playing around with it.
And now, I think I’ll try to rest my poor sun-fried brain. It’s another scorcher out there today and another one of my kids has another ballgame tonight. Tadpole played a doubleheader last night (won one, lost one) and Tomcat has a game tonight (not a doubleheader, thank goodness). I missed out last night because it was too hot for Cricket and Thumper to be outside and I think I’m going to miss out tonight, too, because it’s actually hotter today than yesterday (mid-nineties for temps, heat indices in the lower triple digits, humidity levels approaching 100% – yesterday was pretty similar, but with 30-40 mph winds all day long on top of all that). Blargh.
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
Watch this space! Something special this way comes. The week of June 25, I’ll be featuring posts related to the release of a new book, Love at the Speed of Email by the very talented Lisa McKay. I’ve read the first chapter, “Spinsters Abroad,” which is available here, and was thoroughly entertained. But don’t take my word for it; check out what others had to say:
“Love at the Speed of Email is part grand romance, part travel memoir, and part essay on life’s most precious gifts. Lisa McKay is a phenomenal writer; clever and comedic, poignant and pitch-perfect. You will love this love story.” -Susan Meissner, award-winning author of The Shape of Mercy and A Sound Among the Trees
“Love at the Speed of Email, Lisa McKay’s engrossing memoir about life and love and home, is a wild ride that spans the globe. At turns funny, contemplative, and romantic, Lisa’s story resonated on many different levels and kept me eagerly turning pages, hoping for a happily-ever-after ending to this modern day fairy tale. I can’t recommend this extraordinary book highly enough!” -Nicole Baart, bestselling author of Far From Here and After the Leaves Fall
“A travel memoir with a deep soul, Love at the Speed of Email takes us takes us around the world but always brings us back to the heart of the matter: humanity’s longing for place, purpose, faith. Lisa McKay’s seamless storytelling helps us find ourselves in every corner of her globetrotting and even learn a little about love along the way. A true pleasure for the journeyer in all of us!” -Leeana Tankersley, author of Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places
So don’t forget to stop back the week of June 25 to find out more about this exciting new book and this fantastic author! I guarantee you won’t want to miss this great event!
(c) 2012. All rights reserved.
Suddenly they all died. The end. 