Walking Butterfly

Do Sons Marry Their Moms?

2012-01-22T18:13:00.000-08:00

You know that old saying about how a son will marry someone like their mom and daughters will marry someone like their father? I am sure that there are very definite exceptions to that rule, especially if the original relationship was not a good one. Or if the personality of the son is very close to the mom's personality, then he may choose his opposite.

That is what I feel that my eldest son has done. He chose his opposite because he and I are alike. So that means that he married his dad! Ha! Don't tell him I said that! But it showed up again and again as they spent their last month in California living with us in our home. Sassy Bride's inner strength and confidence are just like Hubs, while Writer Son and I are the peacemaking, non-competitive ones in the family.

But, I do still have some of the same spunk that she has..............

Sassy Bride's response to FB comments that she made a spelling mistake
while sending road trip updates.

****

Rocker Son & Tattoo Girl were over this last week for dinner and as we sat down Rocker Son mentioned how sad the two empty chairs looked with his brother and bride not here anymore. (They moved to Texas from California on New Years Day and we miss them a lot.) So we took this pic and sent it to them on Facebook because we want them to feel bad, you know.

Hoping that your year of 2012 is turning out to be all you hoped for!

Mac Battery?

2012-01-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

My beloved MacBook Laptop has sadly become a desktop Mac instead because the battery needs to be replaced and refuses to stay charged. Bummer. So I am leashed!

Any thoughts and advice out there regarding battery life for laptops and the best way to extend life?

Is it good to allow the battery to be used up completely before recharging

or

Is it good to plug it in to the charger every night, need it or not?

What do you think?

Kingdom Of A Cat

2012-01-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is my view out the kitchen window every day this week. This neighborhood cat has perched himself/herself up on our fence to survey his kingdom I suppose. It's comical to watch his head dart from side to side as he tries to keep track of EVERY SINGLE moving thing within his eye view!

Recently there has been a drastic change in an aspect of Hubs that I thought was totally unchangeable. He works in a Home Depot store now and sees lots of pets come through with their owners because apparently HD is very pet-friendly. A few weeks ago he came home talking about a dog that looked into his eyes and it was the most intelligent animal he has ever connected with. He went on and on about the personality and cuteness of the dog in his checkout lane. It was an adorable Maltese like pictured below. :)

Our last pet was crotchety old Tony the cat who died this last year after many years of ruling the roost around here. Tony and Hubs were bitter enemies ever since Tony added a deep cut to Hubs nose one day.

I am pretty confused about this turn-around in the subject of pets. Hubs does not say he wants to get a puppy but he gets all gooney when a white fluffy dog shows up on TV or commercials! Who is this person?

I Kindled Him!!

2012-01-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Want to know what made my Christmas amazing this year? We have little...but I gave big. So fun!

Here's what I did:

Hubs & I have given up on buying gifts for one another because our money is OUR money and it felt silly to go out with OUR money and get Hubs something he probably would not spend $$ on because his most favorite thing in the world is to NOT spend $$. Seriously.

I love gifts so this led to Hubs happy system of buying me a little something ($10 perfume) each Christmas and me buying him a can of cashews or some such cheap gift. Very boring and totally UNSATISFACTORY to me.

Since bringing in a bit of money with my writing, it was in a separate account just for me. But that lasted about 3 months because when we both lost our jobs at the same time, my money became OUR money in order to survive.

BUT, this year a lovely and giggle-inducing thing happened. A few months before Christmas I received $100 in the mail from a very old friend who remembered my mom when we were all kids and she sent the $$ to me as a memorial to her. I may have written about it to you already. I was thrilled and could not wait to go buy myself some new clothes because that is always my fav way to spend money!

Another BUT....When I went shopping, I could not get excited about new clothes because I literally never go anywhere but walmart since the job ended. I write at home all day every day...in sweats! (Big life-style change!) I also have gained weight from all that sitting and clothes shopping is not fun when you dislike what you see in those huge mirrors.

So I came home with $100 still in my purse. Very weird.

Then I overheard Hubs telling the kids that the best way to go for an e-reader is the Kindle Fire, and then he rattled off all the reasons it is the best value for your $$. Hmm, it suddenly occurred to me that whenever I "lost" him at walmart, he was looking at the e-readers. Hmm.

Like I said, Hubs is a non-spender, economical, frugal, careful etc. There are other words but I won't use them. :)

I found that the Kindle Fire is $199. If I used my gift money, where would I get another $99 without him knowing and how could I get it on my own. Hmm.

My one stable writing job pays me $100 for 10 articles about every two weeks. Yep, I wrote my little fingers off and sent in 10 articles and asked my boss to please send the $$ to my DIL paypal account so Hubs would not know about it.

That was working fine...until...My boss sent an e-mail to OUR joint address asking why the pmt had not been accepted in the DIL account yet. OYE! Thankfully I was in a different room when Hubs saw that letter and called to me to ask what it was about because I had to LIE TO HIM. I cannot do that while looking at him! I yelled back that maybe I told her the wrong paypal account and I would look into it.

So I basically told him that we had another $100 on the way because now he knew I had written another batch for them. Make sense?

Now he is ready for that pmt to enter our account. Guess what I had to do? Yep, I had to rip out ANOTHER TEN articles on the sly and send them to her, asking to please contact me on my private email address! OMG! I did it!

I bought my Hubs a Kindle Fire for Christmas and TOTALLY SURPRISED HIM! You can tell by the pics that he had no clue and it really blew him away!

So fun! So very fun!

See that little smile........

.....it's because he still thinks I just used a kindle box.

Could she have?

What did you do?

How?

Giving me the finger...We had a rule!

So so fun!

The kids also got the finger, for helping me.

Scary face huh? <3

He loves it and uses it all the time!!!

Anybody Home?

2012-01-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Old Friends,

Feels like coming back home to be here at Walking Butterfly. Recently I have been methodically moving the posts here to my Word files because I was considering closing this blog down. So many reasons. Mainly I have been concentrating so much on writing for $$ and using my other blog- Recovering Church Lady, as a base for that. So I did not want ordinary-silly posts on there.

But OMGoodness! Not posting here has made me feel claustrophobic and muzzled! I guess I need both places to express myself fully without thinking about who in my circle of life is reading it. I fully intend for RCL to be a completely AUTHENTIC and honest expression of my beliefs and my daily life, but there is still a tendency to be too much aware of the readers that I know, and the possible magazine editors and prospective job opportunities. I want to give them that blog address as a sample of my devotional life writing and do not want them to go there when I have just written about wandering my home in my pajamas at 3 in the afternoon! Or details about my kids and their comings and goings.

Which brings me to an update (for you Rob-Bear!).

See that colorful gathering of lovely people on my couch up there? My eldest son and his feisty bride (2 on the right) have moved many, many miles away to Texas. Financially it is a much easier place to begin life together, actually just about ANY PLACE is better financially than here in CA!. Their jobs changed, their friends moved away and Sassy Bride has her whole family there. So there you go.

I don't like it but I agree with the move. They are already house-hunting!! Very happy for the big opportunities they are already finding there. Just don't remind me that I will be far away from future grandkids someday. :(

My younger son, Rocker Son has gone through a second and hopefully last surgery after a motorcycle accident in August. He and Tattoo Girl are doing well, having fun and still coming over at least once a week. We love having them here though it will be hard to get used to Writer Son and Sassy Bride being gone since New Year's Day.

Walking Butterfly is still alive and kicking. I am not going to worry about how few comments are left here. This is a lovely and warm place to speak my mind, practice my writing and share my heart. I am back.

Tattoo Me An Angel

2011-11-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

So did you survive Thanksgiving? Did your family drive you crazy or was the craziness just what you needed to end the year with? We had a great two days together, Hubs & I were the Oldies at our little gathering, interesting to move "up?" to that spot. Our grown sons and their Lovies were with us from very early Thanksgiving Day to cook, watch the parade, play games and laugh and of course eat. Then they all returned the next day to do it all over again! Loved it! Especially knowing that Writer Son and his Sassy Bride will be moving out of state by New Year's Day.

Today I finished the angel I am making for Rocker Son's girlfriend, Tattoo Girl. The white one is mine and the pink/black is for Tattoo Girl. You can't tell here, but I added some pink streaks in her hair and even a little heart tattoo to her wrist under her sleeve! I am pretty pleased with her!

I am pretty sure she will love it!

Picture Updates

2011-11-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

My fav Norman Rockwell picture. Possibly because I am crazy about kids Christmas Pageants.
While in the ministry I organized many of them & loved to keep it simple and relaxed.

One of the many Christmas trees my mom made. She taught ceramics in our garage
for many years as I was growing up.

So fun to add TWO new stockings to our mantel this year!
The "M" is for our new daughter-in-law and Harry Potter is for
Rocker Son's girlfriend, she a fanatic about HP! Ha!

Had fun yesterday playing with pretties around the house.
I love this.

Not a huge beer fan, but CHOCOLATE BEER? Yes please, and it was delish!

Rocker Son & Tattoo Girl last night as we decorated the
Christmas tree together and ate more turkey left-overs.

Rosemary Christmas!

2011-11-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

I decided to surprise Hubs by totally decorating the house for Christmas this last Sunday while he was gone at work for 9 hours. Well, it was to surprise him, but also because if I pulled the decorating stuff out while he was home he would have given me grief about waiting till after Thanksgiving like I usually do. But I did not want to wait this year, so I done did it anyway!

And so he arrives home that night with a sweet Rosemary Christmas Tree! Wow, that was a fun surprise by my sweetheart. If you are interested in my inner musings as i spent last Sunday getting my home all Christmased up go here.

I somehow managed to bake a ham and make mashed potatoes from scratch that night too even after burning my hand badly on the steam from the ham when I checked to see why the house was filling up with smoke! Oy!

Once again I had that "am I channeling my Mom" experience that seems to be happening a lot lately. My Mom was famous for wounding herself on holidays, as I have mentioned here before. From cutting her hand to burns or injured backs, it became a joke for the family. Not a very funny one I suppose, but you know how families get with one another. So there I am groaning and grimacing as I prepared the dinner with a bag of frozen peas wrapped around my burned hand and I felt like my mom. Very weird.

When Sassy Bride arrived that night for dinner she literally SQUEALED with joy at the decorations!! Made my heart happy! Heehee! We have both decided to enjoy this season to the hilt and she has helped me do that. A few weeks ago I was telling someone that I just wish the holidays would get over with because I could not imagine them with my Mom gone. (She passed away in May 2011) Yay for a wonderful daughter-in-law!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, hope yours is wonderful!

Yes, I Am Thinking About Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving!

2011-11-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

Isn't she wonderful? This angel has visited Walking Butterfly Blog before. I made her a few years ago and made them for all my neighbors the same year. I love her and I am super excited to make one for Sassy Bride and Tattoo Girl this year! So, so excited!

I am very tempted (and will probably give in) to add a tiny tattoo on the hand or shoulder of Tattoo Girl's. Wouldn't that be the best? Ha! If I could color the hair pink without ruining it I would try that too. For Sassy Bride's angel I am going to use some left over ribbon from the wedding!

These angels are super easy and do not involve any sewing because the dress is craft paper. I love that. Just a glue gun and go!

Any other fun Christmas crafts you guys are doing?

Hair

2011-11-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

I have honestly always loved Rocker Son's hair. Long or short it is much darker and thicker than my poor mousy brown fine hair. So maybe I was just jealous right? The only phase I disliked was when he wanted it to be as greasy as possible, and even when it was clean he added enough gunk so that it looked dirty. Could not understand that one!

I have to humbly admit that Rocker Son is one good looking guy no matter how he dresses or arranges his tresses. But oh my goodness, just look at what his cutie-pie girlfriend has done to him now! Adorable!!

Inspirational Women Magazine!

2011-11-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

Woo-hoo! I am in the November/December Issue of

Inspirational Women Magazine!

I feel truly honored to be among these great writers with

a high mission of unity among women

all over the world.

My small piece is on pages 68, 69

but I recommend you read the bigger

and richer articles also!

Yay me!

That Kid!

2011-11-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Joker & Harley Quinn aka Rocker Son & Tattoo Girl!

Hey Bloggy Friends

Thanks for asking about Rocker Son (25 yr) and his recuperation after getting hit by a car while going to work on his motorcycle in mid August. His femur has accepted the steel rod that runs down it and though it is still painful and he walks like an 80 year old man, we are happy that he is walking!

Due to a mess up with lack of insurance and a case worker that gave them bad advice, Rocker Son and his girlfriend could not get in to see any doctors for follow-up care of his leg and the cast on his arm. They finally removed the cast themselves and the arm and pinkie finger are fine.

But all along since the accident his other wrist had been slightly tender and swollen. The hospital said it was sprained and would go away on it's own. They x-rayed it and confirmed that.

Two weeks ago they had it looked at again because he could not bend his wrist like he used to. They discovered that he had sustained a very rare disease called Keinbocs Disease. It could not have been diagnosed earlier because the symptoms do not show themselves for several weeks.

Now according to the doctors, this injury is actually his MOST serious from the accident!! Argh! The impact of the trauma to his hand caused the blood to stop flowing to one of the large platelet type bones in his palm. Without blood and nutrients going to the bone, it has shrunk and is causing his hand to turn in on itself and could become fused to itself if he does not under go some experimental surgeries that involve removing several bones and replacing them. Again I say ARGH!

Yep, fun stuff. He is pretty much impossible to discourage, he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "whatever"! Crazy kid!
Thanks for your prayers and good thoughts!

Good News - Bad News

2011-10-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Good News, Bad News.

Good News - I have inherited my mom's hair, still no grey at 56!

Bad News - I have inherited my mom's hair, it's getting thinner and thinner.

But at least something is

Thin!

News!

2011-10-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! I did a Guest Post for a great Devotional Blog geared for women and it just went live tonight! Go over to 5 Minutes for Faith - Is Your God Smiling? If you like it then leave me some comment love ok? Thanx Gang!

I also have a new post at Recovering Church Lady that includes a picture of Tom Cruise! Yah I know how to get your attention! Hehe

Letter To Mom

2011-10-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, this one felt good to get written. Come on over to Recovering Church Lady and read a letter to my mom. Thanks friends!

2011-10-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here in my house that is totally silent other than a loud tick-tock from our inherited wall clock. I just kissed the Hubs good-bye before he roared off to work on his motorcycle. I always go stand at the front door as I watch him ride away for his hour long commute to work each day. I feel like June Cleaver.

I may be channeling her these days because I am a work at home writer now and I often have dinner ready when he gets home and even if he does not arrive home until 10pm, I try to make sure there is something for him to eat before bed. Who is this person? Ha!

I have sent out tons of blog posts that included these lines: "I never cook because I hate it and we eat out every day for lunch while at work so we just snack at dinner time." That was our pattern, our lifestyle once upon a time. But our pattern has changed into something completely different and still strange. Hubs works as a cashier in a store for minimum wage about 30 hours a week and I bring in about $100-$150 a week with small writing jobs while I try to get "the big one".

So I stand at the front door of our house which is still ours (yay!) and I am full of thanks for my life and my husband and kids. Sometimes the really loud ticking of our lovely pendulum clock gets on my nerves because I am not used to being home alone, so I put music on nice and loud as I clean the house and write my brains out. :)

I am especially excited this week because I have been invited to write Guest Blog Posts to two big blog-sites this next week and my mind is tumbling with ideas! These jobs do not pay, but they get me seen and known and it appears that networking and being seen is pretty important for a writer these days. I will give you links to the blogs when it happens.

Becoming a bit of a hermit was not what I expected with this new lifestyle though. My big outings are Walmart and my Tuesday nights with girlfriends. That's it! We don't always go to church on Sundays because Hubs works and I am still not used to going alone.

But yesterday I had lunch with a friend and former student and it was wonderful! As she questioned me on my writing goals and I got passionate about what I want to write about she kept saying, "Oh that would be a great chapter title!!" Ha! So I came home and made notes for my possible book that I dream about and fantasize over.

Who knows? Right now the clock is tick-tocking and reminding me that this blog post is not paying me anything and it is time to move on. I do not see blogging as wasted time though. It is a lovely place to sort my thoughts and connect with you, may cyber friends. I am thankful for you and I pray that this day will hold good promise for you as well.

Dear Blog, I've Done It Again!

2011-10-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Walking Butterfly blog,

I'm not sure you will be able to forgive me once again. I honestly meant to mend my ways and be true to you forever (but who knows what forever means). I do ask your forgiveness though because I'm not ready to give you up just yet.

Back in 2009 I stepped out on you and you took me back even though we went through a tough time after I neglected you badly. If you did not save the apology letter I wrote you back then, you can read it again HERE. I had just found a new love that occupied all of my time. But I came back to you, actually the three of us have been together now and it was working beautifully I thought!

But now I have fallen in with yet another, this time it is another blog and a need to earn some money. The other blog is hopefully going to lead to some money someday and it is where my true passion is these days. (I know, that must hurt, but it must be said.)

I will say dear Walking Butterfly Blog that you still have some very true and faithful friends out there that amaze me! They keep commenting even if I only show up here once a month or so. Rob Bear, Bouncin' Barb, Kim, Shawna, Empty Nester, Sheri, and of course my good friends the Diva, Mimi, Betty, and Cindy. Thank you all for sticking with us here. Officially you have many more "Followers" than my new blog, Recovering Church Lady, but very few of the people in your little box over there ever come see us anymore.

I am sorry for neglecting you. I still adore your custom made Header, it makes me smile every time I look at it! Can we agree not to give up just yet? I simply do not have as much time to use on something that may not lead to an income right now. That makes me sound terribly shallow, but 'tis the truth.

I will be back. I love you still and I believe that we still have a future together so don't give up on me ok?

You Know You Miss Me...

2011-10-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Gang! I finally got enough paid writing finished to be free to do the kind of scribbling I love to do! Come see...Honestly.

One Conversation

2011-10-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

One conversation can bring healing to the hurting heart.
Speaking words aloud that have been swirling in our heads for months.
My stomach was turning flip-flops as we drove to the little Tai restaurant.
If it was going to be all small-talk I was determined to move it to big talk!
It is way overdue. No one's fault.
Everyone's fault.

One hour moved into more than two hours.
With eyes brimming they said that no harm was meant,
and told us of the behind-the-scenes happenings
that were happening.

With eyes equally full we said that we knew that.
We had never stopped 'believing the best' about them.
Underneath the surface junk, we knew the hearts and
we never doubted.

Well, yes, we did doubt and we did stick our
little toes into the tempting pool of
bitterness.
But we hated how it felt and quickly
stepped away.

But oh, the freedom to look across that little
shiny black table and smile into loving eyes.
To give forgiveness and accept forgiveness.
So sweet, take a deep breath and let the shoulders fall.

One talk, one conversation.
So powerful and so releasing.
Thank you Father.

Rain Or Shine?

2011-10-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's that crazy time of year

when we need both

sun hats and umbrellas by the door.

Your Imagination Is A Gift

2011-09-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Imaginarian Fest has been canceled but SkyDor will be presented at The Mission, Vacaville CA in December 2011.
Thanx

Do you have a friend who pushes you to be more than you are? Who refuses to settle for good enough? Hubs and I have some very close friends who fit that description perfectly. We love them like family and are so thankful for the years of fun, silliness, tears, deep talks and wonderful worship times we have shared together.

B and B have ministered in the same large church that Hubs and I have been on staff with for many years. They have worked in different aspects of church-life but their hearts have always beat with a dream or vision of something much bigger, better and beyond the church building. You could almost see it in their eyes.....a little faraway sparkle of knowing that there is so much more than what we as a church have been able to see.

One piece of that vision is coming to pass very soon! B and B have long desired to see us use our amazing God-given IMAGINATION in new ways to glorify and delight The Father. The creative arts have blossomed in the church in recent years and then we have hit a wall and not known where to go next next with all of the colorful, inventive and unexpected beautiful results of our creativity.

WELCOME TO IMAGINARIAN FESTIVAL 2011 !

October 20-23, 2011

' "In the beginning God created..." and when He created us in His image, He gave us imagination so that we would create brilliant things - just as He does.

Imaginarian Festival is a gathering of Kingdom artists and art enthusiasts, focused on increasing our footprint and influence in the arts, entertainment and related areas of our culture. Our mission is to enrich the lives of those around us and transform our culture with the Kingdom of God. '

Here is what you will find at Imaginarian Festival:

Fresh revelation and impartation for your creative life.
Inspiration from Artists who are having an impact now.
Meet and network with others of like mind and passion.
Display and sell your art or artisan work to the general public in the Festival Art Show.
Experience SKYDOR - a concert in Story and Song, debuting at the festival. SkyDor is an original work by Bob Book which will be preformed by Bob and a band of musicians especially selected for this amazing event!

Artists who are interested in participating in Imaginarian Festival go HERE for more details.

Actually even if you are not an artist but care about the arts and learning to use your imagination for the Kingdom, you will be blown away by this brand new gathering in Vacaville California. God dropped this into the hearts of B and B and we are all looking forward in in high anticipation to what The Father is going to do! Come see how to register and all that you need to know right HERE.

The well known and gifted SPEAKERS have been specifically chosen for this creative weekend. They include Ruth Fazel, Kristene Mueller-DiMarco, Daniel Les, Deborah Crone, Graham Cooke, Bill Meyers, along with Bob Book, Dan McCollam and the Host, David Crone.

Enter the portal to a realm of the fantastic. What if the unbelievable was actually true? Have we been visited from dimensions beyond and can we visit there? The answer Lies through the Dor!

The debut performance of SkyDor and the CD/Short Story release are part of the Imaginarian Festival. Tickets for the 7:00 pm October 22^nd performance, are available in advance online at tmvv.org and at the door for $15.00.

For all info on Imaginarian Festival Registration cost , Artist Instructions or SkyDor Tickets go HERE.

See you there!

Perks of Being A Stay At Home Poor Person.......

2011-09-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

My lipstick is lasting a very long time due to being used lightly once a week. (I put on a bit of makeup when the kids come, don't want to scare them!)

Doing much less laundry. (Not leaving the house for days at a time. You do not want to know how grungy I can get!)

Eating healthier because have not been in a restaurant in 3 or 4 months. (We used to eat "out", fast food or nice restaurant every day because we both worked.)

House is cleaner. (I think better when I am doing something, so if I get a block while writing, I will get up and vacuum or empty the dishwasher.)

I am cooking more. (Though I always hated it, my DIL and sons girlfriend have inspired me to be creative and when you have time it's not so bad.)

Not spending money on gas because it cost money to go do anything away from home. No lunches with friends, shopping therapy etc. (Cabin fever is definitely a problem though!)

Bad news - Applied for food stamps......Bad news - We qualified! Ha! (But the name has been changed to CalFresh Card, to protect our self-esteem I think.)

I can talk aloud to my self all I want because I am alone most of the time. (Super thankful that Hubs is working though!!)

When my girlfriends call I can always chat because I am not in the car. (Illegal to use cell phones while driving here.)

Don't have to shave my legs or wear a bra. (Aren't you glad I told you that?)

Does not matter that I now cut my own hair because no one sees me anyway. (Wally mart does not count as "anyone".)

I Won a Prize!!

2011-09-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a Blog-Friend of ours threw an amazing and crazy Book Launch Cyber party and it was so fun and creative! I have never been to or seen such a thing and I am sure it is much easier (maybe!) to clean up after than a normal big splashy party like that!

I hoped to win and did win an E-book of Carol Wyer's brand new first book, 'Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines'
and I cannot wait to sit down and read it! I love Carol's Blog, 'Facing 50 With Humour! and you would too if you don't already!

Yay for winning!

I'm At A Book Launch Party!!

2011-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering where I am today, I am not here at my usual post. No, I am busy putting on my virtual party dress and getting ready for a rare event - an online house party! Yes, a proper online party to my Blogfriend Carol's debut novel Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines. This is her first published book and we all were part of her journey to this point so we get to celebrate with her! I love her blog, Facing 50 With Humour!

It should prove to be a fabulous opportunity to meet new bloggers and friends; a huge cyber gathering, so come on and join me. I can invite as many guests as I want and you only need to bring a sense of fun with you. You will be able to meet a variety of people from Blogland.

There will actually be virtual games (Have you ever tried 'Pin the Tail on the Virtual Donkey or virtual juggling?) , virtual food - you won't get fat on it! - and music of your choosing. There is a 'Mini Skirt' competition with a few surprises. There is also a 'Laughter Line' contest where you can vote for your fav joke - an event which should bring a smile to your face!

In various 'rooms' you will be able to mingle and 'chat' with other bloggers and 'A' list celebrities. There are even some Guests of Honour. There will be virtual dancing and of course, as it is a Book Launch Party, the opportunity to read some of Carol's very entertaining novel and even win a copy. (I hope to win a copy for myself!)

Have you read the book already? Then come over and leave a comment - it could win you a prize. Are you on Facebook? Then 'Like' Carol E Wyer's Page and answer the question 'What film/book or TV series makes you laugh the most?' It could win you a copy of the book!! There is also a raffle that may win me a Kindle!

Have you never heard of Carol? Well, come and join her, me and all of us. The party starts at midnight UK time Friday 16th 2011 and will go on all day. Come on you can skip off work for a while...

Family

2011-09-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Writer Son and Sassy Bride were here last night. I think they surprised me with a visit because they knew that Hubs was working until midnight and I just might have sounded a bit lonely when I called them earlier in the day.

I had an interesting little "aha!" moment while they were here. I have plans for this Friday night, but when they mentioned they may come over on Friday to do their laundry I nodded happily and said it would be fine.

I suddenly understood my own mother's ease at putting aside her plans if the "kids" were coming over.

There is just something lovely about being around my sons and their ladies. There is nothing I would rather do and I know that Hubs feels the same way. For his birthday coming up, he just wants them all over here for a fun meal.

Years ago I would have chosen my work or my work friends over them. I would. But this year I have learned a great deal about the value of family. Family is there with you through the garbage and tough times.

My family knows me. They know that silly stuff and the painful stuff and they love me still. They ask the right questions. They see beyond the "I'm fine." answer.

Cherish your family members while you have them my friends.