Gnome de Plume

Brenda Novak's For the Cure of Juvenile Diabetes Auction

2013-05-17T06:41:00.000-05:00

Started at the beginning of May and will run to May 31. I've been remiss about posting this, but it was in the tabs of my blog header. There are tons of items/vacations/writerly/non-writerly/crafty/non-crafty/books stuff to bid on. Of course, I've donated to the cause again this year. Today is a one day auction for my truffle candies. At 6:30 AM, they already are going for $23. Check the

Parenting 101 -- Coffee drinking or NOT

2013-05-16T06:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my kidlet wanted to drink a cup of coffee. She's 12 and has been fighting allergies. I suggested taking a Claritin instead. She refused. "Why?" I asked. "Because you said the coconut one tasted good." Like that's a good reason to start drinking coffee. I do prefer the Donut Shop Coconut Mocha one over the Emeril's Jamaica Me Crazy, but the only reason she wants to try coffee is

Weighty Wednesday -- WW 360 concept

2013-05-15T06:50:00.001-05:00

I tried. Really, I did. I tried to like the concept of the 360 program from Weight Watchers. But I don't like it. Not at all. The idea behind the 360 part of the program--as I understand it--is to work on an area of your life for a month to make that part of your life--to bring it full circle, if you will. To me, it's like beating a dead horse. Up until January--when this program started--

Last Week of School

2013-05-14T06:08:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that this is the last week of school before finals next week. This second semester has flown by. This will be a mildly crazy week followed by a totally whack-a-doodle week next week. In other words, my schedule of normalcy is gone with the wind. I have to admit that I feel sorry for the poor kidlet. She has two quizzes and one test today. She was having a such

Post Mom's Day Lagniappe

2013-05-13T06:56:00.000-05:00

I hope every mom out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Yes, this includes the moms to furbabies, too. I have to admit that I was seriously spoiled this last weekend, starting with Friday night. Well, I did make the parts of the pizza (dough and sauce), but the hubs put it together for a Meatsa-meatsa type of pizza! We watched Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It was actually more interesting

Springtime at the Golla Retreat

2013-05-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

Originally, I intended to post a smoothie recipe today. But that's not happening. Why? Because it looked like day old guacamole and tasted like crap. Sorry, but I won't do that to y'all. The picture looked pretty, which was why I made it to begin with. But they lied . . . and used a decoy picture. Not nice, people, not nice! So here a few pictures from my late-blooming garden. We're about 4-

Isn't Life Interesting?

2013-05-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Two days ago, I received a rejection on a partial manuscript from an agent. It was expected. And I thought I would have my typical heart dropping reaction, but I didn't. I had one of those 'huh?' moments. Not the slap-you-across-the-back-of-the-head "Ah-Ha" moments, or even the I-finally-GET-it moments, but the calm, reflective "huh?". In the matter of minutes, I realize I had finally come

Weighty Wednesday -- Prodigal returns to meetings

2013-05-08T06:36:00.000-05:00

Over the last month or so, I've missed my Weight Watchers meetings. I've missed them more ways than one. Physically, been skipping them, and figuratively, I've missed the friendships, camaraderie, support, and my totally AWESOME leader, Julie. Sometimes I have to become the returning prodigal daughter to realize what I have been missing. On a side note: I also returned to my SCBWI (Society of

Two for Tuesday

2013-05-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

I took this picture on my Monday morning walk. I'll apologize now for the grainy blurriness, but there is only so much you can do with a camera phone. . . . and no, this isn't a Bigfoot sighting, though I have wondered if any of them live along my walking routes as there is sometimes an aroma of eau de Pepe le Pew! Yeah, you're right, it's probably just a real skunk . . . or the hobo who lives

My Hubby's Personal Heater

2013-05-06T07:03:00.002-05:00

Today's word of the day is weird. How many times do I use weird in my blog? . . . er, far too many times. This has been a very weird spring. Detectable snow in May. Wearing a winter coat in May. Keeping the heater on . . . in May. But now it's going to another weird time of year. We need the AC on upstairs at night because of the residual heat from a sunny, hot day makes it difficult

Foodie Friday -- Crazy Cake in a Mug

2013-05-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Don't get your panties in a wad! Yes, I'm actually posting a Foodie Friday recipe! Actually, I found this one on Sweet Little Bluebird yesterday, and my daughter (12) tried it out last night. The kidlet needs to learn to cook sometime, right? And I'm not cooking very much since I'm focused on losing this little bit of weight I gained over the last few months--I'm eating as natural as possible,

From Buster to Bounce

2013-05-02T07:07:00.002-05:00

Last Friday was the first time I rode a horse in a year and a half. And it was fun . . . even though I couldn't walk for the better part of five days! A little over nine years ago I had to sell my appendix Quarter Horse, Buster. I bought him as a green-broke 2-year-old. Green-broke means he would carry a rider at a walk, trot, and lope--a Western cowboy broke him so he loped, not catered. He

Weighty Wednesday -- Walking the Walk

2013-05-01T06:44:00.001-05:00

Did you ever hear the saying, "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" For the last two months I've been talking a good game, but I haven't had my heart in it. Now, I'm finally walking the walk. Sunday night I weighed in at a whopping 140 pounds--8 pounds OVER my goal weight. True, it was at night after foraging all day, but it was the wake-up call I needed. Monday morning I went

Blog Hopping or Email?

2013-04-30T07:21:00.001-05:00

Blog hopping is one of the biggest time wasters out there, other than Farmville, Cafe World, or a gazillion other games you can play on Facebook. Years ago, I used to blog hop. There were tons of authors, agents, editors who blogged and I wanted to read what they had to say . . . until I realized that I spent over three hours just reading blogs. That was three hours of my writing time, my

Webworms . . . not Internet worms

2013-04-29T08:31:00.003-05:00

I started taking pictures of webworms a few weeks ago. The weather had started getting warm and I was seeing evidence that it would be a bad, bad year again, but then we had quite a few gloomy, rainy days, which slowed their growth. When it's hot and sunny, they are prolific. Cold and rain, not so much. So the first question you have is what are webworms? They're disgusting

Riding Dragons

2013-04-26T07:07:00.002-05:00

Today I'll be horseback riding, instead of yoga. I'll be working muscles that neither walking or yoga can touch. . . . and then I'll be walking funny tomorrow. Just saying. It's been many, many years since I had to sell Buster, but I do miss the smell of manure, hay, leather and that special spicy aroma that is pure horse. Yes, there is something to that, romance writers! When I read my

Middle Grade Novel vs. Picture book

2013-04-25T06:59:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, I have no clue how to write a picture book. When I attended the local SCBWI conference last Saturday, I was all ears listening to an art director break down a picture book. So I finished writing one. It's just like writing a regular book. It has a beginning, a middle and and end. It has action. It has adventure. And it has an 'all is lost' moment. It has a story arc. It

Weighty Wednesday -- Sabotage!

2013-04-24T07:17:00.000-05:00

We hear it all the time. So-and-so sabotaged my weight loss efforts by ________ (fill in the blank with name). Really? You're going to blame someone else for making you eat that _________ (fill in the blank with food item). It's time to get real here. Unless you happen to be a duck or goose living on a foie gras farm, no one is force feeding you anything. It all comes down to you

I Need Lists!

2013-04-23T07:33:00.000-05:00

I used to be a list person. I'd write the things I needed to accomplish down and mark them off when I accomplished them. It held a very Zen quality to the accomplishment. I think I need to start writing lists again. Yesterday was one of those days. You know, the days where you feel like a gerbil running the wheel with a whole lot of nothing getting done. And hubby wonders what I do all day

SCBWI Conference

2013-04-22T07:14:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I attended a one-day SCBWI {Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators} conference here in town. About 130 people attended, writers and illustrators. The food was hideous, actually worse than hideous, but it is what it is. It made me appreciate all the more the many conferences put on by RWI and the numerous RWA conferences I attended in years past. Yes, having coffee and

Weeds or Wildflowers

2013-04-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, what would you call these? Wildflowers or weeds? It’s all about perspective, isn’t it? In my yard and garden, these flowers would be considered weeds, and I would do everything in my power to eradicate them. But on my walking trail, I’m enjoying the unexpected beauty of the wildflowers. Life is how we perceive it.

Weighty Wednesday -- Frustrations are Elevated

2013-04-17T06:38:00.000-05:00

I've been tracking everything I've been putting in my mouth, counting points, measuring stuff, etc. Though this weekend we did take a trip to Silver Dollar City and ate Krispy Kreme donuts and Andy's Custard. I'm sure that didn't help! I've been walking twice a day for three days a week (earning 10 activity points on these days), once a day the rest of the time (6-7 activity points), plus

No Clue how to Write a Picture book

2013-04-16T07:06:00.000-05:00

While I was walking yesterday, I started thinking--yes, I know this process usually gets me into trouble--about Piper. Piper is a faerie who is featured on the cover of The Fast and the FAERIEous, as an older version than the one I want to write about. . . in a picture book. . . . sort of, or maybe an early reader, or a chapter book, or . . . see my problem? Here's my sitch. Years ago I wrote

Outlaw Run

2013-04-15T07:18:00.001-05:00

Earlier in the week, we decided to drive to Silver Dollar City for a one day jaunt. At first, we talked about going on Saturday, but with further investigation we decided against it. The biggest reason was to stay away was the Saturday crowds, but these reasons also factored into it. 1) The temperatures were going to be a little colder--ten degrees is a big difference when you're on a roller

Spam Bots

2013-04-12T06:58:00.000-05:00

About two months ago, my friend Cyndi complained about having to put in the captcha words to post a comment. So I decided to make it easier. I allowed all posts, but I required moderation for everything, which means I have to approve the posts prior to them showing up. --so if you post something and it doesn't immediately show up, it's because I haven't seen it yet to approve it. Within less