Yeah. It's like that.
The Benefits of Age
5 hours ago
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Parenting Skills Put to the Test
By Stacy Johnson
I don’t know what it is about having a large family that makes acquaintances and total strangers say things like, “Wow, with a family that big, you ought to write a book about parenting.” I know those of you with large families can relate. It’s as if the mere fact that I have a lot of children makes me some sort of expert. I have a hard time thinking that I know enough about parenting to share it with the world. I do think I have pretty much the best kids around. For sure they are not perfect, but they are perfect for me. They have this awesome ability to use sarcasm correctly (not that that is always good), they are athletic (they get that from me), they are smart (they get that from their dad), and they are oober talented. I’m bragging a little, but it’s my post, so indulge me.
There is one thing that sometimes frustrates me though; they don’t do their chores very well. I am constantly annoyed by the rolling of eyes, the verbal responses to my gentle (and sometimes not so gentle reminders) to do their chores, and their occasional blatant disregard for the care of our home. Maybe I expect too much; I truly wonder sometimes if I’ve taught my children the importance of a clean home and how to actually clean it. I’ll be the first to admit that I never kept my room clean when I was a teenager, nor did I enjoy doing my chores. I enjoyed a beautifully clean house because my mom was very good at doing just that. But, I never saw her clean, really. I just remember thinking I did all the chores while my mom laid on the couch and slept. But, the mere fact that our house was always clean when I got home from school, tells me that my mom worked hard while we were away. Having said that, I at least can understand where they are coming from. I know I frustrated my mom to the nth degree and now this is what she calls “payback.”
Yesterday, I was put to the ultimate test. We had family in town for the blessing of our sweet little Baby Derek. We had planned a lovely picnic in the park after church for everyone to enjoy being together and letting the children play (without destroying my house that was already being neglected by me so I could spend time with family). My sweet husband reassured me that it would not rain just before he went to bed on Saturday night. I, of course, stayed up late doing homework and tending to the baby who fusses from 8pm to midnight every night while the rest of the family slept. I heard no sound of rain over the crying of the baby. I woke up again at 4am to feed the baby and heard nothing. When my husband’s alarm went off at 6am, he gently snuggled up next to me and said, “Do you hear the rain?”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! Church is in two hours!”
He held me close and reassured me that it would be all right. I only prayed it would be so. With that, I threw on my clothes from last night and went to the kitchen to try to bring my neglected home back from the edge of Hades. I mean, it was really bad. We didn’t worry about it too much since I knew we would be at the park with about 40 of our closest family and friends. Ben went to wake up the troops (I didn’t want to hear the whining as I was going on only about 5 hours of sleep and was already cranky.)
And you know what happened?
They each took their assignment to heart and pulled our house together in no time. The dishes were loaded, the floor mopped, the playroom organized, the guest bathroom shined. Tables were put up in every nook and cranny, along with chairs and tablecloths.
In addition,
Nobody complained, and we even got to church early enough to sit on the row reserved for the Johnson family (cause that is what you get when you have a large family).
I guess I’m not doing such a bad job after all.
It was like a pat on the back from my Heavenly Father, so I made sure I thanked Him.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Going the Extra Mile
by Marsha Ward
Last night it started to snow again. By this morning there was an accumulation of a couple of inches here--nothing much for those used to driving in snow, but enough to make me ask myself if our church meetings would be canceled because of the unique circumstances of members of our congregation.
Our boundaries are long and thin, extending over twenty miles along a state highway. Our church building is on my end of the highway, so it's not usually a big trial for me to get to church in iffy weather. I could even walk there, if I really needed to.
The highway, however, winds over hill and dale, through forest and glen, over several two-lane sections interspersed with divided highway. For the next two years, there is a seven-mile section of reduced speed for major construction. There are several long grades, and places where the roadway ices up. In inclement weather, it may be closed until the plows come along.
I called my "home teacher," the man who, with his wife, has a special interest in my welfare (The LDS Church is famous for its home teaching and visiting teaching programs that aid members in looking out for one another). I inquired about the possibility of our meetings being canceled. He said he would check into it.
A few minutes later, another member, who lives in my area, called and offered me a ride to church. I gratefully accepted, as their vehicle has four-wheel drive. The members who live on the other end of the highway were told that if they didn't have four-wheel drive, they should attend the church service in Payson. We had a shortened church schedule--just the worship service--and returned home.
When the family dropped me off at home, the husband got out of the car and shoveled the snow off my deck before he let me get out of the car. He didn't have to do that. The snow would have melted in a couple of days. He didn't want me to slip, though. He went the extra mile to bless me. (He also asked me to speak in church next week!)
How many times do we go the extra mile in our relationships with other writers? How do we give help to those who are beginning their writing journey? When I was a beginner, many people in the writing community went out of their way to guide me through the pitfalls and snares of the world of writing. In gratitude for that assistance, I have dedicated many hours of time and much effort to aid other writers. Some of this is invisible, some is evident for all the world to see.
I know other writers who feel the same way I do that we have a duty to help others. You will see the evidence of that when you attend the 2010 ANWA Writing Conference on February 27. Eight wonderful writers are sharing their experience and knowledge. Your time and money will be well spent partaking of the joys of that Conference.
What do you, as a writer, do to help other writers?
Last night it started to snow again. By this morning there was an accumulation of a couple of inches here--nothing much for those used to driving in snow, but enough to make me ask myself if our church meetings would be canceled because of the unique circumstances of members of our congregation.
Our boundaries are long and thin, extending over twenty miles along a state highway. Our church building is on my end of the highway, so it's not usually a big trial for me to get to church in iffy weather. I could even walk there, if I really needed to.
The highway, however, winds over hill and dale, through forest and glen, over several two-lane sections interspersed with divided highway. For the next two years, there is a seven-mile section of reduced speed for major construction. There are several long grades, and places where the roadway ices up. In inclement weather, it may be closed until the plows come along.
I called my "home teacher," the man who, with his wife, has a special interest in my welfare (The LDS Church is famous for its home teaching and visiting teaching programs that aid members in looking out for one another). I inquired about the possibility of our meetings being canceled. He said he would check into it.
A few minutes later, another member, who lives in my area, called and offered me a ride to church. I gratefully accepted, as their vehicle has four-wheel drive. The members who live on the other end of the highway were told that if they didn't have four-wheel drive, they should attend the church service in Payson. We had a shortened church schedule--just the worship service--and returned home.
When the family dropped me off at home, the husband got out of the car and shoveled the snow off my deck before he let me get out of the car. He didn't have to do that. The snow would have melted in a couple of days. He didn't want me to slip, though. He went the extra mile to bless me. (He also asked me to speak in church next week!)
How many times do we go the extra mile in our relationships with other writers? How do we give help to those who are beginning their writing journey? When I was a beginner, many people in the writing community went out of their way to guide me through the pitfalls and snares of the world of writing. In gratitude for that assistance, I have dedicated many hours of time and much effort to aid other writers. Some of this is invisible, some is evident for all the world to see.
I know other writers who feel the same way I do that we have a duty to help others. You will see the evidence of that when you attend the 2010 ANWA Writing Conference on February 27. Eight wonderful writers are sharing their experience and knowledge. Your time and money will be well spent partaking of the joys of that Conference.
What do you, as a writer, do to help other writers?
Saturday, February 6, 2010
A Snipit of My Writing Journey
A Snipit of My Writing Journey
by Cindy R. Williams
I usually have my blog posting ready about a week prior, but this time I'm just getting to it three days out. I prefer to write it, then let it sit, and go
back to it with fresh eyes a week later. This is how I work on all my short stories.
Novels are a different story. I finished my novel about a boy, a dragon, magic and choices and sent it out on Christmas day to my editor, the lovely Kerry Blair, no less. That novel took THREE YEARS to write. Mostly because I took a three year college course on Creative Writing and it was my project. I learned tons while writing it. We wrote a scene a week for class.
The cool yet strange thing was that we didn't write chronologically. Instead, we wrote by type of scene; recognition scene, action scene, conflict scene, resolution scene etc. It was a wild ride. We allowed the main character to dictate the story. It was high on character development and low on plotting. I found my character(s) really blossomed writing this way.
Two draw backs to this method for me were: First, when it came time to put the book together and write connecting scenes, I ended out with a bunch of extra scenes. (However, I must admit, I certainly did get to know my characters well.) Second, I had to go back through the entire book and tweak things so that the emotional curve worked as did the many details. I also had to map in foreshadowing.
A big surprise was that the book was over 200,000 words long-- way too long for a first book in a series so I found a natural break about half way through, and cut it in half. I beefed up the action climax scene, and voila, I now have book one complete, and the next book's first draft complete. Two books for the effort of one.
My book will fly home via cyberspace within the next week or so. As I work on edits, I'm also going to begin my research on finding my dream agent. I have four books in this dragon series and two other series started so I finally feel like I have enough in my repertoire to move forward.
Becoming an author is more than a full time job. With a family to raise, Church, Community, School involvement, and the world to save, I write at night. I'm truly an American Night Writer. While I'm working on finding my agent extraordinaire, I'll continue to work on the dilemma of how sleep is supposed to fit in the equation. Life is good as a writer.
by Cindy R. Williams
I usually have my blog posting ready about a week prior, but this time I'm just getting to it three days out. I prefer to write it, then let it sit, and go
back to it with fresh eyes a week later. This is how I work on all my short stories.Novels are a different story. I finished my novel about a boy, a dragon, magic and choices and sent it out on Christmas day to my editor, the lovely Kerry Blair, no less. That novel took THREE YEARS to write. Mostly because I took a three year college course on Creative Writing and it was my project. I learned tons while writing it. We wrote a scene a week for class.
The cool yet strange thing was that we didn't write chronologically. Instead, we wrote by type of scene; recognition scene, action scene, conflict scene, resolution scene etc. It was a wild ride. We allowed the main character to dictate the story. It was high on character development and low on plotting. I found my character(s) really blossomed writing this way.
Two draw backs to this method for me were: First, when it came time to put the book together and write connecting scenes, I ended out with a bunch of extra scenes. (However, I must admit, I certainly did get to know my characters well.) Second, I had to go back through the entire book and tweak things so that the emotional curve worked as did the many details. I also had to map in foreshadowing.
A big surprise was that the book was over 200,000 words long-- way too long for a first book in a series so I found a natural break about half way through, and cut it in half. I beefed up the action climax scene, and voila, I now have book one complete, and the next book's first draft complete. Two books for the effort of one.
My book will fly home via cyberspace within the next week or so. As I work on edits, I'm also going to begin my research on finding my dream agent. I have four books in this dragon series and two other series started so I finally feel like I have enough in my repertoire to move forward.
Becoming an author is more than a full time job. With a family to raise, Church, Community, School involvement, and the world to save, I write at night. I'm truly an American Night Writer. While I'm working on finding my agent extraordinaire, I'll continue to work on the dilemma of how sleep is supposed to fit in the equation. Life is good as a writer.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Soccer Assoc.
by Sarah Albrecht
This is just a little post about something that bothered me for a long time.
Nothing big, nothing personal, just one of those niggling things that gets hold of your psyche. Are you ready? Are you sure? What bothered me was... soccer. Not that the sport itself bothered me. I'm not a huge fan, you know, not one that stays up to watch the World Cup live at 2:00 a.m. or anything, but I like the game well enough and admire the athleticism. No, soccer itself wasn't the problem.
It was the name.
Why? I asked myself over and over. Why does the rest of the world call the game football while we call it soccer?
Finally I decided to end the agony and answer the question. Took all of thirty seconds on the Online Etymology Dictionary. And here is the answer to why we call soccer, soccer: in 1889, to distinguish between rugby football and football (that is, soccer), some fraternity guys took the Assoc. from "Football Association," put the "A" at the end, and started calling the game "socca," later to become "socker."
And so now we have soccer. What a kick!
This is just a little post about something that bothered me for a long time.
Nothing big, nothing personal, just one of those niggling things that gets hold of your psyche. Are you ready? Are you sure? What bothered me was... soccer. Not that the sport itself bothered me. I'm not a huge fan, you know, not one that stays up to watch the World Cup live at 2:00 a.m. or anything, but I like the game well enough and admire the athleticism. No, soccer itself wasn't the problem.
It was the name.
Why? I asked myself over and over. Why does the rest of the world call the game football while we call it soccer?
Finally I decided to end the agony and answer the question. Took all of thirty seconds on the Online Etymology Dictionary. And here is the answer to why we call soccer, soccer: in 1889, to distinguish between rugby football and football (that is, soccer), some fraternity guys took the Assoc. from "Football Association," put the "A" at the end, and started calling the game "socca," later to become "socker."
And so now we have soccer. What a kick!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Our Process - Our Journey
By: Krista Darrach
I LOVE processes.
I’ve worked as an office manager for a construction company for over eight years. In my job I have tons of processes that make everything easier and more efficient.
I love asking writers how they go about starting a novel. The answers are so varied— one would wonder how we all reach the same end result. But that is the beauty of being a writer— each of us has our own journey or as I like to say— process. My mind works almost mechanically when it comes to writing. There is nothing like being in the “zone” and feeling the surge of creativity at its best. I know this is a gift, be it one that laid dormant in my brain for many years. Today I’m grateful to be aware of it, and utilize my ability at putting ideas to paper.
My process may not work for you, just as yours might not work for me. I sit down with an idea and then make a simple outline of main objectives. Start a character list and then have at it. Through time this may change as I learn new skills.
I love this quote: "Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." — E.L. Doctorow
I can totally relate to this quote. Because my process is to: rely on the narrative, and allow my characters to show me the way.
Most important in my writing is to remain teachable. I don’t think I will ever know it all. I hope I never reach that point. Learning to me is paramount in my process. Reading books on writing and mingling with other writers is a must. Attending conferences and Retreats help us learn even more.
The ANWA Writers Conference is coming up and I am MORE than excited to learn from some great people. This helps my process immensely. If you haven’t signed up- it’s Feb 27th and we have a GREAT line up. So come prepared to LEARN! Here is the link for more information:
http://anwa-lds.com/conference.html
I believe, especially for new writers, it takes a village to write a book. The more we help each other—the better we become. Knowledge is Power—and helps me develop my process and become a better writer.
So a big thanks to those people who have helped me develop my process and enjoy my journey into the writing world. * Big Hugs! *
Process:
1. a systematic series of actions directed to some end:
2. a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite mannerI LOVE processes.
I’ve worked as an office manager for a construction company for over eight years. In my job I have tons of processes that make everything easier and more efficient.
I love asking writers how they go about starting a novel. The answers are so varied— one would wonder how we all reach the same end result. But that is the beauty of being a writer— each of us has our own journey or as I like to say— process. My mind works almost mechanically when it comes to writing. There is nothing like being in the “zone” and feeling the surge of creativity at its best. I know this is a gift, be it one that laid dormant in my brain for many years. Today I’m grateful to be aware of it, and utilize my ability at putting ideas to paper.
My process may not work for you, just as yours might not work for me. I sit down with an idea and then make a simple outline of main objectives. Start a character list and then have at it. Through time this may change as I learn new skills.
I love this quote: "Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." — E.L. Doctorow
I can totally relate to this quote. Because my process is to: rely on the narrative, and allow my characters to show me the way.
Most important in my writing is to remain teachable. I don’t think I will ever know it all. I hope I never reach that point. Learning to me is paramount in my process. Reading books on writing and mingling with other writers is a must. Attending conferences and Retreats help us learn even more.
The ANWA Writers Conference is coming up and I am MORE than excited to learn from some great people. This helps my process immensely. If you haven’t signed up- it’s Feb 27th and we have a GREAT line up. So come prepared to LEARN! Here is the link for more information:
http://anwa-lds.com/conference.html
I believe, especially for new writers, it takes a village to write a book. The more we help each other—the better we become. Knowledge is Power—and helps me develop my process and become a better writer.
So a big thanks to those people who have helped me develop my process and enjoy my journey into the writing world. * Big Hugs! *
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
What to write about?
by Marielle Carlisle
I thought about sharing what I've learned so far in my online Children's Literature course at GCC, but I want a break from thinking about school.
I wrote out a rough draft of yesterday's afternoon at the playground, but decided to discard it. My wee ones looked for 'beads' (air gun pellets) instead of playing on the play equipment while I cleaned up the cigarette butts. Towards the end of my draft it turned into a rant on irresponsible teenagers, and I thought it a little too negative.
Do you want to hear about the Miss America party I attended last Saturday night? Where I, as the runner-up from last year, delivered my sassy-pants speach about how I should've been crowned the winner last year, and did my last walk as reigning champion (the winner last year had other obligations that night) to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA"?
I would talk about how depressing it is to hear my little guy wake up from his nap after only sleeping for 30 minutes, but it is seriously depressing. Best not go there. He can wait 10 more minutes for me to finish.
So, what to talk about? The weather? It's beautiful outside today. The forecast says it will rain, so I should probably pick up all the toys scattered throughout the backyard. UPDATE: It didn't rain. Thank goodness I didn't pick up the toys.
Callings? I'm now the ward YW Camp Director. I told the YW President that I'm overqualified for this position, since I'm practically a 13 year old girl at heart already. I mean, come on, I picked Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" as my Miss America final-walk song.
My new haircut? I've decided to grow my hair long again. It's been over two years since I had it long, and it's time for a change. I wish I had thought of this before I had it cut.
The housing market? We're in the process of trying to buy a short sale. Our chances of actually going through all the ropes with the bank and getting the house we want? Slim. Slim to barely above none (I like to keep a little hope alive).
So, what to talk about? Can't decide. I better go get the little man. He's ... upset.
I thought about sharing what I've learned so far in my online Children's Literature course at GCC, but I want a break from thinking about school.
I wrote out a rough draft of yesterday's afternoon at the playground, but decided to discard it. My wee ones looked for 'beads' (air gun pellets) instead of playing on the play equipment while I cleaned up the cigarette butts. Towards the end of my draft it turned into a rant on irresponsible teenagers, and I thought it a little too negative.
Do you want to hear about the Miss America party I attended last Saturday night? Where I, as the runner-up from last year, delivered my sassy-pants speach about how I should've been crowned the winner last year, and did my last walk as reigning champion (the winner last year had other obligations that night) to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA"?
I would talk about how depressing it is to hear my little guy wake up from his nap after only sleeping for 30 minutes, but it is seriously depressing. Best not go there. He can wait 10 more minutes for me to finish.
So, what to talk about? The weather? It's beautiful outside today. The forecast says it will rain, so I should probably pick up all the toys scattered throughout the backyard. UPDATE: It didn't rain. Thank goodness I didn't pick up the toys.
Callings? I'm now the ward YW Camp Director. I told the YW President that I'm overqualified for this position, since I'm practically a 13 year old girl at heart already. I mean, come on, I picked Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" as my Miss America final-walk song.
My new haircut? I've decided to grow my hair long again. It's been over two years since I had it long, and it's time for a change. I wish I had thought of this before I had it cut.
The housing market? We're in the process of trying to buy a short sale. Our chances of actually going through all the ropes with the bank and getting the house we want? Slim. Slim to barely above none (I like to keep a little hope alive).
So, what to talk about? Can't decide. I better go get the little man. He's ... upset.
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