Castle in the Clouds

Hello! It's almost my bedtime but I thought I'd take a minute or two to post. I really don't have anything significant to say. Life is its usual chaos. Work, school, kids, hubby, housework... Okay, so I still need to do the dishes. I really thought having a dishwasher would make doing the dishes less of a chore, but I was wrong. I still hate doing them. The only bonus is I don't have to submerge my hands in sudsy water anymore. Just scrape, pre-rinse and load. There are so many other things I'd rather do than the dishes. For instance, I'd really like to scrapbook tonight. I've got that urge. I told my sister it must be the weather. She thought it might be possible because she's been feeling the same urge. It's scary when you start daydreaming about stickers, cardstock, patterned paper, stamps, and diecuts. Yep, I've got it bad. Sitting in front of me is a pile of zoo pictures from my son's last trip with the daycare. When I typ...

I just added some photos to Picasa's web album. Click on the link below to view some recent photos of our little family. This and That Jul 13, 2006 - 10 Photos

Writers are often asked about their sources of inspiration. Of course, as writers are as different and unique as snowflakes, inspiration occurs in various ways and at various times. Some of us find we do our best thinking first thing in the morning. Others discover burning the midnight oil is the key to unlocking their muse. Some find the quiet of the road, the splatter of the shower, or the insane chaos of a mall can spark ideas. I think, though, the truth is all writers find inspiration everywhere and in everything around them. Take a recent experience I had a week or so ago. While brainstorming ideas I was listening to the radio. A song came on that I've heard a hundred times. Maybe more. As I was singing along (yes, you'd want to cover your ears), the song's story popped into my head. Not the lyrics, but a story. This one came complete with a character and conflict. As the song ended the story unfolded, revealing a never before glimpsed history. What I find ...

My sister, Chrissy, and I have talked about writing a collaborative story for years. We both like to write and we both have different strengths. She's got the kick-ass imagination and I have a firm grasp on the essential elements of craft. Not that my imagination sucks...just that her ideas seem very fresh in comparison to my own. Thus, it's always been my thought that between the two of us, we should be able to come up with something neither of us would be able to write on our own. Something good. Maybe even great. Well, we're about to put that theory to the test. We've been exchanging emails for the last week or so trying to figure out what story we could both see ourselves writing. In the end we went with one of her ideas. I'm not going to be able to tell you very much about it but I can say it's a historical romance with a touch of the paranormal. I think it's also safe to bet it's going to be set in medieval England in the era of the Black Death. I...

It's just about bedtime. I have to be up ridiculously early tomorrow morning if I want to get the kids to the bus stop on time, so this update is going to be brief. It was a busy weekend. As usual. My oldest son had his first football game on Saturday. I arrived just in time to hear his name announced over the loud speakers. I wish I could tell you I stayed in the stands despite the cool temps and misty rain. I didn't, though. I had promised to act as the photographer for my sister-in-law's siter's wedding. I got a phone call saying it was time to meet up with the bride while I was driving to the game, which meant I had to leave the football field almost as soon as I arrived. After the wedding I called my husband and asked how the little man did. Daddy wasn't happy. Apparently the coach only played our boy for a few minutes--8 plays or thereabouts. I guess that's what happens when your child doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body--he gets to sit on the...

I have a killer headache tonight. It feels like sinus trouble. Oh, lucky me. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll disappear by morning. I doubt it, but it can't hurt to hope. I have some really cute pictures of my little guy on his first day of Kindergarten but I'm too lazy to leave the laptop and boot up the desktop PC where those pictures now live. You'll have to wait for pictures of His Cuteness. I'd write more but looking at this screen is killing my eyes. I think I'm falling apart.

"We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to." - W. Somerset Maugham

On Labor Day my husband and I surprised our two boys with a trip to Comerica Park in Detroit. On the long roadtrip my oldest son guessed every sport except baseball, which kept us from having to ruin the surprise before we pulled into the parking lot across from the park entrance. When we finally told them we were going to watch the Tigers play baseball they were all smiles. The smiles even lasted through the half-hour wait outside the gates. When we finally got through the gates and into the park the boys each received a free t-shirt. We then manuevered our way down the stands toward the field where the Tigers were having batting practice. Even though our seats were up in far left corner of the stadium there was no one to keep us from walking down the bleachers toward the field. As we were making our way up toward the food court my youngest stops me and asks, "Mom, where are the tigers with the four legs and teeth? I thought they were playing baseball." Oh, how I laughed....