Castle in the Clouds

I was tagged by Sharla of This Thing Called Life! for a relatively simple photo meme. The object here is to open the 6 th picture in the 6 th folder and tell your audience about that picture. So..without cheating...here is my 6 th photo in my 6 th folder (home photo shoots). Oh, my. I haven't looked in this folder in a very long time. You can see this picture was taken in 2004, which means my boys were 7 & 4 at the time. They look so little. If you look close, Gage still has toddler hands! This picture is actually a very fitting representation of my little guys. Gage is a temperamental little thing - always has been, probably always will be. KC, on the other hand, is more laid back and, at times, downright goofy. On this particular day I attempted my first "photo shoot" with the boys. Trying to take advantage of what little natural light there is in my dining room, I set up a couple of chairs and draped some cloth. Then the real fun began. I took pictures of th...

My sister-in-law has one of these little lovelies. Ohh, how I want one now. It's small enough to fit in my Nikon carrying case. It takes awesome video. And it's super easy to transfer to the computer! Now I just need to find a couple hundred bucks....

Well, I've started working on what may become my graduate thesis project. It's still a bit sketchy, but the idea seems to have merit. At least, that's what my faculty adviser tells me! She was very enthusiastic and supportive when I approached her with my idea. Her excitement has validated my idea, something I think I needed more than I'd like to admit. So what is my topic, you ask? I'm going to address the ways in which feminism is portrayed and handled with the scope of science fiction and fantasy. Now as you may be thinking, that's pretty broad, and you'd be right. The first challenge I face is in narrowing down my focus. I'm thinking I'm actually more interested in the way its handled in fantasy than science fiction. I'm also curious about how the subject matter has evolved in the last few decades as compared to earlier works in the field as well as the more traditional forms of literature. You know, Literature. The big L. I've...

3rd Place Originally uploaded by Krheiser While I was at home with a sick 10-year-old, my youngest was off winning a 3rd place medal at his wrestling match. I'm so happy for him. He was on cloud nine and doesn't care at all that he was destined for a medal because of the number of kids in his weight class (there were only three of them!). All he cares about is that he has a medal. Finally. So I am happy for him. I loved seeing his smiling little face coming through the door. His dad had to deal with the tears after each loss on the mat. And I'm okay with that!

First, you all know I love Shutter Sisters , right? Well, it's amazing articles like this that makes me love them even more! Jasmine's photography is wonderful. It's the kind of photography I aspire to achieve (aspire, people...I know I'm not there yet!). After browsing through her photo shoots, I jumped over to her blog and fell a little bit more in love with her. I adore the fact that she doesn't just post pictures, but that she attempts to write an intro to the stories she's captured on film. Her voice is engaging and fun, it also pays tribute to the men and women who have entrusted her to capture their most precious memories. That being said, I'm off to add her to my blogroll and my RSS feeder.

I thought I should post this little act of kindness considering my diatribe yesterday on wrestling. Yesterday my son brought home a certificate proclaiming him "Wrestler of the Week". He was so excited. Even this little bit of acknowledgment seems to have helped. It was a kind and thoughtful gesture by his coach that might just make all the difference in the world to one little 8-year-old.

I've gotten a lot of feedback on my story. My readers have been fantastic, offering suggestions, asking questions, and making corrections to typos and grammatical errors. So far the changes have been pretty painless. I think perhaps the most significant changes have been adding a paragraph here or there to help explain who someone was or what happened to them. I also removed a needless sub-plot that really had NOTHING to do with the story. I've thought long and hard on the idea of removing the sex and violence. After some thought, I've decided it's staying. If I can't sell this as a paranormal romance, I'll self-publish because this is the story I wanted to tell. It's dark and ugly in spots, but I think it's dark and ugly because it needs to be. Demons aren't nice. For that matter, man can be downright wicked and evil, too. Since this story focuses so much on redemption and forgiveness, I think I'd be plucking out the very threads that provide th...

My youngest son really wanted to wrestle this year instead of playing basketball, something he's done since he was five-years-old. I think I know why. I also think that very same reason built up some overly ambitious expectations. You see, his cousins (ages 9 & 7) wrestle. One of his good friends (age 8) wrestles. All three of the boys went to State last year and have medals and pins to show for it. This no doubt appealed to my little second grader. Who, after all, doesn't love medals? The problem, of course, is that my son hasn't been wrestling for 3 - 4 years; he's been playing basketball. He doesn't know the moves, doesn't understand the points system, and doesn't have the skills to counter more experienced wrestlers. The first few weeks he seemed to accept this. That acceptance has diminished. After two tournaments and two resounding losses (aka, no medals), he seems more interested in crying than trying. This is frustrating. I know this ...

Well, history has been made. I didn't catch all of Obama's speech, but what I did manage to hear was very inspiring. America needs a bit of an ego boost, a reminder of what other hardships it has overcome in its relatively short history. His speech did that and so much more. Now, we just have to hope his term in office results in positive change.

The little guy had a meet on Satuday. He was knocked out of the running pretty early on. The two kids he wrestled ended up taking first and second place for their age and weight group. Just his luck to draw the kids who have been doing this for at least a year or two. On the upside, the kid who took first place just medaled himself out of the upcoming novice tournaments. (Two 1st place medals = Open Meets). If this wasn't discouraging enough, the poor kid gets home and starts complaining about his stomach hurting. 5 AM the next morning, he's showing full-blown symptoms of a stomach virus. Poor thing stayed on the couch all day watching cartoons and feeling miserable. And today...he's home sick. Grandpa had to go pick him up at school because the stomach craps had made a reappearance. Poor little guy. Now we just have to hope no one else catches it!

Sorry for the late post. As you can see by the title of today's post, it's been one of those weeks. Monday I stayed home sick, Tuesday the hubby stayed home sick, Wenesday my oldest was sick and my father-in-law had hip surgery, Thursday the kids had no school because it's just too darn cold to wait outside for the bus. Today...today the bus thing again. Too cold! Father-in-law is still in hospital. Doing okay, but not great thanks to his diabetes. Apparently it's not just his blood sugar though. It's his blood pressure as well. At the rate he's going we expect he won't be released until sometime next week. I've finished the edits of my novel. At least, I've finished all the edits I've received from my readers. There's still one out there who says she has made notations about typos and whatnot, but I've not seen her proof yet. Soon I hope (you know who you are!). The more I think about this novel, the more inclined I am to foreg...

more animals

Random Item #1 Youngest will not be wrestling on Sunday now. Instead, he will be at a tournament on Saturday with his Dad while I'm off with the oldest at basketball. Hubby has kindly offered to take pictures. I'm curious how well he will do as this is gymnasium photography, which usually makes for poor photographs. Random Item #2 Internet Explorer 7 locks up more than any other piece of software I know. It is driving me insane. Random Item #3 I've been thinking about doing a 365 day project. It sounds fairly easy. One photo every day. It should capture some part of what it's like to live in your life. (Of course this idea is scrapbooking related, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Flickr. The last thing I need is one more scrapbooking project!) Random Item #4 I am way behind on my scrapbooking. At this rate, I will never get Maine or Disney done. And let's not talk about the boys' school or sports albums.

Okay, so I've got a lot going on this semester. My graduate class seems doable, but the instructor has indicated that by week 4 quite a few of us will be feeling overwhelmed and left behind. Part of me scoffs at such a thing, but he's got experience on his side. There are readings and videos and projects being thrown at us in quick succession. I've promised myself and my sister Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights for exercising. Tuesday nights I have class. Then there's wrestling. My youngest decided to opt out of basketball and try his little legs and arms on the mat. His practices are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Not to mention, he'll be participating in his first novice match this weekend. From what I understand, this pretty much means my Sunday is going to be spent in a gymnasium. Don't worry, I'll have my camera to keep me company! And my iPod. And a book. Hubby bowls Thursday nights, which means wrestling practice is my respo...

Grandpa & His Boys Originally uploaded by Krheiser I scanned these images in and photoshopped them a bit. I wish the scan would have been better, but at least I have an electronic backup of the prints.

I can't kick this cold. It's not the worst I've ever had, but it's annoyingly persistent. Drainage in the morning and drainage at night. I took some Benadryl last night hoping it would help. I think the only thing it really helped with was knocking me out. I don't remember much after I turned out the lights. Unfortunately, I don't think it had an impact on the ole cold. Sigh. In other news, I'm still waiting to hear back from my first round of readers/critiquers (is that even a word?). I know the book is quite lengthy, so I shouldn't expect feedback anytime soon. That said, you know I'm anxiously awaiting their reactions and comments. I should probably distract myself by working on something new. The problem is...I'm feeling uninspired at the moment. I'm blaming that on the cold from hell, too, just so we're clear. Although, if I'm really honest, I'd probably admit I'm not too keen on trying to start another creativ...

So I don't forget... http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2009/01/sub-ops.html

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for my cousin who turned the big 4-0 on January 1st. It was a surprise and, judging by the look on her face, I'd say the party planners pulled it off. She seemed more than appropriately surprised. She also seemed a bit embarrassed and self-conscious. Of course, that didn't last for long. The best surprise, though, was probably the unexpected guests who showed up just as she was walking in the door. A long, long time ago my grandmother had lived with a man and his two sons. Although things didn't exactly work out for my grandmother and her boyfriend, the boys remained fond of Grandma and our family. Seeing Tim, Shelly, and their two boys was a rare treat. After the party I took my youngest boy and my nephew to the bookstore. We hit the Borders Outlet at a nearby mall first. They had lots for me to choose from but very little for the kids. My nephew, who is 9, was really hoping to find some American Chillers. The Outlet store h...

Supposedly if you’ve seen more than 85 of the 239 films on this list, you have no life. Copy this list, then put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, and add them up. I tag anyone who wants to play. Have fun. (x) Rocky Horror Picture Show (x) Grease (x) Pirates of the Caribbean (x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest () Boondock Saints (x) Fight Club (x) Starsky and Hutch (x) Neverending Story (x)Blazing Saddles (x) Airplane Total: 9 (x) The Princess Bride (x) Anchorman () Napoleon Dynamite (x) Labyrinth (x) Saw () Saw II (x) White Noise (x) White Oleander (x) Anger Management (x) 50 First Dates (x) The Princess Diaries () The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Total so far: 18 (x) Scream () Scream 2 () Scream 3 () Scary Movie () Scary Movie 2 () Scary Movie 3 () Scary Movie 4 (x) American Pie (x) American Pie 2 (x) American Wedding () American Pie Band Camp Total so far: 22 (x) Harry Potter 1 (x) Harry Potter 2 (x) Harry Potter 3 (x) Harry Potter 4 (x) Resident Evil 1 () Resi...

I am way, way behind on my blog reading. I have 60 unread posts to go!

Well, the novel is being circulated. I've sent it to my sisters, sisters-in-law, my cousin, Joely, and I don't know who else. I tried to send it to everyone who asked (if I missed you, drop me a note in comments!). I've already thought of a couple things I could change. Go figure. Still, I'm going to wait to hear back from my first round of readers to see what they think before I change anything. Here's to hoping they don't hate it!

20090101_1613 Originally uploaded by Krheiser We had a few people show up on New Years Eve. When we weren't playing "Hit the Deck", we were rockin' it out with Guitar Hero. This is a picture of me and my sister.