Castle in the Clouds

The costumes were so amazing. I've been to a lot of Halloween parties, but I don't think I've ever seen the quality and workmanship that went into the ones I saw at ConFusion 2010. I took a lot more pictures, but since Chrissy and I aren't in them, I don't feel quite right posting them. There were zombies. There were belly dancers. There was a wizard and a princess. There were several crew members from a steampunk airship. (By far my favorites.) Then there was the rest of us. Those who wore their normal, everyday clothes made up the majority of the audience. Of course, the costumes, while fun, weren't the reason Chrissy and I decided to attend the conference. The panels we attended covered topics in Fairytales in Modernity, comic books, art, history of costume design in the Victoriana and Burlesque, and author preparedness. The information and conversation in these sessions were informative and, for me at least, inspiring. I came away with a list of fairy...

This blog post is coming to you late. I started it, I got distracted, but I have returned... So..on to some actual content! A friend of mine posted an entry about the pervasive tendency of many parent bloggers to bemoan the various hardships associated with parenting and how these kind of entries have negatively impacted her desire to ever have children. I smiled when I read her post. Mostly because she's not wrong and I know I've posted more than my fair share of frustrations here. Blogs have become a great way for many mommy (and daddy) bloggers to share their parenting journey, be it annoying, horrific, tiring or trying. Because I read a lot of these types of blogs, I completely agree that most of them tend to focus on the less than idyllic situations. If their kids are babies, they talk about sleepless nights, bottle confusion, and diaper rash. If the kids are a preschoolers, you get to hear about the latest temper tantrum or perhaps how thoroughly mortified you can...

Two days in two separate gymnasiums. We packed snacks and brought the boys' DS games to help pass the hours. And I tried doing some homework; it didn't work out very well, but at least I tried. This was the first time we've done back-to-back wrestling meets and I must admit I hope it's the last. While the boys did extremely well and I am very much the proud mama, I really do miss having at least one day to spend at home on the weekend. It would be nice to catch up on things that need to be done around the house or to do my homework without the constant distractions and interruptions a noisy, crowded gymnasium brings. Of course, next weekend will be busy, too. Although the boys only have one meet , I plan on attending a writer/fan/geek conference on Saturday. Luckily, the boys will be wrestling close to home the next day. So close that I'll actually get to sleep in until eight or so.

I don't know what it is about her, but Moswen el-Brideah is a total pain in the backside. I know so many things about her. Key facts and minor details. I know her biggest secret and darkest fear. Yet, for some reason that completely escapes me, I can't connect to this MC of mine. I can't get inside her head and heart. It's beyond annoying; it's catastrophic. (Allow me my melodrama, please!) Why? Because I want to write this story. Desperately. I think I'm so ready to get it on the page and out of my head that my desire to write it is actually interfering with my ability to do so. Does that even make sense? I don't know. But I'm pretty sure it's the truth. I want to write this story. I want it to be as amazing on the page as it is in my head. I want to bleed the characters out onto the page, not just write them. But Moswen is being difficult. She's standing mute in the corner, refusing to cooperate and it's making me crazy. I'm ...

Ken and I have been trying to figure out what to do and where to go on our family vacation this year. Up until yesterday we were thinking a camping trip close to home would be the most likely choice. Then my youngest asked me when we were going to take him to a museum to see some dinosaurs. What a great idea! I started thinking about nearby exhibits and then it dawned on me. We could take this year's vacation in Chicago. They have a natural history museum, a really nice one from what I've heard, and it's somewhere we've not been. At least, not as family. We could visit the Field Museum , the Shedd Aquarium , and the Museum of Science and Industry . Visit Navy Pier . Walk down Michigan Avenue and do some window shopping. I'm hoping we can make it happen because the more I think about it, the more certain I am the kids would really enjoy themselves. Especially if we could manage to book a hotel with a pool. And I'd love to see my boys' faces when t...

Tonight my grad class meets for the first time. I'm sure I've probably mentioned it before, but just in case you missed it, it's a Lit Theory class. I can only imagine the amount of reading that will be required outside of the listed textbooks, of which there are seven. I'm sure in addition to a hefty anthology and a significantly slimmer theory textbook, there will also be journal articles or book excerpts. Not to mention these little lovelies: King Lear (Shakespeare) Complete Poems 1927 -1979 (Elizabeth Bishop) Friend of My Youth (Alice Munro) Aspern Papers (Henry James) The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison) Because of the sheer amount of reading I expect to do for this class, I really wanted to get the last little bit of pleasure reading in that I could. Since I really hate holding onto books that I've borrowed from friends and family, I decided to select a book from somewhere other than my ever-expanding to-be-read shelves. This meant instead of reading Joely Sue ...

The boys did so good on their first day of the season. The little guy brought home a silver (2nd place) and the oldest got a bronze (3rd place). They both had two pins, too!

Remember how I said I really only have two resolutions this year? Finishing the rough draft of the current WIP and losing some weight. Well, I really am working on both of those things, but for tonight I feel like writing about resolution #2. Outside of pregnancy, I'm the heaviest I've ever been. Not an easy thing to admit, not even to myself. Between moon-faced pictures and an uncomfortable wardrobe, though, there's really no denying it. It's time to make some changes in my life and take a serious look at my food choices, all of which were terrible. With a new year ahead of me, I decided this time there's no trying; this time I'm doing it. I'm going to make some significant changes and stick to them. Of course, I know how hard dieting is because, believe me, this isn't the first time I've attempted to shed a few pounds. I also am fully aware of how difficult it is to get rid of old habits and create new ones. This isn't going to be easy....

While the school year may be half over, for us there will be new beginnings. Ken and I met with the oldest boy's principal this morning to discuss his 504 Plan. Although the plan has been in place since late 2008, we've been very hesitant to put it into action because we really do want the boy to take responsibility for his own actions. However, there are times when ideals pale in the face of reality. Just before the holiday break we received the boy's progress report card. While most of the grades were reasonable (there was even an A in Geography!) , his Language Arts grade was, well, dismal. As reading and writing have always been one of his major obstacles, we're accustomed to mediocre grades, so when I say dismal you must understand that I mean "failing". I immediately sent an e-mail to teacher. While I was disappointed that she didn't think to try to contact us prior to the progress report card coming home, I really didn't (and still don...

I'm usually in bed by eleven when I have to work the next morning. Sometimes even earlier. Tonight, though, I'm pretty sure I'll have to force myself to go to bed "on time". A week's worth of late nights and leisurely mornings makes for a rough transition into the working world again. So, as I sit here propped up against the headboard of my bed, the puppy sleeping beside me, I figure I'll be lucky to fall asleep before eleven. This leaves me with a little more than four hours of vacation left. I plan on making the most of the time. The boys are popping popcorn and putting in one of the movies their Aunt Ronnie gave them for Christmas. We're going to snuggle on the couch under the blanket my mother-in-law made for me and watch a bunch of crazy hamsters try to save the world. At least, that's my understanding of G-Force. After that it'll be bedtime for bonzos. Not sure if the hubby will want to watch football or if there'll be somethi...

My goals for the next year are pretty simple. Complete the rough draft of Between the Heavens and Earth Lose weight Accomplishing those two things will require some dedication and discipline, neither of which come easily to me. I am the queen of excuses and my will power, that inborn ability to resist all things sugary and sweet, is notoriously weak. However, since my waist isn't going to magically shrink no matter how much I'd like it to, I need to figure out a way to appease my taste buds while changing my eating habits. Not that I think the second goal will be any easier to achieve. I'm going to have to take a good, hard look at my excuses for not writing and an even harder look at why I'm allowing them to cripple my dreams and aspirations.