Counting Down

On Saturday, I picked up a copy of "Noel", Josh Groban's new Christmas cd. I love Christmas and I love Josh Groban's music, so the cd made my day. Once I got home, it occurred to me that if the stores were starting to carry Christmas merchandise, then the holidays were probably closer than I wanted to acknowledge. So I checked my calender and counted ten more weeks until Christmas.

I remember when the children were little. I could usually have the Christmas presents ready by now. Sometimes I would let them pick their own gift in the store, knowing they would forget about it before Christmas morning. But the older the kids get, the longer it seems to take me to find the perfect gift. There are always the standard things. I give the kids books every year and they usually get some pajamas. But other than that, I am stumped.

I remember Christmases when I was growing up. Our family didn't have much money, but somehow Santa Claus always left some pretty cool things under the tree. Waking up on Christmas morning seemed so magical and we were never disappointed. Now I make many of my gifts, and there are also the little things we get the kids, but I like to find one gift to put under the tree that makes their jaws drop and the magic light up their eyes. The husband and I went shopping Friday night, thinking we would get some ideas. No luck.

The oldest daughter is very frugal and her Christmas lists tend to be frugal as well. She asks for things like new socks, pads of paper, books, and other things she thinks she needs. Nothing too exciting there.The youngest daughter still gets stars in her eyes when she reads the Sears Wishbook. She lists many toys that I know look good in the pictures, but wouldn't be played with very often. She has almost grown out of the toy stage, but not quite. Then my son makes his extensive list. It mainly includes electronics that are far beyond my budget, even if I didn't think most of them were a waste of time. And then there is my husband, my step-kids, our parents, etc.

I usually have good intentions in January. But the plan to work on Christmas all year long fizzles out right around the time of my daughter's birthday in February. Now I sit in the middle of October trying to get myself into the Christmas mindset. It doesn't help that it is still so nice outside (not that I am wishing for snow quite yet.) So I guess I'll put in the new cd and get my mind focused, because I only have ten more weeks until Christmas.

How We See Flowers

Hanging on my fridge is my favorite comic from "The Far Side" by Gary Larson. The first frame is a row of beautiful flowers with the caption "How we see flowers". Under this frame is a second frame with another row of flowers. These flowers are funny looking with goofy faces and big noses. The caption reads "How they see themselves".

How often do we see ourselves as goofy looking flowers or even weeds? So many people I respect and admire go through life putting themselves down and minimizing the great qualities they have. These same people have no problem seeing the great things in people around them. We all know that we are children of God and he gave each of us great ability and talents on different areas. But it is so much easier to see the good qualities in others and minimize the great qualities in ourselves.

I remember thinking that once I became an adult, confidence would be my constant companion and I could leave that awkward teenage years. Ridiculous, I suppose. The awkward teenage years are far behind me, but now I am right in the middle of the awkward adult years. I am still not great in crowds, or at making new friends. I still worry over how I look before I leave the house. And every time I think I have something figured out, something new comes along to stump me. It is all part of the learning and growing process. But like many people, I don't give myself enough credit for the accomplished and great person I am.

The same problem creeps up on me when I write. I can work on a story, revising over and over, and yet it never seems quite good enough to let anyone else read. I still see my writing as the funny looking flowers and yet others seem to enjoy the garden of words I plant. That is why I keep the flower comic in plain sight so I can read it every day. I need that constant reminder that we are all better than we give ourselves credit for and sometimes for a change of pace, we should try to see ourselves as others do.

Smile

Mandi gave me this award because she says I make her smile. I'd give it back to her because her blog always brightens my day. Since she already has it, I'm passing it on to two other bloggers who cheer me up. Ali and Ajoy . Keep smiling girls.

BIAM - part 2

In September I joined up with Tristi Pinkston for a BIAM challenge. I was quite excited to join the group and motivate myself to get some serious writing done.

When I started, I knew what I wanted to write, and had even done most of the outlining on it. Well, I learned very quickly that too much outlining kills my desire to tell the story. But I kept plugging away at it. I hit about 9000 words when I realized there was more to the problem. I did some more looking at my work and realized that I was telling it from the wrong point-of-view. Once I started thinking in a different POV, the story came alive for me.

It was a little frustrating to put the 9000 words away and start again, but I think the story will be better for it. Of course, as soon as I figured that out and started working in that direction, I had to put all writing aside to be with my family while we coped with tragedy.

Now I am back and having a hard time getting into the writing groove again. (There is a lot of wisdom in the advice to write every day.) So here I am at the end of the BIAM challenge with 9000 words that I won't use, and 2484 that I might use. I didn't get as far as I wanted to, but I did learn quite a bit about the story and how I write best. So all-in-all, the month was well spent, and I think I can sit down and get on with the novel that is just crying to get out.

I will be signing up for NaNoWriMo next month, and Tristi is doing another BIAM in January that I am looking forward to. I love to keep challenging myself, and doing a BIAM is a fun way to do it.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon is the continuing story of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. I enjoyed the read, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the first book, Twilight. I found that I didn't like Bella's character, which bothered me. When I read a book, I want to like and sympathize with the main character. Both Jacob and Edward are likable in their own way, but I found myself wishing they would both leave Bella alone.

The middle of the book dragged a bit. It felt like too much time was spent in Bella's head without anything really happening. And I did wish that there was more about the werewolves and their background. In the end, the book left me wanting to know what will finally happen with Bella, Edward, and Jacob. I am hoping that Bella will somehow redeem herself and be someone I can actually cheer for. I guess that is where Stephenie Meyer really excels. She makes us love and hate the characters enough that we forgive the weaknesses in the book because we really want to know what happens to them.

This is another book from my Fall into Reading List.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. It is a fitting conclusion to an eventful and stressful week. Even though I have had very little time to spend on the computer in the last week, I have had plenty of time to think. Since the death of my nephew, we have been surrounded by family and friends. We have cried and laughed together. We have had time to reflect on life and death. And today,I have been thinking about the many things I am grateful for.

This year I am grateful for people. As we grieved together and family members came from as far away as Arizona, I felt so blessed to belong to this particular family. They truly are a strength and inspiration to me. I couldn't ask for better people to call my own. I am also grateful to the people in our community. So many of them offered condolences and help to my sister's family and other family members that live in town. I think all of us have had our fridges stocked, and have had many phone calls and visits offering comfort and support. The beautiful thing about this, is that my sister has only been in town for a short while. But people were still there for her.

I am grateful also for the country I live in. Canada is a beautiful place to live. It is wonderful to know that I can count on my children receiving an excellent education. I love the many freedoms that we enjoy.

I am also grateful for all the gifts and talents that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I used to lower my head whenever anyone would tell me I was good at something. But I have learned in the last year to accept these compliments gracefully. We are all given gifts, and I am trying to develop mine and share them with others.

There are so many other things I am thankful for. It is so important to take the time to remember them, and remind myself of how good life really is, despite, or because of the trials. So I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and anyone else who needs a moment to stop and be grateful.

Ghost of a Chance by Kerry Blair

This is the first book I have read from my Fall into Reading List. Second in the Nightshade series, Samantha Shade, of the Nightshade Detective Agency, is busy once again trying to solve mysteries and stay alive in the process.

She has been hired to find out what seems to be haunting the San Rafael Mission. But soon, Samantha is investigating a series of murders occurring within the parish. Several young men are found executed in the same gruesome manner—and each is discovered with a marigold between his lips. The clues all seem to lead to someone at the Mission. Who could be responsible? It’s Samantha’s job to find out, especially if she wants to live.

I love the plots of this book and Mummy's the Word, but did find the writing style a little frustrating. The narrator of the story speaks to the reader too often, usually in the interest of humor. I didn't enjoy the style of writing but found that there was enough happening in the story to hold my interest. I did enjoy the second book more than the first, and hope that future books will be even better, as I do want to read more and find out what happens to Samantha Shade and the Nightshade Detective Agency.