Early gift...

My husband surprised me last week with an early birthday gift. Okay, usually I don't like early birthday gifts...it leaves me with nothing to look forward to, but I'll forgive him this time because I have had so much fun playing with it all week. It is a new laptop. We have been talking for some time about the need for one because I always have to fight for computer time to get any work done on my writing.

It is really hard to kick the kids off the computer when they are doing genealogy or researching some strange topic that fascinates them. (They also spend plenty of time playing games, but that is another topic entirely.) So it has been very nice this week to open up my own machine and work whenever the muse strikes, or whenever the work just needs to be done.

I'm not telling you this to get birthday wishes or brag about my new toy, but I tell you this because I want to share the constant amazement and appreciation I feel for my husband. Every day he encourages me to follow my dreams and reach for lofty goals. He spends time on the internet learning about the LDS book market and the publishing industry so he can knowledgeably help support and promote my work. When we meet people and they ask what I do, he tells them I write novels, even though I don't have a published book to show for it yet. He constantly tells me what great talent I have and encourages me even when I think I might be wasting time for both of us.

He claims to be my biggest fan and who can argue with that. I guess this is what I am getting at. With my own personal cheering section giving me that kind of support, how can I lose? Because in his eyes, I am already a winner.

HP 7 Book Review

I finally wrested the final Harry Potter book from my son. He was very kind and didn't give away any of the plot and I have been careful no to read spoilers anywhere else. Since everyone has probably already read the book or read other summaries elsewhere, I won't go into that. I enjoyed this book because I loved to see everything finally tied up. I thought JKR did a great job of character development throughout the series and everyone acted the way I expected them to act, which made the ending work for me. I also loved the way she developed place. I could picture every scene and that also made the book come alive.

Being a forgetful reader, I feel like I need to go back to the first book and start again so everything will really make sense. I am amazed at the amount of detail she managed to keep straight in the seven books. The amount of planning must have been enormous. It will be interesting to look back over the other books and note how all the facts lead to the end. I look forward to see what else she comes up with now that this series is done. But really, how do you top that kind of success?

School Supplies

Okay, I know school doesn't start until the end of the month, but we started doing our school shopping this evening. It is much better to start early and avoid the crowds of people all trying to decide exactly which size box of crayons their child needs.

I only took the two girls because my son HATES shopping. (I told him I wasn't buying him any new jeans until the end of the month since he grew a quarter inch in the last week!) We started out with the boring things-socks, underwear, shoes- and then we got to move on to my favorite part. The school supplies. I love looking at pens and pencils, paper and binders, and all the other cool things the kids get to take with them on the first day.

I remember how exciting it was as a kid to spread all my new supplies around me on the living room floor while my mother wrote names on everything, and then arriving at school and carefully placing all those labeled items in my desk. Now it is my turn and I get my trusty permanent marker and write names on each crayon and pencil.

I realized today that I really don't have that many years left. When my last one leaves home, I will have to find new reasons to shop for office supplies. (Maybe since I am a writer, I'll use that as an excuse, although that may not explain the crayons and markers.) My oldest daughter has also developed a love for writing and she collects paper as much as I do. So even when she graduates and doesn't need to make the yearly shopping trip, we can still shop together and stock up on paper to fill with the imaginings of our minds.

The Limits We Place on Ourselves

I’ve come to the conclusion that summer is the craziest time to try writing. Every time I think I am going to come up with a little time, something comes up. So far I am not progressing very quickly on my latest project. I am a little closer, but summer keeps happening.

Not that it’s a bad thing. I’ve taken time off to play with my kids, I went on vacation with my family, other family came here for our town celebrations, I am watching more kids this summer than I planned on, and my primary president is having a baby in a week or two, so the rest of us need to pick up her job for a little while. These are all good things, but they sure get in the way of what I feel driven to do.

“There are no limits to what we can achieve except for those we place upon ourselves.” –anon. I heard this quote a few weeks ago and it got me thinking about the things we let get in the way of our dreams. We can’t turn off our family, work or church obligations, and really, why would we want to? They are only limits because we allow them to be. These things make our lives complete and surround us with people who love us, and ideally support us in our dreams.

Without that support we would have a hard time achieving our dreams at all. Sometimes I think we use all those other obligations as excuses. So how can we take those limits and make them work for us? When I let my family know how important writing is to me, they become my greatest supporters. When I fill my church callings without complaint, I find more energy for other pursuits. And the extra kids I watch, well, at least I am home, so I can take the spare moments and type a few words. Suddenly, the possibilities seem endless and I know anything is possible.

I Heard that Song Before - Mary Higgins Clark

I was excited to put this book on my Summer Reading Thing list. Mary Higgins Clark has always been one of my favorite authors.

The story centers around Kay Lansing who grew up in Englewood. She was the daughter of a landscaper who has now married the master of the house. The only thing that threatens their new-found happiness is murder. Two murders occurred that left her husband a person of interest. Now new evidence has come to light that puts her husband in jail and leaves Kay alone in the Carrington mansion. While trying to solve a twenty year old murder and a four year old murder, Kay finds herself in danger as she wonders who around her she can trust and who around her she should fear.

As always, Clark kept me guessing until the very end who is guilty. I love her stories and all the intricacies she weaves into them. I had a little trouble at first following who was speaking as the point of view changes from first to third person from chapter to chapter, but the story was riveting enough that I soon stopped noticing that. This was a fun read that is hard to put down once you pick it up.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I finally finished reading another book from my Summer Reading Thing list. Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a story about a 16-year old boy from India who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. The boy, Pi, tells his story of survival. As a young boy in India, Pi becomes interested in different religions and explores each one without deciding on any one in particular, but a combination of three. When he is a teenager his family decides to make the move to Canada to escape the political turmoil of India. As they sail across the ocean, the ship runs into trouble and sinks. Pi then tells how he ends up in a life boat with only a 450 pound Bengal Tiger as a companion. We watch Pi as he deals with despair and wanting to give up, and then his determination to survive.

When I started the book, I found it a little bit slow. The writing was quite poetic and beautiful to read but I found myself wanting something to happen. As the book progressed I started to enjoy it and when the shipwreck happened, I was hooked and couldn't wait to reach the end to find out how he gets off his life raft. I would definitely recommend this book. Life of Pi is the winner of "The Man Booker Prize."

Tagged Again

No time for a real post today, we are all out enjoying the excessive heat and taking part in all the events for Magrath days. Here is another tag I filled out a few days ago. This one came from Amanda.

Four jobs I've had:

1. Housekeeper at a hospital - Even if I don't do it as often as I should, I'm really good at mopping floors now.

2. Retail sales - I sold sewing machines for several years and helped in the repair shop.

3. Seamstress - I worked as a seamstress for a bridal shop for a few months and spent years sewing bridal gowns and prom dresses for people.

4. Dayhome provider - I sent all my kids off to school and ended up watching all the neighbors kids.

Four places I have lived:

1. Rexburg, Idaho - Go Ricks College! (or BYUI or whatever)

2. Magrath, Alberta - my favorite place (see yesterdays blog)

3. Springville, Utah - one year in grade 4

4. Grassy Lake, Alberta - the list goes on but these were the first ones to come to mind.

Four favorite T.V. shows:

1. Criminal Minds - I love the whole profiling aspect of the show and the characters are great.

2. Survivor - yes, I got hooked on season one and haven't been able to give it up.

3. That's about it, I watch so little television these days, and don't feel like I am missing too much. I miss some of the older sitcoms though.

Four favorite foods:

1. Anything dairy. I agree with Amanda on this one.

2. Chocolate - although I am trying to cut back :(

3. Fresh fruit, especially pineapple and mangos

4. Japanese food (but not sushi)

Four websites I frequent:

1. myfamily.com - Both sides of my family maintain sites with myfamily.com. It is a great way to keep up with what everyone is up to.

2. sixldswriters.blogspot.com - LDS writers who write about writing and books.

3. tristipinkston.blogspot.com - Tristi puts new things on her blog every day and sometimes more. It is always an interesting read.

4. www.familysearch.org - I love to do a little geneology when I have the time, which hasn't been a whole lot in the last few months.

Four places I'd rather be right now:

1. I love being home, I just wish there were a few more quiet moments. Doesn't happen much with all the kids home from school.

2. In the mountains.

3. On the beach.

4. In a library.

Four Movies I love:

1. Casablanca - this is my all-time favorite

2. The Lake House

3. Calamity Jane - or any other old musical

4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Four Bloggers I tag next:

Sorry guys :) Have fun

Tristi Pinkston

Ali

Shanna

Julie Bellon