tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534673148168736142024-02-19T07:24:48.970-05:00baglady's journalKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-5030447848788673942014-02-10T14:38:00.002-05:002014-02-10T15:14:14.468-05:00Another Post of Eclectic Ramblings.....<span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>I love snow, but come on Ohio......</u></strong></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">Since the start of the new year, I've learned to hate the color white. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAR0i_87dzXrCjtjUjx4kK_NYcJNCkkFfsOSMnvS47IPbDjEG972i9YyQy70Gdul7BEJj5EiNkl9OZVr5T-oqcc39ONJ_LPe9XcoHkj4-EQoceWHrGG_J4Ymq-8bvCDLw-EmWqxE5YQZc/s1600/snow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAR0i_87dzXrCjtjUjx4kK_NYcJNCkkFfsOSMnvS47IPbDjEG972i9YyQy70Gdul7BEJj5EiNkl9OZVr5T-oqcc39ONJ_LPe9XcoHkj4-EQoceWHrGG_J4Ymq-8bvCDLw-EmWqxE5YQZc/s1600/snow+2.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's Maggie's trails in the snow...lol</td></tr>
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I don't think I'm alone on this either. Ohioans, hell probably the whole Midwest and East coast combined, must now hate the color white. Seriously, wherever you look, white. Two feet of white in my front yard. </span><br />
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Driving in my home town now brings back memories of riding with my kids in the little turnpike cars at Cedar Point. You have to stay in the little grooves or your car would hit that strip in the middle and bounce you back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm-YZkbRvdh3Jl79ovBoSSGbkPghdQKPspbuHStYVz3N_4TwqO1KiDfyqJStb3-sJPRvgDmg7l-ZJOsJU0G0ckdK5vpf7mInMOpBCZnoHob2iLyFfVr8mknOHgjE_EIzFI2zZqugTL0o/s1600/cedar+point+cars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDm-YZkbRvdh3Jl79ovBoSSGbkPghdQKPspbuHStYVz3N_4TwqO1KiDfyqJStb3-sJPRvgDmg7l-ZJOsJU0G0ckdK5vpf7mInMOpBCZnoHob2iLyFfVr8mknOHgjE_EIzFI2zZqugTL0o/s1600/cedar+point+cars.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember these?</td></tr>
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I drove in a single lane alley the other day and had to really concentrate on those two tire tracks in the snow cause if I veered just a hair either way, my car would rub against the 4 foot drift of plowed snow on either side of me or the 6" band running under my car. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8U2H46_x7YM7lmoYQ9G0m_ZOtZpn9Pllp73JKyoxx2ceqhZziHFuFyOS6sMfGo_Oy3FWc8_kWCTfZkDBaSxCFsJVApdEopJM8iQFsEGvYMgQMHLIS086meuetS3UefLqC_XLBvtSfbM/s1600/maggie+in+snow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8U2H46_x7YM7lmoYQ9G0m_ZOtZpn9Pllp73JKyoxx2ceqhZziHFuFyOS6sMfGo_Oy3FWc8_kWCTfZkDBaSxCFsJVApdEopJM8iQFsEGvYMgQMHLIS086meuetS3UefLqC_XLBvtSfbM/s1600/maggie+in+snow2.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></div>
Maggie still loves it.<br />
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She jumps and runs and rolls in it, buries her nose in it, and with her belly dragging in the snow, chases her Frisbee where ever the wind carries it. <br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u></u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>My 12 year old baby:</u></strong></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTC39CTEb_fe9Sf0NNtZCiXERLMqodnJ3moeNobuxE38KiRagJ0-BQGmUE8qUAf5m9f9fY-7tK_IHaxrFvECPrPG7J7x6K3tEAqQLK6HlkEEvEWigSuIrZgnI14fXPDxjUVb-OemP-8Z0/s1600/sweet+pea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTC39CTEb_fe9Sf0NNtZCiXERLMqodnJ3moeNobuxE38KiRagJ0-BQGmUE8qUAf5m9f9fY-7tK_IHaxrFvECPrPG7J7x6K3tEAqQLK6HlkEEvEWigSuIrZgnI14fXPDxjUVb-OemP-8Z0/s1600/sweet+pea.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Pea </td></tr>
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This is the queen of the house...in her eyes. And she's never been outside so snow means nothing to her. <br />
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She won't drink out of the right side of the water bowl. If the left side is empty, she will lay there till I see her and refill it. Weird!<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>In my head:</u></span></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">Last week I told my friend I was going to join the Senior Center. Then I caught my breath and said "Did I just say that?" I never thought I'd be old enough to join a senior center. I mean I knew I would age but that was always in the future. Well, guess what, the future is here. </span><br />
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In my head I'm still 45...in reality I'm 65.<br />
In my head I can still dance...in reality I look like a fool (but Maggie loves it)<br />
In my head I can still sing karaoke...in reality I can't seem to carry a tune anymore.<br />
In my head I can still play pool...in reality I suck at the angles<br />
In my head I can still run and jump...in reality I can barely walk my dog around the block without my hip hurting.<br />
In my head I can still roller skate....in reality I had to hold on to the rail for the first hour. My kids laughed...so did I...but in my head I wasn't.<br />
In my head I'm still a size 10-12...in reality I have loved chocolate and ice cream too many times so I'm joining the senior center to use their exercise equipment.<br />
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<em><strong>So</strong></em> I need to get out of my head and enjoy the reality that I need to find other things I can still do because it could be a whole lot worse.<br />
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At least I woke up on the right side of the dirt.<br />
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"But I'm kind of comfortable with getting older because it's better than the
other option, which is being dead. So I'll take getting older." ~ George Clooney
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>God Bless The Make-A-Wish Foundation:</u></span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Over the weekend I got to attend a University basketball game that honored my great-grandson. Cooper has had two brain surgeries to remove a tumor but neither time could they get it all. He has had multiple side-effects from his surgeries, one being some hearing loss, another being meningitis. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Since the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to not just those children who have a terminal illness, but also those with life-threatening diagnoses, Cooper and his family are going to Disney World!! The proceeds from the weekend game and another game last month are going towards this wish. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzyQmtR9_L4/UvkLbnEHDLI/AAAAAAAABBg/-rfvAcuNlT0/s1600/cooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzyQmtR9_L4/UvkLbnEHDLI/AAAAAAAABBg/-rfvAcuNlT0/s1600/cooper.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">The girls basketball team also gave him a new bike which brought a big smile to his face. And the boys team let him lead the starters through the tunnel with his name and stats being broadcast. It was a wonderful day!!! Cooper had the time of his life. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid. ~ /Albert Einstein</span><br />
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A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~ <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/carl_reiner.html"><span style="color: black;">Carl Reiner </span></a><br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-23776216061303353822013-12-28T01:37:00.003-05:002013-12-28T01:39:22.199-05:00Just to Recap....<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>The Weekend Before Christmas Eve:</u></span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: black;">We made it through Christmas with just a few minor issues...the biggest being the FLOOD!! We should be used to it by now but it still is a shock to see how far the water can go when it overflows its banks. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrVafadz3BU3EST2heGVSnhVNCMNkcIVwtgFfRo5cb26BFXwDpxJdwcESd8WXzK6RkqbQRjddghVcCNkesNZXLwTLsseipOLhg_VYFbA2iRySmPbdtspgYQppwBg69FUxAuYY-PBDFfs/s1600/flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrVafadz3BU3EST2heGVSnhVNCMNkcIVwtgFfRo5cb26BFXwDpxJdwcESd8WXzK6RkqbQRjddghVcCNkesNZXLwTLsseipOLhg_VYFbA2iRySmPbdtspgYQppwBg69FUxAuYY-PBDFfs/s200/flood.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTuXIV_ycb8n2Z0Cmo8tk3CgSGFkPyd9QwwQaF6ZEXt0gcFAuECV9TnZTQbDv3vsfmSSTqYmiaP9EHyc-CrAx1-XwTepmMKrqrJ0YrEX-PD6W30Cvstwoq4lHDrNhplKEJhJxFk65j9U/s1600/flood2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTuXIV_ycb8n2Z0Cmo8tk3CgSGFkPyd9QwwQaF6ZEXt0gcFAuECV9TnZTQbDv3vsfmSSTqYmiaP9EHyc-CrAx1-XwTepmMKrqrJ0YrEX-PD6W30Cvstwoq4lHDrNhplKEJhJxFk65j9U/s200/flood2.jpg" width="200" /></a> It didn't used to flood this often or this badly but some years back the city decided to add a new subdivision in what was an area that the river would run into when it rained a lot. And if that wasn't enough, then they built a WalMart on the other side of town in another area that the river favored when the banks would overflow. You can tell from these pictures where the river now has decided to go. All the additions including a new highway south of town has just made it so much worse for the residents of our little town. So now, usually once or twice a year, this is what we have to put up with.<br />
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And then the waters receded....</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>And then came Christmas Eve:</u></span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">We had a wonderful family Christmas Eve at my son and daughter-in-law's house and all but 7 of our family were able to make it. Just thought I'd show off my family to my readers.<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DoKTw81nZq8/Ur4sZ240ODI/AAAAAAAAA_M/HbNvuWxBL70/s1600/family+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DoKTw81nZq8/Ur4sZ240ODI/AAAAAAAAA_M/HbNvuWxBL70/s320/family+picture.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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I am so proud to be the matriarch of this wonderful bunch of kids. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>Looking Back:</u></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Usually looking back at the end of the year means you're going back over the past 12 months and all that has stood out as important. But I'd like to do something a little different. A friend posted some pictures that brought back a lot of memories and I thought I'd share them. </span><br />
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Are you old enough to remember any of these?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCfY1G9EnXG1Qyg6pCvx4ToNGuOPbi7sRD_zX34mbsKZUbCb1dWqJQURbuE67yhFZuj6o4BSur-U-PzvLyDN8JFC27eAsp6NIW0a9O4WOvZ5bSCyu7_whlSiHvpix5jaKmWdQ2uhbpuA/s1600/pincurls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCfY1G9EnXG1Qyg6pCvx4ToNGuOPbi7sRD_zX34mbsKZUbCb1dWqJQURbuE67yhFZuj6o4BSur-U-PzvLyDN8JFC27eAsp6NIW0a9O4WOvZ5bSCyu7_whlSiHvpix5jaKmWdQ2uhbpuA/s200/pincurls.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>
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Back in the 50's my mother would put my hair up in pin curls. But it took so long that I'd get antsy and would wiggle around on the stool. Eventually Mom would get ticked off and throw the hairbrush. And every time she did, it broke.<br />
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We went through a lot of hairbrushes when I was little.<br />
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When I was in Jr. High (early 60's) my girlfriend and I would go to the local skating rink. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUi6l2CAjfxTcpZlDOSHxhn-FCx3yQKmm9Ym8BaHvrN5dIZsMEZqA5GpIoodeQkn4cBdY45bKFGEsyYAXgS1RJm6KzAjK7ImKHqZwYaU8-GTBSkGUtny6XYtsPdM92QqKKyI_9bZiwVps/s1600/roller+skating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUi6l2CAjfxTcpZlDOSHxhn-FCx3yQKmm9Ym8BaHvrN5dIZsMEZqA5GpIoodeQkn4cBdY45bKFGEsyYAXgS1RJm6KzAjK7ImKHqZwYaU8-GTBSkGUtny6XYtsPdM92QqKKyI_9bZiwVps/s200/roller+skating.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
It was the same rink my parents used to skate at back in the 40's. Mom and Dad were quite the skating couple. <br />
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They did all that fancy stuff where Dad would pick Mom up over his head while skating around and they'd do tricks. Too bad I didn't get to see that. But I could imagine it.<br />
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A little secret that no one else knows? That same girlfriend and I would sometimes collect tiny little toads and have races with them. I know...it has nothing to do with skating....just a random thought that came into my eclectic brain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYI43CPFs2pmGI7asWvvUSZ6emqF9VQ-smEabt3C5UG3ntx4zhneZUKK-iM9rK-Nlbpqh6gNlkAoYghsCOMj48H0lNUUaSjZT19bwN94ZSCEXGCrPTdKLIeJBix0suyG7aOOWrXao2qI/s1600/metal+glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYI43CPFs2pmGI7asWvvUSZ6emqF9VQ-smEabt3C5UG3ntx4zhneZUKK-iM9rK-Nlbpqh6gNlkAoYghsCOMj48H0lNUUaSjZT19bwN94ZSCEXGCrPTdKLIeJBix0suyG7aOOWrXao2qI/s200/metal+glasses.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Does anyone remember these? Metal glasses. We had a set exactly like this when I was growing up. I loved having Pepsi with lots of ice in mine. <br />
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In fact, I liked these glasses so much that when I saw them in a retro catalog a few years ago, I had to have them. I still love drinking Pepsi with lots of ice in them...haha<br />
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When I was in high school, in the 60's, this was the only way to dry hair. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSIm9lzumyHH8Sz2KybZqMtLlFeyLqVoIvEY5eFEPEfGH-M_1ryZW_Fqc_Tizlqnbzk1WDf1Pf9LDjoXnSE8cL1jrXHXWOq8W6WXQVnRZ9f8pZkcLnFGcziYQYyusY5yXrYz2VhI7bNs/s1600/hair+dryer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSIm9lzumyHH8Sz2KybZqMtLlFeyLqVoIvEY5eFEPEfGH-M_1ryZW_Fqc_Tizlqnbzk1WDf1Pf9LDjoXnSE8cL1jrXHXWOq8W6WXQVnRZ9f8pZkcLnFGcziYQYyusY5yXrYz2VhI7bNs/s200/hair+dryer.jpg" width="162" /></a></div>
You had to roll your hair in curlers, usually big ones, then sit with this contraption on your head with the heat swirling around inside, probably causing brain damage...at least in my case... <br />
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One Saturday I was getting ready to go out and meet some friends and I was in a hurry. I had my bath ready (we didn't have a shower, just an old claw foot bathtub) and my hair was washed and set in curlers. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone so I put on the hair dryer and stepped into the tub. <br />
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The shock I felt jolted through my entire body and I instinctively yanked off the dryer and threw it across the room. What was I thinking? <br />
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I guess I thought because the cap was plastic and the wires in the tube were covered in plastic, I would be safe. Or more likely, I just didn't think at all. Yea, that's probably the real answer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFluwXzkg2y50B5o30oEOOUdQab1j6H_S-NcbqLQuNdz8i6iHZ6gVjl36DJt6-VOyXLFRrKmPamlyvom73V3GN4E8J151bUeuAcTwaNhxY9URZShs-beSqdk4mPJqxUiFfkaevTeDhDkU/s1600/car+hop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFluwXzkg2y50B5o30oEOOUdQab1j6H_S-NcbqLQuNdz8i6iHZ6gVjl36DJt6-VOyXLFRrKmPamlyvom73V3GN4E8J151bUeuAcTwaNhxY9URZShs-beSqdk4mPJqxUiFfkaevTeDhDkU/s200/car+hop.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This was the first job I had. Yep, I was a car hop. I hooked the tray with the food and drinks on the windows of cars. No, I didn't have roller skates or sing or dance. I just delivered food. But I enjoyed it. <br />
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We have a root beer stand, the BK, in our town where they still use these trays on the window and the root beer comes in icy glasses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o3VbI4fD85cJZ9L-A9MHOSTESWDIX62q8jHCzh_SlDuK1nxll6iz7Ez31JVbYpFE_VKNbYjePVRnNIB4qLpgBvO-qCFhRKyoldvTYOKFThVsMwos37kkjG0EitShNp4hxBhUC1fnOJw/s1600/diaper+pins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o3VbI4fD85cJZ9L-A9MHOSTESWDIX62q8jHCzh_SlDuK1nxll6iz7Ez31JVbYpFE_VKNbYjePVRnNIB4qLpgBvO-qCFhRKyoldvTYOKFThVsMwos37kkjG0EitShNp4hxBhUC1fnOJw/s200/diaper+pins.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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When I got a little older and started having my kids, we still used cloth diapers that had to be folded to fit the baby. And then we used these horrible torture devices they called diaper pins. I stuck my poor babies more times then I can count. <br />
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My first 3 children all got poked with the pins but by the time my 4th child was born, someone had invented disposable diapers. She lucked out...she just never realized it. <br />
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And my last little memory that I'm sharing today is one that I'm almost embarrassed to admit to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgy_eBLOOQ5JtTj3zJrwhnE6Sb8PqTEORj7NRdSgPgXLIPwROaHOq1PD52E2Ooz_dnN8StMs8QOawjtPxRoJKdVtL7_LVGKc1P87jZZPPI6ToIQ0UtAk0qW_PlyJTdWwvEK8ETy4Orj8/s1600/tape+recorder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgy_eBLOOQ5JtTj3zJrwhnE6Sb8PqTEORj7NRdSgPgXLIPwROaHOq1PD52E2Ooz_dnN8StMs8QOawjtPxRoJKdVtL7_LVGKc1P87jZZPPI6ToIQ0UtAk0qW_PlyJTdWwvEK8ETy4Orj8/s200/tape+recorder.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>
If you're too young to remember this, it is a tape recorder. You could either put in a blank tape and record on it or you could put in a tape that had stuff on it and listen to it. I was on the road every day with my job and would think of all kinds of things I wanted to remember. So my Dad bought me a smaller version of this so I could talk into it and play it back when I was at home. But the tape was tiny so I either had to erase what was on it to reuse it or buy more tapes.<br />
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That was many years ago. I haven't had a tape recorder since.<br />
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One day, a couple years ago, I decided I needed one again so I went to Best Buy and asked the young sales clerk where I could find a tape recorder. He had no idea what I was talking about. So I had to describe what I wanted it for...to take with me in the car, to talk into while I was driving and to listen to when I got home. Oh, he said, you mean a voice recorder. A what? He showed me what he had and guess what? No tapes...and it fit in my hand...but I guess I'm the only one that didn't know that.<br />
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And that's the end of my little trip down memory lane. If you're old enough to remember any of these I hope the pictures brought back memories for you like they did for me.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong><br />
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"Remember, if Christmas isn’t found in your heart, you won’t find it under a tree.”<br />
<em>~</em> Charlotte Carpenter<br />
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“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” ~ Karl Lagerfeld<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you don't do anything stupid when you're young, you won't remember something funny when you're old. ~ Unknown</span></h1>
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“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.” ~ Jeremy Irons</h1>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-42128422318688650392013-12-22T12:48:00.002-05:002013-12-22T12:50:50.975-05:00Christmas is Coming!!<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Christmas brings lots of good things!</u></span></strong> <br />
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Well, Mother Nature brought us a white Christmas and then some. My little city had 6" dumped on us last weekend. And I loved it!! <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D5yxDhb7Z7k/UrG-0rVNdvI/AAAAAAAAA9s/KH0ZE6FfWKw/s1600/picnic+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D5yxDhb7Z7k/UrG-0rVNdvI/AAAAAAAAA9s/KH0ZE6FfWKw/s200/picnic+table.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I'm so happy that I now have a really nice neighbor. I shoveled his walk and mine in the morning, then he shoveled both at lunch. Well, it was still snowing, so I shoveled both in the afternoon and then he shoveled for the last time around supper. Lots of snow and lots of shoveling, but it's so beautiful...and it is Ohio after all. We're sort of used to this.<br />
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Maggie loves the snow even more than I do. So we spent most of these snow days playing Frisbee outside until I get so cold I can't stay out anymore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-0Y5CY8eRcaJ2mIa1_RY7QiF-W7GiHSKoBEgLf2fCCMtzKUxebUJJ7JmETmLmdQnb50pXv3ynmjgrmpo2LlhPAGsmcTaUyzvvcTMU6JGlSHhv1195JnwU8v8paBqEwWtLYnX9ILDaIk/s1600/maggie+in+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-0Y5CY8eRcaJ2mIa1_RY7QiF-W7GiHSKoBEgLf2fCCMtzKUxebUJJ7JmETmLmdQnb50pXv3ynmjgrmpo2LlhPAGsmcTaUyzvvcTMU6JGlSHhv1195JnwU8v8paBqEwWtLYnX9ILDaIk/s200/maggie+in+snow.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I know she's covered in lots of hair, but for crying out loud, you'd think she'd get cold sometime...hahaha<br />
The only thing that will bring her in willingly is when she gets snow balls stuck in her toes and the pads of her feet. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Christmas Spirit at Work</u></span></strong><br />
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I saw something last week that warmed my heart. Something I haven't been able to stop thinking of. I was in a line of bumper to bumper cars in the mall area...lots of Christmas shoppers. Traffic wasn't traveling very fast.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3snqHZw4Rym8Cvnbi92jtSW-eqTKUWT71JxfI__fdqkxw8lLQI9ULfBbGTE5VRVlnvwmMKwoG5Jh3uQoFNbhfJmd4da0KBL4kl8dwRVrNpj8v04trxDrflHQ9sO1X5bHBH1jQGmxvZu4/s1600/Bumper+to+bumper.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3snqHZw4Rym8Cvnbi92jtSW-eqTKUWT71JxfI__fdqkxw8lLQI9ULfBbGTE5VRVlnvwmMKwoG5Jh3uQoFNbhfJmd4da0KBL4kl8dwRVrNpj8v04trxDrflHQ9sO1X5bHBH1jQGmxvZu4/s200/Bumper+to+bumper.png" width="200" /></a></div>
This was a weekday and the roads were packed with cars. Anyway, we were stopped at a light and I was in the inside lane. I noticed an elderly man on the side of the road by the curb. He was sitting in an old lawn chair in the snow with a sign. I couldn't read the sign except for the word "food". <br />
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We had been stopped at a light and when the traffic started moving again, a truck in the curb lane stopped, holding up all the cars behind him, and waited as the man struggled to get out of the chair. With a cane to help him, he hobbled over to the truck and I saw the person in the truck hand him some money, oblivious to the traffic he was holding up. As he slowly moved his truck forward, the car behind him stopped and did the same thing. My lane was moving but I could see this happening in my rear view mirror. My chest filled with so much emotion...I wish I could have been in the curb lane...or thought to just get out of my car and give him something to help. <br />
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I see this on TV, homeless people in the big cities, and I understand how great the need is. And I know our little town has homeless people but they're not out in the open where we're reminded every day that our community isn't doing enough. This elderly gentleman and the good Samaritans who were compelled to help has stuck with me. I hope the next time, I'll be in a position to help too. It was truly Christmas spirit at work and it warmed my heart.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>But I live in Ohio...</u></span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Within just a matter of days, our temps rose, the snow melted and it began to rain...and rain...and rain. More than 3" of rain fell in one day, which for most people wouldn't mean much. But for those of us around the Blanchard River...it means another, yes another, flood. So as I type this, I'm waiting to hear how many roads are closed, how far over the banks the river has gone, how high will it be when it finally crests overnight tonight, and most important to me personally...I keep listening for my sump pump to kick back on.</span><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FDKdNktC-KwsLndkxpu9uRrB1YcwTXKLFrQxoE7q3PWg8iq8UZzYDvC_-In5giylGtOvC2bWebEt6vGKI73MtiS1BJMzqgC99Uc0W0PoCgOVo9Jb_bxdgNajuGUNdxwOgOV4a6ldgfo/s1600/big+flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 233px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 320px;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FDKdNktC-KwsLndkxpu9uRrB1YcwTXKLFrQxoE7q3PWg8iq8UZzYDvC_-In5giylGtOvC2bWebEt6vGKI73MtiS1BJMzqgC99Uc0W0PoCgOVo9Jb_bxdgNajuGUNdxwOgOV4a6ldgfo/s320/big+flood.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span>This is a picture of our little town a few years back after a devastating flood. Looking at this, maybe you can understand why the locals get a little antsy whenever a major rain is forecast...especially when there's 5" of snow to melt and run into the river too. <br />
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And next week, temps in the 20's? That can only mean freezing flood waters. But then I live in NW Ohio, I'm sort of used to it...sigh.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong><br />
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A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. - <em>Carl Reiner</em><br />
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Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. - Dr. Seuss<br />
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Weather forecast for tonight: Dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning. <em> ~ George Carlin</em></div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-28216818916784986102013-12-11T18:08:00.000-05:002013-12-11T18:08:30.119-05:00It's Been Over A Year....Whoa!!<h4>
<span style="color: #990000;"><u>Well, hello again!</u></span></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs5LOeKe4Y3rcK8Gqx-inB2IwLgYhgiwySvoFz3LHxcek7y_J1hSZ6HpCeM2u1Ji8g3a_d_IVSrDFdSFY6qC2tOdEsGfbz6Dt2m66dtqzJAAPHDgc4SI6ijecX1QStvKRM6_R-tgXmzM/s1600/clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPs5LOeKe4Y3rcK8Gqx-inB2IwLgYhgiwySvoFz3LHxcek7y_J1hSZ6HpCeM2u1Ji8g3a_d_IVSrDFdSFY6qC2tOdEsGfbz6Dt2m66dtqzJAAPHDgc4SI6ijecX1QStvKRM6_R-tgXmzM/s1600/clock.jpg" /></a>First I'd like to say that time has flown by so quickly that it doesn't seem like it's been over a year since I've posted. I never meant for that much time to speed by...but it has...and to my regular readers...I'm sorry. <br />
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I found myself caught up in my new business...carnival life...then working full time throughout the winter at a "regular job" and before I knew it, another season of festivals, crafts shows and fairs had started. <br />
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Well, some things have changed and I am no longer working full-time through the winter so I can finally take a breath and get back to blogging. <br />
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To those of you who have continued to come to my page and read the random thoughts that run through my head...I thank you. <br />
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Now down to business, or rather whatever random thoughts I have rattling in my head today.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><u>Winter Blahs:</u></span></h4>
I spent the last week under the weather...in fact I was sooo under the weather I couldn't even get outside to enjoy the last couple of warm (30*?) days. For 8 days I ached, coughed, blew my nose, moaned, whined and just generally was a miserable person. <em>I</em> didn't even want to be around me. But time and chicken soup and blankets and tissues took care of me and now I'm back to normal. Just in time for the snow and temps in the teens. <br />
<span style="color: black;">But that's okay cause I love the snow. But with the chill factor 11* I couldn't throw the Frisbee for Maggie for very long.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-MfxSt7TRywdNDp8KAYd2ffgGBlilURhrgLBsTvCrR7micvRspUtNAQ8T0hyH6orbvHpm_WGq-TjdaCaKvbQBB0MZA1vgCICKHt2atnvut2THFhpHnCFfcUeYrn71cPAFAMKO3j79ek/s1600/snow-SNOW.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-MfxSt7TRywdNDp8KAYd2ffgGBlilURhrgLBsTvCrR7micvRspUtNAQ8T0hyH6orbvHpm_WGq-TjdaCaKvbQBB0MZA1vgCICKHt2atnvut2THFhpHnCFfcUeYrn71cPAFAMKO3j79ek/s200/snow-SNOW.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Breaking down the past year:</strong></u></span><br />
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A couple things have happened in the last year that I wanted to mention because they were good things and I love good things. <br />
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In 2012 my daughter, Amy, helped me with the concession stand but with her work schedule she just couldn't commit to all the shows I wanted to sign up for. I needed someone to help and help came <br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sf2oeln2VJe_qpeZ5ToVyg4xV4WvcIJXy6jI3Fb66mDP_Cbjb5Av7Ectj_o1LA-iN0_GLsOSKHZeNTBGKT1vW4nwR2EhTt2aU8xXHMkicYMTwbAobrsJ12D-1apE1Ei5OAtGI5zdSKo/s1600/Van+Wert+2013.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Sf2oeln2VJe_qpeZ5ToVyg4xV4WvcIJXy6jI3Fb66mDP_Cbjb5Av7Ectj_o1LA-iN0_GLsOSKHZeNTBGKT1vW4nwR2EhTt2aU8xXHMkicYMTwbAobrsJ12D-1apE1Ei5OAtGI5zdSKo/s200/Van+Wert+2013.bmp" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
along. My future son-in-law actually decided to go into business with me. Now I have a partner. :) Plus he can do all the heavy things that I struggle with like lifting and hooking up the propane tanks, climbing on top of the trailer to set up the sign and lights and drive the big old truck...whew! We had almost twice as many shows this past summer (2013) as we did the year before and we had so much fun. </span><br />
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Another really good thing? I finally was able to quit smoking! I've smoked since I was 14 yrs old so if you're trying to figure out what that means, it's been 51 years of being hooked on cigarettes. I've been experiencing what I think are some symptoms of emphysema - lots of coughing, out of breath simply climbing the stairs and no energy. I've tried cold turkey, the patch and Chantix twice, but nothing helped. I enjoyed smoking so even with help I wasn't going to be able to quit without the right mindset. Then I met a woman at one of our craft shows that was using an electronic cigarette. After pumping her with all sorts of questions, I went right out the next day and bought the same one she was using. Not one of the cheap ones in the drug stores but a good one. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYi4Ov9W-oZQV672aFVr0pS4_rLZoYFFbt9lZuonS-KiY5achwFkXURwYc6i_IOGq-zGfgZIRDAF8UMydyo_WlZ7K3Uh-8HHWWdWBZGtrEBNQj6gQVv1qUC-8EwPHKATtmA-njpx1kLg/s1600/talonkit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYi4Ov9W-oZQV672aFVr0pS4_rLZoYFFbt9lZuonS-KiY5achwFkXURwYc6i_IOGq-zGfgZIRDAF8UMydyo_WlZ7K3Uh-8HHWWdWBZGtrEBNQj6gQVv1qUC-8EwPHKATtmA-njpx1kLg/s200/talonkit.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Talon from Revolver.com</td></tr>
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">This is the kit I bought and it came with everything I needed to quit. They matched me up with a liquid they thought would be similar to my brand. From the first trial puff in the store, I knew this would work. It tasted and felt like I was smoking my regular brand. That was the first weekend in May and now, 7 months later, I'm still using it. Since that first puff I haven't had one cigarette.</span><br />
There is nicotine in the liquid that I've chosen (there are some without it) but I did my research and nicotine is not a carcinogen. It's the chemicals in the cigarettes that are the problem. <br />
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Will I be hooked on this since it does have nicotine? Probably, but this one's not going to kill me. So for those who enjoy smoking too much to be able to quit, this may just be the solution for you.<br />
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Okay, I'm getting down from my platform now and moving on...<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;"></span></u></strong><br />
<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. ~ Groucho Marx<br />
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By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. ~ Robert Frost<br />
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Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times. ~ <br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1244.Mark_Twain"><span style="color: black;">Mark Twain</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span></span> </span><br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-65346375133175242052013-06-28T12:29:00.000-04:002013-06-28T12:29:21.381-04:00Coming back soonJust stopping in to say that I'm going to be coming back...I promise. To those of you who continue to find my blog and read and comment, I thank you. And I will be answering you comments first thing. <br />
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For now, please be patient and watch for my comeback. It'll be sooner than you think.<br />
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But for now.....th..th..that's all folks! Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-9279448896522460972012-08-29T11:19:00.002-04:002013-12-11T12:19:36.089-05:00My LIfe, My Grandkids and My Reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>A Bit Of Eclectic Rambling:</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">This week has been sort of busy. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I ordered and picked up what food I think I'll need for the Coon Dog Trials this coming weekend....packed it in the freezer in the trailer...hooked it to the truck...then my (future) son-in-law and I were leaving town to set my trailer up at the fair grounds in Lima since all food vendors were to set up on Tuesday. He was pulling the trailer and I was following. Before we had gone a block, I noticed something strange with one of the trailer tires. OMG!! A huge bulge! Okay, don't panic. A quick trip to a tire place, impressed upon him the urgency, got 2 new tires and off again. Two hours later...all set up for Friday. After talking to some other vendors I may not have enough food...worrying a little. But not panicking....</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I visited with my youngest, 2 yr old, granddaughter and, because of all the events I'm scheduled to sell food in, it'll be about a month before I have another free weekend to spend with her. I'm sure she'll grow even more by then. Isn't she beautiful!!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Then my other 2 </span><span style="color: black;">granddaughters spent that last 2 nights with me. Since their Mom had to work at 7am I was able to let them sleep in a little and then take them to school. Little girls giggle so much and I love it! And them!!!!</span><br />
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On the down side, I drained my pool...so sad. This marks the end of summer for me. No more lazy days of relaxing and floating in the warm water....I will miss it. Big tear running down my cheek....<br />
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I am itching to get back to my writing...really itching. Scenarios are playing on fast forward in my mind. I want to rewrite a little of my finished novel. And Charlie is scratching and complaining because his story is still in the birthing process. But my weeks are so busy with my new business until the middle of October that I just haven't had any time to put into working on either novel. And I'm missing it too. But come October, time will suddenly open up for me and you can bet I'll be right back where I was before my sudden impulse to change my life. From October till April, I'll be free to write all day...every...single...day. And I need it so much.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">I have had a little time to read finally and these are the two I've finished recently....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Defending Jacob by William Landay: </strong></u></span><br />
<em>Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.</em><br />
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<em>Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.</em><br />
<em><br /></em><em>Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control. </em> <br />
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This is the premise of the story written on the Amazon books site. But it doesn't touch the emotional impact this story had on me. What will a parent do and how far will he go to protect and believe in his only child? <br />
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I have had a few times over the course of raising my children where a parent will tell me something they think my child has done. Of course I will stand by my child but I always made it clear that if my child did this, and I would find out, they would have to deal with me. I was not the kind of parent that believed my children were infallible. I knew they could make mistakes and wrong decisions.<br />
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But if someone would have ever accused one of my children of murder, I know I would have fought just as valiantly and believed just as strongly as Andy Barber did in this story. <br />
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This is a must read for anyone and I promise you it will touch you in ways you never felt touched before. And the ending...well, let me just say...not what I expected...not in my wildest dreams. <br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Calico Joe by John Grisham:</span></u></strong><br />
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Anyone who has ever heard of, or better yet, read any books by John Grisham, knows he's best known for his courtroom dramas. An excellent writer who caught my eye with his first novel, <em>A Time To Kill</em>, which, by the way, is the best book of his that I've ever read. And that was before the movie. <br />
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But Calico Joe is so far removed from his normal writing that I almost didn't read it. I am so glad I didn't listen to myself. <br />
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This story takes place in 1973 when I was a die-hard Dodger fan. Yep, I loved baseball. But gradually when my favorite catcher was traded down to the minors because of knee problems and then my first baseman and my left fielder, well, my interest started to wane. But when Tommy Lasorda retired, that pretty much ended my obsession with baseball. <br />
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In Calico Joe, Grisham takes us back to that time with part truth-part fiction in the story of Joe Castle, a hero among baseball fans everywhere. Let me add what Amazon has to say about this book: <br />
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<em>A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…</em><br />
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<em>In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.</em><br />
<em><br /></em><em>Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…</em><br />
<em><br /></em><em>In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.</em> <br />
I read this book in 2 days. In fact, I didn't even have time to put it on my blog page in the "what I'm reading" section. One reason was because its not a long book. But reason 2 is because it held my attention till the very last page. <br />
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Yes, there is a lot of reference to baseball and if you're not a fan, then this may turn you off. But I encourage you to continue reading because, like the description above says, its what happens off the field that makes this a down right pleasure to read. <br />
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Both of these books are highly recommended by none other than me, who most of you know usually only reads suspense and thrillers.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong> <br />
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~ Author Unknown <br />
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A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~ William Styron <br />
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Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read. ~ Groucho Marx <br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-11397737829258958682012-08-23T09:38:00.001-04:002012-08-23T09:50:52.360-04:00My Neighborhood<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Changes are coming:</span></u></strong><br />
Let me tell you about my neighborhood. Normally its a nice, quiet place to live. Not a rich neighborhood, just a simple tree-lined street with old 2-story homes that are kept reasonably nice. Remember back in the day when neighbors chatted in their front yards or on their porches? When everyone knew everyone else? That's this neighborhood. <br />
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A family with teenage girls, a few retirees, a couple single guys...and the house from hell next door. Yep, next door to me is a house that the whole neighborhood shutters over. From the day I moved in here, 7 or 8 years ago, there's been people in the house that seem intent on causing one problem or another. And it's not just me that feels that way. It's the steady, long-term folks who have been here for years that cringe at the comings and goings over there. <br />
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When I moved in, it was owned and lived in by the neighborhood drunk. Though he usually kept to himself, he was friendly, but he did love his beer...a little too much. And his pot. But he didn't really bother anybody though. He had a good job with almost 30 years seniority. He had a fishing boat he took out often and a nice truck. Then he decided to help out a friend, let the friend move in, and she brought her crack and her customers. And it became the "crack house". She got him hooked in less than 6 months, had constant traffic coming and going and the ever-present visits from the police. <br />
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My dog chased a few of their customers out of my yard when they would cut through from the alley on my other side. A few of them woke me in the middle of the night pounding on his bedroom window wanting to make a buy. I got vocal a few times ("he's not the only one you're waking up!!") called the police a few times, and cringed when the big white Cadillac from Detroit would show up (their big-time suppliers). Long story short...he eventually lost his boat, his truck, his job of 30 years...and when he finally went to prison for 2 years, he lost his house too. Imagine...in just two years he lost everything he'd worked 30 years for...all because of crack.<br />
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Then the new owner of the house spent a lot of money fixing it up and rented it to a young girl who let her brother turn it into a party house with late night loud parties, fights, broken beer bottles and lots of visits from the police. They were gone in less than a year. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thankfully, he now has another home. </td></tr>
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And then....the owner rented to my present neighbors. These are the same ones that had Bronson, the dog who was so badly neglected and the same ones who's bored 2 year old would throw all the toys out the bedroom window into my yard on a daily basis. They have broken the windows, damaged the privacy fence between our yards, had numerous domestic disputes...aka... more police visits. On one occasion, this mother of 6, climbed on her husband's car and jumped up and down on it screaming at him before locking herself in the house (with the kids outside and watching) while she screamed profanities at the police through the window. They are now divorcing, she collects welfare, has an old man/boyfriend living with her and has trashed the house. According to the landlord, the walls are damaged, the carpet needs replaced and when the toilet backed up...they pooped in buckets...yes, in buckets...before calling the landlord for a plumber.<br />
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She was given until the end of July to move out. In August the landlord went to court. Four days ago the police posted a notice on her door that she would have to vacate. She's still there and she's not going easily. They will drag her out kicking and screaming (she's known for that) and her kids will be the ones to suffer all this humiliation and either end up with their dead-beat dad or be homeless. I feel bad for the kids but I have to admit that when she's gone, we can once again get back to our quiet, friendly neighborhood. <br />
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And now the landlord's going to have to put a lot more money into this house to fix it up again...but, hopefully, in the future, he'll be more diligent about who he rents to. He's a first-time landlord and I think he's learned his lesson. He's even talked about selling but with the economy as bad as it is, I doubt it would sell quickly. <br />
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So if you've ever considered being a landlord of a rental, please be careful who you rent to. Do all the background and reference checks and know who you're renting to or you could be in the same position this poor guy is in.<br />
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The 2 neighbors across the street and I have all expressed our desire to do "happy dances" in the street the day she's gone. Hopefully this doesn't make us bad people...just extremely excited ones to have our quiet street back again. <br />
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And that, my friends, is my neighborhood.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Another Change:</span></u></strong><br />
This change is a happy one and also makes me want to do a happy dance :) I decided at the beginning of the year that I wanted to lose weight. I tried blogging about it on page called "My Personal Track Record". It was also where I was charting my struggle with smoking. But both were going so badly that I ended up deleting the page. <br />
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But I never stopped trying. <br />
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Now please don't ask me how my smoking is going. Even though I've cut it in half, I'm still not proud that I haven't been able to quit.<br />
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But my losing weight? Well, that's been a slow and steady progress and I'm very happy to say that I've lost 20 lbs! That may not sound like much over an 8 month period, but its sweet success to me. I have never deprived myself of what I enjoy eating...I'm just not stuffing myself or eating my late night snacks anymore. So for me it's all about portion control. <br />
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And I swear, the work that goes into running the concession stand burns up <em>bukoo </em>calories, so that helps. Plus, I'm walking Maggie a little more. The arthritis in my hips makes long walks a little difficult but Advil helps some. <br />
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Now for those of you who are scoffing at only 20 lbs...imagine a gallon of milk. One weights about 4 lbs. So that would be 5 gallons of milk...try lifting that. Or two 10 lb bags of potatoes! That's a lot of potatoes and I lost that much! Now I'm not going to tell anyone what I weighed before but I have dropped a size in my jeans. Hoping to drop another size by Christmas. So happy dance...here we go!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
A bad neighbor is as great a calamity as a good one is a great advantage. ~ Hesiod <br />
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Good fences make good neighbors. ~ Robert Frost<br />
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The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends. ~Author Unknown<br />
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The Diet:<br />
A blonde is terribly overweight, so her doctor puts her on a diet. I want you to eat regularly for two days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for two weeks. The next time I see you, you will have lost at least five pounds. When the blonde returns, she's lost nearly 20 pounds. "Why, that's amazing!" the doctor says. "Did you follow my instructions?" The blonde nods. "I'll tell you, though, I thought I was going to drop dead that third day." "From hunger, you mean?" asked the doctor. "No, from skipping." ~ Ray <br />
<em>(Sorry for the blonde reference...lol...I just copy and paste...I don't make these up.)</em> <em></em> Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-20074542537745941162012-08-18T21:42:00.000-04:002012-08-18T21:45:11.138-04:00Always Allow For The Unexpected<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Flag City Balloon Fest:</span></u></strong><br />
Last weekend my daughter and I worked our concession stand at Findlay's Flag City Balloon Fest. Friday night was a bust...rainy, cold and no hot air balloons. The crowd was non-existent. Stragglers were hanging around in case the balloons decided to show up but that wasn't the case.<br />
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Saturday afternoon it was cloudy and looked like rain so the balloons didn't show again. But there was a car show going on so we were doing business pretty steady throughout the afternoon. Finally around 6:00 the sky had cleared up and the balloons arrived and inflated. And so did the crowd.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bedUhoaf1CFCiymXxUD6DZYvfJLnMRQkv4WITrkVjWxkDcCvxOFFhodquIzaZPgUQ8kg-Ukn1ozI7-9NQFetU9P8cOfydVIPazoEDcb55Li7O27lilFVvu3o-N7b_uaTUhkenV6wQG0/s1600/96-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bedUhoaf1CFCiymXxUD6DZYvfJLnMRQkv4WITrkVjWxkDcCvxOFFhodquIzaZPgUQ8kg-Ukn1ozI7-9NQFetU9P8cOfydVIPazoEDcb55Li7O27lilFVvu3o-N7b_uaTUhkenV6wQG0/s1600/96-150x150.jpg" /></a><br />
It was literally solid customers for 3 hours. For every vendor there. At times the lines were so long we couldn't see the end of them. I couldn't have run to pee if I'd had to...thank God I didn't have to. We ran out of tenderloins, almost ran out of chicken tenders and at 9:15 we ran out of propane for our deep fryers. I would have been discouraged being out of propane, but we were so exhausted that I think we were both grateful for the break it gave us. By 9:30 the crowd was miraculously sated and the other vendors were able to relax too. <br />
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The money we made in those 3 hours was almost more than we made at either of the first two events. And I learned a lot from that event. Always plan ahead and make sure I have all 4 propane tanks filled. Always have more food on hand than I can imagine selling. And maybe take a "gopher" along for the next balloon fest. Having someone to fill the coolers with more pop and ice and grab more meat from the freezer in the truck and get more potatoes or bacon bits would be a big help. <br />
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Our next event is called Max's Flea Market and Water Dog Races (fondly called the coon dog trials). It's promised to be a big 3-day event over Labor Day weekend and I can't wait! Lots of dogs and guns and hunting paraphernalia and a lot of red necks...of which I will fit right in...hahaha.<br />
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I'm loving the carny life and when it's over (the first weekend of Oct.) then I will get back to my other life. Since I'll have the winter off, I plan on getting down to business with my first love....writing. I want to finish the first draft of my new novel and research getting my present one published as a e-book. <br />
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I also plan on doing a much needed spring/fall housecleaning thingy that didn't get done in the spring and won't get done in the fall.<br />
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So many things on my to-do list that my winter will be full.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Quotes of the Day:</strong></u></span><br />
Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things. ~ Steve Brown<br />
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A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower. ~ Kin Hubbard<br />
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A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~ Unknown<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-65691484419601753762012-08-08T17:09:00.002-04:002012-08-08T17:16:34.434-04:00Side-Tracked, Busy and Lethargic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">What The Hell? (Can I say that...of course I can...it's my blog)</span></u></strong><br />
I'm not sure how you can be all 3 of the verbs I've listed in my title, but that's what I've been feeling this past month.<br />
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I never thought I'd go a whole month without writing in my blog, but here you have it....one month and 2 days later, and I'm back. And a lot has happened during the time I was gone. <br />
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Where do I start? <br />
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Maybe with the tremendous oil leak in my new/old truck? It's a 1975 Chevy box truck, the one I bought with my concession trailer, and it's leaking oil like someone pulled the plug. I do know it wasn't leaking when I bought it so I can't blame the previous owners...dang it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeA_sxaRA_vsFyqnCmUkoFhCONlK_8eCr6ATnwnhkSRF4__ay9V4mulRGmaLwLPODWI6S79d18uHXrXMDE714HxTDFNMsTMdh24Qxe-Qpxr7rTKICrKSVpVqxo10KbCsKzycOBA9mOU/s1600/car.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeA_sxaRA_vsFyqnCmUkoFhCONlK_8eCr6ATnwnhkSRF4__ay9V4mulRGmaLwLPODWI6S79d18uHXrXMDE714HxTDFNMsTMdh24Qxe-Qpxr7rTKICrKSVpVqxo10KbCsKzycOBA9mOU/s200/car.bmp" width="200" /></a><br />
Or maybe with the oil leak in my new/old car. I noticed a ticking noise and checked the oil...down 3 quarts! Yes, 3 quarts gone in one month. Where did it go? No oil in my driveway and oil isn't something I check regularly.<br />
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Or how about the water leaking all over my floor from my washer? Admittedly, it's probably close to 15 years old, and yes, I checked. It's not a bad hose. I couldn't get so lucky. But for it to happen at the same time as the 2 oil leaks? Really? <br />
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And then there was my pool. I know, it's just a small 12' blue ring pool, one of those where you inflate the blue ring then add water and it stands itself up as the water fills. But do you know how many leaves and twigs and dirt can get into one of those when a storm with 85mph winds blows off the cover? <br />
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If you read my last post, you'll know we had a terrible storm hit our town and many of us, myself included, were without power for up to 6 days. It was just shortly after we all got back to normal that things started going wrong at home.<br />
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So lets see...the truck is going to cost me around $1000 to fix. See, the person who put the engine in (35,000 miles ago) didn't change the old motor mounts for new ones. So now one of them has broken and the engine has slipped and is resting of the frame and rubbing a hole in the oil pan. To fix it, they have to lift the engine up, but that can't be done with one of those pulley things because you have to get to the engine from inside the truck beside the drivers seat. Labor galore! That one's on hold till the business makes a little more money. So for the time being, we have an oil catch pan under the truck collecting the oil that leaks out. <em>And...</em>we have to add oil every time we want to drive it to or from an event. Bummer!<br />
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My car is fixed after putting out $900, but that wasn't just for the oil leak. It had over 100,000 miles and needed a timing belt replaced. And...since it's so hard to get to the timing belt, requiring a lot of labor and time, they just went ahead and replaced the water pump while they were in there. Add to that the gaskets to fix the oil leak and there you have it. The mechanic's exact words were "This was the worst timing belt I've ever seen that was still in one piece." So money grudgingly well spent.<br />
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I now have a new washer and the old one has been hauled away. I won't kid myself that this one will last 15 years (they just don't make them like that used to)...but it should last for a few years.<br />
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And the pool? That took me a couple hours of skimming and re-shocking to get rid of all the storm debris. And since the old cover didn't stay on anymore (the drawstring was broken) I now have a new cover for the pool. But another 85 mph storm....and who knows. <br />
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So the "side-tracked" was all the trouble I encountered. And the "busy" was all the running around and work it took to make everything right. And last but not least...the "lethargic" was my attitude as everything went wrong at once. I didn't moan too much, I didn't get upset...I just got it done. But my joy seemed to be gone. Spending this kind of money all in one week was a real set-back for me and I had a real hard time with that.<br />
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I couldn't write in my blog, I couldn't work on any of my works in progress, I couldn't even write an email. I didn't visit Facebook or Pinterest. And I even approached our last concession event with little excitement. <br />
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Don't get me wrong...we made money at the last event...but all I could think about was all the money going back out. <br />
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So I finally decided this attitude wasn't getting me anywhere and it wasn't going away by itself so I made it go away. I got up off my depressed butt and started getting involved in things again. Two of my granddaughters spent the night and we had popcorn and watched their shows and laughed and giggled. I babysat for another granddaughter and a grandson and had a wonderful time with both of them. I went to 2 birthday parties and enjoyed myself immensely. And I floated in my now-clean pool. <br />
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And this coming weekend we have a really big event to set up for. It's our annual Balloon Fest that brings hot air balloons from all over for one remarkable show of rides and illuminations and lift-offs and kids events and, yes, refreshments (that's me :)<br />
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So I'm getting myself up and dusting myself off and getting back into the things that gave me joy before and I'm happy to say I didn't let all the things defeat me. <br />
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So I'm back and I'm going to be posting here regularly and getting back to working on my new manuscript. Thankfully I haven't lost my sense of humor and maybe it'll show up here again...I know it will.<br />
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Friday my daughter and I set up for the Balloon Fest and we're looking forward to having a fun and profitable weekend. Then we're down until Labor Day weekend. So wish us luck and I'll write more soon.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. ~ Dale Carnegie <br />
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Be happy in front of people who don’t like you, it kills them. ~ Unknown<br />
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Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling. ~ Unknown<br />
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</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-14814494374602136632012-07-06T13:03:00.000-04:002012-07-29T14:37:54.092-04:00MIA<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">I Wasn't On Vacation:</span></u></strong><br />
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I've been MIA this past week, but it wasn't a vacation. I wish it would have been. <br />
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Late in the day last Friday, June 29th, Ohio, especially NW Ohio, took a big hit from a major storm. I was prepared for some of it since I was watching the local weather on television. But not to this extent. A lot of people weren't prepared at all. It hit with such force that a nice sunny day was suddenly, and I mean suddenly, hit with 85 mph winds and rain and hail. Golf ball size hail was reported just south of Findlay. But it wasn't the hail or the rain that did us in. It was the winds.<br />
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I was transfixed. Being a storm lover, I couldn't seen to pull myself away from the window. Now I'm not completely stupid, I knew that was dangerous. But the window I trusted was a thick, permanent, never-meant-to-be-opened window...one of those decorative things. My daughter was on the phone with me and trying to get me to go to the basement but I just had to watch. <br />
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The wind was so strong that the rain was blowing sideways down my street and with such force I couldn't see any houses across the street. It was a thick wall of rain separating us. <br />
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First the TV went out...then the power. I watched a neighbor's tree, a small decorative one, topple over and the top half of another one blow away. <br />
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And 20 minutes later...it was over. In and out, just like a tornado. </div>
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And Findlay was declared a "state of emergency". Over 600,000 people in the state of Ohio were without power. And about 2/3 of Findlay's 40,000 people were too. And all this during one of the hottest weeks on record for June. Temperatures reached into the high 90's with a heat index of 102. And no power.</div>
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I had a small battery-operated lantern and I read in the dark that first night. And slept on the couch cause the upstairs was a furnace. The next day we all got busy. </div>
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At first we, in the neighborhood, smiled, compared stories, and cleaned up our messy, limb-strewn yards. We carted it all to our curbs for the city to pick up. I got out my cooler and drove around town trying to find ice. Every intersection was a stop-and-go. No traffic lights were working. Some roads were closed due to whole trees laying across them. I took my frozen food to my son's, who lives 15 minutes away and missed the storm. They treated me to a cook-out. Then I went home and spent my 2nd night in the dark. </div>
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Sunday I read magazines, wrote, worked crossword puzzles, visited with the neighbors, got more ice, took a lukewarm shower, ate fast food and spent my 3rd night in the dark. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not much else to do for these men :)</td></tr>
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On Monday one daughter got power, then another. My 3rd daughter, Michelle and Dion, were in the worse shape. Living in the country, they had no water without power. Her 2 acres was a disaster of limbs, trees and power lines. She showered at work, he went to his daughter's house to shower. They filled gallon milk jugs with water at my house to flush the toilet. And we spent the 4th night in the dark. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfyFCnG2jC3R8L7UAniKUV6mhyphenhyphenADPKnF8q0j8NuTfiBrxtwOh40r2r3f46QAPSriZT1es7_gdNt1ACrv7qb5V85PS0M1T6GvB5QZjJPCjnHHrRqGaYiiBRU52kBhTOCkJrBMX7y2tmpI/s1600/42632114T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfyFCnG2jC3R8L7UAniKUV6mhyphenhyphenADPKnF8q0j8NuTfiBrxtwOh40r2r3f46QAPSriZT1es7_gdNt1ACrv7qb5V85PS0M1T6GvB5QZjJPCjnHHrRqGaYiiBRU52kBhTOCkJrBMX7y2tmpI/s200/42632114T.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How does a tree this size <br />
get completely uprooted?</td></tr>
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Tuesday I was able to borrow a generator from a friend who had her power come back on. Now I had my little window air conditioner and my refrigerator running...and a lamp at night. No more dark nights...yea! And my house was growling like all the others in the neighborhood. But gas is expensive. Every day I filled my large gas can...$17 per day to keep the generator going. And now I'm only showering every other day. Cold showers suck! And I spent the 5th night with a little power. Feeling a bit testy.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God bless these guys!</td></tr>
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On Wednesday Michelle and Dion got their power back on. I got my frozen food back, was treated to a wonderful breakfast and my son gave me a gas grill to cook on. Then I started my 6th night with little power. But I could cook and was cool in the living room and had a lamp and cold food. But now testy has turned to bitchy.</div>
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On Thursday, I pulled out an old cast iron skillet and fixed bacon and eggs over the grill and felt like I was camping. Feeling better but still want power :( Lights across the street came on. They had power. Maybe we were next on our side of the street. Waited all day. Nothing. Street crews took away our limbs. At 7 pm I filled my gas can again and refilled the generator, set for the 7th night without power. And bitchy has turned into wanting to cry. </div>
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Then at 7:30 pm my lights came on!!!! And the TV, and the Internet, and my land line. And life in the neighborhood went back to normal. Good timing too. Today is going to reach 102 again. </div>
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And, as I posted on Facebook, never again will I take for granted the things we count on every day...the things that make our life easier. Things like hot water and lights on a dark night and a cold refrigerator. Thank God I finally have power. Doing a happy dance!</div>
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<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong></div>
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When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. ~ Haruki Murakami </div>
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And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected. ~ Spike Milligan </div>
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</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-8377035709912852292012-06-25T16:01:00.001-04:002012-06-25T16:12:35.820-04:00<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Loud Music and Hungry People:</span></u></strong><br />
This past weekend was a total success! <br />
<br />
Friday night during the auction to benefit St. Judes's Hospital, my daughter, Amy, and I had non-stop customers from 4-8:30. Talk about getting our feet wet. We learned the hard and fast way what worked and what didn't. And we got a routine going that worked for us both. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjji9Rk1x8Qp_SOJBeHk9ES6ZPW1MotD0uvcL28IraOkhr7F4mFjDFfk80ZzWvgtBNWmMYBvoL-ZQVytaX8-I-45HtXmZPfFeDjI_MlpQRONJE4uVDCWwRArVqzRwo2cBxagc-IyNEuLDk/s1600/2012-06-23+22.51.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjji9Rk1x8Qp_SOJBeHk9ES6ZPW1MotD0uvcL28IraOkhr7F4mFjDFfk80ZzWvgtBNWmMYBvoL-ZQVytaX8-I-45HtXmZPfFeDjI_MlpQRONJE4uVDCWwRArVqzRwo2cBxagc-IyNEuLDk/s200/2012-06-23+22.51.11.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its my camera that's tipped, <br />
not the trailer...lol...and I <br />
was sober.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She manned the front window, taking orders and making the wraps and taking money. I was continuously cooking in the deep fryer, making our ribbon fries, and restocking the ice and pop coolers. The ribbon fries are so cool. Using a drill and a base, one large potato goes into a pokey thing at the bottom where the slicer is, then with pokey things also stuck in the top of the potato, you use a drill to spiral the potato into this really neat ribbon. <br />
<br />
But a soft potato, or a curved potato would result in an exploding potato...all over me, Amy, and the trailer floor. We both should have had aprons on cause we ruined a couple shirts. But it was hilarious every time it happened. The customers got a good laugh out of it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-u5QbhnynRmK8aim27N-a2AuWOJKTKJ8qyDVEXtkkB5Ue1ANxNLDre20PGwqfHLOZqxo1OGU5VTh-kV3Kswk3QnT0YNk_Ty_gbxun5Z5fpcwSxw11n6vftNC2gaz5CkzxLGzXMDEntg/s1600/2012-06-23+22.50.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-u5QbhnynRmK8aim27N-a2AuWOJKTKJ8qyDVEXtkkB5Ue1ANxNLDre20PGwqfHLOZqxo1OGU5VTh-kV3Kswk3QnT0YNk_Ty_gbxun5Z5fpcwSxw11n6vftNC2gaz5CkzxLGzXMDEntg/s200/2012-06-23+22.50.24.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People just decided to join the last <br />
singer on stage and it worked! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Saturday was one loud band after another. Really loud! And we were right beside the stage. My ears are still complaining. But as the day progressed, so did the business. By the time the last band (actually one girl on stage with canned music - she was really good) was playing, the entire fenced off area was filled with people. <br />
<br />
And business was again...non-stop. They danced and partied and sang all evening. We, and the other vendors, finally decided to shut down around 11:30 and they were still partying. The crowd was out of control by this time (in a good way) with a lot of drinking going on. In fact, while trying to pack things into the truck, 2 drunks, at 2 different times, found their way behind our truck, obviously lost, obviously looking for the porta potties, and obviously deciding that this was as far as they could go. One of the poor guys just missed peeing on the electrical box. That would have made my day!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9Hl_BY-zjy735RaPZ6yD2u2MX3lGw9R1xcEdVz9PF3Sb3Fy1pr6PJN0XXnBF4Rx9cyl7TX7BaMKun1kqc7GpJQc2W0REbouiqGYfTJ49XMOWJtkRNpwnptAna4rPBJOZbiQrIiyiyDY/s1600/2012-06-23+22.50.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9Hl_BY-zjy735RaPZ6yD2u2MX3lGw9R1xcEdVz9PF3Sb3Fy1pr6PJN0XXnBF4Rx9cyl7TX7BaMKun1kqc7GpJQc2W0REbouiqGYfTJ49XMOWJtkRNpwnptAna4rPBJOZbiQrIiyiyDY/s200/2012-06-23+22.50.19.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out from our trailer door</td></tr>
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It took us an hour and a half to clean up and close the place down, then we realized we couldn't get out...hahaha! Okay, roll with the punches. The crowd was blocking our escape route. And the plastic barrier around the event was still up. So we just left it and came home (another hour drive) in my car. <br />
<br />
My sweet, (almost) son-in-law went back with me the next day and drove it home for us. It was quite an experience...we had a ball...and buku bucks were made. And that was the whole point.<br />
<br />
What I didn't expect was it taking all day Sunday to recuperate! My old body was really protesting, but hopefully it will get used to these weekends. <br />
<br />
Oh yea, I almost forgot. I lost 2 pounds over those 2 days! Either I burned tons of calories (probably), sweated it off (probably), or maybe not eating well might have done it too. We only had time to nibble off and on.<br />
<br />
But...am I glad we decided to become carnies? Hell, yes!<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #990000;"><u>Funny Quotes of the Day:</u></span></strong><br />
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Did you know that dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish? ~ Unknown</div>
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Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics. ~Author Unknown <br />
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Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." ~ Charles M Schulz </div>
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-67588679182710690892012-06-22T08:44:00.002-04:002012-06-22T11:08:05.316-04:00<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Nerves Galore!</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">Tomorrow is the day for our first festival (tonight is an auction so we may be in business during that) and I'm so excited but along with the excitement is this scary feeling. The previous owners are setting it up this afternoon and we are meeting them at the campground later. So we won't get to watch them set up. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">One time doesn't do it for me. We need to do it ourselves to learn it. Thank heavens they're going to be there today and tomorrow to run us through it again. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Will we remember everything? How to hook up the trailer to the truck? How to light the deep fryers? And backing it into the driveway when we bring it home? That will be the fun part. We really need to have someone there with a video camera cause that will surely be a "funniest videos" clip. Hopefully the garage remains intact.</span><br />
<br />
But a big plus. I found out dogs are allowed at the campground! Yea! Maggie can go along tomorrow and hang out with us. Wish us luck!<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Pet Peeves:</span></u></strong><br />
I've been pretty laid back lately so not much has pushed my buttons. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still tend to verbalize in the privacy of my car when other drivers do stupid things like not accelerating on the on-ramp to the interstate...or not pulling up into the intersection when the light's green and they're waiting to turn left, which means they're the only ones that are going to get to turn when the light changes again. Or how about the guy who was obviously texting while he was coming onto the interstate and blending with the traffic...stupid. But I've tried to mellow out about the little things...and...still...trying...<br />
<br />
But something that <em>has </em>pushed my buttons lately is a little thing that's been happening on a daily basis. My neighbors, that I don't have anything to do with because...well, because I simply don't like them...are really getting on my last nerve. <br />
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They're the ones I posted about that had the dog, Bronson, that was so neglected. (Venting - Jan. 15th) Well, now that he's found a new home (hopefully one where he's finally loved) it's the kids that are neglected. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKo1HiNxtA1APCKV9rijQR_300udYDt1ZNDBTpPxa5WZwLeX6VoCiLc3aA65UjU1jbrFS-7cdsJnVZd_9ecLkdmeOhRrW7yZjJCMbgOGRu5D_0av_PxkhvxwmfFDYofwDurEzTFVl_sqI/s1600/2510889807778080_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKo1HiNxtA1APCKV9rijQR_300udYDt1ZNDBTpPxa5WZwLeX6VoCiLc3aA65UjU1jbrFS-7cdsJnVZd_9ecLkdmeOhRrW7yZjJCMbgOGRu5D_0av_PxkhvxwmfFDYofwDurEzTFVl_sqI/s1600/2510889807778080_1.jpg" /></a></div>
The mom likes to stay up late at night and sleep in the next day. So the kids have to stay in their rooms till she gets up. The youngest, a pre-schooler, makes good use of that time by throwing his brother's and sisters things, clothes and toys and what-nots, out the upstairs bedroom window. Every day. Since the houses are so close together, they always end up in my yard. So lately, I've had to go out every day and clean up headless Barbies's and matchbox cars and drink boxes and school papers...you get the picture. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZnudvKXERMDRMwCu0ieF5l1snWUj3an9-wXFnBhEpdjjaLNh6Mt8xKf11GQ0Yj9R7Lgyg-FodJNuJRdRXgiBVo8dBEsgS_G80fHVk4InHf3Yga8dJSYvHUKIESvVJa510j9cjvTjDIg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZnudvKXERMDRMwCu0ieF5l1snWUj3an9-wXFnBhEpdjjaLNh6Mt8xKf11GQ0Yj9R7Lgyg-FodJNuJRdRXgiBVo8dBEsgS_G80fHVk4InHf3Yga8dJSYvHUKIESvVJa510j9cjvTjDIg/s1600/images.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2BnM6mq266GrsunqbwiO9M7LEwnMElSaT_xoIdI85O1kCde9w-BIM9joSUuhUdFbNyBx6_4B_vJTF8MdVTe0mGciCAa6_ACDDJ5Xhwt6QWR2gh2cPEjTgmKV0P-dUIBolyv6vma0vTU/s1600/1109023521508080_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2BnM6mq266GrsunqbwiO9M7LEwnMElSaT_xoIdI85O1kCde9w-BIM9joSUuhUdFbNyBx6_4B_vJTF8MdVTe0mGciCAa6_ACDDJ5Xhwt6QWR2gh2cPEjTgmKV0P-dUIBolyv6vma0vTU/s1600/1109023521508080_1.jpg" /></a></div>
By cleaning up, I mean that I simply toss them back into their yard. She knows they do this, she's the one who has to eventually clean them up whenever she decides that maybe she ought to mow her lawn (once every 6 weeks or so). And I've let her know twice that I'm not thrilled to have to clean up my yard when this happens. The latest time being last night. But will it stop? No. Cause she doesn't supervise her kids. Cause she's sleeping. Cause they can't come out of their rooms till almost noon. Cause the 2 yr. old is bored.<br />
<br />
But I have to ask myself...are my gripes justified? Or have I just become bitchy in my old age?<br />
<br />
So now that I've gotten that off my chest, on to more enjoyable things. Like reading.<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Celebrity In Death by J.D. Robb:</span></u></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdzfoV2frYKcCyPqcURgvV_WzA2zpLMfFLSpuHnQ1x0h2gTH_kgofxMfAsqAsjqcq788fzz2uTO9S_cRHdUV5UmtNkf60pqkAKmHYgsupccpzDTZRIiakukvaVCutmzxNp33t6w4jbeU/s1600/123755830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdzfoV2frYKcCyPqcURgvV_WzA2zpLMfFLSpuHnQ1x0h2gTH_kgofxMfAsqAsjqcq788fzz2uTO9S_cRHdUV5UmtNkf60pqkAKmHYgsupccpzDTZRIiakukvaVCutmzxNp33t6w4jbeU/s200/123755830.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
I loved this book,. but then I enjoy everything by J.D. Robb. This is actually a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, <em>Naked in Death</em>, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke. But it's not so futuristic that you can't imagine these things really being possible. If I remember correctly, the stories are set around late 2050's to early 2060's depending on which book you're reading. <br />
<br />
Nothing science fiction about these stories, just very well-written mysteries/suspence with cool "toys" we will probably have access to in the near future. And if we don't, we should have.<br />
<br />
Lt. Dallas and her husband, Roarke, are attending a dinner with Hollywood's primo cast of a new movie. When one of them is murdered while everyone else is watching blooper clips from the movie, Dallas and her side-kick, Peabody, must track down the killer in a world where all the suspects are actors....giving award winning performances. <br />
<br />
Another winner from J.D. Robb and full of suspence and intrique, including futuristic toys that I'd love to try out.<br />
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<u><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Quotes of the Day:</strong></span></u><br />
I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation. ~ Whoopi Goldberg<br />
<br />
A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it. ~ Jerry Seinfeld<br />
<br />
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. ~ Steve Martin <br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-57846453014280172832012-06-16T00:59:00.000-04:002012-06-16T01:01:07.168-04:00<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Temporarily On Hold:</strong></u></span><br />
I've been really negligent about a lot of things this past week. And I feel bad about it.<br />
<br />
I try to blog 2 to 3 times a week, but as you can tell, it's been 7 days since I've written anything.<br />
<br />
I also feel bad about neglecting my writing. Poor "Charlie" (my 10 yr. old main character) has been sitting in his character sketch and telling me in his little quiet voice what his life is like and how I need to be writing about it. There are so many scenes that I can see in my head that I keep making little notes about so I won't forget them. I know I need to do something about all those notes. <em>And</em> about his quiet little voice.<br />
<br />
For such a long time now, my writing has been the most important thing to me. I, like a lot of wanna-be authors, have dreamed of the day I could see my novel on the shelf of a book store, in a library and in the hands of a reader. I've fantasized about getting "the call". I've wanted nothing more than to spend my days pounding out the stories that have gathered in my head. <br />
<br />
I have spent every single day for the last few years doing something about my writing...whether it's sending out queries, rewriting my synopsis, jotting down character sketches, researching and just simply writing. It's what my dream is. It's what I want to do for the rest of my life. And I've been learning. A lot.<br />
<br />
But I have to be realistic too. <br />
<br />
The job I have now is getting to be more than I can physically continue to do. I have hoped and dreamed that when the time comes for me to retire completely, I will be able to be making money with my writing in some form. Since that hasn't happened <em>yet</em>, I have put a lot of thought into what I want to do to supplement my social security. I didn't want just any job. I wanted something that I would enjoy waking up to do.<br />
<br />
And then came the concession business. What perfect timing.<br />
<br />
Like my writing, I will enjoy getting up to do this, to go to fairs and festivals and craft shows every weekend that we can. It won't be work, but rather a lot of fun. Meeting people, the festival atmosphere, the smells of good food all around us. Wonderful!!<br />
<br />
But I won't give up on my writing. It's gotten in my blood and I can't imagine not writing. The story of Charlie is going to be a good one. And maybe this will be the one that makes it into the bookstore or the library and the hands of readers. <br />
<br />
And by the way....Congratulations to Nik Wallenda!! A man who never gave up on his dream, no matter what obstacles tried to stand in his way. He said tonight that <em>whatever</em> your goals are, <em>don't ever give up</em>. <br />
<br />
Well, my writing can't be compared to walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls, but that was his dream. This is mine. Writing is my passion and I'm taking his advice and never giving up. I want no regrets.<br />
<br />
But...for the next week, I have much to do to get ready for our first festival. As of tomorrow, my daughter, Amy, and I will be the proud owners of The Wrap Shack. Our first festival will be the following weekend. And much needs to be done.<br />
<br />
So, Charlie, I haven't forgotten about you...I promise. Your story is alive in my thoughts. It will just take a little longer than I thought to get it all on paper. Let me get through this next week then we can spend all the time we need to tell your story.<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. ~ John Barrymore <br />
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All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney <br />
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There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. ~ Paulo Coelho<br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-20392672659821296062012-06-08T17:03:00.000-04:002012-06-08T17:08:47.509-04:00Hectic Mind = Hectic Life<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Temporarily Disorganized Life:</strong></u></span><br />
My life has gotten so hectic lately. Every day I try to find just a few more hours to squeeze out of it. I have a number of things I want to get accomplished, but instead of sticking with one till its finished, I seem to be all over the place. I have to write on sticky notes to remind myself what I need to do...a sign of old age if I ever saw one...or maybe just a temporarily disorganized mind. Take your pick.<br />
<br />
My writing is taking up space on the back burner for now. I've been so caught up in so many other things that I can't seem to find the time to focus long enough to even finish a chapter in my new manuscript. <br />
<br />
I've been researching sites to set up our new concession stand, and even though there's already a route in place for us, there's some free weekends we could be selling food if I can get us signed up as vendors. But I'm getting ahead of myself here anyway cause we don't even own it yet. But still I keep looking...and writing down the good ones. I'm like a kid in a candy store trying to decide what to spend next week's allowance on.<br />
<br />
I haven't even made a dent in my spring cleaning and my house really, really needs it. Living alone does not stop windows from getting dirty or curtains from needing washed and rehung. Or my stupid junk nooks from getting cleaned out. I could probably have a big garage sale with what I find in there. But it'll still be there tomorrow, right?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYdlCbittVnQMQ5_Z_EhvVw6SrHWcXWbXjw8kIBCRbNgIiYpLmgoClvDDp5KiCeYgnrKYYJY_F7HEF5_iF-OQzL8imMajspn57PxT2sAfJ2EoHPwkMNrzQzAwA31ydy20FbRdGI4AeV4/s1600/2012-05-27+17.18.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYdlCbittVnQMQ5_Z_EhvVw6SrHWcXWbXjw8kIBCRbNgIiYpLmgoClvDDp5KiCeYgnrKYYJY_F7HEF5_iF-OQzL8imMajspn57PxT2sAfJ2EoHPwkMNrzQzAwA31ydy20FbRdGI4AeV4/s200/2012-05-27+17.18.17.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The damn pool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One thing I did finish was my pool. Usually I have help from my daughter and grandsons putting this up, but I decided that it couldn't be that hard to do it myself. So an hour after I started, with sweat running into my eyes and my shoulders and thighs aching, my pool looked like this: I didn't realize how much pushing and pulling it took to get it straight and to get all the wrinkles out. Next year Amy and my grandsons can come back. And 8 hours later, this is how it looked...<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm_qeg-xj26FaKHjQg7vhYErC4H5j1M0DZtHjIuOZpf8whNta1FJJw8OCYbHTQZvM9gq_2TuEs1mFjKCf7tgKL9NGHRVo7FEI6bV6KDqbE3hPpre7FACggi0usrWg6BCEnESpNvBjJTk/s1600/2012-06-08+15.21.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm_qeg-xj26FaKHjQg7vhYErC4H5j1M0DZtHjIuOZpf8whNta1FJJw8OCYbHTQZvM9gq_2TuEs1mFjKCf7tgKL9NGHRVo7FEI6bV6KDqbE3hPpre7FACggi0usrWg6BCEnESpNvBjJTk/s200/2012-06-08+15.21.51.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now its a good pool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwn8G0u2pixPMPQqAxY_5pdBq9mMHP-c3zcjNpzZ9HVVWT0YwdgKU4VpWIan2xFNkM2cVXPdKGaIV1f4bzXID2n_tEModVSSHYlun67L5tSbENAPd_HVjJdGSftO0mvrAJfkNyc_rsCzw/s1600/Trace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwn8G0u2pixPMPQqAxY_5pdBq9mMHP-c3zcjNpzZ9HVVWT0YwdgKU4VpWIan2xFNkM2cVXPdKGaIV1f4bzXID2n_tEModVSSHYlun67L5tSbENAPd_HVjJdGSftO0mvrAJfkNyc_rsCzw/s200/Trace.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trace going for a base hit!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black;">I tried to go to my grandson's ball game, but with 6 or 7 fields, I couldn't find him. I forgot my phone, so I couldn't call my daughter to see where they were and do you realize how 8 year old boys in jerseys and ball caps all look alike? Yep, they do. So this grandma just turned around and went home. After the game, Trace told my daughter that he saw Grandma driving around while he was playing...how could he miss me in my yellow banana...he got a chuckle out of that.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeA_sxaRA_vsFyqnCmUkoFhCONlK_8eCr6ATnwnhkSRF4__ay9V4mulRGmaLwLPODWI6S79d18uHXrXMDE714HxTDFNMsTMdh24Qxe-Qpxr7rTKICrKSVpVqxo10KbCsKzycOBA9mOU/s1600/car.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeA_sxaRA_vsFyqnCmUkoFhCONlK_8eCr6ATnwnhkSRF4__ay9V4mulRGmaLwLPODWI6S79d18uHXrXMDE714HxTDFNMsTMdh24Qxe-Qpxr7rTKICrKSVpVqxo10KbCsKzycOBA9mOU/s200/car.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My fun yellow banana that makes me smile!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zxhAHOg6GgrnejF9_HcmI32A5-7rBfsFiP98k3uyvl8-jUs3dGbacCGbJ1jtTHjmQF9HlOlxNfPfoLrrWXPN9qf_PudchRUe_7U2OoPbcrHIX0XAjwODriG8_zTa-4kX8VdErDSSDdU/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zxhAHOg6GgrnejF9_HcmI32A5-7rBfsFiP98k3uyvl8-jUs3dGbacCGbJ1jtTHjmQF9HlOlxNfPfoLrrWXPN9qf_PudchRUe_7U2OoPbcrHIX0XAjwODriG8_zTa-4kX8VdErDSSDdU/s200/untitled.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan and Sophia spending the nite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today (Friday) I don't have to work, I don't need groceries, my bills are paid and I don't have to be anywhere (at least I don't think so...no sticky note telling me I do). So today I said "to hell with it" and am just doing whatever I feel like. My sheets are hanging on the line, I played ball with Maggie, I'm writing this blog post, I baked two dozen cookies and my granddaughters are spending the night tonight. The 3 of us will eat popcorn and watch I-Carly, or Sponge Bob or whatever they want and we'll play one of my many computer games that they love, and I'll...just...relax. No stress, no regrets. <br />
And I'm going to start reading a new book.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>The Litigators by John Grisham:</strong></u></span> <br />
I had stopped reading John Grisham's books for a while because I just couldn't get into all the legal chatter in the book. But I picked this one up because the story seemed so interesting: <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oODwzG25evNS3Oc9hnoRMDoVJctN3Wa5dYD2V0SOMo02yBz5dfgAR-vmDZwQhrlqzND_ki-Es8oSPUnKk_87Lmlo3whDRdU3HQQjVNKODQRTJa7YwrJaY-hI2oiozxmmffIuIjkZQ_A/s1600/litigators-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oODwzG25evNS3Oc9hnoRMDoVJctN3Wa5dYD2V0SOMo02yBz5dfgAR-vmDZwQhrlqzND_ki-Es8oSPUnKk_87Lmlo3whDRdU3HQQjVNKODQRTJa7YwrJaY-hI2oiozxmmffIuIjkZQ_A/s200/litigators-lg.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
David, a young, burned-out lawyer from a prestigious law firm, walks out, goes on a one-day bender, and finds himself in the little "boutique" firm of Finley and Figg. In a word, they're ambulance chasers, but when David joins their firm, things begin to look up. They become involved in much bigger cases involving a large tort action and children dying from lead poisoning in toys.<br />
<br />
<em>The Litigators</em> is a tremendously entertaining romp, filled with the kind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller.<br />
<br />
There is still the courtroom and legalese wording Grisham fans are used to, but I found myself caught up in it to where I didn't mind so much. Not as much suspense as I'm used to, but still a really good story.<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Son of Stone by Stuart Woods:</span></u></strong><br />
As soon as I finished <em>The Litigators</em> I moved right into<em> Son of Stone</em>. I love Woods books, especially <br />
those with Stone Barrington as the main character. Stone can be a dry sort of character, not showing much, if any, emotion. But that's the only complaint I have for this series. <br />
<br />
This review is from Barnes and Noble for <em>Son of Stone</em>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWVHEV6DA9b1anyoB1PFoECXHOgCKo4DBDmnFjSoT4eAiXvzOuDKHu_dfWi5oXI-ZRAk1nlOiSBsvPbjYJjRzzuazIuhxWcUrI4WBy2xyHdCic8n-kRTEREmNcz675honpxTvccZZbwY/s1600/21-son-of-stone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWVHEV6DA9b1anyoB1PFoECXHOgCKo4DBDmnFjSoT4eAiXvzOuDKHu_dfWi5oXI-ZRAk1nlOiSBsvPbjYJjRzzuazIuhxWcUrI4WBy2xyHdCic8n-kRTEREmNcz675honpxTvccZZbwY/s200/21-son-of-stone.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
"Not the least new surprise that Stone Barrington confronts in his latest outing is that he is the father, not just of a newborn, but of a fifteen-year-old boy. Arriving with that revelation are a host of problems, including his relationship with lover Arrington Calder and the aggressive prying of a tabloid celebrity sleuth. A suave change of pace for a popular series."<br />
<br />
<br />
I know there's another book that's come out since this one (<em>D.C. Dead</em>) which I've already read, but somehow I missed this one. And now he has another new one out, <em>Unnatural Acts</em>, that I really must put on hold at the library. <br />
<br />
<em>Son of Stone</em> is another good page turner (I read it in about 3 days in my spare time) that I highly recommend to Stuart Woods fans. <br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do. ~ Kathleen Winsor<br />
<br />
A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower. ~ Kin Hubbard<br />
<br />
Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things. ~ Steve Brown <br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-86170235912316013232012-06-03T21:46:00.001-04:002012-06-03T21:51:43.908-04:00Uncertain Tomorrows<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Worried Sick...Literally:</span></u></strong><br />
I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks. No fever, no body aches, just an overall feeling that things weren't quite right. Upset stomach, a few headaches, extremely tired, on the verge of tears...you get the picture. <br />
<br />
I was beginning to get concerned and decided that maybe it was time to call the doctor. I was hoping he would just tell me I needed vitamins or iron. A quick fix and I'd be on my way. But what if it was more than that? I've always had a vivid imagination...so all kinds of what-ifs were running through my head.<br />
<br />
The day I was going to call him, I woke in the morning with a light bulb flashing in my head. You know, one of those things that just pop into your mind, a bright idea, a revelation of sorts. Maybe, just maybe, it was just stress. So I jumped online and looked up stress symptoms and there was everything I was experiencing. Plain old stress. Who would have thought?<br />
<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQqYyRWFfQM5T0zNRZ9o26Dem6NJQi1hbaznHm2uMjfOPjAhhIY9ML-HfQ72JD6gWmo-XZVPPrffy0om9LHLwzSDqIcvKejvd4-wOe6PrTlBsLtHqd0fFC2xHurJ5CV-Q7UKR-aBenBE/s1600/trailer.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQqYyRWFfQM5T0zNRZ9o26Dem6NJQi1hbaznHm2uMjfOPjAhhIY9ML-HfQ72JD6gWmo-XZVPPrffy0om9LHLwzSDqIcvKejvd4-wOe6PrTlBsLtHqd0fFC2xHurJ5CV-Q7UKR-aBenBE/s200/trailer.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wrap Shack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And the causes of stress...many, many causes were listed. But one of the first listed, and the one that I knew was mine, was a life-changing event. Well, there it was in black and white. I have been stressing for 2 weeks over this whole idea of changing my life-style, changing jobs, and starting a business with my daughter. The concession business, the food cart life, and at my age becoming what is essentially a "carnie".<br />
<br />
My niece did this for years. In fact, she raised her four children behind the counter of a carnival game stand. And she loved it! They all did. The kids are still at it today. And I know I will love it too. If I can just get pass the stressful beginning. But now the ducks are all falling in a row, so to speak. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSFYhEAyjxweX3147tR_ajzgiV4NuZH27IWEJWCGRk7Ddju1QRBsNAqgn1RaJs3FR5S42WhKfRUpiPXnCfoh00NYtBIdn0uISOPzD6XbyndnoNhHSWdzoIVh-e-s52fjXZ4mcuj0G2vI/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSFYhEAyjxweX3147tR_ajzgiV4NuZH27IWEJWCGRk7Ddju1QRBsNAqgn1RaJs3FR5S42WhKfRUpiPXnCfoh00NYtBIdn0uISOPzD6XbyndnoNhHSWdzoIVh-e-s52fjXZ4mcuj0G2vI/s200/untitled.bmp" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Storage truck goes with it!</td></tr>
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So I gave myself a pep talk, shook myself off, decided it wasn't going to get the best of me, it was all working out right...and guess what? I already feel better. Stomach upsets? Gone! Headaches? Gone! Tiredness? Almost gone. (after all I am still old) Oh, yea, and no more tears. I think what helped make me stop stressing was actually going to a show with the present owners of the food stand we're buying. We watched them set up inside and out and we know we can do it. We even were able to jump in and take care of a few early customers. And you know what? I was right. We loved it! <br />
<br />
The owners have volunteered to help us through our first 2 to 3 shows till we feel comfortable...and that's a big plus. We'll need their expertise. So we're getting ready.<br />
<br />
And in 3 weeks we'll do our first show. Wish us luck!!! :)<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one. ~ Hans Selye <br />
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You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway. ~ Steve Maraboli<br />
<br />
In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back. ~ Charlie Brown<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-88282453653124745512012-05-30T17:12:00.000-04:002012-05-30T17:14:54.594-04:00First Impressions<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Do You Judge By First Impressions?</span></u></strong><br />
Does the cover of a book draw you in? Or turn you away? <br />
<br />
What about people? Do the way they look make you want to smile at them? Or turn away? <br />
<br />
I saw someone on the street today that brought back a memory and I wanted to share it. <br />
<br />
For those of you who've been following my blog, you know I was a foster parent for 13 years...69 kids. And we had 69 first impressions. <br />
<br />
A 16 yr. old with his face covered in bruises. Another 16 yr. old in a bikini...at 10:00 at night. A 6 yr. old playing with baby toys. The arrogant, swaggering, 17 yr. old street kid. <br />
<br />
You get the picture? First impressions. We tend to judge a person just like we do a book. By what we see in that first moment. Is it right? No, but it's what most of us do. I've learned though, that by doing so could possibly make you miss a really good person. Like a really good book that was passed over because you didn't like the cover.<br />
<br />
One day I was asked to pick up a young man, 17, at the police department. When I first saw him, my eyes saw a tall, young man in blue jeans that had been sliced from thigh to ankle with a razor blade. He had a mohawk that was hanging way over the side of his shaved head and the odor that emanated from him was horrendous. We smiled at each other, I introduced myself, asked if he was okay leaving with me, and we were on our way. I didn't judge by my first impression. I was too seasoned by this time. As he swung his duffel bag over his shoulder, all I saw was a boy in need.<br />
<br />
Yes, he looked bad. Yes, he smelled bad. But when he began to talk, what I saw was a bright and friendly young person who'd had some really bad luck. <br />
<br />
His mother had locked him out of his house and refused to let him back in. He hitched a ride on the interstate and was dropped off 3 hours later in my small town. For one week he lived in the cemetery. By day he roamed the streets, occasionally eating snacks that he bought with what little change he had. At night, he spread a tarp over some bushes and slept with the dead.<br />
<br />
But that was a rainy week. And a chilly week. He was cold, wet, hungry and lonely. So he went to the police station and asked for help. <br />
<br />
I could have said no. I could have looked at and smelled this boy, turned my nose up and said they'd have to find another home. I could have "judged the book by the cover." But then I would have missed getting to know this remarkable young man. It's been over 20 years and I still remember everything about this boy. He left a life-long impression on me. <br />
<br />
Have you pulled your child away from the scruffy, dirty kid on the playground? Have you given a wide berth to the homeless man on the street? Do you snicker at the old woman talking to herself in the grocery store? Maybe, just maybe, if more of us took the time to talk to any of these people, we might find a remarkable person that just needs a friend, a little help, a kind word or even just a smile. <br />
<br />
Sometimes your smile or jester of kindness isn't wanted or appreciated. But sometimes it is.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">The King of Lies by John Hart</span></u></strong><br />
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Another awesome book by this author. If fact, this was his first novel. I'd already read the 3 he's written since this and was so enthralled with them I had to go back to the beginning and read this one. And he didn't let me down. What an amazing writer! Here's the story:<br />
<br />
Jackson Workman Pickens --- known to most as Work --- mindlessly holds together his life: a failing law practice left to him when his father, Ezra, mysteriously disappeared, a distant wife, and a fragile sister, Jean, damaged by the shared past they’ve endured.<br />
<br />
And then Ezra’s body is discovered.<br />
<br />
Set to inherit his father’s fortune, Work becomes a prime suspect. But so does Jean. Fearing the worst, Work launches his own investigation, crossing paths with a power-hungry detective, a string of damning evidence, and the ugly rumors that swirl within his small, moneyed Southern town. Desperate for the redemption that has eluded him for so many years and stripped of everything he once valued, Work fights to save his sister, clear his name, and regain the love of the woman to whom he gave his heart so many years before.<br />
<br />
I, once again, highly recommend this.<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
It's pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people's first impressions of people are really a big mistake. ~ Vincent D'Onofrio <br />
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My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~ Thomas Helm<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-1516548143180010192012-05-26T19:29:00.001-04:002012-06-10T11:14:51.406-04:00If It Ain't Broke...But What If It Is?<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Stay With the Old or Go With the New?</span></u></strong><br />
I've been doing some research on other ways books can be published without going through the long drawn-out process of trying to find an agent...which those of us going through this know is not easy in today's market. <br />
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Big publishing houses, and many small presses, are really taking some hits with the new e-books. So they've become very picky about what they represent and what they spend their money on. Which trickles down to the agents who are picky about what they can represent and make money on. And guess who's next in that trickling-down scenario. <br />
Yep! You guessed it. <br />
Those of us trying to get a book published, those of us that want to become published authors! So being at the bottom of the pecking order leaves many of us no choice but to try somewhere else. <br />
<br />
But I have to be honest. I didn't know the difference between e-publishing, indie publishing, self-publishing, vanity press and so on. And I'm sure there are many of you out there that are thinking..."where's she been hiding? In a cave?" No, I'm just old-er and not comfortable with all the new techie stuff. But honestly, I've spent so much time trying to find an agent for the traditional method of publishing, that I've kind of overlooked all the other ways of getting my book published. <br />
<br />
So I did some research.<br />
<br />
What I found was that I don't want to have to pay someone to publish my book so that I can try to sell it myself. And that discovery took care of vanity presses and self-publishing and indie publishing. It just isn't for me. <br />
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But I do like what I've read about e-publishing. <br />
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As much as I hate to admit it, (being one who doesn't welcome change), e-books are the new wave. <br />
<br />
I love reading the traditional way. I prefer turning the pages while immersing myself in someone else's life. But my daughter, Michelle, who owns so many books she could start her own library, has joined the ranks of e-reading. Now she can take her e-reader with her where ever she goes without the bulk of a book. My sister, Kathy, has also gone the way of e-reading. And they both love it. <br />
<br />
So maybe this is the way to go...I suppose I could give it a try, research it some more, see if I think I can fit in. I read on Joe Konrath's blog (A Newbie's Guide To Publishing) about companies that can format your manuscript to fit with most e-readers. He recommended Rob Siders at <a href="http://www.52novels.com/">http://www.52novels.com/</a>. He also recommended Carl Graves at <a href="mailto:cgdouble2@sbcglobal.net">cgdouble2@sbcglobal.net</a>. for cover designs. I got a lot of useful information from his post "How To Make Money on Ebooks."<br />
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I still want to see my name on the cover of a book that's sitting on a bookstore shelf or on a rack at Walmart or even in a turnstile at Kroger's. I don't care where they put it, as long as its out there and people want to buy it and read it. Any maybe my next novel will find it's way to one of those venues, but until then, I'm looking at other ways. <br />
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So traditional or e-publishing? What do you think?<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing. ~ Benjamin Franklin<br />
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What's cheaper than a gallon of gas? An ebook. Save a dollar, stay home and read! ~ Shandy L. Kurth<br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-89742138213532492132012-05-23T00:09:00.000-04:002012-05-23T00:15:38.772-04:00Maybe New Is Good<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">To Scrivener or Not To Scrivener:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">I'm trying to learn a new writing program...Scrivener. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">I've read about how wonderful it is on several different writers' sites and it sounded like something that <em>maybe</em> I could get my head around. I have a 30-day free trial (and that's 30 days of use, not 30 calendar days) to see if I like it before I have to pay for it and, I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed. So far I'm still in the tutorial and sometimes I have to read a section several times to get it, but once I get it, my reaction is.....</span><span style="color: black;">Wow</span><span style="color: black;">! Literally. I'm sitting here all alone and saying out loud "Wow!".</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Normally when I am working on a novel, I have papers everywhere. And index cards galore. With Scrivener everything is right there...notes, character sketches, a bulletin board, and even index cards. And all at the click of the mouse. No more flipping through my legal pad or my index cards to find that scene I wrote 2 days ago. It's right there. </span><br />
<br />
But...at my age, I'm not too keen on change. My thought is the old cliche...if it ain't broke...well, you get the picture. But every now and then I can see the possibility that maybe, <em>just maybe</em>, something new could be better than the old tried and true. Plus...it's only $40.<br />
<br />
So I'm working my way slowly through the tutorial,<em> trying</em> to keep an open mind, while filling it with all sorts of new stuff. I'll let you know how it works out in the end, but I'm curious.... <br />
<br />
Have any of you tried Scrivener? And if you did, what did you think of it?<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Pet Peeves:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">Sometimes people just irritate the hell out of me. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Yesterday I'm sitting at a red light and beside me, in the turning lane, is a young kid. His radio is blasting so loud my windows are vibrating. Then his light turns green and he's making his left turn with his cell phone up at eye level and <em>he's texting</em> <em>while he's turning</em>. Now that's wrong on so many levels. How can you possible turn a corner, across 3 lanes of traffic, while texting? I can multi-task, but come on! I <em>used</em> to be guilty of texting while driving, but never in traffic and certainly never while making a turn at one of the busiest intersections in town. And just so you know, I've since stopped doing that.</span><br />
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And then, even worse, while walking into the grocery store, I can hear a man behind me loudly telling the person with him "You have to stay with me! Cars could be backing out and they won't see you and you won't see them. Stay with me!" As we got in the store, he rushed past me, still saying "Stay with me" while <em>his wife</em>, not some child, followed along behind. It was his wife!! He was ordering<em> his wife</em> to keep up with him while he was walking faster than I could have kept up. This couple was in their sixties so I could tell this was a life-long attitude of his. Having been in a relationship like this, I knew this was verbal abuse and it'd been going on for a long time. It took every bit of inner strength I could muster up, to not step in and tell him what a complete jerk he was. But I couldn't have caught up with him anyway. <br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis:</span></u></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNW7GuhInmpu5R7QQL8rRPe3dKphHdUcfK4ECKbd-h1bK26f89hnpGXwTU0EgycR0vmNJRsyS-t_XoYHcn484f4m9dk2QL9NQLnS2D4MOFJYTw7Igu3_OMYZdtYOomcxQUq2ZVtoxEz8Y/s1600/lg-guiltyWives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNW7GuhInmpu5R7QQL8rRPe3dKphHdUcfK4ECKbd-h1bK26f89hnpGXwTU0EgycR0vmNJRsyS-t_XoYHcn484f4m9dk2QL9NQLnS2D4MOFJYTw7Igu3_OMYZdtYOomcxQUq2ZVtoxEz8Y/s200/lg-guiltyWives.jpg" width="129" /></a>Four women go on a girls-only long weekend to Monte Carlo only to wake up on a yacht surrounded by police and accused of murder. It's a "nonstop joyride of excess, friendship, betrayal, and danger." </div>
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This is not normal Patterson reading. First, it is not a sequel to any of his series, its a stand-alone novel. Second, it took me a few chapters to get an idea of the story and to get interested (not normal for me with his books). And third, I've never read a Patterson book with this much violence in it.<br />
<br />
That said, once I got into it, this wasn't a book I could just read at meals and bedtime. I really was immersed in it. Graphic violence or not, I read through my entire weekend. It was that good! Highly, <em>highly </em>recommended reading for all James Patterson fans.<br />
<br />
<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
<span class="firstword">“Mothers of Teenagers Know Why Animals Eat Their Young ~ Unknown</span><br />
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Husbands, love your wives, and never treat them harshly. (Colossians 3:19)<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-14101136871697049022012-05-19T10:22:00.003-04:002012-06-03T21:58:01.741-04:00Old dog/New Tricks?<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Am I Too Old To Start Over?</span></u></strong><br />
I've had an opportunity arise and now I'm in kind of a dilemma.<br />
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At 63, I'm semi-retired, which means I'm still working part-time while collecting my social security. I can only make so much on the side, or God forbid, I have to pay it back. I will one day, in the not-too-distant future, have to stop with my part-time work since it is taxing on my body. So my thoughts have been....what else could I do to supplement my social security?<br />
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Two weeks ago, when I was "helping" my daughters at their craft show, my future son-in-law pointed out a food vendor's trailer that was for sale. You know, one of those little trailers that you see at the fairs and carnivals that sell the delicious, fattening, greasy "fair food". I've often thought that this would be a cool way to make money. Traveling to different towns and meeting lots of people...and making money. I never looked into it because, to tell the truth, I was never in a position where I could do something like that.<br />
<br />
But now I am. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUm8cojJfuuJoGxCAKMha9fA75Mh-gMestlLRU6NWX8ZNdkNl5pa3kE6I9DyJz_Lb2LvyteU1H1QlvwibcmOaBXD_32uXzI2x5dSXQHJ4kIItMeWQlOjrt3Yh4BFWI6NhcHhgsSeEwFI/s1600/2012-05-19+09.50.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUm8cojJfuuJoGxCAKMha9fA75Mh-gMestlLRU6NWX8ZNdkNl5pa3kE6I9DyJz_Lb2LvyteU1H1QlvwibcmOaBXD_32uXzI2x5dSXQHJ4kIItMeWQlOjrt3Yh4BFWI6NhcHhgsSeEwFI/s200/2012-05-19+09.50.38.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wrap Shack is now red...cool!</td></tr>
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So we looked at it. Nice, bright, clean, lots of customers, and a big box truck to haul it. (I kind of wished it would have been crappy cause then I would have just forgotten about it) Two men own it, one of them older than me, is retiring. The box truck has 2 refrigerators, a freezer and tons of storage. It's the perfect set-up. So I took his business card.<br />
<br />
Now I know nothing about the food vendor business. But I believe I am smart enough to learn it. I talked to another vendor, an older woman who drives school bus during the winter months. She loves the life of a vendor. And she makes lots of money. So much in fact, that she bought a 2nd trailer. Each trailer has its own route. She told me some things to ask and some things to be aware of. She also gave me her card so I could call her with questions. <br />
<br />
So now, 2 weeks later, I'm still tossing this idea around in my head. Can I or can't I? Should I or shouldn't I? Does his route come with the sale? Why isn't he just getting another partner? (Maybe I could be that other partner?) How does he know how much stock to have? Does he make a decent living? How old do the helpers have to be? (My 2 grandsons would love helping out on the weekends) What kind of license would I need? But even if all his answers just verify that I can do this...there is still one major problem.<br />
<br />
Maggie. My baby. My 6 yr. old Golden Retriever. <br />
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There's no way that I would be happy or comfortable boarding her every weekend or even every other weekend. And I can't ask my kids to commit to that much time watching her either. So are dogs allowed to go along? As long as they stay out of the food area? Sure, I could chain her to the trailer, but what about 85-90 degree days? <br />
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But then the woman who owns her doggy day care said that I could get one of those canvas thingy's you put up to block the sun. She also pointed out that Maggie would be the star of the show and would be constantly petted and ooo-ed and ahh-ed over.<br />
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So today I'm calling him with all my questions. And then I'll think some more. Making this kind of change at this time in my life is scary. Especially since I'm on my own. One daughter was urging me to try. Another thought I was too old and this was too iffy. I haven't even mentioned it to my other 2 children.<br />
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So can an old dog learn new tricks? What do you think?<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Down The Darkest Road by Tami Hoag:</span></u></strong><br />
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This was a really, really good read. I'm going to copy the review I read on this book because they said it so much better than I could......"Down the Darkest Road is eerie, suspenseful, tragic and thought-provoking. If you've read Hoag before, that's exactly what you'd expect. You'd also look forward to her signature plot surprises. But where Hoag is concerned, I think of them more as … sneak attacks."<br />
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A teenager goes missing and after 2 years her mother still can't let it go. The man suspected of the abduction is free and the grieving mother is relentless in her pursuit of any information she can get on the whereabouts of her oldest daughter, at the expense of her youngest. <br />
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It started a little slower than I was expecting and I almost, <em>almost</em>, stopped reading. But I am so glad I didn't. It picked up and I really began to care about all the characters. I highly recommend this to all you suspence readers out there.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~ Dr. Seuss<br />
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Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone. ~ Jim Fiebig<br />
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Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength. ~ Betty Friedan<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-51213801600937816102012-05-15T12:20:00.001-04:002012-05-16T15:01:16.270-04:00What If?<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">A Random Conversation:</span></u></strong><br />
About ten years ago I was working the day shift at a residential facility. When the second shift came in to relieve us, we let them know how the residents had done and then we just chatted until our shift ended. One of the women told us about a garage sale she'd gone to where she'd found a wonderfully old wooden ironing board. She bought it with the idea of refinishing the wood and painting a skinny Santa Claus on it, then using it as a Christmas decoration.<br />
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Back in the days of wooden ironing boards, they were kept covered with several layers of cloth padding to keep the wood from warping or burning from the hot irons. (And I'm old enough to remember those layers of padding...sigh)<br />
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When she peeled off the layers of dusty old covers, what she found underneath was $164. We speculated for a while about what the money might have been put there for and why no one ever took it out. And then we went our separate ways.<br />
<br />
But I couldn't get the idea of that ironing board out of my head. Why did someone hide money under those covers? Was it to surprise someone else? Or maybe a vacation she was saving for? Or was it her "escape from a bad situation" money? It was obviously a woman, because back in those days a man would have never, ever ironed.<br />
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But the even bigger question? Why was it still there? She'd been saving it for something...but she never used it. Why?<br />
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For the next several years those questions plagued me until I finally had to write about it. My mind went in all directions while I did the "what if" thing. And that's where the idea came from for my novel <em>"The Ironing Board".</em> The story delves into the lives of 3 present day baby boomers whose futures are changed forever after finding an old ironing board with money and diary pages hidden under the pads.<br />
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While I'm actively seeking an agent that will enjoy reading <em>The Ironing Board</em> as much as I enjoyed writing it, I've started on my second novel...no title yet. And I've been trying to come up with an unlikely friend for my 10 year old main character. But this time I found my answer in a television commercial. Who would have thought? There he was, a character in a commercial. So I grabbed my yellow legal pad and wrote the scene that was playing out in my head...before I forgot it....cause I'm smart enough to know that in my old brain, the idea won't reside for long before it's flitted away into the land of the forgotten.<br />
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Ideas can come from a multitude of places and circumstances but only if, and that's a big IF, you're keeping your eyes and ears open to the possibilities. So, if you're a writer, where do your ideas come from? Do you "people watch" or eavesdrop on conversations? Do they come from old memories? Or maybe the ideas just pop into your head. Where did the idea for your latest novel come from?<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Recipe of the Week:</span></u></strong><br />
I haven't added a recipe to my posts for some time and I have one to share today. It's my mother's <em>Chocolate Frosting</em>. This is by far the best chocolate frosting I've ever tasted. Creamy and delicious. And it's enough to cover a 9 x 13 sheet cake with thick, rich chocolate goodness.<br />
The ingredients are:<br />
<br />
6 T butter or margarine 5 T Hersheys Cocoa<br />
1/4 t. salt 2 t. vanilla<br />
1 lb. (one box) confectioners sugar 6 T milk<br />
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Have your margarine at room temp and cream well. Add the salt, cocoa and a little of the sugar. Mix with a mixer on low speed. Add the vanilla, more sugar and 2 T of the milk. Mix with mixer. Add rest of sugar and milk alternately and mix on high till fluffy. The use of an electric mixer is key as it puts air into the frosting and that's what makes it so fluffy. <br />
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Even if you're a die-hard canned frosting user, you will be blown away by the taste of this frosting. If you have any left over after you've slathered a thick layer over your cake, spread it between two graham crackers for a really delicious treat the kids will love. I've even cut the recipe in half and just done the graham cracker thing when I had a lot of kids still at home. And be sure to lick the beaters and the bowl! The best part! <br />
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Psst...just between us...if you make this while the kids are in school, you get to lick the beaters and bowl yourself without having to share. :)<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><u><strong>Quotes of the Day:</strong></u></span><br />
Writing is truly a creative art - putting word to a blank piece of paper and ending up with a full-fledged story rife with character and plot. ~ William Shatner <br />
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Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth. ~ Khaled Hosseini<br />
Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations. ~ Ray BradburyKarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-57583915844323248382012-05-13T12:23:00.001-04:002012-05-16T15:01:47.274-04:00Mother's Day!!!<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="color: black;">To all the mothers out there that celebrate Mother's Day today, I wish you a wonderful, relaxing day with your children. <em>To my children</em>, I love you dearly and am so proud I am your mother. <em>To my daughters and daughter-in-law</em>, I love that you are all wonderful mothers of your own. And<em> to my own mother</em>...I love you and miss you so much.</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq6Fh0HCLlXXVdL0thgHrxkKL6fOT-hhyphenhyphenUcuPl6u9fSPT04pW5r_q-xispKh6YuywDasiFxa4gGIYeJ8DcNn3Uj6Hmvrw0aP-EONqY6gM9bsgHol8YK1ewkQR_dIXyKe3WPXv6cBX2PM/s1600/Steve+and+grandma.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq6Fh0HCLlXXVdL0thgHrxkKL6fOT-hhyphenhyphenUcuPl6u9fSPT04pW5r_q-xispKh6YuywDasiFxa4gGIYeJ8DcNn3Uj6Hmvrw0aP-EONqY6gM9bsgHol8YK1ewkQR_dIXyKe3WPXv6cBX2PM/s200/Steve+and+grandma.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom, at my son's wedding in 2007</td></tr>
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Because of my mother (and my dad...he helped...smiling) there are 3 families growing and thriving and reproducing into future generations...well, maybe reproducing sounds a little weird...but you get the picture. With grandkids and great grandkids and great-greats, there are over 30 of us now living our lives and trying our best to be the best we can be because of my mom (and dad :). <br />
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I know I learned much from my mother. I've tried to pass on what she did so well, and have learned from what she struggled with. I can only hope that I'm passing on the good things to my children and grandchildren and maybe they're learning from what I struggle with. <br />
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Mothers' aren't perfect and since there's no guide for us to follow, we just have to hope we are doing it right. And if we make a mistake, we just try to correct it the next time. Maybe we don't get it right all the time, but we sure don't lack in trying.<br />
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And just because the kids move out, get married and have families of their own, you never stop being a mother. My kids still come to me for advice or an ear to listen or even a shoulder to cry on. They still want to share their accomplishments with me and, I think, still look for my approval...which they have 100% of.<br />
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So for today, cherish your mothers, or the memory of your mothers as I'm doing, and strive to be the best mother you can be to your own children. And again, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEYWnB7pxF8QaJWETt_FhlN903XV2q334Vh517DaROHKbk2BgyLsUGcemfPNtLCMQLEKFhb060MaAVcHWOjlA_Zjo_OdZdI2sSwDKsAMpS2NSR5bnmXBvUgiReOmAXJnLgD0xXQj2qbA/s1600/Catch-Me-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIEYWnB7pxF8QaJWETt_FhlN903XV2q334Vh517DaROHKbk2BgyLsUGcemfPNtLCMQLEKFhb060MaAVcHWOjlA_Zjo_OdZdI2sSwDKsAMpS2NSR5bnmXBvUgiReOmAXJnLgD0xXQj2qbA/s200/Catch-Me-sm.jpg" width="131" /></a><strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Catch Me by Lisa Gardner</span></u></strong> - I really, really enjoyed this story. A young woman believes she will be killed on January 21st at 8pm and she wants Detective D. D. Warren to be the investigating officer. One of her best friends was killed 2 years ago on this date and her other best friend was killed last year on this date. Now it's her turn. The twists and turns in this novel are more than enough to keep the pages turning. And a very satisfying and unexpected climax made me sorry it was almost over. I like the way Gardner writes and have read a number of her books...and this one is right up there at the top. </div>
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong></div>
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A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~ Tenneva Jordan</div>
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Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~ Ambrose Bierce</div>
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Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~ Unknown<br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-90586568093667743632012-05-08T20:31:00.000-04:002012-05-16T15:02:15.716-04:00Don't Beat Yourself Up<strong><u><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #990000;">Sometimes Life Gets In The Way</span></span><span style="color: #990000;">:</span></u></strong><br />
These past several days have been extremely busy for me. I have several writing projects that went by the wayside. Another agent search...edit my 5-page synopsis...a character sketch...2 webinars waiting to be watched and numerous blogs with good advice waiting to be read. Add to that my own blog that's been sitting here waiting patiently for me to update. But life gets in the way sometimes. And you just have to roll with it.<br />
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But sometimes its an enjoyable intrusion.<br />
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I spent this past weekend sitting in a cattle barn at the fair grounds helping my 2 oldest daughters make money. It was the yearly spring craft show for our area and, for the 1st time, my daughters had a booth. And, I'm proud to say, they did very well. <br />
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My oldest, Lisa, makes necklaces and dry skin scrubs for women and t-shirt bags and kool-aid lip gloss for little girls. My second daughter, Michelle, does etchings in glass and makes beer mugs, candy dishes, vases, mirrors and wedding stemware. We spent Friday night setting up and Saturday and Sunday selling. Besides the "fair food" (I ate egg rolls and had lemon shakes...mmm), I love the atmosphere of these shows, and the time spent with my daughters (and future son-in-law) was priceless.<br />
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I left the craft show a little early Saturday afternoon, picked up 2 of my grandsons and we went to my son's home so the boys could fish and then we were treated to a cook-out. The boys loved it, my dog, Maggie loved running the 2 acres and it was relaxing for me, besides the added thrill of visiting my youngest granddaughter. My son showed off his chickens, new-born bunnies and the windmill he built himself to aerate his pond. It was time well spent with my family.<br />
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I didn't once think about all the projects I had waiting at home. Sometimes there are more important things to do than edit your synopsis, or work on that 1st chapter of your new novel, or write your new blog post. Sometimes you need to set those things aside and just enjoy your family. The writing will be there when you get back to it, there's no boss (except yourself) that's going to dock you for missing work, the webinar will still be waiting to watch and so will all those blogs that need to be read.<br />
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So don't beat yourself up because you feel you've gotten behind in what you wanted to accomplish. Instead, relax, enjoy the moments you're in and breath deeply. You can't get these times back again. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~ Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford</span><br />
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Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~ Jane Howard<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-53130999458802960772012-05-03T14:27:00.000-04:002012-05-05T14:55:45.295-04:00I Love Writer's Contests<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">A Contest For Writers:</span></u></strong><br />
I've entered a writing contest that I found in an email I received from Guide to Literary Agents editor, Chuck Sambuchino. This is only the 3rd contest I've ever entered, and I get to submit the first 150-200 words (oops, I originally had pages here...that would have been a lot of reading for these judges) of my completed novel. Now this is exciting to me for several reasons:<br />
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1 - The agent judge, Lauren Ruth (BookEnds, Inc) will be reading my log line and half of the first page of my novel (that's so much better than not reading any of it, right?)<br />
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2 - She's looking for women’s fiction (mine is) that is character-driven (mine is) and has a strong social or emotional message (wheee...mine does)<br />
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3 - The winner is notified in 3 weeks...not 2 months...but 3 weeks. Yay!!<br />
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4 - There is not 1...but 3...winners! So that means the chances of winning are 3-in-....however many send theirs in.<br />
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5 - The winners (did I mention 3?!) will receive a critique of the first 10 pages of their work by the agent judge, Lauren Ruth, and a year's subscription to Writers Market.com...an awesome web site that should be read by anyone that wants to find out anything and everything about writing and how to get published...plus how to find an agent and lists of agents for all genres. Check out this link to see how to join this very informational web site. <a href="http://www.writersmarket.com/">http://www.writersmarket.com/</a><br />
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Now, I'm no spring chicken, I've been around the block a few times, (oops, sorry for the cliches, tee hee) and have read my share of rejection letters. So I'm well aware of the slim chance that my entry will be picked as a winner. But isn't that what we're up against every time we send out a query or a synopsis? <br />
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We're like the kids on the playground that are waiting to be chosen to be on a kick-ball team...pick me, pick me, we shout as we jump up and down, wanting to be sure the ones doing the picking can see us. We think that maybe if we shout a little louder or jump little higher then maybe, just maybe, this time they'll pick us first. But when all is said and done, we know deep down that only the ones with the real talent will be chosen first. Only the ones that can guarantee the team a win will be first out of the crowd...and they don't even have to jump or shout. They just have to be good at what they do.<br />
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So check out this link to the contest and see if your writing falls into one of the categories she's looking for. Who knows...this could be your lucky day. (<a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/ninth-free-dear-lucky-agent-contest?et_mid=553181&rid=2958050">http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/ninth-free-dear-lucky-agent-contest?et_mid=553181&rid=2958050</a>) <br />
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The contest is only open until the end of Monday, May 14th, so you have to hurry. <br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Play Dead by Harlan Coben</span></u></strong><br />
I thought I had read every book written by this author (another one of my favs) until I came across a reprint of this one. Keeping in mind that this book was first released in 1990, I wasn't expecting the quality of writing that I'm used to with this author. But Harlan Coben surprised me soooo much. <br />
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There were 834 pages of large print for me to read and I finished it in about 4 days. Remember, I work part-time and this week had my 2 granddaughters spend the night twice. So does that tell you how the non-stop suspense and lies and murders kept me riveted. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough...after the granddaughters left of course. <br />
A condensed version of the inside cover - While honeymooning in Australia, the young husband, a Celtics superstar, goes for a swim and never returns. His grieving widow, a beautiful model, begins a search for the truth that will draw her into lies and deceptions that stretch back 30 years.<br />
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Reading this book was like riding a roller coaster, except a roller coaster has a big hill at the beginning and smaller ones throughout the ride. This story took me up that big hill, left me breathless coming down, and then, to my surprise, there are more<em> big</em> hills to ride up and hold my breath coming down. But the last big hill was the best...it was the highest, the fastest and had a big surprise waiting for me at the top. Highly recommended!<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
One quality all successful people have is persistence ~ Dr. Joyce Brothers<br />
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Doing what you love is the cornerstone ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer<br />
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Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. ~ Mark Twain <br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-71468963787459889842012-05-01T23:13:00.001-04:002012-05-02T09:22:43.517-04:00When You Write Do You Nibble or Do You Gorge?<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">A Nibbler or a Gorge-er?</span></u></strong><br />
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I have the habits of my pets down pretty well. After all, Sweet Pea is 9 and Maggie is almost 6. So watching the two of them over time, I've been able to tell a lot about their personalities and habits. And neither of them deviate very much from what they consider normal behavior. Even when it comes to eating. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's rolled herself into her chain</td></tr>
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Maggie, my extremely dependent Golden Retriever, is a food hog. I feed her twice a day and both times she wolfs down her food like its her last meal....then licks the bowl...like dry food is going to leave a residue. Next she sniffs around on the floor just to see if anything may have been dropped.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only one of her many naps</td></tr>
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Sweet Pea, my extremely independent, part Maine Coon, is the exact opposite. She also gets fed twice a day, but she approaches eating in an entirely different way. She will nibble for a few minutes, walk away, wash up and go take a nap or indulge in whatever else she has going on that day. A couple hours later, she's back...but just a few nibbles...then gone again. Eventually, by early afternoon, her dish is finally almost empty. And she's ready to start again when it's supper time. <br />
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And you know what I figured out by watching the repeated behavior of my slightly spoiled (okay, maybe a little more than slightly) animals? I write the same way they eat. Yep, some days I nibble and some days I gorge.<br />
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My work days are sporadic as are the hours I work. As a caregiver, no two weeks, or even two days, are identical. Some days are filled with clients bills, then my own housework and laundry. Other days may be taking a client for groceries, billing and filling out spreadsheets. There really is no set time I can set aside that is just for writing. <br />
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So during these hectic days, I nibble. An idea for a scene, or something witty my character says, may pop into my head and I stop what I'm doing and either write it down on a Post-It note or take a moment to get on the computer and add it to my word doc...if I'm home. If I'm on the road or with a client, I stop for a moment and use my new voice recorder. (I've since found out my cell phone can do this. Dang, could have saved the money.) <br />
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But then I have days that aren't quite so busy and I have more time to myself. And that's when I get busy on my novel...or whatever else I'm writing at the time. I have to take advantage of the fact that this may be the only free day I have this week, so I gorge. I immerse myself in my story or my editing and write for as long as I can. Thoughts and ideas that I've been storing up all come out and I find myself so caught up in it that I completely lose track of time.<br />
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One of these days I won't have clients anymore, I'll be completely retired, and I can gorge myself as much as I want...unless daily life gets in the way (I do sometimes have a life of my own) and then its back to nibbling.<br />
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Right now I have to work my writing around my life, but one of these days I'd like to be able to work my life around my writing. But however I approach my writing, it's all getting down on paper (well, actually it's getting down in my word doc) and isn't that the whole point. <br />
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So what about you? Do you have a nibbler or a gorge-er in you?<br />
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I just have one question...<br />
Sweet Pea never completely cleans up her food dish. So if I come home and her dish is licked clean, I know Maggie has gorged her way into Sweet Pea's space. Wouldn't this be called "pet plagiarism"?<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">A Side Note:</span></u></strong><br />
I just want to say to those of you from Russia, China, the Netherlands and all the other countries that have visited my blog, I appreciate your visits, I really do. I'm not sure why you're not showing up on my little globe though. Every since I tried to change it and lost all my little red dots, I've had problems. So if you don't see yourself on the globe, I'm really sorry. Thanks to my stats page, I do know you've been here though and again I thank you. <br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Random Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one. ~ Erma Bombeck<br />
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How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire? ~ Christy Whitehead<br />
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Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics. ~ Author Unknown<br />
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<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253467314816873614.post-14828738453667492442012-04-27T12:20:00.002-04:002012-04-28T10:38:36.900-04:00Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Changed My Mind:</span></u></strong><br />
You know what? Only one week of trying to be on a schedule and I'm already not liking it. I rather like being spontaneous on my blog. When something comes up I want to share, I don't like being on a schedule as to when I can post it...or what I can post on what day. So I think I'll go back to doing what I was enjoying...just blogging what's on my mind...when it's on my mind. That said....<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Here's...My Babies:</span></u></strong><br />
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My dog has a nemesis. His name is Mr. Bunny and he just sits in the yard, not intimidated by Maggie at all. They stare at each other until Maggie's had enough and comes back in the house. She was off her chain one day, charged Mr. Bunny, and he ran for cover. But since then, he's decided she's no threat to him so he stands his ground. Well, that brings her up short. So now they just stare at each other, on chain or off. I think they've just decided to give each other their respectful space. </div>
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This past week, my granddaughters came to spend the night. I put out the sleeping bags on the floor before they</div>
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I can't say Sweet Pea and Maggie are best friends. But they do tolerate each other. When Maggie wants to play, Sweet Pea just smacks her in the face a few times till Mag gets the idea that the cat's just not into playing. S.P. will lay with Mag or lick her fur, but its on her terms and in her own time.</div>
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I bought Maggie a nice, soft, big dog bed, thinking I could keep her off the couch. Right! Look who's decided she wants the bed</div>
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...and look who's still on the couch.</div>
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And you may find this strange...but I've already made arrangements for them if anything should happen to me. Don't laugh...I was concerned about where they'd end up. So I called my son and asked if he'd be willing to take Maggie, and he said "Is there something you're not telling <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AnS0rjnBRfhDjUgbcESbD_SBhd4kSuoZX8zcceiAGZ1jytkEfZuZELVFmw2jh07Ux1RCe_gFaA66pDyWyTjmEEC5TPjrvDzz320Y4eHye0dkfUvcBgGQzlUtZu11_V-HYGV03ShnNkw/s1600/0711091418b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AnS0rjnBRfhDjUgbcESbD_SBhd4kSuoZX8zcceiAGZ1jytkEfZuZELVFmw2jh07Ux1RCe_gFaA66pDyWyTjmEEC5TPjrvDzz320Y4eHye0dkfUvcBgGQzlUtZu11_V-HYGV03ShnNkw/s200/0711091418b.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve's dog, Sedona</td></tr>
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me?" I assured him I was in fine health, this was just-in-case. He said of course he'd take her. He has a dog who gets along well with mine so that's a good fit. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa's cats</td></tr>
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And Lisa will take Sweet Pea. My oldest daughter loves cats, has two in the house and more in the neighborhood that seem to like her yard. When I was little (back in the 50's) my grandmother's back yard butted up against a railroad track. The bums (or tramps that rode the rails) marked her house so that other tramps coming along on future trains would know that this was a house where they could get fed. I think the neighborhood cats have "marked" my daughter's house.</div>
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Animals bring you such joy, I can't figure out why more people aren't pet owners. But then more people have a busier life than I do and lots of kids at home. But being alone now, they fill the gap that my kids left behind. I talk to them, snuggle with them, walk with Maggie (so much more fun than walking alone) and just don't know what I'd do without them in my life. </div>
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Private Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan</span></u></strong></div>
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I will read anything by James Patterson (okay, maybe not the books he writes for kids) and I can't say enough about his novels. This newest is from his new series "Private" which is a renowned investigation firm that's been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Investigator, Peter Knight, not only has to care for his twin toddlers, he also has to find out who's killing so many people connected to the Games. The suspense is in every chapter and the graphics described so well its like watching a movie in your head. Known for his short chapters, each one delivers so much, you can't wait to read the next. This is a most certainly a book you will hate to see end. Highly recommended.</div>
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<strong><u><span style="color: #990000;">Quotes of the Day:</span></u></strong><br />
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. ~ Billings<br />
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Dogs have owners, cats have staff. ~ Anonymous<br />
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An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language. ~ Martin Buber<br />
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<br /></div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17471022199980271777noreply@blogger.com0