SCWW Anthology available -

I forgot to say that the anthology for the South Carolina Writer's Workshop (the writing group for our state with local chapters of which I am member) is available. Go to http://www.amazon.com/Petigru-Review-Kevin-Caruso-Editors/dp/1419676229/ref=sr_1_1/102-8007193-8466562?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192069519&sr=8-1 - to order your copy today. My story - Bride-and-Seek was accepted and I actually earned a little bit of money from that. I also get three copies at the conference next weekend - two for having a story placed and one for attending the conference which will be at Myrtle Beach and I'm looking forward to a break, although it will be a busy weekend since I'm one of the volunteers and I'll be doing everything I can to help out. So I guess that makes me a professional writer. Can't wait to get my copies at the conference next weekend. (still praying for some miracles to happen so I can get down to the beach. Had to have to back out and I think today is the deadline for backing out anyway - funds are very tight and I need to pay for hotel and gas and food - so fingers crossed that some miracle happens in the next few days).

I'm not sure how to get autographs to anyone who wants one - hahaha - like I'm that famous that I'd be autographing my stories - lol - but if you email we can work things out in that department. -- see you all in the postings - E :)

Robert's Snow - snowflakes for auction to help find a cure - day 2

Okay here it is day #2 of the showing of the illustrators and their snowflakes that will be auctioned in November with all proceeds going to find a cure for Sarcome (Robert passed away from Ewing's sarcoma earlier this year and his wife, Grace Lin, author and illustrator had written a children's story called "Robert's Snow". Check it out on the page listed below and also check out the other blog sites for today featuring a few more illustrators and their snowflakes. Bloggers will be posting interviews or featuring the snowflakes until auction time so be on the lookout for more snowflakes to come in the upcoming days and weeks. See complete schedule on the sidebar for who is featured and where - but here is today's list - see you all in the postings - E :)







Robert's Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over 200 children's book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates.



Please stop by and view all the 2007 snowflakes here.

Tuesday, October 16

• Selina Alko


• Scott Bakal


• Alexandra Boiger


• Paige Keiser


• Janet Stevens

And my number one child

Hailie wanted to see what her oldest brother would turn up. The last one on his was Dave Navarro and I've seen him in something but can't for the life of me remember in what. Hailie says she sees the Mitnick person as being a look alike (go figure, he's a computer hacker who has a criminal record - yikes). Anyway - have fun - see you all in the postings - E :)

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

And Benjamin's

The last one for him is Samuel L. Jackson. I definitely cannot see some of his celebrities as being matches, but Hailie says she can see Tom Welling from Smallville as being a match for Benjamin. I'm only having fun. See you all in the postings - E :)

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Hailie's celebrity look alikes

Okay I showed Hailie my blog and decided to do her picture - the last one she is like is Roseanne Barr but the collage will only fit 9 of the 10 - I can see a bit of John Denver in her - a bit but not much - the others I don't see that much match for her.

Anyway - here are her matches - E :)

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Two band competitions in one day

Yesterday we had two band competitions. I didn't make it to the first one (due to funds being a bit low and all). So I went to the second one and while we were geting awards from the second competition, our band director was on the phone with someone who had stayed at the first competition to receive the awards from there. At the second competition, our band took best drum line, best horn line, overall best soloist of the day (trumpet solo in our production), and 1st place in class 4A (only two bands competed so it was going to be either first or second place).

After we got to the field we found out that it was a very close score for us and the gold champion (class 4A and 5A bands that competed - which were only four of them) but we were like 0.06 points behind them so we got second overall for the day at the second competition. We also found out that we took nothing at the first competition - no drum line, no horn line, no drum major, and no colorguard or front, but took 1st place in class (I think they competed in 4A again but will double check and post correction when the results are posted either tomorrow or Tuesday). Will also post some pictures from both when I get them - see you all in the postings

My celebrity matches (something fun)

This was found on Danette's blog - because she was discussing who should play Herman Munster and well the matches for that were some weird ones. So I thought I would post my picture in the link and see what I came up with - not very promising to look like some of these folks. Peter O'Toole was the last one but since the collage wouldn't fit but 9 and I apparently had 10 - here goes -

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

Robert's Snow - Snowflakes for auction - week one

Support a good cause and check out the following featured artists snowflakes

Monday, October 15

• Randy Cecil at ChatRabbit


• Michelle Chang at The Longstockings


• Kevin Hawkes at Cynthia Lord's Journal


• Barbara Lehman at The Excelsior File


• Grace Lin at In the Pages

Tuesday, October 16

• Selina Alko at Brooklyn Arden


• Scott Bakal at Wild Rose Reader


• Alexandra Boiger at Paradise Found


• Paige Keiser at Your Neighborhood Librarian


• Janet Stevens at The Miss Rumphius Effect

Wednesday, October 17

• Rick Chrustowski at laurasalas


• Diane DeGroat at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup


• Ilene Richard at Something Different Every Day


• Brie Spangler at Lectitans


• Don Tate at The Silver Lining

Thursday, October 18

• Brooke Dyer at Bookshelves of Doom


• D.B. Johnson at Lessons from the Tortoise


• Erin Eitter Kono at Sam Riddleburger


• Sherry Rogers at A Life in Books


• Jennifer Thermes at Through the Studio Door

Friday, October 19

• Graeme Base at Just One More Book


• Denise Fleming at MotherReader


• Jeff Mack at AmoXcalli


• Jeff Newman at A Year of Reading


• Ruth Sanderson at Book Moot

Saturday, October 20

• Linas Alsenas at A Wrung Sponge


• Theresa Brandon at The Shady Glade


• Karen Katz at Whimsy Books


• Judy Schachner at Kate's Book Blog


• Sally Vitsky at Shelf Elf: read, write, rave

Sunday, October 21

• Matthew Cordell at Just Like the Nut


• Maxwell Eaton III at Books and Other Thoughts


• Roz Fulcher at Goading the Pen


• Susie Jin at sruble's world


• Susan Mitchell at Check It Out

Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you're so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert's Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.

UPDATE: Blogging starts on October 15, and already today (just past 1 p.m. Eastern time), there have been 169 postings on the snowflakes. Don't forget to stop by and check out the bloggers who are featuring the illustrators every day. Also check out Robert's Snow link above to check out all the snowflakes in the auction area. They really are beautiful; too bad I can't afford any because I love snowflakes but maybe another day. I've checked out the snowflakes and a couple of the bloggers who have posted their interviews, information or the snowflakes themselves and they are very cool, very intricate for small wooden snowflake shapes. Some are 3D and some have that look of 3D but all are gorgeous and are for a good cause. So help find a cure and support the Snowflakes For Cure auction.

Competition results and pics

Not going to do a video or slide show since there are only a couple of pics that I would put up right now. Seems our photographer didn't take as many pics as the two previous competitiosn but that's okay - I'll be getting a CD of the competition at the next meeting which is the 1st of November.

We had one accident when we were closing up everything and getting the stadium closed down. One of our band parents who was working with the funnel cake stand knocked the grease over and burned her hand and both feet. The last I heard today was that she was doing much better; they had taken her to the hospital Saturday night and transferred her to the burn center in Augusta today and told her that she has to come back tomororw and if she blisters up they may have to do skin grafts but if she doesn't then she should be okay. They removed several blistered areas from her hand the other day but they need to keep an eye on her for a few days. According to the kids when I picked them up this afternoon, she is doing very well. She was probably in pain but still showing her usual disposition of happy to be there and all. She admitted it was her fault - she was turning off the burner and just bumped the grease - but thankfully she didn't get it worse - all over.

So now on to the results. I looked up the recap and saw the scores for the bands that performed. The one that took Gold Championship (which was the 3A and 4A bands) scored a total of 92. Our score was not on there (even though we were not competing we asked that we be scored so we would know what to work on for this week before the double competition day) but the kids informed me that our band scored a 91.925 (talk about close scores). The director told them that the school that won with that 92 their music was good but their show wasn't that good at all. So he was rather surprised they took the championship. So goes subjectiveness on the judges' part. Anyway, the next band down scored an 89.150. The scores don't seem very high and especially looking at the 1A and 2A scores, but the SCBDA changed the scoring system this year and so this we are having to work much harder to get decent scores.

Here are a few pictures from the events on Saturday. The first one is of the lady who got burned. She is in the middle.


Next we have Benjamin and the rest of the pit doing their thing.

And this last one is so you can see where I was stationed for the water tent which is behind the stadium and down - you can't really see where I am but you get the idea. I was in the land of the lost - lol -


When you look towards the seating to the left where the light is where I was - below that fence line and there is a good drop off behind those seats - but basically that is where I had been all day long - the competitions started at 3 pm and I left there right before the awards ceremony was supposed to start at 10 pm - Next year I am definitely going to suggest they put the water tent elsewhere and at least give us an opportunity to see the bands compete if only from the backside - lol -

There you have the scores and a couple of pics - enjoy - E :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Video from end of September competition

The video above is of the band practicing and doing their show from September 29. This is the competition that the bus driver hit the deer coming back from. I know I'm a little late posting on this but I have to go through over 200 photos that are sent to me and decide which ones to put in the video. I have fun making the videos and like to play around with them, so they are little time consuming. Anyway - hope you enjoy.

(I did try to put more than my own kids in the pictures but you know I am a proud mamam and have to get my kids there.) Enjoy - see you all in the postings - E :)

Hosted Band Competition (first one)

Wow - I was so worn out yesterday I forgot to post about the competition that we hosted at the school.

Here is the thing, being a host school for a competition, all the adults are volunteers and I was on the water station (handing the kids water from the other bands as they came off from their performance). I had a great time and saw some pretty interesting costumes and lots of beautiful colors. But I didn't get to see the bands perform and didn't get to see our group do their performance because of where we were.

Our stadium is built with a walking track on the outside of the field inside the stadium area and then a drive area that basically runs from the bus parking lot to the bus maintenance lot and out to the streets. So anyone could walk or drive or be on that track without being seen and distracting the events on the field. I didn't mind being on water but when it got dark, it was lonely back there with only one light and not in a very helpful position for our water station.

But the kids were very appreciative of us having the water station regardless of where we were. They were really good from all the other bands. One band came through and were all dolled up like Chinese women and found out that their program is called Journey to China and they are one of 10 American bands going to China next summer for the Summer Olympics. They also won several awards in their class. Now how cool is that - to be selected to participate in the Summer Olympics in China? I wish them well.

As soon as the results are posted on the band link directory, I will post how our band actually scored. Even though we were the exhibition band, we asked to be scored like we were competing so we knew what to work on for this week since we have two competitions in one day.

Anyway, must get some work done - will post later - E :)

Awesome authors contest - I won, I won, I won

If you scroll down Sheri's link http://www.spiderstale.blogspot.com/ and see the Mine! Mine! Mine! packet I won. I can't wait to get it.

It was pretty cool to come home this evening and see a Congratulations, you won email in my inbox. Thanks Sheri for running your Awesome Authors contest and hope everyone that won is as happy as I am - E :)

First Band Competition

Saturday was the first band competition of the season and we did very good. I used Hailie's digital camera to video record the program but I don't know how to edit it. It is lengthy - over 15 minutes because I got them coming on to the field and the whole show.

We were all shocked at the end about who took grand champion in the gold division (the group we were in - 3As and 4As are in the gold and 1As and 2As are in the silver). From what we heard after the competition, the scores were not very high at all (SCBDA has changed the scoring system and therefore making it harder for the bands to score superior. All the 3A and 4A bands scored excellent.) BHP's score was an 83.5; the overall gold champion only scored an 84. We did take best horn line, best drum line and 1st place in the 3A division.

So way to go BHP band.

On the way home, one of the buses (the first bus) hit a deer. Some of the guys actually went back and picked up the deer - guess they are hunters and took it home to clean it and use the meat. The deer wasn't that big really so may not make good meat. So the three trophies from the competition and a deer came back to the school - lol.


Here is a pic of Benjamin and our solo piccolo player (she's my adopted second daughter; such a sweetheart - always comes up to give me a hug when she can and just likes me lol - she's a good kid) and the deer.




The other one is the 1st place trophy with the person who substitutes for the drum major if she isn't there. These were taken by Hailie after I had done the video. The video won't load but will play around with it and maybe make it shorter - two pieces and see if I can get them to load. enjoy - E :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Birthday and full moon

Today, okay yesterday actually considering it is now after 1 a.m. here, was my youngest child's birthday. He is an official teenager - 13 - no longer a baby. I have no babies left - wahhhhh :(

So his dad gave him some money for his birthday. I had spent all day at the school separating and checking and double and triple orders for pizza and cookie dough and making sure everyone picked up their orders. I got home about 6:30 and Benjamin comes out wanting to immediately go to dinner and spend his money. Now it's Wednesday and Hailie has gone to a friend's house to go to church with her and wants me to pick her up about 8:30. to get to town to a decent restaurant and eat and then let Benjamin do some shopping takes about two hours. Oh what to do. So we head to Anderson and on the way are discussing where to eat. We had decided on Harbor Inn which is right near the mall because that is where he wants to go to spend his money. We are almost at Harbor Inn and he looks over to the left and goes in to panic mode - IHOP, let's go to IHOP - so I had to make a quick turn, luckily at a light and no traffic (after all it is Wednesday night and most folks are in church during this time). We go to IHOP. I was thinking the crepe fest sounded good but changed my mind - had the country fried steak. So Benjamin orders a double BLT (lots of bacon made up like a club sandwich), and then decides to order an appetitizer of chicken tenders. Talk about yummy - they were so delish.

I told the waitress it was his birthday and he was an official teenager now - so after we eat she brings this humongous sundae out - with caramel and chocolate and lots of whipped cream (Benjamin has never really been a whipped cream lover - usually doesn't get it if he can avoid it) - so we both ate on the sundae.

We get to the mall at 8 p.m. I tell him he has 30 minutes to shop (he had a goal place to go and knew what he wanted). I was going to read while he was shopping, dozed off a couple of times but not anything lengthy. He pops out of the mall at 8:31 - talk about good shopping.

On the way back to get Hailie from her friend's, I look up and the moon is so full and pretty. Not a beautiful moon but a very nice one - clear sky, no clouds, no trees to obscure the view and just the brightness from the moon shining on us. So I pick on him about getting home and howling at the moon. He wasn't interested. He was more interested in the video games he had just purchased. Okay, so he wasn't howling at the moon, I did it for him while in the car at a red light. Thankfully all the windows were up and no one heard me - lol -

It was an overally enjoyable evening - spending time with my now teenage son.

heading to bed - see you all in the postings - E :)

First competition of the season but not a competition

The band went to Fort Mill for a Bands of America (now switching names to Music for All) fall preview. Basically this is a nonscored competition where the bands showcase their programs. I was a bit disappointed in the parent participation - this was not played up like the time we went to the Regional championships in Atlanta in the fall of 2005. Unfortunately none of the BOA regional competitions in Atlanta have fallen at a good time since then.

One of the teachers who attended the competition and probably is using the photography hobby to travel took pictures of the band. Okay his child was in the University's exhibition show which was pretty good.

So here are a few pics of my kids as close as possible to showcase our program this year - we are doing a civil war theme and there are 6 movements and there are several flag changes and lots of props. I'm only going to share a few of them - the man must have taken about 100 pics from the contest.
Check out the video above - enjoy - E :)



AN UPDATE - COULDN'T GET THE SAVED PICTURES TO LOOK RIGHT - THEY LOOKED OKAY ON THE LINK I GOT THEM FROM BUT THEY ARE BLURRY WHEN I TRY TO MAKE MY LITTLE VIDEO OR UPLOAD TO HERE DIRECTLY - WILL WORK ON IT AND SEE WHAT I CAN COME UP WITH BECAUSE THE PICS ARE PRETTY GOOD. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, I POST THE LINK TO THE PICS AND LET YOU GUYS SEE THE WHOLE THING INCLUDING OTHER ACTIVITIES BUT THE FIRST 1/3 OR SO IS JUST FROM SATURDAY - E :)

Finally some pics to share - Decatur book festival

I finally received some pictures of the characters with the eagle. These were taken Sunday - sorry none of Biscuit.

Benjamin had to be Maisey and he is the Toad on Frog and Toad - but Hailie isn't the Frog this day (this was a just doing it because he wanted to).

Hope you guys enjoy - E :)

Suzy's Scribbles - Friday Show & Tell: My New Writing Workshop Blog!

Suzy's Scribbles - Friday Show & Tell: My New Writing Workshop Blog!

reaching for the stars - writing workshop for kids

So my friend Suzy over at Suzy's Scribbles has started another blog for young writers. The second blog is dedicated to using her workbook - Reaching for the Stars - to help children in the writing process. So here is her little add and you can always find her at the homeschooling blog http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SuzyScribbles/394768/ --- give her a shout or try the writing lessons yourself and see what you come up with - I'm saving them in my files for my daughter so she can start writing some stories - E :)

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/WritingWorkshop/ - can't get the video to work but it is on the first link - hope to see you all in the postings - and enjoy - E :)

Half moon, sort of

I meant to post this the other night but I forgot and was on someone else's blog (viewing it - Copper Moon I believe) and it reminded me of the moon Tuesday night. On my way home from the writer's group meeting the moon was hanging low in the sky. It was an almost perfectly shaped half moon. But the more I stared at it and followed it home, the more I realized it was not exactly a half moon nor was it a crescent moon. But it was eerily beautiful. My calendar shows an open crescent, with the inside crescent facing to the left, for yesterday so not sure what phase the moon was in Tuesday night. Needless to say, at that time I wish I had had a camera so as to get a picture to post of the moon.

There have been several encounters with eery, beautiful moons over my lifetime. One time, coming over a bridge the moon was so large appearing it felt I could reach out and touch it on that bridge. It was also a wickedly strange orange color but it was absolutely beautiful. Again, I wish I'd had a camera to be able to show you.

So I ask you - what are some beautiful night skies you have experienced, either recently or from your past that have stuck with you? Share your moon stories, and if you happen to have some pictures of those gorgeous moons, share them as well. Would love to see some other experiences from around the world. The moon has to look different to those in Australia, right? - see you all in the postings - E :)

Decatur Book Festival

Yes I know that was two weeks ago but I have been awaiting pictures of the kids dressed up as characters to come to me and have yet to receive them. So I decided I would just have to worry about posting pics later and go ahead and talk about the Decatur Book Festival.

I volunteered and since the kids had to be with me, I decided that they could work too. So after many contacts and all, we finally got everything situated. Of course my money situation didn't cooperate too much but we did get that worked out. Anyway - so we head down to Decatur on Saturday the 1st - drive about 3 hours and land in the parking garage that is basically just a couple of blocks from where the main events are.

The theme this year was "Where The Wild Things Are" and there were some readings and of a course a parade with Wild thing himself leading the way to the square where the kids activities center was set up.

Hailie and Benjamin made appearances Saturday as Frog and Toad - I took a picture of them on the cell phone but since bear doesn't have text messaging, I couldn't email it to myself to have on the computer to post here.

Saturday they were scheduled to be Biscuit the dog and Maisey the mouse. Well, Biscuit made his appearance (I missed seeing him because I was doing some volunteer duties). The guy from Eagle Eye Bookstore was walking around with the Eagle and snapping pictures on his cell phone but I think he also missed Biscuit. From what I understand, Biscuit was being guided back to the area and there was this little dog tied up to a metal chair and when Biscuit walked by, the dog decided to show how mighty he was - so he chased Biscuit, tied to the chair - and thereby was dragging the chair with him. Biscuit escaped.

Maisey was to appear after Biscuit but the outfit was too small for Hailie so Benjamin had to dress up again. The Eagle and his guide were snapping pictures and got some of Maisey. After a short break, Benjamin asked if he could do Frog and Toad again if someone else wanted to do them. So he came back as toad and the young lady who had been a rabbit (Max is what I heard her to be) came out as Frog. Eagle and more pictures.

I walked around some but didn't get to see some of the activities I wanted to do - because I didn't really know when they were or was busy doing my volunteer duties.

Sunday night when we came back to the hotel, of course it being the day before a holiday, we were kind of worn out. So after we ate and all and we finally laid our heads down to rest, the whole world kind of went crazy. The hotel we stayed in shared a parking lot of sorts with another (we stayed at the Super 8 on Chamblee-Tucker and right next to us was the Motel 6)- well someone must have thought they were in a private residence because they decided to blare the music right outside my room. Several other patrons hollered for them to shut up. I called the front desk and was told they couldn't do anything. So, what was left. I'm not from the area and needed some sleep so I could drive back. I called 911 and explained to the operator that it wasn't an emergency but that I wasn't from the area and didn't really know who to call due to the noise right outside my room from these partiers. She even asked if I wanted to speak to the officer when they got there - nope - I wanted to remain annonymous, or as much as possible. The partiers did get quiet but I heard them on the other side of the hotel - at least not at my door. Thank goodness.

Needless to say, we did get some sleep and left out that Monday morning fairly bright eyed and bushy tailed. On the way home, decided to stop at my sister-in-law's and see the girls (I knew my nephew was working and probably my brother too - they had recently moved to a hotel/suite/extended stay place due to the house they were going to rent being rented out from under them - and they are awaiting another place - supposed to be this weekend - but who knows). Anyway - the girls were swimming so the kids (since the hotel I thought we were staying actually had a pool and the one we ended up at did not and they didn't get to go swimming as promised) went swimming - we stayed there a bit and then finally made our way to the house. Of course that is when the whole rest of the month started - at home.

Mini vacations are fun but for someone like me who is out of shape and definitely in need of some exercise, that is too much like work. All in all it was a good weekend and the kids have said they would go back and do it again if they could so maybe next year we will be seen at the Decatur Book Festival as volunteers again and I'll have a real camera that I can load pictures to my computer with having to wait on others to send or post.

Until then - see you all in the postings - E :)

If you happen to be in the Atlanta area

Check out the planetarium show that begins on September 22 with this author's book as the guide.


I'm a member on Verla Kay's "blue boards" and the authors and illustrators there are all geared for children and young adults - they cover a variety of genres and categories - from the early picture books to chapter books, and middle graders to young adults and everything in between. Mara has been posting information about this program for about a month or so and seeing as I'm only about 3 hours from Atlanta - thought I'd help her out and post it on my blog - so if you are around the area - check it out -


Share the joy and wonder of a meteor shower with your
family--indoors! Join Jody and her dad on an exciting
nighttime adventure, in a brand-new planetarium show
based on the children's book PIECES OF ANOTHER WORLD.

The show runs September 22 through November 18. Author
Mara Rockliff will be signing books on opening day.
Fernbank Science Center, Saturday, Sept 22, 1:30 pm.

To read more about PIECES OF ANOTHER WORLD:
http://www.mararockliff.com/books.html

How much is your body worth?

My friends find the weirdest fun quizzes to do and post on their blogs. I was visiting Chai's blog (rain-drop - but linked on the side as Chai's blog) and she had quite a few quizzes up that she had posted instead of studying (shame on her - only a week in to school and she is not studying already - have to fuss at her) - and she had this one about your body as a cadavar. So here is how much my body would be worth if I were to die now and my family decided to sell it for medical use (I'm a newly diagnosed diabetic, I'm very overweight and have poor eyesight, have had a hernia and it's been repaired with it only rupturing within months of the repair and I've had three kids - go figure) -- see what you are worth and post away - E :)

$5500.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Dating Site

Mingle² - Free Dating Site

weird leg things

All of us are fighting leg problems this weekend so far. It started Thursday night when after band practic Benjamin got run over by the pit cart because they didn't have the bungees to tie the instruments down and one of them starting falling off the cart and he jumped back to try to keep it on the cart and it was near the back and he was between two of the carts and got run over - not broken but this weekend the bruise has really come out.

Then Hailie shows me something with her ankle/foot - like a bit swollen and then she feels an Ace bandage would be helpful.

Then after sitting on this bed last night and posting on the blog and not moving too much - I went to get up and I had a serious leg cramp - all the way down to my ankle - It brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't move my leg for a long time (longer than the few minutes it normally takes for cramps to go away). It did go away and finally I got up but all night both my calves were kind of stiff and crampy but not quite to the cramp point.

So we are all suffering from leg problems but trying to make it through the weekend - got to run get ready for the volunteer work again - see you all in the postings - E :)

Decatur Georgia book festival fun

So my kids and I are volunteers at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend and having some good times (I think - I'm a bit stiff from standing at the children's activities things but had fun. Did get sunburned but didn't realize it until I was back at the hotel.

There was a mini writer's conference today and I wanted to sit and listen to one of the panel discussions and it was pretty good. Funny as all get out - it was performed like a game show - should have been performed more like "To Tell The Truth" than "Hollywood Squares" because it resembled the first gameshow. I've seen both shows on gameshow network and felt a bit cheated that it was slated as a the second show. But the comraderie and info was interesting - the four paneists were Hollis Gillespie, John Warner (who is from Greenville which is only a few short miles from where we live, and daughter said she felt she knew from somewhere), Amanda Stern, and Jeffrey Stepakoff (who is known for writing TV shows - such as Dawson's Creek and others to his credit).

After leaving the workshop/panel discussion, the kids wanted to go to McDonald's for supper so I decided instead of eating near the festival we would find a McDonald's closer to the hotel (not that the hotel is really all that far from festival). So we came back up to the hotel road and then explored a little bit. We finally found the McDonald's. While sitting there enjoying our meal, we figured out we were the minority - the whole community was Spanish speaking with a few Chinese or Oriental speaking. We seemed to be the only ones speaking English -

So heading back to the hotel, we saw this SUV that was red and white and had a taxi sign on it - so I commented about how that was a taxi - something I've never seen before. Then Benjamin says - "I saw this one Mexican Taxi and you want to know how I know it was Mexican?" and Hailie responds, "What did it say Taxeye on it?" - now we just rolled in the laughter here because he suddenly realized taxi (pronounced as a long I) that that's how it was spelled anyway - so we were laughing hard by now. We get to the red light to turn on the road to the hotel and then Benjamin goes, "look to your right, look to your right" and there was this van with Spanish writing on it and so Hailie turns and looks and says, "It looks like he's staring at us." So I turn to the right and look over and the man driving the van, nods and then waves at us - it was like he knew what the hell we were laughing about - and when she said he was staring at us - it was like he knew what she said - - so we broke out into the laughter some more - and laughed almost all the way to hotel (which wasn't really too far from that turn) -

So having fun at the festival so far and enjoying some fun time with the kids - see you all in the postings - E :)

Marching band season is upon us

School started last week and the kids had been in band camp for three weeks prior to that. The show looks to be promising - hope they do well and rack up the nice trophies like they did last year.

Our school will be hosting a competition this year, which is something new for most everyone (apparently we hosted an upper state competition which is different than a regular competition one year but I wasn't involved in the band during that time).

So being that both my younguns are in the marching band (Hailie is in the colorguard this year again (she played tuba last year and it ruined her shoulder) and Benjamin is in the pit or frontline) that means football season is upon us. We had our first football game this past Friday (played against my alma mater) and lost but they still have pictures taken and posted in the local newspaper. Here is my son on the pit cart as they are coming off the field (and doesn't he look happy?)





Let me know what you think. See you all in the postings - E :)

Addicted or not?

You decide - I feel I'm only semi-addicted to blogging - but I just like taking some of these fun little quizzes just to see how accurate they are. Of course with only 5 questions being asked the answers having to be somewhat concrete with no gray areas or taking into account that you could two ways, some of these little quizzes are really just that - for fun - not true, or anything else - lol

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

Some cool stuff

We were at the music store a couple of weeks ago, getting the girl's flute repaired and ordering musical supply stuff they would need for school and Hailie saw the guitar picks sitting on the counter. So she was looking at them and then we had an idea to make jewelry from them, earrings mostly.

So here are the first two pair of earrings she made - we call them singles and doubles - lol and a barrett with rhinestones. - Enjoy - see you all in the postings - E :)

What Planet Should You Rule?

I guess I can't complain - says I should rule Saturn - at least it didn't say I should rule Pluto which is basically no longer considered a planet. So how do we now teach our kids that there are only 8 planets and not 9 as we had learned all those many years ago? Not sure but I'm glad I'm not a teacher.

I found this poll on a friend's blog - - Suzy's Scribbles - so check it out - she has some pretty interesting stuff on her blog ---- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SuzyScribbles/

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone must delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

See you all in the postings - E :)

Read a good book lately?

Here's a novel idea - release good books to be found and read by others. The concept sounds interesting and fun. So if you like to read and want to share a good book with someone, check out the following site - BookCrossing http://www.bookcrossing.com/ - you read a book, register it, get a BookCrossing ID and a url so that others who read the book can post where it's been caught or released, et cetera -

I've got some books I can release maybe - lol - hope to see you all in the postings - E :)

Friends, school, and just chat in general

So my friend Chai, a youngun I met on a writing group forum, was chatting with me this evening (okay it is officially Thursday morning in South Carolina but still Wednesday night in California where she lives) and she was updating me on her plantar wart situation (she's had them burned off with acid and now has had them frozen off with something similar to Compound W but at the doctor's office instead of doing it herself. Anyway - she is in pain and says the freezing hurts more than the acid burning off - which is believable because it is like dry ice - or something like that being put on your skin.

She reminded me that today (August 9) is her birthday - so all of you drop by her blog http://raindropsays.blogspot.com/ - and wish her a happy 19th and many more.

got to hit the sack - I didn't fall asleep until after 4 last night (or Wednesday morning) and I struggled like crazy to stay awake and work all day - stay cool - see you all in the postings - E :)

Virtual Book Tour Interview and Schedule

Here is the interview with Karina Fabian, one of the editors for Infinite Space Infinite God, followed by her virtual tour schedule - so you can check out the other interviews and reviews posted on other people's blogs - enjoy - E :)


Q: What's your new book about?
K: Infinite Space, Infinite God is thought-provoking sci-fi with a Catholic twist.

The 15 stories cover the gamut of future science, from genetic engineering to asteroid mining to interstellar travel. They span the topics of sci-fi: time travel, space opera, dystopia, psychological thrillers and sci-fi mystery. Finally, they examine the Catholic worldview in the challenges of the future, from evangelizing to aliens to determining the soul-status of artificially created humanoids, to religious orders and even saintly miracles.

It won the EPPIE award for best electronically published science fiction of 2006 and is coming out in print August 15 from Twilight Times Books. www.twilighttimesbooks.com.

Q: You've been doing a lot of interviews this month on your virtual book tour. (Readers can see the full tour schedule below and at http://isigsf.tripod.com). You've mentioned several times that you chose the stories according to three principles: engaging writing, believable use of science or "fictional science" and sound Catholic doctrine. For a change, tell us what really drew you to each the stories?

Karina: Summarizing stories -
The Harvest, Lori Z. Scott: The characters drew us to this one. Barry, the priest, had a strong faith, but also had doubts and needed a push now and then, whether from his father or from the human/animal hybrid who needed his help. We also liked how Lori treated the question of whether artificially created humanoids have souls.

Hopkins’ Well, Adrienne Ray: A lot of folks tried to do the "transporter story," but Adrienne was the only one who did it uniquely and compellingly. The horror Private Talbot felt when he realizes what happened to him, Riggen's March-it's all a little spooky and very cool.

Brother John, Colleen Drippe’: Colleen had written a Lost Rythar story for our previous anthology, Leaps of Faith, so hers was a no-brainer to include. Colleen writes great adventure stories--lots of action.

Interstellar Calling, Karina L. Fabian: This one has a funny story. We had an alien abduction story chosen but at the last minute, the author pulled it. We loved the idea, however, and Karina decided that, rather than change the introductions, she'd try her hand at a similar theme. It wrote itself fast, and has gotten a lot of compliments from reviewers.

Our Daily Bread, Karina and Robert Fabian: We wanted to do a story in the asteroid belt, and several things wove their way in--the idea of worship in a remote area, which is a little more difficult for Catholicism, Karina's dad's deaconship and the increasing responsibilities he faced, and the idea of having more than one Calling in life.

Brother Jubal and the Womb of Silence, Tim Meyers: Tim has incredible talent to produce strong images with little actual description. The flow is absolutely perfect for life on the moon and the interweaving of poetry and meditations transformed this "man on the moon" story into literature.

Mask of the Ferret, Ken Pick and Alan Loewen: This was just fun! So far out in the future that it reads more like Star Wars than Star Trek, the detail in the universe, even down to the slang, made it easy to believe.

Little Madeleine, Simon Morden: Again, this was a unique idea, but what really drew us were the characters and the plausibility of Simon's world, even if not his order of bodyguard nuns. Madeleine could be any teen seeking a way out of a desperate home situation; it was easy to get drawn into her plight.

The Hosts of the Envoy, Alex Lobdell: Alex had written a story about High Hopes for Leaps of Faith and we adored the character, so we specifically asked for more adventures of the lost test-pilot/canary astronaut. Once again, he gave us a fun and engaging story with a uniquely Catholic twist.

Understanding, J Sherer: By writing a police thriller set in the future, J impressed us by giving us a story that met all our standards but wasn’t the usual sci-fi trope.

Stabat Mater, Rose Dimond: This has been our most controversial inclusion because a woman is ordered to accept the calling as priest, but we really enjoyed this story because of the depth and complexity of the faith of the characters, the realistic treatment of the troubled girls who are visited by Mary, and the idea that there are no easy answers.

Canticle of the Wolf, Alan Loewen: Alan actually submitted this to us for Leaps of Faith, but we felt it a little too "Catholic" for that anthology. Karina loved it so much, however, that she'd kept it for years, and when we started this anthology, it was our first acceptance. Karina has always loved St. Francis, and Alan presented a new take on his story while keeping the gentle, loving aspects of his character intact.

These Three, Karina and Robert Fabian: The idea came from a song about a spacer who was severely injured in a ship accident, but must crawl several decks to get to the rescue beacon to call for help. The imagery of the song inspired us to write our version of the accident and character, and what better angle than to have the patron saint of spacers help him in his struggle?

Far Traveler, Colleen Drippe’: Colleen took two tropes that have been done to death-- time travel and witnessing the crucifixion--and made them fresh. The other cool thing about Colleen's stories is that they don't read like what most folks expect from religious fiction, yet they have a strong faith message.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff: We loved it and were disturbed by it at the same time. Just an incredible story--'nuff said.

Q: Obviously, you're pleased with the book, but what are you hopes for it?
K: Naturally, we hope that it sells well; but even more, we'd like sci-fi fans of all religious persuasions to enjoy the stories and think about the issues presented. After all, that's what good sci-fi's for.



AUGUST
DATE: Place to visit

1: www.doylebooks.com (summary)
www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 1 (summary)

2: www.kaleidosouls.info, Day 2 (interview)
http://writetype.blogspot.com (guest blogger)

3: www.thewritingjungle.blogspot.com (interview)

4: www.freewebs.com/mary-andrews (interview)

5: http://writeurthoughts.blogspot.com (interview)

6: www.catholicfiction.net (interview)
www.elysabethstories.blogspot.com (interview)

7: http://timewithtannia.tripod.com/ (interview)
www.writeandwhine.blogspot.com/ (interview)

8: http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/artisticblogger.shtml
http://www.shoutlife.com/jillelizabethnelson
http://www.myspace.com/jillelizabethnelson (interview)

9: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/ (interview)

10: http://cmwforum.blogspot.com (review)

11: www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com (interview)

12: www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com (interview)
7:00-9:00 PM: www.writerschatroom.com (Live Chat)

13: www.lostgenreguild.com (review)
http://gloriaoren.blogspot.com (interview)

14: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/dragons-of-the-pyramid-book-reviews.html (review)

15: http://beverlyjean.livejournal.com (interview)
www.virtualbooktourdenet.blogspot.com (trailer)

16: http://cfvici.blogspot.com/ (review)
http://catharsys.wordpress.com/ (interview)
http://cdrippe.wordpress.com (summary)

17: http://www.annmargaretlewis.com/ (interview)

18: 12 Noon: Live Chat: http://jolinsdell.tripod.com
http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979 (review)

19: karen Syed (interview and summary)
http://blog.myspace.com/grace1979 (review)

20: www.marilynmeredith.blogspot.com (interview)

21: www.snoringscholar.blogspot.com (review)

22: http://solshine7.blogspot.com (review and interview)
http://scifijournalist.blogspot.com (review and interview)

23: www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com (interview)

24: www.authoralley.blogspot.com (interview)
http://www.karenee.blogspot.com/ (interview)
www.disturbingreviews.blogspot.com (interview)

25: www.thebookpedler.wordpress.com (interview)
www.paulinebjones.blogspot.com (interview)

26: www.livejournal.com/~paulinebjones (interview)

27: http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com (guest blogger)
http://aspiringauthor.blogspot.com/ (interview)
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/ (interview)

28: http://www.myspace.com/happywriter (guest blogger)
http://zyphe.blogspot.com (review)
http://360.yahoo.com/raeshylle (review)

29: 12 Noon: Live Chat "Infinite Space, Infinite God and the Infinite Possibilities of Book Marketing" http://www.virginiajennings.zoomshare.com/5.html

30: www.noveljourney.blogspot.com (interview)

31: http://afrankreview.blogspot.com/ (review)




I don't know when the review will be posted on my site but I will squeeze it in - probably near the end of the month - E :)

Media Release for Infinite Space Infinite God

M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Karina Fabian
Phone: (540) 538-3327
E-mail: karina@fabianspace.com

For Immediate Release

Elysabeth's Emerald City (http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com)
Features a Unique Look at Sci-Fi

Internet, World-Wide-- Infinite Space, Infinite God, edited by Karina and Robert Fabian makes a stop at Elysabeth's Emerald City on August 6, 2007, on its August virtual book tour.

"Virtual book tours are a terrific means for getting word out to readers," said Karina Fabian. "Bloggers like Elysabeth have audiences who are interested in books, in quality fiction, and in matters of writing, science and faith. We're visiting 43 sites over the month. We've had great fun preparing and expect to generate a lot of buzz about Infinite Space, Infinite God."

Infinite Space, Infinite God, which won the EPPIE award for best electronically-published science fiction comes out in print August 15 from Twilight Times Books. It features fifteen stories about the future Catholic Church. They tell of Catholics struggling to evangelize to aliens and lost human colonies and to determine the soul-status for genetically modified humans, genetically-designed chimeras, and clones made from the Martian sand. They feature the adventures of religious orders devoted to protecting interstellar travelers and inner-city priests. Two stories explore how technical advances allow monks to live in solitude on the Moon and to help one criminal learn the true meaning of Confession. The introductions discuss present doctrine and current trends in technology to set the framework for the stories and to encourage discussion. (Media room available at http://isigsf.tripod.com.)

Elysabeth will post an interview from Karina exploring a bit more about the book.

The Fabians’ first anthology, Leaps of Faith, featured Christian SF and was a finalist for the 2003 EPPIE and 2004 Dream Realms awards. Karina Fabian helped found the Catholic Writer’s Guild, and Robert Fabian is a former speechwriter for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and writes about space policy. Learn more at www.fabianspace.com.

Infinite Space, Infinite God is available in bookstores or online at www.twilighttimesbooks.com.

Infinite Space Infinite God info

Is that religion in my science fiction or science fiction in my religion? The writers of the Catholic SF anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God (www.twilighttimesbooks.com) have so seamlessly combined the two that it's hard to tell.

Infinite Space, Infinite God is an anthology of fifteen stories about how the future Catholic Church uses--or fails to use--its faith, wisdom and imagination to grow with the changes of the future. Within its pages, you’ll see the Church struggle to evangelize to aliens and lost human colonies and to determine the soul-status of genetically modified humans, genetically-designed chimeras, and clones made from the Martian sand. You’ll read the adventures of religious orders devoted to protecting interstellar travelers and inner-city priests, and experience how technical advances allow monks to live in solitude on the Moon and help one criminal learn the true meaning of Confession.

Karina and Robert Fabian, editors the Christian SF anthology Leaps of Faith, which was finalist for several e-book awards for best anthology, have applied the same high standards of writing, doctrine and science to Infinite Space, Infinite God. Its authors span the spectrum of faith and writing experiences, from published writers like Colleen Drippe and Maya Bohnhoff to promising new talent like Alex Lobdell, former editor of Montana Catholic.

This book contains not only fantastic stories from new angles but introductions exploring the issues and the Church’s current thinking that aim to spark discussion among Catholic and non-Catholics alike.

Entertaining and thought-provoking, Infinite Space, Infinite God represents the best in SF tradition.


Click here for more info on the book. Watch for interview with Karina on Monday - E :)

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

I've volunteered to do a virtual book tour for Karina Fabian's book - Infinite Space, Infinite God. She and her husband co-edited this anthology of short stories focusing on a thought-provoking sci-fi theme with a Catholic twist.

Here is the information on the book - Interview will be posted on Monday. Review of the book to follow later this month.


Infinite Space, Infinite God
An Anthology of Catholic Science Fiction edited by Karina and Robert Fabian



Title: Infinite Space, Infinite God
Author: Karina and Robert Fabian, editors
Category: Science Fiction
ISBN: ISBN 1-933353-62-7
Format: Trade paperback
Publication Date: August 15, 2007
Pages: 288
Price: $18.95 US
Trim: 6 x 9
Available from: Twilight Times Books, www.twilighttimesbooks.com
First Print Run: 5000
For More Info: http://isigsf.tripod.com

2007 EPPIE Award Winner for Best Science Fiction

Come explore the worlds of “Infinite Space, Infinite God.” Meet genetically engineered chimeras and aliens who wonder what a human religion holds for them. Share the doubts, trials and triumphs of humans who find their journeys in time and space are also journeys in faith.
Experience spine-tingling adventure. Marvel at technological miracles—and miracles that transcend technology—and meet the writers who made a leap of faith and dared to incorporate familiar religion with fantastic universes.
Entertaining and thought-provoking, Infinite Space, Infinite God represents the best in SF tradition. Faith-filled fiction for readers that think.

Reviewer comments:
“...an excellent collection of science fiction short stories. These authors’ imaginations are astounding, pulling me into each and every story from the first paragraph, and then masterfully entwining their writings with Catholicism. The characters come alive in vivid detail making each story’s uniqueness stand on their own merit. Highly recommended, not only to devoted sci-fi readers, but to those who have never read the genre before.”
Reviewed by PJ for Scottieluvr’s "Chewing the Bone" reviews.

Karina Fabian is a freelance writer and catechist at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Fredericksburg, VA. She has sold her fiction to Eternal Night, Samsara, Hereditas, and Asimov’s. Rob Fabian is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force who is actively involved in the use of space, whose articles have been published in Journal of Space Policy.

Infinite Space, Infinite God can be ordered directly from Baker & Taylor, Ingram, or the publisher, Twilight Times Books, PO Box 3340, Kingsport, TN 37664; or via the Internet at http://twilighttimesbooks.com.

Behind on postings and reading blogs

I've been in a funk lately and have not really been keeping up with my blogs and my postings and reading other people's blogs. I apologize and if you have left a comment recently and I've not responded to you, again I apologize for not getting back to you. I'm trying to work out of this funk.

Just letting you all know I am sort of back and have some things coming up soon - see postings to follow - E :)

Hailie's new toy

As you can see from the slide show just added, Hailie got a new digital camera and she's been playing with it. It was an early birthday present she talked her father into getting for her. Guess if she can't have a cell phone like all her friends, she can have the camera - cheaper really - lol - takes pretty good pictures for a not really expensive camera (only $85 at Wal-Mart).

Band camp started this week so both are going strong with that and she's been taking pics at school of some of her friends too - will post those when I get copies of them -

Work is going better - got switched back to my old account and am a happy camper - enjoy the slide show - E :)

Check out my Slide Show!

Check out my Slide Show!

Nashville - we are almost back home

Last stop on their trip and this was the most tiring leg for them - but they look happy - E :)

This one is in front of the fountain at the Gaylord Opry Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee - for a week's worth of traveling and attending conference sessions and workshops, they still look pretty fresh to me. Bet Ms. Jan and Ms. Darlene aren't looking this fresh and springy (notice no pics of either of them, of course Ms. Jan was taking these pics and Ms. Darlene was probably just being shy or not wanting to be in the pics - letting the girls shine).


This is my favorite picture of Hailie. This was taken on the riverboat inside the Gaylord Opry Hotel (another deal Ms. Jan got on priceline.come or the other one - hot something or other - because from talking with my friend Ragal online she said this was a mucho pricey hotel). Can't you see how grown up Hailie looks? Right before our eyes - she looks so innocent and sweet but underneath that facade is a bit of a devil - lol - but I still love her.

I hope when Hailie's pics get developed (her daddy gave her some money to go to Wal-Mart to get them developed) probably tomorrow that there will be more pics of the girls and the adults too - it would be a shame to not have any of Ms. Jan and Ms. Darlene throughout this whole trip - Now you've ssen them sort of on their round trip area - see you all in the postings - enjoy - E :)

Kansas City (Missouri) we have arrived

I think they are having a great time or it looks like they are having a great time upon arriving at the Blume conference.

They have arrived to the conference at long last (this was Tuesday night, left church parking lot about 5 a.m. Monday morning, drove to St. Louis, spent the night at a 4-star hotel (put a bid for $49 a night for each room and got it - some fancy named hotel is what Hailie says; also right downtown close to the Arch so didn't have to go too far - Ms. Jan said the rooms normally went for $259 a night and they got them for $49 for the night from Priceline.com or the other one - can't remember). This was Tuesday evening before the conference really got started.


They had an interactive center (called the ME Interactive Center) and here they are doing a hula in a setup looking like Hawaii - makes you want to go on a trip, doesn't it?


I like this one - I've called it Girls "Bluming" because they are so growing up right before our eyes. Big difference in Hailie's mannerisms and demeanor since her band pictures in October - I can see a beautiful young lady developing.


Here is Hailie in front of a Pic representative of their "Night in the Middle East" - I believe this was to be their entertainment night where they spent time outside like being in Bagdad or somewhere in the middle east.


This is the Gold Crown Center where they picked up the Barbie Ornaments (Ms. Jan had a coupon for each of them to get a free Barbie Ornament. In the box it looks super heavy but when pulled out and held in our hands, it isn't that heavy at all. It is rack of shoes and each level turns so you can pick out what style fits best - lol - Nice freebie gift). (I think the Gold Crown Plaza is the headquarters for the Hallmark stores - but don't quote me on that, I've never been to St. Louis, Kansas City or Nashville)

Enjoy the pics

Next Stop - St. Louis and the Arch

Here we have the girls in front of the Riverboat before entering the Arch - group pics are really turning out pretty good here (Ms. Jan takes an excellent picture)


Here is the St. Louis Baseball Stadium taken from inside the top of the Arch - zoomed in for a closeup - pretty awesome to be up that high and be able to see so much of the city - Love the views from the Arch


Here is the Courthouse which is behind the Arch (according to some backside postcards Hailie brought home. When they were going to enter the Arch, the courthouse was sitting behind it - this is a zoomed in picture of the courthouse


This is a shadow the Arch casts as the sun is rising - and Hailie says if you look down in the grass area and see tiny little white dots (they are almost impossible to see on the picture, let alone on the scanned version) those are actually people - that's a long way up to be looking down and folks appear to be dots on a picture.


Now if Hailie wasn't acting judge and jury before, here she is inside the courthouse in the Judge's part. Does she look like she's ready to pass a sentence to you? - I'll never tell.


Hope you enjoy the trip pics (more will be coming as soon as Hailie's three cameras get developed - all of these were taken by Ms. Jan who made copies for each of the girls (at least the group ones) and also made some for the girls who didn't have their cameras when they were doing the tours or sightseeing. -- see you in the postings - hope you enjoy - E :)

First Stop - Paducah Kentucky -

The girls stopped in Paducah, Kentucky on the way out for lunch - they decided to get into the river - looks inviting -

Post office mystery solved

I found out via email today that my husband's father had sent Glimmer Train stories and Writers Ask newsletter as a gift, but they didn't know that my address had changed. So he used my old mailing address to send the gift to. I never got the gift card saying that because it probably went to the old address or was overlooked. Lol - now we know it didn't just show up out of the blue - E :)

PS - Thank you Opa and Cele for the gift. I will enjoy reading the stories and the info in the newsletter. E :)

Huge monster moth sited in my computer area on Sunday evening

Not kidding - that sucker looked like about the size of a small bat and even looked like one sort of but prettier and not trying to fly at everything - was trying to escape. I caught it and released it outside my door and hope it flew away where it belonged. I did a semi search while chatting with Janelle and came up with this pic that looks similar to what I had in my living/computer area Sunday night - there are no measurements on this moth so can't really tell if this is something close to what I actualy saw. I believe his wing span if he were to spread out flat was approximately the span of my hand from middle fingertip to butt of palm - probably around 6-7 inches in width - See what you all think - E :)

Weird Post Office Box happening

I went to the post office yesterday and checked the mail. When I opened my box, there was a copy of Glimmer Train Stories (by subscription only from what I can see on the website) and Writers Ask (Glimmer Train Press's Newsletter of sorts, again by subscription only). I haven't subscribed to either of these publications; have thought of submitting a story to Glimmer Train but have not yet. Anyway - I figured someone sent me a copy of these issues to be nice or something. I would like to thank whoever sent them to me or subscribed me to both of them. The strange thing was that both items were addressed to me (with this spelling - Elysabeth) but to my old address (a house we haven't lived in for 2-1/2 years now since we moved to this house in the same town in December of 2004) and yet they were delivered to my PO box. Thank goodness for small towns and the folks at the post office knowing who I am and putting them in my box.

So naturally since there was no gift card, no indication that I subscribed to these publications, and no note to say I was to review the stories for anyone, I would just like to thank whoever sent these to me or subscribed me to the publications (although I just think these are sample copies as there is no subscription information - per the website on when subscriptions expire - on the labels that were on the cards inside the packaging (according to website expiration of subscription can be found in the line that is above your name - but there is nothing indicating something like this).

So I give whoever had these sent to me a deep felt thank you - E :)

Messing with Markers

So yesterday, son and I had to go to the doctor's office (me for a checkup and him for some foot pain and his nosebleeds) and then we had to go to the home health care place to get my CPAP machine. We took the computer to the computer place to get the power supply stuff fixed (Benjamin installed the power supply but it wasn't the correct one for the computer, but he did it himself with some illustrated instructions from a search online). While waiting for the computer to be fixed, we ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. I had to get a medication for my diabetes and got it for $4 at Wal-Mart (if any of you have heard about this plan, I encourage you all to check into it. It's regardless of what insurance you carry; based on which medications are on the plan. Mostly generics and things like that but for $4 for a month's supply of medicines you can't beat that. All my other meds I have to get through the mail-in pharmacy through our insurance for the best deal - if I go to the local pharmacy to have my meds filled, it will cost me mega bucks; if I mail them in and use that service, I can get a 3-month supply for $40 regardless of which med it is, unless it is supplies for diabetic checking and all that - so a way to save on your medical costs is to definitely use your mail-in medication provider if you are offered that through your insurance carrier. (I'd rather pay $40 for 3 months' supply than $56 a month any day)).

So Benjamin and I are walking through Wal-Mart and just kind of ambling waiting on my medication to be filled and I picked up a pack of 17 colors Sharpie permanent markers to use on the butterflies. I did the markers on some cardstock with the names and all but they didn't look good. So I decided to color the butterflies with each color comparing the Bic markers I have and the matching colors from Sharpie (and then adding the extra ones to show you how they look on the butterflies).

I like the Bic markers much better due to the fact that they don't smear. When I was trying to label the colors by holding the butterfly on the paper so it didn't shift much, I got Sharpie ink all over my fingertips. You can see how the colors smudged and smeared on the butterfly -

I also have the metallic colors, which I believe in all the samples on here you have seen all 6 colors there, so I won't do a sample butterfly with the six metallics.

Let me know what you think of the colors (and I'm still searching for somewhere to purchase the other two 12-packs of Bic markers - so maybe one of these days I'll have all 36 Bic colors) - see you in the postings - E :)

These are the Bic Colors and since I only have 11 colors (including the Tuxedo Black which is running out - so I didn't label it) there are white spaces between the sections of each color.

These are the Sharpie colors (there are 17 including the black with which I wrote, so no spaces really between the colors)

I entered and got selected

I don't know if I told you but South Carolina Writer's Workshop, SCWW, has a conference in October (for which I'm volunteering) and they put out an anthology to go with the conference. Every year before this year, the word limit had been 1750 for short stories. Well, they revamped this year and upped the ante, so to speak, and gave us 4000 word limits. So I entered my short story, Bride-and-Seek, which I had entered in Karen's contest for February (not selected or even remembered by her, according to her when I met her in February). So today, not more than half an hour ago, I received notice from the editor of the anthology to let me know my story had been selected. I will receive $5 payment and two copies of the anthology. I'm so excited. Doesn't pay a lot but hey - I'm okay with it - it gets me out there.

So be on the look out for Bride-and-Seek in the Petigru Review anthology in October. You can still register for the conference if interested - check out the website - http://www.myscww.org/2007_conference.htm - also see my blog posting called "Best Conference of 2007" and we really are looking to be great - E :)

Rating picture --- got it to work

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

What a chore this was to get it posted - but here it is - my actual rating - just like the movies, although I can't think of too many movies that are rated G any more, even the Disney/Pixar and other films are rarely rated G - E :)

(Updated, 07/11/2007 at 12:29 p.m. - forgot to give my words that it found for this rating - hurt x1 - wow if saying hurt can get you a G rating then I'm good - lol - thanks for stopping by - E :)

Blog Rating - (seems I run a pretty clean blog here)

Thanks to LindaBudz Just Like the Nut for sharing the rating link -

I can't get it to copy and post but my blog is rated G - see Linda's blog if you would like to rate your blog - E :)

More metallic butterflies and weird happenings

I posted a semi-rant posting before this one and it isn't showing up (kind of what happened to Chai on her writing blog recently) - so not sure what's going on so hoping these show up - E :)

Here are a few more butterflies we colored

Blue and Silver with pink body

Hailie colored this one and did a great job so this one is hers -

Pink and Purple with silver body

Blue and silver with gold body

my favorite - Green and Silver with gold body

So I'm giving butterflies to the girls for their trip tomorrow - They are heading out to Kansas City, MO with the Acteens (6 girls and 2 adults on the trip). They are stopping in St. Louis to do the Arch tour and then head to their conference and on the way back, they are supposed to be stopping in Nashville - so hopefully they will have a fun trip - and they will enjoy their butterflies.

See you all in the postings - E :)