Almost time for another school year

Random thoughts... Clutter always comes back. Just when you expect things will go smoothly for a few days, a wrinkle happens. Faith matters. School supplies always cost more than you budgeted for. Eating healthy takes more creativity than eating junkfood and fastfood. There's never enough time for all the sleep needed. Excuses can be endless.

In which I feel human again

With a blog title in the style of Jean Craighead George's chapter titles, I can't go wrong.  Did I ever mention that my favorite book of all time is "My Side of the Mountain?"  I love the fearlessness.

Truthfully, it was a very long 3-1/2 weeks.  Just wish my hips hadn't spread so much while I was recovering!  OK, maybe I can blame the post-illness depression for the extra snacking and lack of workouts.  Or, maybe it was the intense boredom with not feeling well.  Anyway, enough excuses already.  I need to go get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad and get back to writing.

Hey, did I tell y'all that I got Rory's Story Cubes and Action Cubes for Christmas?  I'm looking forward to "rolling the dice" to try 'em out on a short story or three.

The end of coughing

Yes, I'm celebrating!!!  I made it through an entire day with only one coughing fit.  I consider that to be "cured"--horray!

In case anyone's wondering what kept this asthmatic down for nearly a month, the baddie is called Metapneumovirus (meta-numo-virus).  Yup, it's a lower respiratory infection that can send asthmatics and children to ICU.  I wasn't quite that bad, but 3 days in the hospital is enough for anyone to go a little batty.

Speaking of batty, I must be crazy to be playing so much solitaire on my PC.  It stimulates my brain matter, but doesn't get anything productive actually accomplished.  Hmmmmph.

Prayer Request

My heart and prayers go out to the folks at the Indiana State Fair and their families.

Fun and Games post

Favorite Card Game:  Go Fish (played with National Parks or National Monuments cards)

Favorite Board Game:  Clue (many different versions)

Favorite PC Game:  Farkle (on Facebook)  (Don't even get me started on Bejeweled or Solitaire!)

Favorite Wii Game:  Wii Fit Plus

Favorite Nintendo DS Game:  Professor Layton (finished the first one...working intermittently on the second one)

I love my new dishwasher

Yes, I do!  The dishes are clean and sparkly, and it's so quiet that I can work while it's running.

The moral of the story is that good things definitely come to those who wait!

Maybe, I can apply this to my writing, too?  :-)

Happy New Year!!!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a wonderful, productive, happy, healthy 2011. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Finding Balance in My Life

Taking the Holidays off from blogging to regroup and find a better balance in my life.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you!

2011 Update:  Sometimes, I need to just take a break.  My WiP has been read in its entirety by a Beta reader, and chapter 1 has been edited by an English-teacher friend.  And there it sits.  It's starting to call to me.

Yes, my day-job has been overwhelming at times.  Yes, I have two teenagers in the house.  Yes, I feel like I hardly see my DH.  And yes, my new year's resolution diet has already failed.  My QChord spends most of its time in the case.... 

I did discover that my iPad fits on the book-rack of my exercise bike and I can do all my Internet stuff while pedaling.  It is just a bit of a challenge to type and pedal at the same time.

In the meantime, I've had a new dishwasher on order since Feb 18th.   Wouldn't you know it, my current dishwasher finally did croak over a week ago.  Believe me, I will KISS my new DW when it finally arrives and is installed.  (Long story as to why it's not here yet...which will remain untold).

Anyway, the first two months of 2011 have zoomed by, hardly with any notice.  Hoping to at least grab hold of the caboose and jump on the train soon.  I have a book to edit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my blog acquaintances, friends, and family. I'm sending out a prayer, too, for our servicemen and servicewomen to protect them and their families.

Back up and about

Thank you for the get-well wishes! There seems to be an extremely virulent cold going around locally. Starts with a sore throat, then progresses to a very stuffy nose, and then to a cough. Takes about a week or so to get over it.

My NaNoReMo work, for all my best-made plans, isn't following the timeline that I wanted. Guess it's time to revise the timeline a little bit. I took a year off of song-writing and guitar in order to write my novel, thinking crazily that I'd have an agent and a publisher by the end of the year. My fingers are itching to get back to my guitar strings!

There must be a way to split time between music and sci-fi. There just has to be.

Blog-cation

Hi, I'm taking a blog-cation this week.  Have a great week and see (some of) y'all for NaNoReMo next week!

--Michelle

Just an Ordinary Day

Just an Ordinary Day

Just an ordinary day, she says,
as she looks at stacks of dishes,
picturing feather-soft pillows beckoning.

A crisis-free day so rarely occurs,
in the life of a mother, wife,
co-worker, daughter, and friend.

Dishes washed, she sighs,
at the quiet house, all asleep,
at the end of this ordinary day.

-------------------------------------------
Copyright 2010 by Michelle Sue Vann
permission granted to link or reprint,
as long as credit is given to the author.

Ode to Fair Weather

Sunny sky, smiling at me,
Beckoning me to
leave my desk, and
run, as fast as I can.

Outside, away from
keyboards and
phones,
towards fresh air
and sunlight.

Yup, it's Monday

Ok, so I'm really fortunate to work with people from all over the world!!! Wouldn't trade it. Just sometimes, I'd like a little more sleep, because things always seem to be more impossoble when I'm sleepy. Especially writing.

Please excuse the lack of a blog post for today. I'll try again tomorrow!

An Ode, to Commas

Comma, why do you torment me so,
Jumping merrily through my paragraphs,
Leaving seemingly random footprints?

Comma, you challenge me,
To sleeplessness,
While trying to make sense,
Of your purpose and placement.

Comma, you pause for breath,
At some of the least opportune,
Moments,
Leaving me helpless, in your wake.

Comma, show me the true path,
The one path,
That leads to correct placement,
And meaning.

Comma, skip most lightly
Through my writing,
And send me on
My merry way.

Umpteenth read!

Yes, I'm reading my book again! I'm only writing what I want to read, so why shouldn't I read it? :-)

Seriously, though, I've noticed that the book "reads easier" starting about half-way through. This may be partly due to the original draft being written in present tense for the first 11 chapters, and partly due to writing skill and comfort level increasing as I kept on writing.

Finding my writing voice has definitely been a journey! My only question now to myself, since my iPad won't give me the answer, is whether the next edit should focus the book more towards Middle-grade readers, or YA readers? At this moment in time, I don't have the expertise to make that decision myself.

No matter how many blogs I read, or how many red pens I wield, I'm not a trained editor, (at least not yet!).

Sleep

Have you ever had one of those days where you wanted to go back to sleep? A do-over?

Today wasn't quite one of those days, but I am really, really sleepy. There's pretty much only one true cure for sleepiness.

'night!!!

A great read!

I just devoured Paranormalcy in one sitting. What a great read!!!

There were plot twists and turns that even I did not expect. Nicely done, Kiersten White!

Thank You!!!

I'm so sorry for ignoring my blog followers! What would I do without you, my friends?

That was definitely a rhetorical question because I know that without all the support and encouragement that I could not write! It was really humbling to see the great kindness I received when reading a couple of snippets from chapter 1 on talent night at Church.

I thank our Heavenly Father for sending me the dreams and ideas that have become my first draft, and for giving me the strength and courage to continue writing.

I'd personally like to thank Apple for this amazing iPad on which I'm composing my second draft. My iPad and I are working on the rewrite of chapter 6 (of 28), by the way!!!

Still on track to complete 2nd draft by the end of August.

Spring Fever, Part Two

Seems to me like I would have found a cure by now, but alas...