Update

I'm working at a job that I have so much fun at. The kids have grown by leaps and bounds. They are all in school now. I'm a mother to a teenager! She drives me batty and amazes me. We are settled now, and most days I'm happy with that. I still miss the traveling but not as much as I used to. We have wonderful friends and a community around us.

Long Time No Post

I am a bad blogger, obviously. It isn't that there is no news to speak of, it's that life is too busy to take the time to write it down. I wonder if someday when I'm old I'll wish I had.

Working

I have a new job. A frustrating, challenging, exciting job. At times I'm happy, and the day never drags. So I guess I can say it's a good thing.

I have been writing. Struggling through some of the same old things but also working on new things. I enjoy writing and hate editing. So it's an exercise for me to work on old things, they need the editing.

The Velvet Hills

The hills danced,
chasing one another
toward the river.

Hugging the curves
verdant dress
nature's haute couture.

Soft as velvet
warmed by the sun,
basking in the glory.

Leapfrogging the countryside,
a graceful ballet
in ripples of green tulle.

The Choice

Touch: The Journal of Healing has my prose in it's May issue. Check it out.

Author's proof

I got my author's proof for my short story "The Choice". I am so frickin' excited. It's another little bit of my soul out there for people to see but I think it shines. Will post when it's up.

Busy

I have been writing more. That is always good, I am at my happiest when I am writing.

I am getting ready for the Grand Opening of my new Etsy stores on May 1st. So excited for that. I have been sewing like crazy. But it's calming and soothing. It's like meditation for me.

I have been meditating though. It helps with my insomnia among other things. But getting to sleep is the best thing that I have noticed.

We got back report cards. Kenz is doing fantastic. He's reading at a third grade level in first grade.
Sapphire is a different story. She is failing handwriting. How does one fail handwriting? By not turning in any of the homework. I am pulling my hair out. And to think she's not even a teenager yet. Someone save me now.

Gardening

Today the sun actually came out! I know, a complete shock for this time of the year. I took advantage of the nice weather and got out into the garden. I planted some carrot and lettuce seeds. I also planted two grape vines along the fence between the neighbor and I. Don't worry we talked about it first. I knew that someday it may grow over the fence and she was cool with that. My snow peas are doing great. Of the 6 broccoli that I transplanted I have three left. Oh well.

I started some sprouts in the kitchen about 4 days ago. I could not believe how quickly they were ready. I got the seeds from Territorial. I adore this company. I ordered the seeds and they were here practically the next day. I was shocked at how fast that was. They have great blog posts with all kinds of gardening information and seeds that do fantastic here in Oregon.

Best part about the sprouts- the kids eat them. All the kids! I wasn't too worried about the boys who both love salads and most vegetables. It was Sapphie I was worried about. But I came into the kitchen yesterday to see her sneaking pinches from the jar.

Sewing

I have been sewing like crazy for the past couple days. I'm getting ready for my stores grand openings in May. At least that's the plan.

I love, love, love this pattern. It's the Buttercup Bag by Rae. It's a free pattern for home sewing. I bought the pattern so that I could sell them. It is so simply, easy and elegant.


Don't you love my dummy? I was at an estate sale and saw this kind of beat up cardboard box. It was flat and about big enough to hold a picture or poster. It said dressmaker's mannequin. No way! It was practically small enough to fit into my purse. It contained sheets of some odd type of cardboard, felt a bit like faux wood siding, brads, and a few metal sticks. For $12 I was willing to take the chance that some of the pieces may be missing. It was all there and came together fantastic, all set up with my measurements. Best score ever!

I wish I had a better picture but here she is in the corner of my craft room. The room looks rather crooked but truthfully it's one of the most level rooms of the house. We leveled the floor before decoupaging it. You'll have to click on the pic to see it.

Eggs

Had fun dyeing eggs with the kids this evening. There are never enough eggs to dye. But on the other end, there are always too many eggs to eat. I cannot stand eggs, especially hard boiled. I may eat an omelet or scrambled, as long as there is something else in them so I can't really taste them.

I've been busy with my novel. I'm on about page 200 of my third edit, out of 312. So not too bad but it's been slow going. I finished this novel as a part of Nano. It had 110,000 words in November. I've cut about 10,000 words. I was hoping to be done with it before my birthday. That obviously didn't happen. My new finish date, when I am going to start shopping it, is the summer equinox. I want a big reason to celebrate.

Good News

A very short story, flash fiction as it's known, got accepted at an ezine- 50to1. So check it out. Working on some ideas to submit for a sex and relationship columnist position, that should be fun. Wish me luck on that. I am on my third draft of the novel. And I just swallowed my gum.

So sorry

I have been busy. Working on my novel and other things that happen with life in general, so I haven't had time to post. I don't have a lot of time right now but I thought I'd put up some pics to tide you over. Like there is anyone that actually reads this blog, lol.

Basic Muffin Recipe

Makes one dozen muffins.

2 cups flour- any combination of types
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup liquid
1/3 c butter or oil
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together. Preheat oven to 350 F and prepare muffin tins. Spoon into cups, about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 min.

Add ins;
1 cup fruit
3/4 c chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c chopped nuts

I like to use these for leftovers. The kids will never finish a whole piece of fruit. So I'll chop up the apple, pear, plum, whatever and add in.

Some of our favorite combinations are 1/2 c oats in place of the flour, with milk and chocolate chips or cranberries and egg nog this time of year.

This is very plain and needs something added to it but that's up to you. Experiment and try whatever strikes your fancy.

DePhoMo

As if I needed something else to do, December Photo Month. A photo a day....

Dec. 1 - Gifts for friends-Yum, I had to keep one for myself.

Dec. 2nd Fire-It was evening and I was playing around with the functions on the camera.
Dec. 3- Walking the dog- Isn't this just the sweetest thing, usually the big kids walk the dog and Journey never gets a chance but the kids were in school today.

I cannot believe how long it's been

I am a bad blogger. I deserve a spanking for neglecting this for so long. Let's see school is back in session. Sapphire is in middle school now, if you can believe that. I am much too young to be the parent of a middle schooler. Kenz is in 1st grade, he's doing excellent. Journey is at home with me, all by his lonesome. Not that he's missing the kids much, we get to spend all day together. He has lots of fun mommy time.

Part of the reason that I wasn't on for so long is that my hubby lost his job. Money was super tight and the internet was not a necessity. But things have been working themselves out so I'm not too worried. I guess I have faith that everything will be fine and so it will. I know that sounds really naive but that is just how it has worked.

Before he lost his job I signed up to do several craft fairs here this summer. They were already all paid for and I had all the supplies. So I worked my butt off and got ready and made enough money to pay any bills that needed to be paid. Then we had a yard sale and made enough money so that everything got paid. Then we got a settlement, he hurt his back in Nov. of last year, which we were not expecting. We thought that since the surgery was paid for and he was all better then that was that. So that was an amazing surprise. So you see things just have a way of working out.

I am planning on doing NaNo again this year. I want to do it to finish off my current novel. I figure it'll at least give me a lot of raw material to edit.

I have been working on this novel, well consistently, for about a year now. Some where along the way I lost my voice. It hurts some to read it and see that it's not the same but there is no concrete evidence that it isn't. It's that feeling that you get when you read a book. Now it's not mine anymore.

I've been volunteering for Sidelines for almost a year now. It's been great so far. It feels good to know that I am helping someone who's shoes I was in several years ago. I wish that I could have had someone to just say "Hey, I got through it, it wasn't easy but you can do it too." Bedrest sucks big ones. There are no ifs, ands or butts about it. You are stuck, if you are lucky at home, in a prone position for weeks or even months. You cannot do your own laundry, make your own meals, shop for groceries, or clean your house. You are reliant upon others for most everything. You learn patience, and to let things slide. You go insane with boredom and learn more about yourself than you probably wanted to know. If you are lucky you are not taking daily medications, shots or hooked up to a pump. You are monitoring yourself, or being monitored, for contractions. You over-think and re-count fetal movement like they were seconds on a clock. And with all this, constantly in the back of your mind, is the worry. You are on bedrest because your body is not functioning the way that it should. You worry about your health, your baby's health and the possibility of premature birth or miscarriage. And you do all this isolated and alone most of the time. I think that any woman who makes it through bedrest deserves a medal.

Dreams and such

I was thinking the other day about doing a pictorial story of Inanna's descent into the underworld. I don't know why but those random thoughts just pop in my head. It's my over active imagination. Plus, who doesn't want to be a Goddess for a day? And there is something empowering about portraying dying and rising again. Conquering your own fears.

So fast forward a couple days and I pick up a book about soul searching- Soulcraft, Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche by Bill Plotkin. I'm not that far into it but it talks about Inanna and her descent into the underworld as a journey of soul discovery.

Last night I had a dream, I stood at the gates of the underworld. They were tall black iron gates. I could not see anything but the gates, everything around stood in shadows. I could not see the path. I stood there poised to open the gates. Then I woke up.

Some Fun Summer Pics

Family Reunion

My family reunion is this weekend. It's extra special this year because we are celebrating my great aunts 100th birthday. So there will be a really good turn out, lots of people I haven't seen in years. Plus my cousins are coming down to stay with me so that will be nice. I never get enough time to spend with my extended family. I wished they lived closer. I like some of my cousins better than my sister. Is that a bad thing to say? She and I are just totally different and have nothing in common but blood.

Be a Donor

If you've ever thought about it before now is a great time to sign up to be a bone marrow donor. Through the 22nd they are having a free membership drive, usually you have to pay for the typing. So check into it, it may save someones life. http://www.marrow.org/

Grocery Shopping

I actually enjoy grocery shopping, by myself. With three kids it's enough to make me want to drink. There is some law of the universe that says that kids make any mundane chore 100 times harder than it needs to be. Today my middle son kept poking my daughter. Then they get to yelling at each other. All the while I am trying to walk along and find whats on my list. And all the breaking up fights and separating the kids I loose track of what I was looking for so I end up going back to get things I forgot. If it wasn't a 30 mile drive from our house I would have just packed them back up and went home.

To try and burn off some of that energy we went for a bike ride. I raced Kenz along the path, he almost beat me too. That was fun until the kids decided they wanted to go to the river. I was not planning on getting wet, it was getting late. Which led to a very whiny walk back.