First Snow

First snow

Gently falling

Bringing warmth to my heart

So white and fresh and new and clean

Thankful.

My Thanks

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to pop by for a visit. Hope you stop in often.

And for those who have chosen to follow Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests, a special thank you.

My thanks to…

Talin

Sharon

Lynn

Jennifer

Simply Speedy Snacks

Wendy

Catherine

Sonia

Eldon

Janet

Tracy x 2

and Rob.

If any of you, follower or not, would like to write a guest post, just let me know. As you can see, there are plenty of categories to chose from.

November 30 Check-in

Thanks for stopping by, my fellow ROWers…and all you other faithful readers.

I did a little work on the outline of my children’s chapter book only to discover if I want to make this a full length book, which I do, I’ll have to rewrite the first chapter. Right now, I think I’ve crammed too much information into those first dozen pages. It has the makings of a fun short story, but that’s not what I’m aiming for. Back to the drawing board.

And speaking of the drawing board…As far as visual arts goes, although I don’t have a working DSLR, I do have enough photos to set up my own site. The good news there, Word Press, my fave DIY site, has a step-by-step way to set up shop. The do say to give yourself a day, so I will do that in the near future.

Deb and I will be talking on Friday to go over the progress I’ve yet to make this week. I still have Wednesday and Thursday. I can do this.

Carolyn has the formatted manuscript. She is headed out of town for a few days, so we will begin our over the phone edit next week.

Skit for Christmas Eve…Sent off for approval, but that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s nice to get back into writing skits again. I was doing it every Christmas for a number of years.

Instead of creating 30 pieces of art in the Art Every Day Challenge, I was able to put together 60+. But before you get too impressed, some of that creativity was merely editing and posting some photos. Taking of said photos happened over a number of years.

I did come up with 30+ ideas in the Picture Book Idea Month Challenge and have now added several of my fellow participants to my Twitter account. I’m looking forward to staying motivated – and to motivating my fellow children’s writers over the months ahead. (If you want to pop by, just use the #pbim or #PiBoIdMo hashtag.)

I’m going to have to start setting aside time to do more reading. I am, however, 100 percent on track with my course reading. I also hope to make a push on the essay this week, maybe even write it in its entirety. It shouldn’t be too hard if I just get at it. If I give myself a couple of weeks to do the research paper, I can be done both by mid-December. That would be good.

My new volunteer responsibilities haven’t really kicked in yet. I just have to be ready to hit the ground running once things start rolling. (Sorry about the mixed metaphors. It’s 1:35 a.m. and I’m ready for some shut-eye.)

I have two exercise sessions scheduled with my workout partner, but I’m gonna have to hustle to get the third one in this week. There’s still time. I’m gonna do this.

Hoping for another Twitter party to end Round 4 and looking forward to seeing many, if not all, of you back for Round 1 in January.

Let’s end this Round with a big push. Let’s see a record number of check marks beside our goals. Go team ROW80!

Eating Out

Following the same vein as the popular Eat This, Not That series of books, I’d like to offer some suggestions for eating out.

Remember, these are only suggestions. Consult your doctor or nutritionist about your specific dietary requirements.

Instead of a deep fried appetizer, start with soup or a salad. When ordering salad, get the dressing on the side and use it sparingly.

Instead of having French fries, try a double serving of vegetables or a baked potato without sour cream and butter. If you would like to use condiments, ask for them on the side, and again, use them sparingly.

Instead of ordering your meat or fish deep fried, order it grilled or baked.

Instead of adding bacon and cheese to your burger, ask for extra lettuce and tomatoes.

Instead of a deep dish meat lovers pizza, try a thin crust vegetarian option – or one with chicken if you must have meat.

Instead of pop, order ice water – or purchase bottled water if you have any questions about the safety of the restaurant’s tap water.

Instead of depriving yourself of dessert, share one with a friend.

Sometimes, we take the longest journeys using baby steps.

Meeting Haiku

Meeting

With a friend soon

Having lunch together

It’s time to catch up once again

Love it!

Signs of Christmas

The bows are out

The garland’s strung

The lights are up

The baubles hung.

My hubby’s village

In the hall

Though snow has not

Begun to fall.

The tree is waiting

In the box

The mantle’s waiting

For some socks.

Carols playing

Candles lit

I’ll wrap the presents

In a bit.

The signs of Christmas

All around

The happy sights

And happy sounds.

 

As you can see, Dr. Seuss is still having an influence. Thank you, Horton Hears a Who – I think.

The Purple Period – Part 2

Thank you again, Heather, for sharing your experiences with us.

If you missed part one, I invite you to read it here.

Here is Part 2…

When we reached the seven-week mark, my daughter gave me my first open-eyed smile. It was wonderful.

My sister-in-law told me about a program called Early Years, a baby play group and weigh-in. I decided to go despite the fact that I’m not the type of person who usually likes to be in groups and get attention – not unless liquid courage is involved. That’s just not an option these days.

I was, however, able to muster up the courage to check it out. I’m so happy I did. In fact, I would encourage all young moms to go. The nurse told me I was at the peak of the purple cry period. I was so relieved to hear her say that. Honestly, there were times I wanted to send my daughter down the river in a basket like Baby Moses.

During those painful times, I would hand her off to my husband. He quickly learned a few routines to get her calm. His light rhythmic marching path took them from the living room to the dining room, twice around the table, and off for a quick tour of the kitchen, then back to the living room. Meanwhile, I was in bed wondering what I was doing wrong and thinking I was a horrible mother for thinking such terrible things.

During our baby playtime at Early Years, I was sitting in the group, and my daughter gave me and the mother of a five-week-old baby girl a big smile. “When does that happen?” the mom asked me. I told her it was only the second time. I was happy with the perfect timing. It broke the ice between the two of us, and we soon started comparing birth stories. We exchanged contact info, and so far, we’ve exchanged a couple of texts. I’ve offered some advice to help her through the fussy nights. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a little bit of knowledge. It seemed to take forever to get through each week of my pregnancy, but now time is zipping by.

When Carrie and I were looking at each others babies, I noticed white on her baby’s tongue.  I asked her what it was because my little one had it too. She told me she was worried about it, but the nurse said to wait and see if it got worse.

Later that evening, my little one gave me the biggest smile ever. Her mouth was wide open, and her eyes were bright and shining. I glanced at her tongue. The white didn’t look anything like milk residue. It seemed raised and patchy. She had been very fussy at feeding time. I soon put two and two together. I remembered taking pictures of her yawning a couple of weeks earlier. I wanted to compare the pictures to see if the condition was getting worse. I soon realized I was dealing with more than milk residue left behind on her tongue.

Thrush crossed my mind, and I quickly started investigating it on the Internet. It could explain the extra gas, the sudden disinterest in feeding, and the crying. My daughter’s purple period could be related to this discomfort. I even noticed a red streak on her bottom. I’d read thrush could also cause diaper rash.

I began to wonder. How did she get it? Was it me? Did I have it too? How could I cure it? I knew I wanted to get rid of it immediately. I found out there’s a topical solution called gentian violet. As I watched a couple of YouTube videos, I began to laugh. The solution is really purple and stains the baby’s mouth and face. It kills the bacteria, but in the meantime, it stains everything.

Once my husband came home with it, I started the application with a Q-Tip. My little one immediately started to transform into a little purple monster. My Goth Baby, I called her – with her stained lips. After three days, I saw the thrush was beginning to go away. I had to paint it on my breasts as well. To get the stains out of my nursing bras, I had to wash them with vinegar and hang them in the sunlight to kill the bacteria. It meant a change in our routine, but it was well worth it.

So just when you think your baby is experiencing a purple phase of crying, don’t be alarmed if she actually turns purple too and people ask you some funny questions or shoot you some strange looks.  I forgot to warn people as I got used to the stained face, and I was graced with some seriously funny questions.  “Is your baby cold”?  “Looks like she just had a grape Freezie!”  “Did you feed your baby blueberries?”

The moral of the story is this: Don’t let yourself get too worked up, have fun, and take pictures so you can look back and remember the crazy ride you had.

Art Every Day Month Challenge – Gallery 4

What’s a Check-in?

As many of you know, I participate in A Round of Words in 80 Days. Participants have the opportunity to check in twice a week. Many do so. I love the encouragement I get from my fellow ROWers. If you write, I’d encourage you to join Round 1 next year.

HAPPY WRITING

November 27 Check-in

I was honoured yet again to guest blog, this time for a fellow writer and friend I met at the writers conference last spring. You can check it out here. (I’m so glad I learned to create a link without including the address. Thank you to N.J. Lindquist.)

I also, through several hours of trial and error, got some photos posted. I’ve very much enjoyed the Art Every Day Month challenge. I’ve also posted three other galleries you can view on the site’s main page. All this work with my photos makes me want to get them out there for sale. It’s something to consider for the New Year.

I thought of over thirty ideas for picture books. Now to get busy writing them. Thanks to the Picture Book Idea Month challenge. Although the challenge is winding down, there are lots of great articles on the site.

I chatted with Deb on Friday, and we’re nearing the finish line. (Okay, really it’s just a phantom finish line, since we still need to get a publisher and make any changes he or she suggests. One hurdle at a time.)

Next week, Carolyn and I will start connecting regularly by telephone to tweak her manuscript. I’m awaiting a response from her publisher re: preferred formatting. Hopefully, it’s exactly the way I’ve done it. Is that asking too much? Hm!

As I was reviewing Wednesday’s check-in, I came across “skit for Christmas Eve.” Probably should get busy on that, huh?

And that whole outline thing for my children’s chapbook…just added it to my To Do list so I don’t forget. The 30th rapidly approacheth.

Because of a volunteer position I’ve taken on, I’ve been offered free registration for next year’s writers conference. I’m thinking I’ll leave developing a workshop idea on the back burner…unless, of course, the plan comes to me full blown while I sleep. Wake up, Stephanie. You must be sleeping now.

Same is true of those Skype writing classes. One day…

All’s quiet on the Christian Editing Services front, but I still have three potential clients in the queue.

My to-be-read pile of books, magazines, newsletters, and blogs is growing. Reading is on my Sunday To Do list. I really must stick to that. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll never read everything I want to – not unless we win the lottery and I don’t do anything else. Like that’s gonna happen.

Course reading…pretty much on track

Essay and research paper…I’ve still got a month and a couple of days. *sigh*

Online PT exam…January – or February

What with all this craziness, I am pleased to announce that I did exercise three times last week. If I want to stay healthy and accomplish a fraction of the above, I must exercise, eat well, and get more sleep. Perhaps, these goals need to be at the top of my list rather than the bottom.