Monday, May 24, 2010
How it's Spelled and What it is
That's Fu Manchu. A mustache that grows down along the sides of the mouth to the chin or below. Originated with a character in novels created by Sax Rohmer. Wanna see what was cool back then? Check it out (along with many other mustache styles) at http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/MustacheStyles.aspx . Famous Fu Manchu 'staches include Joe Namath (note, he also wore panty hose in 1970s commercials) and Hulk Hogan. Yeah, this bad boy is not ever going to make it onto the faces of one of my romantic heroes! Yuck!
Lovin' Me a Love Song
Okay, I'm a nerd from way back. Let's just get that said right up front. I know it. I'm not ashamed of it (anymore). And we true nerds can never be de-nerdified. So, if you look in my car you're going to see the following compact discs:
1. Trock On - a compilation of songs by bands named for Dr. Who things and about Dr. Who things;
2. Chameleon Circuit - a super-terrific Dr. Who album, highly sing-able and very funny (to those in the know);
3. Aaron Jeffrey - the c.d. replacement of my mid-90's cassette tape with one of the most awesome songs showing the harmony of God's word imaginable ("He Is" - it's the last track); and
4. Any or all of the following: something by Barry Manilow, something by Rod Stewart, a compilation of Love Songs by various artists from various eras, and Kenny Loggins.
The cooler c.d.s in my car belong to my husband.
Being the oldest child in my family, I didn't have the benefit of learning to be cool by having an older sibling. Kelly, my best friend and neighbor when we were little girls, had two teenaged brothers. My family listened to Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson, so I listened to Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson. Kelly listened to The Guess Who, watched Solid Gold, and followed a local band called Fool's Face. In elementary school!
Aunt Joyce and Uncle Larry bought me my first "cool" record album (to me, they were just absolutely IT as far as cool - Larry had a fu-manchu [okay, I've never tried to spell that word before and I'm sure that's wrong] mustache and Joyce was always so pretty - they had college aged foreign exchange students living in their home, sponsored the youth group at church - they were just cool). It was my tenth birthday party and they bought me Debbie Boone's You Light Up My Life album. Okay, it wasn't The Guess Who, but still, it played on Top 40 radio stations and was NOT going to be heard at the KTTS Listener Appreciation shows I attended with my parents.
So, I got my first cool record album and what did I do? I turned it into nerdy. I followed it with an obsession with The Osmonds (remind me to blog sometime about seeing them in concert at the State Fair - I wore purple jeans because it was Donny's favorite color) and Barry Manilow. The only 8-track I ever called my own was Donny Osmond's Disco Train. I have a pretty complete collection of Manilow albums and a hefty number of Osmonds plus a few from later years including Dan Fogelberg and two Randy Travis representing a brief lapse into the country scene. They're mixed in among Bruce's ELO and Deep Purple. I've just always been a sucker for love songs!
The best of the best for a nerd like me include:
1. Weekend in New England (Manilow)
2. The Old Songs (Manilow)
3. Merry Christmas, Darling (The Carpenters)
4. Hard to Say (Fogelberg)
5. When October Goes (Manilow)
6. She Should'a Been Mine (Manilow)
7. Not What You See and I Miss You (Manilow)
Now, just to solidify your picture of me as a nerd, know that I also like soundtracks to musicals. My favorites are The Sound of Music (because Christopher Plummer was one of my first crushes - what little girl doesn't want to grow up to be a nun in order to find her Captain Von Trapp?), Fiddler On the Roof (do you know the song Do You Love Me?? Awesome!), and, of course, Phantom of the Opera (favorite lyric: "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say one word and I will follow you. . . Anywhere you go let me go, too. Love me, that's all I ask of you." - Oh, can you just feel that orchestration swelling in your chest?! This is one I sing off-key at the top of my lungs while driving, so if you ever see me at a stop light looking as if I'm having a heart attack, just know it's the Phantom.)
Now, I don't want you to think that as I grew I didn't expand my tastes. I did. Widely. In fact, now I would consider my favorite artist to be Michael Franks. He's a jazz vocalist who writes the most luxurious and sultry lyrics I've ever heard. Really, really romantic. Look him up. I love jazz music and I find even the instrumentals to be deeply moving, satisfying. But, the poetry, the lyric - ah. Therein is romance.
Sing it or say it, be it Shakespeare or Sinatra. There's a world of knee-knocking, head-spinning, heart-palpitating, palm-sweating, breathlessness in the right turn of phrase. I wonder what's on the radio right about now?
Shellie
1. Trock On - a compilation of songs by bands named for Dr. Who things and about Dr. Who things;
2. Chameleon Circuit - a super-terrific Dr. Who album, highly sing-able and very funny (to those in the know);
3. Aaron Jeffrey - the c.d. replacement of my mid-90's cassette tape with one of the most awesome songs showing the harmony of God's word imaginable ("He Is" - it's the last track); and
4. Any or all of the following: something by Barry Manilow, something by Rod Stewart, a compilation of Love Songs by various artists from various eras, and Kenny Loggins.
The cooler c.d.s in my car belong to my husband.
Being the oldest child in my family, I didn't have the benefit of learning to be cool by having an older sibling. Kelly, my best friend and neighbor when we were little girls, had two teenaged brothers. My family listened to Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson, so I listened to Tanya Tucker and Willie Nelson. Kelly listened to The Guess Who, watched Solid Gold, and followed a local band called Fool's Face. In elementary school!
Aunt Joyce and Uncle Larry bought me my first "cool" record album (to me, they were just absolutely IT as far as cool - Larry had a fu-manchu [okay, I've never tried to spell that word before and I'm sure that's wrong] mustache and Joyce was always so pretty - they had college aged foreign exchange students living in their home, sponsored the youth group at church - they were just cool). It was my tenth birthday party and they bought me Debbie Boone's You Light Up My Life album. Okay, it wasn't The Guess Who, but still, it played on Top 40 radio stations and was NOT going to be heard at the KTTS Listener Appreciation shows I attended with my parents.
So, I got my first cool record album and what did I do? I turned it into nerdy. I followed it with an obsession with The Osmonds (remind me to blog sometime about seeing them in concert at the State Fair - I wore purple jeans because it was Donny's favorite color) and Barry Manilow. The only 8-track I ever called my own was Donny Osmond's Disco Train. I have a pretty complete collection of Manilow albums and a hefty number of Osmonds plus a few from later years including Dan Fogelberg and two Randy Travis representing a brief lapse into the country scene. They're mixed in among Bruce's ELO and Deep Purple. I've just always been a sucker for love songs!
The best of the best for a nerd like me include:
1. Weekend in New England (Manilow)
2. The Old Songs (Manilow)
3. Merry Christmas, Darling (The Carpenters)
4. Hard to Say (Fogelberg)
5. When October Goes (Manilow)
6. She Should'a Been Mine (Manilow)
7. Not What You See and I Miss You (Manilow)
Now, just to solidify your picture of me as a nerd, know that I also like soundtracks to musicals. My favorites are The Sound of Music (because Christopher Plummer was one of my first crushes - what little girl doesn't want to grow up to be a nun in order to find her Captain Von Trapp?), Fiddler On the Roof (do you know the song Do You Love Me?? Awesome!), and, of course, Phantom of the Opera (favorite lyric: "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Say one word and I will follow you. . . Anywhere you go let me go, too. Love me, that's all I ask of you." - Oh, can you just feel that orchestration swelling in your chest?! This is one I sing off-key at the top of my lungs while driving, so if you ever see me at a stop light looking as if I'm having a heart attack, just know it's the Phantom.)
Now, I don't want you to think that as I grew I didn't expand my tastes. I did. Widely. In fact, now I would consider my favorite artist to be Michael Franks. He's a jazz vocalist who writes the most luxurious and sultry lyrics I've ever heard. Really, really romantic. Look him up. I love jazz music and I find even the instrumentals to be deeply moving, satisfying. But, the poetry, the lyric - ah. Therein is romance.
Sing it or say it, be it Shakespeare or Sinatra. There's a world of knee-knocking, head-spinning, heart-palpitating, palm-sweating, breathlessness in the right turn of phrase. I wonder what's on the radio right about now?
Shellie
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Natalie's First Vet Visit
The dogs I had before Natalie were all family dogs - Mom, Shawn and me. I was referred to as "Sissy" - as in "Come to Sissy" or "Go wake up Sissy". With Nattie, I became Momma. It's great, except it also means that I'm the one who has to take Baby Girl to the vet for her shots. Fortunately, Daddy was good enough to come, too.
I'm a firm beliver in the power of prayer and I also believe that God, the Creator of all things - including sweetest Nattie - cares deeply about His creation. So, I prepared for Natalie's visit to Dr. Brown by praying for her. But, like so many prayers, what started as for her quickly became for me. And for Bruce. I tell you, we were both as antsy as could be about taking her to get her shots! It was ridiculous!
Natalie, if you remember, was a stray when she was taken in by Ship to Safe Haven in February 2009. We adopted her in July. She was up to date on all her vaccinations and has been healthy since we brought her home. But, the charts showed it was time for Rabies, Bordatella, and Dystemper shots. We were concerned because Miss Nattie is very. . . well, anxiety-ridden, I guess is how to put it. She's wary of people - all people - other than us. Even when my mother comes for a visit Natalie barks and backs up across the room before finally bolting upstairs and barking from the top. She does this with everyone. So, the thought of taking her to a vet's office was not a happy one. I envisioned our sitting in the lobby, Natalie skidding all over the linoleum floor, barking and backing and causing a scene. I imagined when the vet came in she'd bark and growl and twist in her harness and cause an even bigger scene. I feared she'd be upset with us afterward and not want anything to do with us. I worried she'd have a reaction to the vaccines - didn't matter what kind - I was worried about everything from mild joint aches to hives.
We arrived in this gorgeous Animal Care Center and were taken straight back to the nicest little exam room. Natalie was fine with the nurse who escorted us there. We were left alone to fill out paperwork and the same nurse came back. Natalie decided to growl. It wasn't really a threatening growl, just a low kind of "I don't like this very much" kind of growl. Then, it came time to weigh her which required we hand the leash off to the nurse. Nattie was having no part of it. She would NOT go with the nurse. So, I picked her up and handed her to the nurse who took her to the next room to weigh her. It was nothing more than a couple of minutes, I'm sure, but it felt like a long time and every noise we heard we worried what Natalie was doing back there. Running amok with her leash trailing behind? Leaping off the scale? Worse?
She came back through and wagged her tail at us once we were left alone again. The next wait seemed interminable. There was a beeping sound that we heard each time the exam room door opened and for some reason I think it beeped ten times at least before someone actually came through. When Dr. Brown entered he was quite a shock to our quiet little girl. He's a delightful man, but speaks up and is quite expressive. Bruce and I keep a really quiet home, so Natalie's used to the sounds of NPR or a favorite of Bruce's c.d.s, things like that. I mean, one time we were watching NCIS and Natalie was laying on my lap. McGee opened a cupboard door and a monkey started screaming. Natalie's head popped up and she looked at that screen. Her ears were high. The monkey kept screaming. Before I could say, "Bruce, press Mute," Natalie darted around the corner, out of the line of vision and it was a week before she'd go anywhere near the television again. She is a very civilized dog. Anyway, long story short, Natalie's healthy and nearly three hours later is showing absolutely no signs of any adverse reactions - either physical or psychological. Praise God!
Shellie
I'm a firm beliver in the power of prayer and I also believe that God, the Creator of all things - including sweetest Nattie - cares deeply about His creation. So, I prepared for Natalie's visit to Dr. Brown by praying for her. But, like so many prayers, what started as for her quickly became for me. And for Bruce. I tell you, we were both as antsy as could be about taking her to get her shots! It was ridiculous!
Natalie, if you remember, was a stray when she was taken in by Ship to Safe Haven in February 2009. We adopted her in July. She was up to date on all her vaccinations and has been healthy since we brought her home. But, the charts showed it was time for Rabies, Bordatella, and Dystemper shots. We were concerned because Miss Nattie is very. . . well, anxiety-ridden, I guess is how to put it. She's wary of people - all people - other than us. Even when my mother comes for a visit Natalie barks and backs up across the room before finally bolting upstairs and barking from the top. She does this with everyone. So, the thought of taking her to a vet's office was not a happy one. I envisioned our sitting in the lobby, Natalie skidding all over the linoleum floor, barking and backing and causing a scene. I imagined when the vet came in she'd bark and growl and twist in her harness and cause an even bigger scene. I feared she'd be upset with us afterward and not want anything to do with us. I worried she'd have a reaction to the vaccines - didn't matter what kind - I was worried about everything from mild joint aches to hives.
We arrived in this gorgeous Animal Care Center and were taken straight back to the nicest little exam room. Natalie was fine with the nurse who escorted us there. We were left alone to fill out paperwork and the same nurse came back. Natalie decided to growl. It wasn't really a threatening growl, just a low kind of "I don't like this very much" kind of growl. Then, it came time to weigh her which required we hand the leash off to the nurse. Nattie was having no part of it. She would NOT go with the nurse. So, I picked her up and handed her to the nurse who took her to the next room to weigh her. It was nothing more than a couple of minutes, I'm sure, but it felt like a long time and every noise we heard we worried what Natalie was doing back there. Running amok with her leash trailing behind? Leaping off the scale? Worse?
She came back through and wagged her tail at us once we were left alone again. The next wait seemed interminable. There was a beeping sound that we heard each time the exam room door opened and for some reason I think it beeped ten times at least before someone actually came through. When Dr. Brown entered he was quite a shock to our quiet little girl. He's a delightful man, but speaks up and is quite expressive. Bruce and I keep a really quiet home, so Natalie's used to the sounds of NPR or a favorite of Bruce's c.d.s, things like that. I mean, one time we were watching NCIS and Natalie was laying on my lap. McGee opened a cupboard door and a monkey started screaming. Natalie's head popped up and she looked at that screen. Her ears were high. The monkey kept screaming. Before I could say, "Bruce, press Mute," Natalie darted around the corner, out of the line of vision and it was a week before she'd go anywhere near the television again. She is a very civilized dog. Anyway, long story short, Natalie's healthy and nearly three hours later is showing absolutely no signs of any adverse reactions - either physical or psychological. Praise God!
Shellie
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Calling Senator Champion
Tonight I placed my first ever call to a Senator. I'm getting radical in my old age, I guess.
If you'll recall, I attended a meeting back in December to get training to gather signatures on a petition to put an initiaitve on the November 2010 ballot to regulate puppy mills in Missouri. I gladly donated time to gather signatures and, though I didn't do as much as I personally could have or maybe even should have, the final count was nearly twice the number of signatures needed in order to get the issue on the ballot (about 100 of which I gathered myself on some early Saturday mornings).
I learned today that a group of Senators working with special interest groups are trying to prevent that legislation from even reaching the ballot - in essence, silencing the voices of over 190,000 voters in their state who asked by their signatures that the initiative be brought to vote and nullifying the state constitution that gives the citizens of Missouri the right to vote - by considering proposed HJR 86.
If you are a registered voter in Missouri, I urge you to go to the ASPCA Advocacy page at https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?alertId=2663&pg=makeACall&JServSessionIdr004=kc1xf6jae3.app225b and read for yourself what is being proposed. Then, pull on your big girl britches like I did tonight and telephone your Senator's office to respectfully request that he or she oppose such legislation. Be sure you give your name and address so the office will be able to verify that you are a constituent of the Senator's district. This site has a function that will provide you with the name and number of your Senator if you don't know who that is. Or, you might find the name here:
Dan Clemens - District 20 (covers: Christian Co; Webster Co; Douglas Co; Greene Co)- (573) 751-4008
Jack Goodman - District 29 (covers: Ozark Co; McDonald Co; Barry Co; Stone Co; Taney Co; Lawrence Co.) - (573) 751-2234
Norma Champion - Springfield,Mo. (573) 751-2583
You can also listen to a radio spot here: http://www.missourifordogs.com/o/17001/images/MPD%20Radio%20Ad%2005-04-10.mp3
Whether or not you're a "dog person" - you do have the right to vote. Make that call. Believe me, if I could be brave enough to do it, you can! Make your voice heard and make a difference in Missouri.
Shellie
If you'll recall, I attended a meeting back in December to get training to gather signatures on a petition to put an initiaitve on the November 2010 ballot to regulate puppy mills in Missouri. I gladly donated time to gather signatures and, though I didn't do as much as I personally could have or maybe even should have, the final count was nearly twice the number of signatures needed in order to get the issue on the ballot (about 100 of which I gathered myself on some early Saturday mornings).
I learned today that a group of Senators working with special interest groups are trying to prevent that legislation from even reaching the ballot - in essence, silencing the voices of over 190,000 voters in their state who asked by their signatures that the initiative be brought to vote and nullifying the state constitution that gives the citizens of Missouri the right to vote - by considering proposed HJR 86.
If you are a registered voter in Missouri, I urge you to go to the ASPCA Advocacy page at https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?alertId=2663&pg=makeACall&JServSessionIdr004=kc1xf6jae3.app225b and read for yourself what is being proposed. Then, pull on your big girl britches like I did tonight and telephone your Senator's office to respectfully request that he or she oppose such legislation. Be sure you give your name and address so the office will be able to verify that you are a constituent of the Senator's district. This site has a function that will provide you with the name and number of your Senator if you don't know who that is. Or, you might find the name here:
Dan Clemens - District 20 (covers: Christian Co; Webster Co; Douglas Co; Greene Co)- (573) 751-4008
Jack Goodman - District 29 (covers: Ozark Co; McDonald Co; Barry Co; Stone Co; Taney Co; Lawrence Co.) - (573) 751-2234
Norma Champion - Springfield,Mo. (573) 751-2583
You can also listen to a radio spot here: http://www.missourifordogs.com/o/17001/images/MPD%20Radio%20Ad%2005-04-10.mp3
Whether or not you're a "dog person" - you do have the right to vote. Make that call. Believe me, if I could be brave enough to do it, you can! Make your voice heard and make a difference in Missouri.
Shellie
Monday, May 3, 2010
Missouri Dog Advocates Submit Signatures for Puppy Mill Intitiative : The Humane Society of the United States
Missouri Dog Advocates Submit Signatures for Puppy Mill Intitiative : The Humane Society of the United States
Start spreading the news! And get out there and vote in November!
Start spreading the news! And get out there and vote in November!
Friday, April 23, 2010
When Life Comes Together Like. . . Like. . . Like a Music Video!
Don't you love it when life just comes together? This year I volunteered to be part of a technology cohort for Library Media Specialists in our district and I got information recently on a website to create short videos. Well, I've had the most FUN making all these little 30-second videos for school (check out my book trailers for some of the 2010-2011 Gateway Nominees I've been reading at http://ghsgatewayreaders.blogspot.com/ ) I thought I should try my hand at it with some personal things. The obvious choice to start with: my launch party. Were you there last November? Here are the highlights. Enjoy!
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
How Do You Spell Relief?
Do you remember the old Rolaids commercials? "How do you spell relief? R-o-l-a-i-d-s."
I'm facing my 42nd birthday this Tuesday. No biggie. Mostly right now I'm jazzed about the beautiful spring we're having wondering how you spell the name of that gorgeous flowering shrub that's just started blooming all over town. Rhodedendron? Maybe. Anyway, they are brilliant and all over the place! In fact, all the flowering trees and shrubs have put on the most wonderful show this spring. After a long, cold winter, that's how I spell relief: s-p-r-i-n-g. Whew.
Also, I'm really jazzed about young adults. As I'm sure I've mentioned in the blog before (because I'm mentioning it every time I turn around and see someone standing there lately and because I'm signing off on so many emails these days with "Go Falcons!") I'm going back to high school next year. So, I've started reading the 2010-2011 Gateway Nominees and I'm having a blast! Also, I've begun writing a new novel (at last!) and have a writer at the New York Times to thank for the inspiration.
Reading so much YA (not to mention reading a not so nice blog review of No Penalty in which I was the writer of something like "boring and oh, so chaste dating descriptions") kind of got me thinking that I might like to try my hand at the YA myself. After all, in writing No Penalty I had a lot of fun creating Able and was particularly proud of that character. So, why not write more like him? Turns out it was, if it turns out to be nothing else, a great jolt to the creativity, because I've been finding myself thinking about my characters and my story more than any other project I've started and subsequently quit on in recent months. Yippee!
Between reading Gateway Nominees, joining YALSA, ordering The Big Pink Bible of Teen Services, and thinking and thinking and thinking about the high school scene where I'll be next year I'm feeling vibrant and alive again. Say what you will, but teenagers, while sometimes surly and sometimes downright rude, are full of life and it's refreshing to be around that. So, yeah, Go Falcons!
I'm facing my 42nd birthday this Tuesday. No biggie. Mostly right now I'm jazzed about the beautiful spring we're having wondering how you spell the name of that gorgeous flowering shrub that's just started blooming all over town. Rhodedendron? Maybe. Anyway, they are brilliant and all over the place! In fact, all the flowering trees and shrubs have put on the most wonderful show this spring. After a long, cold winter, that's how I spell relief: s-p-r-i-n-g. Whew.
Also, I'm really jazzed about young adults. As I'm sure I've mentioned in the blog before (because I'm mentioning it every time I turn around and see someone standing there lately and because I'm signing off on so many emails these days with "Go Falcons!") I'm going back to high school next year. So, I've started reading the 2010-2011 Gateway Nominees and I'm having a blast! Also, I've begun writing a new novel (at last!) and have a writer at the New York Times to thank for the inspiration.
Reading so much YA (not to mention reading a not so nice blog review of No Penalty in which I was the writer of something like "boring and oh, so chaste dating descriptions") kind of got me thinking that I might like to try my hand at the YA myself. After all, in writing No Penalty I had a lot of fun creating Able and was particularly proud of that character. So, why not write more like him? Turns out it was, if it turns out to be nothing else, a great jolt to the creativity, because I've been finding myself thinking about my characters and my story more than any other project I've started and subsequently quit on in recent months. Yippee!
Between reading Gateway Nominees, joining YALSA, ordering The Big Pink Bible of Teen Services, and thinking and thinking and thinking about the high school scene where I'll be next year I'm feeling vibrant and alive again. Say what you will, but teenagers, while sometimes surly and sometimes downright rude, are full of life and it's refreshing to be around that. So, yeah, Go Falcons!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Waiting for Rejuvination
There's an old song with the line, "They say it's spring that's made me daft as a daisy". I'm feeling pretty daft these days. Daft and so tired! I don't know if I'm so inflexible that the time change is still throwing me or if it's that over Spring Break I slept in until 8:30 and now am getting up at 6:00 again. At any rate, I'm pretty much a zombie. I'm waiting for rejuvination.
Tomorrow is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. The season reminds us of the wonderful reality of resurrection, of new life. I'm grateful for that reality.
It's funny how my mind has been so busy lately and yet I am having such a hard time writing. I want to so much I can taste it, but I sit down and. . . nothing. Or at least too little to really work with. I feel like McGee on NCIS when he wouldn't own up to his (dare I say it?) writer's block. I remember I had this problem before. It was after I knew Stained Glass Theatre was going to do my play Welcome to Joe's. There was this huge gap of two years between the time they accepted the script and the time they produced it. I was so anxious about seeing Joe's happen that I wasn't very productive on anything else. Then, as soon as Joe's closed I dashed of Related Spaces in nothing flat! After Related Spaces played, I wrote No Penalty. After No Penalty was published I finished the one that's setting at Avalon now. In those times of waiting, I find that's all I seem to be able to do. I guess it's that wish for life to be in tidy packages. One project completed before another is begun. It doesn't work that way. I've got to pull my head out of the fog and get busy!
Spring is supposed to be the most romantic season. I'm looking forward to some of my favorite springy things to rejuvinate the romantic in me. Maybe you could try these, too!
1. Eat breakfast outside. Bruce and I eat on the porch when it's light enough and warm enough because we can watch walkers and dog walkers go by. We always laugh that people are saying, "Look! They're eating on the porch! Weird."
2. Fill the birdbath and watch for visitors of the feathered variety.
3. Do what my editor Chelsea did: wear yellow to celebrate spring!
4. Sip a glass of iced tea with lemon and mint.
5. Read some Nikki Giovanni poetry. It's fun.
6. If you live near a college campus, walk on over and stroll around. Take in the sights and sounds: frisbee on the lawn, touch football in the stadium, bicycles on the brick bike paths, music drifting out of open dorm windows, bulletin boards announcing auditions for summer theatre productions, the fountains.
7. Paint your toenails - but not if you're a man, please!
8. Pick out one bird's song and listen for it every day near the same time. We have one around here that I call "Our Little Singer". I can never find him, but his song is quite distinct. I think I figured out what kind he was last year, but have forgotten since. He sings, "Oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada."
9. Get your bird books off the shelf and figure out what kinds of birds are visiting and singing all around you.
10. Breathe deeply (if your allergies allow it) - take in the scents of lilac and fresh green growing things!
Cheers to you and cheers to spring!
Shellie
Tomorrow is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. The season reminds us of the wonderful reality of resurrection, of new life. I'm grateful for that reality.
It's funny how my mind has been so busy lately and yet I am having such a hard time writing. I want to so much I can taste it, but I sit down and. . . nothing. Or at least too little to really work with. I feel like McGee on NCIS when he wouldn't own up to his (dare I say it?) writer's block. I remember I had this problem before. It was after I knew Stained Glass Theatre was going to do my play Welcome to Joe's. There was this huge gap of two years between the time they accepted the script and the time they produced it. I was so anxious about seeing Joe's happen that I wasn't very productive on anything else. Then, as soon as Joe's closed I dashed of Related Spaces in nothing flat! After Related Spaces played, I wrote No Penalty. After No Penalty was published I finished the one that's setting at Avalon now. In those times of waiting, I find that's all I seem to be able to do. I guess it's that wish for life to be in tidy packages. One project completed before another is begun. It doesn't work that way. I've got to pull my head out of the fog and get busy!
Spring is supposed to be the most romantic season. I'm looking forward to some of my favorite springy things to rejuvinate the romantic in me. Maybe you could try these, too!
1. Eat breakfast outside. Bruce and I eat on the porch when it's light enough and warm enough because we can watch walkers and dog walkers go by. We always laugh that people are saying, "Look! They're eating on the porch! Weird."
2. Fill the birdbath and watch for visitors of the feathered variety.
3. Do what my editor Chelsea did: wear yellow to celebrate spring!
4. Sip a glass of iced tea with lemon and mint.
5. Read some Nikki Giovanni poetry. It's fun.
6. If you live near a college campus, walk on over and stroll around. Take in the sights and sounds: frisbee on the lawn, touch football in the stadium, bicycles on the brick bike paths, music drifting out of open dorm windows, bulletin boards announcing auditions for summer theatre productions, the fountains.
7. Paint your toenails - but not if you're a man, please!
8. Pick out one bird's song and listen for it every day near the same time. We have one around here that I call "Our Little Singer". I can never find him, but his song is quite distinct. I think I figured out what kind he was last year, but have forgotten since. He sings, "Oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada."
9. Get your bird books off the shelf and figure out what kinds of birds are visiting and singing all around you.
10. Breathe deeply (if your allergies allow it) - take in the scents of lilac and fresh green growing things!
Cheers to you and cheers to spring!
Shellie
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Shame on Me!
I'm so ashamed of how I've neglected my blog! Do you see the date on the last post? However, if you go back to the archives you'll see that somewhere around the time school started I predicted this would happen. Not with the blogging so much, but with writing period. I know me.
For those of you who haven't heard the wonderful, wonderful news yet which every single time I think of it I smile. . . I got a new job! I'm still going to be working in the school library, but (and it's a BIG BUT) it will be a high school libray! Not just any high school library, but my own alma mater's library. I'm so, so excited about it. I just can't help but think this will make a world of difference to my emotional and mental states - energy level's just got to go up in those places! I know, you're thinking how can a school librarian job in the elementary be so draining anyway? Let me just say, you have to be there to understand. I never would have supposed. Not that I expect my new spot to be a cake walk, but just being back among the high school students with their energy and excitement and all their adolescent "stuff" - the football games, the band practices sounding out across the campus in the morning when I arrive to work, seeing my students really shine in things like drama and choir and speech and all those things. It's a world unto itself and I've missed it! I'm going home!
So, my mind has been occupied - previously wondering what if anything would be posted, then agonizing through the two weeks it had to stay posted, waiting for the interview, waiting to hear - and now just trying to stay focused on the present because there are, after all, ten weeks of school left until summer.
In the meantime, I did speak with the new editor at Avalon and she assured me that my latest manuscript (oh, when will there be another one?) is still "very much on the radar" but that they are running six to nine months behind! So, the waiting goes on.
Tomorrow I'm going to hear someone from Dusty Feet speak. My cousin Courtney emailed me about it. When I went to the organization's website, I saw a name and face I knew that I knew. Nate Kaunley. He is, as I thought I remembered, a graduate of the first high school where I taught. Anyway, I'm anxious to hear about the organization. You can visit the site at http://www.dustyfeetonline.com/ or, if you're in Springfield, come to Q on Commercial Street tomorrow (Sunday, March 28th) at 1:00.
I vow to try to blog more often. I vow to try to make better use of time and write more. I vow to return to the roots of the Life as a Great Romance blog and offer some great springtime suggestions for living the romantic life. Spring, after all, is the season for love.
For those of you who haven't heard the wonderful, wonderful news yet which every single time I think of it I smile. . . I got a new job! I'm still going to be working in the school library, but (and it's a BIG BUT) it will be a high school libray! Not just any high school library, but my own alma mater's library. I'm so, so excited about it. I just can't help but think this will make a world of difference to my emotional and mental states - energy level's just got to go up in those places! I know, you're thinking how can a school librarian job in the elementary be so draining anyway? Let me just say, you have to be there to understand. I never would have supposed. Not that I expect my new spot to be a cake walk, but just being back among the high school students with their energy and excitement and all their adolescent "stuff" - the football games, the band practices sounding out across the campus in the morning when I arrive to work, seeing my students really shine in things like drama and choir and speech and all those things. It's a world unto itself and I've missed it! I'm going home!
So, my mind has been occupied - previously wondering what if anything would be posted, then agonizing through the two weeks it had to stay posted, waiting for the interview, waiting to hear - and now just trying to stay focused on the present because there are, after all, ten weeks of school left until summer.
In the meantime, I did speak with the new editor at Avalon and she assured me that my latest manuscript (oh, when will there be another one?) is still "very much on the radar" but that they are running six to nine months behind! So, the waiting goes on.
Tomorrow I'm going to hear someone from Dusty Feet speak. My cousin Courtney emailed me about it. When I went to the organization's website, I saw a name and face I knew that I knew. Nate Kaunley. He is, as I thought I remembered, a graduate of the first high school where I taught. Anyway, I'm anxious to hear about the organization. You can visit the site at http://www.dustyfeetonline.com/ or, if you're in Springfield, come to Q on Commercial Street tomorrow (Sunday, March 28th) at 1:00.
I vow to try to blog more often. I vow to try to make better use of time and write more. I vow to return to the roots of the Life as a Great Romance blog and offer some great springtime suggestions for living the romantic life. Spring, after all, is the season for love.
Friday, January 29, 2010
What to Do?
Oh, it's agony! Starting something, setting it aside. Starting something else, thinking better of the first, setting it aside and going back. Deciding it's not so great after all and bogging down to do nothing. What's to do? Watch Dr. Who, I guess. In the name of inspiration, of course.
The other day I had a brilliant idea for a new book, so I set aside the one I'd written a chapter on and never gotten back to. The new idea produced a whopping one paragraph. It's a week later now. Ugh! I think my muse has been captured by an evil alien empire and is being held captive in an icy world somewhere. Doctor! Help!
Seriously, though, it's part of the process. Not a pretty part, but a part nonetheless. I try not to get too upset by it because it always works out fine in the end. I think that, just like with life, the hard parts, the parts when you feel like you're in a holding pattern, those are the parts that produce character. In this case, I just hope that character is a best-selling romantic heroine - or something like that. Sometimes I wish I was smart enough to write sci-fi or at least a good mystery. My brain just doesn't work that way, though, even though I enjoy reading them.
I heard from one of the new editors at Avalon today and my newest (complete) manuscript is "still very much on the radar" with them; however, with the turnover in personnel and high volume of submissions they are running behind. So, fingers crossed - still. In the meantime, I do have another book signing scheduled. This one is at Barnes & Noble on February 6th from 11-1. I'm looking forward to it. It's to feature other local authors; I thought it was so nice to be invited! This time the bookstore is providing the books for sale, so it won't be a consignment sort of thing like it was at Borders. Makes me feel professional.
January slipped by without any suggestions from me for romantic things to do. Anyone out there have any winter romance ideas? February, of course, boasts Valentine's Day - a natural for romance. But what do you do that helps you find beauty and lead the romantic life this cold, cold season? Let me hear from you!
Stay warm!
Shellie
The other day I had a brilliant idea for a new book, so I set aside the one I'd written a chapter on and never gotten back to. The new idea produced a whopping one paragraph. It's a week later now. Ugh! I think my muse has been captured by an evil alien empire and is being held captive in an icy world somewhere. Doctor! Help!
Seriously, though, it's part of the process. Not a pretty part, but a part nonetheless. I try not to get too upset by it because it always works out fine in the end. I think that, just like with life, the hard parts, the parts when you feel like you're in a holding pattern, those are the parts that produce character. In this case, I just hope that character is a best-selling romantic heroine - or something like that. Sometimes I wish I was smart enough to write sci-fi or at least a good mystery. My brain just doesn't work that way, though, even though I enjoy reading them.
I heard from one of the new editors at Avalon today and my newest (complete) manuscript is "still very much on the radar" with them; however, with the turnover in personnel and high volume of submissions they are running behind. So, fingers crossed - still. In the meantime, I do have another book signing scheduled. This one is at Barnes & Noble on February 6th from 11-1. I'm looking forward to it. It's to feature other local authors; I thought it was so nice to be invited! This time the bookstore is providing the books for sale, so it won't be a consignment sort of thing like it was at Borders. Makes me feel professional.
January slipped by without any suggestions from me for romantic things to do. Anyone out there have any winter romance ideas? February, of course, boasts Valentine's Day - a natural for romance. But what do you do that helps you find beauty and lead the romantic life this cold, cold season? Let me hear from you!
Stay warm!
Shellie
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