My Constant Inner Dialogue

Yep. This about sums it up.

Writing Update

It's been a while since I have posted anything about what I am writing. Since I have several WIPs (works in progress) I will summarize each.

#1 WIP
This FHE book is completed and at the publisher; I am waiting to hear back if it is accepted. It is taking longer than I anticipated, which makes me wonder if the news will not be good. I tend to assume the worst so the let down isn't so bad.

#2 WIP
A book that be used as both an FHE aid or family scripture study aid. It is about 25% written, but I have a very clear sense of what needs to be done. The only thing holding me up here are the illustrations. I have decided to upgrade them (in comparison to my other books) by learning to use Illustrator, which requires I take a class... So this one will be a while.

#3 WIP
My first attempt at fiction. I currently have 7000 words written. It is a 1930s mystery/romance a la Emilie Loring, but based (loosely) on the lives of my husband's grandparents. I am enjoying the challenge of writing fiction, but find the mapping out process to be time consuming. I tend to think of multiple ways things could play out and then have a hard time deciding which I like best.

#4 WIP
A folder games book. I have made many folder games of my own design for my kids (which they have all outgrown now). This is actually just an idea that I know I want to put together, but first want to finish some of the above mentioned projects.

Book Signing Tomorrow

Come and see me Saturday from 9 am 'til noon at the Bliss Spring Sidewalk Swap & Sale in downtown Mesa (at MacDonald and Main). I will be there signing copies of Adventures with the Word of God and Family Home Evening Adventures. I would love to see you there!

Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 3:13

INFF

Today you can read an interview with my on Sarah Eden's blog. Every week she interviews a new person (some real, some not) on her "I Need Friends Friday" series. Be sure to check it out--it covers all sorts of topics (from shoe shopping to insomnia). And you will be sure to get a laugh! And I am proud to be called a friend of Sarah Eden.

Sarah M. Eden is the author of these (and other) great regency romance novels:

Seeking Persephone

The Ramshackle Knight

Through All Hopes

The Price Paid

And the soon to be released...

Courting Miss Lancaster



Scripture of the Day: Alma 34:33

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I am going here:

With this nice guy:

And this talented lady:

To moderate one of these:

And then come all the way home. (By then it will look like this):

Please forgive my lack of comments lately. Life is really hectic right now.

Scripture of the Day: Alma 32:28-29

Time for the Tooth Fairy

This morning Sweetie Peach lost her first tooth. She was so excited! What's odd is that two nights ago I dreamed she lost her first tooth. Yesterday she came home from school and showed me how loose it had become during the day. Then it came out while brushing her teeth this morning. Maybe there is something to be said about mother's intuition.

And, yes, that is Patch acting like a goof trying to get in the picture.

Scripture of the Day: D&C 130:20-21

My Neck of the Woods

Things are quiet around here... not too much going on, which is really the way I like it best. Here are a few happenings:

1. Patch passed the sacrament for the first time today. I had to stay home with Kitty (who has a bad cough), so I missed it. But Steve said he did a great job, as though he had done it a hundred times before.

2. Sweetie Peach was making gingerbread cookies (from a mix) this evening. Steve let her dye half the dough green. Quite tasty looking...

3. We have played the board game Ticket to Ride every day the past four days. Patch beats me every time... what am I doing wrong?

4. I cooked my food storage turkey today. I buy a new one every November during the sales and store it in the deep freezer. If there is no reason to use it during the year then I have to cook it in October. It tasted yummy! Now I am looking forward to Thanksgiving.

5. The kitchen/laundry room water heater has not been working for a while now. The circuit breaker it is on died and we need to replace it to finally fix the problem. I am getting tired of boiling water to do some loads of laundry.

6. I am off to bed! Good night :-).

(Image credit)

Scripture of the Day: D&C 76:22-24

Trip Pics

Day 1: After a visit to my publisher we stopped by my alum, BYU. Can you find the Y up on the mountain?

Later, after checking in to the hotel, we fed the ducks at the nearby pond.

Day 2: Can you tell by this pick it was not an easy day for me? I would like to smack the stranger who took this picture for us and did not get the whole SLC temple in the background. I wonder what he thought we were doing getting our picture taken in that location if not for the background?

Steve and Patch going into the Conference Center.


After dropping off the guys at priesthood we spent a little time in the VC.

Day 3: I got to hear this beautiful music!

Scripture of the Day: D&C 18: 10, 15-16

Check Me Out!

Yesterday I was spotlighted on MormonWomen.org. Click on over and leave me a comment!

That time of year again

Me and my emergency backpack hiking in the wilderness!

Today I realized it is time again to replenish my 72-hour kits. I always use the October general conference as my reminder. I have to admit this year I was tempted to ignore it. I had a number of reasons:

- Money is a bit tight and I have other expenses coming up (i.e. Patch's b-day).
- I am tired of throwing out stale food.
- I am extremely busy for the next week (actually two).
- I am lazy ;-).

But I decided to do the right thing and take care of it. I can always trim money elsewhere. And I would sure hate to have trouble arise and then be stuck with a backpack full of gross, stale food!

So I pulled out the backpacks, emptied them, made a list, and went to the store. After gathering all the items I headed up to the cashier. I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed by all the candy, granola bars, and instant foods I was purchasing. Do you ever wonder what cashiers think of your food choices? I don't usually, but this time I did.

When the kids got home and saw all the stale junk food waiting for them they were so excited. Kitty claimed the Snickers bar right away. Sweetie Peach grabbed the Starburst. I had some of the rock hard beef jerky. It was lousy, but I ate some anyway. With dinner the kids drank Gatorade (that hardly ever happens around here, so they thought they were way cool). Pretty much everything else went in the trash...

I tried not to think about it.

We will all be brushing our teeth for an extra 60 seconds before bed tonight.

And I will sleep better knowing we are a little more prepared for the unexpected.

(Image credit)

Scripture of the Day: 3 Nephi 27:27

Miscommunications

Today was a day of miscommunication.

Scenario 1:

My turn to carpool the neighborhood kids home from the elementary school this week. But I traded Friday as we are headed out of town. Somehow the conversation got me confused and I did not go to get the kids. Until the school called, that is.


Scenario 2 (an hour later):

The phone rings and Kitty answers. After hanging up she yells to me that I need to go get my son and cohorts from junior high. What? I KNOW this is not my week to carpool them. So I call to talk to the mom whose turn it was. Not home. I check the caller ID. The house number for one of the carpool kids had called, so I called back to find out what Kitty's conversation had been. Turned out they were simply looking for their son and I did not need to go get them from school. Two minutes later Patch walked in.


Scenario 3 (an hour after that):

Kitty and Sweetie Peach are playing with friends Carli and Anna. They leave to go to Carli's house (next to us). But within 10 minutes Kitty and Sweetie Peach return without friends. I tell Kitty to call Carli's house to have them come back because Anna's mother had brought her over to play at our house, not theirs. She calls. Anna does not show up. After 10 minutes I send Kitty and Sweetie Peach to get her. They return with the report that Anna has headed for home -- walking (1/3 mile away)! I send Kitty after Anna on the scooter while I Anna's home to make sure someone is home and let them know what is going on. Five minutes later Kitty returns without Anna. So I get in the car, drive the route to Anna's home (don't see her on the way), and knock on her door. Anna is home already and it turned out when Kitty had called her she thought it was her mother was calling to tell her to come home.


Hopefully that is the end of the misunderstandings today.

(Image credit)

Scripture of the Day: Helaman 5:12

My To Do List

Today is one of those days... Not that numerically it is a lot, but a few of the items are simply very time consuming. And several of them are on the computer, which can make my back very tired. Unfortunately, sometimes that's the way life goes. Here are my goals for the day:

1. Complete research report on new burn dressings product (estimated time required 5 hours).

2. Exercise (1 hour needed).

3. Mopping and vacuuming (1 hour needed).

4. Edit proof of Family Home Evening Adventures (it came yesterday! yay! - a few hours needed)

5. Start preparing Sharing Time for Sunday (30 minutes needed)


Looks like no naps today!


Scripture of the Day: Alma 37:6-7

PS, If you have not yet entered my 500th post blog giveaway, scroll down a bit to do so! Deadline is Saturday.

A Primary Kind of Day

I spent 8 hours doing Primary stuff today.

8.

E. I. G. H. T.

Count 'em.

Hour 1: Run to Seagull Book to pick up Faith in God stuff.

Hour 2: Run to Wal-Mart to purchase program incentive items (I admit I bought nylons, too)

Hour 3: Wrote agenda for presidency meeting while eating lunch.

Hours 4 and 5: Presidency meeting. Yep. 2 full hours. Ouch!

Hour 6: Met with two cutie 11-yr-olds about Faith in God awards.

Hour 7: Writing and sending Primary-related e-mails and preparing items to be photocopied for Primary.

Hour 8: Delivering Primary related materials to bishopric counselor and more e-mails.

Not that I don't love my calling, but can I take a few days off please?

(Image credit)

Scripture of the Day: Mosiah 3:19

This got me thinking...

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
Albert Einstein

I have had a lot of opportunities the past few months! I hope I have (or am) making the most of them.

(Image Credit)

Scripture of the Day: 2 Nephi 32:3

A Morning Well Spent

This morning we went here.

Were instructed by this kind gardener.

And then worked like this for two hours.

Time well spent.


Scripture of the Day: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

O Fall

O Fall, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?

How long shall thy cool breezes be stayed, and thine leaves, yea thy colorful leaves, which adorn these heaven-reaching trees, be kept from our view, and these burning hours be penetrated with our cries?

Yea, O Fall, how long shalt thou suffer the temperatures of heated oppressions to bear down upon thy servants, before thine shortened days shall yield to gentle hours, and thy rains be moved with compassionate swells upon them?

O Noble Fall, bearer of harvests, frosts, and feasts, and of all things blessed that in them are, and who tamests and subjectest the devil heat, and the dogged and benighted dominion of Summer—stretch forth thy time; let thine flora bloom; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine leaves be inclined again toward the earth; let thine stiffneckedness be softened, and thy days move with swiftness toward us.

Let thine anger be kindled against our Summer enemies; and, in the cool fury of thine generation, with thy sword avenge us of this fervid season.

Remember thy sweating saints, O Fall; and thy servants will rejoice in thee forever.

Inspired by D&C 121:1-6

(Image credit: CR Artist)

Scripture of the Day: 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Stinky Boys

I just got back from carpooling Patch and four other junior high kids home from school. There were three boys and two girls in the car (excluding me), and those sweaty boys were sure stinky! I turned the air conditioner up full tilt (at 105 degrees out today it was not practical to roll down the windows) and aimed it right at my face to drive the smell away.

Sheri Dew once said in a speech she gave that {I am paraphrasing now} if were up to the world's standards, 12-year-old boys would never be given the priesthood because they are still in that "stinky" age. She was so right! Patch turns 12 in less than two months, and the other two boys in the car are already 12. All three are stinky!

(Image credit)

Scripture of the Day: 2 Thess. 2:1-3

Before and After

This morning this is what I found when I went to put clean bedding on the girls' beds. I could barely even walk in their room. So although I am not sure it is right to clean kids rooms for them, I went ahead and picked up so I could make the beds. Here is what I found:

9 books on the floor
2 rolls of scotch tape
7 stuffed animals
3 pajama pants/shirts
5 pens/pencils/crayons
1 sippy cup
1 mini Twix bar unopened
1 pair of scissors
1 glue stick
Bag of piano lesson books
A whole shopping bag full of arts and crafts stuff that went in the garbage
A multitude of dollhouse toys

It took me about an hour to get it straightened up (interspersed with watching the premiere of Project Runway from last night). And here is the after shot:


They are now home from school and I am tempted to lock the door to their room for a few hours so it will stay clean!

Scripture of the Day: 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Miscellaneous Stuff

It has been a busy weekend--a busy week in fact. So here are a few of the details to catch you up.

- Yesterday the girls and I met up with the Irvine women (minus the California contingency) for lunch at Paradise Bakery. It was very fun to see all of them, especially Melissa who recently moved back to AZ with her DH after finishing up at BYU-Idaho.

- After lunch we hit JCPenney to exchange some jeans for Kitty; I ended up buying myself a skirt, too. I loved wearing it today.

- Then I went to a stake baptism--or at least tried to go to it. Turns out it is next weekend. I am chronically early! Just ask this friend.

- Found a picture of the SLC temple Holy of Holies to draw for my book--click here if you are interested in seeing what it looks like. Somehow James E. Talmage took a picture of it. Must have been before cameras were not allowed.

- I watched the movie Scarlet on YouTube last night. LONG movie. Not too sure about Timothy Dalton as Clark Gable's replacement. But then, no one could really replace Clark Gable. Later I found myself thinking of this Carol Burnet sketch and started laughing to myself.

- Today at church my fave seminary teacher spoke again (high council visit)--it was excellent! And then afterwards when I spoke to him in the hallway he told me how much he liked my book. It was probably the best compliment I have had all year.

- After church we came home to eat and I found I had failed to turn the crock pot on and the roast was still raw. That was a first. I guess I was rushing too much before church. What is odd is that my mom plugged in her crock pot today as well and went to church, but the circuit breaker had been tripped without her knowing, so she came home to a raw roast as well. Like mother like daughter?

- And finally, for this week's Member Missionary Moment I donated money to the missionary fund (section 2, #15). We also had a ward pool party we tried to invite friends to, but it did not work out this time. So the donation worked out instead.

Here is what LDS Philanthropies says about the full-time missionary fund: "There are more than 15,000 young men and women from international areas outside the United States who, at great personal sacrifice, are serving full-time missions in their own lands and in the U.S. Many of these missionaries come from homes where the total family income is less than $1,000 annually. Serving missions, therefore, puts a severe—if not impossible—strain on family finances. Along with family support, the Church expects their local wards and branches to pay what they can. If the family and local support is not sufficient, arrangements can be made for the General Missionary Fund to take care of the remaining expenses associated with missionary service."

Good night!


Scripture of the Day: John 17:3

Home Again, Home Again

We made it home from our trip today. I am glad to be home but sad to be back in such hot weather. We went to Irvine, California (where else, right?) but took a trip up to Hollywood and over to Newport Beach as well. The above picture of the kids was at a beautiful location--we had a nice picnic there before heading up to find the Hollywood sign.


Which we found after about two hours of driving--not exactly the greatest experience, but we had a lot of fun driving around in the neighborhood just below the sign. Lots of narrow, winding streets with interesting houses.


We spent an hour or so at the beach. I got sunburned. That will teach me to remember the sunblock. Here the kids were building a sand volcano. They filled it up with broken sea shells.


And finally a trip to the hotel pool. Sweetie Peach is such a little poser! The hotel was great with free bikes to ride and nice amenities. The only drawback was the convention of 2,000 teens being held at the time. At least it was a Christian Convention--I got invited to attend a worship service with them (which I politely declined as we were headed to our own).

I hope your weekend was great, too!

Scripture of the Day: John 3:5