A Few Pictures from Girls' Camp!

I know some of my writerly friends were excited for summer because they'd have more time to write ... not me!! YIKES. I have not had a spare second to even think about writing. Sad ... I know ... but don't cry for me. I've been busy having fun.

Here are a few pictures from Girls' Camp:

Bus trip:

Group shot, first day:

Making friendship bracelets:

Hike to the top of a mountain:

My knowledge of the TWILIGHT series finally paid off when I correctly "ordered" the vampires and helped our group win the game show!

Certification classes:

Our group of girls were the "monkeys" and so one of our girls CHOSE to wear a banana costume all day. FUNNY.

We tied quilts for Humanitarian Services:

We decorated hats for the Shriners (I think?) for kids with cancer:

Girls CHOSE to read the scriptures together in their free time - - - AH! Be still my soul!!

I made these super cute super hairy backpacks for each of the girls:

My daughter and I took nearly 600 photos, so I could show you a ton more, but I'll stop with our group shot from the last night. We all cleaned up after a week of being dirty and wore white shirts to dinner:

It was a great week, and I hope I get to go again next year!!

Converting to a New Religion

Okay! I've made a decision (YAY me!).

I'm converting to dark chocolate.

I know. I know. Remain calm.

But here's the thing: I've made a serious goal. I want to be physically fit. I don't need to be skinny, but I want to be stronger and have more stamina. Therefore, I'll admit here (but only because I'm pretty sure my high school crushes don't read this blog), I want to be 100 pounds lighter by this time next year.

Standards (rumors?) say it is safe to lose 2% of your body weight per week. So, based on that, I think this is a reasonable goal.

I started last Monday by adding water aerobics to my schedule. I went three times. I didn't stress myself out about changing my eating habits, yet. But, I made healthier choices at each opportunity. For example, I chose a Thai Salad at a restaurant one day instead of the deep fried finger steaks and french fries I love.

And, I still ate my chocolate, but I think I heard somewhere (another rumor??) that dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate. Therefore, I asked myself, if the choices were NO chocolate or DARK chocolate, which would I choose? Dark, duh.

So, I'm converting to DARK CHOCOLATE. Wish me luck.

And, by the way, I dropped five pounds this last week, just by adding three classes of water aerobics and healthier food choices.

This week? Four water aerobic classes. That's all I can promise.
:)

What are your healthy eating tips? And, do you prefer DARK or MILK chocolate? Could you convert?

Book Review: THE ART OF HAPPINESS

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by Dalai Lama XIV


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well ... I almost gave it three stars instead of four ... simply because Cutler's narratives drove me nuts. I loved the messages of Dalai Lama, but I found Cutler's words irritating! (Cutler is the Western psychiatrist who interviewed the Dalai Lama and put the book together).


I know ... if I would put into practice the art of compassion as taught by the Dalai Lama, Cutler's opinions wouldn't have bothered me. However, I'm not that enlightened.


It seemed as though Cutler belittled some of the Buddhist philosophies, calling them "too simple." Then, he would reference situations and examples where either he was playing the "devil's advocate" to make a more profound point of the Dalai Lama's messages, OR Cutler was very insensitive. I just thought, here is a man with a personal audience with the Dalai Lama - - - why is he not learning and putting into practice the things he is hearing?


I began to skim Cutler's sections and read the Dalai Lama's sections more slowly.


I found the Dalai Lama's messages inspiring. To understand the difference between pleasure and happiness ... a new window was opened for me. After reading that section, I was able to make decisions more easily based on whether the choice would provide me long term happiness or short term pleasure. A great way to look at things.


Many other great messages opened my eyes and also reaffirmed personal beliefs regarding charity, tolerance, forgiveness, and other important ideas.


A great book regardless of your religious affinities.


It is one I will read again.

View all my reviews

What book are you reading right now?

ACK! Bugs - I do NOT like them!!

Okay, so yes ... I've been home from Girls' Camp a few days, and I know you are all dying for pictures and stories - - right?  Well, I've still been a bit busy trying to catch up with my runaway life.

One thing I've been busy with: sending my 16-yr-old son off on a rock-climbing and camping trip with a youth group.

He came home tonight (11pm) from the trip. At first, I thought coming home late would be fine. Right? Have him shower and send him to bed. Easy peasy.

Until he stiffly came to my room and said, "Mom, whatever you do, please don't panic. I can't handle that."

Deep breath.

"I won't panic." I slowly sat up (I had been reading THE ART OF HAPPINESS while waiting for him to head to bed).

Jacob said, "I have a tick. Could you please remove it?"

Deep breath.

Fire? Oil? Tweezers? Google?

Flashlight! Maybe he only thinks it's a tick! Maybe it's a blood blister!

Upon closer examination ... definitely a tick.

Have I not had enough encounters with bugs this month?

I very calmly asked him, "Did you use bug spray while you were camping?" YOU KNOW ... THE KIND THAT DISCOURAGES TICKS FROM HITCHING A RIDE?

"No," he calmly responded.

So, while I saturated the tick with olive oil, I wondered if I should've started with a flame, but then thought the two ideas shouldn't reside in my head at the same time. Is olive oil flamable? YIKES. Using tweezers, very close to his skin, I sucessfully removed (as far as I can tell at 11:30pm) the tick. Minus one leg.

Think I can sleep peacefully tonight?

YIKES! Seems I actually cannot DO IT ALL!

I could list out my to-do list from the last three weeks and identify the things accomplished and those that fell by the way-side ... but that would take too much time, and frankly, depress me.

So, instead I'll give you a list of five things I did accomplish and five I did not. And, keep in mind, we just got back in town, and I'm leaving again Tuesday 6am for a week at Girls' Camp.

Accomplished:
1. Colored hair purple (not bright but vibrant) because 39 girls accomplished the service goals we set for them prior to this week's girls' camp.
2. Taught Pulled my hair out ... HELPED my daughter sew four monkey themed pillowcases (two to give away) and a pair of monkey-themed fleece pajama bottoms for her to wear at camp. (Our group of 39 girls have the monkey as our mascot.)
3. Bought a swim suit so I can attend water aerobics again.
4. Got puppy to the vet for his next round of shots.
5. Really - that's all I can think of.

Not Accomplished:
1. Clean house
2. Finish critiques for writing buddies
3. Clean house
4. Pottie train puppy
5. Schedule blog posts ahead for the next week

So ... feel free to come and clean my house while I'm gone and pottie-train the puppy.

Blog posts will resume on June 20th. ... Well, assuming I survive girls' camp.

Fun Contest! Hurry - it ends today!

My pal Christi over at Christi Corbett is offering a fun contest with great prizes ... but hurry it expires today at midnight!!

Here are the basic rules, but visit this link above for full contest details and for your chance to enter:
* Entrants shall create, on purpose, the worst opening line to a novel.
* One sentence (fifty word limit).
* The use of commas, semi-colons, ellipsis, and/or hyphens is highly encouraged.
* All genres accepted.
* Let’s keep it clean. No sex, extreme violence, or cursing.
* Entry deadline is Saturday at 11:59pm (Pacific Standard Time)

...
You wanna see my entry? Here it is:

Ravenous Xavier woke up suddenly from a restless night's sleep to see a scary storm brewing beyond his pad, but suddenly a bug flew within sight, and Xavier whipped his tongue out and snapped at the bug; it fell next to him, and Xavier licked it up.

...
I think it's a winner, because it breaks so many "rules" ...
1. It opens with someone waking up.
2. It references the weather.
3. It uses -ly words.
4. It uses repeated words.

Go enter the contest!

Top 10 Tips for Cruising

You know ... after Wednesday's post, I don't actually want to jump right back into travelling ... but I'm sure it won't be too long before I forget my phobias *insert hysterical laughing here* and go again.

I never thought I'd be one to enjoy cruising, but through my Stampin' Up! business, I have been blessed to earn many all-expense-paid cruises for myself and my husband. We've travelled to great destinations like Bermuda, Hawaii, Alaska, Grand Cayman, San Juan, Jamaica, and the Panama Canal (just to name a few places!!). We've cruised with many lines including Holland America, Princess, Royal Carribean, Celebrity, and others! And, we've come to learn that cruising is a GREAT way to travel. We are huge fans.

Top 10 tips for first time cruisers:

1. Don’t flush the toilet while sitting on it. It’s a powerful vacuum and can suck your intestines out. For reals.

2. Let the photographers take as many pictures of you as they want. It’s fun to see the prints, and you are not obligated to purchase them. But, it is fun to buy a couple.

3. Attend the different shipboard activities and classes.

4. Tour the spa the first day and enter to win free spa services. And, if you like spa services, keep in mind they are usually discounted on port days. And, if you want to have specific services at specific times, schedule early. Get a pedicure the first day, so you can enjoy your cute toes all week long.

5. Sign up for as many excursions as you can afford. It’s a great way to see the sights and have a blast.

6. Soda and bottled water are not free on the ship (quite expensive actually). So, if you need these, pack them in your suitcase.

7. Before settling into your room, check the bed for bed bugs. I know, YIKES! But, you will save yourself a lot of hassle later if you check first. You can do this by checking the seams of the mattress for the tiny little critters.

8. Feel free to order two entrees at dinner. There’s no extra charge, and why not try some food you’ve never had before?

9. Your room stewards and dining room waiters depend upon your gratuities. So, plan ahead and budget extra money to reward them for excellent service.

10. Remember to relax and have fun.

Have you cruised? Which cruise line is your favorite? Why?



Creation of YA Horror Story

Okay ... I went from freaking out about bed bugs yesterday to dealing with about 35 young women last night ... preparing a skit for next week's Girls' Camp.

I ate a few chocolate chip cookies as a result.

Did I mention how excited I am for camp next week? I'm really looking forward to all of the bugs fun.

Maybe I should write a theraputic journal entry a YA horror story about camp ... and bugs that infest the human body causing the teenage girls to appear pregnant ... but they won't be giving birth to human babies! And imagine the attitudes of the parents when the girls come home from camp "with child" ... and ready to burst.

... BWHAHahahahahaa ...

I feel better already. How 'bout you? :-)

Bed Bugs! YIKES!!

Truth: Sometimes, I exaggerate. Sometimes, I over-react. Sometimes, I even FREAK-out unnecessarily.

Question: Why did I hear the news report on the radio and see a separate news report on the t.v. AFTER we went on the Alaskan cruise?!

Crap-olah!

When we checked into our room on the cruise ship there was a tiny bug on the bed (see "adult unfed" above). Of course, I immediately freaked out. But, my ever-calm husband simply squished the bug with his fingers, *insert my high-pitched shriek* and he said, "Don't freak out."

Seriously? Yup.

So, I tried to convince myself it was nothing. But, I also ripped open the bedsheets and inspected every inch. Nothing. All right.

Right?

Next day: another single bug.

Me: "THIS BED HAS BED BUGS!!"

Husband: "Calm down. We're fine." He squishes the bug with his fingers.

What could we do? Complain and have the stewards spray our room and bed with pesticide?

Should've.
Could've.
I really wish we would've.

Instead, I checked the bed constantly and never found another bug.

Then, driving home from Seattle, there's a news report on the radio about the increase in bed bug infestations. YIKES!

Husband: "Calm down. You're over-reacting."

News report this morning on t.v.: PICTURES of the bed bugs! Yup. That's what was on the bed on the cruise ship!! YIKES!! Report tells of increased infestations in hotels and how the bugs lay eggs in your suitcases and travel home with you!! News report says you shouldn't itch because you can get an infection that can kill you.

Me: FREAKING OUT! and suddenly feeling very itchy.

Daughter: "Mom! Stop it!"

Google it.

Me: FREAKING OUT EVEN MORE!! and checking my skin for bites.

Google results say to wash all your clothes and call a pest control company.

Really? Do I have to call a pest control company? I didn't complain on the cruise ship because I didn't want to sleep in pesticide, and now ... Google says my whole house needs pesticide?

Am I over-reacting? What am I supposed to do???

Word Count - - Who Cares?!

Do you really care how many words are in your manuscript? Do you think every word you've written is absolutely necessary? Do you think agents care? Editors? Publishers?

One of my favorite quotes:
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard


Well. If your word count is too high (based on industry standards) for your chosen genre, you are giving agents a reason to reject your WIP before they consider any other aspect of your project. Agents are busy. They may be more willing (based on blogs I've read) to consider a ms within the standard word counts than they would be one that exceeds those numbers. For one reason, their time is limited. They may not have the time to read your 100,000 word picture book (haha). For another reason, many agents consider an excessive word count to be evidence you haven't mastered editing your own work, yet.

Curious what those "industry standards" are? Here's a great resource: Guide to Literary Agents - Word Count

Do you think your word count matters?

Resources for Sending Query Letters

Are you ready to send out some query letters?

Here are some resources I've found very helpful in researching agents:

Literary Rambles (she lists detailed profiles on agents who rep YA)
Preditors & Editors (helpful listing, plus gives warnings & recommendations)
Guide to Literary Agents Blog (one of my all time favorite resources)
Query Tracker (helpful search engine)

Best of luck! :)

Graduation Etiquette

So, do you give gifts to graduating high school seniors if they did NOT send you an announcement?

I need to know.

I *should* have purchased gifts before I left on my trip to Alaska, but it didn't get done. So, it is at the top of my to-do list when I return home.

Please let me know how many gifts I need to buy. :)

A Quote for Inspiration

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov


...
 
Do you have a favorite quote about writing?