Top 10 Books I’d play Hooky with

I came across this fun weekly meme and thought it would be a fun list to share. Since I’m a homeschool Mom of 2 boys I don’t really get a chance to play “hooky” but I can still think of a pretty good list of books I want to read or re-read in some cases.
1. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran  This is a re-read but it is such a beautiful book that I could read it over and over again. I actually used it for a paper in college (I think we had to copy the style of a book or voice of an author, or something like that.)
2. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. This is a re-read too and a fun little book about a boy who is bored and doesn’t want to do anything about it.
3.Bound By the Heart by Marhsa Canhum
4. Clara’s Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari. This is an amazing little book of stories and recipes from the Great Depression; really makes you take an honest look at how we live today and realize it isn’t as bad as we would like to think.
5. Runaway Choices by Eisly Jacobs. I bought this Christian Fiction on Amazon a while ago and have been wanted to read it ever since. I love Christian Fiction and this one came with all5 star ratings.  I am told it is adventure and intriqued combined with Christian themes
6. Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan. This is another Amazon find that I just haven’t gotten around to reading.  I love Scottish historical fiction especially 1500-1700 era.  This one stuck out for me as mystery, romance, and historical value. It comes with mixed reviews on Amazon but sometimes that is ok.
7. Valeria’s Cross by  Kathi Macias (actually a collaboration). Early Christian Fiction set during the period before the fall of Rome.
8. Prose Works by Mary Baker Eddy As a student of Christian Science this is one of many books full of wisdom and insight.
9. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts  by Gerald Bridges  a weekly devotional with daily passages, it is one I keep meaning to add to my mornings but just haven’t gotten around to it.
10.Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews is another Christian Fiction set during the early Old Testament surrounding Dinah and forgiveness. I’ve actually started this book but haven’t been able to get back to it.

An eclectic collection of books to be read, but that is how I roll.

Puzzle pieces

when I write here it may seem random , honestly mostly it is.. I see this as my notebook, a spot to share thoughts that come to mind.  Some of my posts may seem more like post it notes and honestly sometimes it is easier to type out my thoughts than it is to find a post it note or notebook paper; and to be totally honest I wrote a opening chapter for a future project in a spiral notebook and then managed to lose the stupid notebook before I got it transferred to a blog or even a disk, so it really is easier to collect my ideas as blog posts.

Someday I plan on taking all these random thoughts and printing them out and piecing together the pieces of the puzzle that will be my future novel or story collection.

I hope you enjoy the randomness on my blogs and can catch a glimpse what goes on in my mind.

Are you ready for the challenge? #atozchallenge

I am so looking forward to getting back to my creative writing blog, only 2 weeks left.  The count down is on. Have you signed up for the challenge? Are you up to the challenge? It is crazy easy to sign up. There is a simple Linky form Here . I loved the challenge last year and am looking forward to getting back into the groove especially since NaNoWriMo was a blow out for me last year. Feel free to leave a comment if you are taking part in this awesome crazy challenge. 

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2012 is going to be awesome..

I know it is a ways off, but I am already planning for the Blogging from A to Z challenge in April.

I figured since NaNoWriMo was a total bust for me this year I would give this challenge a try again this year... 

My plan is character sketches and such this year... I have several ideas floating around in my head and am going to map out all 26 posts before April... (Will probably overload blogger with the drafts but oh well...)

Care to join us?

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: What's This A-Z Blogging Challenge I Keep Hearing About? a guest spot from author Elizabeth Mueller:

Nano notes 11/13

He walked proudly into the front room, his little legs still a little wobbley but the proud smile on his face made her look past his legs.

" Look at you, such a big boy." She put her arms out for him, welcoming him into her loving hug. She had waited for so long for days like this, the days she spent with her beautiful little boy made the long nights alone in the hospital worth every minute. This was her perfect baby boy, 18 months old, this little boy was her chance to glimpse the love of God.

****This isn't part of anything yet, it was just a thought I had, maybe it will work into one of my other pieces.***

NaNoWritMo 2011

I am totally behind this year.
I have tons of ideas in my head and some notes written down so I can start writing...
The last couple of months I have been reading a ton of Historical Fiction as well as Historical Romance on my phone (thanks to the Kindle app from Amazon I have a supple of free fiction to read any time, anywhere...)

Any way, in the coming days (hopefully soon rather than later) I will begin posting bits and pieces of the newest project and some updated bits for the older projects.

I also need to get back into the saddle with some of the fun writing prompts I had been participating in. If you know of some great writing prompt blogs please feel free to share.

I is for Identity

Still playing catch up from the A-Z blogging challenge from April... Guess it is better late then never... I am also trying to get ready for the upcoming blogging challenge in June... I've been using Word to blog as ScribeFire isn't being very nice to me lately... it is nice to blog while we are out and about and not necessarily connected.

I is for Identity.

In theater do you really have an identity? You are your character for that show or you become the job title for your part in the show. I’m not saying this is a bad thing it just is.  No matter what show I did I identified with the character or the job I was doing.  When we were doing a larger production if your part wasn’t a large part you were usually grouped together with the rest of the “chorus”. One show in particular I remember well… Our high school’s production of West Side Story; the cast was over 80 and included 2 teachers, our campus safety officer (a local law enforcement officer), and 1 of the guidance counselors.  The auditorium was located in the junior high as we didn’t have our own on campus, this was fine with me as I had just moved up to the high school and the junior high auditorium had already been my second home for the previous year. I didn’t have a large role but had fun being in the cast. We painted the backdrop on the wall of the stage; several of us choreographed pieces in the show, and generally had a lot of fun. The hours were long and hard but every minute we were growing closer as not just a cast but as a family as well.

We became the cast, not individuals but part of something bigger. This became apparent as we began working with costumes and dressing rooms… For the most part the cast had 3 costume changes. For the “chorus” we didn’t have a set dressing room assignment, we really weren’t sure what we were going to do… A small group of us decided it didn’t matter that much and we placed ourselves in a community dressing room at the end of the hall. All the dressing rooms were in the basement below the stage, the walls were concrete and in the larger community room there were 11 compartments with a closet rod. Each compartment was about 4 feet deep and 3 ½ feet wide, enough for 2 people to share a compartment/ cubby. The only rule we came up with was partners were same sex, no co-ed cubbies.. The room was co-ed and for the most part no one cared… We no longer had individual identities and as far as privacy it didn’t matter; the girls all work leggings or tights and most of use wore a sports bra or similar and some kind of briefs since we were dancing anyway. The guys all wore t-shirts and shorts of some kind and no one thought otherwise… There was no silly giggling or off handed remarks, we just were. We were a cast of characters in a show, a family that grew together on the stage, some of us had been friends for 2 or more years and really saw each other as siblings more than anything else. 

For 2 more years following West Side Story many of us continued to work on productions together. We remained a family even after… I remember my first high school reunion and reconnecting with some of those same people once again, we were still family. Now 20 years after that show many of us have reconnected thanks to social media, oddly enough we are still part of the bigger picture..

weekly Writer's prompt 5/22

The prompts are listed below as well as my responces. I couldn’t decide which one so I did more than one.

#1 Make up your own bedtime story and share it. 

#2 What TV show/sitcom depicts the life of your own family and  why?.

            We all have decided that the new comedy on ABC  “Raising Hope” depicts our life or at least pretty close to it… We watch the show together and can’t help but laugh and then we end up looking at each other and realize something similar has happened in our lives…

#3 If I could dress up like anyone, it would be….    

          I can’t think of anyone person but love the idea of 1860’s work day or full formal attire is a desire of mine… I love the layers and the modest elegance of the era.  I am also a big fan of the 1950’s fashion…  There is a similarity in the 2 eras.  The full skirts and fitted but non-revealing tops make an elegant statement. The hats add a beautiful touch.   My oldest son and I are actually working toward involvement in Civil War reenactment… I have the fabric for my day dress already as well as a pattern I just need to get it started… It is really amazing how many layers go into even a simple day dress; drawers, chemise, corset, corset cover, hoop and petticoat to cover the hoop, finally the skirt and top. If the sleeves are proper you have a set of sleeves and possibly an apron and the final touch a hat, of you can’t forget stockings and boots. I also have a pair of gloves (authentic antique from the period) that I inherited that will finish of the ensemble. I am making the lace trim for the dress as well, it isn’t a normal thing but crocheting and knitting gives me something to do while we drive somewhere or I am listening to the boys read for their school work.

#4 My ultimate guilty pleasure….. 

weekly writer's prompt 5/15

This week’s prompts were:

#1 I always struggle with…..

#2 Describe the event that made you loose and/or give up a friendship.

#3- Now, I see my mother as ……..    

#4- List five things you plan to accomplish this summer.

I can set goals for the summer and hopefully this year they will happen.

One thing I really need to get done is my office/ guest room.  I office is a chaotic mess and will honestly out of control. I need to purge out some of the crafts and supplies. I also need to move the antique double bed in and decorate (which includes finishing the painting.) I want the space to be pretty and functional. There is a closet that is ackward at best and needs some serious help in order to make it useful. Just outside the room are 2 closets (part of the original house built in 1946) 1 has become a mini sewing room ( not its most useful design use) and the other is a linen closet turned Homeschool supply/ book closet.   

Another  goal is to get our A/V closet under control. It will take a little work from each of us to purge out some of the movies and then rearrange the A/V equipment.

A minor project but doable, finish the wall paper border in the kitchen… I did one side of the kitchen about 2 years ago and really like it, now I can finish the rest of the room… The border is actually high up the wall, setting about 1 ½ inches below the ceiling..

The larger hard project is moving the washer/ dryer out of the classroom/laundry room and into the mud room. We will have to get creative and pipe the water into the mudroom and cut a small vent for the dryer. 

The final goal for the summer is our garden. I need to get the garden planned and planted. We usually plant tomatos, cucuumbers, beans, salad greens, beets, etc… Not sure since our Spring has been so wet I’m unsure of what will work this year..

X is for eXtreme

I know it is a little late but I am determined to get the rest of the alphabet posted from April's A to Z Blogging challenge.

X is for eXtreme.

Extreme lighting and extreme measures to set up the lights. (this bit is based on an actual adventure is setting lights)

Addy saw the lights on the stage and realized there were very dark spots in several very critical spots.  

"hey Jason, can you give me a hand? I need to adjust some lights and I'm afraid this is going to be a bit of an adventure." 

"Sure, Addy.... which lights, I'll grab the ladder."

Addy giggled slightly in a coy fashion knowing the ladder would not helpd them. "Jason, the ladder won't help. We have to adjust the 96s upstairs."

"The what? where?" 

"Upstairs...' she pointed to the bank of lights set into the ceiling of the auditorium.

"We have to go upstairs, through the office to the roof, there is an access over there" pointing to the outside edge of the auditorium. 

"i guess so... Lets go."

The two headed up the stairs to the Department Office..  "Hey Addy, I don't remember there being any stairs or doors out of the office."  

"No stairs, the ladder is in the cupboard next to the textbooks and the key is right here."  As the pair entered the office a couple of determined English teachers where searching through a pile of books couting copies of 'A Tale of Two Cities' for their Sophmore English classes. "Hi Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Erikson." Addy tried to sound as casual as possible knowing most teachers weren't excited about students in the office.

The two worked their way up the ladder to the roof access, onto the roof and across the building to the edge of the auditorium.

"This is flat crazy, now what do we do?"  Jason querried with a very puzzled and nervous expression.

" We go inside and adjust the lights. I have the settings in my mind I just need to move 2 of them to fill the stupid bunch of shadows and black hole on the stage."

Openning the door  Jason gestured. "Ladies first"

"Thank you" Addy curtsied playing around with her friend.

Once inside the two realized this was a little more extreme then they thought.

Lighting can be one of the craziest extreme jobs in the theater Addy reminded herself.