What was...and Will Be

2012 was an amazing year full of many ups and downs.  I’ve neglect to write my traditional Thanksgiving blog, lost time to write the hilarious Halloween blog and slept through writing a Christmas blog.  So, I’m going to make the New Year’s Blog happen!

Over the last year I took an amazing promotion with The Day Job (TDJ).  The first 6 weeks were kinda rough, driving about an hour away one way to work but getting to come back home to work after that has been such a blessing.  I don’t regret the decision to take this position one bit.  I also celebrated the first anniversary of The Fizzy Pop Collection this year, which has been more successful than I dreamed considering I took some considerable time off from actively promoting due to TDJ change.  The highlight, at times, is that Munchkin and MooMoo came back to live here.  And Goobie came along in September.    I’ve gathered some amazing memories this year, found new friends, grew a deeper appreciation for the friends I had (and still have!), reconnected with some old friends I hadn’t seen in ages, and started the road to some definite changes professionally and personally. 

I’m looking forward to 2013.  To continue to develop the changes and growth with TDJ and The Fizzy Pop Collection.  To spend more time with the wee ones and my amazing friends and family.  To read more.  To play more.  To blog more.  To love more.  And, and, and….so much more~

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite time of year.  Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas it is the most commercially overlooked holiday of the ‘holiday season’.  It stands as a reminder once a year, to take time away from our hustle for more, to be thankful for what we have, be it big or small.  I am blessed daily to have a day job I love, a business that makes me happy, family that supports me and friends that love me.  I’m not limited by my community or my address as I have friends across the earth. 

As I write this I am sitting in my cousin’s restaurant listening to small groups chatter and catch up.  (Not that most of us didn’t just see each other at the family reunion the end of September.)  Having a restaurant kitchen to prepare a meal in is kinda awesome in its own right.  For me, the tradition to travel with Ma to Troy started just a few years ago.  The year my grandma passed away (in October) was the first year they had a family gathering here.  Ma and I decided to come up.  And we have continued to return every year, just us, as well as a summer trip about every other summer.  Since switching positions at my day job this year I really had to sweat out getting my vacation to come up here.  But here I am.

Thankful lists have become more and more prominent this year.  On Facebook, I have several friends doing a post a day of what they are thankful for.  While it is nice to see the heart of the season becoming more than just a ‘day to eat turkey and watch football, well after the parade of course’, I wish we as a culture (myself included) where more in-tune to be thankful for our blessings throughout the year.  Think how many little things we encounter each day throughout the year that we are too busy to notice. 

I’m thankful for the holidays.  I am thankful for a supportive family.  I am thankful for loving friends.  I am thankful for a job that I do love.  I am thankful for a business that brings me happiness.  I am thankful for Munchkin, MooMoo, and Goobie who bring me constant learning experiences.  And that is just a highlight of the big ones.  There is not enough space to list out everything I have to be thankful for. 

At this moment, I am thankful for You, the reader, who took time from your day to read about mine.  May your day be filled with love, laughter, memories, and gratitude for all of life’s moments big and small!

Munchkin

I thought I'd take some time and blog space to introduce ya'll to the most amazing people in my life.  Munch, Moo, and Goobie.  I talk a lot about them online and in my every day life.  They are huge sources of love, joy, frustration, learning, and confusion in my day to day life.  And I speak of them as if they were my own.  They are my beloved Godchildren that are currently back in residence with me.  Well, except for Goobie, but he will be soon!  

Munchkin Thomas is the reason I am Meme.  He named me when he was just beginning to talk. 

 

Munchkin's first picture!

 Born at 33 weeks he weighed in at a mighty 3 pounds.  Perfectly healthy, they kept him in the NICU as long as they possibly could just to get weight on him.  He came home a whopping 4 pounds with a special car seat.  (Standard car seats are not rated for under 5 pounds.)

Thomas tore my world upside down and set it right at the same time.  As he grew from that tiny ball of attitude he lagged some in developmental milestones basically from size, not for lack of ability.  He was not ordered any type of PT or OT as he aged so I developed my own.  He was my foray into homemade baby food and infant/toddler nutrition.  His first meat, salmon.  

Mmmm Toes!  10 months old on the way to Uncle Dustin's wedding in California.

Once he started talking he never stopped!  And he still doesn't stop, not even leaving time to answer questions before he is on to the next one!  He's too smart from his own good on so many levels but still has some gestational catching up to do on others. 

From day one Munch has had a stubborn streak to rival even the Davis' (that'd be my dad's family.)  He will get his mind set on something and nothing will stand in his way.  Not a nap, time-out, nothing!  When he first started crawling he was very into everything, I know typical.  He might have his mind set on something that he wasn't allowed to have for a variety of reasons.  He was NOT to be deterred from his goal.  Time out, he was back at it.  Remove him from the room, as soon as he was back, you guessed back at it.  One day in particular I remember he was just rotten stubborn.  He went down for a nap but when he got back up, you guessed it...back at it!  He actually had his first bloodshed throwing himself down in a tantrum over not getting to get what he wanted.

The Ocean!  Orange County, CA

By the time he was 2 years old he'd traveled extensively, having visited or driven through 13 states, including our home state of Missouri.  His uncle got married in California when Munch was 10 months old which was an outrageous road trip accomplished in 4 days with his Mom and I switching off drivers so as to cut expenses.  That trip taught me what an amazing tripper he is!  Just like his Meme :D  The next summer he accompanied me on a road trip to North Dakota to visit friends.

  When Munch was two and a half it was just him and I for a few months.  His new sister was here by then and she went with his mom to Arizona to get settled in their new home where his step-dad was based for the Army.  He went to be with them over Thanksgiving that year. During that time he was the inspriation behind that year's Nano Novel (What is Nano?)  "Time Out Thomas the Terrible!"
  

Munch and Meme on the bridge between North Dakota and Minnesota.

Munch is back with Meme now.  With Moo and Goobie.  Well and his mom too I guess.  There are days he makes me want to beat my head against a wall.  There are days I just want to shower him with mooches (kisses) and squeezes (hugs).  There are days I want to do both within a five minute period.  

Munch is almost four and a half now.  He's still tiny for his age, though tall.  His verbal skills are off the charts, and not always in a good way.  We've mastered the art of backtalk, mockery, and sarcasm.  He's still my snuggle bug.  And he will start kindergarten next year.  Which scares me.  Not just for him but for his poor teacher.  And reminds me just how old I'm getting and just how quickly time flies by.

Big Pete and Little Pete

Munchkin September 2012

 This kid, God help me, I love him.  Love him senseless sometimes.  I am honored to hold a place in his life and his world.  He is Meme's boy, and I hope always will be.  I cannot wait to see what his future holds.  Though is future scares me endlessly.  We say it often, but for him I truly believe, his biggest obstacle will be himself.  His attitude, without focus, will be his downfall.  His attitude, with focus, will be has amazement! 
  

The Great American Novel

At one time or another most humans have talked about wanting to write 'The Great American Novel' or heck, anything 'great'.  I am no different.  I've toyed off and on for years with different writing starts.  Heck, I've competed in NANO for 5 years I think it is, you do lose track after a while, and have won each and every year.  Though to be fair last year wasn't an official win as I didn't have an opportunity to upload my 'body of work' into the official verifier.  I think I've written some decent stuff (or so my critics tell me) and I know I've written some great shredder food.  And I still have half-baked ideas floating in my head.  But not one single finished anything.  Nada.  Well, at least since adulthood.  I finished, what seemed at the time, a novel in Jr. High.  I was 12.  It was like 120 pages typed.  Yeah, impressive.

One of my first NANO partials was a coming of age piece titled 'Finding Galena'.  Yup, partial, never finished.  I have one friend who has sworn off reading anything else until that's finished.  So basically, I lost a critic :D

I have talked for a few years now of writing the fortune cookie novel.  I have amassed a massive quantity of fortunes from fortune cookies.  I've organized a few, does that count as starting?  I've toyed with doing it blog-style.  But that's about as far as I've gotten.

I think if there were about 12 additional hours in the day I might actually finish something.  Or in the fortune case, start something.  Heck if there were an additional 12 hours in the day I might actually blog more, Pinterest with consistency, Facebook more, pour candles more, and most importantly participate in my marketing groups more.

So...who has the 36 hour clock?

BOOK REVIEW: Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind

 In Wizard's First Rule, Richard Cypher's world was turned upside down. Once a simple woods guide, Richard was forced to become the Seeker of Truth, to save the world from the vile dominance of Darken Rahl, the most viciously savage and powerful wizard the world had ever seen. He was joined on this epic quest by his beloved Kahlan, the only survivor among the Confessors, who brought a powerful but benevolent justice to the land before Rahl's evil scourge. Aided by Zedd, the last of the wizards who opposed Rahl, they were able to cast him into the underworld, saving the world from the living hell of life under Rahl.

But the veil to the underworld has been torn, and Rahl, from beyond the veil, begins to summon a sinister power more dreadful than any he has wielded before. Horrifying creatures escape through the torn veil, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting world above.

If Rahl isn't stopped, he will free the Keeper itself, an evil entity whose power is so vast and foul that once freed, it can never again be contained.

Richard and Kahlan must face Rahl and the Keeper's terrible minions. But first, Richard must endure the ministrations of the Sisters of the Light, or die from the pain of magic that is his birthright and his curse. While Richard undertakes the arduous journey to the forbidden city of the Sisters, Kahlan must embark upon a long and dangerous mission to Aydindril, citadel of the old wizards, where she hopes to find Zedd and the help only he can lend to their desperate cause.

War, suffering, torture, and deceit lie in their paths, and nothing will save them from a destiny of violent death, unless their courage and faith are joined with luck and they find the elusive...Stone of Tears.

While I enjoyed 'Stone of Tears', I had a more difficult time reading it than I did 'Wizard's First Rule'. The story was engaging and the character's consistent to their nature as defined in the first book. I enjoyed the story thoroughly and already plan to read the next book in the series.

I, again, had issues with the pace of the story at times, wanting to skim through parts to get on with the story. I think the most difficult part of the novel, for me, though was that the chapters skipped between concurrent stories. As I was reading I would have difficultly keeping track of what was going on previously with each ongoing part. For example, Chase leaves the Palace with his new daughter. The next time you hear from them they are in this magical, wondrous, supremely comforting place that seems sublime. They are never mentioned again until near the end of the book. However, how they ended up there, in that situation, is never identified or explained. And even knowing at the end where they actually were, it doesn't fit with the story of why they able to get into that situation to begin with. Another instance was with the actual stone of tears (hence the title) and the 'pebble in the pond' that was mentioned frequently. The relevance of either one was never really explained and I still wonder why the stone of tears was so important that the book was named for it but it played such a small part of the whole story.
I guess my struggle with the Fantasy genre is in believability. So much is not congruent enough with reality and I have difficulty getting into that different mindset. I enjoy Goodkind's take on fantasy as it tends to be more rooted in a truth than others. There were parts, as in 'Wizard's First Rule', that the characters were difficult to believe in. They see danger at every turn but then will blindly trust in the good benevolence of others.

I know it seems like I have so many issues with the book. But with almost 1000 pages there's a lot of good to go with the difficult. I enjoy the storyline. I am vested in the characters, even in their unbelievable moments. I am invested enough that I plan to, and anticipate, reading the next installment in the series.

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About Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is an American writer. He is known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series.

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BOOK REVIEW: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers' waiting room and his dying father's bedside. It's a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm's fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the first and last time since his stroke.

What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson—five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his twentieth year; the second in his twenty-third year; the third in his twenty-eighth; the fourth in his twenty-ninth; the fifth in his thirtieth.

Rudy is all too ready to discount his father's last words as a dying man's delusional rambling. But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the time of his grandson's birth to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly—the unexplained anomaly of fused digits—on his left foot. Suddenly the old man's predictions take on a chilling significance.

What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy's story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days when his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous—a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive, only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.

'Life Expectancy' by Dean Koontz was not a typical Koontz book that I've read.  There was very little supernatural (none outside the predictions) and very little impossible/maybe possible/holy whistles what if that really happened moments.  It was, however, a well written account of one man's life through the 5 days his dying grandfather had predicted shortly before his birth. 

Jimmy Tock was an interesting storyteller.  His meandering through the story kept me interested.  Some of the almost-typical Koontz twists and turns were there in a different format, some more believable that others.  A couple of the twists almost feeling contrived to keep the motivation of the story going.  Other's came out of no where and I never saw them coming.  This is a hard one to review without giving away more plot than the dust cover. 

'Life Expectancy' was a merge of Kootz-esque drama, meets offbeat love story, meets coming of age story, meets family drama.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I've been a Koontz fan for years, and while not a typical genre and storyline for him, it was an excellently written story.

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About Dean Koontz

Dean Ray Koontz is an American author. His novels are broadly described as suspense thrillers, but also frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire.

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BOOK REVIEW: Outside In by Karen Romano Young

New from the author of The Beetle and Me comes this fascinating portrait of coming of age in the Sixties. Young introduces an unforgettably spirited heroine--almost-13-year-old Cherie Witkowski--and her equally memorable family.

I really liked 'Outside In' by Karen Romano Young. I wasn't so sure about that in the beginning as it took a bit to get into the main character's head.  But once I found 'that space' it was an amazing read from there.  Set in the 60's, 'Outside In' shows the world through the eyes of almost 13 year old Cherie Witkowski.  Cherie learns more about the world, good and bad, than she ever intended when she takes over a friend's paper route.  Vietnam, Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Robert Kennedy's assassination, the disappearance of a 13 year old girl from a local community, Apollo 10.  As she tries to figure out how the news affects her world she is also facing changes at home and in her community.  Losing her best friend, Dave, to the other boys and gaining a new baby in her own home.  I think Young did an amazing job of taking 'preteen angst' to a different level than most young adult fiction I've read.  Set during a rich time of historical significance that changed so much about the way American's saw themselves and the world, Cherie also faces her own changes from child to teenager.  Everything she encountered in her home, her neighborhood, and the headlines she delivered changed her perspective of how she saw herself and those around her.  I truly enjoyed the depth of this story that I believe any adult reader can take something away from it.  It's refreshing to see a young adult novel that does not pander to the younger reader but instead brings the reader to a new appreciation of society (and themselves) in terms anyone can understand.

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About Karen Romano Young

Karen Romano Young is a science expert and speaks to schools all over the country. She has written numerous books for children, including the National Geographic Kids Science Fair Winners series and Try This!: 50 Fun Experiments for the Mad Scientist in You. Before beginning to write her own science books she worked at Scholastic News, the classroom magazine. Karen has also written about science for magazines and books like Cricket, National Geographic World, and the Guinness Book of World Records.

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BOOK REVIEW: No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Nobody understands Wallace Wallace. This reluctant school football hero has been suspended from the team for writing an unfavorable book report of Old Shep, My Pal. But Wallace won't tell a lie -- he hated every minute of the book! Why does the dog in every classic novel have to croak at the end?
After refusing to do a rewrite, his English teacher, who happens to be directing the school play Old Shep, My Pal, forces him go to the rehearsals as punishment. Although Wallace doesn't change his mind, he does end up changing the play into a rock-and-roll rendition, complete with Rollerblades and a moped!
 
Wallace Wallace does not lie. No seriously. He. Does. Not. Lie. Which, besides the point of who names their kid Wallace Wallace?!?, is a problem. When given an assignment to write a book review of Old Shep, My Pal for school, he writes it exactly how he feels. The problem is that it's the teacher's favorite book. Ever. The problem? The dog dies, like every dog on every book cover of any book about a dog. That bother's Wallace and he isn't afraid to say so. Honestly so.

'No More Dead Dogs' is an ingenious tale of a young man and his truthful to a fault mindset. I enjoyed the premise of the book and the twists and turns (albeit sometimes unbelievable ones) that bring it to the happy ending that Wallace wanted from the beginning. As an adult reader I wouldn't have minded more back story on his truthfulness. Well and some of the twists of the story that just really would not have happened in real life left me boggled. But as a young adult novel I think it's amazingly conceptualized and written.

Though really...Wallace Wallace? 

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 About Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman is a Canadian American author who has written over 80 children's and young adult fiction books. A number one The New York Times Best Selling author, he has sold more than 17 million books.


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BOOK REVIEW: The Collision by Jeff Abbott

The international bestseller returns with his most ambitious, multidimensional, and tightly crafted thriller yet, a breakout achievement featuring his hallmark blend of ordinary people in extraordinary danger.

Collision is the story of two men living very different lives—Ben Forsberg, a successful corporate consultant who is mourning the murder of his new bride; the other, a former CIA agent known only as “Pilgrim,” whose current assignment for a fringer espionage agency is so treacherous he doesn’t trust even his own boss. When they are thrown together in a violent, unexpected event, Ben and Pilgrim realize that they’ve been framed in an elaborate setup. Unsure who to trust and who may just be trying to draw them into the open, the unlikely partners have no choice but to work together. But with everything at stake, Ben has no idea that Pilgrim is harboring some shocking secrets of his own—secrets that will soon force Ben to confront just how blurred the line has become between best friends and bitter enemies.

'The Collision' by Jeff Abbott was a random book selection for me. I'd not heard of the author but the story concept looked intriguing when I read the jacket.  And it was really well written.  I had trouble in the beginning following the different storyline beginnings.  I think this stems more from my personal inability to remember names than it does the writing itself.  Once the different story lines merged into the meat of the subject matter the story took off for me.  (Though I still struggled with a few too many names.) 

This was a great book that I would recommend to other friends who enjoy the genre or a similar style.  The main drawback, for me, was it was almost written to close to 'formula'.  Good guy in trouble for something he didn't do, bad guy in trouble well because he's bad guy.  Supposed other good guy is really a bad guy that is made too obvious before it's actually revealed.  Throw in a few more good and bad to beef of the story line. Good guy wins.  Don't get me wrong the formula works, and works well most of the time.  And did again this time around as well.

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About Jeff Abbott

Jeff Abbott is the international-bestselling, award-winning author of ten mystery and suspense novels. Jeff is a native Texan and graduated from Rice University with a degree in History and English, and worked as a creative director at an advertising agency before writing full-time. He lives in Austin with his wife and two sons.

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BOOK REVIEW: 42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

JoEllen’s parents divorced when she was very young, so she was used to splitting her time between them, shuttling four blocks from one Cincinnati apartment to another. But when her dad moved to the old family farm last year, her life was suddenly divided. Now on weekdays she’s a city girl, called Ellen, who hangs out with her friends, plays the sax, and loves old movies. And on weekends she’s a country girl, nicknamed Joey, who rides horseback with her cousin, Hayden, goes fishing, and listens to bluegrass. So where do her loyalties lie? Who is the real JoEllen? Linked free-verse poems, illustrated with a quirky array of found objects and mementos, create the vivid, realistic portrait of a young girl at a defining moment in her life.

The premise of '42 Miles' by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer was good.  The writing was actually very good.  The difficulty is with the way it was laid out.  It was very difficult to follow the story at times.  I think the attempt to mirror a book of poetry while remaining prose created a conflicting story line.  The way the pages jumped to different ideas while at other points tried to tell a chronological story left me feeling a little out of the loop.  The story and writing has amazing potential but fell flat of what the intentions were.
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About Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer is an award-winning children’s author who graduated from The Ohio State University and attained her master’s degree at Miami. Currently, she teaches at her alma mater in the Lakota Local School District near Cincinnati, Ohio. Writing in a variety of genres from historical fiction and poetry to novels-in-verse, Tracie’s six books have received critical acclaim including starred reviews as well as the Schneider Family Book Award. In addition, Tracie has created hundreds of guides for children’s and young adult literature that are available for free on her blog. She has presented at NCTE, IRA and ALA as well as schools and conferences across the country inspiring teachers, librarians and students with her infectious passion for literacy.

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BOOK REVIEW: Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-- to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.  

First and foremost I am typically not a fan of Fantasy, I just needed to say that. I read 'Wizard's First Rule" on the very high recommendation of a friend. It does not read as a typical fantasy book at all.

I found the book extremely well written and was engaging to read. At times I struggled with the believably in the characters in the ways they interacted with each other. There were some information that I felt was too drawn out in story line and could have been revealed with less preamble and would not have effected the story line negatively. There were a few parts that I really wanted to just skim through and get on with the rest of the story. However, despite this, I really enjoyed the book and would read it again. And most definitely plan to read the following installments of the series.

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About Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is an American writer. He is known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series.

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BOOK REVIEW: PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

A wonderfully warm and heartfelt debut from a stunning new talent. Everyone needs a guardian angel! Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other's sentences and even when they fought, they laughed. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other. Until the unthinkable happens. Gerry's death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He's left her a bundle of notes, one for each of the months after his death, gently guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed 'PS, I Love You'. As the notes are gradually opened, and as the year unfolds, Holly is both cheered up and challenged. The man who knows her better than anyone sets out to teach her that life goes on. With some help from her friends, and her noisy and loving family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying, singing, dancing--and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises--but it always helps if there's an angel watching over you.

OK, honestly I was torn between 4 and 5 stars on this one. I wish there were half stars! It was a really well written book that struck the right balance of emotion throughout but it was almost predictable emotion. It felt like another, more seamlessly integrated, version of the chick lit formula. I think the author did an excellent job of of weaving the story and the emotional roller coaster that Holly (or any other woman in similar situations) experienced after losing her husband at such a young age. ‘P.S. I Love You’ was, in my opinion, a well written account of true love that never dies. The books is also a testament to the meaning of true friendship. Friendships that deepen despite, and sometimes because of, tragedy. I think we all need to be reminded sometimes who are true friends are, whether our lives face tragedy or joy, or even the everyday mundane uneventful times in our lives.

 I will say I ended up going 5 stars for one main reason. I’m not an emotional reader. And this book shed a tear or two, for all the right reasons.

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About Cecilia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist whose work was first published in 2004. Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide.

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