This and That

All Over the Place

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:48:48 GMT

Lots going on today, and this week.

Of course, there's Thanksgiving. We are going to St. Louis to watch the parade then go to my sister's house for dinner. It should be a good day, as usual. Waiting for dinner means looking through all the Black Friday ads and planning a shopping trip. I have already been scoping out the Black Friday ads on the internet, so I have a pretty good idea where I will be going and what I will be getting, but I like to see it in print, in front of me, and organize my morning in my head.

I get to see some old friends over the weekend as well! Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with some old friends I haven't seen for, like, a decade. One friends lives in Kansas City and is coming to the area this weekend. We are all meeting at DQ in Carlinville on Sunday and I can't wait! Fun times ahead!!

Last night I got to watch an old movie with my babygirl. OK, before I tell you the movie, you have to promise not to laugh. OK. Promise? I watched Breakin' last night! You know, that movie from 1984 about break dancing? Wow, what a flashback! Everyone had big hair, lots of ugly jewelry, crazy bright clothes that hugged the body (so they could dance, I guess). Even the men in that movie wore tights. Man, I love that stuff. (Not necessarily the men in tights, but all that hair, and dancing, and bad acting, etc...). Now I am looking forward to catching the sequel, Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, sometime! (Go ahead, you can say it, Weirdo!)

I ran another 5K last saturday. I am getting a little better each time. My time was 37:13, which works out to a 11:09 mile. I'll turn myself into a runner yet! And I am LOVING Zumba! Between running and Zumba, I can picture my new me by next summer. I am growing my hair out, and getting in shape. No will will recognize me at my 20th Class reunion next June! Woot! Woot!

Oh, I need a little assistance for a minute. I have 3 nieces that are 8 and 9 years old. I am getting them a gift certificate (they all want expensive electronic stuff for Christmas instead of cute dolls or toys) and a book. Any suggestions for great books for 8-9 year old girls??? I have a few ideas myself, but I thought I would throw that out to the experts. So??

Anyway, have a great Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and weekend - I know I will!

At Night At The Movies!!

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:16:01 GMT

I know, it's a Tuesday night. It's a school night. We need to stay home, out of the rain, and do our ordinary night stuff.

But tonight, I can't!

Why, you ask?

Because tonight, at the movie theater, is the one time only showing, in celebration of its 70th Anniversary, of...drum roll please....

The Wizard of Oz!!!

I am so excited to take my girls to see it. My little one is super excited also. She LOVES this movie. My big one claims to be excited, but she still gets scared when Ursula creates the big storm and tries to swallow the ship with the prince on it in The Little Mermaid. So, I'll have to do a lot of protective cuddling during certain parts of the movie. Oh the sacrifices we make as mothers.

So, tonight, my girls and I will be snuggled into our theater seats, with a huge box of popcorn, and soda, and enjoying Dorthy and Toto and the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow as they try to find their way back home - on the BIG SCREEN!!!

New Moon Girls Magazine

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:39:33 GMT

This was posted on my SCBWI listserv earlier this week. I thought I would pass it along.

From Nancy Gruver, Founder of New Moon Girls Magazine:

Empowering girls with healthy, positive media is my lifelong passion, and
one I know you share. New Moon Girls <http://www.newmoon.com/offer>
online community and magazine gives girls ages 8 and up a safe, exciting,
supportive space to express themselves and hear from other girls around the
world. Girls who could be the next Courtney Martin (a finalist this week in
Washington Post's America's Next Great Pundit <http://ow.ly/yo6N> contest)
whose first article was published in New Moon when she was a girl, 14 years
ago.

Sadly, this will all end on 12-31-09 without your help.

New Moon's had a tough year like many other businesses. Even with a lot of
effort, we haven't succeeded in bringing in additional investors this fall,
and it's time to add a new strategy to keep New Moon alive. We have until
Dec 31 to reach monthly break-even so that New Moon can grow in the future.

Have we tightened our own belts? You betcha! Right now our monthly expenses
are 65% less than they were a year ago. But we still have a gap of $7500 a
month to break-even. The good news is that with your help we can close this
gap. The gap amounts to only 250 orders a month @ $29.95.

With your help to sponsor memberships for non-profits and to give New Moon
as gifts, we can continue to ensure a media that lifts girls' aspirations,
increases their power, and gives them an outlet for their unique
perspectives and voices. I'm sending this email to everyone I know and
asking you to do the same.

Together, we can fill this gap and save New Moon for girls.

Please act today so the media universe for girls won't be totally dominated
by Stardoll.com, Seventeen magazine, and worse.

You can help by:

* Sponsoring memberships for libraries, schools and programs serving
low-income girls. It's quick and easy to sponsor one, ten or 100 girls
<http://www.newmoon.com/donate> - every dollar matters!
* Buying memberships for all girls 8-14 that you know. Our holiday
special saves <http://www.newmoon.com/offer/> you 50% after the first
order.
* Telling everyone what you value about New Moon. Link to us, and
follow us on Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/nancy.gruver?ref=profile> and
Twitter <http://twitter/nancy_newmoon> and share with your FB friends and
Tweeps.

Together, we can do it. Please call me with any questions or concerns you
have at 218-206-2219. And, in addition to the above ways to help, if you
would like to learn more about becoming an investor in New Moon, let me
know.

Thank you,
Nancy
Nancy Gruver, Founder
New Moon Girl Media
Thanks for listening. - Heather

Catching Up

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:53:52 GMT

I haven't had much time the past couple of weeks to read a lot of LJ or post. I know, you have missed me. I understand, I have missed you ,too. But I'm back today and would like to catch you all up on what has been going on.

Let's see....

Well, Halloween was a success. The girls dressed up as Zombies, and were the cutest darn zombies I've ever seen. I made their costumes this year, which I am very proud of, even though I just bought some cool clothes from Goodwill, cut them up and rubbed them down with cocoa powder to make them look dirty. Still, I was very happy that my kids did not have store bought, packaged costumes. And the hat that the little one wore was priceless. We ratted their hair out all crazy, sprayed it with their color of choice (and of course sparkles, because little girl zombies have sparkly hair, you know) and did their zombie makeup. You can see pictures on my Facebook page (you can friend me, look for Heather Sherwood Burton, if you want).

Last Friday I was lucky enough to get to spend a portion of the day at the ISLMA (Illinois State Library and Media Association) conference in Springfield. I manned the SCBWI booth for a while. The cool part was getting to meet and hang out with great authors such as Andrea Beaty (one of the 3 Silly Chicks), Ruth Spiro (Lester Fizz, Bubble Gum Artist), Esther Herschenhorn (S is for Story), Cynthia Liu (Paris Pan Takes the Dare), Alice McGinty (Darwin), Scotti Cohn (One Wolf Howls) and Kim Hutmacher (Paws, Claws, Hands, Feet).

It was awesome. I got to hear some inside stories about how their books were created, and see drawings of new books coming out. Cynthia was so sweet. She asked me about my work and gave me some really great advice. She seemed genuinely interested, and I was just in awe. Andrea was so cool, so full of energy. I just loved her. And Esther, of course, is just great.

I went to my monthly SCBWI critique meeting last night with a rekindled inspiration to do something, anything. So I pulled out an old PB manuscript that I just love, and have decided to start sending it out. I asked my group to help me freshen up my cover letter, and today I will do a little research, and send it out into the big, scary world. Here we go....

Friday Five

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:56:15 GMT

1. It's another really crappy day out today. It's cold and raining, again. The good news it that is supposed to be better next week. We may get a week of fall after all finally!

2. I cleaned out my office yesterday. I actually have a floor!

3. I am walking/ running in a Halloween themed 10K in St. Louis on Sunday. Hopefully the weather man is not kidding when he says it won't be raining.

4. For some reason, I decided to register for a 2 mile run in December. Yes, that's right, December. Yes, it is outside. It's called the Frostbite Festival, so I assume it will be cold. What was I thinking??

5. Please pray for the family from my small hometown that lost their home to a fire this week, and they have no insurance. My little one donated some clothes to their little one, and a lot of people from our town have helped out, but still, they lost their home. So, please keep them in your prayers.

Have a good weekend!

Just a Question

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:49:44 GMT

I have one question this morning.

Why is it that everyone drives like 10 mph BELOW the speed limit when they see a police officer???

Why, I ask you?

Isn't it legal to drive the speed limit? Even when there is a cop in the area?

Come on, now! Some people have to get to work, on time preferably!!!

Dear St. Louis Cardinals

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:42:44 GMT

Dear St. Louis Cardinals,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for winning the National League Central Division this year! You are awesome and I knew you could do it!

Thank you for giving me a reason to gloat in front of my Cub fan friends and hubby!

And thank you for providing me the opportunity to purchase play-off tickets.

But I do have one complaint.

Please reschedule your first NLDS home game for some other time than this Saturday! Please, please, please!

You see, the problem is, I have two tickets to that game. But I will be out of town that day, so I cannot use them.

Boo Hoo!!!

OK, so yes, I am going on a Columbus Day shopping trip to the Lake of the Ozarks with my mom, sister, my girls and my niece, and that will be a blast, and the girls are super excited, and I have been looking forward to it for a while now, but...

You are playing in the NLDS, and I have tickets!!!

OK, that's all for now. I am going to go and secretly cry that I cannot clone myself this weekend and be in both places at once.

Good Luck this week. I will be cheering you on, from in front of a TV, somewhere, looking for the lucky people that got my tickets. Though I will not be there in person, I will be there in spirit.

(And maybe I'll buy you a gift during my shopping trip if you are nice and WIN!)

Heather

A Couple of Things That Have Been in my Head

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:01:23 GMT

I really, really, really want to go to Prairie Writer's Day this year. http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/Programming.html

I have printed off the registration form and have it sitting on my desk. I have already missed the opportunity to have a professional manuscript critique, but there is still plenty of time to register for the conference.

Why haven't I done it yet, you ask?

Well, writing the check is one obstacle. I mean, it cost $150 to register, then I would have to get a hotel, and gas for the car. And Christmas is coming up, soon.

And then I would have to leave my kids home for a couple of days with dad. Not that he can't handle it, but I miss them, and he complains a lot, and he doesn't understand why I might want to do something like this. Ugh.

I know, I know. I should just go for it. It would be great and I could really use the inspiration right now.

Ok, I'll put the registration form back on the top of my To-Do pile and we'll see what happens.

Also....

Earlier this year I had this idea pop into my head about a YA or MG novel I wanted to write. It is my first attempt at a novel. So I did a bunch of research (it is based in the 1940's) and actually started writing the first chapter. Then I moved, and life happened, and it got placed on the back burner.

It's still there.

Then last night, as I was sitting on the couch relaxing after a long day, the MC popped into my head and started telling me parts of her story. She has a younger brother, who knew? She told me a little about her family, not much, just enough to get me interested. She told me a few other things, too.

Now, I have to get her story written down, before she gets mad at me and leaves me forever!

Yikes, I'm scared! This is a big responsibility, putting her story down in writing. I hope she tells me more as I go.

Friday Five - Five Things I Love About Fall

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:55:22 GMT

Happy Fall to all!

In honor of the first official Friday of fall, I will dedicate my Friday Five to the things I love about fall.

1. Baseball playoffs are just around the corner. And my Cards just clinched their spot!

2. Football! Da Bears! (OK, so maybe we won't win the Superbowl this year, but at least we won't suck as bad as the Rams!)

3. Shopping for fall clothes.

4. Halloween! I am going to make my girls costumes this year, and I am SO excited. So are they. They are going to be Zombie's this year (thanks to the "Zombie Movie" aka Michael Jackson Thriller video that we have watched a gazillion time since June).

5. Colors. The world is full of color at this time of year, and I intend to enjoy it as much as possible before everything turns grey and white.

Again, Happy Fall!

Neighbors

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:37:29 GMT

I moved a couple of months ago, and still haven't met all my neighbors yet. I've met several, and all those I've met have been very nice.

We live on a corner, but the corner lot is open. The house on the cross road of the corner where there is no house, is right behind our house. Our backyards are adjacent to each other. I can see their back porch and they can see ours. No big deal, really. They seem like quiet, nice people. Right?

Well, I think I may have to put them in the "weird neighbor" category. Or some category.

I have met the lady of the house. One night this summer she had family from California in town and they had a little party on the back patio. She came over for some reason and I remember that I met her right after my girls had done my hair, which means I probably had about 10 braids and/ or ponytails sticking straight out from my head in every direction. OK, so maybe she has put me in the "weird neighbor" category.

About a month ago, I got home late one Saturday night from something. I fell asleep on the couch for a bit, and when I woke up I decided to go outside for some reason, which I am sure was not a brilliant reason, since it was like 1:30 in the morning. Maybe I just wanted some fresh air or something. Anyway, that is not important.

When I stepped out the back, I could see and hear the neighbors outside, so I stepped to the side of the house to the garage. A few minutes later, I could hear someone walking, getting closer. So I stood still and listened for a minute. The neighbor that I had met early that evening walked by me, without even seeing me, and behind our fence. I could hear some shuffling and struggling. I could not figure out what was going on, so I just stood there, as still as possible so I would not startle her. Then she started walking back to her house, with MY firewood! Her hands were full of our firewood as she hurried back to her house. Upon her arrival back to her party, I could hear a little celebration, some giggling and congratulating the lady who STOLE MY FIREWOOD. (Note: these neighbors appear to be older than we are, not a bunch of teenagers or college kids.)

I went back into the house, not believing what just happened, and turned the lights on and off a few times, just to indicate to the partying neighbors that someone was still up.

The next morning I told my husband what happened and he just looked at me in disbelief. He went out to check, and low and behold, about half of our firewood was gone.

Now, if they would have asked, we would have said yes. But they didn't ask. And now, over the course of the past two months, they have stolen all of our firewood for their little parties. WTF??

And that is not the weirdest thing about them.

A couple of weeks ago, my hubby and I were sitting on the front porch at about 11:30 on a Saturday night. We heard a loud noise that sounded almost like a chainsaw. It was a chainsaw. Hubby leaned over and peeked around the corner, at the neighbors house. What did he see?

None other than a man, who apparently either lives there or was visiting that night, with a chainsaw! It was 11:30 at night! And then, he walked to the very alive pine tree which is near the road and started cutting it down! I wondered if I should call the police and inform them that someone is trying to cut down a perfectly healthy pine tree, that could easily hit at least one house, at 11:30 at night! He sawed on the tree for a minute, stopped, started again, then quit. WTF??

Weird.

Do you have any weird neighbor stories? And should I say anything about the firewood?

Thank You Mrs. Bennett's Class!

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:55:27 GMT

Mrs. Bennett's 5th grade class at Tillman Elementary in Kirkwood, MO is totally made of AWESOME!!

Mrs. Bennett read my blog post asking for book donations for the kids that we serve at the Capitol Community Health Center in Springfield, IL. She contacted me and asked if it would be ok for her class to try to gather some books to donate, as a class project.

I received 100 books from her class yesterday to give to children that cannot afford books!

Holy Cow! Yes, you read that correctly, 100 books!

So, THANK YOU Mrs. Bennett and her 5th grade class. I will definitely keep you updated on my project and send you pictures of the event.

You all are going to make a lot of kids around here very happy!

Lewis & Clark

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:57:18 GMT

I completed my second half marathon yesterday in St. Charles, MO. It was the annual Lewis & Clark Marathon, which is held about this time each year, and goes through the beautiful and historic St. Charles, MO.

I was a little nervous about this one. I hadn't trained nearly as much as I did for the Go St. Louis in April. I just didn't have much of a chance, or it was too hot, and we moved, ok enough excuses. And I decided that it would be a great idea to jog as much as I could.

But I did it. I finished in 3 hours 9 minutes and 18 seconds. Which is officially 1 minutes and 6 seconds faster than last time. And that was with a 5 minute delay right off the start line in which I stopped and stood on the side to let the "real" runners go by so I wouldn't be in the way. If I would have started like I was supposed to, with the other walker/ joggers, I probably would have had an even better time.

But I am happy with my time, and happy that I improved.

Today I am sore. Everything below my belly button is hurting and not working quite right today.

And my mom, who is 60, finished also. She finished in 3 hours 43 minutes and 16 seconds. Great job , Mom!

We both earned our medals, and we earned an additional medal, the "I Ran Around St. Louis 2009" medal for completing both marathons this year.

Woot! Woot!

(Now, does anybody have any Advil? And please don't make me go up and down those stairs again!)

Shiver

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:05:44 GMT

I was a part of the Team Raving Pen back early this summer sometime, or was that this past spring, or maybe even earlier than that Well, that is not relevant at this time. Anyway, as a part of the winning team, we got to pass around a copy of Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater to read. I got my turn not too long ago.

Now, I will be honest with you. I was not really looking forward to reading Shiver. Not because I have anything against Maggie or her writing, but because the whole werewolf thing is not really my thing. I just have not gotten into the whole fantasy genre. I have never read any of the Harry Potter books, nor the Twilight books, and have never really had a desire to. So, I figured I would give it a try and see what happens.

Well, let me tell you, that I LOVED this book. It did take me a minute or two to get into it, but once I did, I could not put it down!

Maggie's writing is beautiful! That was what pulled me in. She was so descriptive, without being overbearing, or boring. She created a lovely setting in which the story took place. And even though I don't like the cold, I wanted to be there. By the end of the book, the whole werewolf thing actually seemed realistic to me.

So, Maggie has opened my eyes to a new genre of reading. (Not to say that I am going to run out today and buy Twilight, but I may consider reading some other fantasy books in the future, maybe even Lament or Ballad or maybe Linger next fall.)

Thank you, Maggie, for writing such a beautiful book, and for sharing it with me.

Now, it's off to Oregon. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

What Did You Do This Weekend?

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:48:26 GMT

What did I do this holiday weekend, you ask? Well, let's see...

Friday night we took the girls to the Ethnic Festival and ate some really good Italian, Greek and Jamaican food. Then the Adventure Village was open, which is the carnival area for the young kids, so we decided to let the girls ride a few rides. They talked us into riding the Octopus as a family. You remember the Octopus, don't you? It was one of my favorite rides growing up. Not anymore. Not only was I wishing that I had ridden the Octopus before all that great food, but I now have the added stress of making sure my baby stays in the ride. It seems to me that all those carnival rides were much safer when I was a kid. I don't remember rising up out of my seat when the car spun during the Octopus ride. Or maybe I just didn't care back then. This time I was trying to make sure my big one didn't fly out of the rise and become the first fatality in the history of the Octopus. And at the same time, trying to convince her that we were having fun when she kept repeating, "I don't like this." And because it was pretty slow that night, the guy let us ride FOREVER, it seemed. I mean, the Octopus ride usually doesn't last for 10 minutes, does it? It sure seemed like it did that night. But, we survived, and went on to ride the Ferris Wheel and a few other kiddie rides.

Saturday it rained all day, so we just stayed home and got a few of the last of the boxes unpacked from the move. We didn't really get much accomplished. I also wanted to walk 8 miles on Saturday, but it rained all day. So I finally got in about 5 miles (I have another half marathon coming up on Sunday that I am NOT ready for).

I took the girls shopping for ballet slippers, tap shoes and school picture outfits on Sunday. I decided I could get it all done at Walmart, which was a mistake. So I got the grocery shopping done and a few other random items we needed there, but no ballet slippers or tap shoes. So I ran across town to Target, no ballet slippers or tap shoes. I went next door to Shoe Carnival, no ballet or tap shoes. Now, I have had frozen food and meat for a weeks worth of supper in the trunk of my car for about an hour, I was still a half hour from home, and no ballet or tap shoes. I decided we had time for one more store, but it had to be fast. Probelm was, Payless is at the mall. I have raised my girls well. They know that the mall if full of happy surprises. Today, we had no time for any of that.  Finally, we found what we needed at Payless. And you know what, there were no arguements or tantrums related to not getting to see any more of the mall than Payless! Whew! And we got home just in the nick of time!

I walked/ jogged 10 miles yesterday. I feel like I can complete the half marathon now, I made it through that without dying. Then I came home and finally finished unpacking all the boxes that have been hovering in my dining room since we moved in two and a half months ago. My hubby's family came over to see the house for the first time yesterday, also. So I had to speed clean/ unpack in order for the house to be presentable. I don't know what superhuman power took over my body yesterday, but somehow, I managed to walk 10 miles, unpack a bunch of boxes of junk, get everything put away, do several loads of laundry and cook supper for my in-laws. And when I thought I was finally done and going to bed, I started watching the movie "Changling." WOW! Great movie, I couldn't stop watching it. I stayed up until midnight last night, when I thought I was exhausted.

So, today, it's back to work and school. Soccer practice tonight, and dance class starts tomorrow. Thank goodness we finally found the ballet and tap shoes.

Have a great week!

P.S. If you tried to email me after reading my Can You Help post about donating books to kids that cannot afford them, I gave the wrong email address. It is hdburton1 at gmail dot com. Thanks!

Correction to Can You Help Post

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:40:37 GMT

My email is really hdburton1 at gmail dot com

Not hdburton at gmail dot com

I forgot the one!

Sorry about that!

Can You Help?

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:23:50 GMT

Hi All. I have a favor to ask.

As you may or may not know, my "real" job is a grantwriter for a community health center in Springfield, Illinois. The Capitol Community Health Center (CCHC) is located on the east side of Springfield, which is the poorest area of the city. CCHC provides primary health care and dental care to the uninsured, underinsured and homeless populations in our community. It is the only place those most in need can go for health care in this area, and our patient population is growing every day! The economy has hit many of our community's families, those who always worked and had private insurance in the past, hard. Many people are loosing their jobs, and their health benefits.

Why am I asking you all for help, you may wonder?

Well, we are planning our 10th Anniversary celebration, which is coming up in October. Part of my job is planning events, community outreach, etc.

On October 22, I am planning a patient appreciation day in which I have talked our CEO into cooking hot dogs in the parking lot for our patients, and I will be providing some activities for the kids to do.

I also am wanting to do a giveaway for the children that we serve. That's where you could help. (Last year I gave any school supplies during National Health Center Week in August, which was a HUGE hit! Thank you Walmart for that generous donation!)

I would like to be able to provide books to the kids that come to CCHC. Most of these families cannot afford to buy books, therefore increasing the education gap in our community. As I am a strong believer that reading is the bridge to success in learning and the future, I have taken on the endeavor to give as many of our children a book as possible.

If you would be interested in donating a book for this cause, please email me privately at hdburton at gmail dot com.

You don't have to provide an autographed copy, just an extra copy of a children's book you may have lying around the house. And we serve kids of all ages, so picture books, middle grade, young adult, we'll give them all away! (I'd also be grateful for bookmarks and such as well, as I would like to give a bookmark with each book.)

I thank you in advance for listening to me for a minute. (I don't have a lot to offer you in return, but I promise I will send pictures, and mention you in my blog, on Facebook and on my SCBWI listserv.)

Have a great day!!

Several Things on my Mind This Morning

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:52:48 GMT

Well, I haven't posted in well over a week. I didn't think I had much to day last week, and I probably don't have much to say this week, but here goes anyway.

I am finally getting back to normal after a couple of weeks of travel. It feels good to have a normal Monday morning of trying to get out of the house on time, remembering the kid's backpacks, snacks, lunches, jackets, etc. It was a usual hectic Monday morning, but I am loving the "usual" part of it. This is the first "normal" week around our house since the girls started school, so it is a relief.

Speaking of travel, I had a great time in Chicago last week at the NACHC conference. Plus, I got to see the Bears win and the Cubs loose. What could be better than that?

I took my mom, dad and girls to the American Idol concert in St. Louis on Saturday night. WHAT A BLAST! I was amazed at how much many of the Top 10 have improved since the end of the show. And I must say, my man Matt Giraud, was FABULOUS! He opened his set with a rockin' version of one of my all time favorite songs, "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes. Then he moved to the piano, which is one of the reasons why I fell in love with him in the first place, and sang a bluesy, fast paced version of "Georgia on my Mind," which blew me away. And he closed his set with a much improved version of the song he got blasted for on the show, "You Found Me" by The Fray. WOW! Later he came out for a couple of group songs, including one from the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, complete with the black suits, dance moves, microphones and all. What fun! And can I tell you how much Adam Lambert ROCKED!! I mean, WOW, is all I can say. What talent this guy has. And Kris, Danny, Allison, were all fabulous as well. I could go on for a long time, but I will spare you. Just know, it was worth the price of the tickets!

I usually read on my lunch hour at work. I forgot my book today, so I am bummed. I'm currently reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Which, by the way, I received as part of the Raving Pen winning team and will pass along to the next reader as soon as I am done. If I could remember to bring it to work, I would probably get done a lot quicker. Enjoying it so far, looking forward to more.

And finally, I was not able to make the party this past weekend, but I hear it was fabualous. Our Illinois SCBWI leader for may years has decided to retire from that position. Esther Hershenhorn, thank you for all you have done, and all you will continue to do. You are a role model, an angel, and a genious! I look forward to seeing you again soon. I am sorry I could not make the party, but I hear it was a huge success.

Have a great day all!

Friday Five

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:00:39 GMT

OK, it's finally Friday! It has been a crazy couple of weeks and one more crazy week ahead. Then maybe I can return to some form of normalcy, but until then, here's a few things on this crazy Friday.

1. The girls both started school this week. The big one started kindergarten, the little one is in Pre-K. We moved recently, so they both started in a new school. The big one said for a couple of weeks before school started that she was "nervous." I think she has adjusted well, and is enjoying her new school her new teacher and her new friends. Oh yeah, and lunch in the cafeteria. She told me the ravioli at school yesterday was better than what I make at home! I can't wait to see what the school year brings for my girls this year. I am so excited for them. I can't wait for the big one to start learning to read, and neither can she!

2. Speaking of school starting, we still need a few things. The biggie is shoes. Now, why on earth do you think I would have to buy new shoes when we have 57 pairs of little girl shoes spread all over the house already? Well, about 40 of those are flip-flops, which are not good for playing on the playground. The other 17 pairs are tennis shoes that do not fit anyone in the house! Yikes! I need to do some shoe purging, soon. And some shoe shopping, too. I promised the girls some Twinkle Toes, those new Sketchers, for school. They have been reminding me several times a day that I promised them Twinkle Toes.

3. I am leaving for Chicago tomorrow for a conference for work. But I really don't have much going on this weekend in Chicago, so I am bringing the girls and the hubby with me. We are riding the train up, so the girls are super excited about that. My big surprise for them is that I got Bears tickets for Saturday night. They are playing their first home pre-season game against the Giants, and I have tickets. And not only that, I found out the Bears are staying in the SAME HOTEL as us Saturday. Woot! Woot! I can't wait to stalk them at the hotel and cheer them on at Soldier Field!!!!! Go Bears!!

4. I have another half marathon coming up in a few weeks and I have barely trained for this one. I have been so busy, and it has been hot. I plan on doing a lot of walking in Chicago next week. I can't wait to put on my tennis shoes, plug in my iPod and walk around downtown Chicago. Being by myself in a big city with my walking shoes and iPod always clears my head and helps me appreciate my life a little more. And I am needing a little of that therapy right now!

5. Not only do I get to see the Bears this weekend, but I get to go to Wrigley Field next week also. You may know, I am NOT a Cubs fan (life long Cardinals fan), but I am a baseball fan. And my boss is a Cub fan, so hopefully they loose while we are there and I can heckle him for a few weeks about that. Here's hoping....

Have a great weekend. I'll check in later next week.

Back at It

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:30:48 GMT

Ok, I'm back. I had a really busy week last week. Had to work, funeral, and we went out of town Friday, got back last night.

A few thoughts about my very long weekend...

First of all, I have not had much time to catch up on all your blog posts. I read a bunch, but if I missed anything important, I apologize.

We left Friday for Michigan to go to the races. My hubby is a big Nascar fan, and therefore, I am too, by virtue of marriage. This was our third year in Michigan for the August race. And it is always a blast.

A few of my favorite things about going to the races:

1. The people. You know the stereotype about Nascar fans, I won;t go into that. But we always seem to meet the nicest people when we are there. Our tailgating neighbors on Saturday were fun! We met a great couple from Indiana while tailgating on Saturday. We met some great Canadians, a father, son, grandson trio on race day. And we even saw our friend "Merengo", a guy we met last year and saw again this year. We are now Facebook Friends!

2. The Star Spangled Banner. This year I told hubby that no matter what, I wanted to be in our seats for the National Anthem. We had to practically run to make it to our seats in time. But as we finally climbed up all the stairs, found our spots, set our bags down, I heard "Oh say can you see..." There's nothing like hearing the Star Spangled Banner, and watching 150,000 people all stand, take off their hats and quietly listen to most of the song. The fireworks were timed perfectly to go off during "The rockets red flare, the bombs bursting in air" The comes, "and the home of the brave" and all I could hear was shouting, whistling, yelling, cheering, hands waving. It is an awesome feeling. Then the best for last, the fly-by. Four military planes go zipping by overhead and every single person was yelling and waving. It is a magical moment. I wish you could all experience on this level once.

3. The rumble. You heard me right. When we are sitting in the stands, and all 43 cars are lined up in pit road, and the announcer says those magic words "Gentlemen, start your engines,'" you can feel the electricity in the air. All you hear is the rumble of the engines starting, then idling for a minute. Then they all move slowly to the track. By the time they get back around to where we sit, I can not only hear it, but I can feel it. You can feel it in your bones. And by the time the green flag drops, everyone is at full throttle, and I bet you can hear it and feel it from miles away.

OK, so another busy week ahead. I have orientation for Pre-K for the little one, kindergarten for the big one, first days of school for each and then leaving for Chicago for a conference on Saturday. I have Bears tickets for Saturday, which was a surprise for the hubby and kids, and I am super excited. Busy week, but the rewards at the end are great!!!

Have a great week.

RIP Grandpa Paul

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:03:23 GMT

I met him in 1996, only 13 years ago.

But in those 13 years, I have discovered a man with a love for life that I can learn something from.

He had lived most of his life by the time he entered mine. He had worked, married, had children and divorced. Everyone loved him. Everyone knew him. Even his ex-wife loved him still. They still spent all the holidays together and they were a part of each others lives. We could all learn from that.

By the time I met him, he did what he wanted to do.

He used to ride around with the town cop at night, just for something to do.

He watched wrestling like it was the only thing on television, and watched with his great-granddaughter, it was one of their special things to share.

He drove. And he drove well. Every year he went in for his driving tests, and always passed. We did not know how, but he did.

He used to build intricate models out of toothpicks and popsicle sticks. He built a farm for my girls once. Complete with a barn, fencing, animals, the works, all out of toothpicks and popsicle sticks.

And he painted and colored. I have an entire coloring book full of pictures that he colored.

So, it was a sad day when you left us. You will be remembered and loved by many.

You touched so many lives in your 93 years on this planet.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa Paul.

I Did It!

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:45:42 GMT

Ok, so you all had to listen to me whine a while back about the grant that I was writing. So sorry about that, but my hubby and kids are tired of listening, so I moved on.

Anyway, I finally got it done! The grant is complete, the best that I can do, and submitted, 2 days early!

I ended up having a huge obstacle on Thursday to get over. I had to cut about 10,000 characters from my narrative. Wow! But we got it done, and I think it is pretty good.

Now to wait a month or so to see if we will be funded. If so, I'm sure you will see me doing the happy dance!

Now, on to the rest of my to-do list!

Maybe I can write something else now......

I Love Being A Mom (most of the time)

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:54:24 GMT

Sometimes I take being a mom for granted. I just go through the motions. I've been a mom for five years now, and cannot really remember life before mommy-hood.

Every once in a while, for whatever reason, I get that special mom feeling. You know the one, when you can't believe how lucky you are to be a mom.

And usually it is something minor that makes me feel that way.

For example, last night I took my girls shopping for school supplies. My big one will be in kindergarten this year, and we have to buy school supplies.

We first went to Penny's to buy backpacks. They each picked out the cutest backpacks, that suited each one perfectly. (Side note: the little one is in her second year of Pre-K, so that is the only required school supply.) And to see the great big backpack, stuffed full of crumpled paper, on the backs of my proud girls as we walked to the car made me smile inside (and outside, too).

Then off to Walmart for the school supplies. As I was working my way through the never-ending list, and fighting with other carts full of kids in the school supply section, it dawned on me. This is the first school supply shopping trip for us, ever. A moment to remember. I wished I had brought my camera. I know, that sounds silly, but seriously, we won't get to go school supply shopping for the first time ever again.

As I was maneuvering my cart through the maze of children, parents and other shopping carts, another parent said "Sorry, I'll get out of your way."

"No problem, I replied, it's our first time."

She must have remembered her first time, because she smiled and sighed a bit, gazing at her own children.

After school supply shopping, we rushed off to swimming lessons, drove through Taco Bell for a healthy, nutritious supper (well, one can dream, right?) and drove through the rain to get home.

At home, the big one immediately emptied all her bags onto the floor and began arranging them in perfect order to fit into her new backpack. She finally got it how she wanted and looked for a spot to put the bag until school starts.

A bit later we called Dad to tell him about our days and tell him goodnight. The big one grabbed the phone, and told dad in detail everything that she got for school.

"And guess what else dad, we get to go to gym class! Yeah, gym!" she gushed.

Then she said, "OK, love you dad, here's mom."

For some reason, when she said, "here's mom", I thought to myself, how lucky am I to have such a bright, fun, beautiful young lady call me "Mom."

And I am lucky enough to have two little people in this world that call me mom.

Writer's Block, YIKES!

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:44:11 GMT

I am experiencing writer's block.

And it has nothing to do with the next great American novel that I am writing. I already put that on the back burner for now, as I have been busy moving, and super busy at work.

It is writer's block at work.

I have a $2 million grant to write that is due on August 6. It is very competitive, and very important. And I cannot get into the zone.

Does anyone have any advice on how to force myself into the zone so I can somehow come up with a fabulous grant application that will get us $2 million?

Please send your good vibes my way, maybe that will help.

Well, off to grantwriting. (Maybe if I wasn't blogging, I could concentrate more on work).

Customer Service? What's That?

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:45:19 GMT

If there are signs posted EVERYWHERE in the carpet department at one of those big box "do-it-yourself" stores that advertise $139 whole house carpet installation, why do they then try to tell me it will cost $282 to install carpet in ONE SQUARE room???

Isn't this considered false advertising?

That is why I bought my carpet from said store, because of the $139 installation.

Now, I have to find someone else to install, because I refuse to pay their $282!

He said it was because he has to drill the tack strips back down and he needs curved metal. WHAT?!?! Curved metal? There are no curves in that room. It is a big rectangle, that's it. He considers the rectangle in front of the sliding glass doors a curve. Maybe this guy needs to go back to geometry class.

And why do they charge $65 to deliver some carpet 10 miles from the store, and then tell me that they won't bring it in the house?? WHAT??

"Do you want that dropped off in the driveway?" he asked.

NO! I WANT IT IN THE HOUSE!

How hard is that?

Damn, the economy is tanking right now, and these big box stores sure are concerned with customer service or trying to keep their customers, that's for sure.

Getting There

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:03:56 GMT

Well, one house done, one to go.

We finally got totally out of the old house this last weekend. We spent all day Saturday, and another U Haul truck (actually a cargo van this time) getting it cleaned and empty. That's 3 U Hauls, and lots and lots of hours of cleaning. But it is done. I mailed the landlord the keys yesterday. I still have one task to complete though. I need to get a hold of the carpet installers and give them landlords phone number so she can deal with that.

Now on to finish new house. It seems that every time I empty a box, two more replace it. Not only that, but now I have two dressers sitting in my living room, waiting to be moved upstairs and filled with clothes. I promised the little one that I would get her room cleaned and organized this weekend. She wants the big dresser. She'll get the big dresser.

The new fridge will be delivered on Saturday. You know what that means?? Well, actually it means a couple of things. First, we can go to the grocery store. Right now we have no room in the fridge for anything else, so we just bought a couple of days worth of food. Watch out grocery store, here we come! And the second thing, we need to move the dressers that are in the living room. They are blocking the way to the kitchen, which makes it difficult to get a fridge through. But, it will get done. My goal is to be 90% clean and organized and unpacked by the end of this month. I can deal with the other 10% for a bit longer.

Oh yeah, the golf outing that I plan (a fundraiser for my agency) was held last Friday and was a huge success! Good times were had by all. There were no major problems. The weather was beautiful, sunny and only about 74. I am taking full credit for the weather. That can be the only explanation for such fabulous weather in the middle of July in Illinois! Looking forward to doing it again next year!

Have a great day, all! Soon, I will be living a normal life again. It's getting closer every week!

(Now off to write Thank You notes for the golf outing sponsors and donators, and write a $2 million grant - I'm really nervous about this one)!