Moving seems to be one of those things I'm good at. Even moves I dread or the kind that make you feel hot and cold all over at once and slosh your insides into a queasy spin. I'm doing one of those.
In a week and a half, I drive north to say goodbye to some friends. I come back in time to collect my children, their health and school records, our cats, our clothing, and any of our "these must come too" items. You know, hair dryers. Then we head west to Texas.
I'm excited about the adventure, unnerved by the unknown, fearful of leaving Scott in Fort Wayne to complete his studies, anxious about moving in with my parents for the next several months, concerned the kids will have trouble adjusting, and all around terrified. Yep. That about sums it up. So I guess I'm asking for patience. Employment is hard to come by and sometimes we have to make hard decisions to find it. I won't be posting much as I prepare these next two and a half weeks.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Hi ho, Hi Ho, It's off to RomantiCon I go...
That's right, this morning I'm going to Ohio for the Jasmine Jade RomantiCon. Why? Well, because I pre-paid it a year ago. But WHY? Good question. I have *ahem* books out there. Lots of books in other names. This publisher's mainstream line put out a couple of them and then got them printed for me. I get to meet fans and other authors for a weekend, and maybe refresh my plot brain again.
But, but WHYYYYY? Another excellent question! My friends are going to be there so we can all meet up. I adore them. They live in other States which means we rarely get to see each other. If I never step foot inside an actual class, I will still have outrageous fun and soul-soothing company.
That's why.
But, but WHYYYYY? Another excellent question! My friends are going to be there so we can all meet up. I adore them. They live in other States which means we rarely get to see each other. If I never step foot inside an actual class, I will still have outrageous fun and soul-soothing company.
That's why.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
It's Official
I'm moving to Texas where a job awaits me.
I have some great parents. Dad has been in the business and mission communities for years. He knows a lot of business owners, so when his darling daughter couldn't find work in Fort Wayne, he put out the feelers and found me something. It does mean I have to go to Texas with the girls, but it also means benefits, paycheck, and rent-free living with Mom and Dad.
We've notified the seminary--okay, it's not that simple really, but they know and after a week plus of discussions, plans, puzzle solving, we worked it out--and the paperwork is in. Scott will stay in Fort Wayne to continue his seminary studies at part time. He'll find a job locally to help out and maintain his benefits. For some reason, students looking for work is easier on the job hunt: a truth I haven't figured out yet. Regardless, it means he is extending his studies out another two quarters beyond May 2010.
In the meantime, he can finish the flooring in the house, get it sold or rented, and take on a roommate. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be back together this summer with banked savings to finish out his seminary coursework.
It's not pretty and it's not the best solution, but it's a solution and the only one we have at the moment. The girls and I head west on November 4th in the 18 hour drive. Pray for safety and guidance in all things for us. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
I have some great parents. Dad has been in the business and mission communities for years. He knows a lot of business owners, so when his darling daughter couldn't find work in Fort Wayne, he put out the feelers and found me something. It does mean I have to go to Texas with the girls, but it also means benefits, paycheck, and rent-free living with Mom and Dad.
We've notified the seminary--okay, it's not that simple really, but they know and after a week plus of discussions, plans, puzzle solving, we worked it out--and the paperwork is in. Scott will stay in Fort Wayne to continue his seminary studies at part time. He'll find a job locally to help out and maintain his benefits. For some reason, students looking for work is easier on the job hunt: a truth I haven't figured out yet. Regardless, it means he is extending his studies out another two quarters beyond May 2010.
In the meantime, he can finish the flooring in the house, get it sold or rented, and take on a roommate. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be back together this summer with banked savings to finish out his seminary coursework.
It's not pretty and it's not the best solution, but it's a solution and the only one we have at the moment. The girls and I head west on November 4th in the 18 hour drive. Pray for safety and guidance in all things for us. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 9/29/2009 7:39:00 AM
Renowned romance editor Kate Duffy died Sunday at age 56, following a long illness. Duffy was well-known in the industry for her contributions to the romance genre, from the late 1970s and the “romance revolution” of the early ’80s through the present day. Duffy published and worked with Jude Deveraux, Julie Garwood, Lori Foster, Heather Graham, Judith McNaught, Mary Janice Davidson, Jacqueline Frank and Mary Jo Putney.
Rochester, N.Y.-born Duffy attended Oxford University and then took a job at Paddington Press in the U.K. She then returned to the U.S. and became an editor at Popular Library, and later worked at Dell, Simon & Schuster (where she was founding editor of Silhouette Books), Harlequin Enterprises (where she founded Worldwide Library) and Kensington Publishing (where she established Brava Books and was most recently editorial director). Duffy received numerous honors from national and regional writers organizations, including the Romance Writers of America.
A memorial service will be scheduled soon.
**The writing community mourns her loss.**
Renowned romance editor Kate Duffy died Sunday at age 56, following a long illness. Duffy was well-known in the industry for her contributions to the romance genre, from the late 1970s and the “romance revolution” of the early ’80s through the present day. Duffy published and worked with Jude Deveraux, Julie Garwood, Lori Foster, Heather Graham, Judith McNaught, Mary Janice Davidson, Jacqueline Frank and Mary Jo Putney.
Rochester, N.Y.-born Duffy attended Oxford University and then took a job at Paddington Press in the U.K. She then returned to the U.S. and became an editor at Popular Library, and later worked at Dell, Simon & Schuster (where she was founding editor of Silhouette Books), Harlequin Enterprises (where she founded Worldwide Library) and Kensington Publishing (where she established Brava Books and was most recently editorial director). Duffy received numerous honors from national and regional writers organizations, including the Romance Writers of America.
A memorial service will be scheduled soon.
**The writing community mourns her loss.**
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The American Dilemma
Food.
Yep, I said it. This is the fattest country in the world. In high school, I lived some years in Indonesia. While there, one of the teachers asked the international students what was their dominant impression of America. It wasn't flattering. They said things like, greedy, selfish, nosy, stuck-up, and fat. Fat was the one mentioned most often.
America is fat. We are. Sixty percent of us are in the range of morbidly obese. Isn't that just a lovely thought? Sixty percent of Americans are dying because of health problems related to obesity. Insurance companies have to cover that risk factor and rates go up. There, of course, are many reasons why insurance increases and this is only one, but it's a big one.
I was thinking about this because there is such a push to get kids healthy and outside and it is completely contradictory to what is actually happening. Think about it. Our kids are bombarded with advertisements for fast food, candy, restaurants, and convenience foods. Our grocery stores stock more boxed dinners and grab-bag type meals than "scratch" cooking foods like unprocessed chicken or fresh vegetables.
Schools pretend they support the government health guidelines but actually the amount of physical education or "running around outside time" is down. My older daughter spent last year in gym class playing nintendo. Only when she forgot her gym uniform did they make her run a lap. A lap. Does it promote good health to let them sit around and play games otherwise? Why is it called physical education and not free-period then?
Sports teams are determined by try-outs. That's just fine. There should be some kind of distinction between a varsity level team and a junior varsity team. But what about teams where kids can learn, mess up, have fun? Why does a child have to already be good at the sport to play the sport? Where is the learning curve? If we want them active, shouldn't there be a team of misfits out there? A team of those awkward kids who just want to play a sport with each other or learn the rules without the pressure of varsity level competition? Children need a forum where they can make mistakes and try new things without the threat that it will be taken from them.
And what about school lunches? Do they REALLY meet standard guidelines because if they do, the guidelines suck. Again, my older daughter is in the midst of this situation. She takes advantage of the hot breakfast and hot lunch programs at school. In one day, this is what I discovered she was served: Breakfast consisted of 2 McDonald's apple or cherry pies. My kid has a sweet tooth like her momma and she had three because a friend didn't want his second pie. Lunch was served at 10:45, not three hours later. For lunch she had fried breaded chicken served on a hamburger bun with ketchup, a bag of potato chips, cinnamon applesauce, and a large (according to her. If a kid with a sweet tooth says it's large, it's large) piece of chocolate fudge cake and icing, and a carbonated juice beverage.
We have a one sweet a day maximum rule in this house. Having struggled with my weight throughout my youth, I'm not going to let J suffer the same. She already has my bad habits and my metabolism. The poor kid got my build and my inlaws vertically challenged stature. She's in for a rough one if her habits don't change. Well, J didn't tell me about this lunch or breakfast and she had her sweet after school instead of after dinner. THEN I found out.
Now, I'm not mad at J. Yes, she knew the rules and she knew I wouldn't be happy about it, but she is still a twelve year old and susceptible to temptation. And folks, when those are the breakfast and lunch choices put before you and you cannot select something different, are you going to NOT eat? No. And neither will my twelve year old. Those were her food choices provided by the school according to the guidelines set by our caring government. How are those wise meals. With even the applesauce sweetened, I fail to see anything in those two meals which aren't loaded with carbohydrates (which, nutrition-heads, turns to sugar in the body and excess sugar is stored as fat. Enough of this stuff and you have an obese child with diabetes as a serious risk factor).
America has a dilemma. We have the fastest growing weight loss industry and the highest percentage of overweight population. Now who is the biggest loser?
Yep, I said it. This is the fattest country in the world. In high school, I lived some years in Indonesia. While there, one of the teachers asked the international students what was their dominant impression of America. It wasn't flattering. They said things like, greedy, selfish, nosy, stuck-up, and fat. Fat was the one mentioned most often.
America is fat. We are. Sixty percent of us are in the range of morbidly obese. Isn't that just a lovely thought? Sixty percent of Americans are dying because of health problems related to obesity. Insurance companies have to cover that risk factor and rates go up. There, of course, are many reasons why insurance increases and this is only one, but it's a big one.
I was thinking about this because there is such a push to get kids healthy and outside and it is completely contradictory to what is actually happening. Think about it. Our kids are bombarded with advertisements for fast food, candy, restaurants, and convenience foods. Our grocery stores stock more boxed dinners and grab-bag type meals than "scratch" cooking foods like unprocessed chicken or fresh vegetables.
Schools pretend they support the government health guidelines but actually the amount of physical education or "running around outside time" is down. My older daughter spent last year in gym class playing nintendo. Only when she forgot her gym uniform did they make her run a lap. A lap. Does it promote good health to let them sit around and play games otherwise? Why is it called physical education and not free-period then?
Sports teams are determined by try-outs. That's just fine. There should be some kind of distinction between a varsity level team and a junior varsity team. But what about teams where kids can learn, mess up, have fun? Why does a child have to already be good at the sport to play the sport? Where is the learning curve? If we want them active, shouldn't there be a team of misfits out there? A team of those awkward kids who just want to play a sport with each other or learn the rules without the pressure of varsity level competition? Children need a forum where they can make mistakes and try new things without the threat that it will be taken from them.
And what about school lunches? Do they REALLY meet standard guidelines because if they do, the guidelines suck. Again, my older daughter is in the midst of this situation. She takes advantage of the hot breakfast and hot lunch programs at school. In one day, this is what I discovered she was served: Breakfast consisted of 2 McDonald's apple or cherry pies. My kid has a sweet tooth like her momma and she had three because a friend didn't want his second pie. Lunch was served at 10:45, not three hours later. For lunch she had fried breaded chicken served on a hamburger bun with ketchup, a bag of potato chips, cinnamon applesauce, and a large (according to her. If a kid with a sweet tooth says it's large, it's large) piece of chocolate fudge cake and icing, and a carbonated juice beverage.
We have a one sweet a day maximum rule in this house. Having struggled with my weight throughout my youth, I'm not going to let J suffer the same. She already has my bad habits and my metabolism. The poor kid got my build and my inlaws vertically challenged stature. She's in for a rough one if her habits don't change. Well, J didn't tell me about this lunch or breakfast and she had her sweet after school instead of after dinner. THEN I found out.
Now, I'm not mad at J. Yes, she knew the rules and she knew I wouldn't be happy about it, but she is still a twelve year old and susceptible to temptation. And folks, when those are the breakfast and lunch choices put before you and you cannot select something different, are you going to NOT eat? No. And neither will my twelve year old. Those were her food choices provided by the school according to the guidelines set by our caring government. How are those wise meals. With even the applesauce sweetened, I fail to see anything in those two meals which aren't loaded with carbohydrates (which, nutrition-heads, turns to sugar in the body and excess sugar is stored as fat. Enough of this stuff and you have an obese child with diabetes as a serious risk factor).
America has a dilemma. We have the fastest growing weight loss industry and the highest percentage of overweight population. Now who is the biggest loser?
Monday, September 28, 2009
Death to the old! Wait. WHAT?!?!
Yesterday we visited a church that we don't normally go to. One of our girls sang in the children's choir. It turned out that yesterday was also the annual celebration of the congregation's most senior of senior citizens. The numbers were amazing. Something like 87 people over the age of 80 and 68 people married more than 50 years, etc. We were surrounded by age and beauty at its best.
The pastor was visiting from somewhere out west. He said he didn't retire, he "re-fired" his faith. He's a great speaker, in my opinion, and apparently continues to minister to those in his senior housing facility. Well, it was a service filled with admiration for those who have lived so long. It provided an awakening to those of us who haven't yet. There were numbers and statistics regarding the increase of seniors in our country which has shifted the paradigm of what we perceive as our median age. That pyramid with the youth at the bottom and elderly at the minority top is now a column with seniors growing 67% in the next five years where those my age and younger will only increase by 1%. In twenty years, the population of the United States over the age of 50, will EQUAL the entire population of China today. Don't even ask what China's numbers are.
We congratulated, bestowed blessings upon them, cheered the elderly in the congregation, and admonished the young to learn from their experience. All true and worthy assertions. The pastor closed and we sang our response hymn--one altered (like all the others yesterday) to sing about the joys of aging and blessings from the Lord.
Alas, I started chuckling and couldn't stop. We had five lovely verses: "For the gift of length of days...", "For the eagerness of youth...", "For the wish to sense and know...", "For re-crowning gifts of age". Each were followed by the refrain: "Hear the thanks of youth and age for our priceless heritage."
Oh, Lordy! It all looks great on paper, but try singing that refrain aloud without precise word distinction, and you get: "Hear the thanks of Euthanage for our priceless heritage." All I can think is, sounds like Euthanasia. After blessing them we want to sing about putting them all down? You want THEM to sing about giving thanks for euthanasia of their heritage. I know Euthanage isn't a true word, but it sure is close enough to give one pause especially when sung five times at full lung capacity.
I had just recovered while J and I wiped tears of laughter from our eyes, when the Pastor then stood up and said, "And today we have a sacrifice to make." My eyes bugged. Suddenly he lifted the offering plates and I realized he was talking about money gifts. Too late, I was off and snickering again.
It's the classic butter-up. Tell 'em how great they are and what tremendous purpose they have, get them to admit death might be better, then kill the suckers on the altar. Amen. You have to admit, that could have been better planned. I'm just wondering what the viewers thought when the special day was broadcast on television. THEY didn't have the benefit of bulletin printed words to spell out "youth and age" for clarification. They also couldn't check the bulletin to confirm that "sacrifice" meant "offerings and gifts". What must they think of us Lutherans now?
Still chuckling,
Kelly
PS. No elderly were harmed in the writing of this entry. The misinterpreted views of the bulletin and music worship do not reflect the true feeling of this author for the elderly who actually respects and values her elders. God's purpose never ends for us. As long as we are here, we are needed.
The pastor was visiting from somewhere out west. He said he didn't retire, he "re-fired" his faith. He's a great speaker, in my opinion, and apparently continues to minister to those in his senior housing facility. Well, it was a service filled with admiration for those who have lived so long. It provided an awakening to those of us who haven't yet. There were numbers and statistics regarding the increase of seniors in our country which has shifted the paradigm of what we perceive as our median age. That pyramid with the youth at the bottom and elderly at the minority top is now a column with seniors growing 67% in the next five years where those my age and younger will only increase by 1%. In twenty years, the population of the United States over the age of 50, will EQUAL the entire population of China today. Don't even ask what China's numbers are.
We congratulated, bestowed blessings upon them, cheered the elderly in the congregation, and admonished the young to learn from their experience. All true and worthy assertions. The pastor closed and we sang our response hymn--one altered (like all the others yesterday) to sing about the joys of aging and blessings from the Lord.
Alas, I started chuckling and couldn't stop. We had five lovely verses: "For the gift of length of days...", "For the eagerness of youth...", "For the wish to sense and know...", "For re-crowning gifts of age". Each were followed by the refrain: "Hear the thanks of youth and age for our priceless heritage."
Oh, Lordy! It all looks great on paper, but try singing that refrain aloud without precise word distinction, and you get: "Hear the thanks of Euthanage for our priceless heritage." All I can think is, sounds like Euthanasia. After blessing them we want to sing about putting them all down? You want THEM to sing about giving thanks for euthanasia of their heritage. I know Euthanage isn't a true word, but it sure is close enough to give one pause especially when sung five times at full lung capacity.
I had just recovered while J and I wiped tears of laughter from our eyes, when the Pastor then stood up and said, "And today we have a sacrifice to make." My eyes bugged. Suddenly he lifted the offering plates and I realized he was talking about money gifts. Too late, I was off and snickering again.
It's the classic butter-up. Tell 'em how great they are and what tremendous purpose they have, get them to admit death might be better, then kill the suckers on the altar. Amen. You have to admit, that could have been better planned. I'm just wondering what the viewers thought when the special day was broadcast on television. THEY didn't have the benefit of bulletin printed words to spell out "youth and age" for clarification. They also couldn't check the bulletin to confirm that "sacrifice" meant "offerings and gifts". What must they think of us Lutherans now?
Still chuckling,
Kelly
PS. No elderly were harmed in the writing of this entry. The misinterpreted views of the bulletin and music worship do not reflect the true feeling of this author for the elderly who actually respects and values her elders. God's purpose never ends for us. As long as we are here, we are needed.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Curiosity and Cats
"Curiosity killed the cat"
If you've been following the blog the last few days, you know we have a new addition to our family: Six. Six the kitten is a curious boy. He's also discovered that while he has claws, Callie the resident queen kit doesn't. He pounces, tackles, sends into cartwheels, etc because he is a curious little stinker. He tries to figure out what each attack does, learns from it, and tries something new the next time.
Is there a noise? He comes to check it out. Running bath water? Not afraid!! Loud printer? No, not afraid!! Man setting up camp in the restroom? NOT AFRAID!! Six has no fear!
He's smart enough to take direction when I taught him how to pounce. I actually told him when to pounce and he did, then told him to go back to start. He repeated that pattern twelve times before we were interrupted. He always released his prize and backed up to the place where the first pounce started.
Another time he curled up in my lap and licked the side of my finger. I swiped it down his forehead and over his eye. I did that once before he figured out he could use me to bathe. So he licked it again then tipped his head to reach behind his ear and down. We did that for several minutes until he was done.
In humans a sense of humor is a sign of intelligence. We have a saying that curiosity kills the cat. It's part of our culture and something adults say to wayward children, then click their tongues as though that phrase said it all. What's the threat? Six may be a little less than cautious. He may be rambunctious, yet he is all there. He's smart.
I think curiosity is an extension of humor. It doesn't cause a sacrificial loss of some personal magnitude. No, it reflects an eager mind ready to learn. Curiosity is the prerequisite for knowledge obtained from curiosity. It doesn't kill us, it enriches us. We aren't hindered by curiosity, we grow from it.
That's intelligence. Go kitty.
If you've been following the blog the last few days, you know we have a new addition to our family: Six. Six the kitten is a curious boy. He's also discovered that while he has claws, Callie the resident queen kit doesn't. He pounces, tackles, sends into cartwheels, etc because he is a curious little stinker. He tries to figure out what each attack does, learns from it, and tries something new the next time.
Is there a noise? He comes to check it out. Running bath water? Not afraid!! Loud printer? No, not afraid!! Man setting up camp in the restroom? NOT AFRAID!! Six has no fear!
He's smart enough to take direction when I taught him how to pounce. I actually told him when to pounce and he did, then told him to go back to start. He repeated that pattern twelve times before we were interrupted. He always released his prize and backed up to the place where the first pounce started.
Another time he curled up in my lap and licked the side of my finger. I swiped it down his forehead and over his eye. I did that once before he figured out he could use me to bathe. So he licked it again then tipped his head to reach behind his ear and down. We did that for several minutes until he was done.
In humans a sense of humor is a sign of intelligence. We have a saying that curiosity kills the cat. It's part of our culture and something adults say to wayward children, then click their tongues as though that phrase said it all. What's the threat? Six may be a little less than cautious. He may be rambunctious, yet he is all there. He's smart.
I think curiosity is an extension of humor. It doesn't cause a sacrificial loss of some personal magnitude. No, it reflects an eager mind ready to learn. Curiosity is the prerequisite for knowledge obtained from curiosity. It doesn't kill us, it enriches us. We aren't hindered by curiosity, we grow from it.
That's intelligence. Go kitty.
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