Hello!

Hello Everyone!

First, I want to say thanks.  I received some very nice messages and phone calls as I dealt with the loss of my Nana. She died peacefully in the early morning hours of June 27th with my mom and my aunt by her side. The week of her funeral turned out to be an amazing time to see family, remember her spirit, and soak up the presence of my parents and remaining grandparents. Goodbyes are never easy, but I have to think about all the amazing things her life produced. Not only was she an amazing artist, whose works fill my house now, but she was just the sweetest woman who was loved by so many. I am happy to say that I have witnessed true love: It was watching my 92 year-old Paw-paw say good-bye to my Nana. They've been married for 63 years. How amazing that I got to witness and experience that!

I'm trying to get things back on track. We have traveled around, had some fun, and spent some money, but I am sad to say my summer is already winding down. Maybe the routine will help me get back on track.

So for now, I leave you with a gratuitous puppy pic from our recent travels.  Just because!

Small Town Life

I grew up in a small town and I live in a relatively small town now.  City-dwellers would definitely call my town "small", but compared to where I grew up, it is a veritable metropolis. And by that, we mean that is has a Wal-Mart and a movie theater.

So why small town life? I don't know.  It's just me. I like knowing who people are, and I like knowing who their parents were and what their family is like. I like that it only takes 15 minutes to run to the grocery store. I could keep going on, but I just sound like the "Green Acres" theme song.

In this small town life, there are a few staples or even rites of passage. We got to enjoy one of these last week as we celebrated our little town festival. And every good festival or event needs a parade. I love small town parades.  It is like the best (and sometimes worst) of a community on display.

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During that parade, I had the privilege of watching a float of veterans roll down the street just behind those flags.  I hate being mushy in public, but I had to choke back a little emotion as they made their way by. When they passed, the crowds that lined the streets took a moment to realize just who it was sitting on that float. Several of the men had to have been World War II vets based on their ages. They waved their feeble hands and tipped their Army hats at the crowd. We stood and clapped, then the cheer began to roar down the street. It moved me to see the people who lined the streets to stand and clap and cheer for these men who have made such a difference in our world. I know this moment isn't just specific to small town life, but it still makes me proud.

On another note, we are "celebrating" another rite of passage this weekend for small town life: A garage sale. I hate them, but they are kind of necessary evil in our house!

Have a great weekend!

"Hotternhell"

This was the thermometer on our back porch on Sunday, June 12, 2011. The sun was shining on it, so that elevated the temp a little, but geez, that's hot!

That's how we say it in Texas--"It's Hotternhell"(Hotter than hell!)

True Life

True Story:

My daughter has run away twice in the past two weeks.

Now "running away" might be a bit of a hyperbole, but I can't keep the dang girl in the yard. She's five and she thinks she's independent--it's a constant, epic battle of the wills around here. She met a little girl down the street and will pretty much do ANYTHING to try and go down to her house. This wouldn't be so bad, but she's got this damn scooter . . . and well, I swear she like flies when she gets on it.

Tonight, my son was going to walk his friend halfway home--it's like a block and he's almost nine. I think this is a reasonable thing for an almost-nine-year-old to get to do. He and his friend leave out the front door, and moments later, I hear that ominous click that the garage door makes. I head out the front door and spot a little pink shirt flying down the street, AND THEN SHE CROSSES THE STREET!!

At this point, I am mad and scared and a little more mad. I can see her, I know she is ok, but she is all the way down the dang street. So I jump in the car (there is no way I could have caught her without vehicular assistance) and drive down the street to get her. I roll down my window, yell her name in my meanest mommy voice, and get out to load her and her scooter into my car. There was a very docile-looking refugee family standing by their vehicle watching as all this is taking place. I'm sure they thought I was kidnapping her, but they did not call the police.

I drove her home while she cried in the backseat. I have hidden her scooter and she is grounded from dessert. (You have to take away what they love.) We are all safe and sound.

And I know this will not be the last of my battles with her. She is strong-willed, creative, unique, and passionate. She's better than any character I could ever create.

Birthday Wishes

My facebook wall in ON FIRE with birthday wishes which just reminds me that I am one year older and still "under-published." I have been writing for about two and a half years, which I know is a mere minute in the publishing world, but I would sure like to speed things up a bit. Each passing year moves me a little farther away from my teenage sensibilities and angst and moves me one year closer to having more to do. What if I run out of time to write? What if this dang book never comes together? What if I do get published and a bunch of teenagers keep wondering who the old lady is who is signing books? I know, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but it just a reflective day. So for my birthday, I wish for these things for my writing life:

I wish to always love writing.

I wish to always love young adult books.

I wish to find time to write AND be a good mom.

I wish to write something that gets noticed.

I wish to create characters who mean as much to me as the teens I am writing for.

"The Twitter"

I know that I am years behind when it comes to this, but I finally got me a "Genu-wine" Twitter account. And now I am totally lost.

**Random Thought: I love the movie trailer where Betty White says, "I'm also on the Twitter." Adding the "the" just cracks me up.

So, I am asking for Twitter Tutorials. Can anyone help me out?

Like,
What does the # mean?
How do I find people to follow?
How do you make heads or tails of your homepage with all those random quotes?
How do you find stuff about writing?

I may be better off just reading Jane Friedman's Best Tweets for Writers once a week . . .

Nostalgia

It's fall in West Texas and that means that there is one thing on the minds of a lot of people--Football. We started school last week and already, here they come, young men in their ties and jerseys, ready for Friday Night Football.

We went to our first game Friday. The weather was perfect. The kiddos dressed in the school colors, Little Miss A even wore her tiny cheerleading uniform for her special half-time performance with the other 40-50 little girls from the summer camp. As I kneeled on the track snapping countless photos of my little girl dancing on that field, I was transported. Who wouldn't be? I love the lights shining down in a stadium, I love the cheering crowds, and I love hope that comes when those uniforms come out. I actually missed the first two touchdowns because I was just taking it all in.

I have been doing this all my life--going to football games. I can think of so many memories that started or ended at a football game.

And I know again why I write Young Adult books. Because for me, that the THE TIME. There were so many beginnings and endings, so many football games, so many memories that come out of those years, so many possibilities. It's worth writing down.

I can't say it all myself, but this video helps. Enjoy!

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

Dear Neglected Blog,
I know you have been sitting idle for quite a while, and I understand that you may be feeling lost and alone. I apologize for not getting over here to post more things. I could go on and on with excuses about writers block, or messy houses, or dirty laundry. I could blame your neglect on my kids wanting meals or my dogs needing water, but I won't. I take full responsibility for your neglect. What can I do to make it right?

Okay, okay. I will try to think of more things to write, more information to share, and more pictures to post. I can't promise that you will never be neglected again, but I will do my best to pay more attention to your needs. At least until I get into another book.

Your friend,
Aimee

Weekends Off?

I've been trying to get caught up on some of my blog reading over the last few days, and I am glad that some people take the weekends off--it is helping me get caught up.

I got to thinking that the weekends typically signal high-gear for my writing. There is too much with all the work, kids, and television during the week for me to do much with my writing. But there is something about my favorite purple coffee mug and a Saturday morning that just gets all the gears turning in my head.

So here's what I do on the weekends to get caught up.

Critiques--some of them are long overdue, but it helps me get to work on my own stuff.

Read--sometimes novels, sometimes books on writing. This week: The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

Reading Blogs--looking for advice, tips, inspiration

Think--(today it was out by the pool, most days it is in the shower) I think about my characters and my plot points and my ending/resolution . . . or starting a new book

Facebook--ok, this really isn't helpful at all, but I can't seem to stay away. I like to justify going to check things since I have writer friends there.

Oh, and sometimes I write!

I wasted enough time today. Tomorrow I crack open Word and get to work. Have a great weekend!

Hiatus

I guess I unintentionally "unplugged" for the entire month of May and most of April. Ooops! Summer is here and I am slowly getting back to work on some writing. Here are a few highlights over the last month and a half.

1. My first 40 pages are now in the hands of Suzie Townsend. I am anxiously awaiting her advice. I rewrote the beginning before sending it to her, and now it feels like I tried a new recipe with company on the way. I hope it doesn't flop.

2. I was notified that I am a finalist in the Panhandle Professional Writer's Frontiers in Writing Contest. Yay!

3. But, I may not get to attend the award lunch because I am taking my son to the STAR Center and a developmental pediatrician this summer to get to the bottom of his developmental issues. That doesn't exactly leave us any $$$$ for things like conferences, but what's a few dollars when it could change our lives!

4. School's out! It couldn't have come a moment too soon. We will just have to chalk up (no pun intended) the 2009-2010 school year as one of the most challenging yet.

5. We got a pool. My daughter is ecstastic. Someone should buy stock in sunscreen right now.

It's looking to be a summer to remember!

I hate April Fool's Day

I have never been a big fan of April Fool's Day. Probably because I am gullible and fall for the silly jokes. The other reason is . . .

April Fool's + High School = Torture

As a teacher you check a few dates every year because they bring the freak out in high school kids. Most days they can be a little strange anyway, but days like Homecoming, Halloween, Valentine's Day, and April Fool's make the strangeness fester and explode like a bad zit (or a bad metaphor, lol!).

So it is April Fool's and I am at school and I am bracing for the torture, when our lovely athletic trainer comes wandering in.

Mrs. B: Hello, lovely athletic trainer!

Miss Lovely: Mrs. B, I need ALL of your students ALL day to come to the gym and take the Presidential Fitness test.

Mrs. B: What? You want to take ALL my students and make them run and do push ups?

Miss Lovely: Yes.

Mrs. B: Is this an April Fool's joke?

Miss Lovely: Nope. I will take them to the gym and make them run.

It was about this time that I heard the angels singing. So here I sit, nice and peaceful on an April Fool's Day. I have seen a few pranks here and there, but they mainly consisted of boys pointing another boy's shirt and then poking him in the nose.

I hope your April Fool's is peaceful as well!!

10 Things from Today

I spent the day with many, many high school students as they competed in academic competitions and I thought I would jot down some of my observations . . .

1. 99.8% of the students had cell phones
2. 99.6% of them had an ipod/mp3/music listening device (some of them use phones for this as well.)
3. Girls like boys who wear sweaters (according to several of the girls)
4. Students are interested in Kindles, but haven't had a chance to play. When I let them play and try, they asked to borrow it.
5. Just what all do they have in those gigantic bags?
6. They still say "Dude"--I think I heard more girls than boys use this.
7. Students like to win--even if it is in a classroom taking a test or performing poetry. They want to win. Bad.
8. Students don't like to lose. I saw tears, pouting, sulking, hugging, desperation, and dignity in spite of the loss.
9. I saw lots of high school coffee drinkers (I didn't have any "cofee-drinker friends in high school), but they don't eat breakfast.
10. I heard some girls singing Cyndi Lauper. I couldn't resist telling them about going to buy my first cassette tape ever--it was Cyndi Lauper.

New Moon on a Snowy Night

12:34 am on Saturday, March 20, 2010. A copy for me and a copy for my sister. And it is snowing outside. It's crazy, I know, but a little fun, too.

For the kiddos

The kitchen "re-do" is still in full force although I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The kids are loving this project, because we are eating out a lot, they get to eat on tv trays, and the cookies are within easy reach because the cabinet doors are gone. On our way to get lunch today, Little Miss A was demanding her favorite song, so I dug out my ipod and let it roar--"I've Got a Feeling" by The Black-Eyed Peas. This is not my favorite song, and it got me thinking about the things we do for our kids. So here is a list of some things that I do because I love my kids.

Listen to "I've Got a Feeling" over, and over, and over, and over . . .
Eat at McDonald's
Buy vehicles with DVD players
Cook/Bake healthy meals, and then make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Provide ketchup with every meal
Read the same book over and over and over (this one is not bad at all . . .)
Sit through episodes of Spongebob and iCarly
Spend hours looking for a lego man that may or may not have been dropped in the backyard
Write the Toy Story 3 release date on the calendar
Visit public restrooms

Just a little thinking out loud. Spongebob is almost over and the lego man still hasn't been found, so I had better go!