Steps forward, steps back, doing the shuffle;-)

Hello out there. I haven't fallen off the planet. I know several of you blog too, so you'll understand the fall off the wagon thing;-)

I went to a writer's conference this past weekend. We got feedback both from the speaker, who is a published author in young adult - best selling author I should add - as well as a writing teacher from a nearby college. The feedback to me would be generously termed "lukewarm". They definitely found a lot of problems and issues that need work, so will be plugging onward there.

The retreat was held at a Catholic retreat center, so bare bones accommodations, but it was nice to just focus solely on writing for two days and also meet so many other local writers, both published and hopefuls like me.

Greg and I worked out another budget today, which I was really happy about. Our focus on FI has really taken a backseat to the idea for the company first, then for my writing. I dislike the feeling that we're not keeping a tight eye on things, working with a specific plan, so today's work to have specific numbers in each category was a relief.

We are having some "handymen" jobs being done and for some odd reason, that sort of thing always stresses me out. They found five of the posts to the porch completely rotted, the new storm door didn't fit properly, and when they went to shut off the main water to fix a house filter, they turned the wrong knob (ancient one in 30 year old house probably never turned on before) and it's started a slow drip so I probably need to call in a plumber. Wow, reading that sounds so petty considering all the true troubles in the world.

To turn toward the positive, I have set a goal to do two items focused on FI each day, starting today, and to get in a minimum of 20 hours a week on the book. The kids are doing great. Kirk's teacher told me he is now several grades ahead in both reading and math, so all those mini-lessons we do each night must be paying off. Both kids are spending a few days with their grandparents at the farm as it's spring break and I think they are all enjoying it-with a few "moments" thrown in of brothers' fighting, having to bring them to an eye appointment that went late and the impossible task of keeping a 3 and 7 year old entertained in an optometrists office for almost an hour. My mother in law is awesome, awesome, awesome, and always manages all this with great grace.

Good wishes!

More Happy News!

I was accepted to an intensive one-week writing course this summer. My wonderful mother-in-law graciously said she'd love to have the kids visit that week. I had to be okayed by three different instructors, so that was a feeling of accomplishment. Good wishes to each of you on your own journeys. Those baby steps add up over time! Right now I'm working through the "Writing the Breakout Novel workbook" and finding it extremely helpful.

A step forward!

I was so happy to get some really positive feedback from a writing instructor here at the University. She said the last few chapters were 95 percent publishable! That was music to my ears, now just need to up it that last five percent. I'll be going to a writer's retreat weekend toward the end of the month and hopefully there will be enough help there to get that boost. I'm walking on air! Good wishes.

Putting those left-over Panera cups to good frugal use - winter sowing. Happy thoughts of spring.

Good wishes! Eileen

Kirk turns 7!

Kirk enjoying his "birthday breakfast waffle" this morning. He's got to be the sweetest kid on the planet. He enjoyed an unexpected day home yesterday as the teachers had a walk-out for union contract issues. He was very worried they'd be on strike for his birthday and he wouldn't get to bring in his treats;-).

Greg is in NY learning about licensing issues at a conference. We're quite far from anything like that, but he wanted to get the lay of the land so to speak. Sometimes it all seems so impossibly hard and far away, but step by step I keep reminding myself.

I am applying for a one week summer writing course here in Madison that I've heard great things about. You submit 20 pages of the novel and a one page summary and have to get okayed by three professors, so wish me luck.

Happy days all around.

Scary sugar stats

I went to a "tame your sweet tooth" seminar at the local school and it was an eye opener. First, she showed us teaspoonful by teaspoonful, how much sugar was in a 20 ounce Pepsi (one of my favorites) and YIKES!

Then she went through additional sugar facts. Here are a few excerpts from the handouts.
1. Sugar can suppress the immune system and destroy germ killing ability for up to five hours after ingesting (she didn't quote the amount here).

2. Sugar contributes to weight issues because when you have excess insulin in your blood, cells can't release their fat into the bloodstream.

3. High insulin levels can decrease the body's ability to absorb nutrients from other foods.

4. Cravings for sugar are often caused by a lack of water.

5. If you chew your food 25 times per bite you will reduce your cravings for sugar because you will be releasing natural sugars in the healthier foods you eat.

6. Cinnamon is a blood sugar stabilizer and will lend a sweet flavor to your foods.

7. The chemicals in diet foods are just plain scary!

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

We welcomed superbowl sunday by making that wonderful vegan chili that Vermont Cottage blog posted - YUM!! Then made two other recipes from Fat Free Vegan website, so we are well stocked with vegan meals for the week. I saw the vegan challenge on Oprah and thought we'd try it for a week. Super healthy, super frugal food!

Kirk and Kai are back to swim lessons for the winter - not cheap, but a lifelong skill.

At church the first graders read the petitions at church today - Kirk was so proud. They are working on a donkey project, where they work to earn money to send to Ghana for women to use donkeys in the fields for planting. I have mixed feelings - certainly wanting to help the women, but the donkeys don't look really happy in the pictures. Then free donuts after church to celebrate the kids' good work. I go to a stop eating so much sugar $11 community class on Wednesday night - so this was my last big sugar kick - delicious. Only Greg was strong enough to abstain;-)

The King's Speech

Just got back from seeing this movie. Loved, loved, loved it. Definitely talks to the will of some special people to "do the right thing" and overcome adversity.

Blizzard Conditions - Welcome February;-)

We are under blizzard conditions with up to 12 inches expected over the next 24 hours or so. My neighbor and I braved it for our evening walk - and kind of enjoyed the other-worldliness of it all. Coming into my warm foyer, this picture of my grandpa as an infant made me think how tough our grandparents/great-grandparents were, toughing out these conditions without central heating or indoor plumbing!

A Frugal Day!

It was good to be home. The kids both stayed home; they had minor colds and we all missed each other, so it was a good bonding day.

I baked like a fiend. Kai and I made banana bread to use up all the frozen bananas that had started to get too ripe and two pumpkin breads to use up half a bag of walnuts. Then I made the "tightwad gazette quiche", which turned out awful - I over cooked it. I insisted the kids eat a bit if they wanted cake. Kirk took one big bite and threw up, I'm not kidding. Compliments to the chef....;-) The remaining pan was left out on the deck for the birds and squirrels.

Otherwise, we made conscious effort not to waste. I made salmon patties to use up half a jar of bread crumbs and we reused the bath water for Brandi's bath. I find when I'm not wasteful (even when it doesn't make a lot of difference financially) I just feel better about life.

Good wishes! Supposed to be a big snowstorm tomorrow, so we may have another stay at home day. Kids loved the light bright sets I'd gotten at a garage sale this summer and stashed for just a winter day like today. Kirk has been choosing to sleep in Kai's room lately and they call it a sleep over party.... Eileen

Take away lessons from conference.

Today was day one of the conference, and it was definitely inspiring to hear from some great authors/illustrators. My takeaway from the break out sessions with editors and agents was that your focus should be writing a great book. The gimmicks about marketing, query letters, contracts, etc. is far, far down the list. Numbers 1-10 should just be writing well.

I really enjoyed one of the key speakers, Jules Feiffer, both writer and illustrator (he did the pictures for Phantom Tollbooth). At 83, it is so clear how much joy he finds in his work, which he calls play. He said he goes into the process unafraid, in fact expecting, it may not work, but also knowing inside he'll make it work, even if it doesn't the first four or five times.

The other take away, oddly enough, is how nice it is to have less stuff to manage. I brought three dresses and a coat. I have no stuffed closets, no knickknacks, no crammed drawers of stuff to deal with - I can see the appeal of living simply for writers;-).

Good wishes to all. Tomorrow is day two, then I have a six o'clock evening flight back to Wisconsin.
Eileen

Hello from the Big Apple

Hello from the Big Apple. The International Children's Writers conference starts tomorrow and I am in three small group sessions in which I will be able to meet agents, editors and other writers, which I'm quite excited about.

The trip is not too terribly expensive. I bundled the airfare with a hotel (2 star), which saved a lot. And although the hotel is the most no frill of no frills, sort of like a youth hostel, it is only a short way from the convention, so I can walk. And there is a wonderful airport bus that for $5 (plus $3 tip) got me to within 1/2 block of my hotel - got to love public transport.

I stopped by the beautiful NY public library for awhile this afternoon to see an exhibit about Marie Curie that was really interesting (and free). Now I'm up in my room on the 28th floor and can see the McGraw/Hill headquarters so hopefully that is a good omen;-).

Best wishes. Eileen

Off to New York City tomorrow to the Int. Writer's Conference

I am excited and a bit nervous, a bit disappointed the whole thing is taking so long (I was there last year for the toy fair), but try to keep reminding myself all good things take time. Ironically, I was watching Oprah's Master Classes and Simon Cowell was on and he said patience was the key to success. He said he'd been interviewing someone for his company and said, "You start at the bottom, but in ten, fifteen years, you can really be making some money and know the industry." He said the young man looked at him like he was crazy - ten years!!! - didn't six months sound better;-). I can relate! Sometimes my blog is a reminder that I've been at this a long time with no real breakthroughs and that can be disheartening . . . and a good reminder that the journey is the key. Good wishes to all! Eileen

A Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy 2011. I turned 43 the past week and feel very blessed in my life. I'm excited about improving my writing and watching the kids grow and learn, trying to be more in the moment and more focused on the good in each moment. I went to a dinner last night with six other women, all trying to start businesses and realize there are many kindred spirits in the world. Happy journeying to all of us. Best wishes. Eileen

Some disappointments - some blessings

I submitted some of my story to a professional writer who teaches a class. She sent back very detailed feedback, but also was blunt in that the book is simply not ready to be sent out. It has a lot of challenges, both big and small. So I will still go to NY to "network", but I will not submit the book. On the plus side, I am staring anew with some very good directives like having a specific point of view for each chapter, to put more conflict within scenes to drive the story forward, to use dialogue more naturally (I have some long patches that border soliloquies) and to tighten up the motivations of the characters.

A blessing was someone calling who had found my i-phone on the street in front of the bookstore where I attended my first writers' critique group. I'm so happy to have my phone back! I'm not sure if the group is the best fit for me, but I appreciated their very supportive attitude.

So good wishes. Remember even two steps forward and one back is still a step forward;-). Good wishes. Eileen

28 Days to New York Writers' Conference!

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Henry Ford

Only 28 days till I fly to New York for the International Children's Writers and Illustrators conference! My intention is to find an agent and a publisher for the first of the six book series. Today I worked about four hours on the story (the kids are at the farm with the grandparents in Iowa) and redesigned my business card to hand out. Wishing each of us enormous luck and perseverance during the month of January on whatever journey we're on. Happy almost New Years;-).

Happy Christmas Eve 2010!

Happy Holidays! Feeling blessed for all the good in life and working to just be in the moment throughout the next few days. Wishing everyone joy and happiness. Eileen

Moments verses Milestones.....

It was a really nice weekend. Greg and I had date night on Saturday and enjoyed Social Network, about Facebook and its founders. Then today we snuggled in on a bitter WI winter day and never ventured outside, napping, playing board games and reading stories - along with probably too much t.v. watching for the kids.

Tonight Kirk and I read a picture book about JFK. I'd picked it up at a thrift store because Kirk loves to quote the line, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." It was an interesting story, and as we read it, he asked a lot of good questions, and I was thinking how knowledgeable he's getting about U.S. history. Later we were reading a story about feudal times and the adventures of Jeanne de Montfort during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France, which I didn't even know happened;-). As we read, I was again thinking how much further ahead Kirk is than I was at his age, that he's reaching certain milestones quite early.

This morning, I watched Kai trying to sound out the word cat and jet and was thinking within a year, he'll be reading too. What an exciting milestone that will be.

As I work on my books, I think about the January trip to NYC and the hopes of meeting an agent and think, what an exciting milestone that will be.

And so on. Then tonight I flipped my little motivational calendar to the next page and saw the quote "Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments. Rose Kennedy"

How timely a reminder! It is so ironic that we were just reading about her son - his life's milestones wrapped up in about twenty pages. Also ironic that I was thinking earlier today how fun it would be if I could be 25 again, with my whole life stretched out in front of me, and still feel uber young and full of possibilities, but somehow know I'd marry Greg and we'd have these wonderful kids. I found myself thinking how much less angst I would have had, and how much I would have enjoyed my twenties. But life doesn't work that way. The season of contentment doesn't tend to come in one's twenties along with that smooth skin and flat stomach;-)...

And the milestones are pretty few and far between. Should I get an agent, I would be over the moon and we would toast the evening and celebrate. But even assuming a five hour celebration with friends - itself a long party when we don't tend to be the party type, that celebration of the milestone, would be the culmination of probably 400 hours of writing. So surely, "life" was more a matter of those moments typing away at my laptop at Panera and not the short milestone of the accomplishment.

It's not a new idea, but enjoying the journey is a lesson I seem to need to keep reminding myself of. And with the kids, I need to remember not to be always looking for the next milestone - Kirk's front teeth to grow in, his Christmas play at church, Kai learning to read or turning four. Instead I want to enjoy all the minutes in between, which wiggle out of my grasp and dissipate into the air if I'm not present and watching and aware (thank you Eckhart Tolle for lots of good advice on this).


So that is a rather long winded way of saying, "seize the journey" and not just the milestones along the way since the time you spend traveling along the road is a lot longer than the exciting moment of arrival at your destination;-). Good wishes to each of you on your journeys.

Phones and friends and family....

In an effort to live more in a state of gratitude, I've been trying to be more conscious of all the things I'm grateful for. Tonight I had a lovely long chat with a friend in San Diego and earlier in the week a good talk with another dear friend in Santa Fe. In between, I try to call my mom in IL every few days to update her on Christmas shopping or little stories about the kids that I know she'll enjoy. I think how lucky we are to be able to "reach out and touch someone" with such ease. The minute something happens I can feel connected to the people I care about most, even hundreds of miles away, something that throughout history wouldn't have been possible. So thanks Alexander Graham Bell and even Charter Communications;-).

Bloody feet and waterproof boots....

It has been bitterly cold here in Wisconsin, so much so that I don't even do my nightly walk with my neighbor and our dogs. I've been reading up quite a bit on the Battle of Trenton, otherwise known as the crossing of the Delaware, and reading about how many of those soldiers went on that long night march with no shoes and just wrapped rags around their feet. Imagine if you will, marching through snow, in a bitter storm, with no waterproof boots, with your feet cracked and bleeding, and of course, your life on the line. I don't think we can really ever completely appreciate the sacrifices that built the country we live in. So signing off with lots of appreciation for current warmth and past dedications. Puts "bad traffic" and "bad roads" in perspective...

Character building;-)

I'm really enjoying the learning process involved in writing. My work today was to further develop my characters - with help from writing exercises. A Google search revealed 45 questions I should be able to answer about my characters - type of clothing they wear - cherished items in their rooms - music they prefer. It's really reaching to create someone from scratch - but then it's all about building character - for both the book and the authoress;-). Good wishes.

Painting the pictures of our lives....brush stroke by brush stroke....

Oh the metaphors just flow when I'm in my writing mode;-). I spent four hours today on the story and it was a good day's work. Afterward, I treated myself to a thrift store outing (I decided to give up that goal of not shopping till January 1 - noble, but life is short and thrift stores really do bring enormous fun to me - whether the fun of a new blouse for $2 or a great Newberry award winning kids' book for 50 cents that I can take apart and highlight the heck out of for tips on good writing). Today I found a lovely painting for $6. The colors and subject matter made me smile. On my bucket list is to someday do my own original paintings of flowers - to bring my summer garden hobby year round and even richer.

I am making good progress on my paint by number (2 hours during Kai's nap on Sunday) and it occurred to me that painting this picture, and watching it evolve bit by bit, is sort of like this new life I am creating - and it's fun to watch it take shape and see how much even a bit of time can move things forward. So here's to hoping each of us works to paint a lovely painting, stroke, by stroke, of our own best life (as Oprah would say).

Believe in yourself.

Today was a fun stay in and avoid the 6 inches of snow outside kind of Sunday. I worked on only thinking about the positive all day and when I felt myself slipping, would instantly remind myself "Think of 10 things I love" or "Think of 10 things I am grateful for" and it worked quite well.

Attached is a video clip from Tracy Porter's website. She is also based in WI and has grown a successful business of gorgeous home products and now clothing too. If you get a chance to watch the video, it's inspiring. She repeats more than once that you just have to choose to believe in yourself, a message for all of us most of the time;-).

For some reason the link won't show. You can go to www.tracyporter.com and see video of their interview.
Good wishes! Eileen

Life is a highway....

Yesterday I had breakfast with what I call my CEO club - two other women also starting companies with high hopes and nascent business skills. Ironically, the one most worried is the only one with actual sales for her product - not enough to break even yet, but actual shipments going out and checks coming in. She is deathly afraid of failing, but the other woman and I kept reminding her over our tea, she'd already succeeded.

She had been a stay at home mom of three for 16 years, living on a shoestring budget and had a dream of creating a product to help children. Her husband said "Go for it, just don't spend any money," because times were tight. She used the university system here to design her idea a place called Fab Lab (open to all inventors). Her daughter spoke some Chinese so she placed the actual calls to factories using her daughter's basic vocabulary and found one to make her product. Then she waded through her own trademark registration, customs laws, etc.

I look at that and think she can't fail because she's already succeeded. She really is a different woman than she was when she started two years ago, more confident, more knowledgeable, more willing to take on risks. I have enormous, enormous respect for her.

She has told me she has many, many other business ideas and I am sure that even if this product doesn't have the market success she hopes for (and I actually think it will), another idea she develops will. She will be starting from a new, stronger position.

Even if she never chose to do another business, she still has the strength of character she gained from this endeavor. We go out of this world with no more of the outer trappings than we came into it with. But, hopefully, we depart with a spirit that has evolved to a higher self. My friend has traveled down the road of risk and challenge and hardship and persevered, so she has evolved in this lifetime and become more of the woman she wants to be. Surely that defines success!

I share that story because I see so few women who realize how amazing and successful they are. Any time you are trying to become a better you, whether by learning to meditate, trying to laugh more each day, reading a self-help book or taking a class, you are going further down the highway of the journey of self-development, you are evolving and thus you are succeeding. Good wishes! Happy December.

Edit is finally here! A big step!

Tonight the editor emailed the revised clean copy along with the bloodied one to show his revisions. This is so exciting! He says it's in good enough shape to send out and cautioned me against too many changes (I have 20 pages of changes based on additional research that I've been working on while I was awaiting his comments). He also cautioned me against adding too much historic detail which he thinks will drag down the story, but the pages I want to add have a lot of the battle included, which Kirk thought was really interesting, so I guess I'll have to make a final call on that. But still, all in all, I'm excited to meet this milestone! Happy evening to all. Eileen
p.s. Should any of you be working on something similar, a professional edit cost $300.

The Battle for My Mind;-).

I had a tough day Monday, learning that the second IVF cycle had failed. The day before I learned the editor who is doing the line edit had taken on another project, putting mine on hold. During this time, I have been listening to The Power by Rhonda Bryne, author of The Secret. In her book, she stresses again and again that your thoughts determine your world. And I absolutely believe that.

What can be disconcerting then, is how often I find negative thoughts streaming through my mind. I have started my flower painting (paint by number kit) which I love. It allows me to be completely still and focused. And yet at that time in particular, I hear fear thoughts come streaming through (what if the baby dream never works out) irritation thoughts (I can't believe that neighbor keeps letting her dog bark) sadness (mom looked quite a bit older the last time I saw her and I wish she would take better care of herself).

I myself am shocked at how much negative energy/ideas there are floating around in my head, when I generally think of myself as a positive person. What is all that muck? Why am I not sitting with my paintbrush in hand thinking how lucky I am to be married to a man who not only loves me and the kids, but has a kind heart, is a phenomenal provider and thinks I'm quite pretty. Why am I not overwhelmed at how lucky I am to have two healthy, smart, funny boys who love me and Greg and our families. Why don't I think more about how blessed I am to have wonderful parents, in-laws, financial stability, a new career start writing fiction, good health and to top it all off, happen to live in the free est country in the world?

In her book, The Power, Bryne suggests you train your mind, not unlike training your body, to focus on what you love, what you're grateful for, what makes you happy. I took out a new notepad a few days ago that I entitled Gratitude and Serendipity journal and am now making a nightly habit to remind myself of all the good I already have and to remind myself daily to appreciate all this wealth.

If any of you have little tricks that help you come out of the dole drums and focus on the awesomeness of life, I'd love to hear them. Good wishes! Eileen

Science Fairs and dirty dishes;-)

Kirk was really proud of his science fair experiment today - tornado in a jar. All the kids got medals and it was a good experience all around. I'm absolutely sure the time that was spent on this was more important than cleaning the kitchen, but the result was a mess of dishes still waiting to be done at 10 p.m. I'm finding myself a bit stretched as time goes on and deciding that I'm just going to have to be okay with dirty dishes more often. Greg has been a trooper taking up some of the slack - he just offered to do the big weekly grocery shopping, but there is just not time for everything and I've decided to try and be okay with the house not like I'd like it to be. Well that or just a whole lot less stuff at the house. Kirk and I were just reading a little blurb about the Greeks tonight, and the closing paragraph was timely.
"The story of Greek life is the story of both moderation and simplicity. Our material possessions, such as houses, furniture, books, and cars take up a great deal of the owner's time and attention. They have to be polished, brushed, painted, mended, and guarded. The Greeks would probably feel that we are not so much the owners of property as the slaves to our possessions. The Greeks wanted to be free in both body and mind. So that they could keep their liberty and be truly free in spirit, they reduced their daily needs to the lowest possible point."

But what to toss? What is excess? Tonight we watched a video called Science Rock from Schoolhouse Rock, we played a game called Marketplace before dinner and did two puzzles after dinner. All these things, purchased from thrift stores, do add to our lives in education and enjoyment, but admittely, all those things take time to organize, sort, find lost pieces, etc. I don't have a really good criteria list for what to keep/what to toss. Any thoughts? Good wishes! Eileen

Making some progress on those November goals

...if you want something very badly, you can achieve it. It may take patience, very hard work, a real struggle, and a long time; but it can be done. That much faith is the prerequisite of any undertaking, artistic or otherwise. Margo Jones (1913-1955)

November goals are coming along quite well, and as silly perhaps as it sounds, the star chart is helping. I see it every time I go to the refrigerator and it reminds me both how much I've accomplished this month and what areas could use a bit of work in the ten or twenty odd minutes of free time before I need to head out the door or while I wait for the school bus to arrive. There's never any doubt how to focus my time in those bits and pieces.

The credit for the idea goes to the author of the Happiness Challenge - Gretchen Rubin. I posted about her book earlier. I LOVE it!!! It is a concrete way to live more happily and after my run-in with the crazy political guy, I think we all should do all we can to live each day in a happy frame of mind. The author is quite impressive too; she clerked for the Supreme Court and her research skills and analytical thinking are clearly evident throughout. It's both a thoughtful and thought provoking book.

I finally ordered a paint by number kit and have started painting my floral masterpiece, a goal I swear I've had five years but never got around to. But now it was on my November list and there was no way I was going to not get a star;-).

Hope all your dreams and hopes and plans are coming along well. Good wishes. Eileen
P.S. Should you be interested, the author also has a website http://www.happiness-project.com/

Got cussed out today - road rage goes political;-).

You can transcend all negativity when you realize that the only power it has over you is your belief in it. As you experience this truth about yourself you are set free. Eileen Caddy

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It was there all the time. Anna Freud (1895-1982)

I helped out at a friend's campaign today and held signs near a polling place - staying the legal distance away. A guy in a suit stopped his black BMW and his face mottled purple with rage, began ranting, "You're F#$(ing breaking the law." I assured him I was over 100 yards away, the legal limit. He then broke into, "I'm F*(#_ing calling the cops. And you're f#(&ing supporting an idiot." Lots of rage there. Other than thinking the guy might want to try some meditation exercises;-),
the experience really made me conscious of the sacrifices that people made during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960's and women's efforts to get the vote in the 1920's (and before). To be on the receiving end of all that hate, merely for holding a sign, was eye opening. I can't imagine doing a sit in at a lunch counter with rabid police dogs waiting on the street outside or speaking up for women's rights while an audience of men yelled derogatory remarks and threw things - those were some tough people and we owe them a lot!

On happier news, I kept my goals for writing three hours today. And I met a wonderful children's librarian who graciously told me about some of the ins and outs of good kids' books.

Happy election day to all - be glad we live where we can all express our viewpoints! Eileen

Happy Halloween 2010!

Happy Halloween 2010!! Greg is taking the kids around this year and I have some time to blog as we have only gotten three trick-or-treaters so far. One of the wonderful things about having a blog is it's a sort of journal as well and I was able to look back to this exact time last year and see how far I've come with hopes and dreams and also how I've "detoured" a few times;-).

I just finished posting my Nov. goals on the refrigerator along with our Nov. family good deeds chart so I'm hoping to check this next year, Oct. 31, 2011 and have made amazing progress in each goal area.

Today I signed up for an online dialogue writing course here at the University and also applied for an author mentor program also local, so I'm hoping to continue to learn and become a much better writer.

Good wishes to all of you! Kai was not in the mood for pictures tonight, so here's Kirk with his fiercest looking Jedi Knight pose. Eileen