Sparklecat's Alaska Home ... Oh, and Writing Too

Tripawed Adventures: Week Three

2012-01-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

So I believe it has been three weeks now since we brought Asuka home from having her front leg amputated. She's getting around much easier now: her walking is smoother, I just saw her come downstairs almost as fast as she goes up, and she's figuring things out.

There are still a few moments that wrench and warm my heart at the same time. She's eating less of the canned food and more of her usual dry food now, which means her little puking moments are back again. (Oy.) I've been giving her a couple of drops of the ES Clear every day on some canned food. For a while I was giving it to her twice a day, but she's less interested in the canned food now, so I've only been able to get her to eat it once a day. She seems lively and bright eyed, as I will explain more of soon.

I've watched her using the litter box. I assumed she'd probably never be able to cover up her stuff since she has to hold herself up with her only front paw, but she proved me wrong. She's figured out how to brace her back feet while leaning on the side of the box to scratch litter over her mess. She's still trying to use the missing leg though, which I admit is hard to watch.

Today, all my cats are impressing the heck out of me. Our shrew population in the house seems to be thriving, as my cats have caught three of them this morning alone! Daisy has caught two (one of them as I've been writing this post), and I believe Dusty caught the other one. I only think it was Dusty because he was down here hunting for one. But when I went upstairs, not only was he playing with it, but so was Asuka! Again, she braced herself with her back feet wide so she could reach out and bat the poor thing with her front paw. She picked it up in her mouth and tossed it into the air. I'm so proud of my kitties (though it just kills me when the poor little things aren't dead yet.)

All three cats are in hunting mode now. They are guarding certain places and sticking their paws in cracks and crevices. I have the most fantastic cats on the planet. :)

Tripawed Adventures: More Good Signs

2012-01-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

Bringing her out of hiding seems to have done Asuka a lot of good. Last night, I heard her eating from the dry cat food that is out for them all the time. Today, she actually jumped up onto the futon to sit in my lap, a movement so natural, it was like she had all four legs again. The motivation seemed to be the can of cat food and the spoon I had in my hands. ;)

And just moments ago she used the litter box, came out to the living room, and sat down to clean herself. I can see she's having issues figuring that out; she keeps trying to go the way her missing leg would have allowed her to go. Right now she's making a mess trying to clean litter off her feet. But I'm so proud that she's trying, that she's not just sitting depressed in a corner of the house.

I'm sure my Facebook friends are getting bored with my constant Tripawed Kitty posts, since I make several every day, but what can I say? I'm a proud kitty mama!

Tripawed Adventures: A Week After

2012-01-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

It has been a week since we brought Asuka home from the vet missing one of her front legs. Some things have improved a lot, some we're still working on.

For one thing, she still doesn't want to move around hardly at all. When she does, it's more like bunny hops. Which is a bit of an improvement over the heavy galumphing she did the first few days.

Also, she still prefers hiding. When I bring her out, though, she seems happier. She spent almost two days hiding behind the bed, where I had to do the earthworm wiggle to feed her. I finally decided last night that I'm going to bring her downstairs for every feeding. It's not an easy task when she hides back there (think long, skinny tunnel where I can't lift my head or my rear as I go along), but I think the results have definitely been worth it.

When I bring her down, she appreciates the warmth from the stove. Yesterday she even spent some time laying in front of it, toasting her tummy like she used to.

Her appetite seems pretty good, though I'm not sure how much water she's getting. When I see her, she's usually hiding. I don't know if she uses the litter box or drinks water when I'm not around to see it.

My ES Clear has been sent, so we'll be trying that as soon as it arrives, see if it helps her feel better.

Today when I brought her down in the afternoon, she was so comfy curled on the futon with a blanket partially covering her that I decided to leave her downstairs while I went to teach class. She was still there when I returned home. And she is still there now. Dusty spent some time laying next to her, and I even got some video of him licking her head. It's so hard to catch them doing that because Asuka usually doesn't tolerate it.

I called to move her appointment up a few days. I could have made the appointment for earlier before, since the practice is ten to fourteen days after surgery for checkup and staple removal. But I wasn't sure what my schedule was going to be, and I wanted to see how Asuka was feeling. I think perhaps the bandages are starting to hinder her, and maybe that's why she doesn't want to move too much. By the time the appointment rolls around, she will have been healing for twelve days after surgery, so I think she will improve more after everything is removed.

And then I'll have to figure out how to wean her from spoon feeding and tuna. She's definitely enjoying the combination of good food fed to her by her human servant. XD

Tripawed Adventures: It's Getting Better All the Time

2012-01-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

So I expected that we'd have issues with Asuka's food and water intake. Also, I learned she really hates to be force fed anything, especially her meds.

It wasn't until shortly after midnight, when we'd finished kissing the old year goodbye and ringing in the new year with sparkling cider and poppers, that I finally got her to eat something. I'd been reading different blogs and forums about what to do to get a cat to eat or drink, so I thought I'd try a few tricks.

I put a little clump of canned food (the A/D stuff the vet gave us) on her only front paw. After a few seconds, she licked it off. I did it again, with the same result. Finally, I offered her some canned food on a spoon and she started eating it off the spoon. Only about a teaspoonful by the time she turned her head away, but I was dancing around the living room because she ate!

She still refused water, no matter what I put it in: cat bowl, small plate, the syringe (she really hated that.) I tried dripping some on her mouth, on her paw. She simply didn't want it at all.

I read on some forum that tuna water was something to offer a cat refusing to drink, and that tuna was "kitty crack." Indeed, today this proved true. She gobbled tuna like a starving cat, and even drank the tuna water I offered.

The last hurdle remaining: the litter box.

After a couple of tuna water consumptions today, I decided to place Asuka near the litter box. At this point in time, she's still not walking much. Well, at all, really. She's been behind the bed for one entire day, and on the bed all last night and most of today. I figured with almost two days of meals in her, perhaps all she needed was a little help getting there.

Sure enough, as soon as I put her next to the litter box, she hauled herself into it and piddled. Then hauled herself out and hobbled to one of her hiding places. Never thought I'd be so happy to see a cat pee. >.<

So I thought maybe she'd want to hide for the rest of the night. So I went downstairs with my husband. He was on the computer while I was sitting in my "gamer chair" playing Saints Row.

And we heard a thump. There sat Asuka on the second highest step.

I held my breath as she tried the next step. She wanted to go straight down and skip a step, but I came over and patted the correct next step, which would be easier to reach. She landed heavily on it, then decided to take a rest. I petted her and debated on whether I should let her come the rest of the way down herself. She's still VERY wobbly.

So I went back to my chair and played my game until she moved again. When she skipped a step again, I almost leaped to my feet, expecting to grab her as she came tumbling down, but she managed to right herself. She came down a couple more and was almost all the way down, when the sound of Daisy in the bathroom scared her. She scrambled back up a step.

I came over, picked her up, and put her in hubby's lap. There she curled up, and they both fell asleep for a while.

Now she's sleeping on the futon next to me as I type this. :)

She's amazed me with her leaps forward in improvement. I'm going to give her another medication tonight, but with how lively she's becoming, I'm thinking she might not need anymore after this. He meds were only to last four days anyway, which is tomorrow.

I have a little fighter of a kitty. Warms my heart to see that she's not giving up. This was the best start to the new year I could have asked for.

Tripawed Adventures: The First 24 Hours

2011-12-31T14:23:00.000-08:00

Last night we picked Asuka up from the vet after the amputation of her left front leg. When the vet called us in, he held her in his arms. She was still dopey from the anesthesia. He set her on the table as he spoke, stroking her. I noticed she was disinclined to standing then, and huddled close to the countertop. She was wrapped all around with bandages and that stuff they wrap on your arms after giving blood. Hers is a bright, cheerful yellow. She didn't even seem to notice we were there until I got down and looked her in the face.

I noticed a small hint of recognition in her gaze. Her ears pricked slightly and she occasionally meowed through the conversation. The vet gave us some cans of food and a tube in case we needed to invite some food into her mouth if she wasn't eating. We also got four days worth of pain medication in little separate syringes. I can tell you right now she doesn't like the taste of the meds. :)

I ordered the ES Clear that evening. We'll get it in the next week or so, by the time she's off the drugs.

Asuka mewed all the way home, though only half as loud as she usually does when she's taking a car ride. (Boy, can she yell!) I held her in my arms rather than put her in her carrier. It was difficult to figure out the best way to hold her, since her missing leg made it easy to lay on that side, but it probably also hurt like hell.

When we got home, I was going to keep her downstairs on the futon, so I got a towel in case she had an accident. But she started moving around as soon as I laid her down, and I thought she might fall off the futon, so I moved her to the floor. I thought, having just come home and still being dopey from drugs, she'd probably sleep a while longer.

Leave it to Asuka to give me a heart attack right off the bat!

As soon as I moved away, she got up, hobbled to the bathroom, and took an immediate dump in the litter box there. technically, that's Daisy's litter box (she's our third kitty, just adopted her this year). Daisy doesn't get along with the others, particularly Asuka, so she has her food and litter in the bathroom while Asuka and Dusty have theirs upstairs in the loft.

Now let me explain a little about our cabin.

It is a little log cabin, about the square foot size of a small, two bedroom apartment. The bathroom doesn't really even have a door; it's one of those accordian, sliding things that doesn't latch. We also have a curtain hanging up for better privacy. When we want to isolate someone, the best we can do is put one of hubby's kettle bells in front of the part that hinges in the middle and hope the determined kitty doesn't still manage to shove through.

The "two bedrooms" are actually a loft. A set of special stairs had to be made in order to go up through the square hole in the floor which divides the loft into two halves. Really, though, it's a loft with a square hole in the floor. Because the ceiling is peaked in the middle, you have to bend over when you get to the top of the stairs to avoid hitting your head on the slanted ceiling. We had to get rid of the undercarriage of our bed because we couldn't get it all up there. We cut the legs off the headboard, and the mattress is on the floor.

Aaaaaand now about those stairs.

They're actually a series of alternating platforms made so the stairs could climb steeply without banging your knee on the edges. There's no back to the stairs, so the cats often sit on the stair backwards to see what's going on in the kitchen. Dusty, the fat one, goes down them one at a time: he turns sideways to face the next platform, hops down, turns the other way to face the next platform, hops down, etc. until he reaches the floor. Another way to describe the stairs is this: a big, slanted ladder that rests at the top of the hole in the floor of the loft.

Asuka usually races up and down those stairs. I figured I'd give her a few days of healing before letting her go up. i planned on keeping her in the bathroom while I was gone teaching the next day.

After Asuka used the litter, she took off like a shot and RAN up those stairs!

I thought I was going to pass out. For a few seconds, it was like nothing was wrong.

Once Asuka got up there, she found one of her many favorite hiding spots and stayed there. I brought her some of the canned food, which she ignored, but I expected that. I've been feeding her canned food lately because the last few weeks she seemed a little thinner than usual, probably because of the cancer. My husband and I left her up there because, obviously, that was where she wanted to be.

When we took a potty break from our movie, I discovered she had moved to bed. Her back legs were tucked under her like she crouched, but she kind of just let her face smash into the blanket. I checked to make sure she was okay, which she was. I imagine there's nothing that feels comfortable to her just now. Dusty lay nearby. Once he even came over and licked her head, a gesture Asuka usually does not appreciate too often. She seemed to like it now.

By the time we went to bed, she was behind the headboard in the little tunnel made by the slanting ceiling meeting the floor and the headboard itself. I petted her good night (I had to do the earthworm slither to reach her, then wriggle myself back out) and went to bed.

I thought she'd stay there all night, though she usually sleeps by my head or on my chest. Sure enough, about three hours later, she shoved herself through the space between the headboard and the wall and stretched out alongside my arm. I petted her and fell asleep to the sound of her purring.

This morning I offered her more food, even tried dabbing the tip of her nose with it, which she licked off, but she wasn't interested. I gave her one of the little syringes of meds. She does NOT like the taste of it. I imagine it's going to get harder to give it to her as we go.

Hubby said we should leave Asuka there as we were both leaving for a couple of hours. I agreed that we should let her be where she wanted to. After all, food and water and litter box were all up there for her to use, but I was worried she would try to come downstairs before she was ready to navigate them. So hubby rigged up the ironing board at the top. We figured with her wraps, she probably wouldn't try to slip through the rungs of the iron gate that surrounds the edges of the square hole, and the ironing board was short enough that we could step over it if needed.

I've been home for several hours now, and she's back in one of her cubbyholes. I've moved the ironing board because I want her to come downstairs whenever she's ready, as long as I can watch her do it until I'm positive she doesn't need help. She'll get another round of meds this evening. I'm going to try to offer more food in a bit. if she doesn't eat, I may try putting a little in her mouth with the feeding syringe the vet gave us just in case. And little water, too.

Anyway, that's how the first day has gone. I can't help but think that her leg is still there, somewhere under all those wraps, though I know it's not. In two weeks, we'll take her in to get the bandages removed and the staples out. I know then it will be made real even to my goofy brain.

As the healing progresses, I'll post more about her in this blog. But I'll also be starting up Write 1 Sub 1 Reloaded 2012 tomorrow as well. :)

Happy New Year to all, and blessings of health, wealth, and happiness to yours, mine, and ours! :)

Tripawed Adventures: Asuka's Life Before Amputation

2011-12-31T13:45:00.000-08:00

So I'm starting a little segment in my blog today, called "Tripawed Adventures." This began as a blog for moving to Alaska, and then morphed into a blog about my budding writing career this year. Now I want to add another part to it, as this is something that might help others going through similar problems.

I've had animals all my life. Mainly cats and dogs, but also birds, rats, and hamsters. While I love all animals, I admit cats are pretty close to my heart. I managed to turn my husband into a cat person as well. :)

I've probably mentioned this story on this blog before, but I'll repeat it here for background in case you're just joining me. Asuka is a small cat, a beautiful mixture of tabby and torti with white tummy, dainty white paws, and white chest. He eyes are the most gorgeous blue green on some days, golden green on others. She's not much of a player, and she doesn't always get along well with other animals, but I know she loves Dusty, our second cat, thought she spends most of the time smacking him away.

Asuka and Dusty both adopted us. One day my mother-in-law came up and asked me if I knew the cat sitting on the back porch railing. I looked out the window and saw this cute little kitty sitting there, facing away from me and staring off into the distance. I opened the door, expecting her to bolt. Her head snapped around and her limbs locked as though she were going to, but then she looked me in the eye and mewed.

I picked her up and carried her into the house. She sat on my lap for an hour. When we took her to the vet to be fixed, she was so small, the vet said she was probably about four months old. Now, she's around eight or nine years.

Asuka was a stand-offish kitty (at least with me) for the first few years. She'd sit in everyone else's lap but mine. but she loved being petted. When we moved out of the in-laws house and got our own apartment, she got friendlier. By the time we moved to Alaska, she took every opportunity to sit in my lap, and even started sleeping on me at night.

She's had a couple of issues. I discovered a lump in her neck at one point, I think the same year she adopted us. But it never grew, never bothered her, so we didn't worry about it.

Asuka also went through a period where she peed on the bed. Once she even peed on my husband while he was in bed. We have to keep a space blanket or tarp on the bed every day, because Dusty decided he wanted to do the same thing she was doing. It's been a while since they've done it, but you never know.

We refer to Asuka as the bulimic kitty as well. She would throw up several times a week, usually after eating. We feed them Purina One Urinary Tract Health dry cat food because of Dusty's mucus plug problem. But even when we changed foods for a while, she still threw up on a regular basis.

But she wasn't skinny, or malnourished, or listless. She's always been a healthy little girl who occasionally ran around the loft with Dusty hot on her tail.

A couple of months ago, the lump in her neck suddenly blew up. It got so big, you could see it under her fur without feeling for it. It seemed to spread out over her shoulder. So we decided it was time for the vet.

We don't take our animals to the vet unless there is a problem. I know there is much debate about this. I come from a family where our animals had jobs (like guard dog, mouse catcher) and we enjoyed their company.

My husband and I are a little different now. We've got a decent income, and no kids. I look at my pets as my four legged children. So when this lump got huge, I took her in.

After consulting with the vet, we decided instead of doing a biopsy, we would have him remove the whole lump if possible and send it in for testing. The theory was that even if it was benign, it had grown pretty quickly and hadn't stopped, so it might cause further problems later.

Asuka responded well to the surgery and came home with a trail of staples along her neck and shoulder. One thing I want to point out is that through this whole process, she never once behaved differently or like something was wrong with her. Like the vet said, "Other than this lump, she's the picture of health."

The day after Christmas, we got the news: Chondrosarcoma, cancer of the cartilage and bone. The vet told me straight up that Asuka's best chance for survival was to remove the affected leg. Because he'd removed the tumor, he was able to see how it progressed and how it seemed limited to the leg and shoulder, not the chest. He thought her chances were good with amputation, as long as we acted quickly. I went ahead and scheduled a new appointment in two days to do so.

I didn't want to just go with the Doc's opinion, of course. Having spent so many years in college, I needed to research it all myself. I read everything I could find on the subject of cats and cancer on the internet, particularly chondrosarcoma. The idea of removing Asuka's leg when she otherwise seemed so healthy felt outrageous to my mind. But as I read through the articles and research journals, I saw that this type of cancer often went without any other symptoms except some lameness (which she didn't have) and lumps (which she did.) When I asked the vet how long he thought she'd have if we didn't do anything, he sighed and said, "A few months."

The more I read, the more I understood the situation. Yes, it seemed drastic now, but if we waited until she started showing things more outwardly, it would probably be too late to stop the cancer from spreading. And while it wasn't a 100 percent guarantee that the cancer wouldn't come back, at least her chances of living a long and healthy life would be better.

I also read about a product called ES Clear, a supportive supplement for cats with cancer, recommended to me by a good friend who swears by a dog supplement of the company's. I showed it to the vet, who had not heard of it, warned me about how some products come out, get a bunch of money, and then disappear because they weren't really any good. But he also said that some are worth their salt, like one called Rescue Remedy (I think). He looked at the ingredients and said he's prescribed some types of herbs to animals for certain problems, so while he couldn't really say anything about this one, it could be worth a try.

I'll write more on ES Clear when we get it and start using it.

Anyway, that's the general background of our history with Asuka, leading up to her diagnosis of Chondrosarcoma and our foray into the world of the Tripawed. I'll continue in the next post about her first 24 hours after surgery.

End of the Year Summation

2011-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

Holy cow and Mother Ewe. I was just going through my spreadsheet for 2011 Write 1 Sub 1. Here's the breakdown:
33 stories and 1 novel written
12 acceptances
11 publications and 1 cancelation
2 second place contest winners
2 Honorable Mentions in contests
Approximately 35% acceptance rate for the year.

I'm agog. And addicted. I can't wait to start the New Year, Write 1 Sub 1 Reloaded 2012!

Bonded By Blood IV: Scarlet Sunset Now Available!

2011-12-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

This past year I've had five stories published online by SNM Horror Magazine. The first two won second place. "Bonded By Blood IV: Scarlet Sunset" is the print anthology for SNM's 2011 work, and contains my first of their published stories, "Cursed By Duty." If you have someone you love that loves dark horror, this might be an excellent Christmas present! If you order before December 15th, it should arrive in time.

http://www.amazon.com/Bonded-Blood-IV-Scarlet-Sunset/dp/1468034030/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323568169&sr=1-1

My Third Winning of Nanowrimo!

2011-11-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

Since 2005, I have won Nanowrimo three times. What makes this one really special is that I won a day early in a month where I had less time to write than the other two years that I won.

I think I can definitely say that doing Write 1 Sub 1 has helped me in this endeavor.

And so, as is the right of an official winner of Nanowrimo, I will now display my winning swag here on my blog. I may even get myself a winner t-shirt this year, too!

Congratulations to all the Nanowrimo winners, and to all the people who had the guts to give it a try. I wish you many more happy years spent lost in writing madness. One of my favorite places in the world. :)

I Am a Writer!

2011-11-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of people who do this whole crazy writing thing often think of themselves in terms of their day job when describing themselves. Myself, for example: I am a fitness instructor. That's my day job, the job that brings in the regular money.

"Writer" was always kind of secondary to my day job. Something I dabbled in on occasion, discussed with other writerly friends, and so on. I enjoyed it, but it was something just for fun.

Write 1 Sub 1 changed that. And subsequently, it has changed how I approached Nanowrimo this year.

I've been doing Nanowrimo since 2005. Each time (well, most times) I had a great story idea that I was excited to write, with every intention of finishing the story at some point in time, regardless of whether I won Nanowrimo or not.

Each one of those is sitting on a file on my computer, still unfinished.

With my participation in Write 1 Sub 1, I tackled a form that I'd never done beyond school assignments: the short story. And in following the format of the program, I've submitted most of my stories and had a total of twelve acceptances this year. (One story has been released back to me as the anthology was canceled, but it still was an acceptance.) So far, five of my stories are out in print form, one is an ebook, and the other five are part of a monthly online magazine. One of those will be in print form soon as well.

I received one of my contributor copies of an anthology in the mail last week. It was my second sold story of the year, with no payment other than the print copy. The biggest payment I received for a story of mine was $50. (But really, who's keeping track, right?)

But it wasn't until today that I suddenly realized how writing is taking precedence in my life.

I got a great idea for a story just before November. Didn't get much of a chance to work it out beforehand like I do with each of my short stories. I like to have a general guide for my story as I write, so I avoid rambling. So I started out with just a vague outline of the story from beginning to end.

My writing seems even more horrible than usual this Nano. I'm so intent on just filling the page with words, and this no longer seems functional to me. My characters seem flat, and most of the deliciously horrific elements I planned are simply not coming out as I pile on the words. I'm pretty sure that if I do decide to go on with this story after Nano, I will be chucking this one and starting all over again anyway.

But here's where the big realization hit me today: I've had a serious migraine developing since last night. I get those awful ones with huge pain, light sensitivity, and motion sickness. I can't move, I can't read, I can't watch TV, nothing. It all hurts too much. Luckily I don't get these any more than once every couple of months or so. Today I was trying everything to get rid of it, my headache balm, tea, aspirin, sleep, turning all the lights off and closing the curtains. Nothing touched it. (Usually sleep works, but not this time.)

I'm still catching up in Nanowrimo's daily word count. Supposed to be at 46,666 words today and I'm not there yet. I didn't want to lose another day and have even more to make up the last two days.

So I turned on my computer and started writing. I turned the brightness of my computer screen all the way down (to the last level before it turns the screen off), and then I plunged right in.

Last year I would not have done this. Last year, I probably would have just slept all day, hoping it would go away, and possibly not finish the Nanowrimo goal of 50k by the end of the month.

I actually had no intention of actually finishing this year. I figured there were too many days I wasn't going to be able to write to finish in time.

And yet I'm right on target now to finish in time. I think I'll be finishing a day early even, since we have a meeting tomorrow.

I credit my experience with Write 1 Sub 1 with this ability to finish in less available time than I've had in previous years. I think it's because I've made the habit of sitting down most days and writing whole stories in one or two sittings. Then polishing them up and sending them out has gotten me over stressing over every single word, and rewriting a hundred times.

Though many would say publication is the line between being a writer and just writing for fun, I think the fact that I was willing and wanting to write despite one of my nasty migraines says it even more.

I am a writer!

Happy 11-11-11!

2011-11-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

As I write this, I'm sitting at the Mat Su College with a bunch of other crazies doing 11 k on 11-11-11! They're meeting for twelve hours, from 11 am to 11 pm. Wow. I hope someone is able to cross the 11 k line today. I already know I won't be able to, but at the very least I want to catch up to the daily word count today. I've got another thousand to go. So far I've written 2,418.

As I go through Nanowrimo this month, I've noticed that I'm looking at it very differently after almost a year of doing Write 1 Sub 1. I now see the benefits and downfalls of doing Nanowrimo when it comes to my own personal writing. I get into a habit of writing a lot as often as I can. I have things like Nanowrimo Word Sprints on Twitter, and writing meetings that actually have writing happening at them. (The meetings have a tendency to be more social rather than writing, heeheehee.)

But I will say the quality of my writing drops quite a bit. Since it's more about quantity instead of quality, I write things that I normally wouldn't write. I push things along so fast to keep up with the word count, I have a tendency to lose control of where things are going, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Sure, I might stumble upon something good, but I don't really write well that way.

I think I've grown quite a bit while doing short stories for Write 1 Sub 1, and working under deadlines that are a lot shorter than a month. My style has changed. I no longer have the issue of actually sitting down and writing. Nanowrimo served it's purpose for me by getting me to actually write. I don't really have that problem anymore, so now I do it to explore ideas, to hang with my friends, and eat lots of candy. :)

Honestly, I don't see myself using anything I'm writing in this Nanowrimo novel. It needs such a complete overhaul. But I love what I'm learning as I go.

Happy Veterans Day. I appreciate our service men and women and the sacrifices they make in the name of our freedom. Blessings to you all.

SNM Horror Mag's November Nosferatu issue!

2011-10-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

My little vampire tale, "Biter Boy," is now live on SNM Horror Magazine's website for their November issue: Vampires! Link is posted on the sidebar with the other past issues. They had some problems the last couple of weeks with censorship, so this issue was a bit on the rushed side. But it's good to see them back up and running! I hope you enjoy my story, and the other horrific tales as well.

Happy Halloween!

First snow of 2011!

2011-10-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Wasn't expecting snow this morning when I woke up. The last weather report I saw said it was going to be mostly clear and cold this week. I should stop looking at Alaska weather reports. Alaska is too big for them to be right.

It wasn't very much, just a dusting. Enough to cover the ground and the cars with the grass still peeking through. I'm going to have to learn to drive the Jeep in the snow. I hope it won't be a harsh lesson.

I've stacked all the movies I consider to be my Halloween favorites on the table. Today I'm watching "Bram Stoker's Dracula." I remember how this movie was the epitome of cool and pushing the envelope, but now it seems so simple. And much as I love Keanu Reeves, his acting in this movie was absolutely wretched. Like a block of wood. But I adore the costumes and the old school effects.

To add to my Halloween happiness, my little vampire tale has been accepted by SNM Horror Mag for their November issue. This brings my total of acceptances this year to twelve. My writing has slowed down considerably these last two months. I've mostly been doing the Light Ray version, one story and one submission a month, but I continue to march onward. I've decided to write a novel for Nanowrimo (a horror novel, surprise, surprise), which means I might not get any short stories written for the next month. Ah, well. As long as writing continues, the rest will happen as it may.

I've been extremely tired of late, probably due to the extra classes I've been teaching, and all the practices of new routines. I need to do a video of my kickboxing class soon, which is slightly freaky, though I've done these video things three times before. The numbers in that class stayed above fifteen until this week, when they suddenly dropped to around five or six. I heard it was parent-teacher conference week, so that may have something to do with it.

Today seems like a good day to curl up by the heater and watch movies. I better get to it. :)

"America the Horrific" available now!

2011-10-19T11:18:00.001-07:00

My story "Iliamna" has been published in Bards and Sages' "America the Horrific" anthology. The story is set in Alaska, and is based on a legend of the Iliamna Lake Monster. I have posted the links to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and the Bards and Sages website in the sidebar.

These are horror tales based on legends all over the United States. I am so pleased to be a part of this collection. I hope you enjoy it!

Romance Writing and Light Ray

2011-10-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

As you may already know, Breathless Press published my short story, "Bordello Secrets" a few months ago, and I have been posting the links to various reviews of it. Just added another one from "I <3 Bookie Nookie" on Goodreads. (The same review has appeared on a couple of other romance review websites as well.) I am very grateful to the reviewer for the posting.

One common theme I've seen when it comes to opinions of this story is that it readers would have liked to read more of it. This delights me because it makes me feel like I might actually be doing something good and worthwhile here. It's so easy to forget that when you're sitting at your writing desk and tearing your hair out because you think you've just written great amounts of slop.

Which puts me in the frame of mind to attempt a historical romance for Nanowrimo this year.

As usual, my trouble is coming up with a story idea that I'm excited to write about.

I'm struggling to keep up with Write 1 Sub 1. I've noticed since August that I've mostly been doing the Light Ray version, one story and submission per month, though sometimes more if I can manage. I'm not entirely sure what's gone wrong with me lately, except that I am physically exhausted, and my time keeps getting sucked away somehow. I need to pinpoint exactly where the time is going so I can turn the vacuum off. (I have the feeling Diner Dash will be the first to go ... )

I know Nanowrimo is going to be a tough go this year. I will really only be writing two weeks out of the four. But for me, this year is mostly going to be about hanging with my writerly friends as the snow flies outside, drinking hot chocolate and battling each other in word wars. And I hope I will have something decent to work with after the month is over.

While falling behind on the weekly Write 1 Sub 1 is a tad disappointing, the process has shown me many things about myself and my abilities. So even if I must admit to changing to Light Ray version these last few months (having not admitted it to myself previously), every moment of the year participating in the program has been priceless. It was the exact kick I needed to start the process from "wannabe" to "real" writer.

Time to search for a Nanowrimo idea. :)

More Reviews and a Very Windy Day

2011-10-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

Two more links to reviews of my erotic romance tale, "Bordello Secrets," are now posted in the link list to the right. I would like to thank Heather's Musings and TwoLips Reviews for taking the time to read and review my story. I greatly appreciate it.

In other news, the great winds of the Mat-Su Valley are back. I kept waking up during the night when major gusts made the house creak and groan. At least the dogs are getting used to the sound and didn't bark. But the wind blew one of the dog kennels off the porch and halfway across the front lawn. This is the kind of wind that sucks your breath away and suffocates you on occasion. Looking on the bright side, at least it isn't icy cold.

Yet.

The snow is creeping down the mountains, getting a little closer to us every day. The temps get no higher than the forties at my house, and dips to the mid-thirties at night. Not quite cold enough to snow, but getting there.

I'm sitting here at my computer trying to get back into the rhythm of writing. I'm wondering how I'm going to get through Nanowrimo this year when I can't seem to keep a consistent schedule. I have two new classes added to my list (that's seven hours, plus a karate class, in one week.) And I'm practicing new routines for this month as well. Group Power's new release is this Saturday, and even though I don't teach a class regularly, I'm subbing for someone that day. So I'm frantically making sure I learn these routines before I embarrass myself in public.

In other words, I'm physically drained most of the time. Makes it hard to concentrate for long.

I'm attempting to formulate a story with a vampire theme. The problem I'm having is that it seems a very tired, overdone genre. My research keeps turning up the same old information, not lending itself to any new ideas. Everything I come up with has already been played out. The good side of this is that I'm clearly not the only one running into this issue. Hollywood seems obsessed with remaking 80s movies. The most original movie we've watched and actually enjoyed this year is "The Warrior's Way." I cringe when I think about "Footloose." I just hope they didn't ruin it.

Anyway, I'm also debating on what to tackle for Nanowrimo. I have a couple of ideas. One is a brand new idea my husband gave me, but I'm not sure I want to tackle a new idea in full length novel form when I'm also still pounding along with Write 1 Sub 1. Another idea: Pick a theme and write a series of short stories for it (how the heck do I pick a theme?!)

Also, I'm considering rewriting the first novel I ever wrote, and the only one I've completed and revised: "Sparkless." Why? Because the story is ten years old, and because I'm interested to see how differently it would turn out written in first person as opposed to third person omniscient. A lot of people seem to have a problem with third person when it's omniscient, I've noticed. I'm not entirely sure why, but it seems to have something to do with shifting points of view. I've known many writers who pull this off without a problem, but perhaps it's just not working for this particular story.

I became aware of this during last year's Nanowrimo. I wrote "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes" in third person, and it clearly was not working. It screamed to be written in first person. (I'm considering rewriting this one for Nanowrimo as well.)

I know for sure I don't type fast enough, nor have enough time to spend trying to accomplish Nanowrimo and Write 1 Sub 1 separately, so I think the only way I'll be able to pull it off is the short story collection route. I've never attempted anything like that before. (Well, this is my first year writing short stories, so I guess that makes sense, eh?)

Ah, well. Enough debate for now. Back to my vampire story.

My First Review!

2011-09-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

Just noticed on Twitter that a review of my adult romance tale, "Bordello Secrets," has been posted at BookingIt. Here's the link:

http://www.bookingit.net/?p=2732

I am very grateful for the review and the lovely things said about my story. I never imagined what my first review would be like (aside from the usual writers' nightmares, of course). All I can think to say is, "Thank you."

And now I'll sign off before I further embarrass myself. (My smile is starting to hurt my ears.)

New Releases, California Sunburns, and Jumping Back In

2011-08-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Let's begin with the latest releases of my work!At long last, Wicked East Press has released Twisted Fairy Tales V II! This was my third accepted story (I think.) It's been a while in the making, but I think the anthology will be well worth the wait. Also, my latest attempt at horror has been published at SNM Horror Mag for their September Silhouettes issue! It didn't place, but I was informed that I have tied with another gentleman for the most published authors on their website this year. Big happy grin from this girl.

The new links are posted in the sidebar. Keep an eye out for updates.

I just returned from a visit to my family and friends in California. It was exactly what I needed. A lot of hot sunshine, bad food (well, good food that's bad for you), and fun times with those I love. Five days wasn't long enough.

But it sure was long enough to make exercising torture again upon my return. It's going to take me a few days to get back to where I was. And my sitting bones are going to make me work for that. >.<

The hardest part about coming back from vacation is trying to catch up with all you missed at home, and getting back into the rhythm of routine. I have new routines to practice and a lot of emails to read.

I hope I can get back to writing soon. I miss it.

Drained

2011-08-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not writing vampire stories. When I say drained, I mean I'm seriously drained of all energy after a weekend of intense training for certification in yet another group fitness class. This one is kickboxing, and it was definitely the most intense out of the four I've done. But I've been begging for this training for at least two years (martial arts freak that I am), so I'm glad it's finally happening.

I can barely keep my eyelids propped open, but I wanted to mention that I got another story accepted! (And as I write this, I wonder if I've written this announcement already and am too brain fried to recall.) This one was a lesson in "Never Give Up Hope" and "It Ain't Over 'til the Fat Lady Swan Dives Into a Wine Glass."

Or something like that.

I wasn't sure if they had received my submission, so I waited the amount of time they have listed on their website, even though this was for an anthology and not their regular publication. Turns out they had not received it, and though it was past the deadline, they would accept a resubmission.

A few weeks went by and I heard nothing, so I gave it up for rejection. I figured they probably had all the stories they wanted for their anthology already and mine wasn't spectacular enough to warrant fudging in.

Boy, was I wrong! They emailed me a contract. I think i sat in shock with my hands over my gaping mouth for several minutes. Or hours.

This business of writing and submitting stories constantly surprises me. I love that. :)

The "Bordello Secrets" are out!

2011-08-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

My erotic romance tale, "Bordello Secrets" is up on the Breathless Press website! It's scheduled for official release on August 12, 2011, but you can pre-order if you're hot to get it now. The link is in the sidebar with links to my other publications. It is in ebook form only at this point. I'm not sure if Breathless Press does print form at all.

http://www.breathlesspress.org/Book/360

In other news, my husband and I rented a yurt to stay overnight at the Eagle River Nature Center in the Chugach State Park. It was a hike of about a mile and a half. The Rapids Camp Yurt sat overlooking the river, and had a shed for wood, an outhouse, a campfire ring, a deck, and a bear-proof storage locker for your food. The inside had a table and camp chairs, a wood stove, and a set of bunk beds. You can fit two to a bed, but I'll tell you right now it was an awfully snug fit. No room to stretch out. And the bunks are miserably hard!

We had a lot of fun hiking there and playing cards after eating our sandwiches and cookies. Bruno wore his pack full of the dog's water, travel bowls, food and cookies, so he actually behaved like a dog who was leash trained. I guess the extra weight made it hard for him to act up like he usually does! Uffda we let walk on her own since her hips aren't so fantastic, so it's better to let her go at her own pace. After a bit we knew we wouldn't be passing anyone else (it was getting late), and she always stays with us. It's cute how she'll stop and wait for me if I'm lagging behind.

The downside was the wind and rain. They were both rip-roaring that night. The yurt shook and rattled, and the dogs would bark every once in a while, waking us up. We didn't really get any sleep at all. And we had planned on taking the long way back around a loop we haven't hiked before. (It often gets closed because of bears fishing in the river.) But it was raining so hard and we were so tired in the morning, we took off and went straight for the Jeep.

It was a fun trip, even without the sleeping. I would definitely recommend it for families who like camping. It was $65 dollars for the night, and it included firewood. If you're staying one night, you can get in after 2 pm and check out is noon. Here is the website, if you'd like to check it out:

http://www.ernc.org/rapid-camp-yurt.html

"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" now available!

2011-07-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Pill Hill Press has released the anthology of horror clichés, "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night." My short story, "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes: Blondes on the Prowl" is in this one, so if you like to laugh, this is the one to get!

Kindle and Nook versions coming soon! I'll keep you posted.

http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-anthologies.html

August insanity awaits ...

2011-07-25T14:00:00.001-07:00

Next month is going to be crazy. I only hope I can keep up with writing at least somewhat.

What with our tenth anniversary, the last month of summer in Alaska, Group Kick training weekend, and a dozen other things, I wonder if there will be anything left of me by September. At least it's all wonderful stuff. :)

On the writing front, I'm still waiting to hear back about (pauses to count) ... one ... two ... three ... four ... five different stories.

Two are contest entries, and I'll hear about one on August 31st, and one on September 15th.

One is a writing prompt contest that got extended for an indefinite period of time. I'm debating on whether I need to send an inquiry about that one since I sent mine in a month ago and there's no telling when the contest will end.

One story I'm expecting to hear back from any day.

The last one I have no idea when I might hear back about. I sent an inquiry to the status of that one and was informed the piece had not been received. They allowed me to resend it and said they would get back to me soon.

Writers do not twiddle their thumbs while waiting. Their fingers dance over the keyboard, creating wonderful new stories -

Or they get caught up in the latest video game to cross their path. Heeheehee.

As for my Write 1 Sub 1 goals, I am depressingly behind in the number of stories I should have finished and subbed, at least a month's worth. But I still consider this experiment extremely successful as I've done more this year than I ever imagined I possibly could.

Yes, I am suddenly adverb happy. I spend so much time writing adverbs out, I figured I deserve a moment to relax my guard.

I just finished a new story today. Will polish it up tomorrow and send it off.

I'm going to go now before I start to sound like a broken record.

I'm tired ... tired of playing the game ...

2011-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mainly tired of exercise right now, hardy har har.

I'm teaching a lot of extra classes as a substitute for others, and practicing new routines. I'm finding it hard to concentrate when I sit down at home. I immediately start spacing out.

I've been dragging myself off the couch today just to try to accomplish things, like laundry. And putting together the push reel lawn mower. And trying it out on our monstrous lawn. (Tired out real quick, I'll tell you what.)

Searching for the motivation to write. I've got story ideas, so that's not my problem this time. I think the fact that it's summer in Alaska and I'm wiped out is making it real hard to focus.

In fact, I think my ability to focus has just run out again. Time for dinner.

SNM Horror Mag loves me!

2011-06-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

SNM Horror Mag is picking up my tale "Sister Witches" for their July Jealousies issue! This is my third story published with them, and my ninth accepted piece overall.

I finished up a story for a contest prompt that needs to be revised and sent out today.

I also need to wash dishes, practice exercise routines, and clean the house.

Guess I know what I'm going to do first! :)

A Girl Could Get Used to This ...

2011-06-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Got two emails in my box today, one a rejection and one an acceptance!

And I love them both equally. I'm wacky like that.

Library of the Living Dead Press is picking up my evil little tale, "All in the (Devil's) Family" for their "Hellology" anthology. It's one of my more adult tales (as in some sex and violence.) I'm sure it would shock my mother if she read it.

I also got to see the cover art for my romance tale that was picked up by Breathless Press a few months ago. There is no cure for this drooling problem I have developed the last few months, and I don't want a cure. The editing process of this tale has been pretty intense (in comparison to my other stories), but it has been worth every step. I may faint when I finally see it available on their website.

I'm enjoying this so much that I've been in a bit of a writing frenzy lately. Searching for other publishing sites to resubmit previous work, writing new stories with a queue of other story ideas waiting to be written, even pondering starting a website someday.

One thing bothers me; I wish I typed faster. I haven't worked on any of my novels this year because all my writing time is spent crafting new short stories. It feels like it takes me forever to write a thousand words. I have one finished novel and I would like to finish the other three that have been sitting around for a few years.

So the Pill Hill Press anthology "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" should be coming out either end of June or sometime in July. The Breathless Press story should be available in ebook form in August. Will be posting links as soon as I can.

Onward and upward!

"The Fine Art of Subtlety"

2011-06-06T20:58:00.001-07:00

Or "If It's Subtle, It Will Most Likely Go Over My Head."

I was reading the winning story for a contest. The story was printed in the website's newsletter followed by a printing of it with the editor's comments.

In many ways it was a great story, and I can see why it won the prize. But there was one thing that bothered me.

The editor raved about how wonderfully subtle the author was through the whole thing, so that you knew something was up with the MC, but you didn't know what it was until the end.

I enjoyed the story, but apparently I missed the punch line. I never figured out what was "wrong" with the MC. At least, not until the editor mentioned it at the end of her review. And then I had the lifted eyebrow accompanied with a confused "Huh?" sound. I read it again, trying to see where that "Ah-ha!" moment should have happened.

I simply didn't see it.

I guess this is a thorn in my side when it comes to writing because I am not a person who likes complications in stories. I don't mind being kept in suspense for a while, I don't mind not knowing who-dun-it until the end. But I do mind when the story is so convoluted with twists and subplots that I have a difficult time staying with the story until the end.

Why does it seem so bad nowadays to write a simple story that entertains you from beginning to end? I sometimes feel like I won't have the mental capacity to make it in this writing thing.

Another thing slightly related to this (well, perhaps not): It seems reviewers and readers complain when something isn't realistic enough. You have to practically be a doctor to write a story that involves hospitals. Or you have to have a degree in the sciences to write a space odyssey. Whatever happened to writing a story that may be impossible, but is entertaining nonetheless?

I read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series a few years ago and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. But if you think about it, most of the details sound like the author made it up on the fly without any sort of research into anything at all.

There are so many rules to writing, it can get frustrating trying to please everyone just to sell your work. You start to feel like you're trying to break into a very elite club with beefy bodyguards that rip your work to shreds and leave you sobbing on the sidewalk.

So coming back to the subtlety issue, how subtle is too subtle? I'll admit it: I'm probably more easily entertained then most people. I read reviews tearing into popular novels and deploring the horrible writing style of the author, and meanwhile I'm sitting there thinking, "I kind of liked it. Was it really that bad?"

Here's a great contradiction. I'm told in books on writing that novels need to be more detailed, more realistic because the public is so much better informed than it was decades ago. You have to research and research and research to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself. And yet when I get an accepted piece edited, they want to dumb down the language so readers will be able to understand it easier?

Not to sound like I'm touting myself, but I like to think I'm decently smart. My husband complains that his head hurts when I use big words. I read voraciously. I loved Nathaniel Hawthorne and Harper Lee in high school. But I don't want my life further complicated by what I read. I like simple, entertaining stories that take me away from the mundane world for a while. I like writing those kinds of stories, too.

I guess I'm just praying that there are still others out there like me, and that this writing journey of mine is not a lost cause.

Now I'm going to hug my cats and go back to reading "The Twentieth Wife."

Second Place Again! Happy Dance!

2011-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

One advantage to being in Alaska is if something is going to be posted at midnight Eastern time, I get to see it at 8 pm. Of course the flip side is that a deadline in Eastern time is four hours earlier for me.

Just saw the June Jinxes edition of SNM Horror Magazine is up and I got second place for the second month in a row! Woohoo! Link is posted in the side bar. Please enjoy the stories you read on there, and also please stop in and sign the guestbook so that the Overlord will be happy! My story will be in the anthology.

So now I'm wondering if third time really is the charm. :)

No Accounting for Taste

2011-05-27T00:51:00.001-07:00

I have discovered that if I hate my story, it's more likely to sell. >.<

I wrote a story to a theme submission that needed a word count less than five thousand. Where I was planning on going with it would have ended up three or four thousand words past the limit, so I stopped the story at what I thought was an odd place. Problem was, I discovered the deadline was in Eastern Standard Time and I'm in Alaska. I was pushing to get it in on time, so I rooted through the story real quick, cut some stuff to get it down to the five, and just skimmed it hoping to catch as many errors as possible. Then I sent it on its way.

I thought there was no chance of it getting accepted, that it was going to need some major overhaul. I thought the typos would be enough to turn any publisher off. (No matter how careful I proof, there are always some that get by. This particular story only received a cursory glance!)

I didn't receive the customary "we got your submission email," which they state should be received within forty-eight hours. So today, six days later, I sent an email asking for confirmation. I've gotten automatic response emails before where they hadn't received my submission, though. I thought it wouldn't hurt to double check.

I went karaoke-ing with friends this evening and didn't check my email again until late (it's midnight as I write this.) I got an email from the publisher that they accepted my story, despite all my misgivings and negative thoughts about it!

However, in this case I think I just got lucky. Perhaps this publisher isn't as picky as others, thinking that the story is important and all else can be fixed later. I would never suggest anyone send in anything the way that I did. Stories that have had time to settle a bit, that have had some polishing and reworking would do better in the long run, I'm sure.

I usually do one editing session for my short stories. This is to counteract my obsession with getting things absolutely right, which of course changes every time I read the story. Consequently, I would never submit anything ever. So I set this extreme limit for myself for a reason. If a story can't seem to find a home, then I will consider another rewrite.

Perhaps the universe felt I needed this little kick in the pants to continue the journey. I've been extremely lax and haven't kept up with the schedule for Write 1 Sub 1 very well. My spreadsheet shows me as still being in April as far as number of stories written and submitted this year. While it's not as important to me to get something written and submitted every week to the minute, I do want to have fifty-two stories and submissions by the end of the year. Why do I feel this way? Who knows? But that's my goal. I'm probably even going to skip Nanowrimo this year to reach it. (Or maybe I'll do a series of stories as though for my own personal anthology.) I'm sure I'll go through Nano withdrawals if I do, though.

Another thing that came out of this little experience. I ended the story a lot sooner than I'd planned. I didn't know how it was going to end. Would the MC get killed b the curse, or would the witch's spell to guard her work after all? But word count constraints made me end it a couple of scenes before then end. It was the scene that makes the MC seek out the witch to get the protection spell. She accepts that she's cursed.

I thought it was very odd ending it there. Not knowing what happens to her after that, whether the curse kills her or not. But then I realized after pondering it that it changed the meaning of what became the last sentence. Indeed, she was cursed, but not the one she thought. By changing the ending, I changed the tone of the story.

Seems to me that if a story's ending is not working for you, try ending it somewhere you don't expect. Then go back and read it later. Maybe it will suddenly make sense and seem like the right place to end after all.

This journey into the mad, mad writing world has amazed me every day. If you've ever thought about writing, join Nanowrimo or Write 1 Sub 1 or some other similar group. Lots of support from other crazy people doing the exact same thing. Love your rejections as well as your acceptances. I hope you find the journey amazing too.

Now I'm going to publish this post without really proofreading it. Because it's late, because I'm sleepy, and because I can. :)

How the West Was Wicked!

2011-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

"How the West Was Wicked," an anthology from Pill Hill Press with my second published short story, is now available for Nook, Kindle, and in print form on the Pill Hill Press website! I have the links posted in the sidebar to the right.

Happy dancing around my living room!

Happy Update + Star Wars Day!

2011-05-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Just got an offer of a contract for my little historical romance tale from Breathless Press! I'm extremely excited because this one is royalty based, and it's definitely a change from all the horror tales I've been writing lately.

My dry period is still going, but I have the feeling this will change soon. The hardest part for me is trying to find story ideas. And some dry periods are a lot longer than others. And some are video game induced.

I'm going to take a writerly buddy's advice and just take one of the ideas I don't like so much and write it anyway. Something good may come of it. And it's better to write something bad than not write at all.

This marks the first of my stories to come with requests for additional scenes. So that will also get my little digits typing again.

My second anthology from Pill Hill Press, "How the West Was Wicked," will be hitting Amazon and Barnes and Noble soon, too. Bound editions will follow shortly after. I'll post the links in the sidebar as soon as I have them.

I have not ordered copies of my first anthology yet because I thought I'd wait until this next one came out. Help save on shipping to Alaska.

My brain is working in short sound bytes today. Guess I better pack it in for now.

Happy Star Wars Day to all you stuck up, half witted, scruffy looking nerf herders! May the Fourth be with you!

Very Happy May Day!

2011-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

It's May 1st (in case you didn't already know) and the May issue at SNM Horror Magazine is out. My story was one selected for online publication.

And I got second place and a spot in their anthology! Woohoo!

You can read the story here: http://tiny.cc/16lds Just a reminder that it's not a website for kids.

In other news, I auditioned for "The X Factor" at the booth set up in Anchorage. For those of you who haven't heard about it, that's Simon Cowell's (American Idol) new show. I had two minutes to introduce myself and sing a song. The recording was then sent to the judges. They'll let me know by email if I make the callbacks. It's hard to sit still when I think about it. Thank goodness I have writing to occupy me. I sang "What Did I Have" from On a Clear Day because it's short and shows a bit of range and movement.

The scariest part about it was the fact that you get only one chance. You don't get to redo the video if you don't like it. You don't even get to see the finished product, which is probably just as well. I'd be analyzing myself over and over if I had access to it. Another scary part is that you sign a paper that says they can use it to make fun of you, too. So you really need the ability to laugh at yourself or you might get seriously crushed by the results.

I watched part of an episode of "The Voice" as well. I like that show better than any of the other talent search shows they've had the last few years. I went to their website where they have an audition tool. You pick a song from their very short list and have 30 seconds to record it. You can redo it as often as you want, and when you submit it you get a score. Anything over an eight has a chance of being viewed by the people looking for talent, but that's not a guarantee. They're closed for the current show of course, but the video can be included in future considerations.

I've been trying to record a song, but for some reason it's not working. It acts like it's recording, but I can't see the video (sometimes it only shows me a second or two), and when I submit it, the score is zero, which basically says there is no video. Very frustrating. They don't seem to have a help section and their FAQ section is very short and lacking. Ah, well.

Lots of fun stuff going on! Can't to see where this wacky journey takes me next. :)

I'm having a "Glee" moment ...

2011-04-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

Wasn't there a scene in the first season where Rachel in the musical TV show "Glee" was complaining how her success was coming too fast, and what happened to all the suffering you're supposed to go through before you make it?

All right, I know I haven't technically made it as far as the writing world is concerned. But this whole process is making me giddy as a girl at her first dance with her major crush. Another story of mine has been accepted, one of my horror tales. And I just got word that my romance tale got through the first round of selections and they had some nice things to say about it! I guess I'm just a little surprised that I've gotten this many acceptances this soon. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that. >Knocking on wood<

I made the mistake this last week of starting up "Fable III," a relatively new video game. I played the one before it and really enjoyed it, so of course I got hooked on this one right away. And that meant I wasn't spending any time writing. I would spend hours each day with my jaw hanging open and drooling like a zombie as i stared at the screen.

I prefer drooling over copies of anthologies with my stories in them, I have learned.

It's amazing how I felt during that time. It was like going through withdrawals from one drug while getting hooked on another. The good news is that I finished the game rather quickly and got it out of my system. Now I can go back to writing.

My fingers are getting itchy. Writing is the drug that relieves the itch. :)

I Got Paid!

2011-04-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Happy dance!

This whole writing thing wasn't quite touching down with me. I'd gotten four acceptances, but I hadn't seen much to make it real for me.

Now I've seen my first anthology on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Pill Hill Press's website. And even more evidence I'm a real writer: I got my first check in the mail! Not much, but it's just hard to wrap my brain around the idea that someone liked my writing enough to pay me for it!

Is it strange that I feel this great need to frame it instead of cashing it? I wonder if the bank will let me keep it after they process it.

I've discovered something interesting about myself lately. For someone who doesn't like horror movies (I will only see certain ones, and they can't have zombies in them), I've been writing a lot of horror tales. I just finished another one, set in the late 17th century. Maybe it's because I'm easily scared, so I write what scares me. Doesn't take much to freak me out.

You know, this blog started out as a chronicle of our adventures living in Alaska. Over time, it seems to have morphed into a writing blog. I thought about starting a separate blog for writing, but it is so much a part of my life now, I don't feel the need to complicate my life by trying to write two blogs!

I had a late night, and an early wake up call thanks to a cat fight and the smell of cat crap in the shower. Perhaps I should end now before I start babbling.

"Leather, Denim & Silver" on Kindle and in Print Form!

2011-04-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

My first published story in "Leather, Denim, & Silver: Legends of the Monster Hunter" is now available for Kindle on Amazon.com, and in print form at Pill Hill Press. The links are in the sidebar of this blog.

My writing buddies have been more valuable to me than gold and diamonds. Without their presence in my life, I would never have started this adventure. Many thanks and blessings to them.

First Anthology available on Nook!

2011-04-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

My first published story, appearing in "Leather, Denim & Silver: Legends of the Monster Hunter" from Pill Hill Press, is now available for Nook! The print version should be available next week, Kindle version should be available by Friday. I have the link to it in the sidebar of this blog. Please like it on Facebook, share the link to it, and enjoy reading all the wonderful stories within!

I'm so proud to be a part of such a fantastic project. It turned out a lot bigger than I thought previously and I can't wait to get my hands on it to read the other contributions.

And now, back to writing!

Is this weird?

2011-04-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

Is it weird that I love getting rejections almost as much as getting acceptances for my pieces? I just recently got a rejection from an online magazine. It was technically a form email, so I didn't even really get any information or tidbits of advice from it or anything. But it still made me happy.

I hope this never wears off.

I'm noticing today, after nearly a week of nonproductive writing (read that as in I didn't really write anything), that sometimes a story idea just needs some time to hibernate. Many of my story ideas come from dreams that I'm lucky enough to remember. This dream happened to be about a bordello in France at the turn of the century, like Moulin Rouge. I don't want to get into details that will make my mother cringe, so I think that's enough for now.

At first, I figured this idea was going to be something for publications of erotica. I've never written in that genre before, though I will admit I've done some racy scenes in a past Nanowrimo novel that were strictly for padding word count and later omitted. (Hey, that was a long time ago!)

But this story idea was definitely leaning in that direction. I guess I wasn't ready to write it because I left the file in my Scrivener folder for about a month.

A couple of days ago, having no other ideas to write, I finally brought up this file and began writing it. Just to have something to write.

And the idea has come out of hibernation as something very different and much more dramatic. It still has the potential of ending up an erotic tale, but right now it doesn't seem to be heading that direction. I am continually fascinated by the writing process.

In other news, I got an email from Pill Hill Press allowing me to see the proof of my first soon-to-be-published story. I got to see the whole anthology and what it's going to look like from cover to cover. I will admit to some drooling. I can't wait to get my hands on this thing. And I can't wait to see how the other two turn out. I am going to wait until I have the real thing in my hands before I read the other stories.

My attention span has been extremely short lately. I'm doing a lot of teaching and subbing, as well as practicing the new routines that start coming out this month. I'm getting that "always hungry" feeling again. Like right now, I'm still feeling full from a huge bowl of veggie noodle soup I made, and yet I want more. >Sigh< Guess I'm in calorie deficit again.

Oops, there's the phone. And after that, back to writing!

Another story accepted!

2011-03-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

So I followed a friend's advice about writing a short based on a novel I'd written for Nanowrimo in 2009. And the publishing company I submitted it to liked it and wants to include it in an anthology for stories that embrace the horror cliche, stories along the lines of "Shaun of Dead."

Well, mine was basically a blonde version of that, I guess you could say. It was a continuation of my original story. Kind of a sequel. Perhaps I can churn out a bunch of shorts with this character in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse.

And after submitting two more stories today, I'm already on the hunt for my next one. Taking on this Write 1 Sub 1 challenge has accomplished exactly what I wanted: writing is now part of my daily life.

I think I can now officially call myself a writer and author.

Write 1 Sub 1 meltdown

2011-03-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ever since my vacation, I've floundered keeping up with my weekly story writing and submissions. I'm down two stories and two submissions right now. The story I started writing during my vacation is finally finished, but I know I rushed the end just to get it done and out of my hair so I can move on. It will need a real mucking out before I consider submitting that one anywhere.

I've received a couple of rejections of stories that I have high hopes for. I know it's a matter of finding the right home, but I think it's hilarious that I got an Honorable Mention for a story I didn't like. I'm thinking my own opinion of my writing doesn't really matter a whole lot. Just the opinions of the people reading my stories.

I submitted my only completed novel to a contest. Won't be hearing the results until May, but wouldn't that be a fantastic birthday present! I believe the prize is editing and feedback for the novel and consideration for publication (as well as a bunch of the publishing company's books). Just getting some professional feedback would be wonderful.

And now I'm searching for another story idea. There's an anthology that's looking for cliche horror stories. Along the lines of Shaun of the Dead and all that. I was thinking my novel "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes" would be perfect if I did a short story version. But if the short story version gets published, will that cause problems for the full length version I plan on finishing some day?

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed again. Sooooo many things to consider, to keep track of, to write and rewrite.

I have more stories available to shop around now. So I've started using my Resubmissions checklist so I can keep track of those. I think the best thing to do right now is to ... is to write now. (Hyuck)

Off to find a new story idea!

New kitty!

2011-03-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have not adopted cats since we've been married; they've adopted us.

Before we married, I adopted four cats, three of which remain at my parents' home in California. They lived with us at my husband's parents' home until we moved out and got an apartment much too small for so many outdoor cats, so back to my parents' home they went. We lived closer to them, so I got to visit them whenever I wanted until we moved to Alaska.

While living with hubby's parents' we met many strays, bums who came to eat and sleep for a while before moving on. One wild cat hung around so long, he got used to humans and discovered he loved being petted. He'd crash his head into your hand so hard, like he never knew how wonderful it was to be petted before. We called him Snaggletooth because of the one tooth sticking out his mouth.

The two who adopted us permanently are with us here in Alaska. Asuka, the little girl, just appeared on the back porch one day. When I opened the door, she didn't run or hiss or anything. She just mewed at me, so I brought her in.

Dusty was crapping on the deck where I'd feed the cats, and we had no idea who was doing it. Until one day, when he jumped onto the deck with a thump while I was feeding. It was like he said, "Here I am! Feed me, love me!"

These two get along all right, except Asuka is a bit temperamental. She doesn't really want to play with Dusty, or cuddle with him, though occasionally she'll tolerate is attentions. So we discussed getting a third cat for Dusty.

We never really had to go out and adopt a cat because they seemed to be finding us just fine.

But here in Alaska, things are different. We've only seen two cats since we moved to our house almost two years ago. Both were clearly owned by someone else in the neighborhood. If we were serious about adopting another cat, we would have to go out and find one.

This past Sunday we went to PetZoo to pick up some dog food. That's all we went in there for, really. But we discovered they were having a big sale (they even had someone walking around in a dog suit handing out sample bags of Yummie Chummies). In the back, there were cages where Clear Creek Cat Rescue (I think that's their name) had some of their adoptable cats. Hubby said I can't go over there, and I said, "Over where?" because I hadn't noticed yet. So of course he led me over there himself. (I turned my hubby into a bigger cat freak than I am!)

We talked to the nice lady of CCCR about our home situation, the other animals we have, and what we were looking for. She introduced us to Daisy, this pretty little tortishell, mostly brown with orange flecks, who snuggled in our arms without any problems. The lady told us about how she loved to play and had lots of energy. She was estimated to be 11 months old, not a kitten, but not a full adult either. We decided to go on with our shopping and discuss it.

We'd just gone on to Fred Myer and all we could talk about was this sweet little kitty. When we were checking out, we decided to take her home, so hubby got $60 from the ATM and immediately walked over to PetZoo while I took the groceries to the car and drove back. He was worried she would be adopted before we got back.

Of course there have been problems since we brought her home. Asuka hates her, and Dusty seems bewildered. Daisy didn't eat, drink, or potty the whole first 24 hours. The cats get into tiffs if they get too close to each other.

Now, on day four, they still get into small tiffs, but I'm usually standing over them when they are near each other. But Daisy is eating, drinking, using the litter box, and has her favorite cubby hole on top of the washer/dryer behind the hanging clothes. I brought some toys home, and she plays with them. She's investigating the house, she's talking to us all the time, she loves attention. The dogs don't even make her twitch.

Right now it seems impossible that the three cats will ever get friendly with each other. But at least we can now live (relatively) quietly and happily together. And maybe some day Daisy and Dusty will be playmates. I pray for this every day.

Here is the link to Clear Creek Cat Rescue. Daisy's profile was still on there at the time of this blog posting. http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/AK43.html

Every time a cat gets adopted from them, they can rescue another cat from being put down at the shelter. For those readers living in Alaska, please consider these kitties for adoption.

Heading Home

2011-03-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Tonight I hop on the plane to head back home to Alaska. I was kind of hoping it would be pouring down rain today so I wouldn't be leaving such gorgeous sunshine behind. Ah, well.

I've got my hair tied back for the first time this week, since the nasty winds are blowing at home. I still have all my hair; I haven't decided whether I'm going to cut it off or not. The weather here in California is so mild, hair length is not the issue that it is in the Mat-Su Valley. We shall see what I decide later.

It was a week packed with delights. I finally reached a point where I felt like a normal person. I mean, I would eat and feel satisfied. I teach so many exercise classes I'm usually in calorie deficit, so I'll be full but still hungry most days.

Of course, my diet has been horrendous and I haven't exercised a bit. Monday is going to be hell. I'll be subbing for a lot of classes and practicing my new routines when I get back.

I got to see a lot of my family and friends. I managed to reign in my spending this year. I'm hoping my husband and I will be able to visit home together this summer. We may actually be able to use our companion ticket for the first time.

I'm extremely grateful that the weather was so nice while I visited. But it will be nice to return to my hubby, home, animals, and "normal" routine.

Normal. >snort<

Wowza! Oh, and California, too.

2011-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

That Japanese monster hunter tale I submitted back on the 14th gave me a real surprise. The website said to allow three months before querying, so I had that written into my spreadsheet and fully expected that time frame before knowing whether they liked it or rejected it.

And I got an acceptance email in two days. Which means I am officially going to be a published author. Can I scream now?!

I sent the contract in last week. I think I'm still in shock. I think I will continue to be in shock until I see it in the printed anthology. And then it will just morph into a different sort of shock.

Right now I'm writing this from California, using my parents' computer. The sun is shining outside the window, quite a change from the single digit temps and gusty winds of home, or so I've been hearing. When I first arrived in California and my best buddies picked me up, it was raining hard. That turned to snow by the time I was walking up the driveway to my parents' house. Dad met me halfway and I said, "Look what I brought with me, Dad!"

Very early spring here is like summer in Alaska. The difference is amazing.

I brought a notebook with me in my backpack. I wasn't able to bring much because you no longer get a free checked bag on the airplanes anymore. The first bag costs $25 to check, so I just brought what I could fit into my backpack and my guitar. That means I'm now behind in my Write 1 Sub 1 process, but I haven't stopped writing completely. I began plotting another story in my notebook last night, and wrote the first scene today.

I'd forgotten how quickly the hand starts to hurt when one is used to typing on a computer keyboard as opposed to handwriting.

I also miss my Scrivener program, where all the formatting is done for me, there are files for research, word count, and a bunch of other things.

But the nice thing about the notebook is that it's just you and the pen. No computer distractions, like Internet or games. The story seems more vibrant written that way for some reason.

By the time I get back, I will be behind a story and two submissions, but I plan on catching up very quick. Publication is quite a motivation when you get your first taste of it. I have no idea when the anthology is coming out, but I'm practically screaming with impatience.

Oh, wait, no I'm not. I'm acting very professional and serious.

I think I better go eat another piece of cheesecake ...

Happy Less than Three Day!

2011-02-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

That's <3 for the uninitiated, heeheehee!

Hubby bought me chocolate, of course. What cracks me up is that instead of buying the heart shaped box of Ghiradelli chocolates for $10, he bought the regular old bags and got twice as much chocolate for the same price. Smart man, well trained.

So here's the lowdown on how Write 1 Sub 1 is going for me. I was falling slightly behind during the last week of January because I was frantically making some mini bear nuns and priests as gifts for the hard working crew people in our Nunsense II production. If I could have, I would have made one for every person in the show, but my fingers would surely have fallen off. As it was, I got no writing done that week.

I've caught up now and I'm right on schedule. I've had a couple of rejections and an honorable mention for one contest I'd entered. Out of 366 entries, one was the winner, and ten others (including mine) got the honorable mention. I was bouncing off the walls the rest of the day when I read that. I mean, someone read my stuff and noticed it! Not only noticed it, but liked it enough to give it a mention! Woohoo! It's a little like gambling: you may only be getting nickels, but the fact that they're pouring out of the machine is a total trip. Not much but it's something!

My husband was reading over my shoulder while I was working on a Japanese monster hunter tale. He actually looked surprised with what he read. He always though of it as a hobby for me, that I wasn't really serious about it, but he really liked what he read. He was impressed. Now I know there are professionals out there that would say it doesn't matter if your husband likes it because he's your family. Of course he wouldn't really criticize it. But anyone who knows my husband would know what a big deal that reaction was to me. He inspired me in a way nothing else could have.

I just submitted that story today. I also made a Resubmissions spreadsheet so I can keep track of what stories are already out being considered, and what has been rejected so I know I can send it somewhere else. Sure, some places allow multiple submissions, but most don't. So I'll just do them one at a time.

I'm really enjoying this writing journey. I mean, the story that got honorable mention, I thought it was bad. I didn't like it much. But I could spend eternity rewriting something and never be happy with it. That taught me something about my abilities. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad story! I gotta keep going, keep trying, keep learning.

Okay. Back to writing.

Lookie, lookie!

2011-01-31T01:40:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging on my Nook. Just because I can. And I'm blogging while sitting in bed. Again, just because I can. Wi-fi at home is a wonderful thing.

First week down, 51 to go ...

2011-01-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

Posted my progress on the Write 1 Sub 1 blog: finished one story and submitted it to a contest. Finished writing a second story, but it needs revising and cutting down, since it's 17 words too long for the contest it's intended for.

Writing in the short story format is proving to be quite difficult. Normally for novels, I get a single burning great idea, and I can spend years on that one novel. (Heck, make that nine years. That's how long I've been working on Sparkless!) With Nanowrimo, I now have at least four novels that need finishing/revising.

I decided this "write one, sub one" idea was the perfect thing to get me to sit down and just WRITE. Something different every week. Something that I can sit and read through in a small amount of time and quickly revise. It's so hard not to spend days or weeks revising something I've written. I know I'm impossible to please with my own stuff, so the "submission" part is helping me with that. My main goal with this is to learn how to write good short stories and get some great feedback from publishers in the field in the process. If I get published along the way, that's a bonus.

But coming up with ideas is hard. I usually get my novel ideas from dreams, but I don't remember my dreams often enough to do a short story a week with it. Nor do they always make enough sense to lend themselves to story writing. These first two stories I've written I think I've made as interesting as I could, but there's nothing really new about them. One is based on a newspaper article I read about a local woman who killed her husband. The second is based on a theme for a contest about something important being lost and then found by someone else. Again, the same problem: I think I wrote it well, but the idea isn't new.

I think I'm frustrated by the constant pressure from the outside world to write "new" stuff, ideas that haven't been done before, concepts that haven't been explored. But is there really anything left in the world that's new? For heaven's sake, we've come to sparkly vampires as popular entertainment. I got really ticked off when I read "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." I mean, if all I had to do was take an old novel and thrust a few zombie scenes into it, then why didn't all those books on writing say so in the first place?!

Granted, I'm not writing because I want to be a famous author or make tons of money from it. Heck, if I wanted to be famous, I probably should have run off to New York and tried to make it on Broadway. I think I'm a better singer than I am a writer.

I want to entertain people. I want people to love what I write, what I sing, what I make as much as I love other writers' work, other performers' songs, and other artists' creations. I don't want to write like Tamora Pierce, I just want to make others feel the way I feel when I read her Tortall novels. Performing in Nunsense II this weekend, I was exhausted to the core, but I relish the laughter I get from the audience and the fact that some of them are crying as I sing my goodbye song. The moment I step on stage, the energy comes racing back. (Though it does desert me once more as soon as I step off the stage!)

Whew. Okay, that was kind of heavy!

I know one of my faults as a short story writer is that I've read very few short stories in my life. Most of them were read in college in English classes. I'm not sure why I can't get into reading more of them. I love novels so much, why not shorter versions as well? Maybe I just haven't tried hard enough. Maybe I need to put down "The Count of Monte Cristo" and read some shorts instead. (On page 508 of 1,058 of that, BTW.) There are just so many, it's hard to wade through the info and find a place to start.

Starting to get the desire to revise my second short story. Please excuse me.

First Write, First Sub!

2011-01-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

So my first week of Write 1 Sub 1 went pretty well. I wrote a story, spent a day polishing it, and finally submitted it to a contest yesterday. My reflex is to spend weeks polishing a piece, but I know myself; I'd find something to change every single time I read it, and it would never be good enough. So this time I reigned myself in. I won't really learn anything until I start putting my stuff out there for people to read. I keep telling myself that, anyway.

Nunsense II opens tonight. Eek! We had our first audience last night (preview), and it went fantastically well. A lot of laughter and people joining in and having a good time. My biggest panic was the bingo game. I had to cover my mouth when the whole audience started murmuring, and then everyone yelled "Bingo!" at the same time. I had a hard time holding back a smile. When I got off the stage, I started dancing like a loon, pumping my first in the air. I got huge laughs for some of my lines, again trying to keep a straight face. At the end of the show, several people came up and told me I was their favorite character. I was also told of several audience members who were seen crying during my sad song. I love entertaining people.

I was thinking maybe I should write a series of short stories based on my theatre experiences. I mean, small town theatre presents a lot of entertaining moments that the audience never gets to see. Could turn out to be an interesting string.

Anyway, I'm still half asleep after a very full day yesterday. I've got a long night ahead of me, and another long day tomorrow. I think I better get a nap in.

And we're off with a bang - a lot of them

2011-01-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

Last night sounded like a war was going on - so many explosions, pops, and bangs going on for hours. Fireworks started going off as soon as it got dark (around 5), probably because the Borough allowed the use of personal fireworks in town this year. At least, that was what I heard. We didn't get any, but we stood outside and watched the mayhem in the sky, listening to people scream and shout and shoot off guns. We simply stood and sipped our sparkling apple cider like the simple squares we are. :)

And so the new year begins by doing exactly what I wanted to do - spending some quality time with my husband, and sleeping late. Now I'm fighting the urge to clean the place since it's my only day off with hubby, and we were talking about going out for a drive or something.

Today also marks the beginning of Write 1 Sub 1. So I definitely plan on planting my butt in this chair later today and getting started on that. I've been researching newspaper articles and blog reports, and I have two different story ideas I'm kicking around. I think the hardest part of short story writing is finding ideas. I think my little notebook will come in handy for daily inspiration.

For now, my next question is: what do I want for breakfast?

I know I just posted, but I got nostalgic ...

2010-12-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

... and decided to go back and see what I had resolved to do for 2010. I wanted to see how I did as far as completing (or at least making a dent in) those resolutions.

Here's a copy of that list:

1) Stop biting my nails. (I know, I know. EVERY year the same thing. I'll do it for good one day.)
2) Finish working on my novel Sparkless and start shopping it around as I move on to revise Summerland's Savior.
3) Read as many books from that list of 100 books everyone should read. At least I'll try to get to the classics.
4) Perform in at least ONE show this year!

As I said in my earlier post, I've accepted the fact that I'm a nail biter in the hopes that through that acceptance I will finally give it up. (I know, twisted, but hey, it might work!)

I did finally finish my first major revision of "Sparkless," which I am most proud of. I'm not sure if it's ready to be sent out into the world again, so I will consider that as the 2011 wears on.

I tried to read one book that I borrowed from the library on that list: "An American Tragedy." I was interested in it, some of the writing was delightfully terrible, but it was taking so long to finish it, and I was tired of renewing, so I finally returned it to the library half read.

And I did perform in a show this year, "Pride and Prejudice," and made new friends and had lots of fun. I also auditioned for and got into another show, "Nunsense II," which will open in January 2011, so that will count as my show for next year. I don't think they're doing any shows that I'm interested in until 2012, so it will have to do. Unless I get up the guts to audition for something in Anchorage.

So after reading that list and seeing how much I really accomplished, here is my "To Do" list for 2011:

1) Get my dojo going
2) At least finish my 2010 Nanowrimo novel. I'm nearly done, so that won't take too long. After that, finish "Summerland's Savior." If there's still time left in the year, begin revising it.
3) Complete "Write 1 Sub 1." Don't be afraid to do the submission part.
4)Somehow get up the guts to try auditioning for Anchorage theatre. (I'm still wobbly about that one, but a friend of mine told me about it and thinks it would be fairly easy for me to get in. I'm just still not sure if I want to put in the time to drive there and back.)

Some of those are close to being completed already, which is a bit like cheating on my resolutions since they're easy. But it's also easy to put things on the back burner until they become a lot more difficult to complete, so I want to avoid that.

And if I run out of resolutions before the year is out, I'll just write some more.

New Year, New Challenges!

2010-12-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of my friends just turned me on to this writing challenge that goes on all year, called Write 1 Sub 1. It means you write a short story each week, then submit it for publication as you write the next story. Apparently Ray Bradbury used to do this. I need to read up on this challenge a little more, but as I've always wanted to tackle the short story form, and several of my writely buddies are considering it as well, it sounds like I'm gonna jump in with both feet! I'm terrible at this form, but that's because I avoid it, I'm sure. Besides, my full novels can't be much better!

This is day three of my three days off for the holidays. A friend of mine was not only kind enough to invite me over for Christmas dinner last night, but she stuffed a stocking full of candy for me too! She also told me about getting to play elf for some local kids who weren't getting Christmas this year. I left her house with a full belly, a full heart, and over-full eyes. There need to be more people like her in the world.

I got to Skype with my family on Christmas Day. They set the computer at the end of the dining table. It was almost like I was sitting there and eating with them (except I didn't get any food. Sigh.) I opened a couple of my presents, and got to watch when Mom opened the box from me and passed out the presents to the cousins and my Aunt. There are times I absolutely love modern technology.

Progress on our little garage dojo is slow. We finally found the manual for the gas heater on the wall, so I'm going to start it up today. With an extinguisher nearby just in case. First, I need to finish sweeping out the snow that collected on the wrestling mats. The wind storms we've been having drove the snow through the door cracks and even through the window, leaving piles of it all over the place. I have to sweep it while it's still frozen before I can start the heater.

Nunsense II is shaping up nicely. Hard to believe we've only two weeks left before opening. I'm panicking ...

New year's resolutions? I'm giving up on the biting nails one. I'm just going to accept the fact that I'm a nail biter. Maybe then I'll stop doing it, eh? So I think maybe this Write 1 Sub 1 challenge will help me write more, which is something I want. Can't really think of anything else.

My husband thinks my aunt and uncle's tradition of sending a letter of our year to our family and friends instead of Christmas cards is really cool. So I may send a New Year's letter out this year, then do it for Christmas from now on. Maybe I'll convince him to let me send a picture of us along, too!

Look Ma, I made it!

2010-12-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

I crossed the finish line with a half hour to spare for Nanowrimo 2010. I will now be posting my winning badge here on my blog. Make sure you take a moment to admire the gloriousness of it.

That was a grueling month. There were a few days where I thought I wasn't going to make it, but I slugged through to the end and now I can breath a sigh of relief. I'm going to finish this novel, then put it away and go back to finishing the second novel I ever wrote, but didn't finish.

But not tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm cleaning the house.

Congrats and YAY to the other Nanowrimo winners around the globe! We all ROCK!

Airport rant and just taking a peek ...

2010-11-19T00:49:00.000-08:00

... at my little Nanowrimo counter thingy. Two red squares indicate I didn't write anything that day. The yellow squares show the days I didn't meet the daily word count of 1667. But what it doesn't show is that on the green days, I often wrote way more than I had to. And that's why I'm still ahead by a day.

My lead got as much as four days, but I've taken a few mental health breaks here and there. But I'm pleased to announce that I have enough planned so that I won't finish the story before I've reached 50k. I've heard of that happening to others, but I wanted to make sure it didn't happen to me.

In other news, I believe I can officially say I've been sick four times this year. On Tuesday we had some of the biggest, coldest winds I've seen yet. It froze me, so now I have a bit of throat irritation. I would have written it off as not being sick, except the irritation was accompanied by huge tonsils. But I've busted out my thermals, and taking good care of myself, so I think this one will be short lived. Our neighbor across the street even said he and his wife are sick of the winds and are looking at moving to Idaho or something. I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought of the same thing myself. Especially lately.

I've been very disturbed with the news about airports and the invasive techniques they use in the name of security. It basically boils down to having naked pictures taken of myself (over which I have no control of what happens to the photos afterwards), or having strangers' hands put on my body in places only my husband is allowed to go, and only with my permission. If it were anyone else, it would be sexual harassment or worse. And were does it stop? Pretty soon they'll have to hire doctors to be TSA agents if this goes to the next step, "I can give you a prostate check or a pap smear while we check you for contraband!"

In the lower 48, it's much easier to boycott the airlines. Unless you're planning on driving across the country, most of America is reachable within a couple of days' driving. But in Alaska, unless you want to spend five to seven days driving through a foreign country, you don't have many options. I usually take a week long vacation - two days traveling, and five days visiting family. If I tried the Alaska Marine Highway (ferrying from Seward or wherever to Washington) that will still be three to five days traveling because they're more sightseeing and not direct travel. And I'd have to change ferries in southernmost Alaska. And that's just to get me to Washington. Would still take a day or two getting to my family.

Other options: see if I can hire a private plane to fly me. Have no idea how much that could cost. Or I could get my own pilot's license and fly myself. While tempting (I'm sure it would save a lot of flying money over the long run), I'm not confident enough to take on such a feat. I hate heights. And driving is scary enough.

So far, it doesn't look like Sacramento or Anchorage have the body scanners, but websites have been known to wrong. And even if they don't have the scanners, what's to stop them from doing the advanced pat-downs everyone is screaming about? Just because I've never received one of their random checks doesn't mean it won't ever happen.

As a martial artist and a woman traveling alone, I can't accept the idea of a stranger, man or woman, touching me in the ways I've read about. I'm trained to keep that kind of thing from happening, and it's just plain wrong.

So does that mean I'm stuck here unless I want to try to take longer vacations? Most of the time I can't do that. And if living here means I can't see my family without getting violated, it's not worth it.

I fully admit I may be overreacting. But it doesn't seem very likely.

And the Insanity Parade Marches On ...

2010-11-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I do believe there is insanity running through my family. I'm only grateful my job isn't full time because I'd be even more nuts than I am exhibiting now. However, while my job is short hours and lousy pay, it's long on physical demands!

And we haven't even started the dance rehearsals yet.

I think Nunsense II may be the most challenging musical I have ever done to date. I'm trying to think of any in my list of shows that were as freaky as this one is. I mean, really: bingo games with the audience, split personality puppeteering, singing and dancing in habits and other costume tidbits. I don't want to give things away, so that's all I'll say on the subject.

Except for this: I can only pray that the audience will be laughing at me for the RIGHT reasons.

Nanowrimo has been going exceptionally well. Yes, my little widget shows some yellow days amongst the green, and here's why: I've been largely ahead of my word count on most days, so there were a couple of days I technically didn't reach my daily word goal of 1667. However, the other days have made up for more than those short days. I think day one had me glued to my computer, cranking out near 5k! The take off is always the strongest.

I credit following Nanowrimo Sprints on Twitter for a big chunk. They run word sprints most of the day, so I can get on there and sprint with other people all around the globe. (So if you've been looking at my Tweets lately, that's what all those word count ones are about.)

The other big chunk goes to the write-ins with the Mat-Su chapter of Nanowrimo. We crank out a lot of words through word wars (where we compete for the most words written in a certain amount of time, making teams with names like Ghosts vs Fairies), with lots of candy and Pandemonium Bookstore's hot chocolate. Nothing like fellow crazies and sugar highs to knock out a bunch of words.

Anyway, now back to writing.

And we're off like a prom dress!

2010-11-01T02:53:00.001-07:00

I know, I've probably used that line before, but I can't help it: It cracks me up!

Nanowrimo has officially begun in Alaska. I met with a couple of other die-hards at a restaurant in Palmer (the only one we know of open 24/7). We had salads and sodas, busted out our laptops, and had our first word war together as other late-night patrons chatted around us in the cozy cafe environment.

We left shortly after that first word war, but it was so cool to share staying up late and getting going right off the bat with others, that I didn't mind. It was too cool that we were able to do it to begin with! Always nice to know there are other people out there as crazy as I am!

I'm still 600 words short of my daily allotment of 1667 words, but it's just about two in the morning. I need some shut-eye in order to keep cranking out my glorious story!

Nanowrimo, Nunsense, and Halloween approach ...

2010-10-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

... though not necessarily in that order.

Nanowrimo is just around the corner! (I know, still a week, but I can't wait!) I've got my novel outline ready for use on Scrivner. This will be my first time using this special program for writers on my Mac. Heard that it will be available for Windows soon, too, if it's not already. I've got a bunch of things saved in the Research folder so I can just glance at them quickly when I need them. The years before, I'd use a clipboard and just write a bunch of haphazard notes all over the paper. Not as easy to find the things I need that way.

Went to our Nanowrimo planning session at Pandemonium bookstore yesterday. I was late because of Nunsense II auditions, but I got to see all the new faces at our tables this year. The conference room was packed when I got there, but still enough room to squeeze myself in. I was way too tired to even order food by that point, but it was nice sitting in a room full of people about to embark on the same crazy adventure and listen to them talk.

Nunsense II auditions happened yesterday as well. I did a song I hadn't done before, and while I was very displeased with my singing performance, and while I always struggle with improv, I guess I did all right. I sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl. Normally I don't have much trouble with belt songs, but I was so tired after teaching three exercise classes, I couldn't maintain control like I usually do and resorted to the kind of belt that I can only do for a few minutes. It sounds fine, but it's more like yelling than singing. Doesn't help that all the classes I teach require the use of my voice. Even though I use a head mic, I still get a little froggy after a long day.

For Halloween, I went through all the costumes I've made over the years: the sultry mummy and the country girl (both theatre costumes at one point), the renaissance wench, the southern belle (ding dong, ding dong!), and the goth/living dead girl dress. Much as I love the sumptuousness of the southern belle, I made it out of a fabric that turned out way too heavy, so I'll pass on that one. The mummy costume may be falling apart (it's hard to tell.) The country girl is too cold (short skirt and off the shoulder top.)

So I'm down to the wench and the goth girl. I think I'll go goth girl, since I can have some hair and makeup fun with that. I haven't worn that one since I lived in California, and I've only worn it once. I just have to make sure I can still wear it! If the temp gets real cold, I can wear long underwear and no one will be able to tell.

While I wait for the results of the Nunsense II casting, guess I'll go clean out the garage.

The temperature drops ...

2010-10-15T23:13:00.001-07:00

... like cement shoes on the feet of a lawyer.

Sorry, bad joke.

The last week has shown a sharp change in the temperature, but this is rather typical. I always start thinking of doing ye olde tire swap around this time: mornings in the teens, frost so thick it doesn't melt before the sun goes down, that almost burning sensation of frigid air slicing down your throat. At least my nose hairs aren't crackling yet.

My body is starting to protest a bit this year. I'm usually fairly stiff if I sit still too long, like at the computer, and the cold air just makes it worse. I've added energy/protein bars to my diet. Most people use them as meal replacements. I use them as meal enhancements. I try to get organic ones whenever I can, but I also want ones that are edible. So I mix it up by getting several different kinds.

I've gone back to adding vitamin D to my regimen since my doc told me that my immune system was probably seriously depressed. So far it seems to be doing good. Now I just need to figure out the best diet to keep me moving.

Ah, the joys of living in Alaska!

Speaking of living in Alaska, today marks the third year anniversary of officially living here. It's been quite a ride, not always a pleasant one, but certainly a huge learning experience. I still haven't caught the local Alaska disease yet: that of complaining every time the weather turns cold. I'll admit, the summer sucked big time with all that rain. But there are good things to be said for winter. I like how the snow pack makes my road more tolerable for driving (no potholes.) I like the longer sunsets (since the sun never gets all the way up in the sky, the whole day is practically sunrise and sunset.) I like the fireworks on New Year's, the fact that we always have a white Christmas, the warm and comforting foods and drinks that are too warm for summer. I love watching my dogs playing in the snow.

And I can't wait to try out my new two handed snow shovel! (Okay, I'm stretching it a bit here.)

And, last but certainly not least, NANOWRIMO! Celebrating the art and science of writing for an entire month of literary abandon. Where you are free to write as crappy as you ever thought possible.

See, there are always good things about every kind of weather.

Another closing of another show ...

2010-10-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

... and I'm down in the usual post-show dumps.

The word often used is bittersweet, but that always makes me think of food. It's not strong enough for the emotions one goes through at the closing of a performance run, especially one as amazing as the run "Pride and Prejudice" just had. Two weekends sold out, and at least one sold-out show each of the other two weekends. There were a bunch of people saying they came back a second time (and they weren't spouses or family.)

I think I'd lean more towards manic-depressive as a description? I have to put more thought into that.

I'm grateful to have my "life" back. There are many things that have been taking back seats as we got closer to opening the show and during the actual performances. I haven't been practicing my new exercise routines as much as I usually do. At the very least I was pretty distracted while practicing backstage in the green room almost every performance night. (And several of the other actors and crew would join me every once in a while. I had my own chorus line going!) I need to get the garage clean and organized for the dojo. I need to bug spray the house. The list goes on.

But I got rather attached to the group of people I spent so much time with the last couple of months. Many of them were strangers to me when we started. It took weeks to learn everyone's real name instead of their character name. And then last night most of us went out karaoke-ing and have a blast. We want to make it a regular thing (much like us "Spitties" did after "The Spitfire Grill" closed.)

I got to work with people I already knew, and with people I wanted to know better or hadn't had a chance to work with yet.

I got to prance around the stage in fancy dresses with my nose in the air and speaking in a British accent. (I even got a compliment from someone with a real British accent!)

So my mind and emotions are at war for dominance: relief at life returning or depression at the ending of something special. Eventually the depression will pass and I'll be content with the memories: my nickname for my onstage brother when he accidentally called me his daughter during a show ("Dad!"), our own secretly added lines whispered behind the curtains ("Consider it dropped"), songs sung on our karaoke night ("I Got You, Babe"), and so much more.

I better be happy with my life being returned to me. The auditions for "Nunsense II" are coming up real soon ... ;>

NaNoWriMo website relaunch!

2010-10-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

The NaNoWriMo website has indeed relaunched, so I've been procrastinating from cleaning the house to update my info and add the counters and banners to my blog. You can see the new ones in the sidebar. >dancing in giddy circles<

If you've never done NaNoWriMo, but you've always wanted to write a book, jump right in! You've got a month to plan still. Just remember you can't write a word of the novel itself until November 1, 2010. Until then, you can plan, outline, fiddle, brainstorm, and draw idea bubble maps to your heart's content!

The Wonderful Weather of Wasilla

2010-09-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Apparently the Alaska Branch of Mother Nature Dot Org decided that "fall" had lasted long enough, and it was now time for "blow." Just when we were getting the intense gold color of the leaves along the road to our house, the wind rushed in to shake them all loose, knock down trees, and remove power from several homes for days.

I suppose I should be grateful that we were spared the looooooong power outage that affected many of my friends, and of course I am. I am also grateful that the theatre was spared having to reschedule a show when power was flickering Friday evening. (It never did go out, though it did flip off for a moment when I was curling my hair. I screamed, "Wait, just one more curl and I'm done!" Then the power came back on.)

However, I'm really peeved that I didn't get to take a picture of that fabulous gold tunnel along our road. The trees hug a place on the road that dips down, and when the sun shines just right, it gleams with an intensity that takes the breath away. I wanted to get a picture of it this year, but the wind robbed me of that by stripping the leaves before they reached that point. Grrrr.

A few days of wind, and then the real fun began: early winter. Yesterday snow appeared on the mountains, as well as making small flurried appearances in the valley. If a rainstorm had moved through, it would have been a snowstorm. At the end of September, for crying out loud. Thank the gods we've already bought that huge two-handed snow shovel for the driveway. We're not even allowed to put on snow tires yet, technically! (I guess that would change if it actually snowed that much, though.)

We escaped most of the problems that others have had: Our only casualty of the wind was our trash can (which wedged itself in such a way that nothing was coming out of it, so we left it where it was until the wind died down), and the fence along the back of the garage. We were going to take it down anyway, perhaps use it to line the outdoor dog kennel, so no real problem there. I think it was only there as a kind of view blocker for the lots behind us, but it was pretty pointless anyway.

So here's the million dollar question: if winter is already threatening to loose itself on us, does that mean it's going to be a long, mild winter, or a long, harsh one? Since it's winter either way, I suppose it doesn't really matter. >Sigh<

Alaskan Health Issues

2010-09-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

I lived in one state for the first 30 years of my life. I've lived in Alaska for three years next month.

I believe I have been sick more times here in Alaska than I have the rest of my life. And those sicknesses have been longer, more miserable, and nearly piggyback to each other, especially this year.

In summer 2010, I've been significantly sick three times. The second time included strep throat and ear infections that caused some deafness. The first two each lasted a month long, give or take a few days. That means since May (the first illness of the summer), I've been sick every other month. The third one, I've been adding things back into my diet that may have curtailed it a bit, though it is still not gone.

So what's up? My doc mentioned a couple of things when I went in for the strep and ear infections:

One: We have a lot of tourists, people moving here from other countries, etc. They bring with them all manner of diseases that our bodies have never defended against previously. Even the most diligent of hand washers and antibacterial wipe users can still get sick if they haven't encountered certain bugs before.

Two: This summer was spectacularly awful. I still say the summer of 2008 (our first) was worse because we only saw the sun a handful of times; this summer started off with almost three weeks of gorgeous weather in May. I blamed my first illness this summer on the dust from the duplex building going on right next to our house. I've been more sensitive to dust since my first illness in Alaska (November 2007) was made quite severe by the extreme amounts of dust in the store I worked at.

But then it started raining. And raining. July was (I believe) the wettest July Wasilla has ever seen. And it kept on raining. The last couple of weeks here in September have been sunny, but fall is on the way and it's already getting cooler. First frost just a few mornings ago. Leaves are golden and starting to drop. Darkness is encroaching more and more.

My doc pointed out that Vitamin D is already hard to get the natural way here in Alaska, but a summer like we just had probably led to a seriously depressed immune system for me, judging by how many times I've been sick, and in such close succession. He told me to add a supplement to my diet, which I have.

I'm considering other options, too. One is a sun lamp, another is an air purifier. I wear a mask whenever I clean the house because my dog is a digger and brings tons of dirt into the house with her. I don't burn incense as much as I used to (though I do miss those sweet scents.) Since we've reached all our main purchase goals (house, vehicles, etc) we're considering what we want to add to our place to make winters more tolerable. I decided a sauna would be great, and fewer issues than a hot tub. Maybe we could put a sun lamp in the sauna for a little more "sun."

I'm trying to improve my diet, as well. Taking a multivitamin as well as extra D and calcium, but also trying to find good tasting fruits and veggies (that's kind of difficult in this state. Some of the fruit tastes like paper towels.) Adding lemon to my water helps me drink more water.

I admit that my fitness class schedule was probably a little much this summer, too: so many instructors going on vacations, and me not minding the extra money subbing for their classes, it was probably walking the line of too much. One eight-day period I taught 14 hours worth of exercise classes! I'm trying to curtail things a bit by learning to say "no" every once in a while.

I think the vitamin D has helped with this current cold: hardly any soreness, only one day of extreme mucus movement, and the last few days has just been an annoying cough that won't go away. It's still taking its own sweet time to stop, but the healing process is a little faster this round. It is my dearest hope that I reach a point that I experienced in California, only getting very minor colds that last no more than three days and happen once every couple of years. At the very least, I want to stop losing my voice every time I get sick.

No wonder most people who move here don't stay here. It's a very difficult place to live, for sure. Even my doc mentioned that everyone in Alaska should leave at least twice a year and stay somewhere warmer and sunnier, just for their health. I heartily agree. If only it weren't so expensive to do so!

Be Excellent To Each Other and Party On Dudes!

2010-08-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

When comparing this year's Sportsman's Warehouse picnic with last year's, some similarities and some differences stand out.

The main difference that stands out is the weather. It was raining almost the whole time at last year's gig. But like true Alaskans, they didn't let that dampen their spirits. We just spent a little more time hanging around the fire, that's all.

Yesterday morning started out rainy, which is no surprise, since July may go down as the wettest one on record. I shouted my curses to the skies and demanded that the clouds take a hike by the afternoon or there would be heckity darn to pay.

To my surprise, they listened. The afternoon proved to be very nice. (Well, very nice by Alaska's standards, which means mostly cloudy and in the 60s.) A bit of a muggy feeling to the air, but at least I didn't once need the rain jacket I'd brought along just in case. I also wore my new Tilly hat to ward off the occasional sprinkles which didn't happen.

The other main difference was one of my own making: Since we lived about a 15 minute walk from the hay field where the party was held this year and last, I decided to walk my two monstrous mutts with me. I thought they'd love the chance to run around the huge field, maybe some kids would play with them, maybe some other dogs would be brought along as well. I wanted to keep their good socializing with others, though they spend a lot of time at home with just us. I worried that the owners of the place would not approve, or that they would be a huge annoyance to others.

They surprised me with remarkably good behavior! Bruno has a bad habit of jumping on people (Logan's fault), but he managed to keep his paws on the ground. They didn't put paws on tables or anything else. The only thing that was mentioned as being unfavorable was Uffda's drooling problem, but most people didn't seem to care (and by the end of the evening, drool was the least dirty issue.) So they got lots of attention and even started laying down near the fire after a couple of hours of excitement. Uffda didn't want to lay down, but you could see how tired she was by the dragging of her massive feet.

There was a little fight with a bulldog named Bubba that was brought to the party, but Bubba's owner nipped that little spat in the bud lightening quick. The three dogs were the best of friends after that. (I imagine a big unfixed male like Bruno, even being friendly, was a little intimidating at first for Bubba.)

When more people arrived and started breaking out the hot dogs and hamburgers for grilling, I decided I didn't want to see how far Bruno and Uffda's good behavior would stretch; they don't get people food at home, and they spend most of their time outdoors or in their kennels, so they don't get a lot of temptation to deal with. Logan had also arrived by then, so we tied their leashes to a tree in front of the Landcruiser. They laid right down and took a nap.

The party continued as parties do, eating, drinking, kids playing in the sandbox and with the various balls rolling around. The owner even gave a couple of hayrides with his tractor and a big flatbed filled with hay. There was one spot with a steep downhill where he gunned the engine and raced down. I felt like I was on a roller coaster!

There were raffles and games for all ages. A bunch of the games were taken from the "Minute to Win It" game show, like Junk in the Trunk, where you try to shake the ping pong balls out of a tissue box strapped to your rear end in under a minute. Fun to watch, I'll tell you!

Of course, the pinnacle of the evening came when employees could put up the "dollars" they earned for the privilege to pie a manager of their choice in the face. One of the girls had mentioned wanting to pie Logan, and people had been giving her money to do it. (Guess they didn't have the guts to do it themselves, eh?) When the time came, she had racked up over 70k, and each pie was worth 2k.

Logan came prepared, as he always does. he put on his Frog Togs and wouldn't even stand behind the board with the hole for the face in it. The girl wanted to line up a bunch of people all at once with pies. The Store Manager got behind the board, Logan stood out in front. The Fishing Manager cut a hole in a garbage bag to cover as much of him as possible.

For all the good it did them. Logan ended up only getting two pies to the face. (The pies were made of vanilla and chocolate pudding.) All it took was one employee to sneak behind the board. The Store Manager started running, and the great Pudding War began. Both the Store Manager and the Fishing Manager ended up covered in goo. Then the eggs that were being used for other games started flying. The Office Manager smashed two eggs on Logan's head. The kids couldn't resist the fun the adults were having getting messy, so they joined in.

I was one of the few people who managed to remain pudding and egg free. I was almost hit by a random egg long before the pudding war. A boy was goofing around with his dad behind me, and the egg whizzed right by my face to smash on the bench i was sitting on. Scared me out of a year's growth.

The exhaustion of the pudding stores led to the flinging of water balloons, so everyone got washed off after that fight. And there were spigots all over the property for people to rinse the pudding and egg slime off. And then the fire to dry off next to.

It was after 10 PM by that time, so the clean up began. Everyone pitched in to leave the place neater than we'd found it (well, as much as we could with pudding and egg shells everywhere.) The board was broken up and the pieces tossed into the fire. Logan and I were the last to leave, so we watched the fire while it burned down to embers.

Logan had obtained permission from the owner to check out the three old cabins along the edge of the property. One was built in 1931, the others in 1915, I believe. The 1931 cabin had been added on to at some point, and there were old fashioned cooking stoves in them. Logan and I got a lot of ideas as to how we can add on to our own cabin, and put in a cook stove of our own. Logan is even more excited about his new job because he will have the time to do such projects.

By the time we were done, the fire had died down enough, so we packed up and left. We were exhausted, but it had been a lot of fun. The Fishing Manager posted on Facebook that he would never eat pudding again. Can't say I blame him.

Everybody Remember Where We Parked the Ark!

2010-07-29T12:59:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how much it has been raining this month. Every single day, with the odd, random, half-days of sun mixed with clouds, maybe once a week at the most. The last one was Tuesday, so I dragged my lawn chair out to the middle of the driveway and plopped down to read and soak the rays for a bit.

Much as I don't want to admit it, I think we may have had our summer early this year, back in May when we had several weeks of almost no rain. It was gorgeous. The only problem was that the dryness led to many respiratory problems for me. The next door neighbors were ripping up the land to build a duplex, we had ATV riders running amok up and down our dirt road, the dust the dogs brought into the house was thick enough to choke a dust bunny, and I finally had to give up my beloved incense so I could breathe. While I am better now, that took almost two months to get rid of.

My husband thinks this summer is worse than our first summer here. I tell him no, because that first summer we only had four days total that hit 70 degrees with the sun visible in the sky. This summer started out fantastic and is now making up for those three weeks of sun bliss.

I should have started building the ark as soon as my parents left. I can count on one hand how many non-rainy days we've had since they went home. There are lots of ark jokes running around now. "Why are these animals lining up two by two outside my door?" "I must remember to pack the paddles before I leave today." I've been doing the Bill Cosby "Noah and the Lord" routines. "It's the Lord, Noah." " ... Right."

As one of my friends pointed out, Noah was building before it started raining. So we're screwed!

In other news, most people have heard that my husband is in the process of getting a new job. It's a very long process for this one in particular, but he's handling it fine. We hope everything will be settled by the third week of August. And then things are gonna change big time around here. But they should be changes for the better, including more time off for Logan and being compensated for any extra working time.

We're moving right along in our rehearsals for "Pride and Prejudice." Nothing new really to report there. Been reading a lot for other people, since my part is small and someone is absent almost every rehearsal. Can't wait 'til we get the scripts out of our hands, though.

I've been teaching extra classes this summer since people are going on vacations and fishing trips and whatnot. What with practicing the new routines, teaching my own classes, and subbing for extras, I'm pretty used up and tired most of the time. I'm hungry all the time, too, but don't necessarily want to eat. So I've decided to put off the personal trainer cert for now. I may change my mind later, but if there is a possibility I'll be adding classes later (still hoping for Group Kick!), then I probably should save what's left of my energy for that!

Maybe I'll also find the time to blog more often. Once a month isn't very much!

Birthdays and Reminders

2010-06-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Received a reminder from a friend today that I hadn't blogged for a while. I find it most appropriate that the last time I blogged was on my birthday, and my reminder to blog came from my friend on HIS birthday! Thanks, Matthew! Hippo birdie two ewe, too!

I haven't blogged lately because there hasn't been much going on until last week. Well, I did get into the play "Pride and Prejudice." For those of you who know that book, I play the second snobbiest character, Caroline Bingley. Unfortunately, many of the lines I loved in the book (and my favorite BBC version) have been cut, as it is a condensed version and made to have no stage set changes. Still, it's gonna be great to be back on the stage again. I think this is going to be a fun cast.

Last week my parents arrived for their second visit to Alaska. They went to visit my aunt and uncle in Washington first, then took a cruise to Seward. We'd never been there before, so we got to drive down to pick them up. It was a gorgeous drive, definitely worth every ounce of fuel, but Seward is incredibly tiny for a port town! By the time we realized we'd missed the turn to the boat, we'd reached the end of the line! Cute place, but I don't think there's any chance Logan and I are going to want to move them.

We had fun trying to figure out how to pack the luggage and the people into the Yaris, but we managed it. Mom and Dad were like prisoners in their own cells, though; we had to set the guitar on top of a box between them. I could hear Dad all right, but I couldn't hear Mom most of the time. She sounded so far away!

I arranged for subs for most of my classes, except one. My mom wanted to see me teach anyway, so she joined in. She made it all the way through the end of the class! I was so proud of her. (My mom is not exactly an exercise freak like me.)

I think the best day was when we went to see the glacier. I hadn't been there before, either, so this was an adventure for me, too. When the lady selling the tickets looked at me and asked, "Are you over 18, dear?" I stuttered in confusion before answering, "Yes." Mom laughed at me because of my reaction. It's been so long since anyone asked me that question, I thought I was well past the danger. I stuttered because I nearly asked her, "Are you kidding?!"

Amazing how quickly it gets colder as you hike the trail to the glacier. Wear boots, not just for the cold, but for the water everywhere. I nearly soaked my sneakers. It's not the most level of trails, lots of opportunity to twist an ankle. But definitely worth the effort.

Like all of Alaska, it was a long, pretty drive, and Dad and I were both hungry soon after arriving. Mom's camera battery had died, so we headed for the nearest restaurant, the Long Rifle Lodge, or something like that. Cute log cabin with a bar when you first walk in. We weren't sure of it until we reached the dining room: big windows showing off the glacier in the distance (and the sun was shining at that moment!), rough-hewn furniture glossed smooth, and good food. Decently priced, though not an obscene amount of food. And to answer Logan's question, yes, the waitresses were cute. :p

The sun was playing hide and seek the whole time my parents were there. It was mostly cloudy, but every once in a while the sun would put in an appearance. It was still a little better than the last time they visited, when there was only one day it was really sunny. But they said they were satisfied with their trip. We spent a lot of time together, I cooked them a salmon dinner one night, and we played guitars.

The only down side: they took the sun with them when they left. It's been raining EVERY SINGLE DAY since!

Hippo birdie two me!

2010-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

I got the perfect gift from the Universe for my birthday today: sunshine! It's soooooooo nice outside today. It's just a bummer that hubby has to work and I have to teach, but we'll get to do things tomorrow, I'm sure. Hope the nice weather holds.

Yes, I've officially turned 34 today. "Why should I lie? Age is only a state of mind. What age do you want me to be?" Emotions are running a huge gamut. Part of me wants to ignore the day and just go about my life. But that little part in me that most want to keep hidden, that little part that makes me such a spotlight ham, is almost screaming, "Shower me with attention! It's my special day! Wheeeeeeee!"

I'm sure everyone has that little part buried deep inside. If anyone says they don't, they need their own reality TV show. (Hyuck.)

Mailing off my Group Power DVD today. Subbing for Group Power this Wednesday, so that'll be interesting! Also subbing for a Group Active class at the fancy new Eagle River Club, then immediately attending the "Pride and Prejudice" auditions after. Can't wait to see the turnout for this. As usual, what I get will depend on the guys that show up. Technically, I'm too old for any of the daughters, could be the right age for the best friend Charlotte, too young for the mother. I could pull off Miss Bingley, too, I suppose. Well, we shall see. There's lots of talent in this town and it's not a musical, so I may very well not be cast! I can assume nothing at this point.

Even if I don't get in, my next one will be "Nunsense II." As that is a musical, my chances for getting in that one are a little better, I think.

I read a blog post of a friend of mine who recently lost his dad. His words were poignant and full of feeling, and the things he wrote about definitely rang within my soul. If he'd posted it on any other day, it would not have affected me so much. But by the time I was done reading the post, I was laughing through my tears. I am blessed in so many ways and it is too easy for us to take the good things for granted. I try so hard not to do that, but sometimes I get swamped in the difficulties of life, just like everyone else. And sometimes it takes the keen insight of a friend who has been to hell and back to bring you back to your senses. Many thanks to my friend for being so honest and full of the love of life to share his experiences with others.

And on that serious note, now I need to decide what cake I want to have tonight: chocolate, cheesecake, or ice cream cake ... ;>

One hurdle down, a hundred to go ...

2010-04-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

So I finally did the video for my Group Power certification. I haven't even seen it yet and I don't want to. I'll make a copy for my mom, but if I watch it I'll just criticize myself to death and there's no point. So once I get that in my hot little hands I'll send it away and be done with that.

So I guess my next goal should be finishing the personal trainer certification. I've looked up testing times and they have a bunch for next month at UAA. It's testing by proxy up here in Alaska; ACE never does live tests up here as far as I've seen. Not enough money in it, I'll bet. I hate not having someone there who can answer questions, though.

And yes, I'm still waffling about it. But as I have no other goals in mind and there's nothing up here for work except retail and summer temp, I don't really see what other choice I have. So I'll be signing up for the test soon and hope that gives me the motivational kick in the butt to get it done. Since it costs about $250 and a retake is $145, it better motivate me!

Things are heating up!

2010-04-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, they're heating up in comparison to our winter temps. I'd say upper 40s and low 50s is pretty darn warm!

I'm feeling pretty random today: not much to do and way too tired to do it. Lots of things floating around in my head and way too short-attention-span-theatre to think any of it through. Here's a short list, though:

Auditions for "Pride and Prejudice" are coming next month. I'm really excited and also worried. My husband would rather I not do this show since it means rehearsals will be going summer long. And summer is short! I totally see where he's coming from, but I look at it differently from him: I'm not getting any younger and I've done ONE show since we moved here. ONE. If I keep waiting and waiting for perfect timing, I know I'll look back and say, "What the f@%# was wrong with me?!" And maybe I'm too old for the part I want already! As usual, it depends on the guys that are cast. If they get nothing but teenagers, I'm out of the loop; I'm too old to play against teenagers and too young to play the mother. Ah, well.

I'm studying for the personal trainer certificate so I can add to my hours at the club by being a personal trainer as well as a fitness instructor. But I admit I'm not studying nearly as much as I should be, and I think I know the reason: I'm not really sure if I want to do this. Frankly, I like being at home and just teaching. I know I'm hardly making any money and that's a big issue, but I like this current situation. Logan likes it too: I'm home when he is, I can keep the house clean and do the shopping and anything else that needs doing. I always have the same days off as he does. But I know the lack of money is always on his mind. And he's pushing me toward the personal training thing. It's not a bad push, but it's pushing all the same. I'm dragging my feet because I'm not sure I'm going to like it. And then what will I do?

I'm really enjoying the classes I teach. Adding the Group Power is also adding to my personal power: Not to be narcissistic or anything like that, but I like the hard body I'm getting. I'm particularly proud of my abs, and if I were a different type of girl (and if I lived in a warmer state) I'd show them off! But I'm not, so I don't.

My karate class is really going well, but the longer it runs, the more aware I am that my students are not going to be able to progress if I keep the class at the club. I've discovered I'm not really going to get any support from Logan. I know, I'm surprised too. He's the original karate freak. But he's too busy with his job. Also, since money is always an obsession for him, he doesn't want me to go rent a space for my own business. He thinks it'll just take money away. We talk about using the garage, but that's going to take some work.

Argh. Lots of things going on in my mind and not much of it is pleasant. It's too easy to just vacillate in limbo instead of pressing forward when I'm not sure which "forward" I want to press to. Sigh.

Focusing on Fitness and Fun

2010-03-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

So I've officially quit my job in the Fitness Department at Sports Authority. My last day was a couple of days ago and I already miss many of the people I worked with. I loved the social aspect, even though most of the time the job itself was rather boring. I'm not a huge fan of retail, but it keeps popping up in my life no matter how I try to avoid it.

Now I'll be concentrating on my fitness instructor career and adding yet another certification to my list: Personal Training. I'm a bit nervous about this; one of the things I like about the group class environment is that it can remain impersonal. I don't have to know a person's life history or get buried in personal hang-ups. They come to class, we have some fun exercising, all of us together, and then we go.

Personal training, well, it's right there in the title: personal. You're there to help the client achieve their health goals in life, so you have to know a lot more about them to start off. And you can't force anyone to do anything. If they don't truly want to help themselves, there isn't anything I can do.

I realize right now I'm thinking too much about the bad sides of things. It's new, it's different, it's scary. And there are some things with the club itself that are ticking me off right now as well, so that doesn't help my mood. But it's something that my Masters Degree in Kinesiology will actually be an asset to. And I am excited about this. Really. >rolls eyes<

I also realize that I need to get out more. We've spent the whole two years (nearly three) we've lived in Alaska fighting for every second of time to enjoy life: hiking, seeing friends, whatever. Because of our jobs, we've had to miss out on so much. Logan summed it up when a coworker asked him if he was going to get out and do things this summer. Logan had answered that we're going to try. The coworker responded, "You say that every year."

And he's right. Each summer we say we're going to do those things that many move to Alaska to do. And our jobs, the lack of similar days off, and our responsibilities have made it thus far near impossible.

So when an issue came up in regards to my class schedule at the absolute last minute, I had to put my foot down and let them know that I would not be available on the day they wanted. It made me feel bad to do that, and yet I was not informed of this change until the day before they submitted the new schedule. What else could I do? My relationship and our well being are important to me.

Now that we have a house, things will settle into a more definite pattern. What we do this summer will set the stage for the rest of our lives here, I think. So we want to make the best of things.

On that positive note: anyone up for karaoke? >big grin<

That change in the air ...

2010-03-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling that change in the air a little early this year. I think last year it didn't really start happening until April, but we've had a few weeks in the upper 30s and low 40s. I'm hearing the sounds of dripping in the mornings when I step outside to start my car. My car needs less warm up time. And our driveway is a slush pit for the second time this year. Break out the shovel!

Of course, in true Valley fashion, the temp still drops down to the teens and freezes everything anew. Or dumps a few random inches of snow on top of the slush. Wasilla weather is anything except boring!

That's not the only thing that may be changing, folks ...

I haven't been able to perform in any local theatre for more than a year now. My current line of work plus teaching prevents that from being a possibility. But I am in the process of shaking things up a bit. I'm just trying to decide how best to do it. I'll let you know how that goes.

I went to see "Chicago: The Muscial" in Anchorage this month, a couple of weeks after seeing "RENT" in Sacramento. It was lots of fun. Even Logan enjoyed it, which was shocking in and of itself. One of my theatre friends also went to see it and said, "VPA could do it better!"

I agree. Maybe not as flashy, but I think we could do better than sticking with the revival's modernization of a story based in the 1920s. Part of the fun of watching a show from another time period is the costuming and mannerisms that were missing from this rendition.

But I will say that the lady who played Roxie was an absolute riot and had me laughing at things that weren't as funny in other versions. Too, too adorable.

Things have been quiet on the work front. It's been pretty boring most days. But I'm coming up on my one year anniversary with TSA, so it'll be interesting to see what happens then. And in the meantime, I get some revision work done on my "Sparkless" novel while I twiddle my thumbs in the dead times.

I've been getting comments on my "A Little Background on Me" blog post all those years ago, before we moved from California to Alaska. I admit to some confusion. They are anonymous and some of them make no sense at all. I sometimes wonder if I'm missing something. I'm pretty unobservant most days, you know. But it also makes me think, "Hey! Someone noticed me! Yay!"

I welcome comments, even if they're just ads.

That's how pathetic I am. >wink<

RENT!

2010-02-07T12:33:00.001-08:00

First things first: I have read Fairest, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Salamandastron, and I'm in the middle of Melting Stones. Still haven't touched that big reading list, but I did get my library card right before leaving on my vacation, so that'll help me accomplish that in a more cost effective way, I hope!

I am here in California once again, getting my fill of friends and family and extremely MOIST air before heading back to the dry cold and regular life. I miss my hubby, my animals, and my body misses my teaching. But I'm having tons of fun.

My friends and I went to see RENT in Sacramento last night. While it's usually difficult to get me to go see shows (I want to be IN them a lot more than WATCH them!), I was sold on the fact that the two lead roles were being reprised by the original actors, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp.

While I am not the type to get starry eyed, I will admit that Anthony Rapp is right up there with Nathan Fillion on my "nearly rabid fan-dom" list. I read his book, I love his voice, and he is someone I would love to meet.

So when I heard that the actors were coming outside to meet and greet after the show, I was torn. Two of my friends went to get autographs; two other friends and I hung out on the fringes of the occasionally screaming crowd and watched. We were not fond of the idea of joining the giddy masses just to shake a famous person's hand or get their indecipherable signatures on a program that will probably get shoved into a drawer and forgotten.

However.

For a brief few seconds I saw Anthony's face as he signed posters for the people pressing close. (I found out later my two friends got to talk to him and some of the others.) It was soooooooo hard to resist the urge to rush up, beat my way through the crowd, stick out my hand and screech, "Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm a huge fan!"

What a war going on inside my head. I hate rabid fans: actors are human, too. Rabid fans can be scary and nerve-wracking. Drooling and foaming at the mouth is like saying these people are better than us little creatures that scurry around them begging for a touch, a glance, a smile.

And yet I sincerely appreciate what they do. It was clear Adam had a cold or a sickness of some kind while he was performing last night, and yet he still delivered a powerful, electric performance. I think about the amount of time and effort they put in, and yet they still take the time to come out and show some appreciation for their fans. (Well, some of them did, anyway.) And rabid fans I think have a tendency to forget that these actors have their own needs that should be respected.

So when my friends brought me a program signed by a few of the cast members (not Anthony, unfortunately, but "Maureen," "Mimi," and the female soloist for "Seasons of Love"), I was totally floored by their generosity and thoughtfulness (my friends' and the actors'!) And very happy to have a piece of memorabilia of such a fantastic experience. Nothing beats seeing such a passionate show in person, no matter where you're sitting.

So I will admit to being a closet rabid fan: I do my drooling and frothing at the mouth inside my own private thoughts, as is proper. Hee hee hee!

Wind, books, and dogs!

2010-01-12T15:29:00.001-08:00

What do these three things have in common? They're all driving me crazy!

The wind has been gusting somewhere between 50 and 100 miles per hour for the last few days. Sometimes it's kind of funny, like when the wind blew me along the corridor to the front door of the club today. It was like effortless jogging!

But when you can't even set you garbage can out for pickup because it blows away, or when thick drifts of leftover snow get packed into the road or your driveway, or your power goes out for hours and hours, that's not fun at all. I really hate it when it sucks my breath away and takes me a few moments to inhale again. I feel like I'm suffocating.

I haven't touched the 100 book list yet this year, though I have read a novel of Redwall and Ella Enchanted so far this year. I think I'll need to get a library card to accomplish this reading task I've set myself. And my own novel is still inching along at a glacial speed. I may be able to finish it sometime in the next geological age.

My dog Bruno decided to take a jaunt through the neighborhood with his new canine pals. A lot of people in this area let their dogs run around loose, which doesn't bother me too much as long as they don't start fights with mine or damage our things. Since I was working on digging out the drift that has blocked my husband's truck in the driveway, I let the dogs have a little fun and run in the yard.

Uffda was a good girl. When Bruno left the yard, I didn't see him, but she did. I could tell she badly wanted to follow him but she came back to me when I called her. I gave her love and brought her inside for a cookie.

I went back out to call for Bruno. I was sure he couldn't hear me thanks to the dratted wind, so I had to go back inside to thaw a bit before I could search for him. I grabbed a leash while I was in there.

I walked along the road (or trudged, since I was wearing heavy boots.) I passed the next door neighbor and reached the duplex on the other side before i saw him. Sure enough, he was running around with two or three other dogs. When I called him, he pulled up short. One of his friends ran right up to me, stumpy tail wagging, so I petted him. Then I called Bruno again.

He took as long as he possibly could have, moving like a snail because he knew he was in trouble and was in no hurry to reap it. But he came straight to me. Since he came when I called and sat when I told him, I merely put the leash on him and said, "Say goodbye to your friends." He walked calmly beside me, not pulling as he usually wants to do. All the way to the house. No cookie for him today.

I can't wait until spring.

Flashbacks

2010-01-06T18:45:00.001-08:00

After the last post, I was struck with the sudden desire to look back on my other New Year's posts. There were only two others since I started this blog. Here's a very brief recap of what was going on:

In January 2008, we hung out with one of our coworkers and shot off fireworks in his backyard. We had also adopted Bruno right around that time. We were working, eating, and sleeping and that was pretty much it (though we did squeeze in a drive to Talkeetna and saw our first moose after three months of living in Alaska.)

In 2009, things had quite dramatically changed. I helped my new writerly friends make a video to enter in a contest and we got second place. I'm still very proud of that video and I remember how much fun we had making it (and how cold it was, too!)

But the really big thing last January was "The Spitfire Grill." I was reading about the opening, watching the Youtube videos, and even read all the way through February and the last show. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about that night.

See why I added theatre to my list of resolutions this year?

Christmas, New Years, and the future!

2010-01-06T18:14:00.001-08:00

Christmas brought great relief to our tiny Whittington household. Both of us working in retail diminishes the specialness of the holiday season, but we still had something to be grateful for on Christmas day: we both had the day off! We were so stoked when we got home from work Christmas Eve that we opened all our presents that night. My husband totally floored me with his gift: The complete MASH series, plus the movie, plus a bunch of really cool extras, all compiled into this neat green fatigue box. It is without a doubt the coolest collection I now own. As soon as we're done watching Lost, that's going into the DVD player next.

We spent Christmas Day mostly at home, then went to Logan's former boss's house for dinner. Got to meet Morgan and Jake's new baby, Payton. So cute! No, I did not hold her because I was positive I would drop her, she was so tiny!

New Years Eve also passed quietly. Well, quietly for us, if not the town. Lots of fireworks going off in the area, but we couldn't really see too many. The main attraction of the night was the glorious full moon. If it weren't so freaking cold out that night, I probably would have stood out there looking at that moon for hours. But we hustled back inside after a few minutes to watch the ball drop on "Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve," or whatever it's called.

We had chosen to stay in for the night after Logan came to pick me up at work. (I bet I was scheduled to work New Years Eve and Day because they knew I wouldn't call in "sick!") He had passed two police "incidents," one of which happened at the Brown Jug Liquor store down the street. Four cops all pointing guns at a guy coming out of his car with his hands up. And it wasn't even dark yet! Good night to stay home.

So here I am, wondering what I'm going to resolve to do this year. Two are repeat resolutions from last year, but I've got a couple new ones to add:

1) Stop biting my nails. (I know, I know. EVERY year the same thing. I'll do it for good one day.)
2) Finish working on my novel Sparkless and start shopping it around as I move on to revise Summerland's Savior.
3) Read as many books from that list of 100 books everyone should read. At least I'll try to get to the classics.
4) Perform in at least ONE show this year!

It's been a year almost to the date when I last opened a show. It's killing me to watch all my friends perform and not being able to take part myself. I realize that resolution has a lot of parts to it (for instance, my job will need to be changed or dropped altogether for this to happen), but it must happen. Or I'll shrivel up and die. Well, maybe not die. But it won't be pretty, I'm sure.

Anyway, I think that's good enough for this year. Heck, it may be good enough for this whole decade, the way my progress on writing has been going. Sheesh.

Many blessings to you and yours in 2010!

Holy Snow!

2009-12-16T21:25:00.001-08:00

It has been snowing here for three days, with a little break last night and a little break today. Yesterday it took four attempts of driving, and lots of digging and swearing before I finally got out of my driveway. Ours has a neat little uphill at the top where my car kept getting stuck. Finally got through and I was only a few minutes late to work. Heck, at least I showed up!

My husband met our very nice neighbor across the street. He offered to plow our driveway to make it easier to get in and out. Such a nice guy!

Today it was snowing heavy. Not big fat flakes, just gazillions of little dry dots that piled up quick. The snow is up to Bruno's chest. I had today off, but I was asked to come in to work when two other employees had called out. Since I have tomorrow off, I went. Our driveway was getting thick again, but I got out on the first try.

The roads were scarier than my driveway. I almost thought I'd get stuck going around one tight corner. Another car was already sitting off the side of the road in a drift. But I made it through with a little fishtailing.

When I got to work, I realized I hadn't brought my clothes, shoes, music, and so on for teaching my class later, so I told one of the managers that I would leave when the next employee came in. It was pretty slow due to the weather, so that was okay. That would give me some extra time to get my stuff and eat before my class. The trip home was uneventful.

I was getting ready to leave for class, collecting my things. I had decided to leave early since it was getting dark and I wanted to take my time driving. During this time, I could hear the sound of a truck outside, and the beeping sound it makes when it backs up. I thought, "Oh, I guess the plow is out there."

I got into my car after letting it warm up a bit. I got a good running start -

- and ran straight into a hill of snow at the top of my driveway. It was almost as high as the hood of my car.

The plow had left a big berm of snow blocking my driveway when it came through. We are near the end of the road, with only one other house next to us. That house is a retreat for someone who lives in Anchorage, so the road is not well traveled past our driveway.

Did they realize what they had done? I don't know. Could they have prevented it, or done something to help us out a little bit? I don't know. But they did it at the worst possible time. I backed the car down the driveway and left the lights on so I could see to start digging. I dug until it was too late to get to class on time, and I still hadn't gotten it clear enough. I chucked the shovel and stomped inside to thaw my hands and call the club.

My cell phone kept giving me the same message over and over: "Emergency calls only." WTF?! I'd never seen that before. It would not let me call the club and have them put up a canceled class sign. Everyone was going to think either I was a total flake or something terrible had happened to me. I finally managed to get through (after my big screaming hissy fit tantrum.)

I think we need to get our land line fixed.

After that I called Logan and told him what happened. Then I went out to finish digging so that Logan could get in without a problem.

When Logan got home in his Landcruiser, he took one look at the snow piled up next to the driveway and said even his Landcruiser would not have gotten over that berm.

This is the first time the snow has really ticked me off. And it's not even the snow's fault. I'd like to tweak the nose of the plow guy. And then say thank you for plowing the road.

At least I have tomorrow off.

Nanowrimo Fail, but Christmas A-Ok!

2009-12-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. I failed to reach the 50k mark in last month's Nanowrimo experience. But the defeat is not so crushing as I thought it would feel. Truth be told, November kind of ended without me. There has been lots of drama regarding employment on the home front, among other things, so I kind of forgot that November has to end some time.

But what I got from the experience was worth its weight in gold. I finally tackled a story that has been bugging me to be written for a long time, but I avoided it from my own fears. So I plunged in and tried to use those fears to my advantage. I got lots of great ideas from my fellow writers and even from friends who are thousands of miles away from me at the moment. I learned more about how the story wants to be written, so much that I know I'll have to start over from scratch. (I wrote it in third person, but the story desperately wants to be told from the main character's POV. So when I get to rewriting it, that's what I'll do!)

In the meantime, I'll be going back to my very first novel, Sparkless. My new year's resolution last year was to finish that one and move on to some others that have been sadly neglected. Well, I have not yet reached that goal, so I want to achieve that one very soon. Summerland's Savior will be next on the list. It still needs to be finished, and then revised. It has been waiting patiently for, um, several years.

I finished all my Christmas shopping early and sent everything off last week. I hope the boxes reach their destinations with all due speed and alacrity. Now if I could only find the time between teaching and work to clean the house and set up the Christmas tree. I think I'll try to accomplish that today!

Things are changing for Logan on the job front. He put in for the Store Manager position, but it was filled by a corporate employee. There are more changes afoot, but I'll leave those for later when things are more solidly settled.

As for me, my jobs remain the same. I'm sure in January I'll find myself with more time on my hands. After all, retail dies after Christmas and I'm the part timer in my department, so I fully expect it and I'm not bothered by it. I've seen it from the management point of view, too.

Guess that's all for now. Gotta get to cleaning! And watching the snow fall outside.

SNOW!!!!

2009-11-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

Last night we got our first big snow of the season! Yay! Uffda and Bruno had a ball running around in it this morning while I cleaned my car. It was the kind that brushes off real easy.

And now, back to my novel. I'm falling behind in my word count! Eek!

My widgets are working!

2009-11-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Yay, my widgets from Nanowrimo are up and running! Woohoo! Doing all right overall. Still haven't officially fallen behind in my word count, but every time I get way ahead in my count, I do terribly on other days and even out again. Today I'm at Pandemonium having word wars with my writerly friends and I am one day ahead. I need to be two days ahead and I'll be more comfy.

Okay, will write more later. Got some word wars to start!

Nanowrimo 2009 begins!

2009-11-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

Look, Ma, I'm Nano-ing!

We are off and running. There are nine of us at the Kick-off party right now and so far today I have written two days worth of words. I have to make sure I stay ahead of my word count because I have a weekend where it will be very hard to get any writing done. And it isn't Thanksgiving, either.

Anyway, I'm going to be very busy writing this month. Finally tackling my zombie novel "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes." In a little more than 3,000 words, I've already had zombie mice and one zombie human get chopped to bits and buried. Things are going well, I think. And I'm going to try adding a Nanowrimo widget so everyone can see my word count grow. Feel free to badger me with encouragement and general heckling of "Why aren't you working on your novel!?"

PS: I guess the Nanowrimo widgets aren't working yet. I hope they are soon. I want to see the coolness because I've never had one of these on my blog before!

Time flies when you're working your @$$ off ...

2009-10-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

So every time my manager gets permission to dole out more hours to his departments, he seems to give them all to me. I'm flattered, but I'm not begging for the hours like everyone else is! It has gotten to the point where I eat, sleep, work, and teach. I'm missing out on some of the fun things in my life.

Nanowrimo is coming up fast and I don't know if I'll be able to carve out any time from my stone cold work schedule to even have a chance at making it to the 50k finish line. Worse, I don't even know if I'll be able to attend any of the Mat-Su write-ins during November because of said dratted work schedule. I've had to ask for several Saturdays off to make room for other things, like a Health and Fitness Specialist seminar weekend that may open some more doors for me career-wise. Funny: as time goes by, my masters degree seems less and less useful.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't change the fact that I got that degree for the world. It showed me what a person can be capable of if you set your mind to do something. And I'm very proud when I think of those dark green bound manuals of martial arts for physical ed teachers now sitting in the Sac State Library and my parents' bookcase. But sometimes I wonder if I should have just gotten the degree in any old interest, regardless of the practicality. Especially since the practicality of my choice hasn't helped me out a smidge. Theatre comes to mind. What could I have done with that?

This year for Halloween I'm attending the National Wild Turkey Federation's banquet. I'll be wearing my Renaissance wench outfit as I have not had the time to make anything else. I know; odd choice of event for Halloween. Long story about our involvement, but I'll be singing "The Star Spangled Banner," and everyone knows I'll jump at any chance to sing!

I'll also be singing "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess" at the Valley Performing Arts Theatre's fundraising night in November. My schedule doesn't allow me to do theatre, but I'm trying to weasel into any singing thing I can. And yes, Mom, if someone records these things, I'll post a copy or send you a burned CD!

I can hear my dogs snoring in the background as the cats chase each other upstairs. It snowed a little today as I walked across the parking lot to my job, but it wasn't sticking. The big snow is coming, though!

Okay, that's about it for now, I think. Gotta go to bed so I can wake up early and - surprise, surprise!- go to work.

A real autumn!

2009-09-22T13:56:00.001-07:00

Last year, autumn seemed over and gone in a matter of days. I felt like I totally missed it, or that maybe we didn't really have a summer, just one really long fall. The leaves barely had time to change before they were ripped from their branches by high winds and almost constant rain.

This year is totally different. We actually had a summer! A couple of weeks where the heat made it up to the 80s! And then it cooled down a bit from there, occasional rain, but still pretty nice until the last month or so.

Then the leaves turned gold. I kid you not. The road to our house swoops down and is surrounded on all sides by thick trees. When the sun shone through that tunnel, it was like driving through a tunnel made of gold. No wonder people have been stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures! I wanted to myself, but never had my camera on those pretty days.

We did take our camera with us when we hiked alongside Lake Eklutna last week. The dogs came with us and we hiked a total of six miles and had a small picnic next to the lake out of the wind. There were golden trees everywhere along the path and all up and down the hills.

I will post some pictures as soon as I can. We have a new camera and I have to figure out how to use it!

So the fall has lasted about a month and the weather has been delightful. Yes, rainy on occasion, but not too cold or warm, perfect for getting out and about.

Until this morning, that is.

Last night, the rain woke us up, it pounded the roof so hard. This morning, when I went out to my car to go teach at the club, I noticed the lacy patterns of frost on the top of it. Not white or thick, but definitely a bit icy. As I drove, I looked at the mountains. Earlier there had been a small dusting of snow at the very peaks. Now snow covers most of the mountains.

So I guess the winter is just about here. My feet are cold and I've got the heat cranked up. My cat Asuka is lying in front of the flames, toasting her tummy. (We're on natural gas, but the stove looks like a wood stove. Fake wood with dancing flames rising from them. I love it. It's the next best thing to a real wood stove.)

In other news, I've been trying to record my Group Centergy class so that I can mail it in for my evaluation for certification. I've tried three times and my camera keeps shutting off before the end of the class. I finally figured that the memory card is too full for an hour video, so I went and bought another one. So now I have to figure out when I can record it because I have to mail it before my next Centergy class.

My marital arts class began last week and I'm loving every second of it. I've got about 10 people in the class, some of whom are interested in getting ranked, so I may be on my way to my own dojo very soon. I hope the popularity picks up so I can add some more classes and eventually quit working at Sports Authority. This schedule is gonna be the death of me. I had to drop out of "Carousel" and I couldn't even audition for "Babes in Toyland." I'm extremely bummed about that.

And just in case I don't get to call my bestest buddy in the whole wide world, I want to let her know that I hope she has the most fantastic birthday ever known to human existence tomorrow. I wuv you!

I can hear the wind blowing outside. I don't think the leaves are gonna stay on the trees much longer. Sigh.

Happy Autumn Equinox!

Alaskans know how to party!

2009-08-24T00:55:00.001-07:00

You gotta hand it to Alaskans: they fight for their right to party!

Today was the company picnic for my husband's store and even though the weather has been beautiful the last couple of days (or so I've been told), it started raining the moment Logan and I showed up to the picnic site. and it didn't really stop the whole five hours or so that the party raged.

And yet there was a great turn out. Despite the rain, a water balloon fight erupted, much to the delight of the kids attending. Also, a "pie" fight (pies were just pudding and whipped cream) to ensure all managers were "pied" willingly or unwillingly (Logan was willing), an egg fight (between several employees and managers who carried the pie fight to a new extreme), sack races (Logan and I both did that), and an archery contest.

So much food was brought, it was barely contained under the awning that was set up in case of rain. Kids roasted marshmallows over an open fire, hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air with that lovely grilling smell, and I had so many sodas I'm surprised I didn't float away. We brought Ghiradelli chocolates and they were devoured. Logan just said some people took handfuls home to spouses that were unable to attend!

Logan and I were among the last to leave, making sure everything was as picked up and clean as possible (the splotches of pie will just have to wash away in the rain) and make sure the fire had burned down safely. A few others hung out with us by the fire and told interesting stories about old ladies buying them drinks and how to get around California's various smog laws.

All in all, it was a successful party, one I was glad to be a part of. And I got to see just how determined Alaskans are to have fun, no matter what tries to get in their way!

Home again, home again

2009-08-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I did all the things I said I wanted to do in the last blog post. I saw my friends, family, and my cats. Gerry jumped onto my back, Damien grabbed my lap, and Schmendrik hovered around close by so I could scratch his cheeks. Boothie is now the oldster kitty of the group and lays around a lot, though he still appreciates a good pet. The dogs are all gray around the muzzles, except Buster, who is white to begin with. But he's showing his age, too; Dad built a set of stairs so Buster has an easier time getting up to the bed.

My parents are chugging along just fine. Dad and I played guitar together a couple of times while I was there, but my fingers got sore quick. I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like, so my fingers remain newbie tender. Their gardens are flourishing and they even have a greenhouse now!

I did stuff my face with Chinese food and wish to God I could have stuffed my bag full of it so my husband and I can eat some together. The Chinese food here in Alaska is just not that good. Even the Panda Express down there is better than the best Chinese we've eaten here so far.

I got to take my friends out to lunch. We went to Red Robin and the conversation ranged from theatre (of course) to the death of Michael Jackson. I love these people and wish I could have spent so much more time with them while I was there.

I went to see the latest show that's opening at the Olde Coloma Theatre, "Six Flags Over Coloma." Anyone who lives in that area of Northern California should see it. They have a talented cast (and many different accents abound, which is hard to do!) and lots of beautiful costuming. The dress my best friend wears in the second act will knock your socks off! (Or at least burn out your retinas, but you'll still find yourself saying, "Thank you. Can I have some more?") And trust me, I'm not just saying that because she's my best friend! Watch out for those hoops!

I got to see Moonshadows, my favorite metaphysical book store in the world. Though it is no longer owned by the sweet lady I loved to chat with, it still has lots of great stuff. I left the store with a bottle of locally made lotion that has bug repelling and sunblock properties. I haven't smelled it yet, since I wanted to wait until I got home to open it, but I knew it would be the perfect lotion to have here in Alaska during the summer! (Though the summer is pretty much over now, sniff.)

My family went to Alder Creek the day after I arrived. There were lots of photos and video taken while we splashed around in the creek and then hiked up to the pool. A fellow hiker's dog joined us in the water and begged us to throw sticks for him, a nice old Golden retriever named Al. I missed my own Bruno quite a bit at that point. I actually wore a bikini, something I haven't done since I was a real little girl! It covered more than most bikinis do, though, since my chest is practically concave. (I can hear my mother gasping at me mentioning that on a public blog.)

I will have lots of pictures to post on Facebook and Myspace eventually. I arrived home after 2 am, and my husband had to get up at 6:30 for work, so I am functioning on little sleep right now. In fact, I think I will put off doing the dishes my husband piled up while I was gone and go back to bed for a while. Yawn.

It was a great trip.

Yay for vacations!

2009-08-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

I will be leaving for California tomorrow night. My flight leaves at 12:30 am and I'll be arriving in Sacramento by a bit after 9 am. I long to see my family, my friends, my cats, stuff my face with Chinese food, and visit my favorite places, including Moonshadows and Alder Creek. I want to take all my friends out to dinner to say happy birthday, some belated, some quite early. I want to forget work.

Logan and I have been trying to get outdoors since the summer is nearly over. Leaves are already changing color here and it's chilly in the mornings, though still warm during the day. We hiked a trail near Lake Eklutna, which was a very steep one. We took the dogs with us and during the last mile, Uffda lay down every chance she got. And made a few opportunities of her own as well. She was quite tired, poor "little" girl. Bruno, however, trotted briskly every second and was still tearing around the yard when we got home. So we decided next time, he gets to carry their water, cookies, and travel bowl!

We had bought a pack for him. It hangs on both sides of him, fitting like a harness with a loop on the back to clip the leash. We just never had an opportunity to use it yet.

So we went on a hike at Hatcher's Pass, called Archangel Valley. The drive up the trail was rocky; Logan had to put the Landcruiser into four wheel drive for the last part. When we reached the gate where the hike started, it had begun to rain. It had been sunny at home when we left, but clouds loomed over the mountains as we got close to the pass. We thought it would pass along and clear up.

Boy, were we wrong. It got harder as we went. Logan forgot his hat, though we were both wearing the tops of our Frog Togs. I put on the hood of my sweater, but it was soaked through by the end.

This was the most frustrating (and scary) hike we'd ever been in. We would have been better off leaving the dogs at home. I'm sure Bruno had a blast, but some things went wrong that made things ... sticky.

The trail got really thin and hedged in close by thick bushes. We got to a point where the path forked and we took the wrong trail. We reached a place where we had to jump across some big rocks with the stream running over them. I thought the dogs would slip and fall when they jumped. Uffda almost refused to jump, and I can't blame her. I almost didn't want to, myself.

We had read that there were some abandoned cabins at the end of the hike, so that was our aim, to check them out. After the rocks, we topped the hill and saw we were on the wrong side of the stream. By this time, it was more river than stream. We tried to find a place where we could jump or cross without soaking our feet. One place looked good, but when Logan stepped into the water, his foot sunk. He had high boots on, so it wasn't a problem for him, but it would have been for me. So I went farther down and found a place where there were more rocks and less water. This was a worse idea, because the rocks were slippery and I soaked my right foot, anyway. I was wet from head to toe by this time and starting to get chilly. There was nothing to dry my hands on. My fingers got pretty stiff after a while and I worried about hypothermia.

So we were starting to feel really stupid when we finally hit the ridge and saw a large expanse of field to cross before reaching the cabins. As we started across, we discovered it was mostly swamp. I soaked my my other foot and we decided to finally call it quits.

Logan had some spare wool socks in his pack, so I switched out my soaked ones. Then Logan took our packs and I took the dogs and the dog pack. We let the dogs run around free since they usually stay close. That was our other big mistake. Bruno likes charging around. He wanted to chase a bird that streaked out of a bush, but that would have meant diving off a big rock. I'm so glad he listened to me when I yelled at him, though it took three times to turn him around.

I had reached the narrow part of the trail where bushes clustered thickly on the edges, hip high. Bruno decided to plunge head first into the downhill side bushes. All I could see was an occasional wiggle. Uffda decided to follow him. I yelled and yelled and eventually Bruno emerged with some difficulty. I kept calling Uffda and saw the bushes wiggle here and there.

Then the wiggles stopped and whining started. She had gotten stuck just a foot from the path. I pushed through the branches and saw that she was stuck down under a bush behind a rock wall. She couldn't jump the wall and the bush on top of it and was freaking out. I tried pulling her up, but only succeeded in pulling on her fur. She didn't even so much as whimper. So I dropped down the where she was and scooped her up in my arms. She's at least 60 pounds now and it was all I could do to lift her up. If she'd been like Bruno, she would have leaped from my arms and scrambled over the bush to the path. But she was scared and would not move. I couldn't throw her over the bush, so now I was stuck, too. I was so afraid she was hurt. Logan had caught up and asked if I'd got her and I said, "NO!"

He came down, managed to wrap his arms around her while still up on the ledge, and lifted her to the path. I was so relieved, I almost cried. And as she walked down the path, I saw no sign of injury. I immediately put their leashes on after that event.

I was never so excited to see the Landcruiser as I was that day.

And here's the kicker: As we drove down the rocky road, the sky behind us showed patches of blue. Logan took pictures of it as a way of shaking his fist.

While much of this is embarrassing to tell, as it makes us look like unprepared greenhorns, I wanted other people who read this blog to know that you can never be too prepared in Alaska. Even something as a simple hike on sunny day can turn into a disaster. Just want you all to know that because I care about you.

Summer over? Nooooooooo!

2009-07-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

The weather here has taken a turn for the normal. We got pretty warm there the first couple of weeks in July. Now it's on-again-off-again rain. The nice thing is that it isn't cold rain. It's rather warm. The pain is that you can't tell when it's going to happen. We go entire days with heavy, threatening clouds and not a drop hits the ground. Today it was sunny for about one hour in the middle. Then it started pouring.

At least we accomplished something in the downpour. Since Uffda, our Newfie puppy, was already soaked, we just rubbed some doggy shampoo into her fur and rinsed her off with the hose. Dog bath done in record time.

Uffda is huge! She's only five months old and she's Bruno's size. This is great because now she can take him on. She doesn't do a whole lot of fighting back, but she's equal to him in weight, so it's harder for him to bowl her over. Now if I could just teach her not to wrap her lead around everything.

Speaking of Uffda, we decided we just couldn't deal with the gigantic responsibility of puppies. Sure, I'd love to see what kind of puppies a pure Newf and a pure Golden Retriever would have (dang, they'd be cute!), but we don't have the time or energy that they would require. And we don't want the hassle of selling them, either. Besides, knowing me, I'd get attached to them all and we'd end up with a dog farm. So she's getting broken this week.

My practice for Group Centergy is going well. I'm still not ready to have it recorded, but I need to get over that soon because I have until near the end of September to get a video of me teaching the class done and sent in so I can be certified. I love how this class makes me feel at the end: taller, standing straighter, strong in my core. I'm loving all this exercise I'm getting. And Logan doesn't seem to mind it either. >wink, wink, nudge, nudge<

I can't wait until my trip back to California. I know many Californians are tired of their hot weather day in and day out, but I hope it's still hot when I get there. I miss really hot weather. And don't roll your eyes at me, Myndi-bunny!

I hope it's not the end of summer here. I know August is the beginning of the end. By September it'll start getting cold again. But I think Alaska still owes us from the misery of last summer's weather. But, of course, Alaska is not the type of state to uphold deals with anyone, at least not weather-wise.

Visiting California!

2009-07-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

So I just made my reservations for my second trip back to California this year. It's the last "free" trip I'll get for a while, using up the last of the miles I've accrued on my card. I even had to "borrow" some miles from Logan in order to make it as free as possible. Of course, the airlines charge for that transfer, but that is just a small percentage compared to what I would be charged for a full price trip. Even through all those travel websites that boast lower prices. Yeah, lower prices, but lousy bookings.

This is the first time I checked out some of those websites and I wasn't too impressed. Yeah, I would have saved about $300, which is nothing to sneeze at, but the long layovers and the weird destinations for flight changes steered me away. Why the heck do I need to fly to Denver and change planes to get to Portland and then to Sacramento? Ridiculous.

The bookings for my award flights were only slightly better; the layovers are much shorter and the destinations are more reasonable, Anchorage to Seattle to Sacramento and back. But they're late-at-night flights. I'll be leaving at 1 am from Anchorage, and when I return, I'll be arriving around the same time. Not very convenient when hubby and I have to get up early to go to work after my return. But that's what I get for being a cheapskate, right?

It's all worth it, though. I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss some of the old haunts. I only get to see them twice a year at the most.

Gotta remember to bring presents for all the birthdays that will be coming up or that just passed. Goody, I get to shop!

The insanity parade marches on ...

2009-07-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the last weekend in June in Anchorage training for certification in Group Centergy through Body Training Systems. They fly a person out to us and we spend 8 hours each of three days having discussions, going through the routine at least twice each day, and performing our homework assignments (learning an assigned song out of the routine and leading the class in it.) By the end of the weekend, my head was stuffed and my body exhausted to a point I hadn't encountered since I nearly passed out in my karate class during my undergraduate Kinesiology program at Sac State. (I was taking a couple of dance classes, several activity analysis classes, and my karate classes in the evening. I was overdoing it a bit at that time.)

I loved every second of it and it was one of the best things I could have done for myself. I can't wait to start teaching this new program in the fall. It's a fusion of mostly yoga and Pilates with a little Tai Chi thrown in here and there. I never realized what a good workout yoga can be!

I'm still teaching Group Active and I'm learning the summer season release right now. That'll start at the end of July. In addition, I'll be starting a martial arts class at the club. (I can hear several voices out there saying, "It's about time!" I agree!) This may mean I'll have to quit my current retail job. Though it's been a decent enough job, as the part timer my hours are getting cut so I'm only there when the full-timer in my department is not. Teaching extra classes may mean I'm not available when they need me to be, so I may no longer be worth hanging onto. I'll burn that bridge when I come to it, hyuck.

I hope this means I'll be able to audition for "Babes in Toyland" at the theatre here in town this fall. It still bothers me that I had to drop out of "Carousel" because of this job I may no longer have by September.

Even better news: I'll be flying out to visit family and friends in California in August. I want to do it before all my new teaching stuff starts, but I want to make sure I don't miss the Alaska State Fair. I hope the weather is better this time!

And now for something completely different:

Can someone tell me a good way to make up for missing the birthday of a very dear theatre brat friend?! >Hangs head in shame<

It's not possible ...

2009-06-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm still in shock. My world is upside down. This is one of those people I thought would never die, that somehow or other he would redeem himself and come back bigger than ever. There was a time when I worshipped this man. Maybe I didn't spend the money on the paraphernalia of a rabid fan, but I loved his music. I loved (most of) his dancing. I have the whole "Thriller" monster dance memorized still, for crying out loud! I have the "Thriller" video on my iPod, the only music video on there.

I don't believe it. I refuse to believe it. Now I understand why there are so many people out there who believe Elvis and Marilyn are still alive, that they faked their deaths to lead normal existences. I'm like to believe that first myself.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_michael_jackson

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and hoping there really is one to drop.

Going to the faire ...

2009-06-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

So I finally managed to attend the Three Barons Renaissance Fair here in Alaska. At first, not knowing what to expect, having not attended one in such a remote state as ours, I had chosen not to don my garb. Actually, I wasn't sure where it was as we've only been in our new house for, what, two months now?

Holy mackerel, has it really been two months already?! Where has the time gone!!!!

Oh, sorry about that. Two, three, four ... (I know at least one person out there will get that reference.)

Anyway, Logan convinced me to locate my Ren Fair costume and put it on. Yes, Logan. I know some of you will now need to close your swinging jaws, but it's true. He suddenly got a bug up his ... grandmother ... to see me in my wench wear. Not that I have proper wench bosom, but you can't have everything.

So last Saturday, sandwiched between my class, my writing group meeting, and a party I was supposed to attend later that night (which got waylaid by a migraine. Sorry, Megan! Happy 30th!), Logan and I braved the elements to visit the Three Barons.

I was pleasantly surprised that though things were looking dreary and gray that morning, by the time we go there the sun had made an appearance. It's doing a good job of making up for last year. I had brought my cloak just in case, but ended up leaving it in the car because I was hot. I was really hot, I think, for the first time here! Woohoo! (it's hot again today, hot being low to mid 70s, so I'm going back out to sit in it as soon as I'm done here.)

I was a trifle disappointed. There was plenty of room, and probably the crowds were diminished because of the construction going on nearby that made for some difficulties when finding the location, but the booths seemed rather sparse and the costuming more haphazard. I was worried at first because I no longer have proper period footwear and had to make do with my hiking boots, which, mostly hidden under my skirts, didn't look to bad. But I quickly noticed that almost everyone was wearing hiking boots or work boots or dark sneakers. Alaska doesn't bother with minutiae. Comfort and durability rules with an iron fist.

I was hoping to perhaps find a vendor selling period clothing and footwear, but there wasn't much. A few clothing booths, which did not boast much in the way of quality or quantity; more than a few booths of kids' games, food, and drink; one leather working vendor (probably the best vendor there, neat stuff); and lots of those sparkly wreaths with long ribbon streamers attached.

I did see one booth that had witches' hats made of any number of fabrics and patterns, as well as princess hats that I adored as a kid (too small for me, of course). As I looked at the hats, it dawned on me that I could make them myself. In fact, they were very much the kind of thing I would do were I to have a booth at a fair! I might have purchased one that had a cat pattern on it, but they didn't have any fabrics with cats on them.

We walked through the whole place in half an hour. We stopped and watched a few minutes of a little theatre show at the Red Barony. We watched as the Blue Barony did some of their stuff, which was mostly talking about themselves when we went by, and I don't remember ever seeing the Green Barony, though I'm pretty sure they were about, just not doing anything specific in their area at the time.

The most popular costumes seemed to be gypsy costumes. We saw lots of the those floating around. I guess Alaska girls take every opportunity to show off their tummies when they can, since most of the year it's too cold to do so.

Since Logan's brother had dropped us off so he could jaunt around Anchorage while we were doing that, we ended up walking down Tudor to a gas station to get something to drink. (If you have to pay for it, at least get something you know you like, right?) Then we walked back and sat on the lawn out front until Ben arrived.

I got tons of second glances from passing cars (and their drivers, too), and people were stopping me inside the gas station to ask about my costume and about the fair. They assumed I worked there. Apparently my costume is professional looking up here, when it barely passed any kind of muster in California. One little girl was shrieking to her mom, "Mommy, look at her dress, look at her dress!" And she asked me what kind of dress it was.

I guess I've finally found my smaller pond.

All is forgiven ...

2009-06-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last summer sucked in the weather department. Anyone who visited us was lucky if they got a nice day in there. There were only four days where we actually hit 70 degrees.

This summer is more than making up for it. We've had lovely weather since mid April, with a couple of rainy exceptions. At first, when Logan's brother arrived a few days ago, we thought he'd brought the rain with him and that this trip would look exactly the same as last trip. But the sky is clearing up rather nicely. I hope it will clear up even more by the time the boys get home from their hunting trip.

Hunting here is the national pastime, that and fishing. So Logan and Ben are going on a bear hunt as I type, along with Logan's boss. They shipped out of Whittier. Haven't heard about their luck yet.

I've come to a rather important decision. I'm going to open my own dojo-slash-fitness center. I plan to teach martial arts classes and also have a massage room as well. I want to add fitness classes as well, such as kickboxing, and I hope I can afford to license my school with BTS so I can teach the classes I'm certified to teach at the club here. I want it to be family oriented, a place where wives and mothers will want to attend classes, too, not just the husbands and children. Being a female instructor (and quite possibly the only one in town!) I think will help in that arena.

I would appreciate any advice and information anyone can pass along to me as I begin this new adventure. I've started researching and reading, looking at potential places, and maintaining my certifications.

At least now I understand when the locals were proclaiming the wonders of an Alaskan summer. (A la Madeline Kahn) It's twue! Oh, it's twue, it's twue!

Uffda is home!

2009-05-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, we went into Anchorage in the evening and I suggested we call the couple we had purchased Uffda, our Newfie puppy, from to see if we could visit her.

They had the puppies out on the lawn and let Uffda out so Logan could meet her. He sat on the ground and she immediately settled with her head in his lap and went to sleep. Logan's eyes lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning.

We were informed that she had seen the vet recently and had her hips and heart checked out (two areas of known trouble for the Newfoundland breed.) She was all good and healthy and ready to go home at any time. Logan looked at me and said, "You wanna bring her home now?"

We had originally planned to bring her home after this weekend, since I'm working long hours and have Grand Opening still to get through. I didn't want her to be neglected during her first days settling in with us. But Logan had the next two days off, so we stopped at Pet Zoo on the way home to get the things we still needed for her.

She's piddling everywhere, inside and out, she likes to gnaw on boxes and shoes and countless other things, but she's so mellow and sweet. She's also slow moving, so we don't have to worry about not being able to catch her at the moment. She's so mellow, she slept all the way home, and in the cart at Pet Zoo, and when she walked, she reminded me of zombies in the old movies.

Then she and Bruno met.

Bruno, as some of you may know, is the complete opposite. He is very hyper and can't sit still for long. He loves running around and his feet and tail are always moving. We have to watch them very carefully because we didn't want him damaging Uffda in his exuberance. And exuberance it was.

Those two adore each other now. They can't stop playing when they're together. They chew on toys together, play that weird face game that dogs do when play fighting, and couldn't ignore each other if they tried. It's so cute. Bruno just needs to get over his habit of bowling her over when they're outside together.

But Uffda is teaching Bruno her brand of doggie zen and Bruno is drawing Uffda out of her shell. She's moving around with more speed and courage than we've ever seen. She actually seems to know what her legs are for now. We can't wait until she's big enough to really play with Bruno and stand up to him when he tries to run her over.

Still debating on whether we're going to allow puppies to happen later or not. Right now, thinking not. We really don't want the responsibility at this time. So we'll probably get Uffda fixed soon.

Anyway, here's a few pics of our new member of the family.

Amazing stories

2009-05-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Not too many amazing coincidences and hilarity enters my life in such rapid succession. But these two recent stories I just had to share.

This past Wednesday after I was released from prison, er, work, my husband and I had a late night out, even though I needed to go to work the next day. I was going to have some time to sleep in before my very late shift for our first evening with open doors to the public, and Logan and I haven't had any days off together since I started working more hours. So we went to a restaurant in Palmer that we were introduced to by some friends of ours, open 24 hours with decently priced yummy food. It's called the Valley Hotel and it's the coffee shop inside. We lovingly call it "The Valley Ho." (One friend called it the V-Ho, but her boyfriend called it the Valley Ho by mistake. We couldn't resist keeping that name.) When family and friends come to visit, we will certainly take them there, as the food is really good.

Anyway, we also drove the half hour to Eagle River because their movie theatre was the only one in town playing "Crank: High Voltage" with Jason Statham. It was a kick in the pants. It crosses many shock lines, and I don't just mean electric ones.

Anyway (two), we've had absolutely gorgeous sunny weather lately, thanks to a high pressure system in place over Alaska. (Californians curse that high pressure, Alaskans revel in it, especially after last summer where there were only 4 warm days that reached 70 degrees.) The roads were completely dry, which made the grooves in them from winter tires seem more pronounced, as there was no snow or puddles of water to obscure them.

Just for fun, Logan, my insane chauffeur, decided to take his hands of the steering wheel, as the tires were well settled within these deep grooves. I didn't realize how deep the grooves really were ... until we approached a corner and the car TURNED ITSELF. Without Logan's ever touching the wheel with hands or knees. I don't think you can even do that on Highway 80 in California! (I could be wrong, but we never did.)

The car cruised around the corner all by itself without any assistance, and straightened out to boot. At the next corner, the grooves lessened, so Logan was not able to repeat the experiment, but once was enough for me. It just shakes me up to see him drive without either hand on the wheel for any amount of time, let alone THAT long!

So that was pretty funny and amazing, at least to me. Almost seemed like a magic trick at work. "Nothin' up muh sleeve ... Presto!"

And now for something we hope you'll really like ...

So by now you've probably read that we are getting a new puppy, a Newfie named Uffda. We did a lot of research on all the different breeds, trying to decide what kind of dog would be a good match for Bruno and also have the kind of disposition we want. I know there have been demands for pics of the puppy and of the new house, and I'm working on that. But here was an amazing coincidence that Logan pointed out to me today.

We bought an older model Toyota Landcruiser not long after we moved here. We needed two vehicles and one of them needed to be a truck for going camping and such. So we bought the most decent one we could find. It had a sticker in the back window which we didn't pay any attention to and never bothered to remove.

Today Logan was out in the garage with his exercise equipment, sweating away, when he looked out the window and happened to glance at the back of his Landcruiser. And noticed what the picture on the sticker was.

It was one of those black and white silhouette pictures of a specific dog breed. When people own a type of dog, they can get this sticker showing what kind of dog they like and/or own.

This sticker was a Newfoundland.

Isn't that eerie?!

Finally moved in!

2009-04-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

We are finally moved in to our new house! We moved all day Tuesday and I moved all day Wednesday while Logan was at work, though he joined me as soon as he could to finish up the job.

It was brutal. I was covered with bruises and every single muscle I possessed screamed in agony for a few days after the moving was done. But we did it!

I will be taking pictures soon. Still getting organized. If my friends and family download Skype, they'll be able to see at least part of the inside of the house with my computer cam. Not to mention we'll be able to see each other and talk to each other for free, too! Ain't technology grand?

Anyway, Bruno was a nutcase for the first couple of days, but he has settled in quite nicely now. He loves his run because it means he gets to spend more time outdoors and run back and forth and I can go about my business while he does his. Also, this is a very dog friendly neighborhood, so he's already had several canine visitors. No fights, everyone plays friendly, so as long as none of them are unfixed females, I'm cool with it. I will not take responsibility for any puppies when my dog is confined to his own yard!

The cats are having a ball. They'd forgotten what carpet was like because our apartment was all laminate flooring. The loft upstairs, where they spend most of their time, is carpeted, and I can hear them racing around like crazy several times a day. Also, the staircase is their personal kitty jungle gym. Cats settled in almost immediately and they love all the windows, too. Need to replace those blinds with curtains, though!

All the snow has melted. Even thought the temps have been in the 40s and low 50s, it's still pretty chilly as it has been raining the last few days. I have to get our tires changed over on Monday because they have to be changed by May 1st. We're still riding on studded tires right now and we'll get fined for that if we don't change them now that the snow is gone for the season.

So much I want to tell and I can't remember it all right now! I'm positively giddy with delight!

I'm driving into Anchorage here in a little bit, so when I get back, I'll blog about our search for Dog #2. And more on the new house will follow as I remember all the things I want to write about!

Hoppy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Missing those dearest to me today. Thinking about bear claws and cinnamon buns, colored eggs and baskets of candy. I've worn a dress once since I've moved up here and couldn't even bring myself to put one on today, since it's kind of drizzly and gray outside and we're still committing random acts of packing here in our apartment.

Yes, we're still here. We were supposed to sign papers for the new house on the 9th and move in on the 10th, but that ended up not happening. So we're signing papers on Monday and moving on Tuesday instead. And this time it has to happen that way because we have to be out of the apartment by Wednesday.

I hate last-minute-induced panic attacks. I got enough of those in college.

But today I spent two hours eating bear claws and drinking green tea while watching "Easter Parade" on TCM. Also got to chat with Mums and Daddums and Auntie on Skype. What a neat invention. So I got a little Easter cheer before we plunge back into the mess that signifies our big life change.

Happy Easter, y'all!

Spoke too soon ...

2009-03-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, yeah. We got a little bit of ash. What a letdown from the buildup, though.

Saturday evening, Logan and I were having dinner at a friend's house. She received a phone call from someone letting us know that Mt Redoubt had burped big time and there was a huge ash cloud heading our way. When we left her house, we could see teensy little flecks in the air, more like dots on the windshield, as tiny as could still be seen by the naked eye.

It was still faintly light outside, so we could see the cloud heading toward us. It was dark and a little green, too!

I went to a local bar after dropping Logan off to sing karaoke with my friends and celebrate someone's birthday. When I left that place, there was a slight film of ash dust covering the car. It didn't even obstruct my view through the windshield on my way home.

Next morning, Logan told me it was pretty much the same thing when he went out to the car to go to work. All in all, a rather disappointing show.

Still, I've gotten earfuls about how annoying ash fall is, how you can't use your windshield wipers because the ash particles will scratch up the glass, how you can't breath, how you can't wear contacts, on and on and on. So I'm glad the ash fall was almost nonexistent. Lord knows we have enough to deal with around here without ash covering everything, too!

Houston, we have a negative on that orbit trajectory...

2009-03-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

No ash. Not even a hint. In fact, I haven't even heard any news about the volcano for at least one full day. I guess that scouring wind we get through the valley is also blowing all the volcanic activity away from us. Can't say I'm hurt or disappointed.

But now I've got a box of ten cheap knee-highs sitting on the counter. Logan had me buy them for the cars. Just in case. Guess they'll sit around 'til the next eruption in 20 years.

Mt. Redoubt erupts!

2009-03-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Let the party begin!

Okay, no real reason for partying here. Nor is there reason to panic. However, we did just get word a little bit ago that Mt. Redoubt has indeed erupted, so poor Logan has trundled off to prepare the store for the ash fallout. (It's after midnight. We are not happy campers.) We will have to cover all the sensitive equipment, such as computers, with plastic bags before we leave at night because ash has an annoying habit of getting inside buildings where it is most unwelcome and a bitch to deal with.

But from what I've been told from people who experienced this last time (I believe it was late 1989), that's the worst that we will see. From what I've been reading, the most common suggestion is make sure you have food and water at home just in case and carry a washcloth to cover your face when you go outside.

Of course, I could read all the articles on the internet about volcanoes erupting and what to do about it, but I still have to wait and see the results for myself!

For those interested, here is the link to the volcano watch page:

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

Mt. Redoubt is not the only active volcano in Alaska. There are quite a few, from what I understand. One that went off in 1912 killed animals more than 1,000 miles away. (But then, I'm half asleep at the moment, so don't take any of my "facts" to heart. I can scarcely remember what day it is right now. Er, what night, I mean. Whatever.)

I'll keep you posted on what we end up seeing here in the valley. It's definitely Alaska-related information that others would be interested in, if I do say so myself.

In other unrelated news, I helped out a friend today who is doing a short movie that he plans to enter in several film festivals. I was an extra for a scene in a cafe. I spent the entire time sitting at a wobbly table playing games on my Mac, like Flipword and Pacman. The hot cocoa was good, the sandwich not so good. (To give them credit, it was the end of their day and it was the last sandwich, so not the freshest to be expected.) But it was great fun because a lot of my Spitfire Grill buddies were there, too. So it made for a nice evening.

The process on our house is going very slowly. The seller is getting a set of stairs to the loft put in. Shortly after that, the appraisal will be done. Our last day in our apartment will be April 15th. We should be completely moved in by then, though the seller may still have some stuff on the property and in the garage. (The vehicles in the yard may have to wait until the complete spring breakup as they are buried in ice and snow!)

Speaking of spring breakup, it definitely seems to be on the move. The last couple of weeks have been mostly sunny, sometimes reaching temps above freezing. The eves begin dripping, patches of ice on the parking lots get soft and mushy, snow gets blown away until you can practically see dirt in some areas.

But then it still freezes at night, so all those wet patches turn slick. Gotta watch your step and drive carefully in some spots!

And then last night it got cold again and started snowing. It didn't snow in Wasilla, but it did in Anchorage and even just down the highway in Palmer. Just enough to depress everybody. I passed a billboard out in front of a local shop that proclaimed, "It is spring, it is spring, it is!" I guess someone is very adamant about that being true. It IS spring, but the weather has yet to completely cooperate.

Well, it snowed in April last year. I can see that happening again this year quite easily.

Well, it's getting on to about 1 am now. I'll have to turn on the news tomorrow morning and see what reports there are on the Mt. Redoubt eruption. 'Night, all!

Lots of new, exciting stuff!

2009-03-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a bit since I last posted, and I don't know what I was saving it up for, but prepare for a serious unloading of news.

Deep breath.

First, I traveled by plane back to Northern California to visit family and friends for a week. As it is their rainy season and they're crying for rain (it was 70 degrees and sunny when Logan visited in January), I could hardly begrudge them the rain that we got most of the week. But it was sunny on the day I arrived and at least one other day while I was there.

The appearance of the sun is very different there. It's more golden and somehow a little harder on the eyes. Up here, it's more bleached and even with the snow, I hardly ever feel the need to wear sunglasses.

I ate Chinese food most of the week. I just haven't found any restaurants here in Alaska that match the Chinese food down there, but I'm not done looking yet. We brought Chinese food home from my parents' favorite place one night, went to a place in the new casino in town, and I took my bestest buddy to my favorite place, Debbie Wong's, in El Dorado Hills. I wasn't even able to eat it all before I left. Hope my parents enjoyed the leftovers!

I got to see my three boys, the cats I'd left behind at my parents' house. I was worried they wouldn't remember me, as it had been almost a year since my last visit. But they seemed to know me right off the bat and Gerry jumped on my back like he used to.

I even got to see the Folsom Zoo and Sanctuary, which I just never got around to doing while I lived there!

My friends gave me a stuffed moose dressed in a karate gi to celebrate my return. We ate at Olive Garden that first night, another place I had never really gotten a chance to go to while living in the area. I wasn't missing much, apparently, but it was fun anyway. We were also celebrating Tiffy's birthday.

The flights were good. The midnight flights to California were much quieter, of course, and had no one in the middle seats. I slept a bit on each one, but it's hard to sleep with your head on those little tray tables. Thank Goddess for iPods. I watched Wall-E and Firefly. On the way home, I watched 13 Going on 30 and Moulin Rouge. There were people in the center seats, but at least I had a window the whole way.

As much fun as I had, I was glad to be going back home. Logan and I had been having some problems, but we worked them out over the phone and we were very anxious to see each other.

The very day I got back, since we were in Anchorage, we decided to do some shopping. I certainly didn't expect to going back home with a new Macbook, but we did, and I am using it now as I type. We'd been hearing some good things about Macs, and I'd used them in college. We decided to give them a try. I like them a lot, but they do take getting used to if you've used PCs most of your life.

Now for the most exciting bit of news:

We got an email from Misty, the realtor helping us in our house hunting adventures. It was a link to a single house that had juts come on the market. She said she didn't know if it would be "too Alaskan" for us. (I smile whenever I think of this now.)

We went to see it a few days later. After the viewing, we talked at home for maybe 15 minutes before arranging to make an offer through Misty that evening. Instead of offering less than the asked for price of the house, we asked for certain things to remain with it, like the washer and dryer units, and we asked for $4,000 of the closing costs be covered by the seller.

We had to wait all of the next day, Friday, for an answer back. Logan went to a meeting at work and I went to help a friend search for her missing dog. Logan called me later that afternoon to tell me that Misty texted him that we got the house!

I won't write much about it now, because I plan to post some pictures later on, but we should be moved in by May 1st. It's amazing how fast and how smoothly everything has been going, as if this house were waiting for us to come share its life. The monthly payment is the same as we've been paying in rent for our apartment, and it's going to the ownership of something that suits us down to the ground. I can't believe our luck!

Oh, and my friend found her dog, too!

It's Over...

2009-02-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

Wow. The run of "The Spitfire Grill" here in Wasilla, Alaska is over. And what a ride it has been.

Today's closing show was a mind blowing experience. As many of my acting friends probably remember, I have never really cried on stage. When I was Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors", I could get a little misty-eyed on occasion during those crying scenes. Same thing happened here. Our director was of the impression that Percy, my character, would cry when she revealed her secret to Shelby. I thought perhaps not because she would have gone through all that in therapy in the prison. Anyway, I did my best every night to shed some tears.

I think I managed to make it believable, but I never got past the slightly-damp-around-the-eyelashes point.

Never, that is, until tonight.

The bonds this group has formed are amazing. We love hanging out with each other, we help each other, support each other, email each other, call each other, and spend hours on Facebook checking out each others' profiles. (Okay, maybe not hours, but you know what I mean.)

Every show I have ever been in, there was a great relief when the show was over. Yeah, a little bummed because it was fun, but relieved that now life can go back ot normal.

For this cast, there is a big gaping hole in our lives now. If the show were to go on for another month, not one of us would complain or think anything else about it. We'd go on performing and loving every second of our time together.

So emotions ran high to boiling today for our closing show. We were all a little sniffly during our nightly pre-show prayer gathering. I couldn't speak because I would have had to surgically remove the lump in my throat. But then the show started and we all fell into the usual routine.

By the second act, it was like reality was setting in. Not just the reality that the show was over, but the reality of the show itself. It took on new life. When I did my monologue about how "I" killed my stepfather because he got me pregnant and then beat me up and killed the life inside, the silence in the audience was palpable. When I broke down and buried my face in my hands, real tears coursed down my cheeks.

Tammy told me that when she pulled my hair aside to lift my chin during her song and saw the tears rolling, she almost couldn't continue singing. She said she felt the tears dripping off my chin onto her hand and nearly busted out bawling herself.

The next scene was the one where Tammy and Evan have their argument about me and Evan nearly hits her. I get to watch from the corner of my eye, pretending to be asleep in on the rock. The scene rocked the house. It was absolute magic.

When I sang "Shine" after that, even though it was a real struggle to keep my voice steady, I sang it with more emotion and power than ever before. The tears started again near the end of the song, but this time they were tears of happiness.

I had to run to the greenroom to get some tissue before I had an absolute makeup meltdown before the biggest scene of all.

I pull Tommy into the grill, the son that had been living in the woods since deserting the army. Bonnie, who plays Hannah, has always been able to pull off that scene (lovingly nicknamed "the green weenie" scene) with gut wrenching emotion and authenticity. She cries on stage every night without fail.

The latter half of that scene has me blowing up at Bonnie, saying, "I know what it is to lose a child Hannah!" Followed by silence. Then, "I do. And mine can never come back." By this time, the tears had started again. When I walked over to her and pointed to the door saying, "But you're boy is out there," I couldn't contain it anymore. I sobbed as I ran off the stage.

I practically crashed into Evan who immediately held me in his arms as I cried, followed quickly by Garry, who did the same. I was overwhelmed by the emotions running through us all. As Bonnie and Tommy completed the scene, Bonnie sang her song with raw power as Tommy came into the grill and sat at the table with her. When she placed her hands on Tommy's, a bomb could have gone off in that theatre and no one would have noticed.

During the final scene, when the chosen letters are collected, Garry has a line something like, "Well, I guess today's the big day." His voice wobbled as he spoke and we all nearly lost it right then. Patty courageously spoke her lines, though we could see the effort in her face to keep it together.

The last song came together with perfection. Our harmony rang through the room like bells. When we came out for our final bows, though it was not a full house, to me it sounded like the loudest cheers we'd heard all along. We got a standing ovation.

After the show, we gathered up the props, pulled down the trees, and began dismantling the stage. As the knoll disappeared and the tables were removed, I could feel myself sinking into a deep depression. It really is over.

We hung out for a while after finishing the strike. We presented our director with his gifts and laughed about things that happened that night and other things that had happened in other shows. We ate some food and cried some more when it was time to go. I hugged everybody three or four times at least. There were cards, flowers, candy, and lots of other things floating between us.

Now that I am at home, I am reflecting on the last four months. I have no more tears, not because I don't feel like crying, but because my body is dried and numb from the emotional tide that washed over me and left as quickly as it had come. We had our first read through toward the end of October, our first rehearsal at the beginning of November. I remember the hard times we had working through certain scenes, the disagreements, the laughter, the camaraderie, the goofing off backstage. I remember the first time we went out as a group and enjoyed each other's company away from the stage right before Thanksgiving. And how we've gone out once every weekend during the run of the show. While we couldn't all always be there, we were together in spirit.

It is the same now. Though our lives will continue, we'll fill that extra time with other things, we'll enjoy other shows and casts, they will never be equal to the time we spent with each other.

Before this show, I was residing here in Alaska, but still not belonging. I hardly knew anybody and I hardly did anything besides work, eat, and sleep. I found this new family and I feel loved and accepted. I can't express to them how much that means to me. I will always love and cherish my "Spittie Family".

Okay, I better knock this off before I start crying all over the keyboard. This computer has enough problems as it is.

Gods all bless, cast and crew of "the Spitfire Grill".

Been a long, been a long, been a long tiiiiiiiiime!

2009-02-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been a while since I posted. Lots of stuff going on. Not sure what's too personal, what's too boring, and what's too ... Well, anyway, here's a few things.

The response to our show, the Spitfire Grill, has been incredible. The people who come up to us after the show are seriously moved, some to tears. Several gentleman have told us that they never liked musicals, but they liked this one. I've had so many compliments, I'm starting to feel like a superstar.

However, we've only sold out one night. That seems to be because of the economic downturn of late. I guess it's the same for theatres across the nation.

But Sarah Palin came to a show last weekend! Got to shake her hand and she said she enjoyed the show. Took a pic with the cast and crew. Don't have a copy of it yet. Lots of flashbulbs going off that night.

Today I narrowly escaped an accident on the highway. What is it with Alaskans and driving? As soon as snow appears, you see 10 cars ditched, rolled over, or crashed. Do they think they're invincible just because they see snow almost every day in the wintertime?

Today it started snowing on our way home from Eagle River where I taught a class. When a person would pass, you wouldn't be able to see for a bit because of the snow being swirled around.

At one point (I was averaging about 45 to 50 mph by this time) a couple of loose dogs approached the highway like they intended to cross. I slowed to a stop and honked my horn to deter them. They moved off and I picked up speed again. As I glanced in my side view mirror, I saw a car sliding toward me at high speed, whipping back and forth as the driver tried to regain control.

I started muttering, "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" over and over. Logan didn't realize what I was talking about until the car slid by us sideways, missing us by about an inch or two. He ended up backwards in the ditch. Thank the gods he didn't hit us or anybody else. And I pray those dogs went back home and made it safely.

In other news, Yahoo Messenger has disappointed me yet again. For some reason, now it will not open for love or money. No matter how many colorful names I give it, I can't figure out why or what to do. I may just cut my losses and try something else. In the meantime, I'll have to stick to Facebook and/or Myspace chat. At least until I can figure out what's going on.

A few days ago, when it snowed, the flakes were so tiny, you could clearly see the crystal pattern they form. When I went out to my car one morning, it looked like it was covered in stars. It was so pretty, I didn't want to drive it!

Got to see "Les Miserables" at long last. Colony High School performed it and they did very well for a high school production. Sure, it had it's fair share of glitches, but some of the singing was pretty good and some of the acting was even better. I enjoyed it very much. That's quite a difficult undertaking for a high school!

Okay, guess that's all the updates for now. I get to go see my local nurse practitioner tomorrow morning to start my yearly feminine invasions once again. Oh, joy and rapture. >Rolls eyes<

Now I Remember Why I Love it So Much

2009-01-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

This show, the Spitfire Grill, has really brought home to me why I love performance theatre. I had never realized how much a person could be affected by what we do on the stage. I have never received such glowing comments on anything I've done. And this cast is truly a remarkable cast to work with.

I wanted to share this letter from a patron. I hope she won't mind. I won't leave her name and I don't even know who she is myself. But it's too special to me not to share with those who read my blog.

This is a big excerpt from the email:

"Effy was a hoot and always a joy to watch. As we watched the transformation of Shelby from wall flower to a strong and assertive woman, we cheered. The actress who played Shelby was truly wonderful and her lyric vocals were a pleasure to hear as well as her dancing and duets. The wild bird song was so touching and the small duet with the sheriff added a sweet touch. We felt the desire of Shelby to comfort her friend, the pain of Percy as she thinks and relives the painful memories, and the love of the sheriff for Percy despite the rejection. A lot in a small package. Caleb was indeed a cad, but he was written that way, and it was well acted. The angst that Hannah must have gone through was well portrayed and we felt her pain as she struggled - very nice vocals to boot! I can't say anything that will do the scene with Eli justice. My kleenex ran out after that.

"The woman that played Percy was truly a blessing to hear. From opening to closing she was indeed a "spitfire". We loved hearing her sing and her dancing and acting just made it that much more enjoyable. When she sang the song on the hill with the sunrise I was grinning from ear to ear. There is forgiveness and second chances indeed. I whispered to my friend,"Where has she been? I didn't know we had ladies that good in Wasilla!" The man that played Joe...I had been hoping to see him in a musical again since Beauty and the Beast. When he sang both times on the hill he gave me goose bumps and his duet with Percy was flawless and we knew that there should be more coming. When Joe sang the forest and trees song and proposed to Percy my goosebumps came back. We could feel his intensity and passion from where we were sitting. When Joe looked at her we knew he loved her and that he was singing only to her - the rest of us just happened to be VPA voyeurs! My friend leaned over to me and said, "I bet they're a couple in real life. You don't fake that!" Please keep those two together because they are a joy to hear and to see together and the chemistry crackled.

"I went expecting just another night at VPA and left truly touched. My heart was warmed by the message of the story. I think the actor that played Joe mentioned that the story was heartwarming and spoke of love and forgiveness during the radio interview. He was right. I left having had a truly wonderful experience and one that I will remember fondly for a long time to come. I will be telling my other friends about this and encouraging them to go see the show."

I am truly blessed. I can't even express how emotional I feel right now. I cried earlier, tears of joy. Thank you for sending us such warm sentiments and letting us know that what we do is indeed special to many.

Spitfire Success!

2009-01-18T03:46:00.000-08:00

It's almost 3 o'clock in the morning right now. I can't sleep. I'm so jazzed up and feel the need to squawk about it.

The show is going great. The response is really amazing. Instead of the usual obligatory "Great show, wonderful job" statements you get from the patrons as they pass, we find ourselves surrounded by people grabbing our hands and saying with great exuberance, "That was fantastic!" and other expressions of rapture. People are REALLY enjoying this show!

Yes, we've had our share of problems. We've had several forgotten lines and song lyrics, a wig falling off on stage, a mic cord getting caught on something and requiring one of the techies to run to the store during intermission to get it working again. And that was all just tonight!

But it never seems to matter. We've had standing ovations both nights. I think the seats are going to fill up quickly.

And this cast is the most amazing cast I've ever worked with. The talent is impressive, and they like to go out and bond and have fun. We went karaoke-ing tonight and I'm still dancing and humming. So much fun. That's why I'm still awake. We have a matinee tomorrow, but at least I could sleep until 11:30 if I wanted.

This must be sinful, to be enjoying myself this much. Or at least fattening.

I'm going to be blubbering like a baby when this show closes. I hope I'll be able to put the tears to good use on the stage.

You Tube Spitfire Grill vids

2009-01-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a taste of the Spitfire Grill. Please ignore the little problems here and there; we were still ironing out the bumps at this point!

Shoot The Moon

Diggin' Stone

Colors of Paradise

Opening Night!

2009-01-16T15:39:00.001-08:00

Spitfire Grill opens tonight! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Okay, I feel better now.

I'm going to post the radio program that three of us did to plug the show yesterday somewhere on this blog. Just not sure where yet. We'll see where it appears!