Cinnamon Ornaments

Check out these cute little decorations. It is a perfect way to spend an afternoon with your little crafters, not to mention the way it will cinnamon-scent your home! Here are the quick and easy directions:
 **Warning it can get messy, but so much fun!

What you need:

1/2 c. cinnamon

1/2 c. applesauce

~1 T. glue

 Bowl

Straw

In a mixing bowl combine the three ingredients, use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix. If the mix is feels too wet add some cinnamon, if it is too dry add some applesauce. We found a 1:1 ratio to work well of ours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly cinnamon dusted surface and roll to about an 1/8" thickness. Use desired cookie cutter shapes to cut out the dough. With a straw cut a small hole out of the top for hanging.

Place cut outs on wax paper or a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Can be left to air dry for two or three days or bake in a 200 degree oven for about an hour.

Once dry, add the string, and a little paint if desired, but they are also plenty cute all on their own.

**As an alternative you could add a little glitter to the dough to give your ornaments a little sparkle.

But, most of all have fun and create some memories together!!

Presents Under the Tree

 The pile of gifts is growing under the tree. Only fifteen more days until Christmas, I was informed this morning by a bubbling little girl.

Presents are a huge part of this upcoming holiday. The trick for parents, I think, is to balance the getting of presents with the giving of presents. And it's made even harder when the first question out of most people's mouths to my children is, "What do you want for Christmas?" The wants are first and foremost on their minds and their list is long. So, as a parenting team my husband and I try to make an equally big deal about what they are giving for Christmas as well.

We take each child shopping, especially for the other, and he takes them shopping to find something for Mommy and tomorrow we'll be going out to shop for Daddy. And during the next week we'll be cooking and crafting the rest of our gifts for family and friends to help add the idea that gifts don't always come from a store, but also from your creative talents.

How are you balancing the "I wants" this holiday season?

I am Thankful

I have so many things to be thankful for in my life. My family, my home, my friends, and especially my readers.

I'm so incredibly thankful to all of you who have bought the books, shared the books, and commented on the books. Without readers I would not be a writer.

I appreciate the thank you notes I have received and the reviews people have shared. I write not only to entertain, but also hopefully to inspire and empower others to follow their dreams, whatever their dreams may be.

I'm so excited about the new books I will be releasing this next year and want to make sure all of you fantastic and wonderful people out there are getting updates before anyone else, so if you haven't done so already sign-up for my newsletter. All you need to do is enter your email and confirm you want to be on my list and I will get those monthly updates to you, plus special sneak peeks.

Have a very blessed holiday and thank you again for reading!

Turkey Time!

As Thanksgiving approaches we are seeing turkeys everywhere.

Today, during our homeschool time we took a few minutes to create one of my favorite Thanksgiving art projects, Handprint Turkeys.

I have been doing the project for years, first as a kindergarten teacher and then as a homeschooling mama.

These little turkeys make a cameo in my novel, The Teacher, when kindergarten teacher Emma Hewitt is stapling them outside her classroom. So, here's a little peek at the project. I've included written as well as video directions. They are so simple and so fun, because the kids love getting the paint on their hands!!

How to:
Paint the palm and fingers with kids' washable, non-toxic paint. Then, press the hand print to the paper. When the turkey is dry add an eye, a beak, some legs and any other features you'd like to include.

Check out this video link to see the project:

Here's the final project with all the eyes and feet in place:

 

 

I am beautiful when I choose to smile...

I love to see my kids smile. I love to see my husband smile, my friends, my family, my neighbors. And I love to smile. It lifts me up when I give a smile and receive one in return. That's why I think it is one of the best ways to show off our beauty and say, "Look at Beautiful Me". It is one of our most attractive qualities.

 

A smile is the most inexpensive, easiest, and most powerful gifts we can give to anyone, including ourselves.

 

Need proof? Check out Ron Gutman's talk--which is very good and very short. So, even if you don't need science as back up to the benefits of smiling it is still a worthwhile video--about the power of smiling.

 

I believe in the power of a smile simply based on the evidence in my life, like the time I heeded the advice to give everyone I met a smile, because it might be the only one they get all day. Yeah, think about that. Have you gone through a day with no one smiling at you? Or you not smiling at anyone else? Yuck, huh? That's just a recipe for stress and icky feelings all the way around.

 

And I'm not lying when I say I've stood in the longer line at the super market just to be helped by the more smiley checker or chosen one service provider over another based on the fact that I could hear the smile in their voice when I talked to them on the phone. It is so simple and yet so overlooked in our society, because we make up excuses all the time--too busy, too tired, too much work, too into my problems, too much effort.

 

I get it. I'm an introvert and smiling gregariously and initiating interactions with strangers is hard for me. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about receiving a person warmly. Bullies shut us down with their hideous scowls and fake smiles--smirks and jerks, who needs that?

 

A lot of times our self-consciousness drives us to smile less when we think our teeth aren't white enough or straight enough. Or that our lips look funny, but that's us being too critical of ourselves, and if someone does judge you on that then that's their shallow problem.

 

So, don't miss out on a chance to share your beauty with the world because you think there is something a little off about the way your lips curve or because smirky-jerky over there is leveling you with a scowl. Bring on that smile and show off that beauty.

 

How to teach it:

 

Model it: I will say it again, your children are watching you and they will see how you interact with people. And be sure you aren't short-changing your little ones with the beauty of your smile. Even if they've tipped over their cup at dinner for the hundredth time this month and they're ten. It's okay. Smile. If they feel the power of a smile they'll know how important it is to share it.

 

Follow their example: Honestly, kids are way more likely to smile than us adults. They still haven't been tainted by all those frownies out there yet! Which is good, so watch your children engage. I'm always amazed at how our daughters so openly offer a smile to someone new that they meet and I see how good it makes others feel. It makes me want to be more like them.

 

Hop on over to my Facebook page and join the smile campaign I'm starting. See the beautiful smiles from my life and share some of your own.

I am beautiful when I choose to be kind rather than mean...

This is the first line of my Mom's Choice Award-winning book, Beautiful Me. It is basically the premise for the whole book. When the wild idea to pen a book for young girls about inner beauty popped into my head I first had to decide what beautiful looked like.

Google (notice how Merriam-Webster is no longer our go to these days) defines beautiful as something that is "pleasing to the senses or mind aesthetically". Now, to me that means more than just a pretty face. Anyone can doll themselves up and put on a beautiful mask, but as we all know that artificial beauty doesn't last long nor does it "aesthetically please" the mind for very long.

So, I sat down with my bright idea and did what any sensible writer would do, I brainstormed. (I say sensible here, because I have been known to lose my sensibility while writing and forget the power of brainstorming when I enter that dreaded zone writers fear called, "writer's block".)

When I took a moment to really think about the beautiful people in my life or those people that I just genuinely gravitated toward, they were people who showed kindness. It is authentic kindness that I believe is at the root of true inner beauty. Show me a kind person and I will show you a flock of people attracted to that person.

Kindness can be hard to come by in this world. Why else do random-acts of kindness make such huge headlines in our newsreels? We seek kindness from others, because it makes us feel good, makes us feel valued.

Where kindness is absent, ugliness spawns. It is where malice, fear, and defensiveness brew. This is where parents jeer the other little league team that wins the game against their child's instead of extending a heartfelt congratulations for a game well-played and an experience shared. Kindness is absent when we refuse to tell the woman next to us that she looks fabulous in her $700 dress because you feel inadequate in your $40 bargain bin frock--when in all reality does it really matter what the price tag is???

Kindness is simply a choice. A conscious choice to be made and shared with the world. I would love to live in a world that blossomed with kindness, wouldn't you?

How to Teach Kindness:

Model it: You will hear me say this a lot. Parents and caregivers are children's most immediate teachers. If they see you acting with kindness they will likely follow suit. If they see you help the neighbor take out her trash, they will more likely grow up to help their neighbor take out the trash. And don't be afraid to teach your kids that they can help a neighbor or a grandparent without getting paid, to simply do it because it is the kind thing to do.

Talk about it: Bring attention to a moment when someone was kind to you that your child observed and let them know how that made you feel. Try to help your child talk about times when they felt someone being kind to them or when someone was not kind to them. This teaches empathy and helps kids to realize the impact of their actions.

Be patient: Young children are developmentally at a stage where their world's are all about them. This egocentric phase is normal and makes unselfish behavior less of the norm, but that will change and when their eyes open to the world around them all that teaching you have been doing about being kind to others will start to sink in. Don't give up hope if your little one isn't ready to share her mittens with another child right away. This takes time and consistent modeling.

Please share a story about how you have witnessed kindness from the beautiful people in your life.

All Work and No Play...sort of

Sometimes the life of a writer can be very solitary and lonely as you live in a world that no one else knows about until your work is published and shared. Creating the scenes and the setting are all unique to the writer and the writer's experiences. That's why I'm a firm advocate of research and having many life experiences. Not only does it make a life richer and fuller, if you're a writer it can fuel your muse. Something I discovered yesterday, enjoying a fabulous tour of a winery in Hood River, Oregon with my husband. Not only was the behind the scenes tour amazing and educational, the wine was fabulous and I was inspired. So, just a little head's up to all you awaiting the next book, we're going to Oregon's wine country....

Me out among the vines.

Getting set up with some fabulous wine selections and crackling fire in the background. Oh, and a fabulous day out with my husband.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

What to do when you plant the wrong pumpkins…

 

After carefully reading and selecting the best variety of pumpkins for roasting we bought three plants, thinking this would be plenty to fill our freezer with puree for our favorite holiday treats. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, a pumpkin roll, and those blessed pumpkin cinnamon buns that Christmas morning wouldn't be complete without. But alas in keeping with our terrible garden luck of the summer we ended up with two plants (yes, that’s right, one plant didn’t survive) chock-full of these tiny boogers.

 

 

 

So, last weekend to fill in those slow Saturday afternoon hours we embarked on a decorating adventure. And just look at the cute decorations we have filling our house this autumn.

 

 

Cover Reveal: Beautiful Me by Meg Gray

   

Beautiful Me

Publication date: July 1, 2014

Genre: Children’s picture book

Book Description

Beautiful Me takes the abstract concept of inner beauty and puts it into concrete terms, emphasizing actions, not appearances. Child-crafted illustrations give an authentic interpretation of inner beauty. This book provides a springboard for opening up the conversation about the control each little girl has over her own beauty. For ages 4-9.

A Mama to Girls (Part One)…

Here is what keeps me up at night as I traipse through this experience of being a mama to two fabulous girls…

I worry they will fall down and skin their knee when I am not there to kiss it better.

I worry they will be teased for their fashion and flair (rain boots and tutus are still in style at our house).

I worry they will feel left out or ignored by their friends.

I worry they will look in the mirror one day and not like what they see. And then, I worry they will try to alter their appearance to fit someone else’s definition of beauty.

I worry they will suffer a heartache that makes them question their worthiness.

I worry they will let one person’s opinion or criticism change the course of their dreams.

I worry about them being treated like an object rather than a precious gift.

I worry that one day I will wake up and realize they aren’t my babies anymore, but someone else’s to cherish and adore.

I worry they will forget the great power they have inside their hearts to do good things in this world and will sit aside, letting life pass them by.

I worry that I am not a strong enough role model for them to follow.

I worry they will know fear.

I worry they will know defeat.

I worry they will know pain.

The Story Behind the Story (Beautiful Me)…

It all started about ten years ago. I was sitting on my couch in the afternoon watching a TV program. It’s not on anymore, but maybe you’ve heard of it…The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The topic of the day was self-esteem and girls or maybe it was body image and girls. I don’t remember exactly, but I do remember a number of celebrity guests on the show discussing girls and body image.

Ten years ago, I wasn’t a mommy yet, but the issues being discussed were still relevant and important to me. Especially if I did have a daughter someday, because I would want to make sure that I was using all the strategies I could to help her build a strong self-image.

I wasn’t completely out of touch with the topic, though, because I was teaching kindergarten and witnessed young girls that passed through my doorway struggle with self-confidence…and they were just five and six-year-olds.

I found myself agreeing with the arguments being presented about how the media gives our young women a false sense of beauty and that our nation of young girls are suffering poor self-esteem. Then, one celebrity looked into the camera and with her perfectly red glossed lips said, “It’s not what you look like on the outside, but what’s on the inside that counts…” (This might not be a direct quote, but it is a very close approximation to what I remember hearing). In that moment, I was hit with the thought that I—as a full grown and mature woman—understood what she was saying, but would a young child understand? If I were trying to communicate to a young one that she was beautiful because of what’s on the inside, would she get it?

My early childhood education brain said to me, “No, she wouldn’t.” A young child’s concrete-thinking mind would need less of an abstract explanation than, “…it’s what’s on the inside that matters…”, especially when she’s being inundated with media and fairytale stories that illustrate beauty with such a strong connection to outward appearances…the beautiful gowns, the fancy hair-do’s, the pink lips and delicate fingers, etc.

So, with a sudden sense of immediacy I reached for a pen and paper to scribe the first words of Beautiful Me, which I think has had several different titles since its conception.

At the time, I did not consider myself a writer and had no idea what to do with the words I had written. But I felt inspired by the act of writing and tried my hand at a couple other manuscripts. Life changes quickly came along and put Beautiful Me as well as all other writing aspirations on hold. All my pages went into a drawer.

I finally got around to thinking about publishing the book after my first daughter was born. I started to research publishers and agents and found very few that published anything like what I was proposing, but I still wanted to give it a try so I sent out a couple of queries. I got one rejection back and another non-responder. So, Beautiful Me hit the drawer again.

Self-doubt swarmed over me. Who was I to write some words that might help young girls understand inner beauty? Maybe the idea wasn’t as good as I thought it was. I let self-doubt’s strong hold take over as more life changes happened, including the birth of our second daughter.

I soon realized with two young girls growing and looking to me as a mentor that I needed to start living my life as an example. And I would never want them to see me as someone who gave up easily or refused to follow my passions. What was my passion again? These early years of motherhood can cause a woman to forget about her passions, because she is so absorbed with caring for precious new babies, but I kept searching for what to do and at every turn, I came back to writing. I still had no idea what to do with Beautiful Me, so I jumped into writing novels (I still have no idea why writing a whole new 70,000 word manuscript seemed like a better idea than working out the wrinkles of a 250 word manuscript, but I’ve learned to not always question my instincts and to just go with them.)

Writing and completing my novels were huge accomplishments and now after self-publishing both of them, I have moved into a position where I’m ready to re-examine my children’s book. I’m not only ready to push this book through now because of my publishing experience, but also because as my husband and I raise our girls we continue to find ourselves coming back to the foundational elements of this book as we talk to our girls about their inner beauty.

The whole book and process has come full circle for me as my little loves took on their own roles as creators in this project. Something powerful happened while we sat and talked about the words on the page and as I listened to them talk out how to illustrate a picture that matched. It was amazing for me to see and feel their interpretation of inner beauty. Now, more than ever, I want to share this experience with others.

There is nothing like Beautiful Me on the bookshelves. Good sign or bad sign? I don’t know.

Most books don’t start targeting inner beauty for girls until the teen or ‘tween ages. And so, I have to ask why aren’t we starting to talk about inner beauty sooner? If we start sending the message to girls earlier rather than later that their actions define them more than their appearance, then maybe, just maybe when they hit those tumultuous teen years they’ll be better armed with a stronger self-esteem. Maybe?

I believe it is worth a try…

By no means am I trying to suggest that if you simply read this book to a young girl you will combat a low self-esteem later. I wish I could promise that, but there are so many factors that can and will affect a girl’s image of her body as she grows. I only hope that Beautiful Me is one tool people will use to open up the conversation about loving the goodness and kindness inside one’s heart.

Release date for Beautiful Me is set for July….stay tuned for more updates!

The Family that Publishes Together Stays Together

Yes, this is a spin-off of those old license plate frames I used to see in the church parking lot every Sunday morning growing up. The family that prays together stays together.

Over the years, I’ve seen many variations of the saying as I am sure you have too. The verb may change, but the heart of the statement stays consistent. The family that does something productive together is stronger for it.

In the next few weeks, the team here at Gray Digital Ink will be issuing its first picture book, Beautiful Me. Now, there is quite a story behind this story, but that will come in a later post. But it has certainly turned into a family project.

I wrote the words with a minor assist from the little ones when I struggled to find just the right verbiage for my new and younger audience of readers. My little girls never failed to come up with the perfect kid-word I needed.

Team Gray did the illustrations. Each of us had a hand in pulling this work of art together. And since everyone has been involved there is a buzz running through our house about its release. The patience level of the below age ten crowd is next to nothing.

The best part of working on this book for me was that my family took a genuine interest and active role in helping it come together. My original idea for writing a book about inner beauty in young girls has been brought to life in way I never imagined possible. So, whether I sell ten or ten-thousand copies of the book, it really doesn’t matter to me. The experience of creating this book with my husband and children is a far greater reward than any number of dollars I will pocket from its sales.

My family is very connected—our children are still young enough that we aren’t running on crazy teen-ager schedules yet. We still eat dinner together every night, a traditional sit at the table with no TV running in the background kind of dinner. We work in the garden together. We have movie night together. We go hiking together. We go on walks together. We read together and we bake together. There are no shortage of verbs for our family to throw into the above statement, because time spent doing something together is important to us and makes us a strong family.


How would your family complete this statement: “The family that [insert verb here] together stays together."?

I'm a Quarter-finalist!!!

So HAPPY to announce that "The Bridesmaid" has made it to the Quarter Finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA)competition!!!!
Yay! There are 500 entries remaining in the competition, 100 of them are in the romance category.
I have been informed that excerpts from all the contestants will be uploaded by the end of the week. Customers will be able to download excerpts and leave ratings and reviews. If you can't wait that long to see what a quarter finalist's excerpt looks like just hop on over to the book on Amazon where you can read the first few chapters (this is actually more content than was judged in the last round).

Thanks again to everyone and their support of my new career.

Here's a link to get to the book:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H6OOSPG?tag=megr-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00H6OOSPG&adid=19HCZ48VCAHVFX3WNXYP&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.megcgray.com%2F#reader_B00H6OOSPG

"How Do You Find a Good Husband Like Daddy?"

​This is a question I was asked two nights ago after reading a fairytale to my two little loves. I don't know if it is my daughters' new infatuation with the movie "Frozen" and the smooch scene at the end or if it is just their age that is prompting their questions, but the question of finding a man to marry has come up more than once in the past few weeks.

I think it has to be every mother's dream to see their daughter marry well and when I say well I don't neccesarily mean financially. I mean to see their daughter loved and respected by a man.
I have the honor of being the mother to two of the most ingenious, talented, and headstrong little ladies in the world and I will support them anyway I can in finding a partner that is worthy of their loyalty. But I also believe they will have the power to attract the kind of man they deserve by being confident and independent women.

Now, I have told them that they don't have to worry about finding a husband for many years. They are only six and four, so thirty (the age at which I will let them finally move out and seek a marital partner :), just kidding--sort of) is still a ways off.

But we have already started planting the seeds of recognizing the kinds of behavior we look for in friends and eventually spouses. Being kind, respectful, and honest are all the same qualities we will encourage them to look for in a partner. It seems unreal to me that we are embarking on these questions already, but I am glad that their curious minds are talking to us about it instead of just using the fairytales and movies as a road map for finding true love.

I am happy to know that they both have called dibs on their daddy, telling me they will marry him when they get older. There is no need for me to go into why that won't happen for them now. They'll figure that out when they are older, but it does tell me that their father treats me with love and respect  and that they want the same thing for themselves when they get older.

Without a doubt I married a prince charming who has turned out to be an incredible dad to our two daughters. He empowers them daily by engaging with them positively, kissing them good night, and setting up expectations about treating people with respect.

I already dread the dating years, remembering the time from my own youth. But I can honestly say I think it will be harder for my husband to see his little girls opening their hearts to someone else. I pity the dates they will bring home, but pray my girls will find a match as good as the one I found.

Parents of little girls, let me know how you are dealing with this topic or what your greatest fears are in raising young women?

If You Could Do Anything...

​Not very long ago someone asked me, "if you could do or be anything you wanted, what would you do?" And I surprised even myself by saying, "I'm doing it."

I'm living the exact life I want to be living right now. I'm homeschooling my children, spending time learning and growing with them and I'm selling books, that I've written. These were only hopes and dreams I had for myself a few years ago.

When I was teaching kindergarten I was doing exactly what I wanted to do at the time. I had the privilege to work in some great schools and with some incredible people, but I don't feel called back to the classroom. While I was there I loved it. After I had children my outlook on life changed and now I'm pursuing my new dreams.

I will admit that somedays I get tired and bogged down by the responsibility of schooling my children at home and feel like I never have enough time to write. And I certainly do look at the "work" I do and the teeny-tiny number in my bank account. The financial rewards in my life are small right now, but that's not what drives me to do what I do. My passion drives me and yeah, someday, I'd love to see a little increase in the bottom line, but for now I wouldn't trade my experiences for a little more cash.

I honestly can't think of any "job" I want right now other than writing. And while the homeschooling and writing schedules don't always complement each other I'm doing the best I can with it. And it would be a whole lot harder to do if I didn't have the incredible support of my husband. We're a team, supporting each other.

What about you? Are you doing exactly what you want to do? Or if you could change what you're doing now what would you do? What's holding you back from pursuing your passions? And who's on your team supporting your goals?

Change of Scenery

I have to confess. I hit a wall a couple of weeks ago. Book #3 has been taking formation, but not very smoothly. I finished the first draft about two weeks ago--which to be fair is only a glorified 10,000 word outline. That may sound like a lot of words, but in reality is a choppy mess of about thirty pages. But that's okay. This is how it all starts.

The real problem is that I have been stumbling to get back into it again. I want to get moving on draft two, but feel literally stuck in the mud. At this point, all I'm going to say is that I am experiencing new challenges with this book, which can be a good thing if you want to look at the brightside of things.

I'm excited to push myself to work on something a little beyond my comfort zone, but it's been creating a number of mental blocks for me at the sametime.

So...when I fell ill to the viral bug circulating around our home I hauled my behind up to bed, dragging the laptop with me. Between sniffle blows and sips of tea I got moving on draft two. I'm about 5.000 words into the second draft...and that feels pretty good. I guess what I am getting at is that if you find yourself stumbling with your writing...if you're getting blocked...try a change of scenery (and unplug from the internet).

I found that when I was out of my office, which provides a number of distractions, like papers to file, school lessons to plan, the internet, Facebook, email--just to name a few--I was able to contect with my story and my characters. Our laptop's wireless connection has been disabled, so whenever I would get that wild hair to research a little something I couldn't. I had to stick with the story, make a little note in the text, and keep writing. And I will have to admit I was pleased with the results!

What sort of writing struggles do you have? How do you combat them?

School Today!

I'm going to use this blog to share about our family's homeschooling experience. As you read please know that I don't tout homeschooling as the best and only option for schooling children. We made a very informed decision when we decided to follow this path because it is right for our family and our children's education. It is the right choice for us and I am passionate about our choice...if I wasn't than this whole thing wouldn't be working out so well.

When I share that we homeschool I get a lot of questions about why we made our choice and how we do it. So, this is simply a platform to share the answers to those questions. If you are at all interested, keep reading....

One thing I love about homeschooling is that we make our own schedule. For instance, today is President's Day. School buildings all across the nation are closed today, but not our's. There will be school today. We maintain a regular schedule of school and avoid gaps in our learning schedule.

Now I get some folks looking at me like this is a ridiculous torture to my children, but really they get it. It is part of our day. We don't treat school as a bad or negative thing. They love to learn. So, we keep on learning everyday whether it is an hour of formal lessons or a two hour project.

There will be school today. There will be learning happening in our house today

Zumba Kicked My Butt

Oh dear me. I sit her typing using the only muscles in my body that weren't worked over this morning...my fingers. I'm afraid that the moment I try to stand up my entire body will seize into one cramped ball.

Zumba is tough. I will give it that, but I'm wondering about the brain altering affect that occured when I walked through that doorway this morning. What made me think I was a young and in-shape twenty-something? For some reason being in that group with the loud music pumping I started working like I was that girl from my past-the young step aerobics instructor/dancer that I used to be. My thrity-something mommy of two identity who works out on occassion in the living room with a walking workout DVD, had apparently vanished. And when the instructor said "hey, here's a low impact option," why did I choose to go for the high impact option? Why did my brain cease to function in my time of need?

There I was standing in the middle of the class--that's right, no back row for me (at least I didn't go totally dillusional and opt for a front row spot)--tootsie rolling and hip swivelling like I was some Zumba Queen. I was moving left and right almost always on cue and my rib isolations felt pretty spot on until I looked in the mirror and the reflection I saw in no way matched what was going on in my head. I almost didn't recognize my awkward looking self. I was sure my kicks were going higher than that. And my elbows weren't that bent before, I'd totally felt myself hit that move earlier.

It's funny how our minds and bodies don't always match up. I find the older I get the more this is true.
I was also acutely aware of the scene from The Teacher where Emma takes her first Zumba class. The instructor for my class even had on a bright pink shirt :) But, I was glad no one was watching me from behind on a balcony, because I certainly would have given any spectator a comedy show.

By the end of class I was hurting and sweating, but it still felt good. It is good to move my body, especially since I spend so much time at a computer nowadays. But I have a feeling by nine o'clock tonight I will be a crippled mess.

The real test to see if I survived this experience will come on Monday morning, so stay tuned to see if I do it again!

What's your best workout story?

To Blog or Not to Blog?

This is a question I've been struggling with since the conception of this website.

I love the idea of a blog. It seems like a great way to share what I'm thinking with my readers, but the momentum I had for it quickly faded away. The chore of having to come up with something interesting to say was daunting...and I've always found it easier to do nothing than to do something I'm not motivated to do...but since this blog has dwindled it has constantly been on my mind.

So here I go again...I'm gonna blog it up in 2014 and see how it goes. I will throw it out there right now that this is a challenge for me. I consider myself a very uninteresting and private person. But I have gained a lot of insight and inspiration from other writer's and entrepreneur's blogs, so I'm going to start posting again about my self-publishing journey and what is important to me in life. You never know when something you say or share impacts someone else's life.

As you follow my blog if you have any specific questions about writing, books, or self-publishing by all means please ask me...it will help my content, but it is also important to me to connect with and support anyone else trying out this ambiguos road of self-publishing.

So thanks for checking in and watch out for some riveting blog content coming your way!!!

Tears of Joy

Just last week my husband and I were explaining tears of sadness to our children as we attended the funeral of a beloved family member. We talked about how our hearts are sad when someone passes away and when that sadness overflows in our heart, tears come out. Those tears are an expression of love for the person we have lost and it is okay to cry to when we feel sad.

Today, they got another lesson about tears, but today these were tears of joy. When I yelled from my comfy blue typing chair for them to hurry into the office they came running. Their feet pattered down the stairs and across the floor. But when they reached the doorway, they stopped. My voice was shaking with excitement, but my eyes were misty. This was a completely new scene for them.
Trustingly they stepped into my open arms and let me squeeze them tight. I bounced them on my knee and told them I was so excited. Their faces broke into smiles and they giggled at this wierd and crazy display from their mother. While they didn't know exactly what I was talking about, my joy was contagious and they joined in my celebration.

After I took a deep breath, I explained that I had recieved a review and endorsement from Compulsion Reads (more about them in another blog). Basically, someone who isn't my mother, husband or dear friend had said my book, The Teacher, was good. And good enough that they are willing to stand behind me in promoting it.

This is thrilling news for me an ametuer author who still wonders if I'm crazy for taking time away from my family to persue this difficult career.

So, thank you, BC from Compulsion Reads, for the kind and helpful words about The Teacher and for giving me the opportunity to teach my children about tears of joy. The tears that escape when our heart is overflowing with happiness.

The book is already listed on the Compulsion Reads website, www.compulsionreads.com, if you'd like to see it there. Yes, I've been there a dozen times already today, just to make sure it still there. The actual review will be posted soon, so check back.

Paper or Plastic?

Paper or plastic? How do you like to read your books...

I will admit I very reluctantly entered into the ebook craze. I much preferred the idea of holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, and then lining my shelves with the books so I could pull them off whenever I wanted to read something again. I was an idealist, thinking that putting the author's words on a screen would somehow ruin the experience. But then, I found the Kindle app on my phone and because I was desperate for something to read, I downloaded. And I liked it.

By no means would I call myself a full convert. I still love to hold a book and read it from cover to cover. And there are some authors that I will probably never read as an ebook, like Jane Austen. I tried, but it just didn't suit.

Here is what I discovered that I liked about reading from the plastic screen of my smartphone:
Convience. Reading material is always at my fingertips. In a matter of seconds, a new read is downloaded to my smartphone any time of day or night. And I always have my phone with me, so I can pull it out and read it anywhere, unlike my paper books that always stay on my bedside table.
No extra light needed. At night, I can read snuggled in bed without leaving a light on or using a book lamp.

Price. Ebooks are relatively the same price as paperbacks, but way less than hardcovers. And often times you can find great ebooks on promotions for free.

The downside. Besides the ebook format being incompatible for me to read any of the classics I still have one major beef with the electronic device. It runs on batteries and batteries die, usually at half past midnight when I've been up reading for hours and am only pages from the ending. My paper books have never blinked out on me!

So, those are my thoughts. I have found myself enjoying both reading experiences. Which do you prefer?

My First Interview

Traditionally published authors often promote their books through press releases, interviews and book readings all arranged by their agents, publists or publishing houses. Going this D-I-Y route, I don't have that same support system. But, I have something just as good, if not better, an incredibly supportive family. And so, in the spirit of this D-I-Y project I gave my first impromptu interview to the most astute six year-old I know. Read on for the transcription:

C: Are you done writing your book [Mommy]?

M: Yes, I finished the first one.

C: What is it about?

M: A kindergarten teacher and her class.

C: Like how you were a teacher?

M: Yes, I was a teacher before I was a mommy.

C: What is your next book about?

M: A cowgirl, named Kate who is going to be in her friend's wedding.
(Smiles from C, she is a cowgirl at heart and got to be in her aunt's wedding a few weeks ago!)

C: When can I read your books?

M: When you are older. They are grown-up books.

C: Like when I am fifteen, maybe?

M: Sure.

C, (whispered and oh so serious): Mommy, are there bad words in your books?

M: Um...yes there are.

C, nods her head and jumps off my lap to go back to playing dolls in the living room.

So, if you are older than fifteen and are not averse to a few bad words, then you may enjoy reading THE TEACHER. And thank  you to C for my first real interview!