Friday, October 23, 2009

It's all about the books

It's all about the books!

Being an avid reader I find myself watching people and wondering if they are readers too. I watch their movements and expressions and try to figure out who their favorite author would be or their favorite genre. Sometimes I wish I could sneak a peek at some of my favorite writers libraries and see what lands they like to get transported to or who they secretly become when they read. I can't help but feel that there is something magical about a shelf full of books.

I have tons of books. So many that my husband just rolls his eyes when he sees more come through the door. It isn't that he begrudges me my hobby, merely that we are running out of room for bookshelves to house them all. I have friends who love to read and I'm thrilled that they're interested in what I have on my shelves, but I can never bring myself to share with them. It's like my books were created for only me. They are some of my most prized possessions. They are my doorways, my escapes, my little piece of heaven in a busy world.

Here is a sneak peek at my bookshelf. Enjoy!

Twitter Wordle

Wordle: Twitter


A Wordle Tribute to my Twitteriffic Friends.


~ Click to enlarge ~

NaNoWriMo

If you ask a fellow writer if they are going to NaNoWriMo, the answer is usually an emphatic YES. It seems that  the National Novel Writing Month is a rite of passage for new writers and a reminder of what they love to seasoned writers.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Cat Duet.

A portion of "What About Classical Music?" presented by Concerto Delle Donne for Pizitz Middle School. In this excerpt: Leah Doss (green shirt), Amberlyn Richardson (blue shirt),  & Crystal Wu (on piano) perform " The Cat Duet".

Amby is my oldest daughter. She recently graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Music department. I ran across this and thought I would share it with you. Enjoy.

Let the wild rumpus start!



“When you hide another story in a story, that’s the story I am telling the children.”

- Maurice Sendak


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Home remedies

Have you ever had a toothache or an earache only to have an elder in your family suggest a wild sounding home remedy? Most of us just go to the medicine cabinet and take something, be it Tylenol, Ibuprofen or Anbesol. This usually gets us through the evening until we can be seen by the doctor the following day. So what do we do when we go to the cabinet and find it bare and the E.R. too much of a hassle? We can relatives (mothers, grandmothers, etc.) and resort to using their home remedies.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Picture this ... Write that

Being a great lover of art, whether it be pictures or words, I am always on the look-out for a site that offers great graphics for little to no money or superb tips on writing.  I have recently fallen madly, deeply in love with a site called Smashing Magazine. They provide graphics, fonts, how-to's, CSS, tools & tutorials for just about everything web. The best part is that these are premium graphics, fonts & templates for free. Yes, you heard me correctly ... no credit card needed. I subscribe to their RSS feed and get absolutely giddy when alerted about a new post.


Friday, September 25, 2009

In Memory of Jonah W. Sanders

When a parent dies, you lose your past; when a child dies, you lose your future. - Anonymous


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Random poetry

Sadness

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Brain Teaser Time

What nine letter word in the English language is still a word when each of the nine letters is removed one by one?

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Puzzle by Lewis Carroll

John gave his brother James a box:
About it there were many locks.
James woke and said it gave him pain;
So gave it back to John again.
The box was not with lid supplied
Yet caused two lids to open wide:
And all these locks had never a key
What kind of box, then, could it be?

Read more to find the answer.

Reading test

I stumbled upon a very interesting reading test that I thought I would share.  See how well you do.

1 down, 99 more to go.

I can now cross #70. Research my family tree, off of my Life List.

Monday, September 14, 2009

You’ll love this conference!

Whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting out, the DFW Writers’ Conference is a great opportunity to learn, network and socialize with other authors. It’s also a great way to meet with literary agents from across the county!

WHEN: April 10 – 11, 2010

WHERE: Grapevine Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas.
Nearby hotels and restaurants.

REGISTRATION FEE: $185 until January 31, 2010; $235 after that

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Best-selling Romance Author Jodi Thomas

AGENTS: We’ve added more agents for 2010, covering almost every fiction and nonfiction genre. Register early for the best chance for a one-to-one appointment with the agent of your choice.

Anne Hawkins | John Hawkins & Associates, Inc.

Gina Panettieri | Talcott Notch Literary Services

Joshua Bilmes | JABberwocky Literary Agency

Laurie McLean | Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents

Lucienne Diver | The Knight Agency

Melissa Shultz | Jim Donovan Literary

Paul S. Levine | Paul S. Levine Literary Agency

Victoria Horn | Liza Dawson Associates

Colleen Lindsay | Fine Print Literary Management

CONTEST: New for 2010! Hook ‘Em Writing Contest. Win an Appointment with an Agent. Details coming soon. Enter the first five pages of your novel with a two-page synopsis, or the first five pages of your nonfiction book with a proposal. First place in each category will win a 10-minute appointment with an agent. Open to all writers, ages 16 or over, regardless of conference attendance. Details coming soon.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

OneWord

It's been a while since I have done a OneWord writing. I really do enjoy them. Writing is just like everything else ... practise makes perfect.

Oak

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Not kicking the bucket anytime soon ... my life list

Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhiji

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Calling All Poets & Writers - Let's Compete

Here's a list of writing and/or poetry contests that I've compiled. I cannot guarantee the validity of each and everyone of the contests, so do your research before entering. Good luck and happy writing.

Judging a Writing or Poetry Contest

When I was younger writing contests were so exciting. My high school English teacher did all of the leg work so all I had to concern myself with was creating a written work of art. Now that I am much older and definitely wiser, I have to wonder if writing contests are worth my time and energy.

Being away from writing for several years I thought I should try my hand at a writing contest.  Not intent on winning the contest per say, but to use it as a means to see where I stand in today’s writing society. The critique alone would be well worth it. The decision made to enter a contest was easy, finding the right contest would not be.

There are hundreds of literary contests, online and off. Most are legitimate contests for writers; some are even prestigious. Unfortunately there also seems to be various questionable competitions developed to "scam" aspiring writers.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Personality Profile Basic - The Color Code

Newlyidentified , one of the many blogs that I follow, posted a blog about a basic personality profile offered by The Color Code . Of course I only took the basic test, as it was the free one, but I after I received my results I am considering getting a full report.  It seems that I am a BLUE. Oddly enough, the results are close to being spot on. Interesting ...

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fear is the path to the dark side.

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." ~ Yoda

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Who do you write for?

snoopy-writing


 Who do we as writers write for? Do we write for agents, or publishers, critics or our readers? Who should we be writing for? More over, whose words are we putting on the paper? Are they from the list of socially acceptable words or are they our own?


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wordle

Wordle: Life's Travels

 

 

 

 

I found this neat site that takes your words and creates a wordle. I entered a poem that I previously posted. (See my wordle). You can customize the size, colors & layouts. Check it out by clicking on my wordle.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Life's Travels

I was cleaning out a box of old computer things when I happened across a link I had saved. Just for fun I typed it in and low and behold it was a poem I had submitted to Poetry.com. I am sure that it is at least 7 years old or older since it was listed under my previously married name (Crystal P.). It is titled "Life's Travels" and I thought I would share it. Enjoy.
 

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Writing using prompts

I just can't talk enough about the Procrastinating Writers blog. Jennifer Blanchard, author of this famous blog, shares her words of wisdom in an effort to get procrastinating writer's like me off of our duffs and writing. Her idea for a writing productivity tool is just one of the many ways she assists in getting those creative brain cells jumping.

OneWord

Optional

Monday, August 17, 2009

Music. Food for the soul & inspiration for writers.

Music is not just good for the soul. It's great for writers too. Just ask Procrastinating Writers author Jennifer Blanchard.

If you don't use it, you'll lose it.

I am a firm believer that if you don't use your talents, you'll lose your talents. I was blessed with many talents (not tooting my own horn, I swear). Aside from the usual ... wife, mother, yada, yada, yada ... I am a photographer, a writer, and I have artistic abilities (drawing, painting and crafting).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Past Blogs

I was rereading a few blogs that I had posted on my MySpace last year. I got so amused by them I thought I would share some of them.

Clearly Lost

I have found myself walking a dimly lit path in the forest of life. It is quite obvious that I am clearly lost. Maybe I should change my online name from Blissfully Me to Clearly Lost. Well, that's definitely a thought.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Amby is headed to college ...


Wow, in just a matter of days my oldest daughter Amby's forwarding address will be ... Amby, 123 College Road, Real World USA.

OneWord

Paws

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial speech for Naden Thompson

My grandfather passed away last Wednesday, May 20, 2009, however due to the Memorial day holiday we were not able to bury him until Tuesday, May 26, 2009. He requested that no minister give a sermon at his services, instead we all were to honor him through spoken words. Here is my speech about my grandfather.

 

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Project Fill-in-the-Gaps

Being fairly new to the whole Blogger thing it has taken me a while to actually read back posts of my favorite blogs. One of my most favs is a blog titled Editorial Ass written by Moonrat. Moonrat snagged a really awesome project from her friend Andromeda Romano-Lax. It is called Project Fill-in-the-Gaps.

It seems that Andromeda collected a list of 100 books that she wanted to have read in her life to fill in some of her reading gaps of classics and great contemporary fiction. She gave herself 5 years to try to get through the list, and gave herself 25% accident forgiveness, meaning if she finishes 75 titles in 5 years, she'll consider herself to have been victorious.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

OneWord

Clutch

Betcha the Maytag guy can't fix this ...

Okay ... that is it. I have tried my utmost to be civil, loyal, kind and loving. I have changed my attitude, I have learned to be patient and forgiving, I have become a better wife, mother and all around good person. However, I still keep getting kicked in the butt every time I turn around. Yep, I know, karma is a b.i.t.c.h. But come on ... I was NEVER so bad that I deserve all of this.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009

OneWord

Disconnect

Sunday, April 12, 2009

OneWord

OneWord is a site for writers. A simple writing exercise in which one word is given each day and the user is given sixty seconds to write whatever that word brings to mind. It's a don't think, just write approach.

I will post each writing that I have done. Note: I am only allowed 60 seconds to complete an exercise. This means that some exercises may or may not be completed entirely.

OneWord

Shade

OneWord

International