I’ve heard about it for years, but ignored the temptation to try this not-so-new behavioral technique. I actually thought it to be quite expensive, extreme, and potentially damaging to my children. Though the idea intrigued me. But year after year, I resisted and my husband was in agreement with me. That is, until this weekend when he announced we were getting cable.

 

Cable? At first, I had mixed feelings about the service that I knew would not only suck away precious dollars, but time and productivity as well. Over the years we avoided the cable monster, kept our money in our pockets, and lived quite well without it. Oh, sure we heard about wonderful channels and shows on the Discovery or History channel, and the kids loved visiting our neighbors to watch Sponge Bob (which I managed to keep my three older kids from viewing.) But we were happy with PBS and going to a hotel to watch cable or visiting grandparents was a treat, not an every day occurrence.

 

Did my kids feel deprived? Maybe, but we rarely had time to watch tv anyway.

 

That all changed this weekend when they probably sat glued to the television for twelve hours at a time and I have to admit, I didn’t dare pull them away. Everyone was occupied. No one was fighting. And the house was soooo quiet. There were no conflicts to mediate or parenting for that matter. I thought, WOW! This has got to be the BEST child behavior techinque EVER!

 

Then I woke up or should I say, looked up and became glued to the HGTV. All the fears I once had about cable hit me in the face. The shows just such you in and before you know it you’ve wasted hours. Hours! Plus, the commercials and shows are very inappropriate for little eyes. If we keep cable, I will have to learn the child friendly channels and avoid flipping the channels while little, vulnerable eyes are watching. Thirdly, cable is like a drug. While the kids are watching the shows life is good. They’re riding high, feeling fine, and life is breezy. But take the drug, er…cable away and tell them it’s bedtime, they’re like a junkie coming down from a high, looking for their next fix. And a part of me is so desperate to keep the peace that I’ve caved and let them have one more hit, er show.

 

Now I know this is a holiday weekend and they deserve hours of mindless tv viewing for working so hard to get into our new home, BUT what I’m afraid of is will they realize come Monday things will return to normal despite the fact we now have cable? Will they realize that just because Josh and Drake and The Suite Life is on ALL THE TIME, that doesn’t mean they get to watch EVERY episode? And will they realize that bed time will be back to normal? I hope so!

 

So tell me, do you have cable/DISH/DirectTV? Why or why not? Honestly, I don’t think the pros out weight the cons and it’s only been 24 hours since we got ours hooked up!

And don’t get me started on how I feel about the televisions in cars! I’ll save that rant for another day!

 

 

 

 

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time then you know that when it comes to Thanksgiving and the holidays I tend to get nostalgic and slightly depressed. For years we’ve been alone for Thanksgiving. In the past I tried to hide my disappointment of this solo holiday by inviting college kids over for a feast or venturing through rain, snow, sleet and hail, to visit East Coast relatives. I’ve even whined a bit about over the 15 years we’ve lived in this town no one had invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Some years I did it up big. Turkey and all the trimmings, but my young family didn’t appreciate my efforts. One year we order Thanksgiving to go and when my hubby came home with individual plastic containers less generous than the Salvation Army helpings, well my Thanksgiving depression took on a whole new level.

 

Last year, my family drove to my sister’s house five hours away. She’d moved to my neck of the woods and I can honestly say it felt a little like old times. This year Thanksgiving was in our new home. With boxes strewn all over the place and not everything unpacked in the kitchen our numbers were 14. My family. My mom. My sister’s family. A friend and her family… and later my old neighbors stopped by with their adult son and grandson. My friend brought the turkey and I had my mom and sister to help make all the other stuff and by the time dinner rolled around, I was wiped out. I enjoyed the food and fellowship, but I was ready to crash! Instead I spent a couple of hours in front of the television.

 

It was the best Thanksgiving in years! How did you spend your day!

 

Matinee and a small popcorn for breakfast: $ 11

Snickers Bar for lunch: .58

Using last year’s gift certificated for a massage and facial plus tip: $150

Husband giving me the day off for my 40th birthday: Priceless

My ICRS videographer who’s attending Full Sail in Orlando entered this contest and he’s a finalist! Check it out! I do think it’s the best! Vote for Kennnyvert and his catchy tune if you agree! http://www.youtube.com/EMBARQ

I’m the kind of mom that keeps her kids in car seats or booster until they reach the appropriate weight not age. And with my kids being smaller than the average kid their age that means their in car seats and boosters way past their peers. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. Truthfully, my kids only ride in boosters in my mom’s car or husband’s. In my van, they’re strapped into those big seats with the shoulder belt or the built in five point harness seat. I’ve never been real comfortable with the use of booster and the video at www.seatsnug.com shows why! The kids slide and jostle around in their booster when the van turns a corner! Now how safe is that. Thankfully, seat snug has made booster and car seats even safer.

For more information on this device go here.

What they say:

SeatSnug® is a first-of-its-kind product that enhances both the safety and comfort of children riding in booster seats. It allows the lap belt to be lightly tightened around a child’s hips while riding in a vehicle, preventing seatbelt slack or looseness from developing.

By gently securing a child while riding in a booster seat, SeatSnug® substantially eliminates bouncing, rocking, tipping, falling over, submarining, and ejection, thus reducing the potential for injuries and death in vehicular accidents. www.seatsnug.com.

My kids are probably like your kids. They jumped on board the Guitar Hero craze. Though we don’t have one, they played it over friends and relatives homes. I’ve got to admit, I had fun playing as well, but some of the songs, okay most of the songs…well, they were songs I’d rather my kids not listen to.

Then they found Garage band. Think Guitar Hero but with more instruments. They really rocked out to that one, but again, the music and lyrics didn’t leave me or them feeling edified. What we all really wanted was a game system that they could rock out to and not worry about the lyrics. Thank God for Guitar Praise. It does just that.

When I said I was getting Guitar Praise in the mail, they couldn’t wait to try it. In fact they asked me every day for a week if it had come in the mail. It finally did and my 14 year old was the first one to rip open the package and try and download it. For some reason it didn’t download on my computer (the newer one) so they tried it on theirs and were rocking out in no time.

Here’s what THEY say: Keep reading to find out what my kids think!

Digital Praise^® Inc, the leader in Christian-themed, family-friendly entertainment software, today announced that Guitar Praise—the new, inspirational PC guitar controller game that allows players of all ages to rock out to tracks by the best bands in Contemporary Christian Rock—is now available in stores.

            Included in Guitar Praise are enough features and challenges to satisfy any budding rock star.  In addition to unique lead and bass notes and four levels of play per song, Guitar Praise gives players a chance to unlock new songs in sets of five as they perform; by tilting their guitar they can also activate the spinner bonus to score more points.  Other features include the ability for two guitarists to play at once; a Power Duel Mode that lets players send seven different “PowerUps” to mess with their opponent; and the chance to earn Talent Points toward new onscreen guitars with richer sounds and different effects.

“Guitar Praise is even more of a group event than other guitar controller games,” noted Tom Bean, President and CEO of Digital Praise, Inc.  “Having the lyrics onscreen reinforces the positive messages present in Guitar Praise’s roster of songs, and allows everyone to take part in the game.”

Hottest Songs

Guitar Praise features 52 of the most inspirational and uplifting songs from the Christian rock world, all by the original artists.  Here are just a few of the best-selling bands and titles:

CURRENT AND EMERGING ARTISTS

·         Flyleaf—“Perfect”·         Family Force 5—“Love Addict”

·         Inhabited—“Rescue Me”

·         tobyMac—“I’m For You”

·         Stellar Kart—“Procrastinating”

·         Casting Crowns—“Lifesong”

·         Kutless—“Beyond the Surface”, “Hearts of the Moment”

CLASSIC ARTISTS:

·         Petra—“Backsliding Blues”

·         Whitecross—“When the Walls Tumble Down”, “Who Will You Follow”

·         The Crucified—“The Pit”

One or Two Players

            Guitar Praise keeps the fun coming by allowing either one player to perform in solo mode, or two players to compete for the better lead guitar score.  With a second guitar (not included), players can jam at the same time—both on lead guitar, or one on lead and the other on bass. 

Pricing and Availability

Guitar Praise supports both Windows and Mac personal computers and includes one USB-compatible guitar controller plus game software.  Setting up the game is easy—just load the software into any PC or Mac, set up your wireless guitar and you’re ready to rock!  It carries an MSRP of $99.95 (USD) and is in stores now!  For more information or to order, visit the Digital Praise Web site at www.guitarpraise.com.

What my 11 year old has to say:

Guitar Praise is really awesome! It’s like Guitar Hero except it’s actually praise and worship. That’s what makes it fun. Since the words to the songs go across the screen you’re able to sing and play at the same time, if you’re able to do it because it’s kind of hard to watch the keys and sing at the same time.

Every time you finish a song on easy it’s 1 point. On medium it’s 2 points and hard it’s 3 points, on expert it’s 4. Getting points is fun because you can buy new guitars. I think it’s kind of cool how you can actually buy new guitars within the game play that have different sounds and so when you play it it sounds a little different. I was really surprised when I found the first guitar was 30 points and the next one was 60 points.

If you’re really bad at a song, you can turn off the setting that ends the song for you if you mess up to much. It’s really helpful when you’re learning to play a song, but you don’t get any points. What I like is how on certain songs they get harder and I love it when it does all the fast notes.

There’s something called spinner boost. Every now and then there’s a serious of notes that the note spins and when you hit the note a certain amount in a series you get a level of spinner boosts. Then when you lift the guitar straight up it uses your spinner boost and it lights up all the other notes and gives you extra points for every not you hit.

You can switch the backgrounds from cd covers to bricks.

Since it’s on a computer if you don’t have a fast computer it can freeze up and mess you up because you hit the notes off time. And the wireless guitar doesn’t always connect to the game which is frustrating, but that’s when I  play the game by using the computer keys.

If I had to rate it I’d give it a 4 out of 5 because it’s like Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero is awesome. But Guitar Praise is Christian and it’s safe and clean.

According to My 14 year old:

Guitar Praise is not much different than Guitar Hero except you have to play it on the computer, which is a downside if you don’t have a good computer. At times it froze up on me which was difficult to play and quite annoying.

Like Guitar Hero, Guitar Praise is two player.

I really liked how they had all the cool Christian bands.

What My 8 Year Old Says:

Guitar Praise is really good. I really like it, it’s just our computer has trouble sometimes.

Gina here: I spoke with a representative who said it’s not common for the game to freeze up and they gave me the number of Tech support to help us figure out where the glitch is coming from! I’ll be posting a follow up review, it’s just we’re smack dab in the middle of a move!

Though Guitar Praise has no plans at this time to add more instruments to the game system like Rock Band, they always listen to their customers and their requests. So request away!

In 2009 they will be announcing their expansion pack schedule which will feature more songs and bands.

Guitar Praise is an overall hit with my kids and I feel so much better letting them play this than Guitar Hero or Rock band. The game play is pretty similar, but their hearts and minds are pumped with great, Christian music. If we didn’t own this game already, it’d definitely be on their Christmas list!

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

1 Ghz Windows PC with XP or Vista, 650MB available hard disc space, a 32MB 3D Video Card and one available USB port.      

1 Ghz Mac with OS X 10.3 or later, 650MB available hard disc space and one available USB port.

I’m TOTALLY exhausted and every muscle in my body aches. No, I didn’t just run a marathon, though running ranks us there with the top 5 things I HATE to do along with cleaning! And I just spent the entire weekend cleaning and scrubbing and it’s still not cleaned. My hands are dry and chaffed, my thigh muscles feels like I did a million squats and my upper body and neck ache. Muscles I didn’t know I had ache!

I spent one hour scrubbing the dirty, soapy scum off of one shower. I’m not sure if it’s totally cleaned, but I’m saying it is, especially after I steamed it!

Let’s see what else I did today besides a little Christmas decorating. I put away the pots and pans in the kitchen, mopped the wooden floors, scrubbed way too many counter tops, tile and wood furniture than I care to remember! And there’s so much more to do. But I guess that’s what happens when you own a big house. And I’m not really complaining, I’m just exhausted.

On the way back to the old house to shower and dress for a night out at the theatre, I had a feeling I might not have locked the front door and no one was home. So after taking a couple wrong exits and getting back turned around, I pull up to my house where a car was parked in front. I thought maybe someone was visiting a neighbor until I approachedthe door and heard voices. I opened the door and saw my old 80 year old neighbors and their daughter. Obviously I hadn’t locked the door and I was glad it was them instead or someone else. And to think we might have missed each other if I hadn’t have turned around and inconvienced myself. I’m sure there’s a great spiritual post in the previous statement. But I’m too exhausted to write it.

Do me a favor and write something in the comment section to expound of that so I have something to meditate on these next couple of weeks!

My husband tried two of these tips, the free 411 and serial number thing, and it worked. If you try the others, let me know!

5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

(You might want to print and keep this info or store in your phone)

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.

Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for

survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

 

FIRST Emergency

 

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find

yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an

Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to

establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number

112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

 

SECOND- Have you locked your keys in the car?

 

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy

some day. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys

in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on

their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot

from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock

button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will

unlock. It saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is

no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach

someone who has the other ‘remote’ for your car, you can unlock the doors

(or the trunk).

 

THIRD Hidden Battery Power

 

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the

keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the

instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get

charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

 

FOURTH How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

 

To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following

Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen.

This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it

somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service

provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your

handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be

totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least

you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. If everybody does

this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

 

FIFTH Free Directory Service for Cells

 

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for

411 information calls when they don’t have to. Most of us do not

carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation

even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information

option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any

charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

I’m too tired and congested (from either stirring up dirt or the dying bouquet of flowers in my house) to write anything profound.

We built this home when my oldest was 2 1/2 he’s 14 now. You can do the math. We’ve been here a long time, longer than we imagined, but stayed longer for our neighbors who have become grandparents to us and the our kids. We will miss then tremendously and the kids will miss running next door for snacks and Sponge Bob, but we want to make a conscious effort to visit often.

I think the kids are getting nostalgic. Before bed I caught Grace sprawled out on the floor. I asked her what she was doing. She said “hugging the house. I’m going to miss it.”

We’re all going to miss it in one way or another, but I’m finally ready to move on. I’m ready to see what God has in store for us at the new house, though I’m not looking forward to the cleaning and moving in I still need to do!

It’s the 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his/her latest Teen fiction book’s FIRST chapter!

Ted Dekker

and his book:

Infidel–Graphic Novel: The Lost Books Series

Thomas Nelson (November 11, 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. To see a complete list of Dekker’s work, visit The Works section of TedDekker.com.

Here are some of his latest titles:

Chosen (The Lost Books, Book 1) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Adam

Black: The Birth of Evil (The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, Book 1)

Saint

Product Details

List Price:$15.99
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595546049
ISBN-13: 978-1595546043

AND NOW…THE FIRST TWO PAGES:

(Click Pictures to Zoom!)

I can’t seem to locate it! I used to have too much motivation and not enough time. Now I have hardly any motivation and hardly any time anyway. My life feels like it’s in a state of limbo with selling this old house and still waiting to move into the new one. My day is constantly being interrupted. When I plan a full day of homeschooling that’s when a realtor wants to show the house.

I’m enjoying homeschooling more than ever. It’s just Grace and Timmy this year and though our homeschool has gotten off to a slow start due to packing up my homeschool curriculum and books for storage, I have managed to get on track in Math, Phonics and History. Though most of Timmy’s curriculum is somewhere at the new house, he’s getting a review by going over Grace’s homeschool, but still learning in the process.

I barely have any motivation to write or blog. Maybe it’s the lack of feedback and the not knowing if I’m really making a difference. Maybe it’s the waiting to hear good news from my agent on those few editors who still have my WIP. What ever the reason, my motivation is gone, and I don’t even know if I want it back.

Have I lost my desire to write? I really don’t know. I don’t think so, but I’ve lost my “have to” write. Right now I’m content not to write and that’s scary since I really need to make some money and really want to sell a book to do it and not get a 9 to 5. But I guess to make that happen, I’ll have to start writing. I don’t have the mental energy to pursue nonfiction articles and such. So I guess sooner or later I’ll have to find my motivation and give it a test drive again.

Have you ever felt like this? What did you do to get your motivation in gear?

Hands of Hope helps mobilize communities to respond to the needs of women and children around the world. With an ever-expanding support base in the Chicago area, Hands of Hope works to raise community awareness regarding poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa and its relevance globally. We are confident in the integrity of the channels we have established so that contributions provide the highest possible impact for the most critical needs.

Meet Hands of Hope!

How Hands of Hope Began:

A few women, A trip to Nigeria

Hands of Hope was started after a trip to Nigeria in 1999 disclosed startling conditions affecting women and the girl child due to the cultural practice of early childhood marriages (as early as age 11.) The pregnancies that follow come at time when a young girl is not adequately physically developed to permit the passage of a baby, which can lead to a prolonged and obstructed labor, death of the baby, death of the mother or a horrendous physical condition called vesico vaginal fistula (VVF). The immediate consequences of VVF are urinary incontinence, dermatitis, and some may suffer from paralysis of the lower half of the body. The social consequences of this condition are severe in a culture where a woman’s value is based on her ability to bear children. Estimates are between 250,000-700,000 women are afflicted with this condition in Nigeria alone.
“To meet only one of these mothers is to be profoundly moved…Mourning the stillbirth of their baby, incontinent of urine, ashamed of their offensiveness, often spurned by their husbands, homeless, unemployable except in the fields, they endure, they exist, without hope…”
As a result of that trip and of others hearing about the plight of women and children in Nigeria a northwest suburban community of Chicago came together, bringing their skills and resources, to help address the critical needs of women and children a world away. Our initial efforts funded a hospital addition which is being used for the surgical repair of women with VVF in Jos, Nigeria. A grass roots effort of just a few has now grown to include over 250 volunteers, annual fundraising events, and cooperative relationships with other helping organizations. With an ever-expanding support base in the Chicago area and a clear vision focused on making a difference, Hands of Hope works to raise community awareness and provides resources to women and children that offer education, address health concerns and provide the tools and resources for women to be economically self sustaining. Our efforts bring hope and open doors of opportunity to women and children who want the same things we all universally value; health, safety, the ability to make a living and provide a viable future for their loved ones.
Today, Hands of Hope targets the enormous impact of poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women and children in Africa.

What you can do to help!

Purchase a Holiday Gift Card! These cards provide food, income and water for impoverished women and children in Zambia, Uganda, and Southern Sudan. They can be purchased on the Hands of Hope website for $15.00, $30.00 and $50.00. Purchasing these cards will provide goats, chickens or wells to help change lives. What could be a more meaningful gift for holiday giving for family, friends, and customer appreciation?

Check out HANDS OF HOPE and their gift card program for Christmas and give the gift of hope this Christmas!
Chicken Cards  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These lovely cards each represent a gift of twelve chicks. Help an impoverished family with a gift of chicks. $15.00 each

The inside of the card reads:

 

A gift of twelve chicks has been purchased and given to an impoverished family in Africa in your honor by:___________

 

As the flock multiplies, a struggling family will be given the hope to survive.

 

Your gift will help those in need for generations to come.

 

 

Goat Cards           These lovely cards each represent an actual goat being purchased for a needy family. Beyond providing much needed milk, a few goats can quickly become a herd, providing sustenance and additional income that can make the difference between whether a child goes to school or not.  $30.00 each   The inside of the card reads:     A gift of a goat has been purchased and given to an impoverished family in Africa in your honor by: _____________ Offspring from your goat will be passed along to other needy families in villages where people are struggling to survive. This gift will bring hope and survival to many a continent away.

Well Cards
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 $50.00 each

 

The inside of the card reads:

 

A donation has been given towards funding a well in the Western Province of Zambia in your honor by:   ______________
 

This is totally freaky. I tried it three different times, got three different answers, symbols and the gopher guessed it every time. I’m sure there’s a mathematical reason for coming up with the correct answer, but this is really amazing! Try it and let me know what you think! I’m going back to try it a fourth time!

I actually figured it out! And figured you might need the link!

http://members.shaw.ca/rbogdan/blog_images/Magic_Gopher.swf

I think that my title might be a quote from Shakespeare, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about me being completely exhausted and I think the play’s the thing that’s draining my energy and I’m not even in the play! My four kids are, but since I let Grace (6) audition and she was cast as a fairy, I’ve had to go down to the theatre with her three nights a week. By the time we get home and the kids are settled in bed, it’s past ten. And just being out late three nights a week on top of the other things I have to do is exhausting. I’m counting down the days when I can be spend my nights vegging at home, but until them I’m exhuasted! Guess, I mentioned that once or twice.

I sure hope the play’s the thing that’s zapping me of my energy. I’d hate to think me turning 40 this month has suddenly turned me into an old lady!

From Michael Hyatt’s blog

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2008/11/10-benefits-of.html

The good news is that it looks great, bad news is that I can’t seem to transfer it from Sea Monkey to my yahoo group. Something keeps messing up in the html.

Good news is that I have subscribers, bad news is that there’s only five or you.

Good news is I didn’t twitter or facebook today, bad news is I stayed up way too late messing with this newsletter and not figuring it out.

Good news there’s still time for you to sign up for my very first newsletter, bad news is I don’t know when I’ll be able to send it out!

Seems like when I kick one addiction, another addiction pops up. For example, before I blogged I was an obsessive writer and critiquer until God told me to stop. So I did for a season and picked up blogging. It was a way to deal with not writing. Yeah, I know it doesn’t make sense, stop writing and start blogging, but it served a purpose and God got control of my writing.

Then I became an obsessive blogger. Recently I’ve lost the drive to blog only to have the drive shift to Twitter and Facebook status checking. Though I’d much rather be working on my WIP, the mindless surfing and status checking late at night has to stop! It’s robbing me of precious hours and precious sleep, so I’m declaring a Facebook fast and Twitter strike. At least until Christmas, so if you want to get a hold of me you’ll have to email. But I really need to limit my time checking email as well!

Wouldn’t it be great if I could kick the habit before the New Year? And maybe I’ll have completed my current WIP by then!

As a writer I’m used to disappointments. At this stage in my career their seem to be more rejections then things to celebrate. Over the years I’ve experienced the anxiousness that comes with wanting to be published so bad it physically hurts and then having that dream stripped away like a crusted over scab and having to start the healing process all over again.

I’m at a place in my career that I’m okay with what God wants to do in my writing life and I’m seriously enjoying NOT being on a deadline, but it’s hard to watch my children go through similar disappointments.

My fourteen year old is a very gifted singer, actor and musician. I noticed he had a good ear and could sing when he was two and made up his on words to a familiar tune and sung on key. I searched for music lessons and enrolled him at age four in a musical theatre class. It was fun watching him on stage and seeing his perfectionism with the words and moves come out. But he didn’t always love it. So I let him take breaks, only signing him up for class every other year. I knew he had gift from God and I wanted to nurture that gift without exasperating him.

I remember his first audition because he never made it out of the car. The show was Oliver and he was about eight years old. That was the first of many auditions where I would pull my hair out in frustration over my reluctant performer. Each year he got a little better, but inevitably he’d pull a last minute “I’m not auditioning.” I remember the first show he got was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. If his six year old brother hadn’t of auditioned first, he might not have made it through the door.

That was more than half a dozen auditions ago. Some parts he got and some parts he didn’t when I thought he should have. Each time we went in knowing if it was God’s will, then he’d get the part and several times he didn’t make a call back but then was later called in for a part.

He’s at that place again. He auditioned for his school play and there’s no doubt the boy can sing and act, but he didn’t make a call back. I’m probably not being bias if I say that many of the kids who got call backs weren’t as gifted as my son and that he probably could sing better than most of them. He was surprised he didn’t get a call back. The kids who auditioned with him were surprised he didn’t get a call back. We both were frustrated he didn’t get a call back.

There’s a lot of speculation as to why. One boy who auditioned with him thinks it’s because they probably cast him in the part he wanted. I’m not so sure because I’m thinking there’s a sort of seniority that goes on at this school. I’ve heard last year that the main parts are given to the high schoolers and my son is in junior high. He’s been very gracious in saying that if another kid was as good as him or even almost as good as him and was a senior, he’d want that other kid to get the part. My maternal heart beams at this, but is also torn. I wanted it to be a fair fight (maybe it was) but it would at least have been easier to understand if he got a call back.

Still nothing is settled and we’ll have to wait the loooong weekend to find out on Monday who they actually cast.

(On another note, my younger son did get a call back. I would have been surprised if he didn’t, though I’m not totally sure I want him to play the part he already played once before. Here I’m having the gracious heart and wondering if another kid should be allowed to play the part if my son gets it!)

UPDATE: Spoke with one of the judges and was told that my son did great but there is a school policy that the high schoolers get first dibs on the parts and with as much talent as our school has, my son is not in line for a main part. Seems like the role he got last year was very unprecedented at his school, but there was no other person who could play the part. But the directors are very excited for the next four years. My son will be in high school.

That’s right, I turn 40 this month! Up until this month I’d actually been looking forward to 40, then some depressing turn of events having to do with owning two houses and not having the money to really celebrate like I wanted to hit, and now, well, my 40th birthday will come and go as in years past. Probably dinner and a movie and cake with the family. We also have dinner plans with friends and hubby took it upon himself to get a group of my old friends together for a girls night out. Sweet gesture, but I’m an introvert and prefer small intimate gatherings. Luckily they’ll only be five of us!

But what I really wanted to do was invite my friends to join me on vacation, maybe a cruise. Yet I realized like myself, my friends probably didn’t have that kind of cash hanging around. Sooo I came up with a new plan: Taking mini trips to see my friends throughout the next year.

So what do you think? What do you see are the pros and cons? Right now gas is at an all time low. I won’t be planning my trips until next year because of whether, but if you’re a friend and want to be put on my itinerary, just send me an email. Or if you have a museum or must see attraction, let me know. I love to travel and I love adventure! Hubby wants more details before he totally signs off on all this, but I think it could be fun.