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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Fall Of Marigolds, A Guest Post From Author Susan Meissner (With A Giveaway!)



THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE GIVEAWAY. A WINNER HAS NOW BEEN SELECTED AND HAS BEEN CONTACTED!

 Today I'm participating in a blog tour for a new book by award-winning novelist Susan Meissner who’s here with me today to talk about her newest book from Penguin NAL. A Fall of Marigolds is a part historical novel, part contemporary novel set on Ellis Island in 1911 and in Manhattan a hundred years later. Make sure you read to the end of the post so that you can find out how to get in on a drawing for a fabulous gift basket that includes a $100 Visa gift card.

Susan Meissner is the multi-published author of fifteen books, including The Shape of Mercy, named one of the 100 Best Novels in 2008 by Publishers Weekly and the ECPA’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is also a speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. She and her husband make their home in Southern California.

1. Susan, tell us where the idea for A Fall of Marigolds came from.

I’ve long been a history junkie, especially with regard to historical events that involve ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. A couple years ago I viewed a documentary by author and filmmaker Lorie Conway called Forgotten Ellis Island; a hauntingly poignant exposé on the section of Ellis Island no one really has heard much about; its hospital. The two man-made islands that make up the hospital buildings haven’t been used in decades and are falling into ruins, a sad predicament the documentary aptly addresses. The documentary’s images of the rooms where the sick of a hundred nations waited to be made well stayed with me. I knew there were a thousand stories pressed into those walls of immigrants who were just a stone’s throw from a new life in America. They were so close they could almost taste it. But unless they could be cured of whatever disease they’d arrived with, they would never set foot on her shores. Ellis Island hospital was the ultimate in-between place – it lay between what was and what could be. A great place to set a story

2. What is the story about, in a nutshell?

The book is about two women who never meet as they are separated by a century. One woman, Taryn, is a 9/11 widow and single mother who is about to mark the tenth anniversary of her husband’s passing. The other is a nurse, Clara, who witnessed the tragic death of the man she loved in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in Manhattan in 1911.In her sorrow, Clara imposes on herself an exile of sorts; she takes a post at the hospital on Ellis Island so that she can hover in an in-between place while she wrestles with her grief. She meets an immigrant who wears the scarf of the wife he lost crossing the Atlantic, a scarf patterned in marigolds. The scarf becomes emblematic of the beauty and risk inherent in loving people, and it eventually finds it way to Taryn one hundred years later on the morning a plane crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The story is about the resiliency of love, and the notion that the weight of the world is made more bearable because of it, even though it exposes us to the risk of loss.

3. Why a scarf of marigolds? What is their significance?

Marigolds aren’t like most other flowers. They aren’t beautiful and fragrant. You don’t see them in bridal bouquets or prom corsages or funeral sprays. They don’t come in gentle colors like pink and lavender and baby blue. Marigolds are hearty, pungent and brassy. They are able to bloom in the autumn months, well past the point when many other flowers can’t. In that respect, I see marigolds as being symbolic of the strength of the human spirit to risk loving again after loss. Because, face it. We live in a messy world. Yet it’s the only one we’ve got. We either love here or we don’t. The title of the book has a sort of double-meaning. Both the historical and contemporary story take place primarily in the autumn. Secondarily, when Clara sees the scarf for the first time, dangling from an immigrant’s shoulders as he enters the hospital building, she sees the floral pattern in the threads, notes how similar they are to the flames she saw in the fire that changed everything for her, and she describes the cascading blooms woven into the scarf as “a fall of marigolds.”



4. What led you to dovetail the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 with 9/11?

When I first began pulling at story threads, my first instinct was to tell a story about an immigrant struggling to remain hopeful as an unwilling patient at Ellis Island hospital. But the more I toyed with whose story this was, the more I saw instead a young nurse, posting herself to a place where every disease known and unknown showed up. It was a place like no other; a waiting place – a place where the dozens of languages spoken added to the unnatural homelessness of it. Why was she here? Why did she choose this post? Why did she refuse to get on the ferry on Saturday nights to reconnect with the real world? What kind of person would send herself to Ellis not just to work, but to live? Someone who needed a place to hover suspended. I knew something catastrophic had to happen to her to make her run to Ellis for cover. As I began researching possible scenarios, I came across the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which up until 9/11 was arguably the worst urban disaster to befall Manhattan. There were similarities between that fire and 9/11, including the tragic fact that many trapped workers jumped to their deaths rather than perish in the flames. For every person lost in disasters such as these, there is always his or her individual story, and the stories of those who loved them. I wanted to imagine two of those stories.

5. One important plot element is the moral dilemma Clara faces when she discovers something about the dead immigrant’s wife that he does not know. What led you to include this story thread?

A good story has to have tension; there has to be some kind of force tightening the screws, forcing the characters to react and respond. The main character of any novel wants something and the tension increases whenever what she wants eludes her. Clara is desperate to keep love golden, perfect in her mind, and without sharp edges. This moral dilemma I impose on her forces her to truly ponder what she thinks she wants. Is love really at its grandest when there are no sharp edges to it all? I don’t think so. I think to love at its fullest means we might get hurt. Probably will. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth sharing, giving, and having. I include a line in the book that sums it up for me. “Love was both the softest edge and the sharpest edge of what made life real.” I think if we’re honest with ourselves we don’t want to settle for love being just as safe as “like.” Clara wrestles with what to do with her knowledge because she doesn’t want the beauty of love to somehow be tarnished; even it’s tarnished by truth.

6. Your last few novels have had historical components interwoven within a contemporary story. Why do you prefer that kind of story construction?

I think living in Europe for five years awakened my love for history. It’s like it was always there but my time spent overseas just woke it up. When I think back to the subjects I did well in and that came easy to me in high school and college, it was always English and history, never math or science. I appreciate the artistry of math and the complexity of science, but neither subject comes easy to me. History has the word “story” in it. That’s what it is. It’s the story of everyone and everything. How could I not love it? Study history and you learn very quickly what we value as people; what we love, what we fear, what we hate, what we are willing die for. History shows us where we’ve been and usually has lessons for us to help us chart where we’re going.

7. Are you working on anything new at the moment?

My next book is set entirely in England, mostly during The London Blitz. My main character starts out as a young, aspiring bridal gown designer evacuated to the countryside with her seven-year-old sister in the summer of 1940. Though only fifteen, Emmy is on the eve of being made an apprentice to a renowned costumer and she resents her single mother’s decision to send her away. She sneaks back to London – with her sister in tow – several months later but the two become separated when the Luftwaffe begins its terrible and deadly attack on the East End on the first night of the Blitz. War has a way of separating from us what we most value, and often shows how little we realized that value. I have always found the evacuation of London’s children to the countryside – some for the entire duration of the war – utterly compelling. How hard it must have been for those parents and their children. I went on a research trip to the U.K. in the fall of 2013 and I spoke with many individuals who were children during the war; some were separated from their parents, some were bombed out of their homes, some slept night after night in underground Tube stations, some watched in fascination as children from the city came to their towns and villages to live with them. This book explores issues of loss and longing, but also the bonds of sisters, and always, the power of love.

8. Where can readers connect with you?

You can find me at www.susanmeissner.com and on Facebook at my Author page, Susan .Meissner, and on Twitter at SusanMeissner. I blog at susanmeissner.com. I also send out a newsletter via email four times a year. You can sign up for it on my website. I love connecting with readers! You are the reason I write.











As part of the release of A Fall of Marigolds and this blog tour, Susan is giving to one lucky winner  (from all the blog posts) a gift basket that includes a $100 Visa gift card, a copy of the book, the DVD Forgotten Ellis Island, and a beautiful re-purposed infinity scarf patterned in marigolds and made from a vintage Indian sari. To be eligible, just leave a comment here between today and midnight Eastern on Friday, February 28.

Additionally, there will be one winner of a signed copy of A Fall of Marigolds from among those who comment on this blog. Just leave a comment by Friday, Feb. 28 and you’re in the running for the grand prize as well as a signed copy of the book. Good luck!
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Monday, February 24, 2014

Intentional Mondays


Quote: "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection." Emily Ley (found at this link)

Yes.

Write Every Day... Hasn't happened this week. Some weeks are like that. (See above.)

My One Word... My best friend reminded me the other day that "it works out" which is part of my word for this year, AFFIRM. Maybe you need to be reminded like I was? That it does work out.

Listening To... The sound of the dishwasher. Remembering to be thankful for such devices and modern conveniences.

Sharing Stories... I will be sharing a story that you shouldn't miss on Wednesday-- and I will have a giveaway to go with it, so be sure to pop back by. The author is a favorite of mine who has become a mentor and friend. I'm so glad to be able to share her newest story with you. Don't miss it!

Randomness... I am in one of those times of life where it seems I will never get it all done or catch up. Not sure how to handle it except to put my nose to the grindstone and persevere. It works out... (See above)

In The Kitchen... Making menu and grocery run plans for the week but these first two days I'm going with easy stand-by's as I re-enter my domestic kingdom following a fun weekend away to Charleston. Tonight is salad greens topped with rotisserie chicken I picked up on special last night, served with a loaf of French bread. Tomorrow night is hamburgers on the grill made by my husband. By Wednesday I should be up to making a more labor intensive meal.

Plans... Another trip this coming weekend is looming. This one came up spur of the moment, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to get more time with Ariel as she ventures back to my neck of the woods to promote her new book. So I'm going to be away next weekend, which means I will fall further behind... but it's so worth it!

Loveliness... Seeing my kids' faces after being away. The sight of all of us gathered around the table for pizza last night.


Photo of the week:


 
One last snow picture. I call this my Narnia picture, the lamppost in the snow, just waiting for an encounter between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus. When it snows, that's one of my favorite gazing spots.
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Friday, February 21, 2014

Snowbound


Ok this will be the last time I talk about our snowfall but considering the last time we had this much snow was a decade ago, an event this significant deserves to be documented, I say. So here are some pictures of what we were doing during our snowbound days.
 
 
Our dog Salem loved the snow. I particularly love this photo with a snowflake forever captured on her tongue.

 
As everyone knows-- even us snow-illiterate southerners-- there are certain things you must do in the snow. Snow angels come to mind.




Selfies in the snow. Even when mom is wearing a goofy old hat and no makeup.

 
Posing in picturesque spots in the neighborhood. This little stream was quite beautiful in the snow.

 
Is this going on your blog Mom?

 
The adults are cold, tired... and happy.


 
Daddy is always up for a snowball fight. Mommy? Not so much.  She prefers to just take pictures.

 
Another must? Building a snowman. We never did name ours but she went through several. How do you know she's a she? Her pink scarf, of course!


 
And you can't forget the snow cream, even if it does use up most of the milk you have left in the house. The good thing about being snowed in in the south? You know it won't last very long.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Contrasts




 
 I began last week in sunny, beautiful Isle Of Palms SC enjoying a writing retreat that afforded lots of time for quiet writing balanced with social time of eating and chatting with my cohorts. And the occasional foray into the real world for wine, chocolate, and changes of scenery. On Monday morning I was out on the beach in a light jacket, enjoying a pretty desolate stretch of beach.
 
 
 
This was my view from my perch where I wrote. Love the colorful chairs.

 
 
I snapped this as we enjoyed a glass of wine on the roof deck before dinner. The sky was too gorgeous and I just loved the patterns of the clouds.

 
Love the light and shadow in this shot.

 
See the light poking through the clouds? I call those "God rays." It was early morning and the beach was empty. So peaceful.

 
This was the path we walked to get to the beach. A long tunnel of trees and vegetation that spilled us out on the beach.

 
Loved this little guy just hanging out in the cold waves.
 
And then... I went home. And the next day-- the VERY next day-- the snow started. And plunged us into the rest of the week-- a contrast to the sunny beach where I started the week.





It was a week of contrasts, a time of appreciating the vastness of God's creation and ability. Of whispering "thank You" for the beach that is my heart's home to whispering "thank You" for the lovely snow falling. From warm sunny skies to snow clouds, from blue to white, from my feet sinking into wet sand to my feet disappearing into icy snow. Both were lovely. Both were breathtaking. It was a week of contrasts, and I loved both sides.
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Monday, February 17, 2014

Intentional Mondays


Quote: "I write to dream; to connect with other human beings; to record; to clarify; to visit the dead. I have a kind of primitive need to leave a mark on the world. Also, I have a need for money." Mary Karr

Write Every Day...  I've taken a break from writing to do the work of the story-- digging into the characters, the plot, the setting, the research-- before I write another word. If I've learned anything from the other novels, it's that the best stories are the ones that have some work done on the front end. For me, at least, that is true.

My One Word... one definition for AFFIRM (my one word for this year) is "to state as fact, assert strongly and publicly." I've always felt like I couldn't "assert boldly and publicly" the things that I felt God had promised me. I tend to want to do damage control in case He doesn't come through. I'm like His pr person-- wanting to protect His reputation at all costs. So this whole concept of a bold and public faith is a unique challenge for this year in choosing this word. Perhaps you will see more of that in the months to come.

Listening To... my "Blue Nile" Pandora station. My love for Paul Buchanan's voice has been consistent since 1989

Sharing Stories... My TBR list is never-ending. I have so many stories I'm looking forward to. Most of them are books that aren't out yet--a little perk of doing She Reads is the advanced copies we receive to consider for selection, guest posts, etc. I am so excited about books coming out by Jane Green, Sarah Jio, Sarah Pekkanen, Elin Hildebrand, and Jojo Moyes.

In the past week I've read two upcoming stories that I really enjoyed for totally different reasons. These aren't available yet, but go ahead and put ABOVE by Isla Morley and HIDDEN by Catherine McKenzie in your queue.

As for my kids, my daughter (age 8) is enjoying WHATEVER AFTER, a series about a brother and sister who get sucked into fairy tales by a magic mirror in their basement.

Randomness... Last week was cancelled on account of snow. You may have heard that our area was affected by record snowfalls that had us snowed in for days. This is the south. We don't do snow well. Kids missed school and life pretty much ground to a halt. It was a lo-ot of family time in close quarters with no way to escape from each other and, while it was fun, it was not exactly a productive time for me, hence the quietness here on the ole blog. Pictures coming.

In The Kitchen... On my writing retreat a week ago I made a meal I'd made for friends before but never made for my family. As I was throwing it together in the kitchen of the lovely home we stayed in, I wondered why I'd never made it for the family before. Granted not all of my family loves shrimp, but many of them do. Some of them (my two oldest sons) LOVE it, as a matter of fact. So tonight I'm making the meal I made on the retreat. And for those who do not like shrimp, there are frozen chicken tenders. Here is a link to the recipe I'm using. It's so, so easy and so, so tasty. I'm serving it with roasted asparagus and an angel hair pasta dish that is basically garlic and tomatoes and olive oil tossed with angel hair. But it all just goes together so well-- lots of color and tastes on one plate. Needless to say I'm looking forward to dinner tonight!

Plans... This week is pretty low key (just the way I like it) til Thursday, when my best friend flies into town for a local book event and then is staying on with me. We will head down to Charleston SC to lead a writing workshop for the Lowcountry RWA on Saturday. Need I say that I'm looking forward to it?? Want to come? Here's info. If you want to be there, contact the folks at Lowcountry RWA and get your name in so they can plan for you for lunch. And drop me a line to let me know to look for you!

Loveliness... The snow last week was just beautiful. I would stand in front of the windows gazing out and whispering thank You. I wouldn't want it around forever, but our taste of it last week was perfect.

Photo of the Week... I couldn't go all out for Valentine's Day Friday like I like to because we were snowed in in the days prior to it. But I still was able to pull off a scaled back "red meal" (spaghetti and cherry 7Up) and whipped up a brownie pie served warm with ice cream for dessert. Because nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like chocolate. This was the table I created for our candlelit celebration. It made me happy just to see it. And it made me even happier to have the people I love best gathered around it.

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Best Days


My best days are home days. Why? Because on home days I get stuff done. And getting stuff done makes me so happy. Accomplishing my list of to-do's is a thrill I never imagined when I was a little girl dreaming of being a grown-up girl. I'm not sure that little girl would've thought that sounded all that exciting, honestly. She probably would've thought that the grown-up version of herself would count her best days as days she dined at fancy restaurants with powerful and popular people or shopped in the best stores and bought the latest fashions or held important meetings in high-rise offices.

Nope.

The best days are the ones where I have nowhere to be outside my own four walls. Ideally, they go like this:

6:45 am: get out of bed and get kids up, dressed, fed, lunches packed etc.

7:30 am: leave the house for school

8:00 am: return from school

8:00 am: do all the reading-- this includes my Bible study and any nonfiction books I'm working my way through, journaling

9:00 am: breakfast, household chores, whittle emails down to below 25 in my inbox (my happy place)

10:00 am: write

12:00 pm: break for lunch, check emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

12:30 pm: write, wrap up loose ends

2:00 pm: run, shower and get ready to retrieve children from school

3:15 pm: leave the house

4:00 pm: return home with grumpy children in tow, try not to lament over the loss of quiet sanctuary. Supervise snacks, chores, homework. Listen to complaints, fighting, and needs that have built up during the course of the day. Try to be loving, kind and patient. Fail most days.

5:00 pm: do something about dinner

6:00 pm: eat said dinner

6:30 pm: clean up from said dinner, do remaining household chores, cajole children into doing their part

7:00 pm: supervise bath time and any final needs, think over what needs to be done the next day. Make list of to-do's. Feel hopeful.

8:00 pm: begin bedtime process which will intermittently go on for the next two hours, grab snatches of time during this two hours to read, watch tv, and surf Pinterest for more recipes you probably won't cook and craft/decorating/organizational ideas you will probably never do

10:00 pm: drag tired self to bed and read a few pages of a novel while denying that you are actually too tired to read and should probably just shut off the light

10:30 pm: wake up holding your book with no recollection of what you read or where you left off. Admit defeat and shut out the light.

Understand that my days rarely go this way and, starting at the end of this month, I will be required to leave the house three days per week in order to fill a substitute teaching gig and attend a weekly Bible study at my church. Which means there is only 2 remaining days per week in which this can even possibly occur.

But I will hold onto those two precious days with both fists. And dare anyone, or anything, to come between us.
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Saturday, February 08, 2014

The Monuments Men, A Review




The other night my husband and I had the opportunity to see an advance screening of The Monuments Men. This little-known piece of American history (ok, little known to me) has been turned into a riveting film that I would recommend taking kids over I'd say the age of 10 to. There is a bit of language and it does depict some of the horrors and tension of war-- but it's not gratuitous or sensationalized. It's real.

The only small complaint I had about the movie is that in about the first 20 or so minutes, it didn't seem to know what it was-- comedy or drama. And to be sure, there are some comedic moments to be found in these professors and architects and art majors being transformed into soldiers. And with actors like John Goodman and Bill Murray, you expected some humor. But once they get into the actual action of hunting down the art and monuments they're after, the joking around mostly stops and the movie hits its stride. The movie probably pretty accurately depicted how the real experience happened-- they became soldiers, they saw awful things, and they became a unit of men committed to their cause, and each other.

In the end, Monuments Men is a pretty amazing account of what these committed few did to preserve the art and monuments we still have today. And to know that, most likely, without the help of these men, we might not have any of these great pieces of art, considering that Hitler's plan was to destroy it all if Germany fell. They risked their lives because they held a passionate belief in doing the right thing. Any time I can share that message with my kids, it's always a good thing in my book.

I will spare you my sermon on how no one values anything like that any more and instead I will simply say that you should consider taking your kids to see this if you'd like to inspire them... and yourself in the process as well. I will confess to the tears in my eyes at the end. And if you want to know I had tears in my eyes, well, you'll just have to see the film.
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Wednesday, February 05, 2014

There Was Nothing, Now There Is Something: A Post On Creativity... And Butterscotch Pudding


As women, I think we are all driven to be creative in some way. The way in which our creativity takes shape is what sets us apart from "everybody else." The way doesn't matter. What matters is the expression that comes from the heart.

I was thinking about this the other night as I stirred (and stirred, and stirred) butterscotch pudding. I'd never made butterscotch pudding and even now I'm not sure what possessed me to search the myriad of recipes that came up when I searched "butterscotch pudding recipe" and then spend the 40 minutes it took to make said butterscotch pudding.

That no one in my family wanted. But I'm not bitter.

Anyway, this is not about butterscotch pudding, much as some of you may love butterscotch pudding. I mean my family doesn't but I couldn't know that until I'd made it. And wasted a good 40 minutes of my life. Again, not bitter.

Ahem. Moving on.

This is about the pride I felt when I finished the pudding (I had no idea at this point that ungrateful children were going to turn their nose up at it) and put it all in a dish and stood back and thought, "That is butterscotch pudding. I took random ingredients off a shelf and I stirred (and stirred, and stirred) them together, and voila! I made butterscotch pudding. There was nothing and now there is something."

And then my thoughts went from there, as thoughts are prone to do. (At least mine are. Tell me I'm not alone in this.) I started thinking of all the "there was nothing, now there is something" activities we women enjoy.

Crafting... there was just some strips of cloth and a wire hanger and now there's a wreath.

Writing... there was a blank page and a blinking cursor. Now there is a book. Or a blog post. Or a journal. Or a poem.

Motherhood... there was just a womb and a wish and now there is a whole, live person.

Painting... there was just a vast white canvas and now there is an image captured.

Photography... there was just a camera and some kids and now there are memories preserved forever.

Decorating... there was just a plain, cold room and now there is a warm, welcoming space that perfectly reflects the personality and priorities of the people who live there.

Knitting... there was just some yarn and needles and now there is a blanket, or a sweater, or a coffee cup cozy. (That was for my mom.)

Music... there was just an instrument and some sheet music and now there are songs that strangers know by heart.

Fashion... there was just some fabric used to cover up people so they don't walk around naked, now there's a vast, endless stream of colors and styles to reflect preference and personalities.

... You get the idea. The point isn't how you express your creativity. The point is that I know there's something that gets your blood pumping harder. It's the place your mind goes when there's nothing else demanding your brain waves. It's wired deep down inside you and-- even if you ignore it-- it won't go away.

May I just challenge you not to ignore it? To take one little step towards it today? To not be afraid of it or ashamed of it or apologize for it? To live the passionate, creative life you know you're meant for. Yes, still be a mom and a wife and a worker bee, but carve out time for creativity somehow, somewhere in the rush of your days. You'll be a happier, more satisfied woman when you do. Because we were wired to create. And to live a life that denies that is only half living. Test me and see if I'm right.
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Monday, February 03, 2014

Intentional Mondays


Quote of the week... "A year from now, you'll wish you'd started today." Karen Lamb
How true this is about so many things. If you have a dream to go after, what are you waiting for?

Write Every Day... I knew that last week would be a joke, writing wise, and it was. Add in some unexpected snow days and... fuhgeddaboutit. I did get some research done for a new book I'm mulling over. But only about 500 words written beyond that. I'm anticipating getting some writing done on Monday and Tuesday this week. I've already set up the scene I'm going to write and just have to dive in once everyone is tucked away at school and at work and the house is quiet. Wednesday and Thursday are busy out-of-the-house days but come Friday I'm headed to a beach house with a couple of other writers to get some real work done. I'm anticipating this retreat, as you can imagine.

My One Word... AFFIRM continues to be a great word choice for this year. I'm filtering everything that happens through that word and it's helping me to capture those runaway worries I am sometimes plagued with. Instead I just center my thoughts on God affirming His promises.

Listening To... This week's top 40 countdown on Sirius XM 80's on 8 was from this week in 1987. I was a junior in high school and it was quite fun to hear some forgotten songs from that time. Brought back memories!

Sharing Stories... I finished my January nonfiction book, HANDS FREE MAMA by Rachel Macy Stafford. Here's my quick review of it: The book was perhaps a bit too wordy and there wasn't enough white space on the page is my only critique of it. It could've been shorter and gotten the same message across. What was the message? That as moms we need to keep our hands free of the many devices that can capture our attention-- laptops, phones, ereaders, iPads, etc. etc. etc. For me this message sunk in a few years ago much the same way it sunk in with the author: that she was missing her kids because her attention was diverted elsewhere. I think the book is perfectly aimed at moms in their 30's (I am, ahem, a bit older than that) who are raising small kids. I remember the time when I was immersed in little people and desiring connection with other adults. I shudder to think what I would've been like back in those days if Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest had been available. And I can see why this message is a needful one now. If this applies to you or someone you love this book would be worth buying. For me it was both an affirmation that I'm on track, and a gentle reminder to keep my priorities in order.

Randomness... I've been fighting off a cold for the past few days and am starting to think I'm losing the battle. Please pass the Zi-Cam. And my pillow.

In The Kitchen... I have never had to throw out anything I've ever baked. Perhaps this was a point of pride in my life I was unaware of and I needed to be humbled. Because this past Saturday, I had my day of reckoning when I baked a "White Russian Cake" that did NOT turn out AT ALL. It looked lovely (see photo below) but when I cut into it, it was the consistency of a baked pudding, if that makes sense. It was sort of solid, yet mushy and spongy at the same time. I had never tasted anything like it in my life. Not believing me that something that looked tasty could be that bad, each family member insisted on tasting it for themselves. I should've had a camera to capture their faces because their looks of revulsion were priceless. Needless to say the cake went straight into the trashcan. And that was a whole afternoon of my life I could not get back with nothing to show for it. Sigh.

Plans... This week I have my first Bible study at church (was supposed to start last week but we had one inch of snow that threw our entire town into hysteria-- this is the south, after all-- and school was cancelled for two days). We are studying Jen Hatmaker's book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, which I've heard good things about. (Want to read it? The ebook is just $2.99 right now, I have no idea for how long.)  I also have my yearly mammogram. Have you had yours?? Don't put it off. I'm meeting with a teacher I'm going to be subbing for in March and April at the private school where I've been teaching part time. I'm teaching journalism so that should be fun. We are going over what I'm supposed to do and that same day I'm having lunch with a friend so we can catch up after the craziness of Christmas and-- oh yeah-- January too. I'm also doing lunch duty in my youngest's classroom, which I do once a month. Then I leave on Friday to head to the lovely Isle of Palms SC for a "research" and writing trip. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Loveliness... See how deceptive loveliness can be below. I'm sure there's a very powerful illustration to be had here. Feel free to apply this hard-earned lesson in your own life accordingly. At least then all that time I spent might be worth something.

Photo of the Week...

Cake Failure: Looks can be deceiving.
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