HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Growth.
Tastes change... a little food for thought after that food-filled holiday.
-No, real food for thought! ;)

I'm growing and entering another phase of my life. Or so my tastebuds are saying!

Food is interesting. Food is different and varying. It may not change, but preferance toward any one particular food does.

It's fun to notice that I suddenly like something that wasn't very good before. It is an interesting mouthful when my mouth hands me a delicious surprise in an unexpected food source.

I've never really liked chocolate. It tastes burnt to me; all the time, whatever the brand-and I've had some of the best brands in the world thanks to precious friends who are sure its just a brand thing.
I've now had kids... I find I like it once a month and for a few days it doesn't taste as burnt as it does the rest of the month. I prefer Lindt, Swiss, and German chocolates at those times; usually dark, and smooth like mousse; so the inside of truffles. ;)

I used to hate all meat until I was sixteen. Then I only liked corned beef brisket, and it had to be with the cooked cabbage to help with the aftertaste I wasn't used to in meat. I started eating burgers in high school after that. I only liked the ones from the fast food chains... so was that really meat? lol

After having kids, I like lots of meats. Not pig too much as I seem to have an allergy to pork and it makes me sick. Weird, but I prefer turkey bacon anyway; no clear fat posing as meat -its all meat! ;)

Chinese food used to smell like puke to me. No joke, I hated the stuff; I hated to walk by restaurants that sold the stuff!
Now I love it! It is one of my favorite things to eat and I can't seem to get enough of the really good, thick low mein noodles. The best! I also really like the crab puffs with cream cheese and chives. I could eat several of those for dinner only and be very happy!

I still do not like bird. Any kind of bird related animal, it is awful. On turkey day I am not a very happy person when we're gathered around a table of terrible food. Stuffing is too dry and so are the mashed potatoes; thank God for that gravy that goes everywhere!
I still refuse the bird, it isn't salvagable.

I used to love lasagna more than anything in the world. Now I can barely stand it every other month or so. Sometimes I wonder if having kids was the reason everything changed, but the meat came on slowly, so....

I never have and still don't like cake. I'm picky about brownies and any sort of sweet bread. I had some applebread the other day. It was the only time I asked for a second piece. It was homemade and had crumbles on top! Yum!

I do not like any candybar on the market except for the York peppermint patty. I don't like most candy out there, but love hard candy when its made right. I also do not like toppings on my icecream, or sweet icecream... I like the fruit and nut flavors in my sweet vanilla. Pistachio and watermelon and whole strawberries in a suger cone are my favorite.

I love nachos. And mostly all Mexican/Spanish foods! My favorite, mouth watering foods are in this catagory!

I used to love vegetables. Now I like only a handful. I still love salads. Lettuce is usually good everywhere (Chinese food and Spanish etc!) If you can sneak it onto a veggie platter, I always prefer fresh with dip. Yum!

Fresh is always something I enjoy. Platters of fresh fruits and vegetables are always my favorite at gatherings, and, for me, make up for that poor bird each year. :)

I'm pickier now that I've moved away from the midwest. There are no good Chinese food places or suitable Spanish/Mexican food places up here. Since I don't count Taco Bell, I'm really lost. We live next to a farm, but I've found that if you don't eat the food that day, it goes really bad really fast. The fridge doesn't help either... I think they do it on purpose to bring you back everyday. ;)

I do not like soda. The bubbles burn my mouth and throat. In high school I loved it and downed a mountain dew a day. Now my preferred drink is water with a side of strawberry milkshake! Yum!!! Or when I'm cold, French Vanilla hot chocolate. ;)

Cornnuts. A favorite snack from childhood, it is one of the few things that have secured their place in adulthood as well. Too bad they don't sell them back east. ;)

So many different kinds of food out there, it really makes me happy for the variety. I would hate to be stuck with chocolate cake as the only taste out there. Yuck!

And those bad tastes always make me happy when I find a good one again. I like change... until I have lots of eggrolls in the freezer and then decide I don't like them anymore. lol Happened a few times... luckily they last until I decide I like them again! Funny how life works like that.

I must admit that life is like this as well. Different things at different times call to me and then don't later. It is fun to switch back and forth. A little fung shui livens up an otherwise droll living space. Or varying tastebuds ;)

Variety. The tasty spice of... life!

..................

Life Happens. Unfortunately.

I am glad it doesn't happen alone. I love you all very much.

It amazes me how fleeting life is. We have all been given the precious gift of life, but few of us are only given a limited amount of time to experience this joy. I miss those that have already gone on.

In this late hour, I find that I am very blessed and felt the need to show my gratitude for such blessings. I truly have the honor of knowing some really great people. I do not know why this is, but I am grateful that there are so many truly wonderful people in my life.

Perhaps it is just me. People have told me on more than one occasion that I have a large heart. I prefer to think that I have just been blessed to know extraordinarily wonderful people. Truly no one has been so greatly blessed with precious acquaintances and friends as I. Each one of you on here I hold in the same high respect. Thank you for helping me with my dream.

Thank you also for being my friend. Know that you are loved, and now even more appreciated as I think how this last one was ripped away so unceremoniously. I hope they know how much I deeply loved them. I think they did. I'm a very expressive person when it comes to my feelings towards people.

I posted a few weeks ago about silver and gold friends. More of you are gold than you likely think. I want you to know this. I know this is a very impersonal way of trying to tell you, and I wish there was a way I could meet with you and take you out to lunch to tell you personally how much you mean in my life, but as I am very far away from most of you, this will have to suffice. If I have you number, expect a call. I am determined.

Truly, whether brief visits on the computer while we chat, or notes left in electronic boxes, or if I have the rare privilege of seeing you new ones here in New York, know that I cherish deeply the chance to be your friend and share a part of your life. Thank you very much for choosing to be in mine. Know that I don't take our friendship-no matter how slight-granted in any way. You are precious to me.

And now more than ever. I love you. Such a strong sentiment, I do NOT mean it lightly. Perhaps this may scare you to hear, but I need to say it more than I need to worry that you never heard it when you're gone (heaven forbid, as I can't bear to lose more of you so soon).

While my eyes mist yet again, know that I rejoice in our friendships. I rejoice wonderfully to see, hear, and think of you.

I need to go now. This has been a very trying night. It makes me happy to remember that heaven is where we will all end up and that I will see them again.

Please remember in my boasting that I don't believe that a God who says He loves us as much as He says he does can possibly have created a place of such punishment as the one referred to with fire and brimstone. Though that may be preferable to the truly evil as they feel the remorse for their actions are worse than a little heat. And if Adolf Hitler wasn't truly evil, I know I will see all my friends in a happier place than this earth.

I wish I had the words tonight to express how I feel in greater depth. I am hurting, and loving all at the same time, and it is hard to find the words to express all I wish to say. Truly, there are not words, I am sure of this. I love you is too weak, and to say you are precious to me is not enough for the feelings that swell within my heart. Tears of gratitude to know you are falling.

I send you luvs and hugs and prayers that you know how precious and loved you are. For truly, deeply you are loved.

...............

Giggles are our home's most precious natural resource.

Our schools are trying to force the parents to spend more time with their kids. I'm not sure it is working, but the things they send home in that effort are insane for public school projects.

Our little family is always doing some craft together when we're done with our lessons. Kindergarten changed that for both my girls when the teacher started sending home a two foot by one and a half foot silhouette of that month's special decoration. This month was a giant turkey.

Now the rules to decorate are very simple. You cannot use pencils, colored pencils, pens, markers, crayons, chalk, paint, and are encouraged to use a lot of glue so it withstands hanging in the hall for the rest of the month.

Which begs the question: What exactly can we use?

The same teacher two years in a row, we had to get creative when it came to making individual gobblers for the wall. My children decided they didn't like the macaroni the other kids were doing, and that their precious stickers looked better put in their sticker albums than on the albino turkey paper. Buttons were nice... but "only for the eyes, mommy." was repeated when we went through the button box.

A trip through Walmart for the first year was fun because funds were plenty and the fabric department had the prettiest pink shiny fabric. Child number one had decided she didn't want any old turkey, but a 'pretty princess turkey'. Pink and lavender fabric was the first thing in the cart. Then she found the jewels. It was bedazeled as soon as it was finished being put together.

The second child was given her turkey in a rougher time. The basement had just been ruffled through, and since she wanted a 'fall' turkey, she was very happy with the 'recycled' never-been-used before ribbon that had been sitting in the harvest decorations for years. I was remiss to lose it to a kindergarten creation, but with the way her eyes lit up, there was no refusing. Her masterpiece is her favorite 'pet' and she trotted around the house with it until we had to send it in with her the next school day.

These projects took about six hours each and taught my children new skills. They now had experience with adult scissors, needles and thread and sewing (oh my!), tape, tracing, and the dreaded gluegun. The first was only burned once, but that was all the second needed to see to be able not to repeat that mistake when it came her turn. First was very brave and didn't cry once.

We had so much fun making these precious creations because we were able to do them together. The time spent is something I will cherish forever. I know they will never forget either, and will pull the creation out of whatever box they will end up in when they move out. It will be their precious souvenier and a reminder to make those moments with their children.

We still craft even now. They aren't as extravagant and do include the taboo writing utensils, but the time creating them is why they're made. They may not last like the first ones, but I know that the memories will.

What do you think? Did we do a good job? Do you like the princess boots and pretty frills? The girls ideas were what created these, I only pointed where I thought each tuck and pinch and needle poke should go. They were and are just five years old after all! Toddlers made these, but love designed the smiles next to them.

Do you have any stories like this, or a cherished moment with a parent/guardian/adult? I would love to hear what made you smile and how the event/memory has influenced your life.

Next month will be a Christmas tree. Any ideas for it that I may pass on to my current five-year-old? She only says no to half my suggestions, and I'm sure if it is a great idea, she'll jump at it. Let me know.

.......................

Meet the sterling rose.
How many of you remember these?

Purple roses add enchantment to the receiver's life according to rose color meanings.
I'm glad to think I added magic to my friends' lives all those years.

I am starting to see God's warning about making a garden come to pass. Bananas, however, are a little hard to cultivate in the snow visited north.

For decades the prophets of my church have been telling us to go grow a garden. It is cheap, economical, promotes happiness, and builds character in the children you want to raise. At my parents' house I was brought up cultivating the garden, and was often sent out to do weeds whenever mom was mad at me.

I was lucky though. I had the resident green thumb and was always trying to grow something anyway. Most of the crop would be lost when I went to girls camp and the vines withered in the hot Arizona sun because someone forgot to water them. I would try again when I got back, but then a frost would kill the rest before spring.

The rose bush survived. This coveted sterling rosebush was a gift from my grandmother to my mother. It was silvery-purple in color and smelling like heaven's own personal bouquet. Though it was dying by the time I decided to have pity on it.

Placed in the shade, and surviving several years of neglect and torture, it was better able to withstand a week or two of being forgotten. It would get very sick while I was away on vacations or at camp, but it always hung in there just long enough for me to be able to return and try to help it get healthy again.

After a few months I was getting the most beautiful blossoms. I was the cultivator of these, and when I had to snip some off to save the bush from feeding too many buds and not itself, they became precious gifts for friends who meant a lot to me. Each morning a handful of these sterling beauties would get to come with me to school only to be passed out to dear friends. My friends liked this. Their faces would light up and a smile would be shared all because I tried to help in the garden. I watched as this simple gesture made their day better.

Gardens have a way of spreading joy, and most of the time what you reap will bring a smile to another's face too. There's just something about a plot of land filled with nature's miracles that makes a person feel good.

Though I admit that most people prefer this bounty cleaned, cut, prepped, and put on the dining room table in a vase, or with butter, ranch or bacon bits. But it had to start somewhere. Remember that next time you go grocery shopping or eat a salad at a restaurant.

So the prophets knew what they were talking about. Who knew. I was happier out there, and I was able to make other people happier without having to spend a dime. Nice.

Now how do I convince the landlady here to grant me such a privilege? So far its been a no. Hmmm.

What about you? Do you have any gardening stories? Any peculiar bugs in said gardening? Or is the whole thought of getting dirty repulsive to you and you prefer someone else to handle that for you? I tell you, I used gloves. Bugs were not my favorite either.

And lastly, are you any good at gardening? Anymore 'greenthumbs' out there? I really want to know. :)

...............

Sometimes he just wants a hug!

I entered another contest. This one was brought to my attention by my dog loving aunt. 2000k words or less, send in a fictional dog story; no talking dogs please (and I'm assuming this also means no super powers!)! bummer.

What do you think?

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes… and species….

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Jamie was trying very hard not to let the noise get to him.

He knew he needed to be extra good today.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Jamie bit the inside of his cheek to keep quiet. He tried

the breathing exercise his mother had suggested to help

him concentrate. In. Out. In. Out. In-

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY?!?”

Jamie gasped.

All eyes landed on Kelly. Her face red and her hands

clenched tight, she was the one who had jumped up

and yelled.

Jamie was relieved. At least he wasn’t in trouble.

He’d still get his treat.

Kelly, realizing what she’d just done, immediately

covered her mouth in her horror.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled through her palms. “I’m

so sorry!”

“Are you trying to kill him?” Bridget mumbled.

Alex, who had stopped tapping at his cousin’s

outburst, just smiled politely.

“Nah, it’s cool. I didn’t even notice I was doing it.”

He laughed weakly and put the pencil down after

filling in one last answer.

“But are you okay?” Kelly asked carefully. “Or did

I make it worse?”

The bedroom was silent as everyone waited for the

answer.

“Guys,” Alex sighed exasperatedly. “I told you;

I’m not that bad! I’m not a bubble, and I won’t

pop at the slightest outburst. Geez! Relax a little.”

He rolled his eyes.

Kelly was only convinced because he chastised

them. If he wasn’t, he would’ve waved a hand

and looked out the window. That was his tell.

She sat back down. “’Kay. Just stop with the

pencil thing,” she tried to make it a joke. “It’s

sooo annoying.” She managed a wry smile

for the invalid.

Alex reached behind his head to scratch his neck.

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry again.”

The bedroom door opened.

“Is everything alright?” Mom asked carefully. “I

thought I heard a commotion.” Her eyes landed

on Jamie.

Jamie fidgeted a bit. “I didn’t do it,” he said

immediately.

Mom frowned. “Uh-huh.”

“No really, Aunt Sarah. Jamie didn’t do anything,”

Alex promised.

“It was Kelly,” Bridget blabbed on her twin easily.

She owed her for taking the top she wanted to wear

today without her permission.

Kelly glared at her. Bridget didn’t mind; they were

even now.

Mom’s eyes finished the once-over on Alex.

“Well okay then,” she said slowly. She entered the

room with the tray she had been holding.

“I thought the study group would like a snack,” she

said with a big smile.

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, celery sticks,

and apple slices filled it. There were even four

glasses of milk; it wasn’t a snack, it was a mid-afternoon

feast!

“I was thinking,” Mom said as she passed everything

out. “After this, would you like to move outside for a

bit?” Her eyes watched Alex for any signs of fatigue;

just in case.

“That would be great, Aunt Sarah,” he said eagerly.

“Can we go to the pond?” Jamie spoke up.

“Yes Jamie,” Mom promised. “I even have a bag of

stale bread ready; just like I promised.” She smiled

at her youngest son warmly.

“Yes!” Jamie exclaimed. His arm and elbow tucked

in his victory.

The feast was over in record time and Alex even ate

a few more things than expected. Mom returned

with his wheel chair before the last apple slice was

finished.

It was immediately scarfed down by Kelly, who

had snatched it before Bridget-only after she saw

her twin going for it. Tongues were exchanged with

narrowed eyes.

The procession to the pond at the edge of the property

was a lengthy one as mom had to push her adopted

nephew over the rough grassy terrain to get there.

The other three were dancing around-running, screaming,

doing cartwheels; simply feeling great about being

outdoors after the three hour homework session

they’d just finished.

Alex hadn’t seen the backyard since he’d returned

from the hospital three weeks ago. Now he was

watching the bright blue sky, interesting wildlife, and

funny cousins with wide excited eyes. His nose tickled

with the sweet smelling scents of the flower garden,

and the tart, but pleasant smell of the nearby citrus trees.

“We put a bench in while you were away,” Mom says

with enthusiasm.

“We were hoping you’d get to use it before it got

visited by the birds.”

Alex grinned. Those ducks would poop anywhere!

Jamie reached it first.

“Its safe!” he declared for everyone who hadn’t run

ahead with him. “No yuckiness!” He grinned, quite

pleased with himself.

Alex was carefully placed on the bench, his blankets

tucked just right in case any particular ‘light’ breeze

was too much. Mom wasn’t taking any chances.

Jamie grabbed the bread from the back of the chair

with excitement and, after thoughtfully depositing a

few slices in Alex’s lap, ran off around the pond,

flinging bits and pieces on his merry way.

“Mo-om,” Kelly complained, “Jamie’s not sharing!”

Mom sat down next to Alex. “Are you sure you

deserve to pass out bread?” she commented quietly.

Kelly's angry outburst earlier wasn't the

first time she had been in trouble today.

Kelly flushed, but didn’t answer back. She turned

around and ran off after her brother instead.

Mom grinned. She hoped her daughter caught her

son anyway.

Kelly did, and was immediately handed a single slice

of bread. Mom tried not to laugh at her sour expression.

That wouldn’t be very motherly of her.

Bridget was sitting on the grass.

“You brought a book,” Mom said, not really surprised.

“Kendra almost figured it out,” Bridget said excitedly.

“It’s a beautiful day, sweetheart. Maybe Sean and

Kendra can take a little break? Maybe for you to

lap the pond a few times? Please?” Mom pleaded

with a knowing grin.

“Okay,” Bridget consented unwillingly. She bookmarked

her page and laid it on the chair. Then she stood up and

raced off for the required laps, determined to get back

to her book as fast as possible.

Mom watched a goose saunter up to Alex’s bread

crumbs. He’d already scattered several.

“Look, Aunt Sarah!” he whispered excitedly.

“Wow!” she breathed back. It was the largest goose

she’d seen, and almost perfectly snow-white in coloring.

“I bet he would taste yummy for dinner,” she teased her

new son with some country humor.

“Awww! Aunt Sarah!” he whined. “Gross!”

Mom ruffled his hair. He was going to be just fine once

this remission was confirmed, she thought for the

thousandth time. This place was perfect with all the fresh

air, but she worried being so far from the hospital.

Mom decided it was too quiet and looked up to find the

other three. Not a single child was around the pond.

Not even the anxious Bridget.

“Alex, will you be okay if I take a small walk?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I promise not to let any geese

eat me," he said sarcastically.

Mom set off with a grin.

After circling the small pond, she heard something just

inside the treeline. She sighed in her relief. She had

found them.

Walking into the forest that bordered the property,

Mom found all three of her children suspiciously huddled

together.

“Oh, no,” she said as soon as she saw the subject of

their disappearance. “You know how Dad doesn’t like

those things.”

“Awww mom! Please?” Jamie begged.

“We’ll take good care of him, and-”

“-Make sure he gets walked all the time,” Bridget

promised in tandem with Kelly.

“But where will he sleep?” Mom started with the

obvious questions. “And what if he’s not house-trained?”

“We can train him easy!” Bridget said. “I just read a

book on how a girl did it in forty-eight hours!”

Heaven forbid I argue with a book, Mom thought with

a small smile. She always was a softee.

“Yes!” Jamie celebrated prematurely. Mom thought

it too cute how he could read her so well.

Just then the dog took off barking insanely. The kids

hopped up and scrambled after him screaming and

laughing with giddiness. Mom turned and trotted after

them.

Mom’s heart stopped once she cleared the trees.

The bench was empty.

In full sprint now, she passed all three children in record

time.

“Alex,” she gasped once she reached his side. She turned

him over. “Alex, are you okay? Can you hear me? Blink

twice for yes.”

Alex blinked once. “I’m… okay,” he managed, and

blinked a second time for her. “Just… got really… tired…

and… fell off?” He grinned in weak amusement up at

her.

Mom sighed in relief for the second time that afternoon.

She gathered him up in her arms and started for the

house, forgetting the chair. She had called... the doctor had said that it

would be alright… she didn’t understand how this

could happen!

“The dog helped,” Kelly spoke in a whisper. “He knew

and he helped us.”

“He’s a superhero,” Jamie added wisely.

“But will that be enough?” Bridget wondered aloud

for them.

There was no answer, but the dog wasn’t turned away

when they all started filing in the house.

He’s worse. Mom repeated the doctor’s prognosis

in her head for the hundredth time: The cancer had

reached his lungs, the chemo hadn’t helped. He was

going to die.

The kids had been put to bed, and she was watching

her sleeping nephew with pained anxiety. She was grateful

they were able to bring the hospital home this time. Support

machines surrounded him.

Just then the dog sauntered in. He had been bathed

and his collar polished. Calls had been placed on the

corresponding answering machine shortly after. The

owners were sure to pick up such a beautifully cared for

dog. Mom knew he was a Labrador Retriever. Black in

coloring, he matched the kind she’d had when she was

young.

The dog walked right up to the boy’s bed and put his

nose on the edge.

He whimpered a bit.

Mom would have smiled if she wasn’t so upset.

“Thank you,” she said to him. She rubbed behind his

ears. “I guess you can stay until-” mom broke off as

the next sob engulfed her throat. Meaning ‘until…

your owners show up’ had gotten mixed up

with the thought of her son’s future. She cried for a

long time.

When she stopped, she looked back at the dog. He

was still whimpering.

“You need a name,” she decided. The kids were

already in bed, but-

“How about… Zachary,” said a weak voice from the

pillow.

Mom’s eyes flew. “Alex?”

There was silence for a long moment, with only the

dog’s whimpering filling it.

“I’m fine,” came back the hesitant reply. “It’s really…

hard… to breathe.”

“You’re hooked up to the machine,” mom said, quickly

checking the wiring.

The dog made a louder noise and his nose pushed at

something on the bed.

The line was not connected there.

“Good Dog!” mom said as she got out the rubbing

alcohol to swab it and then put it back together.

“Goooood dog!”

Alex took a long, assisted breath. “Much better,” he

sighed.

“That’s twice, you know,” mom said. “He’s helped

you twice now.”

Alex looked at the dog.

“Thank you Zachary,” he said with wonderful politeness.

Zachary barked once and licked the boy’s hand. Alex

laughed weakly. Color filled his cheeks. He looked

like it was the best present in the world to get covered

in dog slobber.

The days following were long and hard on the family,

but whenever Zachary made Alex laugh there was hope.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months,

and finally Alex was ready for chemo again. This was

amazing to everyone who had heard the doctor’s

prognosis. Surely the boy playing tug-o-war with the dog

out back was not the same one wheeled across the

grass so long ago. Mom knows he wouldn’t be without

the help of that dog beside him. She very firmly believes

that it was God that sent him to them, especially after

learning that Zachary’s previous owners had died in a car

crash the day before he showed up. That canine was

their hero; and now, with a ‘proper’ name, a beloved

member of this patchwork family.

Do you think this will win? I won't know until spring sometime, from what I can tell. Is it good enough?

...................

Perfection

It amazes me how complex the world is. Something seemingly simple turns out to be the most complex and intricate thing. The world is full of experiences as diverse as each precious snowflake. Each unique in voice, but delicate in detail. I love it.

I never thought that getting a book published would involve so many people. I have had a handful of English lit majors tear it apart for me for grammatical errors. Now I am handing it off for story discrepancies. I am very excited to see how it will turn out when we're done. This is truly a part of being a writer that I like; unlike the dreaded query process.

I'm worried that throughout the process to get to where it really stands alone, the people helping me will lose interest along the way. Of course, a truly good book should last through that process... Right?

For now I'm just trying to have a lot of fun. Things get pointed out that I had edited and changed so many times that they no longer fit together cohesively (word of the week btw), and its a fun trip around the amusement park as I try to make the scene flow as well on paper as it did in my thoughts.

I am not going to change everything they ask of me. My book has a voice I don't want lost. But I also want to succeed and sometimes that doesn't happen alone. Like I've been saying in some of my previous posts: People need people. That is the wonderful thing about life and the strange nuances that come up. Each person is a snowflake; unique in their talent as the points on each precious crystal. I like how these points show a different direction at every advance. I like the many avenues my story can take.

I'm very grateful for my people. I truly have been blessed. Somehow, some way, someone-indeed many someones- is/are looking out for me. I love you all very much. Remember that. New followers or old, editors or story fixers, you are helping me very very much. Thank you.

I truly love being a writer. It is one of the many life's songs that call to me, and I hear it crystal clear. There is a song in my writing. I simply have to find it. Just like the varied points on that snowflake up there, there are lots of ways to see this story. I am looking for the one that sings perfectly.

It's a good thing there are so many different ways it can do that.

.......................

Teaser for:

Jewel discovered

Seventeen-year-old Julia is a nonhuman. She just doesn't know it yet.

For the first time in their lives, Julia and her cousin finally seem to be having some good luck and embark immediately on a free cruise. Julia, on a never-ending quest to cater to her cousin's happiness, has no problem trying to make this the best experience Carey's ever had and easily encourages her to enroll in all the ship's pampering spas listed in the cruise ship's pamphlets. Julia, not a fan of such things, takes the time to satiate her desire to explore the vast ship.

While on her own in the ship's inner bowels, Julia meets someone that is a little more intense than she wanted in her preferred solitude. This chance acquaintance ends up changing her in ways she never imagined and she finds herself suddenly thrust into a world she never knew existed before -a world that has apparently been waiting for her for a very long time. Not ever having a lesson in propriety Julia decides her heart is more important than the whims of a moldy old prophecy. But she's going to find that convincing the object of her desire, who is a little more deeply rooted against her than she wants, may be impossible if she can't figure out these new powers of hers.

At least she's not a nonhuman anymore... no, now she's an inhuman -and completely in love with the forbidden ancient creature.

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Isn't this exciting?!? How fun does it really sound? I mean, WHAT is a nonhuman or inhuman? And she... changes?!! How? She gets new powers? And she can't use them? Why?

Awww! She fell in love! With who? Or should I ask what? Hehe, this sounds like so much fun! I can't wait for the rest of you to read it and tell me what you think. Does this tease you enough to crack the proverbial spine for a further peek?

I hope it attracts a few people who can help me publish it. Wish me luck!

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I received another no.

Well, this one was more like a 'no not right now' kind of thing.

AN AGENT STOPPED BY MY SITE!!!!

This blog; right here! I wish wish wish! she would have posted her comment here, but it is in my email right now. I had forgotten I even queried her it has been so long..., September, actually since I queried her. I gave her this blog as is custom with new writers to show extra pieces they've written. My extras are these blogs.

Anyway, she also had my email, since it was an email query that I sent, and when she rejected me, it was not the usual form rejections she usually gives. I was pleased at least, for that.

Imagine my surprise when she casually mentions this blog! She loves the posts and thinks I have talent! I love praises!

She also likes the idea of my book, but says (and being that I sent her it in September I totally agree with her) that it needs to be refined and honed a bit. Since then, the first chapter has been so drastically changed that it is completely different to the one I sent her. So again, I agree.

She saw that I don't have very many followers. She understands that I have just opened this blog as I say it in my query.

In January she will return to see if those numbers are up. I have a deadline people!!! Ack!

Now I know that the numbers are all about how well my writing can sell. If I can do well on my own, she believes that with the proper publicity she will be able to do even better for me. It is all about money. I understand this.

So I am desperately asking you to find your friends, you family, your acquaintances and every homeless person to stop by briefly to post that they publicly follow me. I do not mind if you or they use nicknames, pseudonyms, or their cat's name, just please take up space over there! Its a numbers game, and if all else fails, then I will have this one agent come back in January to see great numbers. I really hope it doesn't come down to her, but at the same time I'm not going to ignore her precious advice!

I know hundreds of people. I have asked hundreds of people to help me. I have 23 precious followers that I am grateful for. Please lets get that number up a few hundred. I only have a few months. I want to get published. Will you help me?

So awful that I have to ask. So excited what it could mean if this works. And still anxious about that contest I entered yesterday. Many emotions. One novel completed.

Wish me luck. And to you precious angels out there willing to help... good luck to you, and please remember to have them post that they follow publicly. If they don't not even I will know they've visited.

I send you off with a near anxiety attack and lots of hope!

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