I'm okay!

Sorry about dropping off the face of the blogger world, but I'll probably won't be around much for awhile. A couple of weeks ago my husband discovered that we are going into a deja vu of 6 years ago, meaning we have to move or he's out of job. I feel like a mama bird without a nest, knowing I have to leave, but not knowing where I will make a new home for my little fledglings. I could go on a little rant about the corporate world here- because we find out through the news what is going to happen to the company and how our lives are going to be turned upside down. How they are so concerned about the bottom line that they will toss out hardworking employees in a small city with no prospects and tell them it will be okay. But we are the lucky ones- the other 1000 people don't have the option to move. So I must pack up my family, leave my job, rip my kids away from friends and family (grandparents who followed us on the first move), and start over again in a strange city. What can we do but be grateful this is the worst thing we have to complain about. So thanks to Elise and Linda, who sent out messages to keep in touch, I am still thinking of you too. Maybe when the dust settles I will pick up this blog again, and write too, but 'til then. . .wishing all of you well. Honey/Rose

Books made into Movies

For some reason I can't remember, I had an urge to read a romance by the famous Nicholas Sparks. I've never read one of his books before, and I don't usually like romance, but I figured all those people must like him for something. I bought the nook version of the Lucky One and couldn't put it down, finishing it in three days. Not only was the romance slow and believable, but there was another side to the story that made it almost a thriller/action genre too. It kind of is where I'm aspiring to get my novel to.

Anyway, on the third day of reading the book and finishing it, I rushed out to rent the movie. What a disappointment! It was sooo different from the book it was barely recognizable, and while Zach Effron played the character acceptably, I couldn't stand the female lead. She was high strung and unlikable. Anyway, I finished up the movie feeling like I had wasted 1-2 hours of my time, and I hate wasting time.

As for the other movies based on his books, I'm sorry, I never liked the Notebook and Dear John left me scratching my head. (You don't need to marry someone to help them out while they're sick)

Here's the question- How do you feel about books that are made into movies? Personally, I prefer to read the book first- how about you? Any movies that completely ruined the book, or vice versa. . . made it even better? On that last question, I'm a big fan of two Jane Austen based movies, Emma and Sense and Sensibility.

Finally, I know I fell off the radar over the last few weeks, but I'm feeling great now and slowly getting back into my routine. I'll see you in the rounds and on Wednesday for the ISWG!

Back to the Beginning

I'm not really thinking any profound thoughts at the moment, and I'm not writing at all. I hope when I'm feeling better I'll get back into the groove, but in the meantime I thought I'd recycle an old post that I wrote when I first started blogging. When I reread it, it still makes me laugh thinking about it :) Anything to share a laugh or a smile on a Monday!

It was titled- It was quite a drag! and it's about volunteering at my local animal shelter.

The reason I officially stopped walking the bigger dogs is found in the title of this post. It was a beautiful day, weather wise, and I had stopped by the shelter with my youngest daughter, who was three at the time. After bathing and playing with a pile of puppies, I convinced my little "Wudge" (As in Wudgey, Wudgey Woo) to come with me and pick out a bigger dog to take for a walk. I took a leash, and with her by my side, we walked around to the kennels where the large, adult dogs were kept. It was hard to choose; I wished I could take them all, but I needed to make sure that I could manage it while walking.

As I gazed at each dog, trying to decide, their eyes all pleaded in unison, "Pick me, pick me!", until one of the workers at the shelter suggested a cute, friendly, but very excited female dog. It seemed like a good idea to me too, so I opened the gate, slipped a leash over her head, and off we went. With the exception of a few, the dogs at the shelter are the worst dogs to walk. They've been couped up in a 5' x 10' kennel 24/7 with only short breaks so there is a lot of bottled up energy, like a soda can that's been shaken and the top's just been popped. We walked past "the gauntlet" of other dogs, I've named it thus because all the other still caged dogs bark and lunge at the free dog for whatever reason, and continued out to the road with my little Princess Pokes-a-lot tagging along behind. The road the shelter is located off of also has some kind of municipal station too, further on down, so there is occasional traffic of trucks but for the most part it's quiet. Both sides of the narrow road have thick, South Carolina brush on each side, reminding me of the rainforest in Ecuador, so when the trucks come past we stand on the shoulder of the road in between fire ant colonies and wait for the coast to clear. On this day, my volunteer partner had decided that she really did not want to walk a big dog after all, so twenty feet outside the parking lot of the shelter, she announced she was done and now wanted to hold a kitty.

Okay.

Now I have a three year old who has made her final decision on one hand, and a dog strangling herself to go for a walk in the other hand, literally. I just couldn't bring myself to take the dog back already, so I cut a deal. I would run, not walk the dog up to the fire hydrant 100 ft or so up the road and back, done. My little partner reluctantly accepted, and off I went.

I made it down to the hydrant while the dog madly strained forward at the end of the leash. On the return run, I was more focused on the put out expression of my daughter than on the dog and was unprepared when all of a sudden it cut across in front of me. I was going full speed and tripped over it, starting this forward stumbling, falling, think I can make, nope, not going to, splat on the road. The dog got loose from my grasp and darted full speed down the road. "Oh no," I thought, " I'm going to be fired as a volunteer." But to my amazement, the dog ran straight back to the shelter and up to one of the employees. As for myself, I slowly got myself upright and surveyed the damage. Ripped jeans, bloody knees, scraped hands, not so bad.

Just then I looked up at a pick-up truck passing by and the man inside grinned and waved. Automatically, I waved back. My daughter waited impatiently for me to limp down to her, because falling is, after all, at least a daily occurrence for her. Together we walked back to the shelter where I was handed back the leash, believe it or not. Thankfully no one at the shelter had seen the whole thing, so I sucked it up and pretended all was well. Now I just mostly pass the big dogs treats.

That's it! Hope you are all well and see you for inspiration next week :)

I made it!

Just a quick update- my surgery went perfectly and I'm back home now. Thanks to all of you who were sending out your prayers and thoughts for me :)

I'm actually feeling great and am just soo relieved that I had no complications. The anesthesiologist made me feel very confident before I went under that he knew exactly how to handle everything. They were extremely cautious and had me stabilized before they started the operation. I felt very well taken care of and am so happy to have it behind me now.

All I have to do now is move forward, heal, and get back to writing with the rest of you!

On my mind this week. .

I have a confession- I'm scheduled for surgery Wednesday and I'm scared. It's not without reason either, because the last time I had surgery it turned out I had severe, undiagnosed hypothyroid and I coded while under anesthesia. It's being treated now, but such a close call is a reminder of just how mortal one is, and I don't want to leave my girls motherless.

I've thought of canceling the surgery, but I'm convinced that if I leave my problem unattended it will lead to a more complicated surgery in the future, maybe even an emergency one. There's just no way around it, I need to do this.

My writing has been on hiatus because I just can't focus right now, but I have been reading, and I finished Sense and Sensibility already. It helped to keep my mind off of things, and it was just so good I couldn't put it down. I wanted to read it as a writer, studying it to absorb her style of writing and why she is so timeless, but I finished it as a reader. I was completely involved with the characters and even though I had seen the movie and knew how it ended, I wanted to experience it again.

Another book I had read, by a professor who teaches classes on Jane Austen's books, dealt with how timeless her characters are, and how they are capable of crossing cultural boundaries too. For example, who doesn't know someone so defined by material things and money that they could be John and Fannie Dashwood? or a young woman easily caught up and conquered by a womanizer, as Marianne was by Willoughby?
Even the "villain", Lucy Steele- a jealous, self promoting butt kisser?

In real life, I could see at least parts of these characters in people, some 200 years later. What a talent!

How are all of you doing? Anyone else finished with S & S?

I will try to post a quick note as soon as I am able to let you know how I'm doing after my surgery.

Hello Everybody!

We've welcomed a new kitten in our home recently and she's curled up next to me right now, purring. There's something therapeutic in that, and having always been a dog person, I've been happily converted to include cat person with that. I'm convinced it's possible to be both. My oldest daughter was trying to pressure me into choosing which pet I like best, but I couldn't do it. They're each unique and lovable in their own way. Speaking of which, did anyone see the cat friend vs. dog friend you tube video that went viral? It's hysterical and soo true! (It's a PG-13 rating, be warned, but worth the laugh)

I don't know about all of you, but my writing has been on hold. I've been busy with the kids being on break, and had a lapse of sanity when I had a sleepover with 9 girls for two nights. My house still has not recovered! For those who think girls are all Barbies and painting nails, you haven't seen mine :) They had a blast sliding down the stairs on a sleeping bag and the noise level was mind boggling. I found my husband popping Advil for a headache!

As for Sense and Sensibility, I'm currently on page 164, so I'm not too far off of my goal. I'm sorry I missed last week's post on it, but I figured everybody was busy like me anyway. The first chapter opened with what could be considered an info dump, but for some reason, it didn't feel like it. Is it the language of the day? I'm not sure. . .what do you think?

Chapter two was a brilliant use of dialogue, painting the portrait of Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood and their self-interest topped with unflattering greed.

Next, what would you consider the point of view to be? I'm still learning all the in's and out's of POV, but it seems to start out omniscient, but where I am now it's focusing more on Elinor's POV.

I have a lot to learn about how she shows the emotion of her characters, such as Marianne's anxiety on hearing from Willoughby while in London. It almost makes you feel anxious yourself!

For example: "this could not be borne many seconds, she opened the door, advanced a few steps towards the stairs, and after listening half a minute, returned into the room in all the agitation which a conviction of having heard him would naturally produce; the extasy of her feelings at that instant she could not help exclaiming, "Oh! Elinor, it is Willoughby, indeed it is!' and seemed almost ready to throw herself into his arms, when Colonel Brandon appeared."

For those of you joining me, or who have read the book already, what's on your mind?

For all the rest, how's the writing going?

Sense and Sensibility

I have to say I'm happy I picked this book to read next. I seriously needed a light, happy ending type of book right now. Partly because I've been reading a lot of heavy, non-fiction material and the other reason is that I have a six year old. Unless you live under a rock, you know what I'm talking about.

Our collective hearts are breaking, and I have cried many times over the weekend, as I know the world has, thinking of those babies. I couldn't sleep for two nights, thinking of those parents and what they must be going through, my heart goes out to them. I'm trying not to dwell on it, and to move on as we all must in the wake of this horrific tragedy. Just one other quick note, those teachers are true heroes. I've always admired them and the work they do, but the love and instinct they showed in their actions makes it all the more evident how wonderful they really are.

Back to the book, Sense and Sensibility, my goal is to read about 100 pages a week, and to get through it in about a month. (Hopefully before my surgery date) To those who are reading with me, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the book too!

How are you all doing today? Stop by and share your comments- I love hearing from you.