Deja Vu

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Do you ever get that? I do--occasionally. I'm having it right now.
Just over a year ago, my husband finished up a months long search for a job, and we moved to our home in Illinois.

Now, he's laid off, and we're back in the saddle again, looking for a job and [most likely] a new place to live. We have an adventurous spirit, which is a good thing, apparently. We both see this situation with a bright side... and part of us looks forward to something new. Not that we wouldn't rather be settled permanently. We would, but we haven't found that special spot yet, either. So, we plunge into this new venture--wary, yet excited.

PS I got that LAPTOP!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU PATTI! Patti from Romance Divas sent me her old laptop. I can now write on the move. Want to go to the library kids? Let's go! How about the park? Why not?! I'm right there with you. :D Long trips in the car? *sigh* Amazingly enough, I feel blessed.

My husband is happy for the first time in months. I have a laptop, and there's a whole new world out there just ready to explore. What about you? What are you going to get excited about this summer?

Thanks for stopping by.
Love,
Bethanne

Slipping By

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The days are slipping by and apparently so are my thoughts.
I had a couple of great ideas last night....and today they are gone.
No, I didn't write them down. I should have. *sigh* no problem...

It's when I don't remember my kids that I'm in trouble! LOL
This is their last week of school. And that means, activities and volunteering and strange hours...

It's funny, but I had a couple of solicitors come by the house this week. [I really need to get that sign up] The first one was really friendly and I almost hated disappointing her. As a matter of fact, I misunderstood her and probably would have bought a subscription to Readers Digest, but found out it was a two year sub not a one year... sorry, kid. No can do. Not only that... She kept emphasizing how it wasn't a donation, but then tacked 15 dollars onto the total. So, the $63 dollars she wanted struck me with a good dose of reality [was that a mixed metaphor? haha] and I said, be gone with you! No, not really. I just told her, sorry kid. Better luck next time.

The second solicitor to come by had a chip on her shoulder the size of Plymouth Rock. Goodness, I was so irritated when she left... She pulled the race card...as if I wasn't going to buy from her because she was black. And if that wasn't enough, she put me through a guilt trip...like I was responsible for the nations youth. After she left, I wished I'd told her not to be so racist...and that she should stay in school, that that was how she would be successful. NOT by going door to door, selling cleaner. Arg. I was so bent out of shape. And she was giving me an evil eye. It was tempered, though. Don't get me wrong. Three of my four children were at my feet and they didn't catch on...until after she left and I was ranting.

........okay. tyhat's the third tornado warning.
i'm off.

Give Me Patience

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Page 250 -270 back to 269 then onto 253....

268 gives way to 276 then, once again back to 270. Actually there are two 270s...actually, no. that's not true either. the second 270 is an opening page for chapter 22... no page number on those...but it is prior to 270...yet 270 doesn't complete the sentence sooooo it's obviously not the right page either.

Why would the library keep a book like this? I mean, the author knows about this! It was published 3 years ago and I imagine, she went through hell sending out sorries and we'll get it right next times. I'm picking the kids up at school and going to The Old Book Barn. They have a copy and hopefully, I'll find one that's correctly paged.

.....oh look! I found page 45!!! It's in 276s place. Ack. LOL

End of the Week, Relief

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I finally took a huge bite out of my Chapter Twenty-Five revisions last night. I was egged on by a good friend of mine after a lovely visit in her kitchen. Phew! I needed that kick in the butt. :) Thanks Nikki!

...Summer is almost upon us. It's time for cutting back on things. Making more room for extra curricular activities with the kids. I'm going to put together a schedule for myself this year. I have a tendency to fall into bad habits. Just ask my kids. Last year they were bored!!! So, we're going to do better this year. [yes, i wish i had that laptop] But with a schedule, I feel I can do both activities and writing without shorting one or the other. Oh!! And I'm signing up for a Braille class...something I should have done THREE years ago.

Busy summer. I'm looking forward to it.
What are your plans for summer?

I Drink Alot

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I start my day with a glass of water, then a glass of juice with breakfast.
I continue on with about 2 cups of coffee [on a good day].
Lunch time finds me downing something fun: lemonade, ice tea, diet coke...whatever I can find.
Through the afternoon I'll probably have another glass of water at some point followed by that fun drink...or, if I'm feeling feisty, more coffee.
Late in the afternoon, maybe I'll find something adult: a beer or a glass of wine.
With dinner I drink milk, usually.
Then, depending on the day--sometimes on a weekend--we'll share a few more of the adult beverages. Otherwise, it's back to another glass of water or perhaps one of those fun drinks.

What about you? What's your vice of beverage? Are you a Diet Coke drinker? A coffee addict?

Asparagus

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Picture from Floyd the Food Guy with a great recipe for Grilling.


I love the color of asparagus.



We have some [by default] growing in our backyard. There's a little patch of garden that was here when we moved in. Asparagus comes back every year. We don't get alot, though the story says, that there was a time when asparagus was growing out the owner's ears. That people would stop on the road, walk through the side yard and pick it at will.



When you cut asparagus the pretty pale green center is surrounded by a rich, deep sage green. And to cook it! Oh, yum. A little butter, some garlic, and salt and pepper. Add that to a pan of scrambled eggs for breakfast. I did that this morning. It's a good start to the day...



Thanks for stopping in.

Love,

Bethanne

Work In Progress Wednesday

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The WIP is getting intense. My heroine just dropped the F bomb...and weirdly enough, it might work. Yes, I'm opposed to the F bomb, but I also realize my heroine is a woman who has lived in the world for some time now. She has turned a new leaf, yet in heightened emotional states can fall back on old, bad characteristics.

...so, the idea is to make the scene eye-opening. Create the right amount of tension and pull the reader along with her. Allow the reader to feel her pain and then the following regret and reconciliation. :D Chapter 24 is looking good. Almost done.

Thanks for hosting this Kate Karyus Quinn! It's nice to get those accomplishments in writing...and to set knew goals.

This week: Tackle Chapter 25!!!!! TWENTY-FIVE!!!!!!
Do the initial read through and revisions and [hopefully] submit right along with chapter 24. Worst case scenario, it will need some substantial revisiony rewrites... We shall see. Haven't opened it in a while.

Did 15 more minutes of stretching and abdominal workout Tuesday night. Felt good. Need to start running or something [I hate running!]. A good walk. That's it. I ATE WAY TOO MUCH OVER THE WEEKEND!

happy Writing.
Love,
Bethanne

The Call of the Wild

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Late evening Friday night. The wind blows through the neighborhood, too hard to enjoy S'mores and a campfire. As the sun sets, the family settles in to watch a movie. Down and Derby, a movie that my husband resembles...a little. Hahahaha.

It isn't too long before darkness has covered the earth. The moon sends a glow from behind the clouds. A firework whistles through the air and explodes.

Next to me, Matt sits up straight. He listens [and sniffs the breeze], "It's Barry."

Like a wolf to meet his pack, he strides from the room without a backward glance. Down the stairs and into the garage, turning off the lights as he goes. "Shh," he says to me as another explosion rips through the air, "Rocky."

Quietly, he opens a drawer and pulls out a bottle rocket. With an empty beer can for his launch pad, he takes a cautious look around and waves me back through the man door into the garage. A flick of his lighter sends a spark up the length of fuse. Matt backs up to the doorway, hiding in shadow as the firework shoots into the sky and bursts above the house.

In quick succession, two more sounds of men, talking to each other as only men know how, reverberates through the community.

There's something mysterious about the content and amused look on my husband's face as he sits back down to finish the movie... as if he's been shooting the breeze with his buddies and telling bad jokes.

Enjoy your Sunday.
Love
Bethanne

Deli Trays

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I need one for Sunday.
I called Walmart. The price was reasonable....the help wasn't.
What do you do when you're talking to an employee on the phone and they keep hacking in your ear? A real thick, smokers, phlegmy cough, which they obviously aren't covering their mouth for...and worse! What if they did cover their mouth...with their hand!!!!!

I called Kroger, thinking, There's no way I can order from THAT deli. The trays at Kroger are TEN dollars more expensive!!!!! I'm on the hunt, now...for a local delicatessen. Hopefully, I'll find one that's reasonable priced...otherwise? I'm buying deli meat and making my own tray.

ARGH!!!!!
It was gross. *shiver*
LOL
Bethanne

Historical Fiction--and other stuff, too.

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It's almost as if I lost the wind in my sails on this topic. :D

I'm writing story right now. It has a Christian World View [i got that term from Rachelle's blog]. There are villains, church-goers, good people, ornery people, priests, moms, dads... you get the picture. Set in present day, fictional Coopersville, NY--north of Binghamton, the story is about everyday people in everyday life.

If you've been with me a while, you know my stance on the CBA guidelines, on Inspirational fiction. Although I appreciate the efforts, I think it falls short of the world we live in. So, this is a subjective topic. I understand that. I know that not everyone agrees with me. I know not everyone loves to read a heart-pounding thriller like I do, but just so you can see where I'm coming from, let's imagine.

A villain, dark, mysterious and psycho. He has one thing on his mind, and one thing only--to capture the heroine and kill her. He thinks he's invincible. The closer he gets to her, the stronger the urge is to have her, use her and kill her! [da-dun!!!] What do you do? [and if you're a CBA approved author, i'd love your perspective] Does he not swear? or drink? think lude thoughts? How do you portray EVIL without being able to show it. A side note: I have read some very good Christian Fiction that portrayed evil extremely well. This is definitely a book by book assessment. Though I steer away from lots of Christian fiction nowadays, I do try to give each book I pick up a fair shake. :)

On to Historical Fiction. Have you ever heard a person say, I wish I lived during the 1800's. Life was easier in the old days. Temptations weren't so apparent during that time because more people had lives centered on God. Well, phooey is what I say. I can't figure out why more than half of the inspirational fiction that reaches the bookshelves is historical. Is it easier to write within those aforementioned guidelines if your story is based in history? Are the issues easier to address? Is it easier to bring your character to a conversion that way? I feel I have to know.

[my wind is definitely back... Hahaha]

I've done some thinking lately on this topic. After bringing our family to church for confession several weeks ago, a man passed us as we were walking back to our car. He kept shaking his head. I don't remember his exact words, but basically he felt sorry for us. That he thought we were doomed to fail in this society. That the world had turned and there was no hope for our children...no, there was no hope for us! We would be broken for sure.

Then I got to thinking...why does everyone think we live in the worst that the devil has to offer? I think that the sin we experience in our lives today is the same sin that ran rampant through the world during and before Jesus' time. It is the knowledge of sin or temptation that has changed. We no longer are protected from the worst the world has to offer. Fifty years ago, no one knew what the heck was going on in other worlds unless they were in it or interested in it. Now, it's all online. We have become more aware of the sin...but it's not new.

One book I'm looking forward to reading is Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love. A rendering of the book Hosea. If I had Francine by my side, I'd ask her what made her write this story during the prairie days, besides the fact that she writes in that genre. If my sources are right, it's a book worth its weight in gold. Wonderfully penned and emotionally compelling. I look forward to it. And I also think that the setting is probably perfect for the story. There isn't a 'saloon girl' in present day times that a good Christian man would fall in love with... not with the drugs, alcohol, STDs, etc that have changed that age-old profession. :D

Okay, so maybe some things have changed.
But, I'd still like to read a good contemporary Christian story that isn't chic lit, please.
I'd like one that doesn't pull its punches when it comes to the love that brings two people together. It's a STRONG bond. Not one that can easily be reined in. You know what I'm talking about. It's the kind of love that is continually asking God's help to hold in check.
And I'd like one where the villain actually seems villainous...and not on the verge of a conversion as the heroine speaks to him of God in the last page or chapter of the book.

God has called us to live today. To live in this world, but not of it. How can we encourage the young people around us, if we only portray goodness in the centuries before this one?

:-) Now I'm done.
Thanks for listening.
Love,
Bethanne

If the Devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack.

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I was going to talk about Historical Fiction, and how largely accessible it is in Christian Fiction.

Then, I had a really emotional weekend [sometimes being a woman sucks!]. I felt really sad. Sad for the people who have been hurt. Sad for my church because it's the only denomination that is continually being broken from the inside out. The funny thing is, I'm the Church. My family is the Church. My friend's are the Church. We all are the Church, so yeah, it kind of hurts to be so misunderstood. I've never been so thankful for my husband. I've said it before in one of my earlier bios, and I'll say it now, he really is my voice of reason.

You can never slice an issue so thin that there aren't two sides. [maybe Matt isn't the first person to say this, maybe he is inspired by someone else's wisdom, but I love him for being able to say it to me. For reassuring me that the pain in this world is not one sided.]

Bad things happen... in the Church, in the world, in our country. But like my patriotism and loyalty for this country, I can't imagine leaving the Church just because it has had some bad leaders. There are too many awesome and grace-filled things about Jesus dying for me, and suffering on the cross everyday, so that I can receive him in the Eucharist for me to abandon my Faith. Jesus is the only thing that matters, and that's why I go back.

I can't do much for the pain that God's people endure. I am just one person with the power of prayer behind her.

Yikes, I'm getting so religious on myself!
:P Have a great week.
Next time, Historical Romance... I swear! LOL