Agile As A Three Legged Cat

Yeeehaw! It's Party Time!

2011-08-04T01:54:00.000-05:00

I been talkin' 'bout this here lil' shindig for a spell now. And it be that time to strap on yer silver spurs an kick up yer 'eels! Grab yer rockin' horse, yer hobby horse, yer mechanical horse, or your steel horse causn we're bout to have us a rootin-tootin good time!

Welcome to the Hang ‘em High Hoedown, counting down the days until the release of Tristi Pinkston’s new novel Hang ‘em High, the third installment in The Secret Sisters Mysteries.

When Ida Mae Babbitt receives an invitation to visit her son Keith’s dude ranch in Montana, she’s excited to mend their broken relationship, but not so excited about spending time with cows. Arlette and Tansy go along with her, ready to take a vacation that does not involve dead bodies or mysteries of any sort—one must have a break from time to time. But it seems a no-good scoundrel has moseyed into Dodge City and is bent on causing all sorts of trouble for the ranch. Unable to keep her curiosity in check—especially when it seems her own son is the most likely culprit—Ida Mae decides to investigate. Can she lasso the varmint and get him to the sheriff in time?

You are invited to the launch party:

When: Saturday, August 13th, 12 – 4 pm
Where: Pioneer Book, 858 S. State, Orem
Prizes, games, Dutch oven cobbler (first come, first served)
Tristi will be joined by authors Nichole Giles, Heather Justesen,
Cindy Hogan, and J. Lloyd Morgan

To count down to this book launch, Tristi is holding a contest, and you can win a ton of great prizes!

On my blog, you can win:

Mark of Royalty + Music Video DVD

Unaware of her royal heritage, Sarah Benavente is taken from her home and raised with a secret which ultimately traps her between two men and their fight for the crown.

To enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog.
2. Go to Tristi’s blog at and become a follower of her blog. http://tristipinkston.blogspot.com/
3. Leave Tristi a comment and tell her you’ve been to my blog, and tell her one reason why you’d like to win my book.

All entries must be received by midnight, August 5nd, MST.

Be sure to check Tristi’s blog every day for information about the next prize – you’re in for a rootin’-tootin’ good time as we count down the days!

TerminologyTuesday

2011-08-02T05:44:00.000-05:00

Ah. There is nothing like being awakened at 3:53 am by a blood curdling "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!! I WAAAANT TO READ A BOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Yeah.

The other day a friend of mine was writing about her daughter who is just a couple three months older than my own little girl. The two of which could be considered sisters in more than one manner. One prominent reason being in the way she described her daughter. It was such an unusual and incredibly vivid word yet I had to go to my trusty online dictionary to make sure I knew exactly what it meant. I was surprised to find that in it's definition it included : "Stephonie's daughter, Penny."

Ok, so I am exaggerating a bit. Here's what it did say.

mercurial

1. changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic: a mercurial nature

2. animated; lively; sprightly; quick-witted.

3. pertaining to, containing, or caused by the metal mercury.

So the third definition doesn't relate so much, but the first two do. Actually, all nine of those fit Penny in some fashion or other. I found other related words and phrases to describe mercurial when I consulted my beloved thesaurus. They are:

flighty, temperamental

agile, physically or mentally nimble, deft

capricious, given to sudden behavior change

changable, erratic

unpredictable, wandering

excitable, easily upset or inspired

fickle, vacillating, blowing hot and cold

fleet, quick in movement

Among other things. I see this in Penny nearly every day. Sometimes children are a product of their environment. Sometimes their environment influences their personality traits. And sometimes there are kids who come with great big personalities and their environment has little influence on them.

Yup. My little copper Penny brought it with her. It is equally a delight and a distress. She is a wonder and as I was once told, "She sure does live life with enthusiasm!" That she does!

Your challenge for today is to somehow slip mercurial into an everyday conversation. Let me know what how and what was the reaction of those you were talking to.

-Steph

Don't forget to check back on Tristi Pinkston's blog. She's having her "Hang Em High Hoedown" (the button to your right will take you right to it) to celebrate the release of her new book. She's having nearly 2 weeks of awesome giveaways so keep an eye on her blog and mine and Jennifer's (we're participating in it as well)!!

Dreams

2011-08-01T02:01:00.000-05:00

Have you ever found something unexpectedly and discovered to your utter amazement that you absolutely LOVE what you just discovered. Not only do you love it but you long to do it. Oh, but not just participate in any way possible.... Nooooo! You have an unexplainable desire to do something incredible!!

I have discovered a couple of things like that in the past years. These are things that speak to me and whisper that I would love doing it and it is completely doable! Images float in and out of my conscious mind throughout the day and poke their heads into my dreams at night. I look up information on it and I find myself feeling excited like I haven't felt in a very long time.

And then reality:
Time.
Money.

So maybe later.

Terminology Tuesday

2011-07-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

There have been rare occasions where I find myself in need of some rhyming help. I have found the internet to be full of linguistically related resources. Some of those being the many online rhyming dictionaries.

So for today's Terminology Tuesday we delve into the world of rhyme.

In the English language there are no words that rhyme with angst, scalp, purple or month. Some say that orange and silver do not have rhymes but one might argue that orange and syringe rhyme and that silver and pilfer rhyme. I am of the faction that they do. It all depends on if you accept near rhymes or if they have to be true rhymes.

A near rhyme would be bachelor and spatula. In this particular case I don't find it a particularly pleasing rhyme, do you?

Then there are some more difficult words to rhyme. The odd words that end in -th such as eighth, ninth, tenth, twelfth, breadth, depth, and width. Of which they can rhyme with themselves. More difficult or impossibly rhyming words are: almond, angst, aspirin, breadth, chocolate, chimney, depth, different, elbow, engine, film, foible, fugue, galaxy, golf, hostage, iron, justice, luggage, neutron, office, olive, pizza, plankton, sanction, sandwich, transfer, width, and wolf.

This, of course is not anywhere near an exhaustive list, but it is food for thought.

Home Again...

2011-07-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry for copying from my other blog. I'll post some more original content soon.

... home again, jiggity jog!! (If your interested in the nursery rhyme you can find it here.)
Anyway, I am officially home! It has been nice to sleep in my own bed. And even more amazing is that Penny now has her own big girl bed and she slept in it last night without any big fanfare or problems. It was awesome beyond words!

Some of you might notice the cute little button on the right side of the screen. Well that's because the very talented Tristi Pinkston has a new book coming out next month! She is having some very awesome giveaways to celebrate. I hope that you will take some time to go visit her blog and then for the next couple of weeks you'll want to keep an eye on it to see what amazing and awesome stuff she'll have to give away.

In other news, I had a book signing in Nauvoo at Latterday Harvest Book Store. It went pretty well. Things were a bit confusing for some reason. The owner of the store didn't know when I was actually coming. She didn't know if it was Fri., Sat., or next Sat. I don't know why or how that became confusing. I had talked to her three times in the previous two weeks. Unfortunately I had some stiff competition. There was one guy selling Living Scriptures, and another guy selling his book. Granted each of us had a very different target audience, but they both were placed by the door and I felt a bit guilty for approaching people after they had already been approached by two other people. On the hand the other author was very nice and he had a very interesting book. Once I have a little bit of money I will have to purchase a copy. I don't have his card handy or I would link up his book. So I'll have to do it another day.

Now that I am home I hope to keep things a little more updated. I have a lot of things to work on and some exciting things in various stages of completion. Hope you'll check back from time to time.

-Steph

Still Here... well not exactly

2011-07-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

I have been traveling Utah for the past 5 weeks. Internet access has been infrequent at best and my time has been at a premium. This week my daughter and I will be driving back home. I am returning home as our little town recovers from a terrible storm. It was the equivelant of a Cat 3 hurricane. Many of the large trees in town are gone and there are still some without power. The Braille School (the school that Mary Ingalls attended) lost it's roof along with a great amount of damage to other homes, and structures. Blessedly our little home sustained no damage at all. (Actually it is a miracle!!) The only thing that we had happen was that Penny's swing set got blown over.

Anyway, I have some interesting words for Terminology Tuesday once I am back home and have had a minute to breath. I should be arriving home on Friday and Sat. I have a book signing in Nauvoo. So it will be after that.

Hope all is well with you.

Terminology Tuesday

2011-06-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

I have been packing and running around like a crazy person today. So instead of going into the word I had seen today on a billboard alongside the freeway I decided that this one would work just as well.

Have you ever wondered what to call someone? Is she married? Is she not? Is it Mrs., Miss., or Ms.?

I think you will find this interesting. What is “Mrs.” short for? The answer may make you blush (or at least laugh)

Terminology Tuesday

2011-05-31T13:13:00.002-05:00

It may come as no surprise to you that I love the thesaurus! If I am writing I always have a tab in my browser open to my favorite online thesaurus. Often times I have 4 or 5 tabs open with different words as I try to avoid overused cliches. I don't think a day goes by without me looking a word up and browsing the different options.

I think at some point in my college career I owned an actual thesaurus. This of course was long before the internet was readily available. Today I actually prefer the online variety it is easier to look up words and love the ease of being able to look up in the dictionary words that I have not yet encountered. Today I found just such a word and thought I would post the terminology here on my blog.

I was looking for a new word to describe my obstinate, strong willed, 3 year old daughter. The word I used to search was stubborn. Most of the results were words that I was familiar with. Some I enjoy using frequently like ornery and recalcitrant. However, the word that I chose to use ended up being obdurate. This is one word I had not heard before and had to go to the accompanying online dictionary to find out the exact definition.

ob·du·rate
[ob-doo-rit]
–adjective
1. unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
2. stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.

Example: Despite repeatedly telling my daughter that we did not have any bananas and therefore could not have one she continued to be obdurate and insisted that we did have bananas and that she wanted one.

Your mission today, should you choose to accept it, is to find a way to use obdurate in an every day conversation.

My Book List

2011-04-16T00:17:00.000-05:00

On the internet I have often seen a meme going around titled something like,
"The Top 100 Books That The BBC Has Listed That Everyone Should Read. Most People Have Read Less Than 20"
and then you go ahead and mark down which ones on that list you have read and post it for the whole world to see how literate or uneducated you are.

I admit to having done the meme a couple of times over the years. Every time I read it though, it is never the same list twice. Some of the books I thought were dreadful and I had only read them because they had been forced upon me by some faction of a slow to change schooling system. A book that someone found to be brilliant and stimulating in the 1940's might just hold very little interest of a bunch of sleepy teens in the late 80's.

Then I began to wonder, who picks these lists anyway? What criteria were they using to list a certain book and not another? After all, a book is subject to the likes and dislikes of every reader, are they not? Where one person touts the book as being brilliant another may, after reading about it, hearing reviews, or looking at the cover decide that it will be relegated permanently on their "Won't Touch That With a 10ft Pole" list.

Anyway, this all got me to thinking about the books that I have read. Oh, and I have read a LOT of books over the years. Once I figured out that I could read I devoured as many books as I could. My parents, bless their insightful hearts, felt it was important to have plenty of books on hand for our fertile little minds to read. There were many a night I would pretend to go to sleep and then after my parents had gone to bed I would turn on my light and continue to read into the wee hours of the morning. I thought about the books that have influenced my life in some way. Perhaps they had a small or large impact on how I thought, acted, or felt. Sometimes they influenced a relationship.

While I was thinking of those books I came up with a list of books/authors -in only a few cases- that have had an impact on my life in some small or even a large way. Most are good memories and influences however there are a few that were not. I have commented on some of them, but not all. This list is by no means in any order. For the most part the books are listed as they came to mind.

Hope you find this list interesting.

-Steph

1.Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
2.The Chronicles of Narnia (entire set)- C.S. Lewis

3.The Bedtime Stories, The Nature Stories, The Green Forest Series, The Smiling Pool Series, Mother West Wind Series, The Green Meadows Series, by Thornton W. Burgess (The man wrote 172 stories/books)
*We had a very large collection of Thornton W. Burgess books. I read every one of them multiple times. I loved those books! I attribute my love of reading to those books. I was devastated when I learned that they had been destroyed on purpose. Everyone one was a beautiful, colorful, hardback book with stunning hand painted art. The books were irreplaceable. Even though the stories are available still they are only available in thin flimsy paperback and the charm and color are forever lost. I still mourn the loss even though it has been more than a dozen years and I secretly hope that someday I will be wealthy enough to employ a book detective to scour the earth to find copies of those old beautiful books that I might share them with my daughter.

4.Seeker of the Gentle Heart- Blain M. Yorgason
*This book my mother and I read together when I was scarcely 11 or 12 years old. In the evenings it would be just her and I sitting reading this book. I remember being very touched even though I do not remember the story too well now.

5.Charlie -Jack Weyland
6.Ride the Laughing Wind -Blain and Brenton Yorgason
7.The Bishop’s Horse Race- Blain and Brenton Yorgason
8.Becoming- Blain and Brenton Yorgason
9.Chester I Love You- Blain and Brenton Yorgason
*Many of the Yorgason books we read together as a family. Most I went back and read on my own again, and again. My parents bought this book for me for a birthday. It was about a goose and I adored the book! We read together as a family and then I read it 5 or 6 times by myself.

10.Charlie’s Monument- Blain Yorgason
11.Double Exposure- Blain Yorgason
12.Nancy and Plum – Betty MacDonald
*This is a book that we borrowed from a neighbor one December to read as a family. We loved it so much it became a family tradition every year after that. It was such a loved tradition that one year my mother was able to obtain library copies of the out of print book for each of us kids as a Christmas gift. It is still a treasured tradition in many of our own homes now.

13.Down the Long Hills – Louis L’Amoure
*My father is an avid reader and collector of Louis L'Amoure books. Every year in the fall we would go camping at a certain spot in the La Sal mountains with our our close friends the Rileys. Every night around campfire my father would read to us this book. Such precious and beautiful memories!

14.The Haunted Mesa – Louis L’Amoure
15.Harry Potter Series – JK Rowling
16.A Tale of Two Cities- Charles Dickens
*This was one of those books that we were required to read in high school. I remember disliking the book so much that I had to force myself to finish it. I do remember getting a decent grade on the book report, but I also remember thinking that I would NEVER read the book again.

17.The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
18.Just So Stories – Rudyard Kipling
19.War of the Worlds – HG Wells
20.The Pern Series- Anne McCaffery
*My husband is a collector and avid fan of McCaffery's work. When we were first married my own personal library of books was so scant I had read them all multiple times. I found myself lonley at home without anything to do while my husband was gone for work. He introduced me to Pern and it didn't take me long to devour the entire series.

21.The Crystal Singer Series- Anne McCaffery
*This series captured my imagination like no other book/s had.

22.The Eyes of the Dragon – Stephen King
*The only King novel I ever dared to read. I didn't care much for it.

23.Interview with the Vampire- Anne Rice
*I found this book fascinating. But years after reading it I wonder why I ever bothered.

24.Bible
25.BoM
26.Mark of Royalty
*This one really needs no explenation... Does it?
27.Feelings Buried Alive Never Die – Karol Truman

28.Mr Brown Can Moo Can You?- Dr. Suess
29.Brown Bear Brown Bear- Bill Martin and Eric Carle
30.The Eye Book – Dr. Suess
31.The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Eric Carle
*The previous four books are ones that my daughter absolutely loves and has since she was very small. However the Caterpillar book I can not stand! Personally I think it lacks imagination in the writing and the pictures are aweful. The poor butterfly is upside down!

32.Where’s My Cow- Terry Pratchett
*My husband and I listened to the audio books of the entire Disk World series prior to having our daughter. And we both loved them. When I was pregnant I stumbled upon this book and bought it for my husband for Christmas. He didn't know it even existed. Our daughter loves the book and even better she loves when daddy reads it to her and I love listening to them.

33.Disk World Series- Terry Pratchett
34.Green Gables Series- L.M. Montgomery
35.Winnie the Pooh- A.A. Milne
36.Little House on the Prairie Series- Laura Ingles Wilder
37.A Wrinkle In Time- Madeleine L’Engle
*I read this book over and over when I was a young teen. When I would become very ill with a high fever I would have reoccuring fever induced dreams that made absolutely no sense at all but were so vivid and real they terrified me. I think in some ways this book influenced some of those dreams, and sometimes I wondered if the author wasn't having a feverish dream when she wrote it. I later re-read it as an adult and it still had a profound affect on me then too, and I still love it!

38.A Swiftly Tilting Planet- Madeleine L’Engle
39.The Velveteen Rabbit- Margery Williams
40.All Creatures Great and Small- James Herriot
*This was my very first "big book". I got it as a birthday present when I was only 10 or 11. It took me years to actually read the entire thing because I found it so difficult to get into. But I dearly loved that book, and I still have it... somewhere.
41.My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George
42.Star- Danielle Steel
*The one and only Danielle Steel I have ever or will ever read.

43.Flowers in the Attic- V.C. Andrews
*The only V.C. Andrews book I will ever read. I was so appalled and horrified that I didn't even finish the last two pages. Once seen or read you can't unsee or unread.

44.Jonathan Livingston Seagull- Richard Bach
45.Ivanhoe- Walter Scott
*The only book that I haven't read that had an impact on my life.

46.Summer of the Monkeys- Wilson Rawls
*We read this in 4th grade. I loved it so much that my parents read it to us as a family several times over the summers.

47.A Visit From Saint Nicholas- C.C. More
48.Not Without My Daughter- Betty Mahmoody
*This was the first adult drama book I had read while in highschool (ps high school where I grew up is grades 7-12) It fascinated and and frightened me at the same time. I read it 3 times.

49.The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
50.A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett
51.Little Benjamin Bunny- Beatrix Potter
52.Tail Chaser’s Song- Tad Williams
*This book was given to me by my nephew. I was impressed that he had read it and that he had given it to me. I throughly enjoyed the read.

Riding On Courage

2011-02-23T20:52:00.003-06:00

Giving Disabled Children the Chance to Have Horseback Riding Lessons
Join us as we sponsor horseback rides for disabled children. Nomination guidelines are below.

RIDING ON COURAGE SPONSORSHIP:
We are pairing with Courage Reins (an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through therapeutic horseback riding) and are offering a one-time experience for disabled kids to experience the benefits of therapeutic riding.
We will select 18 children from your written nominations to receive a free session at Courage Reins where they will experience the benefits first hand of therapeutic horseback riding.

*If you know someone disabled who you think would enjoy a ride, please nominate them by submitting a paragraph (no more than 250 words) of why you think that child would benefit from the experience.
Email all nominations to: jennkclark@gmail.com with the subject line "NOMINATION".

MORE DETAILS:
· 18 children will be selected from all of the written nominations submitted between now and April 23, 2011. (The first 5 people to nominate someone will get a free copy of Mark of Royalty, our latest book.)
· Those selected will be awarded a one hour session at Courage Reins (Highland UT) at no cost.
· Riders will be provided a safe and fun environment where their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth will be stimulated through therapeutic horseback riding.
· Those selected must inform sponsors of their height, weight, and presenting disability at least one week prior to their scheduled session so that the proper horse may be selected to meet their needs. There is a weight limit of 240 pounds.
· A rider’s form, which will be emailed to those selected for sponsorships, must be filled out and brought at the time of the scheduled session. No one will be permitted on a horse without the completed paperwork.
Want to help?

Courage Reins is a wonderful organization and their horses receive the best of care, however donations are needed to keep an organization like this running. An ATV is sorely needed at this time to help with snow removal and the harrowing of the arenas and pastures. If you are interested in donating to this organization and/or the Riding on Courage Sponsorship, please email: jennkclark@gmail.com or click the donate button below.

Book Launch Party!

2011-02-03T21:19:00.000-06:00

**Information at the bottom about how you can enter to win a prize,
whether or not you can attend!**

Double Book Launch Party!
The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden
and
Mark of Royalty by Jennifer K. Clark and Stephonie K. Williams

Saturday, February 12th
11am-1pm

Provo Deseret Book

989 South University Ave

Fabulous door prizes include:

Toy Friesian horses (this is the horse featured in both Mark of Royalty and its music video).

a Valentine's Day/Love themed vinyl lettering kit from Vinyl Expressions

A Mark of Royalty t-shirt

A "2011 Write Planner" -- a day planner designed specifically for writers, provided by Kim Coates at Writer Remedies

a couple copies of Kelsey Weadon's CD, "Long to Be" (she is the fantastic vocalist featured in the Mark of Royalty music video)

autographed copies of the following books:

Masquerade by Sierra St. James

Trial of the Heart by Sierra St. James

The Stranger She Married by Donna Hatch

Fame, Glory and Other Things on my To-do List by Janette Rallison

Apple-themed gift bags (Some main scenes in Mark of Royalty take place in an apple orchard)

a Mary Kay "Satin Hands" set (a $38 value) and a Mary Kay "Body Lotion and Cleanser" set (a $30 value), both provided by Tiffany Eden

a couple Regency-era style drawstring purses, hand-sewn by Sarah Eden, each with something yummy/fun hidden inside!

The authors will be getting into the spirit of things by dressing in the style of the era in which their book takes place... Jennifer and Stephonie in Renaissance garb and Sarah in the style of the Regency era. Anyone who comes in a costume of their own will be entered to win a super-fabulous, uber-special prize!

***Want to win a prize, but can't attend the launch? Coming, but in the mood for a bonus prize? Help us spread the word and you'll be entered to win one of 2 prizes!

link back to this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.
mention the launch party on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc. (you can link back to this post or our Facebook event page -- http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=190723737606626 )

It's that simple. Just let us know what you've done and we'll enter your name.

The Prizes:

A handmade Regency-era drawstring bag filled with Sarah's absolute favorite old-fashioned peppermint candies
a box of chocolates!

Thanks for helping us spread the word, and we hope to see as many of you as possible on February 12th!

Book trailer

2011-01-04T22:01:00.000-06:00

I know updates have been abysmal lately. The holidays have been hectic and Jenn has been busy with her latest book and I have been trying to flesh out the plot and characters for a new book.

So for the new year we have decided to finally share with you our book trailer.

I hope you like it. Please feel free to let us know what you think!

-Steph

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T19:27:00.000-06:00

The last three days my little one has been very sick. We have cancelled our Christmas morning plans with my inlaws. I am very sad to have to do that, but even if my little girl was feeling better there is no way that I can possibly have the house cleaned and cooking done before tomorrow morning. I did not expect to have to hold and rock my little darling for the past three days. There are just some things as mothers that our time is better spent on.

I hope that you all have a beautiful Christmas filled with the blessings of heaven. May we remember the reason for this blessed season and find room in our own hearts and let him reside with us through out the coming year.

-With love
Steph

A Letter

2010-12-16T11:31:00.000-06:00

I would like to address my remarks to the Big Box Store Customer with whom I had the misfortune of crossing paths.

Dear Costumer,

Last week I purchased a number of boxes of Christmas lights. On Tuesday I pulled out the tree and the boxes of new lights. The first box I opened reeked of mice. I unraveled them and plugged them in; only a quarter of the strand worked. Of the six boxes of new lights two of them reeked of mice and most of the lights did not work. I have a hard time believing that you had the nerve to purchase new lights, painstakingly rewrap your old ones, shove them in the box, and take the time to return to the store and stand in line for a refund!! Now you are asking me, how I know that they were pre-owned lights. The reek of mice, the lack of paper work/instructions and extra light bulbs in the box, the wrong color of twist tie, and the ends plugged together were pretty good indications however, that is not what convinced me of your licentious deed. No, it was the white Christmas tree flock that was still attached to the wires that actually gave it away.

Did you think that you were fleecing the Big Box Store? Did you feel entitled because the Big Box Store makes big money? Did you think that no one would notice your dishonest behavior? Did you think you weren’t hurting anyone?
You are personally responsible for derailing my day because I had to return the lights to the store where I purchased them in Cedar Rapids before I could continue with setting up the Christmas tree. You are responsible for the wasted time and gas that it took in order to return them because I live in VINTON. You and everyone else who has done this and similar pernicious deeds are responsible for contributing to the cancer of our society that is dishonesty and disregard for others. This experience has put a serious damper on my holiday spirit and left me wondering how anyone could stoop to new levels of debasement and go through so much trouble to not spend $2.30 per box of lights.
I hope that if you ever find yourself on the receiving end of someone else’s dishonesty that you will consider your actions and that the experience will make you a better person.

No thanks for the Ba humbug!

Stephonie K. Williams

We Have Our Book Cover!

2010-12-07T23:40:00.000-06:00

What do you think?

Fun

2010-12-02T23:11:00.000-06:00

Having a blast proofing and editing with Jennifer!!

Mark of Royalty - The Music Video

2010-11-24T20:35:00.002-06:00

Cast and Crew for Mark of Royalty the Video

Jennifer K. Clark - Author of the book and Producer of the video
Stephonie K. Williams - Coauthor of the book and Producer of the video
Kelsey Wheadon - Song Artist & Interviewee
Warren Workman - Director
Jaclyn Hales - Sarah
Jon Florence - Alex
TJ Curtis- Chad
Rebecca Batty - Felicia
Kenneth Yeager - Clyde
Natalie Willison - Queen Julianna
Kenneth Applegate- King Richard
Liekele 364 (Luke) - Friesian Stallion
Vicky Stevens - Owner & Trainer
Christie Erickson - Trainer, Rider, & Stunt Double
Liz Carazo - Horse Groom
Lilliana Corona - Production Assistant
Ashley Yakovich - Production Assistant and Grip
Scott Warren - Director of Photography
Dora Workman - Assistant Director
Pete Yakovich - Boom Operator and Grip
Krik Myers - Gaffer
Paul Williams - Assistant Producer
Melaine Mallory- Wardrobe
Linda Kilgrow - Wardrobe Assistant
Valynda Clark - Wardrove Assistant
Nicole Manley - Hair & Makeup
Brittany - Hair & Makeup
Jack Clark - Transportation
Don Kilgrow - Transportation
Eddie J Sáenz- Photographer
Michael - Crafty, Extra, & Interviewee
Jared Kilgrow - Catering
Sarah - Crafty, Extra, & Interviewee
Anneli Byrd - Extra & Interviewee
Catherine Byrd - Extra & Interviewee

We would like to extend a very special Thank You! to everyone who helped us on this project.

Tabitha Mounteer
Holly Tippetts
Michael Jeffery
Julie Jeffery
Andrew Aedo
Ashley Aedo
Cameron Fullmer
Adam Baird
Patti King
Jennifer Smith
Stephanie Judd
Eliot Wood
Jennifer Sinclair
Trent Sargent
Kasey Warhurst
Kish Carter

If I have forgotten anyone, please please please let me know!!

Meet my Friend Elizabeth

2010-11-24T01:30:00.000-06:00

There are several blogs that I follow. One of those belongs to my friend Elizabeth. She previously lived here in Iowa and this past year moved to Montana, of all places. Before they left she bestowed upon us a HUGE pile of little girl clothes, some of which Penny is still wearing as pajamas. Thanks Elizabeth. =)

Anyway, I have been toying with the idea of a Christmas giveaway and so I am watching her blog closely to see how this goes. See, this is her very first blog giveaway and she is offering a Christmas CD done by an old high school friend.

I hope it goes really well, Elizabeth! :)

Speachless!

2010-11-22T22:54:00.001-06:00

Jennifer got an email today.
It was very brief. There have been some changes at our publisher. At the moment we do not know who our new editor is going to be and if this will have any effect on us or our book.
I wish I had more information, but that's about all we have right now.

PS
Don't forget that Wed. we will release the music video. I hope you will give us your feedback!

Mark of Royalty Lyrics

2010-11-17T10:24:00.000-06:00

Written by and performed by Kelsey Wheadon

I feel so lost in my own world
Like there’s so much more to be
And here I try to regain my strength
To obtain that side of me

I follow in hopes of some sort of clue
To the cause of why I’m here
As all I’ve ever known is wrong
My path is so unclear

So I’ll run against the soaring wind
And I’ll reach just to touch your hand
I’ll follow you on this journey
Just to find who I am

I surrender, I need to know
Please, just let it show
I thought I knew
And now so unsure
I don’t know where to go

So I’ll run against the soaring wind
And I’ll reach just to touch your hand
I’ll follow you on this journey
Just to find who I am

A secret has been kept from me
This mark claims my identity

So I’ll run against the soaring wind
And I’ll reach just to touch your hand
I’ll follow you on this journey
Just to find who I am

I think you know
I’ll trust in you
Take my hand, show me

I’ll find who I am
Yes, I’ll find who I am
Find who I am

Roll the Credits!!!

2010-11-15T23:07:00.002-06:00

I know that I have not updated much lately. I have been very busy the last several weeks. Sat. the 13th was the premieres of Kelsey Wheadon's and our music video. Yesterday was a day of rest. Oh, and I do mean REST!

Today I have been cleaning up the aftermath of two failed attempts of caramel apples, the chocolate remnants of gourmet brownies and pretzel sticks, and the putting away of miscellaneous items that we needed or had dragged out for the premiere here in Iowa. I hadn't even thought of updating this until Jennifer called me and said, "You haven't updated yet!!!!!" Oh yeah! I forgot all about that. So here we are!

Jennifer posted a lovely review of the premiere in Utah along with a few pictures on her blog. We put new batteries in our camera and forgot to even get it out. Oh well. Such is the way it goes sometimes.

Before I go into details I must tell you how completely in awe and humbled I am to have the wonderful support and friendship from so many good people. Here in Iowa we exceeded everyone's (in Utah) expectations and we had 33 people attend. This includes our littlest members of the audience, of which there were several. My very good friends and their little girl drove all the way from the middle of Nebraska to be with us. That right there was enough to rock my day, but it just kept going. Several families and friends from church came. A member of a local writers group, The Noble Pen, came to see what kind of an experience I'd had so far with publishing. I was thrilled to have him come. A great big Thank You goes to my friend Leslie for publishing the event and getting other people interested. Some other long time friends came and I couldn't have been happier.

Jennifer had told me that morning that she had dreamed that Versace and Runway had come to the premiere here in IA. Boy am I glad they didn't. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to make it through the event with out bursting into tears of gratitude. Trust me, it is not a pretty thing when I cry. With the exception of Bill from the Noble Pen I knew everyone in the room and was very comfortable with them. So things went pretty smoothly. There were of course a few things that I would change if I could, but most every event has those moments.

I wasn't going to go into a huge long list, but I just kept typing. So forgive me if you find this uninteresting, but it needs to be said. I hope you will bear with me.

First and probably most importantly I would like to thank my husband. Without his support of my sometimes, "Mad Scientist" type brilliant ideas this never would have gotten off the ground. (By the way, mad scientist are his words not mine.) Although he has not understood all of what, why, and how we were doing this he was very supportive and gave up much for our crazy little dream to come true. Thank you, honey! To you I say, ¡Más que ayer y menos que mañana!

To my brother in law Jack, Jenn's husband. You were a critical part in all of this. Thank you for saving our bacon on the morning of the shoot! Thank you for putting up with the endless phone calls and huge amount of time we spent on the computer. Thank you for everything you did for Jennifer. I know you were her biggest support, help, confidant. Thank you for keeping the faith!

To Kelsey Wheadon, I humbly express my deepest gratitude. You're amazing and beautiful talents have impressed and inspired, and not just me, but others. I hope and pray that this will help propel you into new and wonderful directions. Thank you for sharing your divine gifts with us.

To Warren Workman, I am deeply appreciative of you and your abilities. Thank you for seeing the vision of this project and taking it to places we dared not dream. Thank you for guiding us through this process because we are authors not producers, or song artists. Thank you for all of your hard work! I hope this will provide for you many new and wonderful opportunities! Thank you very, very much!

To Dora, Lili, Eddie, Ashley, Pete, Krik, Linda, Valinda, Don, Jared, Nichole, Rachel, Michael, Sarah, Kate Brittany, and anyone else that I might have unintentionally forgotten, I thank you for running your tail ends off and putting a lot of heart, energy, and time into making this such a great project. You have something to be proud of. I hope you are.

To Scott, I am very sorry we nearly worked you to death. It was your hard work that pulled all of everyone's efforts together and made it beautiful! Thank you!

Kish, thank you for doing such an amazing job on Kelsey's dress! Thanks for coming to our rescue at such a late date!

To our cast, Jaclyn, Jon, Rebecca, TJ, Ken A., Kenneth Y., Natalie, Melaine, you exceeded our wildest expectations and it was an honor to work with all of you! Thank you!

A very special Thank you to Shaman's Circle Ranch for making one of the most important aspects of this project a possibility. Working with you and Luke was such an enormous pleasure! Thank you!

Anneli and Catherine, thank you for your input, our encouragement, and your time! It was so wonderful to see you again and to have you help us was icing on the cake! Love you!

To all of our extras, I take my hat off to you and humbly thank you for your time and efforts! You made it fun and performed a very important part in all of this. Thank you!

To friends far and wide I thank you for your interest, your encouragement, and your support.

It is a very long list I know, and I have never before been so overwhelmed with the sheer volume of humility and thankfulness that I have felt in the past couple of months since Aug 28th. I stand before all of you, with the utmost humility, tears in my eyes, and a heart bursting with appreciativeness, honor, and thanksgiving I bow and offer you the most sincere thanks I could possibly ever offer. I think it is the epitome of an author's work to be able to see their story and their characters come to life on the big screen. Jennifer and I are not yet published but we have had a major dream come true, and it is all because so many people have helped to build that dream and make it possible; not only that, but you did it so beautifully.

If you will hang in there for just two more notes of gratitude.

Jennifer, you get me like no one else does. With the exception of my husband you are my very best friend, my confidant, my inspiration, my hero. Thank you for letting me tag along for this amazing ride! Thank you, for encouraging me to be better, inspiring me to achieve bigger and better things, and pushing me to get it done. I love you!

As a final note to this long post I recognize that this book, this project, and the people we have worked with have been divinely inspired and directed. I am very thankful to a kind Heavenly Father who has allowed us such great privileges, challenges, and rewards.

With much love
Steph

PS Once we can coordinate a launch we will be posting the music video here!

8 Days and Counting!

2010-11-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

We have been frantically working on getting everything pulled together for the premiere. Between kids, jobs, other family obligations, church, and all things that make up life we have been pulling some late nights. Right now the priority is to get everything pulled together for our giveaways. Some things have been ordered and we are just waiting for them to arrive. Other things we put off too long to order and are now looking for replacements. But all in all it's good and we are looking forward to sharing the videos with friends and family.

They should both be a lot of fun!

-Stephonie

Count Down

2010-11-04T20:53:00.001-05:00

The countdown continues! Only 9 more days left until the premiere!!
I am busy trying to get everything accomplished at the same time trying to do NaNoWriMo, and figure out how to replace the roof, the furnace, the AC unit, and buy a car all at the same time. Yes, that is a little on the insane side, but Jennifer is often telling me that I am weird or crazy. Just the other night after spending much time flailing about in my attempts to do something technical I leaned over the couch and said, "Honey, tell me you love me and that I am brilliant."
"I love you very much!!!" My husband said.
..... pause
"But I'm not brilliant." I said flatly.
He responded, "Sometimes I think your brilliance boarders on mad scientist." I nearly fell off the couch giggling. When I told Jennifer what he had said her response was, "Man, I wish I had thought of that!" Great! So, I guess I should probably embrace the weird, kooky, and sometimes unhinged brilliance that they seem to think I posses.

Tonight I need to work on the giveaways.

-Steph

The end of a dream ... for now

2010-10-31T01:13:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to write anything about this if it weren't for the ribbing that I received from some who think it was just a passing folly.

Remember the very brief announcement that I was planning on doing a triathlon? Well that has been nixed. It was a very painful decision. I am willing to do whatever it takes to do this tri. However, being a responsible adult and making certain that basic needs for my family are taken care of is a higher priority. It was my every intention from the beginning to do the tri. I had no doubt that I would. I went to the library and read books about it, I devoured websites. I dreamed about it. I envisioned myself doing it. I could see myself finishing it. I wasn't doing it to prove myself to anyone but me. It didn't matter if I came in dead last or if anyone did it with me, or even if anyone besides my husband showed up to support me. This was going to be my thing, my accomplishment and it pains me greatly that something I want so badly isn't something I can have... right now.

-Stephonie

Video Snippets

2010-10-09T23:28:00.000-05:00

We have moved from filming in the orchard up to the castle. The next set is going to be mostly of the extras. There are quite a few little videos and some longer ones. I will combine some of the shorter ones together.

The first video is going to be when I stepped into hair and makeup. Sorry about the quality of the video. The dust in the air, the lights, and my poor camera cause the blue streaks you see. By the time we finished with our author interviews most everyone was outfitted. I do regret not taking any video of wardrobe. The second video is two small ones that I put together.

Hope you enjoy them.

-Steph

Say Goodnight, Gracie

2010-10-05T00:11:00.000-05:00

Here we take our last look at Luke. The adorable little princess is my niece. She is fearless when it comes to horses and was anxious to spend some time with Luke. Who wouldn't? I think he charmed everyone on set.
The second video is Luke taking his well deserved bow. I didn't get a great shot of it. I wish I had, but like I said, this is not my profession.

Our next set of videos moves up to the castle. We'll step inside hair and makeup, talk to a few people, laugh at a prop malfunction, listen to the wind blow, watch our director direct, and watch Kelsey sing her heart out.

With that I will say, Goodnight.

-Steph

Quick Book Update and More Videos

2010-10-02T21:53:00.000-05:00

We finished the last edit and we figured that we would probably have one more edit before they send it to be type set. The email we got from our editor was rather surprising. She really liked the new changes and, get this... She sent it off to be type set! Woohoo!!!

Here is the next installment of videos. I really like these even though they are short. They are closer looks at Luke the Friesian stallion. I hope you like them.

Video Snippets

2010-09-29T20:11:00.001-05:00

Here are two more video snippets. I know they are short. There is more to come though. Much more! =)
**Edit**
The next several video clips will feature more up close and personal video of Luke. I'll post those in the next day or so.

Brilliant!!

2010-09-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

When our publisher said they liked our book and was going to publish it they sent several forms for us to fill out. On one of those forms there was a section that went something like this:

Please list 3 or more ideas for marketing your book.

Really? It was so many years ago when we filled out all of that stuff that I feel we were... naive and insecure.
I don't remember what we put down, or even if we put much of anything. We had no idea what to expect. Since they have been sitting on our book for 3 years we have learned more and grown in our confidence of ourselves as authors and our book.

Because of this question we have had multiple brainstorming sessions. We wanted to utilize our strengths and also think outside of the normal parameters of book marketing. There have been (and still are) a lot of phone calls that start with me stating....

I have a brilliant Idea!!!!!
Sometimes the idea sends us both into fits of giggles. Sometimes the idea really is a good one and so we jot it down to revisit it in more depth. Then there are the other times that the idea strikes deep inherent fears. The music video was one of those ideas.

For awhile I would call Jenn up and say, I have a brilliant Idea!!!!! and I could almost hear her shaking in her boots. Her responses ranged from ,"Oh, no!" to "I don't know if I should laugh or hang up." Ah, but Jenn is such an awesome sister. She knows how much I love my bright and shiny ideas, even when they don't always turn out to be so glossy or lambent.

I think she is recovering from my biggest brilliant idea, the music video, because tonight when I called her and said those 5 words that have in the past caused her to tremble with great fear and dread she answered with a chipper and curious, "Oh? What is it?" *(note: Tonight Jenn told me that the reason she answered so sprightly was because she knows that any idea I come up with now isn't going to be as big and wild as the music video. See how you are, Jenn?)

I so love my sister! She gets me like no one else does. We compliment each other so well. Her strengths help to lift up my weaknesses and my strengths help to buoy her up in those areas that she is lacking. However, if you ask her she'll tell you, "Steph is always pushing me. Pushing. Pushing. Pushing."

We joke about when we were teens and couldn't stand each other we had pet phrases that we seemed to say to each other all the time. Jenn's was "Don't Touch Me!" Mine was "Trade me cars!" (I so did not like to drive the enormous station wagon). I guess those phrases have evolved. Mine would be, "I have a brilliant idea!!!" and her's would have to be, "Pushing. Pushing. Pushing." Wow! I just realized this moment that it seems I have always been touching and pushing Jenn our whole lives. The difference between our younger years and now is the deep love and appreciation that has developed between us as we have shared experiences and matured.

With that sentimental note, I will say good night.

-Steph

Finally As Promised: Something not entirely book related

2010-09-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

I had promised you something not book related a while back and then some things were thrown at me that needed more consideration so I delayed in telling you all. Well, I haven't actually made a final decision, but at least I can tell you about it. But first something that isn't exactly book related.

Running for Life and Tri-ing for Fun

When we were filming our music video our editor Eliza showed up to see what we were doing. She sat with us through lunch and iced her knee. So why was she icing her knee? Because she had just come from a 16 mile run. Yeah! 16 miles! Come to find out she is training for a marathon! Wow! Just Wow!

I admire anyone who can be dedicated enough and physically capable of such a huge feat. I have read people's accounts of marathons they have run. They are grueling and tax your will to live as much as your physical body... or so I have read. I am not a runner. I never have been and it doesn't look like I ever will be. This is by choice, but more on this later.

Eliza is doing it for a good cause. She is running a marathon because her friend will never get the chance to. From her website she says, "I'm training to run the Dublin Marathon this October as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives."

I know so many people have been affected by cancer. My mom is a cancer survivor. So, I will be supporting Eliza in her bid to help fight these devastating diseases. Now, I don't usually do this. Personally and publicly. I won't go into the why's and why not's. Suffice it to say that I think this warrants support. So I am asking you, if you have it within your power and means to donate even a small amount it would be deeply appreciated. Here is her web page where you can donate and follow up on her training. If you can, please, help her out and let her know that Steph sent you. She has promised to smile like this if you donate.

And now for the tri-ing part. I will keep this short and simple because you will probably fall out of your chair when you read this. I am signing up to do a triathlon next year. Yup. Me. Yeah I am a bit crazy, yeah, I am way out of shape but I am working on that. No, I do not need sponsors (unless you want to buy me a bike ;) Why am I doing this? Because I think I can. I am not a runner, I don't like to run. Never have and probably never will. However, the run is only 5k and I could probably walk it and still finish the tri. Quite frankly I don't care if I come in dead last just as long as I do it. And I'll leave you to pick yourself up off of the floor.

Please, if you can, donate to Eliza's run!
Thank you!

Book Update

2010-09-23T21:51:00.000-05:00

Things are really beginning to move along now. This is a whole new experience for us and it is very exciting.

Our book cover should be done soon!! AAAArrrrrggghhhh!!!! We are hoping and praying that we get a good one and that we like it. If we don't we have to pay for the changes and I really don't want to have to do that. I still owe $$$ for the video and we need to save up for our big trip for the book release. So exciting, isn't it?

It looks as though the description that goes on the back of the book is finished and our editor will be forwarding it to us soon as well. I feel giddy. Should I feel giddy? Nervous? Faint? Well, not faint but that might come when I actually get a copy of the book in my hand. I wrote about my book happy awhile back. You can read about that here along with other big happy things.

The book came back from copy edit yesterday. It was a line edit and we were concerned that it was going to come back bleeding. It didn't so we are happy about that. Our editor made some comments previously about the point of view switching between two of our characters. So Jenn edited it so that it was pretty much one sided. Copy edit comes back and says there isn't enough character development for this one character. We need more of his point of view. *head desk*

The book trailer is pretty much finished. We forwarded it to our editor and marketing people. Our editor really liked it. She had a few minor points that need fixed but they are superficial and easily taken care of. The marketing dept. had some fancy do-da so they haven't seen it yet. Our editor will check in with them tomorrow or so and see what they think. If we can hold off on finishing the trailer we might be able to use the book cover as well. That would be awesome! =)

I was emailed the link to download and preview our book trailer the other day. It took an eternity, or so it seemed, to download. When I viewed it I was shaking, nearly hyperventilating, and sobbing all at the same time. It was surreal, magical, and overwhelming all neatly packaged in a video less than 4 1/2 minutes long. Try explaining those feelings to a precious 2 yr old who walks up and puts her hands on your cheeks and asks, "Mommy sad?"
"No, baby. Mommy is very ..... happy."
"Why cry?" she asked as she attempted to wipe my tears and ended up poking me in the eye.

Watching our beloved characters come to life on the screen in front of me, seeing our readers tell what they liked most about the book, watching Luke the stunningly beautiful Friesian stallion brought on so much emotion that I was completely unprepared for. I doubt that it will elicit that kind of response from people who know nothing about the book but I do hope that it piques their interest enough to want to read it.

So what do I want people to get from this little book of ours? Well my dear friends, that is fodder for another post, another day. In the meantime I hope you have enjoyed the video snippets I have posted. I hope to have some more edited and up fairly soon.

-Steph

The first two.

2010-09-22T01:27:00.001-05:00

Ok. Since I was suppose to be in bed an hour ago. I'll post the first two here.
Warning: I am not a professional. I do not profess to have any talent in this area. Sometimes the audio is horrible, sometimes it is ok. Sometimes I sound like a total dork. Take this all with a grain of salt.

This is the Castle the day before filming when I got my first look.

The first look at some of our cast members.

And with that, Good night!

-Steph

They Are Comming!

2010-09-20T22:40:00.002-05:00

I have uploaded a few of the video snippets. Fair warning, they are short!
Tomorrow I will post links.

-Steph

Something NOT book or video related

2010-09-18T00:49:00.003-05:00

LiveJournal has this section called "Writer's Block" it's a random question to get you thinking about things and writing about them. I really like it, although some of the questions are a lot more random than I care to answer. Still, it is a good idea.

The other day this question appeared: "Random Acts of Kindness- What is the nicest thing you've ever done for a stranger? What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?"

I use to have an excellent job. I didn't earn great amounts of money. I didn't acquire fame. The environment wasn't the absolute best. I froze in the winter and roasted in the summer because the heating and cooling in the area I worked wasn't the greatest. The people I dealt with weren't always upstanding citizens and a few of the people I worked with weren't always either. So why would I consider it to be an excellent job? That would be because of all the strangers that I was able to help.

I was a front desk clerk at a hotel for a number of years and I loved my job. We called it Fawlty Towers because something bizarre was always happening. Despite the weird and often annoying things that happened nothing made my night better more than being able to help someone. Whether it was finding a restaurant, a place to take the kids, giving directions to a business, or just getting extra towels. Most of the time people were appreciative of it. Other times, not so much. The times I remember most are things like this experience: My flight crew that had to leave way early were bummed that they would be leaving before the restaurant opened. They were stuck with apples, oranges, and coffee for breakfast. While chatting with them I asked what would they really like? Krispy Kreme donuts was the unanimous answer. I told them I would see what I could do, but I wasn't going to make them any promises.

Let me explain my schedule. I started work at 3. My husband started work at 4 so we drove the 43 miles together, he would drop me off and then go sit in the Ham Shack at work before his shift started. I got off work at 11. Hubby on the other hand got off work at 12:30am. I had an hour and a half before he would come and pick me up. Sometimes I would go slip into the swimming pool and take a swim. Oh it was so nice having it all to myself. Other times I would go walk on the treadmill. In the dark. Towards the end I got tired of the clothing changes so I started camping out in an empty room and watching tv. We had terminated our relationship with our satellite provider and I didn't have much time for local tv anway. So I just hung out working on my laptop, sometimes I would fall asleep in a chair.

This particular night, at 20 to 1 (am) when hubby came and picked me up I kindly announced that we couldn't go right home, we needed to go find donuts. He was usually really good about it. (Yes, that implies that this was not an uncommon occurrence to hunt something down for a guest, return to the hotel, and then finally go home.) This little task turned into a jaunt clear across town twice, but the donuts were found, the flight crew were eternally thankful, and hubby just assumed it was part of the territory. I would do anything in my power to make my guests happy. I guess that is why after I turned in a 4 week notice, and left a few months later they asked me to come back. A little strange when they have a strict no rehire policy.

That's just one thing that comes to mind. Is there anything that comes to yours?

I really shouldn't write these posts at 1:30 am. I feel like they are disjointed and not as thoughtful. Oh well. To bed, to bed sleepy-head.

-Steph

Delay

2010-09-16T00:12:00.004-05:00

I am sorry about the delay on everything. I had big news to post to you today and then I got a phone call. Can you guess who from? Of course it would be Jennifer. We had a lengthy discussion and I have decided to rethink some of my lofty (ahem- insane) goals. So until I determine exactly what I want.... no that should be ... exactly what I can do then I will be posting it.

As for the videos snippets, well I haven't had much time lately to edit them. There is some question as to how much of the song should I leave in the video or if I should edit it all out or only some of it. I haven't figured that out yet. We are still waiting for the archived footage to be shipped out to us. I am also working on an official Mark of Royalty page/blog so that those who are not on Facebook can follow. Oh, and my 2 yr old has decided that she does not need naps any more. :P

Thanks for hanging in there. I promise there are great things afoot.

-Steph

How Fast Do Your Fingers Fly?

2010-09-14T23:35:00.003-05:00

While out in Utah this last time, I was not at all surprised to find out that Jennifer prefers to sit down with pen and paper to write her books. This too is actually my preferred way of writing. I have notebooks scattered around the house with bits and pieces of stories, and I have somewhere a huge stack of legal sized sheets of copy paper that I used to write many a scene for Mark of Royalty. I feel like I write faster, albeit a whole lot sloppier when I have a pencil in hand. Yes, you heard me right a pencil. I prefer to write in pencil. I can't exactly explain it. My penmanship is neater when it is with a pencil. Perhaps it is because it is smoother and a wider base. I don't rightly know. After writing all of that down I have to take the time to sit and type it into a much more legible form.

I think I type pretty well. I type faster than my husband who has a strange six finger method of typing. He does pretty good using three fingers on each hand, and he is pretty accurate. I guess it doesn't matter the method you use, so long as it gets done, right? There have been times when my husband can tell what mood I am in by my typing. If I am hitting the keys hard and furiously then he is pretty sure that I am riled about something. If it is just fast then I am in a hurry. It it come across as type type pause... type type pause... then I am probably being ponderous and picking my words very carefully.

I was having a bit of fun tonight and happened to do a search for how fast do I type and then I went and tested myself on several different type testing sights. It was fun and rather interesting. Here are my results going from last to first because that is the order in which my tabs appear.

Typing Test at Learn 2 Type said this:

Your accuracy was impressive.

Your speed was 51 WPM

Your typing speed is good

This test was not my favorite. Nor was it the worst one that I took. They asked you to type a standard paragraph with simple punctuation such as commas and periods.

The next one is TypeRacer. You have the option to Enter A Typing Race with other people online, Practice, obviously to help you improve before you set out to race other people, and Race Your Friends in a chat environment. I of course chose practice. It gives you a paragraph to type but it has a window with a stop light on it. It starts out red and when it turns yellow it becomes more transparent and you are able to see more of the paragraph you are to be typing. This was kind of fun, but it also had some inherent problems. When you make an error it tells you so and you have to go back and correct that error before you can continue. If you don't do it correctly a little window pops up and tells you to fix the problem and you can't continue your typing test until you click the OK button at the bottom. But get this, the timer is still counting down! I did this test a few times. One of those times my hand grazed the mouse pad here on my laptop and it scrolled me clear to the bottom of the screen. When I went back up the paragraph had changed and my timer was ticking away. So strange.

In the end it gives you your score and below that is a list of high scores. I have to wonder about the one that got 186 WPM. I know it isn't impossible, but seriously? If you mouse over the names on the top 20 list you can get more info about their average typing skills. It's rather interesting. Anyway, here are my results from TypeRacer:

You just typed a quote from the book:
The Stranger
by Albert Camus

Your speed: 58 wpm
Time: 0:54
Accuracy: 97.7%

Oh yes, and it tells you where your quote that you just typed came from. I got at least one from a movie, and the rest seem to have come from books.

Next on the list is Speed Typing Test from CalculatorCat. This one is pretty simple and straight forward. It gives you a sentence to type and the test starts when you begin typing. It ends when you either hit the tab key or you click the stop button at the bottom of the window. It doesn't calculate anything other than words per minute. My results:

Your speed is 60 words per minute

Moving on, we have TypingTest.com. I liked this one! It gives you the option of a 1, 2, or 3 minute test, and it gives you many options of what to type. Make your choices and click the button. It loads a new page and your test begins when you start typing. This was more of a challenge. It had numbers, quotation marks, commas, colons, and even several hyphens. Not your typical typing test requirements. This one keeps track of your time, your speed, and your errors. You can go back and fix your errors and it doesn't count them, but it also makes your typing slower. It also takes that into account and reduces your typing speed by how many errors you make. It is a simply designed page. It isn't cluttered, it is easy to read and understand, and in the end it gives you your information, a graph, and compares you to the average typist. My results:

Typing Speed: 58 WPM (291 characters in 1 minute)

Errors: 1 Words (Accuracy 98%)

Adjusted Speed: 57 WPM (1 errors deducted)

How does my speed compare?
Your adjusted speed of 57 WPM was
58% above the average 36 WPM

Excellent Typing Speed!

Compared to the average typist...

... you save up to 3.5 hours per week. (If typing 10 hours per week)

Then it gives you an option to share on Facebook and Twitter.

The last one on my list, which actually was the first one I tried, is TenFastFingers. This one was strange for me. It gives you a list of frequently used words in English. There is no sentence structure and it frustrated me because I like to make sense of what I am trying to type. The words turn green if you type them correctly and they turn red if you misspell them. Also the word disappears after you hit the space bar so you can't correct something if you missed it. The results give you a ranking among their many users. Mine was too insignificant to report. My results:

You type 347 characters per minute
You have 63 correct words and
you have 0 wrong words

So there ya have it folks. I do alright in typing. I am by no means a speed demon, but I do ok. (Thank you Mr. Palmer for not giving up on me in H.S. type class.) If you have some time to waste go ahead and see how you stack up to the rest of the world.

I know you are probably anxiously awaiting word on the music video. I have been sorting through my video snippets that I took while on set. Some of them are not fit for human consumption. Some of them the audio is horrible because of the distance of where I was and the wind. I haven't figured out what to do with those.

We still do not have the video. Our amazing director continues to work on it. However, we do have some very very very exciting news coming up. By coming up I mean with in the next week or two. Very very super very exciting news! (As a writer can I actually get away with saying that? Oh well, I guess I just did.)

Also, tomorrow I have a pretty big announcement to make that isn't exactly MoR or music video related. So, stay tuned. I hope you find it interesting.

-Steph

Filming the video

2010-08-30T14:40:00.010-05:00

On Sat. we filmed our music video and book trailer.

It was such an amazing experience! I now understand the scripture Malachi 3:10-"... open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it"
I still need time to process it all and then I can write a full report for you. In the meantime, I have some pictures for you to look at.

-Steph

My sister Jennifer. The main author and creator of Mark of Royalty the book and the music video. Photo taken by Dora Workman.

Jaclyn Smith played our Sarah. Photo by Dora Workman.

Jon Florence was our Alex. Photo by Eddie Sáenz.

Rebecca Batty as Felicia. Photo by Dora Workman.

TJ Curtis as Chad. Photo by Dora Workman.

Kelsey Wheadon, our very talented song artist! Photo by Dora Workman

Luke the Friesian stallion. Photo by Dora Workman

Miracles or Coincidences?

2010-08-24T00:13:00.002-05:00

I am surrounded by miracles.

Today we buried my husband's grandfather. The last few days have been emotionally turbulent. I never knew my own grandfathers and I am deeply blessed and thankful that I have had the time to get to know and love my husband's grandparents. Especially Grandpa Glenn. Our little copper Penny was born 70 minutes before his birthday. So I sort of considered her his birthday present.

I was talking to my sister tonight and I sobbed, "We buried grandpa today!" Jennifer said, "I look at that and think What a miracle that is!" I asked her why. She said that it was because if he had passed away a day or two or three days later it would delay our trip out to Utah to make this video. As important as this project is, as much time, money, effort, tears, hopes, and dreams that we have poured into this thing we would have stayed home to attend the funeral and be with the family. As Commander Sam Vimes says, "Because somethings are important." It is a miracle that he did not suffer greatly and linger in pain. It is a miracle that so many who loved him and whom he loved were able to say goodbye. What a beautiful blessing the family is!

There are even more miracles. One of our lead actors has his wisdom teeth pulled. If they had done it a day or two later we would be dealing with the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man because the swelling was so severe. As it is he will be back to normal before the shoot.

My sister's mother in law asked if she could come up and watch, but she didn't want to be in the way and requested that she have something to do. Our wardrobe lady, being faced with the daunting task of outfitting all of our extras asked her assistant to come and help throughout the day. Her assistant can not come. The moment my sister was on the phone with our wardrobe lady her mother in law walked in the door holding another pair of pants to add to the costumes. One needed help and the other willing and able to give it.

A few days ago I was in a downright panic. We didn't have enough extras! And then we had extras coming out of the woodwork and we didn't have enough costumes. Suddenly my mom shows up with a ton of costumes that were borrowed from my high school's drama department. Jennifer was able to borrow several costumes from other people, and a wonderful lady from the local SCA is coming to help out and bringing several outfits as well. It looks as if we will be able to costume everyone!

There was also a panic about finding a fitting dress for our lovely singer. After trying on about a hundred different dresses and trying to find places that would reasonably rent one we had just about given up hope. Our main actress offered the phone number of a seamster. I scoured looking for other people who could possibly sew something in a very short amount of time. When we were really about as desperate as we could get this seamster called my sister back and thus far he has worked miracles! The dress is fabulous!

There are other things. Finding the horse, our actors, hair and makeup, our PA. Everything, really, is just falling into place.

I can not express the magnitude of this project. For some people this is the minor leagues but for me and my sister this is daunting! Did I tell you that our editor is going to be on set?

Anyway, I am working on those video posts. Things sort of got on hold for a few days, as you can imagine. But, we have some really run things lined up and I hope you will enjoy them. When I have another one done I'll post a link.

I have much to do, so bye for now.

-Steph

The Bare Naked Truth

2010-08-11T21:55:00.002-05:00

Hmmm... Maybe that should have been titled The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth. I don't want anyone being confused, ya know.

Anyway, last night at 1:30 am I get hit with another "brilliant idea!" Some day my sister is going to disown me because I have brilliant idea-d her to the breaking point. Yeah most of the big ideas are mine, but she has come up with some of her own. Some of them, like the two Harry Potter Day camps for 75 kids, are on par with this music video, if you ask me. I digress. So there I am sitting reading this web page and it hits me like a tonne of bricks! I have been posting updates about this project on my FB page but people don't always get to see the updates and what can you say in 6 lines or less when you have just spent the entire day on the phone and sending emails? This is where this new brilliant idea comes in. Why not make short videos about the process so that you can get a first hand glimpse into the insanity that we have created. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad insanity. Not by any means!

(Quick note: MoR insanity is defined as: delving into a world we know little to nothing about. The experience of getting professional and semi professional actors, a videographer (which is now our Director), wardrobe, extras, the whole kit and kaboodle has been such a learning experience and often a wild adventure. We still have no idea what we are doing! Hence the definition of insanity. :) )

Honestly, wouldn't you rather see Luke before the video becomes available for viewing? (Something we won't know until we get closer to an actual book publishing date) Or perhaps see some of the behind the scenes of setting up the scenes, what catering looks like, what our actors sound like? Meet the other author? This way it makes it much more interesting and real to you and it gives me something to do. Don't tell Jenn this, but I have had visions of me lounging about watching everyone else run around because I just won't be needed till we do our interviews. I set up a Twitter account just so that I would be able to send updates via my cell phone but I think this way will be more interesting and fun.

Jenn loves the idea. At first this shocked me, but admittedly it is a really good idea. Hubby also likes the idea, so I know it must be good. After we decided that this is what we wanted to do the trepidation set in. You see, I have actively avoided the camera for a long long time. There is a very distinct lack of pictures of me with our daughter, but a bazillion of her and her daddy. There is a very specific reason for this. You see, over the past 15 years I have gained a considerable amount of weight. Really! A LOT of weight. There, I said it! I won't go into the hows, whys, and what-have-yous. Suffice it to say this has been a cause of great embarrassment, fear, frustration, and trepidation. Since my move to Iowa 11 years ago a great many of my friends and acquaintances have not seen me. I know all to well from first hand experience how one's weight can cause a relationship to become terse and cause fractures in friendships. I would hope that those who view the upcoming videos can do so and enjoy their content and not get hung up on the personal imperfections of the people featured or the mistakes that are bound to be made.

That said, hang on tight because this is going to be one wild ride!

In Need of a Mental Outlet

2010-08-09T22:47:00.003-05:00

I need an outlet before my brain either turns to much or my head explodes. I know I haven't done much to keep you in the loop. Not that there are many of you to keep in the loop. But one never really knows.

The Super Secret project that my sister and I have been working on is a music video. That's right folks we are making our own music video! No, we will not be featured in it. It is based on our book that is suppose to be released next spring (barring any major catastrophe). It is a well known fact that if an author doesn't market their own book the book is pretty much doomed to fail. Of course there are exceptions but that's another topic for another time and another place.

We have teamed up with a beautiful and amazing lady, Kelsey Shelley, that wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and performed the instrumentals for the song. We are indeed excited and honored to be working with her. We have an amazing venue to film at. We found a videographer who jumped on board. At first we don't think he really shared our vision but as we continued working together he realized where we wanted this to go and has been instrumental in making it all happen. He has been upgraded from videographer to Director. My sister Jennifer and I have become Producers. Our husbands are our Executive Producers because they are doing most of the funding. The remainder of the funding is from Jenn and my pockets.

We also have a wardrobe lady, catering, grips, about 15 possible ladies to help with hair and makeup, we have production assistants, craftys, camera ops, and transportation people. I can't forget our hired professional actors and our extras. By the way, our most expensive actor is Luke. He is big, stunningly beautiful, graceful, regal, and extremely skilled and experienced. Did I mention that he is black as black can be, his hair is to DIE for, and he is a real stallion. No, seriously he IS a stallion; a Friesian stallion. He is pricey but so so so worth it. You just wait and see! Our little music video that we started out with the idea of hiring a videographer to film a few actors on the lawn of our venue has turned into a full blown Hollywood style production.

Anyway, I just need an outlet for some of my thoughts. I feel as if my head is about to pop off, fly around the room doing somersaults and if it decides to return it will attach it's self upside down.

My major concerns right now:
The Wardrobe!!! We need a fantastic dress for Kelsey. I am not settling! But our options are quickly being whittled down. I fear that we will have to settle.

The Wig- This has been a frustration for me. Guess why we need a wig. Can you say Stunt Double?!?!?!

The Cards- It was impossible to find the type of cards with envelopes large enough for what we needed. So now? Hand made cards AND envelopes. Speaking of which I better get back to that soon.

The Extras- Even though we have posted on Craig's List and tried enlisting the help of the local SCA I am gravely concerned about having enough extras. Not terribly worried about having too many.

The Toddler- My wonderful sister in law has agreed to babysit our little girl. But our first call starts at either 6 or 6:30 AM and we go until we get kicked out at dark. We have never been separated for more than a few hours. I know that food and water will be provided but I still have concerns about the fact that she is picky (at least with me she is) and dehydration (Utah is much much dryer and a much higher altitude). I am also concerned about the napping situation because she won't even nap for her dad so I can't imagine she'll nap for her aunt with her little cousins around as well.

Packing, The House, and The Cats- We aren't entirely certain how long we'll be out there.

The Interviews- We are also doing a book trailer with author interviews and reader interviews. This brings on it's own set of concerns and worries.

So those are the things that are floating around my head these days. I honestly don't know how I am going to sleep between now and then.

So far this has been an amazing experience. A dive into the world of film/movie making/music video making. We have met some really awesome people along the way.
This is an experience to remember!

It is getting late and I have much to do yet. I will try and keep you updated.

-Steph

Not dead yet

2010-06-15T07:23:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that no, I am not dead. I have been incredibly busy.
We have found an awesome artist to do our project logo artwork. He was pretty much the only one that volunteered or expressed real interest. But he's really good so I'm not much worried.

We have been working on getting details ironed out and earning money for our super secret project. Only a few more details to fix and we'll be able to make an official announcement.

My two year old is begging for Pooh's song so I need to go.
-Steph

Bedtime

2010-05-19T20:18:00.005-05:00

Quite some time ago I was watching a video clip of some show. For some reason my brain tells me that it was a practical joke/blooper/quiz type show and I don't remember if it was on tv or if it was on the internet. What I remember about it was that this woman on a street in Somewhere, USA was going to be asked a trivia question. To sort of get to know her background they asked what her profession was. Her response was that she was a full time stay at home mom with several children, boys ... I think. The interviewer asked what her favorite part of the day was and her response was "Bedtime!!". This brought some serious Oooo's, Ohhh's, and other general negative sounds from the studio audience.

I think about that clip often. Funny, I don't remember the show, what it was about, or even what trivia question the woman was asked. I have wondered what my response to that question would be now that I am a mother of a rather spirited 2 year old. I think that I too would have to say "Bedtime!!!". Now don't go thinking that I am a horrible mother. I just might be, but not for thinking "I can't wait till this child is asleep!" I do have moments like that. Usually after a night of little to no sleep and a wild and woolly day. But that isn't why I think bedtime is the best part of the day.

In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya "Let me essplain! No, there is too much, let me sum up!" Our bedtime routine starts for us after dinner when we head to the bathroom for a bath. After "bubble baff" as Penny calls it she sits on my lap wrapped in a towel and we play peekaboo and we name various body parts. Noses get beeped, eyes blink, eyebrows wiggle, elbows get kissed, cheeks get pinched or poked, tummies get tickled, and toes turn into little piggies. After a bit of that I get up, she turns off the lights and we go into the bedroom where we finish drying her off and get her into pajamas.

Then it's into the living room where the lights are dimmed and we sit in the rocking chair. She always makes sure that I have the "peee-yo" or pillow to tuck under my arm. She likes to sort of lean against it too. We might continue with a mellow game of peekaboo or we'll read a book. It all depends on how tired she is. Then we say our prayer. Sometimes she'll say it (with lots of help and prompting from mom) but mostly I say it. I love how she folds her arms when it's time and how she'll squint her eyes shut and tuck her chin to her chest. After the prayer she'll say "A-MEN!!" in a matter of fact way. Then mommy gets lots of hugs, kisses, and "Night night Mommy" and "Eeeee uu" Which means Love you. Then she'll nurse** herself to sleep, I rock and sing to her. Usually after prayers it takes oh 10-20 minutes for her to be completely asleep and I can get up and put her in bed. There are the rare occasions that it will take upwards of an hour, but that's rare anymore.

So yea, bedtime's my favorite time of day. It's when we both slow down and take time to snuggle, cuddle, and just love each other. It is nice when she is asleep, but it's the part that comes before that that I love so much.

-Next up...
Drawing contest.

**- Yes, we are still nursing. We had such a rough start at it that neither she nor I are in much of a hurry to end it. To that I'll add 1- she was not blessed with the greatest of genetics in the universe so any boost to the immune system she can get is all the better IMO! and 2- We got a late start to parenthood. Since breast cancer is a real concern in my family and there is overwhelming evidence that breast feeding for an extended amount of time can reduce one's risk of getting it I am all for lowering my own personal risks! :)

Design Contest?

2010-04-28T21:24:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone. I am sorry I haven't been around much. Real life keeps things pretty interesting. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Penny's 2nd birthday with family. It was a lovely afternoon and Penny absolutely LOVED spending time with her cousins. Just before we left I was trying to convince her that she needed to brush her teeth. (A job that I am convinced that only super heroes can accomplish!) I tried reason, (HA!) trickery (Yeah right!) and finally got some results with bribery. I asked her if she wanted to go see Grandpa (because she is ALWAYS asking "Ganpa's house?" ) She shook her head no. This shocked me. I asked her if she wanted to go visit Grandma? Again shaking her head. I asked about each of her cousins. Nope didn't want to go visit them either. I asked if she wanted to go see Aunt Anna. Nope! I was running out of ideas. How about Uncle Jim? "Jim?" she said. And agreed to brush her teeth if she could go see Uncle Jim. Soo funny! Now she asks for him with as much frequency as she does her cousins. :)

Yesterday was my baby's birthday. She is now officially a two year old. Where has the time gone?

Speaking of time flying. My sister and I are involved in a huge Super Secret Project. It will take place in Aug. if all goes well. In the meantime we are doing a lot of researching, making plans, and trying to contact people who can help us. Some of our discussions have included having business cards and other things that would contain a logo type dealywhopper.

I am design challenged. Contrary to popular belief, (sorry Elaine) I really am not terribly creative. Especially when it comes to designing something. So I had this brilliant idea! Why not put it out in the world and see if people are interested in a design contest? My sister agreed.

So here we are. I would like to know if you would be interested in submitting a small simple design that would go on business cards, stationary, and other printable thing-a-ma-boppers. You don't have to be super creative or have a degree in design. All you have to have is a desire to try your hand at it and be willing to submit your design to us.

If enough people aren't interested then I'll just have to come up with something on my own. I would really very much like to have more than a few options to choose from. If there is plenty of interest then I will post our requirements, a due date, and prize for the winner. I am not picky! If any family member, member of the media, a radio station, design professor, or any of the Nac Mac Feegle decide to try to a design, I am more than happy to accept it! I'd even take a submission from Moist von Lipwig, the scallywag.

So drop a comment here, on Facebook, email me a message, or catch me at church. I am hoping to hear from you!!

-Steph

BIG things are in the works

2010-04-05T21:50:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone.

I am really sorry for not having gotten that food post done. Part of the reason I haven't is because it's such a pain to dump the camera to my ailing laptop. So I think that one is on the back burner for now.

In other news: There are really big and exciting things afoot!!! Big! HUGE!! ENORMOUS!!!! And oh so very very exciting!!!! Which also translates into time consuming, unnerving at times, probably lots of people involved, and it's looking like it might even possibly be a bit on the $$$ side. Oh but it will be sooooo worth it!

I am so excited and I wish I could just blurt it out now and give you the details that we have in place or that we are currently working on. However, that would spoil it and we really need to have more done and secured before we start proclaiming it from the rooftops. Suffice it to say I think this is going to be a really really great thing!

Anyway I have things I need to work on. (Woohoo!)
-Steph

Delayed

2010-03-25T22:26:00.002-05:00

Good evening folks.

I know I implied that there would be a long awaited post tonight. Today has been quite.... interesting. I got a few things accomplished; got some dishes done, did a load of laundry, and mailed the cards to my visiting teaching ladies. I also nearly burned up the stove, got stuck between the wall and the couch while trying to retrieve the window crank so that I could open the window and let out the smoke. This was remedied by yelling for my dearest darling husband to wake up and come rescue me. I also cut my finger and bled all over my dinner prep. Well, not all over. I flung little droplets of blood on the floor and the fridge when I realized I had just sliced myself. :P We also visited grandma and grandpa (my in-laws), saw and pet little baby chicks and ducklings (this was a good parenting moment), picked up new garbage cans, played outside on the neighbors' swings, AND as added bonus my daughter actually got and ate 3 meals! (So what if two of them were oatmeal, it still counts!!)

Soo... after spending over 90 minutes trying to get my little girl to go to sleep, finally feeding my husband, and looking at the dishes that need done again I am tired and don't feel like loading pictures for this post. Besides, she didn't nap this afternoon so I didn't get a change to catch up on what Nephi and his brother's are doing. Not that I haven't read it a bazillion times before, but still it's a good story and I always find things I have previously missed.

And with that, I will say buenas noches, que te duermes con los angeles, pero no les toques.

-Steph

Stay tuned

2010-03-24T20:46:00.002-05:00

Hello folks,

I just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that I do have something in the works. I have been considering and planning this post for quite some time. Actually... it's the whole reason I have this little space called the cat room (remind me sometime to expound upon why I call it the Cat Room and why it's titled Agile as a three legged cat.)

Anyway, it's a food post and some of you might actually find it interesting. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the actual cooking and figuring part and then get it written up before I head to bed.

-Steph

Blogs

2010-03-18T21:53:00.003-05:00

I find blogging to be such a strange and addicting phenomenon. Not so much me blogging about the mundane things of my own life, but reading other people's blogs. You know everyone and their dog, cat, or hedgehog has a blog these days. Some blogs are better than others. They even have big time awards for best blog, newest blog, best looking blog, and a whole slew of other categories. They are called Bloggies and you can find out all about there here, at bloggies.com.

The blogs that I follow are generally fun and interesting. Some that I have been following for quite some time (I'm certain you will recognize them because they have become very famous)

Cake Wrecks, when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong! Oh, and they do!!! I have to wonder, seriously, how can a "professional" bakery even allow some of these monstrosities to be displayed or sold?!?! It's always good for a laugh and the Sunday Sweet's are always awe inspiring!

Bakerella, sweet inspiration and fun baking ideas. I have been following since Dec. of 2007 when a friend posted a link to her Red Velvet Cake Balls. It amazes me the creativity that some people seem to posses. It is very awesome!

Other blogs are more recent finds.

Pioneer Woman, plowing through life in the country... one calf nut at a time. I stumbled upon her blog back in Sept./Oct of last year. I decided to read her story Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, her true life romance of how she went from city slicker to pioneering in Oklahoma cattle country. I love her wit, her recipes, her photography, her product reviews, and her tips and tricks of homeschooling her four punks. But most of all I love how she's not afraid of anything ... except snakes that sneak into her bathroom.... and being seen in public wearing yoga pants... with holes in them.

M 2 B :) , Michael McClean's mission to be happy. Of course I have already shared this with you. I have been following this one since before Christmas. I love his book and I love his blog. I also love how he doesn't try to gloss things over and try to make everything hunky dory by telling the good, the not so good, and even the bad.

Now we come pièce de résistance!

The Coupon Goddess, saving money one heeled step at a time. I literally stumbled upon her blog by some random Google search pertaining to coupons. As a matter of fact I came across it the day of the Jan. reader's appreciation give away. The next post was this! Which was the introduction to an absolutely AMAZING feat "of purchasing over 800 boxes of Hamburger Helper and 380 cans of Progresso soup ($2,862 in retail value). I also earned over $100 in overages for my own household shopping. Did I mention the $850.00 in Box Tops for Education I received?" and all for the crazy of amount of something like $100!!! And the H.H. and soup went to a local food bank. Now, just how awesome is that?!?!?! I soooo want to be her! Or at least acquire her amazing couponing/shopping skills. Today on her blog she has a giveaway for a beautiful Le Creuset pot. She is just full of awesome!

Then there are blogs of friends that I keep tabs on. Elizabeth's adventures as they moved from Iowa to Montana. She keeps motherhood in perspective for me. Love her for it! Michelle's been a good friend for a decade or more. Her video blogs have been a favorite for years now. Anneli's world wide travels have been riveting! She is one of those amazingly talented and inspired people that I just love! I keep looking for more of Jyl's experiences in Germany but they are very busy, I think.

As for Lindsfarne's blog? Well.... Even though she's a brilliant scientist the blog of a hedgehog engaged to a bat just isn't for everyone. ;)

If you have a blog, or have one that you follow regularly feel free to share.

-Toodle-oo,
Steph

My happy

2010-03-08T01:14:00.002-06:00

Hello dear readers,

I have not forgotten you. I just haven't had as much time to sit down and compose any one of the many things that float around in my head that I have pin pointed to be posted here.

This is something that I have been mulling over in my head for quite some time.
A few of you might be familiar with Michael McLean. He's been writing music since before I was in 7th grade. As a matter of fact those of you who attended LDS Seminary back in the mid to late 80's might be familiar with some of his early work. Others of you might know him for the music and stories of the Forgotten Carols.

One might think that someone so inspired and talented wouldn't have any difficulties viewing the world with the glass half full mentality. It seems though, that Mr. McLean is human just like the rest of us and he has his good days and his bad days. To help him through the bad one's he wrote a book. It's called Mission To Be Happy, also known as M 2 B :)

I bought the book and have been following along with his daily blog. Here it is March and IMHO he's doing a fantastic job. His book talks about the different types of happiness and how to seek them out and recognize them when they happen to you. So today I wanted to share with you MY happy.

Now, hubby and I have been married for 10 1/2 years. In those years we've made some good decisions, some not so good decisions, some seriously lousy ones. But mostly we have worked hard and sacrificed a lot. All for what you might ask. Well, last month, on my husband's 41'st birthday he had the privilege of writing a great big fat check and posting it in the mail. Over-nighted it to be exact. And with that great big fat check we made our very last payment for our house! Yes the house is small, yes it has some major problems, yes I have a serious issue with the bathtub and the lay out of the kitchen (both are things that can't be changed) but it is ours! I don't foresee the economy bouncing back any time soon and it is a HUGE comfort to know, that no matter what happens, the house belongs to us! So that is one of my happy(s).

The second happy on my mind has also been a long time in coming. Not quite so long as paying off the house, but still, it has been years in the making. I am guessing that most of you know that my younger sister and I have written a book together. It's a wonderful little book. We put a lot of thought and effort into the one and only submission we sent to a single solitary publisher. It took about 6 months for the entire process but they accepted it to be published. They gave us a date and we started editing. And then the economy tanked. Because our publisher wanted to stave off their own economic problems they scaled back the number of books they were putting out each year and ours got bumped from the list. But wait... here's where my other happy comes in. The other day my sister got an email from our editor and We Have A New Publishing Date!!!! Of course, as it is with all things, this is very tentative so don't be disappointed, frustrated, or angry, confused, or annoyed if it gets changed again. At least we are currently back on the slate (for Spring 2011... that's next year for those of you who might still be writing 2009 on your checks and homework) and that's something to be excited about!

Sure those things occurred days ago and yeah that happy feeling had begun to wane, but I got another chance to share the excitement all over again with other people who had not yet heard the news. As a matter of fact those feelings of excitement about the book were reignited when I found out that the lady of a wildly popular food blog announce today that she too has a book in the works and it should be released sometime this year. I got so excited for her that I had to do a little happy dance in my chair. How exciting and thrilling and nail biting for her! Did she cry when she got word that her long anticipated book would be published? Did she jump up and down with pure joy when they set a publishing date? Did she feel an enormous sense of accomplishment as she and her editor finished each of their edits? I can't help but feel total elation for her.

I know that the happy that goes along with paying off our house will probably eventually fade to a feeling of reassurance and comfort in knowing it belongs to us. But on the other side I can see many many many happy moments ahead because of our book. I look forward to many more moments of sharing the news with others as we progress through the publishing process. I look forward to sharing in the good fortune of other people who have had their book accepted for publishing. But mostly.... I honestly do not know how I will be able to contain the joy, elation, excitement, gratification, and exultation that will occur upon holding a copy of my sister's and my book in my hand, opening the front cover, and signing my name to it. Just the thought of that moment is overwhelming and brings me to the brink of tears.

Can the human soul withstand so much happiness? I don't know, but it sure is going to be fun to find out!

-Steph

A block out of the bag

2010-02-11T21:06:00.006-06:00

I was planning on writing tonight about a scam that someone tried to pull over on me, if I had been my mother. Long story. I planned it all out in my head as I spent 20 minutes doing dishes and putting them away. Then I sat down and checked out the latest blog from Michael McLean. He related how he and his 3 yr old grandson named the lobsters in the lobster tank at Red Lobster. When I was done reading I felt somewhat deflated. The big homily I had composed in my head seemed out of place.

I went to look around the room and my eyes fell upon a single forgotten block sitting in the corner of the couch. Facing up is the picture of the elephant and in my head I can hear my beautiful 22 month old daughter trying to say elephant and then doing the little trumpeting sound that all elephants make complete with the waving of the arm to imitate their trunk. I picked up the block. The leaf. She can't quite say leaf either. Somewhere though she got it in her head that leaves should be blown away so every time we come across the block with the leaf on it she leans down and blows. The fish. She can say fishy very well. Along with the excited FISHEEEE! she opens and closes her mouth as she imitates what she thinks fish are doing. The Lion. She can almost say Lion. But mostly she roars and shakes her head. It comes out more like Rawwwr than a real roar. For the most part she ignores the numbers on the other two sides of the block.

Oh my sweet sweet baby-girl. She turned my world upside down, fills it with Cheerios, apple juice (which sounds more like shooose) , sticky hands, colors, frustration beyond anything I have ever known, and limitless kisses and loves. I never really loved until I got married. I never loved so deeply until I had a child.

Mom knowledge

2010-02-02T21:00:00.003-06:00

If you ever browse any type of mom forum you will find that there is absolutely no shortage of women more than willing to impart with the knowledge they have acquired since they became a mom. For the most part they are kind and gracious women. There are the few though that are very militant about their beliefs and if you aren't doing it their way then you're doing it WRONG. Even a few of those won't hesitate to let you know in no uncertain terms how it is.

I hesitate to offer advice as a mom. There are several reasons for that.
1- beliefs ranging from parenting styles to products use can be very personal. It would be unwise for one to tout the positive aspects of disposable diapers to someone who is a cloth diaper junky. And vise versa, for someone who doesn't have the time to rinse out poop stained diapers and absolutely abhors doing laundry is not going to be open to a lecture on the wonderful points of cloth diapering.
2- Nobody wants unsolicited advice.
3- I am pretty darn new at this game. Who am I to offer advice to anyone?!?!

But babies abound! A couple of friends in California just had their first last week. A friend in Iowa City had her 2nd the very next day. This Sunday I am attending a shower for hubby's cousin and next week is a shower for a lady from church. Speaking of church there are several ladies that are expecting or recently had a baby. My super good friend and college roommate is also expecting. It is all very exciting! Having so many babies on the brain has got me thinking about the things that I have learned and if I was asked what tidbits of useful information would I pass on? Well, I can't say that they are really worth much, but these are some of the things I have learned.

The first actually came the morning after Penny was born and I was changing her first poopy diaper. Now, I have changed diapers before, but it has been a loong loooooong time since I did that and I was feeling a bit apprehensive? or unqualified? Thankfully mom was right there with to tell me I was doing it wrong. Hahaha, no, actually she showed me a better way to do it. Use the diaper to wipe down as you pull it between the legs. Then tuck it over all the mess with out pulling the diaper out. That way it's a relatively clean place and you can tuck used wipes there as well. When all is clean roll the diaper up and fasten with the sticky tabs into a nice little bundle and toss. That was my first moment of Oh! Ok! The next day I had my first dawning moment. Some might call it an a-ha moment but I am not real big on comic books. ;) Get it? A-ha? Comic book? Take On Me? Yeah.... moving on!

It was just before mom and dad left. I was holding my sleeping newborn and mom told me that I didn't have to hold her all the time. Then she took a receiving blanket, folded it up, and laid it over the buckles in the infant seat. Then she took one of the plush baby quilts that some generous soul had made and given to us, and laid it in the car seat. Then she took my sleeping baby and laid her in it. Wow! I never would have thought of that. It was like a warm, cozy, pint size bassinet. This was when I realized that I really did not have any place to just put her if I wanted/needed to do something else. (Penny hated the bassinet because it was too big. I think she felt lost. But the carrier was great until she grew into the bassinet)

Even though we never had a lot of diaper rash to deal with I was never really happy with any of the expensive diaper creams that I bought. I wanted something that didn't stink for the most part. I am not fond of perfumy baby products. I once threw out a whole container of wipes because when I opened them they made the whole room reek. One day my older sister imparted some wonderful advise. Lanolin! The stuff that you use for sore nipples when you are nursing. Wow! talk about multitasking! Lanolin also makes the skin somewhat waterproof so that the next time baby wets or poops it doesn't immediately stick to the skin. (sarcasm) Also it's 100% natural. (/sarcasm because even atropa belladonna is 100% natural)

Other things that I have learned. Super soft fuzzy socks are AWESoME!!! Some wonderful souls blessed us with several pairs and I loved putting them on Penny as much as she loved having them on. She wore fuzzy socks up until she was about 18 mo old and then I couldn't find any that would fit her.

Drooling babies need bibs! That's not what I learned though. I thought the waterproof bibs with vinyl on the back would be perfect to keep her clothes dry. After all a cloth bib gets soaked and then so do the clothes. In rapid fashion I might add. So I bought a whole bunch of those vinyl backed bibs. They worked great! .... until I washed them. They didn't survive the dryer. Your best bet is actually thicker cloth bibs or ones with the plastic on the inside of the fabric and not on the outside.

Like all babies Penny loathed having her stuffy nose suctioned out. She would scream. Still does. If you take a bottle of nasal saline and pop it in a cup of hot water for several minutes it warms up quite nicely. Drip a couple of drops into each side of baby's nose and then sit her up. Be prepared to wipe whatever runs out. After about a minute use the nose sucker. It helps thin the snot and thus easier to suck out. But of course if baby is screaming and crying as hard as Penny did half the time it's pointless. All that carrying on just makes her even more stuffy. :P

Bubbles, facial tissue, junk mail, and empty water bottles are cheap entertainment.

There's a lot I have learned. There's a lot that I still need to learn. For example, I could learn to look at the world with more excitement and wonderment. Penny has yet to learn the effect of physics upon a spoon or fork with food on it. Inevitably she will turn the utensil upside down and the food has fallen once again before she gets it to her mouth, yet the little gasp of surprise and sheer delight at finding a small morsel still attached to her fork or spoon never ceases to entertain me and cause me to smile.

I love watching as she puts concepts together and the excitement new things bring to her. I love her shriek of pure happiness and delight. I LOVE hearing her in the bathtub as she splashes her daddy when he is home to do bath duty. (I love it for many reasons as you can probably guess. )
Valentine's day is quickly approaching. As I reflect upon it I find myself more in love than ever before. In love with my beautiful little girl and in love with my wonderful amazing husband. I find I am loving myself more and more importantly I am loving my Heavenly Father more as I come to learn what it is to be a parent.

I've not forgotten you

2010-01-27T23:03:00.003-06:00

Several times a day I think: Gee I should post something.
As a matter of fact I have several things that need to be written. There's the Eggnog files; our taste testing of several commercial eggnogs. I also have another idea sitting here on the couch that each day I have to remove from little fingers. But that's for another day.

It's those little fingers and other things that have weighed on my mind and kept me busy. One of these days I will have some fun and interesting things to post. Until then here's a few fun facts to ponder.

-All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn't like being seen wearing them in public.

- The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

-In Colombia, an individual can be fined up to $90,000 for gossiping.

-Every year kids in North America spend close to half a billion dollars on chewing gum.

-A catfish has approximately 100,000 taste buds.

Seriously?!?!?! Who takes the time to figure these things out? :)

Morning

2010-01-08T08:09:00.000-06:00

What is the first thing you do in the morning when your feet hit the floor? Do you rush off to the bathroom? Do you don your robe and slippers or get dressed? Do you skip the feet and slide right to your knees for a morning prayer?

Usually I change Penny's diaper but this morning the first thing I did when my feet hit the floor was dance. Yes, I danced!

I wasn't sleeping terribly deeply when Penny woke up. I thought she was going to slump over on me and go back to sleep, but she was awake. She stood at the window and told me all about the s-kye and all kinds of other things in that language of hers that I mostly don't understand. Then she sat down on my pillows as I sat on the edge of the bed while she pointed to the animals on her blanket. She gave me lots of kisses and smiles. I sat and marveled at how she wakes up so cheerful and excited for the mundane things of the day. She excitedly points to things and gasps with surprise and enthusiasm as if she is seeing them for the first time. I suppose it's the first time of the day that she gets to see them and that is exciting for her.

I wondered at how it would be to be so enthusiastic for the day to start. I slid off the edge of the bed and turned around. Penny was sitting, leaning against her dad. Struck with some of her enthusiasm I started dancing. She LOVES dancing and it's usually a good way to coax out one of her charming smiles. As expected she smiled broadly and started dancing as she sat there. Then she stood up, walked to me, and gave me a huge hug. She turned around and went and gave her father a kiss. He was just pretending to be asleep but he couldn't hide the enormous smile.

What a great way to start the day! How do you start the day?

Rules of Engagement ... part 2

2010-01-06T00:13:00.000-06:00

So it’s a new year. I figure I had better start doing this in earnest or else all of those blog ideas that are floating in my head will eventually pop out of my nose while I am sleeping. But don’t get use to a post a day. I’m just trying to set up a base for which later posts will go by.

I was thinking about my last post and our (now written) rule of not using Penny’s real name on the internet and as one thing leads to another I started thinking about how hubby and I met. Hubby has a rule that he goes by when using faceless chat online. “Assume male unless proven otherwise”. This is because so many people have pretended to be female and later we find out they aren’t. So on the night he offered to call me at work (I was working grave shift at a brand spanking new Super 8) he was seriously not expecting a female voice to answer the phone. As a matter of fact the first thing he said to me was, “Oh! You really are female!”

Well, that was a pretty fateful conversation. We got to talking about motorcycles and when he told me that he had a motorcycle I cheekily burbled, “Marry me!!” We still laugh about that. Funny thing is he sold his motorcycle shortly after we were married and I never actually got to ride it. Then he bought it back at a better price and ended up selling it again. And of course that is another story for another time.

Now back to that first conversation. I think it was within the first few minutes that I pretty much laid it all on the line. I told him in no uncertain terms: I talk about the things that are important to me and those things generally are my family, my church, and my friends. I headlined our conversation with this statement so that he knew upfront what to expect and if he was ever going to be offended he had fair warning.

As the second part to my Rules of Engagement the things you are likely going to read about here are going to be the things that are important to me. The list has expanded since that first early conversation. You are most likely going to find topics on family (most likely my baby girl and with a little hubby thrown in for good measure), my church, friends (what few I have left), the cats, and of course my books. It’s hard to escape the cats or the books.

So consider yourself warned. If you find something that I post offensive don’t expect an apology. As a wise man said,

“When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.” -David A. Bednar

Sometimes I am clumsy. I sometimes do embarrassing things, mostly to my own embarrassment. But I am not unprincipled and you will not find mean-spirited things posted here. I might mock or ridicule things or people in general but I will never purposefully post something with the intent to hurt or injure someone.

That said, I hope that you will find this blog entertaining, occasionally enlightening, and maybe on rare occasions useful.

-Steph

Rules of Engagement ... part 1

2010-01-05T03:15:00.000-06:00

Rules of engagement

As some of you may or may not know hubby and I have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She’s 20 months old now and part of me wonders how that happened. It wasn’t that long ago that I could hold her in one arm and my hand covered her entire back. Another part of me thinks, “What took so long?!?!” for some reason it just felt like it was took forever for her to be the magical 18 months old. Not because that’s when she is allowed to go to Nursery at church and mom and dad can attend classes unencumbered. (We decided long ago that we weren’t going to leave a screaming child for the nursery attendants to look after. If she wasn’t comfortable being there we wouldn’t force her into it. As it is she LOVES going to the Nursery) But I digress.

Here’s a super quick rundown of how I got to be a Utah transplant to Iowa. I met a guy on the internet. We chatted. We flew to LA for some kind of convention. Six moths later we met up in NY for another convention. Several weeks later he drove to Utah. He and my father decided we should date (that’s a story for another time) . A few months later I went to Iowa to visit him. We drove back to Utah, he proposed on top of a mountain. Eleven and a half months later we were married. Fast forward 8 years on our wedding anniversary we found out we were pregnant. Woohoo!!!

Pregnancy was a long haul. Except for the last three weeks which I thoroughly enjoyed and didn’t want it to end. Finally the time came. I had a wonderful home birth. I wouldn’t say it was beautiful because there was some amount of stress that wasn’t involved with pushing a completely new and beautiful human being out of my body. But none the less it was wonderful. When things finally got started they went really really fast. I had a wonderful very well trained Certified Nurse Midwife, my mother, and my husband in attendance. My father, the poor guy was stuck a few feet away watching tv in the other room. But he survived my vocalizations as our little girl entered this world.

It wasn’t long after her first cries that dad came in to meet his new granddaughter. Mom and dad dressed her while hubby made phone calls and my midwife was checking out the afterbirth. Mom went to go do something and my dad was holding my sweet baby girl and singing Pennies from Heaven.

We had decided years ago what to name our first little girl. It was a family name that surprisingly none of my siblings had thought to use. But as my father held our tiny baby girl and sang Pennies from Heaven I decided that her nickname would be Penny. And surprisingly she had reddish colored hair (and even now her blond hair has some red to it) and so she has become my little copper Penny.

You see, hubby and I met on the internet. We have been around the proverbial internet block a time or two. We KNOW what’s out there. We have MET what’s out there. Years ago I had read a blog of a man who has two beautiful daughters and regularly writes about them and parenting. He explained why he never uses their real names online and why he never will. It’s because he too knows what and who is out there. In order to keep his daughters safe he has opted to use Japanese names for his two girls. When I read his post I wholeheartedly agreed and decided then and there that we too would never use our daughter’s real name online.

So here’s where the rules of engagement come into play. Only close family and friends know her real name. If you’re one of them please don’t use it here. Please refer to her as Penny.

Along the same lines, hubby enjoyed the anonymity of the early internet. Now everything seems to require a real name. I could refer to him by his first name, but I’ll respect his preference to be ambiguous. So for the most part I will refer to him as hubby, but don’t be surprised if I refer to him as Doug. This is where those of you who really know him will go….. the whaaaa?!?!?!? Again, that’s another story in and of it’s self. And quite an amusing one I might add.

So there ya have it. Penny and Doug. Of course the cats get to use their real names. Ned, Priss, and The Foot. But that is yet another story for another day.

Welcome Welcome!

2009-09-28T01:30:00.000-05:00

Oh boy! I've been wanting to do this for some time. I have lots of random things that float in and out of my head. Sometimes I want to expound upon them and Facebook isn't the place to do that.

You have probably noticed the title of my blog and you are probably dying to ask me "Agile as a three legged cat? Seriously?"

Actually, three legged cats can be quite agile. When they need to be. We acquired a couple of male kittens that had been dumped out by the farm. We named them Grytpype-Thynne and Moriarty. Both characters from The Goon Show. Grytpype was always a bit more aggressive and slightly larger than Moriarty. One day while we were out mowing the lawn Moriarty came up to us to get his dose of affection and when my husband picked him up I noticed that his leg was broken. Not only was it broken but there was a gaping hole in it and the bone was shattered. Most likly he had tangled with a racoon and there's no telling who actually lost the fight.

When we took him to the vet the choices were 1- put him to sleep. 2- Take him to Iowa city and maybe they might possibly be able to put the bone back together. or 3- amputate the leg. Well, he was such a good natured cat that option 1 just wasn't a question. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that his leg was completely useless and option 2 was just far far too expensive with no guarantee of a positive outcome. So we opted for 3.

We kept him confined until he was all healed and my husband pulled out the stitches. (We had Moriarty neutered at the same time they removed the leg and ended up being charged twice for the anesthesia so we figured we didn't need to pay for the appointment just to have the stitches removed when we could do it just as easily ourselves.)

Anyway, after we turned him loose on the farm we were amazed at how well he adjusted. The only time we felt pangs of guilt was when he would attempt to scratch his ear and his stump would just waggle in the air. Often when we would go out to the farm to feed them or mow we would find him hunting frogs, birds, and yes even rabbits. Any rabbit caught by a three footed cat should be heartily ashamed. He would run out to meet us, run away from the lawn mowers, and climb the fence posts so he can sit higher up and try to get us to pet him.

Eventually Grytpype disappeared. He had a wide territory that he kept track of and I'm certain he just moved onto another farm with more cats. (Read female cats) Eventually we moved Moriarty into town with us and our two other cats, Ned and Priss (both stories of their own) and he became known as The 3 Footer, or just Foot.

He is still a good natured cat, although a tad heavier, but that's because he has a much cushier life now. He can still jump up in the rocking chair, in and out of the bathtub (we keep extra water for them in the tub because Ned has a tendency to paw water out onto the floor), and even up on the pedestal bed. He's playful with the other two cats, but they aren't always playful with him.

Yes, he does hobble, but let me tell you, if he has need to he can seriously motate!

Well, that's it for tonight.
TTFN
-Steph

Agile As A Three Legged Cat

Yeeehaw! It's Party Time!

TerminologyTuesday

mercurial

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Terminology Tuesday

Home Again...

Still Here... well not exactly

Terminology Tuesday

Terminology Tuesday

My Book List

Riding On Courage

Book Launch Party!

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A Letter

We Have Our Book Cover!

Fun

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Cast and Crew for Mark of Royalty the Video

Meet my Friend Elizabeth

Speachless!

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Brilliant!!

Finally As Promised: Something not entirely book related

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The first two.

They Are Comming!

Something NOT book or video related

Delay

How Fast Do Your Fingers Fly?

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In Need of a Mental Outlet

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Delayed

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I've not forgotten you

Morning

Rules of Engagement ... part 2

Rules of Engagement ... part 1

Welcome Welcome!