WHEEEEE!!!!!!

That's the sound of me sliding into the weekend, hands in the air, roller coaster style. It has been a long week and I've been working very long days, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with nothing to do for a while. Not that I can do it for the entire weekend, but even having more than an hour to myself with little to do is a little slice of heaven.

I hope everyone gets a chance to relax this weekend. Watch a little TV. Read. Spend time with your friends and family. Go for a long walk. Or just curl up on the couch and daydream. I plan to do a little of all of those in addition to writing and spending my Sunday at church.

See you on Monday.

Labels: Free-for-all Friday, relaxing, weekend

I suspect that Thursdays will be a lot like Mondays with my thoughts dwelling on much the same things throughout the week. So, on this first Thoughtful Thursday, my thoughts turn toward the helpless among us - the children.

I know I shouldn't read too much news - either the paper form or on the Internet, because my attention is most often caught by those stories that involve children. And, the media being what it is, most often the news regarding children is not good. So, I read story after story about children being abused, murdered, abandoned, etc. It breaks my heart to read it and I wonder why people bother having children if they can't love them - or why more aren't put up for adoption.

I don't consider myself overly emotional, but a story about a child can reduce me to tears. I'd prefer the tears to be of joy, such as when I read about a child who has beaten the odds gone on to achieve, but too often they are of intense sorrow for the pain a child has suffered.

What about you? What are your thoughts on children today?

Labels: Children, Thoughtful Thursday

Wednesdays will serve to remind us that God deserves our praise and worship EVERYDAY. So, on this Hump Day of the work week, I will try to bring you something uplifting. Since I love music and listening or singing along provides me with precious minutes of Worship throughout the day, often my offerings on Wednesday will feature music.

Today, I'm posting a YouTube video of the Newsboys hit, You Are My King. Listen to the words, then sing along. Remember, He is worthy of our praise all the time. The lyrics are below:

Labels: Newsboys, Worship on Wednesday, You Are My King

So, Tuesdays I'll be spotlighting someplace I've been during my travels. Today, I want to showcase the beautiful state of Utah.

From the majestic Wasatch Mountains where skiing and snowboarding are king during the Winter, to the red rocks of the deserts and canyons of Utah's six National Parks, there's something for everyone.

I'm not a skier, but there's just something beautiful about mountains covered with snow - as seen from a distance, of course.


The gorgeous red rock canyons and formations in Bryce Canyon are inspiring. I have often wondered what the first white men to ever come across them thought. They must have seemed quite spectacular.

The beauty of Arches is another place for great hiking and trail riding. There's nothing quite as wonderful as hiking back to a place that it seems as if time has forgotten.



And now, I'll leave you with a mountain waterfall. Just imagine yourself sitting beside it, surrounded by lush foliage and listening to the roar of the water as it rushes over rocks and falls into the pool below. On a hot day, you might just want to spend some time in the pool at the bottom.

Labels: Traveling Tuesday, Utah

I have decided to start trying to blog on a regular basis. We will see how diligent I can be. I have actually created topics for each day of the week - Monday through Friday and hope to write a little each day. I don't expect them to be long, but I hope to make them regular.

So, today is Mundane Monday. It's when I tell you about some of the many things going on in my life.

World Vision's 30 Hour Famine - last night my youth group counted out nearly 26,000 M&Ms and Skittles in preparation for this event. Why 26,000? Because that's the number of children who die each day from hunger and hunger-related causes. It's a staggering number and you should see just h0w many candies those actually are.

Next week we will begin fundraising. My daughter, who is in Colorado, has already begun her fundraising. She has set up a Facebook Group for it. So, today, I'm going to direct people away from me for a while by asking that you check out her page, join if you are interested, and donate if you can. You do not have to join Facebook to donate - just follow the link at the bottom of her page. Then tell your friends about it and have them tell their friends.

Labels: 30 Hour Famine; Youth, Chit-chat

Today I contracted with Samhain to publish my third Gypsy Legacy book. I'm excited to finally be able to tell Jon's story.

It looks like it will be a July release.

More information as I get it. As soon as I get the OK, I'll post the blurb.

Labels: Gypsy Legacy Series, New contract, The Earl

It's time for Winter to leave us alone. Enough already with the snow and cold. It has been snowing on and off for over a week now and while it's not snowing today (at this moment) more is forecast for tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week. Enough already! I'm sure there's some other part of the world that would love all this water - and the cold temperatures even.

OK, so I'm crabby today. Well, I think it's only fair that I get to be crabby - it's a holiday and where am I? Not at home curled up with a good book - or writing my next one. No, I'm at WORK. To put a positive spin on it, though, the place is a ghost town. Except for the people in my office, there is no one else here today. That means I can actually get some work done. No interruptions. No phone calls (although I plan to place a few just to see if we are the only people in the universe working today!), no requests for information, no people walking into my office looking for a finished project I haven't even started yet. Yes, there are benefits to working on a holiday. I would trade them for a day off to do nothing in a heartbeat.

So, if you had to work today (it only counts if you live in the US), did you feel cheated?

Labels: Chit-chat, holidays, winter blahs, working

When did it become February? How did I lose an entire month? Life, I suppose.

So, it's time to get myself in gear. Despite being missing for a while, I have accomplished a few things. I did get my revisions done and off to my editor. I'm still awaiting her verdict. I'm finally back to writing a little and am planning on doing more. And. . .I've had a chance to do some reading, something I haven't allowed myself to do much of over the past year. Things are finally beginning to smooth out.

With that, I also hope to get out here more. I like a pretty boring life, so there's not much to talk about, but if I don't want this blog to languish, I suppose I can come up with something. So, don't give up on me now.

In the meantime, there's another review out of The Duke. Among other things, Cassie from Joyfully Reviewed said:

"The Duke is an action-packed, sometimes dark historical tale of betrayal, kidnapping, family, and destiny. . .While I recommend reading the first book in the series first, for patient readers, The Duke will provide a suspenseful and nonstop final act."

Thank you, Cassie.

You can read the entire review here.

Labels: Life, Reviews, The Duke