Because I Had Children

This last weekend, I attended the 20th Annual ANWA Writer's Conference.  It was held in the fabulous Hilton hotel in Mesa, AZ. (The last time I went there was for my junior prom, remember that Trevor?)  I was able to share a room with 3 wonderful new friends which made the cost minimal so I splurged and stayed the night. Some of the members of the Queen Creek Creators There were classes on critiquing, editing, publishing, characterization, magazine writing, freelance writing, pitching and query letters and so much more.  I can't even begin to tell you how fabulous it was.  We mingled with agents and publishers, we ate some delicious food and worked on honing our writing talents. I am ever so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful group of women who are as crazy about writing as I am.  I was in awe of meeting some of my favorite authors in person and getting to know them as friends.  What I came away from the conference was the confidence to move f...

I took the kids to the park today even though it wasn't ideal weather.  I hate being cold and we had to wear jackets and it was so windy.  I sat on the park bench and huddled up, but the weather did not stop my children from taking off their shoes and socks to play in the sand.  They were desperate to play with their buckets and shovels I gave them for Valentines Day.  It got me thinking about how serious I am about getting my exercise in every day or at least most every day and how grateful I am that they are seeing my good example of fitness.  But, am I doing enough to show my kids how important it is to take care of their own bodies? Sometimes my children won't even walk a few blocks to go to their friend's house to play, they are always asking me for a ride.  What is up with that?  They complain about having to walk to and from school and it is merely around the corner from our house too.  I have been so tempted to tell them about how I had ...

I don't know if you have noticed my widget just to the left of this post, but it is for my ANWA writer's Conference coming next week.  I am so stoked.  I'm even staying at the hotel with my ANWA sisters so I can be there to enjoy every single minute of it. Do you like to write?  Do you wish you were a better writer?  Do you have something to say and don't know where to start? I'm not even talking about necessarily having your work published, but that would be a bonus, wouldn't it?  I  joined ANWA when there wasn't even a group in my area.  I got the newsletter every month and wished I lived closer to other women who enjoyed writing.  When I moved to Mesa, I was blessed to be a part of a fabulous group of women who met monthly and encouraged and supported each other in their writing. I've made fabulous friends and learned tons about writing in general.  All I wanted to ever do was work on family history stories and get them written down....

Sometimes I think my children are just really farm animals by the way they graze all day in and out of my kitchen.  The thought of wanting to eat at all times of the day is making me crazy.  I know most of the time it is just pure boredom.  Not because there isn't a million things to do around here, but because sometimes we are just lazy. I realize that I may have contributed to the problem.  When I was in school, there was a lot of times when I said to them, "feed yourselves, I have a paper due in two hours and I just started."  Yes, we ate a ton of pre-packaged food, cold cereal and ramen the last few years.  Gross.  But it was mostly my fault that we got into some bad habits. I will also admit that I sit at this computer and do NOTHING, a lot of the time now.  Yes, I'm checking my e-mails for the booster club stuff that needs done, sometimes I am writing that awe-inspiring blog post, working on my book or editing something for a fellow writ...

I'm like a scrooge when it comes to buying gifts, but I think I've discovered the reason why. I'm too practical. There is very little frill or froof about me and it dribbles down into my gift giving in-ability.  You see, I've never had a lot of money, you know, so I can just go buy "things" because I know someone would enjoy it.  I've pretty much always had to be a penny pincher (and let's make it clear right now that I'm not complaining, cause I think even if I had lots of money, I'd still be pretty tight with it) so I've always had to choose my gifts carefully. I have a problem with buying something cheap just because I need to give something.  I have tons of friends who take their kids to the dollar store and let them pick out whatever they want in order to be able to provide a gift for their sibling or their mom or dad, but I don't want or need anything that costs $1 and/or will break within a few hours of my owning it.  I und...

I hate to shop.  Loathe it.  I dislike it almost as much as wearing anything purple.  But, there is one day of the year that is the best day for me to go shopping.  It is the day I get my state tax refund!!  I use mine to shop for non-food items to replenish my supply so I don't have to shop throughout the year. That is how I choose to spend my refund every year.  I'd like to go on a fancy trip (not that that is a bad choice, just not my choice), I'd like to splurge on something fantastical (I did spend some of it on Marly's senior year sports camp in August), or I'd like to fix up some stuff around the house. For me, I like knowing that almost everything I need is on hand without making a special trip to the Chevron to buy a package of toilet paper. (not that I would ever do that, but you know what I mean) Some of you are wondering why with a family as large as mine, why don't I do the coupon thing?  I think it is too much work and the stuff I get...

Yesterday, I did my annual tax refund year supply stock up shopping at WalMart and Costco (more about that another day).  I rewarded my helpers with pizza and myself with some take out sushi.  It was 1:45 when I ate and I figured that by 4:45 when I was home and ready to go on my run, that I had given myself plenty of time to digest my food.  I was so wrong. I burped and threw up a little in my mouth for the first half a mile and then stopped in some rocks to try and throw up.  Nothing.  If you know how much I hate to throw up, you'll know how difficult that was for me.  But I was miserable and wanted to do my run so I was willing to do whatever it took to feel better.  I continued my run and by the time I hit one mile, I decided that I would do a shorter run today because I felt so crappy. I got to my usual corner and had to make a choice to head home or head out.  I decided to push through it and I headed out on my route to do my entire run as...

I wish I knew where I heard this first, but it was many years ago when my older ones were young.  I'd like to give credit where it is due, but I simply cannot remember. This is the rule of thumb I rely on when my children ask me if they can do something. Always say yes unless you have a good reason to say no. It has worked for me all these years that I thought I would share it with you.  It makes it so much easier when they ask me for permission to do something when both of us know the answer is yes unless I have an excellent reason to deny them. I want my kids to experience anything and everything they can in this life.  I don't want them to be sheltered or under-privileged.  I want them to do things that freak them out (in a good way) and that challenge them to work hard and get what they want. I will give you some actual examples so that you know what I am talking about: Sometimes the littlest ones come to me with those sweet...