Been Alive 60 Years? You'll remember all of this...

Logon to this URL and get a short history of the last sixty years while rocking out to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

http://yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html

Let's all work to make the next part of history a lot more enjoyable, shall we? It takes many, many humans behaving badly to make such a big mess. With just a little bit of consideration for others, we can change the mix to a preponderance of GOOD stuff.

YES WE CAN!!! We started on November 4th and we'll get seriously underway on January 20th!

De Kelley Nods... Sent by Mary Doman

Thanks for these, Mary! They're just terrific...

http://candorville.com/2008/07/27/fightingchance/

http://www.rudypark.com/editorialcartoons/topics/obituaries/990614bones.GIF

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

"There is no place like home for the holidays..."

I know the truth of the above better than some. I was away in Hollywood for fourteen years and only during a few of those years was I able to fly "home" to Washington State" (where I was raised and have spent more than half of my adult life) for Christmas. I missed it, a lot. It's one of the reasons I finally moved back five years ago, so I could be here to watch the "wee ones" (grand nieces Elizabeth, 10 Casey, 8, Isabella, 6 and Jamie, 4) open their presents with such abandon.

Opening presents alone -- or even with friends -- is just not the same. It makes Christmas Day sorta sad and nostalgic. But that's behind me now. I hope all of you have family to cuddle with today.

I've just added a widget to this blog so you can "sign on" as a follower of the blog, either publicly or anonymously. It would be great to know who's "hanging on every word" (HA HA HA HA HA! -- or every few blogs, at least)! So scroll down to the bottom of the page and please subscribe to the blog as a follower. It'll give me a grin to know who's following, since not everyone comments or e's me to let me know who y'all are.

Thanks! Now I'm going to get some hot chocolate and go sit with my family again over on Jackie's side of the home!

HO HO HO.... Very Cool.... Santas in all Shapes and Sizes, ALL with Great Hearts!

Enjoy!

http://cityguides.msn.com/citylife/cityarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=15971138

Follow This Link to My FAVORITE Christmas Song of all Time!

http://www.wrensworld.com/marydiduknow.htm

My mom's favorite Christmas song was THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY... I also love SILENT NIGHT and O HOLY NIGHT....

...but the above link will take you to my absolute favorite Christmas song of all time.

Every time I hear it, I get the chills. The first time (and second time, and third time) I heard it, I wept.

Great song!!!

P.S. Although this isn't my favorite rendition of the song, if you will use the drop-down box at the site, there are additional links to some pretty special songs of the season (and any time, really). ENJOY!

Another Good Newsweek Article -- Re Rick Warren as Invocation Pastor for Obama Inauguration

http://www.newsweek.com/id/176269

I love civil discourse.

Good article.

Too, Too Funny!

I had to send a handwriting sample to a prospective Elance buyer to see if we'd be compatible as partners in a project he had listed online. So I dutifully faxed over a sample.

He reported back that although he had already settled on another service provider who had a background in legal and handwriting analysis, he wanted me to know that I should cross my T's and make my below-line letters longer or else I might lose jobs because the way I write indicates that I'm "low energy and very reserved."

HUH?!!!

(For those of you who know me, you said, "HUH?!!" too, didn't you?)

I'm like Garfield's little dog buddy Odie or like Tigger in the "energy" and "reserved" departments, fer gosh sakes!

I was carefully trained to write properly, very, very legibly, and not to "fancify" unnecessarily. I just about spit my iced tea across the table when I read I had been diagnosed as reserved and low energy based on my handwriting!

People have for years been telling me to "chill out," "settle down," "take time to smell the roses," so I'm about as far from low energy as... as.... as a spinning top or a cyclone. And perhaps I am reserved down deep (I'm admitted painfully shy), but I'm so good at hiding it ("acting the part") that when I tell people I'm shy, they laugh -- no, they guffaw!

My handwriting has gotten smaller and more cramped over the years but that's because I'm almost 58 years old. My personality and energy level haven't changed anywhere near as much as my hand ligaments and muscles have, because I keyboard now much more frequently than I write by hand, so I'm kinda rusty when I write by hand, and certainly less flamboyant -- because when I "flamboy," I can't read what I write anymore!

So this fellow was off the mark in discerning my core nature and energy level based on my penmanship. I wrote a reply to him to let him know (with all due respect), but couldn't send it because his project had already been awarded and all interaction cuts off at that point unless I'm the one chosen.

So I'll joke about it here and hope that all handwriting analysts will learn a thing or two from the anecdote. We "older people" with high energy and keyboards are not being "analyzed" properly by some of you folks.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll take my reserved body to bed and have a nap!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

(That was a punchline! A joke to end a silly subject!)

GOT'CHA!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like CHRISTMAS!

Snow is accumulating outside. We've had a fireplace crackling for several days now because the temperatures dropped into the mid 20's -- too cold for snow until today.

It's 34 right now and we're supposed to get up to six inches of the white stuff before eventide. (Eventide? Hey, cut me some slack, will ya? I always talk funny during the Christmas holiday! T'is the season to be jolly... and Olde English-y... and I don't even drink eggnog, unless it's virgin.)

I have a haircut appointment at 5:30 but think my hairdresser will probably call to cancel it. She lives about 20 miles away (in deeper snow) and it would be foolish for her to come in -- or, if she does, to stay much past five. That might be good, because I'm also scheduled to have dinner with my Writer's Edge ministry partner Yvonne Olson ... again, weather and road conditions permitting.

I may (or may not) be scarce over the next several days here in the blogosphere. I accepted an assignment that will take a 40 hour week (to start), and two more projects may come up alongside that one (for a 50 page e-book and something else). So even my spare time might get engulfed. I'll certainly get by here as often as I can.. fear not! (There we go again, getting biblical! "Fear Not... I bring you tidings of great joy. For unto us is born this day in the City of David a savior...")

There's a problem with the 40 hour project, though... it seems every time I logon to do it, something at the other end cues my PC to download a software program, which I cancel, of course! (The buyer said that's not supposed to happen, and she's looking into it.) When I try to access it another way, a replicator reproduces the buyer's home page hundreds of times and freezes up my computer! So if the buyer can't figure out what that's all about, I will be backing out of that project. It would be sad, because it could be an ongoing assignment as many hours a week as I want to commit to doing it, and it would be a great "filler" job whenever I don't have something else that pays better to do... It would be PERFECT for that! It's a n0- brainer (commenting on a specific blog) and doesn't pay much, but it would pay my part of the mortgage and my other monthly bills, so it's worth pursuing, if we can just figure out what the bug is!)

Back to the weather: My half of the house is much cooler than Jackie's end, so we have the door open between the two halves, with a large fan blowing heat from her side into mine. Even with that, it's just 66 degrees in my side (probably colder in this den, because it's located around two corners, so getting heat back here is problematic).

Aunt Tod left me a corner "radiator" but before I drag it out from the shed, I have to go online and look up its serial number/model number and see if it was recalled by the manufacturer. I know one of the Wal-Mart radiators was (fire hazard), so I want to be careful. Don't want to burn the place down getting a few degrees warmer! 64-66 degrees is shirt sleeve weather (in the summer). Why does it seem so much colder when there's snow or ice outside? Methinks it's psychological. My brains are playing tricks on me.

(If that's the case, why are my fingers thinking about the ecstacy of gloves?)

WOOHOO! Obama Named Time's Person of the Year!

No surprise, of course, but I love the article that goes with the honor! Hope you do, too!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28271716?GT1=43001

Worth the Read...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/174299?GT1=43002


...but this time out, fewer voters were bamboozled by Republican spin tactics and misinformation than ever before... so that's the good news!

And I hope by now Obama has shown most McCain supporters that he isn't planning any outragees for our beleaguered nation... or any other.

So far, I'm extraordinarily pleased with all his choices, decisions and statements. And this isn't a partisan statement in any way, shape or form.

If he keeps it up, we're going to be mighty proud thAT 52% of the voting population voted for him!

And I say YAY TO THAT!

Havah: The Story of Eve

I was skeptical that Tosca Lee would be able to catch lightning in a bottle twice after the debut of her first novel, DEMON: A MEMOIR, but my skepticism was for nought...

She has written another amazing chronicle. Read it and feel -- to the very core of your being --what it was like for Eve to lose Eden with a single bad decision.

http://havahstoryofeve.com/main.php

You'll never hear the story any other way after experiencing it in this way. That's a promise!

A Balanced, Thoughtful Look at Gay Marriage and the Bible

http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653/page/1


I tend to agree with this article. (Please read it first before continuing, if you haven't already.)

I have always believed in civil unions, but stopped short of believing that gays should be allowed to marry. After reading this and really thinking about it, I'm caught up in feeling like a partially blind hypocrite, to feel free to marry someone I love, but disallowing someone else to do the same thing because their sexual orientation is not "the norm" but a subset. (Ten percent of all mammals are homosexual. Did God make a mistake? Or is homosexuality the result of a fallen world? No one knows until we ask Him when we get to heaven. It's on my mind and I will ask when I get there! Perhaps homosexuality is allowed on earth by God to reveal to us the way we feel/fear and treat others who are not like us.)

On my mind is this conundrum: If the situation were reversed, how would I like being told by society, "You are making an aberrant choice (it's not something "hard-wired into" you) where your sexual orientation is concerned. Change your mindset before you marry, or you cannot marry." Could any of us "turn off" the heart/mind and chemistry connection that says with every fiber of its being, "I want to love and be with this person for the rest of my life"?

One very clear statement the Bible makes is this: "Against love, there is no law."

People who want to commit to each other in a marriage -- as an indivisible union of body, spirit, and mind -- should not be denied the right to do so. Every Biblical reference to homosexuality was a story of "unleashed lust" between two people of the same sex or between an aggressor and a victim. The Bible's vital message is that we should love one another as God loves us.

To set someone apart because they don't define love the same way that monogamous heterosexuals do is pretty ludicrous, as long as there is no bondage, no usurpation of each person's rights, no mean-spirited enforcement of a desire upon another. Many of the most honored people in the Bible had harems. It was a part of the culture. Stoning homosexuals and adulterers was another part. Go figure.

The Apostle Paul thought no one should marry unless an individual couldn't contain their lusts.

Jesus never married.

Does that mean the Bible preaches abstinence and single-hood?

What, then, about "go forth and multiply"?

So I'm changing my mind. It's a little uncomfortable, as a committed Christian, to say, "I now find gay marriage as acceptable as I find heterosexual marriage," but I can certainly say without equivocation that I find it equally honorable.

When two people want to commit in a sacred way to each other, that's worthy of celebration, not censure.

So there you have it.

I'm with Paul and Jesus: I love the single, celibate life. I thrive as a single person without carnal attachments.

But for the rest of you, find a committed relationship and love one another with all your hearts!

Raccoon Tales...

I've been putting cat food (hard and soft) on the front porch for Tiki (the cat that has lived outdoors at this house longer than we've lived indoors in it). She also has a warm, cushy catnap place (looks like a bright pink box) on the front porch, which she has never used (to my knowledge), but at least she has everything she NEEDS for inclement winter days. The box is located near the air vent coming from the dryer, so there are even times when she could hunker down and get toasty warm. But she hasn't taken advantage of the situation, except to enjoy the food. I give her canned food morning and night and the dispenser of dry food is out there all the time, day and night.

There you have it: a very long introduction to what I'm about to tell you!

Jackie went outside to get the newspaper this morning while the sky was still pitch black and reported back that the biggest raccoon she has ever seen in her life was on the porch, enjoying the dry cat food from the dispenser. When it saw her, it scuttled off the porch and to the nearest tree about ten feet away, but had no intention whatsoever of going away much farther than that.

It waited while she picked up the newspaper. She told it that it should probably leave now, so it went a little bit up the tree but dropped back down the moment she opened the door to go in, so she picked up the cat food dispenser and brought it in.

Said I to her, "*awwwwwww* The poor thing was hungry, Jackie!" Said she: "Well, as long as you don't mind feeding raccoons right along with Tiki, that's fine. It's your dime." I thanked her of thinking of my (rare, spare) dimes... but my heart remained with the raccoon!

Probably not many of you know this, but I raised an orphaned baby raccoon from June 1979 until he was old enough to release that fall. (At least, the kid who brought it to me said it was orphaned, which I doubted, but by the time he brought it to me, it had been with him for two or three days and had refused to eat, so he brought it to the "animal lady with the serval kitten" in the hope I could save it. I figured there was no way to return it to its mother after so many days.)

The little raccoon was terribly sad and scared when he came to me and I thought he was going to die because he already hadn't eaten in days. But in the middle of the night the first night I had him in my care, I heard him make a high-pitched trilling sound, and I mimicked it, at which time he rushed over to the side of the pen he was in and churred all the more, very excited, as though he'd located "mama!" So I went over and churred to him some more, offered him a bottle and some kibble, and he went to town, famished.

From that moment on (when I learned how to "speak in tongues" not my own, but by inspiration) he was my little buddy, following me everywhere, as if tied to me by an invisible string. I named him Gabriel.

Deaken (my "serval son") was just about the same age, and so I introduced them to each other. They hit it off very well . Deaken even tried to "churr" the way Gabriel did, and it worked for him, too!

So for one summer I had a very strange little critter family. I have a few photos (and a Super 8 film that should be transferred to DVD, and when I find it again, it will be!) that I must dig out and put on here or on You-Tube for others to enjoy.

Gabriel used to go into Mom's flower bed and pick some of her prettiest yellow flowers to bring to the sliding glass door. *awwwww*. He'd try to climb the sturdier flora (sunflowers), too, but was too heavy to have much luck with that.

I used to take him to streams to see if I could teach him to learn to turn over rocks and find crayfish and other goodies. It didn't take much -- it's instinctive to a raccoon to do that, I discovered.

Gabriel used to delight in grabbing 2-liter plastic soda bottles (which I'd fill part way with water) and drinking from them. He'd roll onto his back and use his back legs as "lifters" to get the water to run toward the opening in the bottle so he could drink from it.

Another time Dad was working on the deck and Gabriel grabbed one of the tools he was using and carried it under the deck. Boy, Dad was hopping mad. We had to send Philip (big Phil now, Casey's and Jamie's dad) underneath the deck to retrieve it the next time he came out to visit, because we were all too big to go where Gabriel had taken the tool! But we had so much fun watching Gabe that all was quickly forgiven.

But back to this morning's raccoon tale. I filled up the dry cat food dispenser and put it back onto the porch. The memory of Gabriel fills a very warm spot in my heart and any relative of his who's in need is a friend of mine.

God bless us, every one!

Disclaimer: I do not believe in wild or exotic animals as pets for the vast majority of the pet-owning population. The rearing and maintenance of captive wildlife should be left to well-trained, knowledgable professionals. I was a professional in the field for a very long time and have seen animal care and maintenance done well and done horribly. When it's done horribly, it's usually done by ignorant people with good hearts who just don't know any better or who don't know where to find the information and the money needed to do it properly. Loving animals is one thing; being able to care for them properly, out of love alone, is quite another...

Mimosa Yellow is the Color of 2009

Hmmm...

This is intriguing.

Pantone has delegated mimosa yellow as the color for 2009. June 11, 2009 will mark the tenth anniversary of De's passing, and do you remember why there's a yellow balloon on the back cover of my 2001 book about De (DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories)? It's altogether too weird a coincidence, is it not, that on the tenth anniversary of his passing, yellow should be the color for the year?

I guess this means I ought to get busy wrapping up my next De book, THE ENDURING LEGACY OF DeFOREST KELLEY: ACTOR, HEALER, FRIEND. I put a deadline of March 5th, 2009 as the last day for contributions, so guess I'd better stick to that and get the thing put to bed, so it's out in time for June 11, 2009.

There's just one problem. I don't have as many fan/friend/co-worker contributions for it as I ought to have. In fact, all I have so far are fan contributions. No one else has stepped forward (family, friends, co-workers) to contribute to the book. That's weird.

Maybe they just don't know about the new book. I'll see if I can get Terry Rioux to put a bug in people's ears. Oh! And I have one other avenue I can try, too. I'll see how that works out...

I can still finish it; there are a lot more of my own experiences that I can add to the mix. But my vision for the book was to get others to pitch in and give me unique perspectives, so that remains my focus until March 5th -- then I'll go it alone and wrap it up using what I can from my own memories and files.

That reminds me. I had a dream the other night that I was supposed to be making another appearance at a STAR TREK convention. In the dream, I decided not to write out a speech (as I have always done before) and to just jot down some notes to remind myself of some areas to cover... but in the dream as I was jotting notes, I jumped ahead and then tried to come back to another point and couldn't remember what it was. The more I tried to remember what it was, the more I panicked. So then I asked Jackie (my sister) to tell me what she figured was "most important" about my association with the Kelleys (hoping she would come up with the point I couldn't remember) and she looked at me as if I had two heads. That was very disconcerting and scary, because I thought, "I have to speak in a little while and I can't remember my main point!" Weird, weird, weird!

Hey, here's an idea! Why don't each of you ask me what you still want to know about De that you don't already know... That'll give me fodder for the new book and something else to talk about if I ever appear again to talk about him! It might be kinda fun working that way! You might trip some synapses that I can't trip myself.

And Billie Rae, you and I ought to work together again on a remembrance so that when the tenth anniversary does come around, we'll have something ready to submit, syndicate, podcast, or something...

C'mon, all you De Fans: get me moving again in a De direction so I have some accountability here, okay?

PLEASE LET TREK FANS

KNOW THAT I'M LOOKING

FOR CONTRIBUTIONS!

In other news:

Critter-sitting went well. It was a bit lonely out there, but next time I go out there will be an Internet connection, so I can stay in touch and keep working via Elance. I never realized how much of my day takes place in front of a PC until I was without one for three days! Thank God I took Doris Kearns Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS along or I would have gone nuts. I was about halfway through it (it's a HUGE volume, about Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet) and managed to finish it while out yonder. I also caught a couple segments of Ellen Degeneres, Dr Phil and Oprah (since there was no news cable channel on their TV that I could find), but regular TV leaves me pretty cold, so I shut it off and just read, when I wasn't petting indoor dogs (three), giving "cookies" (milk bone treats) to outdoor dogs (three), or checking up on the gelding and two mares in the pasture. I was pretty bored out there! It's a FABULOUS place, and the critters were cuddly and cute, but my solitary days are OVER. I'm so glad I live one door frame away from Jackie these days, I can't even express it.

I'm an "only" no more!

Missed my kitties and guinea pigs, too!

The sun just burst through the clouds here -- it looks like summer! Of course, if I step out the door I'll be quickly disabused of that notion. But it really has been a mild winter so far over here in God's country. I walked this morning with my Walkman headset on. T'was lovely.

Last night I happened upon PBS and found Andy Williams Christmas program retrospectives... ahhhh... lost myself in the glow of forty year old memories... Today's kids are really missing out, with the kind of stuff they get these days.

I'm preparing Jackie to take care of my critters while I care for someone else's. It won't take much. Cats pretty much take care of themselves since they can go outside to do their thing in the back woods (and do). I'll just leave a big dish of food out and a lot of water for the cats... put a lot of hay in the guinea pig cage (they have a water bottle), and she can throw some kale or a carrot in every day to keep them squealing with delight. They're growing like weeds -- as are the kids who are enjoying them so much every weekend!

Just got another Elance job. Gotta jump off and serve my customer! Ciao for now!

Holiday hugs galore!

Now You Can Rate My Blog Posts -- That's Scary!

I've just updated this blog spot so those of you reading it can quickly "rate" each entry. It'll help me know what to write more about, or less about...

Your individual comments are also helpful, but I don't get nearly enough of them to gauge the overall "interest quotient" of my writing. What would you like to hear more about/less about?

Let me know how I'm doing when you spend time with me, will ya? Am I spinning my wheels, or actually communicating?

I'm ready to find out! Let me know!

THANKS!

Post-Thanksgiving Post

I'm not stuffed. I was a very good girl this year and ate appropriately. That's because my weight creeps up whether I eat a lot or not, so I figure the less I eat, the less it'll creep. That's the theory, anyway...

Lizzie, Casey and I just walked two and a half miles. They hung on me about a quarter of the way so I'm calling my walk a five miler. Lizzie weighs about 60 pounds and Casey weighs a little over 80. Lizzie is lean and lithe, Casey is thin, but a lot taller and with big bones. She'll grow into a six footer like Michelle Obama, I'm pretty sure.

Lizzie "imagined" a ghost in an empty house along the way - raising and lowering some blinds - so that's why they hung on me for the last leg of the journey, and why I decided we weren't going around again. I can't handle another encounter with the "ghost house" if it means I'll be carrying two half grown kids the last quarter mile...

The two are in my living room now holding the guinea pigs. I made the mistake of telling them there are guinea pig harnesses at the pet store, so they're all jazzed about that. I said, "Not 'til spring, girls, because it's too cold outside and I don't want them on the rug inside." The guinea pigs have to either be sitting on towels in laps, on towels on the couch, or in their cage until spring, then we'll get them a toddler wading pool for inside (when we can find one for a few dollars) and the harnesses and leashes for outside.

I just had my best Elance week ever -- made $500! Woo hoo! That isn't much, in the grand scheme of things, but it's pretty darned good for someone who started out less than a year ago as a freelancer at Elance. By the end of December, I will have made more than $3K. Lowering my price five dollars an hour seems to have opened the flood gates.

We have industrious moles in our yard now. We've tried Juicy Fruit and bubble gum to try to gag 'em (we heard it works), smoke bombs to smoke 'em out, and a water hose in their most recent holes to get them to either drown or pick another yard. Don't know who's gonna win the battle - them or us or an exterminator - but we're fighting the Battle of the Bulges at a rate of about eight to ten new bulges per day... I love critters, but wish my cats would take care of these subterranean troublemakers so we didn't have to. It seems cruel when we do it. If the cats would do it, it would seem more natural! (I can't help it. I love critters.) I notice they're pushing up some of the richest, best-looking soil. Maybe I should transport it to the garden... make some use out of their industrious labors!

What else? Billie Rae Walker sent me an e-card for Thanksgiving but the Hallmark cards website has been down for two days, so I'm still waiting to access it. "When you care enough to send the very best... it may take the recipient as long to receive it as it would take to mail!" hee hee hee I'm patient, though. One of these days Hallmark will get its act back in gear. I hope their webmaster is enjoying the holiday.

Oh! Just a heads up. I'll be horse-sitting three horses and dog-sitting six dogs from Wednesday morning to Friday afternoon this coming week while their owners travel to southern Oregon for a funeral, so I won't be able to blog on those days. I'll be making $65/day to critter-sit, though, and if I can land a typing or writing gig before then on Elance, I'll be able to work on that (on my laptop) while I'm there. (There's just no Internet connection, yet, where I'll be staying. There will be by the next time I critter-sit, though.) Most Elance projects have more than a three-day turnaround, so being away from the Internet that long is no big deal, except that I'll miss blogging to y'all!

Maybe I'll blog onto my laptop and transfer it to blogger when I get home. There should be a lot of critter stories after I've been there three days!

How To Give Even When You're Broke

Great ideas!

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2007/10/11/giving-when-you-re-broke.aspx

Gobble Gobble

HAPPY

THANKSGIVING

DEAR READERS

AND FRIENDS!

GOD BLESS YOU!

Busy, Busy Girl!

My head is spinning. I've been writing Elance articles just about non-stop for three days. Lots of different topics: medical tourism, design studio trumpeting, and finishing off the doctor's biography, which has really been fascinating! The doctor was 13 when Saigon fell and he and his family were among the "boat people" that the 7th fleet fished out of the water and brought to Guam, and thence to America in 1975. The funny thing is that he's so humble, he didn't think he had much of a story to tell... HAH! How does one go from being a teenage immigrant refugee to being an MD? He says he sort of "fell" into the profession after a couple of false starts. He thought he wanted to be something else a couple of times... but God had other plans for him! It's an amazing story and I was honored to be able to bring it to light.

Oh! And talk about putting cream on the coffee! He's getting married this Friday and Saturday (a Viet wedding on Friday, a Christian wedding at a church on Saturday) and it turns out that his bride-to-be is a huge, lifelong STAR TREK fan! He found out I'm a former DeForest Kelley fan and friend (while we were comparing and contrasting our life stories) and he's going to order the hardbound version of my book for his lovely new wife for Christmas! I've already mailed him a hand-written, personalized inscription (on a sticker) for him to insert into the book before wrapping it for her for Christmas. He says she's going to be thrilled.

Then today I got an assignment to reformat an interview into an article about a woman whose medical condition (spine) was deteriorating so rapidly that she was told she would have to undergo a complete spinal fusion. After trying out what life would be like with spinal fusion for six weeks (she was strapped into a full body cast 22 hours a day), she became desperate and started looking for spinal fusion alternatives on the Internet and found a German hospital that had been doing amazing things with artificial disc replacements for twenty years. She went for it. Her story is fascinating. And I get the honor of being paid to bring it to the attention of the general public!

It's all good!

Casey's birthday party on Saturday and her dinner on Sunday were well attended. I gave her all the aforementioned "writer stuff" that I wrote about several or more blogs ago, and she was thrilled.

Tomorrow Jackie and I will be at Casey's home again because her mom and dad host Thanksgiving at their place. It's a big place and multiple families show up for the afternoon. I've printed off a couple of holiday-appropriate quizzes from the Internet and will foist them off on the adults tomorrow afternoon at some time and see who knows the most about turkeys and Thanksgiving. It ought to be good.

Last night I sat on my bed and made some home made Christmas cards. The problem is, they're so pretty I don't think I'm going to be able to part with them!

They were super easy to make. I bought Christmas-related card making supplies at Wal-Mart and just cut some squares with fancy serrated scissors and glued them to a folded card and then glued the pre-made presents, trees, wreaths, angels and the like to the front of the cards. Then I took the scraps with serrated edges and slapped some glue on the back of them and laid them around the pre-made goodies. Instant Martha Stewart-looking results. It was embarrassingly simple. And I love them. And I have to wean myself from them so I can let them go at some point.

Now you know why I don't allow fecund cats, dogs or guinea pigs to come under my roof (everything's neutered!): I can't even part with freakin' hand-made greeting cards! Before a year was out, my place would resemble Noah's Ark!

It's a sickness, I tell ya!

More eHow Articles Are Online...

I wrote a couple more eHow articles today:


How to Supprt Your Favorite Charity or School for FREE

http://www.ehow.com/how_4615458_support-favorite-charity-school-free.html


How to Find Barack Obama Paraphernalia

http://www.ehow.com/how_4615405_barack-obama-paraphernalia.html



And I have three new Elance clients! WAHOO!

Things are lookin' up!

Amazing!

Eye of a needle art work...


http://www.maniacworld.com/art-in-the-eye-of-a-needle.html

Thanks to Bobbie B for forwarding this to me...

AMAZING!

Don't Be Silent! Let the Obama-Biden Team Know Your Thoughts!

Don't be shy! We're all in this together!

http://www.change.gov/page/s/energyenviro

Let's get 'er done!

Frugal? Save Time and Money -- Get Coupons Online!

Go to www.coupons.com, type in your zip code, and see what pops up in your area in the coupon department! This website has saved shoppers over $500 billion dollars just last year alone!

Why not join the crowd? It's fast, fun and FREE!

Read My How To Articles at eHow.com

How to Bathe a Cat (No Kidding!):

http://www.ehow.com/how_4448440_bathe-cat-no-kidding.html



How to Discover Your Bank's Soundness Rating:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4451960_discover-banks-soundness-rating.html


How to String Words Together: The Art and Craft of Effective Writing:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4585698_together-art-craft-effective-writing.html


How to Give Great, FREE Gifts Without Appearing Broke or Cheap:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4605931_free-gifts-appearing-broke-cheap.html


How to Build a Small Animal Cage:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4606041_build-small-animal-cage.html


How to Decide What Kind of Pet to Get:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609567_decide-what-kind-pet.html


How to Win An Argument:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609484_win-an-argument.html


How to Find Out More About Frugal Living:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609398_out-more-frugal-living.html


How to Make a Great Impression on Your Favorite Celebrity:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4609726_great-impression-favorite-celebrity.html


How to Give a Great Speech and Remain Calm:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4611068_give-great-speech-remain-calm.html



Now... write your own eHow articles and earn some extra money! Everyone should have three separate streams of income. This is a relatively easy, FREE way to bring in some extra cash.

Help SHAMBALA'S WILD ONES For Free!

If you don't know about Shambala, please take a virtual tour now: www.shambala.org


Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter "The Roar Foundation" as the charity you want to support. Just 500 of us searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime! And, be sure to spread the word!

Please Note: You can also add other favorite charities or schools that you want to support. This option isn't limited to Shambala.

Guinea Pig/Cavy Heaven

Casey's mom and dad gave her the go-ahead to get a guinea pig, so she and I went "hog wild" this weekend and built a large cage, stocked it with guinea pig essentials, and then tracked down two juvenile guinea pigs. They're happiest in pairs or small same-sex groups, so I got one, too. Casey's is shiny black with spiky hair (an Abyssinian); mine is a tri-color smooth coat.

Searching for names, I came up immediately with Barack and Joe, which Casey vetoed just as promptly. She decided on BJ for hers; mine is still Joe until I come up with something better, but he'll always be Joe to me! (I coulda lied and told Casey that Barack is Swahili for "Black Knight," but just couldn't bring myself to do it...)


We did the research (for Casey's benefit, as I've had guinea pigs before) so that she'd know her responsibilities and what her new little charge likes and needs. I printed out an ASPCA care sheet and had her read and then listen to it while I read it, and then asked her what she remembered from it. She remembered nearly all of it.

She has promised her mom to do an extra ten dollars' worth of work around their house per week (in addition to her usual unpaid chores) in order to pay for the upkeep for her guinea pig. (A single guinea pig costs about $400/year to feed, house and care for properly.)

The cost to set up the two came to $150.00. We saved money by making the large cage ourselves. I had two, 2' x 2' drawers that were left over from the remodel, so I nailed them back to back, cut out about three inches of the back ledge on both of them to provide a passage way between the two (then figured, DUH! I didn't need to do that since they could just hop over the ledge!), and then put cage wire around the whole shebang. We attached a large water bottle to one side, made "hiding boxes" for them, poured in the appropriate ground cover, and put them in.

They're pretty timid right now, but not overly so. They'll come out and bat around while we watch. They'll even whistle, chuckle and squeal as we watch -- but not to us, yet, just to each other. Mine's the overly-chatty one. When they begin to recognize us as their people and their feeders, they'll start "talking" to us, too. And when we scratch them, they'll "purr."

They're better'n tribbles, 'cause they're real!

Very Cute Article -- An Obama Baby Boom ???

http://www.newsweek.com/id/169073/?gt1=43002

700 Posts to Date -- OMG!

Are you tired of reading yet?

This is blog #701. Can you believe it? I can't.

I started this blog in late February of 2007, so it's possible I'm averaging a post a day, including weekends... but you'd have to do the math to prove it, because I don't do math to the degree it would have to be done in order to "prove" this claim. Or do I?

365 days in a year...

So from Feb 28th, 2007 to Feb 28th, 2008 would be 365 days...

From Feb 28th of this year to November 12th of this year is how many days? If this wasn't a leap year (and I don't think it was), there have been 297 days this year so far between Feb 28th and today...

So...

365 plus 297 equals = 662 days.

Hey! I'm averaging better than a blog a day!

You must be exhausted.

Take a rest. I'll try to think of something else to do until you recover, you poor thing...

Thanks for sticking with me. It has to be a challenge!

My Portfolio at Elance is Now Populated with Writing Samples

I finally got the portfolio section of my profile at Elance to accept samples of my writing. Don't know what I was doing wrong before, but I never could get anything to load there and stay put.

But there's plenty there now, so if you know of anyone who needs a copywriter, please let them know about my profile and portfolio at Elance so they can check me out and actually read some samples.

Why not go there yourself right now (click on my photo, to the left) and take a look at the samples? That way you can feel confident (I HOPE!) that you're referring friends, business associates and others to an exemplary writer whenever you hear of them needing one to write letters, brochures, ads, blog posts, banner ads, speeches, web content, or anything else...

I need all the help I can get to put the word out about my Word-Smith-ing skills and availability. By this time next year I would love to be working from home full-time and no longer sweating every bill that comes due!

You can help me make that happen. Wont'choo be my agent -- whenever you can?

Thanks!

Cool Nostalgia WEBSITE

http://www.stinalisa.com/Nostalgia.html

Casey and I Walked... and Walked... and Walked Today

Casey and I walked five miles this morning while Jackie, Wendy and Jamie were at Home Depot getting paint for the area around Jackie's fireplace (primer and a lighter color). While we were out and about, she asked me to tell her some animal stories from my past days as an animal behaviorist, so I told her about an elephant that was afraid of chickens, and about the kinds of relationships a human being can have with different kinds of animals (mammals, reptiles and amphibians, birds) based on the abilities of the animals' brains to "bond" (or not) with their owners.

I told her that all mammals are capable of bonding and having close friendships with their owners, and that they miss us when separated from us, while amphibians, reptiles and birds don't have the part of the brain (the neocortex) that fosters bonding. I explained, "Even though you can tame a bird, a toad and a snake, or a salamander, so that it knows to rely on you for food, the attachment will be mostly one-way -- your brain will have an affection for the pet that the bird, toad or reptile won't share. They'll respond to you to receive favors, food, and adequate treatment, but they won't do anything purely to please you. They'll take from you and birds will 'trade' with you at times the way they'll trade with another bird, but they aren't givers in the same sense that mammals are. And if they get out and get lost, they won't miss you in the way a mammal will, although birds will sometimes try to come back to an owner if they get loose because they recognize that their owner feeds them, and because life in the wilds is no picnic."

That led her to feeling a little sad. She can't have any pets at home because Jamie has asthma and is allergic to all domesticated pets. I told Casey, "If your mom and dad agree to it, I can always keep a small pet here for you to own and take care of, since you love them so much and want to learn how to be a good pet owner." She lit up like a Christmas tree. We talked some more and settled on a guinea pig as her "starter pet" -- because I already have the proper habitat and I love guinea pigs, too.

When Wendy got back from the store, Casey stated her case and her desire to get a guinea pig, telling her she'd keep it at my house and that she would promise to read a book on the pet and take care of it every time she's in the neighborhood (which is usually at least three days a week); I assured Wendy I would take care of it the rest of the time.

So Wendy is going to talk it over with Phil and see if he agrees with the plan.

She's such an animal lover -- just as I was -- and the thought of her having to grow up without an animal makes me very sad. So this is a viable option. We'll see what her dad says...

Cross your fingers for her!

At VistaPrint I ordered Casey a t-shirt in two different sizes. It has a pretty horse on the front and I had them print below the horse, "Casey Hope McNiven... When I write, I'm not just horsing around!" I'll tuck the t-shirts inside the 3-ring binder I made for her and present everything to her in person on her birthday (if I'm not horse-sitting the weekend she's being feted).

Soccer Team Awards

Last night I helped Wendy and Phil at their soccer banquet. During the day I fetched the soccer awards from the trophy shop and then from 5:30 to 8:00 pm we were all at their little church in the reception room and kitchen while Wendy and Phil prepared a heap of taco fixins for the guests (moms, dads and kids) who were due to arrive at 6 for dinner and the presentation of the awards.

I watched Casey, Jamie and Zachary (one of Wendy's wee wards on some days) while Phil and Wendy worked in the kitchen. We hauled a bowling ball and three pins (all real, not kid toys) out into the reception area from the back room and they "bowled." I was the pin girl. The main part of my job was to stand behind the pins (after setting them up each time for the next bowler) and be sure the ball (which was rolled, not thrown) didn't hit the wall behind the pins. No, my shins aren't black and blue this morning; I deflected the oncoming 12 pound ball each time with the heel of one foot.

As the moms, dads, and more kids arrived, I put the bowling ball and pins away and repaired to the kitchen to see what else I could to to get the prepared foods, utensils and plates placed on the tables.

Not long after there was a general rush for the food and lots and lots of laughing -- and a couple instances of spilled food. I helped Jamie get her food after her first attempt landed on the floor -- very early on (She had a tortilla with a little cheese on it that went ker-flop). (Jamie likes to do things by herself, but sometimes she discovers she needs a little help!)

After dinner, Wendy awarded each of the soccer girls with a small trophy, a certificate showcasing their special, most outstanding talent (Most Improved, Best Left Foot, Real Go-Getter...) and spent at least three or four minutes explaining to the audience of moms, dads and a few bigger brothers how much the player contributed to the game this year and why they were being singled out for a special certificate of achievement as well as the trophy. Wendy is FABULOUS at this, as she is as a coach. She genuinely cares about and loves every one of these kids (ages 6-7) and it shows every minute. She's a blessing without limit. One of the moms presented her with a special album (very professional) of the kids playing soccer this year and a gift card to a restaurant so she and Phil can go out and have a dinner "on the team."

Just an aside that needs mentioning: Wendy could be making real money coaching high school and college soccer players, but while her kids are young, she's sticking with teaching the younger set because she loves them all so much and loves watching them grow as players under her tutelage. Because she is, they'll be among the top players as they get older. She teaches them right, and expects them to play by the rules... but she does it with such love and patience that it astonishes me. I'm awfully patient with kids, but Wendy is close to sainthood with them, in my eyes. All they ever see out of her is love.

After the banquet and awards ceremony, dessert was served consisting of three kinds of special treats (ice cream, striped delight, and cookies). Most of the kids and adults enjoyed at least two of the three options, so the room became very boisterous afterward as dads watched kids racing all over the church and moms cleaned up in the kitchen.

It was a good evening.

This morning when I got up, Casey was standing at the doorway to my side of the house (Wendy, Casey and Jamie stayed overnight at Jackie's) with a folded piece of paper behind her back, grinning. I asked her, "What'cha got there, girl?" and she handed it to me. It was a huge *aaaawwwwwwwwww* to me.

She drew borders around the piece of paper and then, using colorful splotches of color intermittently, she wrote an ode:

5 Reasons Why I Like my Auntea Kris

1. She likes animals like I do.

2. We read books together.

3. Sometimes we spend time together.

4. She has two cats and there very nice.

5. My aunt is very nice.

My Aunt is Cool!

I'm putting it in my den so I can see it all the time. When a kid loves you, you know for sure you're loved -- especially when that kid is an AWESOME WRITER!!! (We'll work on spelling later. Her teacher says "Not now" and I get that.)

Prophecy Comes True

I was right. I'm very sore today. It's a good thing I had to get out and walk around at some stores today or I'd be even worse off than I am tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll take a hot bath with some salts and see if I can walk off the rest of the sore spots...

Didn't do a lot today. After I got home from the store, I fell asleep in the recliner for a couple hours. That wasn't the plan (I planned to read for a while) but what the hey!

I got grand niece Casey a pink three-ring binder for her upcoming birthday (November 22nd) and created a cover for it that reads, "Casey's Creations." I put subject dividers in it and added 100 pages of lined school paper. It looks really cool. I think she'll be pretty thrilled to get it.

She is the talk of her class because she has started to write original stories and the teacher and her classmates are getting drunk on her cork. She brought me her most recent story. It pretty much blew me away! It had a beginning, a middle, and an end and went on for a good twenty pages!

Her teacher asked her to illustrate it, so she did that, too. I was SO proud of her that I thought I'd get her a binder to keep all her writings in.

She says she loves to write. A girl after my own heart, I tell ya!

Guess I'd better tell her she's related (as I am) to the lady in Germany who told her stories to the Brothers Grimm two or three centuries ago (which they wrote down when they grew up and learned to write), so she knows it's in her genes. I'm not sure she knows that yet...

What else? Nothing much, I guess. That's pretty much it for the day.

One flat news flash, huh?

Better luck on the morrow!

Ciao for now!

I Was a Swinger Today!

Hey, if the title of this blog didn't get your attention, you must be dead!

HA HA HA HA HA

I went to the soccer field at Central Avenue School this morning to watch grand niece Casey, almost 8, in her final game, but ended up pushing her sister Jamie (you met her in yesterdays' blog) and another wee one named Addison (a total stranger whose parents were watching another soccer game in a different field) on swings. I stood between the two swings, more or less, and pushed first one, then another, leaning back and forth each time either of them came my way. Tonight my arms feel like they've been tweaked pretty significantly -- by tomorrow I may be in the throes of serious regret for pushing them both for over 45 minutes. "Higher!" "Higher!"

When I well and truly wore out, I told them I had to stop, so they decided to go to the play area with different kinds of slides, where both girls -- and a third, older and heftier girl -- began to slide down a fireman's pole. All three were scared at first, so I had to reach up and be sure they were firmly attached (hands and feet) around the pole before I allowed them to slide down by letting go of their rear ends. We did that a good 25 times each (at least I was using different muscles for this new task); then Addy's dad came for her (introducing himself, thanking me, and asking me how much he owed me for babysitting! Funny guy!).

Then Jamie and the hefty girl wanted to swing from the monkey bars. Both were too little to make it from bar to bar without some serious help, so I was back and forth with them, holding them by the heels so they could do their thing.

After the other gal was taken home by her parent, Jamie decided we should play "keep away" in a soccer field that had been relinquished by another team. So we did that for a while. I had to keep chasing Jamie down... only managed to get the ball from her about three times, because she has been well-trained (already) by her mom, Wendy (a great soccer player and the girls' coach). Because I couldn't get the ball from her, I didn't have much chance to control it and slow down, so I was all over the bloody field, wondering when Jamie would get tired. She never did. T'was me who got tired!

So if I need help getting out of bed tomorrow, it will be no surprise! I spent an hour and a half playing with kids who wanted to get things done -- with lots of help, of course!

This afternoon I sat in the recliner to watch a little TV and within three minutes was fast asleep!

If I'd just do this kind of thing every day, I wouldn't have a weight problem, would I?

The weather was sensational today. It was 62 degrees... almost a record for this time of year up here in the Pacific NorthWet. (The record is 64 degrees.) It felt like a Chinook wind was blowing most of the day.

I fear we're going to get some serious rain and cold soon, though. These are the waning days of fall. It's pitch dark by five at night and doesn't get light again till close to six. On December 21st (shortest day of the year) we'll only get eight hours of daylight in this latitude. Not a lot of fun, but during the summer we get sixteen hours of daylight, so it all balances out. It's just hard to remember this time of year. Jackie has SADS (Seasonally Affecting Disorder, or whatever it's called), so I have to keep her spirits up by acting like a silly lunatic whenever I go over to her side of the abode. She started playing Christmas movies and plays Christmas music in the car starting about mid-October as the sun sets earlier, to keep her mood up. She loves Christmas and said if it didn't come in December she doesn't know how she'd get through winter. So we're fa la la la la'ing and laughing all the way... and walking when we can. It's helping us both, although I don't have SADS. I have the HAPPIES because Obama will be our President in less than three months and until then I can just watch his young family and grin, and grin, and grin... and house sit for critters and their people, and write... and... play with the grand nieces whenever they come within range...

If I wasn't so broke, I'd be the happiest lunatic on the planet! So here's proof that you don't need to be well off to be happy. You just need to be in the thick of things and count your blessings!

If I started counting my blessings right now I wouldn't reach the end of my list until May 18, 2010! You, too?

Happy days are here again!

Horseys, Dogs, House Sitting and Grandnieces...

A relative called to tell me about a couple that attends her church. They were looking for someone to house sit when they have to be away from their home on business or pleasure. They have three horses (two quarter horses and an Arab) and six dogs (three large, three small). My relative told them about me, and me about them, because I grew up with horses and dogs and just about every other kind of Pacific Northwest critter.

So I drove over and met the couple yesterday and will be their house/critter sitter sometime this week for a day (overnight) and then in a few weeks I'll go there for several days. I'm very much looking forward to it. It'll be a lot of fun, and I'll get to hang with horses again after many years of being without them. If I remember, I'll take a camera and get some pictures of the animals to post here...

I've been getting small projects at Elance. It's such a blast to work this way. I've written the content for websites in Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Malawi) and Ireland this week. Last month I wrote an e-book for a lady in Queensland, Australia. My reviews are super. And I've broken the $2K barrier! That's not a lot spread over ten months but most of it has come in the last couple of months, so I'm making headway. As I get more projects and make a good impression and have more examples to share, I get a larger percentage of the projects I bid on. It takes time to build a business this way, but it's happening faster than I anticipated it would.

Barack looked mighty presidential at his first press conference post-election today, as expected. A lot of hopes and dreams and prayers are hanging on him. He'll do as great as the situation allows in every situation, I'm sure. He's very thoughtful and deliberates carefully before deciding. He reminds me a lot of DeForest Kelley in that way -- never in a hurry (except on a basketball court), careful when deciding, compassionate when disagreeing... He's the full meal deal, methinks!

My unemployment is just about to run out, so I need to find other ways to supplement my income; hence the house-sitting. I'll get a good letter of reference out of it and then post my availability on craigslist in the Tacoma area and see what comes of it. As long as the house where I'm sitting has an Internet connection, I can continue to write while I house sit because I have a laptop I can take along... I may get an Internet connect card for it (if my model isn't too old to accommodate one), so that I can house sit and keep writing for Elance clients even if the place doesn't have Internet...

I'm still applying for other local jobs, but the job market is pretty lousy. I'm concentrating on looking for writing or administrative assistant or reception jobs, as I have a background in all three. Would love to find a position that's part time and has health benefits; right now I'm paying for my own health benefits and it's expensive.

Our riding lawnmower died so we got a second hand one that's in good shape. The fellow who owned it has a mower shop and it was his personal mower. He said it should serve us for another ten years as long as we get it serviced every year, which we will. It's a John Deere and runs very well. He donated our old one to Bates Technical College so their mechanics students can work with it and try to get it going again.

This afternoon I watched my grand niece Jamie, age 4, for a couple hours while her mom Wendy cleaned the home of a neighbor. Jamie made three greeting cards and then we walked about a mile. After that she "remodeled" me with her toy beauty salon, adding a hair band, ear rings, a finger ring, and putting invisible, non-existent toenail and fingernail polish on me with utmost seriousness. And then she slathered me with at least 14 kinds of kids lip gloss -- flavored. After the first six layers, I asked her how many more she was going to put on me. She said, "Just a few more..." Pretty soon my multi-flavored lips were so slippery, sticky and heavy that I told her it felt like she had put a truck on my lips instead of lipstick. She laughed and laughed. Then I told her, "But it sure is a good-tasting truck!"

Then she said she wanted to clean up her "virtual" bedroom, so I suggested, "How about we clean up your REAL bedroom instead?" (the one in Jackie's side of the house, where we were), and she said, "Okay!" So we picked up the few things that were on the floor and she brought the real vacuum from the closet and I helped her run it. (It's massive and she's just a wee one.) She was very proud of the results.

At about that time, her mom came home and they had to run to pick up Casey (Jamie's older sister) from school, so off they went.

Jamie's a very well-balanced DISC personality (on the DISC personality scale). She's exemplary in all four areas. I recognized that she was a high C very early on: she knows where everything belongs and takes pains most of the time to be sure everything is in its place. Getting her to clean her room or tidy a table is no trouble at all. Her D is in full play, too: She's a good director (in a cute and charming way), telling everyone where to sit at the table and when to pray. Then her S (sensitive) nature is very well-developed, too. She really picks up on people's feelings and emotions and is right there to soothe and support when needed. And is she ever an "I"! She has no problem becoming the center of attention. She doesn't have a shy bone in her body, but is not "over the top," either (as I was as a child).

As we walked today, she was telling me that she was "worried" about coloring the greeting cards just right as she was making them. I told her, "Honey, don't ever be worried about making art. Art should always be fun to do. Worry is for other things, like being sure to look both ways before you cross a street and when you walk where there are a lot of cars. Worry is for times when you could get hurt by not paying attention. Art and writing should feel like play. There is not a lot of worry in most kinds of playing, is there?" She sighed and said, "I just worry sometimes." I said, "You should leave worrying to grownups, like mommy and daddy." She nodded and said, "I do, mostly." She's obviously very sensitive and has a passion to get things "just right." Nothing wrong with that. I think she really just meant "concerned" rather than worried, but doesn't know the right word for it yet. She comes across as just about the least worried child I know! She's seriously "concerned" about a lot of things, but not in a worried way. She's just full-out living life and knows that small dogs need special care and handling, and stuff like that. A super great kid. (Like all my grandnieces and kids of almost every stripe!)

Before we cleaned her room, she said, "You can help me!" I joked, "I didn't mess up your room, why should I help you clean it up?" She looked at our contractor (working in Jackie's bathroom painting a cabinet) and said, (joking), "'Cause I didn't make the mess all by myself. The worker did some of it!" She grinned and I said facetiously "Excuse me? I very much doubt the worker was in here playing with your dollies!"

Ray (the contractor, in his early 60's) responded, joking, "No, I gave up playing with dollies more than a week ago!"

Jamie laughed and said to me, "Well, it's not impossible!" So I said, "Okay, fibber, let's get in there and clean up the mess without blaming innocent people!" She giggled and went right to work. BUSTED! (She wasn't being serious when she "accused" him at all. She just thought it was funny.)

She's really a crack-up!

Obama, the New Reagan...

Interesting, rather inspirational article from a money man. Read it, if you're still smarting and wondering why Obama won, and how to recapture the hope you had during the election, even though your guy and gal did not triumph.

I think you'll be glad you did...


http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/why-obama-is-the-new-reagan.aspx

Get to Know Barack, Now that He's President-Elect...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582?GT1=43001

I think you'll like him as much as I do (which is a LOT!)...

AWRIGHT!!! WAY TO GO, AMERICA!

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND

GOD BLESS BARACK OBAMA AND

JOE BIDEN!

LEAD US WISELY, GUYS!

WE'RE BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

From Barack Obama

(to all who contributed to his campaign, not just me)

Kristine --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

My Older Sister Encourages Me to Vote!

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/video.shtml?nid=E9rdDEtha2TAEMEUqUhTKzQwOTg2NQ--


Like I haven't voted ALREADY and called over 500 other people in the past four days to remind them to vote!

Did YOU vote for Barack?

Whatever God Wills, He'll Take Good Care Of!

It's the night before the American Presidential election. All polls indicate that Barack Obama will be our next President. This makes me very happy, but I know it gives others a case of the blues and a case of the fears.

I just want everyone to know -- whoever they vote for tomorrow -- that God is in control and He is allowing whatever happens tomorrow to happen. That said, I feel every kind of assurance that whatever he allows, he will take good care of. That's been his signature since time immemorial. There is no step we can take, for good or for ill, that He will not bring good out of.

He allowed His own Son to be nailed to a cross -- and look at all the good that came out of that!

So... I hope after tomorrow's election, we'll all try to find ways to heal and to come together and behave like kindred Americans. We're all in this together and the divisions and the paranoia that have kept us apart are illusory.

Let's commit to getting along. If we will just do that, there is nothing we can't do. And it's really all God wants -- that we should love one another, and treat each other well, even when we disagree.

Good luck tomorrow, whoever you support. I am praying a hedge of protection around all of our candidates and their families tonight and tomorrow as they wrap up their campaigns and as they retreat to their respective states to await the outcome.

It's up to us now. We get to choose. What a wonderful, wonderful country we live in, even when it needs a lot of fixing up and re-directing.

It's up to us to decide who to follow. That's HUGE!

VOTE, AMERICA!

The whole world is watching...

...and crown thy good

with brotherhood

from sea to shining sea

So Sad.. Barack's Grandmother Dies One Day Before the Election....

I just heard that Barack's grandmother passed away earlier today. I cried. Less than 36 hours before we find out who our next President will be, and all the polls are saying it will be her grandson. Well, at least she knew that much.

Thank you, so much, for giving Barack the roots and the wings that have brought him to where he is today, Grandma! I'm sure you'll be watching from heaven from now on to be sure he stays on track and makes you proud!

I Wrote An E-Book Today To Offer to Intimidated Writers

Since I'm pretty much a nervous wreck waiting for the Presidential election to do what it's predicted to do (elect Obama-Biden -- HOORAY!), I decided to leave the TV off today and concentrate my attention on something else. I'm reading a couple of great new books (about Jesus) but was up past midnight doing that, so that wasn't on my menu for today (although it will be again tonight).

I decided to write an e-book I can sell myself. I've written enough ebooks for other people the past few months; I figure it's time to start concentrating on getting a few out there with my own name on them!

I read a book called Red Hot Internet Publicity (by Penny Sansevieri) (http://www.redhotinternetpublicity.com/) a day or so ago and learned quite a bit about how to place e-books on-line so that I can get paid something when people download them. I might do the new De book that way next year, instead of going the tree-bound (hardbound and softbound) route. I'll look into it a bit more before I place the new e-book, but at least I have one ready to go! I can follow it up with more specifics. It could be a series of ebooks, actually.

It's called STRINGING WORDS TOGETHER: The Art and Craft of Effective Writing. (The title is copyrighted, so it's safe to reveal it before the e-book is available.) I wrote it for people who want to write but feel paralyzed whenever they try, and for people who aren't particularly afraid of writing, but want to know how to structure a piece so it will read well enough to get published somewhere.

I'm helping lead a Christian writing ministry at my church. We had our first critiquing session on Saturday and I'm re-discovering the common mistakes that new writers make. (I made all of them, and many more, all those years ago when I started out, so it felt like a homecoming of sorts!) My first e-book covers the common mistakes that new writers make and how to overcome them. I was surprised that the whole thing -- 16 pages -- took less than six hours to write. (Any research I needed was already stuffed into my brain!)

Leading the class has really crystallized for me what needs to be communicated in my new book. We have some AMAZING communicators in the writing ministry. I was moved to tears and to chills three or four times during the hour and a half we listened to "our very own" writers, none of whom have actually been published yet -- BUT WILL BE! (I have NO doubt!)

It's all very exciting. I'm looking forward to finding out what else the writers in the ministry need to know so that I can dredge up the answers and place them into e-books. The class is a terrific way to pick my brain and trip lazy synapses so my noggin can download what it knows -- because then I can get to it again, instead of just feeding off it unconsciously!