Shellie Foltz's Blog, page 3
June 14, 2011
Never Lose the Wonder!
Today Bruce and I took a trip to Eureka Springs just to try out a restaurant a colleague had recommended because it had a nice-sized vegetarian menu. Local Flavor. Talk about yum! We got a little later start on our drive down than we usually do and arrived pretty hungry, so we made Local Flavor our first stop. With a meal like that, we were set up for a wonderful day.
In case you hadn't noticed by reading this blog, I really love spending time with Bruce. And, we really enjoy walking together. Eureka Springs is the perfect place for this. It's also the perfect place to remind us that our individual tendencies (his to look down as he walks and mine to look up) make us a great match and provide a sometimes necessary safety measure. If you've been to Eureka Springs, you know the sidewalks are a bit. . . uneven. I was spared a few tumbles by Bruce's watchful eye. He got to see a single red berry on an evergreen shrub, a pair of sparrows, and a coal black flying bug of some sort (I still need to look him up online) that was absolutely gorgeous (all black and shaped like a dragonfly only thinner) thanks to me. We didn't buy a thing except lunch, but had a marvelous day wandering around.
We didn't have dessert, but I did get a sweet surprise when we got home - I discovered the review of my new novel, Love Under a Dark Sky, had been published on Romance Reviews Today. I've placed the link above for your convenience.
Summer's here and the livin' is easy. Sweet days; slow, meandering ways; eat and be merry; and read books! Oh, and never lose the wonder!
In case you hadn't noticed by reading this blog, I really love spending time with Bruce. And, we really enjoy walking together. Eureka Springs is the perfect place for this. It's also the perfect place to remind us that our individual tendencies (his to look down as he walks and mine to look up) make us a great match and provide a sometimes necessary safety measure. If you've been to Eureka Springs, you know the sidewalks are a bit. . . uneven. I was spared a few tumbles by Bruce's watchful eye. He got to see a single red berry on an evergreen shrub, a pair of sparrows, and a coal black flying bug of some sort (I still need to look him up online) that was absolutely gorgeous (all black and shaped like a dragonfly only thinner) thanks to me. We didn't buy a thing except lunch, but had a marvelous day wandering around.
We didn't have dessert, but I did get a sweet surprise when we got home - I discovered the review of my new novel, Love Under a Dark Sky, had been published on Romance Reviews Today. I've placed the link above for your convenience.
Summer's here and the livin' is easy. Sweet days; slow, meandering ways; eat and be merry; and read books! Oh, and never lose the wonder!
May 30, 2011
Gold Stars and Gold Crowns
I just received word that Romance Reviews Today will be publishing a review of Love Under a Dark Sky in early June. I am so excited! I feel like someone gave me a gold star! I will provide the link for everyone when it's actually available to read; in the meantime, I am dreaming wildly.
I'll tell you a secret. It has been my wildest, craziest, "in your dreams" sort of dream that Hallmark would discover my sweet little romances and see how perfect they are for their Hall of Fame movies! Maybe I'll just wish upon that gold star now.
Shellie
I'll tell you a secret. It has been my wildest, craziest, "in your dreams" sort of dream that Hallmark would discover my sweet little romances and see how perfect they are for their Hall of Fame movies! Maybe I'll just wish upon that gold star now.
Shellie
May 10, 2011
May 9, 2011
Dream a Little Dream
It's so important to dream dreams together. When Bruce and I were first married, we had some trouble visioning together (as I'm sure is true with any newly married couple). I, being the proactive type, tried to force it. I'd get pencil and paper and suggest we make lists together. Lists such as: the top five places in the world you want to see, the top ten places in the United States you'd like to go, states you've already been in, states you've never been in, an event you would like to catch someday.
As I was newly employed as a teacher and fairly buried in student loan debt and as Bruce and Luke had been a single-income family for years, we had very little money to play around with. Still, my philosophy is that if you don't plan now then you shouldn't expect to accomplish something later on. Even if it's ten dollars a month stuck away in the sock drawer in an envelope labeled "Paris", it's something toward that dream and you're ten dollars closer every month to seeing it realized.
In our case, "Paris" was Minnesota. It was do-able. If we saved back so much each month, we could actually realize a summer vacation the next year. It was a sacrifice (and still is sometimes even though student loans are all paid off), but putting money back from every paycheck keeps it always in front of us (as do the photos on the screen savers). We talk about Minnesota all year long. It's inspiring. We wonder what Lake Superior looks like in the dead of winter. We keep our eyes on the webcams in Duluth. We talk about how good a peanut butter sandwich tastes when eaten at a rest stop in Iowa on the way toward the Minnesota state line or on the way back home. We mentally stroll the streets, visit the sights, relive and renew the dream together. The word Minnesota has not only become a common term in our house, it has become a family member. It's our good friend, our counselor, our financial consultant. We weigh our desire to take that trip together against any other opportunities that come up and, so far, Minnesota always wins.
If we had taken the same money we've invested in these trips the last five years, we probably would have been able to schedule one dandy tour of Europe by now. But, I wouldn't trade June in Minnesota for that. There are too many memories, too many plans, too many pleasures, and too many dreams still to be dreamed together there.
What are you dreaming up with the one you love?
As I was newly employed as a teacher and fairly buried in student loan debt and as Bruce and Luke had been a single-income family for years, we had very little money to play around with. Still, my philosophy is that if you don't plan now then you shouldn't expect to accomplish something later on. Even if it's ten dollars a month stuck away in the sock drawer in an envelope labeled "Paris", it's something toward that dream and you're ten dollars closer every month to seeing it realized.
In our case, "Paris" was Minnesota. It was do-able. If we saved back so much each month, we could actually realize a summer vacation the next year. It was a sacrifice (and still is sometimes even though student loans are all paid off), but putting money back from every paycheck keeps it always in front of us (as do the photos on the screen savers). We talk about Minnesota all year long. It's inspiring. We wonder what Lake Superior looks like in the dead of winter. We keep our eyes on the webcams in Duluth. We talk about how good a peanut butter sandwich tastes when eaten at a rest stop in Iowa on the way toward the Minnesota state line or on the way back home. We mentally stroll the streets, visit the sights, relive and renew the dream together. The word Minnesota has not only become a common term in our house, it has become a family member. It's our good friend, our counselor, our financial consultant. We weigh our desire to take that trip together against any other opportunities that come up and, so far, Minnesota always wins.
If we had taken the same money we've invested in these trips the last five years, we probably would have been able to schedule one dandy tour of Europe by now. But, I wouldn't trade June in Minnesota for that. There are too many memories, too many plans, too many pleasures, and too many dreams still to be dreamed together there.
What are you dreaming up with the one you love?
May 2, 2011
Welcome to Joe's - Again!
God sure likes to pull a cherry out of the bag now and then! Talk about your unexpected delights! I had word today that Stained Glass Theatre wants to open their 2011-2012 theatre season with a reprise of my first play, Welcome to Joe's.
It's been something like seven years since it was first produced and I can still feel the thrill of it. I was so humbled by all the wonderful words people had to say about it and for years after I would hear things randomly from strangers at the next table in a restaurant or through someone who knew someone or from someone who had been loaned a copy of the dvd afterward. I was awestruck then that God could do such a thing and humbled that he'd chosen to allow me to be a part of it. Again, I have to say I'm completely humbled at the opportunity to do it again!
Just when you think something's over or you're worried that you'll never taste what you deem success again, God steps in and says, "Hey, chin up! I'm not finished with you yet."
For those of you who did not see Joe's in its first run, it's a romance (of course) with an evangelical message. The original cast was phenomenal and all of the direction and staging were stellar. I'm sure that the director this time, Tom Young who directed my second play, Related Spaces, a few years ago, will be terrific.
Thanks, SGT, for giving me this great pleasure again! I'm quite happy!
It's been something like seven years since it was first produced and I can still feel the thrill of it. I was so humbled by all the wonderful words people had to say about it and for years after I would hear things randomly from strangers at the next table in a restaurant or through someone who knew someone or from someone who had been loaned a copy of the dvd afterward. I was awestruck then that God could do such a thing and humbled that he'd chosen to allow me to be a part of it. Again, I have to say I'm completely humbled at the opportunity to do it again!
Just when you think something's over or you're worried that you'll never taste what you deem success again, God steps in and says, "Hey, chin up! I'm not finished with you yet."
For those of you who did not see Joe's in its first run, it's a romance (of course) with an evangelical message. The original cast was phenomenal and all of the direction and staging were stellar. I'm sure that the director this time, Tom Young who directed my second play, Related Spaces, a few years ago, will be terrific.
Thanks, SGT, for giving me this great pleasure again! I'm quite happy!
April 26, 2011
Life As I Know It - The Sequel
Today was the prologue for the next chapter in my life. I'm retiring from the classroom and today Shellie and I drove to the retirement office in Jefferson City to sign the official paperwork. Yes, I could have just sent them in, but we decided to make a day of it. After a very satisfactory and encouraging meeting with a young lady named Susan, papers all signed, we headed downtown for lunch. Shellie treated me to a delicious Thai meal at Chim's and then we decided to walk the area. We found shops, bookstores, and toured by the river, capitol, and governor's mansion. We saw bus load after bus load of children in the area. But as we weren't responsible for any of them, we could just smile and watch them having such a good time. It was a windy, cool, and thoroughly enjoyable day. On the road home, we stopped at a small town eatery for coffee and pie (peach cobbler, actually, with vanilla ice cream). The apostle Paul writes that some have the gift of singleness. I guess I'm not one of them. I can't imagine entering into this next phase of my life without Shellie by my side. How often I see or hear something and just can't wait to share it with my wife. The joy shared isn't divided, it's multiplied. Just as we strolled the streets of the state capitol, so I plan to embark on the second half of my life, hand-in-hand with my partner, my love, and my friend.
Bruce
Bruce
