Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 23
September 11, 2017
September 8, 2017
Friday Fun Facts- Hugs,We Need ‘Em!
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This will be short and sweet. We need hugs.
Why? Check out this:
It feels freaking good!
Holding a hug for an extended time will boost levels of serotonin which elevates mood and happiness.
They will strengthen your immune system.[image error]
Oxytocin is boosted! This alleviates feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.
This special nurturing touch will build feelings of trust and communication.
There is a saying by Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”
They lower your blood pressure, especially helpful if you are feeling anxious.[image error]
They lower your cortisol levels (stress hormone) which will enable you to sleep better.
They can increase your social connections and feed your sense of belonging. This in turns amps up your sense of safety and security.
Most all of this science is based on a really good hug for at least 20 seconds!
They trigger an increase in dopamine! Low levels of dopamine are linked to Parkinson’s and depression.This is your PLEASURE hormone. Go get a fix!
There are even more reasons to give and get good hugs, more than I can include here. With the craziness of our world, the devastation of Harvey and Irma, and so many more upsetting everyday occurrences, we need a steady dose of these marvelous things. There is NO downside.[image error]
I’ll start- Sending you a virtual hug!
September 6, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – Writing Prompt #16
Writing prompts to kick start your muse.
Spooky! When he found the note, was he alive or, ya know, not? Had someone set him up? Did he follow through and now wonder why he was still here? Wonder what unfinished business he had that kept him anchored? Was he murdered and vows to solve the mystery as to who, what, when, and why? Maybe he knows who did it and will take his revenge. Uh-oh.
Share your ideas and/or post your creations, even if it’s just a line or two. I’d love to hear them.
September 5, 2017
Link Of The Week- Weather Watch
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As writers, we often need to know things about the weather for our books. My first published one talked about an “Ice Tsunami”. I had never heard of that phenomena, but I knew I wanted to put it in.[image error]
This past week and a half has had weather on all of our minds with Hurricane Harvey. Jenn and I are both proud native Texans and are horrified at the loss our great state has incurred. Now, we have Hurricane Irma barreling down on islands in the Caribbean and will slam into Florida soon. After that? The models have conflicting reports.
Here’s a place for great research and current weather happenings! Stay safe.
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September 2, 2017
Harvey Will Not Win!
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“I’m not a Texan. I don’t adore the Lone Star State. I’m a transplant who’s lived in Austin for the last four years. I can’t name the state fish, I don’t understand the thing with mums at Homecoming, and I think chicken fried steak sucks. I don’t care about Friday Night Lights.
But I married into a Texas family. A Texas family with crazy deep roots. My wife is a direct descendant from the Texas Revolution. Through my marriage, I get a front row seat to all things that filter through the Texas lens. I’ve learned a lot about bluebonnets and Whataburger. I know the difference between casual allegiance with Texas colleges, what it really means to be a Longhorn, and the difference between good salsa and crap that came out of a jar.
If there’s one lesson I’ve learned as an outsider looking in, it’s that there’s a sense of purpose to these people like I’ve never seen. A central passion runs through Texans unlike any other American identity. Pride percolates here. It’s something people who aren’t from Texas just can’t grasp. We may have a docile sense of civic pride for our hometowns, but nothing like this state demands of its residents.
The Texas flag flies as high as the American flag, while the state Capitol is just a smidge taller than the U.S. Capitol, because – Texas. There are Texas flags on everything. And folks all over this huge collection of miles expect a reverential obsession from those who choose to take up this address, if only for a while.
That sense of purpose and absolute unwillingness to bend in their pride is why Texas will only become stronger in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Before Texas, I spent seven years in New Orleans, a place that knows about heartbreak and flooding. To love New Orleans is to love the city. But a New Orleanian ain’t much of a Louisianan, despite them being hand in hand. They’re two different cultures. But here, even if you’re from the Panhandle or live along the Gulf of Mexico, you still adore this state and will bond together under that flag, that symbol.[image error]
Typically, cities talk smack on one another, and the outlying country towns don’t want anything to do with the big cities and their completely different personalities. There are liberals and conservatives, cowboys and city slickers, white folks, brown folks, black folks and every shade in between wearing cowboy boots. This place has many stories, many sides to the dice.
Harvey took many lives. It dumped acres of water onto the streets of Houston, decimated Rockport, and flooded Galveston and cities and towns across southeast Texas. But Texas will lick its wounds. Texas will come back bigger and better, and brighter and with more Texas-ness than you can imagine. Texans cannot allow for their diamonds to go unpolished. The thought of a place in Texas where local culture dies just doesn’t feel right. There are no places where the roads are unfinished, or the buildings lie in ruins – that would go against everything these people have known their whole lives: This land is precious and it is our birthright.
…….. H-E-B and Buc-ee’s, two Texas brand giants, came to the rescue, offering shelter, food, showers, and support. Mattress Mack, a Houston mattress maven, opened his warehouses so folks could get a good night’s rest. The people here know a love that moves deeper than their sense of pride – it’s a calling of purpose.
You cannot count Texas out. There’s no other state in our union that could handle this hurricane. New York has taken its lumps. New Orleans knows what loss feels like, but this is a monster named Harvey that we’ve never seen before. Who better to challenge Harvey head-on than Texas? They’ll do it wearing an Astros cap and with a twisted smile, daring that water to take a piece of the land they love so much.”[image error]
Robert Dean is a writer and journalist living in Austin.
August 29, 2017
Link of the Week – Hurricane Harvey
As you may have heard, Hurricane Harvey roared ashore at Rockport, Texas on Friday, August 25th as a Category 4 storm leaving destruction and one death in the rural area. But the real nightmare didn’t come from the winds or storm surge. Not this time. The real catastrophe (not to lessen the damage to Rockport or the surrounding areas) has come by way of rain 100 miles away in Houston, Texas—14 to 15 TRILLION gallons and counting. There are predictions that some parts of the area will receive 50 inches of rain. It’s unfathomable. The entire region has had unprecedented flooding. With these numbers, it is easy to see how places that had never flooded before are now under water. River, creeks, reservoirs, levees are all cresting, overflowing at impossible heights. Thousands have had to be rescued. Thousands have lost everything. There will likely be 40-60 billion dollars in damage.
Despite the warnings and all the preparations, it has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. There really has been no way to know how this storm would affect us. Yes, us. Your Musetrackers live in the Houston area. But Stacey and I have been lucky. We have been spared. Are families are dry. My own house is within a 1 to 2-mile radius of a significant waterway. I’m still finding it hard to believe that my house, which my yard backs up to a creek, did not flood. And yet, many of my neighbors have. As I type this, Black Hawk helicopters are flying in overhead to aid in rescues.
It is going to be a long process to rebuild. And the rain STILL hasn’t stopped.
If you feel so inclined to help victims of Harvey, please donate to The Red Cross
Or help by donating to Houston Texans football star JJ Watt’s relief fund. https://www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey-915053
You can also help by donating to The Houston Food Bank and to The Houston Humane Society.
Some before and after pics to get a perspective.
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April 2017
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August 2017
August 23, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – Secret Key Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
Love this prompt. It could go so many ways. Who is she and what does the key belong to? Is that the key to her heart…or chastity belt? Does the key belong to the door to hell—literally? Is she the gatekeeper? Maybe it belongs to salvation but she demands a high price, namely a soul. Could it belong to a safe deposit box stuffed with information that would destroy someone who is powerful? Or a chest filled with stolen jewels? What if the key is to the locked freezer containing creamy, delicious ice cream?
What’s your take? Tell me a tale or caption the pic. I’d love to hear it.
August 22, 2017
August 16, 2017
Hump Day Kick Start – Writing Prompt #15
Writing prompts to kick start your muse.
Huh… Wonder why? Is the prison based on an island with man-eating giant gorillas or surrounded by mutant sharks? On another planet with vengeful alien beasts? Could the prison be run by a beautiful, deadly demon who takes horrifying pleasure in torturing her escapees? Maybe the prison is filled with detainees who have not yet been infected by the zombies roaming around on the outside.
Share your ideas and/or post your creations, even if it’s just a line or two. I’d love to hear them.
August 15, 2017
Link Of The Week- Self Publishing Authors Podcast
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They are called the SPA (Self Publishing Authors) Girls, and let me tell you, they know their stuff! The podcasts are free and informative with a ton of humor thrown in. This business can be overwhelming- they sift through the cacophony to find the true bits of guidance we all need. Enjoy listening and learning from interviews with Mark Dawson, Roxanne St. Claire, Brian Meeks and more!
http://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/
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They also have a book that is fantastic! Here’s the link for that as a bonus-
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