Jessica L. Elliott's Blog, page 21
December 14, 2012
A Prayer for Newtown, Connecticut
As I watch my little ones sleep peacefully on the couch, my heart breaks for the mothers and fathers who will never hold their children again in this life. My heart breaks for the brothers and sisters who will not get to play out in the yard or stay up at night talking. My heart breaks for the survivors who must live with those terrifying images.
And yet amid this anguish, I also feel peace in my heart. I feel peace knowing that our loving Father in Heaven is now holding these precious little ones in His arms. I know that He reaches out now to their families offering His spirit of comfort and peace. And I know that death is not the end and that in the eternities we can be reunited with those we love.
I pray that the community of Newtown will find peace and comfort. I pray that the Lord will bless them with an abundance of His spirit to bring healing to their hearts and to those suffering injuries. In this time of sorrow and uncertainty, I pray that we will lean more on our Father and put our trust in His love.
My thoughts and prayers are with you, Newtown.
And yet amid this anguish, I also feel peace in my heart. I feel peace knowing that our loving Father in Heaven is now holding these precious little ones in His arms. I know that He reaches out now to their families offering His spirit of comfort and peace. And I know that death is not the end and that in the eternities we can be reunited with those we love.
I pray that the community of Newtown will find peace and comfort. I pray that the Lord will bless them with an abundance of His spirit to bring healing to their hearts and to those suffering injuries. In this time of sorrow and uncertainty, I pray that we will lean more on our Father and put our trust in His love.
My thoughts and prayers are with you, Newtown.
December 12, 2012
Good Gifts
Everyone has that favorite present that they get each year; whether at Christmas, their birthday, or just at random. I recently received my new favorite present.
My in-laws came down for the weekend to come love on their two grandbabies (and to see Jonathan and I). While they were here, we decided to have an early Christmas celebration since we won't be there for the holiday. We watched with delight as my son tore through paper and excitedly played with new building blocks and repeatedly asked to have his father's new Spanish books read to him. I helped Abigail open her presents (which is Mom-speak for I opened them for her). We oohed and ahhed over the cute sleeper proudly proclaiming "Little Sister" and enjoyed the little storybook, Gerald Giraffe, that she and Gary will share. Jonathan and I were wowed by the new book about the Kansas City Temple. Mom Elliott had taken the time to put on the inside of the cover pictures of us from the dedication, making it a special family memento that we will cherish. Jonathan eagerly looked at the Spanish books that he will be able to use in his future classroom and then the very last gift was given to me.
Inside a small green box with a red sequined bow was a little silver locket with red enamel and small red gems. As I took it out and exclaimed how pretty it was, my mother-in-law said, "I thought that looked a lot like the locket Allegra wears in your book. And it kind of has a fairy tale feel to it, so I thought you'd like that."
What was already a lovely gift suddenly became even more. It took on a special meaning as I realized that this gift was meant to be more than just a locket I could stow pictures of my kids in. It was meant to show an appreciation that the giver has for the things that are special to me. Finding Prince Charming is probably one of my best works, not to toot my own horn too loudly. And the necklace that I describe Allegra having is one that I would love to have in reality. Now, thanks my mother-in-law's thoughtfulness, I do have one that comes awfully close to what I envisioned while writing.
The holidays are a busy time of year and often lead to frenzied shopping as we desperately try to check all of our recipients off a list. But this year, and in the future, let's all try to give something that will say more than just a temporary "Merry Christmas". Let's give the gifts that will have meaning and memory behind them for years to come.
My in-laws came down for the weekend to come love on their two grandbabies (and to see Jonathan and I). While they were here, we decided to have an early Christmas celebration since we won't be there for the holiday. We watched with delight as my son tore through paper and excitedly played with new building blocks and repeatedly asked to have his father's new Spanish books read to him. I helped Abigail open her presents (which is Mom-speak for I opened them for her). We oohed and ahhed over the cute sleeper proudly proclaiming "Little Sister" and enjoyed the little storybook, Gerald Giraffe, that she and Gary will share. Jonathan and I were wowed by the new book about the Kansas City Temple. Mom Elliott had taken the time to put on the inside of the cover pictures of us from the dedication, making it a special family memento that we will cherish. Jonathan eagerly looked at the Spanish books that he will be able to use in his future classroom and then the very last gift was given to me.
Inside a small green box with a red sequined bow was a little silver locket with red enamel and small red gems. As I took it out and exclaimed how pretty it was, my mother-in-law said, "I thought that looked a lot like the locket Allegra wears in your book. And it kind of has a fairy tale feel to it, so I thought you'd like that."
What was already a lovely gift suddenly became even more. It took on a special meaning as I realized that this gift was meant to be more than just a locket I could stow pictures of my kids in. It was meant to show an appreciation that the giver has for the things that are special to me. Finding Prince Charming is probably one of my best works, not to toot my own horn too loudly. And the necklace that I describe Allegra having is one that I would love to have in reality. Now, thanks my mother-in-law's thoughtfulness, I do have one that comes awfully close to what I envisioned while writing.
The holidays are a busy time of year and often lead to frenzied shopping as we desperately try to check all of our recipients off a list. But this year, and in the future, let's all try to give something that will say more than just a temporary "Merry Christmas". Let's give the gifts that will have meaning and memory behind them for years to come.
December 7, 2012
I Need You!
I’ve discovered that there are two things you have to be in order to become a successful author. The first is you have to be a dreamer. You have to dream that the story you’re working on is the best in the world, that it will be snatched up by a big publishing house and go on to be at the top of the New York Bestsellers list. There has to be the dream of signing events, contests, prizes and general success. Dreaming is the easy part and I’m really good at it. I dream of getting someone like Scholastic or Penguin to pick up my book and say, “We have to have it!” I dream of winning the William Allen White award which I voted on as a kid and have wanted since I voted. I dream of seeing shelves of books with my name emblazoned on the covers. I could continue on for quite a while, but I think you get the picture. If nothing else, I am a dreamer.
But there’s a second part to being a successful author and that’s the hard part: you have to be a salesman. And that is the one thing that I am NOT! It’s not just selling the books to readers; it’s the attempt to sell the book to publishers and agents and the crushing reply of “Sorry, we’re not interested.” Worse are the publishers which send no reply at all. Granted, those ones are good about warning you that if they’re not interested they won’t send a reply. But in some ways that’s even worse. The invariable message, though not intended, is, “You’re not even worth the stamp to say we’re not interested.”
This is where I need you, the reader. I have to be a salesman, something I’ve never been good at. Because if I want my books to be successful and to see my dreams become reality, I have to work for it. And yes, the writing part is work and a lot of it! But I also need to be my own salesman until such a time that a big publisher provides one for me. So, what I’m asking is for your help. On the Jessica L. Elliott fan page I will have two questions posted. One will be things that you would be willing to “share” through Facebook and Twitter. The second will be which social media you use and follow regularly enough that you can “share” things. If you don’t see a suggestion or media that you use often, please add it to the list so that I can get a feel for what will be my best marketing plan. Social media provides a great resource for sharing things and getting the word out there. But by myself I can’t hope to get very far. But if everyone liked my page and then shared it with their friends and a few of them liked it and shared, we can get somewhere! The more likes I can get the farther the word can spread. And the obvious spin is the more likes I get the more people are going to read the books and hopefully become fans themselves.
So, today if you will just take a moment to visit the Jessica L. Elliott fan page and answer those questions, I would really appreciate it. If you want to share this with your friends, that would also be a big help. Every post and every like is one more step towards reaching my dreams. Being my own salesman is hard, but if I know that I have a fleet of part-time salesmen helping me out, it will become that much easier. Thank you for reading my books, for enjoying my posts and for helping me spread the word!
http://www.facebook.com/JessicaLEllio...
But there’s a second part to being a successful author and that’s the hard part: you have to be a salesman. And that is the one thing that I am NOT! It’s not just selling the books to readers; it’s the attempt to sell the book to publishers and agents and the crushing reply of “Sorry, we’re not interested.” Worse are the publishers which send no reply at all. Granted, those ones are good about warning you that if they’re not interested they won’t send a reply. But in some ways that’s even worse. The invariable message, though not intended, is, “You’re not even worth the stamp to say we’re not interested.”
This is where I need you, the reader. I have to be a salesman, something I’ve never been good at. Because if I want my books to be successful and to see my dreams become reality, I have to work for it. And yes, the writing part is work and a lot of it! But I also need to be my own salesman until such a time that a big publisher provides one for me. So, what I’m asking is for your help. On the Jessica L. Elliott fan page I will have two questions posted. One will be things that you would be willing to “share” through Facebook and Twitter. The second will be which social media you use and follow regularly enough that you can “share” things. If you don’t see a suggestion or media that you use often, please add it to the list so that I can get a feel for what will be my best marketing plan. Social media provides a great resource for sharing things and getting the word out there. But by myself I can’t hope to get very far. But if everyone liked my page and then shared it with their friends and a few of them liked it and shared, we can get somewhere! The more likes I can get the farther the word can spread. And the obvious spin is the more likes I get the more people are going to read the books and hopefully become fans themselves.
So, today if you will just take a moment to visit the Jessica L. Elliott fan page and answer those questions, I would really appreciate it. If you want to share this with your friends, that would also be a big help. Every post and every like is one more step towards reaching my dreams. Being my own salesman is hard, but if I know that I have a fleet of part-time salesmen helping me out, it will become that much easier. Thank you for reading my books, for enjoying my posts and for helping me spread the word!
http://www.facebook.com/JessicaLEllio...
November 18, 2012
What Everyone Has Waited For...
That's right, everyone, the day you've all been waiting for is finally here: Finding Prince Charming is officially completed and available for sale through my CreateSpace estore! After waiting patiently through the past year of writer's block, pregnancy and then a new baby, and the dreary stage of editing, the first sequel to Charming Academy is ready for you to read and enjoy. If you follow the link at the bottom, it will take you to the estore where you can purchase your own copy of this great new book! Within about a week, Finding Prince Charming should become available on Amazon.com. As soon as it does, I will post another announcement so that those of you who would prefer to order through there can do so.
In celebration of this new release, there will be a limited-time discount on Charming Academy. After all, it hardly makes sense to read the second book before you've read the first, right? So through the end of November, using the code GWHQ24H9 at check-out with Charming Academy will give you 20% off. If you've enjoyed Charming Academy, now would be a great time to share it with your friends and family.
So, here's wishing you happy reading with this new story. I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Be watching for news about the next book in the series. I'm still debating which story I'm going to write next, but within the next month or so, I'll have made a decision and be busily writing the next book in this series.
Finding Prince Charming: https://www.createspace.com/4020165
Charming Academy: https://www.createspace.com/3784472
In celebration of this new release, there will be a limited-time discount on Charming Academy. After all, it hardly makes sense to read the second book before you've read the first, right? So through the end of November, using the code GWHQ24H9 at check-out with Charming Academy will give you 20% off. If you've enjoyed Charming Academy, now would be a great time to share it with your friends and family.
So, here's wishing you happy reading with this new story. I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Be watching for news about the next book in the series. I'm still debating which story I'm going to write next, but within the next month or so, I'll have made a decision and be busily writing the next book in this series.
Finding Prince Charming: https://www.createspace.com/4020165
Charming Academy: https://www.createspace.com/3784472
November 6, 2012
A New Adventure!
Lying in my arms fast asleep is a beautiful baby girl. My second baby, but my first girl. As I look down at her dark brown hair, the sleepy blue eyes and the teeny little nose, I am filled with excitement as my adventure of parenthood expands to include this lovely girl. When she was born last night I was thrilled, albeit exhausted and sore. I have a little girl named Abigail.
With Abigail's arrival a few other projects had to be put on hold, but not for long. My NaNo novel is gathering cyber dust as I have not typed anything since Friday since I've been busy with other things. But I don't give up. Tomorrow I intend to pick up where I stopped at and get as much typed as possible. That may just be getting one hundred words out during a day between feeding my little girl and taking care of my adorable son. Or I may have brilliant days of many-thousand words. But as long as something gets written, I will be happy.
It also pushes back the release of "Finding Prince Charming", but only by a little bit. My goal is to have the edits completed and submitted for review by Thursday so that by Monday, November 12, "finding Prince Charming" will be available for sale on CreateSpace and at Smashwords. Keep an eye on my website for new developments!
And now that you have the update on life for me, I'm going to go back to admiring my precious little miracle from heaven. Have a beautiful day!
With Abigail's arrival a few other projects had to be put on hold, but not for long. My NaNo novel is gathering cyber dust as I have not typed anything since Friday since I've been busy with other things. But I don't give up. Tomorrow I intend to pick up where I stopped at and get as much typed as possible. That may just be getting one hundred words out during a day between feeding my little girl and taking care of my adorable son. Or I may have brilliant days of many-thousand words. But as long as something gets written, I will be happy.
It also pushes back the release of "Finding Prince Charming", but only by a little bit. My goal is to have the edits completed and submitted for review by Thursday so that by Monday, November 12, "finding Prince Charming" will be available for sale on CreateSpace and at Smashwords. Keep an eye on my website for new developments!
And now that you have the update on life for me, I'm going to go back to admiring my precious little miracle from heaven. Have a beautiful day!
October 8, 2012
One Down, One to Go!
I'm excited to announce that I have finished writing "Finding Prince Charming"!
What does this mean for you? This means that within the next month or so the novel will be available for you to purchase! Right now I have to wait for the proof copy to arrive so that I can begin the editing process. I am hopeful that this won't take too horribly long. After all, I do have a habit of editing as I go. :) But this will give me a chance to double-check my flow, make sure all my spelling and grammar is correct, and take care of any loose plot lines that really don't go anywhere. The most important part of this process is making sure that the reader will absolutely love this new installment in the Charming Academy series. I've enjoyed writing it and hope that you will enjoy reading it just as much if not more!
Now what am I going to be doing? Well, I'll be finishing my August Camp NaNoWriMo project, "Mischief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down" when I'm not busy editing. I'm also trying to gather some ideas for a November NaNo project. Yes, as crazy as it is to plan on writing with a baby coming in November, I am planning to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. However, I've decided not to shoot for the 50,000 word goal. My goal will simply be to write consistently throughout the month. I have a few ideas I'm tossing around, including the possibility of starting the next sequel to Charming Academy. I'm just not sure which story to tell next! Maybe you can help me. Go to my Facebook page and tell me which character you are most interested in learning more about their story.
http://www.facebook.com/JessicaLEllio...
And my other projects for this month will be continuing to work on Christmas presents. The more I can get done before Baby arrives, the easier life will be. Today probably won't be overly productive because my little guy isn't feeling too good. It's always hard when he gets sick because as much as I want to get other things done, my main focus is on helping to get better. So today will involve lots of cuddling, rocking, and soothing my poor baby until he's feeling all better. Or at least until Hubby is home to take over for a little while. :)
So, don't forget to vote on which character's story you want to hear next. Like the page while you're there so you can get all the updates on "Finding Prince Charming" and other upcoming projects!
What does this mean for you? This means that within the next month or so the novel will be available for you to purchase! Right now I have to wait for the proof copy to arrive so that I can begin the editing process. I am hopeful that this won't take too horribly long. After all, I do have a habit of editing as I go. :) But this will give me a chance to double-check my flow, make sure all my spelling and grammar is correct, and take care of any loose plot lines that really don't go anywhere. The most important part of this process is making sure that the reader will absolutely love this new installment in the Charming Academy series. I've enjoyed writing it and hope that you will enjoy reading it just as much if not more!
Now what am I going to be doing? Well, I'll be finishing my August Camp NaNoWriMo project, "Mischief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down" when I'm not busy editing. I'm also trying to gather some ideas for a November NaNo project. Yes, as crazy as it is to plan on writing with a baby coming in November, I am planning to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. However, I've decided not to shoot for the 50,000 word goal. My goal will simply be to write consistently throughout the month. I have a few ideas I'm tossing around, including the possibility of starting the next sequel to Charming Academy. I'm just not sure which story to tell next! Maybe you can help me. Go to my Facebook page and tell me which character you are most interested in learning more about their story.
http://www.facebook.com/JessicaLEllio...
And my other projects for this month will be continuing to work on Christmas presents. The more I can get done before Baby arrives, the easier life will be. Today probably won't be overly productive because my little guy isn't feeling too good. It's always hard when he gets sick because as much as I want to get other things done, my main focus is on helping to get better. So today will involve lots of cuddling, rocking, and soothing my poor baby until he's feeling all better. Or at least until Hubby is home to take over for a little while. :)
So, don't forget to vote on which character's story you want to hear next. Like the page while you're there so you can get all the updates on "Finding Prince Charming" and other upcoming projects!
September 28, 2012
Escaping Blah
I'm sure you've all had those mornings. The ones where you wake up in the morning and want nothing more than to roll over and stay in bed all day. This was one of those days; though I can't really roll over very well anymore. Baby gets in the way. :) The one thing I had to look forward to was a trip to the zoo with my sister and my son.
Then I looked outside. Clouds and the threat of thunderstorms. It was as blah outside as I was feeling inside. Bummer, no trip to the zoo.
My sister came over and we decided that since Murphy lives with me (I think he's my constant companion) we wouldn't risk a trip to the zoo. If we had gone, there would have been a major thunderstorm and I would have been desperately trying to get two terrified people back to the car. I know it would have happened, because that is my lot in life.
So, we rescheduled our trip to the zoo for Monday when it should be sunny, beautiful and Jonathan will be available to go with us. Then we thought about what we could do instead and we decided that a trip to the mall was in order. I had a certificate online from Build-A-Bear Workshop and I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to use it. I also had a small shelf in my corner that desperately needed to be filled and a holiday bear would be perfect! Gary could help put the bear together and pick out a Halloween costume for it and Bekah and I could enjoy the time with him and look at clothes, sparklies, and other extraneous things.
We arrived at the mall and looked at the backseat. Gary was fast asleep; not even just a little asleep but we're talking dead-weight asleep. We got him out and he didn't even bat an eyelash. So much for Gary helping to put our bear together. But unfortunately for him and for my sweetheart, his being asleep did have one distinct advantage: Mommy got to pick the Halloween costume.
I had looked online a few times to get an idea of what type of costume I wanted. After all, this is the family's holiday bear and I wanted it to be something that could be obviously meant for the holiday. I was torn between a cute witch costume and a sweet pumpkin costume with sequined slippers. (I may be a tomboy in most areas, but when it comes to stuffed animals, I am all girl!) But I figured maybe when I saw them in person, I'd be able to make a decision. So we got the bear, had it stuffed, warmed its heart and made a wish and all the fun things they have you do at Build-A-Bear. Then we looked at the costumes. Right under the two costumes I had been debating between was the costume. It was a lovely, pink, sparkly ballet tutu with pink and purple flowers. It came with a flowered headband and a fairy wand. I know I should have gotten the pumpkin costume, which is more appropriate for a family with more boys in it. But since neither of the men in my life were available to argue, Mommy won and the ballerina in me picked up the costume.
"Isn't this cute?" I asked my sister.
"Yeah, if you like it then you should get it," she replied.
And get it I did. We took the bear over to the computer so we could make its birth certificate. After trying to think of non-gender specific names, I finally decided on Celebear, which isn't a name at all, but tells you that it is a bear for celebrations. We filled everything out and went to the register. On arriving back at home, Gary helped get the bear dressed. Actually, he helped take the pieces of the costume off the little hanger and handed them to me so I could dress the bear.
Once it was done, I looked at the bear. It was adorable, and everything girl! My poor boys will spend October looking at a very girly Halloween bear. But not to worry, I'll make it up to them in November with a boy Thanksgiving outfit. :)
Suddenly all the blah that had been my day melted away. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with my sister and with Gary. It just brightened everything up. Sometimes all you need to get over the blahs is a little bit of time away from home...and a really cute ballerina bear. :)
Then I looked outside. Clouds and the threat of thunderstorms. It was as blah outside as I was feeling inside. Bummer, no trip to the zoo.
My sister came over and we decided that since Murphy lives with me (I think he's my constant companion) we wouldn't risk a trip to the zoo. If we had gone, there would have been a major thunderstorm and I would have been desperately trying to get two terrified people back to the car. I know it would have happened, because that is my lot in life.
So, we rescheduled our trip to the zoo for Monday when it should be sunny, beautiful and Jonathan will be available to go with us. Then we thought about what we could do instead and we decided that a trip to the mall was in order. I had a certificate online from Build-A-Bear Workshop and I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to use it. I also had a small shelf in my corner that desperately needed to be filled and a holiday bear would be perfect! Gary could help put the bear together and pick out a Halloween costume for it and Bekah and I could enjoy the time with him and look at clothes, sparklies, and other extraneous things.
We arrived at the mall and looked at the backseat. Gary was fast asleep; not even just a little asleep but we're talking dead-weight asleep. We got him out and he didn't even bat an eyelash. So much for Gary helping to put our bear together. But unfortunately for him and for my sweetheart, his being asleep did have one distinct advantage: Mommy got to pick the Halloween costume.
I had looked online a few times to get an idea of what type of costume I wanted. After all, this is the family's holiday bear and I wanted it to be something that could be obviously meant for the holiday. I was torn between a cute witch costume and a sweet pumpkin costume with sequined slippers. (I may be a tomboy in most areas, but when it comes to stuffed animals, I am all girl!) But I figured maybe when I saw them in person, I'd be able to make a decision. So we got the bear, had it stuffed, warmed its heart and made a wish and all the fun things they have you do at Build-A-Bear. Then we looked at the costumes. Right under the two costumes I had been debating between was the costume. It was a lovely, pink, sparkly ballet tutu with pink and purple flowers. It came with a flowered headband and a fairy wand. I know I should have gotten the pumpkin costume, which is more appropriate for a family with more boys in it. But since neither of the men in my life were available to argue, Mommy won and the ballerina in me picked up the costume.
"Isn't this cute?" I asked my sister.
"Yeah, if you like it then you should get it," she replied.
And get it I did. We took the bear over to the computer so we could make its birth certificate. After trying to think of non-gender specific names, I finally decided on Celebear, which isn't a name at all, but tells you that it is a bear for celebrations. We filled everything out and went to the register. On arriving back at home, Gary helped get the bear dressed. Actually, he helped take the pieces of the costume off the little hanger and handed them to me so I could dress the bear.
Once it was done, I looked at the bear. It was adorable, and everything girl! My poor boys will spend October looking at a very girly Halloween bear. But not to worry, I'll make it up to them in November with a boy Thanksgiving outfit. :)
Suddenly all the blah that had been my day melted away. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with my sister and with Gary. It just brightened everything up. Sometimes all you need to get over the blahs is a little bit of time away from home...and a really cute ballerina bear. :)
September 24, 2012
Still Alive, I Promise!
The past couple of weeks have been a zoo around here, but I promise, I'm still living and breathing. I've just been living and breathing my novel! :)
"Finding Prince Charming" is coming along nicely. In fact, I am still on for my goal of being finished with the writing by the end of the month.
"Jessica," you say, "that's only a week away."
Yes, yes it is. But I've been working hard and this week I should be able to do it! If not, I'll definitely be done by the end of next week. I just have to keep plugging away and staying on top of things.
So what have I been doing during my non-blogging hiatus? Well, I've been doing lots of writing. I've also been a house-cleaning beast. It's probably the most common craving pregnant women get. That urgent need to have every little nook and cranny of their home completely, totally and spotlessly clean...all the time. It's kind of weird for me, because I'm pretty laid back about that sort of thing. I like to keep things fairly neat, but if it's a question of playing with Gary and cleaning up, I'll play with my son anytime! :) But this nesting stage has got me constantly needing to clean something. But it could always be worse. I could have a large house instead of a small apartment. ;)
I've also been working with my husband to find names that we both like. Most of the girls I knew growing up, including me, had their list of names chosen from the time they were about 13. But it would appear that guys don't place the same emphasis on picking names that girls do. And while I did discover this with my first baby, it still sort of surprised me that it happened again with this baby. So yesterday Jonathan and I went through our family history to find names that we liked. That was something that I told him was very important to me. In fact, we weren't even engaged yet when I told him, "I want my children to all have family names. Period." And he wisely said, "Okay." We found lots of names we liked and a few names that we saw and thought, "Oh you poor dear. I'm so sorry your parents stuck you with that." (At least, I was thinking that for some of my poor ancestors.) And then we made a list. I think we've got enough names for our kids and then some. But we chose two girls' names and two boys' names that will be the options for this baby. Actually, three boys' names because my sweetie couldn't decide between two that he liked. Since I know you'll be curious, here are the names we like:
Girl - Juliet Marie and Abigail Hazel
Boy - Benoni Thomas, Samuel Christian, and David Alexander
It'll be wonderful when this baby comes and we can find out who we're adding to our family. We're just over a month away from Baby's due date and I'm anxious to be able to hold this little one in my arms.
But now I must return to my writing. The next week, like all the ones before it, is going to go by far too quickly. So, enjoy all your pursuits and don't worry too much about me if I'm not showing up here. Just know that I'm busily writing somewhere else. :)
"Finding Prince Charming" is coming along nicely. In fact, I am still on for my goal of being finished with the writing by the end of the month.
"Jessica," you say, "that's only a week away."
Yes, yes it is. But I've been working hard and this week I should be able to do it! If not, I'll definitely be done by the end of next week. I just have to keep plugging away and staying on top of things.
So what have I been doing during my non-blogging hiatus? Well, I've been doing lots of writing. I've also been a house-cleaning beast. It's probably the most common craving pregnant women get. That urgent need to have every little nook and cranny of their home completely, totally and spotlessly clean...all the time. It's kind of weird for me, because I'm pretty laid back about that sort of thing. I like to keep things fairly neat, but if it's a question of playing with Gary and cleaning up, I'll play with my son anytime! :) But this nesting stage has got me constantly needing to clean something. But it could always be worse. I could have a large house instead of a small apartment. ;)
I've also been working with my husband to find names that we both like. Most of the girls I knew growing up, including me, had their list of names chosen from the time they were about 13. But it would appear that guys don't place the same emphasis on picking names that girls do. And while I did discover this with my first baby, it still sort of surprised me that it happened again with this baby. So yesterday Jonathan and I went through our family history to find names that we liked. That was something that I told him was very important to me. In fact, we weren't even engaged yet when I told him, "I want my children to all have family names. Period." And he wisely said, "Okay." We found lots of names we liked and a few names that we saw and thought, "Oh you poor dear. I'm so sorry your parents stuck you with that." (At least, I was thinking that for some of my poor ancestors.) And then we made a list. I think we've got enough names for our kids and then some. But we chose two girls' names and two boys' names that will be the options for this baby. Actually, three boys' names because my sweetie couldn't decide between two that he liked. Since I know you'll be curious, here are the names we like:
Girl - Juliet Marie and Abigail Hazel
Boy - Benoni Thomas, Samuel Christian, and David Alexander
It'll be wonderful when this baby comes and we can find out who we're adding to our family. We're just over a month away from Baby's due date and I'm anxious to be able to hold this little one in my arms.
But now I must return to my writing. The next week, like all the ones before it, is going to go by far too quickly. So, enjoy all your pursuits and don't worry too much about me if I'm not showing up here. Just know that I'm busily writing somewhere else. :)
August 23, 2012
Cravings
They always tell you when you get pregnant that you will probably crave different foods than you might normally enjoy eating. “You should write them down because kids love to know what weird things you ate when you were pregnant,” I’ve been told. And as far as foods go, I really haven’t experienced what I would consider weird cravings. With Gary I couldn’t get enough pickles. I didn’t want them with anything strange; no peanut butter and pickle sandwiches here! But I constantly wanted pickles and went through jars of them. And with this baby, I’ve wanted cookies. They can’t be store-bought cookies either. They have to be homemade cookies. And I don’t just want to eat them, I want to make them. All day as I try to get done the things that I actually need to do, I keep thinking, “I’d love to bake some cookies right now. Cookies sound so good! Wouldn’t the house smell so much better if some cookies were baking?”
What they don’t tell you when you get pregnant is that cravings do not just apply to the foods you eat. They also apply to your activities. And it’s not the regular procrastination where you choose to do something while thinking, “I really ought to be doing x.” As I’ve stated, I spend a good part of each day contemplating baking cookies right now. My son and husband think this is a great craving for me to have, since it means they get cookies to enjoy at lunchtime and for snacks. But I also find myself craving other activities. As I’m trying to catch up to my word goal so that my books can get finished well in time for the holiday shopping season, I find myself staring at my open Word document thinking of other things I’d like to do. “Hmmm, I’d like to do some scrapbooking right now.” Last week I spent quite a bit of time putting together pictures of my son onto cardstock and patterned paper for a “clothesline of memories” to put in his room. It’s an idea I’ve toyed with for a while since I can’t stand white walls. Every time I’d sit down to write last week, the idea would become clearer and more persistent. Now, twenty pictures later, he’s got three layers of twine wrapped back and forth on one wall with pictures hanging from it by clothespins. For now, my scrapbooking has been satisfied; though I do keep looking at my wedding album and thinking, “I could just do a couple of pages. After all, if I’m ever going to get it finished I have to work on it.”
Other times I find myself looking at the space saver in our bedroom that I painted while in college. It doesn’t match our décor at all. It did at the time I painted it since I had a kind of seascape theme for my room. But when I got married, we had totally different décor and I decided to make a denim quilt for our bed. I let my husband pick out the fabrics, since I really didn’t want him to feel like he was stuck in a girly room. (If you know me personally and are giggling at the idea that I would pick something overly feminine, stop it. My favorite colors are purple and green, and purple rarely comes in masculine prints!) so my sweet husband went with me to the store and he picked out beautiful fabrics; a sunflower print that we both fell in love with, a bold green, and a rich brown. Because my math skills are nonexistent, we ended up short for the quilt, but luckily I had some bright yellow that I’d gotten for a different project that never quite saw fruition. The quilt is gorgeous, but it’s certainly not seascape. I look at the space saver and think, “I really need to repaint that. It clashes with our quilt.” Then I remind myself that I’ve got two books to write, a baby to prepare for and an apartment to keep clean. So I walk away from it and start writing or working on chores. But in the back of my mind I hear that nagging, “But it doesn’t match. It really should be repainted. I haven’t painted anything in a long time. I’d like to paint something. The space saver needs painted.”
If someone knows a good way to shut off the cravings voice, without giving in to whatever it is it’s telling you to do, I could sure use the advice! Because that space saver becomes more and more mismatched every time I see it. And now my fingers are itching to hold a paintbrush…
What they don’t tell you when you get pregnant is that cravings do not just apply to the foods you eat. They also apply to your activities. And it’s not the regular procrastination where you choose to do something while thinking, “I really ought to be doing x.” As I’ve stated, I spend a good part of each day contemplating baking cookies right now. My son and husband think this is a great craving for me to have, since it means they get cookies to enjoy at lunchtime and for snacks. But I also find myself craving other activities. As I’m trying to catch up to my word goal so that my books can get finished well in time for the holiday shopping season, I find myself staring at my open Word document thinking of other things I’d like to do. “Hmmm, I’d like to do some scrapbooking right now.” Last week I spent quite a bit of time putting together pictures of my son onto cardstock and patterned paper for a “clothesline of memories” to put in his room. It’s an idea I’ve toyed with for a while since I can’t stand white walls. Every time I’d sit down to write last week, the idea would become clearer and more persistent. Now, twenty pictures later, he’s got three layers of twine wrapped back and forth on one wall with pictures hanging from it by clothespins. For now, my scrapbooking has been satisfied; though I do keep looking at my wedding album and thinking, “I could just do a couple of pages. After all, if I’m ever going to get it finished I have to work on it.”
Other times I find myself looking at the space saver in our bedroom that I painted while in college. It doesn’t match our décor at all. It did at the time I painted it since I had a kind of seascape theme for my room. But when I got married, we had totally different décor and I decided to make a denim quilt for our bed. I let my husband pick out the fabrics, since I really didn’t want him to feel like he was stuck in a girly room. (If you know me personally and are giggling at the idea that I would pick something overly feminine, stop it. My favorite colors are purple and green, and purple rarely comes in masculine prints!) so my sweet husband went with me to the store and he picked out beautiful fabrics; a sunflower print that we both fell in love with, a bold green, and a rich brown. Because my math skills are nonexistent, we ended up short for the quilt, but luckily I had some bright yellow that I’d gotten for a different project that never quite saw fruition. The quilt is gorgeous, but it’s certainly not seascape. I look at the space saver and think, “I really need to repaint that. It clashes with our quilt.” Then I remind myself that I’ve got two books to write, a baby to prepare for and an apartment to keep clean. So I walk away from it and start writing or working on chores. But in the back of my mind I hear that nagging, “But it doesn’t match. It really should be repainted. I haven’t painted anything in a long time. I’d like to paint something. The space saver needs painted.”
If someone knows a good way to shut off the cravings voice, without giving in to whatever it is it’s telling you to do, I could sure use the advice! Because that space saver becomes more and more mismatched every time I see it. And now my fingers are itching to hold a paintbrush…
August 9, 2012
Catching Up!
You know, the biggest problem with procrastinating is the mad rush to catch up to where you should be. And since I’m a mom now, and a pregnant mom at that, that old stand-by of pulling an all-nighter? Not an option anymore. My sweet son keeps me up plenty on his own. And this morning, not to be outdone by big brother, Baby #2 decided that Mommy had slept enough and started jumping up and down on my bladder. I might just have an Olympic trampoline artist in the making. :) After relieving that and trying to lie down again, Baby just kept kicking and kicking. This was his way of saying, “Nope, Mommy, you’re done sleeping for the day. There’s just too much to be done!”
So I grudgingly got out of bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I got a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then decided that the nectarine in the fridge was looking rather sad and lonely. So I sliced that up, keeping some smaller slices to share with my little guy. He loves them almost as much as Mommy does. Not long after finishing my breakfast, I could hear Gary talking to himself. I knew that meant he was waking up and would come toddling out of his room soon. Just so you know, watching your little one come out of their room with that drunken-sailor, “I’m really not awake yet” walk is pretty precious. :) I checked my emails, gave my son his breakfast and then waited for hubby to get home from his morning run. I put a movie in for Gary and started my scripture study for the morning. Jonathan got home and then immediately got in the shower. So I had to wait a bit longer for my shower. I suppose having done his exercise he deserved to get the shower first, but I was really looking forward to a shower. It’s a rare treat to have time by yourself when you’re a mommy.
Then it was my turn. It must be a thing with Elliott babies; they think the shower is the most fascinating, amazing thing that Mommy can do during the day. When I was pregnant with my first, he was constantly in my spine unless I was in the shower. As soon as that hot water would start running, he’d start pushing his way as close to that water as he could get. The most pregnant I ever looked with him (and I never looked super-big pregnant with him) was when I was in the shower. This baby has the same fascination with the shower, though thankfully does not spend the rest of the time in my spine. So I spent the shower feeling Baby try to push as close to the stream of water as he could get. Then I got kicked a few times for turning the water off. “Hello, Mom, I was enjoying that!” he seemed to say. Well, as much as Mommy would have loved to stay in the shower all day, there was lots to do today and only so much time to do it in. Besides, eventually the hot water would run out and I can’t stand cold showers.
So out I came, dressed for the day and ready to get started on my big goals for the day. And so far, I’ve been doing pretty good. I helped Jonathan work in our room for a while. Having lived here for over a year, you’d think we’d have everything unpacked and put where we want it. Well, we don’t. :) Then I made lunch for everyone and it was time to start writing. While my sweetheart kept working in our room, I sat on the bed and typed. Occasionally he interrupted to ask a question about where something should be kept or to ask whether or not I wanted to keep something. But for a couple of hours I was able to get some writing done with the result that almost 3000 words were added to Mishcief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down. It’s still about 4000 shy of where it’s supposed to be since I took a few days off to watch the Olympics. Yes, even writers with self-appointed deadlines take time off to watch the Olympics. :) But I thought that was a pretty good jump back into the swing of things. Now it’s evening and I’m with my sweet boy in his room. He’s playing with his toys and the door is closed so he can’t escape…yet. He’s not quite tall enough to get to the doorknob. But I have no doubts he’ll get there soon. So while he enjoys some playtime, I’m going to add about a thousand more words to that story before jumping into Finding Prince Charming. As long as Gary is entertained, I may as well get some more work done!
So I grudgingly got out of bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I got a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then decided that the nectarine in the fridge was looking rather sad and lonely. So I sliced that up, keeping some smaller slices to share with my little guy. He loves them almost as much as Mommy does. Not long after finishing my breakfast, I could hear Gary talking to himself. I knew that meant he was waking up and would come toddling out of his room soon. Just so you know, watching your little one come out of their room with that drunken-sailor, “I’m really not awake yet” walk is pretty precious. :) I checked my emails, gave my son his breakfast and then waited for hubby to get home from his morning run. I put a movie in for Gary and started my scripture study for the morning. Jonathan got home and then immediately got in the shower. So I had to wait a bit longer for my shower. I suppose having done his exercise he deserved to get the shower first, but I was really looking forward to a shower. It’s a rare treat to have time by yourself when you’re a mommy.
Then it was my turn. It must be a thing with Elliott babies; they think the shower is the most fascinating, amazing thing that Mommy can do during the day. When I was pregnant with my first, he was constantly in my spine unless I was in the shower. As soon as that hot water would start running, he’d start pushing his way as close to that water as he could get. The most pregnant I ever looked with him (and I never looked super-big pregnant with him) was when I was in the shower. This baby has the same fascination with the shower, though thankfully does not spend the rest of the time in my spine. So I spent the shower feeling Baby try to push as close to the stream of water as he could get. Then I got kicked a few times for turning the water off. “Hello, Mom, I was enjoying that!” he seemed to say. Well, as much as Mommy would have loved to stay in the shower all day, there was lots to do today and only so much time to do it in. Besides, eventually the hot water would run out and I can’t stand cold showers.
So out I came, dressed for the day and ready to get started on my big goals for the day. And so far, I’ve been doing pretty good. I helped Jonathan work in our room for a while. Having lived here for over a year, you’d think we’d have everything unpacked and put where we want it. Well, we don’t. :) Then I made lunch for everyone and it was time to start writing. While my sweetheart kept working in our room, I sat on the bed and typed. Occasionally he interrupted to ask a question about where something should be kept or to ask whether or not I wanted to keep something. But for a couple of hours I was able to get some writing done with the result that almost 3000 words were added to Mishcief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down. It’s still about 4000 shy of where it’s supposed to be since I took a few days off to watch the Olympics. Yes, even writers with self-appointed deadlines take time off to watch the Olympics. :) But I thought that was a pretty good jump back into the swing of things. Now it’s evening and I’m with my sweet boy in his room. He’s playing with his toys and the door is closed so he can’t escape…yet. He’s not quite tall enough to get to the doorknob. But I have no doubts he’ll get there soon. So while he enjoys some playtime, I’m going to add about a thousand more words to that story before jumping into Finding Prince Charming. As long as Gary is entertained, I may as well get some more work done!
