Jessica L. Elliott's Blog, page 22
August 6, 2012
The Woes and Joys of Procrastination
We tell our children all the time not to do it and yet every one of is guilty of having done it ourselves: we procrastinate.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a list person when it comes to chores. I make myself a to-do list and happily check things off in their little box (yes, I draw a box to check off) as I finish the task. Last night I made my to-do list for today. Guess how many checks I’ve made? If you guessed zero, you guessed right. Well, I take that back; I did do my scripture study this morning. I’ve got one check to make. I just haven’t made it yet. :)
I’m not sure what it is that makes a day just totally unproductive. I’d love to blame my son and say it’s his fault, but aside from a slightly fussy afternoon, he’s been very helpful as far as giving me time. He’s played in his room, watched movies and taken not one but two naps today. I should have been able to get my entire list checked off and maybe even some extra things; like baking cookies just because I can. Instead, and I will admit it, I blew up bubbles on Facebook, played with my son and then played a ridiculous number of games on Mahjong. I didn’t even get my writing done for the day. It’s sad, I know. Having gotten such a good swing going these last few days, it feels awful not having anything to show for this Monday.
Granted, I had fun building a cardboard box castle with Gary in his room. And watching him destroy the castle was almost as fun as building it. I even had fun having pretend phone conversations on the dead cell phone we gave to him after we took out the old battery. He and I played some wonderful games of make-believe and I always enjoy time playing with my son. It reminds me of playing with my siblings when we were younger, but it’s different. This time I’m watching it through a parent’s eyes. I never thought that becoming a parent would change the significance of playtime, but it does, doesn’t it? When you’re the child, playtime is a time of never-ending fun that only stops when Mom has finally had enough of the noise, the mess, or simply wants you to stop so you can eat supper or go to bed. But as the parent, suddenly playtime takes on a whole new meaning. It’s precious time that goes by far too quickly. It’s time that you get to spend building your children’s imaginations, teaching them the little lessons in life that are so important and getting to know them on a more personal level. Suddenly an hour of playtime goes from being an eternity to being a mere second. The time passes and you wish that you could move the clock hands back and start it again. After all, your children will never be in that precise moment again. But even so, you know that the chores do have to get done and you’re not the child anymore. You can’t always afford to give away an entire day to playing with your children, as much as you might want to.
Now I’m minutes away from hubby getting home from work. At that point he’ll need time on the computer. I can’t in good conscience ask him to give up his time because I wasted mine. Even though I know that if I bat my eyes prettily and smile winningly, I’d probably get the time I need to at least make the word goal for the day. I might even get some extra time if I promise cookies for tomorrow and to give him extra time. But that wouldn’t be fair. He hasn’t wasted his day away; he simply wasn’t here to work on things. I, on the other hand, have done everything but the things I most needed to. Ah, if only that clock did have a rewind button. Then I could spend my whole day playing with Gary and doing little nothings and still have the time to write, to clean and to cook. But alas, life doesn’t come with a rewind button. Life just keeps moving forward. And I suppose that’s the way it’s meant to be.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a list person when it comes to chores. I make myself a to-do list and happily check things off in their little box (yes, I draw a box to check off) as I finish the task. Last night I made my to-do list for today. Guess how many checks I’ve made? If you guessed zero, you guessed right. Well, I take that back; I did do my scripture study this morning. I’ve got one check to make. I just haven’t made it yet. :)
I’m not sure what it is that makes a day just totally unproductive. I’d love to blame my son and say it’s his fault, but aside from a slightly fussy afternoon, he’s been very helpful as far as giving me time. He’s played in his room, watched movies and taken not one but two naps today. I should have been able to get my entire list checked off and maybe even some extra things; like baking cookies just because I can. Instead, and I will admit it, I blew up bubbles on Facebook, played with my son and then played a ridiculous number of games on Mahjong. I didn’t even get my writing done for the day. It’s sad, I know. Having gotten such a good swing going these last few days, it feels awful not having anything to show for this Monday.
Granted, I had fun building a cardboard box castle with Gary in his room. And watching him destroy the castle was almost as fun as building it. I even had fun having pretend phone conversations on the dead cell phone we gave to him after we took out the old battery. He and I played some wonderful games of make-believe and I always enjoy time playing with my son. It reminds me of playing with my siblings when we were younger, but it’s different. This time I’m watching it through a parent’s eyes. I never thought that becoming a parent would change the significance of playtime, but it does, doesn’t it? When you’re the child, playtime is a time of never-ending fun that only stops when Mom has finally had enough of the noise, the mess, or simply wants you to stop so you can eat supper or go to bed. But as the parent, suddenly playtime takes on a whole new meaning. It’s precious time that goes by far too quickly. It’s time that you get to spend building your children’s imaginations, teaching them the little lessons in life that are so important and getting to know them on a more personal level. Suddenly an hour of playtime goes from being an eternity to being a mere second. The time passes and you wish that you could move the clock hands back and start it again. After all, your children will never be in that precise moment again. But even so, you know that the chores do have to get done and you’re not the child anymore. You can’t always afford to give away an entire day to playing with your children, as much as you might want to.
Now I’m minutes away from hubby getting home from work. At that point he’ll need time on the computer. I can’t in good conscience ask him to give up his time because I wasted mine. Even though I know that if I bat my eyes prettily and smile winningly, I’d probably get the time I need to at least make the word goal for the day. I might even get some extra time if I promise cookies for tomorrow and to give him extra time. But that wouldn’t be fair. He hasn’t wasted his day away; he simply wasn’t here to work on things. I, on the other hand, have done everything but the things I most needed to. Ah, if only that clock did have a rewind button. Then I could spend my whole day playing with Gary and doing little nothings and still have the time to write, to clean and to cook. But alas, life doesn’t come with a rewind button. Life just keeps moving forward. And I suppose that’s the way it’s meant to be.
August 2, 2012
The Best Laid Plans Never Work
This week has been a long one and a busy one. And yet with all my plans, things never quite go the way I'd like them to. Some of that is perhaps that I have unrealistic expectations of myself. And some of it is that no matter how well you plan, life happens and you just have to go with the flow.
Tuesday is really where the downhill slope of my planning began. I had a doctor appointment to check on Baby Elliott #2 and to do the glucola test. So, forty minutes before my appointment, I had to drink the Orange Syrup of Death (For those of you who have never had to do the test, this is 10 oz. of straight glucose flavored like slightly carbonated orange soda). The first half went down pretty easily. Then you start hearing the Bill Cosby routine when he talks about drunk people. The stomach says, "Please, don't take another drink." But despite wanting very much to obey your stomach, you keep sipping as quickly as you can because you have to get everything down within a few minutes in order for the test to work properly. So there I am, I've drunk the bottle and I'm trying desperately not to get sick. Because if I do get sick, I have to start all over again with a new bottle of Orange Syrup of Death. My sister (many, many thanks Bekah!) takes me to my appointment all the while telling me how sorry she is that I am now feeling miserable. I just nod because at this point I'm pretty sure if I open my mouth I'm going to reject the syrup. We get to the appointment and the nurse calls me back. "How are you doing today, Jessica?"
"I drank the glucola stuff and now I'm concentrating on not being sick."
"I'm so sorry. What time did you drink it?"
"I finished the bottle at 12:52."
"Well, just hang in there for another ten minutes. Then it'll all be over. Actually, just hang in there. I'd rather you weren't sick." She leads me to the room, checks my blood pressure, asks all the standard pregnancy questions and tells me that the nurse who will be drawing my blood will be in shortly to finish the test for me. I continued to concentrate on not getting sick.
The other nurse arrives, draws the blood she needs and proceeds to apologize for how awful the syrup is. "I really wish there were another way we could do this, but there just isn't. Would you like me to get you some water?"
"That would be wonderful."
"How about Chex Mix? Do you like Chex Mix?"
"Yeah, thanks."
She brings it back to me and then brings my sister back to the room so she can listen to Baby's heartbeat with me. Bekah and I chat until my doctor arrives. I'm starting to feel somewhat better having had the water and snack, but I'm still not feeling all that fabulous. I lie back so doctor can measure Baby's growth and then he puts on the little doo-hickey that listens to Baby's heartbeat. squelch squelch squelch "Well, Jessica, sounds like your baby's heartbeat is at 152 today. Good strong beat. If it's alright with you, we'll schedule you for five weeks instead of four. I'll be out of town and unless you have any concerns, I don't see any reason to move your appointment up a week."
"That's fine with me."
"Alright, then I'll see you in five weeks. If anything should happen or you have any concerns, just call."
"Alright, thanks." Bekah and I go out to the front desk, set up my next appointment and head for home.
Now this is where my planning goes awry. I had grand hopes of getting some writing done and cleaning my kitchen that day. Instead, I sat at my mom's house and watched the Olympics because I just didn't have the energy to do anything else. I had a horrible headache and just felt nauseous and miserable for the rest of the day. My sweet, wonderful husband made dinner that night because I just wasn't feeling up to it. (Love you, honey!) So I decided that I'd make up for the lost time on Wednesday as well as start my Camp NaNoWriMo novel because it would be August 1st.
That plan fell through too. My poor son woke up at about 1 o'clock in the morning with a very runny nose and absolutely miserable. Jonathan stayed up with him, but even with being allowed to go back to bed, I didn't get to sleep until about 2. Jonathan didn't get to sleep until 4. When he came back to our room about 7, I made him go to bed and promised that I would take care of Gary if needed so that he could get some extra sleep. I always feel bad when Jonathan loses sleep because our little one isn't feeling well. Gary started to whimper and I got up to take care of him. Not even an hour later, Jonathan came out of our room and said, "I can't sleep anymore." So we tag-teamed trying to figure out what our son wanted. It wasn't easy because 9 out of 10 he didn't even know what he wanted. I kidnapped one of my sisters for the morning and early afternoon so that I could get the kitchen worked on while she watched Gary so Jonathan could go to work. I didn't get everything in the kitchen done, but at least the dishwasher was loaded and run. When my sweetie got home, I took Eliza back home (thanks again, sis!) and came back. The rest of the afternoon was spent in cleaning up and trying again to find out what Gary actually wanted. So I didn't even get to start writing in anything until 9 at night. By that point I decided that starting my camp novel should be the priority and worked only on that. Once I had gotten just past the daily goal, I saved and shut it down. We put our little guy to sleep on the couch because that's where he fell asleep and we didn't dare risk moving him for fear he would wake up. He did, but several hours later and that time did go back to sleep reasonably well.
Today has been more of the same story. My poor baby is still feeling miserable, now with a fever and sore throat to accompany the constantly running nose. I've had a few opportunities to work on things while he's crashed into naps of exhaustion, but most of the day has been spent walking him around the living room, trying to get him calmed down. It's not easy being little and not being able to tell people what's wrong and what will make you feel better. So today's goal: get to the daily word count goal for camp and maybe even add a couple hundred words to Finding Prince Charming. Other than that, I'm just taking care of my son and hoping that he'll start to feel better soon. Right now he's playing with his toys having eaten about half of his dinner, so he must be feeling at least somewhat better. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to catch up to where I want to be. But then again, I'd best not plan too much...the best laid plans never work. :)
In the meantime, check out this excerpt from my Camp NaNoWriMo project, Mischief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down. Just follow the link: http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/pian...
Tuesday is really where the downhill slope of my planning began. I had a doctor appointment to check on Baby Elliott #2 and to do the glucola test. So, forty minutes before my appointment, I had to drink the Orange Syrup of Death (For those of you who have never had to do the test, this is 10 oz. of straight glucose flavored like slightly carbonated orange soda). The first half went down pretty easily. Then you start hearing the Bill Cosby routine when he talks about drunk people. The stomach says, "Please, don't take another drink." But despite wanting very much to obey your stomach, you keep sipping as quickly as you can because you have to get everything down within a few minutes in order for the test to work properly. So there I am, I've drunk the bottle and I'm trying desperately not to get sick. Because if I do get sick, I have to start all over again with a new bottle of Orange Syrup of Death. My sister (many, many thanks Bekah!) takes me to my appointment all the while telling me how sorry she is that I am now feeling miserable. I just nod because at this point I'm pretty sure if I open my mouth I'm going to reject the syrup. We get to the appointment and the nurse calls me back. "How are you doing today, Jessica?"
"I drank the glucola stuff and now I'm concentrating on not being sick."
"I'm so sorry. What time did you drink it?"
"I finished the bottle at 12:52."
"Well, just hang in there for another ten minutes. Then it'll all be over. Actually, just hang in there. I'd rather you weren't sick." She leads me to the room, checks my blood pressure, asks all the standard pregnancy questions and tells me that the nurse who will be drawing my blood will be in shortly to finish the test for me. I continued to concentrate on not getting sick.
The other nurse arrives, draws the blood she needs and proceeds to apologize for how awful the syrup is. "I really wish there were another way we could do this, but there just isn't. Would you like me to get you some water?"
"That would be wonderful."
"How about Chex Mix? Do you like Chex Mix?"
"Yeah, thanks."
She brings it back to me and then brings my sister back to the room so she can listen to Baby's heartbeat with me. Bekah and I chat until my doctor arrives. I'm starting to feel somewhat better having had the water and snack, but I'm still not feeling all that fabulous. I lie back so doctor can measure Baby's growth and then he puts on the little doo-hickey that listens to Baby's heartbeat. squelch squelch squelch "Well, Jessica, sounds like your baby's heartbeat is at 152 today. Good strong beat. If it's alright with you, we'll schedule you for five weeks instead of four. I'll be out of town and unless you have any concerns, I don't see any reason to move your appointment up a week."
"That's fine with me."
"Alright, then I'll see you in five weeks. If anything should happen or you have any concerns, just call."
"Alright, thanks." Bekah and I go out to the front desk, set up my next appointment and head for home.
Now this is where my planning goes awry. I had grand hopes of getting some writing done and cleaning my kitchen that day. Instead, I sat at my mom's house and watched the Olympics because I just didn't have the energy to do anything else. I had a horrible headache and just felt nauseous and miserable for the rest of the day. My sweet, wonderful husband made dinner that night because I just wasn't feeling up to it. (Love you, honey!) So I decided that I'd make up for the lost time on Wednesday as well as start my Camp NaNoWriMo novel because it would be August 1st.
That plan fell through too. My poor son woke up at about 1 o'clock in the morning with a very runny nose and absolutely miserable. Jonathan stayed up with him, but even with being allowed to go back to bed, I didn't get to sleep until about 2. Jonathan didn't get to sleep until 4. When he came back to our room about 7, I made him go to bed and promised that I would take care of Gary if needed so that he could get some extra sleep. I always feel bad when Jonathan loses sleep because our little one isn't feeling well. Gary started to whimper and I got up to take care of him. Not even an hour later, Jonathan came out of our room and said, "I can't sleep anymore." So we tag-teamed trying to figure out what our son wanted. It wasn't easy because 9 out of 10 he didn't even know what he wanted. I kidnapped one of my sisters for the morning and early afternoon so that I could get the kitchen worked on while she watched Gary so Jonathan could go to work. I didn't get everything in the kitchen done, but at least the dishwasher was loaded and run. When my sweetie got home, I took Eliza back home (thanks again, sis!) and came back. The rest of the afternoon was spent in cleaning up and trying again to find out what Gary actually wanted. So I didn't even get to start writing in anything until 9 at night. By that point I decided that starting my camp novel should be the priority and worked only on that. Once I had gotten just past the daily goal, I saved and shut it down. We put our little guy to sleep on the couch because that's where he fell asleep and we didn't dare risk moving him for fear he would wake up. He did, but several hours later and that time did go back to sleep reasonably well.
Today has been more of the same story. My poor baby is still feeling miserable, now with a fever and sore throat to accompany the constantly running nose. I've had a few opportunities to work on things while he's crashed into naps of exhaustion, but most of the day has been spent walking him around the living room, trying to get him calmed down. It's not easy being little and not being able to tell people what's wrong and what will make you feel better. So today's goal: get to the daily word count goal for camp and maybe even add a couple hundred words to Finding Prince Charming. Other than that, I'm just taking care of my son and hoping that he'll start to feel better soon. Right now he's playing with his toys having eaten about half of his dinner, so he must be feeling at least somewhat better. Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to catch up to where I want to be. But then again, I'd best not plan too much...the best laid plans never work. :)
In the meantime, check out this excerpt from my Camp NaNoWriMo project, Mischief, Mayhem and NOT Burning the House Down. Just follow the link: http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/pian...
July 26, 2012
A Gift of Love
Ever experienced that feeling of sudden weightlessness after a haircut? Yeah, I’ve been there many times, but I think this is the most light-headed post-haircut I’ve ever felt. I like my hair long. In fact, I should just say I like my hair. More to the point, I love my hair. It is my one vanity, even if it never does do what I want it to do. But I know that my hair is a gorgeous color and is soft and fun to play with. Yes, I am rather vain about it. I have gorgeous hair. :)
My bishop’s wife was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. There’s not much I can do to really help make this easier. I’m not a doctor, I have no special training, and while I can be a good friend and be there for her when she needs me, that’s about all I can do. But it reminded me that it has been a very long time since I donated to Locks of Love. Based in Florida, Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that creates wigs for children who have lost their hair through disease or chemotherapy treatments. Joy loves children and has always had a special place in her heart for them. So, thinking of her reminded me that there was something I could do. I could get a haircut.
So on Monday morning I called the beauty salon and told them what I wanted to do. I set up my appointment and at eleven-thirty, I was sitting in the stylist’s chair with my hair in a ponytail. She asked me, “Are you ready?”
“Not really, but you better just do it before I change my mind,” I said. (I’ve never liked having my hair cut.)
“Alright.” SNIP, SNIP, SNIP.
And into my lap fell a thirteen inch ponytail of hair. I took a deep breath and waited for the stylist to look over my hair and help me decide what to do with it now. Never since I was a very, very young child (we’re talking about two before my hair had grown any longer!) has my hair been so short. And as she began styling it, more chunks of hair fell in my lap and to the floor. After what seemed forever of snipping scissors and small talk, I was able to put my glasses back on and really see the results of the cut. I felt bald! Now, don’t get me wrong, the cut is really cute and I do like it. But my inches and inches of hair were gone. The stylist straightened it out and assured me that I wouldn’t have to straighten it to keep it looking good. Even as short as this cut is, it took her a good forty-five minutes to get it all straightened. I think I’ve got enough hair for two people on my head alone! And after paying for the cut, taking up my ponytail, and getting lots of compliments from the ladies across the way having their hair done, I left. The big question in my mind was: “What is Jonathan going to say?” My sweet husband knows I like my hair to be long and the truth is he likes it long too.
I walked into our apartment and held the ponytail around the little vestibule for him to see. “Here’s what’s left,” I said and then stepped out.
He stared for a moment. “Did you know it was going to be that short?”
“No.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s different, but I think it’s cute.”
Then he smiled. “I think it’s cute too. You look really nice, Jess.” Safe answer, and yes, I bought it. It helped that I got a hug and kiss in the bargain too. :)
Now a few days later I’ve had the chance to see what it’ll do naturally and it’s still cute. Every now and again I do end up bashing my shoulder when brushing my hair. After all, I’m used to there being more of it! And the first time I washed it, I put WAY too much shampoo in my hand. I guess when your hair is short you don’t need quite the same amount of shampoo as when it’s really long. :) I’ve gotten lots of compliments from friends and family and I am beginning to like the style more. I’ll probably let my hair grow out again because I do prefer more length than I have right now, but I’ll certainly keep this style in mind for those times in life when long hair just isn’t as practical.
It’s a simple thing to do. Just a haircut, but for one person it’ll make a difference. If you’re like me and tend to keep your hair long, you might consider the next time you go in for a cut seeing if you have enough length to donate to Locks of Love. It’s a wonderful way to help a child and all it costs you is a haircut and the postage to send it to Florida. Go to www.locksoflove.org for more information on how you can help a child in need.
My bishop’s wife was recently diagnosed with bone cancer. There’s not much I can do to really help make this easier. I’m not a doctor, I have no special training, and while I can be a good friend and be there for her when she needs me, that’s about all I can do. But it reminded me that it has been a very long time since I donated to Locks of Love. Based in Florida, Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that creates wigs for children who have lost their hair through disease or chemotherapy treatments. Joy loves children and has always had a special place in her heart for them. So, thinking of her reminded me that there was something I could do. I could get a haircut.
So on Monday morning I called the beauty salon and told them what I wanted to do. I set up my appointment and at eleven-thirty, I was sitting in the stylist’s chair with my hair in a ponytail. She asked me, “Are you ready?”
“Not really, but you better just do it before I change my mind,” I said. (I’ve never liked having my hair cut.)
“Alright.” SNIP, SNIP, SNIP.
And into my lap fell a thirteen inch ponytail of hair. I took a deep breath and waited for the stylist to look over my hair and help me decide what to do with it now. Never since I was a very, very young child (we’re talking about two before my hair had grown any longer!) has my hair been so short. And as she began styling it, more chunks of hair fell in my lap and to the floor. After what seemed forever of snipping scissors and small talk, I was able to put my glasses back on and really see the results of the cut. I felt bald! Now, don’t get me wrong, the cut is really cute and I do like it. But my inches and inches of hair were gone. The stylist straightened it out and assured me that I wouldn’t have to straighten it to keep it looking good. Even as short as this cut is, it took her a good forty-five minutes to get it all straightened. I think I’ve got enough hair for two people on my head alone! And after paying for the cut, taking up my ponytail, and getting lots of compliments from the ladies across the way having their hair done, I left. The big question in my mind was: “What is Jonathan going to say?” My sweet husband knows I like my hair to be long and the truth is he likes it long too.
I walked into our apartment and held the ponytail around the little vestibule for him to see. “Here’s what’s left,” I said and then stepped out.
He stared for a moment. “Did you know it was going to be that short?”
“No.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s different, but I think it’s cute.”
Then he smiled. “I think it’s cute too. You look really nice, Jess.” Safe answer, and yes, I bought it. It helped that I got a hug and kiss in the bargain too. :)
Now a few days later I’ve had the chance to see what it’ll do naturally and it’s still cute. Every now and again I do end up bashing my shoulder when brushing my hair. After all, I’m used to there being more of it! And the first time I washed it, I put WAY too much shampoo in my hand. I guess when your hair is short you don’t need quite the same amount of shampoo as when it’s really long. :) I’ve gotten lots of compliments from friends and family and I am beginning to like the style more. I’ll probably let my hair grow out again because I do prefer more length than I have right now, but I’ll certainly keep this style in mind for those times in life when long hair just isn’t as practical.
It’s a simple thing to do. Just a haircut, but for one person it’ll make a difference. If you’re like me and tend to keep your hair long, you might consider the next time you go in for a cut seeing if you have enough length to donate to Locks of Love. It’s a wonderful way to help a child and all it costs you is a haircut and the postage to send it to Florida. Go to www.locksoflove.org for more information on how you can help a child in need.
July 21, 2012
A Sneak Peek
I've stated before that I normally never do a full rewrite. I work too hard the first time around to scrap everything. But this time I couldn't stand anything that I had written in Finding Prince Charming. So I started over...completely. Back to "Chapter one, page one," as Auntie Mame so beautifully said it.
Since June I have been working on the rewrite and it is coming along pretty well. I'm still hoping to be finished with the writing by the end of summer so that during the beginning of the school year I can get the edits and revisions taken care that need done and then hopefully Finding Prince Charming will be available in time for holiday shopping. But in the meantime, here's a little sneak peek at what's happening in Finding Prince Charming. It's not going to be beautifully formatted since it's in a blog post and this part is not at the very beginning of the story, but it gives you an idea of where things will go...
It was mid-morning when a small frog awoke surrounded by mud. Panicked, the creature flailed his arms and legs, fighting to be free of the slime until finally he came up to the surface. He felt dazed and confused as he turned yellowish-green eyes about to get some idea as to where he was. Gigantic flowers surrounded him and tall blades of grass, which didn’t help him much with his location. Nothing looked familiar and so he decided to figure out what he was doing there. He tried to think, but everything was fuzzy as though he’d been hit in the head a little too hard. The frog closed his eyes. His name was Adrian, he knew that much, but where was he? He tried to remember the last thing he had done before falling asleep. There was music, dancing, and a beautiful girl with auburn hair. “Allegra,” he remembered.
A giant nearby turned on hearing a sound. “Hi there, little fella,” he said, picking Adrian up gently in his hands. “You’re awfully far from the pond, my friend. You don’t want to be out this way, there are snakes sometimes.”
Adrian looked up at the giant’s face. “Oh, King Lysander, it’s me! It’s me, Adrian. It’s Adrian, King Lysander. Where’s Allegra?”
Lysander chuckled as the frog croaked and chirped excitedly. “Calm down, little fella, I’m going to set you down soon. I promise.”
“No, King Lysander, you don’t understand. It’s me, Adrian. No, no, no, no, no! Don’t put me down!”
“There you are, safe and sound,” Lysander said as he stood up. He rinsed his hands in the pond water and wiped them on the grubby trousers he was wearing and then turned and returned to the garden Adrian had just emerged from.
“No, King Lysander, please don’t leave me here!” Adrian croaked but to no avail. “He didn’t understand a single word I said,” he muttered as he watched King Lysander crouch down near his flowerbeds again. “Great, no human being can understand me. Just how am I going to get Allegra to realize that I’m a prince, not a frog?” He sighed and then looked about the pond he was going to be living near. He knew that if there were snakes, he should probably stay close to the water where he would be safer. He should also set himself up with a burrow of sorts away from where any other frogs might be. Some frogs were territorial and he didn’t want to get himself on the wrong side of any current inhabitants. Since he didn’t see any other frogs around, he picked a spot near the pond’s edge with a large rock near it. Boy, I wish I had a shovel right now, Adrian thought as he started trying to dig through the dirt.
After what seemed forever, he had finally managed to dig out a fairly comfortable burrow under the rock. He crawled out of the burrow and looked out over the pond. The smell of salty sea air filled his nostrils and he could hear the crashing waves in the distance. He suddenly got the impression that he was being watched and looked about the pond. A splash in a far corner grabbed his attention. “Is someone there?” he asked. There was no answer. He could see ripples in the water and a strange, purple seaweed floating near the surface. Just as he thought how strange it was that the seaweed was purple, it disappeared. He considered following whatever had been there, but thought better of it. Allegra would never find him if he became some fish’s midmorning snack.
Adrian sighed and went back down into his burrow. To his surprise, there was a rolled piece of parchment in the corner. “Where did this come from?” he wondered. He looked at the parchment for a moment and as though it sensed his presence, it suddenly unrolled itself. Startled, he jumped away from it for a moment, but noticed that the handwriting on it looked familiar to him. In fact, he was sure it was the same handwriting he had seen every year. Calista! How had she sent him a letter? Perhaps fairy magic wasn’t as weak as Calypso made it seem. She was the witch who had taught him spell breaking while he had still been in school. He moved back towards the letter so that he could read it.
Dear Adrian,
As you rightly guessed during your fifth year, you are not the person with a quest. Nevertheless I have some counsel for you as you await Princess Allegra.
First, become aware of your surroundings. I think you will find that the more you know about the area, the more you will be able to help Allegra. Explore, discover and learn. And please be careful doing it, some animals are not at all put off by slimy frogs and would find you quite the treat.
“Gee thanks, Calista,” Adrian interrupted himself before continuing to read the letter.
Second, no matter what happens, have faith in Allegra. This is a challenging position for you to be in, but rest assured in the knowledge that your princess loves you very much. She is a much stronger individual than she gives herself credit for being. You will probably need to remind her of her own strength before you can both reach happily ever after. Do not lose hope, even when things seem impossible. Even the most desperate of fairy tales still end happily.
Third, be careful in associating with other animal life. They may or may not recognize that you have been cursed. This could put you in a dangerous situation. Be sure that you stay on your own. Don’t be tempted to join any other groups and be very careful which creatures you put your trust in. Better to rely on yourself and your own strengths than to rely on false friends.
And now Adrian I will close by informing you that your friends have all graduated today. You will now only have to await the graduation of your princess before the quest truly begins. There will be some magical protection around you in the meantime, but do not become complacent in your own guard. Keep a wary eye and be alert. Congratulations on completing your schooling. Your diploma will be awarded to you upon your triumphant return with Princess Allegra.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!
Calista Periwinkle
Confused, Adrian reread the letter. His friends had graduated? How? He remembered vaguely making a deal with the witches in exchange for one last night as a human with Allegra. Then at midnight, he’d told her that he loved her and then…ugh! Why couldn’t he remember? He closed his eyes and strained his memory, trying to remember what had happened. He saw vague images of flashing light and felt the sensation of wind whipping around him. Then nothing, it was like he had gone to sleep. “I did go to sleep,” he realized. “I’ve been asleep for over a year!”
He left the burrow once again, mostly so that he could think without the large letter distracting him. What was he going to do? It would still be another year before Allegra graduated. He hopped about the pond, looking around to see what could possibly be of use to him in helping Allegra find him. He would never think to look in his own home province for her if he were the one on a quest. Why should Allegra look for him here? Would she even be allowed in Maltisten? He thought graduates weren’t allowed to go home until their quest was completed. His mind began to feel numb and the more he thought, the worse it got. There just didn’t seem to be any way for things to end happily. Even the most desperate of fairy tales end happily, he remembered, almost hearing Calista’s voice is his mind. “I hope you’re right Calista,” he sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
It was several days before Adrian managed to pull himself out of his bout of melancholy. On those days he worked hard to make his burrow more comfortable. He thought about a conversation he had once had with Nana, his grandmother, before he had disappeared. She had told him that she had spent every day waiting for Grandpa in cleaning her little room and making sure that she was ready to be rescued at any time. “You never know when they’ll show up,” she’d said cheerfully. Though Adrian despised cleaning, he realized his grandmother was right. It also gave him something to do. So each day he would get up and work on digging a little more out in his burrow. Then he would try to clean it as best he knew how. How did a frog keep his burrow clean? As he tried over and over to keep some semblance of neatness in his burrow, he determined that normal frogs must not care if their burrows are clean. The walls often dripped or slid down as the mud gave way. He decided that he would just try to keep things in good repair because there was no good way to get rid of the mud or make it stay where he wanted it.
As he worked, he wanted to put the letter in a place where it would be safe and where he could still see it and read it whenever he wanted. He tried rather awkwardly to move the letter someplace it wouldn’t be in the way. It wasn’t easy to do. The parchment seemed huge compared to Adrian’s small burrow, but he was able to at least get it set up against one of the muddy walls. He was slightly surprised to find that it never seemed to get dirty, despite occasional mudslides. He remembered that Calypso had taught him that fairy magic could offer protection to objects that they blessed. Calista must have known her letter would need some protection since as a frog he wouldn’t be living anywhere clean and well-kept. He often read and reread the letter until soon he had it memorized. He almost wished he had a letter from Allegra as well, but knew that there was little hope of receiving one while he was a frog. He would just have to enjoy the dim memories he had of her. As the days passed, his memory became clearer. He could remember the soft waves of her hair and the way her brown eyes crinkled at the edges when she laughed. Often during the day he would sit up on his rock, look over the pond and just smile to himself as he remembered her. She was so very beautiful and so full of life. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
His wish wasn’t so long in the waiting as he might have thought. One day just before noon, he heard voices moving away from the castle. He looked and saw King Lysander and Queen Alexandra walking out of the castle, Lysander carrying a large wicker basket. Alexandra had a checked blanket draped over her arm. They must be going on a picnic, Adrian thought. Then he saw Allegra coming out of the castle. The sunlight played on her hair, pulling out the golden-red color. She was tossing a shiny ball in the air and catching it. As she did so, she was moving closer to the pond. Maybe he’d get to see her close-up before she left. Suddenly she frowned. “Oh no,” she cried as she missed the ball she was tossing and it rolled away on the ground. It rolled right next to the rock Adrian was sitting on. Adrian hopped down closer to it. It was a glass ball with blue and gold swirled through it. Allegra must have made it in one of her classes. He seemed to remember her saying she enjoyed glassblowing.
His attention returned to Allegra as she bent over to pick it up. “Oh please say it’s not cracked,” she worried. “Please say it didn’t crack.”
As she reached down for it, Adrian tried to get her attention. “Allegra!”
She stood straight for a moment looking around her. Seeing no one, she turned to where her parents were walking. “Daddy, did you call me?”
“No, dear, but if you don’t come this way soon, we’re going to eat without you,” Lysander returned, a teasing tone in his voice. As they were talking, Adrian moved out in front of the glass ball that Allegra had been reaching for before he had said her name.
“I’ll be right there,” she called back and reached once more for the ball. This time, her eyes fell on Adrian.
As he was about to try saying something to her, Allegra let out the most bloodcurdling scream he’d ever heard. Startled, he hopped backwards, landing awkwardly on the glass ball and rolling off of it. Allegra screamed again and began running towards her parents, unable to hear Adrian try to tell her that it was okay. “Daddy! Daddy! There’s a frog over there!”
Adrian watched her panicked flight and felt his heart fall so low he was sure it was sinking into the damp ground around him. The precious glass ball had been left behind as his princess ran away from him in sheer terror. “She doesn’t just not like frogs,” Adrian realized sadly. “She’s terrified of them.” He remembered his best friend, and Allegra’s brother, Lucian, telling him that if anyone could make Allegra fall in love with a frog, it would be Adrian. “Oh, Lucian, if I ever see you again I am going to kill you!”
Since June I have been working on the rewrite and it is coming along pretty well. I'm still hoping to be finished with the writing by the end of summer so that during the beginning of the school year I can get the edits and revisions taken care that need done and then hopefully Finding Prince Charming will be available in time for holiday shopping. But in the meantime, here's a little sneak peek at what's happening in Finding Prince Charming. It's not going to be beautifully formatted since it's in a blog post and this part is not at the very beginning of the story, but it gives you an idea of where things will go...
It was mid-morning when a small frog awoke surrounded by mud. Panicked, the creature flailed his arms and legs, fighting to be free of the slime until finally he came up to the surface. He felt dazed and confused as he turned yellowish-green eyes about to get some idea as to where he was. Gigantic flowers surrounded him and tall blades of grass, which didn’t help him much with his location. Nothing looked familiar and so he decided to figure out what he was doing there. He tried to think, but everything was fuzzy as though he’d been hit in the head a little too hard. The frog closed his eyes. His name was Adrian, he knew that much, but where was he? He tried to remember the last thing he had done before falling asleep. There was music, dancing, and a beautiful girl with auburn hair. “Allegra,” he remembered.
A giant nearby turned on hearing a sound. “Hi there, little fella,” he said, picking Adrian up gently in his hands. “You’re awfully far from the pond, my friend. You don’t want to be out this way, there are snakes sometimes.”
Adrian looked up at the giant’s face. “Oh, King Lysander, it’s me! It’s me, Adrian. It’s Adrian, King Lysander. Where’s Allegra?”
Lysander chuckled as the frog croaked and chirped excitedly. “Calm down, little fella, I’m going to set you down soon. I promise.”
“No, King Lysander, you don’t understand. It’s me, Adrian. No, no, no, no, no! Don’t put me down!”
“There you are, safe and sound,” Lysander said as he stood up. He rinsed his hands in the pond water and wiped them on the grubby trousers he was wearing and then turned and returned to the garden Adrian had just emerged from.
“No, King Lysander, please don’t leave me here!” Adrian croaked but to no avail. “He didn’t understand a single word I said,” he muttered as he watched King Lysander crouch down near his flowerbeds again. “Great, no human being can understand me. Just how am I going to get Allegra to realize that I’m a prince, not a frog?” He sighed and then looked about the pond he was going to be living near. He knew that if there were snakes, he should probably stay close to the water where he would be safer. He should also set himself up with a burrow of sorts away from where any other frogs might be. Some frogs were territorial and he didn’t want to get himself on the wrong side of any current inhabitants. Since he didn’t see any other frogs around, he picked a spot near the pond’s edge with a large rock near it. Boy, I wish I had a shovel right now, Adrian thought as he started trying to dig through the dirt.
After what seemed forever, he had finally managed to dig out a fairly comfortable burrow under the rock. He crawled out of the burrow and looked out over the pond. The smell of salty sea air filled his nostrils and he could hear the crashing waves in the distance. He suddenly got the impression that he was being watched and looked about the pond. A splash in a far corner grabbed his attention. “Is someone there?” he asked. There was no answer. He could see ripples in the water and a strange, purple seaweed floating near the surface. Just as he thought how strange it was that the seaweed was purple, it disappeared. He considered following whatever had been there, but thought better of it. Allegra would never find him if he became some fish’s midmorning snack.
Adrian sighed and went back down into his burrow. To his surprise, there was a rolled piece of parchment in the corner. “Where did this come from?” he wondered. He looked at the parchment for a moment and as though it sensed his presence, it suddenly unrolled itself. Startled, he jumped away from it for a moment, but noticed that the handwriting on it looked familiar to him. In fact, he was sure it was the same handwriting he had seen every year. Calista! How had she sent him a letter? Perhaps fairy magic wasn’t as weak as Calypso made it seem. She was the witch who had taught him spell breaking while he had still been in school. He moved back towards the letter so that he could read it.
Dear Adrian,
As you rightly guessed during your fifth year, you are not the person with a quest. Nevertheless I have some counsel for you as you await Princess Allegra.
First, become aware of your surroundings. I think you will find that the more you know about the area, the more you will be able to help Allegra. Explore, discover and learn. And please be careful doing it, some animals are not at all put off by slimy frogs and would find you quite the treat.
“Gee thanks, Calista,” Adrian interrupted himself before continuing to read the letter.
Second, no matter what happens, have faith in Allegra. This is a challenging position for you to be in, but rest assured in the knowledge that your princess loves you very much. She is a much stronger individual than she gives herself credit for being. You will probably need to remind her of her own strength before you can both reach happily ever after. Do not lose hope, even when things seem impossible. Even the most desperate of fairy tales still end happily.
Third, be careful in associating with other animal life. They may or may not recognize that you have been cursed. This could put you in a dangerous situation. Be sure that you stay on your own. Don’t be tempted to join any other groups and be very careful which creatures you put your trust in. Better to rely on yourself and your own strengths than to rely on false friends.
And now Adrian I will close by informing you that your friends have all graduated today. You will now only have to await the graduation of your princess before the quest truly begins. There will be some magical protection around you in the meantime, but do not become complacent in your own guard. Keep a wary eye and be alert. Congratulations on completing your schooling. Your diploma will be awarded to you upon your triumphant return with Princess Allegra.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!
Calista Periwinkle
Confused, Adrian reread the letter. His friends had graduated? How? He remembered vaguely making a deal with the witches in exchange for one last night as a human with Allegra. Then at midnight, he’d told her that he loved her and then…ugh! Why couldn’t he remember? He closed his eyes and strained his memory, trying to remember what had happened. He saw vague images of flashing light and felt the sensation of wind whipping around him. Then nothing, it was like he had gone to sleep. “I did go to sleep,” he realized. “I’ve been asleep for over a year!”
He left the burrow once again, mostly so that he could think without the large letter distracting him. What was he going to do? It would still be another year before Allegra graduated. He hopped about the pond, looking around to see what could possibly be of use to him in helping Allegra find him. He would never think to look in his own home province for her if he were the one on a quest. Why should Allegra look for him here? Would she even be allowed in Maltisten? He thought graduates weren’t allowed to go home until their quest was completed. His mind began to feel numb and the more he thought, the worse it got. There just didn’t seem to be any way for things to end happily. Even the most desperate of fairy tales end happily, he remembered, almost hearing Calista’s voice is his mind. “I hope you’re right Calista,” he sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
It was several days before Adrian managed to pull himself out of his bout of melancholy. On those days he worked hard to make his burrow more comfortable. He thought about a conversation he had once had with Nana, his grandmother, before he had disappeared. She had told him that she had spent every day waiting for Grandpa in cleaning her little room and making sure that she was ready to be rescued at any time. “You never know when they’ll show up,” she’d said cheerfully. Though Adrian despised cleaning, he realized his grandmother was right. It also gave him something to do. So each day he would get up and work on digging a little more out in his burrow. Then he would try to clean it as best he knew how. How did a frog keep his burrow clean? As he tried over and over to keep some semblance of neatness in his burrow, he determined that normal frogs must not care if their burrows are clean. The walls often dripped or slid down as the mud gave way. He decided that he would just try to keep things in good repair because there was no good way to get rid of the mud or make it stay where he wanted it.
As he worked, he wanted to put the letter in a place where it would be safe and where he could still see it and read it whenever he wanted. He tried rather awkwardly to move the letter someplace it wouldn’t be in the way. It wasn’t easy to do. The parchment seemed huge compared to Adrian’s small burrow, but he was able to at least get it set up against one of the muddy walls. He was slightly surprised to find that it never seemed to get dirty, despite occasional mudslides. He remembered that Calypso had taught him that fairy magic could offer protection to objects that they blessed. Calista must have known her letter would need some protection since as a frog he wouldn’t be living anywhere clean and well-kept. He often read and reread the letter until soon he had it memorized. He almost wished he had a letter from Allegra as well, but knew that there was little hope of receiving one while he was a frog. He would just have to enjoy the dim memories he had of her. As the days passed, his memory became clearer. He could remember the soft waves of her hair and the way her brown eyes crinkled at the edges when she laughed. Often during the day he would sit up on his rock, look over the pond and just smile to himself as he remembered her. She was so very beautiful and so full of life. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
His wish wasn’t so long in the waiting as he might have thought. One day just before noon, he heard voices moving away from the castle. He looked and saw King Lysander and Queen Alexandra walking out of the castle, Lysander carrying a large wicker basket. Alexandra had a checked blanket draped over her arm. They must be going on a picnic, Adrian thought. Then he saw Allegra coming out of the castle. The sunlight played on her hair, pulling out the golden-red color. She was tossing a shiny ball in the air and catching it. As she did so, she was moving closer to the pond. Maybe he’d get to see her close-up before she left. Suddenly she frowned. “Oh no,” she cried as she missed the ball she was tossing and it rolled away on the ground. It rolled right next to the rock Adrian was sitting on. Adrian hopped down closer to it. It was a glass ball with blue and gold swirled through it. Allegra must have made it in one of her classes. He seemed to remember her saying she enjoyed glassblowing.
His attention returned to Allegra as she bent over to pick it up. “Oh please say it’s not cracked,” she worried. “Please say it didn’t crack.”
As she reached down for it, Adrian tried to get her attention. “Allegra!”
She stood straight for a moment looking around her. Seeing no one, she turned to where her parents were walking. “Daddy, did you call me?”
“No, dear, but if you don’t come this way soon, we’re going to eat without you,” Lysander returned, a teasing tone in his voice. As they were talking, Adrian moved out in front of the glass ball that Allegra had been reaching for before he had said her name.
“I’ll be right there,” she called back and reached once more for the ball. This time, her eyes fell on Adrian.
As he was about to try saying something to her, Allegra let out the most bloodcurdling scream he’d ever heard. Startled, he hopped backwards, landing awkwardly on the glass ball and rolling off of it. Allegra screamed again and began running towards her parents, unable to hear Adrian try to tell her that it was okay. “Daddy! Daddy! There’s a frog over there!”
Adrian watched her panicked flight and felt his heart fall so low he was sure it was sinking into the damp ground around him. The precious glass ball had been left behind as his princess ran away from him in sheer terror. “She doesn’t just not like frogs,” Adrian realized sadly. “She’s terrified of them.” He remembered his best friend, and Allegra’s brother, Lucian, telling him that if anyone could make Allegra fall in love with a frog, it would be Adrian. “Oh, Lucian, if I ever see you again I am going to kill you!”
July 11, 2012
Trying to Keep Up With a Toddler
When I was pregnant with my first baby, my mother told me, “Start doing things in twenty minute intervals. When the baby is born, that’s all the time you’ll have to get things done.” Now, my mother has six children and, at the time, twenty-five years of parenting experience. Why I didn’t believe her still boggles my mind. (If you’re reading this, Mom, I’m sorry. Because of course, you were right!) My baby was born and suddenly I couldn’t keep up with anything! Finally I tried my mom’s advice: doing twenty minute intervals of housework, writing and any other chores while my son took his little naps. I still couldn’t quite keep up with everything, but I sure got a lot closer than I had been before!
Now my baby is a couple weeks shy of eighteen months and we are preparing for Baby #2 to arrive in early November. As we get the apartment ready and prepare Gary for being a big brother, I’ve come to really appreciate my mother’s twenty minute rule. Twenty minutes is about how long my son will be entertained by a movie or his toys before he starts finding messier, more adventurous things to do. And so while he’s awake I can get twenty minutes of housework done at a time. But I’ve learned that I cannot get any writing done while he is awake unless there is someone else available to keep an eye on him. My son’s name means “mighty spearman, noble and bright”. I should have given him a name that means, “sneaky, speedy destruct-o-mite”! If I decide to sit down to write while Gary is awake, then I will look up from the computer to find some sort of disaster either in progress or already completed. You see, when I do twenty minutes of housework I can still hear what my son is doing. If he suddenly becomes quiet, I know I need to stop what I’m doing and check on him. I’ve decided that the phrase, “silent but deadly,” was first coined by a mom. Because we all know that when it suddenly gets quiet, our little ones have gotten into some kind of mischief. However, when I’m writing I won’t notice it suddenly get quiet because I become totally and completely zoned in on what I’m doing. I won’t hear him until he’s screaming and I won’t see out the corner of my eye that he’s scribbling on my walls with crayon…again. And so as tempting as it is to try to write while he’s awake, I’ve learned that it’s best not to.
But even with that rule, it doesn’t mean that my little guy doesn’t find ways to get himself into trouble despite my best efforts. He has learned how to climb onto the tall chairs by our dining table and has gleefully broken all of the tall, taper candles my father gave me for Christmas. Luckily, he has not broken the three handcrafted candlesticks that Dad made and gave with the candles. The candles can be replaced, the candlesticks are special. And so I’ve taken to pushing the chairs in after every meal to ensure that Gary doesn’t climb up and destroy anything else. I can tell my son already has the makings of a true artist: his mark is everywhere. He has colored on almost all of the doors and some of the walls in our apartment with either pencil, pen or crayon. Thankfully, I’m going to have to paint over most of these walls again anyway when we move out, so it’s not a huge deal. We are now far more careful about making sure that anything that colors or marks is out of reach. He is also wickedly fast and silent when the refrigerator door is open. Today while I was making lunch for us, I opened the refrigerator to get out the strawberry jam for our sandwiches. When I turned around to put the jam away, there was Gary, that cute “Aren’t you proud of me, Mommy?” grin on his face, precariously holding an open carton of eggs and about to drop a fourth one onto the floor. I couldn’t have been turned around for even a full minute and there they were: three cracked and oozing eggs on my kitchen floor with the rest about to join them. I don’t think I’ve moved so fast in my life pulling the carton of eggs away from my son, putting them back in the fridge and then grabbing a warm washcloth to clean up the gooey eggs my son was now splashing in. He got to help in the clean-up; meaning that he pushed around the washcloth a little bit with me before that got boring and he tried to run away to find some new game. But before he could escape, I wrapped him up in my free arm and helped him get his hands cleaned up before he could put them in his mouth. The last thing I need is for him to get salmonella from raw egg.
And so the adventures continue. Now it’s quiet-time in the Elliott home, which means quiet music is playing and I sit down with my little boy and we read stories or he plays with quiet toys for about an hour. In some ways, he is very much his father, but as far as napping is concerned, he’s all mine. In other words, he won’t nap unless he is teething, growing or sick. But today is my lucky day. He was playing with his quiet toys and then suddenly he got very, very quiet. I looked up from my book and saw him flopped over on the floor, toys scattered around him, sound asleep. So without further ado, I’m going to jump into my novel and start typing away. After all, twenty minutes isn’t a whole lot of time. :)
Now my baby is a couple weeks shy of eighteen months and we are preparing for Baby #2 to arrive in early November. As we get the apartment ready and prepare Gary for being a big brother, I’ve come to really appreciate my mother’s twenty minute rule. Twenty minutes is about how long my son will be entertained by a movie or his toys before he starts finding messier, more adventurous things to do. And so while he’s awake I can get twenty minutes of housework done at a time. But I’ve learned that I cannot get any writing done while he is awake unless there is someone else available to keep an eye on him. My son’s name means “mighty spearman, noble and bright”. I should have given him a name that means, “sneaky, speedy destruct-o-mite”! If I decide to sit down to write while Gary is awake, then I will look up from the computer to find some sort of disaster either in progress or already completed. You see, when I do twenty minutes of housework I can still hear what my son is doing. If he suddenly becomes quiet, I know I need to stop what I’m doing and check on him. I’ve decided that the phrase, “silent but deadly,” was first coined by a mom. Because we all know that when it suddenly gets quiet, our little ones have gotten into some kind of mischief. However, when I’m writing I won’t notice it suddenly get quiet because I become totally and completely zoned in on what I’m doing. I won’t hear him until he’s screaming and I won’t see out the corner of my eye that he’s scribbling on my walls with crayon…again. And so as tempting as it is to try to write while he’s awake, I’ve learned that it’s best not to.
But even with that rule, it doesn’t mean that my little guy doesn’t find ways to get himself into trouble despite my best efforts. He has learned how to climb onto the tall chairs by our dining table and has gleefully broken all of the tall, taper candles my father gave me for Christmas. Luckily, he has not broken the three handcrafted candlesticks that Dad made and gave with the candles. The candles can be replaced, the candlesticks are special. And so I’ve taken to pushing the chairs in after every meal to ensure that Gary doesn’t climb up and destroy anything else. I can tell my son already has the makings of a true artist: his mark is everywhere. He has colored on almost all of the doors and some of the walls in our apartment with either pencil, pen or crayon. Thankfully, I’m going to have to paint over most of these walls again anyway when we move out, so it’s not a huge deal. We are now far more careful about making sure that anything that colors or marks is out of reach. He is also wickedly fast and silent when the refrigerator door is open. Today while I was making lunch for us, I opened the refrigerator to get out the strawberry jam for our sandwiches. When I turned around to put the jam away, there was Gary, that cute “Aren’t you proud of me, Mommy?” grin on his face, precariously holding an open carton of eggs and about to drop a fourth one onto the floor. I couldn’t have been turned around for even a full minute and there they were: three cracked and oozing eggs on my kitchen floor with the rest about to join them. I don’t think I’ve moved so fast in my life pulling the carton of eggs away from my son, putting them back in the fridge and then grabbing a warm washcloth to clean up the gooey eggs my son was now splashing in. He got to help in the clean-up; meaning that he pushed around the washcloth a little bit with me before that got boring and he tried to run away to find some new game. But before he could escape, I wrapped him up in my free arm and helped him get his hands cleaned up before he could put them in his mouth. The last thing I need is for him to get salmonella from raw egg.
And so the adventures continue. Now it’s quiet-time in the Elliott home, which means quiet music is playing and I sit down with my little boy and we read stories or he plays with quiet toys for about an hour. In some ways, he is very much his father, but as far as napping is concerned, he’s all mine. In other words, he won’t nap unless he is teething, growing or sick. But today is my lucky day. He was playing with his quiet toys and then suddenly he got very, very quiet. I looked up from my book and saw him flopped over on the floor, toys scattered around him, sound asleep. So without further ado, I’m going to jump into my novel and start typing away. After all, twenty minutes isn’t a whole lot of time. :)
July 6, 2012
Birthday Wishes
It's my birthday today and that means eventually (when I actually go into my kitchen to make it) I will be having a nummy chocolate cake to celebrate. And here in the U.S. we love to put candles on our cakes (yes, we are pyromaniacs) and blow them out as part of the celebration. Every year when they bring out the cake (or I bring it out myself since I'm the mommy now), they always say, "Make a wish!" So here are some of my birthday wishes:
1) I wish that I could remember all the fun little details of being in the kitchen with my mom. My mother taught me more than just cooking and basic homemaking in her kitchen. She taught me that the best food is made with love. Somehow that extra spice comes through, even though you don't actually put anything into the recipe. She also taught me that everything is better when it is homemade. And she taught me that no matter how old I get, I will always be her little girl and she will always love me. This past week my mom and I have been sweltering in her kitchen canning 40 lbs. of sliced peaches. (Yes, you read that right, 40 lbs!)When we weren't laughing at ourselves for heating up the inside of the house when outside the house was already blazingly hot, we talked and laughed and reminisced. As we did, I thought, "Wouldn't it be neat to have a cookbook with all our favorite recipes mingled with the memories of our canning and cooking together?" Alas, with all the projects currently on my plate, this one may be on the back burner for quite some time. But, I'm thinking that during my off-time when inspiration is having a tantrum and refusing to give me any good flow for my current project, I'll have to start writing down everything I can remember from being in the kitchen with Mom. Still haven't thought of a good title for it. Ideas would be welcome! :)
2) I wish I had more time to sit down and write. My sweet husband is perhaps the most supportive and wonderful man on the face of the planet (Love you dearheart!) and tries his best to give me as much time as he can. But he has to work too and we have a wonderful and adorable tornado of a son. My little guy needs lots of my time and attention and truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love every moment with him and can't wait to meet our new baby and welcome him/her into our family. But it does mean that my writing time is somewhat limited, especially since Gary has decided that napping is optional and he'd like to opt out. :) At the end of the day I sometimes sit back and think, "Gosh I miss all the time I used to have." Then my precious baby looks up at me with those big blue eyes and smiles that goofy little grin of his. It melts my heart every time and I realize that no, I really don't miss that extra time at all. But maybe with a couple more hours in every day, I could fit in some more writing. ;)
3) I wish that I had remembered to get grapefruit juice yesterday. I also wish I'd made the chocolate cake yesterday. Silly request? Yes, it rather is. I have always loved Bill Cosby. In fact, I grew up watching Bill Cosby Himself and my favorite part was always the scene in which he talks about giving his children chocolate cake and grapefruit juice for breakfast. So I always try on my birthday, to have chocolate cake and grapefruit juice for breakfast. This year, it just didn't quite work out. It's a bummer, but there's always next year. Besides, with only three people in my house, there will definitely be leftover slices of cake. Perhaps I'll buy some grapefruit juice tonight... :)
Anyway, these are my birthday wishes. Some are serious and some are fun. I think we all have those kind of wishes. So, have a terrific day today and I'll keep having a fabulous birthday! :)
1) I wish that I could remember all the fun little details of being in the kitchen with my mom. My mother taught me more than just cooking and basic homemaking in her kitchen. She taught me that the best food is made with love. Somehow that extra spice comes through, even though you don't actually put anything into the recipe. She also taught me that everything is better when it is homemade. And she taught me that no matter how old I get, I will always be her little girl and she will always love me. This past week my mom and I have been sweltering in her kitchen canning 40 lbs. of sliced peaches. (Yes, you read that right, 40 lbs!)When we weren't laughing at ourselves for heating up the inside of the house when outside the house was already blazingly hot, we talked and laughed and reminisced. As we did, I thought, "Wouldn't it be neat to have a cookbook with all our favorite recipes mingled with the memories of our canning and cooking together?" Alas, with all the projects currently on my plate, this one may be on the back burner for quite some time. But, I'm thinking that during my off-time when inspiration is having a tantrum and refusing to give me any good flow for my current project, I'll have to start writing down everything I can remember from being in the kitchen with Mom. Still haven't thought of a good title for it. Ideas would be welcome! :)
2) I wish I had more time to sit down and write. My sweet husband is perhaps the most supportive and wonderful man on the face of the planet (Love you dearheart!) and tries his best to give me as much time as he can. But he has to work too and we have a wonderful and adorable tornado of a son. My little guy needs lots of my time and attention and truthfully, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love every moment with him and can't wait to meet our new baby and welcome him/her into our family. But it does mean that my writing time is somewhat limited, especially since Gary has decided that napping is optional and he'd like to opt out. :) At the end of the day I sometimes sit back and think, "Gosh I miss all the time I used to have." Then my precious baby looks up at me with those big blue eyes and smiles that goofy little grin of his. It melts my heart every time and I realize that no, I really don't miss that extra time at all. But maybe with a couple more hours in every day, I could fit in some more writing. ;)
3) I wish that I had remembered to get grapefruit juice yesterday. I also wish I'd made the chocolate cake yesterday. Silly request? Yes, it rather is. I have always loved Bill Cosby. In fact, I grew up watching Bill Cosby Himself and my favorite part was always the scene in which he talks about giving his children chocolate cake and grapefruit juice for breakfast. So I always try on my birthday, to have chocolate cake and grapefruit juice for breakfast. This year, it just didn't quite work out. It's a bummer, but there's always next year. Besides, with only three people in my house, there will definitely be leftover slices of cake. Perhaps I'll buy some grapefruit juice tonight... :)
Anyway, these are my birthday wishes. Some are serious and some are fun. I think we all have those kind of wishes. So, have a terrific day today and I'll keep having a fabulous birthday! :)
June 27, 2012
Re-Release Special!
Well, everyone, the dust has settled and Charming Academy is available once again. To celebrate being totally done with revisions and edits, I'm offering 20% off when you order through the CreateSpace eStore. Just go to www.createspace.com/3784472 to place your order. When you get to checkout, use code: QXW962R8.
I hope that each of you will enjoy this updated version of the story. After so much work getting it trimmed down and edited, I really feel that this is what the story should have been all along. Still trying to figure out what to do with the 12 original release books I have sitting in my apartment, but I'm sure I'll think of something soon.
Well, I'm way behind in my word count for the day. So I must go back to writing. Finding Prince Charming is coming along well and hopefully I'll be able to get some new announcements up about that soon. In fact, once Camp NaNoWriMo is over (June 30), I might just put up an excerpt to give you a taste of where the story is going. :)
Happy reading all!
I hope that each of you will enjoy this updated version of the story. After so much work getting it trimmed down and edited, I really feel that this is what the story should have been all along. Still trying to figure out what to do with the 12 original release books I have sitting in my apartment, but I'm sure I'll think of something soon.
Well, I'm way behind in my word count for the day. So I must go back to writing. Finding Prince Charming is coming along well and hopefully I'll be able to get some new announcements up about that soon. In fact, once Camp NaNoWriMo is over (June 30), I might just put up an excerpt to give you a taste of where the story is going. :)
Happy reading all!
June 26, 2012
Thanks!
To everyone who entered the Charming Academy giveaway, I just want to send out a big thank you! I've got the winner list and if you're a winner, you know who you are. Those books will be signed and on their way to you as soon as possible. Congrats!
To those who did not win, I hope you'll keep following the updates here on the blog for news and info on Charming Academy and the upcoming sequel, Finding Prince Charming.
If you're interested in getting a print copy of the book, you can find it on Amazon.com or at www.createspace.com/3784472. EBook links and more info about the book can be found at my website, www.JessicaLElliott.com.
Thanks again everyone!
To those who did not win, I hope you'll keep following the updates here on the blog for news and info on Charming Academy and the upcoming sequel, Finding Prince Charming.
If you're interested in getting a print copy of the book, you can find it on Amazon.com or at www.createspace.com/3784472. EBook links and more info about the book can be found at my website, www.JessicaLElliott.com.
Thanks again everyone!
June 14, 2012
The Necessary Pain of Reviews
One of the hardest parts of being an author is trying to find ways to better my writing. I am not so conceited as to believe that I was born a great author. In fact, I'm hard put to call myself a good author. Why? Because I know that like everyone I've got lots of room for improvement. So, I try to find ways of making myself better. I read books about writing. I read books in similar genres to get a feel for what works and what doesn't. I have peers read through passages I've written to make sure that it's flowing the way that I want it to. But in the end, I have to write and soon a story is born. After reading, rereading and then rereading again I try to take out all those typos, the glaring mistakes, and to find those little mistakes. Like that comma followed by a period. Oops! :)
Then suddenly, I release my baby into the wild and hope that it survives. But still I wonder; could it have been better? And so comes the sometimes painful task of watching for and reading reviews. Let's imagine for a moment, that you are on your way to Parent/Teacher Conferences for your child. (If you don't have a child, pretend you do.) There are certain things that you really want to hear. Wouldn't it be great if Teacher said, "Timmy is such a well-behaved student; I never have to worry about him." Or, "Suzie is so far ahead of the rest of the class. She's very gifted!" Of course it would! As parents, we want to hear that our child is the best, the brightest, and the kindest. My baby is perfect, didn't you know? And then you walk into the classroom. A good teacher will start off with some positive comments about Timmy or Suzie and then comes the bad news. "Timmy is having trouble with talking in class. He is very distracting to his classmates." Or, "Suzie tries really hard, but she is behind her peers in math. I think she might need some extra help or tutoring." Suddenly your perfect child isn't so perfect and the mama or papa bear in you roars in outrage and threatens to come crashing down on poor Teacher's head. But as a good parent, you want your children to be their best, so you put mama or papa bear back into hibernation and ask, "Well, Teacher, what can I do to help Timmy and Suzie do better?"
Reading a book review is kind of like that for me. I love to see words and phrases like "awesome idea", "creative", "favorite", and "great story". But that isn't always what I see. Often, people have some things that they didn't quite like. And that's great! But for a moment, the mama bear in me wants to come raging out. My baby is perfect just the way it is, thank you very much! But the truth is no matter how many times I go through it, it never will be perfect. So I have to put mama bear back into hibernation and ask myself, "Okay, what can I do to make the next book better?" Because I am self-published, I can use reviews to make the first book even better. In fact, when getting ready for the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Contest, I used a lot of reviews, both online and off, to help get my 240,000 word beast cut down into a meager 150,000. That's right; over a third of my precious baby was chopped out and discarded. It was hard and it was rough and at times it was painful, but now Charming Academy is better than it was before and will hopefully give readers a clearer picture of where the story is going. And I'm sure it helps that it is now a much shorter read. I was able to get it formatted in the way I had wanted to before and now feel so much better about the story and the book. Will everyone suddenly think it's perfect? Of course not! There are still going to be little things and maybe big things that some people don't particularly like; and that is just the way it should be.
So, why should you keep writing reviews for the books you read? Because feedback is the power authors use to become better. I can't improve if I don't know where my problems are. Sometimes I'll see reviews and think, "Well, it doesn't make sense now because you don't have the complete story yet. Wait until the next book comes out, that scene will make sense." And there will be others that I go, "Gosh, I hadn't thought of that. That would be a great idea!" But with every honest and well-thought-out review, I say, "Thank you." Because that review and the critiques in it will help me become the best I can be. So to my reviewers, thanks!
Then suddenly, I release my baby into the wild and hope that it survives. But still I wonder; could it have been better? And so comes the sometimes painful task of watching for and reading reviews. Let's imagine for a moment, that you are on your way to Parent/Teacher Conferences for your child. (If you don't have a child, pretend you do.) There are certain things that you really want to hear. Wouldn't it be great if Teacher said, "Timmy is such a well-behaved student; I never have to worry about him." Or, "Suzie is so far ahead of the rest of the class. She's very gifted!" Of course it would! As parents, we want to hear that our child is the best, the brightest, and the kindest. My baby is perfect, didn't you know? And then you walk into the classroom. A good teacher will start off with some positive comments about Timmy or Suzie and then comes the bad news. "Timmy is having trouble with talking in class. He is very distracting to his classmates." Or, "Suzie tries really hard, but she is behind her peers in math. I think she might need some extra help or tutoring." Suddenly your perfect child isn't so perfect and the mama or papa bear in you roars in outrage and threatens to come crashing down on poor Teacher's head. But as a good parent, you want your children to be their best, so you put mama or papa bear back into hibernation and ask, "Well, Teacher, what can I do to help Timmy and Suzie do better?"
Reading a book review is kind of like that for me. I love to see words and phrases like "awesome idea", "creative", "favorite", and "great story". But that isn't always what I see. Often, people have some things that they didn't quite like. And that's great! But for a moment, the mama bear in me wants to come raging out. My baby is perfect just the way it is, thank you very much! But the truth is no matter how many times I go through it, it never will be perfect. So I have to put mama bear back into hibernation and ask myself, "Okay, what can I do to make the next book better?" Because I am self-published, I can use reviews to make the first book even better. In fact, when getting ready for the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Contest, I used a lot of reviews, both online and off, to help get my 240,000 word beast cut down into a meager 150,000. That's right; over a third of my precious baby was chopped out and discarded. It was hard and it was rough and at times it was painful, but now Charming Academy is better than it was before and will hopefully give readers a clearer picture of where the story is going. And I'm sure it helps that it is now a much shorter read. I was able to get it formatted in the way I had wanted to before and now feel so much better about the story and the book. Will everyone suddenly think it's perfect? Of course not! There are still going to be little things and maybe big things that some people don't particularly like; and that is just the way it should be.
So, why should you keep writing reviews for the books you read? Because feedback is the power authors use to become better. I can't improve if I don't know where my problems are. Sometimes I'll see reviews and think, "Well, it doesn't make sense now because you don't have the complete story yet. Wait until the next book comes out, that scene will make sense." And there will be others that I go, "Gosh, I hadn't thought of that. That would be a great idea!" But with every honest and well-thought-out review, I say, "Thank you." Because that review and the critiques in it will help me become the best I can be. So to my reviewers, thanks!
February 5, 2012
Charming Academy Update
Hello Readers!
It has been a crazy month. Just last month I started revising Charming Academy for entry in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I was able to get it within the contest guidelines and it is submitted and just waiting to hear where it goes from there!
Right now, I've uploaded the revised files to CreateSpace and I'm just waiting for the proof copy to arrive so that I can approve it. For a short time the original book will still be available, however soon it will be removed and only the revised version will be up. However, it will still be the great story that you first read and enjoyed! It's just a little more succinct and reads a little easier.
Anyway, keep watching for updates on the contest and other Charming news.
Jessica L. Elliott
It has been a crazy month. Just last month I started revising Charming Academy for entry in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I was able to get it within the contest guidelines and it is submitted and just waiting to hear where it goes from there!
Right now, I've uploaded the revised files to CreateSpace and I'm just waiting for the proof copy to arrive so that I can approve it. For a short time the original book will still be available, however soon it will be removed and only the revised version will be up. However, it will still be the great story that you first read and enjoyed! It's just a little more succinct and reads a little easier.
Anyway, keep watching for updates on the contest and other Charming news.
Jessica L. Elliott
