Lydia Howe's Blog, page 20

Monday Morning

Time change. It makes getting up a little difficult the first couple of days and leaves me yawning as I blog in front of a dark window when I'm used to having a beautiful view of a soggy field. And it's Monday morning. That means several things, the first one being that I have to be at my non-writing job by 8:00 and so I'm running around combing my hair and putting on my socks while blogging. 
My brain is rushing ahead, trying to figure out everything I still need to do this morning and reminding me that getting up at 6:30 is not early enough. My two little indoor pets, Peter Rabbit and Autumn the Rat, keep me company and watch me curiously as if they're confused at the interruption to their early-morning snoozing. 
I light a candle to give me the illusion of a peaceful morning and brew a mug of tea which I drink out of the special Noveltea mug my cousin gave me a couple years back. I stir Stevia into my tea with one of the special antique stirring spoons I bought at a "trunk sale" in England and listen to uplifting music by Newsboys (Committed is one of my new favorites). 
Every few seconds my eyes drift up to the clock in the upper right corner of my computer to make sure I'm not going to be late. I take a sip of my tea and my brain jumps around, reminding me what I need to pack in my computer bag and including a banana in the list. 

Through it all I can't shake the feeling that I am incredibly, amazingly, beyond-belief blessed. I am loved by God. I live in a country where I'm free to worship Him. I have hopes and dreams that have a very good chance of coming true if I work hard and smart enough. I have a family that cheers me on. Noveltea's readers join in every week and share my triumphs and trials with me. I can read, write, think, reason, and understand. I have the ability to make choices.

I have two jobs (my writing and non-writing) which I enjoy and am stretched by. I have food to eat. Shelter. Memories. Books. I have health that allows me to actually get up in the morning and work. I can make a difference in the world. There's a box on my writing table full of various white chocolates given to me by friends. I have little children at church who run up and give me hugs each week. I share inside jokes with friends.

The list could go on and on, but since I want to retain that enjoyability I mentioned from my first job, I'd better end here. I'd be delighted to hear some of the things you're happy for this morning.

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By the way, this giveaway is over and the winners have all been contacted, so if you're a winner you should have gotten an email letting you know. There are still two giveaways in full swing on Noveltea, so make sure you check out this one and this one.

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It's that time again where we get to choose where Annie goes for this week in our Friday Series,  Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks . And the destination is: Reunion Island! 

Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks - Week Ten: South Korea

Happy Friday, Friends! I'm happy to have had the help of one of Noveltea's readers, Verna, with the research and writing of this week's episode of  my fictional story,  Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks.  Verna commented on Monday saying she'd spent several months in South Korea last year, so of course I asked her a bunch of different questions and she did a fantastic job of answering them. Thank you, Verna! And now, without further delay, I present to you... 


Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks Week Ten: South Korea 
The flight from Italy to South Korea was, with layovers, a little over fifteen hours. Then throw in an eight hour time difference and it was eight o’clock Tuesday morning when the plane touched down on the island of Jeju in South Korea.  I was getting more comfortable with sleeping while flying high above the earth, so I arrived feeling surprisingly awake. That was a good thing because Exploration Airlines had been contacted by a travel blogger/freelance writer who was spending six months living in South Korea and had offered to be my guide for the week. A quick background check had been done by Exploration Airlines during the flight and I had an email waiting for me when the plane landed letting me know the writer, Verna Clark, would be waiting for me.  “Let’s go back to my place so you can get settled in and eat and take a nap before starting our adventure,” Verna told me after we’d gotten my suitcase. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to see?” She asked as we drove to her apartment. “I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it. What do you suggest?”   “We’ve got to explore the Manjanggul lava tube, and watch the sunrise from Sungsan Illchulbang. Oh, and of course hike up Hallasan.”  I gulped. “Sounds great.” In reality it sounded like gibberish, but I’d been traveling enough recently to know gibberish to one person was a treasure to another. “Hallasan is South Korea’s tallest mountain.” Verna smiled at me. “I realize the names are totally unfamiliar to you, but don’t worry, you’re going to really enjoy it.”  “Thanks.” I laughed, “I’m thrilled to have you as my guide.”  Verna shrugged, “It’s a pretty cool experience for both of us. I’ve been following your adventure with Exploration Airlines and have been hoping you’d choose South Korea so I could use it as one of my writing assignments.”  A win-win situation, yay! We stopped at a cafe for breakfast and had rice with a sea-food-ish soup. The sea food breakfast wasn’t as strange as I’d thought it would be since my brain was still wired with Italy’s time and therefore it felt like we were eating a really late supper.  “Can you tell me some about this island?” I asked after we’d reached Verna’s apartment.  “This island is my favorite place in South Korea, so it would be my pleasure. Think small fishing villages beside the sea… It’s quiet, peaceful, laid back, and has lots of small fields fenced in with lava rock walls. Plus there are plenty of darling little cafes.” Verna’s hands were wrapped around her coffee mug and she spoke in a dreamy manner. “Because of the relative isolation of Jeju the people here have developed a culture and language that are quite distinct from those of the mainland. There are thousands of legends here as well as a difference in the family structure. You've heard of “sea women” right?”  “That sounds familiar…”  “Traditionally they’ve been the heads of their family because they control the income.”
“How so?” I pulled my notebook out to take notes.  “They used to make a living by free diving to harvest marine products like abalones and conches. Although it’s a dying art now because of modernization and economic development.”  “Interesting. Does any one still do it?”  “Back in 2014 they researched it and found that there were still about 4,500 sea women, most of them sixty or older.”  My mouth dropped open as I tried to imagine my grandma diving deep into the water to find seafood. “That’s incredible.”  “No kidding. So, I thought you could take a nap and I’ll work on my writing then we can head to the Lava Tube.”  I opened my mouth to protest my sleepiness but a yawn came out before my words could, so instead I agreed and went to lie down.


The Manjanggul Lava Tube was amazing. It reminded me of a cave, but the fact that it was a natural conduit formed by flowing lava beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow made it feel more adventuresome. Plus, it was big. Almost a hundred feet tall and a little over ninety feet wide. At almost 30,000 feet long it ranked as one of the top ten in the world. While walking through it I felt as if I had entered another world. There were tons of cave-spiders and bent-wing bats which was pretty cool. For the rest of the day we explored the island together, stopping in quaint villages, feeling the salty wind in our face while overlooking the ocean, taking pictures, and making some vlogs.  We went to bed early that night so Wednesday morning we could wake up early to hike up Hallasan. It’s the tallest mountain in South Korea and sits right in the center of Jeju Island.  “Hallasan is famous for its vertical ecosystem of plants,” Verna told me as she checked our backpacks to make sure we had everything we needed. “There are over eighteen hundred kinds of plants and four thousand species of animals, although a good amount of those are insects.”  “How hard is it to hike up this mountain?” I was in fairly good shape, but looking up at it made me feel a bit insecure about my athletic abilities.  Verna laughed, “Don’t worry. The trial we’re hiking on is only a little over six miles long. Yes, it will be difficult, but you’ll make it all in one piece. And believe me, it will be worth it.” She was right, it was worth it. The setting was beautiful with gentle, grassy slopes and coniferous forests shrouded in mist. There were meadows with semi-wild horses grazing and stands of cedars, Korean firs, and Japanese oak. “You should see it in June when the azaleas bloom.” Verna shook her head, delight written across her face. “It’s breathtaking.” “It’s breathtaking now.” “True.”  When we finally reached the top I was exhausted, but the knowledge that I’d actually climbed a mountain was stimulating and I felt as if I could do basically anything. It was thrilling to know I could push myself beyond what I was used to. It was snowy at the top so we didn’t stay for long before we headed back down. 

Thursday morning we got up early again to go to Seongsan Ilchulbong, also known as Sunrise Peak. It’s a tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions on the shallow seabed. (Sounds confusing I know, but Verna explained that hydrovolcanic eruptions occurs when magma heats the ground or surface water and causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, causing an explosion of steam, water, ash, and rock.)  As you may have guessed, watching the sunrise from Sunrise Peak is a fantastic experience and so Verna and I did that, basking in the beauty of the scenery, before heading to the airport and flying to South Korea’s mainland. 
The flight to Seoul was a little over an hour long and Verna made the most of it by letting me ask questions about the South Korean culture and filling in details. I found it interesting that South Korea harvests about 90% of the world’s seaweed (I’d always mistakenly given Japan credit for that).  Although I was wrong about the seaweed, I did find out that the residents of Seoul do have something in common with the residents of Tokyo. Those two cities hold the record for the least amount of sleep the population of any major city has, with fewer than six hours a night. No thank you. That does not sound healthy or fun. South Korea has the world’s fastest wireless speed and I planned to take that into consideration and get caught up on my blogging and vlogging and other online work. After being in Italy where one third of the population had never even used the Internet, it was quite the switch.  After we landed Verna took me out to a restaurant she visited each time she came to the city. There we ate one of the Korean’s favorite meals: Samgyupsil, also know as Korean BBQ.  The meat part is basically bacon, only thick chunks instead of thin slices. To eat it they dip bite sized pieces of the "bacon" in a salty garlicky oil, then wrap it in a piece of lettuce with red bean paste and other toppings like cucumber, pickled radish, kimchi, or bean sprouts. It smelled delicious and my mouth started watering while waiting for it. Yummy was it ever good. Imagine the cold crunch of lettuce and the fresh-off-the-fire, hot, juicy, thick bacon topped with a little spice from the red bean paste and kimchi. The red bean paste is quite flavorful and strong… It was unique, but oh, so delicious.  Verna also told me about her least favorite dish called Soonday. It’s blood sausage made from stuffed pig intestine and boiled in pig blood. I was thankful for her warning and made sure not to order any for myself. 
Thursday, we visited Independence Gate, Seoul Museum of History, and Gyeonghuigun (a historic palace). Then Friday we went and saw Myeongdong Cathedral, the National Folk Museum of Korea, and Gwanghwamun, another palace.  Saturday we went to see The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was built on top of the demolished village of Panmunjom during the Korean War. It divides North and South Korea and is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. It is 2.5 miles wide and 152 miles long, going from the East Sea to the Yellow Sea. It was a strange, and sobering, experience. Fence. Barbed wire. Guard houses… Looking over into the North was sad. The land was so destitute and barren, so empty… Nothing like the thriving South we’d been experiencing all week. After driving along the DMZ border we headed back toward the city where we found a restaurant and ordered kimchi, which is South Korea’s national dish. We’d had it several times already, yet each time it tasted different. I’d had it salty, hot (due to red chili peppers), sour (produced by fermentation), and sweet (from pickled fish paste). It had an interesting, yet good, texture and was a combination of spices and vegetables that had been fermented underground for months. They serve it with just about anything (such as rice). It’s been a part of the South Korean culture since back in AD 1250. Craziness.  We ended the day with shopping at COEX Mall, which is Asia’s largest underground shopping center. I bought a few trinkets for my family and Sophie. I also found a gift for Verna as a “thank-you” for her hospitality and wonderful tour-guiding skills. 
Sunday was a rest day and then Monday I was off to another part of the world.

A Change in Perspective

I sit at my computer this morning, looking outside at the rain coming down. It's beautiful. I can see the texture of the grass in the yard below me, the mud clumps on the gravel road, the tufts of soggy weeds sticking out of the hayfield. I see the flowing water in the creek at the edge of the woods, then the tall, leafless trees climbing up the hill. The individual branches are clear, although they try and blend in with the splotchy background of the leaf-covered ground and fallen logs that create a puzzle of muted colors and shapes.

Then I take off my glasses. The yard now looks like a yellow and green blob. The road's blurry enough it could almost be a stream, although the lines are too clear-cut. The hayfield has different colors, but texture is nonexistent. The creek is so far away it could be a rock. The trees are wide and unclear, like pale arms with outspread fingers planted on the hillside.

It was a year ago today that I first put on my glasses and watched the world shift into focus around me. Everything became smaller. Clearer. Crisper. Brighter. The first time I went shopping at a big store wearing my glasses I got a headache from the brightness and details around me.

Do you know what the crazy part is? I had no clue I needed glasses until one day when my brother handed me his and said I should try them on. Putting them on that night I literally gasped with surprise as I watched the stars light up and become little pin-points of brilliant light instead of blobs with a light glow.

I went to the eye doctor and he said my eyes were fine. So, I went home without any glasses.

The next year and a half were spent with me begging to wear my brother's glasses during different activities. At church (which had always been a struggle due to the bad headaches I got each week), I would put my hand out and he would indulgently take his glasses off and hand them to me. Slipping them on the words on the projector would suddenly be readable and the pastor's face would transform from a palette of various hues into eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

When we were driving at night my brother would ask me to read a sign, and after my squinted attempts he would hand me his glasses and I would giggle with happiness as blurred colors snapped into words.

After each one of my gleeful moments of wearing his glasses, my brother would shake his head and tell me, "You really need to get glasses of your own." Then one day he asked, "Lydia, how come you did so well on your eye test?" I responded that when I squinted enough, I could read at a much greater distance. "You're not supposed to squint when you're doing any eye examine," my brother shook his head at me. Oops. I always thought you were supposed to do your very best at any test...

Then one day I was visiting my sister who I hadn't seen in a while and she asked me what time it was. I had to go nearly across the room before I could squint up and see the time on the clock. "Did you really have to get that close?" she questioned. When I affirmed that I did, she told me that I really needed to go to the eye doctor again.

By this time my mind was made up. We set an appointment and when we arrived Mom told the assistant, a long-time friend of hers, that we were going to get glasses today because I needed them. She agreed and informed the doctor. That meant we only needed to figure out what glasses I needed.

Well, during this test I didn't squint but I still thought I did quite well. In fact, I wondered briefly if I was going to be told I had fine eyesight. That is until I found out that the letters I'd been reading off with assurance were actually not the letters on the chart. So I did need the glasses.

This year has been my most headache free year since I was a little girl. Instead of daily thumping in my skull I only get a bad headache every few weeks. Each day I'm thankful and amazed at how much of a difference the glasses have made in my life. I now throughly enjoy church without my head pounding from trying to focus so hard on blurry images. A whole new world has been opened up to me, a world full of details and lines and possibilities.

I literally can see buds and raindrops on the branches outside the other window. And that, is a gift. 

Fifteen Tips I Wish People Would Have Told Me About Blogging Four Years Ago

Welcome to the third day of our celebration of Noveltea's 4th birthday! Get more entries for the giveaway here:  
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I'm not an expert blogger by anyones standards, but I thought it would be fun to share some tips I wish other bloggers had shared with me four years ago before I began my voyage into the sea of blogging. 

Fifteen tips I wish people would have told me about blogging four years ago:

1. It will be a ton more work, and a ton more rewarding, than you've probably imagined.
2. Growing your blogs readership and pageviews will be a long, looonnnnggg, time consuming process; but if you're serious about blogging, it will be worth it.
3. You will meet amazing people through blogging, and eventually become part of the amazing blogging community if you invest time and energy into it.
4. Having an easy-to-read, uncluttered, and navigable blog is a must.
5. No one wants spam comments, but having comment moderation or captcha can deter people from leaving comments altogether.
6. Don't freak out about people stealing your work, but at the same time make sure you don't steal anyone else's work.
7. When you don't feel inspired with a post allow yourself to take a break or switch to a new post. If you're bored with what you're writing, chances are the readers will be, also.
8. Step out and ask questions. Email your favorite bloggers. Comment on posts. Search for blogging tips. Bloggers like to see new bloggers succeed and are often willing to help them along the road.
9. Don't be a needy blogger - if no one comments on your posts don't complain about it on your blog. Instead, ask questions and try to engage your readers.
10. Try not to take it personally when someone un-follows your blog.
11. Create your own style. You're unique and people will read your blog because they like you, not because you sound like so-and-so.
12. Try to blog with rhythm and balance.
13. Easy to remember blog titles and addresses are the best and you want to label your posts so that they show up in search engines.
14. Taking part in link-ups, blog tours, doing interviews, hosting contests, and commenting on other people's blogs are great ways to expand your blog's range of influence.
15. Decide how much blogging really means to you and how much time you want to invest in it, then run with that and don't allow yourself to be intimidated by more successful bloggers.

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Let's share the fun! If you have a blog, why don't you leave the links in the comment section so I can come and visit you. :) And, if you *don't* have a blog, you can either leave a link to one of your favorite blogs, or tell me what you would blog about if you did have a blog. Thank you for being a part of my blogging world!

Where I've Blogged During the Last Four Years

Over the last four years my blogging quarters have been changed up a bit, although when I look back through the picture, I'm amazed at how alike they actually all are. I started out blogging at this table which I used as a desk. I lived in a barn at the time which was pretty cool. 

During November of 2012 I took part in National Novel Writing Month and discovered the wonderfulness of writing from an easy chair. I spent the next three years of my life writing almost exclusively from comfortable seats, often with my legs tucked up under me or propped up in front of me. It was delightful. 
This (below) was my writing corner from November 2012 until June of 2014 when my family moved. Hundreds of blog posts came to life in this cozy nook. In fact, if you look closely at the computer you can see I was drafting a post on it. 

 My new office was a bit more spacious, although not in the loft of an old barn. Since I enjoyed my previous office so much, I modeled my new writing corner in almost the same exact way. (Note the stuffed animals in the right corner. Stuffed animals do wonders for the imagination.)

This was my happy, and bright, writing space from June of 2014 until November of 2015 when I took part in my second National Novel Writing Month. There's a long story I plan on blogging about some time, but let's just say I found out that I had deplorable writing posture and an easy chair is not the place to spend hours each day working.


Amusingly enough it was back to the foldable table for me (although a different one than before). I shifted my office furnishings around and eventually came up with this winning combination. Now I write with my feet flat on the floor, my back at least somewhat straight, and my computer at eye-level. It's not quite as comfortable, but my body feels a lot better.  

So there you have it, the four basic places I've written my blog posts from. Of course there have been blog posts written in other locations.
I've written posts rocking in a hammock in North Carolina, surrounded by friends in Nebraska, in wind-swept Aruba, outside of caves in Tennessee, in the sound booth at the Creation Museum... At a friend's house in Asia, in vehicles in multiple states, in a cute beach cottage in Hawaii, in an apartment in Frankfurt, Germany, walking down the road, in doctor's waiting rooms, in an old palace in Vienna, Austria... In hotels in Colorado, in airports all across the world, in a friend's basement in Georgia, and the list could go on. 
Pretty much Noveltea, and therefore y'all, have been a big part of my life and followed me around the world and through the ups and downs of being a writer for the last four years. Thank you so much for joining on this journey with me.

I'm reposting the giveaway here so y'all can get more entries (you can get a lot of the entries each day, not just once).

Question of the day: Where is the strangest/coolest/most unique place you've read a blog post?


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Happy 4th Birthday (Plus BIG Giveaway)

Guess what yesterday was? Noveltea's fourth birthday! Yay! I'm excited about this week where I get to do some "giving back" to y'all and thank you for being a part of my life. I hope you join in the festivities and bring some friends along to the party.


Having a blog is literally a dream come true. I'd heard for years about how good of a platform it would be for writing, but I had no clue how rewarding it could be until I experienced for myself. Although blogging hasn't always been easy, looking back over the last four years I'm incredibly grateful for the journey I've been on. 
Yesterday I made some delicious coffee cake, gingersnaps, and birthday cake (free of grains, dairy, and refrained-sugars). It was a fun way to celebrate Noveltea's forth birthday and the fact that we just crossed the 1,000th post mark. Exciting, right? 

Since I can't ship y'all cake (I wish I could!) I decided to have a giveaway to thank you for being a part of my life and spread the word about Noveltea. I hope we'll have lots of fun together this week and get some conversations going in the comment section. I'm giving away four prizes since this is Noveltea's forth birthday. I choose one of my favorite books, one of my favorite CDs, one of my favorite DVDs and an Amazon gift card (cause how can you go wrong there?). 
Please make sure you enter the giveaway, spread the word, leave a comment, and take a moment to fill in the poll on the sidebar, if you feel so inclined. Thank you for being a part of my life and thank you for celebrating with me and passing the word along! 


(Please note: I can only ship the giveaway prizes - not including the gift card - to USA addresses.)a Rafflecopter giveaway

* * * It's that time again where we get to choose where Annie goes for this week in our Friday Series,  Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks . And the destination is: South Korea! 

March 2016 Goals

Because getting my goals for March posted late is better than never, here we go...


If the Lord wills and I live, in March I will:

1. Walk or jog 100 miles
2. Work 80 hours on my non-writing job
3. Work 100 hours on my writing work
4. Read at least an hour each day
5. Read and review 4 non-fiction books
6. Either re-write or edit each chapter in WLHYL
7. Write at least 300 words on the re-writes every day

Around the World in Fifty-Two - Weeks Week Nine: Italy

Happy Friday, folks! I'm enjoying looking out my window at a beautiful world covered in snow as I explore a much warmer country with Indiana (aka Annie) in my fictional story, Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. I hope y'all enjoy Annie's adventure this week. 
There was so much to write about in Italy that it was hard to choose... I'm interested in knowing where you would visit if you could go to Italy for a week?

Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks Week Nine: Italy 
With 61 million inhabitants, Italy is the fifth most populous country in Europe, but I spotted them the second I entered the luggage claim area. Because really it doesn’t matter if there’s 61 million people or ten people, little miss Annie will always see her family right away.  “Ahhh!” My scream echoed in the airport hallway and it’s a wonder I wasn’t arrested. I flew into Mom’s arms first, then moved on to Dad and gave my brother Kyle his hug last. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked, sniffing back the tears that were threatening to come again. I so was not going to make a habit of disembarking and bursting into tears… Not very professional.  “We figured if you were going to explore Italy we wanted to join you.”  I saw my suitcase out of the corner of my eye and snagged it off of the luggage carousel as it went past. “Very funny. I found out I was coming to Italy twenty-four hours ago. You had to be planning it long before then.”  Kyle took my suitcase from me. “We’ve been planning this all week, sis.” We began walking toward the exit.  “You were going to come to Italy without me?” Mom leveled me with a duh look then grinned at me. “You must have jet lag. We were planning on joining you wherever you went. Exploration Airlines contacted us last week and said if we could get off work they would figure out the rest of the details. We packed everything we’d need for a cold country and everything we’d need for a warm country and as soon as you chose Italy we hopped on a plane with the correct backpack to come join you.” “I hope you didn’t plan very much for this week.” Dad’s nose was stuck in a guide book as we walked along.  “Rome?” I shrugged. In reality I had created an itinerary of sorts, but I wasn’t stuck on it by any means.  “Of course, of course.” Dad waved his hand as if that was a forgone conclusion, which most likely it was. “Other than that though, leave it to me.”  “Sounds good to me.”  We stepped outside and there was a man holding up a sign that said Indiana Anderson & Family.  “Oh good, he’s here.” Mom didn’t seem surprised to have someone waiting for us. I was, though. After greeting us he led the way to a shinny black limousine and opened the door then took our luggage and put it in the back.  “You might want to close your mouth so nothing flies in.” Kyle nudged me with his elbow.  “This is going to be a crazy-fantastic week.” I squealed as I ducked into the posh vehicle. “Palatine Hill, please,” Dad told the driver. He then opened a compartment and pulled out a tray of food for each of us. “I asked them to have breakfast ready so we could eat on the drive over. We have so much to do I’m not sure how we’re going to fit it all in. They’ll also take our luggage to the hotel for us.” I began munching on my fete biscottate and Dad poured me a mug of coffee from a carafe. “Thank you.”  By the time we arrived at Palatine Hill I had decided traveling in a limo was the best. I felt like some kind of celebrity as I exited the vehicle, yet was still shocked to be met by a tour guide and a newspaper reporter.  “Miss Anderson,” the reporter’s Italian accent was thick and made me grin. I was really in Italy! I shook his hand..  Dad started talking to him and Mom leaned over and whispered, “Stefano, that’s the reporter, asked Exploration Airlines if he could follow you for the day. We thought that sounded like fun so we told them it was a go.” “Shall we begin?” Emanuele, the tour guide asked, beginning to walk. We fell into step with him.  “Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and one of the most ancient parts of the city. It is 131 feet above the Forum Romanum and is stunning as you can see. According to Roman mythology this hill was the location of the cave where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf Lupa.” Emanuele stopped and peered at me, “You know the legend, no?”  “Yes, but please, a refresher would be nice.”  “Alright. According to the legend Lupa raised the boys until a shepherd named Faustulus found the infants and raised them along with his wife. Once they got older they decided to build a city on the banks of the River Tiber. One day they had a violent argument and Romulus ended up killing his brother Remus. Thus the way Rome got it’s name.”  I grimaced, okay, I hadn’t remembered that part of the legend.  “Many affluent Romans of the Republican period, which began around 509 B.C., lived around here. We even had several emperors reside here a little later on including Augustus, Tiberius, and Domitian. “  The names sounded familiar from history and I looked around me in awe, thinking of what life had been like here around two thousand years ago. The ruins were beautiful and the sun was shinning brightly, making the ancient stones glow a brilliant red-yellow. It must have been magnificent when it was new. 
After Palatine Hill we went to a restaurant for lunch, and when I say lunch, I really mean a hugely fantastic meal. As soon as we sat down at our rather crowded booth I could feel myself beginning to drool. It smelled 100% amazing. Tomatoes. (Did you know tomatoes came from America and weren’t introduced in Italy until the 1540’s?) Sausage. Basil. Rosemary. Sage. Onions. Peppers. The scents swirled around me and made my stomach rumble. Emanuele explained to us about how the meals worked as we waited for our food.  “Lunch is traditionally regarded as the most important meal of the day and most shops close to give time for the employees and owners to eat. Some of the school children go home for lunch, but they can also eat at school.” A waitress arrived just then and Emanuele spoke to her in rapid Italian. She nodded and left.  “I hope you ordered a lot, I’m hungry.” Kyle rubbed his stomach. I laughed, even though he twenty, he sometimes reminded me of a seven-year-old with how much he enjoyed food.  “Ah, you’ll be full.” Stefano, the reporter, grinned. “A typical Italian lunch consists of a first course with pasta or rice and a second course of fish, meat, or vegetables and fruit.” He also informed us that the fork came to Italy before any other European country because of all the pasta. After lunch we said good-bye to Stefano and Emanuele took us out to explore the rest of the city, and then we were out early again the next day, trying to see as much as we could. Rome was a vast and complex city that was somehow both historic and modern at the same time. It smelled like a mixture of accent stones, croissants and coffee, mopeds, and the water fountains.  Rome was almost 3,000 years old and had an array of sights to behold from stunning cathedrals (we visited the Sistine Chapel), to ancient romantic plazas (visiting them was a dream come true for Mom) and much more. There was breath-taking Renaissance architecture that was marvelous and spun my imagination into gear and made me feel as if we had only scratched the surface of what Rome had to offer. One thing we didn’t do was visit the Colosseum. I knew I was going to have to explain that on my blog, but it wasn’t an oversight. There was so much violence and bloodshed that took place there that I had no desire to stand within it’s walls, even though it was such an important part of Rome’s history.   
Thursday we got up early and drove the five hours to Venice which ended up taking way longer because we stopped at multiple little towns to explore what Italy is like away from the big cities. (Did you know one third of Italians have never used the internet?) It was quite the crazy drive because 4/5s of Italy is either mountainous or hilly.  Venice is a unique city and is built on a lagoon surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. It was founded over 1,400 years ago and has been slowly sinking into the mud for centuries now. It’s an archipelago of dozens and dozens of islands that are all connected by hundreds of bridges and canals.  Since it’s heralded as one of the most romantic cities in the world Kyle and I convinced Mom and Dad to go out and spend Friday together. They could ride in a gondola, feed each other spaghetti, or do whatever other romanticish stuff they wanted to. They happily agreed. 
We got up way too early Saturday morning and took a gorgeous six and a half hour train ride to Pompeii. Pompeii was amazing and sad and mind blowing all at once. The city was buried under several feet of volcanic ash in 79 A.D. which sort of froze everything in time. The city now offers fascinating insight to the everyday life of the ancient Romans. 
From Pompeii it was a twenty-five minute bus ride to Naples where we spent a leisure Sunday fellowshiping as a family and exploring the city. Monday morning I prepared to spin the globe to discover my next destination and say good-bye to my family. 

Questions from Hosanna and Melo

Today I have two of my amazing friends on Noveltea with me, Hosanna and Melo. I've known them for years and have had some pretty crazy adventures with them, including going and staying with their family for a month in Indonesia. While there we hiked up mountains in the dark, ate snacks on huge rocks after standing under really tall waterfalls, played hundreds of games of Rook, had uncountable water fights, and made tons of memories. 

For the last two years or so Hosanna has been my blogging/writing buddy... Meaning, most mornings I chat with her online as I'm writing my post and often times send paragraphs to her when I'm part way through asking "Does this make sense?" or "Is this too weird?" I also rant to her a couple times each week about how my writing isn't coming together, or chatter excitedly when it is coming together. She helps my brain not explode while I'm doing tedious editing and encourages me to keep going when I've hit a roadblock. 

This morning we decided we should do an interview where they ask me questions, so without further ado, here we go:

Melo: What's your favorite day of the week, and why…
My favorite day of the week is Sunday or Monday. Sunday because I love getting to go to our church and hang out with our church family, plus I generally play games or read in the afternoon, and that’s totally a win. Monday because there’s a whole week ahead of me, just waiting to be redeemed. New beginnings are absolutely wonderful and Monday is one of the best new beginnings. Plus, I have a weekly meeting at work in the morning and Bible Study in the evening. I thrive on the routine.  
Hosanna: What is your favorite fiction book (as of this last year)?
This is obviously an impossible question to answer. There are several books that I’ve read and reread multiple times and they feel just like old friends now. One of those books is Over the Divide. I probably read that book a couple times each year and find it beautiful and touching each time. 

Melo: If you could be an animal, what animal would you want to be?
I would probably chose to be a dog. That way I could roam all over the woods, come home and have food and care, plus bring a lot of happiness to people. 
Hosanna: If you could pick to live in the past what time period would you chose?
Oh. Wow. This is a hard one. I can think of a fictional time period I would want to live in, but it’s a lot harder when we’re talking about reality. Ohh! Never mind about that. I would choose to live in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. 

Melo: Where is your dream place to live?
I’ve always wanted to live in Alaska for a year. I don’t think I’d want to spend the rest of my life there, though. But just think, Land of the Midnight Sun. And, of course, Land where the Sun Doesn’t Shine. Both ideas make my brain turn into a frenzy of activity, trying to imagine what life would be like there. 
Hosanna: What is your favorite time of the day, and why?
My favorite time of the day is early in the morning before everyone has woken up and late at night after everything has quieted down. It’s so peaceful and still and I find it much easier to focus and soak in the moments. I also really like being in my office around 3:00 on sunny afternoons when the sun is pouring in through the windows and filling my world with a warm glow. 

Melo: What is your most common nick name….?
Aidyl. It’s my name backward and I have a whole group of friends who never even call me my original name. I like both my names (Lydia and Aidyl) a lot and use them synonymously. 
* * * I know I enjoy being able to find out some of the "Behind the scenes" about bloggers I know, so if any of you have questions for me, you can ask them and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Book Review Thoughts & Giveaway

Book reviews. They're amazing little things. I've read thousands and thousands of them and will probably read thousands more. I can literally read them for hours on end and lose all track of time. I've also written a few reviews, although my total reaches to dozens, not thousands. I hope that changes one day...

Have you ever realized that our brains work differently from each other? Take for instance when I read, I'm focusing on certain elements such as character development, word pictures, and the way the author draws my emotions in. The plot needs to be realistic, but generally that isn't my main focus.

Through reviews I've discovered there's a wide range of what other people like and don't like. Some reviewers discount books as being unrealistic if they don't mention food, because, Hey! You have to eat. Others shake their heads sadly and declare the book a loss because the main character was unlikeable to them. Others squeal about a book being trite. Or cliché. Or boring. Or aggravating. Or having gigantic plot holes.

Even if I've never read the book, I can generally get a good grasp on what causes those reactions if I need enough reviews. Then I file it away in my memory bank and when one of those "issues" pop up in my book I'm able to whack it over the head and deal with it right away so my readers don't have to.

Book reviews also help inspire me. When I see how many reviews are out there being read, I'm reminded that one day, I too, should have a passel of reviews for readers to dig into. Plus, the diversity in people's imaginations makes me feel as if I have wings to fly on, because I have an imagination, too and that's a glorious thought.


There are some elements about reviewing books that bother me: The main one being that the system we have only uses five stars. I'm fairly certain the world of reviews would feel like a more fair place if we had ten stars to choose from.

Most of the books I read are three-star reads. It takes a good amount of liking for me to push a book up to the four star range, and it's almost impossible for a fiction book to reach five-stars. By the same token, though, it's quite difficult for me to regulate a book to two-stars. It just feels wrong. I don't think I've ever written a one-star review, most likely because I don't finish books that would garner just one-star.

But this leaves me with all those three-star books, which in reality have hit many different places in my like-the-book-meter. On a scale of one to ten I might inwardly rate Book A at 4 and book Book B at a 7, yet in the star-charting reviewing world, they come out looking the same. It makes my reviewing, and writing, heart sad.

Still, five stars are better than three stars, so I'll remain a happy little book reviewer.

Today I'm celebrating my book being released in Spanish by hosting a giveaway. You can win either a copy of the book or an Amazon gift card. Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Do you think we should have a better book reviewing system? What star-count do the majority of the books you read receive?