A Day at Bear Lake

This summer we had the opportunity to spend an evening at Bear Lake with some of the Ogden's.  Richard took a swim, and I sat on the shore and let the wind blow through my hair while watching the dogs play and try to capture a kite.  Then we had some dinner and called it a night. We're hoping that we can get a big group of us together for a little sleep-over next  summer.  I think that would be totally fun.

And for kicks and giggles you can check out this video of Rue playing with the kite.

Lots of stuff has happened since my last post. I'm not even sure I know where to begin.

Let's see... Uhhhhhh...

I wrote a short story for the online magazine, Pure Slush. Something a little silly that has received a little bit of attention from my online friends. You can read it HERE!

I'm also editing for Shotgun Honey along with my friends, Kent Gowran and Ron Earl Phillips.

I went to San Antonio for Girl's Weekend. Each year I get together with my girlfriends from Las Vegas and Arizona and we kick it over Labor Day Weekend. We walked the ruins of Alamo, took a river water ride, ate lots of yummy ice cream, walked the river walk and shopped and shopped and shopped and laughed and laughed and laughed. Then we ate some more food and I took a ton of photos.  I also passed the Sash of Authority to Lisa...which means she's in charge of next years destination. Oh, and I learned a lot of about Mickey Mouse.

 Tina, me, Teri

 I wanna be a cowgirl, baby

 Ooooh, pretty wall

 hand carved figurines

The Alamo

 Lisa with her the Authority Sash... just so you know, in order to pass the sash to another you are required to stand and do a dance number (or a jig made up on the spot) in front of whatever restaurant guests are in the room. I impressed them all because I AM AWESOME! I wish I was quick enough to have someone snag some video of it. Memories 101, man!

 Me and Lisa

On the Trolley

I also attended this awesome murder mystery convention called Bouchercon in St. Louis. While there I was able to meet some of my favorite authors... some have become great friends since our time together on twitter. I'm hoping this becomes a yearly event for me to attend. Lots of books, lots of authors, lots of friends, and lots and lots of fun.

 Me with Russel McLean

 Author Josh Stallings

 Author Andrew Grant

Joelle Charbonneau

 Chris F. Holm, Katrina Holm, Neliza Drew, Brad Parks, Joelle and Me

Author Holly West

 Author Daniel B. O'Shea

 Author Thomas Pluck

 The lovely Hilary Davidson

 Author Peter Farris

Me and Neliza Drew

After, Richard flew into town and we spent the week visiting St. Louis, Kansas City, Liberty, and Nauvoo, Illinois. We watched the Cardinals play the Mets one night and then drove to Kansas City to watch the Royals play Detroit the next. From there we toured church history sites and just enjoyed our time together.

 walking the streets of St. Louis

Busch Stadium from the announcers booth

 the road we followed

 on a walk to a landmark

 power lines for Nick Ogden

 at the top of the Arch

 The Arch

 view from the stadium

at the game

 in Liberty

 taking a tour at the Royals Stadium

at the Royals game

 in Nauvoo

 Nauvoo Temple

 Nauvoo Temple

Nauvoo Temple

Now, I'm just catching up on reading, writing reviews, and working on a couple of short stories for submission to a couple of places.  We've also completed a couple of home improvement projects, but I'll save those for another day. Love to all.

When Yoda Comes To Play

I live in this really great neighborhood about 16 miles west of salt lake city and I love the back street that our house is tucked away on.  I also love our neighbors.  We don't hang out all the time and pry into each others lives, but we do watch out for each other.  When people are gone, without even being asked, pretty much everyone around during that time will take a look at the home and make sure nothing unusual is happening. If we notice things are off, we don't hesitate to call and see if the family is alright. 

We watch. We serve. We care.  It's kind of like an unofficial motto in the area.

Which I happen to like.

There is this one family that lives across the street from us. These neighbors have some pretty wonderful kids. They're bright. They're fun. They read. They play. They write. They read. They're awesome with a capital "A"... for real.

Last week the kids knocked on the door and when I opened it I was surprised to find a massive, cardboard Yoda standing on my front porch. He was green with the cutest ears.  It didn't take long for one of the little ones to pop their head out from behind Yoda with a big grin on their face.  Soon we were all standing there, and shortly thereafter the kids and Yoda were walking through the house on their way to the backyard to find the their father.  It was a great.

A couple of days later they were back. This time with the original paper doll Yoda they had made that had inspired their creation into the life size figure. Seriously. I love these kids. I do. Would die for them if I had to. That is how wonderfully special they are to me.

Their parents are pretty wonderful, too. They encourage their children to PLAY. Really play. When they're bored, the parents tell them to use their imaginations... and they do. Last year they wrote plays during the summer and then took tickets around to the neighbors. Mom and Dad might not have known they were doing a performance that night, but the kids and the neighbors did. And it was awesome! They built the stage out of, you guessed it... cardboard. They made some puppets. Wrote some scripts. Then put on a performance.

Well, the long dreaded winter is finally over, and the sun is out and full of all the things everyone in the neighborhood is looking forward to. 

When will the first play be?

When will the first backyard movie night for the neighborhood be across the street?

When will the kids start giving away tickets to another performance?

When? When? When?

Richard and I sit with this family on Sundays at church, and today one of the children passed Richard a note.

It was this...

This is Noah on the Ark announcing to the animals that he's loading them alphabetically. While the ants are "whoo-hooing" and the zebra's are saying, "darn", I'm saying...

"Totally cool! I can't wait for summer to begin!"

The Night the Transformer Blew...

I awoke from my sleep at three o'clock in the morning to the sound of a transformer in the final moments before it blows. You know that sound?  The loud buzzing noise that a transformer makes when the electricity is running too high and the transformer is no longer able to control the wattage.  That noise.

I shot out of bed and ran straight for the window, pulling open the shutters and checking the side of the house and the street for any sign of trouble. There wasn't anything wrong. So I opened the bedroom door and found that the noise seemed to be radiating throughout the entire house. It was loud.

So I searched.

I went to the kitchen first and opened all the shutters checking the side of the house, the neighbors house and angled my head just right so I could see the big transformer that sits behind our neighborhood grocery store. It's huge. It's the transformer in our town that usually blows once a year during a bad snow storm. There was nothing wrong with it.  No sparks. No massive flashes of blue light. No other neighbors looking out the windows for the sound of this buzzing noise that was obnoxiously loud and causing me serious concern.

If the noise wasn't coming from outside then it had to be coming from inside.  An electrical surge was pulsating through the walls of my pretty little home and it was important that I find it, or the appliance that was causing the problem, before a fire started and we were forced out into the streets with nothing but the clothes on our backs and two little puppies that have no idea how good they have it.

So I did what any wife would do... I woke up Richard.

"Richard! Wake up! There's a noise in the house."

"Wha... What?"

"WAKE UP!"

"What's wrong? Where's the noise?"

"Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"That buzzing noise. It sounds like an appliance is about to blow."

"What appliance?"

"I don't know. I can't figure out which one it is, but I know its not outside. It's in the house. Can't you hear the noise?"

"Maybe it's the ceiling fan in your room..."

PAUSE:  Yes, he said "your room". I sleep in the guest room because Richard snores. Really loud. And I like to sleep. Uninterrupted. It really isn't a big deal. We've tried the together thing, but I always end up having to leave so I just started going to bed in the guest room every night.  Okay?

Now, where were we?

That's right. Richard goes to my room and turns off the ceiling fan, but it didn't make any difference in the buzzing sound that was still radiating throughout the entire house.  So we moved our search to the kitchen since that's where the most expensive and high voltage items are.  (That should probably read wattage or something, but what do I know. I ain't no electrician.)

We're in the kitchen. All the shutters are open. Me searching the appliances while Richard stands at the kitchen table insisting there is no noise.

"Sweetheart, look. I really don't hear anything. What does the noise sound like again?"

"It's the buzzing noise. You know that noise that transformer behind the supermarket makes every year during the snow storms. It's like that, but constant. It hasn't stopped since it woke me. I really don't know why you can't hear it."

And that's when the lights went on. Not in the house. We were totally standing around in our undies in the dark. It was the light in my head. That light bulb moment that comes when you have that one perfect thought of clarity.  We've all had it. I was having that moment right then.

It was right after Richard called me sweetheart that I noticed this noise, this buzzing obnoxiousness that was radiating in my house, never seemed to get louder or quieter no matter where I went. It was a consistent volume.

Loud. Loud. Loud.

So I did it. I did the only thing I could think of to solve the mystery of the transformer that was ready to blow.

I shoved a finger in each ear.

Amazing.

Not only is the noise still the same... my finger is vibrating.  Holy Crapoli! The noise was coming from me.

"Richard.  The noise is coming from my ear. It's still loud when I put my finger in it and my finger actually vibrates a little."

"Your ear? If it's that loud we should take you the hospital."

"I'm not going to the hospital!"

"Why?

"Go to the hospital and do what? Tell them I'm hearing noises in my head?  They'll think I'm crazy."

Yep, crazy.  I searched the house with my spouse for thirty minutes looking for a noise that was inside my head the entire time. The noise was so loud I'm still surprised Richard didn't hear it when he was standing next to me.

In the end we both went back to bed. Richard went to his room and I went to my room and I rolled over on my side. It took about an hour before the pressure built up in my ear and then after some little crackling noises my ear started to drain fluid.

A crackle here, a crackle there... zzzz zzzzz zzzzzz.

Quiet.

Questioning the Questionable...

If you are a reader of my book blog you may have noticed that it has been unusually quiet the last few days. I really like to have something for my readers to read or know about 2 -3 times a week, but lately...

I've been overwhelmed with information that has left me feeling angry, annoyed, defensive, angry, angry and angry.

First I had complaints about how many times I updated my Facebook status... then it was how I shouldn't be allowed to socialize on twitter... then it was my book reading choices.

All of it question-able.

I don't care what you think of my Facebook status updates. If it bothers you that much then un-friend me. They do allow that option, ya know. As far as twitter is concerned... these wonderful people have made my world a better place. The people I've unofficially "met" are so nice that I've labeled them all my twitter family. I'm protective of them. I cry with them.  I mourn with them. I rejoice with them.

If you don't want to be on Twitter then I forever invite you to stay off the Twitter feed, but to suggest I shouldn't be socializing with this wonderful group of people that I've never really met... Well, you're entitled to that opinion. Thanks for letting me know?

Which brings me to my books. And my blog.

I read a lot of crime fiction. It's true. Can't get enough of the stuff, myself. I also have a love for short stories and short story collections, and I even like this new-to-me genre I've found called, Noir. Love the stuff.

But I also like historical fiction, young adult books, children's books, paranormal romance (although romance itself is pretty much out) and I also developed a recent interest in poetry. I know! Me, liking poetry? Whoever would have thunk it?

Is it questionable? My reading?

Maybe it is for you. And that isn't wrong, but it also doesn't mean that I throw away my reading material because it isn't something that you like. I read what I like. You read what you like. Asking my husband to monitor me or even censor me in my blog writing... Well, that's when lines get crossed and I get to share my thoughts on the subject.

Which is this.

My guess would be that if I had decided to start a christian based book blog it would have been acceptable. Oh, wait. No, it wouldn't have, because then I would be reading books by authors of another faith that might have opposing viewpoints from my gospel teachings. It would have been a problem... For someone.

I read fiction. I want to make sure we are clear on that. It means that the books that I read are made up stories written by really creative people that have the gift of telling a story on paper. I consider them perfect.  The great thing about my blog is, if you don't like a book I suggest, you don't have to read it. The other great thing about my blog is, if you don't like it, you don't have to read it.

Simple...Yet so complicated for some.

I have this really great job that I love with all my heart. It exposes me to details of horrific crimes that have actually happened.  No author of fiction will ever fully grasp the details of the reports that I read day in and day out. They will never be able to fully describe the sound of a mother's voice when she calls 911 to report the murder of her son. Or accurately describe the catch in her voice when she realizes with perfect clarity that she is in the same room with the person that has committed the crime. I've heard the sound of a mother cry at such a loss and held her hand as we went through the court proceedings... together.  I've also seen the faces of men, women and children that have lost their lives in the most horrible of circumstances. These are the sights and sounds that truly haunt my dreams.  Not the made up words that I'm reading in a work of fiction.

So as you sit in your homes passing judgment on me and a group of individuals that have written stories and books that you have never read, know this...

They are my friends.

They are my inspiration.

They are people that make me a better person every single day.

I read what I feel is acceptable to me. I stay away from things that I have no interest in. For instance... Glenn Beck. You do know he isn't a Prophet of God, right? That the quotes you use from his books are not considered doctrine?  I know these things. Which is why I don't read his books.

See... I think things are questionable, too. I just don't feel it's my place to tell you what to read.

I don't know.  Maybe this post will make you feel better? Help you sleep at night?

Maybe.

Or should I start looking for a new job because the one I currently have can easily be labeled...

Questionable?