don't know what to pray

Lately I find myself praying simply: "Take care of him. Take care of her."
So many people hurting in so many ways.
I imagine the Lord pulling them to his chest, giving them exactly what they need.  Sometimes, I just don't know what else to pray.

friday fill-ins

1. __Nothing ever begins at__ 6:58.
2. It was the reason, of course, _why I can't put my head under water____.
3. _Spend hours on my hair__ is something I no longer feel the need to do.
4. I have another errand to run, then __I'll get a cookie____.
5. __Don't blame me that you lost your mind__...just go find it
6. What were once vices _are now common social behaviors___.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _relaxing with the family____, tomorrow my plans include _getting the pee smell out of my house once and for all____ and Sunday, I want to __do something special for my husband and my daddy___!

from Friday Fill-Ins

baby books

My good friend Loretta Oakes has two books being published this year. They are board books for babies. It may seem like a simple thing, but you would be surprised at the amount of time and work that goes into these books. It's incredible!
So after literally years of effort my friend gets to see the project come to fruition.
I've seen the proofs and they are beautiful books. Little flap books. One is called Peek-a-Boo Jesus and one is called Peek-a-Boo Christmas.
The point behind playing peek-a-boo is to teach permanence. Mommy is still there, even if you can't see her.
And where is Jesus when we can't see him?

If you have a baby or a grand-baby go to Amazon and look at these books. They won't be released until later this year, but you can pre-order them now.

holey jeans

My husband and my daughter don't approve of my jeans.

They have holes in them. They came that way, brand new, which astounds them even further.

Why? They want to know.

Because they fit. Not only do they fit, they fit well. AND they are comfortable. That's enough right there, but the clincher was that they were only $9 at Kohl's. 

My husband looked them over and said, "Well, if you had said $1 I would have agreed that they were a deal."

Some of my friends wear holey jeans, too. So they actually may make me a little bit cooler. Literally and figuratively.

The weird thing is, my daughter is a teenager. Isn't she supposed to be the one who is getting grief for her clothing choices?

LOL

I seem to have the ability to make people laugh. I love that.
But I find I seldom laugh myself. I chuckle. I grin. But rarely do I bust a gut or even guffaw.
I spent five days this week with people who laugh easily and loudly. I was jealous. I used to be that way and I'm not sure what's changed. But this isn't a dig deep and philosophize post, so I'll not get into that.

There are some things that still make me literally laugh out loud:

Physical comedy. We watched an episode of the old Dick van Dyke show and I laughed several times. He's a master. Jerry Lewis. Steve Martin. Mr. Bean. Even Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow or when he's Willy Wonka and walks into his glass elevator. I laugh every time.

Puns. Okay, so mostly I groan. But if they're really good, you'll hear the dulcet tones of my laughter. And perhaps a snort or two.

I also get a kick out of things like badly written headlines. Improper or idiotic use of words can pull a giggle fit from my belly.

What about you? Are you a laugher? And what makes you laugh the most?

Ok, that picture that I found on morguefile made me laugh, too.

re-inspired

I just returned from my annual experience at the Glen Eyrie Writers' Summit.

I am tired. I am achey. I am a little grumpy.

I am also re-inspired.

I am re- charged. I am re-dedicated.

I am re-born.

Ready to go. Ready to write. Ready to actually finish a book rather than starting more new ones!

And I'm ready to kick fear out the door. Being afraid of failure (and/or success) has gotten really old. I got sick of it this week.

I know these feeling and the new burst of creative energy will be short-lived and it will all fall back on my commitment. But I'm committed. See how brave I am telling the whole world that?

The photo is of the wonderful mentors, James Scott Bell, Kathryn Mackel, Angela Hunt, and Nancy Rue as they form the Universal Mind. (it was a skit, not some weird religious thing.)

moving on

Almost three years ago I was blogging about moving into this house. Now we are moving out.

Tomorrow.

We've liked it here. But we need to be more central. So we're moving further into the city. There will be a lot of conveniences. But...

The house is a bit smaller. And the view will be of the townhouse across from us, or our garage.

It will be a good move. I'm looking forward to some of the changes, but...

There are some things I'll miss.