Nanowrimo

In four days I will begin a challenge that both thrills and terrifies me. I will be writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Yup. I’ve officially gone crazy.

I found Nanowrimo several months ago and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. I’ve never written a novel. I’ve never even written a short story. And I do not yet have a plot. But, I do love to write. And I have officially signed up, so write I will.

I have been wanting to write professionally for quite some time now, but life and doubts and fears have continually distracted me. With Nanowrimo, I will be writing on a crazy short schedule, but, I am giving myself permission to throw all perfection out the window. My goal with this is not to write some brilliant story. Far from it. I simply want to jump start my creativity. To practice putting words to paper…or at least to computer screen. And I want to see if I can actually write 50,000 coherent words in story form.

So, what do you think? Have I totally lost my mind? Any good plot ideas?

Morning Snow

My son has been praying that it will snow for weeks now. I’m not sure why, but the boy loves snow! (Maybe he gets it from me.) He has really been praying that it would snow by his birthday, which we have been gently reminding him is still pretty early in the season for snow.

This morning, I woke up to a very excited little boy bouncing around our room and singing “It snowed! It snowed! Look outside, it snowed!” Sure enough, there wasn’t much, but we had a light dusting of snow covering the ground. And the weather forecast is apparently showing a good chance for heavy snow later in the week. Just in time for his birthday.

So, while the kids played outside this morning, I made Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (my kids favorite muffins) and Pumpkin Spice coffee…in honor of the snow.

It’s been a great morning for our family. How about for you?

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
(Tweaked from this recipe.)

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs cinnamon
1/2 Tbs nutmeg
ginger and allspice to taste

Mix above ingredients in bowl. (Note: We like spice and I usually add more than normal, so feel free to cut back on the spices above.)

In another bowl, mix following wet ingredients:

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbs vanilla (see note above re: spices)
3 tbs butter, melted
10 ozs canned pumpkin (I usually use about 3/4 can of canned pumpkin and freeze whatever is left. This way, I can make about 3 batches of muffins out of 2 cans of pumpkin.)

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Stir in approximately 1 cup of chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

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Peace and Joy

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:1-11 , NIV, under the heading “Peace and Joy”

Molting

Did you know that Dragonflies lay their eggs in water? And once the eggs hatch, they become ugly little water creatures that move by shooting water out of their behind — my kids find that little fact to be hilarious. And then, as these water bugs grow, they molt four to five times. Each time they molt, their body changes until their final molt when they crawl onto a branch and emerge from their shell as an adult dragonfly.

Amazing.

Last Sunday, our pastor gave what was probably the most unique sermon I have heard on the subject of stewardship/tithing. He began upfront by telling the congregation that the church is beginning its annual stewardship drive. Then, he began talking about how we, as humans, are often our own worst critics. We consistently dwell on how we want to be better, but fail to acknowledge and take joy in the accomplishments and good that we do. (I am so guilty of that. I find it extremely difficult to ever pat myself on the back. Instead, I remind myself of what I can do better.) So he challenged us to take this week and not think about our stewardship pledge, but instead to dwell all week on our blessings and the things that are good in our life. And then next week, we’ll pray about our pledge.

While lying in bed last night, I began talking with God and going back through the past couple days, not even thinking about science or this sermon. And as I lay there, I began repenting for my bad attitude and for areas where I feel like I constantly fail. I was mentally trapped in my past and I was feeling like an ugly little water bug. Then I remembered II Corinthians 3:18 that says, And we, who…are being transformed into His likeness.

Being transformed…

Yes, my nature still longs to be selfish, controlling, bitter. And I need to repent when I sin in thought or deed. But I repent not because I have no hope of being better, but because I have a Savior. And he is transforming me. Constantly. My mistakes today do not negate all the molting that God has done in my life. I have been transformed. And I continue to be transformed. I can gratefully acknowledge and take joy in that fact.

Yes please, and thank-you for asking…

As we are settling in to our life back here in the West, I’m enjoying all the little adjustments that come from having adapted to a different culture. (Yes, New England was definitely a different culture from the West!)

This morning, at O’dark Thirty, as we were getting on the road to head up North for my brother’s wedding, we stopped at a Starbucks to get Mama a coffee. Not wanting anything fancy, I ordered just a regular coffee. And then the man in the coffee shop did an amazing thing – he asked me if I would like cream and sugar in my coffee! And I smiled…and said “yes, please!”.

Now I’m sure all you Westerner’s (or as my friend Mandy would say, all ya’ll Western folk) are wondering how my sweet little brains became so muddled that I find anything astonishing in this story. So let me back up and tell you about New England.

Easterner’s, it seems, have an incomprehensible obsession with Dunkin Donuts. Now, don’t get me wrong,I like Dunkin Donuts. Their donuts and coffee are good. I just never learned to appreciate the coffee quite as much as the average Easterner. Nor have I ever understood the necessity of having multiple Dunkin Donuts on the same city block and a Dunkin Donuts in every grocery store. Anyway…

While in New England, I would occasionally get a coffee from DD. The first time I did so, I accepted my cup of coffee and turned around to look for the sugar bar. No sugar packets or creamer in sight. So, I turned back around and politely asked where the sugar and cream were. And what did I receive for my politeness? Blank stares. I’ve been told I have a western accent, but really. So I asked again. Cream? Sugar? “You mean you want some more?” Now it was my turn to stare blankly. Huh?

Turns out, in New England (or at least in Massachusetts), it’s assumed that they will cream and sugar your coffee for you, unless you specify otherwise when you order. And even though I ended up ordering coffee at DD numerous times in the last three years, I never remembered that my coffee was going to come cream and sugared until after I had already received it.

So yes, I laughed when the polite Starbucks guy asked me how many sugar packets I would like in my coffee and whether I also wanted cream. Yup, I’m back in the West.

In 50 Minutes…

On Friday, we road the Rail Runner to Santa Fe to see my grandparents.

As we boarded the train, my sweetie guided a blind man to the train doors and onto the train.

After we were seated, my sweetie saw a woman having trouble with the door that led between cars. He stood and helped her open the door, then held it while she went through.

A person next to us asked her companions where a restroom was. They didn’t know. My sweetie gave her directions.

A little boy in the same car as us toddled up to my sweetie, flashed him a great big grin, and offered his Cars cap to him. My husband spent several minutes receiving and giving back the cap from this little boy, much to the amusement of everyone in the car.

In 50 minutes my husband positively influenced at least four strangers.

I have the best sweetie and I am madly in love with him!

Closed

Abby and Jonah have been dealing with our cross-country move fairly well and are enjoying all their time with grandparents, cousins, dogs, cats and wide-open spaces. But moving away from all of their friends and familiar surroundings has been difficult and Scott and I have noticed little struggles. One difficulty for the kids (and me) is adjusting to the quietness where we are currently living. We are in the mountains where you cannot even see the closest house. And because the house is powered by solar panels and a wind turbine rather than electricity, the quietness really settles in at night when the only sounds are the coyotes and neighbor dogs.

To deal with the quiet nights, Abby, who is sleeping on the bottom of a bunk bed, has built a “fort”. She has draped blankets from the slats above her and the footboard beside her head (yes, she prefers to sleep with her head at the bottom of the bed). She says the fort is to keep the darkness out. But now, she has also started crawling into her fort during the day, just to play or read books. It’s her comfort zone.

Today, while I was working on other things around the house, I noticed that I hadn’t heard from Abby in awhile. Walking into her room, I noticed that all the blankets on her bed were “closed”, so I peeked inside. Of course, there she was, as content as a clam. But when I peeked in, she looked at me and politely, but quite seriously said, “Mama, didn’t you see the sign? My fort is closed.” Sure enough, she had taped a piece of paper to the outside of her bed with a big ‘X’ drawn on it. Trying not to giggle, I apologized for not noticing the sign and headed back out of the room.

As I left, Abby called after me “But Mama, you’re welcome to come in anytime.” Mama’s get privileges!

Priceless…

2 regular size sodas at local cafe — $3.58
2 oversized Chocolate Duet cookies at local cafe — $3.58

45 minutes of laughing as my 8 year-old son kicked my behind in online arcade games at said local cafe — Priceless!

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Glittery gold fingernail polish — $2.00

Watching my 5 year-old fan her glittery fingers and toes to dry them properly– Priceless!

Marriage

I’m married to a really great man. And we have a good marriage. A really good marriage.

Sadly, I think really good marriages are becoming more uncommon. Actually, I think good marriages are common…but people don’t realize when they are already in a good marriage.

Our marriage is very good…but it is not easy. It is very good because it’s not easy.

In the last nine years, we have faced a lot of obstacles. We’re facing some pretty big ones right now. And we have disagreed on how to handle those obstacles – sometimes quite emotionally. And there have been plenty of times where one or both of us wanted to just throw up our hands and say FINE! Whatever YOU want. I don’t care! Just stop talking about it! We wanted to give in and give up, just to end the conflict.

But we didn’t. We don’t. We have always kept talking. Not without sometimes invoking the 10:00 rule (no more difficult discussions after 10:00 p.m., when we’re too tired to be reasonable) or the 24+ hour rule (I really can’t talk about this for awhile until I’ve had a chance to process my thoughts and feelings), but we always keep talking. And because of that, we have a great marriage.

We have sex (sorry parents, but yes, I’m going there…) and because of that, we have a great marriage. And I’m not talking about frequency or quality, because those can vary depending on so many factors. But even when we are stressed, or completely overwhelmed by life, or just generally not in the mood for sex, we don’t forget the need and desire for an intimate relationship. And sometimes that means one of us calling a “moral imperative”: acknowledging that neither of us has a strong desire at that moment to be intimate, but that for the health of our marriage, we are going to choose intimacy anyway. And that makes us stronger together.

And we pray. Which is the biggest reason why I believe our marriage is great. I’m not talking just about praying together, which we do, although not consistently. The prayers that more often shape our marriage are our individual prayers. When an issue seems impossible to overcome, I know that Scott is praying about it. And he knows that I am too. And eventually, God shapes us and changes our hearts so that we continue to grow together. And in growing together, we maintain our great marriage.

Easy/Quick: Summer Veggie Salad

This is a super easy, quick recipe that tastes yummy in the summertime. I especially love it because I can “dump” whatever veggies I have on hand into the salad without worrying about ruining it!

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Summer Veggie Salad

Mandatory Ingredients:
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 small bottle Italian Salad Dressing

Veggies — choose and mix whatever you like. Following are some of our favorites that I’ll toss in, depending on what I have on hand:
black olives
tomatoes
cucumbers
zucchini
yellow squash
bell peppers
carrots
asparagus
baby corn

Cut veggies and artichoke hearts into bite size pieces. Mix veggies, Italian salad dressing and artichoke hearts, including the juice from the marinade, in a large bowl. Toss to coat veggies. Refrigerate for 2-3 hrs before serving.
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Easy as pie. No wait…much easier!