Three day weekends...

Thought for today - "Hang on to your humour. Don't ask for permission, just do it! Make everything fun." Georgia Ulrich

Almost everyone I know lives for Fridays. They signal the beginning of the weekend. What's not to love about that?

This weekend, for us anyway, is a three day weekend. Monday is Family Day here in Alberta. What a great holiday. And what a great place to live, despite the cold temperatures and the three feet of snow currently outside my window. Where else (besides Disneyland) do you get to celebrate having kids and being part of a family?

This weekend, two of the kids have soccer games, and then the rest of the weekend belongs to us. Unscheduled, free-flowing family time. Time to play a game of Clue. Time to bake some cookies. Time for an old fashion snowball fight. Time to build a 1000 piece jig-saw puzzle. Time to laugh.

Not so very long ago, I would have had "a list." The list would contain all the unfinished projects we should conquer during the three days. Rooms to clean. Clothes to mend. Repairs to be made. Homework to be done.

Then all of a sudden, one of my children became a teenager. Gone, so it seemed, were the days of coming to me and claiming to be bored and wanting to spend time together. Now there are friends and malls and she has her own "list." When did "lists" become my enemy rather than my friend?

Thankfully, she's a "young" teenager and I still have time. I've put away my list. It will still be there on Tuesday. The aroma of fresh baked cookies and hot cocoa, the challenge of that jig-saw puzzle, and the music of laughter in front of the fireplace can still intrigue her and coax her out of her room. For the next three days, we are simply a family of five, loving, laughing, and enjoying being together.

Carpe diem,
Kellie

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thought for today - "You can only lead others where you yourself are willing to go." Lachlan McLean

Happy Valentine's Day! That's the good news for the day. Now for the bad...how to celebrate a holiday that focuses on candy and flowers, when you're newly diagnosised as having impaired glucose tolerance and allergic to pollen. Life does provide some interesting opportunities, doesn't it?!

Having three children also provides some opportunities. Opportunities to teach them to "think outside of the box." So what if today's holiday is about hearts and flowers and candy; it can actually be more if we just let it. Today's holiday is really all about saying, "You're special to me," to whoever it is that you share it with. And, saying it in your own way. For me, "my way" now means no candy or flowers, so what's a mom to do?

Try visiting the "Warm Buddy" website for ideas. These cute stuffed animals have an inner core that is removable and then heated in the microwave, making the animal more warm and "snuggly" than they already were. And really cute. So, we are now the proud owners of a black and white kitten, a spotted puppy, and a cozy leopard cub. They also have a moose, lambs and several teddy bears available. For more information go to www.warmbuddy.com to see your options.

However you choose to celebrate, have a wonderful day!

Carpe diem,
Kellie

Entering writing contests...

Thought for today - Don't wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it!

For the most part, I write romantic suspense. Perhaps my tales are more to the "cozy" side than the "graphic" side, but none the less, there is suspense. And sometimes, after working with a story over a long period of time, the suspense starts to lose some of its excitement - for me. I know what's going to happen next, you know?

So, one good way to "see" your own writing is through the eyes of another person, specifically, through various writing contests. And as a romantic suspense writer, one very important contest is the RWA Mystery and Suspense Chapter (commonly known as the Kiss of Death) annual Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence. There is both a published and an unpublished division for the contest. This will be my first year entering the contest.

In preparation for entering, I am polishing my first fifteen pages one more time, checking the opening hook, purging extraneous adverb usage, polishing point of view, and all the other things writers do to try to make their entry the best it can be. And I'm taking it one step further. I'm imposing on two close writing colleagues to actually use the score sheet for my category (available on the KOD website) and "score" my entry.

It means a lot to me that these two writers would do this. At first glance, it seems like its just taking a few minutes of their busy days, but really, it is much more. They are willing to share with me that awkward dance that writers need - someone to be painfully blunt so that improvements can be made, all the while giving those warm, so needed hugs of support after that help a writer once again face his or her keyboard.

Wish me luck!

Carpe diem,

Kellie

Winter wonderland...

Thought for today - "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." Vincent T. Lombardi

Wow, it's February already! I have the feeling that 2007 is going to move along just as quickly as 2006 did. In a way, that's good, as I'm really ready for spring to be here. Did the ground hog see his shadow? Winter is still here and getting ready to dump another load of white wonder on us.

Living in Canada, especially central Canada, during the winter is not for the faint of heart. Getting up in the morning to -25 C temperatures, piles of snow, and kids that just don't want to leave the warmth of their beds takes tons of focus, determination, and sheer willpower (not to mention, hot coffee!).

Yet, there is something magical about new fallen snow. White, fresh, unmarked, full of potential - will it be a snowman, snow fort, snow balls - so much potential. Just like starting a new story is full of so much potential.

This is the view from my office window as I ponder the potential of the day.

Carpe diem,
Kellie