I'm BA-aack!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

First of all, yesterday was my birthday. As many of you know, my sweet sweet man compiled a book of tributes, memories, compliments, etc. from my family and friends. All in all he was able to get 64 individual contributors! I was especially touched that he took to the time to seek out some of my blogger writing buddies. Thank you to those who included your thoughts and well wishes. It was the most amazing gift I've ever been given. What a superb day. I wish I could bottle that feeling. I need a bumper sticker that says "My Man is Sweeter than Your Man."

We're in. The house is put together and we are finally feeling normal again. Soooo, that means Hoodie's back in business. I'm having honest to goodness withdrawals. I miss my associations in the blogosphere and my creative juices have gone rancid with no outlet. My NaNoWriMo book which was pushed even further back than just the back burner has been niggling its way back into my mind, with fresh ideas in tow, and I find myself feeling excited about returning to that project. I've got some plotting to do, but leaving the idea to stew a while has been beneficial.

So, to celebrate my return, I'm having a contest. It's very easy. In the comment section leave me your answer to this question.

If you had only one fiction book to lend to family and friends, what would it be AND WHY?

My answer would be Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I really like Science Fiction, but have a hard time with hardcore SciFi that seems to focus more on the Sci than the Fi. Heinlen and Asimov are too much for me, no matter how hard I try to enjoy them. I'm always drawn to character stories over idea or milieu stories. Of all the books I've ever read, this is the one I come back to over and over again. Card's writing style appeals to me greatly. There are some of his books I like more than others, but I've enjoyed them all. He has an ability to interject humanity into the most outrageous of circumstances. It really draws me in.

So, if you leave me a comment with your answer by this Friday, May 2 at 7 PM, you will be entered in a drawing. Winner comes away with your choice of a spankin' new paperback copy of Ender's Game or $5 at Amazon.

Okay, GO!

Bloggers!

My family of four (1/2 of which is 5 or under) have been living in one bedroom in my sister's basement for three weeks. (Add up all the numbers in that sentence and get a prize!) We've endured an array of viral illnesses during that time and my insomnia has come in like a lion (much like the entire month of March here; A fresh layer of snow arrived last night).

However, if life really is a highway then we have left the orange cones behind and set the cruise to a comfortable speed. We found a house and will be in it in less than two weeks. My sister and her family are out of town, which decreases the stress levels in the house and all the hard parts of the moving process are over. I'm really looking forward to our new location which will be 5 miles from DH's office and .5 miles from the elementary school.

If you've not seen a comment from me on your blog, however, it's not my fault. My sister has internet controls set and if content requirements are not met, I can't access certain sites. Chris, Jaye, Vanilla, Minx and others, I shave my finger with my other finger at you.

Two little weeks, baby. I can't wait.

Pack It Up

Well, first I'm thrilled to have landed fifth place in Jason's recent contest. What a confidence booster.

Now the real fun begins. Today is packing day. I'm surrounded by mounds of boxes, moving supplies and piles of stuff that leave me wondering, "what the heck do I do with this?"

So, until I've found myself another house (we'll be living with family for a couple of weeks) I don't really plan on posting. I will have computer access, so I'll try to visit y'all. But consider me officially on hiatus.

So I leave you with a question to fill your days with ponderings until our next contact:

What do you consider your best training for writing? Where have you honed your skills? School? Critique groups? I want to know what has had the biggest impact on your learning to write. Feel free to expound liberally.

I did it.

With all the shanigans and goings on (read sucky moving) I was in possession of enough brain cells to throw together an entry for the contest. My posting will admittedly be sparse for the next month or so, but don't write me off completely. I'll still visit ya'll now and then and I promise to get back in the swing when I'm no longer homeless. :)

9 days on the market. We're feeling very very blessed.

Now I can focus on packing and moving.

And entering Jason's contest.

News That Moves Me

I'm sorry to have been absent.

Remember this post?

Answers have come forward. It's actually pretty funny.

My husband had been looking at a job possibility and we had told some local friends about it. We know them through church and they knew us well enough to know that taking a new job and moving far away is something that we would consult God about through prayer. Our clever little friend sent the letter in an effort to humorously cast a vote about whether we would take the job or stick around. He just did such a good job that I didn't consider it to be them. Once we found out it was their doing the letter went from strange to quite hilarious.

Alas, however, my husband was offered this job and we have decided to take it. Right now he works in public accounting which anyone familiar with the field will tell you is a high stress/many hours job. It's not all that family friendly. So he has taken a job with a private company 900+ miles away. Fewer hours, more money and much closer to our families. It's pretty win/win.

However, they need him right away. So he will begin work there in two weeks and the kids and I will move out two weeks after that. In the past few days it's been a mad scramble to get the house on the market, get it showable and take care of many many details so that all will sail smoothly in a few weeks. We are excited and stressed. The job will be great, but the transition makes me a little nervous.

I shall try not to leave you postless.

A Day From…

Eyes are open
But there is no light
The sky is rippled with the colors of shadow
And despair
The journey of one moon has brought with it
The Underworld
Superimposed on my own

Brimstone of ice
Scorching cold
Wind’s fierce breath in my hair
Searing my skin
His coarse groan whispering in my ear

Ghosts of ice
Misty mignons across my path
The bottom-feeders of Hell
Float in their onward dance
For souls to claim
Wanderers with malicious intent

Fractured grass
Frozen in its brittle pain
Pushes through rough ice
The world awash with death

Out of sight in the haze and fog
The devil himself plays among skeletal trees
Whipping Wind into an angry frenzy
Grinding Temperature into submission
Until suffering is universal

This day

January 29
Belongs to Hell