Oooh, Christmas is Coming

Children are almost out of school. As in two hours and they are home for the duration of the Christmas break.

Why didn't anyone tell me when I was a student that all the excitement I felt over the last day of school, would turn into strange trepidation over the same day, as a mother? Really, I'm two parts excited and only one part wondering how I will keep the shelves stocked with enough cookies!

Not sure how much blogging or writing I'll do over the next two weeks. But creating memories with my kids is my best creative endeavor yet.

Merry Christmas!

I Still Want To Know & Wrapping up the Summer Contest

What Did You Read This Summer?

I know.
This post was supposed to happen at the end of Summer. Originally planned for the end of August. I thought I could squeak by with it at the end of September, but now there really isn't any way out of admitting I'm late. For the record I started this post in October (hmm, don't know why I'm admitting that.) SO even though it is November 1st, I'm wrapping-up the Summer Contest anyway. That means I will give away an amazon gift card and I still want to know what you read - and I don't even mind if what you said you were going to read and what you actually read ended up being two different things. The fun is sharing what you read, picked up, put down, or stumbled upon- right?
(In case you have completely forgotten, this is the post where I started the Summer Reading List and gift card give away. Here is where I compiled the list from the awesome readers.)
Be sure and leave a comment, short or long, letting me know what you read & I'll announce a winner sometime next week. Really!

Here is my summer break-down by books:
Possession by Elana Johnson
What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage by Amy Sutherland
A Heart Like His  by Virginia H. Pearce
and
The Science of Trust by John M. Gottman

I'd like to tell you all about them, but I'll have to save that for another post (otherwise this one won't get posted until mid-December.)

The First Day of Autumn, Really.

September 23rd and the calendar reads, First Day of Autumn.
Really?
The high today is 106. 
Living in AZ on the first day of Fall is like living far away from one of my dear friends when they are having a birthday party. I can think of them, but miss all the fun. As they say, 'you have to be there.'


To honor the change of season, aside from hopping a plane and taking a fall foliage tour, I thought I'd post my apple-picking poem today. And - I have a have a fall-inspired recipe, too. (Does that mean the recipe is inspired by fall or it will inspire me to think about fall? - Either way - the bars are delicious.) Oh, and for my AZ readers- if you ignore the part about turning on the oven on a triple-digit day - the caramel-apple-cookie smell is wonderful!


Poem first, then recipe. Enjoy!


Hand Picked Fun

I don’t know what happened to my bathing suit

Summer up and left                                                                                       

Mom moved the sweaters

From my big sister’s drawer

To mine

And the sun inched west a little sooner each day

Taking all the fun with him

Until we piled into the maroon station wagon

And drove north

Long enough for us to wonder if Dad got lost

We found the trees. Green leaves gone to yellow and orange.

Did the colors bring the cool air?

I thought so, but they told me it was the other way around.

Rows and rows of heavy laden trees.

We picked for hours, climbing, stretching

Dropping, joking

With cold noses and fingers

We filled our bags and bushels full of red, ripe apples.

And the country store had heated, fresh pressed cider.

One sip and my brother laughed at my eyes

Popping from the burst of flavor

Sweet and spicy

And warm.

Like those apples had figured out a way

To store all the rays of summer sunshine.

Just for me.

Tamara Passey

Easy Caramel Apple Bars by Betty Crocker

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Total Time 2:55 Hrs:Mins

Makes 36 bars

1/2 cup cold butter

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix

1 egg

1 cup finely chopped peeled apple

3/4 cup caramel topping

1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1.) Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2.) In large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix using fork or pastry blender. Stir in egg until mixture is crumbly.

3.) Reserve 1 1/2 cups cookie mixture. Press remaining cookie mixture into bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle apple evenly over crust. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and flour; drizzle over apples. Sprinkle reserved cookie mixture over apples.

4.) Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Makes 36 bars

I know it's been a while . . .

But I haven't abandoned the blog, I promise. In fact, I'm still planning on wrapping up the summer contest I announced. It won't be at the end of August (ahem, since that has come and gone like a monsoon storm), but closer to the end of September.

Meanwhile, I have started posting again over at MMW. So check that out and let me know what you think.

And leave comments here or there. Even if they are comments scolding me for my summer-induced,  unintended, blog-leave-of-absence! I can take it, really. I love hearing from awesome blog followers, otherwise known as friends!!

Simple Gifts

a call from a friend
a hug from my daughter
a book from my husband
     because he remembers I prefer them to flowers
a scripture like "come unto me"
a day to finally be over a cold 
     and be able to taste sweet things again (like birthday cake)
a good laugh with my sister
and a good cry for gratitude
     for kindness and love, forgiveness and joy
     for the simple gift of life.
     

Super Awesome Summer Reading List 2011

I asked and you answered.

I complied and now I'm showing off the 

Super Awesome Summer Reading List

30 titles, a few classics, one about to debut (check out Possession, June 7th). Fiction, non-fiction, a few series & lots of great reads!
Thanks Everyone!

Possession by Elana Johnson
Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Ruth
Sapphique (Incarceron) by Catherine Fisher

The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1) by Robert Jordan

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson
Freefall, A Novel by Traci Hunter Abramson
Cold as Ice by Stephanie Black

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Akasha by Heather Tregaskes
Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival by Dene Low
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel

Dracula: Complete, Original Text by Bram Stoker
Justice by Karen Robards

Skin Hunger (Resurrection of Magic) by Kathleen Duey
The Battle for Skandia: Book Four (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan

Devil's Food Cake: A Culinary Mystery & Key Lime Pie: A Culinary Mystery by Josi S. Kilpack
Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch

Fire by Night (Refiners Fire, Book 2) & A Light to My Path (Refiner's Fire, Book 3) by Lynn Austin
Lady of Milkweed Manor & Silent Governess, The by Julie Klassen

Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder by Le Grand Richards
To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi Swinton

She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel

The Assignment by Jean Matthews

And its June!

What happened to May? It's like it grew wings and flew away when I wasn't looking! School ended. The holiday came and went. 

And it's June. 

Glorious, beautiful June. 

Maybe I love this month because I was born in it. But I know people who don't love their birth month - so I think it has more to do with my love of summer. Lots of daylight. Watermelon. Fun and freedom. 

What's not to love? 

Of course I'm a Mom now. 

And I live in the desert. 

Hmmm. Three kids out of school and triple digits for all 100 days (really 75 days here, but that's another post) --you'd think I'd rethink my June love. 

Not a chance. Still love it.

It also might have something to do with reading.

Aren't summer and reading synonymous? Pretty much.

I asked you last week what you're reading this summer --

And I still want to know! Because I really am giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card at the end of August and a lot of you have answered, but I know some of you haven't. I love finding out about cool books, or fun ones or ones I wouldn't think about picking up, except for hearing about them from cool, fun friends.

I am still planning on compiling the list and posting it by next week.

As for me, I've started Sense And Sensibility (Austen) while I wait for Possession (Elana Johnson). I'm not sure why. It's like last summer when I read Pride and Prejudice while waiting for Mockingjay. Go figure. It made for some interesting comparisons! 

Well, here's to June and summer reading :)

Whatcha' Readin? 2011

I put the year up there in the title because I asked you the same thing last year!
Can you believe it? And then I took all your comments and put the results in a nice, neat little post.
It was so much fun I'm doing it again this year. Only, I think I want to kick it up a notch. (Is that an Emeril Lagasse phrase, or does he just say, "Bam!") Sorry, back to the point.
I'd love to hear what you're planning to read this summer and where you're reading it - like at home, on vacation, or maybe if you're listening to it on CD, or on a kindle or nook- you know what I mean.
At the end of the summer, I'll take another poll to see what everyone finished.
And I think I'll throw in an Amazon gift card for someone to win because I really love supporting the reading habits of my awesome friends and followers.

So, since there's a little gift card involved, here are the rules:
1. Leave a comment letting me know what you plan to read (I'll post the results)
In ten weeks I'll have the wrap-up post.
2. Leave a comment (probably the first week of August) letting me know what you finished reading.
Random.org will choose the winner, so, no,  I won't be stalking anyone to verify. This is for FUN!

So let's have it. Whatcha' Reading?

LDS Storymakers 2011 - Highlights

Loving the LDS Storymaker's Conference is as easy as 1, 2 3 . . .

1. The People - One the of the hands-down highlights of attending the conference is getting to meet great people. Maybe it's just me, but I love hearing the stories of other writers. Yes, the stories they're writing, but I mean their personal stories of how they started writing or why they have kept at it. I met a few soon-to-be or recently published authors that were open-hearted enough to share their journey and it was inspiring. An unexpected highlight came as I met up with a lot of the people I met last year. I remembered them and they remembered me! Another was getting to meet new writers everywhere I went. Lunch, workshops, dinner, the ladies room! I'm not going to elaborate on the last one, except to say what else are you going to do when waiting in line but talk to other writers about their book? And finally, if you caught my last post about running into an old friend, then you already know what a highlight that was. And, of course, seeing friends from AI, or Author's Incognito is a real treat. Being a non-Utah resident, it's fun to get in on the AI fun at Storymakers. :)

2. The Events - I participated in Boot Camp last year when they held it at the crack of dawn (kidding). And I loved it - the small group, sharing our writing, invaluable feedback. So this year, I'm not sure what part of my brain I allowed to make the 'no-boot-camp' decision, but it has left a deep, dark void in my life. I'm already planning on signing up for it next year.
The First Chapter Contest - This is the THE event of the conference for everyone who enters. The ballroom was the quietest it had been all weekend in the moments before they began announcing winners. No, I didn't win, but I didn't enter. (I'm pretty sure that was an AZ lottery ad campaign 'you can't win if you don't play', eeek.) But - here is the highlight - I had two friends that took FIRST PLACE in their categories. I was cheering for them like I was at a sports event and probably embarrassing my table-mates. Anyway - meet Renae - she won first place in Historical Fiction and I met her last year at Boot Camp (see why I was missing boot camp?). She's a GREAT writer. After reading a chapter from her book last year, I wasn't surprised at all when they called her name for 1st place. My newer friend is Lisa. She and I are on the team over at MMW and I'm so glad to know her. We were also sitting at the same table for lunch & the announcing of winners and can I tell you, she was incredibly composed after they called her name! She won first place in Romance. Way to go, Lisa!

3. The Ideas - So many workshops, so little time! Here are some of my 'take-away' messages.

Description - "Is it what your character would notice? Can you use it to reveal something about him/her? Make it do double duty." - Thank you, Sarah Eden
Romance - "They have to fill a need for the other person that no one else can fill." - Thank you, again, Sarah Eden.
The Awesome, Motivating Video courtesy of the Storymaker's - no quotes, just me feeling totally inspired.
Eschler's Class - "A metaphor is to help us understand the unfamiliar. If it's familiar, don't give it a metaphor." - I needed this.
Sara Megibow - "Is it well written?" -So, maybe you had to be there for the context of this quote, but suffice it to say, it was her answer to many of the questions raised. I think I might have to put that in vinyl letters above my computer.
Rob Wells - "Keep Writing. Keep Writing" - part of his answer to the 30 second writing advice question.

Okay, let me hear it. Why do you love Storymaker's?

A Tale of Two Laurels

Remember that little saying (I learned it in Girl Scouts)? "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold." Yep, that's right. Gold. Anyone who has lived a while on this earth (ahem) can tell you what a treasure it is to have an old friend. They are hard to come by. But, oh the comfort of spending time with someone "who knew you when. . . " Less explaining, more reminiscing.

You know what else is hard to come by? Writer friends. Which makes the upcoming point of my story all the more amazing. But you know what I'm talking about. Writers work mostly in the confines of their home and even if they are social and have lots of friends, what are the odds any of them will be writers, too? It is better for writers in this day and age of internet, critique groups and wonderful writing conferences, but any writer out there will tell you how nice it is to have a friend that also writes. Who else can understand you when you're crying over killing off one of your own characters?

So imagine my surprise at the LDS Storymaker's Conference last weekend, I had just walked into the ballroom when my friend Sally recognized me. A friend I hadn't seen in say, 20 years. And who happens to be writing books! How cool is that? We were Laurels together in the same ward in Massachusetts. And now? We are both living in the Southwest (read desert). Some of our children are the same age. We are both writing books and I suppose to top it off - we both married men with the same first name! (Sally, is there a book in this somewhere?)

This was the first of many highlights to this year's conference. And I will be blogging about the rest soon. Meanwhile, for more on the story, check out my friend's blog here. And have a great writing day!

Coming Soon

The Post-LDStorymaker's Conference Report.
I will tell you how amazing & motivating  the last two days have been.
Right after I sleep.
And spend Mother's Day with my family.
And sleep some more.
Because even though Storymaker's is a lot of things
It is not a sleep-aid.

A Recipe and Friday Potpourri

The Pineapple Bomb - I didn't name it. And I can't even take credit for finding the recipe, my sister did that many years ago. But I have made it more times than her, so I get posting rights. That, and she doesn't have a blog. :)

Large Pound Cake, like Sara Lee Family Size 

2 Packages vanilla pudding

1 Tub Cool Whip, 8 oz

2 Cans Pineapple Rings

Maraschino Cherries - you know the red syrupy ones!

12 Cup capacity dome-shaped bowl & Plastic wrap

Slice pound cake into 16 slices. Drain pineapple rings (can do it on top of cake slices). Cut cherries in half, drain. Line bowl with saran wrap. Mix pudding according to directions, only reduce milk to three cups total. Fold in Cool Whip to pudding mixture. Set in fridge to chill for about ten minutes. Line bowl with pineapple rings and cherries. Spread pudding mixture over rings. Layer pound cake slices, then pineapple, then pudding until bowl is full. Make sure top layer is pound cake slices. Chill bowl in fridge for at least two hours, longer if possible. When ready to serve, flip bowl onto serving plate. Peel off plastic wrap. Enjoy.

Questions? email me at tlpassey@aol.com 

Complaints? forget above email address & remember - I didn't invent the recipe - just passing it along!

And Friday Potpourri for those who are actually still reading after that long and convoluted recipe!

Our house is now pigeon free. Not that there were ever pigeons inside. Our roof has been pigeon-proofed and as I write this post,  the cooing I would normally be tuning out is a distant memory. 

I did not watch the royal wedding. For the record, this makes me no better than those who did. Just more well rested. 

Feeling melancholy after talking to my sister (a different one than the recipe finder) who is on the east coast today looking for housing. She's moving and I'm in denial. 

And - gearing up for the Storymaker's conference next weekend. If I have time between stressing, rewriting and stressing - I'll blog about it. Last year's pre-conference blog post What Not To Wear still fits. Ha, no pun intended. Now if only my clothes did!

Rejection, Voice and Ten Thousand Years

I received a rejection letter for a short story. It did NOT look like this:

Most honorable Sir,

We perused your MS,

with boundless delight. And

we hurry to swear by our ancestors

we have never read any other

that equals its mastery.

Were we to publish your work,

we could never presume again on

our public and name

to print books of a standard

not up to yours.

For we cannot imagine

that the next ten thousand years

will offer its ectype.

We must therefore refuse

your work that shines as it were in the sky

and beg you a thousand times

to pardon fault

which impairs but our own offices.

–Publishers

Rejection letter from Chinese publisher, from Louis Zukofsky’s “A”

Ah, they just don’t write ‘em like they used to.

I submitted a short story to an unnamed publisher and the letter I received, (well it was an email) started with “Dear Author” –which I thought was really cool until I came across the “Most honorable” bit.

I won’t quote the whole letter here, just the one line that cut to the chase:  “Although we did not offer to publish your manuscript, we encourage you in your endeavors to get it published. . .”

See how they quickly followed their rejection with encouragement? Nice, hunh?

I was feeling pretty good and read through to the end and then read near the bottom of the page:

“This is an automated message. Please do not reply to this email.”

There you have it. A punch line disguised as a rejection letter.

I had a good laugh. Hey, I’ll take all the encouragement I can get, generic or otherwise.

Which brings me to voice.

Have you heard the ad campaign, (don’t ask me which one because I really do not pay close enough attention to the tv when its on) “Find your voice and use it?” Don’t know what they are advertising, but I may be putting that with my other writing mottos –I can do that, right? Anyway, my point about voice is that when we find it, we can withstand the rejection. Have you seen the movie (or read the book) The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio? Based on a true story of a 1950’s housewife with an unhappy, alcoholic husband and lots of kids, she enters jingle contests and wins lots of prizes and *spoiler alert* ultimately enough money to pay the 2 mortgages on their house. Of course she finds a little contesting group who support each other in entering the contests. It’s been years since I’ve seen this movie, but somewhere in the beginning, the wife is narrating and says something to this effect – about her abusive husband, “don’t blame him, he lost his voice, but I found mine.” Finding her voice, writing and pursuing her dream, allowed her to withstand the difficulties she faced raising lots of kids with little resources or support from her husband. (At least in the movie version, we find out after he dies, he had put all his pension checks in an account for his wife.)

Whatever it is in your writing journey, rejection letters, brick walls, crashed computers, crying kids, you know, not enough chocolate: KEEP WRITING. Find your voice and use it. For your sake, and mine and all the lives you will touch with your writing.

You never know. Yours just might be the writing that “the next ten thousand years will not offer its ectype” And yes. I looked that up. It means: A copy from an original, an imitation or reproduction.  Happy writing!

Japan Thoughts

The people of Japan have been in my thoughts and prayers these past few days. The shock has given way to sadness and even dread with the ongoing nuclear crisis. I saw a report last night that highlighted the orderliness and great calm the Japanese people have demonstrated, even distributing supplies evenly among themselves when they came upon shortages. Not exactly what we see here.

I remembered a short poem I wrote after the Tsunami in December of 2005.
I realize I may not have any shirts made in Japan, but I think the sentiment is similar.

Tsunami 

India and Thailand with ocean shores

So far from my dry desert home

If I hadn’t heard the news reports of you

I wouldn’t have known

I couldn’t have known, or believed

How many lives you lost

To waves travelling at jet-plane speeds

My desert life goes on uninterrupted

No un-channeled water here.

Until I pull the iron out to press some laundry and

Open the collar of the clean white shirt

And there on the tag are those oft ignored words

Made in Sri Lanka

While the iron steams in my motionless hand

All I can think is that this someone made this shirt across that ocean

And I wonder amid the news-report scenes of destruction

Replaying in my mind

Is the factory is still there? Are the people still alive?

Do they still have a home?

And with as little warning as Mother Nature gives

One drop, then two, and

I am taken over by a wave of tears in the desert.

Sharing the Love. . .

Blog style.
This is me letting you know about my friend's cool new blog on marriage.
If you are married, know someone who is, or want to be someday --check it out.
It's called Making Marriage Merry and who wouldn't want to do that?
(That's a rhetorical question!)
Click on the little linky-do and it will take you right there. How easy is that?

Cherene's Blog

Top Ten Reasons To Attend a Writer’s Conference

10. The stylish name-tags. Okay, kidding.

 9. The food. Still kidding.

 8. Meeting internet writing friends (people look different in 3-D than 2-D).

 7. The chance to listen to famous authors, published authors (not always the same thing) and lots of other experienced people in the writing and publishing industry.

 6. Sit at a table with total strangers and talk about genres, word count, writing methods and hooks.

 5. Attend workshops and learn I’ve written a few things right.

 4. Attend workshops and find out I’ve written a few things that will need to be burned.

 3. Have total strangers ask, “What do you write?”

 2. Have an agent or editor ask, “What do you write?”

And the  # 1 reason to attend a writer’s conference is having confirmed to you the universal truth :
Writing is the coolest, most awesome job/hobby/obsession in the world!

I get carried away, but how could I not after attending the fabulous ANWA conference? If you were there, you know what I mean. If you weren't there -(well why not?) mark your calendar for next year!

My Kind of Cinderella

this sums me up in more ways than I care to admit

here

Revisions

Try disassembling the engine in your car
and putting it back together, only taking out parts
and adding in pieces that will make it run better.
Right.

I was planning to explain my sparse blog posts,
but really, need I say more?

Couldn't Resist This Creativity Challenge

So I have this awesomely creative sister-in-law who posted this on facebook:

‎"Pay It Forward for Creative People": I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment to this update. HERE'S THE CATCH: They must in turn promise to post this and send something they made to the first 5 people who leave a comment to their update. The rules are that it must be handmade by ......you and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011!

So - you know me by now - I can't resist a cool creativity thing. I'm posting here because I was thinking of all my great blog readers that may not follow me on facebook and didn't want you to miss out!. So here's the link to my facebook page.

I haven't even figured out what I'll be sending (read - taking suggestions!) and not that I was looking for an extra project - but the rule says 'sometime in 2011' - so I can handle having a year to give a creative gift. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Oh - and just to be clear - you have to comment on my facebook status to take part. (Of course I love blog, comments, too.)

Have a great day!

Yes, I Do Think Like This While I'm Cooking . .

There is a lot of advice out there about who you should and shouldn't let read your writing. This isn't a blog about such advice. This is a blog about what happens when you throw all caution to the wind and allow, ah, more specifically-ask, the resident teenager in your house to read something you've written. Yeah. It's kind of like watching that train wreck in slow motion. I don't understand my motives - I think he was the closest, semi-willing person that could offer feedback. Speaking of feedback, the response I got while he read this consisted of one head shake, two unfinished senteneces that started with, "You can't . . . " and a final rhetorical question, offered while walking out of the room, "You don't think like that while you're cooking, do you?"

So I'm sharing with you the little something I wrote on New Year's Eve,
fully admitting that, yes - I do think like this while I'm cooking!

The Last Breakfast of the Year


Eight a.m. and the children are sleeping,
Gifting me an empty kitchen.
I walk noiselessly over cold tile
Leaving the light off,
As if the brightness could wake them in their second story rooms.
I pass over chocolate chip cookies or cold cereal,
Placing my favorite pan on the stove to preheat.

I pull the eggs, opening and closing the fridge door all in one motion.
Swoosh. Like the old year is going with it.

I break one egg, then two.
The cracking is amplified in the motionless house.
I whip the eggs and pour the yellow-gold liquid into the pan
And hear the sizzle.
So loud I think little feet will surely come running.
But I hover over the pan, buffering the sound, hoarding the heat.
The corners of my mouth turn up enough for me to notice I’m smiling.
I refocus on flipping my omelet. This one works. All those years of scrambling, because I thought omelets would be too hard. Who knew?

My whole-wheat English muffins pop up from the toaster,
Like what the New Year is waiting to do.
That loud toaster noise I cannot hush.
I pause, listening for any hint they're awake.

I think the silence is covering them, keeping them sleeping.
The same silence is waking up parts of myself.
I can actually hear myself think.
I stir the Swiss miss chocolate into hot water, watching it dissolve.
Days, weeks, years swirl in my mind, melting into one cup of life.
Longing stirs my heart. Then awe.
Contentment and melancholy take turns auditioning
For the lead role of the day’s play.

I finish my egg sandwich and eye my hot chocolate
thinking it must be the right temperature to sip.
I hear the door and the feet,
Like my thoughts were louder than eggs and toast.
Then I hear the name, my name, “Mommy?”

**

Happy New Year!