A Little Validation

Sometimes we say or do things and have no real idea about the consequences of our actions. The link here is to a great short film by T.J. Thyne (the curly haired brilliant lab professor on the hit TV series “Bones”), who is a talented actor and has created a fantastic piece of work. This video is 16 minutes 32 seconds or so, and a great insight into the impact that we can have on others through our approach to life, and language.

Actually, I have included it in two links; depending on where you live and your connection, one might be a bit faster than the other.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

http://www.tjthyne.com/home/index.php?location=home

Ah, the after sales

A new year is looming – and January must be get organized month, because the stores are filling the aisles with totes and plastic organizers that you can cram all your stuff into. I kind of chuckle at the clever marketing of this. As the Christmas shopping winds down and the displays get smaller, the toys and boxes of chocolate are replaced by the totes that organize your holiday stuff – round bins for wreathes, special dividers to keep your tree ornaments organized, the tall skinny ones that hold your rolls of wrapping paper upright, then we get into the sweater holders, and the big truck sized ones for all of that other stuff. Is this why houses are getting bigger; to accommodate the things that spend the majority of the year in containers and cardboard boxes of one sort or another?
When I moved last fall, the movers were grumbling about how much stuff that I have. I finally had to tell them to stop whining and just get on with it. I think that a big part of the problem was that, although I can get rid of most things with no difficulty, I do hang on to my books. Not the books I have written of course – those I want to sell and get out to the world at large. It’s the books that I collect that become rather heavy when packed into a small box. I remember reading somewhere (!), that Sagittarians are known for being readers and surrounding themselves with books. I wouldn’t say that I am surrounded exactly, and I did do a major trimming down a couple of years ago including relieving myself of a lot of textbooks and non-fiction work related to finishing my PhD. I do still have a lot of books though. They are kind of spread through the flat, but if you were to stack them all together, well, there’d be a few. And I like reading in bed into the wee hours, so reading stuff off my laptop is just not convenient. This proclivity for books is not just mine either. My 20-year old daughter has a collection that is just about busting the seams of her room. She loves to read, and once she discovers an author, she likes to read a lot of their stuff. A friend of mine at university created her own bookshelves by stacking bricks she liberated from a construction site, laying a plank on top of them for a shelf, stacking more bricks, another plank. That bookshelf was sturdy as could be, despite the absence of screws or nails.
So, although the stores will do their best to sell me a bunch of totes, I do not need any. In fact, things are pretty well organized around here right now. There will be a little re-configuring when oldest daughter moves in a couple of weeks, but nothing really major. Hmm, nothing to organize. No excuses for procrastinating. Must be time to get back to work on that book.

P.S. I still have copies of Wake Up Women BE if you’d like to order a signed copy for you or perhaps some fantastic person that you know.

Christmas Blessings

From somewhere on the edges of Halifax, Nova Scotia, we’re off celebrating Christmas today in the best ways possible. Family, fellowship, music and, of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the food. Turkey, ham and plenty of trimmings plus a wee bit of spiked eggnog.
Cheers!

Christmas Wishes

The stars shine brightly over the world tonight, as Christians gather to celebrate in a world that is vastly changed from the one that existed when Jesus was born, and yet in many ways remains the same. We hold one another up, find joy, sing, meditate and pray. We fall down, get back up, and sometimes hinder one another. How we choose to live each day is as individual a thing as each of us are.
However you choose to spend this time of the year, may you find peace and everlasting light.

Christmas in my heart

Christmas is really close, and I am missing my family back home as I write this and am remembering previous gatherings. Smells of turkey and sausage stuffing float on the air, competing with a waft of nutmeg being grated onto freshly made eggnog. Music playing in the background might be off the stereo, or one of us having a turn at the piano, a flute, or just whistling in the kitchen. These are my favourite parts of Christmas, if I really get down to it; the smells and sounds of family and friends close by to celebrate. Something about being a part of creating a meal – usually in a crowded kitchen as everyone does their part in getting things ready – for people that I love, and getting the mix of smells and sound just right really makes Christmas for me.
This year will be my smallest Christmas dinner ever; just me and my girls, but it’ll be lovely all the same. We’ll be thinking of family and friends back home and all over the world, and celebrating the meaning of Christmas itself.
In celebration of the birth of our saviour, and the fellowship that comes from sharing this special time together in groups small or large, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. With love, music and good food for everyone.

Picked up at the grocery store?

So there I was looking over the chicken at the grocery store trying not to gasp aloud at the price, and doing my best surreptitious glancing around to spot the “club packs” and get one before anyone else does. There are never that many of them around and at least it saves a couple of dollars that way. Also looking, for something, is a gentleman named Stewart, who says hello and chats about the state of groceries and shopping in general. I return the conversation in kind; I’m polite like that. He is looking at me quite intently, then tells me that I am beautiful. I thank him simply; I am no longer a youngster who says “oh no, I am not” when someone pays me a compliment. Inside though, I am glad that I put on some makeup before leaving home. I don’t always do that when going out for groceries.
Encouraged in this way, he asks if I am married. No, I reply. Not married anymore. He very quickly tells me that he lives nearby and would love to go to dinner or a movie or something. Would I be interested? No, I politely answer. I am really flattered to be asked, but not dating or looking to date, thanks. He wants my number anyway, he says, in case I change my mind in a few months. Coffee perhaps, in the Spring. I thank him again for being so sweet, and meander off to finish my shopping with a light heart.

Wake Up Women BE Happy, Healthy & Wealthy

It is an honour to have been invited to participate in Wake Up Women's inaugural book project, and I want to share it with you. This book includes inspiring stories that don't just tell you what happened; each chapter also includes insights and strategies for successfully negotiating and navigating life's challenges. This is stuff that you can use!

The Wake Up Women team is committed to each woman's success, joy and freedom of expression, and to creating a critical mass of attention focused on the wisdom, power and impact of women across the globe.

My chapter is called "Letting Go--What A Feeling!" and it can help you to get what you want, when you want. No more wait for the right moment, or losing another minute.

In this book, you will gain insights into health, career, relationships, spirituality and wealth. It's an ideal guide to have beside your bed, and to pass along to all the important women in your life.

You can order your copies directly from the button above for $14.95 each, plus shipping. Just click here to go to my PayPal page, or send me an email and I can send you an order form. Shipping discounts are available for orders of 5 or more books at one time.

Live Inspired!

A rat, I said, a rat!

My daughter’s last exam for this semester happened to fall in the final block of the last exam sitting – Saturday evening at 7 PM. In order to avoid her having to take the bus out to the boonies late at night after all that writing, I went in with her. The plan was that she’d go do her thing, and I was going to get a bunch of work done while sitting outside the library, near the coffee shop.

I started out in earnest, getting into what I was doing and also trying to stay warm in this old building with its drafty air vents and smell of mould hanging in the air. A little research, some more writing, and things were coming along quite nicely. Within about ninety minutes I had the outlines for two articles finished…when out of the corner of my eye I caught movement out. I looked, and then had to look some more just to be sure. There it was; brown, kind of rounded, and definitely moving. It was much too large to be an errant hamster escaped from a dorm room. The give away came as he bravely moved fully out from the shadows, followed by a very long tail. Nearly the same length as his body if I didn’t include the head. It was a rat. A freakin’ rat here in the same (thankfully large) space as me! I was fascinated.

It dawned on me that perhaps I ought to react and get moving out of there entirely, but I really wanted to watch him for a bit. He sniffed his way under the empty tables, looking for cast offs. Two or three tables, and then he moved out of sight in among a bunch of greenery that was supposed to spruce the place up. I kind of hoped that he might be heading somewhere that was at least warm for the night. The university will be closed tomorrow for the Christmas holidays and all the students gone so there will be little else for him to scavenge. Hope he cannot squeeze under that door over there and make it into the library bookshelves. No doubt at some point one of the many rat traps around here may claim him. Good luck you rat!

Forever Friends Blog Tour

Thank you for reading this blog entry! This is the fifth post on the blog tour for Forever Friends. Everyone following the tour will know by now that I think this is a wonderful book, written by a great bunch of fellow authors who meet and chat on the Published Authors forum. If you are following the tour, thanks again for your support! If you missed the start of the book tour, please check out the four blogs for December 1st-4th listed at the end of this post. If you are considering buying a copy for yourself or as a gift, Forever Friends is now available to buy on all the major online bookstores. See the links below to amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. On every post so far, I have promised that you will not be disappointed because this book will grow on you as you read through the stories and poems.

Pam has played a very important role in the coming together of forty-seven contributors to the anthology. She was the first to suggest that a group of members of the Published Authors forum should get together in a volume of short stories. The discussions that followed from that initial suggestion led to the idea of an anthology of short stories and poems.

Once the idea had been accepted, we had to decide on a theme for the anthology. The friendships that had been made on the forum were apparent to everyone and it didn’t take long before the theme of friendship and love was adopted. Forever Friends is a testament to that love and friendship shared by a group of writers from all over the world: from as far afield as New Zealand, Canada, United States, Bahamas, England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece.

The book, written by world wide writers, is truly international. This posed an editorial problem as submissions arrived in both American and British Standard Written English. I made the decision to present the work as written by the authors, which adds to the world wide appeal of the book.

The short story has enjoyed something of a revival in recent years with the increased pace of life alongside busy schedules that leave less time for reading. The attraction of this collection of work lies in its diversity and variety of genres. From romance and mystery to fantasy and science fiction, there really is something for everyone.

I would like to thank Pam for inviting me to talk about Forever Friends and explain how the idea first came about. Pam’s short story, Catch You Later, which she wrote under her fiction penname Maggie Bendar, is a modern day story of young love and renewed friendship. As two young people are forced to live apart, they wonder if they will ever see one another again. Will a promise made still be kept years later? Read the story to find out!

Forever Friends is available now from all major online stores, including amazon.com:

Forever Friends

and barnesandnoble.com:

Forever Friends

Thanks again for reading this and best wishes for the holiday season!

Shelagh Watkins
Author and Editor

Please follow the tour to learn more about the book.

Blog Tour

December 1 Chelle Cordero
December 2 Zada Connaway
December 3 Mary Muhammad
December 4 Helen Wisocki
December 5 Pam Robertson
December 6 Dick Stodghill
December 7 Philip Spires
December 8 Grace Bridges
December 9 L. Sue Durkin
December 10 A. Ahad
December 11 Malcolm R. Campbell
December 12 Lynn C. Johnston
December 13 Dianne Sagan
December 14 Donald James Parker
December 15 Karina Kantas
December 16 Milena Gomez
December 17 Tiziana Rinaldi Castro
December 18 Yvonne Oots

What's in your closet?

I’ve moved recently, which is always a great time to clear some things out and set up your new space in a way that’s quite enjoyable. In doing so, I have been really giving my closet a lot of consideration. You see, I have a rather nice sized bedroom, and then walk through the closet to a half bathroom. I cannot stand closet clutter at the best of times, and since I have to walk through it to get to the bathroom, I have to get it right. In doing so, I thought I would help my faiththful readers with 10 things no woman’s closet should harbour:

1) If your clothes are more than a year old or two sizes too small for you, get rid of them. You aren’t going to want to wear any of that old stuff when you lose the weight, so stop carting it around.

2) Tapered jeans are OUT. Get them out of your closet and off your mind – they make all of look like an exclamation mark!

3) Elastic waistbands (otherwise known as mom pants ) are absolutely awful on anyone. Get rid of them. If you really aren’t sure what they are, check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGIMaU55430&feature=related Enough said, okay?

4) Old bras. Our shape changes as we age – everywhere. If you are wearing a bra that is more than six months old, check the elastic. Treat yourself and go for a bra fitting – get one that puts the girls in their place.

5) No list that mentions old bras can be without discussion about old undergarments. I’ve seen women look absolutely stunning, and then they move or bend and the camisole or slip shows a bit. The reason this stuff has lace or fine edges girls, is so that when it peeks out it looks pretty, not dingy. Learn how to wash your lingerie (by hand, or on gentle in the machine) and keep it beautiful. Get rid of the old dingy stuff. Guys, this applies to you and your boxers/briefs too. Please.

6) Shoulder pads. I don’t know why we still have this discussion, but shoulder pads were great in the 1980’s when we wanted to look like football players. If you are holding on to a favourite, great blazer and it has padding, get to a tailor and have it redone without them.

7) Shoes that are falling apart, scuffed or have heels that are falling off can ruin your entire outfit. Get them fixed, or be gone with them. Don’t be afraid of shoe polish either – it can really spiff up your look.)

8) It’s cool – especially these days – to shop the consignment and used clothing stores. Just make sure that what you get really is going to do you justice, and avoid anything from the previous millennium.

9) Wire hangers – these are the ones that you get from the dry cleaners and somehow use as everyday hangers. They are murder on your good clothes, so go ahead and indulge in that big package of thick plastic ones that come cheap, especially in the after Christmas sales in January. The wooden variety with the clips to hold your skirts and slacks are also ideal.

10) Handbags are an accessory, so they should compliment what you wear. Those bags you have been carrying around since high school with team logos, broken zips, cracked handles or stains are yucky, so get rid of them.

Enjoy your new closet – one where whatever you put your hand on is something useful, looks good, feels good, and that you can enjoy having.

Happy sorting!