2025 Resolution -- ( I Didn't Know I Had One )

  My son came over for a Christmas holiday visit, and we exchanged presents; normal, right? Of course, it is. I offered him a cup of coffee and handed him the creamer because I know he likes creamer - again, normal. This time, however, he said no; he was pretty sure my Coffee-Mate original flavored creamer had high fructose corn syrup as its sweetener, and I told him I had no idea. I didn't know. I hadn't thought about it until that moment. It wasn't sweet, so it didn't matter much. (Oh, well, you guessed it, I was wrong.)

    He pointed out that where he has a lactose intolerance, and he knew the creamer was non-dairy, he had chosen to go full-on no-HFCS as well; no high fructose corn syrup added...to anything. That's when he started telling me just how much of it I was eating on a daily basis, and probably have been eating it on a daily basis for a very long time. He was 100% correct, and I was genuinely impressed by his knowledge of the matter. He's a smart guy, but I had never heard him go on about the severity of the side effects of HFCS before -- for that matter, I hadn't heard anyone really go into too much detail about it.

    I knew "too much sugar" was bad. I knew that Americans consume "too much sugar," and I also knew that fake sugars were bad. I use monk fruit for my sweeteners for that reason, but I had NO IDEA how many products I put into my body have higher doses of high fructose corn syrup. It's crazy!! Do you know how to look at a label to determine the ingredients? Well, when you read the label the first ingredient listed is the one that has the highest percentage in that product. Look where the high fructose corn syrup lives on most labels.

    Tomorrow (in about 30 minutes) is the start of a new year. It will be 2025, and I'm starting a new trend in my life, not your life or anyone else's life, but in my life. I'm going to give up as much high fructose corn syrup as much as I possibly can, and where that will likely kill me when it comes to chocolate, I'll see what I can do to survive -- I think it's a good decision, and yes, one I should have (and could have) made years ago. We'll see if it has any effect on my weight or my overall health, and I'll see if I feel less inflamed or achy in my joints. I'm told that by giving it up, I will feel better -- we'll see.

    No more cereal other than oatmeal; yes, I can have honey and real fruit. I'll give up the type of bread I eat now; I can buy the ones that don't have HFCS in them. I can actually do without bread far easier than I can go without chocolate -- it's going to be tough, I'm not going to lie, but it is something I can do. It is something I know I have to try.  Oh, and apparently, bacon is bad for you too, but for another reason altogether! Geez!  I'd say, "Wish me luck," but luck is for the Irish! I'm not going to claim that; not now, not ever.

    Slainte Mhath!

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com 

    

My Take on Diddy. (MY Opinion)

     I don't have a big time connection to all that is happening with and surrounding the infamous Sean "Diddy" Combs, but there is a thread, thin as it may be, that connects my experience(s) with him and others in the music industry. It's a thicker thread for my daughter, but because I'm her mother, I am thereby connected as well. (again, it's not very strong, and for that, I thank God.)

    Back in 2008 or 2009, I couldn't remember exactly when my kid was singing and seeking means to go public with her talents. We lived in a certain small town in the Sooner State, but it had an actual recording studio for being as small as it was. I stopped in one day to inquire what it would take to have them either record or listen to her; I was willing to pay the hourly rate for an hour or two, and the producers in charge had me bring my daughter to the studio so they could have a listen.

    We were filming yet another interview/show with our famous dog Faith, so I convinced the producers to let us use the studio for Laura, and we could include them and their studio in the international interview as well. Everyone was excited -- the recording went VERY well, too. A few days after the interview, and before it aired, another producer from Los Angeles called and wanted to fly down and meet with us regarding Laura's talent. It can't be that easy, right?

    Let me back up and say that before we had entered the studio, Laura had sung publically, she had been on television shows; she had done live performances, she was on Oprah with Faith; she had toured with OzzFest in 2007, she had even been on a Japanese variety show, where she sang a little, and was being "courted" by a couple of interested parties, but since no one was from America who had designs on how to help her, I turned their offers down.

    Turns out the man who was coming to see Laura was connected with and possibly involved with the making of other stars, one of which was up and coming if not barely known, who, as it turns out, is now extremely twisted up in the whole Diddy party thing and for that reason, I'm not going to say her name. You've heard it a million times.

    The man was on his way to meet us, packed and ready to go I'm told, when he was suddenly shot in the head inside his Los Angeles home; no, I'm not kidding. I'm not making that up; that is what we were told, and since we had no intention of getting too involved with an industry that had just proven how cut-throat it could be - yeah, my daughter never got the "break," she definitely deserved. HOWEVER, knowing now what I know about the girl he chose to promote over for my kid, yeah...no! You can keep the money, we don't need it. We have Jesus.

    The recording studio in our town all but shut the doors to us after that, claiming they had never seen anyone harmed over a newcomer before, and they didn't want us even using their names or the studio in that yet-to-be-aired interview. We called the producers of that show, told them what happened, they verified it, and then decided we'd reshoot the entire show, this time not focusing on Laura's talent. 

    At the time, I remember my daughter's disappointment. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, she deserved better -- all these things were running through my head -- fast forward some 15 or 16 years later -- and again, I thank God EVERY DAY that she didn't get too mixed up with those people. They had so many issues, so many liars, so much drama, and when you look back now on all the bits and pieces coming out about these musicians, artists, athletes, actors, and so forth who are literally in bed with Diddy and Jay Z and all the other moguls who run the industry -- yeah, again...NO.

    It's a mess, but not one we didn't see. The day the man (I won't give his name) died my young daughter, who hadn't had too many experiences, turned to me and said that some of the people she met on tour with Ozfest had told her about what happened to those who get too close to the fire. Now we see it - I think of  Aaron Carter, Craig Mack, Whitney Houston, and others who just happened to die before their time, and it always seemed suspicious. Kate Spade, Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, all of them -- I never believed any of them died by their own hand -- Jeffery Epstein!

   It's all coming out, isn't it?  Well, let me say this -- we saw it coming back in 2006 when our dog Faith refused to let Oprah touch her. She loved the Osbournes!  Dogs know....they just know.  I truly hope Oprah is found out for who she is. I hope Combs and Carter are found out for who they are. I hope it all comes out in the wash, and every last one of those who harmed kids will be wrung out and hung out to dry.  I don't want any of them to go to Hell, but they can sure stay in prison for the rest of their natural lives; that won't be long enough for some.

Photo Credit: doggieoutpost.com 

Oprah tried to get Faith to come to her, the dog refused.

My Bad! Raise the Hand!

 My current employment requires that I call and email folks who have damaged or potentially damaged utility lines above ground and underground. You would be surprised (or maybe you would not be) by how many folks will say they weren't there at that time, you can't prove they were there, and so on. Often times, we have witness statements, and there are times when we have written admittances from employees of the company we are calling - those brave enough to raise their hand and say "it was me, I snagged the line". The problem is that most people don't raise their hands when they make a mistake.

    I've always been one of those who not only admit I make mistakes, but if it is truly my fault, and I have either harmed someone or made things difficult for someone, I will raise my hand - every time. You don't have to worry about me being embarrassed; I know we all make mistakes. I will be embarrassed, 9 times out of 10, but I also recognize and realize that we are all just humans, and we can't always help or control the outcomes.

    Here is yet ONE MORE example of me raising my hand (laughing while I'm doing it) to say, "Hey, that was me; it was my bad 100%."  I sent off my book "Stratford" to Ingram Spark so they could format it into their book printing press and then prepare it for me to approve.  In doing so, I first download the book from my files on my computer. I format it, give it all the right page layout criteria, and so forth, and then I save it to a PDF file so that it can be uploaded on their end.   Well, something did not go the way I intended.

    When the book came back to me yesterday, after only 2 days in the workshop at Ingram Spark (that's really fast), I looked at the file to be approved and just about had the proverbial cow. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The pages were all about 3 inches off, meaning they started three inches down the page from where they should have been, and of course, that meant that the pages would pick back up on the next page, but they were 3 inches off -- it was UGLY!!

    My first thought was to blame someone at Ingram Spark. How could they be so inept as to misalign the book to the templates? Didn't they have experience? I know I've sent up 14 or 15 books with them; I know I know what I'm doing. That's what I told myself. I decided to be less arrogant and more introspective. I decided I could have been mistaken, even though, I told myself, it wasn't likely. 

    Well...there it was. MY FILE WAS OFF. I opened it on my desktop, and yep...it was me. Somehow, someway, and no, I don't know how I had saved the file with it being off -- I couldn't begin to tell you how that happened, but it was on my end, not their end, and yes, I made the whole silent apology. I didn't need to make an actual apology since I hadn't accused anyone of anything - except in my head.

    It didn't take long to correct, but correcting it allowed me to add a "word" by my friend Lorna Pratt, who forgot to give me a word for this particular book. There you go, two problems solved and one happy author. YEA! I'm OK with being a dork, I've been one for many decades, but I do hope to resolve the part of me that automatically blames someone else - even if only in my head. I'm grateful that I hadn't sent off an email accusing someone of something. In the past, I would have - maybe old age is teaching me things. Geez, it's about dang time!

Photo Credit: IngramSpark.com 

I Am Such a DORK! (The Slow-Juicer Saga)

     I watch advertisements and think I need things when I don't really, and one of those things was a slower juicer. About 10 years ago, I bought a really good juicer, and I used it all the time. I'm going to start that practice back up again. I had stopped for a long while because I mostly juice carrots, and I get REALLY good carrot juice at Sam's for next to nothing. It's a week's supply for $4.92 -- c'mon, you can't hardly juice the actual carrots for that -- or can you? (can I?)

    Kroger grocery has had 2-pound bags of carrots on sale for literally .19 a bag for at least a month. If I juice the entire bag of carrots, it's enough for 3 servings, so if I bought 3 bags a week even, that would be literally under $1.00 after tax. Wow. Anyway, that's another story worth bringing to the forefront. I need to juice my veggies and fruits, and when I do, I add things like psyllium husk, hyaluronic acid, and a few other supplements that I have in liquid or powder form to get the digestion in shape as well as trigger the GLP and GLP-1 hormones to lose weight.

    You've seen the injections you can get online or through your doctors that help with losing weight. I'm not giving myself shots. I'm not a diabetic, and I don't have experience poking needles into my body, so I'm not doing that. I'll do liquid drops, solid pills, or powder, but yeah, not gonna do the jabs! Nope!  I'll find another way.

    The best way for me is to drink a juice of solid vegetables and fruits daily, so that's the go-to. I've done it in the past and felt really good, so it's time to bring it back. That was my thought process over this past week when I decided to buy a slow juicer, one that is smaller than my older machine and one that has an auger versus the spinning diamond cut razor sharp cone thing that my old model uses. The older model is fantastic, but it's big, bulky, takes up space, and I just wanted something new.

    I bought one, I won't say which one, but APPARENTLY, I didn't really look at it when I saw it online. When it arrived the next day by Amazon, it was FAR too narrow for my liking. I would have to cut up every last piece of fruit before loading it. MAYBE a stem of celery could fit through the "mouth" to be augered. No, thank you. It was repacked and sent back. I will tell you that it wasn't repacked as nicely as it came. I'm not one to repack anything; don't expect me to learn how to do that. Not happening.

    Amazon is GREAT, and they had an option to deliver one on the SAME day, so I took that option. I ordered a bigger machine, it was a bit more expensive, but worth it for me, if I was going to have room to put all my veggies and fruit through the mouth. Well, it came to the house, I opened it, and yes, I drug it out of the box - destroying any hope of ever putting it back into the box the same as it had been sent.  The machine was good -- very good indeed -- until it wasn't.

    When I took all the pieces out of the box, set them to the side, and looked at them, I had a bear of a time placing the top part onto the machine or auger part - there was even a little red dot on the side to line up with the other red dot for proper placement. I'm not kidding, I couldn't get it to go into place. If I was fighting with it from the get-go, it was somewhat repackaged and sent right back to where it came from. I will NOT be inconvenienced by a machine that I bought to be less inconvenienced.

    The UPS store is very used to seeing me. I order and return quite a lot of things if they don't meet my satisfaction once I've seen it, held it, tried to use it, or in some cases, I even use it, but if it's not going to work out - it goes back! I love Amazon. I will likely never stray again -- sorry, it's becoming a hardened fact in my life.

    While online shopping for groceries is my go-to now as well, online shopping for 90% of whatever it is that I need is what I do now. I drive my car less than 2x a week, and I may go less than 2 miles when I do. This fact upsets my Progressive Accident-Free app on my phone; I drive so little that it kicks me out of the app at least once a month. I want the discount, so I keep adding myself to it.  If I'm not driving, I'm not apt to be in an accident, so they have to include me in their discount! 

    Anyway, the juicer thing happened. They were both sent back today, and I pulled out the big honkin' monster that I have for juicing and made myself a nice apple, cucumber, and celery juice with all the fixings -- I'm so healthy (she giggles). Thank God because He's the one who made the vegetables and fruits to begin with -- He also made the supplements.   When I think about it, and I do, I remember being and feeling so much better when I gave up the carbs, took in more veggies, ate more nuts and fruit, and drank copious amounts of lemon or lime water -- it's time to get back to it.

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com 

Stratford is IN THE CAN!!

 My 16th book, "STRATFORD" (the 5th installment of the Nick Posh books), is written, formatted, and proofed (but will be proofed again), and it has been sent up to Ingram Spark to be printed.  It is the scariest thing to send a book up because I'm never sure if I checked all the boxes or if I did everything that has to be done. If not, I'll find out and set myself back several days because I didn't take the time to be sure all the little boxes were checked off!

    I'm over here breathing again because it's done. I don't have to wonder if I've left anything undone. I don't necessarily like the way I ended it, but I also didn't have space to do more. All the books I write are about the same size and work well for readers. They'd be a burden to carry around and conceal if they were thicker.  I stay around the 360-380 page range, and I usually choose the 5x8 size for print. I have one or two books that are 6x9, but I really don't like that size. I like the 5x8 so much more.

    As I've said before, I didn't plan on writing "Stratford." It came out of necessity and out of being upset about what the actual city of Stratford has personally put me through. I decided to change the name of the court clerk just in case she got a wild hair and sued me. Her real name is NOT Mary Pigley, but no one will have any difficulty figuring out who she is. She wasn't even there 17 years ago when I was stopped illegally by their cop and manhandled the way I was. He even threatened to tow my car and put me in jail for something I didn't do, which is his legacy of shame.

    Why the court clerk decided to be such a witch to me when I am 100% innocent of all allegations is beyond me, but perhaps she is jaded, or maybe...just maybe, she's on the take like the one in my book is...could it be? Hummmmmmmm...I wonder. Whatever it is, I have decided to keep the name Stratford because I have that lovely 1st Amendment Right to fall back on, but I did decide to be kind to the PIGLEY in the courthouse; the one by another name is very similar if you go and look.

    The book will be available online at Amazon and other outlets around the middle of January, and the EPUB or Kindle will be about 3 weeks later. I'll get my printed copy in 2 weeks and run through it again to see if I need to make changes. If I do, I will; if not, it goes on sale on January 22 for around $18.00 a book. The Kindle edition will be around $4.  I like the Kindle editions; I do. I think once I've read a book, I won't actually read it again - and it's not as easy for someone to share, either. 

    I'm actually glad this one is done. I wasn't all that motivated to finish it, and now I can start the new book - the creepy drama that takes place in a cemetery in Edinburgh. Woot!

    

Merry Christmas - And I Really Do Mean That.

     Something that I remember from the time I was growing up is that Santa Claus was real, and my dad was pretty close to him; they were good friends.  Santa relied on my dad to help him unload some of the presents he had in his sleigh, and then my dad would store them in his workshop. Since Santa's workshop was where a lot of things were actually made, and my dad was a trim carpenter (as well as Western Union's Regional Manager for Electronic Circuits), Daddy was often called up to the North Pole to fix things or just to make sure the elves were using the woodworking tools correctly. I know this because my dad told me so.

    Growing up in the 60s and 70s was a good time to experience life without all the electronic distractions we have today. At 10 or 11, I wanted a bike, not something that would cost $$$$ and force my parents to go into their savings to buy for me. I wanted simple things, and that may very well be because my parents told me the only things I could put on my Christmas wish list were, in fact, simple things. We never really put much of an emphasis on the price of a gift - it really was the thought that counted.

    After adulthood, things changed a lot for me. Grandparents passed, older aunts and uncles passed, and even a few of my cousins passed, and they were really close to my age. We stopped going the extra distance to visit folks, and after I had my own children, I basically stopped visiting the extended family altogether, just as they had stopped visiting me. Times change, people get busy, and there are other excuses. 

    Now, because I'm really super old, and I have had a few more experiences, I flat out CHOOSE not to visit those who have the same lineage as I have. There's not a single reason to do so; even some of my intimate family have made decisions and choices that I either disapprove of or disagree with. I have to now choose whether to put up with them for a while, in a sense "look the other way" for the sake of gathering, or I can do what I have chosen to do, and that's to let them know I love them - but I'm not compromising myself or my dignity for friend or foe; or in some cases, as I said, family.

    Nothing would make me happier than to think and believe that everyone and everything would somehow be mended and every difference between everyone would just simply disappear, but that's not the truth. I can't lie to myself, and I won't lie to anyone else about it. I may choose not to talk about it, but I will not pretend that all is right when it certainly is not.  The best thing I can do for the ones I love, and of course, for myself, is to let God have the situation - to lean NOT to my own understanding, but in all ways, let God handle the details. (He's welcome to the entire mess, actually.)

    Traditions are great; they really are, but they are not always feasible, and they are not always practical.  I'm not going to get dressed or drive an hour to have lunch with someone (or more than one) that I wouldn't bother to flip off on any other day. I'm not going to buy expensive gifts to fit in, and I'm not going to throw money out the door gifting someone who will likely either regift my gift (as has been the case) or just let it gather dust. One of my family members told me that a gift card would fit best in her stocking - but of course, only if it was maxed out to the limit of what it could hold. Nope.

    Joking about love, gifts, and the actual reason for our celebration of this particular holiday will not set well with me; it never has. If I don't eat a big fussy dinner on this day but prefer to heat up a day-old lasagna with some fresh garlic toast on the side, you can bet I'll be thankful for it. I'll wish Jesus a Happy Birthday, and I'll breathe so much better knowing I saved time, effort, money, and my heart from breaking over and over again. For my life, I can't stop hoping those people will be different the next time I see them; they never are.

    If I had one, my Christmas wish would be for peace - true and unbridled peace for every living person and being and for those who have passed. Just restful, uninterrupted peace. If that's what you find in your stocking, I pray you'll reach into your soul and thank the ONE who provided it for you. You need only to turn to the 2nd chapter of Luke to read all about it. There is a reason we say "Merry Christmas," and it is not to spend what we don't have or lie to the people we see. It's to remember, and always remember, that He is and will always be the true gift.  

    MERRY CHRISTMAS...and I really do mean that.

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

FRAUD ALERT -- (be SAFE)

 If my poor judgment can help even one person not make the same mistake(s) I made, I have no problem telling the world just how dumb I was for falling for something so stupid and probably super easy to figure out if I were using my brain.  I was taken 3x in the past 6 weeks online by would-be scammers, and it cost me very little because my bank is really super good at detecting with their AI when my purchasing history seems shakey to them.

    When I signed up to use Patreon a few years ago, I was taken for over $100 by a parasite, someone, or a company that hangs back and/or attaches their site to the one I was supporting. The artist I was following and supporting had zero idea it was happening, and to be honest, he thought (or still thinks) that I'm bananas because I can't support him through Patreon anymore.   I tried, but it happened a second time and then again with another Patreon "influencer." I was happy to help; both were in Scotland and were 100% unaware of the dastardly deeds of the parasite. The only solution was to give up my credit card number and get another card. Well, when it happens on that site more than twice, I'm not using that site anymore.

    It happened AGAIN, but this time, it was when I went to TEMU and WAYFAIR to buy items I thought were really cool. The problem is that Temu, Wayfair, and Shein apparently have third-party vendors who pay those sites to allow them to sell on their platforms. Walmart does as well; I found that out when I ordered a saddle, and a friend of mine bought her father's casket from Walmart's website. Anytime a third-party vendor is involved, they can take your card's numbers and try to gauge you later!

    In early December, I went to Temu, and they charged me for something I didn't buy and never sent it. I had to cut up the card (or, as the bank says, "capture" it) and get another card. This was the 2nd time in about a month. Then...today...it happened AGAIN!!  I am fed up with these people. I had NO IDEA that Wayfair was that way - but it is. I saw something on drastic sale, thought it was true, it wasn't, but because I bought it instead of them initiating the purchase or charge, my bank told me I would either have to capture the card again, or let it go - but lose the money I put in for the purchase.  I'm going to go to the bank tomorrow after we get off at noon and get a new card...again. UGH!

    I'm just glad the bank is willing to work with me. I know it's my money, so they have to, but still, it's a pain in the backside, and I hate putting them through it. They are super sweet, and they don't care, but I have to go back into everything I pay online and update the card numbers! It's so annoying!! I just did it 2 weeks ago! From now on, if I can't buy it at Amazon, I will not buy it. Amazon has never, not once EVER, taken my card numbers and used them against me. There were times in the past when I bought things that weren't delivered on time, but they were delivered. If I had a seller not sent something, they would have refunded my money quickly.

    EBay, Etsy...not anymore. I hate that. According to my banker, I was told that using CASH APP to pay for things is safer than PayPay, but I don't use PayPal anymore either. I've twice burned there as well. People just make me sick; they really do. I'm over here trying my hardest to work and earn and be honest, but unfortunately, not everyone is that way. I can't tell anyone else what to do, but I can tell them what happened to me. They don't want it happening to them, but that's cool -- I won't ever spend another dollar at Wayfair, Shein, Temu, eBay, Etsy, or anywhere that uses a third-party vendor to ship or sell their wares. Nope!

Photo Credit: LoansCanada.com 

Anticipation!! (I'm Waiting to Hear the Official Word)

     In 2006, my dog and I had just about been on every television talk show there was, including the Oprah Winfrey Show. We had been on Ricki Lake, Maury, Montel, and others you wouldn't know if you were American. I don't remember all their names; the one I do remember that stands out is Tesuwan Dash; it was a Japanese show. I can't remember exactly when it happened; we were in the middle of being filmed, booked for shows, speaking engagements, and more. Life was a blur for a while. The one thing I really needed -- and do mean NEEDED, was a booking agent.

    We found one sometime after Oprah and before some of the international shows. I can't remember exactly how we met, but I think he reached out to me and asked me if I had an agent. I knew I needed one, but the only people interested in working with us wanted to change Faith's story to make it seem out of this world outrageous, and they wanted me to say and do things that were absolutely out of the question. I may do many things that upset folks, but I don't compromise my ethics or integrity; I answer to God, not to man.

    Well, there he was...my agent. His name is Mike Maguire, and he had made himself a place in the world of being an agent by representing a great number of older baseball players, some football, some soccer, and some other types of athletes, all of which, (or most of which) had retired and he was able to get them gigs closer to home, where they could feel comfortable telling folks about their exciting careers; he had them going to cons and signings. He had them meeting fans and doing shows to promote whatever it was that they wanted to showcase, and he did a GREAT job.  

    When he took on Faith, he stepped way out of his wheelhouse, so to speak; it's not every day someone like Faith comes along. She wasn't retired; she was at the peak of her career. She wasn't athletic, but she was a crowd-pleaser. To say she was a great draw would be an understatement. The dog ruled! 

    Let's get honest about that. No matter where the room was, she was the center of attention, even if two people were just trying to get married!  (Mike and I got stiffed in King of Prussia when Faith decided to leave our side, run down the aisle of the event conference room where we were, and she made EVERYONE'S day, including the bride and groom who invited her to their nuptials and to their reception afterward.) When she heard applause, she believed it was for her!

    Well, Faith passed.  She did such an amazing thing for the world, but it came to an end. I went this way, Mike went that way. Time went by, over ten years actually, and now, well...I found him. I asked him to be my book agent, to structure the promotion of the books, and to get people interested in reading what I write. I'm sure he'll have quite a time wrangling the gigs, but we'll make it happen. I'm about to stop the writing of the other books and focus on writing the children's stories about Faith and her life. We'll see where it goes - I'm thinking to the Moon!

    Mike hasn't said yes yet, but I think he will. He was optimistic about it, and just as soon as the new year cruises into shape, we'll talk about the future. Something tells me he's gonna love the opportunity. I know I will. I believe in the man's powers of persuasion! He's an awesome asset, not to mention a really good friend. I'll give him time to think about it. It will mean moving things around, and then we'll have to make decisions about the new books as well as the ones I've already written.  The children's books will be about 60 pages long and illustrated, and they'll tell the life story of one of the most famous animals ever to walk on the planet- upright.

    Pray for us! We'll need that for sure. It's easy to talk about Faithy; tomorrow is her birthday. She would be 22...such a nut. I love her, and I will never stop loving her. Being with Mike again is like a dream come true -- he's really that good, and when he and Faith worked together, the world responded.  Thanking God now, and hoping to hear back with the official word -- very soon.

Photo Credit: Carol Guzy -- Mike Maguire and Faith the Dog.

One Week to Go! (The Book Will be Sent up for Publishing)

     I've done a few things today, and it's not quite bedtime.  I decided to take down my GoFundMe. It wasn't working; no one donated other than my very good friend Karen Treadwell. If you know why, you know why. Karen owes me her life, you know. She can't breathe without me! (I'm laughing...she's laughing) Anyway, there's only one donation in 24 days, so it's not going anywhere. The last thing I need is for people to know I'm a loser. I don't care if they think I am -- but seeing it in real time sucks, and I decided to end the misery of it all.

    I believe my books are worth it, so I'll have to find another way to promote them; I'll end up praying about it, and that's a better plan anyway. If God wants them to be successful, they will be. After all, Exodus 14:14 is still in the Book. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.  The verse reads: "God will fight for you; all you need to do is be still."  I love that.  Since God can't lie, it must be true.

    I finished writing "Stratford", too, and I'm going through it and fluffing it. I'm stuffing it, too. I'm putting it in order, formatting it, and aligning it. Tomorrow, I'll finish the fluff and start reading it to be sure I have it all lined up and that I've used enough adjectives. I find myself adding a few here and there to ensure I can come across as innovatively original and productively prolific as I imagine myself to be. It may or may not be true, but I like to think it is; let me dream.

    Like everyone else, I'm off on the 25th, but I have to return to work on the 26th and 27th. I'll try to get the book read on Christmas, but it may be the 28th or 29th before I send it up for publication. I won't have it available for purchase until I order one copy, which will take 2 weeks, so by January 15, I should have it re-read, re-corrected, and re-published so that it can be sold online around the 16th of January. That's the newest of timelines. We can hope I stick with it.

    This book wasn't even supposed to be written. I just threw it out there because I was so very angry at the people of Stratford; I needed to write it. It was quite therapeutic, believe me. I do feel better.  I really do feel a lot better!! I may only sell 10 books, but there are 9 people besides my mom who will know about the mishaps of that small town!  Mom already knows; I complained to her about Stratford years ago. 

    I decided to dedicate the book to the memory of a man I knew who lived in those times, and he actually knew the Governor I wrote about. He was a political newspaperman named Irvin Hurst. He and I wrote insurance policies for New York Life in the 90's. He was in his 90s when we worked together. He had his office on the same floor as I did, and we took breaks and lunches together. I learned so much from that man. He's waiting on me up in Heaven, and I can't wait to hug him again.

    Well, that's all for now; I have to get ready to snooze. I don't have to set my alarm tonight -- yea!! I love the weekends. 

    

Photo Credit: OKJournalismHallofFame.com

Irvin Hurst!  Doesn't he look like a newspaperman?

STRATFORD -- Is DONE! (For the first round)

     The way I write my books may not be the way others write their books, so I can't say this or that about them, but I can say that I am done with the crucial and critical first part of my book in that the 329 pages so far are written, and I have about 80,000 words squeezed out of my keyboard and into the file. Yea! It is done! 

    There are 31 chapters in this one. Most of my books have about the same amount of words, about the same number of chapters, and about the same number of pages. I did make "Of Kilted Pleasure" a 6x9 book, but the others are 5x8. I like that size better for reading. Then again, I prefer Kindle, so when I'm ready to get this one prepared for actual sales, I'll pay for the EPUB version as soon as I've made the final corrections.

    I've written the book. That's phase 1. Now, I have to go through it and add the stuffing and the fluffing, notes from when I was beginning the book, and things I jotted down during the writing that I want to add somewhere in the pages of the thing. I come up with a phrase, or a thought, a picture in my mind that could be advantageous.

    Right now, just a few minutes ago, I went through my list of words that friends and family members gave me so I could add those words to the book and then thank those people for giving them to me. It's a fun and good way to add them to my creative work. I like saying "Thank You" when I can.

    This book has several of my co-workers in it, too. They are mostly good people, but one decided to be a bad girl -- in the end, she assists the cops, so she's not entirely bad.  I think it's fun, too, to add people who want to be a part of your work and who will get a kick out of telling other people that they are in a book! Who wouldn't want to be a fun character in a fun book? C'mon.

    I am going through it this week to put all the pages in order, get the chapters even, and have the words "Chapter 1" and so forth in a different font and of a different size, just to give a little design to the interior. There are no photos, you know, it's just a novel. The only photo is the front and back cover and my photo on the back.  I have created the cover already and look forward to adding the book to my published achievements soon.

    Phase two is to go through it, line it up, size it up, format it, and get all the fluffing and stuffing done. I also go through it for mistakes, corrections, spelling issues, and trying to get my Scottish man's accent correct, as I tend to go back and forth with him. But at least in this book, he tells people that he's trying harder to use more American terminology so he doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. (We'll never see Eoghan MacRae turn too far from his original roots. No way, he's too adorable.)

    I'll send it up in phase three for publication with Ingram Spark, but it won't be for sale yet. I'll have them print me a copy so I can go through it and make corrections. After I've done that, Phase 4 is the final phase. I accept it, and it is made available for publication and purchase on Amazon.

    You can easily pick up one of my novels online, but there will still be issues. I can't find them all; I've really tried. I do take solace in knowing that I've found mistakes in the words of the greater authors than myself and in those who are just trying to get published for the first time. We all make mistakes. I hope to find the big mistakes, but it happened at least twice. After a solid year of being available to the public, I found huge errors in one of my books and had to pay to have it pulled and corrected. GEEZ!

    Well, that's the thick of it. I'm done. Stratford is written. I'll add the fluff this week, and by next weekend, I'll send it up for the print portion. I'll order a copy, get it by New Year's, read it, make corrections, and put it back up around the 10th of January. Woot!! By then, I'll have started the new new novel. I'm writing a creepy drama for the first time -- I'm trying to get myself outside of my own box. I won't do evil, but I will do creepy and disturbing. It will make people question if I'm really as genuinely likable as I know I am...Yes, I really am, but swimming among the cobras for a while will be fun since it's all fiction, and I can't really get bit by it.

    "The Grange" is an area in southern Edinburgh, Scotland, that has a great cemetery. My character lives in a family crypt, refusing to leave, and with the law on her side, she doesn't have to. I won't tell you more, but writing will be fun. It should be out around March 1, and then I'll head back to Poshville to write installment 6 of the Thriller series. The title is "Cask" and will also have a slight Poe flavoring. Come to think of it, my 7th Posh book is quite creepy, too -- wow.

    I may end up liking the new genre in my life.

Photo Credit:  Flickr.com  (Oklahoma 1933) 

So, I Nearly Died Today.

 So, yeah, I nearly cashed it all in today, and when that happens, and I survive, I feel the need to at least tell people who may actually read my blog because they will at least know that I care enough about them to think about them in these moments. I'll be really honest, I wasn't thinking about any of you when it was happening. I was too busy being really upset about my stupid body reacting the way it does.

    First, the wind up. I'll tell you what I do every day, and by every day, I mean I'm out there doing what I do, and if it gets done, it gets done. There are times when I think I do something when I actually haven't. OK, so I take supplements on what should be a daily basis. One of the ways I take them is by eyedropper -that is, the liquid supplements that I take. I take (or took) green tea extract this way.

    This morning, I took the same dosage as I typically do. Still, the extract decided on its own, and with intentional malice, to attack the back of my throat so violently that my esophagus closed up, and I was in the ravages of what some may call "dry drowning." I saw this on Quincy, so you know I know what I'm talking about. The good doctor warns people about singing in the shower, saying you should do it with your back to the water since the water can hit the back of your throat, and your throat then tries to protect your lungs by closing. This is what I think happened.

    My damn throat literally shut, but my body wasn't having it. I began hacking, not choking; there is a difference. I could not stop hacking, and it was deep drawings from my lungs to push the opening and to get whatever (felt like) liquid out of my throat, but this went on every 15-20 seconds for literally 30 full minutes. It slowed down after the 15th minute, and I only coughed every 30-40 seconds, but the cough's deepness was still causing me back pain.

    I sat on the couch, all the while assuring my daughter that I would be OK, though not really knowing if I was lying to her. Brave, brave soul that I am, I managed to stand up between coughs and go to the "important paper" box that we stored in the cabinet. I pulled out the insurance policies and set them on the cabinet next to the coffee machine so she could at least find them if she needed to. I'm so considerate! I am also the biggest dork on the planet, but at least I am cognitive. That really matters to me, too.

    The dogs were there, of course, laying beside me and licking my clothes and face and hands to let me know they wanted me to stay alive. They don't have opposable thumbs and can't pour their own dog food or get their own water. They do have Laura for that, so they're OK.  The cats looked at me as if I was a bother. I couldn't stop getting angry at my body for the way it was reacting. I was glad it was reacting, mind you, I knew what it was doing was trying to right what had gone so wrong, but you'd think after a few good coughs, it would all be alright. 

    Anyway, after all was said and done - and Laura was assured that she would not have to file for beneficiary benefits, I put the policies away and drank hot coffee until my stomach protested, asking me to switch to tea. Again, my body really needs to do what my head wants it to do; that's just me, but it's so annoying! I was praying during the time I was dying, asking God if this is really the way I should go out - it just seems so ridiculously common. He helped me. He always helps me. I love God.

    So, here I am, an hour later, still now and again clearing what seems to be lingering in the back of my throat, hoping I never have to go through that again. Like the dork that I am and embrace, I've thrown out the liquid supplements. I mean, I could put them in coffee or tea, but that may make them taste funny, and that, too, would annoy me. The things I do to remain unannoyed and/or uninconvenienced are amazing. 

    There you go—I'm still here, still writing. I hope to be so for a while, but if I'm not, and you see Laura's post stating that I've gone to see Jesus, I do hope you realize I am not coming back! Nope! If I cross that line, there is no return for me. I will grab onto whatever I can over on that side and refuse re-entry! I can't think of anything being better than being with my Lord -- so yeah, it's not that I mind dying, but the method of exit is a problem at times for me.  At least if I did die, I would go up in the rapture that much faster since the dead in Christ rise first!

Woot!