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We camped in one of my favorite places on Earth. So. Beautiful. A piece of Heaven in the Uintas. I, of course, was the family photographer. And to think we almost cancelled at the last minute!

Here are some pictures...














14 days left until TELL AN AUTHOR YOU CARE DAY! The countdown begins.

Vivian tagged me for the "8 Things about Me Meme", so here goes...

Here are the rules: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


1. I'm not that interesting.
2. I love camping. You'd think Husband would be more into it than me being all outdoorsy and stuff, but he actually gets funny about dirt. I don't mind it. I'm trying to find someone to watch my kids so I can go to my church's youth girl's camp this summer. River rafting and tents. Sounds like a blast!
3. I can't draw at all...except for horses. Grandpa taught me once upon a time. And I draw them quite well. I also like to sketch things from pictures. I can do this decently.
4. I love decorating my house. I love model homes and Pottery Barn catalogs. My colors are red, chocolate brown, and camel.
5. My sister-in-law would say I'm out-of-control girly...some of the evidence=I wear pink and Roxy and I cry-about-nothing sometimes.
6. I pull my eyelashes out when I read. Sometimes I have huge bald spots. This habit makes mascara essential...for evening things out.
7. I'm totally completely head-over-heels in love with my husband (of 5 years). We can't believe how lucky we are. My kids are pretty cool, too. :) I love being home with them!
8. Hmm...what else? You know I like Spiderman and writing and YA fantasy. You know I love my family and the library. Oh, here's one-I love green mint-n-chip ice cream, but it's very off-limits right now. :(

That was fun, so if you wanna do it, then do it. I know a billion people have already been tagged, so I'm not going to run the risk of retagging them. Have fun!

I have some poems for you today. But you'd probably be better off skipping this post and pretending it doesn't exist. Why? I'm about to share some poems I wrote growing up. I came across these when Hubby and I cleaned out the garage on Saturday. Really, spare yourself. Spare yourself the misery that is my childhood poetry.


Age 9: Silly Poems

OH YES

Oh yes,
Oh yes,
Oh yes,
I'm tired
of saying
oh, And now
I'm tired of
yes, oh yes,
oh yes, oh my.

TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT

Two, four, six, eight.
Now I can mate.
Two, four, six, eight.
Now it's time to date.
I can relate.
You can be late on your date.

(Ummm...I obviously didn't know what mate meant. It just rhymed with eight. I bet my teacher and parents got a laugh out of that one.)

SLEEPING

Sleeping is a very nice thing.
To wake you up there might
be a ding.
So watch out for that very
weird thing, In case you
have to be waken up
by a thing dinging.

OUR FATHER

Our father is so weird,
When he makes my school
lunches.
He does not give me a
sandwich, what he does
give me is a wich without
the sand.


Age-I have no idea. But I'd guess early teen...

IN A SADDLE TO THE SKY

I look out in the meadow; green.
The stallions make a beautiful scene,
When the weather is just fair,
As I stroke their pure white hair,
And I see the birds in the sky,
I wish that I could fly.

I wish that I could fly,
In a saddle to the sky,
On a stallion; in the green,
Wouldn't that be a scene,
I wish that I could fly,
Like the birds; in a saddle to the sky.

Horses are unique,
They are kind and queer,
Many pretty colors,
Beautiful as the sunset,
I wish that I could fly,
In a saddle to the sky.

Holding the stallion's mane,
Would take away all pain,
Right behind the withers,
It would be pure pleasure,
I wish that I could fly,
In a saddle; to the sky.


I had a thing for horses. Hubby says that every little girl had a thing for horses. But it felt special to me. It was a connection I had with my grandpa. He loved horses, sometimes more than people. He felt they were more loyal. He took me horseback riding sometimes. Those are some of my favorite memories.

So what do you think? Pretty talented, huh? I'm sure you wish you actually stopped reading. I do kinda like the horse one, though. Maybe I should revamp it.

I'm not a particularly good writer. When someone says, "Hey, you're the writer. You come up with something," I feel like a fraud. Like I'm trying to pretend I'm talented. I read all these amazing books by truly talented people and know I will never reach such greatness.

I like to write, so I keep doing it. But I don't like to feel like I have to do it. That crushes my creativity.

I've been feeling overwhelmed and my kind critique group is letting me have a little break to re-sort life.

I have a few pb submissions out. I had high hopes for them, but now that I haven't heard anything for 5 months, 7 months, and 7 months, most of my hope has turned into doubt. That I might just actually be a fraud.


Thanks for caring, Friends. I do really appreciate this community of writers and book-lovers. Sorry I'm a bit of a downer this morning.

What a wonderfully busy Easter weekend! I had such a great time with my family here. My whole family came (mom, dad, sister, two brothers, and a soon-to-be sister-in-love--speaking of which--if you know where I can find a cute light pink dress to wear to the wedding, I'm all ears.) We also had an easter party at my parents-in-love's house. And thanks to Vivian at hipwritermama, my daughter was able to participate in the sugar cookie decorating. THANKS so much to everyone who sent suggestions for finding eggless sugar cookies!

I also made fresh bread and rolls with my new Bosch mixer. Mmm. So delicious! I think I'm going to make some cinnamon bread today for some people in my neighborhood. Or orange rolls. Or pizza dough. Am I making you salivate?

My talented sister sang "In Humility, our Savior" at my church yesterday. It was so beautiful. I accompanied her on the piano. I love the piano.

On the other hand, I do not like the organ. But I had my own little Easter miracle yesterday. I am the back-up organist for our congregation. And yesterday I was asked to play. I was out of my mind stressed about it because I just did not have enough time to practice. I prayed that the music would invite the Holy Spirit, and that I would be essentially invisible as the organist. I figure that the best compliment an organist can get is that nobody notices them. People only notice the organist when they make mistakes.

Well, I made a huge mistake on the most important song. I hit a couple wrong notes and then, when I couldn't get back on track, I stopped playing for about half a measure. But here's the miracle...NOBODY NOTICED. It's so weird. I asked a million people (give or take), but nobody heard it. I believe my prayer was answered...although not in the way I expected. I hoped I would just miraculously play perfectly.

Anyway, this post isn't remotely writerly or even readerly. I thought about making my organ experience or bread/roll-making into some sort of analogy for writing, but I'm going to leave the analogy-making up to you. My house is an absolute psyclone from my whirlwind weekend.

But what a wonderful whirlwind it was!
Love lots,
Emily

WHEN I GROW UP
by WILLIAM WISE

When I grow up,
I think I'll be
A detective
With a skeleton key.

I could be a soldier
And a sailor too;
I'd like to be a keeper
At the public zoo.

I'll own a trumpet
And I'll play a tune;
I'll keep a space ship
To explore the moon.

I'll be a cowboy
And live in the saddle;
I'll be a guide
With a canoe and a paddle.

I'd like to be the driver
On a diesel train;
And it must be fun
Ro run a building crane.

I'll live in a lighthouse
And guard the shore;
And I know I'll want to be a
A dozen things more.

For the more a boy lives
The more a boy learns--
I think I'll be all of them
By taking turns.

Our favorite Easter picture book is Max's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells. Max and Ruby are typical siblings. They have a love/hate relationship. Maybe hate is a bit strong. But anyway, I know my little ones relate to their relationship. Ruby is bossy. Max is clumsy and curious.

In Max's Chocolate Chicken, the Easter Bunny brings a huge chocolate chicken to the kids. Whoever collects the most eggs gets the chocolate chicken prize. When Max realizes that there is no way he will win the Easter Egg Hunt, he grabs the chocolate chicken, hides in the hollow of a tree, and eats it. Will Easter be ruined for Ruby? No. The Easter Bunny will pay her another visit.

So, this book is the funniest Easter picture book we like. It obviously isn't the most touching or religious. But we like it.

My daughter is allergic to eggs, so I'm trying to figure out if there is a way to color eggs without her reacting. My mom suggested blowing the insides out and bleaching the empty shells. I'm also on a mission looking for a great eggless sugar cookie recipe for Saturday's Easter Party.

In random other news, I'm having a blast with my family here. What's better for Easter than to celebrate life with family? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whether or not you are of the Christian persuasion or not.

But if you are Christian, I heard something I've been thinking about...If we didn't have Easter, we wouldn't celebrate Christmas. We celebrate Christmas because Jesus died for us and was resurrected. These are the most important things He did for us.

Hi Friends! I've been away from Whimsy Books since Wednesday, and that's a long stretch for me. Now that I'm coming back, it's like revisiting an old friend. Will we still click like we used to? Will I have anything interesting to say? Maybe I should make a list of interesting things going on in my life. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

1. My new blog, Clean Reads, is off to a great start. Several people have already sent reviews for me to post. I'm so excited about all the interest. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's up and running. I'll be posting the fourth review of a Clean Read today!

2. My talented, adorable, wonderful sister visited for the weekend. I love her so much. And I got to revisit parts of Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer with her, because she is currently halfway through New Moon.

3. My Grandparents visited yesterday from California, and one of my bros came over for Sunday dinner. Even better, I didn't have to cook! Hubby made delicious pork burritos and a salad with homemade jalapeno dressing while my sis and I read New Moon and baked an apple pie, which was also delicious, by the way.

3. My mommy is coming tomorrow, followed a few days later by my dad and bro. I heart my family. Big time.

4. Hubby loves to paintball, fish, hunt, ebay (yes, I'm using it as a verb), insert anything male-ish and outdoors-y, but this weekend he just hung out, and we cuddled a lot. :) At the end of the weekend, he said, "It's been a great weekend, hasn't it?" I heart my hubby. Bigger time.

5. And lastly, but certainly not least-ly, I registered this morning for my first big conference, BYU's Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. I'm just out-of-my-mind excited.

I hope your weekend was every bit as wonderful!
Emily

Susan at Chicken Spaghetti tagged me for the blog meme going around. I'm supposed to name 5 blogs I follow that aren't kidlit related. I'm stumped. I mean, I spend enough time on this stinkin' computer and I can't even keep up with the kidlit ones. I honestly can't think of ANY blogs that I have read more than ONCE that fit this category. So instead, I give you five websites I enjoy.

1. The Merriam-Webster site for looking up words. I also get the Word-of-the-day email each day, which is fun because I've learned words like snickersnee, slugabed, bonnyclabber, and widdershins.

2. My favorite Online Rhyming Dictionary, which helps a lot when trying to come up with rhymes that are not overused and cliche.

3. PBS KIDS games when I'm really bored...I mean when I want my little guy to play quietly for a few minutes. I particularly like the Sesame Street ones because they seem to be the most educational.

4. Ebay, which is not going to be new to anyone, but I'm getting stumped on websites I use often, too. And I recently got this cute dark wood jewelry box with a clock in it. I keep telling my hubby that I have plenty of room for some new jewelry now. :)

5. What Should I Read Next? for book recommendations. I know most of you have enormous to-be-read piles, but I don't. As a matter of fact, I don't have anything to read right now. I just finished Cynthia Leitich-Smith's Tantalize (which was an extremely entertaining read, by the way) and now I'm not sure what to read next.

So there they are...some of the websites I visit fairly regularly that are not kidlit related. Actually, I probably visit my church's site the most.

Have a delicious weekend. I'm diet-cheating today because there were girl scouts outside of the grocery store. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

As seen at d_michiko_f's LJ

1. First book I remember loving: The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

2. First book I had my dad read to me repeatedly: The Cat in the Hat and The Sneetches. He had them memorized. I loved that.

3. First book that hooked me on an author: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. First book I hid while I read it: Hmmm. I don't think I had one of those. But now I'll admit I hide some of the teen books I read from certain people who don't GET teen books.

5. First book given to me as a gift: Wow. I have a terrible memory. I can't think of any I received as gifts as a child. As a teenager, I mostly read Christian romance novels.

6. First book I got signed by an author (after I decided on a children's writing career): Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I'm a huge Shannon Hale fan. Not only does she write amazing books, but she is hilarious and sweet.

7. First book son had me read over and over as a toddler: anything he could reach. We liked YOU ARE MY I LOVE YOU

8. First book I read this year: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I wrote about my obsessive experience HERE. And, by the way, I just dreamt about Edward again night before last, so the obsession is lasting longer than I originally expected. Hubby definitely doesn't GET my love for this book.

Do you remember your firsts? Do you know that some children never have the opportunity for these kind of firsts? First Book is my special pet charity. Please donate HERE for a fabulous cause that gives children in need a chance to own their first book. Even $10 can make a difference!

Spread the work by listing YOUR Firsts on your blog and sharing my donation link. Thank you so much!

P.S.- Do you want to start collecting for a charity you believe in? Go to Kevin Bacon's site: Six Degrees to set it up!

If you didn't see Jen Barnes post about memegirls, check it out. It looks like fun. So I'm being a dork and tagging myself. I never get tagged for these things. Wo is me :)

1. If I were a food, I would be...pizza. It's a happy food, multi-dimensional, delicious.

2. If I were a book, I would be...Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I still can't stop thinking about this book. *sigh* Edward.
Oh-or An Egg is Quiet. Yes, that one is definitely me. Once I've warmed up, I hatch and suddenly, I'm much noisier.

3. If I were a TV character, I would be...hmmm. the only shows I've been watching are American Idol and 24. So out of those shows, I'd say Audrey Rains. And not just because she's in love with Jack Bauer. :)

4. If I were a flavor of ice cream, I would be...mint'n'chip. My favorite. The expensive green kind. But I'm not high maintenence. Really.

5. If I were a word, I would be...bluestocking: a woman having intellectual or literary interests

6. If I were a number, I would be: 32. I always liked the number. I hope I still like it when I get that old. No offense, of course to those of you who are 'that old'.

7. If I were an animal, I would be: horse. intelligent, noble, larger than I'd like. I'd like to run through a meadow with wind whipping my main.

8. If I were one of the seven dwarves, I would be: Bashful

9. If I were one of the seven deadly sins, I would be: sloth. I have a tendency to sit at the computer all day and waste time. But this is productive, right? Uh-huh.

10. If I were a Hollywood starlet, I would be...I've been told I have Charlize Theron's eyes and Rachel McAdams mannerisms. But I'm gonna go with Mandy Moore. She seems the most wholesome. And I think she is adorable in A Walk to Remember.

11. If I were a color, I would be...My fav colors for decorating: reds, browns and golds. My fav colors for wearing: pinks and teals. If I were a color, I suppose I'd be blue. I know--random. But it seems to fit my personality.

12. If I were a drink, I would be...milk. I love milk. After eating a rich chocolate dessert, milk is sometimes even more wonderful than the dessert itself. And I certainly have a milky complexion.

I tag you if you like getting tagged for these things and never are.

I have some serious laundry hang-ups (he-he). Me and laundry, we are always at war. Today was one of those choice days when I actually won the battle. Although the 13 matchless socks are still taunting me. Yes, honestly. 13!

I'm planning a real post for tomorrow, complete with picture book recommendations and all.

See you then.
Emily

DH on the usage of the word "scrotum" in the Newbery-Award winning book: "At least it wasn't the Caldecott. Then, it would have a picture."

There have been a million opinions about this on the web lately. I guess I'll add mine to the sea.

I hate swear words. I hate them in books, movies, and real life. I don't say them. I did use the word b-u-t-t once in seventh grade when I felt like I had no choice. I'm not claiming to be a perfect person. I'm not one. But swear words are not my thing.

I seriously dislike the use of certain words in picture books like: hate, dumb, and stupid.

I don't think teen books need swearing. You can show that someone is vile without having them swear. I mostly avoid books with swearing. Ugly words make me uncomfortable. Now, don't shoot me. Remember I am one small opinion in the sea.

Having said all that, I believe it is important for children to know the proper terms for body parts. Scrotum is not a bad word. Kids can see when we are uncomfortable saying certain words. In human development, my teacher encouraged us to say the names of body parts to ourselves in the shower until they felt natural. This way, if a kid has a problem he/she needs to discuss with his/her parents about the body, both will be able to have an intelligent conversation. Kids should not feel ashamed to come to their parents with questions about the body.

I usually blog on Monday, and if I don't, I blog Tuesday morning. But this week I didn't because I was too busy reading this:



HOPE WAS HERE by Joan Bauer (think she's related to Jack?) is an excellent novel that will appeal to fans of Deborah Wiles (Each Little Bird that Sings and Love, Ruby Lavender).

I am also reading many picture books by Rosemary Wells. MAX'S CHOCOLATE CHICKEN is a bundle of fun.

I have been waiting and waiting for Stephenie Meyer's book, TWILIGHT, at the library. And I really hope I get it by this weekend.

So, why am I reading up on Joan Bauer, Rosemary Wells, and Stephenie Meyer? I am going to see them on Saturday at BYU's Midwinter Books for Young Readers Symposium. AND it looks like there will be plenty of time for questions. So, come on, don't be shy...what questions would you like me to ask these brilliant authors?

Because, here's a confession. I hate speaking on-the-spot. Ask me to speak in front of a group, and sure, I don't have a problem with that if I am prepared. If I go there, questions-in-hand, I'll be perfectly fine and composed. If I go unprepared, I'll sweat, turn read, stutter, and probably chicken-out of asking anything at all.