The Forgotten Verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner” | Dictionary.com Blog

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The Writer's Journey: Reviews Do Help (and Hurt!) Authors: When you hear the word review or feedback, often you might think of a product you purchased online at eBay or other auction sites. Perhaps y... Read the rest of this post

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Hi everyone;

Yes, we are anxiously awaiting rain. We are as low on water as we were during the dust bowl. I am going to hand a sign in my house "you may touch the dust, please don't write in it." With the promise of rain and hail this week (today and tomorrow) I have kept my baby plants under the carport. We just had a hint of lightning last night.

I am balancing so many manuscripts right now, sometimes it is very hard to concentrate. I participated in NaPiBoWe, (National Picture Book Week) and managed to start 7 new books. Now is the time to polish them and put them on story board.

Like I had nothing else to do, I signed up for the sketchbook project. The sketchbook will live in the NY museum of art. The books go on tour in the US and we got to choose what sort of theme they will have. I picked West Texas Icons. The first focus will be on Buddy Holly. Did you know that Peggy Sue is still alive and living in Lubbock? Let's see: horny toads, Tech, Famous singers from Lubbock, KDAV radio station, walk of fame, wind mills, Jackrabbits or Jackalopes, cottonfields, sunsets, dirt, cowboy boots, horses, beer, putting it together will be so much fun!

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I feel like I need to make mention of the new direction I am going to take this blog. Alexander Graham Cracker has two pages and a facebook. You can now follow him at www.facebook.com/alexandergrahamcracker ; you can see him on AlexanderGrahamCracker.blogspot.com, and the web page at http:/www.grahamcrackers.net

The new focus on here will be of history, political viewpoints, and guest bloggers. I feel like our country is sliding into Fascism and our history is slowly being erased. We need a record of what is going on in our country so people who come behind us will know the truth.

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Well, here we go. Another Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for my life, husband, family, etc. I can't count them all. Yes, there has been negatives this year, but the blessings far outweigh them. It is 1:00 am and I am still up cooking for tomorrow. Today was Jacob's 12th birthday and I didn't get to see him or talk to him. We will celebrate his birthday next week. I am making him a chocolate chip cheesecake with Minons on the top. We have already celebrated Benny's birthday on the 18th with Minions cupcakes. I took them to Chuy's bar and the bar tender and the waitress gave me a free margarita for cupcakes. They boys were so excited that MomMo made such cool things for them. They took the rest home. The only reason I'm making cheesecake for Jacob is because it's his fav.

Tonight I almost finished the dressing, it's waiting for AaBi's contribution, I finished the yam's, the pumpkin cream pie, and now I am making Trace's Turkey Cookies. This makes me very happy. Momma Jean made these for Trace since he was in the 2nd grade. I have taken up the gauntlet and the original cookie cutter and he had to have two before he went to bed tonight. I feel like she is here, watching over us and smiling. I hope I dream about her tonight. I miss her so much. She made me very happy and we had such a connection. Trace told me she "fell in love" with me and I did with her. If anyone reflected God's light, she did. When she died, I was awed by the amazing comments people made about her. There wasn't an unkind word. Ever. It is so wonderful to have two Mom's. They both are so different but I love them both. Taking care of her during the last year or so of her life was amazing. This woman took on Alzheimer's with courage and valor.  BTW the turkey breast and the chicken legs are in the crock pot. AaBi's bringing green bean casserole and oyster's for the dressing. I can't wait until we are playing games tomorrow and eating until we burst!

Today I realized that when my Mom passes, (not for a long time) I will become the matriarch of the family. It scared me. I need meds to deal with that one.

For tomorrow, as mentioned above, I've already started some of the feast. Tomorrow morning we will put up the winter clothes and pack the summer clothes. Mop the floors and clean the bathroom. Set the table with Blue Willow dishes and beautiful Autumn  Table cloth and a candle in a Chianti Wine Bottle. Trace will make his fabulous mashed potatoes. I have chilled wine and I suppose Mike will bring his beer. The sad thing is that the children won't be here. So it will be the four of us trying to make light of the fact we are childless. I almost cannot wait till Christmas.

Anyway, while all this is going on, I am crocheting hand gloves, making sock monkies, and mailing out signed copies of my book. Next week I need to get busy on making homemade Christmas presents so I can get them mailed. I don't think any of the kids will be here except for AaBi and Mike and Possibly Jessica. She is moving back from Austin. I will be so happy to have her here. I wish the other kids could be here as well despite WWIII starting.

I miss my sister and brother so much. Even Mom. I love the fact that I am the head of my family, but I need my Mom and family too, sometimes. Especially since Tracy's parents are gone. (oh, that means that Pam is the matriarch of the family...scary!)

God, Bless my efforts to promote my book and book sales. Bless the books that I am working on now. Bless Trace's business as Bella Vita. Please help us and make us a profitable business. I also pray for Dr. Williams. Her Mother just passed away and she was in the hospital with lungs full of blood clots. Please help her with her health and cure her. Let her have a long life in your service. Thank you letting us find a place to worship and adore you.

I love you Lord,

LaNell Koenig-Wilson

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What in the hell is going on? I am getting sick of the press dancing around this issue so today I am going to tell it like I see it. You can call me a bigot or intolerant if you want but I am going to speak for the American people today. Someone has to. Over 2000 Americans have lost their lives in Afghanistan. Over 4500 Americans have lost their lives in Iraq. Almost 3000 Americans died in the 9/11 attacks. That’s about 9,500 Americans who have lost their lives in the war on terrorism and the number goes far beyond that. There are smaller attacks too numerous to mention. One of the obvious examples is Benghazi. The total number is well over 10,000 Americans who have died due to the war on terror and the number continues to grow. Most of these deaths have been in some form or fashion linked to Al Qaeda but terrorism is terrorism no matter what you call it or what organization you claim is responsible. Not all Muslims are terrorists but most terrorists are Muslims. That’s a fact. It’s a fact that you won’t see printed by major media sources because the MSM (Mainstream Media) is soft. The MSM seems slow to admit that the Tsarnaev brothers were linked to Al Qaeda, but they seem slow to acknowledge the facts on anything at this point. Russia warned us at least two times in 2011 about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In his most recent trip abroad it was said that he spent time training with radicals who had links to Al Qaeda. My opinion is that there is no such thing as a “link” to Al Qaeda. That’s just a fancy dance around the truth. You are either Al Qaeda or you are not. It has become known that the brothers used Al Qaeda’s Inspire Magazine to learn how to build their “Pressure Cooker” bombs. Who reads Al Qaeda magazines? Well in my mind anyone who is reading that stuff, and taking it seriously enough to act on the advice, is at the very least an “Al Qaeda Wannabe.” So let’s stop soft peddling the issue. Whether the Tsarnaev brothers were card carrying members of Al Qaeda, or not, fails to matter. It is obvious that they embraced the same ideologies and Al Qaeda is responsible. In my mind all terrorists organizations are responsible. They spread the hate and the hate ends up leaving innocent people in coffins. The DHS and everyone else seem to be trying to throw the FBI under the bus. That’s how it works in this country. Government officials are slow to accept blame and quick to pass it. I blame a country that has become soft on immigration and that blame goes all the way to the top. I blame Obama. I blame our legislators. I blame the political activists who want to reach out and hug a Jihadi. I blame a government that is making an excuse of Tamerlan falling through the cracks because of being buried on a watch list of 500,000 potential terrorists. Think about that. Think about it hard. The IRS can keep up with 100 Million or so taxpayers without a problem. These things are done with sophisticated software programs. There is no excuse for not being able to keep up with 500,000 potential terrorists. It’s not like they have an individual agent following each of them. If someone is flagged then they should react to an individual situation accordingly and the repeated warnings from Russia should have escalated the scrutiny of Tamerlan. The American people are sick of the excuses. Mistakes were made and now we must turn our thoughts to serious discussion about preventing this from happening again. Tamerlan Tsarnaev should have never been allowed to stay in this country. Period. This will never prevent someone like Timothy McVeigh from blowing up a federal building but it might keep things like Boston from happening. We live in a society that has grown so politically correct that no one has the guts to make the tough decisions, or even have the honest discussions, anymore. They had chances to deport Tamerlan Tsarnaev and did not. They allowed his younger brother to become a citizen even though his brother and mother were in a database of potential terrorists. They allowed Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi into this country despite having 11 relatives who are either suspected or convicted terrorists. Five of his relatives are in Gitmo as we speak. Mosques in Boston are allowed to go about their business despite numerous proven ties to world wide terrorists. Beyond that these same Mosques receive key endorsements from political figures like Governor Deval Patrick. All of this is an absolute insult to those who fought and those who died. Let us not forget the wounds of war, both physical and mental, that our young men and women come home with. They give their service to this country and come home without missing limbs and incur horrendous mental scars of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The number is into tens of thousands when you count those who have not only died but those who have made it home alive, but never to be the same. If we continue to allow these things to happen then we spit in the face of every person and every American family who has been effected by terrorism. We need strong leaders now with the guts to make tough decisions. We don’t need a federal government that continues to invite more hate into this country. If someone is suspected as a terrorist, send their ass home. Plain and simple. Or, at the very least, don’t let them in the country to begin with. Once they are here it is a bit more complicated, but let’s stop rolling out the red carpet for them. Tamerlan Tsarnaev had a domestic abuse circumstance that was grounds for deportation, yet he was allowed to stay. Alharbi’s story stinks to levels of corruption that are unimaginable. A young man from a family of known and suspected terrorists gets a personal visit from Michelle Obama and has since been discovered to be a regular visitor to The White House. As for the younger Tsarnaev brother…if your brother and your mother are on a terrorist watch list then you should not be eligible to even be in this country, let alone become a naturalized citizen. I don’t want to imply that the Muslim community is the only group who feels this way, and I don’t want to imply that all Muslims feel this way, but… Are you aware that 25,000+ protestors gathered in Britain last week? They were Pakistanis who were protesting that the laws should be changed. They are tired of insults to Allah and feel that the laws should be changed to not allow insults toward Allah. This should be a crime in their minds. I can understand the feeling to a point. I am Christian and I do not like it when anyone insults Jesus Christ, but… People who are not willing to abide by the rules of the land should not be here. We have free speech here and if someone wants to make juvenile movie called “The Innocence of Islam” then they have the right to do that. I can be angry about it but I must accept that people in this country have the right to say what they want. I don’t like that Fred Phelps spreads the “God Hates Fags” message and I don’t like the fact that anyone would slander anyone else’s religious views. But in America, and in most free countries around the globe, this is how it works. It is called free speech. If someone can not accept that then they don’t need to be here. Americans do not understand the difference in cultures and they do not understand how much trouble we continue to invite. Let’s talk about Egypt. I brought up that stupid movie for a reason. “The Innocence of Islam” is an insulting movie. I watched about ten minutes of it and I was done. It is not meant to bring about honest debate. It is purely meant to insult the proud Muslim people. I will not defend the product on its merits because it truly has no merits in my opinion. I will defend that they had a right to make that movie in a free speech society. That is how America works. But you must understand that this is not a traditional Middle Eastern view. How many people are aware that Egypt has handed out 7 death sentences to those who they found guilty of participating in the production of that movie? That’s right…7 death sentences. Any speak against Allah or the Prophet Mohammed is punishable by death in Egypt and many other Muslim nations. This is a country that we support both militarily and financially. Is that an American view of Freedom? Do a little soul searching and you will find your answer. It’s not a matter of hating Muslims or any other group. But you must understand the cultures and how they clash. Christians are being murdered in Egypt on a regular basis simply because they are Christians. Churches are being burnt and vandalized. There needs to be a lot of discussion in our nation in the wake of Boston and it can’t be had by people who are afraid to break the rules of political correctness. Are all Muslim people bad? No they are not. Not all Muslims share the same radical interpretation of their teachings. At the same time, when we have reason to suspect that one of those radicals is within our borders we need to kick their ass out, before they can plant bombs in another major city. Think about the families of those who lost their lives in 9/11 and the families of those who lost their lives in foreign lands…and tell me that they don’t deserve a serious explanation right now. We need people in Washington D.C. with guts but what we have is a bunch of bleeding hearts who have policies that get people killed. By rolling out the red carpet for these terrorists they have slapped millions of Americans in the face. This must stop now. I’d like to recommend a good resource for those who would like to do further research. A gentleman named Robert Spencer has an amazing research and news site called JihadWatch. If you would just go look at the stories for the past week on his site you might realize that this problem is much bigger than you think. Americans demand some real talk on a real issue and they demand it happens now…before it’s too late. The enemy has been allowed inside. I won’t sugar coat it. It is truly us or them at this point. They are already here and our government has allowed it to happen. This article, 10,000 Americans Did Not Die for America to Roll Out the Red Carpet for Jihadi Terrorists, is syndicated from http://dcclothesline.com and is posted here with permission. advertisement

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I will be posting a blog about raising autistic children this week. I have an autistic son and grandson. People need to understand these special children.

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A friend in our community wrote an obituary for our Uncle:

Qoute of the day by Paul R Bean-I am mourning the death of my uncle. My uncle was born on July 4th 1776 and passed on near midnight November 6th 2012. Once he was disrobed and the examination by the corner began. It was apparent that one of the reasons for his death was anemia. You see, a once vibrant giant, who fought for freedom had been the victim of parasites." 

On Tuesday, I could not believe my eyes and stop the hurting in my heart. The tears for my country and Constitution did not start until the next day when I explained things to my sister. I am astonished that so many people voted for a man who is a traitor to our country and is a professes Socialist and wants us to be that way. He is a Muslim and a friend to the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama should be tried for high Treason. But he isn't evil by himself. He has a staff, Hilary Clinton for one, and George Soros to finance his treasonous acts. Are there really so many so called "Americans" who wants free stuff that they would put this man back in office? 

For those of us who have lost our joy, we need to read Psalm 137 and Isiah 40.  The Isaelites were in captivity to the Babylonians. These were not nice people. They stopped to rest by a river with weeping willows growing along the bank. The court musicians hung their harps on the trees, heartbroken and their hope that God would rescue them receding. The Babylonians began taunting the Israelis. 

"Go on, sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

The Israelites replied with bitterness in their voice, "How can we sing the songs of the Lord-in a foreign land?" The harps were hanging silently on the trees beside the river where the captives were kept. 

The Babylons knew that the people didn't feel like singing. Their parents had been murdered, houses pillaged and robbed, infants bashed against the cobblestones and killed Who could sing after witnessing that kind of slaughter and then being herded together like animals?  

Out of the darkness they began to hear it. The sound of one lone harp. An old man with fire burning in his eyes was singing! He was singing one of the songs of Zion. A Beautiful song of comfort and hope, a song about the Shepherd gently leading those with young. A song about eternity and a God who inhabited it, owned it, and was offering to share it with those who would put their faith in Him.

This old man was one of Israel's temple musicians and like the others he was sitting by the waters, held in captivity. Imagine trees festooned with harps hung up after a days hard labor but under one of those trees the temple musicians gathered their harps and joined the old man. They sang a message from the writings of the prophet Isaiah to God's discouraged people.

                 Comfort, comfort my people,

                     says your God..

                     Those who hope in the Lord

                     will renew their strength.

                      They will soar on wings like eagles;

                     They will run and not grow weary,

                      They will walk and not be faint (Isiah 40:1,31)

   What do we do? Is it status quo? I don't know. I've had my couple of days of mourning and now it is time to take action. I've prayed to God and asked direction, I am waiting on some answers but I feel I know what is going to happen. As a Tea Party member, I am prepared for disaster and I expect the help of my God. We must group together as like minded people, helping each other, lending a hand. American and her people are going through a judgement and the only way our American and Constitution will be restored is through God's hands. Pray to be God's hands and feet. Look for answers to your prayers and remember to be a grateful child and say Thank You.

We may have a Muslim, Socialist, Traitor in the White House, but we have God to hold on to. Don't give up. Take your harp from the tree and sing the songs of Zion. Show these lazy, incompetent people that Government isn't the answer, The Bible is and helping one another is the answer.

Remember, be prepared for anything, keep your powder dry and pray without ceasing. 

 

Note: The story of the Israelites and harps came from the Bible and also from a book entitled Heart Strings by Jill Briscoe. 

 

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Can you place a value on friendship? No, it has no intrinsic value, but it is priceless. We can't exist without it. Our souls would be lost and starving in a vast wilderness without the love and nurturing of friendship. It is something God placed within us, a kernel that reaches forth from the muddy waters of life and sends it shoots upwards to the light, blossoming forth on the top of the waters in search of friendship.  That little shoot begins as soon as we are born and continues growing and strengthening until we leave this earth to begin another journey.

Friends come in many sizes, shapes, colors, sexes, and even species! Our family members can be our friends, our spouses definitely are our friends but there is something about having a girlfriend you can call at midnight and know she will be glad to hear your voice and share your happiness or concerns.

A girlfriend is the one you camp out with in the local coffee shop, bouncing ideas off for that newest novel. Or run down to South Texas with just to pick up corn, tomatoes and homemade bread to can. She takes care of your children when they are sick, gives you respite when your special needs child has stomped your last nerve.

Who else would meditate with you? Wear a prayer shawl and understand the meaning? Jump up and travel at the last minute? Learn Italian? Cook around the world and not complain when our middles look like marshmallows? Yes, this is ground that a spouse could occupy, but not often. Only a friend lives in this area.

A girlfriend will gladly share a cup of coffee or a bottle of wine with you, be there with a sympathetic ear when things seem to go awry. A girlfriend is a blessing from God. A friend with angel wings. A treasured earth goddess. And sometimes a Sister.

Truly Friends are priceless.

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My husband was recently watching a documentary on the making of one of our favorite films (and books) To Kill A Mockingbird...

It gave me pause...I am a card carrying Southern Woman. After all I have more than one deviled egg plate. No self-respecting Southern Woman would NOT have a deviled egg plate. In fact you can't even be in the Souther Belle Society without having one. I did have a china pattern - in a previous life - held open houses for church, posessed the appropriate attire for funerals and weddings, could whip a casserole for the bereved or someone with a new baby in 2.5 min. and not even blink if I had to hostess a wedding, funeral or homecoming at a moments notice. I was young and didn't know better. Ask me now and I might need interevenious adavan.

Yes, when I was younger I was a girly girl, I played dolls, paper dolls, wore dresses every day, could leap puddles holding my train case purse in a single bound, wear loafers and bobby socks and could kill anyone with  kindness. We were born that way. Out of my four girls, only one was partially a girly, girl. the rest detested dresses, and I won't even go into their antics as a tomboy. But I managed to scar them by making them wear dresses, hats and gloves on Easter Sunday. They remind me of that torture once in a while.

I was the only little girl on my block of Darling St. - yes,  I lived on Darling street in a pink brick house. My Daddy built be a playhouse with a real glass sliding window. It held baby cribs and dolls, doll cloths, tea sets, etc. I saved my allowance (25cents), go to the Good Will and buy net formals from the 50's and my Mom would fit them to me. So my dress up dresses were also in the playhouse. I don't know how many times my Mom would go to Weingartens (our grocery story) with my little girl friends all dressed up in net formals. We were the original princesses. No one called us that, we were Southern Bells. My house we THE house all the neighborhood girls wanted to play. The boys always dressed as cowboys and indians and tried to attack us. Boys. It makes me sad to think that my play house now holds lawnmowers and lawn chemicals. Does the owner even know the magic it once held?

Now don't get me wrong, I was a playmate with my brother and learned to catch snakes and lizards, run through the woods, give some one an "indian rope burn" and play Tarzan and swing off the roof of our house on the tiny branches of the trees. Mom would have whipped our hid if she knew half the stuff we did. That was fun but I knew what I was supposed to do and how to act. Even if I did regress occasionally.

When I lived in Natchitoches, Louisiana as a young Mom, I got to be an extra in Steel Magnolias. I wore on ugly had an dress and set in a bench in the wedding scene for 12 hourse for a 3 min. scene in the movie. But I was also a tour guide to the plantation houses and I learned to get my hooped skirts into the suburban in a flash and drive down Cane Rive to my job, be my "sugary sweet" self and then go home to 4 kids and cook dinner.

I won't ever give up my Southern Belle membership card, wear white shoes after labor day, smoke in public like Princess Margret, wear velvet after Febuary and will always use mayonaise and white chicken meat to make chicken salad - not dark meat and Hellmans! But I could care less about being in the Jr. League or who made what Sorority in college. There is more to life than that!

My kids grew up laughing at the silly rules I taught them about Southern Ettiquete. They don't adhear to those rules except - say yes mam', no mam', please and thank you, always mind your p's and q's. Don't cuss in public, never spit, open doors for ladies, ladies first and always try to help.

Make your Momma Proud.

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I have come to terms with how old  I will be this year. It took me two days of crying every time I thought about it, once I was out of shock to realize this won't be so bad. I guess the alternative is not to have a birthday, right? WRONG.

I have a little grandson that was born on my birthday - (good job Kat) we finally celebrated our birthdays together last summer. I was  - um - 53 and he was 3. OK so far. I had a great year, my book was being published, we signed the contract with the publisher, the grand kids were here, things looked good.

Then I saw a sign...not a sign from heaven, not a sign from the great beyond, just a sign that said if you were born in 1957 you would be 55. I busted out laughing. How could they print something like that? Obviously they need a calculator. Then I called my sister. She laughed so hard, tears ran down her leg. OK, she can be wrong. I called my brother. He said I would be in a time warp if I was going to be 54. We are 18 months apart. He laughed also. Now I ask you, is this funny????? What is wrong with everyone? Then I confronted my husband as he was in the shower and he nearly choked on his shampoo. 

It seems that I have been 53 for two years in a row. I immediately burst into tears and cried for 2 days. How can I possibly be this old and not feel like it on the inside? Then there was the bad day for the book signing...I was depressed for a week.

Now I have decided to except the inevitable. After all I have no choice. I seriously considered major sedation for that big day, but now we are going to have a party instead. A murder mystery party and I am writing the saga. I have to get this frustration out somehow and legally.

In this new chapter I am going to do everything I want to do. I am going to paint and write and drink wine and be a MomMo. I am going to publish lots of books and be an eccentric old lady. 
When I am old I shall wear purple....might as well, I already have a purple truck!

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Well, the next event is fast approaching! This Friday, June 15 from 3-5 at Market St. on 98th and Quaker. Thanks to Mr. Eugene Ford for getting things set up for me.

I worked on the posters tonight for the event. They are huge! 22x 28. One of the largest I've done so far. I'm go have them printed professionally tomorrow and then take them by the store.

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After a night of storms and lightning (thank you God for the rain) Trace and I loaded up the car and headed off for the first book signing for Alexander Graham Cracker Goes to the Moon. I have spent the last couple of weeks anxiously making sure everything was perfect. Business cards? check; books? check; posters?, check...the list became very long. The last two nights I didn't sleep at all. I would wake up with another item to add to the list. I wonder how I ever managed to teach classes.  Now here I am at 5 am writing a post because I can't sleep AGAIN. You would think I would just be exhausted by now.

We found the cutest quilt with rockets and planets on it, matching sheets to use as a table cloth, a lamp with stars and starry very soft pillows. I painted and made a magnet board, cut out aliens, make a rocket from an apple juice bottle and assembled my other favorite books to read.

I found a wonderful vintage silk shirtwaist dress from the 50's, a hat/gloves and chiffon hankie so I would look like Alexander's Mother in the book. I had to keep with the retro theme. I wore my Granny Red's brooch and matching earrings. I thought our table looked very nice. Everything coordinated and I even put up a video of the moon landing of Apollo 11.

 I wouldn't have been able to pull this off without my husband. Thanks, Trace.

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Marketing for Alexander Graham Cracker is HERE! I am so excited! The book won't officially  be in the bookstores until July, but I get copies and can start with press releases, author signings (he-he), and working my niche markets. A lot of work is involved in this and pray God gives me the energy and the stamina to keep it up!

It was just a dream come true to receive the proofs and to see my work in final form. I cannot wait to get my copies in the mail. I even got a financial backer!! She will be going with me on some of the Author appearances and we are going to have such a great time? Can you guess who that is?  My baby sister. What better partner could I possibly have on this journey?

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I just read a very interesting article on Lupus and fatigue. Both my parents, my sister, and possible other members of our family have SLE. So do I. I think I must have had this disease for a long while. I remember hearing about friends in the 80's that were diagnosed and their prognosis was very bad.

I currently have a great doctor who is working with me, our journey has just begun together but at least she believes me. The fatigue is the one thing I have the hardest time coping with. I feel like the laziest person in the world. When I worked at a local retail store, cleaning, I only worked 3 days a week. I would have to come home and sleep at least 4 hours and was still in extreme pain. I stayed there from July to Feb. After that I just couldn't stand the exhaustion and pain any more and I really don't think anyone at the store believed how tired I was. It was also difficult for me to remember codes for the cash register.

I am working from home now, I have a book about to be published and am gathering energy to do the author appearances. The fatigue still isn't gone. Sometimes I need 12 hours of sleep. How crazy is that??? A person can't function socially or get chores done on 12 hours of sleep. At least my chosen profession of writer/illustrator can be done from a desk, couch, or bed. Yeah!

To complicate matters I also have spinal degenerative disease. I have already had to have a neck fusion and now it is bothering me in the lower back and legs. Some days I walk with a cane, some days I'm fine.

I am happy my husband understands but I know he gets frustrated with me. He is an RN and recognizes signs before I do when a flair is coming on.

My heart yearns to so much more than I do now, my spirit feels young and pain free - my body won't co-operate. So the good days are when I grab the golden ring from the merry go round. The bad days are when I miss it. I touched that ring today, but it slipped from my grasp.

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The work on my children's book is really progressing quickly! On Valentine's day I received the cover art proof. On the 23rd of Feb. I received my page layout proofs. It was also my brother's birthday so I think I like it when special days come around.  Wonder what will happen next week on Trace's bd?

I printed out the proof so I could check the typesetting and font appearances. Everything looks so fabulous and RETRO! I cannot wait to hold the book in my hands.  We are beginning the premarketing and this is a new phase to me. I look forward to all that is involved. in this part.

Mark Twain said, "Next to a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside the dog, it's too dark to read."

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Wow, the work on the NanNo book is still progressing. I LOVE doing the research and writing from original diary's of the revolutionary soldiers. I have to be careful not to get so wrapped up in the journals that I forget to write. I feel like we are in the same struggle today. Our Constitution is being threatened, our Freedom's are eroding...we are seeing the results of our liberal choices. God is being left out of the country's decsions. God WILL judge us. God Bless America.

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Wow, I cannot believe how much has been going on during this month of Nov. and we aren't even to the middle of it yet.  Nanowrimo is in full swing, we will be having our sencond write-in at Starbucks tomorrow night. Our emblem, inspiration...etc...is OWL : Own it, Write it; Love It. I have designed shirts for this and even told the other nano's about owl hats and mittens being sold at BB&B. Unfortunatley I can't sell these things at the events, so I will just let them know if they want a shirt or stuff, just call me.

I also have to get the agenda down for our first Writer's Group Meeting, Masked Writer's - We are Wordslingers! We begin meeting at Divine Wine on Nov. 15. I am so excited and it gives me an outlet to be more social. I hope we are a great success.

I am writing Sons of Liberty YA series in NaNo and it is going very well. I cannot believe the research and story line that is just flowing from my fingers. Thank you God.

Alexander Graham Cracker and the Bear of Spring is nearly finished and Alex and the Christmas Monkey is on the back burner.  I also have MJ's poems to type up and publish as well as my Bible Stories to submit. I guess I could be doing this full time and not working 3 times a week. It does kill me and makes me hurt so badly. I began taking steroids again today. I hope it works. I spent my day off in the bed all day, sleeping, waking, trying to work, having 4 seizures, back to sleep, trying to work, and feeling extremely guilty. I am not a lazy person and I hate not being able to keep my house clean, have the grandkids over, write, draw, and sew, be excited about the upcoming holidays and wanting EVERYONE around me. I just want to hold up ina cacoon and sleep. I need to see a neurologist, my Lupus is kicking my but. I am up late tonight because I slept so much today and I have a throbbing headache in the front of my head.

I am going to work tomorrow,and feel like it is important for me to work there in spite of the fact that it hurts my body so much. I think Charlene and Mike understand. I hope so. No one else does what I do. Clean the store, toilets, sweep, mop, take out the trash, dust, clean the break room, clean the front office, clean the checkouts, put up stuff I see out of place, help customers, and help the kids whenevery I can. I know I am not indispesible, but you should see how the break room looks when I get there after a day off

There is food, empty cups, trash, gunk on the floor and last week, I had to empty the trash can while wearing gloves because no one put in a liner and there was a lot of food in the can. I had to rake it out into a bag, wash the can, mop the floor, sanatize everything, and haul the entire stinky mess outside. Honestly, I wonder if those kids houses look the same way.

I really feel my age this month, the lupus has been bad as well as the seizures. It is making me depressed and I long for a home in the mountains. I am worried about our government and what is about to happen to our economy. I worry about our children and I think we need a compound in the mmountains so they can all come live with us. The depression is getting worse and it scares me. How can someone who is already on the lowest part of our society get any better? Jon, Andi and Kat are there. AaBi's not too far behind. James is ok, but Jessica if she were on her own would be below the poverty level. I'm not so sure we wouldn't be if I wasn't working.

OK, God, I promise to give all my worries to you. I am tired of trying to deal with it, I don;t know how or what todo I know you will take care of us and our families. Thank youfor this Lord. Forgive all of us our sins and make us pure, children of yours. Protecte us and care for us. I love you Lord.
Amen

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I attended my first Nano write-in this weekend. We met from 10-2am at a local Starbucks. It was great fun, lots of people showed up and there were wall to wall computer screens glowing in the restaurant. It was wonderful to meet all the Lubbock Nano's! I wrote 1500+ words that night and 2,000 during the day. I'm working on my historical fiction/time travel story of the Revolutionary War. It's actually coming along quiet well!  I am looking forward to the rest of the month and the meetings with the other locals.

Next Monday is the first meeting of our writer's group, Masked Writer's. I am so excited. We will be meeting at 7pm at Divine Wine. I have no idea how many will show up, it just might be me and Trace. That's OK, at least that's a start. I feel like things are really on the move with my writing and publishing career. Now just to get my health in line.

Did I mention that I love writing and drawing and grandkids and dogs and writing and drawing and grandkids and life and.......

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My oh my! What happened yesterday looked like the scene out of Hildago when the huge dirt storm was rolling in! That is exactly what happened here! There I was, sitting on my bed, writing and it went from sunny to pitch black, then orange! I heard the wind hit the house and looked out the window. The top of the carport was lifting up on it's steel frames. I had no idea if it was a tornado or what. I happened to be home alone, (with the dogs) and no phone.

the swing before the top blew off

the alley as the storm was beginning

the wall of dirt blowing into town. Benny said, "run BoBo! It's going to get us!" he's 5.

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OK, here's the deal, the book goes to production in Oct., I have a list of things to do during this time to get ready for the eventual release. Tate is very good about sending me newsletters to inform me what to do next. In Nov. it will leave production and go to an illustrator. I will get to comment and talk to her about my vision for the illustrations and I am so looking forward to that! Then it will be several months before the book goes to proofs. So by summer, Alexander Graham Cracker Goes to the Moon will be out - hopefully with a press release, book signings, web page, e book and the 2nd of the series sent in for publication. It's tenative title is Alexander Graham Cracker and the Bear of Spring.

There are several self publishing projects on the table this fall, one is MJ's book of poetry, Women of Faith Bible Study Series and a children's book, One little beaver.

Things are looking up and I am very excited. Send light, good thoughts, prayers and blessings this way. I love you all.

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I just signed a contract with Tate Publishing for my book Alexander Graham Cracker Goes to the Moon! So very excited!!

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