It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I love Christmas music! Every December I turn my regular blog into a musical advent calendar. It's like my Christmas card to family and friends - without the postage. Every day from now until Christmas I'll be posting wonderful Christmas music videos, some old favorites, and some new ones I have just discovered. I'm also throwing in some gift ideas and recipes I like, and a few extra videos or pictures that may or may not be about Christmas, but I like them anyway. I'll also be posting about some fun contests on other blogs, and one of my own.

Let's get started with Bing Crosby singing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas."



Now here's a fun contest from author Heather Justesen on her blog. (Click here.) She's giving away a bunch of books and things this week. You could get a jump on your Christmas shopping if you win something. Even if you don't win, there are some really great gift ideas.

And here's the trailer for Heather's book, "The Ball's In Her Court."



See you tomorrow!

9/11 - Always Remember

This mural, which is over 200 feet tall and 135 feet wide, is based on a painting called America's Heart, by Yakov Smirnoff. It was put up at a building standing next to Ground Zero in the early morning hours before the 9/11 '02 Memorial Services. The story of how this mural came to be can be found at Smirnoff's website.

An immigrant from Russia, Smirnoff became an American citizen on July 4, 1986, in a ceremony held at Ellis Island, at the unveiling of the renovated Statue of Liberty. With the rest of us, he watched in horror and grief as the events of September 11, 2001, unfolded. He created America's Heart as an expression of his love for his adopted country.

Smirnoff's words are one of the best expressions I have found of the feelings of patriotism and national loyalty we all felt after 9/11, our country's big wake-up call.

"Seeing the mural at Ground Zero has helped me reaffirm my participation in the American Journey. Once again, we joined together to give each other support and love in the worst of times. That's something about being an American, living in freedom, that no terrorist can take away from us. Our ability to overcome and maintain the real vision of the human spirit." - Yakoff Smirnoff

OOOH, Look What I Found!

I just love playing with the background and colors on my blog. Today I discovered The Background Fairy. She has free blog backgrounds made with vintage prints. If you like wandering around antique shops, or reading period romances, you will love these backgrounds. She has another blog featuring free graphics, like the one below.

My (Latest) Little Miracle

About four years ago I bought an Alphasmart Dana. It was wonderful! It had the portability of a laptop, but the feel of a traditional keyboard. The battery life was phenomenal and it was so easy to use.

Then a year ago last January, we went on a family trip. We were traveling through a snowstorm, and the car heater was cranked up as high as it would go. My Dana was in a canvas bag at my feet, right near the heater vent. I didn't think anything of it until the next time I pulled it out and couldn't turn it on. I wondered if I had fried something. I used the emergency reset button hidden on the bottom. Nothing. I tried recharging the rechargeable battery. Nothing. I bought brand-new, fresh batteries and put them in. Nothing.

Heartbroken, I placed my Dana on a shelf in the office until I decided what to do with it. I couldn't bear to just throw it away, but the warranty had expired and I didn't know if I could get it repaired. Once in a while I would look at it and wonder if I should send it back to the company to see if they could repair it, or if I should just buy a new one. I followed a few Ebay auctions, but it just wasn't in the budget. I wrote on the family computer when it was available, or wrote with paper and pen when the computer was being used by someone else.

Finally, I was talking to Darvell, a member of my online writing group, who is a techno wizard. He had bought several nonfunctioning Alphasmarts, took them apart, put several back together with the working parts and sold them. I considered sending my Dana to him to see if he could find out what was wrong. With any luck he would be able to get it running again.

Then this afternoon I had a spurt of do-it-myself. You know, the kind when you get so sick of your hair you decide to trim it yourself. (Usually a bad idea, by the way.) I found a tiny little Phillips head screwdriver and commenced taking the Dana apart myself to see if there was something totally obvious that I might be able to fix. AND THERE WAS! The first part I took off was the cover of the battery compartment. I took out the three AA batteries that were still there from my desperate resuscitation attempts more than a year ago. Then I looked a little closer and realized I HAD PUT THEM IN FACING THE WRONG DIRECTION! I put them back in facing the right direction, flipped the Dana over, and pushed the button. It worked!



I felt a bit sheepish.




So now I can once again take my Dana everywhere with me and happily write away. I've been praying that I would be able to do more writing. I consider it a little miracle that I never got rid of my "nonfunctioning" Dana, and I had the urge to take it apart myself.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Playing Favorites.

I was blessed to have a mother who was willing to have a large family and didn't play favorites. (My father didn't either, but this is about Mom today.) There were nine children in our family, one boy and eight girls. After the first bunch of four, there was a gap of about 5 years. Then along came another girl, and after that another 5 year gap. Then came the last four of us. She could have easily decided that four children was plenty, or five, or even six. That's quite a respectable size for a family, and wasn't that young anymore. But God sent more children, me (lucky number 7), and my two younger sisters. Believe me, we are very thankful Mom gave birth to nine children!

As far as the favorite child thing, all of know she has a favorite son. He's the only one, poor guy. To tell the truth, she has a favorite daughter-in-law, too. The rest of us know that Mom does not have a favorite daughter. At least, if she did have a favorite she would never tell anyone. But somehow, each of are certain that deep down inside, WE are secretly her favorite. One of my sisters will always call and say, "This is your favorite daughter." Mom will then jokingly call her by someone else's name (different every time). I think all of her son-in-laws and grandchildren have the same impression. Mom would never, ever say she had a favorite. But she treats us all as if we are.

This led to a fun family tradition started by some of my nieces when they were in their 20s and living near each other for school and work. They would introduce each other to friends as, "My favorite cousin, Wendy," or "My fsvorite cousin, Heidi." The idea is that we treat everyone family member as if they are the favorite. Unfortunately, our family has grown so much that a couple of names have been used more than once, so we can't say, "This is my favorite ________" all the time. But we can still treat each other with equal love and respect in abundance.

And I can honestly say Mom is my favorite.

Dinner In A Hurry - Taco Soup

One of my hobbies (defined as stuff I have to do anyway so I find a way make it interesting) is collecting ideas for dinners that I can put together quickly and that my family will enjoy eating. One of our favorites is Taco Soup. Here's how to make it.

1. Brown 1 pound of ground beef and drain off the fat.
2. Drain 1 can of black or red beans.
3. Drain 1 can of corn.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine beans, corn, 1 can of stewed or crushed tomatoes, and 1 can full of water.
5. Add 1 envelope of taco seasoning mix.
6. Add browned ground beef.
7. Garnish individual servings with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and Fritos.

A few hints: I buy large packages of ground beef when it's on sale, divide it into 1 pounds portions, which fit well in the pint size zippered freezer bags, and stack it in the freezer. Each one of these takes 5 minutes or so to thaw in the microwave. I also watch for shredded cheese to go on sale, and buy several packages, which I also stack in the freezer. This doesn't even need to be thawed. Just crumble up the shredded pieces and sprinkle on the soup.

Looking for a good book?

I'm always on the lookout for something good to read. By that I mean something that can hold my interest, is well written, and does not contain anything offensive. There are all kinds of books that could meet the first two criteria, but not the third. Too often, I am intrigued by the back blurb and get caught up in the story, only to find it's a "page skipper." You know, those books where you can tell a sex scene is coming up, skip two or three pages, and pick up the story again. Usually, the skipped pages are gratuitous. If I just ripped them right out of the book, it wouldn't make any difference to the plot. Some books have violence that is so graphic it just turns my stomach. I don't want to read things like that. It is commonplace for authors to have their characters use language I find offensive.

I don't like to waste my money or time on books I have to self-edit, or stop reading all together. Even worse is paying for a book that is poorly written. There are some books I have read, or struggled valiantly to read but couldn't finish, that should have had some major rewriting and editing before they were published. What were those publishers thinking?


But I have a great new source to find books worth reading. The second annual Whitney Awards were held last weekend in conjunction with the sixth annual LDStorymakers Writers Conference. The Whitneys were named for Elder Orson F. Whitney, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who stated, "We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.” The Whitney Awards recognize the best works by LDS writers each year. For a long list of books worth reading, here are the five finalists in each category:

Best Novel of the Year

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book Three)
by Brandon Sanderson

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Novel by a New Author

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best General Fiction

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fields of Home
by Rachel Ann Nunes

Keeping Keller
by Tracy Winegar

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best Historical

Abinadi
by H. B. Moore

Isabelle Webb, Legend of the Jewel
by N. C. Allen

Master
by Toni Sorenson

The Ruby
by Jennie Hansen

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Speculative Fiction

Ender in Exile
by Orson Scott Card

The Great and Terrible: From the End of Heaven (Vol. 5)
by Chris Stewart

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3)
by Brandon Sanderson

The Host
by Stephenie Meyer

The Wyrmling Horde: The Seventh Book of the Runelords
by David Farland

Best Youth Fiction

The 13th Reality
by James Dashner

Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner's Bones
by Brandon Sanderson

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Book 3)
by Brandon Mull

Farworld: Water Keep
by J. Scott Savage

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Best Mystery/Suspense

Above and Beyond
by Betsy Brannon Green

Do No Harm
by Gregg Luke

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

Freefall
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Royal Target
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Best Romance

Seeking Persephone
by Sarah Eden

Servant to a King
by Sariah Wilson

The Sound of Rain
by Anita Stansfield

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Taking Chances
by Shannon Guymon

And here are this year's winners!

2008 Best Novel of the Year

2008 Best Novel by a New Author

2008 Best General Fiction

2008 Best Historical

2008 Best Speculative Fiction

2008 Best Youth Fiction

2008 Best Mystery/Suspense

2008 Best Romance

Happy reading!