Cartoon!

Here is your Saturday Morning Cartoon everyone! Enjoy! <3

Friday my Butt!

Unfortunately, I do not have a book review for you to read today. I will not bother you with the details over exactly why I don't, but suffice it to say that yesterday I had an appointment with my doctor for two reasons, one I'm not saying, and the other was because I have a rather large breast lump and the fact that it's grown from the size of a small pea to the size of a quarter in a week scared me. I've not been myself this whole week, and that has kept me from actually enjoying (or even remembering) anything that I've tried to sit down and read.

Now, onto other goodies! Because I have broken my schedule, I think you all deserve a story that I am entering into our county fair this year. It's a short story, only a couple pages, but it plays a role in one of my possible NaNovel projects (Till Death Do Us Part). It's entitled My Angel, My Son. I wrote it actually two years ago, and it's still one of my favorite pieces. I only ask that you read this if you are capable of doing so without taking a red-pen to it. It's still a wip, and I am not looking for outside sources to edit. So please, leave any red pens, pencils or markets at the figurative door, and enjoy!

A cold, drizzly day marked the beginning of autumn for a sleepy little town nestled on a small island, supporting legions of residents. It was surrounded by other islands, too numerous to count, although this isle was the only one inhabited. If one listened closely, you could hear the wind itself speak the name of this tiny isle. Waelhan. Everything spoke it, if your ear was tuned to hear it. Looking out towards the harbor, waves could be seen breaking upon the beaches with gentle splashing, and boats with their sails furled swaying in the gentle breeze that allowed flocks of birds to gracefully ride the sky's waves above, touching the heavens. This island was glowing with daily beauty; most of the year it was sunny, cheery, and warm. There was an abundance of rolling green hills dotted by farm houses and small patches of forests.

Among the brightly colored buildings of the town, was a cold and forbidding castle-esque place. It was three stories tall, made from gray stone, now fading with age, with only one window on the lowest level. It was framed in a dark mahogany wood panel, with sun-bleached streaks running along the grain of the wood, revealing the buildings age just like the stone it was built with. On the glass, little remnants of a long forgotten sign still clung, like the frothy bubbles left on the side of a mug of a freshly devoured root-beer float. That window gave passersby a view of an unnaturally clean room. Wooden chairs upholstered with white cotton, spotless white carpet, and fresh white and gray striped wallpaper.

Behind a white marble countertop sat a pretty young girl, nearing twenty-four. Her long brunette curls were tucked up into a ponytail with freshly straightened bangs sweeping over the right side of her face, and back behind her ear. She wore a nurses uniform: a white knee-length dress buttoned top to bottom, with a red stripe on the ends of the short sleeves. She was the only real friendly face, and she sat behind that counter from the moment visitors were allowed in until the moment the last person left.

Although someone peering through the window wouldn't be able to see, a middle-aged gray haired woman sat in the corner on one of the chairs, staring at the wallpaper ahead of her. Her hazel eyes zoned off into the distance, seeing nothing, while her wrinkled hands clutched her bright red purse that was nestled on her lap. She didn't enjoy this part of her visit. Waiting for the "okay" to walk past all of the lonely people inside, what she thought to be, cages, with nothing but a chamber pot and a mattress on the floor. Those were the longest hallways she had ever walked down, and yet, it was something she did every month, on the same day, no matter what.

Finally, a doctor garbed in all white, poked his eagle nose through the door frame. The last straggly remnants of his thin white hair refusing to leave or lay flat against his scalp, paired with his beady black eyes, made for a foreboding tower of a man.

"Mrs. Hedgeworth?" He said, breaking her out of her trance, his beady eyes squinting in pain from the dull light that shown through the dusty window. She stood up slowly, as if it hurt her to do this again. It seemed like years had gone by since she last saw him. And yet she knew it had only been a single month. She followed the lanky doctor down the long corridors, past the poor not-so-innocent souls that shouted rude and obnoxious things. As she walked, she noticed for perhaps the thousandth time that time seemed to melt away the farther she walked into the gloomy building. Perhaps it was the absence of windows that kept both sun and time from warming the cold stones around her. Finally, as they reached the third floor, they came to a stop in front of a bolted metal door. The vulture-doctor shoved a key into the lock underneath the doors handle, but before turning it, he turned his beady eyes upon Mrs. Hedgeworth. She took a deep breath, and then nodded her readiness at the doctor. He twisted the key and opened the door to reveal a small, skinny man, who looked hardly a day older than twelve, although he was thirty-seven. His dull blue eyes opened wide as the bright light of the fluorescent bulbs scattered around him. He shook his shaggy mousy-brown hair out from his eyes as he stared up at the fluorescent light edged silloutte of Mrs. Hedgworth.

"A... An... Angel?" he whispered in the voice of a frightened child.

Mrs. Hedgeworth smiled compassionately. It was always the same.

"Yes, my child. Angel."

She stepped into the white padded room and embraced the man in the white leather straightjacket that used to be her son.

Construction Update Day!

So last week I told you all about how I kicked butt at Script Frenzy. Of course now, with that over with, and my NaNovel out for it's THIRD round of editing to some ex-professional critiquers, I have very little to do. I've been playing and tweaking the possible stories for the upcoming NaNoWriMo, and creating lots of different cover idea's to actually get me started.

I think, to give you readers something interesting to read, other than weekly updates of "I didn't do anything!", I'll post a new possible NaNovel cover and give you a snippet of the story behind it. If you like the story and/or cover, please comment below! I really want to hear your thoughts on it, good or bad.

The cover here to your left is Running Free, which was inspired by, oddly (maybe even sadly) enough a Dixie Chicks song. It's about a young girl who goes through some very traumatic events: her cousin going to prison for manslaughter, parents divorcing after she discovers her fathers affair and tells her mother; and is constantly bullied by schoolmates. With the stresses of life, she begins to, really, lose her marbles. Her parents toss her into one counselling session after another, and with no help being gained there, they ship her off to the country. Now, as bad as things are, who really wants to leave their home town and everything that's familiar?

Since I'm very bad at revealing too much of a story, I'll stop there. This MC is actually one I've been developing for several years now, and I love her and how she reacts to things. It's probably one of the easiest and hardest stories I would write, should I choose to make it this years NaNovel.

Also this week, before I forget about it, I sat down and wrote out query letters and sent them out to five different publishing agencies, all of them containing several agents. The thing I love about the publishers I chose, is that they share queries. So it really doesn't matter which agent I send my own query too, they share it with the other agents. Especially if it's not their style, they don't just throw it away, they hand it over to the next person. I'm hoping that this will up my chance of getting another agent. The first one I had for my first book... well, I'll just say things didn't work out, we didn't exactly see eye to eye, and I very strongly believe in the author having the last and final say about things concerning the actual story. So that is my week. Now, I must leave to get my home set up for my friends' arrival. Today is our Wii/Tea day! We get together every Wednesday to drink tea, eat cookies, and play Wii together. It's a great way for us to stay in contact in our busy lives, and I look forward to it every week.

Have a wonderful, sunny day and may your cheeks hurt from smiling so much! (From happiness, from happiness...)

Welcome to Monday!

So this morning, I logged onto facebook to see that my friend Jenni had posted the winners for her first give-away of two E-books by Keary Taylor. (Branded and Forsaken). Congrats to the winners!

This being Manic Monday, and the is morning shaping up to be one that even Garfield would have sympathy for me. Now I'm not going to lay down all of my woes and complaints here, because not only is that boring, but I never really liked reading about other peoples problems, especially when there is no end in sight! I will just ask one thing of you, my wonderful followers, that you send me good thoughts/vibes/energy whatever floats your boat. I sure could use all of the luck I'm wished today.

Now that that is over with, I shall amuse you (or at least attempt to) with my Monday Mash-Up. I have yet to get fresh batteries into my camera so I don't have pictures of yesterday to share with you yet, but I can at least try and paint a picture of it.

I told you that Felicity dumped a whole container of green dye onto an egg. I gotta say, it is the coolest egg we made. It looks like an egg shaped piece of green marble! Pretty cool compared to our dinosaur eggs that Chris and I made. I also made a green bean casserole that we took up to my In-Laws for dinner, and it was actually surprised that I had fun. My In-Law's have never been very big fans of me, but the feeling was mutual so it never bothered me. Now that Chris and I have Felicity, and had a very long talk with them, they try really hard to be nice. :) So last night when we went up there, they had hidden a bunch of plastic eggs around the living room, kitchen, and TV room for Felicity to find. After she found the first couple of eggs, she really started getting into it, and had a blast. We would take a couple eggs out of her basket when she wasn't looking and re-hide them. It was so cute to see her run over to one she spotted and point to it gasping in surprise.

When it was time to sit down for dinner, she insisted on having her, rather large, easter basket sitting on her lap at the table, which made it hard for her to eat but all well. She was very proud of all those eggs in her basket, and didn't want anybody to take them away! We discovered that she doesn't like the coconut part of fruit salad, even when it's on marshmallows! We had a blast playing with home-made play-dough while Uncle Mike entertained us by making squishing noises while he showed Felicity how to smash the dough figures back into little round patties. (I have both pictures and video of that!) We walked away from the evening around 9pm, with a very sugared up toddler and Chris and I waddling along behind trying to stay awake long enough to get home. We were all in bed by 9:30, with slightly more screaming from Felicity. And that was our Easter Sunday.

How did you spend your holiday? Did you get all sugared up or go to bed early? I want to know!

Happy Easter!

Good morning/afternoon, and happy easter! This is one of those holidays that I love. Growing up, my family had lots and lots of traditions, but Easter morning had to be one of my favorites. My brother Colin and I would wake up, and immediately start searching for where the mischievous Easter Bunny hid our baskets. Some years were easier than others, but they never failed to disappoint.

As I got older, I began to realize that it was my mom packing and hiding our baskets, but that never made it any less fun. We all had a basket with our name written on it, and there was another bowl full of more candy sitting in the middle of the coffee table. My favorite easter candy was, and actually still is, Peeps. I love those. Can't get enough. So when I would find my basket, it was always stuffed with Peeps, and a couple of other candies that I love. Colin's was always filled with Reece's and chocolate, the candies that he loved back then.

It was such a blast, that when Felicity was born, we decided to carry on that tradition in our own little family. Now, when she was just a couple months old, she couldn't do it, but last year we did and that was a lot of fun. I have to say, Felicity is not a candy child like I am. Every time, she will choose fruit like strawberries or blueberries or even apples over candy. Every single time. So we gave her fruit and a couple lollipops last year and that basket was gone in minutes, candy discarded.

This year, since Easter completely sneaked up on me, we didn't do our egg dying until last night. We didn't have bushels of peeps (cry!), or really any other candy, but it was still a good morning. Felicity helped to dye the eggs, which... While it was fun, she snuck a chair up to the counter and poured an entire bottle of green food dye onto an egg. The most amazing part is, that is the coolest egg we have ever dyed! I love my little messy artist.

So this morning, we got up, cracked open a couple of eggs and taught her how to dip them in salt and eat them. She is a big fan of salt, so we thought she'd like this and we were right! Tried to empty the whole shaker of salt onto her egg... We watched Toy Story 3, read a Peter Cottontail book, and now she is going down for her nap so she won't be cranky tonight when we head over to the In-Laws house for a plastic easter egg hunt.

So HAPPY EASTER! I hope the holiday is so great that it make you feel like dancing. May the chocolate be as plentiful as the blessings, and may the hugs be many!

Cartoon(s)!

Woohoo! Time for Cartoooooons! Alright, even though tomorrow is technically Easter, since I have to dye my eggs today I thought it would be appropriate to post some easter cartoons. Enjoy!

Book Review - 2184

Synopsis: In a future where science has accelerated human evolution, humankind diverges into two separate species: a genetically enhanced "super race" and ordinary humans or Mongrels. Decades of discrimination lead to a brutal war that ends with the super race in full control; the Mongrels, defeated and subservient, secretly yearn for revenge. Both sides are aware, however, that a renewed struggle can ultimately have only one outcome: extinction.Mark Henshaw is a Mongrel living in London. Arrested for an infraction, he's deported to a labor camp, where a dying inmate entrusts him with details of a plot to topple the regime. Now Mark has a choice: keep his life and rejoin the girl he loves – or carry out a plot that could ignite a hellish new war. And with rumors spreading that the government is planning genocide against the Mongrel population, he's running out of time to make up his mind...




Why I Picked This Book: I found this book while browsing the Amazon Kindle store, and the cover first caught my eye. I've never read a dystopia before, and reading the synopsis I thought it would be a good read.


My Thoughts: 2184 starts off strong. When Mark Henshaw, a Mongrel, is arrested for breaking curfew, he's sent to a forced labor camp where surviving a single day is a battle in itself. While he’s there, he’s given information that could potentially bring down the Mods's empire, and after a daring escape (which is very captivating and exciting), Mark and Kahmal travel back to London to try to put the outrageous plan into action.

And that’s where the story dies.

One of the best things about this book is that it's multi-layered. Not only does it tell the story of Mark’s capture and escape, but it dives deeply into the nature of gods and men. It explores what it means to be human as well as super-human, and it reaches some very interesting conclusions that I found intriguing. The problem is that all of this theory and philosophy hijacks the story. Pages and pages of lengthy conversations weigh down the action. So much so, that after the prison escape, it seems that Parish is just wasting time until the end. Which I must admit is very well done. The book would have been better  if some of the conversation and needless details (such as the ten pages spent on explaining how a barge was loaded with stuff) were shorter and compressed, to keep the flow of the story moving.

While I really loved reading the initial action scenes of Mark's capture and escape, I found myself drifting off during some of the longer conversations and it was difficult to keep my focus. Another thing that really bothered me was the fact that Parish used american words like flashlight and sidewalk, even though the story is set in London. I've known several people from England, and they say the pavement instead of sidewalk. Just little details like that are things that break my focus and keep me from really engaging in the novel.

My Rating:

I give 2184 2 out of 5 stars, because while I liked the story, the little inconsistancies in language and slow moving story kept me from enjoying it more.