Taking a break from blogging this week but I'm so thankful to have the most precious newborn in my arms and I promise to tell all about him in my next post! Here's a fun post on editing from one of my fabulous critique parters, Beverly Nault.

Tighten, cut and burn those problem areas, Writer. Like a good exercise routine, editing can target specific weaknesses. Here’s an acronym for three common loose and flabby areas.

Here’s our practice paragraph.

A noise woke up Lavinina with a startle and she looked at the alarm clock. It read five thirty. Her husband’s side of the bed felt cold and lonely. She rolled over to try and get some more sleep despite the noise. She remembered now, he’d called to say he was taking another shift, it would give him some overtime pay. She heard a noise and sat bolt upright, her heart beating a staccato. She looked outside the window and saw it was still dark outside and she wondered who could be in the house with her?

Can this be trimmed and tightened? Yes, SIR!

S-sensory terms. Remove all the “feelings” that are obvious by the action: looked, felt, heard, etc.

I-“it” is weak and nondescript. While impossible to totally eliminate, you can often recast the sentence and use more active, interesting phrasing. Seek and replace all its.

R-repeated words. Highlight verbs, nouns and objects occurring more than once and think of new ones, or rephrase them. Some writers read their manuscript backward or out loud to catch these.

Here’s our paragraph, trimmed and toned, with SIR in mind.

A noise Lavinina woke up with a startle and she looked at the alarm clock . It read five thirty. She rolled over to try and get some more sleep despite the noise. Her husband’s side of the bed felt cold and lonely. She remembered now, He’d called to say he was taking another shift, it would give him some for overtime pay. She heard A noise, and she sat bolt upright, her heart beating a staccato. She looked Outside the window, and saw it was still darkness outside and she wondered Who could be in the house?

One more for flow, and I’ll let you know who’s making all those noises...ahem, mysterious clatters.

Lavinina startled awake. The bedside clock read five thirty. An arm across Bobby’s cold, lonely side of the bed reminded her of his midnight call, “Taking another shift for some overtime pay.” A clatter made her sit bolt upright, covers pulled to her chin, heart hammering. The window curtains blew apart in the slight breeze, the streetlight glowing outside. Who could be in the house? Footsteps pounded in the
hallway and her door flung open. Tiny Abigail, face sticky, toothless grin wide, bolted toward the bed. “Daddy came home early and we made you can-pakes! Happy Birthday, Mommy!”

To tighten your prose, use the acronym SIR to remind you where to attack these loose and flabby areas. Sir, yes, SIR!

Beverly Nault is the author of Fresh Start Summer and her latest short story is now available!

2 Book Giveaway & Name Guessing Contest!!!

I can't tell you how many times people have tried guessing the name of our mystery boy. So I thought it would be fun to hold a contest. Of course every contest needs a prize, so I looked around at my bookshelves the other day and realized I had several books for giving away. Hooray! Sadly, these are books that were never claimed *sigh*

So remember: Thou must returneth to claim thine prize (or would it be prizeth?) I dunno. But haste ye back to this post on Nov 21st to see the winner! Oh, and the fabulous books up for the taking...

The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews And
Winning Him Without Words by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller





So here's how it works: You get one entry for leaving a comment below and additional entries by doing any of the following:

Follow me on Facebook 

Share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter

Try and guess the name of the baby. Seriously. Give it a shot! (Hint: it's a boy bible name.) If you get it right, I'll throw in a box of red hots.

That's four ways to enter :]

Please let me know what you did so I can tally your entries!
All entries will go into a hat and be pulled out by a really cute two-year old. It will probably have a elk on it. Not the kid, the hat.

Happy entering!!!

Guidelines:
The winner will be chosen and announced below on November 21, 2011 so please check back or follow me on Facebook to be automatically notified! Of course, If I'm having to-be-named-baby, I will post the winner as soon as I can ;)

Waiting on Baby...

The changing table is in place, cloth diapers are organized, and the bassinet is in it's spot by the bed, little blue blankets folded and waiting for someone to warm. Now all we need is a baby. And after nearly 10 months of waiting, we are so ready for this little one to come!

When we went to the ultrasound, we were planning on being surprised. But alas, while showing us a few final images of baby B, my husband and I both saw a little too much. We knew right away we were having a boy. But we left the ultrasound room, still planning on being surprised. Stopping in the hall, we turned to one another and both said that we knew what it was. Laughing, we shared that it had to be a boy and wanting to be certain at this point, as opposed to 99% sure, we knocked on the door to the ultrasound room, and a surprised technician greeted us. We asked her to confirm our suspicions and she very sweetly told us we were having a boy. Then, she urged us to come back into the room so she could take some more pictures just for fun.

So once we knew our "it" was actually a "he", all we had to do (aside from completely overhauling our bedroom to accommodate a pint sized person) was choose a name. Easier said than done this time around. We tossed around a few ideas, but nothing had that special something. And then one day my husband suggested a name and I immediately agreed. But what about that surprise we had been hoping for in waiting to find out the baby's gender? So right away, we decided we would keep the name to ourselves and tell our family and friends once the little guy made his grand entrance. This is driving our families crazy and there has been much guessing. More than once, they've asked one of our kids what the name is. Like we would tell those two rug rats, hehe.

Everyday, people check in on me to see if anything is happening, but alas, this baby seems quite comfortable where he is. I think he hears all the commotion in our little house and has decided to stay put where it's a little more peaceful ;) Though little does he know there are two pairs of tiny arms just itching to show him love. I have much to be thankful for and look forward to the next phase in our lives!

Book Review: Mine Is The Night

The story:


Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and deception?


Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.


Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?


The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland. 


My thoughts:


There are few authors who spin a tale as delightful as Liz Curtis Higgs does time and time again. After reading Here Burns My Candle, I was eagerly anticipating the sequel to the Kerr family story. And Mine is the Night does not disappoint! Laced with the colorful details of 18th century Scotland, Mrs. Higgs weaves a story richer in colorful details than any tartan plaid. As with every story written by Liz, her painstaking research comes through so effortlessly, that the reader is whisked away to another time and place. With cozy fireplaces, delectable Scottish fare and heartwarming characters, Mine is the Night is the perfect autumn read. 

      ~Joanne

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1950's Etiquette from Emily Post

My dad and I have a mutual bond: geeky humor. He picked up a copy of Etiquette by Emily Post at a yard sale and we've had fun thumbing through it. While the values hidden in these now humorous cautions are worth considering, times have drastically changed. So just for fun...

Hospitality at College: When Wrong Clothes Spell Failure

If the college should happen to be in a warm climate, naturally foulard dresses or cotton prints would take the place of the warm woolens. But at a college that is, let's say, snow-bound for many months, it is important that the clothes be warm and that heavy gloves, low-heeled shoes, and galoshes be included. Nothing could be more unappealing to a boy that a girl in such unsuitable clothes that she can take no part in any outdoor sports. High-heeled evening slippers in which to walk on frozen snow, and thin fluffy clothes when the thermometer is zero, will not impress any boy as alluring, but will make him wish he hadn't handicapped himself with such a nuisance.

A Few don'ts for Debutantes

Don't think that because you have a pretty face, you need neither brains nor manners. Don't think that you can be rude to anyone and escape being disliked for it. Whispering and giggling are always rude. Everything that shows lack of courtesy toward others is rude.


If you would be thought likable, don't nudge or paw or finger people. Don't hold hands or walk-arm-about-waist in public. Don't allow anyone to paw you. Petting is cheap--and pawing common. Don't hang on anyone for support, unless necessary! Don't walk across a ballroom floor swinging your arms. Don't talk or laugh loudly enough to attract attention, and on no account force yourself to laugh. Nothing is flatter than laughter that is lacking in mirth. If you laugh only because there is something irresistibly funny, the chances are that your laugh will be irresistible too. In the same way, a smile should be spontaneous, because you feel happy, and pleasant. Nothing has less allure than a mechanical grimace, as though you were trying to imitate a toothpaste advertisement. 


Say that to a roomful of today's teens. Hehe. Wait, do I hear crickets chirping?

Adventures In Country Living: Homemade Soap

I decided to make soap. From scratch. And it sounded like a really good idea. A fun, simple activity that shouldn't be too hard to screw up. I watched a video on making soap that seemed easy enough. After watching it a few more times, I was confident. If they could do it, I could do it. Simple as that, right?

The first thing I had to do was order the lye from a soap making company. It came in really intimidating containers with hazard warnings all over it. I knew it was caustic which meant it would burn if I got it on my skin. Not intimidating in the slightest *cough*. Insert cheesy Christmas apron and bright blue rubber gloves. I was certain I could handle this without a trip to the ER.

So once I got all the rest of my various oils, fragrances, and other necessities like molds, spoons, pot, etc., I was ready to go. I timed my soap making adventure to take place during the kids' naps so no harm would befall them, and once they were snoozing away, I set up all the supplies outside so I wouldn't breathe the fumes.

I was ready to go.

All my ingredients were carefully weighed (not measured) and all that was left to do was snap on my rubber gloves and face the dreaded container of lye. After a mini pep talk and a few heart palpitations, I opened the lid and poured it into the bowl. Add the lye to the water only, not the other way around. I kept repeating this to myself as I went through the motions. Immediately, as expected, the pot steamed as the lye heated up the water in a cloud of funky smelling solution. And of course I think I got some on my rubber gloves.

Why is it that once you get in a position where you can't touch anything, every surface on your body starts itching? I sort of wiggled and tried to psych myself out of the crazies as I stirred the mixture, thankful for my rubber gloves. I don't know if it actually happened or if it was just a result of being over neurotic, but I was certain that a drop of lye got on my skin. In a moment of sheer panic, I poured white vinegar on it (as the video instructed) and hurried inside to rinse it all off. My husband, who was sort of poking around, seemed slightly worried for my health and sanity. Once I assured him that I was a highly trained professional and the incident required no medical attention, he seemed only more worried. He may have hovered after this point.

Back outside, I added the rest of the ingredients, coconut and olive oil, to name a few. This is a good point to mention that the video highly recommended using an immersion blender. Well I didn't have an immersion blender and thinking that I would just do it the "old fashioned way", figured it wouldn't really matter. If our ancestors could do it without an immersion blender, so could I. Stirring with a wooden spoon would just take longer. That's OK, I thought, I've got plenty of time.

Fast forward an hour and a half. I'm still standing there with my stupid snowman apron, stupid blue gloves and stupid wooden spoon...waiting for the famous "tracing" to occur--the point when the mixture has thickened properly. It was here that I learned that talking to a pot of soap and begging it to trace will not actually make it happen. Eventually my soap sort of traced (shhh, don't tell) and I decided to call it good enough. I dumped in pumpkin pie spice, yummy fall fragrances and some oats for exfoliation, stirred it together, and poured the mixture into my well-greased mold to set. After that, I cut it and left it to cure for several weeks.

Of course since tracing didn't actually occur, my mixture was still quite warm and down the road, when we used the first bar, I realized the oats had sort of cooked. Lovely. Just the effect I was going for. So now, I have a lifetimes supply of apple and oatmeal scented soap that is rather homely. But honestly, it works quite well. So if you know me, don't be surprised when you get a bar at Christmas. And when you discover my mushy oat mistake, please just smile and pretend like you didn't read this.

Farewell, Television...

So we have officially gone five months without a TV in our home. Well, the TV is still there but its not hooked up to anything except our trusty VCR.

Now, rewind five months….

As my husband and I discussed the pros and cons of having television, we realized this would mean no more American Idol. No more Top Chef or HGTV or Outdoor Channel. No more…cartoons. GASP! What would we do without a TV? Well, we decided, we’d save a lot of money each month. We did the math, in four years it would be several thousand dollars. I can’t think of a single hour that I've spent watching TV that changed my life. I can’t get a single one of those hours back. And if I reached the end of my life and was given the opportunity to have all that time back, I would take it in a heartbeat.

I remember sitting there watching one of my favorite shows and thinking, what am I doing? If there had been a mirror right there, know what I would have seen? Me, sitting on the couch without moving, staring at the box across from me. Wow. Impressive.

We saw this as our chance. Not only to unplug, but to spend more time as a family. More time getting real stuff done and living life instead of watching others do it. 

Our routine has been to let the kids watch about ½ an hour a day, while missing some days all together. No TV, no problem. We’ve got plenty of good videos for the kids and the library provides extra variety. Plus, there's just way too many fun things to fill up a kid's day than cartoons. Now when the kids go down to bed at eight, instead of one of us plopping on the couch and choosing something off the DVR, my husband and I turn to each other and one of us always asks, “What do you want to do tonight?”

And we hang out.

We talk. Sometimes we both have projects to keep us busy. Sometimes we watch a movie. My new favorite thing we do is read aloud to each other. I love falling asleep to the sound of my husband reading to me from one of his books, or better yet, his Bible. And the other night, I read a couple pages from Thunder Dog and my husband laid there, listening to the real life account of escapees in a stairwell in the World Trade Center.

Of course we could have been watching Lady Gaga do something life-changing on American Idol…tempting, but I think we’ll stick with what we’ve got!