I was reading on my Kindle the other day at lunch when the boss walked by. He asked if I was reading my own or someone else's book. I had to laugh about it. I don't think I would have written a book or two if I didn't already like reading.
The last two books I've read have been great. And I didn't think about it at the time, but they both had very vengeful wives. One book was Gone Girl, which most people probably know by the recent movie. It was suggested to me at one of my book events. The preface I was given: it seems like 2 possible ways for the book to go, and then it takes a whole different turn you wouldn't expect. I read looking for clues of what might happen, but I wasn't prepared for the major plot twist. A very good book, and I highly recommend it.
The other one I just finished last night, and stayed up late to get to the ending. It was called After the Fire, and I think I read it is the first of a five part series. The general overview: three siblings are on a fire department and are all involved in a major fire. They decide they are going to do something to change their lives after the fire- have a baby, work on family and marriage problems. Fast forward about 6 months and the story picks back up again. There were also some pretty good twists in the plot, and I got to a point where I just couldn't put it down.
I've got two people reading my second book right now as proof readers and to suggest any changes before I send it off to the publisher to start the rounds of changes. The book is due out in May, and I want to have it before Mother's day. There is a lot to do before then, including scheduling more events. With the first year under my belt, I think I will make a few changes to my schedule. It's hard to turn down events, but I do need to limit myself a little bit but also choose events with the most promise.
In case I don't post again before Christmas, I wish everyone the best. My celebrations start this weekend, and I can't wait.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Becoming 'that' Parent
The holiday hustle is in full swing, and it's clear in the way things are running at home. The boys are wild and crazy, more so than they normally are. Tempers are short and quick to flare. There are messes to be cleaned, and prep work to be done.
That being said, I thought I was making a point to the boys last night about their behavior. Growing up, we had our stockings out the whole month of December, and on occasion, there would be something inside in the morning. This same tradition has been passed on to my boys. The are eager to check if there is something special waiting for them.
I do not like to reward bad behavior, and there has been more than I care to have around here lately. Out shopping, I saw a little bag of coal. It wasn't real coal, just chocolate wrapped to look like coal. Last night, after a rough morning and picking them up from school, I slipped a few into each of their stockings and waited. After bath time, the older one found his, and was excited to get chocolate in his stocking.
"But it's coal," I tried to reason with him. No dice.
Then again this morning, he hoped he would have something in his stocking tonight. Even some chocolate coal.
"You get coal when you've been bad." I had to remind him.
"But it was chocolate, so maybe we were kind of good and kind of bad," was his reply.
The chocolate coal (and I hope the chocolate tasted bad) didn't do the trick, so tonight when the fight erupted shortly after getting home, I tried Plan B.
What is Plan B? The most feared move a parent can do. I took some of their presents from under the tree. It was a warning I gave them when I first put them under the tree. If they touched them or tried to open any present, they would go back to the store. The boys have been good about staying away from the gifts, the large packages with their names are too exciting to lose.
The gifts will eventually go back. After all, this is the time of year for giving, and the gifts I took are clothes. But they don't need to know that.
That being said, I thought I was making a point to the boys last night about their behavior. Growing up, we had our stockings out the whole month of December, and on occasion, there would be something inside in the morning. This same tradition has been passed on to my boys. The are eager to check if there is something special waiting for them.
I do not like to reward bad behavior, and there has been more than I care to have around here lately. Out shopping, I saw a little bag of coal. It wasn't real coal, just chocolate wrapped to look like coal. Last night, after a rough morning and picking them up from school, I slipped a few into each of their stockings and waited. After bath time, the older one found his, and was excited to get chocolate in his stocking.
"But it's coal," I tried to reason with him. No dice.
Then again this morning, he hoped he would have something in his stocking tonight. Even some chocolate coal.
"You get coal when you've been bad." I had to remind him.
"But it was chocolate, so maybe we were kind of good and kind of bad," was his reply.
The chocolate coal (and I hope the chocolate tasted bad) didn't do the trick, so tonight when the fight erupted shortly after getting home, I tried Plan B.
What is Plan B? The most feared move a parent can do. I took some of their presents from under the tree. It was a warning I gave them when I first put them under the tree. If they touched them or tried to open any present, they would go back to the store. The boys have been good about staying away from the gifts, the large packages with their names are too exciting to lose.
The gifts will eventually go back. After all, this is the time of year for giving, and the gifts I took are clothes. But they don't need to know that.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
The one that got away
I purchased a compound bow this summer with the intent of getting good at it and eventually take it hunting. I practiced quite a bit with it, and thought why not get my bow license right away. If I didn't get a deer before the gun season, I would be out $30, but at least I would get out and have more of a chance at getting one. The first night I sat out, I saw more deer than I ever had in my years of gun hunting. It was a different area, and that may be a factor, but I was excited and hooked.
The regular gun season came, and I didn't have a deer yet, so I went opening weekend. The weather was not ideal for hunting, and again I went home empty handed. I had quite a few events in November, and didn't get out again with my bow. I didn't realize the bow season goes from mid-September all the way to the end of the year until a few weeks ago.
My brother was out hunting last week, and told me he has seen deer at a close enough range that I could use my bow to shoot one. Currently, my sights are only set at 20, 25, and 30 yards, so I don't have a real far range to work with. But I decided I would make another trip to the woods.
Yesterday afternoon, I packed up all my hunting things and headed out to the woods. I had to walk to the spot where my brother had sat and looked around. There were tons of tracks from various critters, and I spotted many deer tracks as well. I put my bucket in the weeds, and got myself ready to sit.
I was out for about an hour before I checked the time for the first time. My fingers were getting cold, so I had to open the bucket and get my second pair of gloves out. Another hour passed, and I still hadn't seen anything. The sun went behind the trees, and the temperature dropped more. About 4:30, I was thinking about walking around a patch of woods in the middle of the field. Something told me otherwise, so instead I just stood up.
Another 15 minutes passed, and I looked to the left. A large buck was coming out of the woods. My heart raced. I had told myself no matter what, if I had the chance I was going to take a shot. I had yet to actually get a shot in, waiting for the perfect shot.
Here's where things started going wrong. I didn't use my range finder to see how far away he really was. When I got out there, I had looked around to pick out markings at least so I about what my range was. The hardest thing about seeing a deer is making sure they don't see you. It felt like he was looking right at me more than once. I had my bow up, but I still needed to connect my trigger and draw back.
He took his time walking from the woods, across the field closer to me. I got the trigger connected, but couldn't get the bow pulled back. That's when I should have used my range finder to watch him come into my range. But I didn't. It took all I had to pull the string back, and then I waited. I thought I knew about where my 30 yards mark was, and watched this monster come closer. Finally, I hit my trigger, and made an even bigger mistake. I closed my eyes.
The arrow missed him completely, flying in front of him. The twang from the bow caught his attention, and I watched him run back into the woods. The speed and ease let me know I didn't hit him at all. I let my heartbeat slow down, and then went in search of my arrow to confirm how badly I had missed him.
I am very protective of my hunting gear, knowing the cost that goes into it. I have cheaper arrows, but they still cost around $7 just for the arrow, and another $7 or so for the broadhead. I don't want to lose them. The snow made it easier to find, and it was clean. I stood watching the woods for another ten minutes before going back to my seat and packing up.
I'll go back out hopefully this week or next. Just getting to see something and taking a shot brings all the excitement back. I still have a few weeks to hunt, and it might be just enough time to add some meat to the freezer.
The regular gun season came, and I didn't have a deer yet, so I went opening weekend. The weather was not ideal for hunting, and again I went home empty handed. I had quite a few events in November, and didn't get out again with my bow. I didn't realize the bow season goes from mid-September all the way to the end of the year until a few weeks ago.
My brother was out hunting last week, and told me he has seen deer at a close enough range that I could use my bow to shoot one. Currently, my sights are only set at 20, 25, and 30 yards, so I don't have a real far range to work with. But I decided I would make another trip to the woods.
Yesterday afternoon, I packed up all my hunting things and headed out to the woods. I had to walk to the spot where my brother had sat and looked around. There were tons of tracks from various critters, and I spotted many deer tracks as well. I put my bucket in the weeds, and got myself ready to sit.
I was out for about an hour before I checked the time for the first time. My fingers were getting cold, so I had to open the bucket and get my second pair of gloves out. Another hour passed, and I still hadn't seen anything. The sun went behind the trees, and the temperature dropped more. About 4:30, I was thinking about walking around a patch of woods in the middle of the field. Something told me otherwise, so instead I just stood up.
Another 15 minutes passed, and I looked to the left. A large buck was coming out of the woods. My heart raced. I had told myself no matter what, if I had the chance I was going to take a shot. I had yet to actually get a shot in, waiting for the perfect shot.
Here's where things started going wrong. I didn't use my range finder to see how far away he really was. When I got out there, I had looked around to pick out markings at least so I about what my range was. The hardest thing about seeing a deer is making sure they don't see you. It felt like he was looking right at me more than once. I had my bow up, but I still needed to connect my trigger and draw back.
He took his time walking from the woods, across the field closer to me. I got the trigger connected, but couldn't get the bow pulled back. That's when I should have used my range finder to watch him come into my range. But I didn't. It took all I had to pull the string back, and then I waited. I thought I knew about where my 30 yards mark was, and watched this monster come closer. Finally, I hit my trigger, and made an even bigger mistake. I closed my eyes.
The arrow missed him completely, flying in front of him. The twang from the bow caught his attention, and I watched him run back into the woods. The speed and ease let me know I didn't hit him at all. I let my heartbeat slow down, and then went in search of my arrow to confirm how badly I had missed him.
I am very protective of my hunting gear, knowing the cost that goes into it. I have cheaper arrows, but they still cost around $7 just for the arrow, and another $7 or so for the broadhead. I don't want to lose them. The snow made it easier to find, and it was clean. I stood watching the woods for another ten minutes before going back to my seat and packing up.
I'll go back out hopefully this week or next. Just getting to see something and taking a shot brings all the excitement back. I still have a few weeks to hunt, and it might be just enough time to add some meat to the freezer.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Time Flies
It's unreal how soon Christmas will be here. I spent most of the weekend getting our house ready for the holidays. The tree is up and there are presents under it, the nativity is out, lights hung on the outside of the house, and my first batch of cookies made. I've also been working on some homemade ornaments for gifts.
This time of year is always fun with young children in your life. The boys are still little enough to easily surprise. They have been eagerly checking their stockings, wondering what Santa will leave them. I'm waiting for them to write a letter to Santa to find out what they want from him for Christmas.
It might be a sign of getting older, but I have more fun seeing them get presents than receiving gifts myself. It's a good thing. I know Christmas won't be this special forever, so I plan on enjoying it as much as I can. I am also very excited to spend Christmas day at home with my family. We usually have somewhere else to be, and with having to work the day after this year, the time at home is even more important.
There are more cookies to be made, but tonight is a rest night :)
This time of year is always fun with young children in your life. The boys are still little enough to easily surprise. They have been eagerly checking their stockings, wondering what Santa will leave them. I'm waiting for them to write a letter to Santa to find out what they want from him for Christmas.
It might be a sign of getting older, but I have more fun seeing them get presents than receiving gifts myself. It's a good thing. I know Christmas won't be this special forever, so I plan on enjoying it as much as I can. I am also very excited to spend Christmas day at home with my family. We usually have somewhere else to be, and with having to work the day after this year, the time at home is even more important.
There are more cookies to be made, but tonight is a rest night :)
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