It has long been my goal to write for a living, to earn money doing something I enjoy so much that my brain would never register it as being work. Not unlike if someone paid me to bathe my newborn baby or to taste-test Godiva chocolate.
When the phone rang this afternoon and the voice on the other end said “We’d like to offer you the position.” I immediately grabbed a brown bag and began breathing into it. ”Oh, and we want to pay you more than we originally discussed and you need to call your editor for your assignments.”
My editor. My assignments.
Fainting is so unprofessional. Bragging is not.
I’m getting paid to write! Not only that, I’m getting paid to take pictures. I’m a Reporter Slash Photographer just like Peter Parker only female and without super powers. Unless you consider incandescent happiness a super power.
Note: I happened to come across a site that is relevant to this post. It’s worth looking at: Informed Choice
From Yahoo News Today:
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
Mon May 12, 7:34 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.
Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally — but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.
Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.
(more…)
After parenting for almost twenty years I have discovered at least one morsel of wisdom: the best consequence for misbehavior is a natural one.
For instance, my children have a habit of leaving their shoes out on the back deck rather than taking them off, picking them up and bringing them to the closet where they belong. For years I would either repeatedly remind them or pick up the shoes myself and that would just make me angry on the inside. I decided that an angry mom is the last thing my children need so I quit reminding and the shoes remained exposed to the elements. All it took was one good downpour of rain (in the form of a water pitcher) and the children decided that wet shoes were disadvantageous to having dry feet. Problem solved.
Well, that one anyway.
If only it were always that easy. I still get stuck on the name calling/teasing thing that takes place amongst my magnificent seven. I’ve used several different methods to curb the bickering that goes on from sunrise to sunrise. None of them have stuck and so every once in a while I overhear a mean exchange which I cannot ignore.
A few days ago I heard Isaiah say something highly innapropriate to his little sister and, with the speed of lightening, the perfect solution came to mind.
That’s right. Five minutes each side. He’s been the perfect gentleman since.
After being away for nearly two months, I have managed to reemerge from the population of those who are internetless and plain old “too busy” with the non-virtual world to have time to blog.
Translation: we couldn’t afford to keep the internet connection after I was sick with influenza for the entire month of March and had to say goodbye to my daycare family who was the sole reason I could afford the luxury of connecting to the world wide web.
I spent March recovering in bed which meant I spent April trying to reorganize a home which had been without a wife and mother the entire time. You ladies know what I mean. I won’t go into the ugly details. Let’s just say that I had no idea the base of a toilet could grow a mushroom.
I came out of that nasty illness with a new enthusiasm for my role in this home. It feels so good to scrub a floor and hang clothes on the line to dry in the sun. I’m itchy to plant our garden and spend an afternoon pulling weeds. I am so thankful to have energy again! God bless those who are bound to a bed in pain and too weak to sit upright.
For those who wondered what happened to me, I apologize for not sending word ahead of time. I can’t wait to catch up on your blogs!
Since Toni Morrison’s Beloved, I have routinely ignored literary suggestions by Oprah, however, I decided to read this as it was reported to be a historical book.
The raves for this book really astonish me. If I had to take a wild guess I would say that the people claiming it’s “the best book they’ve ever read” are very, very young people who haven’t widely sampled much literature yet in their lives or perhaps those with a morbid fascination with rape.
Follett’s method for keeping the reader in suspense is to have the good guys winning first, then the bad guys winning, then the good guys winning, then the bad guys winning… like a poorly written episode of “Dukes of Hazzard”.
The characters are one-dimensional. It’s as if the author did a quick outline before starting the book and gave each character a single trait to manifest. William is simply bad. Tom is simple yet hardworking. No one surprises you. The characters start out a certain way and end the same way. No development whatsoever. No depth of character.
It was a complete waste of 12 hours.
Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai is my favorite tea. Prepared according to the package and served with a bit of milk, it’s simply the best out there, and I’ve tried them all.
In many countries of South Asia and the Middle East, “chai” simply means “tea,” but there’s nothing simple about a cup of India Spice Chai. This complex blend of robust black tea and piquant spices like black pepper, cloves and ginger has its roots in India and is traditionally enjoyed with warm milk and honey. India Spice Chai was specially created by our Blendmaster to bring you an authentic taste of India with every sip.
Ingredients: Black tea, spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper and Chinese star anise), roasted chicory, natural flavor and vanilla bean.
At around $2 per box, it’s as affordable as it is good!
My sister, Alyssa, is a wife, mother of three and employed full-time as a volunteer coordinator at the church we attend. It’s a church with a weekly attendance of around 10,000 people so this is no small task.
I’m amazed by Alyssa’s ability to balance her life so well. In order to assure the best possible situation
for her children while she’s at work, Alyssa drives about forty minutes one way to bring her children to my mother’s daycare and then turns around to head back to work, normally a fifteen minute drive from her home. At any given moment Good Housekeeping could enter her home and take photos for their magazine. In fact, I’ve sometimes fantasized about stopping in unexpectedly just to see towels laying on the bathroom floor. As it stands, I’m convinced they are a towel-less family.
Last weekend Alyssa spent one of her few days off to drive an insane distance to see my son wrestle (and lose). It meant the world to me that she would choose to spend her day in a smelly gymnasium when she could have chose to spend it in her pajamas eating a can of sweetened condensed milk with a spoon. Wait…that’s my ideal day. I’m projecting here. My point is that she works very hard to make people feel special. I wish the world was filled with people like her.
My brother, Jason, took this photo on his land. What a great shot! (literally!)
My brother, Jason, gets credit for this amazing photo.
