a note to my novel

I spent some time with you this morning
but not enough
not nearly enough
before I had to pull myself away.

I thought about you
all day
all day
wishing that time would skip ahead
and I would be with you
again.

So here I am
but for a short while.
I know it will be time
well spent.

House of Bones excerpt

Taking Chances

Monday morning.

Blue sky

            blue sky

                        inviting me out

into the warmth

of a summer morning.

I have one destination

on my mind:

the house of bones.

My bag is packed—

            water bottles, two of them

            granola bars, two of them

            a can of bug spray

            my camera

I grab a banana as I head out the door.

                        “Where are you going?”

“Just walking.”

                        “With a back pack?”

“A snack and water.”

                        “And your camera.”

“And my camera.”

                        “How long will you be gone?”

“Long enough to get

thirsty.”

I don’t tell her

it depends on if he is there.

Winter's gift (belated)

There is snow on the ground
on the ground!
tonight,

a lustrous
and glorious
blanket of white.

A fresh gift from winter,
though long overdue.

Don't send me to bed,
let me take in the view.

Winter...make up your mind!

Winter has not been able to make up its mind
on whether it wants to go
or stay.

Personally, I'd like it to stay a while,
make itself at home
so that we can have some winter fun
like sledding
and angel-making
and crunching boot-footed through the snow.

And then,
when we've had enough,
winter will be more than welcome
to go away
and make room for spring.

New Draft for the New Year

I did it! I finished my NaNoWriMo novel before the end of 2011. About ten minutes before the end, to be precise. I worked feverishly all through the month of December and now I have a very rough first draft of my first YA romance.

I finished the draft of HOUSE OF BONES about ten minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve. Then I closed my journal (I wrote it longhand) and tucked it away.

It is agonizing to ignore something so new and exciting! But if I managed to ignore the iPad hubby got me for Christmas while it sat, unwrapped, in the closet, I can certainly ignore my novel for a few more days.

On Monday, I will visit it again. Not to do any revisions yet, but to type it into Word and make notes of things that will need to be changed/added/cut.

I'm thrilled to have a new manuscript to focus on in 2012!

What are YOU excited about in this new year?

Looking Back (in pictures!)

I was going to do a picture for each month of the year, as I've seen on a few other blogs. But it was too hard to choose, so I have extras. 

Some of my favorite things about 2011:

My Little Guy helping his Dad--he's getting so big!

Lots of fun with my kids, with more than just Legos

Playing in the snow

Daugher #2 rockin' it out in show choir

Catchin' some air at our favorite park

Art projects!

Hangin' with cousins

Daughter #2 as Razoul in Disney's Aladdin

Gettin' crafty

Bike riding, and other outdoor adventures

Watermelon on the Fourth of July

My girls and their friend on a mission trip to Joplin, MO 

My Little Guy with his bronze medal he won for his Tae Kwon Do form

Daughter #2 with another piano trophy (lots and lots of music in 2011)

Hangin' with my friend Angie, visiting from Bolivia

Our "Frank-o-lantern"

Daughter #1 with her Christmas present (she cried when she opened it)

Who woulda thought...

...that I would have been able to squeeze so much into the month of December and not get stressed out at all?

Cooking
baking
candy making,
reading
writing
line reciting,
sewing
mending
toddler tending,
caroling
shopping
picture cropping,
painting
gluing
caramel chewing,
kissing
hugging
scenery lugging,
cutting
wrapping
cozy napping,
directing,
playing,
lots of praying!