Category: Home Life

Not so Fiendish Friday

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 1 Comment

A few weeks ago someone from my son’s coop posted a link to this article and I loved it. I sent it to my husband with my commentary and he immediately suggested I should blog about it. LOL. (Yes, my husband is ridiculously supportive of my blogging/writing. And yes I am aware of how flipping lucky I am.) I had to consider that for a while though. Did it really have a place in my canon? I am a writer. I blog about reading and writing and teaching writing. But then I figured, if I devote an entire post each week to making fun of myself, why not this?

So the first line that caught my attention: “There’s something kids are assumed to receive from the process of group schooling — especially from large, government-funded schools — that helps them fit in better with society at large.” Yes. I am constantly railing about this. Schools want my child to fit into their little box of acceptable so that he will grow up to be the citizen they want him to be. The socialization question is one I hear all to often. From well meaning family members to the clerk at the grocery story who says, “It must be so lonely to be at home all day.” Um….Kiddo immediately caught the logic flaw in that one. “Why is she saying that? I’m not at home.”

The article talks considerably about the socialization opportunities home schooled children have, if you define socialization as learning to interact with the world at large in a positive manner. Which I do.

The article goes on to talk about the changes in government provided educational goals over the years. Schools now emphasize group work and group think more than individual achievement. This directly contradicts studies in expertise and mastery that suggested working alone on things help you to identify that which is just out of your reach so you can grow/stretch/make the effort to reach that understanding/knowledge.

The article finishes with questioning what I always do. Are critics really afraid that home schooled children will grow up to think for themselves? Because studies show that they do. Home schooled children tend to be more independent, more likely to handle things themselves, to be self employed when they grow up. In other words, they grow up thinking it’s ok to challenge authority and authority never likes that.

Here’s the link if you like to read the article.

Fiendish Friday: Connect the Dots

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 7 Comments

While I was in Portland, I went to Powell’s because hello, Powell’s is amazing. I spent rather a lot of time in their Star Wars and Lego book section. The perils of having an almost seven year old boy. It could be worse; I am eternally grateful that he outgrew the Thomas the Tank Engine age.

So after a while I got tired of standing about watching him look at every page of every book before asking if he could get it. So I started looking on the opposite side of the aisle. They had game books. Some of the normal game books but also a lot of cool things. Like a Murder Mystery Crossword puzzle book where you have to solve the crossword puzzle to figure who dun it and with what.

But I also grabbed an Extreme Connect the Dots. Now when I showed the book to G in the store, she laughed heartily.  But I bought it anyway and when I mentioned later that I bought it she was like “I thought you were kidding.” Hrm.

Then I came home and commented on a blog about adult coloring books, that I did connect the dots, and that blogger was like Huh?

So apparently I am a freak in this as well. I like Extreme Connect the Dots. This one has cool architectural locations from around the world and between 800-2400 dots per picture. LOL

dottodot
One of the smaller ones I did of the Sydney Opera House.

Thursday is apologies?

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

I know I missed my Wednesday Writer’s cafe the last two weeks. I’ve been running the blog on autopilot. But I think I am out of the fog now.

So I’m just gonna run it down quick and easy for you.

-Got my first pass critique back. It was bad. I won’t lie. Started rewriting my disaster of a book. I suspect it will take several passes on this one. Publication may or may not happen this fall as planned. I’ll keep you updated.

-February Nano to Publish class went well. The follow along summary will be up this weekend.

-I got sick twice in the last 3 weeks, throwing off my yoga schedule but I’m back on track.

-We reorg’d the coop and now I will be the VP of Education. Fun role, I hope.

-Somehow I am now teaching three classes at the coop next year, LOL. Assuming I get kids who want the classes I am offering, but one is a lock for sure. The other two, we’ll see.

Most everything else is ticking over. I could talk about getting a water restoration company out to look at the wall or taking my son in for a dyslexia eval but that would just be more words you have to read. LOL

Go outside, enjoy the sun if you have some.

Fiendish Friday: Crafty Devil

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 5 Comments

You’re an author. Your work is out to readers. you’re waiting patiently to be told it is a here to fore undiscovered master piece of literary prowess. What do you do in the mean time?

Well, if you’re me waiting to be told it’s obvious who killed the guy ten pages after the body turns up in your murder mystery, you get crafty.

Behold the chess table for my boys.

Take an old table you had in your first apartment. Sand it down to remove the nasty old gloss varnish. Spend way longer than it should have taken to draw out a chess board. Yay, for measuring mistakes. Paint the table something bright to spruce up your boring brown couches. Paint the squares of the chess board. Be sure to have a long pointless arguement with your husband about how the black square goes in the bottom left corner, where he refuses to understand the board will not be black and white.

Take an old table you had in your first apartment. Sand it down to remove the nasty gloss finish.
Spend way longer that you though possible drawing a chess board in pencil on the top. Make a few mistakes in measuring, after all that’s why you used pencil right?
Paint it a bold blue. Something to snaz up your boring brown couches.
Just needs a safety shield. And maybe a ray gun.

 

 

Now it just needs a coat of protectorate and 48 hours to dry before the boys can tear it up. Chess is such a dangerous game.

 

 

Fiendish Friday-Imagination Run Amuck

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 6 Comments

The other day I was chatting with my friend G while our boys had a play date. G started telling me how her husband really likes Jersey and he never likes any dog. To which I reply, well Jersey is a good boy. G nods and goes on to say everyone loves that dog, everyone but M. M is her son.

I shrug and say, he’s afraid. To which G replies but he’s never had a bad experience with a dog, it’s all in his mind.

I immediately get a little warm in the cheeks and tell her about my morning experience with my imagination running amuck.

I walk the dog every day before my husband goes to work. Arguing with my son to go with me just takes all the joy out of the experience, not to mention he is slow as molasses. So occasionally I will cajole him into going to the dog park with Jersey and I, but I generally walk the dog before the hubby leaves. Usually this is super convenient as the hubby leaves between 845 and 9. Some days, however, the hubby has to leave EARLY. Really early.

Sometimes I find myself walking the dog at like 645 AM before the sun comes up. Now this always scares me. And there are plenty of things to be scared of on this mountain. We have bears, cougars, bobcat, coyotes, etc. But at 645AM in the pitch black darkness (no street lights on my mountain) I do not think of any of these things. I am checking over my shoulder, in every bush, and behind every tree…for zombies.

I shit you not. I am almost 40. Well Read. Somewhat well educated. I’m city savvy and farm functional. But the entire time I am walking the dog in the dark I am checking constantly for zombies and I am talking myself down in my head to keep from running home screaming. You want to know what I tell myself?

There has not been an outbreak. I would have heard if there had been. And if it happened over night in the nearest big city, we are too far away for them to have gotten out to us yet.

I am too old for the bogeyman. But not too old for zombies.

What irrational fears screw with your life?

Wednesday Writer’s Cafe 1/13 – late

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

Last night’s cafe was preempted by an emergency meeting at my son’s coop. Why does everything have to happen on Wednesday? Serious? There isn’t another night in the week that people could make things happen?

So there were some issues with the financial future of the coop which the board is now  handling in an appropriate manner in my opinion. And there are a lot of open positions at the coop that need filling. But all in all it will survive for another year. LOL.

I’m on the scheduling committee, which I love. I love to put everything in it’s place. It’s that OCD part of me that would have allowed Napoleon to take Russian, even in winter. LOL. Went out with the other ladies on the committee last night after the general assembly which is why I didn’t get about to posting til I slept that off.

 

I’ve decided to report on my stated 2016 goals each Wednesday at cafe for a little prod of accountability.

– Research marketing locations for the next free giveaway for Scripting the Truth. Figure out the Reddit problem. Fine tune my categorization on amazon.

√ Finished “How to publish a best seller” This week. A post on it will be up this weekend. I’ve also been following a number of blogs where bloggers detail marketing options and sites they tried and their response to formulate a list for myself to try out as soon as I get to ten reviews on Amazon.

– Write 2500 plus words per week on my 2015 Nano novel til completion. (Only another 5-6 weeks to go on that, I think.)

√ I think I finished writing my first pass this week, I’m not really sure though. There is so much clean up work to be done but since I am kicking off the Nano to Publish year long workshop series this Saturday, I will allow it to be done. As a humorous side note, I apparently gave my main character a dog in a throw away line at the start of the novel and never again mentioned him. As I sat on my couch one morning I actually said “I have a dog?” when I read the line and my dog lifted his head and looked at me. Never a good sign when your own dog thinks you’re an idiot. LOL Words: 1534 written and 2 chapters edited with about an even trade: words removed = words added.

– Participate in one flash fiction challenge per month.

√ Finished my flash fiction for January and just on time. LOL Posted last Friday. You can find it here if you missed it.

– Prepare and teach “Nano to Publish”.

√ Preparation underway. Outline and handouts for the class are done and waiting for Saturday.

– Edit my 2015 Nano Novel for 2016 publication.

√ Just started first pass editing, 2 chapters done this week.

– Any time I am not actively working on my 2015 Nano Novel, write 2500 words per week on my spy novel until it is done. (After four years, it’s time to put this mess to bed.)

-Non Applicable at this time.

Non writing goals

– Prepare and teach two classes at the coop for the 2016-2017 school year.

√ I actually wrote my proposal last weekend. I submitted Nano to Publish. I was thinking that was going to be it but after talking to the scheduling committee last night, I will be writing a proposal for a cooking class today for submission as well.

– Take better care of my body, ie. stop compulsively painting, crocheting, and writing until my back or shoulder is so tore I can barely use either. Which leads me to …

√ One incident of excruciating shoulder pain because I painted too long. sigh.

– yoga daily.

√ 3 out of 7. Ouch. This week was rough.

Fiendish Friday – Star Wars

~ tahenryauthoress ~ Leave a comment

I just saw Star Wars VII with the kiddo. Warning this post will have tons of spoilers so stop reading now and come back after you see the movie if you haven’t already seen it.

I grew up with Star Wars. I remember being a little girl, three, maybe four and playing Star Wars with my two older male cousins. One was always Han Solo and the other Luke Skywalker. I played all the other roles from IV in turn. I do a mad wookie voice. Good times.

So you can understand when I, II, and III came out when I was in my twenties I was mildly horrified. But I lived with it. I just sort of disassociated the movies from IV, V, and VI in my mind. I incorporated the lore that made sense and jettisoned the rest.  Like I get why ObiWan would take Luke to his Step Uncle, kind of, but why did Leia go to a complete stranger? And why split them up? That’s the sort of thing I ignore otherwise I get way irritated. Logic Flaws slay me, every time.

So VII, felt like I was watching IV with overtones of V and VI. Similar plot devices, similar action sequences, similar lines said in similar situations. Examples: Rey suggests taking one ship, Finn says what about that one, she says it’s trash but they don’t show it and then when the first ship is blown up and the camera pans over to the Millennium Falcon…Just tired and worn out. Later they refer to the whole Kessel Run in 12 parsecs thing. Finn says the same crap as Luke when using a gunner turret for the first time. As they were running the gorge to  destroy the death star, I mean death star planet, the conversation was so similar I kept waiting for Poe to say it was just like beggars canyon back home.

It was visually stunning. I loved the action playing out against the background of the old Empire’s half destroyed toys. And really, Rey is a flipping heart breaker. It is no chore to watch her run, jump, and climb like she is in fabulous shape from using her body rather than the gym. (I can appreciate an attractive woman.)

So we all knew one of the new people was going to be the off spring of Han Solo and Leia. He turns out to be the bad guy. Ok I can accept that. Given his grandpa, he could be prone to the dark side. But then he takes off his mask.  Who are they kidding? He looks like the offspring of Snape and McGonagall.

As a side note the cutest part was when one of the kids we were with gasps out “Chewbacca” it this uber pained voice when it appears he has blown himself up. I feel you kiddo, my favorite character too.

So here’s the silly me part. I got into a huge arguement about who Rey’s parents were. Everyone argued that she must be Luke Skywalker’s offspring. But here’s my arguement against that. There are a only a few ways this breaks down.

A) Luke is the kind of guy to knock up some random girl and never even know she’s pregnant. And the chick is the type to abandon her daughter/sell her when the going gets tough. Unlikely.

B) Luke is involved with said woman and still in the child’s life. He takes off after Ren kills all his apprentices. The woman leaves the rebellion base and sells her child. Like Leia would allow that after losing her child. I don’t think so either.

So who are her parents? Come on someone must have an opinion. Let me hear them.

 

 

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 12 Comments

It snowed this week. I love it when it snows at my house. My son got out his sled and started sliding in the back yard in two inches of snow. It’s fun for us because we don’t get nineteen blizzards each winter. But it’s already mostly melted away. sigh.

The stockings are hung by not quite by the chimney, the TV is there, so we put the stocking in a huge window by fireplace. The tree has been up and decorated so long we don’t even bother to turn the lights on every day now. LOL The presents are wrapped and waiting for Friday. I’ve been to the grocery store. I’ve baked multiple times this month. Christmas is ready and we are waiting….

And now it’s time for me to do a little something for you….

So what am I doing for you for Christmas? Thanks for asking. My book Scripting the Truth is a free kindle download for the next five days. Go get it. Read it. Tell me how much it diverted you when you wanted to strangle your Aunt Bet for getting ratty on spiked Egg Nog.

Be safe this Christmas. Enjoy your family, even if they drive you crazy. I hope you still believe in the idea of Santa and practice all that he stands for.

Flash Fiction Challenge

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

This morning while drinking coffee and watching my boys play Mario Galaxy I got a burr up my butt to participate in Dan Alatorre’s Flash Fiction Challenge, and for once, I had the time. Although the way things are going, I think I might have the time more often these days. There will be more on that later this week.

This challenge had some questions, then the story call…

YOUR QUESTIONS…

Naughty or nice?

LOL. Do I have to be one or the other? I got a prize for bringing niceness to the world at our Nano wrap up party, so does that mean I am nice? Or that my Nano compatriots really appreciate the baked goods I bring?

Under the tree I want to see…

I wanted only two things for Christmas. A) to lose the last 45 pounds I am schlepping around. That won’t be under the tree, it’s still on my -, well anyway, it won’t be under the tree. B) to raise my Amazon ranking on Scripting the Truth. I am launching a free give away in three days so maybe, just maybe, I might find a better ranking around Christmas, or maybe right after, LOL.

Do you open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Christmas Day and we have a routine. I’ll give an example. First person opens a present and gets a new lego kit. We all assemble the new lego kit, play with it, find a new home for it, and pick out a toy that will be donated in it’s place before the next person opens the next present. If it’s a movie, we watch the movie. If it’s a book we might read the first chapter or two out loud for the kiddo. If it’s a game, we play. You get the idea. Makes opening presents last all day and sometimes into the next day.

A visit to the relatives involved (you go see them or they come see you)

My son was always a little complicated. He learned to army crawl, elbows down, dragging his body when he was just four months old. He learned to walk/toddle by seven months. He completely skipped the crawling stage until his first Christmas. We went to stay with my in laws and my husband’s cousin, his wife, and daughter were visiting from the Netherlands for the holiday. The little girl was only two months older than my son and boy could she crawl. When he saw how that the girl could get everywhere faster than him, within a few hours my kiddo was crawling.

Go to Church?

No thanks. I’ve been, my in laws are Catholic, midnight mass was a big thing.

Big family dinner?

Not lately. We moved out of state a couple years ago so now Christmas is quiet. I used to do alternate big in law gathering on Christmas or Christmas Eve, open house at my house the opposite day. Where we lived before a lot of people were isolated, no family, or issues with their family, so we had an open house. Up here, people are closer to their families it seems. I don’t know anyone in this area with no where to go on Christmas so I don’t do an open house, I switched to a Sinterklaas Party, Dec 5.

big family brunch?

Not for Christmas. For every other family gathering with my in laws though, LOL.

Booze??? Anybody cross the line every year?

sigh. I’m not sure I should talk about this on the web but there is a member of my extended family who gets drunk every year and pisses off my husband with his inappropriate commentary, looks, hugs, etc towards me. LOL.

Anybody cross the line under the mistletoe?

No mistletoe. See above answer.

Best Christmas EVER – you have 1,000 words to tell us about the best Christmas you ever had. Make us misty eyed for your personal Rosebud sled! Great writing has to be personal.

It was hot, over ninety but the air conditioning was turned up to make the house a chillier sixty five. We all were wearing our Christmas sweaters over sun dresses and shorts. The decorations had been hung with haste not care but each of us smiled to each other as we shoved them here and there. All bets were off on the standard agreement that gifts would be only for the children, possibly because there was no time to organize a Secret Santa for the adults. We baked traditional dutch goodies, paper nochen and bitter ballen. My husband fried up some Ollibollen even though they are more for New Year’s than Christmas. The talk by adults when the children were not in the room, only emphasized the unreal quality of the day. “It was ridiculous we were doing this because she was going to beat this thing. She beat it before. She would beat it again. But she wanted Christmas in June so we would give her the best Christmas in June ever.” Smile. Laugh. Sing carols by the roasting fire. “But we’d all be back in December when she beat this and we would do it again for real.”

When all was ready we wheeled my mother in law out in her wheel chair. Her grandchildren clamored to sit in her lap. My son got there first and she granted him the spot of honor. He always was her favorite, though she took pains to hide it. While the kids got fun toys to play with in the hot afternoon sun, and the adults opened funny little gifts, slipper socks and second hand books, I watched the family. And when everyone went out to play, I got something more infinite. I got the time to sit with my mother in law and ask her about her relationship with my son. To jot down everything she said about him. To show her pictures of him and her and write down what she said in response, her memories, her love, her dreams for him. To make a scrap book for him of his precious Oma.

She didn’t beat it of course. Or this Christmas wouldn’t have been so precious. The last Christmas my son got with his Oma. The Christmas I got to immortalize the special love this kind woman, who would never have admitted she had a favorite in life, had for my son.

 

Fiendish Friday-Ridiculous Obsession

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

Apparently this is going to be a thing, at least until I run out of things to poke fun at myself for or you revolt and say no more, I am scared of you now.

A few years back I found this TV show on Netflix called Revolution. Maybe you’re seen it, maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you think I’m an idiot for watching it.

It lived in my queue for a number of months before one night, bored and tired, I wanted a quick episode to put me to sleep. This sounds familiar, but I won’t digress. The basic premise of Revolution is this: it is fifteen years after anything requiring a power source has stopped working. (There are no zombies running about.) Everything from our old world is just laying there waiting to be picked up and used, if only we could power them.

I thought that was pretty cool. It could actually happen someday, which is why I think the show was unpopular. People don’t like to be scared by realistic apocalyptic situations these days. I bet if Stephen King was trying to get his start today, the Stand would not sell, even in it’s abridged version.

I got sucked in of course and watched eight or ten episodes in a row that night. What I liked was the reality of it. They start out to walk to Pennsylvania from Indiana I think. It takes them eight or ten episodes to get there. Yeah, it should take flipping forever to walk that many miles, while dodging the militia and catching your own food, finding water sources, etc.

Then there’s the character development. Each episodes focuses on one character. In slices, probably after what was each commercial break, you get where they were just before the power went out, just after, how they survived since then. But on top of that they do two other things with the characters, first, they grow them in front of your eyes. You get to watch people change under extraordinary pressure. It’s awesome. And second, which is probably more controversial, they kill off people. Major people. People they have made you connect with. They kill them. Why do I adore that? It’s real. You cannot have people in a society with no modern functionality and have them skip through the roses. No meds means asthma, tetanus, or a cold can kill you. And it does in the show.

So why is this on my Fiendish Friday post. I watched the first season in two nights. I made my husband watch the first season, he said meh. Then the second season came out on netflix. I couldn’t watch it. I just knew it would suck and that would ruin the whole show for me. In my head the show was perfect and amazing and definitely a top ten for me. But if I watched Season Two and it sucked, which it probably would since the show got canceled after season two, all that would change. So season two sits in my queue waiting for me to rip the band aid off so to speak. But I can’t do it. I just can’t.

Anyone out there watch Revolution? Tell me Season Two doesn’t suck. Tell me it is as amazing as Season One. Tell me I won’t be sad and disappointed. Or tell me I’m right, who doesn’t like to hear that? LOL