Tagged Again!

I got tagged by my new friend Leslie! Here goes:

4 jobs I've had...
Warehouse Manager Assistant
Lingerie Stock person (Nordstrom)
Software Programmer
Compensation Plan Consultant

4 movies I could watch over and over...
Pride and Prejudice (the new one w/ Kiera Knightly and the BBC version w/ Colin Firth)
White Christmas
Ever After
Barbie and the Nutcracker (this is the best version of the Nutcracker I have ever seen)

4 places I have lived...
Vancouver, Washington
Rexburg, Idaho
Provo, Utah
Brisbane, Australia

4 favorite television shows...
24
Ugly Betty
Alias (no longer on)
Jericho

4 places I've been...
Italy (Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome)
Cancun, Mexico
Taipei, Taiwan
Lima, Peru

4 favorite foods...
Apple Jacks Cereal
Beef Stew (mine)
Cinnabon
Roast

4 websites I check often...
friend's and family's blogs
Writing on the Wall Blog
Amazon
our bank accounts

4 hobbies...
writing romance novels
reading romance novels
checking email and blogging
playing with my family

4 people I tag...
Angel
Esther
Lifelong bookworm
Autumn

Happy tagging!

:)

My daughter is the cutest wuss there ever was

My daughter is absolutely adorable. If you don't believe me, just check out her picture on the side there and you will see how cute she is.

99.9% of the time, she is an angel. Truly, I could not have asked for a better child. She is kind, compassionate, innocent, obedient (incredibly obedient), very intelligent, and so much more. Her one downfall? She's a wuss. Yes indeed, a wimp.

At least four times yesterday she wailed like her arm had been cut off. The big alligator tears would fall and she would come running to me for comfort. The problem? She had fallen off the couch and bonked her knee. She was upset about the itsy bitsy teeny weeny little scratch that you can only see by squinting your eyes.

Today, we had an end of summer pool party at a friends house. They have a play area with cedar chips (the ones that don't give you slivers...supposedly). Later at home, she started complaining that her feet hurt. Upon inspection, she had a couple of slivers. However, the inspection was all that we were able to do. As soon as we said she had a sliver, she yanks her foot away and dramatically pleads "Don't pull it. Don't touch it. It's going to hurt!" It hasn't hurt yet, it's the fear of the hurt that had her freaking out.

We literally had to hold her down for us to be able to even look at them any more. We never did get them out, even after the threat of the slivers feastering, associated infection, puss that would hurt to get out, you know... the gorey stuff. Finally, we agreed on a plan... Do it in the night while she is asleep. So, now I am off to try to pull out the slivers.

:)

The Humor's in the Toilet

I couldn't help but blog about this very important topic... there is humor in the toilet. "What?" you may say, but it's true. Take a look at my post "Bunda, Bunda, Bunda..." That had the most comments on it (thanks for all the advice, ladies) and the reason is - the toilet is an incredibly fascinating thing. It's no wonder my son won't go poopie in the toilet. It's like this great white abyss. Who knows what really goes on down there. (I've been potty training for a week - any advice on how to get him to go poopie in the toilet?)

If you put a group of ladies with young children in a room together, I wonder how long it would take for the subject to come up? I would venture to say, not long. Why? Because it's the one thing we all have to deal with, every day. That, and food. Food is likely right in there with the toilet. (No pun intended hehehe)

So, to my fellow mothers of young children, thanks for understanding my need to share an otherwise taboo topic with you. My husband just doesn't understand that part of my life.

:)

Characters wanted

I have a character in my head who is kicking me to let her come alive... on paper, of course. She has a story to tell and while I see small bits and pieces of it, I don't know what it all entails.

Writing is such an exhilarating process for me. Somewhere deep inside, there is a story waiting to be written. It is so interesting how a character just sort of appears and forms on it's own. Then, while writing, the character seems to do what it wants. They tell you, not vice versa, what road they are going down.

When I wrote my first book, there were many points where I just didn't know where Anna was going to go or what she was going to do. There were also times when she just did not want to do what I wanted her to do. She had something else in mind and as hard as I tried to get her where I thought she should go, she just wouldn't do it.

Jason and I recently finished Harry Potter. When we had finished, we were discussing how J.K. Rowling might be feeling now that she was finished with the series. While I obviously don't know the real answer to this, the thought I had is that it's a bittersweet feeling... To be done in some ways is a relief because you can feel like you have your life back. When you are writing a story, you become part of the story and the characters become part of your life. When you are finally done, it's a little sad to say goodbye, but at the same time, kind of nice to get back to your normal life.

Anyway, it is exciting to see how this character is shaping up. I have taken some good pointers from Writing on the Wall (see sidebar for link) about character motivation and development and it has helped me explore and get to know my character more.

I can't wait to get her story out so she can live... and so she can stop bugging me too.

:)

I'm so proud of you!

I have to say, I am so proud of Esther and Angel for getting their blogs put together. Their links are on the right hand side of my blog if you want to view them.

After viewing their blogs, however, I realized that I had been outdone... by a long shot. So, I spent some time (ok, way too much time) tonight spiffing up my blog. I hope you find it enjoyable.

:)

Bunda, Bunda, Bunda...

If you are family, you probably know what "Bunda" means. If you are not, let me enlighten you... Bottom, Bum, Butt, Derriere, Tush, Fanny, Keister, need I go on? "Bunda" is the Portuguese equivalent of all these. When Jason told me that word, I thought it was cool so in our house, we refer to our backside as "Bunda."

If you don't like Potty talk (not dirty talk... real potty talk), scroll on down to my next blog. However, if you are used to potty talk, read on.

My son has the sorriest bunda ever. Every time I try to change his diaper, he cries and tries to get away because it hurts so bad when I clean him. But at the same time, it hurts so bad for him to keep the poop (yes, I did say poop on a public blog) in his diaper because it burns his poor bunda.

He at least one sore that is really kind of an open wound. Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie. I am so grateful for toilets. Next week, after the diarrhea goes away, we is going to become a big boy. :)

If you have tips for treating horribly ouchie bundas, please leave your comments. Also, if you want to lament with me over his unfortunate state, please leave your comments as well. Misery loves company. :)

:)