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 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2025:
SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" ![Merit Badge in WdC Supportive Friend
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
2nd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Supportive_Friend.gif) ![Merit Badge in Earn the Badge
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Thank you for your donation to [Link To Item #2133333] - from Purple Princess.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Earn_the_Badge-2093257_1.gif){kind=icon} ![Merit Badge in Music
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
3rd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Contests
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September 1st daily task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Contests-235.gif) ![Merit Badge in Growth
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Good job earning the Growth Merit Badge in [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Growth-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Word Searches
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Great job participating in [Link To Item #2133333] and completing the September 5th task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Word_Searches-19000.gif) ![Merit Badge in Teamwork
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Great job for picking a teammate and completing the September 6th Task at [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Teamwork-210.gif) SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: ![Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
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To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Let_Dreams_Take_Wing-2335469_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
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here's to another week of creating adventures!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Normal_Is_Boring.gif) ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Thanks for completing [Link To User elusive4lyn] July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) ![Merit Badge in Travel
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Woohoo! We’re halfway through!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) ![Merit Badge in BCoF 2
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Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.
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51 days of blogging takes commitment, and you rocked it.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Endurance.gif) SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~gummy worms BOO   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 : I participated in the
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You rose to the poetry challenges in 12 Poetic Days of Halloween in grand style.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Determination-2500.gif) ![Merit Badge in Ghost
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Thank you for your successful completion of 13 Poetic Days of Halloween *^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Ghost-700.gif) Big Thanks to A Warped Witch I Be   for hosting the contest!Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
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#1. Hunting for a Hiccup Hi all ! This Busy Bee is off to Seattle! On Saturday we catch our cruise to Alaska! It's a 7 day cruise but I'll be in and out all week cos I wanna try and maintain some of my 7 day streaks. See you next to the glaciers! ------ I have a couple of minutes here before it gets busy so I thought I'd check in. Aside from a small hiccup with our driver who was suppose to take us to Burbank, (he got his wires crossed and went to Burbank instead of picking us up at the house) everything went smoothly. No issues with the flights. Hotel in Seattle was nice. Transfer to the boat went smooth. We had all our paperwork in order so it was a smooth transition onto the ship. We're on the Discovery Princess. Our stateroom is nice. We have a balcony view and it's roomy enough. The boys have an interior room and it's compact but it's good for them. -- Sat and Sun we were basically figuring out the boat. We bought the premier package so we get unlimited drinks, desserts, and lots of food. haha. We are now on Alaska Daylight Time which is an hour behind Pacific time. It's kinda cloudy up here so I don't know if we will see any Auroras because you need a clear night. It's 40-50 degrees and a bit nippy but we packed warm. We will be arriving in Juneau at 1 pm. We are in the inside passage right now. Hope to have Juneau pics soon. --------- #2 Finding Juneau Juneau was definitely low-key. And I mean that, Juneau, itself, as a city, surprised me as being low key. We arrived in Juneau at 1 pm and my husband and #1 son, (Brent and Andy) had an excursion right away. They were going kayaking near the Mendenhall Glacier. After a brief expectations and safety meeting in the theatre, they were off. After a drive up to the inlet, they donned on their kayaking gear and had a great time. They got wet and saw a lot of bald eagles. Kayaking Juneau  Brent and Andrew kayaking Brent and Andrew kayaking (Note: while doable, there's no way I can post all my pictures of this adventure on WDC so I will select and post some of the BEST. lol. I will post more pictures on a future blog. My blog can be found here: http://sgcardin.blogspot.com. Currently, it hasn't be updated in a while, but I will be updating it soon.) They went into the city after their kayaking, bought some souvenirs and enjoyed the scenery. Son #2, Joey, and I went into Juneau about 3 pm and walked around. It was Memorial Day so a lot of places we wanted to see where closed. We shopped for souvenirs on the main tourist/cruise ship drag, and then walked around. We found the Juneau city hall, the Alaska Federal building and the State bldg. After that, we hopped on the "Salmon Bake" Bus and went out on our excursion. It was a short drive. The area was in the woods and the woods were vibrant! Lush green, clean smell, clear water and lots of wood. The salmon was cooked over wood. It was delicious! Joey even tried a piece and liked it. (He's a very picky eater) We went to back to the ship and relaxed. Today we're in Skagway. More adventures to come!   |
| Gosh, really? It's been since 21 July 2023 since I updated this blog? Ugh. I've found the older I get, the quicker life passes me by. My intent is to update my blog more frequently. I do have some pluses on my sides. The boys have graduated (College & High School) and both are Eagle Scouts. And since JAN 2024, I've been much more active on WDC with the Bee Hive & Bard's Hall. I participated in 3 official WDC contests this year, as well as Game of Thrones.
I've gotten 2 books published since Arrow Through the Heart -- A Polish Heart and The Wolf's Torment. I've started work on Gifts, but it's been slow and I'm preparing for Twilight Over Moldavia. Since January, I've been kinda low key. I've attended a Badlands Media Seminar in Irvine, California. As far as politics, I lean Libertarian, but I'm a registered Republican in the state of California. I attended the Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary reunion in Simi Valley and enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. I went to Vegas with my bowling league and had a blast, so I joined another Vegas league. I even found the Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas. haha. Both the boys graduated and now we're on a celebratory graduation cruise to Alaska. Alaska is really awesome. The nature is fresh, alive, and awe-inspiring. Crossing my fingers I'm a bit more timely. I'll be updating my Alaska adventures here. I'm also updating on my newsfeed. See you soon! Smiles Steph |
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