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 |  Newest Entry: July 24 - New Contest |
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I used to have this wonderful long description here of exactly what this journal would be... but I cannot say that it was entirely accurate. The journal has taken a mind of its own, so I guess the only description I can really give it is: A Collection Of My Thoughts As I have discovered many times in my writing, as well as in my life - things don't always go the way you plan them to. I am still happy with this journal, however. It gives me a place to lay down how I am feeling, or even just to document what I've been doing. Not bad, huh? Feel free to putter through the entries, and come back to visit often! You never know what you might find here. Newest entries are at the top of the list. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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I go out of town for a few days, then my net goes down, then I concentrate on catching up with things... and then I have about 20-30 reviews sitting in my review box.  I have a LOT of responding to do! I just wanted to let those few who read my blog know that I haven't forgotten. I know they are there, and I will get to responding as soon as I have the chance.It was a nice surprise, though, to find all of those reviews. I want to thank Simply Positive and their leaders for choosing one of my pieces to put up for review. You rock. |
| ... who wants a blog entry, I have this feeling. In all fairness, he wrote one about me, so I'll return the favor. (I also owe one to someone else, I think! But I'll wait until I know that one better.) Pretty much when I first arrived on WdC, I met this man who hid behind the guise of a man who milks cows. (Either that, or the guise of a cow, which was even more interesting!) At the time, he was running a contest called the Decathalon, and because I was a contest junky, I joined in. (I met a lot of interesting people during this competition, some whom I still talk to and adore - including one who kicked my behind, billwilcox. Man is he good!) After this contest, which I greatly enjoyed but got my behind slaughtered in, I asked to see if I could be a judge the next year. Well, I wasn't a moderator (now I am!), so I couldn't be - that was his one rule. I think I wasn't even a yellow case, then. I was black. Anyway, that's how the relationship started. We started chatting, goofing off, and inspiring one another to be - for a lack of a better term - incredibly silly! We both have entire blog entries of us asking one another questions, and then answering them - or making one answer the questions FOR us, and then saying if they were correct or not. He is a very dear friend who I don't get to talk to as much, but I still remember the times we did. Now we share more of our real lives than we did at the beginning, but I think that is the natural progression of friendship. (And yes, we can still be plenty silly.) We've shared good times and bad, been there for each other when we've really needed someone, and just generally been good friends for... well, several years now. Thank you, The Milkman  for your friendship. WdC wouldn't be the same without it, and neither would I. |
| My children are a source of endless entertainment, truthfully. I started writing a blog entry in my wordpress blog the other day about them, and I just couldn't get through it. Well, I finally got through it today. Boys Vs. Girls  I'm getting a lot more writing done lately, and it feels really good. It's not fiction writing, it's not working on my book, it's not doing short stories or poetry... but it is something! Blog writing is still writing - I'm not having to struggle to pull it out of my fingers or my mind, so it does feel really good. (And by golly, it's a lot of fun!) I've really wanted to get into writing Children's books, and now have the resources to do so. Maybe I can develop this... "article" type writing that you'll find in my other blog, if you click my link, into something that can actually be productive, uplifting, and... well, fulfilling, I suppose. |
| Yes, yes, I know it's a little childish to state it in such a manner, but I really am excited! Many of you who know me may not even know this, but I really, really want to be a children's author. I know that some people think that those writing children's books aren't "serious" authors, but I am a firm believer in bringing up children with a love of reading. That way it will last (hopefully) through the crazy pre-teen years, the uphevel of being a teen, and the definitely unexpected chaos of being an adult. Children think it's so much easier being old. In some ways, they are correct. In some ways, they are VERY, very wrong. I received three books in the mail today. I live in the middle of nowhere, so ordering things online is a necessity. I got the following: The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children's Books by McCannon, Thornton, and Williams I LOVE IT! Literally, it has every little thing one would need to consider when both writing and illustrating for children. The writing is for me, and the illustrating is for a friend of mine. It would rock if we could publish together, but we are going to at least make some creations together for our portfolios. Children's Writer's Word Book by Mogilner and Mogilner I think this is the perfect reference for anyone aiming toward a specific age group as they write. It has a very long list of words for each age group, allowing those who wish to write for them to know what sort of things they have already been exposed to, to ensure understanding. I love it, as well. 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market This book gives me a place to begin. That is where I believe I have failed up until now - I haven't really known where to even START soliciting myself. (Man, that sounds so dirty - but it's not, I swear!) Now I know where to send letters, who to contact, etc. It's all just a beginning, I know, but a beginning is a great place to start. Without a beginning, there will be no ending. Have I mentioned that I'm excited? |
| I wrote an article on my other blog today, and I thought I might share it with you guys. My blog here is much more... personal and relaxed, I suppose, which is why I go ahead and keep the pair of them. (Plus, I know people here that read it - and that's fun!) Anyway, I had a blast writing this article, so I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you: http://sjdaydreamer.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/how-i-can-tell-im-getting-old/ It does reveal a little bit about my current symptoms of the disease we all know as "getting older". We all face it, and all of us handle it a bit differently. The article touches on my old rockstar dream, my breakfasts from high school and college, my loss of fearlessness, and my need for more sleep. |
| No, I admit that I'm not really going to talk about animal noises. I've been doing a lot of grumbling and grunting today, but I swear I'm not trying to be animalistic. It's more like... my knee hurts more than it has in years, and so it makes moving rather difficult. I get to go into the "Big City" tomorrow for a check up, so hopefully I'm moving a little better by then. Of course, it would be the knee on the foot that uses that gas pedal that is bugging me, right? I guess I'm glad for cruise control. It's not really the driving that's intimidating me, though. I can manage sitting for an hour and a half at a time. What terrifies me is.... Wal-Mart. I never get to go by myself, so I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I can wander in and actually look at GIRL things. Or, I will... if I can walk. I'm considering pilfering one of those little motorized carts, except that I'd drive people insane. I always change my mind, so I'd constantly be "beep, beep, beep"ing and going backwards to change direction. On second thought, I think I'll just... suffer, and get some good pain meds. |
| So, I'm bored, itchy, achey, and everything else... so what do I do? Well, I do two things. First, I write another blog entry in my wordpress blog: http://sjdaydreamer.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/allergies-are-the-devil/ Yes, yes, I know... keeping two blogs is a little silly. I swear you guys get to see things a little more personal over here. The second thing I do is create a second wordpress blog... mainly because I really, really miss http://saidinbed.com since they stopped updating more than a year ago. Mine will, very likely, not be as popular, but anything is worth a try, yes? In case you are curious, here you go: http://didyoujustsay.wordpress.com/ I think boredom, for me, is a dangerous thing. |
| I don't think I've ever been so frustrated in my entire life! Well, I lie. I have probably been more frustrated. However, I have never been to the point where I simply refuse to leave the house - but today, I am at that point. I refuse to leave. Yesterday wasn't so bad. I had hives on my knees and on my elbows, but not really anywhere else. Speckles on my stomach and legs, but everything could be covered. As such, I went about my day regularly, and did what we planned to do. However, as we were starting home yesterday, my lip began to swell. It was a very slow process at first, and by the time I picked up the kids from the sitter, I looked like I'd had a little botox injected. No biggie, it was just a little swell. By the time I went to bed, my lip was swollen about three times this size. I went to bed, upset and just hoping that the next day I'd wake up and everything would be okay - well, it's not. My forehead and cheeks are covered in blotches, there are hives all over my scalp beneath my hair, and my nose is swollen with hives. AND my bottom lip is still swollen. Not only have I never had this sort of reaction to anything before (yes, I'm already on medication for it - I can't imagine what it would be WITHOUT the medication), and nothing has ever, ever, ever driven me to so much embarrassment that I refuse to leave the house. I don't think it's vanity, it's more that I don't want to field the questions about it. People aren't going to laugh around here (most everyone knows me because of my job at the school), but they'd be worried and asking a million questions. Most people haven't figured out that when someone is miserable, it's not the time to answer questions - leave them alone! Now, we have state testing this week. My mere PRESENCE would be a distraction to the students, if this doesn't go away by tomorrow. I'm simply at a loss - I have no idea what to do. I thought reactions like this only happened in the movies... |
| ... I'm just going to post a link. >.< Forgive my laziness, and click if you actually want a glimpse into my own political views. I don't venture into those very often: http://sjdaydreamer.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/obama-response/ Sara Jean ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I am a teacher, and I can say one thing about the profession. While it is sometimes frustrating, it is never boring. |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Some of those who have been reading my blog for some time, or perhaps some who just know me very well, or others who have discovered through other means - well, many people know that I had a stillborn child a year ago on April 22, 2009. Despite the loss, my husband and I have decided to celebrate the life he had, even if it was short, rather than mourn over his death. In his honor, I put out a plea to those on WdC to help me review others in his name for a day. ("Invalid Item" } The response was... overwhelming. I cannot even describe the feeling I had when I looked through the reviewing pages, and I saw the signature that dedicated a review to the memory of my son.Thanks to these absolutely amazing people, my son's name is more than just something in my husband's and my mind. It is something that all of WdC got the chance to see, and a name that I truly hope they will remember. 50+ public reviews, and I know there were more private reviews as well that couldn't show up on that page, that were dedicated to Angel Davis. (In no special order - literally, the order that I came across the reviews on the public page...) Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you: wakko71 LJPC - the tortoise  ruwth  SHERRI GIBSON  Stephanie Grace Mike~Dolphins Fan 4 Life You truly made my son's birthday incredibly special. Now, these are the people I found on the public page. If someone made some private reviews and I don't know about them - while I don't know who you are, you STILL deserve and have earned my thanks. (And no, please don't apologize if you wanted to participate and something came up. Real life, as heavy as it can sometimes be to bear, comes first! I'm not disappointed if you weren't able to participate, I'll simply invite you to participate next year - or goodness, even make a few reviews late! No one says it has to be EXACTLY on his birthday - I've always received belated birthday gifts, haven't you? I don't want this day to turn into apologies or regrets.) This day was about a celebration of my son's life. You helped me do that in a truly amazing way, especially after the day and frustrations that my own day began with. What means even more to me is that you did it without expecting return - a truly selfless act. I will find SOME way to reward your kindness. It may take me a while, but I will find a way to truly and honestly thank you for all you've done. (Well, a way other than a blog entry.) Happy Birthday, Angel. I think about you every day. |
| I hate when it comes on slowly. When I can just feel it coming. My throat hurts a little one day, then more the next day. Slowly, very slowly, the rest of the symptoms start showing up - runny nose, drainage, headache, aches, fatigue. All in all, it's taken about a week for everything to finally set itself into place, and now I feel like warmed up re-fried beans not cooked correctly either time. (i.e. I feel icky.) I much prefer the... wake up and wonder where the hell this came from sort of bugs. Those usually go away more quickly. Well, to work I go, anyway! |
| When I look at reality, I have to admit to myself - most of my "publishable" material is... children's material. I have contacted a few agents about this, though, and I keep getting turned down, or even ignored. (Sometimes, it's like I've never even sent anything.) I've heard only one real excuse. "We don't want rhyming books," yet most of the books my children bring home - and they are around the age range that I am aiming for - rhyme. Beyond that, it's been, "I cannot take on any new authors right now," or me being ignored completely. Ick. There was a time in my life when I wanted to be the next Shel Silverstien. I absolutely love his children's poetry, and I really wish I could even touch near to that level. I think I'm just going to... try again. I'll do another round of submitting and hoping, and pray I don't get ignored. Why my children's stuff? Well, unfortunately, that's the only thing I can ever really get done! Some of my poems are too short, and would need to be placed in a collection. Others, though, can certainly stand alone with the right illustrations. We tell ourselves that we can do anything, but actually DOING it... well, it's a lot harder. It's not something you can just believe. You have to actually DO it. Believing, alone, isn't enough. |
| I've had a lot of things on my mind recently. Having spring fever doesn't help a bit, either. I'd much rather be at the park on a picnic, then stuck in a classroom teaching munchkins. (No matter how much I really do love those munchkins.) Classroom My 8th graders took their state test last week. They feel good, which is a good sign! They are confident (most of them) that they did well. That makes me feel good. It means they really did try their best, and that is all I can ask for. My 6th and 7th graders will take their test the last week in April. They're getting a little nervous at this point, but unfortunately, they ALSO have spring fever. We will make it through the next two weeks as best we can - I saved the easiest for last, so they will be alright. I just have to keep them engaged, and hope they walk out feeling as confident as my 8th graders did. For now, my 8th graders (as a bit of a break) are watching "Stand and Deliver". This is incredibly appropriate for my students because they face some of the same issues. Hispanic surnames, poverty, drugs... the only thing we don't have here is gangs, and that's simply because there aren't enough people to pull it off. The gangs are close by, though. El Paso, Juarez, Ojinaga.... all of those are far too close for comfort. We have had family members go missing or get killed, even just within the past few weeks. Those gangs, while not residing here, definitely touch the lives of these kids. Home My grandmother is moving in with my parents, and so her house goes up for sale today. She, of course, had a lot of furniture that she didn't need, and so we got a lot of it. It's going to be difficult, though! Our house is tiny, and didn't fit the furniture we already had. However... her furniture is in much better shape, so we're doing some trade outs, so to speak. We had to store the furniture an hour and a half away, though. So, we're getting a babysitter every Saturday for... a month or so; load up the truck, get to the dump an hour and a half away before it closes, fill the truck back up again, bring it home, set it up, get the kids. We'll be following that schedule for a while! Blue! My case color has drawn some attention from those who know me well. I'm very honored to sport the color of blue, and I intend to do the best I can to continue helping out the site. Since my recent blue state, I've only written one thing - but then, that's more than I've written in a long time: "Invalid Item" . Check it out, you might like it! |
| This happened last week, but I've been so concentrated on other things (like the thing my past three entries have been about) that I have not actually written anything about this. Jaime Escalante, an absolutely amazing math teacher, died. If you've seen the movie Stand and Deliver, then you know who Jaime Escalante is. Aside from being a good movie, the man succeeded at helping quite a few students accomplish something that they never thought they would be able to achieve. Yes, the kids spent countless hours after school and on Saturdays learning the things necessary to accomplish those goals - but how many teachers do you know could inspire students to stay for two hours after school every day and come in on Saturdays... to learn more math? I wish I could be one of those teachers! (Perhaps, someday, I will be.) The movie concentrates on 1982, when his students were questioned because the Educational Testing Service thought they were cheating since so many had passed, and made the same sort of mistakes. But anyway, education has lost a great man - but we can all still learn from him. If you're unfamiliar with Jaime Escalante, or would like to read a bit more, here is the wikipedia article. It's not the greatest resource in the world, but it's better than nothing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Escalante |
 "Why didn't they use a taser?" - Uh... a taser doesn't reach that far. A gun can shoot a whole lot farther than a taser can. Come on now, people..."Why didn't they use a tranquilizer gun? It works on animals and would have been more humane!" - I think I'm just not touching this one with a ten foot pole. Tranquilizers are made for ANIMALS, not humans."Gun-happy cops! That's murder!" - Gun-happy? These guys followed him to three different places. If they were gun-happy and simply wanted the boy dead... they could have shot him at the first place. Why would they follow him all over the place if they weren't actually trying to help him and bring him home safely? They only shot when he aimed at someone else."He was mentally ill! A more civilized group of police officers would have taken that into account. This is murder!" - More civilized? Seriously... civilized? That's an insult to the entire town! Yes, the boy was mentally ill - this is all the more reason that he wouldn't respond in a rational manner. However... his mentally ill is ADHD - Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder. It isn't something that would put him in a mental hospital. It is something that you take medication for - and even if you don't, you bounce off walls and are a bit hyper, but you don't suddenly lose the capability of telling right and wrong out of nowhere.------------------------------------------ What happened was sad. The boy should be held accountable. The second someone tries killing someone else... it really matters very little how old they are. Menendez brothers, Columbine - there are hundreds of cases every year where CHILDREN are the murderers. Where children are the ones holding the guns. Why are the officers always blamed when the children ARE old enough to know better? |
| I spent last evening looking at newspapers in Houston, New Mexico, and all over the place - newspapers that truncated the story I posted a link to yesterday. Giving minimum facts, saying very little - and people gave the most... idiotic responses. I can hardly blame them, they didn't know the situation. They didn't know the family involved. They didn't even have the entire available story at the time... just a shortened version that left most everything out. Here are my responses, though I'll never respond to them on their little comment boards on their websites: "I blame video games!" No, it did not come from video games. Video games are just as violent as television has always been. I cannot TELL you how many people went, "This is what you get when you let video games control your children!" ... I don't even think the boy and his brother have a game console, though I could be mistaken. I never once heard his older brother speak of video games. (I had his older brother as a student for two years.)No, they couldn't just wait for him to "run out of bullets". Not only did they not know how many bullets he had, but... people don't shoot unless there is something to shoot at. Would you be the officer who volunteers to pop your head out every five minutes so he can shoot at you, just to make sure he runs out of bullets before you approach?No, they couldn't "shoot to injure". Officers aren't taught to injure people when they shoot them. They are taught to shoot to kill. They are also taught to do it only when they feel is necessary. Shooting someone is "deadly" force. Not "injuring" force.To all of those, "Why didn't they bring his parents out?!?!" ... they did bring his mother out. He shot at her, too.Oh, and these ones are RICH. "Bring in the SWAT teams and a negotiator!" SWAT teams are brought in to KILL. Well, that and... it is a town of around 500 people. Total. They don't have a swat team. They don't have a professional negotiator. They don't have enough money to have such things. They have some very well-meaning officers who did the best that they could, followed a boy to three DIFFERENT sites, and then shot him when he took aim at a game warden, and therefore put another person's life in danger. If it had been a child he'd aimed at, or a civilian, the tone would be entirely different. But, since it was a law enforcement officer, people are putting the blame on them."He's only 14! He doesn't know the difference between right and wrong!" People, my children are five, and they know the difference between right and wrong. Pointing a loaded gun at someone is wrong. Shooting at someone is wrong. You don't have to be 30 to know that. You cannot SAY he didn't realize the guns would kill people - he knew very well what guns could do. And you can't say that video games blinded him to that, either. That's simply ridiculous."This is what bullying and torturing at school will do!" ... the boy hasn't been to school in three years. If he was bullied and tortured, the only person to blame could be his brother (not that I am doing so). He has had no other interaction with the school children unless he's seen them outside of the campus."This is why you never call the cops. He was an innocent boy! He was missing! Since when do we shoot missing children?!?!" ... well, since they have a gun and are shotting at them. He wasn't innocent. He was armed, he'd broken into several houses, and he'd stolen these guns.Do I wish it had turned out differently? Absolutely. Do I believe those officers did everything they could to make it turn out differently? Yes, I actually do. Could some different decisions have been made? Well, yes. But how many times have we made decisions we look back on and cringe about? The fact is - these officers took the life of a boy. They will be living with that for the rest of their lives. They didn't get joy out of it, as some people so rudely and inconsiderately mentioned. I imagine it was one of the hardest decisions they'd ever made in their entire lives. Give the officers a break. Oh, and here's the "updated" news story - mostly, the mother is relaying information (from her viewpoint) about her son: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14833714 Sara Jean I am a teacher, and I can say one thing about the profession. While it is sometimes frustrating, it is never boring. |
| It is frightening to hear of the death of a child on the evening news. It becomes terrifying when you realize you know the family and child in question. And then it becomes sickening when you realize you are not surprised by what happened. Not because the law enforcement did anything wrong (they didn't), but because it is something that I predicted in my own mind over a year ago. Not in specific detail, but I feared one of the boys would die this way when I met the family. Http://elpasotimes.com/news/ci_14826948 |
| I don't offer a rant within my blog very often, but I suppose right now I feel I simply must. Why? Because I am frustrated! (Though, not as much as that exclamation point might indicate.) As far as I understand, this is a website designed for writers and readers. Unfortunately, it seems a lot of people simply don't read! Why do I say this? Well, I've run contest after contest. Every single time there are nearly half of the entries that aren't entered correctly. Why? Because people don't READ the rules and guidelines. I used to run "Invalid Item" , but I eventually gave up. So many people were getting disqualified, that I was only able to award prizes to one or two each month, no matter how many people were entering. In the last round I ran, I had to disqualify 6 or 7 people, leaving only one of the entries as eligible.This is, to say the least, a little depressing. "Invalid Item" was one of my favorite competitions to run. I loved the idea, and the concept was so much fun to come up with every month. The fact that people on a writing website could not read and follow rules, however, really got to me. I haven't really run a contest since.... until now. I decided to run a little casual contest in my jokes forum, and I'm running into the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. People aren't reading. They aren't reading the rules, and they aren't reading the hints that I'm giving them. "Invalid Item" In their defense, maybe I wasn't completely clear. Maybe the entries before the contest began are confusing people. Maybe I need to just clear out the entire in&out and start over. In fact, I think I'll do that. Tonight. Once I've gotten over the frustration. (Or maybe today, in a little bit.) |
| So, I've been staring at this space, intending to write out a whole lot of my memories of my grandfather. It's not as if I'll forget them, ever, I suppose I just want to get them down; let other people know how wonderful he was. As you can very well see, that hasn't happened yet. It probably won't, not for a while. I'm doing alright with the death, but some wounds are still raw, and it is still unbelievable to me that I'll never see him wandering around the house in his red and green socks anymore. However, I did get something done that I intended to do! It took quite a while for it to go from idea form to implementation, but it's there, and I'm very happy with it! Since I am more inclined to "write" than type when I'm completing a story (not sure why, I guess I'm old-fashioned), I converted one of my empty spirals into a writing notebook. I added the first five chapters of "The Case of the Misplaced Fortune" [E] by printing them out on different colored paper, and then I glued it all in. I completed an outline of the first five chapters just to familiarize myself with the story I had written so long ago... and I'm now in the middle of the sixth chapter! I haven't added anything to this book for... years now. At least two. (Man, I need to change the name of that book...)So, I'm excited. Maybe I haven't gotten everything accomplished that I intended to... but I actually added to the book, which I have been wanting to do for a very long time. Yay for bad handwriting! |
| Things happen in our lives all the time that we don't expect. We make decisions, never realizing what they might mean to us weeks later. Last month, my grandparents made the decision that they'd not be traveling for Thanksgiving unless they could see their grandchildren. So, my husband and I made the decision to travel to the family gathering place, so they would come, too, and they could see the children. My grandfather fell that weekend, and refused to go to the doctor. He fell again this last week, and again he refused to go to the doctor. Once forced, they found out that he'd broken his pelvic bone in the fall, among other things. He went into surgery yesterday, and they removed a few bone shards from his back, a puss sack from his back, and got him all fixed up. He was supposed to be in rehab for a few weeks, but otherwise, he'd be fine. We got notice... that my grandfather died after inhaling some of his own vomit this afternoon. They simply couldn't bring him back. You always wonder sometimes. What would have happened if he'd gone to the doctor sooner? Why did he refuse? ... I am so glad we made the decision to go see them over Thanksgiving. None of us ever expected that it would be the last time we saw him - but I am glad we got the opportunity, and took it. Take care with your decisions - especially with those dealing with family. |
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This is absolutely hilarious! My kind of humor.
My life's been busier than normal, too, but NOTHING like yours. 
Hope everything's okay.
