Book Progress

I am officially two-thirds of the way through my book. Whew! I am starting to move fast and furiously now. The words are flowing in a way they weren't before, and I am finding it easier to weave the different patterns together and add depth. I am really in the groove, and I think it will not be long before this thing is finished! Yay! :)

My Vision Board

Usually, I am not into the latest books and activities designed to "bring the world to greater enlightenment" (think "A New Earth" and "The Secret.") It's
not that I think these ideas don't have some merit - I do - it's that I have other paths for getting there that are, for me, more direct. Plus, I tend to already know and have in place their premises, likely as an inherent result of my intuitiveness and connection with God. I believe all people should do whatever it is that works for them, myself included!

I did have quite a bit of fun, though, with something a group of us did over the weekend. The idea was to create "vision boards" on which we put things we would like to manifest in our lives. On mine, I have a romantic love section, a personal/spiritual section, and a career/money section. (For the record, I am not a supporter of this type of activity for kids, unless you have the ability and the time to raise their thinking patterns beyond celebrities, sports cars, and junk food.)

Here are some of the quotes I used:
Living life as an exclamation and love as a journey
An aura of peace and happiness
Author of the #1 Bestseller
Channel your energy.
Feel the Glow.
Grow. Be comfortable with who you are - even if that changes by the minute.
Simple acts of kindness
Good vibes club
Let your goodness blossom.
Happiness is invincible.
Ahead of the curve
Open your heart.
Peace. Harmony. Laughter. Love.
Discover the Sublime.
Make room for fun.
Fun fearless female author
Bliss
Open your mind, listen to your heart, make a new beginning.

... and more. I think if you click on the picture, you can see a bigger version with more detail. I thought it was awesome that the "When Harry Met Sally" quote was on one of the pages, and you can't beat that wedding cake topper! (For more Harry and Sally quotes, try this great page Erin sent me.) I had trouble finding book/author stuff, but I finally managed to create a small section for it. Surprise, surprise: there was more romantic material in women's magazines than anything else!

I guess now I look at this every day, and bring these things my way! :)

9/11, Hurricanes: Opportunities for Love

Seven years ago may seem like a long time ago to some. Many feel that reliving those moments today only reopen old wounds that have scarred over and lessened with time. For me, the reality of that day – not so long ago – is as real today as it ever was.
It hits me deep inside my gut as I remember how I moment-by-moment lived through what was then the unknown, and how I watched as that unknown grew more and more horrible. I remember knowing that the worst was not over as I followed the events. I remember feeling the pain that engulfed me as I empathetically received it from the so many who were closer than I. I remember scanning through every news channel hoping for one more bit of information, one more fact, one more bit of knowledge to help me create a picture of the enormity of what had happened, so that I could find some sense in all of it. It took me years to not check the news constantly as a way to temper my fears.
Today, I still feel an internal sense of heightened alert, one that I am not sure will ever go away. I have attained a sense of peace, however, and my belief that good far outweighs bad has only been strengthened. It is hard for me to call any event – whether human made or natural – a tragedy – because always, always, there is the good that follows. I can hope, over the course of a lifetime, to be so noble as the many were in the course of minutes. What we realize - when the smoke eases, when the waters recede - is that in these terrible moments, our humanity, our oneness with God - sometimes clouded by our earthliness - emerges.
To understand the kindness, the love for humanity that these moments bring out in all of us is to understand our souls and our purpose in life. Life is about God, and God is about Love. It doesn’t matter how you get there, if you take the direct route or the back roads, if you hit a lot of potholes or if you have smooth sailing. Whatever it takes, love. Love God, Love Others, Love Yourself. Simply Love. Love uplifts all, conquers all, achieves all. It is who we are. Everything else – that’s all it is: everything else.
Love.
It touches me that today, on the anniversary of 9/11, we face another event from which the opportunity to love will present itself. How poignant that we remember the victims of a terrorist attack on a day when we face an impending natural disaster, and how remarkable that this natural disaster reminds us of yet another natural disaster. We feel the pain, yes. Some even feel the fear. But - move beyond that. What is underneath? It is the love of people pulling together and helping others and serving others. These events that are awful in so many ways also bring out our best, and are our reminder that in our humanity, in humankind, we are one. Let us do unto others as we would have others do unto us. I, for one, choose to love.

~ You’ll remember the last time we faced such a large-scale hurricane evacuee population in Austin, I volunteered at the Red Cross shelter at the Austin Convention Center. You might like to read through some of what I experienced then. There are multiple posts so the simplest way is to click on the year 2005 in the sidebar and then scroll down to the beginning of September. There is some interesting stuff there. I was both reporting (in articles) and commenting (in columns) at the time for publications - in addition to volunteering - so I have an immersed perspective.

Just Dance!

Ballet Austin had an event Sunday where they were offering demonstrations and free classes. Since I love to dance and am a sucker for free stuff, I decided to try out all four of the sessions! I started with Ballet Fit, where we used basic ballet moves to strengthen our muscles, and then the Pilates mat class. Both of these types of classes create long, lean muscles, which is definitely what I prefer. Next, I took Flamenco, mainly because my friend Ellen wanted to take it. Lastly, I took hip hop, which is my favorite kind of dance. All of it was a lot of fun, but I was exhausted afterward, so much so that I thought I would collapse! I even went to bed at 10 p.m., which is way, way early for me! I thought I'd be sore this morning (48 hours later,) but I'm just a little tight - not too bad!

I did have a disturbing incident yesterday that I'll mention. In my front yard, I found a dead cat that was missing its head and its front arms. The rest of it looked absolutely normal; it was just missing a third of itself, and I could not find the missing parts anywhere. It was what looked like a very well-taken care of grey cat. I couldn't bring myself to touch it so I had someone do me a huge favor and come put it in a bag for me. Just now, within the last few minutes, the city finally picked it up. I'd had to see it outside my office window all that time.
Some family will never see their kitty again. :(

Back to School Stories

I'm published again this month in a couple of magazines. Baltimore's Child features my back to school on a budget column-style story, and Mahoning Valley/Trumbull County Parent Magazine is running Homework Hassles, which discusses ways to approach homework with different types of kids.

Yes, it's back to school time! And -- time to get down to business. I cracked open a book with literary agents in it last week. It was just a peek, but an important one, because it helped me focus a little more on future results, instead of just the writing process. I'm not ready to start my search for an agent yet, but I'm thinking October will be the month. One more month of solid writing is what I think I need right now. Of course, who knows!? :)

The Two Carolines

I had my cousin Caroline with me for part of last week. It is always so great to see her!

We went to camp together a couple of times - for art and for canoeing - and, since she has an interest in nature photography, we also went to the Botanical Gardens. I'd never been to ours before, and I was glad I had the opportunity because it was a really pretty area. Plus, we had fun!

Native American Connection

Over the course of most of my life, I can't say that I have been particularly drawn to Native American spiritual beliefs. Recently, however, things keep "popping" into my life that have slowly brought about an interest in at least learning tangentially about them. For example, a few months ago, while out walking, I came across a group of Native Americans blessing Town Lake. That proved pretty interesting, as I was brave enough to stop by and ask questions about what was going on. Then, sage has been around a lot lately, it seems. You may be aware that sage, according to a wide array of spiritual beliefs, including those of the Native Americans, removes negative energy and negative spirits so it can be used, for example, in a house to "clear" the energy or after coming in contact with a negative person to "clear" any lingering energy that may remain. You'd read about sage in most any feng shui book, too, actually. I also have a friend who seems to have quite a bit of a Native American connection that I keep feeling/sensing. At first I didn't understand what I was getting, but now I am starting to, especially since he reminds me of a tribal chief or royalty of some sort. Then, I ran into a Cherokee in the gym sauna, of all places, and we conversed about stones such as turquoise and other areas of Native American culture.

Of course, the Barton Springs area has quite a bit of Native American history, and I am there a lot volunteering. I had a recent communication experience there with a Native American spirit, which was interesting, as he played his drum for me. (Yes, you read that right.) And, in the camps, they try to incorporate a lot of the Native American beliefs into their programs, such as respect for the earth and elders, etc. I've done some fun things with the kids to enrich the learning experience in this regard: we made dreamcatchers and leather headbands, and we discovered and then made totem poles with our animal totems. The kids get a big kick out of all this stuff.

With the animal totems, for example, Native Americans believe that we have one main animal totem with us throughout our lives and then we have nine other animal totems that come to us at certain points in our lives to help us learn lessons. I told the kids that, according to these beliefs, the animal they have now may be there to teach them how to get along with others and how to respect their parents and teachers, etc. Later, like in college, a different animal might be there to teach them how to focus and study and how to think about their life in terms of the big picture. I was trying to communicate that we always can learn lessons from what is around us, these animals and their related characteristics and personality traits being one way. I wasn't sure the kids would get the premise and thought they would all lean toward everyday animals, like cats and dogs, but I got a remarkably wide array of animals from them - coyotes, snakes, butterflies, hawks, dragons, turtles, etc. Of course, kids are so much more open naturally to spirituality than are us (mostly) closed-minded, indoctrinated adults. I'm sure it helped how I explained it, too, though. God has a way of putting the right words in my mouth when I can positively impact others.

This picture shows me in one of the headbands I made, and I think it kind of makes me look like a Native American princess, if I do say so. ;) Keep in mind it was probably 100 degrees when this was taken, but I thought you might like to see it anyway. I don't know what all this Native American stuff means for my own life, but it's interesting so I go with it and explore. I'm always open to learning.

A Record Writing Day

Yesterday, I wrote 5,000 words for one of my books! That, I'm sure, is a record for me in one day!
My creative juices have been there since starting again, but they have been flowing more in trickles than in downpours. And, I also have felt the need to pull myself in, to center myself a bit before delving fully into things. Thankfully, I recognized that I should allow myself to enjoy the break this offered because I felt like when it hit - it would hit - as it has!
I am going to try to write the same amount today. It's mentally exhausting and mentally stimulating, but so far all brain function appears intact! ;)

I also have a story that I wrote a long time ago out this month in Kansas City Parent. It's a column-style piece about helping kids learn money management through the back to school shopping experience. You can read the whole story here.

With Great Delight

"Live imperfectly with great delight."

I came across this little saying and loved it. And, it just so happens that "delight" is one of my new favorite words. It's so happy and cheery and, well ... all-around delightful! I find myself using it all the time now. I find delight in all I can!

When I Grow Up

This writing thing is going to work out, wonderfully, I believe.

But, if it ever doesn't:
I want to be She-Ra, Princess of Power. Or Wonder Woman, the crime fighting beauty. Or Nancy Drew, the fearless super sleuth. Or, Jessica Fletcher, mystery solver extraordinaire.

Mmm ... Imagine the possibilities ... especially if I could blend them into one SUPER CAROLINE!

My B-Day!

Last week, I celebrated another birthday!

It was a great day! I taught arts and crafts to the camp kids in the morning, went swimming at Deep Eddy in the afternoon, and spent the evening with great friends! What a way to start this new year and this new chapter in my life! : )

Santa Barbara, CA

Just got back from visiting Santa Barbara with my best friend. It was a wonderful trip! It's so pretty there, and we visited a mission, went to a wine festival, perused a farmer's market, strolled a shopping district, walked the main pier where we had a grandpa sea lion come right up to us and look in our eyes -- so much! It was an awesome trip, and I came home only to keep right on going by taking a trip to Schlitterbahn with my sister!

It's really great to be able to spend time with friends and family. Hope you all have time to do that, also, over this Fourth of July holiday. Happy Fourth!

Let Summer Camps Begin!

Well, there is a first time for everything, I suppose.
My canoe finally tipped over in Town Lake - with me and four kids in it! Of course, it didn't just happen to tip over - I hear there was a bounty out for who could get me the wettest, and we can presume someone has a nice prize this evening! :P
I did learn I am strong enough to swim a canoe filled with five inches of water and four children at a darn good clip - I guess those years on the swim team paid off. : )

We are two canoe nights and two carnival nights into the summer season of the Austin Sunshine Camps, where I volunteer. (I talked about it here last summer.) Everything is great so far. We spent a lot of time prepping beforehand making new games, like bean bag tosses and such. We made these out of wood (yes, I helped use a saw and a drill!) and then we painted them. I wanted to bring in an element of learning when possible so you'll see I added quite a bit of detail to the solar system game and some espanol to the sun one. The baseball player one I just stuck with good, ol' fun. It was a lot of work, but these will last for years, and it is wonderful to see the kids playing them!

Parting Ways with Texas Family Magazine

I finally am going to do it. I finally am going to finish at least one of my many books!
I feel like the time in my life is right for me to do this. I am very eager to begin this next chapter and am delighted to see where this path takes me.
I will miss all of the great relationships I formed as part of Texas Family Magazine and feeling like I truly was helping families across the state, but I am positive that this is the best decision for me.
And, I am very happy!

Whew! Non-stop attention

Whew! I have had my one-and-a-half year old niece Alivia for two days. It was her first "away from home" trip, and quite an experience it was! I am exhausted! It is so nerve-wracking taking care of someone else's child. Danger seems to be lurking everywhere!
I am usually so together - on top of every detail, every piece of knowledge - but I swear there were parts of my brain that simply did not have the juice to function while I was taking care of her. It's like the brain can only handle so much, and survival just jumps right up to the top and knocks the other stuff out. And, I am so used to just running around, darting from here to there - that just doesn't happen with a young one. I'll say it again, "Whew!"
I am happy to report, though, that I have returned her in, from what I can tell, the same condition as when I received her. :P We actually did just fine. There were no meltdowns or tantrums. And, she tolerated me just fine, too! There was actually no crying at all; we just had a lot of fun. Distraction is the element that made it work! :)

Violet Aura

I went to a World Wellness Expo this weekend. I love this kind of stuff! Mostly I just like to look around and absorb and learn. One of the speakers was John Gray, of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" fame. He talked about a lot of interesting stuff - like the female hormone oxytocin, which makes women feel happy - but also was really quite funny.

The most fascinating part of my experience was an in-depth aura and chakra reading. I was solid violet. Solid, the whole way through. Violet is the color of spirituality. Some of the descriptions in my report: able to attain unlimited spiritual knowledge, healing and clairvoyance, may raise the energy vibrations of others simply by being in their presence, psychic abilities, understanding synchronicity, others notice my inner light, put the highest vibrational frequency out into the world, visionary, perhaps a gifted writer, may find myself in a position of power or visibility deeply affecting the lives of many people, present to the world a unique reality, have the vivid imagination required to write bestselling novels, may be coming into my power as a spiritual beacon, visionary, and guiding light. This website also has a pretty good description.

If you remember, about six months ago, I was Indigo. I guess I am evolving, or however it should be described. Btw, I am not bragging. I am fascinated. Like I said, love this stuff!

Beach and Dolphins in Corpus

Here are a few more pictures from the Corpus trip - one from my brief sunset stop by the beach and then pictures from the Texas State Aquarium, where I participated in a Deckside Dolphin Experience. It was so fun to play with the dolphins!!

And, because I'm all about the practical tip: Notice how well you can block a wall of water simply by lifting your leg. :P

Around Corpus Christi Beach

Amidst the never-boring conundrum that is my life, there are some fun moments.

Here I am (in the middle) riding horses on Corpus Christi beach. I had to include this picture so you could see Ashley - the mere fact that she is doing ballet moves on top of a horse should tell you how awesome she is. ;)

We also went moped-ing around Corpus Christi beach. I must admit I am a bit of a chicken with certain things (and a daredevil with others,) and riding a moped made me a little nervous. :O But, at least I got the pink one. :D

My Life

My life is a giant pot of uncomfortableness, stirred often.

Trace Evidence

I had to get fingerprinted this morning. A lot of different organizations have been requiring this lately, and it's a good thing, I'm sure, for most purposes. At the same time, it feels kind of weird.

I have a vague remembrance of giving a thumbprint in grade school as part of some sort of kids' safety initiative - perhaps involving McGruff, the Crime Dog - but this time they did all of my fingers and my thumbs and took a picture. Something about it was a little, "Whoah!" Like, "There goes my privacy!" Not that I'll likely ever have to worry about being a suspect or anything like that, but all the same ... What if I decide to re-invent myself and go chase tornadoes in Tornado Alley? Or, be a librarian in a remote, small town? All it would take is that one discarded paper cup for someone to track me down (hat tip: all my TRU/Court TV shows.)

Of course, this is coming from someone who jokes (sort of) about putting chips in her future children, just like they do for cats and dogs. Hey - really - why not?