For the Love of Poptarts

For those of you who don't know this, or are not as refined as to know the nuances of fine cuisine, Poptarts are the most perfect food. They are, in all their gooey crusty goodness, the yardstick by which every other pastry, nay, every dessert and sweet breakfast food, must be measured. As a breakfast staple, Brown Sugar Cinnamon must be toasted; Chocolate versions may be eaten raw or heated. Once the crinkly shiny wrapper is opened, both pastries must be consumed within the week, err, day, perhaps hour. The important part is that it must be consumed, although a slightly stale Poptart is still completely edible. Did I say edible? I meant delicious. Those that know me, know of my Poptart diet. Not, alas, that I eat only Poptarts. It is just that Poptarts are the yardstick by which every other food is measured. The lovely Frosted Chocolate Vanilla Crème is 190 calories and 5 grams of fat. Potato chips are 160 calories and 10 grams of fat. No brainer, people! The brown sugar cinnamon has a scandalous 7 grams of fat, but still beats most fried foods. When I gaze at a Big Mac, or worse, the Whopper, I can think back to the Frosted Pumpkin Pie Poptart, a lovely Autumn delight, and resist. At 5 grams of fat and 200 calories, it is still a dietary bargain.
I am a realistic woman. I cannot exist on Poptarts alone, nor would I want to. However, it does allow me to see that good things come in small packages, can be bought cheaply, and to completely renew my faith in humankind.

Imaginarium......a writer's good time

Okay, so one day later I'm looking back at my first writer's conference, and let me tell you, it was great!!  I have lots of hats I wear these days: wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, Speech/Language Pathologist, high school employee, and too often last on my list, writer.  It was so refreshing to see a whole group of people in my situation.  We are all struggling the constant pull on our time, juggling priorities like lead balls.  But we write because we love it, and when you need to write, you do.

I discovered that writers are like snowflakes, no two are the same.  Pretty great simile, right?  Oh, and they stick together to make a fabulous snowman. But they love to laugh, to mix and mingle, to share ideas, and to learn.  How cool is that!

This conference was a great opportunity to network.  I got to meet authors, editors, publishers, book cover artists, and other artists.  I got to shop for bunches of books, buy a few, write down the titles of others that I plan to buy in ebook form, and talk in panels.  Subjects ranged from Young Adult/New Adult and an author's responsibility when writing for kids, to mythical beasts/demons/angels that can add some originality and fun in your writing.

And I got to talk to people about my own interests, my dogs, my talking parrots, my family, and my work with special needs kids.  In the end, I realized that while we all are different, we all are the same in our love of the printed word.

Write on, my friends, write on!

Check out my Goodreads giveaway!!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19416440-the-parrot-told-me

Your chance to win a print copy of The Parrot Told Me!

For the love of a dog....

I adopted Stanley, a standard poodle puppy, when he was just 10 weeks old.  He was already a good sized puppy, bred in a backyard, belly full of worms, when I took him to the vet.  He was a bargain puppy at 150 bucks, but the vet bill soon made him as pricey as any full bred pup would have been.  I knew better.  I honestly did, but if I had to do it over again, I would have.  He had an excellent temperament. 
Stanley grew up to be 70 pounds of love.  People scoff at standard poodles with their dressy haircuts and fluffed fur.  But the truth is, under the fancy is a reliable, intelligent, and protective hunting dog.  Stanley was great with the kids, a little silly, often making me laugh.  He was my therapy assistant when kids would come to my house for speech/language therapy.  He was great for a reinforcement for good works.  He was a good companion, an overgrown lapdog, and a good friend.
When Stanley was five years old, he got into a trash can after we had hosted a cookout and, unbeknownst to us, swallow a corn cob.  He began vomiting and after some time with no relief, I rushed him to the all night vet hospital.  Thousands of dollars later, we brought him home, stitches and all.  It wasn't a great time in my life, stressful is not even the word for it, but when you love dogs like family members, you do what you must.  He recovered from the surgery and was back to his normal self by the fall.
One year later, Stanley ate something else and the symptoms repeated.  Unfortunately, surgery wasn't an option this time, and he didn't make it.
I have had losses in my life, but the loss of a dog is a very real grief.  In some ways, you feel even worse because you want to believe it's just a dog.  But in your heart, it's more than that.
It's been five years since I lost my Stanley.  I write this in encouragement for people to be so cautious about what they give their dogs to play with.  No stuffed animals, no rawhide, no stringy bones, no anything that can form a blockage in the stomach or bowels.
We take pleasure in the things that God has given us.  I look forward to the day that I get to see Stanley in heaven because I truly believe that he will be there.  For me, that is what heaven is.

Free book, really, free!

For those who have enjoyed listening to my rambling, and those who just notice the word free, I wanted to give you a chance to walk away with a copy of my newly released print version of  The Parrot Told Me!  I will happily sign it, and gratefully send it for the lucky winners on the Goodreads giveaway.
Just visit and enter to win!!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/103660-the-parrot-told-me