Let's Tardis Hop...for Funsies

Much to be said and much to do now that I am back from fantasy land...

This Week:
      *Reading: been plowing throw The Amber Spyglass (Phillip Pullman) and coursing through The Festival of Bones (James A. Owen). Nothing completed yet, pretty sure I will have Amber Spyglass done by Wednesday or Thursday.
       *Writing: wrote Wednesday, Thursday, and a little on Friday. Weds. and Thurs. were Modern Muses writing blitzes. The story is getting good. I might use it for NaNoWriMo 2015. Friday I wrote a poem, because wanted to make it to five days in a row of writing. I got 4 days of work on the WIP and one day of poetry. Not bad, certainly better than previous weeks with only two or three days of any kind of writing.
      *Editing: Edited more of The Real Road Trip on Weds and Thurs. Nothing Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Trying for five days a week on editing, in the same vein as the writing goal.
      *Social Media: I stopped at Friday. Too days to enjoy being outside and with friends that I sacrificed Friday. I did get 4 blogs daily Weds and Thurs. and all sponsor duties completed.

The Sexy Summer Duo!

It's too nice of a summer to ignore going out and enjoying life on weekends. And summer is about enjoyment and outside (or at least not glued to a computer screen). There will be plenty of days coming where being outside is not worth a dime. I have only one more weekend where I can travel before summer ends , officially that is. Labour Day marks summer end for me. As the final day before school begins, I have always held that before Labour Day is summer, after is autumn. Thus, I fill my summer weekends with traveling and fun stuff and after this summer of determination and self discovery, I realized I need to have weekends to play during the summer months.

With that being said, autumn is a good season, with colours changing, crisp air, pumpkin everything, and that last minute feeling that the world is alive. It's a joyous time and one that I fully embrace, even if it's sad at the 'death of the greenery' of summer. There is magic in the green and growing, by there is a subtle quiet beauty in the death of summer and beginnings of autumn. Like curling up in your favourite chairs with a cup of cocoa and reading a favourite book, wearing hoodies, orange, red, and gold, bonfires, etc.

This weekend was Twin Tiers Comic Con, the small but mighty local convention of nerdom, fandom, and all things that we love to geek out about. This was my third convention In have attended since 2013 and my friend Amanda's first. (I dressed her as the 4th Doctor) We ran into many and almost stole the Tardis away :-) Well Donna did! Here are a few shots from the land of the nerds in my neck of the woods.

So what of this week? A return to form and only slightly behind.

Also, I got to see a production of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by March Hare Productions and a reprise of Centre Stage's Another Visit to the Golden Age of Radio. A very theatr-centric weekend. If you are local March Hare's Virginia Woolf performs next weekend. For more details check them out here, March Hare!

This (upcoming) Week:
    *Reading: finish The Amber Spyglass and The Festival of Bones. So close! SO CLOSE!!!! I will do it!!
    *Writing: write daily, at least 300 words.
    *Editing: edit 4 pages a day (or more) of The Real Road Trip. I am trying to get through the manuscript by August 31st.
    *Blogging: plan and post a new non-ROW80 post this week (before Friday at the latest).
    *Social Media: 4 blog daily (2 from WIPpet Wednesday) and sponsor duties. Spend sometime on twitter and connect with followers. I need to find a way to measure this.
    *Submission: 2 submissions. I to spend sometime on looking for journal, sites, and contests to submit to. If you have any, please share. I am looking for poetry, stories, and even play site to submit to.

A Round of Words in 80 Days, the blog challenge that knows you have a life. Come check us out and visit the Blog Hop and visit with other writers, poets, and bloggers. cheer them on!! HUZZAH!

It's was a hot and humid weekend. Almost like summer decided to come back to play. After a cooler and wetter beginning to the summer, this hot weather feels good. What do you like about the end of summer? How do you spend the last weeks of August, Dear Readers? For me it's one weekend more of travel you visit family, the State Fair, and maybe a trip to a nearby amusement park (Seabreeze and /or Eldridge Park).

Birthday Weekend 2013

I had a few ideas for things I wanted to write about this week, but couldn't really settle on enough to make a blog worth while. It is almost like over the last 2 weeks I got some great snippets of neat nostalgia and inspiring things, but not enough for a full blog, or so I thought.

I am sitting here in my study, listening to "Welcome to the Neighborhood" by Meatloaf, second time through actually, drinking coffee I starting thinking. Why not just blog about the last 2 weeks. There is a lot of stuff that can be connected and sometimes it's nice to see what I've been up to. Today is my low key lazy day, filled with running some choreography for the parts I am in "Best in Little Whorehouse in Texas", drinking coffee and catching up on life. It rather a quiet day, but the perfect day for reflection and chore doing. But, that's not relaxing, is it? For me, doing laundry and putting the dishes away is completely relaxing. And since my dryer still hasn't been replaced, it's line drying for me, but today is breezy and partly sunny. So, while the clothes are 'drying' in coffee and dancing for me, followed by Meatloaf. ~SIGH~

What have I been up  to lately? Well, first of all, you all should know by now that (from the above paragraph) I am currently rehearsing for a production of "Best Little Whorehouse". It is definitely in my top 10 of musicals (see previous post about musicals). I am in the chorus with a slew of other talented folks and some freaking talented leads too. Often the choral parts are more demanding, having to learn more songs and dance steps than the lead (although not always). Today's work includes "Texas Has a Whorehouse In It" and "24 Hours". I haven't dance and sang together this heavy since the Lake Country Player's production of "Beauty and the Beast" in 2006.

"Watchdog's gonna get you. He's gonna shine his light on you...."

This weekend was my 34th birthday weekend. I am not ashamed of my age, I prefer to live and NOT be worried about a number. My birthday was August 2nd, a Friday. I got to sleep in and in the afternoon visit some of my favourite people, the Love's (Ryan, Sara, Wendy, and newborn Daphne), where I got a birthday cake, a balloon, and sung to by some of my best theatre friends. I even placed Candyland with Wendy Love, Sara's adorable 3 year old daughter. The game board has changed quite a bit from the 80's, there a few characters added and a couple have been removed, while others have been re-tooled. I guess my nostalgia really kicked in when I saw the Queen Frostine is now Princess Frostine and looks more like a tweaked up version of a Bratz doll/Disney Princess. Also, there no Plumby, Grandma Nutt or Mr. Mint, having been replaced by the likes of Grandma Gooey, Duke of Swirl, and the Gingerbread Kids. I guess it's a sign of the times, but wow! It was still fun to play, and I never thought I would be playing Candyland on my birthday.

I also drew a picture of Maximus (from Tangled and Wendy's FAVOURITE movie) in Banana Pants. I am working on a full colourized version for all to see (I've included the pencil sketch here).

Me and Sara Love

Carousel Shot

Carousel Shot

Yesterday my friends Amy (from college) and Richard came down from Rochester to play Putt Putt, ride the Dragon Boats and the Carousel at Eldridge Park in Elmira, NY. It felt great to be a kid again. After being an adult for far too long, it's nice to revert back to childhood, the good parts at least, and play skeet ball, pinball, ride the Carousel (picking your favourite animal to ride is a tough choice), and laughing. This is the second such day of youthful shenanigans I have had with DAScottJr; last weekend it was Darien Lake. Where we rode the Viper, Sleighride, and Grizzly Run to name a few. It was only the fourth time going to Darien Lake in my life and the first since Six Flags left...eh, oh well, it still look basically the same since the last time I had been there. There were new rides and what not, like the wilderness area with the GIANT wooden rocking chair and the Motor-Coaster (that was a fun ride), but I still knew where most of the rides were located, like the Predator, the Carousel, Grizzly Run, and the Pirate Ship. It was a blast!

Some shots from Darien Lake.

Some shots of our day at Eldridge Park.

Hole-in-One David

Weeping Amy

Lake Eldridge

Riding Eragon

Dragon Boats

The Ladies on Eragon

The Men on Eragon

Meet Gaspara the Red!

Cute!

I love these guys!!!

Saphira the Indigo Dragon

And today, the 12th Doctor is revealed! Oh, the excitement!

Thanks The Doctor Who Hub for the picture

It's been a fantastic weekend! Not read to go back to work, but lots of exciting stuff coming up. The summer is going by really fast, but I guess I am not surprised, it seems to happen every year.It was the best birthday ever! Thank you!!!

"Y'all come back now, Y'here!"

My Support Sytem Online: Links Sunday!

I don't do shout outs, but I do like giving credit to where credit is due.  I have some VERY supportive friends and some great mentors. Today I want to tell you about them.

Vicky is the first. My writer friend in Washington state. She has been a great resource and source of encouragement with my writing. She is currently writing  her own fantasy series: The Destinies of Mirnth. She has a Facebook page as well: The Destinies of Mirnth Facebook. I have to saw that I am excited when these books are finished on an the shelves! Oh, yes, she is an AMAZING artist, whether its pencil or watercolours. Her website has some of her drawing for the series and a link to her blog page that has some of her work.

James Owen is probably the coolest person you could have as a mentor. He's an amazing writer and daring soul that bares in all in his Meditations Trilogy. When he talks, you give him respect. The advise and encouragement he has given through his words has been priceless. I cannot thank him enough with helping me to see that my goals are reachable. Check out his website: Coppervale International. He also has a Facebook page: James A. Owen.

There is Allison, my friend from way back and college (when we hooked back up after a spell). She has rediscovered her blog and is going at full tilt. She also writes poems, prose, and stories, pretty good too (not biased at all). Go and check her out: Angel Gal's Realm. Oh, she also knits and crochets. I don't think I have ever seen her without some form of yarn or thread. :-) Her baby blankets are beautiful! Angel Gal's Esty Shop

Carrie-Lee Touhey makes cookies, very yummy cookies!!  Just recently she and her husband have open their own cookie shop in Hyannis, MA with fresh homemade cookies, and other local homemade products from ice-cream to coffee. You can also place order for cookie if you are have in the area to visit The Cape Cod Cookie. Check it out, Eat the Cookies: The Cape Cookie Cookie. Cape Cod Cookie Facebook page here: Facebook page.

Hannah Rockcliffe is a multi-talented  musican, singer-songwriter on the internet. She make youtube videos of some amazingly beautiful music. She has a live steaming show at YouNow.com, search for Hannah-Rei. Her website has all of her music available for purchase, or you can get her new albums on iTunes. Check out her website: Hannah-Rei. She is a little bit Soul and a little bit R & B and all British!


Finally, my wonderful husband David, he blogs about Public Domain Cartoons here: VCR from Heck or his videos on YouTube: DAScottJr or Funny or Die: DAScottJr. He has been more than supportive in my writing and blogging endevours. Thank you!

I leave you with this.....Your Welcome!!!

There is always time...

Something has occurred to me. When you think that your have had the wrong choices, that there is always time to make new and better choices. Part of this stem from reading James A. Owen, "Drawing Out the Dragons" and "The Barbizon Diaries", well much of it has, as they are truly amazing books, but this year has been about looking at your choices and choosing to make those better choices. I have made some truly DUMB choices, or mediocre choices that let to MAJOR regrets, but now I see that you can't let the past dictate how you live. I don't mean that one should forget the past, after all, "If you forget the past, you are doomed to repeat it..." Quite simple in logic, but not in practice. I am quite guilty of this, but lately I can't bring myself to follow that path anymore.

See, some time ago I realized that I wanted to write, not just part time, but I wanted to be a real writer. After a good many years of false starts and fake attempts, I started this blog, and I took my skill to heart. I started writing. I might not be at publishing level yet, but I am making the start. Not all of my choices are the best, but I am trying. This blog is a place to test some of this writing, as is my Facebook Writing page. I am learning to take risks! I am willing to put my work out there. Even after a number of years post college of not writing and wasting my time. It really wasn't wasted when I look back on it, I just wasn't ready.

Chevy Spark AKA the Uni-Pickle

This is a lot like a number of things that I have encountered lately, some even over the weekend. While visiting my dad for Memorial Day I got to ride in his new car. Not many people know this, or know my dad,  but he has been without a license for too long. He finally chose to re-apply for his permit and now as a new car (Chevy Spark) and will be completely licensed by mid to late June. Yes, there had been mistakes made prior to this, but my dad finally took his chance to make his life better. I am very proud of him!

Me and Sarah (my new hero)

This weekend I also got to have coffee with my friend Sarah from high school and who also has brain damage related to a car accident (alcohol related). She cannot remember the accident and was in a coma for about 3 months. she woke up to being in her hometown not where she was living at the time, and yet there she sat before me a strong woman and that has striven to beat the odds and reclaim her life (she has her license and can drive). After the standard questions that I asked, and I asked them honestly, to which she answered honestly; how could I not respect this woman. She told me that she just wanted to be treated normally, to work and live a normal life. I was determined to not stare at her one eye (I don't have a great way to describe it), which looked like a lazy eye. She looked good and sounded pretty good for someone with her type of injury. We talked about our husbands, how we each had gotten married, our hopes and aspirations. I suggested that she take up writing to help her deal with some of the emotions about her accident, even told her about my blog and how through the blog i could reach a wider audience and maybe she could reach out to others with brain injuries, maybe find a support system (not that she doesn't have a great local support system), but sometimes it helps to have like minded people to talk to. Note: If anyone knows about any online networks for those with brain injuries, please shoot me a message as I would loved to pass along the information to Sarah.

The biggest critic in your life will always be you. Don't let that critic win! Always know that you always have a second chance, a second day, and second try in this life to make better choices.

Wanton Destruction and Friends...w00t!

This is what happens when a friend tells you to come over and help destroy shit.

Once there was a play set that had sat in the yard, alone, left forgotten in the rain or snow. The time had past and the children seldom came around anymore. It sat and waited, the days passing into weeks, passing into years.

It's wood beams starting to rot in places, and spiders lived in and under it's beams. Unused and practically forgotten, what would become of this lonely sentinel?

An honourable discharge, where the amputated limbs will be burn in an effigy of greatness to the gods and what is left will be commemorated in an ostentatious memorial to 

the rites of spring.

See the progress and fun that we had utterly destroying the play set and raping Chelsea's childhood. Oh, and Brian is Saw-some!!

 David took his turn with the Sledge-O-Matic! It really was some of the best therapy that he has had in years. You take that wood! No more will you provide hours of enjoyment for children! Damn you, to hell!!

 And yet, who suffered? Actually, no one! Everyone got a chance to take a crack at busting up shit. What did we have to show for it...well, a pile of burnables for the bonfire that night and an appetite for a yummy dinner prepared by Chelsea's Mum.

There was also puppies that came out to visit the wanton destruction, and one cat named Peanut who loved top walk by the fire.

It was a great day/evening with friends, food, and booze!

Suki and Mama Chelsea!

Me and Tank

Peanut and Sheriff

JP the Fire Starter!!

Burn Baby Burn!

Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a Street Sign!!