Opinions

Yes, it's true.  After nearly 8 months I'm writing another blog post.  Perhaps this is the beginning of a new phase of blog posting. 

In recent days I was given some advice from someone who holds some executive influence over my career.  The positive advice was well received.  As I drove home, though, I started to think more about the advice given and I had, how shall I say it, an epiphany -- the advice given was merely an opinion of what one person thought I could improve. 

As I continued my drive I turned on Jon Schmidt to help me think clearer.  The advice I was given was I needed to improve on my leadership capabilities and I needed to improve effective communication.  Like I said this advice was correct.  I do need to work on on improving these skills.

So why was I spending so much time thinking about these opinions? 

I reflected on my life and realized that I've let opinions control me.  Let me explain.  I know I am in control of myself.  No one can control me.  I live by sound principles; however, I also take what other people say seriously.  I've always looked to know what someone else thinks before I make my own opinion.  I don't think this is necessarily wrong but if all my actions are dependent on what someone else thinks then I'm really not acting for myself.

In recent days I finished listening to an audiobook called "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.  Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told he only had 3-6 months to live.  Randy is an inspiration as while most people would probably have spent the last months of their lives wallowing in their self-pity and asking God why did this happen to them, Randy did things differently.  He took control of his life, like he had his entire life, and made sure his wife and his kids knew of his love, and worked hard at leaving a living legacy.

This was pretty influential for me as he gives quite a a bit of advice, or opinions, about how others should act.  One of the bits of advise he gives is regarding brick walls.  There is a metaphor comparing obstacles and brick walls.  All of us have brick walls impeding us from accomplishing our dreams.  For most, the brick wall succeeds.  Randy taught that brickwalls are made to show just how hard you'll work to get over them.

Opinions are everywhere and I certainly can't escape from people giving me their opinions about life, work, entertainment, and the other half a million things that go on in my daily life.  What I can do is control what I allow to influence me.  Remember -- I control myself.  I make my own decisions. 
How has this led me to do a new blog post?  I've wanted for many years to be a writer.  I've been my own brickwall.  I've looked to the Internet for advice on how I can become a writer.  The internet "opinions" fed me with fear that I didn't have the capabilities to do this.

I decided in the car that day that I will become a writer and the first step is writing.  And once I began to write I'll see ways to improve my skills and will research the best books of wisdom to teach me how to improve. 

The Marriage Ref

There is a new show on television called "The Marriage Ref."  Each week there are a panel of judges with Tom Papa that review clips of couples with a certain "thorn" in their marriage and Tom and this panel decide who is right, the husband or the wife.  Most of these clips are rather entertaining and it certainly makes me realize that I have it pretty good with my wife as we don't have many arguments over insignficant things.

But...I did ask Jessica one evening as we were watching what our "thorn" would be if we were on this show.  At the time nothing came up.  One evening as we just finished flipping our mattress and we were putting pillows back in pillow cases we discovered our Marriage Ref argument.

Last summer when Jessica and the kids were in Utah visiting family and I was left fending for myself I decided it was time to replace my pillow.  I went to Walmart and started browsing.  I found the perfect pillow.  At the time I didn't realize it was much different from any other pillow I had owned before.  I can't even tell you today if it is a true feather pillow or not.  I've never been a feather pillow person but this one seems different.  It's fuller and holds it's form better than typical feather pillows.  It's the perfect pillow for me.

When I got home and put the pillow in the case and compared it with my old pillow I discovered this pillow was much longer.  I learned that I had just bought a king sized pillow.  I didn't really want to return it.  I do remember thinking then "Jessica is not going to like my new pillow."

Her not liking my pillow is an understatement.  She absolutely hates my pillow while I've grown to absolutely love it.  It comes in handy when Easton comes in to our room in the morning.  He won't sleep by Jessica, he sleeps by me.  I now have a pillow long enough for both him and me without having to compromise.  It supports my head perfectly.

Jessica claims I push it on to "her" end of the bed.  And that I sleep on the farthest corner of the pillow leaving 90% of it unslept on.  She's threatened to cut the pillow in half when I'm not home.  And she had to purchase longer pillow covers because my pillow would not fit in the existing pillow cases.  I think if she would just give it a try she may actually like it.

So, alas, even we have a Marriage Ref "thorn" in our relationship.  Who wins in this argument?

Where have I been

Wow!  It's been over a week since I last wrote anything here.  I'm glad to say it's not because I've been lazy and just haven't done it.  Life has been extremely hectic for me.  We had a new person start at my work last week so I have been swamped training her, then working late to catch up on what I couldn't get to during the day.  I haven't had any chance to even breathe really.

My Mom came in town this week to spend a few days with us before she and her friend, Kaye, go on a road trip around the Southern states looking for quilting blocks on large barns.  I told them they sound like high school girls going on a road trip.  They laughed.

We went to the Summerville Flowertown Festival today.  The kids had a great, and so did the adults.  It was packed for a Friday.  We couldn't believe it.  We were glad we didn't go on Saturday.  Saturday we will head to Charleston and walk around there a bit and see some new sights.

I have not been good keeping my 2010 goals.  I haven't worked out in nearly 2 weeks, which is really sad.  I havent' written another story in even longer than that.  I now understand that trying to live the live of an author and have a full time job and spend quality time with the wife and kids is more difficult than I thought.  Sure, there are plenty of distactions (like a new iPhone) but that shouldn't be an excuse.  I need to do better.

But with this it's time to sign off for another day. 

By the way, I have found out that my life is only going to get busier.  At my day work we have signed a new client.  I have been told by my CEO that I will be assigned as the project manager.  I'm really excited and I hope I don't bomb on this first assignment.  I need a gold star on my resume for this implementation.

So add that to my Young Men's President church calling and I will be really occupied for a while.

Coupons and Foreign Currency

For the past several months Jessica has been "couponing."  This means she'll spend a lot of time reviewing websites for super deals, finding coupons, and then using those coupons to obtain mega savings (like 75 to 90% savings).  At times she'll ask me to take some coupons and purchase some groceries.  I know she does this with hesitancy for the same reason we don't give Easton a cup full of Chuckie Cheese tokens at one time -- I'm bound to do something wrong and miss the who purpose of the deal I was to be buying.

Several weeks ago I was asked to purchase about 10 boxes of Special K Fruit Crisps with enough coupons and $5 gift cards, that basically made this purchase free.  I hesitate looking at coupons because I understand them as well as understanding foreign currency - not at all. 

I was given the instructions ahead of time to just give the cashier the coupons and the gift card and I would receive an additional $5 gift card from the cashier and I would only pay around $3.  I followed the instructions to the T but ended up paying around $7-8.  I left the store and called Jess and told her about it.  She said I needed to turn around and go back to the store and request to see the coupons as I had given her enough to where I would have only paid $3.  Believe me when I say she knows because she does her research (a sign of a great couponer).  I returned and spoke with the cashier and sure enough some of the Target coupons did not scan.  The cashier was really nice and gave me $4-5 in cash.

In the words of my wonderful wife: "That $5 will feed our family a full course dinner."  And that is definately the truth with couponing.

Honest Scrap Blog

My wife forwarded me a request to write 10 honest things about myself. The instructions are little vague as to what really is considered honest about oneself. So I've thought about this over time and here is my list.

1. I've had just one major car ordeal. I was 16 years old. During the summer I worked as a carpet layer for a member in our church named Brian Snokes. This job required me to drive to Tremonton, UT every morning. I drove a blue astro van that James Morgan and I called the Blue Ox. Being new to driving I wasn't up to speed on the necessity of oil changing. I'd never done it. I had noticed my oil light come on but then go off. I thought it was a short in the wire. I thought nothing of it and didn't check the oil. A short while later I was driving home from Tremonton with several work guys when all of a sudden the car shook like an earthquake. It made a loud noise too, loud enough to wake those sleeping in the back. I pulled over and we took a look. Turns out I was out of oil. There was not even a hint of oil on the dipstick. I had seized the engine. I hitched a ride to Brigham City, called my Dad, who brought the red truck to tow us home. I don't recall how the other guys made it home that night but they didn't come with me. And they never drove with me again.

2. Shortly after getting the Astro van back from a complete engine replacement (which I remember my Dad saying to me "Scott, we'll take care of it this time but if it happens again you get to pay for it), I had my first near death and so far only near death experience. I was driving up a street to turn left on to Orchard drive. I hated then and still do turning left especially on busy roads. Orchard Drive in Bountiful can be that way. Well, a large white truck passed and I saw my opening, however small it was. I gunned the engine, turned into the middle lane, looked behind to speed up in front of the car speeding up behind the truck. When I looked forward the large white truck was attempting a U-turn in the middle of the road. The middle lane was blocked as well as the first lane and some of the second lane. The car behind me was not slowing down and I wsa going too fast to stop. I was going to hit the truck and the impact would be severe. At nearly the last second I swerved to the right into the second lane barely missing the truck my mere centimeters I'm sure and the car behind me by about the same gap. I quickly served back to the left lane. The light ahead was red. I stopped, looked right, and was witness to the most beautiful display of foul body language one close to death can muster. The man in the other car was visibly upset with me. I smiled.

3. I lied about the the only near death experience. I recently had another. I was flying to Philadelphia for a TMS implementation. We had just taken off and was only in the air for a short time and still ascending when suddening, without warning, the plane dove. My stomach nearly came out of my mouth. The lady next to me gasped and grabbed my arm. There were several shouts of alarm. I don't recall how long the plane dove but it was about 10 seconds. The plane then leveled. We all looked around wondering what happened. Then the plan dove again for nearly the same amount of time. It then leveled off again. The cabin was in panic. I remember thinking this was it. I was going to be a plane wreck casualty (yes not a pleasant thought). The captain came on a few minutes and explained what had happened.  We had dropped nearly 10,000 feet.  A military plane coming into the Charleston Air Force base was coming in. This particular commercial airplane and I think all planes are equiped with a sensor that picks up when other planes are close. This military plane was in our flight path. Our plane reacted and dove to clear the path of the military plane. Man it was scary!

4. My wife often pokes fun of my dating life, or near lack thereof.  I tell her I didn't have to date lots of women to find the perfect one for me. I do find it funny that of the few woman I did date that it just happens that I dated a second woman named Jessica, who was from Southern Utah (Kanab), who I had met on www.ldssingles.com. My wife is also named from Jessica, from Southern Utah (St. George), and I met on www.ldssingles.com.  And I'm glad I met the second Jessica who agreed to marry me after only 1 1/2 months of dating.

5. Until high school I had never really heard of The Beatles. Then a good high school friend named Ben Lawrence introduced me. It was the same time The Beatles Anthology came out on TV. I watched the whole thing and then bought The Beatles Anthology on both DVD and the music. My first Beatles album, though, was Rubber Soul. It remains still today as my favorite Beatles album.

6. When we were little I watched my sister Trish push my little brother Kelly from a dock on a lake. My Dad reached down and with out arm yanked him from the water. Kelly's first words when out was "that fish almost got me." We went back to our RV to eat and our poodle Peaches had eaten the raw hamburgers. I don't remember what we ate instead. By the way, my sister still, to this day, denies pushing Kelly in the lake.

7. My favorite stuffed animal as a young boy was a stuffed seal named Sparky. It's possible my Mom still has him somewhere. I remember one day when my Mom asked me to clean up my room and put in the D.I. (for those outside of Utah it's like Goodwill) pile including stuffed animals. I struggled with Sparky. I could not put him in the D.I. pile. It's probably this reason I still get sentimental with Easton's stuffed animals. I hope my wife never plans on getting rid of those. They are priceless.

8. I love eating chicken hearts at Brazilian churrasaria's. I once was afraid of them until I tried one while living in Brazil. Now it is a must eat when I go. Usually I'm the only one in the entire restaurant who wants them so I get an entire skewer. That's just fine by me.

9. I cannot burp my ABCs. In fact, I find it rather repulsive.

10. For my Eagle project I helped create 200 feet of the Great Western Trail. For those interested, here's a link regarding this trail. It's one of the longest trails in the United States. It stretches from Canada to Mexico. Thanks to my scout troop we had nearly 15 young men come and we were finished within 2-3 hours (before lunch) of starting. I still remember the faces of other scouts as we left to hike back home.

This is as honest as I can be with my faulty memory.

Valentine's Day Surprise

For our Family Home Evening this past week Easton and I decorated a Valentine's Day mailbox. In this mailbox we were able to put Valentine's surprises for our kids and for each other. One morning I found a surprise in there for me. It was a CD with hearts colored on it and it said "To Dad." Naturally Easton couldn't hold his excitement about it and said I had to take it to work so I could listen to it.

To my surprise and enjoyment I heard Easton sing his renditio of Twinkle Little Star and Old McDonald. How many of you knew that on Old McDonald's farm he had a worm? And how many of you knew what that worm says on Old McDonald's farm? This is one of Easton's favorite songs to sing at night before bed. Also on this farm, on occassion, he has a spider and a lizard too. Maybe that song will come out on the bonus track. :-)

I did listen to this song to the way to work and for the first time I slowed way down to be sure I listened to the whole CD before I arrived at work.

Thank you Easton and Jessica for a wonderful Valentine's gift.

Valentine's Day

We are fast approaching February 14th, the United States Day of Love.  On this day there will be more chocolate sold than any other day and on this day the price of roses nearly doubles.  Valentine's Day is also the second largest holiday for greeting card sales.

What is the history of Valentine's Day?  Using this site as my guide I learn that there were actually three Catholic Saints named Valentine or Valentinus.

The best legend for this ancient holiday stems from a priest named Valentine that lived during the 3rd Century.  The then Emperor of Rome Claudius II thought that unmarried young men made the best warriors.  He outlawed marriage in his army.  The priest Valentine thought this decree an unjust and continued to performed secret weddings for young lovers.  When the Emperor discovered this treachery he ordered Valentine to death.

Why celebrate in February?  Well, some say it was celebrated in February to celebrate either the death or burial of Valentine, which would have occurred near 270 A.D.  Others say because the Catholic church was trying to "christianize" a pagan festival called Lupercalia.  We may never know the true story as the true reason has been lost in all those greeting cards and chocolates that are sold each year.

May we all remember our Sweetheart this Valentine's Day and make sure she (or he) knows just how special she is.  I love you Jessica!

Scouting

I was recently called as the Young Men's President in my ward. Since then it seems like all my thoughts revolve around how to help the young men accomplish their scouting goals. There is a lot of work to be done here. I don't have any scouting records to know where each boy is at. The only way to get that now is to ask each boy to tell me.

I've remembered my scouting adventures since becoming YM President. I remember going to an organized scout camp in Utah, where I'm from. I don't recall the name now. We had a large scout troop. There was probably 20-25 active boys so we always had a great time at these things.

On this particular scout camp there had arisen a dispute between some in my tent with those in another tent. I don't even remember what the disput was. But I do remember we were in our tent when suddenly someone let our poles down. Quinn Capson, who was always larger than the rest of us, stood up when suddenly something came flying through the air and hit him in the head. We didn't know what it was then but later discovered it was large branch with a huge knot in the middle of it. I guess he was lucky he wasn't knocked out. He ended up jumping out of the tent, chased the person who threw it, and started beating him up. It was an all out brawl in our camp. What's odd is I don't remember there being any leaders around. I'm sure there were.

Well, eventually the fight was broken up, kids went to the tents to cool down. Quinn was furious and said he wanted to go home. We had to convince him to stay. Later that night our leaders did have us all apologize to each other. I remember it being a rather spiritual experience and something that eventually drew us all closer together.

I also remember an experience with dirty socks. A young scout named Jon Van Horn was tent buddies with me and Quinn and Micah Christensen. Jon dressed in full scout uniform every day. He was the most consistent scout out of all of us. There was one problem. He only brought one pair of scout socks. This was a 5 day scout camp. Well, after about 3 days the socks smelled so bad that it made our whole tent smell. It became so bad we wanted to banish him from the tent. Once the leaders smelled it they forced him to wash his socks and wear something else. That was a relief.

And the final memory at this scout camp was earning the canoe merit badge. Quinn and I decided to do this together. He had some experience with canoing where I didn't. One of the tasks was to paddle a canoe in a triangle using just the J stroke out of one side of the canoe. This wasn't a small triangle either. At least it seemed a long distance then. Well Quinn finished relatively quickly compared to me. It took me about 3 times as long as Quinn. I struggled with that J stroke but I eventually passed and earned the canoe merit badge.

However, if you were to ask my wife how my canoing skills are now she would probably roll her eyes, and say "Oh my gosh, let me tell you about the time he and I shared a kayak." Then she would probaby relate the time we were in Mexico paddling through a small creek to get to a large cenote. We were one of the first to leave and the last to arrive. :-) Ah, it was a joyous time. She was pretty upset with me by the time we finished and since then she's never wanted to share a kayak with me.

Tremor by Craig Dirgo

The book Tremor starts in the late 1890s when an inventor named Nikola Tesla is poised to test his latest invention - transmission of electrical currents without wires. With his experiment set up he successfully transmits electrical currents without wires a short distance. He invests most of his money into this new invention. It leaves him nearly bankrupt. Nearly 10 years later he sets up his experiment one last time. This time the electrical currents are transmitted from Colorada to San Francisco. The day is April 18, 1906 - the day of the San Francisco earthquake. Unbeknown to Nikola Tesla his invention has caused one of the greatest natural disasters on U.S. soil.

The book then flash forwards to current date when John Taft, a special agent for the NIA (National Intelligence Agency), is called into action after a series of unusual earthquakes hits Italy and then Spain. We later discover the sinister plot of a fanatical Serbian nationalist to destroy the U.S. economy by knocking out the largest power grid in the United States. This would raise gold prices and reduce the value of the dollar at the same time. It's up to Agent Taft to uncover who is behind the series of earthquakes and stop the terrorist before the US economy is destroyed.

I found this book at the library several weeks ago. It caught my attention because this author has co-authored two books with Clive Cussler -- Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha. I enjoyed Sacred Stone but I was not thrilled with Golden Buddha. I decided to give this book a try.

Out of 5 stars I would give it 2.5 stars. I really liked the idea of this devise, used to emit electrical currents without wires. And I liked how it was being used to create earthquakes. It's an interesting paradox we have with new technology. Even the greatest technology that sounds great can be used for great evil.

I struggled with how the story was written, though I had a hard time sticking with the plot. The story moved from point to another and I became lost trying to keep up. There weren't a lot of story sidebars to follow but I didn't find the story really flowing smoothly.

I also found it difficult to keep the characters straight. Some of the character's names were similar so as I was reading I couldn't keep straight who was was. There could have been a bit more character development so I knew who each person was. This apparently is the second book in the John Taft series so perhaps if I had read the first book first I would have understood more of the characters. When writing a series of books the author must write with the expectation that his audience has not read any of the others books so it's good to develop a character in each book. In all of Clive Cussler's books you learn that Dirk Pitt has deep green eyes and is an owner of classic cars. You get from Cussler's description he's a tall, blond man, who walks with confidence, and women pick up on his aura quickly.

I didn't like John Taft all that much either. He sounded wimpy to me. Near the beginning of the book we read that he wants to retire for not apparent good reason. He's then later pulled from the investigation and instead of fighting to stay on the job he allows himself to be pulled. He shows some anger with what happens but there is no passion. I imagine someone with passion for what he was trying to do would have disobeyed orders, gone in with guns blazing, and saved the day. Instead John just happens to be in the right place as none of his own doing and is able to be part of the rescue.

The book also ends pretty week with us not knowing if John Taft is alive or living as a vegetable. The book doesn't end with a strong sense that John Taft is a hero. Instead it comes across feeling we just got lucky.

If you like reading action books then pick this one up. Just be sure to keep a pen and paper close to write down the characters and what they are responsibly for doing as otherwise I think you may end up as lost as I did.

XPLOR Adventure

This last week my family and I spent time in beautiful Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It's around 40 miles south of Cancun and not as populated with tourists. I'm sure with time that will change but for now it's a wonderful place to visit. It's also very close to lots of activities. While I didn't want this blog to be a journal of my daily activities but more a tool for me to improve my writing I discovered I can still practice good writing skills and tell you about my life together. So, it's my blog and I'll do with it as I want.

I've attached several pictures from a park near Playa called XPLOR. It was built over a huge cenote. For those not familiar with Mexican terminology a cenote is an underground cave formed by water. This place had ziplines, ATV-type vechicles, underground rivers where one can either board a raft and paddle through caves or one could put on a life jacket and swim. This place was awesome! It was a lot of fun.

My wife and I did the ziplines several times (13 stations), the ATV, and the underground river in a paddle raft.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The Master's Gift

            I felt it necessary to give an introduction to this story as it may help (and I hope not hinder) why the story was written in the first place. The story below comes from my first attempt of trying to write like Max Lucado. He is a well-known Christian story teller known for writing Christian stories with a Christian moral. I've enjoyed reading his books with Easton. I hope you enjoy this story of a famous musician helping a little girl learn to believe in herself.

THE MASTER’S GIFT
            In a small village at the base of a beautiful mountain range lived Victor Borgon. Victor was a famous musician known throughout the surrounding land. Victor loved to travel to the neighboring towns to play his violin. All the townspeople loved to listen to Victor’s music. It was always so peaceful. It made them feel happy. Victor always said his music was for everyone to enjoy.
            Victor also loved to teach others how to play the violin. He freely gave of his time and talents to teach those interested in learning. Victor hand-crafted his own violins and gave them as gifts to those he taught. The craftsmanship was perfect in all aspects.
            Victor had one requirement for those he taught: the students must teach their new talent to someone else.
            One day as he was teaching a small group of children he noticed a little girl peek around the corner of a house. He beckoned to her but she hid herself and did not come. One boy had noticed this and said, “That’s my neighbor. She’s shy. You won’t want to teach her. She’s not good at anything.” The other children nodded in agreement.
            “My talents are for everyone to enjoy,” said Victor. “She is welcome to come and learn if she wishes. I’m sure she can make wonderful music.”
            “No, she’s too stupid to learn anything,” the boy said. The other children laughed. “She can’t even tie her own shoes without help.”
            “I have never taught a single person who has not learned to play beautiful music,” Victor responded cutting the children off in their laughter. “All it takes is a willing heart and an open mind coupled with practice.”
            Victor finished teaching and sent the children home to practice. As he closed his violin case he heard a noise from behind. Turning himself around he saw the little girl. She wore a tattered dress. Her black hair was unkempt and her cheeks were dirty. She didn’t look at Victor but stared at the ground.
            Victor smiled. He kneeled down and asked, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
            At first Victor was not sure if she understood him. She continued to stare at the ground with her hands clasped tight together. Then he saw the nearly imperceptible nod of her head.
            “What’s your name?” he asked.
            “Amelia,” she said.
            “That’s a beautiful name, Amelia. If you come back here tomorrow morning I will give you a gift.”
            Without even saying yes or no but with a giddy school girl grin she ran as fast as she could down the street and around the corner.
            He walked inside his shop and found his prized violin reserved for someone as special as Amelia. He tightened the strings, polished it until he could see his reflection in the wood, and tuned it to the perfect sound. He tied a red ribbon around the neck and placed a hand-written note between the strings. He laid it gently in its case.
The next morning upon opening his shop door Victor discovered the same children from yesterday waiting for him.
            “Good morning,” he said. “It’s a fine day to play the violin, don’t you agree?”
            The children looked at each other. One boy had a sly grin on his face. Then he spoke, “We heard you are going to teach Amelia how to play the violin. We don’t think you can. She’s not smart enough to learn.”
            “We shall see” was all Victor said. He grabbed his violin, tucked it under his chin, and began to play. The children sat and listened as they waited for Amelia.
            A few minutes later Amelia came around the corner. She looked the same as yesterday. She wore the same brown dress, the same untidy hair, and the same unwashed face. Seeing the children, she walked slowly to Victor’s shop. Her head was down but she was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
            Without saying a word Amelia approached Victor’s chair and sat down. Victor stopped playing. As he looked Amelia in the eyes he repeated yesterday’s question, “Do you want to learn to play the violin?”
            “Yes,” she whispered. “I want to learn from the master.”
            “In that case, follow me. I have a surprise for you.” She stood up and followed Victor into his shop. The children knew Victor was giving Amelia a violin. Only a broken violin would fit Amelia well, they thought.
            “Amelia,” he said. “I have for you a special violin. It is yours as long as you promise you’ll follow my every instruction. I expect a willing heart, an open mind, and lots of practice and you’ll become just like me. And you must teach someone else your new talent as I have taught you. Do you agree to my requirements?”
            Amelia nodded her head in agreement.
            Victor picked up the violin with the red bow and hand-written note and handed it to Amelia. Amelia took it in her hands. She had never received such a beautiful gift before. The violin was very beautiful.
            Between the strings she noticed a piece of paper. Curious, she looked at Victor, who only nodded as if he already knew her unspoken question was whether she should look at it or not.
            She removed the note and read:

Dear Amelia,
            The secret to playing excellent music is not in the violin. The violin by itself does not make music. The violin requires someone with a certain talent to play it. Only you can discover this talent for it is found within you. I can’t teach you to play unless you believe in yourself as I believe in you. Follow my every instruction and one day you will play beautiful music.

Sincerely,
            Victor Borgon

            Tears formed in her eyes as she finished the note. Gently, she put the violin down and rushed to embrace Victor. This time when she spoke it was with confidence, “Thank you Mr. Borgon. Thank you so much.”
            Amelia followed Victor’s instructions and years later she became a brilliant musician. She did follow in Victor’s steps and taught others to believe in themselves as Victor did for her.

The Tooth Fairy

I enjoy asking young kids questions. Since I happen to have a three year old myself I love asking him questions. I also have a four year old niece named AnnDee. This week we are together with her and my in-laws on vacation. We were on our way to the zoo and we started talking about the tooth fairy.

I asked my niece what the tooth fairy does with the tooth after she takes it. She said what she does is takes the tooth from underneath the pillow. Then she cuts the person's head off and then puts the tooth back in so that it can grow out again. It's that simple.

I thought that answer pretty intuitive for a four year old. And I found it rather hilarious. So the next time you wake up with a headache, just maybe the tooth fairy, during the night, cut your head off to put a new tooth inside.

I still have to ask the question -- What does the tooth fairy do with all of the teeth she collects?

Fresh Clothes and Fresh Catch

I came across this picture today. No, this is not a picture of my Southern neighbor's closeline.

Can you imagine the story in this picture?

Let's see - Man goes hunting. He catches some pheasants and two rabbits. Hmm?? Where should I put them to surprise the Missus? I know, let's hang them up on the clothesline to dry with her clean clothes. I'm sure the smell of dried rabbit smells good.

And what do you think she'll say when she sees the fowl and the rabbits? "Henry! What in tarnation are three birds and two rabbits doing on my clothesline? You know they don't belong there. Now go get them down and put them in the pot for supper." Did you hear that good Irish accent? You should have because this picture was taken in Northern Ireland.

Writing is like Exercising

As one of my 2010 goals is to lose 20 lbs it means going to the gym and working out. Jessica and I joined the YMCA a couple weeks ago as it is the only place close by with facilities for exercising, swimming, basketball, and soccer for the kids.

I am happy to say I've gone to the gym three times now in the last 1 1/2 weeks but unfortunately I still haven't lost any weight. I know muscle weighs more than fat but I'm pretty sure I'm not replacing that much fat with muscle yet.

As I was working out the other morning I was thinking about my latest writing project and writing in general. I recalled something I have read several times both in connection to writing and to other things. The key to becoming good at anything is constant practice. Remember the old saying "practice makes perfect." Takes a lot of practice to be perfect but if you practice enough there is a hope you'll at least become good at whatever you are practicing.

When I'm exercising and pumping iron I won't get huge muscles on my first trip to the gym (and as it turns out I won't lose weight either because I went a couple of times). If I want to build my muscles I need to constantly be working out and breaking down the muscle that then grows into stronger muscles.

Another example, and I hope my wife won't be upset as she is the next example. Nearly 3 years ago Jessica decided she really wanted to do a triathlon. She found a coach and started training. She already was and is an exceptional athlete (if you doubt go to her high school and see her school records still posted on the wall after 10 years). Her first event was actually a duathlon (bike and run only). She did really well on the bike but the run was her weakest point. I don't recall the specific details but recall it was about 2-3 miles and it took her some time to run it as she ran and walked it.

She could have quit then but she persisted. She kept training. Her first triathlon was several months later in Orem, UT. She did a phenomenal job. She's since participated in at least 3 more triathlon's and just last week she did her first half-marathon. What was impressive is she ran the entire way without stopping once to walk. That is an accomplishment! She has 3-4 triathlons she's planning on doing this year. She's probably in the best shape she's been in since we've been married. She's happy, feels good, and looks great!

Writing is very much the same. We have to exercise our writing skills daily to make them stronger. What writing skills should we exercise? Here are some basic skills every writer should master.

1. Vocabulary - Stephen King says you don't need to have an extensive vocabulary to be a good writer. In fact, sometimes using words like discombobulated and preambulate (word of the day) can be replaced with simplier words like "shaken" or "stroll." A writer must understand the audience's level of understanding. The best place I have found for improving vocubulary is http://dictionary.reference.com/.


2. Grammar - If you want to fail fast as a writer then have poor grammar. As a writer it's important to know the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. You'll want to study prepositions and conjections. I find myself, as even I am a new writer and still exercising my talents, going back to the basics when working on sentence structure. There are a lot of resources here. I read Strunk and White's well-known book called The Elements of Style. It provides the reader easy to understand rules and examples. You can choose if you want to follow those rules or not. As a new writer best to follow the rules first and then improvise later.


3. Punctuation - This commonly trips up new writers not knowing if they should use a comma or a colon or a semi-colon when combining sentences. Practicing these elements will improve your writing as you learn to break your sentences where a break needs to be. The Strunk and White book again provides some guidance on this topic. There are numerous other places too. Another website I've used in the past is http://www.grammarbook.com/default.asp.

The only other advise I want to give in this already long blog posting is to read. Read often. Take a book wherever you go and you'll be surpised how much extra reading you can do. Also, look up audiobooks from your local library. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to exercise your talents as you'll learn what other successful authors are doing. I define successful has having a published book that you are reading or listening too. It doesn't mean the book is good and could have mistakes but as your exercise your skills you'll learn to find those errors and avoid them and also find the good and improve upon them.

Practice, practice, practice. There is no way to become a good writer if you don't practice writing every day.

Booger Hairs

Years ago when Jessica and I were first married she, or I should say Santa, gave me a nose hair trimmers in my stocking. For a long time I certainly didn't use it. I can't help it if I have nose hair. That's what happens when you get older hair starts to grow in odd places especially in your nose.

Anyway, I've had it for a long time and it's in my drawer with other grooming items. Well, Easton has seen it before and has wanted to use it. This morning as I was brushing my teeth he came in and said he needed to use it. I said, "Easton, you don't need to use it." Of course this was with half a mouth of runny toothpaste in my mouth.

He says, "Daddy, yes I do. I have booger hairs in my nose." It took me 5 minutes to clean up the toothpaste spray on the mirror. I laughed so hard. So he took the nose hair trimmer, turned it on, stuck it up his nose, and 2 seconds later pulls it out and says "Ouch, it pinched me."

We have kids to make us laugh as otherwise life may just be plain boring.

Grammar Girl

I came across a fantastic website the other day. Click here to go to it. The website has more than just good writing tips but it gives some great advice on other things as well. What I like most is the Grammar Girl portion. Every day there is a new tip regarding grammar and punctuation and language. It's designed to help any writer improve their skills.

I remember in my high school sophmore English class my teacher, Mr. Bowles, taught has several "dead" words. He called them "dead" words because he did not want to see them in our writing. One of the words I remember very well is the word "got." In fact it's the only word I remember being dead. I still remember burying the word in an official word funeral.

Today's lesson for Grammar Girl is all about the word "got" and should it really be used in English grammar? According to Grammar Girl it is okay to use this word if properly used. Here are some pointers from the website.

Again, this information is brought to you by Grammar Girl:

A reader named Sigrid felt that she should correct herself when she wrote, “Must get your book soon.” She writes, “I almost erased the word ‘get’ and replaced it with ‘purchase,’ but that sounded too formal; however, use of the word ‘get’ would make a great podcast. I’m often changing that word and substituting it for another, frequently some form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have,’ in my clients’ manuscripts.” Sigrid is also wondering about how to use the verb “to get” in the past tense. Let’s get to the bottom of things.

When You Can Use “Get”
The quick answer to Sigrid’s question is that you don’t need to censor yourself when the word “get” crops up, and it’s probably best to stop correcting others unless they use a definitely illegal phrase (more on that later). “‘Get’ is good English” (1). It would be almost impossible to get through a day without saying “get.”

No style guide I checked bans the use of “get.” In fact, most authorities laud how useful the word is. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage provides a list of “natural uses in which it passes virtually unnoticed:

- get a job
- get my book for me
- get rich
- get one’s feet wet
- flattery will get you nowhere
- get going
- get the upper hand etc.” (2).

A search for “get” on Dictionary.com yields one group of meanings that is 63 items long (3). You can even use “get” instead of “be” in passive constructions if you want to put more emphasis on who did the action. The American Heritage Dictionary compares these two sentences: “The demonstrators were arrested” and “The demonstrators got arrested” (4). In the first sentence, using the verb “to be” implies that the police were the driving force behind the arrest. In the second sentence, using the verb “to get” places more emphasis on the demonstrators themselves.

Tenses of “Get”
Now let’s get to the question of tense. “Get” and “gets” are the present-tense forms of “to get,” as in “She gets mad at herself when she’s late.” The past tense is “got,” as in “She got mad.”
Now comes the tricky part: we have two choices when it comes to the past participle. A past participle is a word like “broken” in this sentence: “She has broken her wrist twice.” If you speak American English, you will use “gotten” as the past participle, as in “He has gotten the same gift three years in a row.” Users of British English, on the other hand, will say “got” (5): “He has got the same gift three years in a row.”

When You Might Choose Another Word Instead of “Get”
As we’ve already said, “get” is normal English, and there’s no need to substitute another word for it. However, if you’re writing a very formal paper, or know that someone in your audience will object to the word “get” for some reason, you can use more formal words such as “receive,” “purchase,” and “obtain.” It’s up to you to decide when to be formal. Sigrid decided correctly that it would sound overly stuffy to write this to a favorite author: “I must purchase your book.”

“Have Got”
Many listeners, including Sigrid, have been wondering if the phrase “have got” is acceptable English. Well, you have got to check out our previous episode on that topic. It’ll tell you that the answer is yes, you can use this expression, though it is considered informal.

Non-Standard Uses
Before we get going, you should get up to speed on which expressions are considered non-standard. Some colloquial or informal uses of “get” and “got” are controversial (6), and you wouldn’t want to write them unless you’re writing a character who speaks slang. For example, it would not be Standard English to say, “You got to try this” if you mean “You must try this” or “You have got to try this.” “You got to try this” would be acceptable only if you mean “You had the opportunity to try this.” Still, you will hear people use “got” in this manner.
Another common use of “got” that is not technically grammatically correct is the advertising slogan “Got milk?” Nevertheless, you’ll still hear takeoffs of this expression. At a recent dentist appointment, I saw a shirt that read “Got braces?”
Thus is the unholy power of advertising.

Summary
In this episode, we got friendly with the useful word “get.” You get to use it whenever you want, unless you must conform to formality.

References
1. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 391-2.
2. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 329-30.
3. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/get. Accessed Jan 8, 2010.
4. American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 206.
5. Garner, B. Garner's Modern American Usage, 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 391-2.
6. Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, pp. 329-30.

City of Ember Books

This week I finished the 4th book of what I call the City of Ember books. I thought I would review all of them at the same time.

The City of Ember - The story starts with us learning about a city built underground. We gather through the story that the people in this city came here from long ago before a Great War devasted the earth. This city is called the City of Ember. The people were given all they would need to last around 150 years including electricity, although it was failing fast. The city was dying. Provided to the people of Ember was a box. This would would open after so many years; however, it was soon lost and forgotten. After about 200 years the box is found by Lina. Inside the box are instructions. Together her and her friend Doon solve the mystery of the cryptic message in the box and find the way out of Ember.

I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and kept my attention. Doon and Lina learn how to overcome challenges and rise above them. While the people of Ember, including the mayor, denied anything was wrong, Doon and Lina continued looking for a way out of the city. It's a classic tail of good versus evil.

The People of Sparks - This book starts where the other book leaves off. Doon and Lina have sent a message down to Ember giving them the information they need to leave Ember. The people follow the message and leave Ember. Outside of Ember they find a huge world with new sounds like birds and new sights like blue sky and white clouds. As strangers in the world they begin walking not sure where they are going. They find a city they learn is called The City of Sparks. The people of Sparks take the Emberites in, let them live in a hotel called the Pioneer Hotel, and provide them food and work. Soon the people of Sparks become angry with the Emberites as they felt they weren't pulling their own rate. Eventually the two sides are led to an almost all out battle. If it wasn't for a fire that broke out at City Hall there would have been many people hurt or killed.

I liked this book more than Ember. The theme of this book is that in order to overcome evil you have to break the habit of evil and do something good instead. This act of kindness has to be strong enough that good feelings overcome the bad feelings. I enjoyed reading how the people of Ember began to learn how to do things on their own. It' a good story of how two different sets of people can work out differences to live in peace.

The Prophet of Yonwood - This story starts 300-350 years before the people of Ember leave the underground city. Nickie and her Aunt Crystal are heading to Greenhaven, the home where Crystal grandfather recently passed away. Days before they arrive a woman named Althea Tower has a vision of the end of the world. This vision leaves her left only mumbling and incoherent. The people of Yonwood try to understanding what Althea means when she does mumble words. As the people of Yonwood strive to rid their town of sinners and evil doing the people begin to forget what is really important. They are told no more singing, no loving dogs, and no lights. The last straw for Nickie is when the dogs are to be banished because the "Prophet" said "no dogs" it's enough. Together her and Crystal try to save the dogs and the people of Yonwood from this Prophet before it's too late. In the end Althea Tower is "awakened" and explains what she saw. She did see something of the future but it turns out the future they thought was only days from happening doesn't happen for another 80 years. Nickie, it turns out, is one of the people selected to inhabit the City of Ember. It was she who leaves a journal at the exit of the Ember cave where she hopes one day it will be found.

This was my least favorite book of the four. It's a story that seemed to more distract from what was given in the first two books. Yes, we learn a little more about why this underground city was built but we learned about that in the first two books. Yes, we find out that Nickie is one chosen to live in Ember at the beginning, but who cares. The book carries a heavy religious tone. I struggled with what the book was trying to teach me. Really, if you read the last chapter of this book you'll learn everything you want to learn. I recommend skipping this book and just going to the last book as this one only distracts from the story. I was happiest when the book ended.

The Diamond of Darkhold - The story of the people of Ember and Sparks continues in this fourth and last book. A roamer arrives in to town. Doon sees a book and together with Lina they trade matches to buy the book. They discover that there was something hidden waiting for the people of Ember to find it. Doon and Lina decide to venture back to Ember and try to find this treasure. After arriving at the entrance of Ember they find a way into the underground cave where Ember is. They learn it's not abandoned as they thought. A family named Troggs found the city and have moved in pillaging the things left behind. Doon is captured and is forced to plan his escape. Lina hurries back to Sparks to get help. Doon learns of a diamond found outside of the cave. He knows it's for the people of Ember. Doon plans his escape. As the Troggs sleep he makes his escape. He takes the diamond with him. Outside he finds Lina and together they search the place the original diamond was found. Inside they find hundreds of more diamonds. They learn later these diamonds are powered by solar power. They have discovered electricty.

I really enjoyed this book and it's a good way to end the story. Perhaps the story of the Emberites doesn't end here but it could. We can't help but be happy for the people of Sparks and their new electricity. While for hundreds of years the people of earth dwelt in darkness after the Great War, they soon learned Sparks lived in light. Soon the diamonds were traded for other goods providing for great properity in Sparks. It teaches us to be persistant in the search for truth.

The Christmas Wish

            It is Christmas Eve, the happiest time of the year in Santa’s workshop. The elves are working hard putting the last touches on baby dolls, toy fire engines, bouncing balls, and hundreds of other toys. Tiny hammers tingling blend with ringing bells. It is a beautiful Christmas orchestra. Elves’ voices sing out Christmas favorites like “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” and “Santa Claus is coming to Town.” Sweet smells of cherry chocolates, mint truffles, and peanut brittle came from Mrs. Claus’s kitchen. Everyone is happy at this joyous and merry time of year.
            Everyone, that is, except Rupert. With haste, he closed the Senior Toy Maker’s door and sprinted down the hall. Tears stream down his face. He rushed past the toy doll factory; he tiptoed by the “Stuff-A-Bear” shop. He didn’t even stop to smell the apple pie cooking in the kitchen. Mr. Jolly, the Senior Toy Maker, just gave him terrible news. More tears poured from his eyes just thinking about it. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He scurried past the Elf Resource office, which is responsible for hiring new elves and, unfortunately, letting go old ones.
            At the same time, Sandra Triffet, assistant cook, was returning to the kitchen after giving Santa warm chocolate chip cookies when she heard two voices coming from Mr. Jolly’s office. Pausing at the door, she heard “job has been given to someone else…” and “please accept our sincere ap…” and you’ve worked hard for us….” There was silence, quiet padding of feet headed towards the door, and then the door knob turned. Sandra hid around the corner. She peeked around and saw Rupert’s tear-streaked face before he ran down the hall.
            Was he fired, she thought? She couldn’t believe it. Rupert is, or at least was, Santa’s favorite elf. She knew that many years ago Santa found Rupert abandoned in the cold North Pole. He adopted Rupert and ever since Rupert helped Santa deliver gifts on Christmas morning. She wondered who would join Santa in his sleigh now but more importantly she wondered what it would be like now in Santa’s workshop without Rupert. Not pausing another second, Sandra ran to the factory floor to tell the others.
            Bursting through the factory doors, she found the closest chair and stood on it. She wanted everyone to know what she had heard and seen. “Everyone, please stop working and listen to me,” she shouted. “I just saw Rupert leave Mr. Jolly’s office. He was crying. Rupert has been let go. I heard it. I watched him leave.”
            In just 10 seconds all of the Christmas joy vanished. No more singing, no more hammers tingling, and no more Christmas magic in the air. The conveyors screeched to a halt. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
            Elves began talking at once. “Rupert?” one asked. “Are you sure? He’s Santa’s favorite. Santa will not let him go. He’s too important.” The other elves nodded in agreement”.
            “I am sure,” answered Sandra. “I saw it myself. What are we going to do? We can’t let them get away with this. This is an outrage. We have to do something.”
            Heads nodded. “Yes,” someone shouted. “Let’s help Rupert. I’ll not work for Santa without Rupert.” Several elves hurried towards the factory doors determined to talk with Santa. Before they could leave Mr. Jolly and Santa Claus entered the factory. The elves stopped in their tracks glaring at Santa and Mr. Jolly.
            Mr. Jolly cleared his throat then spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mr. Jolly said. “Santa tells me you have stopped working. I see this is true. He also tells me you’ve been told Rupert has been fired.” Sandra fell back behind the others embarrassed to be indirectly pointed out. “I must explain what has happened. This is a difficult time for all of us. Rupert’s sudden leaving has left us with a problem.”
            “Yeah, please explain,” one elf whispered to another. “Go ahead and tell us about Rupert’s firing.”
            Rupert has urgent matters to attend to in the United States,” Mr. Jolly said. “Several years ago Rupert adopted a young, orphaned human boy. Yes, this is forbidden under elf law unless specifically approved by Santa. Rupert received Santa’s blessing. He saved this boy like Santa did for him. For the past several years Rupert has watched over this boy, provided for him, made sure he received the support he needed. This boy, you see, suffers from a rare form of leukemia.”
            The elves stood stunned as they heard this news. Mr. Jolly continued, “This morning Santa received news this boy will not live past Christmas unless a miracle occurs. The news came as a wish from this little boy. Using the powerful magic of Christmas this boy has wished for the miracle of life, to be healed of this terrible disease. Rupert has to be the miracle. As you know, elf law allows for an elf to take his human’s place in death only on Christmas Day. Rupert’s love for this boy makes it possible for him to do this. Is this not the true meaning of Christmas? Santa has released Rupert from his duties to be with this young boy.”
            Elves wiped tears from their eyes. Yes, they knew this was what was Christmas was about. Some fell to their knees humbled by Rupert’s example. Their best friend had reminded them that Christmas is not about the presents and the music and holiday food. Christmas is the time to give to others and not take for ourselves.
            “Now elves,” Santa said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Let us be joyous during this Season. Let us finish our work we have begun. And let us continue to bring peace and joy to this world for years to come. This is what Rupert would say if he was here. We won’t forget him but if we don’t deliver Christmas spirit to the little boys and girls then Rupert’s sacrifice is in vain.”
            The elves nodded in agreement. It is what Rupert would want. They jumped to their feet, wiped the tears from their eyes, and went to their work. Within seconds the sounds of Christmas reverberated in Santa’s workshop. Santa looked upon his elves and smiled. Once again Christmas had been saved.

My 2010 Goals

It was just the other day the topic of New Year resolutions came up. I said I didn't believe in resolutions because no one keeps them. How many people do you know that actually keep their resolutions? It has a negative connotation. Instead, I have made some goals for the New Year. Yes, not all goals are kept either but it sounds better when you say you didn't accomplish your goals.

Here are my goals for 2010:

1. Make this writing blog a success. A success for me right now would be 2 dozen people following the blog and contributing to it. I'd love to have help in my new path in writing.

2. Write a new short story once a week. So far I'm doing good with this goal. I have written two stories. I haven't put them out on the blog yet but I plan to. I figure if I could write one short story a week then I could have 40-50 by the end of the year (yes, as you can tell I've given myself some leeway for when I don't get a story out).

3. Lose 20 lbs. I'd love to get back in the shape I was 10 years ago after high school. That was back when I did work out for sports. I've sense stopped working out leaving my stomach protuding a bit too much. Plus my wonderful wife looks fantastic and if I'm not careful she may lose interest in me. I love you honey! She's preparing for a half marathon in a week and she has plans to do 4-5 triathlons this year. She's awesome!

4. Get something published. Back to the purpose of this blog. I read in a book recently (On Writing by Stephen King) that if you want to become a good writer you must do two things: 1. Read a lot. 2. Write a lot. Well, I love reading although I listen to most books now since I drive 40 minutes one way to work. And this blog is helping the writing (I hope). I'd like to get some of my short stories published. That would be awesome. Does anyone know a publisher?

5. Become interested in a new author. I'm a huge Clive Cussler fan and always will be. Mr. Cussler if you are out there reading this I'd love to meet you. Maybe that should become goal # 6. My Mom introduced me to some James Patterson books which I've enjoyed. Looking for another author to read. Any good suggestions?

6. Spend more time with my family. Now this will be a tough goal because I already leave for work by 7:30 am and am usually not home until 5:30 pm. This leaves just a few hours and with my goals of getting in shape and reading and writing more that takes additional time. So, like right now I am writing this at 10:00 pm with the kids to sleep I guess I'll have to make sacrifices. Going back to Mr. Cussler I read he started writing during the eveings while his wife, who was a nurse, was working.

Is six an unlucky number? I'm leaving my goals at six for now. It's a good even number.

Evening Readings with Easton

I have to laugh that my first book review post will be a book written for children but hey, it's a book. Every evening Easton and I climb into his bed to read a couple of books. Because he could read his whole library of books (which is large) and it would take hours to do so I limit him to just two books that I choose (isn't it great being a parent). Plus every 3 weeks we go to the library to find new books to read for three weeks. I'll admit that getting 5 books at the library and reading them every evening for 3 weeks gets a little old but I do it out of love for Easton and for reading. It's my time to be with Easton and I wouldn't change that or anything.



Back to the review. Several weeks ago we borrowed the book called The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Alex Sheffler. It's a fantastic journey through the deep dark wood with a little mouse. Along his journey he encounters several animals wanting to eat him. He scares them away by describing a dark, fearsome creature called the Gruffalo, which he of course made up. Eventually the mouse runs into a Gruffalo and again fools the Gruffalo into thinking he, the mouse, is the scariest creature in the deep dark wood.



This is a wonderful book with rhymes that just work. It'll make you laugh as you read the story. And if you enjoyed this one then I also recommend another one of hers called Charlie Cook's Favourite Book.



Thanks for reading. Please leave comments on your favorite children's book. Easton loves new books to read.

About Me

Welcome to the Orchard Writing Grove blog hosted by me, Scott Orchard. My number one goal for this blog is to boost my skills as a writer. I imagine this as a place to provide my greatest dreams, reveal my deepest fears, and overcome my greatest challenges. And I hope to have a lot of fun too.

I am an aspiring writer living right now in Summerville, SC. My home is Utah (please don't hold that against me as it is a wonderful place to live). I have a beautiful wife who supports me in this new endeavor. We've been married a short 6 1/2 years.

We have two wonderful children. Easton is 3 and was born in Utah while Mia is 1 and our Southern Belle born here in South Carolina. They keep us laughing and on our toes. I'm sure you'll hear lots about them in my blog and probably in my stories as they inspire me daily.

We also have a pet. No, it's not a dog (although we had a beagle named Boots but that's another story) or a cat. We have leopard gecko who's name is Gecko. Yes, we are original with names.

If you found this blog by accident or by mistake please introduce yourself, leave a comment, leave a tip, provide an idea, or tell a joke. I don't care as long as it is clean and uplifting. I believe strongly in positive reinforcement and constructive critisim.

Writing Tips

As an aspiring writer myself I believe in receiving help and giving help back. As I learn new tricks of the trade that work for me I will publish them here. If anyone has writing tips they wish to add they are welcome to send them to me for review. If I think they will benefit the group I will add them for all to see giving credit to that person who sent it to me.

Book Reviews

I love reading books. This section will include books I'm reading or listening to and what I think of the books. I'd love to receive your comments on books you are reading with title and author. I'm always looking for new authors to read but hesitate to just branch out without a very good recommendation.

Short Stories

This section will show all of my short stories I've written. You are free to read but please do not copy and post elsewhere. These are my stories and are owned by me and available for purchase for the right price, of course.