The Kind of Sugar That's Calorie-Free

 

 

 

 

Lynn Obermoeller got this award, and then passed on the award to some of her blogging friends, which ended up being all of my blogging friends, so I'm going to have to find some strangers on the street to give this award to.  (Thank you, Lynn.)

 

The Rules:

• Thank the Super Sweet Blogger that nominated you.
• Answer five Super Sweet questions.
• Include the Super Sweet Blogging award image in your blog post.
• Nominate a baker’s dozen (13) other bloggers.
• Notify your nominees on their blog.

The 5 Super Sweet Questions:

1. Cookies or Cake? – Cake, with lots of frosting. 
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? – You mean there's another flavor besides chocolate? Are you sure?
3. Favorite Sweet Treat? – I have many favorites. Fudge. Chocolate nut heaps (a family recipe cookie). Ted Drewes' hot fudge macadamia sundae. I could go on and on and on... 
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? – I am an equal opportunity addict. I eat to celebrate, I eat to wallow. I eat when I'm bored, I eat when I'm stressed. It's always dessert time somewhere in the world...
5. Sweet Nick Name? – Suzy-Q, which coincidentally is the name of a chocolate, cream-filled snack cake...

    Okay, I can count, but I couldn't stand on the street corner any longer in order to get 13 names of bloggers. The police kept circling around, thinking I was hooking for dry-erase markers, so I am a little shy of a "baker's dozen," but here goes:

 

Kim

Shay

Pat

Katie Gates

Cathy C. Hall

Jennifer Brown Banks

Lisa Ricard Claro

Mary

Janel
Pat Wahler
Kathy and Her Kampground


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fireblossom? Val? Lisa? Katie? Kathy and Her Clothesline? They Want YOU.

         I am busily mining nuggets from my life--hot flashes, pesky children, good-for-not-much dogs--and am submitting to some of these anthologies. And there is something for everyone.

RV adventures  (Kathy, I know you have a boatload of those)
Alternative Lifestyles
Mom
Family
Celebrity Encounters (Katie--You had that encounter with Paul Newman, and it's
                                    a wonderful story)
Dogs (Fireblossom--How about getting your spirits to spin a story about Bosco?
          Lisa--You have scads of dog "tails," I know.)
Cats
Military Life (Linda--You have some side-splitting tales that they'd jump on.
College
Menopause
Cats
Holidays
Travel
Writing (Fireblossom--This would be an opportunity to impart some of your
              wisdom about writing, since you usually are so stingy with it;)

Two wonderful St. Louis writers--Linda O'Connell and Dianna Graveman--are developing two of the titles--"On Mom" and "On Family." If you'd like to see the website and find out more information, click on here. 

The Sisterhood

             Currently I have a couple of projects going. One is a story about an almost-feral cat we took in...The other is a revising project.

              And then there is the lawyer in North Carolina...He knew one of my heroes---a player in the Negro leagues---and apparently I am going to have to stalk him to get any information.

              Many of my blogging friends juggle a dozen or more projects at any given time. So the degree to which I walk the walk is probably pathetic. But for me, it's progress.

              A couple of days ago, Donna wrote a post about a forgotten word, and her eyes immediately lit on one of the definitions:  sisters of the quill.  The bloggers who commented fell in love with the idea of a community of hardworking writers, a support system for schriveners...

               And thus the Sisters of the Quill award was born...



created by http://donnasbookpubl,blogspot.com/

                  After reading Linda O'Connell's post today (April 8), I was struck (again) with how often I think of the blogging writers I follow as "local." There are times I think, 'We could have lunch and I could get some feedback,' or I contemplate whether I will see a particular writer at an event. Unfortunately (for me) some of them live in Minnesota or Georgia or Arizona or...In fact, in some cases, I have no idea where they live. And that's okay.

                   Because, after all, if we're writers, we're kindred spirits. There is a connecting thread that binds us to each other. (kinda like handcuffs)

                    Donna passed on this award to several writers. She made her proclamation:  Spread the sisterhood!  Give the award to deserving writers, to women whose talent needs to be recognized.  And since I enjoy going to the fence and "chatting" with my blogging friends, I am going to pass the award to out-of-town writers who regularly wow me...

                         Katie at Katie Gates Writes           

                         Lisa Ricard Claro at Writing in the Buff

                         Janel at  her post

                         OJ Gonzalez and her blog

                         Shay and her poetry                          

                         C. Hope Clark  and  her blog



(I would also pass it onto to Pearl and her blog, but she don't do no stinkin' awards---she's too  busy ministering to bus riders and unemployed cats.)

                     So...the sisterhood is spreading.  Keep it growing...And keep on writing.


               
                         



            

A Guest Post and a Bunch of Thanks

          Pat Hensley asked me--months ago--to write a guest post about what the National Writing Project is like. Thankfully, she was patient, because I finally got around to it a week or so ago.

         If you are a teacher and need to get re-energized, check out my post at http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/   If you are a teacher and want to get some regular new ideas to utilize technology in unique ways, check out Pat's blog. (And thanks, Pat, for asking me to write about something I love. It's a pleasure to write about things we're passionate about.)

       And now, my chance to thank some of my followers.  From this point on, I'll welcome/thank them when they join up as a follower...

photo by evphotogirl

Dianna and her blog...If you haven't ever read Dianna's writing, you should. She's a freelance journalist and copywriter, as well as a teacher at the university level.

Donna and her blog.  Anyone who has an elderly parent will connect right away with Donna's blog.  Her father is in a nursing home, and her writing about him is quite poignant. (And Donna, I tried your solution, but it made the text white; I have not given up.)

Katie Gates has a book!  Her book (The Somebody Who, available at Amazon or at her etsy site) will resonate with anyone who is living with someone who has alzheimer's.  Katie has the ability to write with passion about things that fire her up, and you're drawn in right along with her.  She also writes with humor about going to Trader Joe's, or about having a crush on Dick Van Dyke, and intertwines the serious with the levity.

Check out life at Willow Manor.  Check out her writing...Her poetry--especially--will amaze you.  (Page down and find her Magpie Tale---look for the photo of the pair of black gloves. You will never look at a pair of gloves and just think of them as merely utilitarian again...)

Linda and her blog does indeed write from her heart. She writes of her kids and grandkids, about writing, and she has many publishing credits under her name.

I don't know too much about reflections, but I appreciate her following me.  I hope she doesn't view me as a cure for her insomnia!

Lou Turner and her publishing house have delivered the best news in the world to me.  She is going to publish my book!  (If you cannot hear the angels' voices sing those words, if you cannot see gorgeous pastel rays of light coming down from the sky as you read those words, reread them.)  If you are interested in broaching a small, independent publisher about your work, contact her.

And finally (for today), I read Underground Teacher's posts as soon as they're posted. In fact, I look forward to them, and miss when she takes an occasional day off from blogging. She is idealistic, overworked, concerned, and overwhelmed...A typical teacher these days.

For everyone who checks in once in a while, for everyone who comments or follows...Thank you, and I hope this new year is off to a great start.

Nano and a Great Rant

5,090 is my nano word-count so far. I'm "cheating" a little, because I am including a recipe here and there (it's like nudity that's integral to a part in a movie) but I--so far--am keeping to a productive schedule.

I also wanted to direct readers to a great rant.  Politically, it's a tough time right now.  People expect instant solutions, they forget that the problems we have, have been developing for many years, and sometimes they blame the wrong figure...

Read Katie Gates' November 3 post.  It's a great one...

Obama: Yes, He Might...

         For those who love the hope that President Carter and President Obama both embody (present tense, not past tense), please check out Katie Gates' insightful and optimistic post.  This particular post is from September 29 and is absolutely brilliant.  (Jeeze Louise!  I wrote from my dog's perspective today, and other bloggers write such thought-provoking stuff.  Amazing!)

photo by Violentz



photo by KGO Radio





A Laugh and a Prod

       If you want the opportunity to laugh (and these days, who doesn't need to laugh?) check out Katie.  If you want the chance to think, to reflect, to go back into your memory bank, check out Katie Gates' blog.  (Her October 11 post has a hilarious definition for what a mushroom is.)

photo by Sean Hawkey