Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I have been tagged- So to speak

So I have been busy visiting blogs today... Another cool blog by an ACFW member: MaliaSpencer. (Yes, I left out the space on purpose. That is the name of her blog; go have fun and visit it.)

She put out the challenge to find a dress to wear to an Hollywood award ceremony. Well, I found one that I love, but I could not find a way to quickly paste the pic here. I am not that savvy, and I need to get the boys real quick like.

So... It is an Oscar de la Renta. Hop on www.OscardelaRenta.com and click on runway, then hop onto Fall 2007/#46. I LOVE IT!!!!!! So there ya go.

Loves to all...

Visiting other blogs can lead to other endeavors.

Ok. I visited Supernaturalcraving- a blog (that is awesome, BTW) by another ACFW member and she had this cool link. As she warned on her post, there is foul language used in the questions. It is not REAL bad, but just so you know... It was fun and crazy quick to do. Give it a try. Now I have to go figure out who this guy is...

Loves to all...

I am:
Gregory Benford
A master literary stylist who is also a working scientist.


Which science fiction writer are you?

Let us all get knocked over together... (For ACFW)

Greetings to you again, my Dear Ones.
I have just finished going through my emails and have been bowled over by the prayer requests, again. You know, I really thank Y'shua that He knows exactly what is happening in each of our days/nights/in-betweens. He knows what is going on in our hearts, minds, lives. The amazing love and capacity for understanding astounds me. It knocks me over, repeatedly.

Pain, physical and emotional, runs rampant in this fallen world, yet His hand holds us and guides us. He directs the Church to be His hands and feet when physical/earth-bound needs rise to the front.

I thank El Shaddai that He is a God of compassion; a God who knows what it is to walk in this fallen world. Emmanuel, God with us, and to Him be the glory forever.

I hold your travails and joys in my heart and bring them before His throne, my Beloveds. I may not know what you look like, but I know the One who does. He calls us by name, gives us our identity, and draws us into His family- into His arms. I love you, each and every one, who is called by His grace... And may that same grace pour out on you, cover you, and bring you solace. I will continue to pray, for that is what family does.

May the grace, peace, and joy of our Y'shua cover you and give you strength today- and every day.

Loves to all...

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Colloquialisms and the Life of "X"...

Hello to all!
I hope you all have enjoyed yourselves since last we shared company. My dearest BF and I had a wondrous time this am on the phone. We talked in the usual circles and tangent-cies that circumscribe our conversations and lives... Oh! How I LOVE it!! =D (I am not familiar with a word that means the tendency for tangents, so I use that! Correct me if I am wrong, please.)
Among the many paths our words meandered perhaps the most amusing two centered on- you guessed it- colloquialisms and the letter "X".

It was not too hard for my BF to find the meaning of the Brit col. "sod" on her home-based DSL connection. (Yes, I am jealous, and doing not so well in not doing so... Have fun with me today, and just put up with my typed speech patterns!)
This led to the finding of a Brit/American dictionary/lexicon. I am still having fun with it, however, I think my fellow library goers are of the opinion that I have lost my mind... Perhaps you agree with them. Your choice; I'm happy.

We also talked about what she considers to be the under-dog of the alphabet, the letter "X". I just plain do not care for the letter, or any of the words that start with it, for that matter. They are either scientific words with definitions that leave you searching the meanings of the words in the said definition, or just plain words that need an "x" only if they are abbreviated. You tell me, please, if you find the letter "X" to be the useless, if complicated, fop I deem it to be- or the under-dog of the alphabet who deserves our respectful pity- Oh! Sorry! I meant admiration. *smirk* [I love you, my Dear, but I am sure we will agree to disagree on this small, if pressing, issue. ;) ]

Loves to all!

Friday, February 23, 2007

Not quite so "quantiloopal"...

Hey there!! I added some links to my page here, well, not "here" exactly... More like to the left side of the page, but ya know what I mean. Check them out when you get a chance! Provided that some one other than my BF is reading this page!!! :D I am really hungry right now because I did not eat lunch before dropping the younger boyo at school; I am going to sign off now and get some grub. = D
Loves to all!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Search and change...

Hello, my Dears and Sundry.
I am changing the look here 'cause I am tired of the old one. I wish I could change up my living room so easily... *Big sigh* Oh well. I have no idea how long this template will stay, so I hope you don't mind it.

So- how many of you are familiar with floriography or its Japanese counterpart hanakotoba? It is the "language of flowers" or "flower word." I have been doing my best to turn myself cross-eyed researching this elusive topic. I guess I should say topics, really. Very rarely do the meanings given coincide, as I am finding out.

Why am I doing this exercise in wild goose chasing? Good question!
I am doing my background checks on flowers in order to design a tattoo. I do not treat such a lasting thing with brash disregard for the symbolism. People may base their decisions solely on how pretty the design is, and that is fine for them. I am not so unbalanced. Life is harsh at times on this fallen planet, and we all struggle to overcome the sin within. Our beauty is fleeting as the flowers' bloom. That is just the way I am. I have to reflect this in my design. I am not anywhere near the realm of being "finished" as they used to call it, nor am I deluded enough to think so grandly of my mortality. "Beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised..."

I hope that I have made sense in any of this... Any which way you care to think about it, I need to sign off and give my eyes a break! Besides, I would love to do some reading in the car before I have to pick up my boyoes. Take care, and know that you are loved, and not just by me...

Loves to all...

Monday, February 12, 2007

A Penchant for Pondering

Hello to Sundry and All!

A grey day all around, here. I seem to have lapsed into one of those kind of days where everything reminds me of something else. A penchant for pondering.

I was snippy with my Eldest in the car on the way to school this morning and it tainted our usual cheery routine. I was painfully brought to the memory of when I was a child and had had a similar experience with my Momma. I did not get to tell her goodbye one morning and it left me in tears for the whole day. I had begged a trusted teacher to let me go to the office and call her, once I was sure she would be at work, so that I might say goodbye to her. My plan failed; my teacher said no. I cried all the way home and could not concentrate on anything till she got home from work and I could talk to her. I did not tell her goodbye at that point, bien sur, but I did make sure to say goodnight with an extra hug for good measure.

I remember telling her that I had not gotten to tell her goodbye that morning and she just did not get why that hit me so hard. Perhaps she still does not; I really do not know.

Partings of any kind impact me in strange ways, be it dropping the kids off at school, my DH going to work, going to bed at night, leaving the cats at home so I can go about my errands... You get the point. I do not know why these things affect me so much, but they do. Perhaps it is a quirk of personality combined with growing up in our unusual family circumstances?

You see, for those of you not familiar with my history, my family dealt in death- in a manner of speaking of course, no mafia ties that I'm aware of. My Grandmother worked for a funeral home and would sometimes bring me to her work so my Mom could go to work, or whatever. I grew up around the hushed tones of mourners and the pasted, overly polite and sympathetic smiles of the Hosts. We also lived in an apartment above one of the funeral homes owned by that family for many years. Perhaps because of these things, I have developed an overly sensitive consciousness of the fragility of life...

I am waxing philosophical. Forgive me, kudasai. Thank Y'shua that this life is not all we are meant to live. Yes, we are to live this life in a special awareness of His Will and bring Him glory... But there is more than this tenuous grasp at life. How I love Him in His mercy and grace! His love covers the multitude of sin, and I love the life He has lent me. May I remember that ever so well when I am camped in the grey zone!

Loves to all!!

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Is there a title that would suit this? I think not.

Hello, my Friends.
I hope that everyone is doing well today. I cannot take a lot of time to type today... I have a book at home that I am in the middle of reading and I would really like to know what happens next... What can I say? I am myself afterall.

Several friends this week have had health troubles and it bothered me more than I care to admit. My mind is sometimes my own worst enemy. I hate when it gets carried away, and I let it! I decided that I need to control it better. "Take captive every thought..." Thank my Lord that He is able to help me where I am not. All of these friends are doing better now and are on their way back to "normal". Thank You, Y'shua!!

I am hoping to do some more writing soon, however, I am afraid that this book that I am reading will unduly influence anything that I put down. It is full of cultural lingo that I find pervading my own speech. Very irritating. A main problem of being such a sponge! I am not quite half way through this massive tome, and now I despair of having this lingo leave me anytime soon! Ah, well. Perhaps if I reapply myself to my studies of the Japanese language and culture I could get rid of some of this- this- STUFF. An idea, anyway.

By the by... The movie "Stranger Than Fiction" will be released on the 27th of this month!!! If you have not seen this movie, then do so when it comes out!!!! This goes quantiloopal if you love to read/write fiction. (Yes, I made that word up. I could not think of a number that would suit my desire, so there you have it. Sorry, Mr. Ingermanson!)

Well, my time is up; I must be off. Please take care, Dear Ones, till next time.
Loves to all...
Me

Thursday, February 1, 2007

RE: "Cardinals in the Snow"

Well, that was a bit that I wrote this AM. As I drove home from dropping off a kiddo at school, I saw a cardinal swoop across the snowy sky into a clump of trees. It made me think of blood... I know that my brain does odd jumps now and then, but to a writer it makes perfect sense. That is all I have time for today, my Dears. Take care and please accept my humble apologies for not posting sooner.
Loves to all...

P.S. When I put a word in ( ) it is a word that I intend to replace with something more creative... Once I figure it out at least. :)

"Cardinals in the Snow" Excerpt

A snap of her wrist and the sword sent sprays of blood hurtling through the snow-filled air. Her blade almost appeared to be made of the (stuff). She paid it no mind; she knew there would be more. Her own blood thrummed through her, a sweet and grim song of survival. She firmed her grip on the slick leather wrapped pommel. Her fingers and face were stinging from the cold and her wind-lashed hair kept getting in her eyes, making them water.
Soon her attackers would be dead. Until then, the Battle haze consumed her, forcing the physical discomforts aside. Three of the wounds she had incurred since this all began would need stitches, maybe more. At least the cold would slow the bleeding. A corner of her lips twitched at this practicality. Azurat would laugh at me for that. Thinking of him sobered her. A coldness enveloped her that surpassed the weather around her.
"Let them come," she whispered, "I am ready."
So they did and she was. They came at her from the stark naked trees surrounding the grove. She laughed as her blade sliced clean through the torso of one and caught the off- side of the next blade. She watched the inferior metal shatter and rip into its owner even as she kicked out to her left with the momentum left from her swing. Her foot met flesh with the solid crack of bone and a grunt of pain. She laughed again as she finished off the the creature in front of her. She dodged a vicious swipe of steel and it sliced through her hair. The falling strands reminded her of raven feathers. She turned her dodge into a roll at the last second. As she uncurled herself she slashed at her attackers hamstring. She continued the upward stroke from that to tear into him as he went down screaming. He was easily finished off.
She heard the whistle of a sword behind her and shied to the side. Cold steel parted cloak and tunic and left another wound that would need stitching. She thrust the pain aside and brought her own blade to bear. His intestines met the cold air; the stench would have normally made her retch, but now she smiled tightly. He dropped his sword to grab at his guts, as if to put them back, not even looking at her. One slash and he was dead.
Three more. Only three. She did her best to minimize her own wounds while inflicting the most possible damage to them. The blood surging and spraying from their wounds reminded her of cardinals in the snow. The discordant symphony of battle became her heartbeat. Breath came hard and fast, slamming in and out of her lungs. She struggled to keep it under control. Then it was all over; she was alive and they were not. Her arm lowered, letting blood soak into the snow where the tip grazed it. She turned in a slow circle to survey the carnage. Blood and bits of gore were all around her. Her enemies mangled bodies steamed as they cooled.
She shivered violently in the cold aftermath. Gathering her spattered cloak did little to warm her. She knelt down and rubbed snow on her sword, careful to not cut her numb flesh on the edge. There was not enough clean snow around her to properly do the task. She sighed and got up. She would have to pick her way through towards the opposite tree line; that was the only area in the clearing that had clean snow.