Inspiration
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Thankful Magic Moments With My Kids
Every morning I wake a half hour early in order to begin my day in thankfulness. I grab my coffee, climb the stairs to my writing room and sit in my grandmother’s old lazy boy chair facing the window with a view of our canal. In front of me are a collection of books. The Power of Now and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, Manifesting Change by Mike Dooley, Firstlight by Sue Monk Kidd, and The Book of AWESOME by Neil Pasricha. I choose one or two of the books open to a random page and begin reading. Just like I go to the gym to keep…
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An Author’s Journey Part I
I’ve listened to many authors speak of their writing journey. Not one of them said they published their first novel in two or three years. They all told a story of how their first novel took them five to ten years from the birth of an idea to publication. I listened and then decided I’d be different. No way was it going to take me so long to get my first novel published. I was wrong. Those of you who have been following me on Facebook and this blog know that I’ve been working on a middle grade fantasy called MYSTIC. My mantra for the past three years has been, “Yep, I’m still…
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Five Life Lessons from a Treadmill
Even when my mind screams no, I don’t want to run I just have to put one foot in front of the other until I feel better. Keep going! When I look up at the TV’s and see reality shows or the news I’m a lot less motivated than when I watch athletes or ads for fitness videos. Surround myself with positive influences. When someone runs next to me I work a little harder. Sharing similar goals with another person motivates me. If I listen to the same music every day I get bored and don’t push myself. However, just one funky holiday song in September (Glee Christmas album-All I want…
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Falling Apart
I can’t sleep. I know why. I read until my eyes close and the book hits my forehead. I wake, put the book down, close my eyes, and my mind takes off running. The words bouncing off the walls of my brain like a racquetball – I’m falling apart. The pieces of my life that have fit together for nineteen years are about to come unglued as one little bird gets ready to leave the nest. My life is about to change and I feel like I want to rewind, go back and see precious moments from the past. Did I enjoy them enough? Did I soak in every smile and do all I…
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Life Lessons from Sandra Bullock
Introducing my beautiful daughter, Arielle Rausin. One actress I’ve always admired for not only her versatility but her spunk is Sandra Bullock. I’ve grown up watching her movies, and whenever its chick flick night with mom, she’s our go to girl. Over the years I learned a lot from her films. Miss Congeniality taught me to never enter a beauty pageant unless I’m ready to accept a bomb triggering tiara. The Proposal taught me that if you deem someone your fake fiancée in order to avoid deportation, you will, in fact, fall in love with him. The Blind Side taught me that if you welcome a large, homeless boy into your…
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Our Vacation with Debby (Tropical Storm Debby)
Sometimes life doesn’t go quite as expected. We had planned to celebrate a friend’s birthday with four lovely days on Ft. Myers beach. In our minds every day would be as beautiful as the picture above. (That’s Roses,Spain.) When we arrived Saturday evening it was raining. When we woke up Sunday morning… it was raining. By Sunday evening… it was still raining. Even Mr. Gull was annoyed. Monday morning I had a glimmer of hope. Although the sun was nowhere in sight the rain had ceased. I went for a walk along the beach. The wind grew strong and water crept further and further up the shore. I ran for cover. I was…
