Author Night at school

I met a real life children's book writer last night...he has had over 75 books published over the years, but guess how many rejections he had before his first ever got published? Hundreds...

For the record...

I thought I would jot down the progress I have made in the last month toward my new goal of writing for magazines. This way, I can actually see that I am making progress and I will be held accountable now that it is actually in writing.

As I suspected, this is a very daunting task. Many times in the last several weeks I have thought, this is just going to be too hard and the chances of ever getting printed in a magazine are really slim...why waste my time? I have also wondered if all the other journalists who have lost their jobs in the last little while are also flocking to the magazine industry as well...this of course does not leave much room for little miss dana.

However, I keep inadvertently getting little pick me ups along the way. For instance, I was chatting with my mom about our regular goings on and we were remembering what the last lecture guy said - something about walls being put up to see how badly you want something and if you do, you just have to figure out a way around it. This is definitely something I want very, very badly and have been dreaming about for many years, but I knew going into it what a hard road it would be along the way.

Anyway, as for my progress...I have finished reading my pile of books about writing for magazines, how to establish yourself in the freelance writing world, etc. I even took notes! This is quite a feat since I do not prefer reading information type books. I would much rather sit and read a good murder mystery novel.

Last week I sat down and listed out about 20 magazines I would be interested in writing for (mostly children's magazines), then went to their websites and began printing out writer's guidelines. Due to varying reasons, the list got widdled down to about 10. I then ordered sample copies of those magazines, and as soon as they arrive, I need to read, read, read, and then read some more. I have learned that writing for magazines is only part writing. The other part is marketing your product, and I just so happen to have a degree in Marketing! So, I am doing all of my market research up front - devouring the magazines to find out what kind of stories they accept, how long the stories are, how the stories are written, etc.

I am also starting to accumulate ideas I'd like to write about. I'm giving myself another month or so to do my research of the magazines and write up the perfect query (writer's lingo for a letter sent to the magazine listing your ideas, what research you have done, and samples of writing clips).

Once that is done, I can start sending out my queries to the different magazines. The only catch is that I can only do one at a time (it would be very bad if I sent out my ideas all at once to 10 magazines and more than one accepted the same idea, well bad from their perspective...at least I would know they liked my work!)

The waiting then begins. I have been prepped from my books about how to accept rejection, since that is a writer's main stay at the beginning. In fact, each book had a chapter on how to accept the rejection letters...this was a moment when I was wondering what I was getting myself into. However, all the books pointed out that even though there is only a 10 to 15 percent chance of ever getting published (hehe - not very good odds)...you'll never know if you are going to be one of those accepted writers down the road if you never try. They also so kindly pointed out numerous writers who were rejected time and time again, but persisted and eventually came out on top of their game.

As I read on my Aunt Linda's blog, "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however." - Richard Bach

I think I love sandboxes

Natalie just got done playing for hours in our sandbox (no kidding). Now I get to clean off the layer of sand on her bum. I have since learned that baby wipes absolutely do not work in getting sand off sensitive areas of baby skin. It only grinds the sand pebbles into the bum making it red and irritated. Not good, especially when the painful cry comes with it. So, I will be putting her in the bathtub to get all the sand off. This is becoming a regular occurrence for us now that it has finally warmed up and Natalie loves playing in the backyard (yay for me!). I don't mind though because she is entertained for so long and I can sit on the back porch, prop my feet up, feel the warm breeze, and read a good book. Not that is what I call a good time.

Insurance Frustrations

Aahhh...health insurance. You have to love it, you have to hate it. With John's new company, we have switched over to a new health insurance plan. It would have been nice it if kicked in the day John started, which just so happened to be the last day of our old health insurance, but no, health insurance is never made easy. We had to wait until this month to get added on. Thus - a one month insurance lapse for cobra to take effect. Let it be known that we did NOT have to go the doctor for one ioda of illness during the month of February, so one would think that we would not have to worry about paying the $1500 for one month of cobra privileges.

No, health insurance is never that kind. If we do not want to be slapped with John's $7,000 bill for Remicaid every other month for the next nine months, then we have to pay a mere $1500 up front to continue our coverage so don't get hit with 9 months of no coverage for pre-existing conditions. So, I sent off the very expensive check two weeks ago thinking that would be the last of our insurance problems.

As my new insurance laughed at my non-worries, it reared up it's ugly head by first telling me we need to preauthorize all of our treatments...what?! We have to call our insurance, get the doctor to fax in a signed form, etc. etc. before we can receive treatment!! Okay, this health insurance is really turning out to be a pain in the neck, until I got hit with problem number two...

A letter saying we needed to prove our continuance of health coverage. Okay, one minor setback I thought...I just need to call my old insurance. THREE phone calls and three different companies later, I finally got the information I needed, but it's a lengthy process of about three things I have to do with both our old insurance and cobra to prove to our new insurance we have continued our coverage.

Meanwhile, poor John was supposed to get his last Remicaid treatment a week ago, but with all of the preauthorizaton and certification of coverage mumbo jumbo, he hasn't been able to get it yet.

So, in conclusion - you can't live happily with health insurance, you can't live happily without it. Where is the justice in this?

New Experience

I had a new experience yesterday - I rode a horse! I can't claim that it is my first time, because I have ridden a horse one other time many, many years ago. Kimberly has been taking horse lessons for nearly two years, and her teacher wants to take her trail riding out on Antelope Island. I wanted to make sure I was able to go with her, so I am taking a few lessons myself to prep me for the trip. The current plan is for us to go out to Antelope with the horses in two weeks if the weather is good. I am looking forward to it, but not the horse bum part (you know, when you get bow legs after sitting on a horse for too long.)

After riding the horse, Kimberly and I came home to a house full of chores. Dreary, I know, but in the process of cleaning house, I got a call from one of our friends who said they were headed to the Salt Lake temple that night to do sealings and wanted to know if we could join them. Of course John and I were interested in going, as we haven't been to the temple in awhile, so we found a babysitter (rather quickly for such short notice - I was amazed) and planned to rearrange our Saturday afternoon schedule. We had promised to take the girls swimming, but didn't plan on leaving until 4ish. In order to make it to the temple, we would have to leave earlier.

After putting all of our plans in place, I decided I better check our temple recommends. I was pretty sure we had another year left before they expired because I remembered sitting down with our new bishopric with our temple recommends sometime after our ward split (summer of 2007). My heart dropped when I saw the date on our recommends had expired. Oh yah, we met with the bishopric to get them updated to the computer version. Sigh...we were not going to be able to go with our friends to the temple after all. Let me tell you, it is a very unsettling feeling to know that a group of our friends were headed out to the temple, and we had made all the necessary arrangements to join them, but in the end, we had not made the most important arrangement of all - the thing enabling us to enter the Lord's house. Guess you know what we'll be doing this week, huh?

In the end, we did have a lovely time swimming with the girls. The last time we went as a family, Natalie did not have such a good time. This time all the girls had a wonderful time, and we enjoyed some quality family time. Afterward, we picked up some yummy Mexican food from Bajio, then enjoyed some nice warm showers to clean off the chlorine.

All in all, a very eventful Saturday.

Not One, Not Two, But Three Finished Crafts!

I have recently finished three crafts....long pause here while I wait for you to pick up your jaws.

Yes, I know - this is highly unusual for me. But I have some extra time on my hands, and I wanted to declutter my laundry room where the half-finished projects were starting to accumulate. It all started about a month ago when I was hunting for some cute hair bows for Natalie (now that I am actually taking the time in the morning to make her hair cute with ponies and bows). I have a few leftover bought ones from Kimberly and Alicia's toddler days, but I needed to get some pink and purple ones. I have not been successful at finding bows anywhere unless they are the agsorbent priced ones at gourmet craft stores. My friend suggested we make them, and even found a website with mostly good instructions. We headed off to the store in search of cute ribbon, wire, and hair clips. We came home with an armload of supplies, and got to work. They were really quite easy! I made several, but set the rest on my dryer to be finished at a later date...last week when I got tired of pushing them aside to finish my laundry each week. They look so cute in Natalie's hair and I am so excited that I made a handful of bows for less than $5.

Next on my craft list was watch bracelets. My crafty friend took me with her to see another gal that sold these, and we each bought one and carefully examined how it was made. It didn't look hard at all, so we once again headed off to the craft store (this is starting to become a habit for us I see) for beads, clasps, and some stretchy string. They turned out to be way easier that we expected!! I finished two bracelets in under an hour. They were a little pricier than the bows - about $10, but still cheap compared to the $20 I spent on the first watch bracelet.

Lastly, I made this oh-so-cute purse for a night on the town or for my scriptures and hymn books. A neighbor of mine had one of these at church and I begged her to show me how to make one. It was so easy! It is simply a flower sewn onto a heavy duty cloth placemat, with handles I bought at the local craft store...so easy and way cute!! I can't wait to use it! I have to admit here that John helped me sew on the handles. I was going to use fish wire like my neighbor used to sew on the handles, but John cleverly suggested ribbon or a small piece of fabric to attach the handles. I let him do the sewing because I was having a hard time envisioning the process.

It was funny while I was finishing up the bows last week - I was showing John some of my work, and he said, "I'm not sure what to do with you now since you are this changed person crafting all the time!" The other thing John says has changed of late is how addicted I have become to the computer with blogging and facebook. I think we may have to buy a second laptop so John can actually have some computer time!

Gone to the birds

by John

I've been wanting to write this for the last week, but various Cub Scouting and family activities have taken my time. Now I have a few moments to bore you with my falconry. ;)

The falconry club in Utah hosts an annual competition for falconers to show off their falcons. Those of us with owls, eagles, and hawks get to watch. Whether or not you participate in the competition, you bring your birds to show, talk, and have a good time. This year was no exception, and there were quite a few uncommon birds. I thought I would share a few of them with you.

We have an Aplomodo falcon from South America. He's a bit larger than my American Kestrel, but equally beautiful. I love the orange and dark brown colors on this little guy; he's all ready for Halloween! Just like all falcons, this little guy is fast. The smaller falcons put on quite an acrobatic show when they are hunting. Their agility is amazing!

Next is a Tundra Gyrfalcon. These are from Canada and the Arctic regions of Earth, and are a little larger than a Peregrine falcon. Polar Bears are supposed to be white, but they always seem to be more of a cream color. The Tundra Gyr is most definitely white. The only other color is a little black on the edges of wing feathers. All Gyrs are aggressive; they will pursue their quary longer than other falcons. This Gyr was quite talkative; at first I thought someone had brought a Sea Gull.

A Saker is another falcon similar to the Gyr, except they are from the middle east. These are very popular in the middle east. Interesting enough, the owner of the Tundra Gyr also owned the Saker. These two received quite a bit of attention.

Last is the little lady. I love Screech Owls. They aren't allowed in falconry, so I'll need to add an educational license to have one. I first worked with Screech Owls at Ogden Nature Center. I always looked forward to working with the Screeches. Unfortunately, the raptor rehabilitation program was closed recently. This little lady was incredibly calm; she let the little kids come up and pet her.

Hopefully this encyclopedia entry wasn't too boring.