Happy Holidays

Yes, that time of year has arrived! The one which is filled with wonder, excitement and stress. Yes, I said stress! If you are a parent, you are aware of exactly what I am talking about. The pressure is on to make the holiday fun and happy for all. You will spend the next three weeks or so rushing around like a manic trying to buys gifts, wrap, decorate, prepare your home for guests, and the list goes on and one.

However, the holidays as Charlie Brown learned from his buddy Linus are about much more than commercialism and getting those Black Friday specials. Without going into the religious sentiments, many of us have lost touch with what they truly mean.

While my home is not perfect by any means, one thing which I have tried to do is to incorporate more giving and less getting. Our family always takes part in the the school's giving tree where you purchase a present for a family who is less fortunate. We also contribute to the annual Toys for Tots collection. One other tradition which my children have come to enjoy is making cookies or cupcakes for our neighbors and area seniors. I didn't realize how much my two oldest had come to value this until a couple of years ago when I was pregnant at holiday prep time.

Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, the last thing on my agenda was baking. Yet, my oldest reminded me that we'd forgotten to make our goodies for the neighbors. The boys actually looked forward to visiting and delivering the homemade treats. With more than a little help from dad that year, we kept the tradition alive.

One thing I have learned after having three children is that excess is not necessarily better. They children enjoy their gifts more if there are less of them. Many presents means little ones are often overwhelmed and end up playing with very little. As children get older, their list becomes pricier which means and you have to scale back anyway. Limiting what is under the tree doesn't make you a bad parent.

As hard as it sounds, focusing on the fun activities like your town's yearly tree lighting or a ride on the Santa train and less on the material aspects just might put the happy back in the holidays!

It doesn't matter what you celebrate. Take a step back and try to savor the moments with family and friends because often times they are gone all too soon. And remember, this time of year is not merry for everyone. Including others spreads the spirit around and that feeling of goodwill lasts a lot longer than this year's hot must have toy.

Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here

As the holidays are thrust upon us, many people now find themselves in the uncomfortable and stressful position of trying to make everything picture perfect! You watch Martha Stewart or one of the other television show along those lines and find yourself trying to make that cute gingerbread house you saw or create your own cards. They looked simple enough and wouldn't something homemade be wonderful!

However, when your finished product doesn't quite measure up, you are left feeling like a failure. When your friends post on Facebook, you see and read their notes and see photos about how awesome everyone's tree trimming and cookie making went, and then there was yours!

Your boys went five rounds over who gets to put up what hockey ornament and where they should go. Someone inevitably ends up in tears or in trouble and you wonder just when exactly the holiday joy is supposed to arrive.

This Thanksgiving was the first one in four years that we were able to spend at home. The older one did not have an ice hockey tournament with his new travel team. He was disappointed. The rest of us were thrilled. My first thought was heading to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and doing other holiday things we usually miss out on. I'd never been to the big parade and it was definitely on my list of activities to experience do. The husband volunteered to cook and stay home with the little one while we ventured out. Now, I was a bit reluctant considering the work involved in hosting Turkey Day. Yet, for once I wanted to try going with the flow.

Both boys agreed to rise early to catch a train before sunrise. Upon arriving in NYC, I quickly realized we weren't early enough! Crowds coupled with the NYPD's sidewalk closures which didn't allow you to cross the street at the corners were a real challenge. Eventually, in the middle of all the complaining, we found a reasonable spot. Of course, by this time, I was ready to bail and catch the next train home.

Thankfully, I persevered and when the giant Snoopy floated down Sixth Avenue and both the boys were awe struck, I was happy I took the plunge. The next day in our travels and appointments, I noticed my older one telling everyone we met that he was at the Macy's Parade and both of them were asking me if we could go again next year. Of course, I might take my sister up on her suggestion to get a hotel room overlooking the route and watching from the window! We met some great people and had a lot of fun, but standing in one stop for that length of time in thirty degree weather was a new kind of cold life in the hockey rink does not prepare you for.

When we got home, my husband was in the middle of a mess and the smoke detector was going off; certainly not the perfect Thanksgiving Hallmark moment. In the end though, the dinner got cooked, the mess cleaned up, and everyone had a great time.

What we need to realize is there simply isn't an ideal anything! Even behind Martha Stewart's idyllic existence, there was a divorce, whispers of unhappy employees, neighbors and a less than stellar relationship with her daughter. In the end, her unfortunate incarceration would cost her credibility and self-respect. While the grass may always seem greener, it usually has weeds just like your does!

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After the battles, the tree was put up and it looked pretty. The two-year-old was enthralled! When we posed in front of it for this year's holiday card, the little one would only be in it if she could wear her Curious George shirt. Of course, she then wouldn't stand where we asked her to and the middle one can never smile on cue without it looking almost comical.

Ours won't be the holiday card with the perfect tree in the background and the three children dressed in matching outfits because that isn't us and it never will be and that is okay!

Girls Who Love Balls

I am very proud of my piece for Indie Chicks. It is a website I enjoy reading very much and wish that I had more time to do so. If you are an independent woman, make sure you check it out. They have wonderful and relevant articles. Of course, as my feature comes out, The Hub: Sports & Music is not longer an active site. However, the freelance game marches on. Writing is a fickle business with ebbs and flows. You have to adapt, dig in and have confidence in your craft. This is not always easy I realize. After starting a new position a week ago and working extremely hard to contribute content, I was let go today. Now, I realize it had a great deal to do with not being British and being able to form an article using the correct lingo, but it stings anyway. Whenever you create using your words a little bit of your heart and soul goes into it. I will try and remember the old saying; when one door closes, another one opens.

http://theindiechicks.com/career-2/tips-and-tricks/girls-love-balls/

A First Look

Secrets, Lies, and Trash has been searching for a home for a long time. It finally found one over the summer with Midnight Frost Books. Recently, I completed the first set of revisions and got a sneak peek at the cover. Since that is what initially grabs a reader and reels them in, it's important to have a good one. I was very excited to see mine.

It was designed by Suzannah Safi. It sports my protagonist Russell Waverly silhouetted on the cover against a dark backdrop. Love the colors and how it presents an air of mystery to it. Hopefully, it will do its job and draw the readers in.

Today, the second set of revisions arrived. I was happy to see my editor was pleased with the changes because I wasn't so sure. Change is never an easy thing for an author when it comes to your words, but I was glad to see she felt the manuscript flowed a lot smoother.

The entire editing process has been a real learning experience. I never realized certain words were 'evil' or how much I relied on certain words. As I begin a new manuscript, I find my writing to be stronger which is part of the process.

So, here it is. A first look at the cover of my newest mystery!

No Adverbs Here

It has a long road to publication for my manuscript, Secret, Lies, and Trash, but it will at last see the light at the end of the tunnel in a few months. Recently, I completed the first set of revisions from my editor at Midnight Frost Books and received a peek at my cover design. Both very exciting and nerve-racking occurrences.

Since quite a bit of sweat and tears goes into creating a novel, being asked to make changes can be a daunting task. Characters live in your mind. So terminating them or even renaming one or two can be a difficult decision.

However, after reading my editor's comments and making the required set of adjustments, a valuable lesson has been learned. While I may have felt the initial temptation to dig my heels in and resist the changes, in the end they made my novel stronger and will help with future projects.

Choosing names can always be a tricky bit, but picking ones which are similar are to be avoided. Perhaps editors do not give readers enough credit to be able to identify the characters. Yet, the point does make sense. If you have people in your story whose names are too similar or begin with the same letter, they can be easily mixed up. It's a simple plot point to avoid in the future; make sure you vary the name structure in your story, be it first or last names.

When it comes to point of view, decide on one and maintain it throughout the manuscript. I really love a story which is related in the first person. However, I have also read books where it switches from first to third. Of course, the change occurs at breaks, but such semantics are to be avoided unless of course you are a well-knows author and can tell your story which ever way you choose. Since I am not even in the same league as Mary Higgins Clark, I did some rewrites and adjusted the POW to reflect just my protagonist. In the future, I will dodge any such issues by sticking to one.

As a writing instructor, you teach children to enrich their language by using colorful adjectives and adverbs. Be wary of overuse though. Too much of a good thing can clog up and slow down the flow of your story. I didn't realize I was in love with adverbs.

In writing, beware of evil works. They can come out of the keyboard and bite you. Not sure what evil words are? Neither was I. They are words such as need, know. In other words, choose a more vibrant vocabulary and stay away from the common place.

All authors tend to use particular words too much. I was shocked how many times I relied on certain ones as well as how much better the text sounded without them.

A completely impartial third party who reads and evaluates your work in an invaluable tool.  I may have bristled at some comments, but after careful reflection learned they made my story better.

The Indie Chicks

If you haven't checked out the Indie Chicks then you really should. It is an online magazine for women and written by women. Sure there are tons of those, but Indie Chicks is all about finding your inner spirit and doing it with style and sass. The articles are smart, edgy and relevant to the things that women deal with in their lives everyday.

Women of every age should check them out at http://theindiechicks.com/. I would be shocked if you didn't find at least one article or post that doesn't make you smile or think which is why I am very excited to be working on piece for them about the trials and tribulations of being a female writer in the sports industry.

While I wear many hats and write on a wide variety of subjects, I seem to have found my niche in sports. As a self-confessed 'tomboy,' I really don't have a problem with this though it does present its own set of challenges since sports is a predominately male field.

Sure, as Bob Dylan once sang, "the times they are a changing," however sports is still a testosterone lead medium which doesn't mean there isn't room for the ladies. It just means it is a little harder for a woman to gain a foothold and stay there.

I am excited to bring my piece to the Indie Chicks, but a little intimidated as well. I'm not sure I have found my inner badass as the magazine says, but am looking forward to trying to locate it.

What a Difference a Year Makes

It was a little over a year ago that I made the decision to focus on jump starting my sputtering writing career. After taking the advice of a fellow writer and master marketer, I started this blog, got active on various social media sites to help promote my writing and joined www.writethismoment.com to find some freelance writing job and possibly a publisher for my book.

Well, over the past twelve months I have applied for many writing jobs and actually got some. Happily, I can now put actual writing jobs on my resume along with my teaching credits. The road has been a bit bumpy and frustrating at times. However, I now find myself with a writing job I enjoy and an ebook due out in a few months.

Writing hockey and other sports features for www.thehubsm.com has been a lot of fun and has been a step up from the other sports site I was writing for. Penning features and human interest stories has always been a dream job of mine so I am really enjoying the challenge as well as the creativity that comes along with it.

One of the highlights has been interviewing a young college student who is trying to start a grassroots campaign to get the Chicago Blackhawks to change their logo to something that Native Americans do not find discriminatory. I'm also looking forward to speaking with the man behind the Chicks with Sticks organization which put together a league for Minnesota hockey moms to show their stuff out on this ice for a change.

I love doing my own interviews to go along with the pieces I am writing. The added personal touch can really bring a feature home.

As I keep freelancing along, my ears are open for some other writing opportunities which may or may not come my way, but that is the life of a writer. No assignment is ever too small.

One of my goals this school year is to finish the second installment of my mystery series with Russell Waverly as my protagonist. He's always been a favorite character to write and his story needs to be finished.

I am very happy that his first endeavor, Secrets, Lies and Trash has finally found a home with Midnight Frost Books and it will finally be coming out as a ebook in the upcoming months.

With the older ones back in school, it will hopefully be easier to find some more time to devote to writing. That is always the challenge. It is never coming up with the ideas to put down on paper. It is finding the time to do it. Though such is the lament for every parent who struggles to find the balance between working at home and taking care of the children. If anyone finds the secret, please share!