On the subject of Writing groups (see previous post and comments), please check out the following web site for more info on a cool writing group I belong to:
http://www.notebored.com/
http://www.notebored.com/board/index.php Updated: Try this link for more info:
It has something for everyone so check it out! There will be new instructions how to register (join) this group hopefully over the next week or so. This front page DOES NOT show all of the sections! There will be an email listed so that you can ask for your invitation code that is needed for registration. Once your registration has been approved, you'll be able to log in and see all of the sections. This is for tighter security to protect our privacy. For more info, please see me!
There is also a blog starting up to explain some of the features/benefits of this group (still starting), so keep an eye on this over the next few months:
http://www.notebored.com/noteblog/
Monday, February 27, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Free Newsletter-
Hello fellow writers-
To subscribe to The Writers Gazette, a free (ezine) newsletter, and to check out a good site for writing info., please check out:
http://www.writergazette.com/subscribe.shtml
I normally don't like signing up for free newsletters, but this one is jam packed with contests, submissions info, tips, and misc. tidbits! I look forward to receiving it!
Happy Writing!
-Lisa
To subscribe to The Writers Gazette, a free (ezine) newsletter, and to check out a good site for writing info., please check out:
http://www.writergazette.com/subscribe.shtml
I normally don't like signing up for free newsletters, but this one is jam packed with contests, submissions info, tips, and misc. tidbits! I look forward to receiving it!
Happy Writing!
-Lisa
Monday, February 20, 2006
January Contest Winner! February Contest!
Fellow bloggers-
Contest updates:
Dave has graciously accepted the Nora Roberts book so I will be sending that out to him shortly!! Congrats Dave!
February contest is still up for grabs! I'll find a couple of books for the winner to choose from and post real soon.
Diane, do you have a blog yet?? You'd be the winner for February if you get a blog and link to mine! Just let me know!! You'd be an awesome "blogger!" :)
Have a great day!!
Contest updates:
Dave has graciously accepted the Nora Roberts book so I will be sending that out to him shortly!! Congrats Dave!
February contest is still up for grabs! I'll find a couple of books for the winner to choose from and post real soon.
Diane, do you have a blog yet?? You'd be the winner for February if you get a blog and link to mine! Just let me know!! You'd be an awesome "blogger!" :)
Have a great day!!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
What keeps you going?
What keeps you going? This morning, the pastor asked me (& the congregation of the church I belong to) this very question. The question and his sermon couldn't have come at a perfect time for me. (not unusual)
You see, for several months, my life has been in an upheavel of sorts. I've handled unforeseen problems fairly well, but recently I've found myself fighting symptoms of depression.
In the face of adversity, I tend to be reserved and become closer to God. I lean on him for constant support, which is a good thing of course. But lately, I've noticed a slight reservation even in my personal relationship with Jesus. I know he's with me, but as I'm confronted with daily battles, I find myself withdrawing even more. Sure, I'm still fulfilling my resonsibilities, but at times, my joy has faded into mere existance. Maybe for self preservation like keeping my hands over my head to keep from being bombarded by life's worries and disappointments.
I've been through this before. I know the signs of depression, but it has taken me a couple of months to acknowledge it. So, back to the above question. What keeps you going?
Wow! What great timing. Why you ask? Well, the answer to the question is quite simple actually. My life isn't about me and the things of this world. It's about what my paster calls, "hidden treasure." It's about what is unseen instead of what is seen. The pastor reminded me that the power of God is in us, and we will have a great peace even amongst great struggles. Apostle Paul understood this all too well. Paul writes in
II Corinthians 4-7:11:
"But we have treasures in jars of clay to show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body."
This is a power-pacted message! This life isn't about me. It is all about the glory of God. I have life to help spread the good news and have great power from God to overcome my hardships.
II Corinthians 16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is seen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
This is my answer to the above question, "What keeps you going." Why not let Paul answer it for me? He certainly had seen more troubles in his life than I'll probably ever see, and if he could write these words while living with his own pressures of spreading God's word and dealing with imprisonment and beatings, I know I need to do what Apostle Paul did all those years ago.
I pray to overcome adversity with my eyes fixed on Jesus and the new world to come, instead of concentrating on the ways of this world.
God is good.
Hidden treasure include:
Great Peace, Great Presence, Great Proclamation and Great Potential.
Look to the Lord for yours today! Better than all the riches in the world.
Thank you Lord for my life and help me to appreciate all of your wonderful blessings.
In Your Name I pray,
Amen
You see, for several months, my life has been in an upheavel of sorts. I've handled unforeseen problems fairly well, but recently I've found myself fighting symptoms of depression.
In the face of adversity, I tend to be reserved and become closer to God. I lean on him for constant support, which is a good thing of course. But lately, I've noticed a slight reservation even in my personal relationship with Jesus. I know he's with me, but as I'm confronted with daily battles, I find myself withdrawing even more. Sure, I'm still fulfilling my resonsibilities, but at times, my joy has faded into mere existance. Maybe for self preservation like keeping my hands over my head to keep from being bombarded by life's worries and disappointments.
I've been through this before. I know the signs of depression, but it has taken me a couple of months to acknowledge it. So, back to the above question. What keeps you going?
Wow! What great timing. Why you ask? Well, the answer to the question is quite simple actually. My life isn't about me and the things of this world. It's about what my paster calls, "hidden treasure." It's about what is unseen instead of what is seen. The pastor reminded me that the power of God is in us, and we will have a great peace even amongst great struggles. Apostle Paul understood this all too well. Paul writes in
II Corinthians 4-7:11:
"But we have treasures in jars of clay to show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body."
This is a power-pacted message! This life isn't about me. It is all about the glory of God. I have life to help spread the good news and have great power from God to overcome my hardships.
II Corinthians 16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is seen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
This is my answer to the above question, "What keeps you going." Why not let Paul answer it for me? He certainly had seen more troubles in his life than I'll probably ever see, and if he could write these words while living with his own pressures of spreading God's word and dealing with imprisonment and beatings, I know I need to do what Apostle Paul did all those years ago.
I pray to overcome adversity with my eyes fixed on Jesus and the new world to come, instead of concentrating on the ways of this world.
God is good.
Hidden treasure include:
Great Peace, Great Presence, Great Proclamation and Great Potential.
Look to the Lord for yours today! Better than all the riches in the world.
Thank you Lord for my life and help me to appreciate all of your wonderful blessings.
In Your Name I pray,
Amen
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Writing Groups-Good or Bad?
Good day fellow bloggers-
It seems as if I've been a part of writing groups all of my life when in actuality, it's only been six months. Why am I bringing this up? Well, to fellow inspiring writers, I wanted to encourage you to join a "serious" writing group when you have something you want to submit to the publishing world.
The good part of honest critique should be common sense. It helps. You will learn. I guarantee it. There are so many little things to accomplish for a piece to "work". Having other unbiased input is crucial. We all need help in determining what works and what doesn't with whatever we're working on. That doesn't mean that the writer must agree with every crit, but it often sparks new ideas and a different approach just might be needed. The past six months have been very instrumental to improving my writing skills, I think better than any writing class could accomplish. And the best part is the writing groups I participate in are free!
Okay for the down side. Thick skin. Gotta have it. The critiques normally aren't pretty, especially for newbie writers like myself. The first crits I had on a story were, how shall I say it? Harsh? Terrible? Crushing? Or somewhere in between? I felt many emotions, but bottom line, they were helpful and necessary for improvement. It was a reality check. I needed to work much harder than I thought I would. But, am I better for it? You bet. I received so much helpful feedback, it was amazing. And of course I still am.
So today's tip? Get your work out there! I know, I know...it's tough. It gets personal. What? Personal? I thought writers weren't supposed to take these things personally? Well, guess what writers are sensitive souls. We do take a harsh crit to heart, but with time and experience, we do adjust and we do learn. And then the coolest thing happens, you start to help other people with their writing as well! Now, that is fun. ;) It's interesting that we can find so many other flaws in other writer's work when our own looks just fine. This is why critique is necessary.
Well, I hope I have encouraged the nervous writer out there to submit one of their works to a writing group out there and haven't scared anyone instead. Oh and one more thing, find a strong, supportive, honest critique group. Keep an eye on the posts for awhile (most require crits first anyway) before posting so that you can get a feel for the experience and the type of crits being offered. You'll know whether it's for you or not. I belong to four but only two am I very active with, depending upon the type of project I'm working on.
There are different writing groups depending upon the writing project you are working on so make sure that the group will review and crit the type of work you need assistance with.
Go ahead, try it! Need help? Just email me.
Happy Writing!
It seems as if I've been a part of writing groups all of my life when in actuality, it's only been six months. Why am I bringing this up? Well, to fellow inspiring writers, I wanted to encourage you to join a "serious" writing group when you have something you want to submit to the publishing world.
The good part of honest critique should be common sense. It helps. You will learn. I guarantee it. There are so many little things to accomplish for a piece to "work". Having other unbiased input is crucial. We all need help in determining what works and what doesn't with whatever we're working on. That doesn't mean that the writer must agree with every crit, but it often sparks new ideas and a different approach just might be needed. The past six months have been very instrumental to improving my writing skills, I think better than any writing class could accomplish. And the best part is the writing groups I participate in are free!
Okay for the down side. Thick skin. Gotta have it. The critiques normally aren't pretty, especially for newbie writers like myself. The first crits I had on a story were, how shall I say it? Harsh? Terrible? Crushing? Or somewhere in between? I felt many emotions, but bottom line, they were helpful and necessary for improvement. It was a reality check. I needed to work much harder than I thought I would. But, am I better for it? You bet. I received so much helpful feedback, it was amazing. And of course I still am.
So today's tip? Get your work out there! I know, I know...it's tough. It gets personal. What? Personal? I thought writers weren't supposed to take these things personally? Well, guess what writers are sensitive souls. We do take a harsh crit to heart, but with time and experience, we do adjust and we do learn. And then the coolest thing happens, you start to help other people with their writing as well! Now, that is fun. ;) It's interesting that we can find so many other flaws in other writer's work when our own looks just fine. This is why critique is necessary.
Well, I hope I have encouraged the nervous writer out there to submit one of their works to a writing group out there and haven't scared anyone instead. Oh and one more thing, find a strong, supportive, honest critique group. Keep an eye on the posts for awhile (most require crits first anyway) before posting so that you can get a feel for the experience and the type of crits being offered. You'll know whether it's for you or not. I belong to four but only two am I very active with, depending upon the type of project I'm working on.
There are different writing groups depending upon the writing project you are working on so make sure that the group will review and crit the type of work you need assistance with.
Go ahead, try it! Need help? Just email me.
Happy Writing!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
He remembered!
Just wanted to post an updated that my hubbie called me from "the road" at noon yesterday to wish me a happy anniversary! Good man. ;)
One extra thing. I wanted to post a link to a site discussing Estrogen Dominance etc to go along an earlier post. www.womentowomen.com/menopause/estrogendominance.asp?
And hey Dave, please email me on your book, k? Let me know which one you want and need your snail mail address also. February contest details to follow later...
Have a good day!
-Lisa
One extra thing. I wanted to post a link to a site discussing Estrogen Dominance etc to go along an earlier post. www.womentowomen.com/menopause/estrogendominance.asp?
And hey Dave, please email me on your book, k? Let me know which one you want and need your snail mail address also. February contest details to follow later...
Have a good day!
-Lisa
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
21st Wedding Anniversary-
My hubbie and I celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary today. We'll see if my husband remembers. He's on the road driving so we'll just see if I get a "Happy Anniversary." My husband and I are actually high school sweethearts and have been together for approx. 23 years. Whew...I can't even imagine being married for 50 yrs! How do people do this? But, we're on our way...cane and all.
We're officially an old married couple. Happy Anniversary to me *us* :) There I said it to myself just in case my hubbie doesn't. He is coming home this weekend so I can clobber him then. ;) I'll let you know if he remembers!
Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!
-Lisa
We're officially an old married couple. Happy Anniversary to me *us* :) There I said it to myself just in case my hubbie doesn't. He is coming home this weekend so I can clobber him then. ;) I'll let you know if he remembers!
Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!
-Lisa
School Projects-
On the lighter side today folks, I thought I'd share with you my experience with my son's school project last night.
I helped him pick out a recipe from Venezuela. It was a corn cake of sorts. My mom brought over her trusty blender, (no, I don't own one ;) My son placed all of the ingredients including creamed corn, sugar, a touch of flour, eggs etc.-sound good? Not really. Oh and don't forget vanilla to taste...whatever that means.
Anyway, he placed the ingredients in the blender. I pushed the blend button and mixed the concoction into a yellow mess. I poured the "batter" :) into the pan and placed in the over at 350 degrees. We kept an eye on it, surely we did...we watched it bubble and wave up and down, not a pretty sight. We didn't think it would ever take shape enough to cut into little pieces. After an hour of baking, it was still gooey on the inside and outside. We let it cool for a couple of hours and were able to cut into little pieces, but it was still more like a souffle type consistency. I thought about doing another batch. Nah...this is what it's supposed to be like, so be it. The idea is to show different dishes, well, he will show his fellow classmates this for sure. ;)
So you're probably wondering, if it was any good. And you know...it wasn't too bad! It was like a bread pudding or something-at least it had a cup of sugar in it-ha!
Gee, what will I get to do tonite?? :)
Enjoy the journey!
-Lisa
I helped him pick out a recipe from Venezuela. It was a corn cake of sorts. My mom brought over her trusty blender, (no, I don't own one ;) My son placed all of the ingredients including creamed corn, sugar, a touch of flour, eggs etc.-sound good? Not really. Oh and don't forget vanilla to taste...whatever that means.
Anyway, he placed the ingredients in the blender. I pushed the blend button and mixed the concoction into a yellow mess. I poured the "batter" :) into the pan and placed in the over at 350 degrees. We kept an eye on it, surely we did...we watched it bubble and wave up and down, not a pretty sight. We didn't think it would ever take shape enough to cut into little pieces. After an hour of baking, it was still gooey on the inside and outside. We let it cool for a couple of hours and were able to cut into little pieces, but it was still more like a souffle type consistency. I thought about doing another batch. Nah...this is what it's supposed to be like, so be it. The idea is to show different dishes, well, he will show his fellow classmates this for sure. ;)
So you're probably wondering, if it was any good. And you know...it wasn't too bad! It was like a bread pudding or something-at least it had a cup of sugar in it-ha!
Gee, what will I get to do tonite?? :)
Enjoy the journey!
-Lisa
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
January Contest!
Dave has asked if Izzy wants to link and win the contest, but...I haven't heard from her!
Izzy, please let us know if you want one of these books by linking to my site.
I'll make final decision based on what Izzy wants to do on Weds 2/8/06! Thanks Dave!
(ps-Dave, I've emailed you "again" on this.)
Izzy, please let us know if you want one of these books by linking to my site.
I'll make final decision based on what Izzy wants to do on Weds 2/8/06! Thanks Dave!
(ps-Dave, I've emailed you "again" on this.)
Sunday, February 05, 2006
February Contest-2006
We could have a new winner if Izzy reports in as linked to my site! She is the first newbie to reply to one of my posts!
I haven't determined the books to choose from yet-depends on what Dave picks first and then I'll come up with another choice.
Thanks for all of your support! Please refer others to my blog and I'll do the same!
-Lisa
I haven't determined the books to choose from yet-depends on what Dave picks first and then I'll come up with another choice.
Thanks for all of your support! Please refer others to my blog and I'll do the same!
-Lisa
January Contest-
Hey Dave, Guess what? You won another contest! Pls let me know which book you want: Lists to Live By-"Not just about things to do; they're about how to be."
OR...Night Tales By Nora Roberts.
Just let me know! And email me your address!
Thanks for your support!
OR...Night Tales By Nora Roberts.
Just let me know! And email me your address!
Thanks for your support!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Hormone Balance-
This post is especially for you ladies out there (and for you guys with ladies out there).
I found a very informative book called, "Hormone Balance. A Woman's Guide to Restoring Health and Vitality," by Carolyn Dean, MD., N.D.
I have been researching the effects that sugar and various chemicals/toxins have on our bodies. This book covers these issues and much more regarding hormone balance. This book explains what ideal hormone balance looks like, how other factors contribute to imbalance and how to correct that imbalance whether by diet, exercise, fixing particular hormone imbalances etc.
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting more information on how to help symptoms caused by PMS (including breast tenderness, abnormal periods etc.), perimenopause/menopause/postmenopause, bone loss, yeast infections, and other misc. issues. I'm really not doing this book justice by just listing these things because it covers so many different female health concerns.
If anyone wants a search of this book on a particular topic, feel free to post here or email me. Or run out and get your own book. It is $15 at Barnes & Noble and very well worth it. I'd put on as an option for the contest, but I'm keeping this one with my reference books.
It's really a book that every woman should read at some point because it explains so many different areas relating specifically to women. You won't be disappointed.
Tip for the day: Don't forget to grab a bottle of water and laugh, laugh, laugh!
I found a very informative book called, "Hormone Balance. A Woman's Guide to Restoring Health and Vitality," by Carolyn Dean, MD., N.D.
I have been researching the effects that sugar and various chemicals/toxins have on our bodies. This book covers these issues and much more regarding hormone balance. This book explains what ideal hormone balance looks like, how other factors contribute to imbalance and how to correct that imbalance whether by diet, exercise, fixing particular hormone imbalances etc.
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting more information on how to help symptoms caused by PMS (including breast tenderness, abnormal periods etc.), perimenopause/menopause/postmenopause, bone loss, yeast infections, and other misc. issues. I'm really not doing this book justice by just listing these things because it covers so many different female health concerns.
If anyone wants a search of this book on a particular topic, feel free to post here or email me. Or run out and get your own book. It is $15 at Barnes & Noble and very well worth it. I'd put on as an option for the contest, but I'm keeping this one with my reference books.
It's really a book that every woman should read at some point because it explains so many different areas relating specifically to women. You won't be disappointed.
Tip for the day: Don't forget to grab a bottle of water and laugh, laugh, laugh!
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