Novel Idea

Well, it's official...I have signed up for a HUGE project. I'm going to attempt to write a 50,000 word Novel in November!

Yes, you read that right...I'm writing a Novel in November. My aunt Roberta from Con-tain-it sent me a link a few days ago for this amazing challenge. After much reading on their site I decided to bite the bullet and sign up. You can check out National Novel Writing Month at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano.

The basic concept is to write a 50,000 word, 175-page novel starting November 1st and finishing by November 30th. There are no rules. Just write. They even tell you that you will write mostly crap...but this challenge isn't about quality, it's about quantity. Most people who want to write a novel fail before they even begin because they are too hung up on what they are writing. This exercise  is designed to show people that they are capable of writing and that it's easier when you just don't think  about it and just do it.  

According to my calculations this is how is breaks down.  

If I write everyday I'll have to write 5 pages per day OR approximately 1,700 words per day. 

If I dedicate 1 hour per day to writing then I'll have to write 1 page every 12 minutes OR 30 words per minute.(I don't even know if I can type 30 words per minute!)

I anticipate that at least 5 hairs on my head will turn gray each day that I participate. 

I also anticipate that I will pull out at least a handful of  hair each week that I participate.  

I have concluded that I will look like this on November30th...

Yes, I know he has a mustache, but if I'm spending all my free time  writing then I won't have time to go get my upper lip waxed like usual so I probably will have a fuzz stash too!

In conclusion, this Novel Idea will either result in my becoming a genius OR a crazy lady...but they are really one in the same anyway aren't they?

Any suggestions? Should I go for drama, comedy, tragedy, horror? Any words of wisdom for me? Any wishes for Good Luck? Anything....

Handmade Halloween

Join Susan at Entertain  Exchange for this awesome Handmade Halloween Contest and enter to win one of 5,  $50 Gift Cards to some pretty amazing online stores. There are 5 categories to enter which means 5 chances to win! Categories include Halloween Parties-all ages, Handmade Halloween Decor, Handmade Halloween Costumes-ages 0-10, Handmade Halloween Costumes-ages 11-18, and Handmade Halloween Costumes-ages 19+. 
This is my entry for the Handmade Halloween Costumes-ages 19+. 
My husband, Carl, has always loved Halloween. He is a Special Effects Make-Up Artist, so naturally we dress up each year. We had our first and second dates right around Halloween time too so we made a tradition of dressing up each year and going to various haunted houses and attractions. Carl always wanted to be the character Pinhead from the movie Hellraiser because it was such an awesome costume and makeup. If you're not familiar with this horror flick, here was the inspiration. 

 While Carl focused on creating the facial make-up (his specialty) for this costume, I searched for materials to make the actual outfit. I found cheap black vinyl and basic black fabric to create this look. After a few measurement errors and a lot of hand sewing, I finally got it right. I had never sewn before...so this was quite the  task to take on as my first attempt. Here is the result...

Not to shabby right? We went to the Renaissance Fair Halloween Party that evening. Carl almost took first prize in their Costume Contest, but was beat out by a man dressed  as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. No one can resist anyone resembling Johnny Depp. 

It took about 4 hours for Carl to apply  the make-up on himself. Thankfully, all the pins stayed where they belonged throughout  the evening. I was very proud of our creation. The best part of the evening for me was coming home and watching Carl try to remove the make-up. Did I mention that the make-up is not just painted on his face...it is made of 2 prosthetic foam latex pieces that he sculpted and molded to fit his face. Did I also mention that in order for the pieces to be able to move with his facial expressions that the foam latex is actually GLUED TO HIS FACE?   Over the years, Carl has glued many things to my  face for practice and he never really understood how painful it is to remove. It's like going to a spa and getting a facial...because taking this stuff off literally takes off the top layer of skin if your not careful. 

I hope you enjoyed our Homemade Halloween Costume! Make sure to check  out the other entries at Entertain Exchange!

And just for fun...I thought I would share a few more Halloween and Make-Up FX photo's. This is Carl's "early"  work. 

Bear attack victim on the left, burn victim on the right. 

Burn victim #2. Guess what it's made out of? Gelatin...and it smelled horrible. 

The female Joker!

Zombie

This wasn't actually Halloween, it was an 80's themed New Years Eve Party....but the concept still works. Carl was actually standing behind a booth in the restaurant and a man came up and "smacked" him in the face and which point Carl moved and scared the CRAP out of the guy because he thought Carl was a statue!

You'll never guess what this is made out of...but if you leave me a comment with your best guess I'll e-mail you the secret!

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to hearing from you!

   

Pre-weekend Celebration Party for 1

At 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon, after all the kids left, after all my staff left, and after a very long week this is how I celebrated. 

This was my pity party for one...

And just in case you were wondering....I did eat it ALL!

Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden

 Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden is now officially on my list for being one of the best books I've ever read. I think it hit such a nerve with me because I am a teacher, but I think anyone with a heart will truly  enjoy this book.

I can not begin to summarize this story, so the following is from the inside book jacket.

They were just 'somebody else's kids'-four problem children put in Torey Hayden's class because no one else knew what to do with them: A small seven-year-old boy who couldn't speak except to repeat weather  forecasts and other people's words...A beautiful girl of seven who had brain damage by terrible parental beatings and was so ashamed because she couldn't even learn to read...A violently angery ten-year-old who had seen his stepmother murder his father and had been sent from one foster home to another...A shy twelve-year-old from a Catholic school that expelled her when she became pregnant...They all shared one thing in common: a remarkable teacher who would never stop caring and who would share with them the love and understanding they had never  known . 


December will mark my 3rd year as a teacher and I can honestly say that I have had one of each of the kids described above during my short teaching career so far. I can relate to many aspects of Torey's writing including seeing how Educational Laws effect, both positively  and negatively, special education programs. She talks first about how the passage of Public Law 94-142, also known as the mainstreaming act, significantly reduced the number of special  education classrooms available in public schools.  This law essentially put kids with all forms of disabilities in classrooms with their same aged peers. That sounds like a great idea, but it eliminated self contained classrooms for all but the most severely mentally disabled. Students with moderate mental disabilities suffered from this law. It has since been revised and new  classrooms with adapted functional curriculum's have been established.

I connect most with her student named Boo (short for Boothie) who had Autism and is mostly non-verbal except for a severe case of echolalia. Don't be scared to read this book just because it uses terms familiar to only those with experience in special education...Torey does a great job of explaining terms and conditions through out her writing.

Torey also does an amazing job at describing the absolute beauty that her students posses. I can never adequately describe the love I have for my own kids (students), but she has mastered it. Sometimes I look in my students eyes and it makes me cry. I can see through them some how and they seem to be able to see into me and read my thoughts and feelings.  It is magical and beautiful and I don't even know how to describe it unless you have had that experience. I wish you all could have that experience. I have what regular education teachers call "it"- the ability to calm a child down with a look...but I'll tell you my secret. When a child is upset or frustrated I stop talking. I open my eyes and look at them in their  eyes and inside my head I repeat, "I understand. I know. It's OK. ". I swear to God they read this and it calms them.

Torey also is brutally honest about her personal life and how it is effected by her job. Like many dedicated teachers, we know that teaching isn't just  a job, it's a life style.  Unfortunately, her boyfriend was just not able to understand and when he gave her an ultimatum of him or the kids, she chose the kids. Thankfully, my husband is amazing, understanding, supportive, and sensitive to my dedication-and he even helps me make materials for my classroom or get's me hot cocoa when he knows it'll be a late night for me.

Somebody Else's Kids  will make you cry but it will also help lift your spirits. I shared  her anger when she was mad, her joy when their was cause for celebration, and her heartache when things were difficult. I hope that you will enjoy this book as much as I have.

This is my second book review for the Fall Reading challenge hosted by A Southern Daydreamer Reads.

If you would like to win my used $5.98 copy of Somebody Else's Kids for FREE just lave me a comment saying you'd like to read it and I'll draw one person at random on November 1st.

Thanks again for reading, I look forward to hearing from  you.

Against my better judgement...

Against my better judgement I watched 30 minutes of the TLC show Sister Wives. Why? Why? Why?

You may remember that I wrote a TV Tirade a few weeks ago about how quality TV programing has gone down the toilet and my former love for TLC has dwindled. I am now thinking about boycotting TLC all  together. I really thought I would give it another chance, but I think a straw just broke the camels back.

I didn't watch it on purpose...here's what happened. I came home from work, turned on the TV, went into the other room to read my back log of blogs, took a break by plopping down on the couch, and Sister Wives  happened to be on. I've seen it on the news lately and how they may be facing criminal charges for their life style so I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt and watch a few minutes.

I would like to say that this show makes me sick to my stomach...actually I may have just thrown up in my mouth a bit. If you don't watch TV and have no idea what Sister Wives is then I will summarize it for you. It's about 3 women who have been brain washed and whose self esteem is so incredibly low that they believe it is OK to let their husbands marry multiple women. The husband is a douche bag. I'm sorry to use such language...but he is. He is a  man whore who can't keep his pecker in his pants. Shame on him. Shame on the women. Shame on their parents for raising them in a polygamist household where they were brainwashed into believing polygamy is OK. And shame on TLC and it's viewers who supported a TV show like this.

I can't believe I watched 30 minutes of it, I feel dirty and I think  I need to shower to wash the show off of me and out of my head. IT'S CHEATING!!!!!! What woman in her right mind can go to sleep at night alone in her bedroom knowing (and maybe hearing) her husband lay with another women in another room. Add to that the fact that the husband is "courting" a fourth women. Go figure, the wives have a problem with him dating. Who would have thought? Multiple marriage is okay but not dating?

I am tempted to  delete this post because I don't want to give the show any more publicity or attention than it already received...but I'm too fired up to keep it to myself.

I did stop and think, "Am I prejudice?, Is this the same as religious intolerance?". I don't know, I don't think I am being prejudice or religiously intolerant. I don't care about the religious part of it...because they don't mention that at ALL on the show. It just makes me think of places in Utah with gated communities where they force young girls to marry and breed (yes, I said breed because they aren't procreating for the joy of life...they are breeding to get more bodies into their cult like religion).

Okay-I feel better now. And just in case you were wondering why I am so fired up about this show, you may blame it on PMS.

It's Official...I'm back!

That's right, I'm back! After several months of being  broken, several irate phone calls to the people at HP, and thanks to my hubby's friends, our computer made it's much awaited homecoming last night. Unfortunately, it arrived much to late last  night to partake in a blog party to celebrate it's homecoming, but the computer (and I) got a good nights rest and it's ready to PARTY!!!

It still has a few kinks that wont be able to be resolved, but in beats having to go buy a brand new computer. We also found out last night that if we shine a light directly on the laptop screen that you can actually see it enough to navigate. However, the laptop still has an appointment with a baseball ball later this week according to my husband. I will be adding a new laptop to my Christmas Wish List this year. Or maybe Birthday Wish List. Or maybe I'm just too impatient and will go buy one for myself during Black Friday.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and continued to follow me during my computer dilemma. I only had one person "un" follow me. I can't wait to participate in my favorite weekly meme's again like Story Tellers and Think About It Thursday. Please continue to be patient with me as I try to make it around to all of your blogs to catch up with you. I look forward to hearing from you all soon and again, Thank You!

Don't You Dare Get Married Until You Read This!

A few months after we announced our engagement and spread the word, my aunt Mary sent me the book DON'T YOU DARE GET MARRIED UNTIL YOU READ THIS  by Corey Donaldson. I flipped through it a few times and asked my husband a few questions, but I didn't really read it. However, when we moved to Pennsylvania and went without cable TV for several months I ventured back to the book shelf to find a good book. This one happened to remain in my collection through the move so I picked it back up and we did sit down and read it...and answered most of the questions.

DON'T YOU DARE GET MARRIED UNTIL YOU READ THIS is a book of over 500 questions for couples on everything from love, sex, in-laws, kids, to household chores. Although Carl and I had been together for 5+ years already, it was amazing how much we didn't know about each other.

I follow and read many blogs and they are all quite different. However, one topic that has come up on numerous blogs and seems to be a theme, are relationships. So, I thought I would lend a helping hand and post 5 of the questions that the book has to offer. I figure that if any of the ladies out there need an excuse to ask these questions of their partners, just use one of my good ole excuses: 1.) It's for a research paper, 2.) Oprah asked, 3.) Your taking a poll, 4.) You read an article "somewhere" (i.e-blogland) and wanted their opinion, 5.) And when all else fails, withhold nookie until they answer!

Here are the five questions....I just flipped and pointed at random.

1.) Which childhood experiences influence your behavior and attitudes the most?

2.) Will it bother you if I use the bathroom with the door open?

3.) How often do you want to socialize with others after we are married?

4.) What makes you feel good about being with me? (This came from the sex chapter)

5.) What do I do that makes you question my love for you?

I will add 2 bits of relationship advise that has allowed my husband and I to have NEVER had an argument....Yes, I said NEVER had an argument.

#1- We agree to disagree. We don't like the same music or movies and have not agreed on many topics but we both go into conversations knowing that about each other. I can honestly say that the only time that I have ever been mad at him was a few weeks ago when he broke the laptop, but then he did the dishes 2 days in a row and I forgave him. (The big baby debate is a separate issue- to have or not to have?)

#2- We play a game called "What do I do that annoys you?". Seriously! And it works. It started one night at Denny's Restaurant...we laid some ground rules. You can't get mad. You can't get defensive. You get one turn each...no rebuttal. You'd be surprised at what your partner says...sometimes you don't even realize that your doing the annoying thing at all. I can even remember what our first "annoyances" were. It annoy him that I smoked while he was still eating. It annoyed me that he took so long to eat. It was actually quite funny, but I never lit up again while he was eating. I also remember that after we moved in together we played again and it annoyed me that he left the toilet seat up and it annoyed him that I left the toothpaste cap off. We now have an agreement that if either one of us does our "annoying" thing than it gives the other person a "free pass" to do theirs. It's all about communication and being conscience of each other and our own actions.

Do you have any relationship advise that you want to share? A tip, a trick, the secret to a long loving marriage? Or maybe what NOT to do? What do you think of the topic of relationships for future posts? Let me know, leave a comment or feel free to e-mail me at cortneylyon@gmail.com.