Changes

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France

This quote fits my life perfectly right now. On Valentines Day my hubby received word that he had gotten the job he was seeking at his company’s corporate offices! His corporate office is in Houston, over 10 hours from our home. It was the good news, bad news kind of call.

We wanted this for a number of reasons, but at the top of our list was to be by family. We haven’t lived by family since we were in high school, that's a pretty long time. So we are thrilled to be closer to everyone- good news!

Bad news, we love living where we do. We have awesome neighbors and the people in this part of the country are one of a kind. I could have grown old in this house we bought sheltered in the canyon, surrounded by ranch land. I could have lived with the crazy weather, even the wind and dry air that has my face already resembling a road map. We made this overgrown, neglected house a home as we loved, laughed and lived in it. My heart, I believe, will always belong to the wide open plains of the Texas panhandle. I must die to one life to enter another.

I will apologize upfront for being neglectful with my blog in the next couple of months. So don’t mind me as I drop in and out  unexpectedly in this blogging world, just as that flighty neighbor down the street might do.   When you least expect it I’ll pop my head in and say hello, just to disappear and have you wondering when I might reappear.  I’m not trying to be unprofessional, but I am trying to keep sane as I’m running around like a crazy woman trying to homeschool, pack, and search for a new home.

Already, this new adventure has me plotting and absorbing experiences I can share with my writing. You have to truly live life to write about it and I think I’m getting a good dose of it right now!

Oh, and if you have any tips on getting my house organized for the move or advice on anything related, I’m all ears!

An Award and 7 Little Known Facts About Moi

Another blast of winter blew through last night bringing bitter cold, snow, and lots of wind. It was nice to snuggle in with the girls and watch movies and go to bed early! Today the snow drifts are 4 to 5 feet in some places while leaving some bare brown spots of grass in others.
All this makes me want to hibernate. In fact, I’ve been doing a lot of eating and sleeping. When warmer weather  finally arrives I have a feeling I will be working off my winter “layer”. Of course, this is a great climate for writing and I’m thankful for that.
In other news, I received an award from two of my blogging friends. Thank you, I am honored.

Nancy at Boomers, Scribblers and Saints is a sweet blogging friend who shares with us her faith, writing, and family. I love reading her insights and what she has been up to.

Kittee at Running Half Crazy shares with us her life as a runner. She runs half marathons and has a full one on her schedule for next year. She inspires and keeps it real. Kittee lives in the little town I moved to right after WB and I were married. She is truly an amazing person and a sweet friend.

Now the rules say I must tell you 7 things about myself. Hmm, what could I say that I haven’t already shared???
1. Someday I want to visit Scotland. The rolling green landscapes, castles and legends are a writers dream. It is also my secret desire to have my husband wear a kilt while we are there and toss around a few logs.

2. I have herded cows on a John Deer Green lawn mower with a 1 year old on my lap. They were trampling on my garden which was unacceptable.

3. I get irritated when I see men in shiny, Nile crocodile, Teju Lizardish boots. Pleeeeaaaasssseee, give me a man in some manure caked, scuffed up pair of  cowhide leather boots. The ones where the soles are worn down from taking his sweetheart for a spin on the dance floor every Friday night.
 
4. I could live in soft white cotton t-shirts and my favorite pair of jeans. My daughters on the other hand have recorded every episode of  What Not To Wear and force me to watch.

5. I am living proof of God’s never-ending patience, love, and understanding. Just ask my husband.
6. My children provide endless hours of joy. Sometimes it’s the I- want –to- pull- my- hair out kind and sometimes it’s the I- want- to- keep –you –like- this –forever- kind.

7. As I began this blog talking about the snowstorm I can now say I’ve survived a tornado in a hotel room with 3 small children AND a blizzard with those same 3 children, all ALONE. Obviously, my husband has an aversion to natural disasters because he’s never around when they happen. Or at least it seems that way.

The rules say to pass this on to 7 stylish bloggers. But, I think everyone who visits here is a stylish blogger. So I give you this award. Okay, you are right. Partly it is my inability to pick just 7 and then not feel guilty for the ones I didn’t pick. So if you are new here, check out those that comment on my blog. Those are the really styling ones!!

I’d love for you to tell me something I might not know about you!

*My sweet husband would like to point out (check comment section) that he was here for the extreme cold temps we had last week and stayed home from work one day. Yes, honey you were, sorry. I direct you to number 5 once again:)

Being A Writer Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Being a writer is tough. Our minds work in a such a way that mere laypeople do not understand.  Every outing is a character study, while  every news story is a possible plot. A simple word from a stranger can trigger a storyboard.

When I talk to people I am fascinated with the smallest details and ask lots of questions. Hey, this is research for free and beats looking things up on Google. And I’m just naturally curious, I think most writers are. The problem is my conversations usually last longer then necessary. This recently happened during a trip to a computer store. I was looking for ink cartridges for my printer and was getting help. Somehow the conversation turned to the latest technology for spyware. Before I knew it I was surrounded by 3 guys dressed in their blue polo shirts and khaki pants all sharing their thoughts on the subject. I was fascinated, sadly my three children were not. Nor were the 5 people standing around needing help and shooting me dirty looks. I quickly thanked the young men, grabbed my ink and shooed my kids past the angry onlookers.

We also have to watch what we say. One day I was in the grocery store with my kids and I was in a very melancholy mood. I told the girls we needed to buy chocolate and lots of it. As we were loading up the cart my oldest asked, “Mom, the only time we buy this much chocolate is when you are sad. What's wrong?” Without thinking I told her “Well, tonight I’m going to have to kill someone.”  My oldest didn’t blink an eye. She knows her mom regularly kills people off in her stories.  Unfortunately, the lady with the fur wrap buying her Ghirardelli bars did not. Not to worry, I finally caught up with her in the frozen food aisle and explained I was a writer. Guess what? Her cousin did some writing too and we had a nice long conversation.

The most hazardous part can come when you live and breath your characters. They never seem to leave you alone even when you are sleeping.  Sometimes you replay scenes in your head. Like maybe a scene in which your hero is about to drown in a raging river and you scream his name. Only to realize you REALLY did scream his name and your husband is already on his feet beside the bed looking dazed.

“Did you just scream James?”, hubby rubs his eyes.

“Um, well maybe.” I say shaking the fog from my head.

“Why?”

“I think I was dreaming.” I mumble as I start to pull the covers up to my shoulders.

Hubs narrows his eyes. “You were dreaming about James?”

“Yes, you know the character in my book.” I now have the sheet over my head trying to shield myself from his piercing stare.

“No, I don’t know.” I cringe as he climbs back into bed, then I hear him sigh.

I relax and start to giggle, “Sorry.”

“It’s alright”, he says as he snuggles closer.

I knew he would understand. It can be tough being married to a writer, but he’s a sweetheart.

“Just so you know”, he whispers in my ear, “I’m writing a story too. Just wanted you to know,  in case  I scream the name Trixi in my sleep.”

If you are a writer, what do you find is the most hazardous thing about our profession?

Frozen

-We are experiencing the 2nd day of temps with a wind-chill value hovering around –28.

-Water heater and pipes face north wall, which means this morning we have no water due to frozen pipes.

-I have a brave and very cold husband who has been outside checking pipes and taking the hike up the hill to the well to check on things. Now he is out trying to find a space heater, but of course no one has any.

-I have renamed the Panhandle of Texas the Artic Desert. Because unlike everyone else we just get bitter cold without the precipitation.

-I have two outside dogs, 14 and 15 years old. They are senile and one has continence issues. So we are constantly letting them out of their inside kennel to go out for potty breaks. Not to mention cleaning kennels a few times a day.

-I have four girls in this house and a no-flush rule in effect.

-The high today will be 10, that is without wind-chill.

Good News

-We have electricity.

-Thanks to hubby we have a 5 gallon reserve tank of water so we can flush today at least a couple of times.

-We can get out and go places (under numerous layers)  because we don’t have snow.

-I’ve been blessed to have my doggies since my hubby and I were first married. Old and senile, but still here.

-We have food in the pantry and bottles of water galore in fridge.

-And my computer works!

How is your weather today? And how are you dealing with it?

Remember Alex Brown Campaign

Today I’m going to pause from my regular rambling blog posts to share a pet peeve of mine. Texting while driving.

I don’t understand why we think they can drive a 4,000 lb. car down the road at 50+ miles an hour with one hand while looking down at our phone and pushing tiny little buttons with letters on them in the other. It takes the average car and driver 168 feet to bring their car to a stop going 40 miles an hour. So let’s say you get a text from your sister while cruising down the neighborhood and decide to text her back. A child chases a ball out into the street in front of your car. If  you are looking down at your phone it isn’t going to matter what your reaction time is, because chances are you will never see the child.

Why in the world would we risk killing ourselves or someone else? Is any text that important? We all know the answer is no, but it seems to be part of our human nature to think we can do it all.

Now think of all the 16 year olds on the road. I remember when I was 16 and I had been driving the country roads since I was 11. But you know what, I still ran up over curbs and did a few unsafe things, just by being distracted by a song on the radio or talking to a friend. I shutter to think if I had a cell phone up to my ear, or the ability to text, what might have happened.

So last night on Extreme Makeover was the story of Alex Brown. A beautiful young teenager from a small town not too far from me. One morning she told her parents goodbye as she headed out for school and that ended up being the last time they talked to her. Down the road she was texting while driving and her truck veered off the country road and flipped several times. Her parents devastated by the senseless loss have started the Remember Alex Brown campaign. They are educating the public, especially high school students, on the dangers of texting while driving. Many states have enacted laws about texting and driving. Even though I think this is great, it saddens me that we have to have such a common sense law to keep people from doing something so dangerous.

First thing this morning I headed over to their website and signed the pledge not to text and drive. I did it while my daughters watched. They aren’t old enough to drive yet, but I’m hoping they will remember the story of Alex Brown when they are.

I hope you take the pledge too

Following Your Dreams

Another letter in my Notes to my Daughters series.

To My Daughters,

There are going to be times in your life when what you want the most seems impossible. That what you are striving for seems out of your reach and roadblocks keep falling on your path. I pray that you don’t give up.

I pray that when people tell you, “No, you can’t do that”,while on your journey of achieving your dream that you smile politely and prove them wrong. Some will say the impossibility lies in the fact you are a female, or not strong enough, or that it has never been done before. But God has told you differently. Remember this :

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13

And you can. You can do whatever you set your mind to with hard work, perseverance, and God’s guidance.

Don’t give up when your path takes you on some detours. It is in these detours you will learn the most. Sometimes it is God’s way of showing you what is most important or it may be His way of showing you that where you thought you needed to be and where God thinks you need to be are not the same.

Or sometimes those detours are made by those who want you to stumble and fall. Do not give in to those tricks. Remember and pray this scripture:

 Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies—
   make your way straight before me.  Psalms 5:

From the wise words of your Great-Grandmother Nano know this, “You come from good stock.” And indeed you do. You’ve heard the stories of your great’s protecting their family in the dead of the night with nothing between them and the enemy but a shotgun, of mother’s rushing sick children to a hospital hours away during wartime, mothers putting careers on hold to raise their children, and women pursuing their dreams by traveling far from their homeland.  Much of your strength comes from them. Their stories, are in fact, entwined with yours.

I have no doubt you will achieve your dreams. And I pray that when you do, you give thanks. Enjoy the journey!

Hugs and Kisses,

Mom

Christmas Cards, Cowboys, and Sunsets…

When we went out to take our Christmas cards this year we had quite the experience. I made a comment about our adventures on Facebook and a friend wrote, “Sounds like it could be a country song”. This of course got me to thinking and before I knew it my daughter and I had churned out a song.  We never got around to recording it so you’ll just have to hum along to the tune of Ghost Riders in the Sky.

The Flathouse family went a riding out to Cadillac ranch one day,
determined to get their Christmas pics out of the way.

When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows they saw,

A-plowing through Cadillac Ranch and up the cloudy draw .

Yippie yi Ohhhhh
Yippie yi yaaaaay
Cadillac riders going by

Faces surprised, their eyes open wide, but it was way too cold to sweat,
Waiting for the dust to clear cuz they had no picture yet.

Let’s get a move on before the sun sets in that big ole sky,
Let’s set the lens on fire,
Before momma starts to cry.

 

And as the dust did settle the pictures they were snapped,
With frigid cold seeping through our bones we hoped that was a wrap.

We left behind the Cadillac’s you could no longer ride

Left them standing upright, against the darkening skies.

Yippie yi Ohhhhh
Yippie yi Yaaaaay
Cadillac Riders going by

Cadillac Riders going by

Cadillac Riders going by

 

 

 

 

 

So tell me anything ever inspire you to write a song?

*No cows, cowboys, or children were injured in this photo shoot.