Turkey Trouble

There are some things in country life that you just can’t prepare for...

This is our turkey. Her name is Turkey. (We were convinced for the longest time that he was a she, but it turns out she is actually a he, but none of us can seem to remember that, so we call her, I mean him, a she. Confused? So are we.)

Moving on.

Turkey has a distinct personality and with that comes... issues. We haven’t decided where the problem lies- it’s either lack of self-confidence, or too much pride, or maybe a combination of both.

Lack of self-confidence- Not only is he the only turkey, but he gets picked on. Our little hens like to sneak up behind him and pluck the feathers from his bottom. We thought as they got older, they would grow out of it, but unfortunately they think it is too much fun. We have had to come to terms with the fact that they are never going to be friends.

Too much pride- Turkey LOVES attention. When we’re outside with her he follows us around like a little puppy and always has to be in the center of everything. He puffs out his feathers, spits and drums, and gobbles like none other. The more we tell him how beautiful he is, the more he does it…Maybe that’s where we went wrong…

Even at our Halloween party Turkey had to be the center of attention!

The worst part of Turkey’s need for attention is his infatuation with our dog, Tucker. For some reason Turkey believes that Tucker is a big black hen, and the more Tucker gets riled up, the more Turkey believes that the big black “hen” is truly in love with him.

This has resulted in Turkey no longer being able free-range, at least not unless she is under strict surveillance, because the moment she’s out, she preens, puffs up, and runs for Tucker.

(Not pictured- Turkey running at Tucker)

Tucker- Look at that big, fat, juicy turkey! I want to rip its head off!

Turkey- Look at the big black hen ready for some lovin!

The other night I went outside and spotted Turkey…drinking out of the dog’s water bowl. By some miracle Tucker hadn’t noticed her and was sitting and waiting patiently for me to greet him. I started walking very slowly. “Hey Tucker, hey boy. How are you doing?”

It was working until Turkey realized we weren’t paying attention to him and insisted on gobbling.

How dare I steal his hen’s attention!

Then, Armageddon ensued.

I dove for Tucker.

Tucker dove for Turkey.

And Turkey? Well, he fluffed his feathers and ran for Tucker.

I caught Tucker, but he was too strong for me to hold. My feet got tangled in his chain; I fell, and was dragged across the dirt as I did my best to pull him back. Tucker gnashed and pounced, while Turkey stepped to the side and would come forward again thinking that playing this hard to get was a lot of fun. Ah yes, love at its finest.

I finally got untangled and realized that pulling Tucker away was useless- Turkey wasn’t going to let him get away. I ran my lifetime PR of the 100 meter dash to the hose, and was able to use the water to momentarily separate them. More pulling, tripping, and rolling on the ground ensued, but the kids finally came to my rescue. They pushed Turkey back to the coop, leaving Tucker and I looking like we had just participated in one of those muddy greased pig contests. Other than being cold, wet, and muddy we left mostly unscathed, except for the few tail feathers in Tucker’s mouth and the stomach muscles I re-tore from an earlier accident.

Country life- oh the adventures!

Week 1 Rewind- The Up's and Downs of Nanowrimo and Writing

The first week of nanowrimo has come and gone. In October it seems to take forever to come, and then November seems to fly by!

My first nano week was surprisingly productive. I wrote just under 20,000 words, which is just under the halfway point. In all honesty I have to thank my turkey and dog for my word count! It's a long story that I'll probably blog about within the next couple days, but here's the short version- In October I tore my stomach muscles in a roller skating accident, and I ended up re-tearing them while wrestling my thanksgiving turkey from my dog's mouth. This left me bedridden for the first few days of nanowrimo- the only thing I could do was write!

The book I'm working on this time around is a detective series for kids. Everything I've ever written in the children's genre has always been set in made-up fantasy worlds or dystopian worlds, so writing a modern day story has been quite tricky.

I slogged through the first chapter. It felt like swimming through molasses. I really loved my idea, but it wasn't coming along well, and chapters two and three were even worse. My story was shaping up to win the prize for most boring children's book ever written. I started second guessing myself. I wasn't sure how I would face the next three weeks of nanowrimo. 

Torture- not the word you want to come to mind while writing a children's book.

I told myself if I kept going, I would find my voice.

Two more chapters. My voice? Flat. Boring. Awful. Torture. Ugh.

I decided to write just one more chapter because I had nothing else to do except hold ice packs to my stomach and stare at my ceiling. Suddenly it clicked. A quote came to me, and something as simple as a backpack finally linked my story together, gave it life, and defined my MC.

So, if you are feeling bummed about your story, keep going. It sounds simple, but sometimes it is hard to keep writing something that isn't working out like you thought it would. I have never had something come out so bad before and I was really thinking that the beginning of my writing career that I didn't have was over.

Once it came together it became really fun to watch my story unfold!

There is nothing more exciting then that breakthrough moment when everything finally comes together like it's supposed to (unless your wrestling a turkey and a dog- that could qualify for the more exciting part). The good thing about the downs, whether it be during the writing process, facing rejections, or going through other things in life, is that it makes those ups so much sweeter! 

Awesome Nanowrimo Facts

A list of awesome facts about Nanowrimo!

1. This year as of November 1, 2013, there are 218,274 people signed up to participate in nanowrimo.

2. If you write 50,000 words and validate them by 11:59PM on November the 28th, then you become a winner, earn a winner's badge for your blog, and win all kinds of neat goodies. Here is the list of goodies for 2013- http://nanowrimo.org/sponsor-offers

3. The people from the Office of Letter and Lights are the creators of nanowrimo. The name alone is awesome, it gives off an air of mystery like the order of the phoenix from Harry Potter! This group is creating their own type of magic by providing a network of awesome tools and community of fabulous writers to help people from every age across the globe get excited about writing. The best part is that they have a great sense of humor and do a phenomenal job making writing fun! If you would like basic info you can find it here- http://lettersandlight.org/index.php . I HIGHLY recommend reading their blog. It's inspiring, fun, and will make you want to join the nano clan! http://blog.nanowrimo.org/

4. This next fact is near and dear to my heart! They also have a young writer's program for kids to participate in nano. There isn't anything greater than watching kids create a story. I love to see kids write and feel that there is a great need to develop strong writers. Through donations, the Office of Letters and Lights is able to provide free classroom kits to schools across the world to help promote literacy and creativity in the classroom- so cool. Here is the link for the Young Writer's Program- http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/ There is already a great pep talk from author James Patterson on there! Here is a REALLY great post on the Young Writer's Program and why it's so important:
 http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/2011/10/gearing_up_for_nanowrimo.html

5. If you've ever wished to be transported to another realm, then nano is the place for you! We lovingly call it Nanoland, and once you join the forums and discover the community of nanowrimo, you'll be sucked in. We have our own language and inside jokes, we swap postcards, packages, and tea. We like to have fun and be silly, but we're also there when the going gets tough.

6. Cover Contest- I think this is pretty cool! They host a 30 Days 30 Covers contest where you can submit info about your novel and thirty lucky winners are chosen to receive a free cover created by a team of graphic designers for their novel. Even if you don't win, it's still really neat to see what the designers come up with. Side note- Covers cannot be used for commercial purposes (like if you plan to self-publish your novel)- they are just for fun!

7. Packages and Pen Pals- I have done this three times now and LOVE it! Wrimos put together package swaps, postcard swaps, and tea swaps on the forums. I've done the package swaps where I get paired with another writer and we send each other writing care packages filled with goodies to encourage each other during nano. It's just like Christmas to put together a fun package and find one in your mail box to open!

8. Writing a teen romance? This year Swoon Reads is a nano sponsor and if you're writing a teen romance you can submit your novel to be considered for a $15,000 publishing contract! This also includes editing, design, marketing and sales. I'm almost ditched my entire outline that I've been putting together over the past year to jump in and try this, lol!

I'll probably add more information throughout November, but I hope this sheds light on the many wonderful aspects of nanowrimo and convinces you to join!

The nano coat of arms!

Nanowrimo 2013- One Hour Out!!!!

Quick! Put that Halloween candy down, scrub the clown make-up off your face, and grab a pen! It’s the eve of nanowrimo, and we’re one hour out from the stroke of midnight. That means in one hour you can join thousands of people across the world in a mad dash race to finally write the novel that’s been churning in your head.

I don’t know about you, but I’m geeked. Geeked enough to wait up until midnight and type my very first sentence. Geeked enough to have my folder ready with my title page, and my backup system hooked up to my computer. Geeked enough to sit and wait for the magic hour to come. My husband told me to just write already, but that would take all the fun, all the anticipation of waiting for November out of it, so I’m waiting with my fingers ready. When midnight hits, the magic will begin!

If you want to join in on all the craziness of attempting to write a novel in a month you can visit the nano website- http://nanowrimo.org/

It’s a blast, there are fun prizes to be won, and there is a wonderful community of hilarious writers to meet! More information to come within the next few days. If you've ever thought about writing a novel this is the perfect time to get started! 

Halloween Nostalgia

     Halloween has become a very special day for me and James. Of course there’s the flurry of decorating the house with orange and black, pumpkins, leaves, witches and bats! There’s watching Dessie stick her tongue out as she works on the design for her pumpkin, and hearing Dara’s squeal of delight as she tries on her Halloween costume. There’s carving pumpkins, which leads to pumpkin guts in our hair, on our faces, and on the walls.

      James’ pumpkin always has to do with hunting or football, and I like carving quirky things likes owls or wizards. Dara carves animals, and Dessie always surprises us.

      We love watching the girls crunch through the leaves as they run from house to house collecting candy in their orange pumpkin bags. I love all the little kids from school that I can’t recognize under their batman masks and butterfly painted faces who run by waving and yelling, “Hi sub!” My heart melts when they stop to give me hugs and show off their costumes so I can “ ohh” and “ahh” over them.

     On top of the smells of apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin, the vibrant colors, the fresh crisp air, and carefree evening socializing with neighbors and getting free Reese’s peanut butter cups, there are a couple more things that make Halloween special…

     The hunting! James loves hunting on Halloween, rain or shine, because he always says, “Halloween is when the monsters come out.” I look forward to that line every year and seeing the smile on his face as he says it.

     It also happens to be the eve of nanowrimo. At the magical stroke of midnight when it switches from Halloween to November 1st, the infamous writing contest begins, and I pound out the very first words of a brand new story. There is nothing more exciting than finally getting the chance to write the story that's been churning for months in your head, and having a community of writers to do it with!

      Hoping you all have a special Halloween!

Best Apple Butter

I couldn't resist sharing this yummy fall recipe with you!

 The Necessities:

 8 cups of chopped peeled apples
 1 stick of butter
 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
 4 T apple cider vinegar
 1 t salt
 2 T cinnamon
 1/2 t ground cloves
 optional- 1/4 t nutmeg

Peel your apples.

Chop, measure out 8 cups, and throw into your crock pot.

Add 1 stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Let it cook for about 3 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. The apples should have rich brown caramelized look when they are done. You can leave it chunky or puree it in a food processor or blender.

We like the silky smooth texture after it's been pureed.

Apple butter is yummy mixed in with oatmeal or spread as a layer between cakes, but you really can't beat it poured over hot buttered rolls fresh out of the oven!

Things to Do While Waiting to Hear From Agents- Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

Waiting for agents to reply to your query letters can be agonizing. It seems like it takes forever. You put so much time into writing and editing, and then weeks tick by and you hear nothing.

I learned that things like pacing the floor, checking my e-mail every chance I could, and lying haphazardly on the couch while staring at the ceiling weren’t very helpful in the waiting process. I started to read blogs and reread my writing books. Several of them mentioned that reading was a great way to give your brain a breather from writing, and to pass the time while waiting to hear from agents.

I flipped through a few books here and there, but I wasn’t excited to be reading until I came across the Rory Gilmore reading challenge.

I LOVE the Gilmore girls. I love their enormous coffee cups, their eating habits (lettuce essence on a hamburger satisfies vegetable requirements), and their mandatory Friday night dinners.  My favorite quote also comes from that show. I quote it at least once a week as I’m urging my rural internet to work.

So when I saw Gilmore Girls and reading, I had to check it out!

http://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge

My score was a 51, so I have a lot of reading to do! Thanks to this challenge, I’ve swapped ceiling staring for book reading, and have had a lot of fun in the process!

Just for fun:

RORY: Thirteen million volumes? I've read like, what, three hundred books in my entire life and I'm already sixteen? Do you know how long it would take me to read thirteen million books?

LORELAI: But honey, you don't have to read every one of them. "Tuesday's with Morrie?" Skip that. "Who Moved My Cheese?" Just stuff you already know.


RORY: Okay, but every kid coming to Harvard is inevitably reading books, and different books, and I want to be able to converse intelligently with each of them and I can't do that unless I read books, at least a few from every genre and sub-genre.