World Word Observations

If you have a young child you probably know what I am talking about.

Duck - He seems to be the product of a poor upbringing. He lives in a nest not a house (or anything really similar to a house) like the rest of them do. He also seems to be the most uneducated one.

Frog- He's a slum lord. He lives in a nice uptown log while he makes the bugs live in the mailbox. 

Sheep - She's the token crazy person. She spends most of her time pretending to be something else. 

Bear - She's the survivalist. You don't see her often and she lives in a cave. I think that if there really was a zombie uprising she would be the one to survive.

Pig - He's the middle class average guy, however I think he might be a closet bulimic. I mean he eats all the time, and all this junk food and never gains any weight.

Dog - He's God in Word World. Think about it....he is the one that creates the others in the beginning of the show. He lives in the biggest house. He doesn't actually talk so he sometimes is misunderstood...and what do you get when you spell dog backwards?  Case closed

Harry, Katniss, and Edward

Some one asked, just in general, who would win in a face off between these three characters. Here is what I said.

As in the literal since for the literary sense? Literary it goes; Harry, Katniss, then Edward.

As for literal since here is how it would go down. At least in my head, and it all takes place in the arena of The Hunger Games.

The meadow is clear, bright and silent. The slight rustling of trees indicates that while all is quiet, the meadow is not devoid of life. A shadow appears between the tree trunks. Edward steps into the opening following the scent of human blood. Katniss, who has been patiently waiting in the branches above, pulls the string tight on her bow, takes a steadying breath, and releases the arrow.

Edward, however, has heard her thoughts and has turned to avoid being pierced. Running with super human speed, he reaches her tree before she can do much more than blink. As he scrambles up the tree after her, she quickly lines up her second shot. Being an experienced hunter she knows that he is moving too quickly to be hit by aiming directly at him. Anticipating where he will go, instead of where he is, she fires her second shot.

Edward is caught off guard, as he it too busy worrying about what Bella and Jacob are doing at this very moment, and he takes the arrow to the arm. A roar of rage escapes him, as he pulls the arrow out. Katniss now realizes that she is in trouble. Her arrows will not be effective. Terror fills her heart as she scurries up the tree further to get out of his reach, she calls for help. 

Edward has just grasped Katniss's ankle when the tree branches begin to snap beneath them. Katniss gasps and clings to the branch above her, but it's too late. The branch holding Edward gives way. His grip on her ankle tightens painfully. She cries out as her hands begin to slip, the bark biting into her skin. The combined weight is too much and they both plummet to the ground.

Harry, who has been practicing Quiditch nearby, has heard Katniss's cry for help. He sees the two fall and knows he can not reach them in time. He pulls out his wand and slows them before they can crash to the ground. Edward instantly recovers, yet is trying to calculate his next move. Katniss takes longer, but instantly distrusts the boy on the broom. She loads her next arrow, but hesitates trying to figure out who is the biggest threat.

Edward now recognizes Harry from his days at Hogwarts where he was pretending to be Cedric Diggory. The recognition is mutual, yet Harry knows that Cedric should be dead. Perhaps this is how he became a Vampire? If that is the case Cedric can no longer be trusted.

Katniss takes advantage of the distraction that is happening between the boys, and starts to ease away. This catches Edwards attention, and he turns to her, Harry locks Edward in a body binder spell. Katniss realizes that Harry is helping her, but still can not bring herself to trust him.

She shifts her aim from Edward to Harry, not wanting to shoot, but also not ready to drop her weapon. Harry disarms her with an Expelliarmous charm and calls for a truce.

Katniss heeds his words and drops her guard. Harry swoops down, and releases Edward from his spell, so they can all speak to each other civilly. They clear up their differences and leave as friends.

Harry, of course, could have killed them both instantly with an Avada Kedvra curse, but he is much too noble for that sort of thing. So...Harry wins.

Apple Butter Cupcakes.

• 1-3/4  cups

  all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2  teaspoons

  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon

  baking soda
• • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  1/4  teaspoon

  salt
• 1/2  cup

  margarine or butter
• 1  cup

  sugar
• 1 

  egg
• 1  cup

  apple butter
• 1  teaspoon

  vanilla
• 2  tablespoons

  lemon juice
• 1  5-ounce

  can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk

  
  

  
  

  1.

  In a small mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, soda, and spices set aside. In a medium mixing bowl beat margarine or butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Beat in apple butter and vanilla. Stir lemon juice into milk (mixture willcurdle). Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to apple butter mixture, beating on low to medium speed after each addition just until combined. 

  2.

  Grease muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; fill two-thirds full. Bake in a 350 degrees F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. 

  
  

  
  

  Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting 

  Ingredients:
  8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  2-3 cups powdered sugar

  Directions:
  1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and uniform.
  2. Add cinnamon and vanilla.
  3. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Pitchwars - How I got my story.

About a year and a half ago I woke up from a terrible dream. I was in a forest with little light but a lot of sound. I felt the brush of wings on my face, stumbled backwards and collided with a tree. Before I could even take another breath, the ground beneath my feet began to move. I slid behind the tree and watched as a mound of earth grew bigger and bigger, until a pair of hands burst through. 

Out of the ground came a girl with long dark hair, violet eyes, and a lot of power. She stood up, brushed the dirt off her face and looked at me. Her eyes radiated fury, her hands shook with rage, and when her gaze fell on me, I knew that I was in deep trouble. 

Of course then I woke up. I was completely covered in sweat and shaking all over. The image of that girl stuck with me though. I began to wonder a few things. One, what the hell was wrong with me that I had a dream like that? It took me an hour to get back to sleep afterwords. Two, how did she get there?

Since she was a figment of my imagination, I knew that the only way I would ever know the answer to the second question, would be if I wrote her story myself. I named her Evie and gave her life.

Now I know how she came to be buried in that lonely forest. 

I'm not sure I'll ever know what's wrong with me that I have dreams like that. 

Why do I write?

I think a lot of writers will get asked this questions at least one time in their career. One of the most popular answers is, "Well I had a story to tell." This is essentially true. Every writer has a story to tell. Whether it be fictional, factual, historical, auto-biographical, (that's a word right?) or any of the other numerous "als" out there, every word written in essence tells a story.

To me writing is so much more than a story. Words can move like nothing else can. They bring on tears, happy and sad, make you laugh when nothing else can, move people to action, bring them to their knees. Words can be uplifting, heart wrenching, exciting, captivating. Words can build nations or destroy them. They can make you love, they can make you hate, change minds and win hearts. Whether spoken in a shout or barely in a whisper, words effect us all.

Books are simply a natural extension of words. They bring alive new worlds, world you wish desperately were real. Make heroes and villains that never existed, attach you to people that were never here. Make you see through someone else's eyes, feel through someones else's heart (ok I may have stolen that from a Disney movie, but it's true nonetheless). 

This is why I write. I want to create characters that people will always remember. I want my readers to root desperately for the victory of my hero, vehemently wish for the defeat of my villain. I want people to laugh out loud, feel their guts clench in suspense. I want them to cry on cue, and leap up with joy. To create a story that will resonate with people. 

For me that is what it is all about, that is why I write. 

How to Discipline a Possum.

Funny how when things in your life are at the lowest, something can happen that will make you glad to be where you are.

For example, back in 2009 my husbands chiropractic practice had crumbled. We were barely getting by and on top of that we had a one year old child to feed. Things were looking pretty grim. Fortunately, my husband was able to find a job that would put us back on our feet and help us to get out from underneath the crushing amount of business and student loan debt. Unfortunately, this job was in Florida. One thousand miles from everyone we knew and loved. So, with heavy hearts he took the job.

The job would take six weeks before he got his first paycheck. So, the plan was that he would go first while I continued to work. When he received his first paycheck, my daughter and I would follow. He was supposed to be back for Christmas. That didn't happen.

Turns out that the IRS decided that the payment plan we had made with them wasn't satisfactory anymore. They took every cent of my husbands first paycheck. Every. Last. Cent. Wouldn't you know, it was also my last day at my job. I was lucky, I went back to work and begged for them to let me stay on till we got this resolved. They let me and I bawled like a baby. Our six week time apart turned to twelve weeks. It was probably one of the most stressful times in my life.

Since we couldn't afford the rent in two places, while my husband was gone I moved back in with my parents. This was also a new low for me. Here I was, a first time mom, moving back in with my parents at the age of twenty nine. I was so grateful for their help, but humiliated too.

A few days before Christmas, I was awoken to thundering footsteps down the hall. A soft knock to my bedroom door followed.
"Jenny?" came my dad's voice.
"Yeah?"
"I need your help"
"O.k." I mumbled, throwing on a robe.

I entered the hallway to see my dad and mom standing outside of the utility door. Mom was armed with a broom. This of course peeked my curiosity.

"What's going on?" I asked.
'There's a possum in there." my dad said. Well, that explained the broom
"A what?" I asked
"A possum" he repeated and continued, "I was on the way to the shower and the door moved. A tail popped out of the bottom of the door. So I peeked and sure enough there is a possum. It must have come up under the furnace to get some warmth." Just then the door moved again, sure enough, possum tail.
"I'm gonna try and get it back down the hole. Go close all the doors and block the entry way to the kitchen, just in case it runs out."

Right about then my daughter woke up. So I grabbed her, and took her with me while we set to our task. I got the all the possible escape routes blocked in case it bolted from the closet. Mom was ready to play possum hockey with her broom. We were all set.

"Ok, here we go." Dad says.
After some banging around my dad says, "Ok. It's gone down. That was....AGGHH, IT HAS A MATE, DON'T MOVE IT HAS A MATE!!!" Bang! Crash...boom. It sounded like possum armageddon was happening right next to me.

A couple minutes later, dad emerged from the hallway a bit flushed but triumphant.
'They are gone now. I don't think they will be back either. I gave them a little tap on the way out." There was a pregnant pause before I could no longer help myself.
"Dad, seriously? You think the possums won't come back because you spanked them?" I asked.
"We'll see." He said smugly. You know what? He was right, we never saw them again.

We may have been in a bad situation at the time, but I was glad to be there at that moment. Not only was this a memory that was going to last forever, I learned how to properly discipline a possum.