A Convo with my kids: Parks in Italy & Gelato.
Convo I had earlier with my sons...on the car ride home after the park, and after stopping at the supermarket for ice cream.Boy child 1: Mom, will there be parks in Italy?Me:Yes, there will be parks in Italy as there are kids in Italy who like to play at parks just like you.Boy child 1: The kids will speak Italian right?Me: Pretty sure they will.Boy child 1: But I don't speak Italian.Me: Well you were playing with a boy who spoke Spanish, and you don't really speak Spanish, how'd that go for you?Boy child 1: It went well.Me: It should go well with Italian kids too.Boy child 2: Mom, is there ice cream in Italy?Me: Yes. It's called gelato.Boy child 2: Does it come in strawberry?Me: Yes.Boy child: Can we go there now?Me: I wish.
LIVE Each Day
Today in Mass the Father gave a sermon about the end of days, and how people are afraid of death, instead of living their lives to the fullest each and every day. It was pretty awesome.My son Michael has been totally freaked out this last week because a kid at school told him about the Mayan calendar and that the world was going to end on December 21. Needless to say, when our Priest began discussing the end of days he reached for my hand and and squeezed. He might have even shut his eyes tight waiting for the bad news.Except there was none. The message was not about death or the end of this world, which let's face it, none of us can say with absolute certainty when-if ever life as we know it will end. But rather about life and the amazing gift we have been given. He really understood the message in a way I think only a child can. To live each and every day like it was your first, your last, and your only day here on earth. Eat the chocolate cake for breakfast. Jump into that pile of freshly raked leaves, and dance in the rain. For no other reason than it is fun and it makes your soul rejoice. A child is often times unburdened by their mortality-though my son seems to understand that there is a circle to our lives, in a way that is much more grown up than he should. I suppose he does have an old soul after all.I myself found the readings hit "home" for me to, not because I fear the end of time, but because they seemed to fit in so perfectly with what I'm writing right now.If you care to read the Bible readings for today's Mass they were Daniel 12: 1-3 and Mark 13: 24-32I wouldn't be surprised if these readings weren't in part quoted some where in my MS too.Love & Life,nicōlephoto: living-loudly.tumblr.com
Ink on Fingers
You know that stereotypical image of a writer with ink all over her hands and smudges on her face? Yeah, that was me.
pen: Ink Joy by Papermate. They've never done that to me before, so I'm chalking it up to a random freak occurrence. It figures that I the klutz of all klutzes would get a goofy pen. My only hope is that I didn't have ink all over my face when I had the chance to spark up a random convo over my laptop cover with a fellow blogging chic, who happened to be at Starbucks updating her blog. Yay for meeting bloggers on the random!cardigan: A Target find. Chartreuse, I think is my new favorite "green". The Starbucks I write in is typically freezing. I usually leave there shivering with numb fingers, this time I remembered to bring a sweater...At least I get to dress like it's the Fall in my favorite coffee shop.love coffee and ink all over the place,nicōle
Wish You Were Here....
I went to Barnes & Noble today to well, it's a bookstore, one doesn't need a reason to visit a bookstore. Finding parking on the street in certain areas of South Miami can be practically impossible. As I neared the street where the book heaven is located I quietly chanted, "please let me find a good spot", sure enough as I rounded the corner right in front the store a person was just pulling out. I parked and when I got out to pay for parking I discovered my parking space was no. 127 which also happens to correspond to my anniversary. This January my husband and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary, he'll still be overseas, but it made me smile.
Owlet: Society of Feathers Book Review
Everything about Iris’ daily life weighed her down. She lived a sheltered lifestyle filled with nothing but homeschooling and books. Her asthma seemed to limit her every move, never letting her run or get overly emotional. To Iris, everything in life was a threat she had to face—everything but her father. Even her dreams seemed to have switched into nightmares, making themselves her enemy.“Iris, calm down. It is just me. You are all right. I found you and brought you in here.” She heard him add softly, “You are in trouble for not taking your preventative meds, Izzy.”Iris tried to sort out her thoughts and realized what must have happened. Finally awake enough to open her eyes, she looked around. She wanted to be in her room, because there she would find strength in her surroundings. But as she surveyed the scene nothing was familiar to her. It felt as if she were sitting in a foreign land.Novel: Owlet: Society of Feathers #1Genre: Young Adult Paranormal RomancePublished: by Tribute Books, October 13, 2012Stand Alone or Series: This is the first in a series.How I Got it: I received a copy in e-book format from the publisher.Where can you get it? Amazon, PDF version.What’s it About?From the publisher:
Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.
Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.
What made me want to read it: I love a good "lied to her whole life" story, I am writing one after all.What I thought…Iris, though physically weak due to chronic asthma, is a strong female protagonist, who is smart and likes books. (I can totally relate!) I would have preferred to see this "strong" aspect of her character explored more in the story, instead of having other characters relate their experiences and perception of her strength.I totally dug the premise. This is not a book about a shape-shifter girl who becomes an owl, which is what I was pretty sure was going to happen; but rather a coming of age story in a world where everything isn't as it seems. I went cross-eyed from time to time when the author used an alternate "inner voice" that dwelled inside the protagonist. The main character actually had full blown conversations with this inner voice, which made me wonder in the beginning if she was schizophrenic and these conversations and dreams were hallucinations. As a reader I don't like to work to figure out who's voice I'm reading, and it took me a few chapters to get into it. If you experience the same problem press on, it takes a bit of getting used to, once you do all will be well. The author's writing style is flowery which bodes well with the theme, but at times felt a bit awkward to this reader especially during scenes that contained songs or poetry.What I enjoyed best was the rather witty dialogue between characters, the lovely descriptions of the MC's dream-turned reality island retreat, and her love interest. I wasn't crazy about the extensive use of flashback to relate the protagonist's back story, however it was well done and it helped the reader understand Iris better. Overall the premise is fantastic, and not like anything I've read recently which was refreshing.As part of the blog tour check out this cool giveaway that includes original artwork created by Emma Michaels herself!
Author Emma Michaels On Her Inspiration for "Society of Feathers" Series
Tomorrow I'll share my thoughts on Emma Michael's novel Owlet: Society of Feathers Book 1, but first I had to share with you a post she wrote on what inspired this series...
The dream that inspired me to start drawing Iris had her reaching out for an owl, catching a piece of its soul and flying away. After some time I came to realize that the owl was simply a part of herself that she was reaching for, a piece of freedom. The idea of a human with a part avarian soul then started to fascinate me. How would it affect their day to day life? Would it make differences in the small nuances that make up a personality?
I thought back to my research on ornithology when I was younger and realized that it wouldn’t be a physical difference because anatomically speaking hardly any traits could carry over. It would be smaller things that would matter. Birds have different personalities and it is a mystery how their emotions and thought processes work. So I decided to have some fun playing with the ideas over time. I would see someone on the street or someone who I knew and ask myself what bird they would be. I won’t lie, I think there were a few instances where I burst out laughing in public and everyone looked at me wondering what was wrong. Admit it, when you see a man who is so pompous and swishing from side to side as he walks and peacock pops into your head with their attitudes, graces and unadulterated self grooming, you might laugh too.
As I wrote Owlet the Stryx expanded past just being a concept into being a culture of its own. It has a history, it was rich with knowledge others had forgotten because different aspects of national history meant more to them than the individual countries. I then thought about what a young Stryx might be taught in school and realized that as half avarian souls they would love different aspects of culture like songs, legends and stories.
The more I wrote, the more fascinated I became and the more detailed the world I had created started to be. Now, it is as real to me as the lands in literature I have loved. Creating the Stryx wasn’t just writing, it was an adventure and I loved every minute of it. I can hardly wait to get more in depth and have more revealed to you in book two where you get to find out more about the illustrious Eyrie who work as a council for all Stryx!
Emma Michaels is the author of the ‘A Sense of Truth’ and ‘Society of Feathers’ series. Her goal with her latest YA novel 'Owlet' is to give others what she did not have growing up; a strong female protagonist with asthma. While her previous aspiration was to be a lady knight she realized that not being able to run more than a few feet might become a hindrance so turned to writing instead. Her day jobs include being a cover artist, marketing consultant and silk screen designer.
To view other blogs on this tour October 1 - December 31, 2012, please visit Emma's blog
Author Emma Michaels On Her Inspiration for "Society of Feathers" Series
Tomorrow I'll share my thoughts on Emma Michael's novel Owlet: Society of Feathers Book 1, but first I had to share with you a post she wrote on what inspired this series...
The dream that inspired me to start drawing Iris had her reaching out for an owl, catching a piece of its soul and flying away. After some time I came to realize that the owl was simply a part of herself that she was reaching for, a piece of freedom. The idea of a human with a part avarian soul then started to fascinate me. How would it affect their day to day life? Would it make differences in the small nuances that make up a personality?
I thought back to my research on ornithology when I was younger and realized that it wouldn’t be a physical difference because anatomically speaking hardly any traits could carry over. It would be smaller things that would matter. Birds have different personalities and it is a mystery how their emotions and thought processes work. So I decided to have some fun playing with the ideas over time. I would see someone on the street or someone who I knew and ask myself what bird they would be. I won’t lie, I think there were a few instances where I burst out laughing in public and everyone looked at me wondering what was wrong. Admit it, when you see a man who is so pompous and swishing from side to side as he walks and peacock pops into your head with their attitudes, graces and unadulterated self grooming, you might laugh too.
As I wrote Owlet the Stryx expanded past just being a concept into being a culture of its own. It has a history, it was rich with knowledge others had forgotten because different aspects of national history meant more to them than the individual countries. I then thought about what a young Stryx might be taught in school and realized that as half avarian souls they would love different aspects of culture like songs, legends and stories.
The more I wrote, the more fascinated I became and the more detailed the world I had created started to be. Now, it is as real to me as the lands in literature I have loved. Creating the Stryx wasn’t just writing, it was an adventure and I loved every minute of it. I can hardly wait to get more in depth and have more revealed to you in book two where you get to find out more about the illustrious Eyrie who work as a council for all Stryx!
Emma Michaels is the author of the ‘A Sense of Truth’ and ‘Society of Feathers’ series. Her goal with her latest YA novel 'Owlet' is to give others what she did not have growing up; a strong female protagonist with asthma. While her previous aspiration was to be a lady knight she realized that not being able to run more than a few feet might become a hindrance so turned to writing instead. Her day jobs include being a cover artist, marketing consultant and silk screen designer.
To view other blogs on this tour October 1 - December 31, 2012, please visit Emma's blog