Life's Been Good

A lot has happened since my last post, as I'm sure you would imagine. My baby is now 6-1/2 years old, and I almost cried looking at her baby pictures today. Life got pretty crazy in 2009 which necessitated a move to New Mexico, and I didn't have much room to stamp in my new rental, and like many of you desperately needed a creative outlet, which led me to writing as therapy.

I started my first novel in January 2010 and loved the ability to create beauty, develop intrigue, and kill off rotten characters. Hahaha. Most of the characters I resurrected by deleting their demise, but it sure was therapeutic and helped me through my often difficult personal struggles. And somewhere during that time, my three tiny girls grew up into big girls (my oldest is nearly 12) and left me wondering where the time went. Now it's 2015 and I'm mostly finished with the 4,879th draft (I might be exaggerating slightly) of my novel Starlight Legend: Seeking Realm, and I'll be looking for an agent soon. I am aiming for a triology, and Book 2: Shadow Realm is in the prewriting stage.

I know authors aren't supposed to design their own book covers, but graphic design is also my therapy, and here is the cover I have settled on with the feedback of my friends and family. Starlight Legend: Seeking Realm is a YA Fiction/Fantasy with clean romance that appeals to both teens and women of all ages because it takes the reader to a magical place where life's problems are put into perspective, and the stubborn questions of life can find answers.

After her first heartbreak, a teenage girl discovers a forgotten realm where she must save a dying star while battling betrayal, or the emotion of love will be lost forever. STARLIGHT KISS is a YA Fantasy Romance complete at 109,000 words.

Elliana has never forgiven herself for speaking five cruel words in seventh grade. She probably deserves her recently broken heart, and she swears off love completely. 

On the anniversary of her parents’ fatal car accident, Elliana is distracted and accidentally backs her car into Cai, the son of a personal injury attorney. Cai flirts with her and suggests a certain star is dimming from the lack of heartfelt kisses. She’s not ready to test his theory, so she agrees to kiss him only if and when the kiss means something. But the next day she discovers a portal to a fantasy Realm connected to Star, Idaho, where she is stunned to learn she must save the same dying star from her deal with Cai—or the emotion of Love will die as well. 

Now motivated by her growing relationship with Cai, she accepts the challenge and becomes a target of sabotage aimed at her by a jerk-face ex-friend who belongs to the enemy realm. Barely escaping several life-threatening circumstances, Elliana determines to save the Star and pursue her first romantic relationship with the help of the Seeking Realm—but that means more risks, and risks really haven’t worked out well for her yet. (Think tension. Lots of tension.)

STARLIGHT KISS will attract readers aged 12-24 and those who enjoy clean romance and HEA fairytales with great dialogue and compelling characters (think modern Goose Girl meets The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). This is a stand-alone book and a great selection for book clubs because it deals with relationship struggles and other setbacks that will resonate with many readers. 

I hope to see Starlight Legend hit the shelves eventually, and maybe it will be a book that speaks to your soul.

Life has been good--the world is full of wonderful people, fun, joy, work, stress, and rotten times, but life has been most beautiful through it all. I hope you are all doing well. What have you been up to? What genres do you like to read? What are some of your favorite books?

Alana

About Alana: I earned my BS in Sociology in 2001 and my Masters of Organizational Behavior in 2003, and I currently teach First-Year and Advanced Composition at San Juan College in Farmington, NM. I attended the StoryMakers conference in May 2015. And when I’m not teaching nor sweeping up after my three girls, I enjoy calligraphy, oxford comma memes, and eating large bags of sour patch kids. 

Baby Lyla is Here

She is such a sweetheart! Mother and baby are doing well. Although it was my longest labor (22 hours--most of it early labor), it was a much easier delivery and recovery...so far. I can't complain.

I'm Here

Hello, my favorite fellow stampers. I am so sorry to leave you all hanging for so long. I haven't stamped in many months (I think it's pregnancy brain and nesting instincts), so I forgot to post anything on this blog. I maintain 5 blogs, so I've let some things slip in the blogging area to make room for other things that I need to get done. For example, I make all of my own bread and grind my own wheat. Today, Monday, is bread day. I haven't bought bread from the store since February. And I feel healthier and don't have any blood sugar problems with this pregnancy (unlike the last two).

Here's an update on me. I am 37 weeks pregnant now. I've been really busy just trying to get ready for the baby and trying to maintain the household. I've been doing graphic design here and there and writing a column for a local paper, but my stamps are in hibernation for now. I'm feeling healthy and anxious to trade my kicking belly in for a kicking baby. I've gone over due with both of my previous pregnancies, so who knows when our little one will come.

Here's the update on my cousin, Stuart. Stuart is doing great considering the circumstances. He got himself a wheelchair--the kind that he can play basketball in (he didn't want the regular kind, he still wants to be active). He's definitely got a long struggle ahead of him, but he seems to be approaching it in a healthy way. I saw him at the end of June and he says he's gotten feeling back in his upper thighs. That is a miracle! He's still a paraplegic for now, but he is making progress. His wife and immediate family have pulled together and he has a great support group. Thanks for all the cards and prayers. I know every little bit counts.

I hope to join the stamping and blogging world some time in the near future, but for now I'm still growing a little girl...waiting.

No Ink Stains

I'm sorry that I haven't posted recently. I've had my ups and my downs. I've been nesting, deep cleaning, reading classic novels, planting seeds for my garden, learning how to make homemade yogurt, learning about sourdough starter, grinding my own wheat and making fresh bread a few times a week, and I just haven't felt like stamping. It's crazy. I feel like sewing and organizing and lots of other things, but no card groove has caught me. Also, I've been summoned to jury duty for the second half of April--so who knows when I'll get good and inky. This is by far the longest dry spell.

I'm 21 weeks and the doctor says I'm having another girl. That makes three. My husband feels outnumbered already. But the baby seems to be healthy and growing well--I can't ask for much more than that.

Today is what I term "my mom's survival anniversary." She was in a near-fatal car accident on this day 11 years ago and should have died. But they saved her. She spent more than a month in the ICU, months in a wheel chair, and many more months with a walker and cane. It's a special day for me because my mom is one of the most wonderful people I've ever known. She's my best friend. She has shown me how to overcome. Her life has gotten harder since her accident because people close to her have forgotten how fragile life is and treat her badly (which breaks my heart), but she keeps going. And I am extra grateful that God spared my mother this day 11 years ago.

I hope you're all doing well and I'll be blog hopping to get some inspiration from all of you talented ladies.

Another Update

Sorry my posts have been sparse lately. I've been busy with freelance editing, reading Jane Austen for the first time, and I finally succumbed to the head cold that's been going around. And I don't get to take any good medicine. My youngest has been sick for three weeks--so I'm hoping that this one passes quickly. BTW, I get my first ultrasound on Thursday, and I met my new OB last week. He seems great. Let's hope the baby isn't being modest so we can get a peak to see if it's a boy or girl!

Edit added Feb 29th: My ultrasound went well. I am NOT carrying twins (big sigh of relief). Just one little fetus. Because the baby was still so small, the doctor wasn't 100% sure, but made an educated guess that it's another girl. And she wasn't being the least bit modest. So I guess I'm taking after my mom. She had five girls in a row.

My two little girls both got some bad flu bug--not what I have. Their fevers don't respond well to medicine, so I've been rubbing tea tree oil on them. Poor sick little girls just want to lie around and watch Barbie movies.

Off-Topic: Pregnancy Update

I don't mean to leave you all wondering what has happened to me. Pregnancy is going well. My morning sickness has subsided significantly. Still some queasy moments if I try to drink water as soon as I wake up (I'm always SOO thirsty). I'm 13 weeks, measuring 18 or so. Pretty sure I'm not having twins, we just have over-excited uteruses (uteri is also an acceptable plural form, but it sounds creepy) in my family. I haven't gotten an ultrasound yet, but hopefully soon.

We will be finding out the sex of the baby as soon as we can. The Braxton-Hicks contractions have already started, as usual. I need about 8-9 hours of sleep each night or I "pass out" during the afternoon. But if I nap, I can't fall asleep at night. And I would stamp, but I have no energy. Curses.

I usually crave tomatoes during my first trimesters, and this is no exception. I've been drinking large amounts of V8 on a daily basis and eating yummy salads. Salads are a rare treat at my house. My DH is allergic to lettuce, so the closest we get is spinach--which isn't my favorite.

I don't like staying up past 10 pm because then I feel snacky... and then chubby the next day. I'm reading baby name books. My mother's intuition, which has been wrong 100% of the time in the past, says that this is a boy. We'll see. Hope you're all doing well!

Tagged 2

My SBS sister, Aimee, tagged me a few days ago. I have to come up with 7 interesting facts about me. And then I am supposed to tag 7 more people. Okay, here goes.

1. I once accidentally drove a riding lawnmower into an empty in-ground pool when I was 15. I was in the process of cleaning out 10 years of guck, driving in reverse near the edge of the pool, and I slipped. I thought my dad was 1) going to kill me, and 2) never let me get my license if I lived past that day. So I called the radio station and told them the story and asked them to play "It's the end of the world as we know it" on my behalf. They totally didn't believe me, but played my song anyways. I made a double batch of peanut butter cookies (my dad's favorite) and my dad actually laughed at the scene while dipping fresh baked cookies into a glass of milk. Whew! (Sorry, that was long winded of me.)

2. I am normally NOT long winded and can hardly stand when people dominate conversations, especially when I can see right through their know-it-all-ness. I usually get right to the point. Learned this in business school.

3. I am a SAHM to two girls (4 and 2), and I was NOT given the maternal gene. (I don't "get" kids, but I love mine.) But I stay at home for the benefit of my kids, hoping to raise responsible, moral children.

4. Even though I didn't get the mommy gene, I am the Primary president (over all children's Sunday school) of my LDS Church ward. Hah! Now I have to manage over 100 other children and all of their teachers--in addition to my own kids. This IS funny if you know me.

5. I suffer from depression. I got PPD really bad after 2nd baby. I'm not completely cured. Today was rough. I spanked my kids for the first time in over a year today. (I gave up spanking because it only infuriates me more and doesn't work on my kids.)

6. I have a goal to get a book published some day. You probably cannot tell by my blog, but prior to mommy-brain, I was quite the writer. I was known in my MOB (that's me in the middle of the back row) program for my writing abilities and quite enjoy tapping the keyboard.

And 7. Holy cow, I am PREGNANT! We just found out on Saturday. It's one of those "How in the Hades did that happen" things, and my hubby lovingly claims it's the milkman's child (I went on a week-long vacation and he's been working the overnight shift at Target). But I'm so happy and I consider it a miracle from God. Shame on me, but I'm hoping for a girl. I have 4 sisters and love it (plus, girls like to play with My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake. They're about the only toys I love seeing on the floor).

I hereby tag:
Sue at http://www.stampndaly.com/ (SBS 5)
Alana at http://www.godchickdesigns.blogspot.com/ (SBS 2)
Maren at http://zanynotcrazy.blogspot.com/ (SBS 3)
Deb at http://countrylovincardmaker.blogspot.com/ (SBS 4)
Jany at http://scrapbookandmoremania.blogspot.com/ (SBS 5)
Tami at http://www.stampingatcatscorner.com/ (SBS 6)
Dawn Marie at http://www.sewflake.blogspot.com/ (SBS 7)

Tagged!

My new SBS sister Meredith tagged me (check out her cute stamped tile coaster). And it's my first time being tagged! Let's see if I can do this right.


Here are the rules…………..

Please answer the questions on your blog and tag 5 more people to answer the same questions……….make sure you list on your blog who you are tagging….Thanks!!

1. If you could have 100.00 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose? Making me choose between the two? Since I just bought some cute bling brads and such, and because I'm running low on paper (to my standards, at least) I would go with paper.

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or ribbons, which would you choose?
Stamps, hands down. A plethora of stamps!

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year…which would you do? Um, just cards. Never done layouts.

4. Would you rather own a scrap booking store or have your own scrapping room at home…(can’t have both he he he). My dream stamping room! Right now all I have is a closet under the stairs to store my stuff. I have to drag everything out onto my kitchen counters and table, where the kids bother it.

5. What is your CURRENT card making or scrapping style? I'm not sure what style mine is. Any ideas?

Tag--You're It!
1. Lesa
2. Karrie
3. Jen
4. Marilyn
5. Maria

A Stamping We Will Go!

It's about time I got my stamping blog set up! I hope this will be a place where my fellow stampers will enjoy visiting...a little community of learning, if you will. (Go on, bookmark it.) I will be working on a gallery and several tutorials over the next few months. I will post both CASEd and unique projects (and I'll give credit where credit is due). I love the process of inkventing...so check back often and please leave your comments. I'd love to hear from you.

Now, on to my introduction. I was born in Idaho, raised in Cleveland, schooled in Utah, and now I’m back in Idaho. I once lived in the Netherlands and Belgium, and my favorite vacation spot is in Mexico. I have a BS in Sociology and an Master of Organizational Behavior (similar to MBA-OB). I've been married for nearly 7 years, and I’m a mother of two girls, 3 and 1. For the past 7-8 years, I’ve also been a graphic designer and editor. I became a SU! demonstrator in June 2006 because I love helping people discover a new hobby that meets their needs, and I love getting out of the house to meet new people and have girl time.

I’ve always enjoyed making my own cards. However, I used to snub my nose at rubberstamping *gasp* because I thought of myself as my own artist. I took every art class my high school offered before I was a senior... and my high school had a great art program. I didn’t think I needed stamps because I could draw.

But then a friend invited me to a Stampin’ Up!© workshop at her home. I dragged my feet about going, but I went because she was my friend and I needed to get out of the house. I was hooked. Stamping was what I needed for three reasons.
• It allowed me to still be my own artist
• it helped me streamline my card-making process (because I didn't have to draw everything freehand)
• and it gave me more options to embellish my cards.

But the great thing is that Stampin’ Up! is also for those who don’t consider themselves creative or artistic—the ideas are already in the book! I know you understand when I say that stamping really is therapy to my soul.