State of Wilderness Tour

You might remember me reviewing the book State of Wilderness by Elysabeth Eldering here. I just want to let everyone know that she's having a Book Blog Tour starting this Saturday. The first stop will be here. Then on Monday, January 19th, the tour will be right here on MY blog. There will be prizes on each stop. People who leave a comment will be entered. I hope you'll join me for my interview with Elysabeth this Monday.

Please help -- CPSIA

Voting ends tonight. Please help save our small businesses. I'm not sure if you've heard, but there's a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are deciding the top 10 ideas for how they think the Obama administration should change America. It's called "Ideas for Change in America" and it's being run by Change.org. One idea is titled -- Save Small Business From the CPSIA. I thought you might be interested in getting involved and recommend you check it out. You can read more and vote for the idea by clicking the following link --

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama administration at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC next week and will be supported by a national lobbying campaign run by Change.org in partnership with leading nonprofits after the Presidential Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at becoming policy. If this new law isn't changed, many small businesses will be forced out of business. That includes book publishers. As it is now, my own books have been pushed back a month and there's a chance they may never see the light of day now. Small businesses simply can't afford what this law asks them to do. This won't just affect small book publishers. It will affect large publishing houses also, in addition to toy makers, clothing companies, crafters, etc. We all want safe products for our children, but this law is poorly written and will put many people out of business who already make safe products. If you think this doesn't affect you as a writer, illustrator, crafter or parent, you're wrong. Please click on the link and cast your vote today before the polls end. With the state of the economy today, we simply cannot afford to let these small businesses close. Please cast your vote -- thank you.

Sea Kittens?

Meow? Yesterday Nancy sent me an article about PETA attempting to make fish more adorable by calling them Sea Kittens. Hello. You can read the article here. The idea is for people to think twice about fishing. You'd never dream of hurting a little kitten, would you? Apparently, the PETA website (which I refuse to go on) has a section aimed at kids where they can design their own Sea Kittens and learn how intelligent fish are. Uh huh. Now don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against vegetarians. A lot of my friends are vegetarians. PETA is another story. I think they're too extreme. This Sea Kittens thing is almost as ridiculous as them trying to talk Ben & Jerry's into using human breast milk in their ice cream. They're over the top, out there, cuckoo, loony tuney! I've seen cute fish -- Nemo! I've also seen some really ugly fish, like the one pictured here. I took this photo at Sea World in 2006. Such a cute little thing, isn't he? Kind of makes you want to hug and squeeze him and give him a little scratch behind his ears, doesn't it? Honestly, it's hard to tell if a fish was cute or ugly in its previous life when it's covered in deep fried batter, laying next to French fries. I like fish. It's good for your heart. Jesus liked fish. If it was good enough for Him, it's good enough for me. However, the next time I bite into a piece of halibut, I might have to control myself from meowing. Thanks PETA! Maybe next time they think of cute little Sea Kittens, they should take a look at this!

On a completely different note -- I've been revising an old picture book I wrote several months ago. It's true that it's helpful to put something away for awhile and then look at with fresh eyes later. I've found that makes a big difference. I've been revising my story and I think it's just about ready to start submitting. When I read it to my boys, they both started giggling and Neil ran up to look for pictures to go with the story. I think that's a good sign, especially if it's something he can imagine visually. I don't know what's the better feeling -- having my boys giggle at the funny parts, or listening to my youngest read the story aloud with me. I taught him how to read, so the fact he's reading something I wrote is pretty darn cool. And no, it's not about Sea Kittens. However, that would be one funny book!

Blast from the past ...

Does anyone remember Fabian? Most people probably don't know who he is. He was a pop idol in the late 1950s. Judging from the picture above, it's not hard to see why he became famous with young girls so quickly. He was way before my time, but I do have some of his music. I love music from the 1950s. It's been said he was discovered while crying on his front porch after his father had been taken to the hospital. Someone noticed how handsome he was and stopped to see if he wanted to be a singer. Since his family was struggling and needed money, Fabian ran with the opportunity. He quickly became a teenage heartthrob and had success with songs like "Turn Me Loose", "Hound Dog Man" and "Tiger". I have all those and they're fun songs. It has been said that his musical career ended when they found out his records had been altered to make his voice sound better. He went into film soon after, and I believe he's still active in movie-making today. You can visit his official site here. I'm not positive, but I think he still tours too.

"Turn Me Loose" is on my 1950s playlist and last night I looked to see if I could find a video clip of the song. Watching the kids clapping in the audience is hilarious, especially when you see how robot-like they are. Almost all of them are chewing gum too. But what's kind of cool is seeing Fabian himself, especially when you remember he was only 16 years old at the time and tossed into the business simply because he was cute. That would be hard for anyone to live up to. The video clip is really fun to watch and check out Dick Clark! It's definitely a blast from the past ...

Point Reyes NS

A few years ago my family visited Point Reyes National Seashore, just 30 miles north of San Francisco. It's a beautiful place with an amazing lighthouse. This is a wonderful day trip if you happen to be in the area. It's believed that Sir Frances Drake was the first European to land here in 1579. Point Reyes is one of the most windy spots on the West coast. You can find over 490 birds here. We saw several Peregrine falcons nesting while we were there along with many other animals, including elephant seals and dolphins.

One animal that really stood out was the Fallow deer, which is pictured here. I'd never seen a deer like this before. I got a few pictures, including some bucks with antlers, but this was the best one. They are really unique looking. They're not native to Point Reyes NS and I believe they're considered harmful to the area. The native elk have to compete with the deer for food. It's been said that they were introduced by a farmer who had gotten the deer from the San Francisco Zoo and later released them. The population of deer is growing and they have a deer management program in place. Regardless, they're beautiful animals, so I wanted to share this picture with you here. Below is a slide show of some of the other pictures I took on this visit to Point Reyes National Seashore. If you're ever in the area, stop by and check the place out.

Lost and Running

I wanted to share one of my favorite songs of present. Powderfinger is a band from Australia and they're one of my top favorites. I've been listening to their newest CD almost non-stop in my car for about a year. It might be because my kids moved my CD case to the back and I can't reach it. Or it could be that I just can't get enough of this song. "Lost and Running" is my favorite on this CD. It's funny because I don't like watching the video as much as I like listening to the song. Either I'm getting old in that respect, or I've just heard the song so many times before I saw the video. Regardless, it's a great song and I wanted to share it. They have some really cool music and most is available in the USA now. Check them out if you like!

On another note, we went shopping today and barely made it home. As we were driving up our road, the tires on our van started spinning. We weren't going anywhere and when Rick had to stop, the van started sliding backwards down the hill. A car was coming up behind us too, so it was pretty freaky for awhile. We have a big diesel van and it usually does good on our road with the studded tires we put on in winter. This one spot was just too icy, so we had to stop and get the chains on. Those were giving Rick a hard time and it took us awhile just to get home. Once the chains were on, the van did okay. We're expecting snow tonight, so I hope they add gravel to the road if they come by to plow in the morning. They're usually pretty good about that, but this one section was solid ice. I couldn't even walk across the road because it was too slippery. I was walking in the snowbank, holding onto the roof of the van, hoping it wouldn't take off down the hill. We finally made it home -- whew!

I'm so blessed.

I'm fortunate because I have some awesome friends. Some I've never even met in person, only online. My friend Nancy, who lives in Wyoming, sent me this gorgeous Nativity set for Christmas. She ordered it ages ago and had problems with it being shipped late and sent all over the country. I think it was supposed to get to me the week before Christmas, but it arrived yesterday. I know Nancy's been fretting and was really upset with the company. She felt her surprise was ruined because it was taking so long. Well, she was wrong. Nancy -- I LOVE IT! I was totally surprised and had no idea what it was until I opened it. It's absolutely beautiful! Nancy & I were looking at Nativity sets online while talking via IM right before Christmas. She knows I collect them and how much I love unique ones. This is very unique because the figures look like wood and tree bark. Just out of the blue and out of total kindness, Nancy ordered this and had it shipped to me. It was a wonderful surprise. Frankly, I don't mind it being late. I already have my Nativity collection packed away, but this one is going to stay up for the year on a shelf near my front door. So, a special note to Nancy -- thank you from the bottom of my heart. You're a wonderful friend.

It amazes me how people go out of their way for me sometimes. Gale, totally out of the blue, sent me those Trader Joe's chocolate covered cherries along with some other goodies. Anita once sent me her leftover chocolate cherry Diet Dr. Pepper, simply because she knew I liked it. My friend Tania from Australia has sent me more CDs and DVDs than I could list here. It goes on and on, and a lot of these people I've never met in person. Of course, it's not presents I'm really talking about. It's friendship. It's someone doing something totally out of the blue, something unexpected. It's a good feeling to know someone has thought of you, whether they send a gift, card or email just to say hello. It means a lot to me. Rick & I were talking about friends last night. He always makes the comment that he doesn't know anyone here and how all his friends are down in California. I always remind him how many people he does know and how friendships are being formed. His friends in CA are only an email or phone call away. I also remind him that he knows a lot more people than I do. I don't work outside of the home, so he's in contact with a lot more than me. I've really come to rely on friends I've met online, whether it be from my blogs or the message boards I'm on. When you don't get out of the house much, online friends are everything. They keep you sane. They are true blessings. So, to everyone who has sent me anything, emailed me or taken the time to read and/or comment on my blogs, I thank you. I just hope I can be a blessing to you in return.