New Blog

Yea. Just want to let everyone know that my more active, autism focused blog is now up on Blogger. The blog is entitled, Caleb's Mom Talks Autism. I hope you'll go there and comment. That's a cool feature. Readers can post right there and people can get a little forum going. Thanks so much, btw, to each one of you who dropped me a line last time. Your encouraging comments made my last two weeks. So I'm not just talking to myself. A wonderful thing to know. Now I have to learn if there is a better way to inform everyone of my blogs on both sites. My dear son will help me.

Memoir is coming along. Down to 85,000 words now, and this is a great thing. I have found it so much easier to fill space and fill and fill and fill space, than to go back and condense what I have written into something cohesive and well written. Rewriting--powerful and painful. Getting very close. Keep sending up prayers and good wishes please. I think some young women, and older ones as well, need to read Candy Cigarettes Are Bad for You. Not one moment of this two and a half years+ has been in vain. Best Wishes to all who read this journey.

Rodeo Day (at my house)

Writing is like losing weight.

Sometimes I feel sabotaged by those close to me. I do not know what comes over people with dieting and writing. Is it just me? Do other people have difficulty getting work done when the family is around? AAahhhh! I want to scream for help sometimes, or beg mercy. Help!

If only I can finish the memoir and get a little break to work on my house and try and make everyone else happy and learn to set good boundaries and live a balanced life before moving on to the next big project.

Will my life ever be perfect? Well, No.

And writing a book is like having a baby. One of those things you do when you decide it's time, even though the stars never do align just so and we still live in a world of time and space and imperfections.

Whew. I'm glad I've had my kids--now for the career.

I wish you all oodles of time on your writing projects and right now I am waving my magic wand your way. Here goes? I'm shaking fairy dust on my head too.

I have to add thanks to my sweet friends who sent blarney wishes for St. Paddy's day. Those wishes make me smile and press on with joy. Friends are the greatest inspiration. Hug or kiss or email one today.

Love,
Rhonda

St. Paddie's

I'm starting a new thing now. I'll write my blog entry in Word first. Hopefully I will talk online more often this way. I won't think it's such a big deal if I write when the urge hits me, wherever I am instead of coming home and going to my website blog writing site and then not knowing exactly how to go about it without looking on the notes my great webmaster son wrote for me. I will write now, insert to website later. Maybe not so many typos this way as well. Anyway, if you have been disappointed by coming to this blog and finding nothing new for a couple of months now, please have mercy and hang in there with my flawed self. Some things have been the pits for me lately and others have been wonderful. I found myself perplexed as to what I should write and what to keep to myself. Sort of like the penning of my memoir actually--so a lot of pondering this and that and not much writing about all those things. Webmaster Cliff has suggested I start a BlogSpot separate from this site and write on one specific topic. Readers could link to there from here and to here from there. I have decided to start this separate blog because it is true that I have not had a real focus to my blog topics thus far. The reason is my life is entirely too eclectic for me to choose which thing to write on for any given day. That and the darned adult onset ADD thing. So breaking into two venues should help: one primarily on writing/authorship related topics (this one) and one on something I probably talk to everyone around me way too much about?my son, Caleb, and his autism. So I'm hoping to be very raw on the BlogSpot blog. Unless I find this name already taken, I will call it "Caleb's Mom's Blog: Autism in the House". I will announce it for sure with a link once it's all set. My hope is that I will confuse and sadden some folks less (with my spoken rants on the subject) and maybe let some other people out there know that they are not the only ones at the end of the rope on some days and over-the-top elated because their child smiled or displayed an ability to focus on other days.

On the writing front, I'm getting geared up for a couple of conferences that are coming soon; The Oklahoma Writer's Federation Conference and The Colorado Christian Writer?s Conference, both in May. I was also recently appointed Activities Coordinator for my writer's group, The Write Ingredients Workshop, which adds texture and flavor to my group experience. I line up speakers and man the meeting once a month. That?s the night I have to clean up and look sort of professional, so it gives me practice in putting a best foot forward. This is good structure for my career, so thanks Kristl and Jonna, for the extra work. You know I love it. It gives me an excuse to present a speaker with a cool little gift once a month and to be a schmoozy ham.

My memoir continues to shrink in length and to deepen. It does not get much press from me at this point because I find that rattles my focus. To summarize though, the mood is still black to gray for me most working days. This means good progress.

Thanks for checking in to keep in touch. Drop me a line so I know you're out there people. I'll truly try to be more consistent.

Love you,
Rhonda