When You Reach…

For something you want,

you might actually get it.

For someone you love,

they might hold you.

For someone in need,

you might help them.

For someone you need,

they might help you.

For something more,

it might be enough.

For something less,

it might fall short.

For something different,

different will seek you out.

For things unknown,

you might grab something great.

Or possibly something terrible.

Or a lesson you didn’t know you needed.

Or all of the above.

When you reach high enough,

there will always be something,

or someone to grasp.

But you have to be brave enough

to reach.

What are you reaching for right now? 

**Last day to sign up for Operation Bookmark Share and enter to win!

Things I'm Adding to My Bucket List

After Wednesday’s post, I decided to give you a heads-up of some of the stuff I’d like to do before I die. In no particular order, of course.

1. Parasail over the ocean. Any ocean will do.

2. Check out Niagra Falls, maybe take a boat tour.

3. Get a tattoo (yeah, I know. So sue me!)

4. Scuba dive to a sunken ship. (This requires me learning how to scuba dive.)

5. Visit a pirate island, the Eifel Tower, the Lovre.

6. Eat Swiss chocolate in Switzerland, Danish in Denmark, and pizza in Italy.

7. Run a feather under the nose of one of the royal guards in London to see if I can make him sneeze.

8. Tour the White house, the Smithsonian(s), all the cool DC memorials, see the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell.

9. Own a recreational boat. Like a ski boat or a sail boat. (I’d also have to learn how to drive said watercraft.)

10. Live in a house on a beach somewhere beautiful.

11. Send my children to college armed with the knowledge that I taught them to be independent. (Gulp.)

12. Learn how to make bread that actually rises.

13.???

What else? (I've already climbed a lighthouse and a volcano, met Elvis, and sang on Broadway, so no need to suggest those things.)

**UPDATE:

I just found this exchange on Facebook between my 12 year old daughter, Happy, and one of her friends. (And FYI, I did not instigate this--pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, at least not regularly.) I think I'm going to let them make my bucket list, because this one is awesome. (Also, I'm not going to edit at all--so you can see it exactly as they wrote it.)

Things we need to do before we die: 1. Fly to Hawaii 2.Go sky diving 3.Go outside singing Teenage dream at 5:00 a.m. 4. jump in a HUGE pool of jello 5. Smell a gangsta 6. meet eminem 7. THROW OUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES AND SING AAAAYYYY OOHHH TASTE THE RAINBOW in the middle of a crowded store 8. Have a sleepover. ON THE MOON! 9.Eat Nolans cheese and 10. Live like its the end of the world, but DON'T get pushed off a roof. Even if the people say that the foam pit at the bottom will save you and it wont hurt at all.. yea.. I learned that the hard way.... 

 

More things we need to do before we die.... (Let's try to get to 100!)
11. Go swimming in the ocean(:
12. Eat pie with our face... and only our face.
13. Go on a road trip. :D
14. Try out for American Idol. (HAHAH! Because we are such grrrrreat singers!)
15. Jump in snow at 12 AM on New Years in our underwear(:
16. Duct tape each other to the sidewalk. ;)
17. Go sledding off a roof.
18. Sleep on the tramp.
19. Meet Taylor Lautner. ♥
20. Kiss a llama.

 

 21. make a HUUUGEEE pizza 22. paint our faces black 23. throw pumpkins off of a building 24. read a book(JK) 25. pretend like we are spies 26. decorate a christmas tree 27. Run around the streets pushing a rolley computer chair 28. jump on the tramp in the rain 29. Climb up Mount Everest 30. Ride on a camel in Africa.

 

 31. Go to Dr. Suess' grave. 32. Go on a bike ride to Las Vegas. 33. Live like a hobo for a week. 34. Eat every box of cereal in your pantry. 35. Get trapped in a grocery store. 36. Dress up as Lady Gaga and go to a tire store and ask for glitter. 37. Shoot a squirrel. 38. Lay in the middle of the road and look at the stars. 38. Go to MEXICO! 39. Meet the cast of Jersey Shore. 40. Kiss a pig.

 

41. Eat a hippo 42. be in a Oscar Mier Wiener comercial 43. Lick a goat 44. Learn how to do the jerk 45. Go rock climbing.... In the winter. 46. Sing out HEARTS OUT! 47. Say I love you to 50 million random people 48. Go shopping. In Paris. 49. walk into the hot chocolate place called "Worlds greatest Hot chocolate" and congradulate all of the workers. 1 by 1. 50. Go scubadiving in the middle of Cuba.

~This is why I write for kids.~

**End of update**

**Don’t forget, you have until Midnight tonight (Mountain Time) to enter the contest to win a signed copy of LEVIATHAN.

Bucket List People

We all know what a bucket list is, right? (No I never saw the movie, but I need to rent it one of these days.) Basically, it’s a list of stuff we want to do before we die.

Everyone I know has one of these lists, even if it’s not actually mapped out and considered on a day-to-day basis. Come on, admit it. There is STUFF you want to DO! And I mean, really do for real, not just say you did, or pretend, or look up on Wikipedia and try to live vicariously through a virtual snapshot tour.

I’ve decided that a lot of us believe we’re going to A) live forever, and therefore have all the time in the world to accomplish these big things or B) die way too soon, and therefore need to rush to do everything all at once, hurry, hurry, hurry, nownownow! Because if we don’t, we’ll never experience anything.

Type A people will likely never finish, or even actually start writing that novel / take that acting class / learn to paint / start a business /learn to Zumba / insert wicked awesome fun thing here.

Type B people don’t have the time to waste thinking about trivial things that require serious attention, like education and bridge building. They will also be unlikely to do any of the options listed above.

Well, okay. I suppose there are a few people who might fall into C) don’t care to experience new things, prefer to not have any kind of change, ever, and for whom a stagnant life is ideal.

But really? I don’t know a single one of those people. They probably exist. Somewhere in the wild jungles of a foreign country that hasn’t been discovered or listed on Google Earth.

Then there’s category D) We believe life is precious, but understand that there is no rush to become who we are because the journey is as important as the end result. However, when an opportunity arises, we take it, understanding that it’s a chance to DO one of those things, and learn from it. We are the project undertakers, the rule makers, the bucket list fulfillers who will take life as it comes, one day at a time, and work toward a happy ending. Every day, we look to the sky and wonder what more we can do, in any given moment, to better enrich our lives, as well as those of the people around us.

What category of person do you want to be and how can you become that?

Authentically Happy

Every week, I write a minimum of five blogs (3 here, Thursdays here, sometimes here and book reviews here). Often more. I read and critique pages and chapters for other people. I moderate a large group of authors and try to keep hot topics and discussions under control. I attend weekly critique sessions that last for several hours at a time. I read and review books written by authors who aren’t necessarily within my genre, because publicists or blog tour organizers ask. I organize writing activities and get-togethers to help foster a feeling of belonging within the writing community.

On top of all that, I somehow manage to take care of my family, taxi my kids around between a wide variety of sports and activities, spend time with my husband, and I almost never miss my monthly (or sometimes more often) night out with the girls.

And I write. Whenever I can, for as long as I’m able. Because I want to. Because even though I didn’t know it for a while, it’s what I was born to do. A hidden love I didn’t discover until my kids were all in school.

Someone once asked why I try to do so much. It made me think. Made me wonder, and ponder, and question.

Sometimes you do things because they make you happy, or because you love it. And maybe you don’t know how to not help others after a while.

Sometimes you do something because you know you should, even if you think you’ll never get anything out of it.

Sometimes you go out of your way to do something because it’s the right thing, even if it hurts.

Sometimes it’s about your contribution to the world. To the universe. To the higher power in which you put so much faith and belief.

And sometimes it just comes down to being who you are and living an authentic life that makes you happy.

Seriously? Happiness is the BESTEST! That’s why.

The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift

This past week my family had the opportunity to go on a trip to a place I’ve always wanted to visit. As a young girl, I remember dreams of visiting a paradise where palm trees grew coconuts and everywhere you looked, the ocean was within view—or at the very least close enough to smell. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawai’i, but didn’t actually do it until my own kids are nearing adulthood.

My husband’s mother, Carol, had a similar dream. She always wanted to go to Hawai’i, and had big plans for her retirement. Unfortunately, she died before she got to make the trip she’d been dreaming of all her life.

One of the lessons I’ve learned through her untimely passing is that I should never put off the dreams that are most important to me. If you want something badly enough, generally you can find a way to get it, even if it requires some degree of sacrifice in other areas. Then, along the way, there are hundreds of other lessons to be learned, and other experiences to be had. This is what makes up our mortal life and the growth of our spiritual strength. Not to mention the creation of memories you’ll carry with you forever.

If you think about it, the same thinking applies to our personal dreams and aspirations as well. Like my dream of writing and becoming a bestselling author. But that’s another blog.

How can we deny ourselves this growth? These memories? I challenge you all to go after what you want most in life and to find a way to do that thing that so draws you. Never put off the things you love or desire, hoping that tomorrow opportunity will fall in your lap. Do the thing that drives you because sometimes, tomorrow doesn’t come.

This was the type of thinking that brought us to one of the islands I’ve always dreamed of visiting, and what made us decide to take the whole family as a Christmas gift. It was expensive, and the kids missed a week of school, and we came home to the depressing cold and snow and icky, yucky Utah inversion air. But the only thing we’ll ever regret is that our time there passed so quickly. And that we didn’t take two thousand pictures instead of one thousand.

The whole experience reminded me how important it is to give our children time, experience, and love. These are the gifts that will never break, wear out, or be forgotten. It is the ultimate gift of family.

Live for today, plan for tomorrow, learn from yesterday, then let it go. Now, go out and do something you’ve always wanted to do, but have been putting off. You won’t be sorry.

**By the way, though I had several entries to my current contest, no one actually guessed the right name. So…I’m extending the deadline until midnight, Friday, January 22nd, and giving everyone who already guessed the opportunity to guess again. If at some point in the past I happened to tell you my first name, go ahead and throw it out there, as long as I told you the answer before December, 2009. If you have that kind of memory, you should be rewarded. Please remember, close family members do not get to enter this contest. Sorry! (By the way, the prize is from Hawai’i.)