Step Up to Writing

Those of you in the elementary education world recognize my title, Step Up to Writing as a writing instruction curriculum that is used by some schools. No, I'm not going to blog today about teaching writing to students but more about teaching myself to write.

In 5th grade, my teacher, Mrs. Madsen was so impressed with my story entitled, The Mother's Day Present, that she sent it to the Fun Publishing Company and it was printed in a 1974 edition of I Got An Idea!... Right then and there an author seed was planted. The seed as been slow to flourish so I decided that it was time to do some gardening to help it along and see how it grows.

My first step last year was to join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators organization to get me motivated. Because of this, I found out about the Rocky Mountain Chapter's Spring Writing Conference which I attended yesterday. As I drove to Boulder, I felt uneasy about attending the conference and that I would be truly out of my element but was pleasantly surprised with the positivity and welcoming of the others who attended. It was a full day of seminars given by the conference faculty which was comprised of authors, agents and editors. I learned a tremendous amount about the process and was energized and motivated to continue to try to improve my writing ability. While there I ran into an old friend and met a new friend, both of whom live near me and we decided to form a critique group. This group will be  important to keep me accountable and moving forward.

My second step is writing this blog to publicly announce my dream of publishing a book, cataloging it, slapping a call number on it and seeing it on my library shelf! A bonus would be seeing someone actually check it out and read it! Too many years have gone by with the seed laying dormant. Now is the time for me to garden. It is Spring after all!

                                          Where it all began.....

                                          Not the best school picture for my debut!

                                         Great authors like Julie Danneberg were in attendance!

Las Vegas

Las Vegas. I have been here at least 5 times previously, the first time in the early 80’s. My husband and I were newlyweds and living in Southern California. We decided to trek across the desert in his Datsun to visit this oasis in the desert. Since the air conditioning in the car was on the fritz, we drove with the windows down which also made it easier to propel the sunflower seed shells out along the way but also attracted a lot of desert sand. Needless to say, by the time we glided into the Bally’s circle drive,( one of the classier hotels at that time) you can only imagine the pleasure the valet felt as he settled into the sweaty, sandy, seed speckled driver’s seat to park the car for the new arrivals! 

We had pre-purchased some kind of package with our hotel reservations which included tickets to the popular Jubilee show. Yep, jubilee is exactly what I felt as we realized that our tickets were first row center next to the stage. It was an eye opening performance for the two Las Vegas newbies that’s for sure. It was clear that the costume budgeting formula was this: if the girl had the small headdress, there was money for the dress but the girls who were issued the large headdresses could not be provided with dresses. Interesting. 

We returned a few times while living in California for various conferences. When our son Alex was not even a year old, he and Don joined me for the Boy Scouts of America conference that I needed to attend. I was one of the few female Field Executives in the organization so Don was the only male on the spouse tours. He didn’t mind, especially when they went backstage of, you guessed it, the Jubliee show. A handsome twenty something male with a baby in the backpack was quite the attraction for the showgirls. (Don assured me he only talked to the ones with small headdresses!) 

Actually, I think that was the same Las Vegas trip that Alex had his first haircut in the hotel room. A well meaning but at the time I thought to be heartless lady in the buffet line, called my beautiful boy a girl and then followed up with “he needs a haircut!” His locks are in a Las Vegas Hilton envelope somewhere. 

After 20 some years we made our way back to Las Vegas again and were shocked at the growth in the number of hotels and buffet prices! It is no longer a cheap vacation. An Uber driver ( a somewhat legit source) explained that the change came with the arrival of the Bellagio. Now hotels make most of their money on the restaurants and entertainment. And there is money and places to spend your money everywhere. Designer boutiques are more common than Starbucks - names I never even knew that I was supposed to have in my closet. There are so many high end labels passing me in the hallway, I felt like going to Walmart just to be different! 

Las Vegas is still it’s own over the top, glitzy, raunchy, wild, loud self where adults can leave their boring daily selves for awhile and have fun. Recess for big people. And like all recesses, they must come to an end. Thanks Las Vegas for the great time and now I have to go home and rest!

                                          Terrific view from our room at the Bellagio

                                          Talk about views! This is a birds eye of Vegas on the
                                          High Roller

                                          Flamingos at the Flamingo...go figure!

                                          Bally's is not so glamorous anymore....

                                          Year of the Pig display at the Bellagio.

                                          Now that's a S'more!

                                           Enjoyed the funny Piff the Magic Dragon show and snuggled with Mr.                                                  Piffles (the dog, not the comedian!)

Magical Night in Wonderland

Last night Don, Alex and I participated in the Eat, Ski and Be Merry fundraiser for the Summit Nordic Ski Club. We were invited by Don's sister, Shelly and husband and eagerly accepted so we could support our nephew Gray and his Cross Country team. My mother in law joined us although she had never snowshoed, let alone in the dark - what a sport!

 The event took place at the Frisco Nordic Center and as we set off, I was surprised at how dark it was (that's the city girl in me!). But that made it truly magical. The path was lit by luminaries made of ice and sparkling lights in the trees. We skied and snowshoed down the snowy trail to the first stop where hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps were served around a blazing campfire. OK, I thought, this is my kind of exercise! Snapping back into our skis, we continued on through the woods until we got to the second stop. Meat and cheese kabobs and hot spiced wine. Wow!

As we headed off to the final station, the fireworks began! Because of the summer drought conditions, Breckenridge cancelled their fireworks show and decided, much to our delight, to shoot them off last night. I can't tell you how beautiful they were, glistening over the snow and pine trees while we had unobscured views while skiing in the dark! As if this wasn't enough we enjoyed beer and Swedish meatballs at the last stop.

The final destination was the lodge where soup was served. I had no idea that this event was going to be so much fun. It was winter and dark and snowy and cold which is usually a combination that I avoid at all costs but I am so glad that I put my big girl snow pants on and went!

Alaskan Adventure

Day 3- Trick or Treat the Alaskan Way

To start our day today, Lori introduced me to the local coffee franchise, The Kaladi Brothers. The first store was opened 32 years ago and now you can find 15 stores/kiosks in south central Alaska making it second only to Seattle in the number of coffee shops per capita. Also there are tons of little privately owned coffee kiosks around Anchorage selling Kaladi Brothers coffee. They like their coffee here!

With caffeination in hand we headed to downtown Anchorage to find the Visitor Center. Here you can find every brochure in existence of what to do while in Alaska....and Liz. Liz works at the Visitor Center and is a font of information as you would imagine and quite the character. We enjoyed talking with her and getting the “scoop” on everything! Although downtown was fairly quiet when we got there it quickly became a hub of activity. We found ourselves in the middle of Trick or Treat Street. Several families dressed in all kinds of adorable costumes populated the streets of downtown and trick or treated in the stores. I scored some candy from one store by telling them that I was dressed up like an old lady but then I felt bad so I gave the candy to a little Ninja Turtle in a stroller! We had a great time people watching and shopping....of course. 

The day ended on a high note when Lori made an official offer on the house we both fell in love with yeasterday. Hopefully all will go as planned and she will close in December....the perfect time to move to Alaska!

I am so glad that I came on this short little adventure. I’m so excited for my little sister because this is truly a magical place that I think is a perfect fit for her. I’m really looking forward to using that guest room that I made sure she had!

The only bear I hope to be this close to...ever!
Carriage rides for the trick or treaters	This couple was a hoot!

Poor Rudolph!

 A sign that it was going to be a great day!

Alaskan Adventure

Day 2 - House Hunters

Today was actually our second day of house hunting with realtor Tim. Yesterday he took us around to 7 house but only 2 ended up on “to be considered” list. There is a lot of tract housing in Anchorage and with all of the mountains surrounding us, we are hoping to find a house with some type of view of something other than the next door neighbors.

We looked at 7 more houses today but didn’t begin until 10 because the sun didn’t come up until 9:13am. If I lived here I would see more sunrises than I ever had before! I’m getting to know Anchorage a little better but it is a sprawling city that covers over 1900 miles and has a population of nearly 300,000 people. This city certainly earns the award for the nicest people per square mile in my opinion. Almost everyone we have met so far were very friendly and welcoming. I kind of felt related to the restaurant owners by the time we left the restaurant where we ate lunch! It was a beautiful sunny day so maybe that is what put everyone in a good mood.

We did find a house that Lori liked above the rest and is hoping to move forward on. Now it is a waiting game until all the paperwork goes through, the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted. Hopefully tomorrow we will learn that things are progressing smoothly.  In anticipation of good news we decided to hold a pre- celebration at the 49th State Brewery in downtown Anchorage tonight. The beer was good and the elk sausage pizza delicious!

Turnagain Arm of the Gulf ( North end of Cook Inlet)

Alaskan Adventure

Day 1 - Early Bird Gets the Plane

I am not a morning person. Usually my tank doesn’t run empty until 11or 11:30pm so I am not an early riser. Last night I tried to go to bed early but anticipation of my solo adventure ahead made sleep very difficult. The positive thing about a 6:40am flight is that there is tremendously less traffic on the highways at 4:30am and shorter lines at security. However,  it might have been my imagination but it seemed like the TSA agents were a tad bit grumpier in the wee hours. Any over enthusiastic traveler who inadvertently stepped over the yellow waiting line before their turn with  the TSA agent checking ID’s and boarding passes, got a firm scolding from said agent. I made sure my tingling toes were a good 2 inches behind that magical line. I had no time for a stark white room interrogation today!

The downside of an early flight obviously, is the tossing and turning the night before caused by the worry that you’re going to oversleep! 

The clue to the destination of my adventure is given away in my title- yes I’m headed to Alaska! I’m meeting up with my little sister who is soon to become an Alaskan resident. She is relocating from Northern California  to Anchorage to begin her own great adventure. When I learned that she was going house hunting this week,  I invited myself along. Who wouldn’t fly to Alaska in order to snoop in other people’s houses? My parttime gig this year is very advantageous!

I am currently on my second and last leg of the trip from Seattle to Anchorage. Since I had a little sleep on my first leg ( and Starbucks in the Seattle airport) I felt a little more sociable  and struck up a conversation with my seat mate. He was born and raised in Alaska and was returning from a visit to Colorado relatives. Come to find out he is a commercial salmon/ crab fisherman during the summer and is out to sea months at a time. I told him that I was familiar with his work ( I eat salmon and crab- ha!). It is so interesting to visit with people with such different life experiences. Our conversation reminded me of the book I read called the Alaskan Laundry which was about a young twenty something New Yorker who moved to Alaska to work on a fishing boat. You have to be of hardy stock to be in that line of work!

Update:

Lori and I successfully rendezvoused at the Anchorage airport and made our way to a nearby hotel which is right next to a lake where the pontoon planes land. The realtor met up with us and showed us 7 houses. A good start with more to follow tomorrow. The view of the majestic snow capped mountains surrounding Anchorage from the airplane on its descent was so spectacular that I’m making sure that Lori finds a house with at least one guest room!

PEI Trek - In Search of Green Gables

Day 7 It was  the Shining Day without Misery

This morning we did a little exploring and stopped by to see where famous author Stephen King lives in Bangor, Maine. It isn’t a secret -we just googled the address and it is often posted on Facebook. We tried to be discreet and not ring the bell or walk on his lawn. I stayed away from the storm drains just in case. Actually, the house next door is for sale and is just gorgeous! If you live in Colorado and see the price, you may be tempted to pack up and move! The whole neighborhood is historic and we drove around appreciating the beautiful architecture of the houses.

Bangor is a nice and quiet city with the Penobscot river flowing through it. We enjoyed the river walk for it was a very pleasant and sunny day. After stopping in an antique store, we finally pushed on to make the final four hour leg of  trip back to Boston. Our poor brother had to navigate his way through the Boston traffic which was hectic and slightly confusing- especially with 5 people guiding him!

Tomorrow we leave bright and early to head our separate ways - Barb and Antonio back to Italy, Lori to California, and Chris, Debby and I back to Colorado. It was a fun trip with few snags and Mom didn’t have to break up any fights! Hopefully we will be back together soon!