Happy 6th, Cowgirl

I can't believe that Cowgirl is six years old--and already giving out horseback riding lessons!

I hope all your midweek writing plans are going well. I'm getting into a good morning writing rhythm, and the fact that the internet access is unpredictable at the library is actually helping my wordcount.

Are you keeping to your goals? Would you like lessons from Cowgirl? And, yes. Cowgirl and her doll (which she named after herself) are dressed identically. :)

Monday Meeting: Thunder Snow and Other Lessons

Last week, I learned that Thunder Snow is not something to be scoffed at. Or maybe my scoffing was the issue. It made Thunder Snow want to prove to me that it was a force to be reckoned with. Knocked out our power for two days and nights. Which probably wouldn't have been a big deal, if we hadn't had 20 degree nights. Oh, and if it hadn't been right before Halloween.

Life lesson: Never mock mother nature.

Zoom in on me making this costume by candlelight:

Which my son loved. And wore for the exact time it took to snap this picture. Then he stripped it off, and went trick or treating in street clothes. Sigh.

Life lesson: Never try to constrict a boy's nature in a box. Even if the boy insists.

Fast forward to my daughter walking, no, running, to school. Debris from thunder snow litters the sidewalk. Daughter trips, flies forward, and lands on her face. Does not use hands to break her fall. Loses (literally) her tooth. I spend the next 48 hours looking for tooth, and watching for concussion.

Life lesson: Magic makes everything better.

All this gave me perspective this week. When I try to control things is when I get into trouble, in my real life, and in my writing. When I leave myself open to what my subconscious has already worked out about a particular scene in a book, or when I leave myself open to the unexpected turns and twists of life, I am better equipped to handle where writing and life is going.

This week, I am hoping for a less action-packed week, and more action-packed writing.

How are you? Do you have writing goals? What are they? Do you have wordcount goals this week? Lay them on me!

Have You Met Kyla?

In case you guys missed the launch of my new (whenever I feel like it) Friday blog feature, inspired by How I Met Your Mother, here's another one. The idea is that I introduce you to someone awesome, someone who just might be fun to get to know!

So, Haaave you met Kyla?

Okay, she is larger than this in real life. If I had my act together today, I would have actually asked for a picture instead of stealing one off her blog. :)

Kyla is a wonderfully warm, generous writer who pens funny vignettes of her life over at her Growing Muses blog. She also writes for the World Moms Blog.

She is jumping right into uncharted territories this November by doing Tara Lazar's fabulous PiBoIdMo, so if you do click over to say hi at Growing Muses, make sure to cheer her on! She has volumes of energy for writing and friends, and I am lucky enough to benefit from that energy both online and in real life.

She has been a major force of inspiration for me in the past few weeks, at her blog, over coffee, and over the lane lines at the pool. (A friend who encourages healthy writing, and healthy exercising? That is a truly valuable friend!)

I am so lucky to have her in my life, and I encourage you to bring her into your life as well, by creating that all-important blogging connection.

And, since we're doing introductions, why don't you tell us all what you are up to on your blog, and link to it in the comments. That way, I can make sure not to miss any awesome reads this Friday!

I Shake My Fists At The Tech Gods, Once Again

So, when you try to comment on this post, you will discover the dreaded pop-up window.

Now, I have heard several bloggers discuss how this is not the best way to allow comments, simply because it takes more time for people to comment. I loved it when my comments were embedded below the post.

Okay, this is a much more fun type of pop-up. Although I can't hear this song without thinking, that's not really ironic. I still like it though. I wonder what that says about me. :)

And, I want to make it easy, peasey for y'all (okay, I am so NOT from the south, but that puts me in mind of a delicious southern drawl, which makes me feel warm and cozy and like I can pretend that I am not on the verge of another disastrously cold NE winter) to comment. Above all else.

The problem with the embedded comments? In the last month, I have heard from two VIP in my virtual life, who went to extraordinary measures to let me know that for some reason, they are no longer permitted to comment on my blog.

I checked my settings. Everyone is permitted to comment, even anonymous users. I don't even have comment verification on the site. There is no reason why people shouldn't be able to comment.

I SHAKE MY FISTS AT THE TECH GODS.

Although in this case, I think it might be the Google Gods giving me grief.

So, I hope you survive the pop-ups for a while. Let's see if everyone can comment.

I'm so bummed out that people couldn't join in the conversation here.

Has anyone else had this problem? How frustrating! For those of you who are more tech savvy than me (really not difficult) please enlighten me if I can fix this issue permanently, and revert back to my embedded comments. Pretty please! (I'm looking in your direction, Tom!)

Can't comment on this blog post? That's ironic. E-mail me at hegkelly at gmail dot com.

Forced Un-plug

Just a quick note to say that I am very happy to have power back at our house. It was not (much) fun to have a forced unplug this weekend!

Now that I'm back, here are some truly fun items:

Today, you can find me in The Practice Room, where there is an open chat room with hosts from 9am-3pm est. No one needs write unassisted. :) Whether you are NaNo-ing or otherwise!

I will be unplugging over there to get some writing done today, I hope you will too!

Also, I must wish a Happy Book Birthday to Anna, and her MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE. See, here are pictures of me reading the ARC over the summer!

The first one (aka, the GINORMOUS picture) is in front of my town's library. The second one is in front of the Narragansett library.

If you want to win a copy of Anna's book, today you can play a twitter game-- what has been your most unfairy tale moment? Answer that, with hashtag #myveryunfairytalelife, and you might win!

I hope you all are warm, safe, and plugged in Tuesday!