Gingerbread House

Every year, my kids and I attempt putting together a gingerbread house. Most of the time, it's a dismal failure, with the roof collapsing and the walls crumbling into a swamp of icing. This year, we tried something different:  a kit with interlocking walls. It's an architectural feature that helps even the worst gingerbread house builders. And guess what? It worked!

Now, I admit, this is not the most amazing gingerbread house ever created. But I think for us, it's pretty darn good!

If you'd like to see a spectacular gingerbread creation, check out this Hogwarts castle, done by true master gingerbread builders!

I'm not sure if I'll be back before the new year, so, I'd like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Mrs. Forgetful

In the last post, I told you about my husband losing his keys. Turned out he had thrown them in the garbage.

Now let me tell you about me:  Mrs. Forgetful.

Many of you know I'm a professional musician. Right now, I'm in the middle of the big holiday performance season. It's a great time to make some cash, but it's an insane schedule. On weekends, I start playing at 9:00 in the morning, and basically don't get home until 10:00 at night. Non-stop playing, rehearsing, and travelling between gigs. (I don't even have time for a proper meal.)

Needless to say, by the end of these days, I'm absolutely exhausted. This past Sunday, when I got home, I thought I had put my keys in my purse. But the next day, when I went to take my daughter to school, I couldn't find them.

"Anybody seen my keys?" I asked.

"No!" my daughter said. "Come on, we're going to be late!" Since I couldn't find my keys, I took my husband's. We went to school in his car.

When I came back, I searched everywhere. They were nowhere to be found.  I even went through all the garbage. Not fun! Unfortunately, I didn't have a Tile on the key chain (see last post for info on that), so I couldn't locate them with the push of a button. Three hours later, I still hadn't found them. Needless to say,  I was a little bit grouchy and a whole lot worried.  A bad way to start a Monday!

Then I decided to check my purse again. (I had already checked it three other times.) I felt along the inside walls of the purse, and I noticed a lump. I inspected it more closely and discovered a pocket I didn't even know I had inside the purse. And guess what was in there? My keys!

Have you ever done anything like that before? Looked everywhere for something and it was right where it was supposed to be?   

Mister Forgetful and IWSG

I bet you think I'm referring to my son, Bubba when I say "Mister Forgetful." Nope. I'm talking about my husband.

The other day, the man was looking for his keys. "Where did I put them?" he asked as we were trying to get out the door.

I shrugged. "Who knows? Why don't you consult your Tile app."

For those of you who don't know, Tile is a handy dandy device that helps you locate missing objects. You attach the tile chip to the object. Then if you lose the object, you activate the Tile app, and the Tile on the object rings, letting you know where it is.   We all felt that Tile was a necessity for my husband, because he is very forgetful!

So, he consulted the Tile app. And the one on the key rang. Do you know where it was? In the garbage! Yep. My man had thrown it away. Thank God for the Tile, or those things would have been history! 


Now, it's time for the IWSG post of the month.

The question is:  What five writing items are on your desk at any given time?

Well, as I look at the stuff around me, here's what I find:

1. Computer. That's a necessity.

2. A pencil with an eraser.

3. Another eraser, because I erase a lot!

4. A notebook for writing. I write everything by hand before I type it in the computer.

5. A pen. I don't use it much, but it's there. Mostly for marking things in my calendar.

Other things: a computer mouse and pad, four candles (why not? I like them, they look pretty, and they smell good. And if the electricity goes out, I can just light them and continue writing.), and a few books on writing and marketing, which I refer to regularly.

What about you? If you're a writer what's on your desk?