How the Heart Works

"Mama," my eight-year-old son said.  "The heart has a butt that never stops working."

I looked at that kid.  "Bubba, the heart does not have a butt."

"Yes, it does," he said.  "It pumps poop and pee out the back end into the body."

I shook my head. "No, Bubba.  Here's how it works:  Blood from the lungs goes into the left atrium, through the left ventricle, and out into the body.  Then it comes back through the right atrium and right ventricle and returns to the lungs to get more oxygen.  It has absolutely nothing to do with bodily excrements!"

My son looked at me like I had rocks in my head. "Mama, you don't know what you're talking about.  The heart has a butt.  My teacher said so!"

Alright, then.  I see I'm going to have to pay a little visit to that institution called a school to find out what kind of anatomical nonsense is being spewed to our kids!

The Cinnamon Challenge

I think there's something a little wrong with my kids.  Today, I walked into the kitchen and found them huddled over a bowl.  Naturally,  I had to investigate.  I discovered that it was a bowl of cinnamon.  They had dumped an entire container into that thing.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"The cinnamon challenge," said my daughter.

"What is that?" I asked, not really sure if I wanted to know.

"We see who can eat the most cinnamon."

"Seriously?  That's just stupid!"

I watched as they spooned some of that spicy stuff into their mouths.  Immediately, they gagged on it, spewing fine powder all over the place.

I shook my head.  "Okay.  So who won?"

They looked at each other.  "It's a tie!"

Unbelievable!

Make Believe Blog Tour

Okay, I think I got my act together to tell you about Lynda's new story.


Lynda Young’s short story titled Birthright, published by J. Taylor Publishing in the Make Believe anthology, launched a couple of days ago. Make Believe is currently available in e-book format and includes Paranormal Romance and Fantasy stories inspired by the image on the cover. Congratulations, Lynda!



Birthright by Lynda Young

Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.





About LyndaYoung:

LyndaYoung lives in Sydney, Australia, with her sweetheart of a husband who is her rock, and a cat who believes world domination starts in the home. She writes speculative short stories and is currently writing novels for young adults. In her spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads



Purchase Make Believe: J Taylor Publishing, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.



Lynda, way to go! You are an amazing writer and I'm so excited for you!



One quick story before I go:

Do you remember how my kids were making fun of me for being a psychotic basket case musician after we went to see the Cincinnati Symphony perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony?  Well, guess what?  My daughter actually asked me to teach her a new song on the piano. (She hasn't wanted to learn anything for about three years!)  I taught her Ode to Joy, which is the theme from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.  She practiced it for a half hour.  (My husband of course, came in and complained about it, ranting about Beethoven being a senile old guy.)

Later, after I had practiced the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto,  I heard my son humming the melody from the second movement. 

I think there may be hope for them!

Headless Gingerbread Men

It's that time of year when I start baking Christmas cookies.  Today, I made gingerbread  men cookies.  For some reason, they all had a propensity to lose their heads.   No worries.  It just meant more for the kids. I put some on a plate and invited them to have one.

My daughter grabbed her cookie, and as soon as she did, the head came off.   "Mom, I can't eat this.  It's headless!"

"So?" I said and popped the head in my mouth.

"Mom!"

"What?"

"You're a cannibal!"

I looked at that girl.  "No, I'm not.  If I were a cannibal, I would've eaten the body and put the head on a string to wear around my neck."

She looked at me like I was crazy.  Maybe I am.

Headless gingerbread cookies, anyone?



  

Quick note:  Lynda at WIP, has a new book out called Make Believe.   It came out yesterday, but since I haven't had access to my main computer, I wasn't able to do a full post about it.  I'll try to get it up tomorrow, so you can read about it.  Be sure to stop by her blog and congratulate her!

Catapult the Cat!

Many of you may not know that we have a cat.  Our German Shepherd, Schultz, usually steals the show, and the cat takes a back seat.   So let me tell you about Bootsy.  Bootsy was a pathetic little kitten that crawled into my yard two years ago.  He was a skinny, starving thing, and he was loaded with fleas.  Being the soft-hearted person that I am, I decided to help him.  I gave him kitty food and de-flead him.  Then I took him to the vet, got rid of his round worms and tapeworms, had him neutered, and vaccinated.  He is now a happy, healthy cat who  lives outside in a little igloo.

(My husband thought I was crazy to do that.  He teases me all the time about it, and encourages Schultz to "eat the cat,"  which is why the cat lives outside.)   

Anyway, today it was time to take Bootsy to the vet for his annual checkup and vaccinations.

"How are you going to get him to the vet?" my son asked.

"She's going to put him in a brown box and ship him," my husband said.

I shook my head.  "No.  I have a crate.  I'll take him in that."

My husband thought he had a better idea.  "You should catapult him.  Send him flying through the sky all the way to the vet office."

"Catapult my cat?" I asked.  "How could you suggest such a thing?"

"That's what catapults are for, aren't they?"

No.  Actually, I think they're for transporting crazy husbands to the moon, which is exactly where he's going if he keeps harrassing the cat!     

Baby Faces Blogfest

 

Trisha at Words + Stuff came up with a really fun blogfest. It's the Baby Faces Blogfest.  Guess what's going to happen?  You're going to see a baby picture of me!  Isn't that exciting?  I can tell you're thrilled.

Okay.  Ready?  Here it is:

 

Baby Sherry c1972

 

 

 

How do you like my bonnet?  My mom told me she used to dress me in fancy dresses and bonnets every day.  She also said she used to change my outfits at least three times a day.

 

"Mom," I asked.  "Why would you do such a thing?"

 

"Because you were like a living doll.  I liked to play dress up with you."

 

Okay then.  I couldn't imagine having the time or energy to do that with my kids! 

 

I will have you know, that I dress more sensibly now that I'm an adult.  I don't wear frilly dresses or bonnets. And I most certainly do not change my outfits three times a day!  

 

 

One more thing:  In case you missed yesterday's post, I'm a guest over at greeting card designer, Tracy Campbell's blog.  There's a book give-away going on, so if you have a minute,  please stop by!  

 



Dumb Ways to Die and a Book Giveaway

Yesterday, when my kids came home from school, they were singing the song,  "Dumb Ways to Die."  It's from a Metro video about train safety.  The thing has apparently gone viral, and everybody is singing it. I was surprised that my kids knew all the words.

"I saw it on my iPod," my daughter explained.

"How many times did you watch it?"

"About twenty."

In case you haven't seen it, here's the original version:

While you are hanging out here, watching this Saturday stupidity, I'm going to be over at Tracy Campbell's blog, answering questions about my two books, and giving some away.  If you have a minute, please stop by!

  (Actually, when you read this, I will probably be balancing precariously on a ladder, hanging Christmas lights on my roof.  Oh.  Wait a minute.  Is that a dumb way to die?  Maybe I'd better rethink that!)