** Ouch!....A Rejection E-mail This Morning **

Gee....I haven't seen one of those in a long time, and it's NOT because I'm constantly receiving acceptance e-mails. It's because I haven't been in the habit of submitting my writing lately. Partly because I'm working on my book, partly because even though I see tons of Calls for Submissions and Contests, I rarely send anything in, and partly because I'm just too busy blogging! (That's a whole other story, for another day!)

The rejection I received today was from Silver Boomer Books for a Grandparents anthology.

(I have no idea where I got this drawing! I remember cutting it from a newsletter or something, years ago.)

Oh well......I had my moment of disappointment, but then immediately got over it, because that particular story will be included in my book! ☺

“I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to run around like Dennis Rodman and head-butt somebody.” -- Greg Norman

(Is that quote hilarious, or what?!)

Please scroll on down and don't forget to enter my book(s) give-away!

** My New Contest -- Win Some Books! **

Welcome to my newest contest! This will be a little different from my previous contests. I have quite a few kids' books that I "won" at a silent auction last year, and I would like to give some of them away. Today's contest consists of three groups & each group has three books.

The first group (above) has: Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball.

A to Z Mysteries: The Absent Author

Junie B., First Grader, Cheater Pants

This second group (above) are all Magic School Bus books.

The Magic School Bus Gets Caught in a Web.

The Magic School Bus; Field Trip Facts, Notes From Ms. Frizzle's Kids.

The Magic School Bus; Chapter Book, The Truth about Bats.

The first two groups consist of chapter books: for ages 7 to 10, and they are all Scholastic Books.

The final group of three are all middle grade novels by Judy Bloom: for ages 9 to 12.

These three are Dell Yearling Books.

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself.

Iggie's House

Blubber

(All of these books are new. I've tried not to even open them, so they won't look used!)

** Contest Rules & Fine Print *

1) To be eligible, please leave at least one comment, per set of books. (ie: If you'd only like to win one set of books: leave one comment.....two sets: two comments....all three sets: three comments.)

2)  If you are not already a follower and you become one, your comment(s) will count twice.

3)  If you send over a friend or more and they leave a comment(s), you both will have your comments counted twice.

4)  The contest will end at midnight on Saturday, May 22nd, and I'll annouce the winners on Sunday, the 23rd.

I hope to receive many comments. In fact, I'd like to see at least 20 (not counting any doubles or triples!)

Please round up your writer/reader/blogger friends and send them over!

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." -- Jacqueline Kennedy

** Microfiction Monday **

I decided to give this a try, after seeing it on Janel's Jumble for a few weeks now. Hope I did it correctly! (Hey, Janel, give me a critique, ok??)

Susan at Stony River hosts Microfiction Monday. Susan posts pictures every week and writers take on the challenge to write 140 characters or fewer. (Twitter-sized) stories about the picture.

"Oh dear! What if my husband comes home early and sees his new bride receiving these jars from a delivery service? I told him I could can!"

** Another Manic Monday **

The weekend was a busy and fun one, and this week will be more of the same. It's the week of THE GRADUATION!! Yes, my "baby" graduates from college this week......sniff, sniff..... Where did the years go?

I think I've had about 2 hours of sleep since yesterday. Between Tiger and my new friend, "Arthur", it's getting more and more difficult to get a good night's sleep. Who is Arthur you ask? Why, he's the new pain in my neck....Arthur-Itis! (well....it seemed funny at 3:00 am)

I'll be back later today with news of my May Contest Give-Away.

“Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” -- George Carlin

** Yikes! It's Sunday Already! **

I had the best intentions to write on my blog sometime Saturday, but obviously that didn't happen. It's just past midnight and I think I'll hit the old hay in a few minutes.

Later today, I hope to post my new contest for the month of May. I think it's a good one and will have slightly different rules than the other ones.

*Note: I wasn't able to send any e-mails most of Saturday. Every time I tried, they would get "stuck" and then I'd receive a message saying "try again later". So, if you've been expecting one from me, it may be in my "Mail Waiting to be Sent" folder.

“If you can read this, thank a teacher.” -- Unknown

** Alive & Well on a Friday Night **

As the title above states: I am alive and well and it's Friday evening.

I'm in the midst of another one of my many "projects".......which does not include writing my book. Never fear, though, the book is only getting temporarily pushed slightly aside, NOT going all the way to the back burner!

For those who asked and/or are curious: I'm still waiting for my lab results, but did receive my x-ray results. I have....and to quote my doctor, "a fair amount of arthritis in [my] neck, and a loss of disc height." (Hey! I can't afford to lose any more height!!) She also said she "was surprised [I] wasn't in any more pain than [I] described." (Well, I actually was happy to hear all that! It proved I wasn't complaining for no reason. And also, I've always thought I had a very low pain level, so I must be quite a tough broad, after all!)

I'm blaming my husband! He's a foot taller than me... and I've had to look waaaaay up... all these years!!

** Awesome Book Stuff **

(photo courtesy of Out of Print press page)

My "Real Simple" magazine arrived in the mail yesterday, and for the first time in months, I actually took time in the evening to flip through the entire thing! I clipped out some awesome looking recipes and a couple other interesting little tidbits to look up online. One of those was: Out of Print Clothing

To best explain it, I've copied and pasted the following paragraph directly from their site:

Out of Print celebrates the world’s great stories through fashion. Our shirts feature iconic and often out of print book covers. Some are classics, some are just curious enough to make great t-shirts, but all are striking works of art.

Back to my own words: For every T-Shirt sold, the company donates a book to a community in need! How great is that?? How scathingly brilliant?? (sorry Miss Cathy C....but I must borrow your phrase here!)


They also have a blog:  Out of Print Blog  and the blog has a fascinating story of  The Book Bike.

It all just keeps getting better and better!!

Please get your fingers clicking on those links!! I know of a couple graduates who will be getting an Out of Print T-Shirt for a gift this month!!


“Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.” - Bell Hooks

** This 'n That on a Tuesday Afternoon **

I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new US Postal Service stamps of dogs and cats, and I finally bought a sheet a couple of days ago. The photos feature animals that were adopted from shelters, and are they adorable or what?? The dog with the large head, and black & brown hair, looks similar to my Tiger and also our previous "mutt", Rocky! (We got Tiger at a local shelter when she was 6 months old.)

(Photo I took last night with my cell phone camera)

Awwwww....that's my Tiger!!

Also, pertaining to adorable photos of animals, I came across a really neat blog: Farm Girl Susan.  Susan moved from her native California to Missouri, to live out "in the middle of nowhere"! She also loves to cook and bake and shares tons of recipes. AND, on top of all that,,,,,she also loves Judith Ryan Hendricks' books! Hey, I think I've discovered another kindred spirit!!  Go visit Susan's blog and tell her "Becky sent me!"


Speaking of farms and farm-life, I spent most of today getting poked and prodded. I saw 2 different doctors; one a yearly check-up, one a follow-up. Then got lab work and x-rays. Sheesh...I'm worn out and I didn't do anything except drive my car, and sit around for hours. I took a book to read, but that even made me sleepy! I think I feel a late afternoon nap coming on......Zzzzzzz.

One last thing: Has anyone heard back from Bylines Calendar about their submissions? I keep checking the website, but nothing is posted about it yet. Any other good news about acceptances, or contest winnings??


"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans" ~ James Herriot