Okay, this might sound weird, but I'd really like to know who, if anyone, reads this blog. Supposedly some of my family does, but I wonder. (And if they do, how often?) So I would like it if when you read this, you leave a comment. It doesn't have to be much--just a "Yes, I read this" or a short comment about the post. Otherwise, what's the point in me doing this? I keep a personal journal, so it's not like this is my way of journaling. And since anonymous comments are allowed (that is, you don't have to sign up for an account to leave comments), you really have no excuse (although I do ask you to put your name or some identifier in the comment, so I know who is leaving a comment).
Also, it'd be nice if this continued to happen on an ongoing basis, so that if you stop reading, I'll know by lack of comments. I just want to know if it's worth it for me to do this or if I should just quit!
Thanks.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Newspaper Article about Author Friend
Brandon Sanderson, the friend I mentioned who is a published author, had an article written about him in the daily paper. I thought I would link to it and copy the contents: http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660202512,00.html
Wee-hour musings paying off for author
PROVO — For five years, Brandon Sanderson spent the quiet midnight hours weaving tales of fantastical worlds filled with magic, intrigue and secrecy.
A graveyard shift at Provo's Best Western CottonTree Inn yielded a total of nine books for the budding writer, a student at the time, who pounded out page after page until 5 a.m. each morning while working at the hotel desk.
Two published novels and 12 book deals later, the 31-year-old author can afford to devote daylight hours to his work — although his wife, Emily, tells stories of late-night writing binges.
Sanderson recently received a six-figure advance from Scholastic, the "Harry Potter"-series publisher, for a children's fantasy series about a boy named Alcatraz who does battle with a cult of evil librarians.
These recent writing successes, though, resulted from years of hard work — a fact Sanderson likes to point out to students in his class, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, at Brigham Young University.
"A lot of people say my 'debut' novel doesn't feel like a first novel," Sanderson said. "Well, that's because it's not. It's my sixth novel."
The day Sanderson received an offer for "Elantris" from an editor at Tor Books, a publisher of science fiction and fantasy, made all the late hours worth it, he said.
"I just about fainted when I got this news," Sanderson said. "Finally somebody bought one."
"Elantris," which hit bookshelves in May 2005, was one of 13 "practice" novels he wrote while attending undergraduate and graduate school at BYU.
"A lot of people give up after writing a book and not selling it," Sanderson said. "My opinion is, just keep at it."
And keep at it he has. Sanderson currently has 80,000 copies of his books in print. The first of a trilogy called "Mistborn" appeared in bookstores in July 2006, and the second is slated for publication on Aug. 21.
Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News
Brandon Sanderson recently received a six-figure advance for a children's fantasy series about a boy named Alcatraz.
Two published novels and 12 book deals later, the 31-year-old author can afford to devote daylight hours to his work — although his wife, Emily, tells stories of late-night writing binges.
Sanderson recently received a six-figure advance from Scholastic, the "Harry Potter"-series publisher, for a children's fantasy series about a boy named Alcatraz who does battle with a cult of evil librarians.
These recent writing successes, though, resulted from years of hard work — a fact Sanderson likes to point out to students in his class, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, at Brigham Young University.
"A lot of people say my 'debut' novel doesn't feel like a first novel," Sanderson said. "Well, that's because it's not. It's my sixth novel."
The day Sanderson received an offer for "Elantris" from an editor at Tor Books, a publisher of science fiction and fantasy, made all the late hours worth it, he said.
"I just about fainted when I got this news," Sanderson said. "Finally somebody bought one."
"Elantris," which hit bookshelves in May 2005, was one of 13 "practice" novels he wrote while attending undergraduate and graduate school at BYU.
"A lot of people give up after writing a book and not selling it," Sanderson said. "My opinion is, just keep at it."
And keep at it he has. Sanderson currently has 80,000 copies of his books in print. The first of a trilogy called "Mistborn" appeared in bookstores in July 2006, and the second is slated for publication on Aug. 21.
The first of the Alcatraz series, "Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians," will come out Oct. 1 and other books are planned for May 2008 and early 2009.
Unique plots characterize much of Sanderson's writing, said his literary agent, Joshua Bilmes.
"It was clear looking at his work that Brandon had more ideas in one book than a lot of fantasy writers have in their entire career," said Bilmes, of JABberwocky Literary Agency. "This was just stunning to me because it was so beyond what other writers I was reading were capable of doing."
Both of Sanderson's published novels include maps to help readers orient themselves in the kingdoms he has created, and "Mistborn" even has its own alphabet, designed by Isaac Stewart, who also drew each of the maps.
Stewart, a close friend of Sanderson's and a prolific fantasy reader, said he likes Sanderson's fresh take on the genre.
"My favorite thing about them is that they haven't been done before," he said. "Brandon's books aren't the derivative Tolkien."
The complex magical systems and mysterious characters of "Elantris" and "Mistborn" seem worlds away from Sanderson's neat townhome in south Provo, his casual jeans or innocuous hairstyle.
But fantasy appears to take up a large chunk of Sanderson's mind, and random thoughts often lead to the next project, he said. The entire "Alcatraz" series, for example, resulted from a line that just popped into his mind one day.
"And that line was: 'So there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias about to be sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil librarians,"' Sanderson said.
After a mere 16 days of writing, that line turned into a 50,000-word novel — that's about 300 pages.
The series, Sanderson's first attempt at children's fiction, tells the story of a boy who discovers he's part of a secret group of freedom fighters who battle librarians, an evil cult that controls the world by restricting information. Each of the freedom fighters has an unusual but surprisingly powerful magical skill, such as the ability to arrive late to appointments.
By focusing on less-obvious talents, Sanderson said he hopes young readers will realize their hidden abilities.
"I think everybody has talents that don't immediately come out ... and sometimes those can be more important," he said. "One of my talents was daydreaming, and I've turned that into a career."
Unique plots characterize much of Sanderson's writing, said his literary agent, Joshua Bilmes.
"It was clear looking at his work that Brandon had more ideas in one book than a lot of fantasy writers have in their entire career," said Bilmes, of JABberwocky Literary Agency. "This was just stunning to me because it was so beyond what other writers I was reading were capable of doing."
Both of Sanderson's published novels include maps to help readers orient themselves in the kingdoms he has created, and "Mistborn" even has its own alphabet, designed by Isaac Stewart, who also drew each of the maps.
Stewart, a close friend of Sanderson's and a prolific fantasy reader, said he likes Sanderson's fresh take on the genre.
"My favorite thing about them is that they haven't been done before," he said. "Brandon's books aren't the derivative Tolkien."
The complex magical systems and mysterious characters of "Elantris" and "Mistborn" seem worlds away from Sanderson's neat townhome in south Provo, his casual jeans or innocuous hairstyle.
But fantasy appears to take up a large chunk of Sanderson's mind, and random thoughts often lead to the next project, he said. The entire "Alcatraz" series, for example, resulted from a line that just popped into his mind one day.
"And that line was: 'So there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias about to be sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil librarians,"' Sanderson said.
After a mere 16 days of writing, that line turned into a 50,000-word novel — that's about 300 pages.
Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News
"Allomantic Table of Elements" is one of many illustrations by Isaac Stewart in Sanderson's books.
By focusing on less-obvious talents, Sanderson said he hopes young readers will realize their hidden abilities.
"I think everybody has talents that don't immediately come out ... and sometimes those can be more important," he said. "One of my talents was daydreaming, and I've turned that into a career."
Monday, March 5, 2007
Taught Primary Class
So on Friday I was asked if I could teach a CTR 8 class. The teachers are having health problems. So I prepared for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday morning. When Aaron and I finally figured out where to go to teach, I found out that we onlyhad one student. I had No idea when class was suppose to end, so I had no way to gage how much time I had to waste, or whether I needed to hurry. So the lesson ended 30 minutes before the end!
I guess when you have one student, who is very quiet, you don't get much discusson. The last time we taught, we had the 4-year-olds and there were like 10 of them. Right at the beginning of class, they all wanted to go to the bathroom and get drinks. I think we spent half of class just doing that, especially since only one of us could go with a couple of the kids while the other stayed with the rest of the class. So we only got through half the lesson that day. I think we also had less time (like 40 minutes, rather than 55), and so when i prepared the lesson, I wasn't worried about not having enough to do.
So after we finished the lesson, we talked about the Friend magazine, which I had brought and went through a couple things in there, a story and an activity. Then Javiera, the one student, suggested playing a game of hangman. Then finally it was time to go into sharing Time and Singing Time. What a relief! I'm just glad this happened with an 8-year-old, and not 4-year-olds.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Cool Dream
Last night I had an AWESOME dream! I've always thought that telekinesis would be the coolest thing ever to be able to do. Well, in my dream last night, I could do that. I can't remember the circumstances exactly. It was like I was at a school, possibly for people with "powers," and I think I realized there that I could move things with my mind. So I started moving everything with my mind, so I could practice and get better at it. When I first started, I could move stuff, but it was hard to control where the item went. But over time I was getting better. I remember at the end that I took a glass with juice and was moving the liquid from one glass to another glass. I was having a hard time keeping the stream steady. Rather, I would get a little going and then the stream would end and I would have to start over. There was a guy there who was a teacher or mentor or something. He wasn't surprised by what I could do and was giving me advice on how to do better (if I had to guess, I would say he looked a bit like Ian McKellen). But it was a great dream. I would love to be able to move things with my mind. That would be so cool!
Dentist Appointment
So yesterday I went to the dentist. It was the first time in 2.5 years! I would have gone sooner, but when you have no insurance, $120 is quite a bit for a teeth cleaning (I know, I should have done it anyway). I'd gone when I was at BYU because you get discounts from certain dentists so it's only $53, rather than $120. But now that my insurance provides cleanings every 6 months at no cost, I really had no excuse.
Of course finding a dentist isn't the funnest because you never know if you'll be stuck with one who says you need work done that you don't need, or who isn't very nice. So I searched online for reviews and found a few—one in particular that sounded nice and the review said he doesn't do unnecessary work.
So I made an appointment a few weeks ago for Aaron and I. I was pretty worried about Aaron because he hasn't been to the dentist since before we were married (so over 5 years).
So we went in. Immediately I liked the dentist. He was really nice and made small talk with me (which was hard to respond once he started looking in my mouth). I was really surprised when I found out he was the one that was going to clean my teeth. He had an assistant who I had assumed was a dental hygienist who would do it. I've never had a dentist clean my teeth before. I figured they were just there to check for cavities and to do the hard stuff: fillings, etc. He mentioned that they have a hygienist come on Mondays and Wednesdays only. Hmm, funny.
After the cleaning was done, he showed me the x-rays they had taken at the beginning. When he said he wanted to go over the x-rays with me, I thought it was because something was wrong. But instead he just showed me what the x-rays showed, and how they look for cavities. He said that I was lucky and had strong teeth (not the first time I've heard that) and so didn't have any cavities. Then he gave me a toothbrush and floss and Aaron went in for his cleaning.
Aaron got a clean bill of teeth too, which was awesome. The dentist also fixed a small problem with Aaron's permanent retainer, which had been bothering Aaron for some time now. I thought that was really nice since he didn't charge for it.
So overall it was a great visit. Yay!
Of course finding a dentist isn't the funnest because you never know if you'll be stuck with one who says you need work done that you don't need, or who isn't very nice. So I searched online for reviews and found a few—one in particular that sounded nice and the review said he doesn't do unnecessary work.
So I made an appointment a few weeks ago for Aaron and I. I was pretty worried about Aaron because he hasn't been to the dentist since before we were married (so over 5 years).
So we went in. Immediately I liked the dentist. He was really nice and made small talk with me (which was hard to respond once he started looking in my mouth). I was really surprised when I found out he was the one that was going to clean my teeth. He had an assistant who I had assumed was a dental hygienist who would do it. I've never had a dentist clean my teeth before. I figured they were just there to check for cavities and to do the hard stuff: fillings, etc. He mentioned that they have a hygienist come on Mondays and Wednesdays only. Hmm, funny.
After the cleaning was done, he showed me the x-rays they had taken at the beginning. When he said he wanted to go over the x-rays with me, I thought it was because something was wrong. But instead he just showed me what the x-rays showed, and how they look for cavities. He said that I was lucky and had strong teeth (not the first time I've heard that) and so didn't have any cavities. Then he gave me a toothbrush and floss and Aaron went in for his cleaning.
Aaron got a clean bill of teeth too, which was awesome. The dentist also fixed a small problem with Aaron's permanent retainer, which had been bothering Aaron for some time now. I thought that was really nice since he didn't charge for it.
So overall it was a great visit. Yay!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Happy President's Day
Well, Happy President's Day, everyone. I especially enjoyed the day off from work. This last week I was sick with a cold. I usually get over illnesses quickly, but this one lingered and though I started feeling sick Wednesday, I still haven't quite gotten over it. What's weird is I had a sore throat last Wednesday that was gone by Friday, yet I still have had a runny nose, aches, and fatigue. Whatever.
I still went to work on Thursday and Friday, but left on Friday at 2 because I was so tired I couldn't concentrate.
Friday night I went to take some nitetime cold medicine and found out we don't have any (or at least none that I could find). I thought for sure we did. So at 10:30 p.m. I was headed to the store to buy some. I wanted to ask Aaron to go, but he had gone earlier in the day to get other things and had asked me if there was anything I needed to help me feel better (trying to be the loving husband he is), so I didn't feel I could ask him to go again. So that was fun. I was frustrated when I got there, though, because all cold medicines no longer have Sudafed in them. They've changed their formulas because medicine with Sudafed has to be sold behind the Pharmacy counter. Not that it would have helped if they did have Sudafed since the Pharmacy isn't open at 10:30 p.m., but it'd still be nice if some kept their formula the same. Sudafed just works the best for me. But I figured as long as the medicine helped me sleep, I'd be happy.
I grabbed some orange juice for Aaron (which he had forgotten to get when he went earlier) and then went to check out. Aaron called my cell to ask if I could get him orange juice, if it wasn't too much trouble (he knew I wasn't feeling well). I informed him that I had already put it in my cart. He was like, "Oh, you're the best honey ever." (My hubby can be so cute.)
So that was my weekend—being sick. It wasn't enough to keep me from getting stuff accomplished—I still went fixed the tail light in the car, sent out a package, and went to church on Sunday—but I really just wanted to lay in bed. I even slept 12 hours each night.
Yesterday for my day off, I cleaned. I know, not very relaxing, but after not doing any house work for 5 days, I was way behind and at the end of the day, I felt very good to get that stuff done. I washed, dried, and folded 5 loads of laundry; cleaned the bathroom; mopped the kitchen floor; gathered up items to take to Deseret Industries and put them in the car; and generally picked up around the apartment. By 5 p.m. I felt very good about just relaxing.
I still went to work on Thursday and Friday, but left on Friday at 2 because I was so tired I couldn't concentrate.
Friday night I went to take some nitetime cold medicine and found out we don't have any (or at least none that I could find). I thought for sure we did. So at 10:30 p.m. I was headed to the store to buy some. I wanted to ask Aaron to go, but he had gone earlier in the day to get other things and had asked me if there was anything I needed to help me feel better (trying to be the loving husband he is), so I didn't feel I could ask him to go again. So that was fun. I was frustrated when I got there, though, because all cold medicines no longer have Sudafed in them. They've changed their formulas because medicine with Sudafed has to be sold behind the Pharmacy counter. Not that it would have helped if they did have Sudafed since the Pharmacy isn't open at 10:30 p.m., but it'd still be nice if some kept their formula the same. Sudafed just works the best for me. But I figured as long as the medicine helped me sleep, I'd be happy.
I grabbed some orange juice for Aaron (which he had forgotten to get when he went earlier) and then went to check out. Aaron called my cell to ask if I could get him orange juice, if it wasn't too much trouble (he knew I wasn't feeling well). I informed him that I had already put it in my cart. He was like, "Oh, you're the best honey ever." (My hubby can be so cute.)
So that was my weekend—being sick. It wasn't enough to keep me from getting stuff accomplished—I still went fixed the tail light in the car, sent out a package, and went to church on Sunday—but I really just wanted to lay in bed. I even slept 12 hours each night.
Yesterday for my day off, I cleaned. I know, not very relaxing, but after not doing any house work for 5 days, I was way behind and at the end of the day, I felt very good to get that stuff done. I washed, dried, and folded 5 loads of laundry; cleaned the bathroom; mopped the kitchen floor; gathered up items to take to Deseret Industries and put them in the car; and generally picked up around the apartment. By 5 p.m. I felt very good about just relaxing.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I'm so thankful for the people who I love and who love me. I hear complaints about Valentine's Day. It's too commercial. Why do we need a day to celebrate love--we should do that every day.
This is my answer to you: It's your choice whether you make it commercial. You don't have to celebrate love by buying cards, stuffed animals, or chocolates. For my husband, I gave him a love letter and then made him dinner. And although we don't need a special day to celebrate love, I don't think it hurts. Just like we don't need a special day to celebrate Christ's birth, we can do that all year, but it's good to have a day as a reminder anyway.
So this year I wanted to do a good job at showing my love for Aaron. I feel surprises are fun, so I figured that I would act like I wasn't going to do much (just a love note), but while he was in class, I cleaned up the downstairs and made dinner with cupcakes for dessert. The plan was to clean the whole apartment, which would be part of his gift, but I didn't have enough time. So I cleaned up downstairs, made a pasta pizza with garlic bread and salad. I took fabric rose petals and made a path from the door to the kitchen. I picked Aaron up after he took a test, and made him close his eyes before coming inside. Then I lit some candles, turned off the lights, and had him open his eyes. He was very grateful for the dinner, especially since he didn't expect anything. After dinner we had fun icing the cupcakes and putting Valentine's sprinkles on them. Overall it was a good night.
For me, he got me roses. They are very beautiful (one day I want a rose garden).
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