Back to Life

I took an 8 day fast from all technology.
I know what you are thinking...how did she survive?!
Well, it was not really by choice.
My husband was asked several months ago to join a team of teachers for a mission trip to Haiti. This trip was going to be a teacher conference type of trip where new curriculum was going to be brought to a school over there and the teacher's on the trip would basically train the Haitian teachers how to use it for the benefit if the children. It was to be an 8 day trip and while I was happy for him, I was also a little nervous.

Left : This is one of the local classrooms where my husband went....



Below are some of the students who showed up on their day off to help the teachers. They were promised a meal and something to take home.






                                                                                 

 Left: These were some friends at the school. My husband has two full sleeves of tattoo's that the students loved. They were showing their arms for the camera screaming "Sak Pase" which is basically "whats up!"





Below is a finished school building

 Left: These are the cafeteria ladies in the school cafeteria





Below is a giant spider that they had tons of. I was told they are almost the size of baseballs. So I pretty much would have NEVER slept.

My husband and I have been together 12 years. Out of those 12 years (included the time that we dated) we spoke every.single.day.
Seriously.
The only time we did not see each other was the various hospital stays that happen with a new little family and even in those we took advantage of the hospital phone.
For this trip, we would not be able to talk and the only form of communication we could squeeze in were about three emails (which I lived for by the way).
So here I am, suddenly husband free with two little ones and my mom mentions she is headed out to Arizona for five days of boating. The kids and I jump in her car and head out to Arizona to swim our hearts out and get sunburnt and dry.
But even in that, I missed my husband. A lot.
It is funny, because once people heard that this was our first real apart time almost everyones response was "Then this will be healthy for you"
And to that I say a resounding "bull crap."
Now, I wasn't crying and beyond eating and could not find joy in anything I did.
I had a blast, laughed with my kids and sisters and got my first tan in ages (I typically avoid the sun for fear of wrinkles and cancer)
But I felt...hollow. Like a piece of me was missing. Like I was supposed to have someone who saw life the same as me to share my experiences and that person was not there.
If that was my life would I go on? Sure. Why not. If I have learned anything from my tears over my 30 years of life is that eventually they stop coming and the empty scars fade.
But, I am fortunate to not be in the position yet and so I must say that just because we see each other everyday or talk everyday does not mean we have an unhealthy relationship.
In fact, I think it means the opposite. I think it means we fit together just so that it speaks volumes for our very healthy/best friends relationship in that we actually LIKE each other.
Weird. I know.



Me in the spot my husband proposed to me just 11 years earlier.....

On other notes...
Now that I am getting back to normal life things, last night I sent one of my other YA series to a few agents. So keep your fingers crossed. I seriously respect anyone who has sent query after query out because it is one of the hardest things to do. I mean, try explaining a 300 page book in one or two paragraphs and in a way that catches the eye of someone who is reading over 100 queries a day so that they contact you and ask for more....only a little intense.
I'll keep you updated.

Party Time!

So for anyone who knows me, I have started this little tradition of creating movie/book themed "parties". It all started with the TWILIGHT movies and then the HUNGER GAMES. Today was SNOW WHITE and the HUNTSMAN. I decorate and center the colors and food around things in the book (or for SNOW, the original story)....

For example:
Breaking Dawn Brunch ~
Honeymoon Quiche (Because you know, Bella loved her eggs)
Pregnant Toast (Strawberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast)
Fido's Scraps (A dog bowl with FIDO written on the side full of sausage)

Decorations were fake engagement rings.
This is our group gettin' ready to go to the movie...(the littlest kids (mine and my sisters) get the yummy food, but stay home with a sitter~ aka: grandma)

Hunger Games Luncheon ~
District Bread Bowls with Greasy Sae's chili
Katniss's Strawberry Salad
Peeta's Bakery Smores

I made little book marks with the Mockingjay symbol

And there was today: A Huntsman BBQ, which was a little harder because there really wasn't a book to go by, just the old story I had grown up on. But it really did not matter as much as long as there was some crazy hunstman style meat. Of course the boys ate the beef kidney (ewww) while I stayed on the side of sane and had my spinach salad and chicken/apple/gouda sausage finished off with a caramel apple pie that was displayed under a felt garland of red apples. (sorry, I would post pictures but my camera turned on in my purse and now I am charging the battery like the responsible person I am)
And these parties would not be anything if the large group of us didn't actually go to see the movie as soon as our tummies are stuffed.

Sadly, while most of the parties have around fifteen of us, today almost everyone had to cancel except for a few. At first, I was a little frustrated. And then, a little paranoid (what if something bad was going to happen and everyone pulling out last minute was a sign??) But then, the party came and went, the movie was fun since we could all enjoy it without passing messages down a long row of friends. After, one of my brothers hung out for a few hours and we totally brainstormed my books.
He was as excited as I was as we talked music for the writing time, as well as some amazingly awesome ideas for book three (have I mentioned how excited I am to get to that book?) And then, because my brother can think these things through, we worked at some of the minor details one does not often think about. Like can the Tainted bleed out? (Which after some discussion, I had to go with no) And so that leads to some thinking about what the world would look like one year later? Or two, or twenty?

So now I am waiting for the next big one (Breaking Dawn Part II) and one that should be fun (The Host) and of course the second in the Hunger Games series (yay!) to start planning my little get together's that drive the husband crazy and make my friends and family tease me. But I know the memories will last them forever and when we are all old and gray they will remember and still talk about it as we read books on the porch. And who knows...maybe someday I will be planning a party for the movie release of one of my books!!!

Hey, a girl can always hope :)