Archive for December, 2010

Dec 26

holidays under the weather

So, Christmas day is put to rest well. I have fond memories of fun times with my family and good visits with friends and family on Facebook. It was fun watching the children play, and watching the family interact with the kids. The food, as always, was great: the turkey, honey-baked ham, spinach and artichoke dip, baked macaroni and cheese, selections of oyster and plain dressing. The fruit punch was a taste sensation, with bubbles and everything that tickled my tongue.

Engaging conversations with adults and children was another highlight. The kids are so bright, so funny, they entertain me with their innocent wit. Their joyful charm shook their entire bodies. The sister and brother, two years apart, are partners in mischief and merriment that makes my heart glad to watch. It was a pleasure to be present with everyone.

The fact that my throat was still a little achy was not a big deal. I didn’t have to talk much to engage, to participate with my family. So I didn’t, managing enough to converse and say thanks for everything, with a little extra in between.

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Dec 23

if viruses respected calendars…

…they likely wouldn’t come at all. Or maybe they do respect calendars but only their own and pre-Christmas is on their agenda.

It’s been a very long two weeks with much to do and little time to get my thoughts fully focused. Not that there wasn’t enough time, mind you. I’m just in slow motion lately. And I know why that is; it’s just not so easy to change my speed.

To close out this two week period, this morning, I’ve said a sad farewell to my voice. It’s not a meditative, introspective retreat into myself that brings me to this. That would be a lofty, laudable, endeavor—definitely not the case today. Instead it is some sort of virus that has seen fit to arrest my vocal cords, making speech above a whisper an uncomfortable effort.

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Dec 10

now available: pebbles in my shoes

Actually, Pebbles in My Shoes has been available online since it came out in 2004. For the first time, I’ve decided to sell it on my work website. So, if you click the book, it will take you the order section that is at the bottom of The Word ‘Mage book page.

This is hopefully going to be just the first endeavor to market my wares directly. I don’t have anything against middle men in certain business models. They provide the services as needed. However, being inspired by a great friend and writers I met online, it seems like this is just the next reasonable step for me.

So check it out! I’ll likely be adding more titles after the holidays. I’ll have to learn more about shopping carts in the meantime, for when I get more selections in my inventory (smiling). I have a small inventory of the current title right now and won’t be getting anymore before Christmas, thus the reason for ‘while supplies last’ statement.

it all started when i was very young

It’s all very exciting to me. Just to be able to try. When I was a child of about 8 or 9 years old, I always enjoyed playing Store with my brothers—that’s what we called it. We made money, checks, and collected things from around the house to sell. We did good business too. (And when I say made I mean we drew the money on paper cut to roughly the size of bills and checks.)

From that time to this, I’ve always enjoyed making things for the family. I had a newsletter for a short while. I made Christmas songbooks for the family. Once I made a beautiful customized calendar and coupons for my brother and sister-in-law. It was all such fun to be able to sit in front of my computer to create these things. And then seeing the happy reception they got was really a great gift to me.

practicality came crushing in

Over the years I let the creating things go in favor of more practical and time-consuming things like life and responsibilities. The computer has been a mainstay in my life and continues to be a phenomenal tool for me. The Internet provides me the access to other tools to resuscitate this dream. So, now I can breath new life into the idea of selling directly to the customer, which I think is pretty cool.

This book, Pebbles in My Shoes, is a conventionally printed, perfect bound book published through Author House. I still like the work done in it, so I’m delighted to be able to share it directly! If you should buy it, I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Please know, I would love to hear your thoughts, reflections, or questions. You can email me at ssmothers@thewordmage.com

Inspirations to move forward on this include:

Kirk Byron Jones
Matthew Quinn

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