My card!

I got my replacement library card today. Yay! I was a little hard on the husband for losing the last one, but I hate feeling irresponsible. That kind of thing makes me feel like a bad kid. You remember how it felt knowing that you were doomed when you got home? Maybe it was for a grade on your report card, a torn piece of clothing, or something important you'd lost. Whatever the cause, that sour ball in the stomach wasn't pleasant.

Creative Writing?

The section in italics is what I had to start off with for this creative writing contest. More about this at the end.

Jessica woke up screaming three minutes before her alarm clock was set to go off. She rolled over and slammed her fist down on the clock to turn it off while kicking the blankets off of herself. She leaped out of her bed as if it were on fire and thought to herself, shower, I need to get into the shower.

After she got out of the shower, she raced downstairs to grab a quick breakfast before brushing her teeth. Today was going to be a big day. Today she would finally learn the identity of her biological parents.

She grabbed her keys and a bottle of Pepto before heading out to the car. Sometime in the night her stomach had tied itself in a million knots. She fought the urge to go back inside, crawl into bed, and forget everything. The cellphone rang before she had a chance to turn the key in the ignition.

“Just checking in,” her mother said, voice quivering. “Are you alright?”

Jessica sighed and rubbed at the headache starting in her right temple. “Yes, Ma. I'm perfectly fine.”

“It's okay if you're not, you know.”

“I can't do this right now, Ma. I really can't.” Jessica ended the call and pulled out of the driveway. She'd feel bad about it later, but it had to be done.

They'd chosen a hotel for the meeting place, the parents that she'd never known. It seemed too cold and unwelcoming to be used as a stage for unleashing years of emotion. Perhaps there would be a bar. The thought made her feel better, giving her the boost she needed to leave the safety of the car.

“Wexsley,” she said to the desk clerk.

After a brief glance at his computer, he took a key from the rack on the wall. “Second floor. Room 46.”

When Jessica failed to take the key, he slid it across the counter to her. “Is everything alright, ma'am?”

“Did you see them?” she blurted. “When they checked in, were you here?”

“Uh.” She'd caught him off guard. “I think so. Older man and a middle aged lady?”

“What do you mean...older man?”

He shrugged. “Her dad maybe?”

Jessica felt dizzy. She stumbled to a nearby armchair and dropped into it. I have to calm down, she told herself. So her dad was older than she'd expected, so what? And yet, there was something about it that just gave her the creeps. She'd always imagined her parents as teenagers that couldn't take care of her. They didn't want to give her away; they had no choice. They were just children themselves.

“Did I say something wrong?” The clerk had come around the counter and now stood beside her. “I mean, maybe he's not her dad. Maybe he has that early gray syndrome like Steve Martin. Maybe he's spent too much time in the sun or really likes tanning beds. Who am I to judge?”

She shook her head. “It's okay. I'm a little on edge today.” She rolled her head in a circular motion, trying to ease the tension in her neck. “I can do this. I really can.”

“Okay, well, I'll be at the desk if you need anything,” he told her, performing an awkward sort of bow.

Jessica laughed and got to her feet. “Thanks, I guess.”

She opted out of the elevator, deciding the climb would do her some good. Or taking the stairs allowed her to prolong the inevitable. Meeting them felt less and less opportune the closer it came. Why in the world were they in a hotel? Why not a restaurant or a park or even a mall? She'd been so gung-ho about the whole thing; she probably would have agreed to jump out of side by side airplanes.

The door to number 46 looked identical to every other door. She'd half expected to see streamers over the door frame and a handwritten sign announcing their presence within. It was turning out to be so anticlimactic. If she turned around now, walked out of the building, and drove back home, there could be no disappointment. Her hopes would remain intact.

“What am I saying?” she asked to the empty hallway. “Don't be a chicken shit, Jessica. Do this thing.”

She shook off her misgivings and knocked.

I had no idea where I was headed when I started writing this, but it wove around to a strange ending that included Jessica's family doctor and a dirty secret which was the reason for her being adopted. This occasionally happens to me, the out of nowhere, how did this come out of my brain, freak sort of writing. As you can see above, I removed it and backtracked to a safer place. *nervous laugh* It's not left with much, but yeah, there it is anyway. Perhaps next time I will write something fun and happy. Go Go Writing Therapy.

Sleepy Time Reading

I'm a little miffed right now because my husband lost my library card, a card I have managed to keep track of for six years. He had it for one day and poof, gone from existence. I probably wouldn't be so annoyed about it, but Delirium is waiting to be picked up, and I'm unable to go up there myself to get a new card right now.


I haven't been able to read much in the last couple of days, anyway, so I suppose the book can sit at the library for another day or two. The medicine I was given after my gallbladder surgery doesn't agree with reading. I have to keep shaking my head and looking away from the book now and then to avoid falling asleep. I'm feeling much better today, though, which means goodbye to the pain pills.


I've been planning ahead for the June and July month challenges. It's amazing how few book titles begin with the letter J, and of course, there's yet another Y to contend with. Between my Nook wishlist, my library wishlist (physical and eBook), and the books I have yet to read at home, I couldn't find a single J. I resorted to checking my recommendations on Goodreads and got lucky there.


I've found a lot of interesting reading challenges. I'm more into short terms goals, so I'll be changing most of them to fit a monthly basis.


I started writing a story for a We ♥ YA Books! creative writing contest yesterday. It ended up going to a weird place, and now I'm wondering how in the world I got there. It's crazy when your own writing creeps you out. I'll post the finished product here, and you can decide for yourself if I'm cuckoo bugoockoo.

Reading Challenges

I normally give myself a reading challenge each year based on the number of books I want to read. Last year I started something new by promising to read all of Beverly Cleary's work. She nurtured my love of reading when I graduated from picture books to chapter books as a child. I decided to revisit that special time and make sure I hadn't missed anything. I continued to read other books as well, which caused me to take longer than I had expected. Now a year and a few months later, I am left with six still to read.

In the process of creating a list of Beverly's books, I learned that she wrote a few based on the show Leave It to Beaver. I got so excited about this because I'd never seen them before. Alas, I haven't been able to find these books through the library, and they're out of my price range elsewhere. I will have to go without reading these for the time being.

Leave It to Beaver

Beaver and Wally

Here's Beaver!

While it seems I have failed at my first non-numerical challenge, it hasn't stopped me from considering more of them. That's where this blog comes into play. I don't know about you, but I find that I'm much more diligent when I'm forced to keep track of my progress. Not only that, but it cuts down on the numerous list bearing pieces of paper that I leave around the house. It doesn't hurt that I love to write, either.

I've set myself to reading 100 books this year, but having already read 47, I'm thinking that's not much of a challenge on its own. I want to start another author challenge, but I need to finish Beverly's first. I tend to read 4-5 books at a time, so having multiple requirements should be no problem. And no, I don't get confused between the different story lines. People always ask me that. Think about books as if they are television shows that you watch each week. You wouldn't mix up Spongebob and Glee, would you? So, now to the challenges.

For the year: 100 Books, Beverly Cleary, Jeanne DuPrau

Jeanne DuPrau is the author of the Ember series, which I love, and I'm very interested to see how I like her other writing.

For the month of May: Book titles that begin with each letter in May (the word the omitted for its commonness), Delirium for We ♥ YA Books!, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (my first steampunk book), The Story of My Life (Helen Keller's autobiography).

M - The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

A - Any Red-Blooded Girl by Maggie Bloom

Y - You by Charles Benoit (It's not easy to find books that start with Y.)

I'm really looking forward to getting started. I'm currently reading The Diamond of Darkhold - the 4th in the Ember series, The Hunger Games - not quite living up to the hype yet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - audio book, the reader played Dr. Terminus in Pete's Dragon and he does a fantastic job with different voices, Dear Mr. Henshaw for my Beverly Cleary challenge, and Rinkitink in Oz with my youngest daughter at bedtime - the disgruntled talking goat is quite entertaining.

If you're not already a member of Goodreads and you love to read, you should take a look at the website. Book reviews, reading & discussion groups, lists out the wazoo, book giveaways (I just won one today), and lots of other fun stuff. Feel free to add me as a friend while you're over there.