A New Book About Stillbirth

And this time, I'm in it.

Well, not exactly "in" it; I'm actually the author of one essay in a book slated to be published in November. It's called They Were Still Born: Personal Stories of Stillbirth. I was contacted by the book's editor, Janel Atlas, over a year ago to ask if I would be interested in contributing an essay to her proposed anthology, and I agreed. I'm very excited to hold a copy of the book in my hands.

It's available for pre-order now at Amazon.

Writing and Yoga

So, I expect you've noticed the yellow icon over there about yoga and writing. I'm doing a yoga and writing challenge for 21 days, just because. I've got some lower back issues that like to crop up from time to time, and yoga helps alleviate some of the trouble. Yoga is also good for my mental health, which is more important to me at the moment, quite honestly. I'm little miss stressed, generally.

As far as the writing, well, I've been working on some things, and though I'm in the editing stage right now, a challenge is a useful thing for me. I don't have as much time as I'd like to be part of the community of individuals taking the challenge, but I'm there in spirit. So no, I'm not writing 800 words a day, but I'm editing that many most days, if not more. And getting in a few sun salutations or warrior poses too.

If you're curious about the challenge, click on over to Bindu Wiles's site. What are you challenging yourself to do these days by way of self-improvement?

Please

If you're pregnant, don't send me an e-mail with the subject "Bad News." Because when I work up the courage to read it and discover there is NOTHING truly bad in the body of that message, I will spend the rest of the day trying not to weep.

School's (Almost) Out for the Summer

With less than a week of school left for my 3rd grader, I thought I'd turn to the lighter side of life and list a few summer goals for my family. (A girl's gotta have a dream.)

This summer, I hope to convince my children of the following:

1. It only takes 5 steps to move from the left of the kitchen sink, where you normally place your dirty dishes, to directly in front of the dishwasher, where you can place them directly in said receptacle, freeing your mother up from an extra 15 seconds of work 36,322 times per day.

2. Bickering with your sibling may commence at 7:59 a.m., but not a moment before.

3. While the ice cream truck may pass by our house twice each day, you're not getting a treat any more than once a month. If you're lucky.

4. Foods with high fructose corn syrup, that are overly processed, or colored any kind of unnatural shade (I'm talkin' to you, Cheetos) are not a healthy part of anyone's diet.

5. TV is a privilege, not a right.

My personal summer goals:

1. Lose 10 lbs. (This has been a goal for the last, oh, 40 years of my life.)

2. Beat the overgrowth in my yard into submission, once and for all. (This has been in progress for 5 years.)

3. Maintain (some might say find) my sanity.

4. Organize the piles of papers, books and child artwork littering my house. Perhaps even unionize those dust bunnies.

5. Win the lottery. (But since you have to play to win, and the only time I've bought a lottery ticket was actually when my grandmother-in-law purchased one for me....well, you know.)

Anyone care to share summer goals, real or imagined?