Things That Make Me . . . Passionate

Today marks the first of my "Things that make me..." blog series. I'll post these lists periodically...just for fun. Let me know if you have ideas for the next one!

Things that make me passionate:

• Seeing others in action
• Undeserved Pain
• Brokenness
• Our Papa
• Blessings...and a lack thereof
• Poor grammar (especially spoken)
• Hatred
• Love
• Those unaware of Love
• Unacknowledged beauty

For those who are curious . . . here is what I am most passionate about:

• Our dear Papa
• Ending human trafficking
• Adoption (especially older children or those with special blessings)
• Love
• Finding a cure for ALS
• Ending abortion
• Grammar (sometimes)

Thank you to my beautiful Istiepants for today's list suggestion!

Fairy Tale Examinations #1

The Princess and the Pea

Now, I love these stories--really. Still, I think it's time to face it: Fairy tales are thilly. For those who don't already know, thilly means "Sillier than silly." I can't think of a better description than that for The Princess and the Pea.

Enter our prince. Let's call him Fred. Many young ladies wish they could marry Fred.

Why? Well, he's a prince. Apparently, they don't need another reason.

He doesn't want to marry these ladies, because they aren't princesses.

This seems to be his only requirement in a future spouse.

This is well-known, so many young ladies pretend to be royalty, in hopes of winning his hand.

Is everyone in the fairy tale world desperate?

He doesn't want to deal with fake princesses anymore. One final princess (let's call her Sally) didn't get that memo, so she shows up. They offer her a room, with a bed piled high with mattresses.

40 of them, by my count. Imagine it. 40 mattresses wouldn't fit in my entire room.

She says nothing about this. 

Is she used to sleeping in places where rolling over could result in serious injury or death? Perhaps princesses are only allowed in towers.

Unbeknownst to Sally, Fred's mother has placed a pea under her bed. Under all 40+ mattresses.

Was this a common experiment? Also, Fred's mother seems to have an unhealthy involvement in his choice of a spouse...

In the morning, Sally complains that she couldn't sleep at all.

Here she is, accepting a room from strangers gracious enough to offer it, and she complains.

Fred realizes that only a princess could be that sensitive, and decides to marry her.

Hold on. She's worth marrying because she's whiny and sensitive? Oh boy, Fred...you got yourself a keeper here.

Let's not even get into the fact that they've known each other...what? Not even 24 hours? Even ignoring that completely, this is ridiculous.

They are married, and live happily ever after.

I sense sarcasm in this ending. At least, it would be there if I were the author!

I'm curious; what fairy tales leave you scratching your head?

Thilly Little Blessings

My philosophy is that there are little blessings everywhere, if only we will look. I consider them things to celebrate.

I'd be lying if I said this last week was easy for me, but it was filled with blessings.

My friends have been wonderful; proving, yet again, how much they care about me. I have been given more hugs and kind words than I either expected or deserved.

Papa (my term of endearment for God) has shown kindness, by keeping cramps and (most of my) crankiness away, in spite of it being "that time." Cramps have been getting worse each month--or at least seem to be--so this is a major blessing.

Rivershore Books, my publishing and editing business, has been going well, and keeping me busy.

Finally, a huge thank you to Shabby Blogs for my new blog layout. If any of you find yourself in need of a new background or header, be sure to check them out! The pictures are all adorable, and all available out of the goodness of their hearts.

What are you celebrating today?

Can God Use Autocorrect?

Okay...I don't have an iPhone; I'm a Google girl, and have an Android. More people recognize Autocorrect than Swype, though. They're similar.

The question remains. Can our Papa use a phone's word guess? I like to think He can.

Last night we found out my grandma wasn't doing well, and this morning we learned that she went in her sleep. (We're okay. It hasn't hit us, probably...but I do feel Papa's peace.)

This has been coming for a few days, so I'd asked for prayers as my grandpa loses his love of more than sixty years.

I wanted to let some friends who had been praying know, so I sent some texts: "Thank you for praying. Got the call she's gone now."

No matter how many times I wrote it, my phone changed the word gone to home.

I love that.

We think she was a Christian, but we weren't sure. If Papa can manipulate phone texts, that means He's letting us know she was, and she's now with Him. In spite of the fact that gone and home are simply easily mistaken for the other on my keyboard...I'm clinging to that.

She's home now.

Guess Who's Back!

Hello, dear readers!

First, I am so sorry for letting this place die. Thank you, followers, for staying around!

I have decided to revive this as my unofficial (but, still sort of official) author blog. I'm always in the middle of writing something...this is the place where I'll talk about my works in progress, the struggles I'm having, successes, excerpts of happiness I come across...excited yet? I am.

Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to share about...and please share with your friends!

If you're interested in following my more professional blog (I would appreciate it!), you can find me at rivershorebooks.blogspot.com. There are book excerpts, Rivershore Books news, Grammar Days, behind-the-scenes about writing, character interviews from my books, and (the best part) guest bloggers!

My co-author here, Addie, has a new blog as well! Read her wonderfully worded insights at finnabealightbearer.blogspot.com

Thank you all so much! You are loved and appreciated by us both. I look forward to sharing my writing journey with you, and learning how you are doing with your own projects!

<3


P.S. Please note that the URL of this blog has changed: Thilly-Little-Nothings.blogspot.com

The Automatic Response (or, "Why I dislike the 'How are you' question")

Typical conversation with friends I barely know:

Me: Heya
Them: Hi
Me: How're you?
Them: Good. You?
Me: Good.
*silence*
Them: What's up?
Me: Ntm. You?
Them: Same.
*more silence*

Then it either ends, or I start either babbling on or prying more info out of them.

Typical conversation, same day, with a good friend:

Me: Heya
Them: Hey
Me: So today has been a really good day and I'm very happy...but I'm feeling a little sick, so if you could pray?
Them: Of course. I'm kind of sick too
Me: :( Reciprocal prayers, then.
Them: Thanks. I went water-skiing yesterday--so much fun!
Me: Oh, cool! I just stayed home, but it was relaxing.

The difference? With people I know well, we can bypass the 'how are you' 'I'm good'! As you can see by my lovely and informative title, I'm not a fan of that phrase. My reason is that with nearly everyone, you will only receive an automatic 'I'm good' answer. I do this myself!

Even on my best or worst days, if someone asks me how I am--even if it's someone I'm close to--I respond with 'I'm good.' Then if we're close I'll amend that with, 'Actually...' But my point is, it's not necessary in the first place. It takes up time and it serves no purpose.

If I'm close enough to someone, they're going to tell me how they REALLY are, even if I don't ask. And I'll do the same. That, in my mind, is how it should be.

(Of course I'll still ask it of acquaintances, to be polite...and in anticipation of the rare occasion that the answer is different than normal.)

So, my lovely readers, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to ask how you are. I hope you tell me anyway! :)

SOTB Fundraising

Many of you have probably heard about the Shadow of the Bear film. If not, please take a moment to visit the Shadow of the Bear Movie Blog.

*waits a moment*

Back? Great!

Now that you know about it, I'm sure you're incredibly excited for it to come out. So are we! But there's a little problem. They need some money first.

But guess what!

*waits for you to guess*

Hmm...no, that's not it...you're not terribly good at guessing, you know that? Okay fine, I'll just tell you. You can help!!

Now isn't that exciting??

Oh, you're waiting for me to tell you how. There are a couple different ways.

First, Pen in the Clouds is a student-written, illustrated and created book of poetry, short stories and drawings. The wonderfully talented people in charge are still accepting poems and stories, so check out the submission guidelines and see your name in print! Also, keep an eye on the blog and get your very own copy when volume one is published! All proceeds from volume one will go toward the Shadow of the Bear movie.

How awesome is that??

But wait, I said there was another option, didn't I? I did. I distinctly remember doing so.

That's because there is! The Shadow of the Bear Movie ArtFire account is a great place to buy many types of gifts (or things for yourself!)...all handmade and absolutely beautiful! And the best part? Any money you spend there goes to the movie!

So get out there! Have fun writing, reading, and shopping!