A Flyover Blog

Homeschool Conference

This picture sums up how I felt after returning from the Home Educators' Conference last weekend.  (Hey, if you want pretty pictures, go visit Barb's blog -  A CHELSEA MORNING  lol) I did no heavy lifting; that's still a no no for me. But the days were very long and so was the drive.

Germantown/Collierville (TN) is where the conference took place.  It's absolutely gorgeous! The people were friendly, the hotel was comfy and we couldn't have been treated better at the conference.  Sleep was the only thing in short supply.  Our hotel was right across the street from a very busy railroad track.  It's been years since I slept within earshot of a train and I forgot how loud they are.  Our first night there, 7 trains went by. I counted.

The second night we got to bed around midnight.  At 1:45am my cell phone rang.  Wrong number.  At 3:30am the room phone rang. Mistake. At 5:10am I heard a dog barking at our door.  Still asleep, I said, "Mitch, let the dog in." "That's not our dog," he replied. He was right. Someone a few doors down let their dog out to pee in the courtyard. It stood outside our door and barked for 10 minutes before the owner finally figured out it had returned to the wrong room. I had a 6am wakeup call, so I just went ahead and got up.

Mitch held 2 workshops for his book, Your Path To A Job. The second was standing room only! We sold a bunch of books and met some wonderful vendors, conference directors, and home schoolers.  We know this book fills a need for homeschooled teens; now we just need to get the word out. We will absolutely attend other Homeschool conferences in the future.

Note to self:  Never wear heels to a conference or convention of any kind. Doh! 

Will Catch Up When We Get Back

If you're looking for my Thursday Thirteen post, sorry - no TT this week.

It's been a hugely busy week around here!  Tomorrow morning, Mitch and I are heading to Memphis, TN for a Home Educators' Conference. Way exciting. Mitch has been invited to hold 2 workshops on his book, Your Path To A Job. As for me? I'll be manning the book table!

So, before I could even pack, I had to get 6 days worth of work done in 3. I finished up just after noon today. It hasn't left much time for other things I enjoy - like blogging, answering emails, visiting my bloggy friends - you know, the important stuff!

Say a prayer; this conference will be my first big outing since surgery. The days will be long and I still get fatigued easily. I'd hate to have to crawl under the book table for a nap!  I'll tell you all about the trip when we get back.

And no, we're not going to Graceland while we're there.

Exciting News

Finding Your Path news flash: 

Mitch will be appearing at the Memphis-area Home Education Association Conference June 8th and 9th.  He'll be teaching 2 workshops on topics covered in his book, Your Path To A Job, and will be available to answer questions and offer advice.  I'll be accompanying him (I should be feeling perky enough by then to "man the booth")  This is a very good conference, with a large attendance expected, so if you're going to be there, let me know. I'll look for you; I'd love to meet some of my bloggy friends in person!

What A Great Review

My bloggy friend, Barbara H. of Stray Thoughts fame, posted a great review of my hubby, Mitch's book, Your Path To A Job. In January, Mitch sent copies out to Thursday Thirteen participants who agreed to read it and send him their feedback. Barbara went way above and beyond feedback; she included the book in her Spring Reading Challenge list!  Thank you, Barbara for your time, insight and thoughtful comments.  I can't tell you how much Mitch and I appreciate it!  He's posted the entire review on his blog. Click here to read it: Finding Your Path™

Weekly Wrap-up

Whew!  What a week! 

I'm either getting better at making transitions, or I'm too stressed out for them to register as anything more than a blip on my anxiety scale.  Whatever... it feels like we've accomplished a LOT in the past few days.

I'm thrilled to report that Mitch's mom is really doing well. She loves her new apartment, she's making lots of new friends and she has something going on every day. (Hats off to Mitch's sis, Vickie, who did a fabulous job choosing a new home for her on very short notice.)  This week Mitch helped her transfer her SS payment to her new bank, I pulled all their tax information together and sent if off to their tax man - (can you say "paperwork nightmare?") She went to a basketball game, bought groceries, got her hair done and had a pedicure.

This week also saw the end of nephew, Nick's, high school basketball days. Nick's team lost a semi-final game (by 1 lousy point) in the final tournament of the year.  Congratulations, Nixa Eagles!  Mitch and I have truly enjoyed watching every single game.

It's been a long time since I've had any book news to report. Mitch and I met with our book designer this past Tuesday about my novel. I'm very excited about this book; we're going to start working on the layout this week. I'm adding some altered book elements to it, so it should be fun!

On the bloggy news front, earlier this week it looked as though the wildly popular Thursday Thirteen was going the way of the dodo. I dropped by the hub earlier this evening and was thrilled to find that Leanne has sold the rights to the meme.  It should be up and running shortly!

On a more personal bloggy note, many of you know Karen Woodward over at Wired Wisdom. Karen and her family are missionaries, and have been in Romania for several years.  They are leaving Romania and making a big transition.  If you think about Karen, drop by her blog, leave her a note, say a prayer. She'll appreciate it!

That's the news, campers! We had a good week here. That's big. So, what's on tomorrow's agenda?  Rest.

Only 3 Left...

Mitch has been giving away free copies of his new book, Your Path To A Job, this week on his blog.  He only has 3 left... SO, if you would like a copy and live in the US, click on over to Finding Your Path™ and leave your name on his Thursday Thirteen list.  He'll contact you for mailing instructions.  Have a blessed and restful Sunday!

DK

Free Books

Mitch is giving away 13 copies of his new book, Your Path To A Job, beginning tonight, so if you'd like a copy, make sure to check out his Thursday Thirteen list here  Finding Your Path™  after 7pm Central.

Christmas and A New Book Too!

   It's been a fast and furious weekend, and mentally I am as sharp as a shovel full of mud as I sit here writing this. 

My Christmas shopping is done for another year!  Mitch and I finished up Saturday at Pets Mart where we chose a few squeaky toys for Buddy and Sam.  Gotta have doggy presents under the tree, and they know which ones are theirs, too!  Christmas cards are addressed and in the mail. I included the URL for this blog in cards going to my computer-using family and friends, so they can keep up with us all year long. 

We made a major grocery run for Christmas dinner stuff.  Yes, I am going to cook... a little.  Nothing too complicated, so I don't anticipate any catastrophes - unless, of course, I start multi-tasking again!  Stay tuned for updates...

Yesterday, we attended the first of two Christmas services at our church. The sanctuary was beautiful - I've mentioned before that we didn't build a traditional church; Fellowship is a homey log lodge nestled in the woods. The Christmas tree was lit, candles burned in the windows, crackling fire in the rock fireplace... and the air conditioner was blowing full blast.  It was 70 degrees yesterday morning.  We sang carols clad in t-shirts and shorts; I didn't see a single festive Christmas sweater in the crowd.

After church we drove to Springfield and had lunch with Mitch's sis, Vickie and her fiance Dan, who were in the middle of a 36-hour shopping marathon.  By then, I was done. No. More. Energy.  I've had a little asthma wheeze since Saturday morning and finally it caught up with me while I was eating my McAlister's Veggie Spud.  Mitch wisely cut our big plans short - he knows my limitations better than I do.  We made a pass through my favorite neighborhood (where one day we will live when we leave Tiny Tourist Town), then came home. 

Okay, I saved the big news for last.  We picked up Mitch's book from the printer Friday; Your Path To A Job is now available!  Yes, Christmas prep alone wasn't enough for Mitch and DK. We had to throw a new book in there, too! 

We worked on the layout and editing for months and I'm thrilled as I can be with the results.  What we have is an immensely helpful little book that is Christ-centered, user-friendly and stays on point.  It isn't filled with a bunch of filler nobody wants to read, just clear-cut direction for people looking for work.  I believe it will help many, many people find work they need and enjoy doing.  More importantly, it will help them realize that God truly is interested in every facet of their life.  I'll have much more to say about the book in the coming days...

That's my weekend wrap-up.  It's Monday again... the last one before Christmas.  Here's my advice for the week:

• Don't be a victim of holiday stress.  Keep your expectations in check.
• Drop a couple of things from your To Do list. 
• Ignore the flashy commercials and the annoying mall hucksters; the gifts you chose are great!
• Remember, relatives are sometimes snarky, clueless, or self-absorbed - it's no reflection on you. Your family is where you came from, not who you are.  (Apologies to you blessed souls who have terrific families!) 
• And your house looks fine; no need to clean the tile grout before everyone arrives. 
• Remember what the holiday is really about.

Now get out there and have some fun! 

String of Mondays

Do you ever have a string of days that all feel like Monday?  You know, stress-filled, feeling like you're running behind, trying like crazy to whip everything into shape days?  I've been there a lot lately.  Trying to shove too much stuff into each day, feeling a bit tired, mostly mental fatigue.  Lots of appointments, lots of writing, then there's all the regular stuff we all do to keep our homes humming along in an orderly fashion.

I was watching Leno last night. (He has a new blog about his cars, have you been there yet? I haven't.) And I was trying to figure out where the fatigue and anxiety is coming from.  Honestly, I've been feeling like Tweek from South Park. I looked back at my schedule and discovered I haven't take a day off - I'm talking a whole day - since I had that kidney infection a few weeks ago and was drugged! Duh!

Part of my problem is my hobbies have turned into my work, so balance goes right out the window.  I will try to do better; please help keep me accountable.  I need to practice my guitar more, ride my bike - (I did do 5 miles Sunday!) - and do some things that require me to walk away from my computer.

The new movie script is progressing nicely, Mitch's book goes to print today, and I'm really excited about working with Craig, our book designer, on the new fiction series I've been telling you about. It's going to be awesome!  I just need to chill out and enjoy the process.  It's all about the journey, right?  Not the destination...

This afternoon we have a meeting with the book printer, and then we're going to watch nephew Nick run in the big conference cross country meet.  I'll be back with pics to post this evening.  Until then, hang in there and try to have some fun today! I will do the same... I promise.

It's October?

It was 92 degrees here today, but my calendar says it's October, so I addressed two Christmas cards and hung an autumn wreath on the front door while a ruby-throated hummingbird buzzed around my head.  It seemed just as confused by this weather as I am... and I thought Summer '06 was over!  In other news...

I received word this evening that I am now an official Thursday Thirteener!  This meme is great fun; if you don't participate, I encourage you to start!  I'm also a new Crazy/Hip Blog Mama.  I only qualify for this group because I am a god-parent.  Unfortunately, dogs do not count as children, no matter how pampered they are!

Thanks to everybody who stopped by Mitch's new blog, Finding Your Path, to say "hi".  He's gotten many visitors this past week - every one of them gracious and friendly.  There are a lot of great people cruising around the blogosphere!

This evening I received the finished draft of Mitch's book, Your Path To A Job, for one last proof - then it's off to the printer!  Our new publishing company, Flyover Media is off to a great start!  The whole publishing process has been very exciting, and we're already planning our next 3 books! 

While we're on the topic of new books, last week I asked all you fiction readers for input on a new book series I'm working on.  I received terrific (and detailed) feedback via this blog and by e-mail.  Thanks everybody... and keep those comments coming! 

More news as it develops. Stay tuned!