It is that time of year again.  Children are squealing with excitment, piped up on sugar, and are having the time of their lives.  Yes, it is time for the fair!

Tomorrow is the official start of the Oswego County Fair in Sandy Creek, but each year the day before it opens to the public, the fairgrounds becomes a special meeting place for some very special people.  With the help of some very generous oraginizations, there is a day when people with disabilities can enjoy themselves in a relaxed atmosphere without having to worry about a large crowd.  There is free food, games, prizes, rides, door prizes, karaoke and exhibits for all to enjoy at their own pace.  Last year's event served over 800 special people and their family members.

My daughter's favorite part of the day was of course the bumper cars.  For a few moments she gets to sit behind the wheel of a vechile and is allowed to go willy nilly around the track without any worries.  In fact the more people she hits the more excited she gets!  It's every child's dream.  As a parent I got a glimpse at what our future will look like when she gets her liscence and made myself a mental note to get some extra insurance.

After the rides we hit up the game booths to test our skills.  We didn't fare to well in this department but lots of fun was had just the same.  Our next stop was to the make your own sundea booth, which is always a big hit.  We waited until our brain freezes subsided before heading off to prize wheel.  The choices were immense but we finally settled on bringing home a beloved stuff animal.  Our day was now complete.

As our energy ran out we made our way to the car with a great feeling inside of us.  We are very lucky to have such an event available to families who may not otherwise get to enjoy this kind of experience.  I would like to thank all of the volunteers who donated their time to help work the event, to the Lacona Fire Department who donated the food, and to all of the businesses who donated the prizes.  We appreciate the effort and heart that each of you put into the event each year.

For a daily schedule of this year's Oswego County Fair events, please visit oswegocountyfair.com. 

With the official start of my new "job" yesterday, I knew that I had to sit down and devise a plan on what I wanted my summer to look like.  I knew without a clear schedule I was apt to get sidetracked by all of summer's ___.  After finding a quiet place to snuggle into I prioritized what needed to be done so that I could find myself an agent to represent my book.  This had to be number one on my to do list.  Without an agent, there typically is no publisher, and without a publisher, there will be no book.

The first thing I did was dust off my query letter and started revamping it.  The trick to query letters is they need to be short.  This is hard when you are used to drawing out details to keep your reader on the edge of their seats.  So I took the challenege of summarizing my 50,000 word manuscript into one short paragraph.  Not as easy as it sounds but there's one more thing you absolutely need in there if you want to catch an agent's eye.  It's called a hook.  Without a great tag line you're doomed. 

Once I conquered my synoposis I moved on to perfecting my author bio.  An agent wants to know if you are qualified to write about a particular topic and wants to see that you have already established a platform for yourself.  Given the fact that I am writing about my life, my qualifications were easy.  I have kept myself invovlved with various writing classes this past year and with the help of social networking my platform is growing.

My final goal is to research agent directories and find somebody who represents my genre.  Not all agencies are accepting new clients and some will only look at your information if your name has been passed on by other published authors.  So now my work is cut out for me.  Will I be able to find representation?  I haven't given up hope yet.  It only takes one "yes" to get my book into the shelves of Barnes & Nobles.  As I have learned from my writer's group, every rejection letter should be celebrated.  Many of author's have a large pile of "no's" sitting underneath an autographed copy of their latest book.  I strive to be one of them.

With the last of my homework near completion, I am forlorn knowing that my writing class is coming to an end.  Only one class remains before our weekly gatherings will subside.  I have become quite fond of my fellow classmates.  We are an eclectic group of people who have come together with a common goal....to write.

The different styles each of us choses to use represents our own unique voice.  Some have opted to write about their love for animals, others for their love of nature, and one even shared his viewpoint on the military.  Three of us bared our souls and told personal stories of tragedy.  As different as each piece was, the group as a whole came together to offer praise, some critiquing, and most of all accepted each others work without judgement.  There's alot to be said for that!

I have learned so much from my fellow "classmates" and our teacher Bob Comenole.  My eye is much keener now and my mind is more in tuned.  I am able to see beyond the words and can now bring the reader directly into the story.  My lessons learned will be incorporated into my own book, which hopefully each of you will be reading soon. 

The next 8 weeks will be dedicated to full time writing and revising.  I will still be meeting with my writing partner on a weekly basis and attending my writer's group monthly so that I can keep myself conntected to the literary world.  As much as I do not want summer to end, I am anxious to see how my book will have evolved come Autumn.  While I do not have a group photo of everyone in the Master Class, I have attached the picture from our first course, which includes most of our current class population and our teacher.  Farewell my friends and I wish each of you good luck in our writing endevours.

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While sitting outside this evening I was in awe of the beauty of  the clouds over head.  They were gently gliding along the baby blue sky, causing their puffy cotton to change shapes in front of my eyes.  It was one of those days where each cloud resembles an image that has been resonating in your brain and makes you feel like you could reach out and grab it.  Nature at its best!

As I watched the cycle of change up above I was reminded how our lives are also in a similar cycle.  We are always changing, rearranging, and starting over.  It is inevitable.

Today was a day of change for me.  I spent the day packing up our room at work not only for the end of the school year, but for our move to a new room downstairs.  We took this opportunity to make it our mission to start fresh with our new 'home'.  After a long search for boxes was complete, we overhauled our classroom within hours.  Cabinets were cleaned out and clutter was purged until we were left with a pile filled only with the necessitites.  A feat made easy with the help of friends!

Tomorrow I enter the room for one last goodbye before leaving for the summer.  When I return a new room awaits.  A time for new beginnings and a fresh slate. The halls will soon be filled with sounds of children...some laughing, some crying.  My room may be different, but I will be there just the same to welcome them all to the start of the new year.  Yes, change happens...but some things will always remain the same!

Last night my friend Lisa and I attended our monthly writer's group with Elaine W. Miller, author of Splashes Of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections For Drained Moms.  It was a wonderful night spent with some very warm and loving people, not to mention some very good writers.  It is well worth the long drive and the sleepy eyes this morning to have been part of their critiquing.

This month I brought with me chapters two and three to share with the group.  Even though I was done with my revisions I really wanted some feedback on the progression of the book as a whole.  I allowed Lisa to read it aloud to everyone so I could just sit and listen to the words being read (another plus, as I don't often get to hear what others are hearing).  My piece was a little lengthy so I had run out of time before the end of chapter three was read, but to my surprise everyone agreed to allow some overtime so that they could finish hearing what would happen next.  (yipee!!!)

When it came time for individual reactions I was sitting on pins and needles.  Would this experienced group of writers value what I had written?  The consensus was yes!!  They felt that it was very well written and that they could feel my emotional pain within the story.  The events flowed together and lead nicely into the next chapter.  Just those comments were enough to put me on cloud nine, but when Elaine asked to keep my work so that she could read chapter four I could barely keep my excitement inside.  That gesture alone was enough to boost my confidence through the roof.  THANK YOU ELAINE !!!!

The one suggestion that everyone had for me was to tweek the title to become more powerful.  They suggested ULTIMATE SACRIFICES: The Price of a Mother's Love.  When I heard that title I was blown away myself.  It is attention grabbing and gut wrenching at the same time.  I LOVE IT !!!!!

Next month my plan is to pause with the next chapter and bring my query letter to be put under the microscope.  Without a good hook I am likely to never bait an agent.  If you would like to find out more about Elaine, you can visit her website at the link below.

http://www.elainewmiller.blogspot.com/

As I reflect back over the past six years, my husband has been a driving force in my life.  He's always been there for me, in both the good times and the bad.  He has upheld our wedding vows faithfully, and I love him for that.  But the one thing that I admire most about him is how he cares for my daughter, unconditionally.  Even though she came along as a 'packaged deal' when we got together, he has always treated her as his own.

My daughter just adores her new father.  Not a night goes by without giving him a goodnight kiss and telling him "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."  And without fail he acts surprised every single night.  She takes interest in everything that he does, and he takes the time to educate her on each subject.  He has very proudly taught her all about Nascar and they both get excited when her driver wins.

My heart swells each time I hear my husband refer to her as "his daughter".  Biology has nothing to do with love.  He has never missed a dance recital and has taken off from work to care for her when she's ill.  He has shown her that men show respect for women and that he will always be there for her whenever she needs him.  Qualities that seem to be rare these days.

In honor of my husband Dan, I dedicate this song to you.  Brad Paisely's: He Didn't Have To Be. 
You've given my daughter the best dad that she could ever have.

I love you honey  <3
xoxoxo


Love You Dad!!
(from ishkabob)

As is last nights four hour wait at the emergency room wasn't enough, today we got to spend three hours waiting to learn our fate from the orthopedic surgeon.  Was our summer going to hindered by a heavy alabaster? By the time we were finally called in to the see the doctor my nerves had reached their peaked.  I wasn't sure if she was going to need surgery or how we were going to manage with her wearing a cast. 

The doctor pulled up the x-rays and did a double take on one of the pictures.  Never in his life had he seen somebody break their leg in such a way.  Leave it to my daughter to do everything uniquely!!  This wasn't the first time she had surprised a physician so it only seemed right that she kept the tradition up.

There was no doubt that with the bones in their current condition a cast was inevitable.  Visions of her sitting on the deck while the rest of the family was swimming caused me to do some quick thinking.  I turned on the charm and pleaded with the doctor to work with us to help preserve what little bit of fun she could have over vacation.  After a little pondering, he agreed to waver from the traditional cast and gave her a walking boot with an air cast built in.       
   ~ Halleluja ~

Relief washed over me knowing that things would be just a little bit easier now.  She can take off the cast for bathing and swimming, and when she's ready for weight bearing she'll be able hobble around on her own.  In the meantime a wheelchair is serving as her new set of wheels.  This weekend we have big plans to go shopping for supplies so that we decorate her chair and cast, which are in desperate need for some BLING !!!

Never have I been so happy to have been given the boot <3

For the second time this week I found myself driving my daughter to the emergency room.  This time it was a bit more complicated than just being sick.  The x-rays confirmed my fears...two broken bones.  What a way to start off summer vacation!

Through the exhuasting four hours that we spent awaiting the many doctors and nurses that tended to her, she never lost her spirtis.  She was full of kisses, friendly chatter, and joking along with the staff who stopped to visit her.  It's amazing how somebody who was in so much pain could be so happy regardless of what her current situation was.  She never moaned about how her vacation was going to be ruined because of all the thing that she won't be able to do, nor did she complain when they had to reposition her broken bones.  As long as she was holding my hand she was content.  I've never seen somebody be so strong in my life!

Throughtout her life I have had to sit by and watch her endure many medical procedures, each one taken in stride. Her good natured attitude never ceases to amaze me.  My daughter is full of inner strenth, beauty, and courage.  Her spirit can never be broken.

I was going through more of my poetry that I wrote way back in high school (no I will not mention which year!).  This particular piece was written as I dreamed about my future.

 Little One

Little one- while she sleeps
A newborn glow upon her cheecksHer little fingers wrapped within mine
She'll be my baby 'til the end of time

Little one- older now
Tea parties and funny gowns
Dress up is her favorite game
I hope that she will never change

Little one- how time has gone by
From daughter to wife in a blink of an eye
I look at you and can remember when
I was known as your best friend

Now my little one is holding tight
Her newborn baby born last night
She rocks him slowly as she tells her son
You'll always be my little one

~Amy Quonce

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you are unexpectedly forced to adjust accordingly.  For weeks we have been planning to attend a special picnic with friends on Saturday, but instead I spent the day playing nurse for my daughter.  With a 101 degree fever, she wasn't going anywhere but to the doctors.  After an hour spent at the emergency room (which is 2 hours less than what we usually spend there) we were issued some mediciation and ordered to go home and rest. 

Instead of water balloons and hot dogs my daughter's day consisted of Gatorade and a well needed 4 hour nap.  While her body was trying to recover from the infection, I took advantage of some quiet time to get caught up on things around the house.  When her eyes finally flickered opened we shared a bowl of ice cream and some quality mother/daughter time.  Because she wasn't feeling well I managed to sneak in a few extra hugs without her complaining.  I guess you're only too old for that kind of stuff when you're healthy.

Sunday started out on an upbeat note...literally.  The sound of my daughter singing karaoke up in her bedroom rang through the house.  As I sat and listened to her off key voice being interrupted by occassional coughing I couldn't help but smile.  Even when she's under the weather she still manages to enjoy herself. 

After a few rounds of Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, and Sorry, she finally got her appetite back which is a great sign. We made homemade pizza and she was able to keep it all down...YEAH!   I'm hopeful that her health will be on a upward trend as she starts out her summer vacation.  We have lots of plans for the upcoming weeks.  Beaches, parks and roller coasters (oh my) will occupy our days while campfires and s'more will finish up our nights.  I did not schdule any time in our itenerary for sickness, so I will need to make sure that she rests up today in order to keep healthy throughout the summer.  Summertime fever should be about having fun...not being sick!