Last night I pulled out my very first book proposal ever written, way back when my working title was The Long And Winding Road.  It's ironic looking back now at how that title captures my journey this past year.  It has been a very long road, and the twist and turns along the way have taught me alot about my writing.  Some of you may have wondered where Winding Road Book came from and why I choose that name.  Now it is clear...it fully captures life's trial and tribulations.

I could never have imagined that in one short year I would learn so much.  My world is now surrounded with people who fully support my efforts and are there for me no matter where the next road leads to.  I am much stronger for this.  My book has grown along with my confidence, the only thing outgrown is my shame over the things that I cannot control. 

Today I am sending out a big thank you to everyone who has had an influence on my life.  You have shown me how to take the negative and apply the lessons learned to my life.  If we never take a step back, we truly cannot move forward. I have learned alot on my path down the long and winding road.

With record breaking heat lately, the weather seems to be the topic of everybody's conversation.  The radio was broadcasting unbearable conditions while people at work said that they couldn't tolerate extreme heat.  I just put a smile upon my face and radiated a huge smile. Personally, I couldn't wait to get out of the air conditioning to enjoy some of this extreme warmth that I have been craving for so long.  Imagaine my disappointment when it was announced that the kiddos were not allowed to out to the playground because it was too hot.  Too hot???  I certainly have never said those words!  My inner soul must have been created in the caribbeans, it is where my passion is.

My plan was to rush home from work and soak in all of the rays that I could until it was bed time.  But as usual things don't always seem to work out as I had planned.  The wind picked up shortly after I arrived home causing me to actually feel chilly despite the 95 degree reading on the thermometer.  In defeat I sat down on my bed to rest my feet around 7:30 and then feel asleep until my alarm clock went off this morning, reminding me that there are still two days left until the weekend.  Not only did I not get to enjoy the day, but my writing goals were left half completed as well.  Another disappointment!

The forecast for today is predicting warm weather again, but to be foiled by some severe thunderstorms.  I will not hold out hopes to be able to relax on the hammock tonight, but I will be happy for my flowers that they will be able to drink up the summer rain and continue their descent into full bloom.  My writing partner has plans to come over, which means that I will get most of my goals accomplished.  (She's excelllent at keeping me motivated!!)   All in all I will be happy to trade in one hot day of temperatures for a well written piece hot of the press.

With each member of our class taking turns on being critiqued for our work, I served as one of the two writers to take the stage tonight.  To say that I was nervous would be an understatment.  With my work being so controversial I was uneasy even presenting the piece that I chose.  But with a little encouragment from my writing partner, I took the most intense chapter and send my manuscript out for a panel of twelve people to review.  Then I sat with baited breath for five days for the verdict.

The rules of the class are simple.  We state what we like about a piece, what we want to know about the piece, and add suggestions for them.  Right away it was almost unanimous my work was perceived as very well written, with only a few nit picking minor gramatical mistakes.  My colleagues deemed my work as "powerful" and "highly focused".  It was said I did an excellent job of making the reader feel like they were with me in the scenes, without being done in a non pitying way.  The instructor (Bob Comenole) said that this is hard for a writer to do, yet I accomplished it...I was thrilled to say the least! I heard from a few people that they were left wanting to read the entire manuscript.  There is no better compliment than that!!! 

Now my job is to take my feedback and revise my work accordingly before having my individual session with the instructor.  This will be highly anticipating for me.  I wish I could have him comment on my entire book, but I will be limited to just the chapter that the class was privy to tonight.  As soon as I receive the audio transcript from tonight I will add to the notes that I took from class and start my revisions.  I am so excited and can't wait to see how it turns out.

With the busiest weekend of the year behind me, I find that I can finally find the time to sit down and relax for the first time in days.  The past 36 hours has been jammed back with excitement, that has also brought total exhaustion to my body.  It was energy all well spent and a good time was had by all.

Friday started out with a fieldtrip to the zoo with all my little kiddos from work.  Some have never ventured out to see the animals before and this was to be their first exposure to the animal kingdom.  They were all so excited on the bus ride up and were in awe as each species was showcased in front of them.  After a short break for a picnic lunch we headed back out to finish our journey.  By the time we returned back to the buses to head back home, the kids were contently tired.  The ride back was much more quiet and I found myself fighting to keep my own eyes opened.

Saturday was "The Big Show" as my husband calls it.  This was the day that all of my daughter's hard work (and all of my dedication in driving her to practice all those times) paid off.  She thrives being able to get up on stage in her costume dancing with everything that she has.  This year marked her 12th recital, and with each one comes more precision and talent on her part.  I was so proud of her!!!

You would think that by Sunday I would be able to kick back and relax, but for some reason I like to push myself to the brink of exhuastion.  My extended family came over and enjoyed a BBQ/Pool party in honor of my daughter.  I was a little nervous about the weather, but after a few rounds of "Mr. Sun please shine down on me", he actually did poke his head out and spread rays of sunshine down upon us.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and everyone had a great time.

Between all of these events my focus was spent on cleaning, prepping, and clean up.  I should be used to this schedule because it's like this every year the first week in June, but somehow I always manage to forget the craziness of it all sometime between July and May and am surprised once again when it all rolls around the following year.  Tomorrow I have a dinner date with my family and then on Tuesday it's off to writer's class.  Maybe on Wednesday I'll have a few moments to take a deep breath and relax.

As my daughter prepares for her final dance class of the season, I can't help but to look back on her 13 years at the studio.  She started out at the prime age of three. Dainty and little scared, she stood behind her puffy tutu and watched as the rest of her class shimmied their bodies around the stage.  Even though she didn't move that year, she was just as adorable as ever.  I signed her up for another year, and then another.  As the grew so did her love and passion for the art.

She has studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical, while finding a nice group of girls who accept her for who she is.  The other parents have watched my daughter grow before their eyes and this year her dancing as brought tears to them as well.  I received so many comments on the amazing transformation of my daughter and how far she come.  The four routines that she perfomed this year was a testimony to her strength and character.

If my daughter had her way she would be on that stage every week showing off her talents.  While some of her peers are getting stage fright, she is bursting with excitment of being under the lights.  It is her time to shine, her time to express herself, and her time to beleive in her dreams.  That's what I see when I look at her.

As I pondered on what to blog about for today I felt that my writing was the main thing consuming my life lately.
While I had promised myself that I would snuggle into bed early tonight, I find myself still sitting at my computer working on my book on several different levels.  My manuscript is currently minimized as I reference back to it often while working on a revised book proposal.  The precision here is a must with no room for errors.  My goal was to be finished with certain parts of it by last week but the motto at school is "slow slow is the way to go", and if I encourage my kids to not rush just to complete their work then I must follow the same rules. 

My writer's class is expecting a chapter of my book by Friday so that they can read and offer me feedback on every aspect of it from the grammer to the emotions.  While I am excited to hear how my book will be perceived by an audience, I am a little nervous at the same time.  I purpously picked one of my most intenese chapters to share with the class so that I can see how the content is being accepted. I'll be a nervous wreck next week but what I'll get out of it will be invaluable when I go to make my revisions.

After next week I will need to pick a different chapter for my monthly writer's group that I recently joined.  I plan on going with a softer piece for this night, yet something that will emotionally leave the reader wanting more.  Right now I'm leaning towards chapter two as this group heard chapter one last time.  But that's something I can decide on later.  Right now I need to retire for the night and recharge my typing fingers for a busy day tomorrow.  Happy June everyone!!!