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.

This weekend our state college will be celebrating the graduating class of 2011.  One of my dear friends will be proudly walking across the stage and accepting her diploma.  She had originally planned on earing her degree years ago, but one semester short of graduation her father became ill and she had to leave her schooling to attend to his needs.  While she never regretted taking care of her family, she did feel a void in her life and wanted to finish pursuing her dreams.  Several years later she received that opportunity and returned to school.

During her absence the school requirements had changed and she would now have to attend for a year and a half to make up for that one semester that she lacked.  The setback did not deter her and she took the challenge on with fierce determination.  While working one full time job and a part time job, my friend went to school full time and maintained a great GPA, while playing nurse and primary care taker for both her father and grandmother.  Did I mention that she also played in both the college concert band and orchestra? Wow... I'm tired just thinking about it all. The only thing that she did not do for the past 18 months was sleep!

I wanted to take a moment and tell her how proud I am of her and all of her accomplishments.  She is proof that hard work and dedication pays off. She has not only earned her degree, but she has also earned a much needed vacation.  She is a strong woman who will go far in life and I am very honored that she is my friend.

Love Ya "E squared" !!
xoxoxox

Monday...the dreaded day of the week when you know that there are 5 long days filled with demands ahead of you before the weekend comes again.  I was awoken to a beeping sound mid dream bright and early this morning and I tried to convince myself to no avail that it was my husband's alarm instead of mine.  Disappointed, I crawled out of bed and headed for the shower.  I turned on the water and open the curtain only to find out that I wasn't alone.  Now for those of you who had your mind out of the gutter you can take it back out now. Crawling along my perfectly steamed shower was a big black hairy spider.  AAAAHHHH. Not how I wanted to start my day.

I proceeded off to work, and then continued on to class afterwards.  12 hours later I came home very tired.  Thankfully goodness my husband had taken care of dinner for my daughter so I was able to wind down a little before she dropped her cup and glass went splattering everywhere.  The kitchen floor needed to be swept anyways so I killed two birds with one stone I guess.

The day was not a total lost.  I ended up finding my diamond earring that came up missing last week (guess where it was...on the kitchen floor that I had to sweep!)  and I dropped 1 1/2 pounds!  (The key to this is to trick your body every once in a while by eating ice cream for breakfast!)  All and all it was a typical busy Monday. Right now I am about to slip back into bed in hopes of waking up tomorrow with a little bit less on my agenda.

Another night spent pouring over the details of the words that I hope to share with the world.  I want to make sure that not only am I getting my ideas out clearly for everyone to understand, but that they are poetic enough to engage the reader where they want to get to the next chapter to find out what will happen next.  This may take three, four, or even five times or more before I am completely satisifed with my work.  Occasionally, there is a sentence or even a paragraph that gets thrown in the scrap pile and replaced with something new that will take the book in a whole different direction.  It is true that success is 1% inspirtation and 99% persipration.

I am greatful to have a wonderful friend to bounce ideas off off, and for her daughter who keeps my own daughter occupied while I work.  The input that I receive in invaluable and allows me to see what the reader is thinking and feeling while reading my story.  This allows me to tailor my book more to the readers needs, and not just for my benefit of writing.

Lisa and I enjoyed yet another nutricious dinner together with our paperwork spread throughout the table.  We whined about parking spaces and the realiability of the bathroom scales, but when it came to our work we were all business.  There is no room for joking around when it comes to our books!!  I have to admit that we are both very commited to our projects and neither of us will be satisified until we are doing book signings at Barnes & Noble.  At which point I hope to see all of you standing in line waiting to get the first autographed copy from your favorite author  <3

1970's..a nostalgic time when yellow kitchens were considered modern and the youngins' typically bathed two at a time in the sink.  It was a much simplier time back then. Kids actually played outdoors and knew when the street lights came on it was their clue to venture back home.

My cousins and I would spent endless hours visitng our grandparent's house.  The grown ups would be huddled around the dining room table while we were allowed to roam free amongst their vast land.  It was never the same adventure twice.  One day the field was for berry picking that would turned into strawberry shortcakes, and the next it would be mowed into a baseball diamond for the whole clan to choose teams and spend quality time together.  And yes, there was enough of us to have an actual baseball team!

The pond served as a place to bring the canoe out into as well as a swimming hole on hot summer days.  The supply of fish was endless and could easily be caught by baiting our poles with popcorn. There was a time or two when we would catch a crab instead of a bullhead, but they all got tossed back in just the same.

Of all my memories the campfires down back serves as the fondest.  It would not be unusual to keep the flames burning until the sun rose the next morning.  We would sing rounds of dated songs, some in tune and some not, but we all sung in unison just the same.  Our bellies would be full of s'mores and kool aid that supplied us with enough energy to catch fireflies deep into the night.  Yes, it was a simple yet memoriable time.

Those days may be gone now, but they will forever be etched within my heart.  My grandparents may have passed on but each time I see a willow tree I am reminded of my youth and the times that I was able to spend at their place.