ReDo

Now that I am back in Houston to take care of some business I have decided to re-write the beginning of The Missing Texas Star. Maybe it is being in the big city that brings out the devious mind in me. I’m not sure what it is, but I have been enjoying coming up with dead bodies. As I walk Meatball and Candy little glimpses of murder fills my head. Maybe it's from those little green bags that I carry to pick up the steamy hot dog turds. Who knows maybe it's something in the Houston air. I guess it makes no difference as long as the story keeps going. I have new characters entering the story and have taken it in a whole new direction. I just need to keep on task so it can be released this year.

And so it goes

Since my school work is all done and submitted I have had no excuse. I closed my bedroom door then began working on book number 3. The Missing Texas Star will probably be the end of the hill country gang series. I can't make any promises on that though. I just sit down and write the story as it comes into my mind’s eye. I never know what direction it is headed. I had not even been at the keyboard for half an hour and a new character popped up. He seems like an okay fella' so he will play an important part of the story. Maybe instead of ending the series I will just do a whole series on the lead character Cindy. She does lead an interesting life.
Now back to the story...

Let Freedom Ring

I can't believe I did it. I gave Wally World one last chance then relieved them of their position in my life. Without an income I just couldn't let the Sarge be responsible for my bills. In a week moment I told Kikki of my dilemma and within seconds Josh called and said he and Elizabeth would be out on Sunday to pick me up.
I think the hardest part was leaving that little piece of heaven at the ranch and that wonderful man that had crawled into my heart and took control.
Needless to say we were both hurt but I needed to move back to Houston so that I could actually make decent money. As much as I love Burnet there are no good paying jobs there. I have had it with retail.
I just finished my last assignments for this session at CTU so I am hitting the pavement come Monday and getting a great position with some lucky company. I have Josh and Elizabeth to encourage me and Justin, Sheena, Kikki, Booger and James are in Spring just an hour away.
It is the weirdest thing living with your grown son, his better half and two Boston Terriers. This is also my first experience of living right in the middle of a big city. I am amazed at everything that is in walking distance. The Galleria area is bustling so I am overwhelmed by the traffic. The funny thing is my old Houstonian driving skills have kicked back in. I just need to learn the streets and highways once again.
It is amazing how much you forget in two years.
The hardest part is I miss that crazy fisherman and that tender smile.

Gotta, Gotta, Gotta

Gotta, Gotta, Gotta
There seems to never be enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done. My appearances at Wal-mart have started to be longer periods. I had grown used to the short hours. When I come home there are too few hours to get things done before bed time. I guess this is the reason I made sure that I was unavailable for at least three days a week. The problem is every 5 weeks my classes change. With each new instructor I have to deal with issues of due dates. I don’t care how carefully you plan or prepare I end up freaking out because I don’t have enough time for an assignment.
I enjoy having the 4.0 GPA but there are times I just feel like throwing my hands up and quitting. We all know I won’t because of the simple fact that I am driven. I will just have to give up something somewhere to give me the extra time to get it all done.
I say stop wasting my days at Wal-mart!

Live Laugh Love

Live Laugh Love

Between researching, writing papers and my duties I have tried to squeeze in a little living laughter and love. Love is the easy part I have two fur covered babies and a retired Marine that keep me smiling. Need I not forget three skin kids and grandkids that continually let me know that they are there.
I have been working on the transfer of property for several months. Sometimes I wonder why people lie to me but figure that is their way of dealing with life. I have learned to take a lot of what they say with a grain of salt.
Laughing I try to do every day. I laugh at some of the stupid things in life, I laugh at the antics of those fur covered babies and I laugh at the jokes and funny videos I get in my email every day. Now I laugh at those that say I can’t do something.
Here is a lesson for those doubters out there. Tell me I can’t do something because of age or circumstance and I will laugh at you and do it.
I am not stubborn… my way is just better!
Look here Bucko I am living my life my way!

Time to Re-Evaluate

Sometimes we have to step back and evaluate where we have come from and where we are going. I guess it depends on how you look at the circumstances of life. Some believe that we are destined to do and be who we are. Some feel that we make our own destiny.
I guess I had felt that we do as we are destined to do. Then I read “The Secret” and began to just live. I learned you must ASK for what you want in your life. Then you must BELIEVE that it is already yours. Then you must be open to RECIEVE. By doing this I have traveled a long way and in the past two years experienced things I would not have experienced if I would have just sat there and waited for life to find me.
Some days I feel that I have fallen back into that old way of thinking. I go to Wally world and do my thing. I come home, do my school work, then go to bed. I feel like I am not living my life anymore. I am so busy trying to promote “Out of the Texas Mist” and “Dead Xs in Texas” that I haven’t even done anything on “The Missing Texas Star”. My college work and my time at Wally world have completely taken over my time.
The 2 year anniversary of my flight from everyone and everything I knew will be on Mother’s Day. I guess I need to start branching out. I will have my first degree in November. I will be leaving Wal-Mart soon and be on to much better and exciting things. I have asked… I truly believe… now I am ready to receive.
Look out world…here comes Cindy Lou!

Remembering to Remember

I guess I have spent my whole life with a pet. It has just been a part of living. There were a few times that no furry creature lived in my heart but those were few and far between. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and she asked me if I thought animals went to heaven. I was shocked that she did not know the story of the Rainbow Bridge. I thought everyone knew about the Rainbow Bridge.
I sat back down not caring that my fifteen minute break was about to turn into twenty. I told her of the promise and offered to bring a printed version to her the next day I came in. She had lost a cat that had meant a lot to her a few years ago. I thought today would be a great day to repost that story for those that do not know of the promise.
I know that when it is my time to leave this world I will be reunited with those that have given me that perfect love. That is one promise I look forward to.

The Rainbow Bridge
inspired by a Norse legend
By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.
For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.
No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.
They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.
For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.
The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

There are many versions of the Rainbow Bridge. I suggest you type it into the search bar and find one that you love. Remember to have tissue handy because if you have a heart as tender as mine you will need them.

TGIMF Thank God It's My Friday

The one thing you learn when you work in retail is there are very few times you get the weekend off. Since I am furthering my education I am limited to Thursday to Sunday. Since today is Sunday it is my Friday. I know that can seem confusing. As the associates chat in the lounge you can hear someone saying today is my Friday. That can be any day of the week. Sometimes you have your off days split then you end up with two Mondays. Confused? I guess you have to experience it to get it.
I was just so glad when 4pm hit today because now I have 3 days to work on my assignments, play with my girls, spend time with da sarge and go fishing. I also have to work on a pesky problem with a certain Tom that doesn't seem to understand that it takes necessary paperwork to complete a transaction. Needless to say those days fly by before I can bat an eye. The one thing positive I can say is there is no need for appearances at Wal-Mart for 3 days

As the wind blows

After climbing into bed last night I fell asleep fairly fast. I figure it is because I was a little worn out from the long day. We tend to be early risers. Around 11pm the winds began to blow. I lay there listening to the crash of our tin Texas flag being forced into the fence by a strong gust. John jumped up to close the vent in the sitting area as a huge clatter and what sounded like glass breaking filled the air. "What the heck was that" I questioned. He shrugs his shoulders and replies "I think it was cat's bowl” I silently hoped cat had found a safe place from the storm. There wasn't a lot of rain mostly wind and thunder. We spent the rest of the night dozing off and on as one wave after another blew through.
We both slid out of bed around 3:30 am weary from the intermittent sleep. Hoping it had passed I switched on the computer only to be startled by the rumbling outside. I was looking forward to a hot shower. Now I will have to rush through because I hate showering when the sky is rumbling. I could imagine standing there naked with conditioner in my long hair and soap on my body as a sleek bolt of lightning slices through the little tin roof and cooks me right there. I remember as a child my mother would usher us into the hall and turn off all the lights every time it thundered. To her every thunderstorm was a hurricane. The news media doesn’t help any with their over sensationalized reports of hail, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. I know they are only warning us of the possibilities of what may happen. The problem is when the storms turn out to be less than what they warn us of we slowly tune them out. I love to watch the radar at weather.com. At least I see what’s coming as it comes. Just let the wind blow.

The trail Beckonds

When I first met Sgt John I was in the adventure mode. I wanted to explore the Hill Country then the rest of the world. He invited me on a great hike then was surprised I made it. I am not really built for rock climbing. Sometimes I feel like I am not even built to walk. Spending the majority of my day on my feet has caused problems with them. I do my stretches but the pain is still there. Most of the time it is bearable but there are times where I wish for a sedative.
The other day the Sarge reminded me of a goal he wanted to complete and had asked me to accompany him on. His goal is to hike the Appalachian Trail. This is no small feat. The Appalachian Trail begins in Georgia and ends in Maine. This skinny little man wants soft cushy Cindy Lou to walk from Georgia to Maine that is about 2175 miles.
I am up for adventure but for some reason bells and whistles began ringing in the back of my mind. “Warning Cindy Lou, Warning Cindy Lou” kept repeating over and over. There would be no warm shower in the morning, no soft mattress to lie on at night, no cushy chair to sit at as we ate our meal and no electricity to charge my cell phone.
Being the adventurous one I have started planning the trek. It will take two years to get myself in shape for this journey. Da Sarge plans on leaving for this trek in April 2012. The trek that he planned on taking 4 months to complete will now take him 6 months because he will have a cushy woman slowing him down. It will take time to take pictures and actually stop to smell the roses.
Now I have another plan to work on along with everything else I am working on. At least the journey will begin just after I graduate from College.
What a way to celebrate one accomplishment… by starting another… hey I smell a book here!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day
I was just a babe in the 60’s and just missed the whole hippie movement. I am an old hippie at heart though. I remember loving to recycle when the facilities were close to home. The inhabitants of my home grew tired of me separating the paper, plastics and glass by color and number. I didn’t care what they thought I was helping the environment. I remember lamenting about those that bagged their lawn waste and placed it out for the garbage pickup. This was filling up our landfills with unnecessary clutter.
Today is earth day and I wonder if the changes we have made since the first earth day have helped. Do enough of us care about our mother earth?
I live in a rural area and there are no recycling places nearby. I feel guilty when I throw away magazines and papers because I know they could be recycled. When I am at wally world I make sure that my plastic water bottles go into the plastic recycling container. At least I recycle at work. I take my printer cartridges to Office Depot for recycling. What else can I do?
Dear Mother Earth I am Sorry for not doing more.

And the Days Do Fly

When I decided to return to school to finish my college education I also decided to limit the time I am available for Wal-Mart. I wanted to escape the bakery and management was only willing to allow me to transfer to a part-time position. They have a goal of having 3/4 percent of their work force as part-time employees. I was transferred to Customer Service and designated a part time associate. I lost my life insurance and paid vacation but gained three days a week to devote to class work.
I admit this helps because I have a 4.0 GPA. The problem is those three days do fly. There is a draw back to being part time and limiting your availability. They tend to frown on the unavailable status. Several weeks went by when I was scheduled 4 hours a week. In the end I owed Wal-Mart for my health insurance. My hours have picked up and they have me scheduled 4 days a week. I miss all the extra days I had off. Today is Wednesday and I am scheduled to appear in the morning. In a way I cringe because I have so much I want to do. Those days do fly.

Break out the paints

After the rush to get things ready for the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival I decided I would take the time out of my busy schedule and just paint a picture for myself today. I painted a green background on a small canvas but had not decided what I would paint over it.

Since this is Domino's month to be the background on my computer I found a great picture of him with a green background. I decided to set up my easel and break out the paints today and paint Domino on the canvas. The problem is once I paint one of the BT's in my life I want to keep it. That tends to be tough because I really don't have a place to display my work.
Last month I painted a cute little BT on a pink back ground that I named Kissy. I decided to send that painting to the Greater Houston Boston Terrier Rescue to auction off. They are such great people to save so many deserving Boston Terriers.

I look at the pictures of some of the rescues and my heart breaks. I cannot fathom how anyone can mistreat any animal let alone a Boston Terrier. I am trying to heal after losing Mickey, Domino and Mater in just under a year and a half. Adopting Candy was great but we all know how the female BT loves the men so Candy stole my boyfriend.

Someday I will see that little boy that needs me and I will open up these arms and let him in. Until then I just look at the sweet little faces as my eyes mist over.

Now I need to paint. That is the one therapy that helps me no matter what the problem is.

And Here We Go Again

After attending the Hill Country Book Fair this past weekend I realized that I had stopped doing my blog and I had also stopped working on my third book altogether. I do not know if it was because of working and taking college courses or the fact that Marine that seemed to take over my life had my attention. Several of the other authors advised me to blog everyday and keep my writing in the forefront. I also learned that you must network.
Today I started working on my Press kit. I find it tough to write about yourself. What part do you include and what part do you keep a mystery? I am an open person but I do have those little secrets that I like to keep to myself. The one thing that I have learned is life is an adventure. Each and everyday you learn something new not only about yourself but also about the world.
Since I have written and published "Out of the Texas Mist" and "Dead Xs in Texas" I have learned everyone makes mistakes. I guess the measure of a person is how they handle those mistakes. Some try to place the blame on others and then those that actually learn from the mistakes own up to them and make an effort to not make the mistake again. I have tried to learn from my mistakes and those that others make.
I also have learned that the more people you talk with that have chosen the same path you have you gain experience.
Several of the authors I spoke with had several self published books on their table. I rather submit my work through a publisher but have respect and admiration for those that choose to be their own publisher. They are truly gamblers. I have talked to Ben Rehder a well known author that told me to steer away from the self publishing world. His advise was for me to find a publicist. My take on the conversation was for me to learn how to be my own publicist. By doing that I have had several book signings in the past two months. Kinky Friedman suggested I become my own publisher so I could be the one that makes the money. He did advise me from the beginning that you do not make money selling books. I guess when you are an author you have to be able to be aggressive with the attention getting. The more attention you get the more books you sell. Maybe I should throw a few public temper tantrums to get my name in the paper. Once I do that then I will be known as that nutsy local author. Once people know that I exist then they will wonder what I wrote. Once they read that first crazy tale then they are hooked and have to read the second. I already know this is how it works by all those that know me and have read the two books and drive me crazy asking about the third.
Starting today I will make it a habit to write at least a page or two to that third part of the tale. I will pester bookstores and book festivals to be included and submit my work everywhere I can. Look out world here comes Cindy Lou.... and here we go again.