And the Winner is.......

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  

You girls are just too great.  When I asked for some advice you had my back.  A girl needs friends she can count on.

So I rocked it out old style and wrote your names on sheets of paper and had Hubby pull one lucky winner out of the pot.  Well that lucky girl is

Jenn Johansson

Her schedule breakdown :

I spend a couple of hours blogging every couple of days. I'm trying to write a little every day, although it seems to happen in bigger chunks on some days and infinitesimal chunks on others. I try to sleep 8 hours and the rest of the time I spend on family and pretending to care if my house is messy. :)

I am right there with you about ignoring the mess, maybe if I ignore it long enough it will get the hint and leave.

I also found a great post by InkMom about her cleaning and scheduling regime.   It is worth a look to any girl in the same boat as me.  

For those few of you who can't get enough of me and my craziness, I have a new jig over at Mormon Mommy Writers.  I will be there weekly on Fridays.  Even if you aren't mormon, a mommy or a writer. I think you will love to chat and get to know some wonderful women. 

Jenn you can email your address over at amberlynae (at) gmail (dot) com

Wednesday French Inspriation

Versailles window/door latch  LP= Louis-Philippe

No matter the continent, country, of city you visit, you will always find the park benches, trees, or buildings tagged by some person trying to leave their mark.  "I WAS HERE" the markings scream.  Where does this desire to leave our mark on the world come from?  We are not dogs that have to leave our scent to spread the world there is a new kid in town... however, as a human we do have a desire to create and so some how brand the world with our name.

Some people do this through music, some through painted or sculpted art, some through writing, some through sciences.  There are many grandiose ways of leaving behind our "I was here" sign.  The desire to create is a godly desire.  We long to make something that is so distinctly ours. 

Today my thoughts are focused on the fact that we do in fact leave our mark on the world.  Each day you are carving you mark, your every action whittles away at the very fibers of this earth.  I am not talking about our carbon footprints, but our spiritual ones.  Some days your only progress may seem more of a mess and less than a masterpiece.  Some days your work may cause tears.  Other days the crowds may gather to cheer your name for your efforts.  But every thing you do will leaves the world changed. Whether or not you leave behind bookshelves filled with your work or walls covered with your art; you will not leave this world unchanged.

We must be as the scouts and leave the earth better than we found it.  Make your life and your life's work something you are unashamed to put your name one. 

When people see your "I was here." may they be filled with overwhelming joy.

 

Don't forget to enter last weeks giveaway  of The Time Traveler's Wife  BOOK if you haven't already.

And respond to the polls in the right Sidebar about the Seriously in Real Utah Life Meeting.

Seriously in real Utah Life Meeting

It is happening and if you are not there you are going to miss it...(as if that isn't obvious).  I have to prove to my husband that I don't make up my online friends (ok some of them may have been made up).  So let's do this.  You know you wanna meet me in real Utah life. It is going down sometime in April. And I am going to be putting it together with some door prizes.

In the right side bar i have some polls to get your input on where you want it to happen. 

Give me some input.  

See you soon.

Wednesday French Inspiration (and a Giveaway)

Behind one of the Large clocks in the Gare d'Orsay or  Musée d'Orsay

There is a time for everything,  a time for nothing, and a time for the things in between.  A time for painting, a time for cleaning, a time for mothering, a time for writing, a time for exercise, I even hear there is a time for sleeping (I am not sure if i believe it though.)  It can get awfully hard to figure out how much time to allow for all the things you need to accomplish.  

 

However, without planning nothing gets done.  Timing seems to play a key role in all aspects of life and writing for that matter.

So to get some advice from my readers (within the US), I'm going to have a giveaway.  I'm giving away a copy of  The Time Traveler's Wife  (the book not the movie.) Entering is simple-- You can either answer in the comments of write a post on your blog and send me the link.  But I want to know how you divide your time (especially from those who are writers, but also from mothers in general).  

 
How much time is devoted to writing/hobbies, cleaning, mothering, exercising, socializing/blogging, sleeping in an average day (and/or) week? 

 

The entry deadline is midnight eastern standard time on February 27th.

 The winner will be posted February 28th. 
So help a girl out.
(Winner will be picked at random.)

You've gotta be kidding me.

I will admit my house isn't exactly the most organized place in the world, and laundry doesn't always get done in regular intervals.  The pile had grown so high I was unable to exit my room without climbing the likes of Mount Everest.  

I decided today is the day I get rid of this mountain and make it a mole hill.  I picked up some of the darks I could find without much examination (I didn't want to upset the whole dang pile) and I threw them in the washer.  Rather pleased with myself, I go down stairs and get my daughter some coloring to do.

Man I am on my top game today,

housework and mothering in one day.   

So I'm feeling great.  

When I hear the washer finishing the spin cycle,(and believe me everyone on my block can hear when my washer is spinning that thing is louder than the music at a concert.) I decide to go switch the load over to the dryer.  When I open the washer everything is covered in this huge mess of something.

Now what can this be???

I keep digging into the mess until I see the offending mess maker....one of my daughters pull-ups (which she doesn't even really wear anymore).  I had gel crystals over everything.  I tell you what those things are not made to hold enough water.  It could even handle one measly load of laundry without spewing its contents over everything.  Some pull ups just don't make the cut.

Time to Rinse and repeat I guess.

Without the pull up that is.

Funny Friday

Could you use a good laugh?

I just need a good laugh sometimes.  I thought we can share some laughs together. You know you want to leave a joke in the comments. Here is a joke for you.

The following is not an actual story (although I could see this happening to me) it was from an email that had me laughing.

 

I was in the restaurant yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately
needed to pass gas. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my
gas with the beat of the music.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my meal,
and noticed that everybody was staring at me....

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

Oops.

Wednesday French Inspiration

Château de Cassis

I'm getting myself a shot gun before next February 2nd. Why would I want to do that?  My thoughts were that when Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his hole, he won't see much if he is dead.  :)   Six more weeks of this cold is just not happening for me.  I am boycotting the cold.  There is something lonely about the cold.   So I say forget the cold.  Come and scadoo (a term from Blue's Clues) into the picture above.  We can listen to Le Soledad/ The Solitude (Translation of lyrics below).

I didn't get to visit the Château de Cassis.  I only saw its beauty from a far.   It was once a medieval castle built in 1382, sits high along the Blue Coast of Cassis.  It is now a hotel with the rooms only being reachable by staircases or tunnels. 

I would love to sit in my room overlooking the Mediterranean Sea enjoying some Amorino gelato.  I would write my book to the sound of the crashing waves.

A girl can dream right?

"Welcome to Amber Lynae's Place! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Amber Lynae's Place, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Amber Lynae's Place. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'."

Le Soledad (Translation: The Solitude)
by Pink Martini 


You came to me
Like poetry in the song
Showing me
A new world of passion

Loving me
With no selfishness and with no reason
But without knowing
That it was love
I protect my heart

The sun is gone
And I singing your song
The solitude
Owns all the emotion

Forgive me
If the fear has stolen my illusion

You came to me
I didn't know to love
And this song has been left alone

You came to me
Like poetry in the song
Showing me
A new world of passion

Loving me
With no selfishness and no reason
But without knowing
That it was love
You protect my heart

The sun is gone
And you singing your song
The solitude
Owns all the emotion

Forgive me
If the fear has stolen my illusion
You came to me
And this song has been left alone

Real Life

I'm SUPER excited.

  Little Princess and I are going to be in Utah for two weeks in mid-April.  

I really want to meet any of the Utah bloggy girls while I'm out there.  

Do you girls have any suggestions on a good meeting place?  

I will enter all suggestions into a poll and we will set up a time and day that we can have a get together.

Hope to hear from.