Life of A Writer

First, I'd like to thank everyone who has contacted me and left comments. We appreciate all the prayers going out for dad and ask that you, please continue to pray for him. Now for the update...

I just got off the phone with my brother and he said dad is mean as ever, and when my husband, the kids and I visited last night, he was sitting up and talking to everyone. He seemed to be dad this time and really enjoyed the kids being there. Of course he asked me if I'd taken them out to feed them and made sure I had, so he was pretty much the same old dad.

Late last night Dad was transfered from the hospital in Marion, Illinois to Western Baptist hospital in Paducah, Kentucky (an hour drive from my house). We now know that on top of Lymphoma he also has Leukemia, so he's fighting two kinds of cancer. As for his White Blood Cell count, it's no longer 0, so we don't have to wear masks anymore. In fact, they said his White Blood Cell count was higher than it's supposed to be but was better than being 0.

Today they plan to run two more Catscans and an MRI, and tomorrow they're going to do a biopsy.

Unless something major happens, I plan to stay home today to clean the house (people keep dropping by), and they expect dad to be released in 5 days, so I plan to bring him home with me to care for him and take him to his treatments and doctor appointments; therefore, more people will probably drop in to see dad.

I have to write the final "Biggest Loser: Families" recap for a client tomorrow night, and after that my brother has to return to work, so I'll be spending more time at the hospital with dad.

That's the only news that I have at this time, but I will do my very best to keep everyone updated. However, I can't guarantee when I'll be back online, because we have an ice storm moving into our area and I may end up stuck in Paducah, Kentucky. Since I may not be back online in a while after today, I'm going to go ahead and let comments go through instead of screening them, so watch the URLs before you click on them and I apologize in advance for any spam that may make it's way through. When I get back online, I'll delete any spam, but hopefully I won't have any to weed through and delete.

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Over the 4th of July, hubby and I took the kids camping at Glen O Jones Lake. My oldest son, JB, enjoyed the fishing, and on day two of our camping trip, he got his very first big catch!

“I think I got a big one this time!” He shouted with excitement.
“I’ll get the net,” his younger brother, Joe, said as he ran a few feet to the campsite.
“Hurry, bubby!”

In less than a minute, Joe made his way back to the lakeside just in time to scoop his brother’s catfish into the net.

“I believe you have the biggest catch of the day,” my husband told him.
“Bring your fish over here so I can take a picture,” I said.

As he carried the fish over to where I was, he said because Joe had helped, he wanted him in the picture too, so using the camera on my cell phone, I took a picture of the boys holding JB’s fish. Because of the poor quality of the picture, you may not be able to see the excitement on JB’s face well, but I can honestly say, he was grinning from ear to ear… and he remained that way the rest of the day.

A week before the camping trip, the local news forecasted severe thunderstorms for the 4th of July weekend, and since I’m not big on being outdoors during storms, I began praying a few days before the planned camping trip. My prayer was, of course, for no thunderstorms. The night before we were due to leave, I asked God to change the forecast, adding that I didn’t mind a few rain showers, it was just the thunder and lightening that I didn’t want.

The next morning arrived and hubby was determined to take the kids camping -- rain or shine. Therefore, we headed to the store to purchase some camping supplies and food. While in the grocery store, my husband greeted a lady he knew (a friend of his nephew), and she told him that her and her husband were going camping with my husband’s nephew and his wife. Shortly thereafter, my husband went to the store next door to purchase something else as I paid for the groceries. As I stood in the checkout line, the lady my husband had greeted got in line behind me, so I chatted with her. During our conversation, we discussed the weather, and she told me that they were going to cancel their camping trip, but said when she woke up that morning, she watched the weather and discovered that the forecast had changed to only a few rain showers.

“That’s wonderful!” I told her, and silently thanked God for answering my prayer.

From then on, I was as happy as I could be. Not only because the weather forecast had changed, but mostly because God had answered my prayer!

There were no thunderstorms at all the entire weekend, and the temperatures stayed below 70. We did have a few sprinkles every now and then, but that’s all it ever amounted to -- thanks to my prayers.

Come Sunday morning we packed up to leave. Once we arrived home, I called my mom to let her know we all had a great time. After I told her about the camping trip, she revealed a bit of bad news to me. She told me that my cousin -- who’s more like a brother to me instead -- was headed to the local hospital. She went on to say that during our camping trip, he had been sick in bed and wasn’t able to urinate. To make a long story short, when my cousin arrived at the hospital, they ended up calling the life flight to have him sent to a hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Turns out his kidneys had shut down, so they put him on Kidney Dialysis. In addition, his blood pressure was dangerously low (both numbers were below 100).

My cousin spent approximately a week in the hospital on Kidney Dialysis, but today I’m happy to report that he’s home and able to urinate on his own again. Yes, another answered prayer. However, this time God answered the prayers of many, because I wasn’t the only one praying for my cousin to have a quick recover; my family as well as many church members prayed for him too.

What did you do over the 4th of July holiday weekend?

My daughter, Cyndie. She had the smallest catch of the day. She likes to bank fish.

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This weekend was certainly an exciting one as I went from writing to driving lessons. My 15-year-old daughter received her driver's permit and was anxious to take advantage of it. This was her first time ever driving on the highway, but I figured she has to learn sometime, right?

I had my stepson pull over to the shoulder of the road so he and Cyndie could switch places in the driver's seat. Cyndie smiled as she climbed in behind the wheel.

"Ok, before you start, adjust your mirrors so you can see, and adjust your seat to a comfortable position. The speed limit is 55," I instructed her.
"Yes, mom, I know. I'm ready," she said.
"Just relax," I told her as she pulled out onto the highway."
"You're making me nervous, mom."
"Trust me, hunny, I'm more nervous than you are right now, and I'm just trying to help you since it's your first time on the highway."

I fought to keep silent so I didn't make her too nervous, but the whole time I was scared out of my wits! Every now and then I had to remind her to keep it between the lines, because she would hug the white line everytime she'd meet another car. And she still has to get use to the gas pedal. She tends to speed up and slow down. What was really amusing, though, was she'd run about 60 through the flats, but when we reached a hill, she'd slow down.

We came upon a construction zone with a stoplight. She began slowing down, but not soon enough. I held my breath and pressed my foot hard to the floorboard on an invisiable break that wasn't working. Luckily, we stopped just an inch or so behind the truck without hitting it. I then released my breath.

"You have to slow down sooner," my stepson announced calmly from the back seat.
"Sorry," she replied.

We all made it home in one piece, and I thank God for that. She still needs practice, but overall she doesn't do too bad. However, I think I'm going to need a whole bottle of nerve pills to get through this stage of parenting ...LOL... I'll keep you up to date on her driving lessons, and hopefully my sanity stays intact through all of them.

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I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Despite a few unexpected events, my Thanksgiving went well. On Thursday, my husband, stepson and I enjoyed the delicious Thanksgiving feast that my aunt prepared for the family. After we all chatted for a while, my husband, stepson and I walked across the yard to my cousin's house. Once there, my cousin, his wife and a couple of our friends had some Thanksgiving fun. With our bellies full and about to explode, we sit around the table and played Balderdash. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the game, but it's a hoot to say the least. Balderdash is a family game, and the more the merrier. If you love playing games with friends and family, then you should defiantly invest in Balderdash!

After Balderdash, we decided to play Pictionary. After an hour of Pictionary, we then switched to Charades. Needlesstosay, we played games until 1:00 am in the morning. We may have lost track of the time, but it was all fun! In fact, I had planned on coming home that night and working, but when everyone decided to play games, my plans changed. Oh well, I needed the holiday break.

I still was unable to return to work Friday, because I had my own Thanksgiving feast to prepare for Saturday. Since my ex had the kids on Thanksgiving, I wouldn't get them until the weekend, and the kids wanted to have Thanksgiving with me, so we agreed that I would do a small Thanksgiving get-together at my house, just for the kids, of course.

Because I had a dinner to prepare and some housecleaning left to do, I couldn't get in my hours of writing. Instead, I baked pies until 4:00 am, and then I went to bed to get a little sleep, because I had to get up to finish things at 9:30 am. My guest list consisted of my mother, my father and his girlfriend, my brother and his wife, and finally, my brother-in-law.

Saturday I woke at 9:00 am and began cooking, unaware of what would soon take place. Later, my mother called to report that she wouldn't be able to make it, because she was sick. I could tell that from talking to her, she sounded horrible. Since she had planned to cook a pumpkin cake, I didn't cook pumpkin pies. However, because she was sick, I told her not to worry about the pumpkin cakes. She said she would send the ham that she had already cooked as well as the macaroni and cheese by my brother. Because of this unexpected event, I added two pumpkin pies to my menu that morning. Next, my brother-in-law wasn't going to be able to make it, because he couldn't walk. Turns out he pulled the tendons in his foot and was couch-ridden. My dad stopped by that morning just to see the kids and said he wouldn't make it because he had to work. Therefore, our only guests were my brother and his wife. We had enough food to feed an army, and regardless of the number of guests, the kids as well as everyone else still enjoyed themselves.

All the Thanksgiving fun has ended for another year and tonight I'm back to my passion: writing. Yes, I'm aware that Christmas is just around the corner, but I'm certain I can get a lot of writing done in a month.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you have any unexpected events at the last minute?

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Phew! I'm already pooped, and I haven't even started working yet. I've spent an hour doing laundry and trying to get my house ready for Thanksgiving… and believe it or not, I still have three loads of laundry left to do, then I have to fold all that laundry and put it away. I must say, though, I'm thankful for my dishwasher or I would still be slaving over a sink full of dishes from supper. All of this is what I've managed to accomplish in an hours time, and I still have a long to-do list. The good news is I have until Saturday to get everything ready for Thanksgiving, because my big Thanksgiving dinner will be taking place then. However, between writing and trying to clean house, it seems as if there's just not enough time to get it all done… but I have hope.

Throughout the rest of tonight, I'll be multi-tasking. Since the dishwasher has been loaded and is now running and the washer and dryer both have a load of clothes, I'm going to finish this post and get started writing the articles that are planned for tonight. Between my writing sessions, I'll try to get at least half the laundry finished tonight, and then tomorrow afternoon I'll start cleaning. By 3:00 pm (CST) tomorrow evening, I'll prepare supper for the men, and then I guess I'll start all over with my multi-tasking later tomorrow night. By golly, I might get everything done by Saturday.

So, what are you're plans for the next few days? Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving?

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Happy Columbus Day! As you know from a previous post, the weekend before last was my daughter's first homecoming. Well, this weekend we celebrated my oldest son's 13th birthday. Yes, that's right, my oldest boy became a teenager Saturday, and the weekend before last (also on a Saturday) my 14-year-old daughter attended her first homecoming dance. Boy, I really feel old now…LOL…

Aside from my growing youngins, the past few weekends were really fun and enjoyable. This weekend the family gathered at my house, and we all enjoyed the annual October wiener roast. Since JB (my oldest son) and Cyndie's (my daughter) birthday occurs during the cooler seasons, we make the wiener roasts an annual event. Of course, the kids enjoy it, so that's all that really matters, right? For my youngest son, Joe, his birthday's in March. Therefore, since March is a warmer season -- too warm for a wiener roast-- we usually visit Pounds Hollow. There we grill burgers, hot dogs and enjoy a day of swimming.

Next time you find yourself looking for a birthday party idea, consider a day of swimming if your child's birthday takes place on a warm month, and if your child's birthday falls on a cooler month, then have a wiener roast instead. It's fun for everyone and affordable as well. Since I'm giving out birthday party suggestions, I might as well take this time to invite you to read one of my articles, which relates to the subject. Go ahead and check out Planning a Fall Birthday Party for Your Child -- Sure to Be a Success, and then leave me your comments.

I suppose I'd better get back to my writing life now that the fun has ended… as least for another month anyway.

Next time I blog, I plan to reveal some news for all you writers out there, so stay tuned or subscribe to be notified as soon as the post is live.

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Happy September, friends! I hope your Labor Day weekend was a fun one. My husband, step-son, my three kids and I all went to a local festival in my hometown. We attended the Liberty Fest in Harrisburg, Illinois, hosted by Little Chapel Church. Both my brother and mother go to this church.

Liberty Fest is an annual festival and everything is free… well everything except for the helicopter rides, but the money paid to ride the helicopter goes to a charity for kids. Personally, I'm not much for heights so I chose not to ride in the helicopter. My husband does his best to try and get me in one, but I tell him, "God planted my feet on the ground and that's where I intend for them to stay." Besides, there was much more fun to be had other than riding in the helicopter. There was plenty of good food (funnel cakes, hamburgers, barbeque, homemade donuts and much more). In addition to the good food, we walked around the grounds and admired the old cars, the kids enjoyed a horse and buggy ride and the list could go on and on. To make a long story short, I'll just say we all had a great time, and I needed the day off.

Now that the fun has ended, I'm re-energized and ready to write again! As a matter of fact, tonight I will respond to two writing gigs, write two articles, and I hope after all of that is completed, I'll have time left to send off a query letter or two. Boy, do I have a long night ahead of me! Depending on how my research fares, the two articles shouldn't take no more than an hour or maybe an hour and a half, and the writing gigs mainly require me to send information and a few writing samples, which I have already created. I just need to tweak the information a little to fit the writing jobs I'm responding to. Hmm… it appears as if I just may have time to send the query letters after all.

I guess I'd better go. If I keep blogging, I won’t get anything done. Until next time, enjoy the pictures of Liberty Fest. My 14-year-old daughter took the pictures, and I must say she did a great job!


My oldest son by one of the old trucks in the car show



Horse and buggy ride


My youngest son on the mechanical bull


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Looks like I'll be busy this month and next month. My daughter will be graduating JR High toward the end of this month. Then again, in June, my stepdaughter will be graduating High School. I'm planning a graduation party for my daughter, and my husband and I will be making a LONG trip (over 700 miles) to see my stepdaughter graduate. Needlesstosay, I have a lot to do for the next two months.

We'll be spending about three of four days on the trip to see my stepdaughter's graduation. She recently enlisted in the Navy, so she'll head off to boot camp soon after her graduation. Since we won't see her for a while after she graduates, we're going to spend some time with her before she has to leave. I sure do dread the trip, though. We've made it a few times before and it's tiring. It's amazing how much a long drive can wear a person out.

When we leave for the trip, I plan to take my laptop along, but I will have a sub writer for my "As the World Turns" updates. I don't plan to write much while we're there. However, I do plan to write about the trip and do a few reviews so I can have some articles to sell when we return. Who knows, I may even blog about the trip.

Speaking of graduation… if you know someone who's graduating soon, check out Top 10 Graduation Gifts. Top 10 Graduation Gifts is an article I had published last year. Before I wrote the article, I asked graduates what gifts they would like to receive. Furthermore, I also asked men and women who recently graduated what gifts they liked. Oh boy, talking about graduation gifts, I have two to buy. I may refer back to my own article. ;)

Well, I'd better go now. I still have some work to do before going to bed.

Never give up on your dreams -- work toward them,
Misti Sandefur
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The spring weather has finally arrived! I'm so happy it's more like spring now. For the past few weeks here in Southern Illinois, it has felt more like winter than spring. Well, this weekend the long-awaited spring temperatures decided to shine, and my husband, kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather. Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, we played croquet in the yard. We all had a ball! In fact, it was so nice to play games outdoors rather than indoors. During the winter months, we usually spend our weekends at the kitchen table playing board games, but in the spring and summer, we try to do more yard games. We are getting ready to fix the camper up so we can do more fishing and camping as well. The kids already said they're ready to go fishing and I am too.

It's a shame y'all couldn't have joined us this weekend for the fun, but since you couldn't be here, I'll just share a few pictures with you instead. Oh yes, and the pictures with the kids on the ground… they're searching the grass for four-leaf clovers. :) I guess you could say this is another game my husband cooked up for them. Once my husband beat us in a game of croquet, I had to go start supper so we decided to quit for the day. However, the kids began complaining there was nothing to do so my husband told them he'd give them a quarter for every four-leaf clover they could find. Well, that quarter put them searching for the four-leaf clovers in no time. While we were inside, my husband told me that game keeps kids busy for hours, and on top of keeping them busy, you know where they are. It wasn't five minutes and my youngest son earned his first quarter. He was so happy he went back to the same spot and searched again so he could earn another quarter. About 10 minutes later, he returned and earned his second quarter. Needlesstosay, he nor the other two found any more four-leaf clovers after that. I was beginning to wonder and actually hoping they'd find a lot just to see how many quarters hubby could give out before the well ran dry…LOL…

Enjoy the pictures! I have to go now to write an article that is due tomorrow.


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Well, spring is finally here, and unfortunately, so are the spring thunderstorms. My husband promised the kids he would fix their go-cart once the weather got warmer. The weather has been warm since he told them that, but the rain and storms have put a damper on the plans to fix the go-cart.

Finally, a warm day arrived! However, it rained the night before, but my husband was determined to keep his promise, so he braved the wet yard and fixed the go-cart. The kids helped him work on it and were excited once they finally got to drive it around the yard. The excitement ended the next day when something else went wrong with the go-cart.

Later that day, since they didn't have the go-cart to ride anymore, they decided to entertain themselves in a different way. Well, at least my oldest son did. It was April Fools day, and they had been pulling all kinds of pranks on me that day. In fact, they pulled so many that I quit believing them. My daughter came in and announced that "Bubby" found a mud hole, and she said he was covered in mud. Thinking it was another April Fool's prank I said, "Yeah, right," and she replied, "No, Mom, it's not a prank. He really is covered in mud." I told her to send him in so I could see for myself. She wasn't fooling! When he came to the door, indeed, he was covered in mud! I couldn't help but laugh at him, but I did wonder how on earth he got that muddy from a little mudhole. I soon found my answer when I stepped out the door and discovered my daughter with the waterhose, making the area in the yard where my husband got stuck with the mower even muddier. I then ordered her to shut the water off before she made the yard look even worse. After she obeyed my orders, I grabbed my camera from the house to snap a picture of my muddy son (see pic above). After taking his picture, I sprayed the worst of the mud off him with the waterhose, before letting him in the house. Once we got the worst off, he jumped in the shower to get the rest off. We're only young once, right? Therefore, I seen no harm in letting him be a boy and have fun. Besides, I couldn't scold him after I laughed about the whole ordeal.

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