The Juggling Act

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superwoman4This is how many of us feel on a regular basis (or maybe it’s just me, but I’m going to phrase it like that because it makes me feel better to pull you all into my circus, LOL).

173093__new-year-new-year-holiday-girl-smile-mood-gifts-juggling_pThrow in some of this (because the holiday preparations are in full swing, with decorating, shopping, baking, cooking, and most important of all, spending time with each other, which is the foundation of good memories):

????????And this (because my five weeks grades are due Tuesday)…

 

Final Front Moose Tracks on the Road to HeavenAnd this (because final issues for the book always crop up and require attention, from setting up accounts to creating TOC lists, to creating cover letters and mailing out review copies and trying to build some promotional efforts)…

And I have brewing a perfect storm of craziness that quickly escalates stress to red-line levels. Like on a daily basis. Tempers can flare and cause reactions that definitely don’t add to the serenity of life. 🙂

perfect-mumsAs a mom (even though my girls are teens they still have a gazillion activities, sports, and social issues to navigate), it’s easy to start to feel like this:

What to do?

live-in-the-momentI don’t have any silver bullet, I’m afraid. All I can offer is an idea that occasionally helps me to slow down so I can process what’s happening. It helps me to deflate some of the intensity of stress when it begins to overwhelm: Just live in the moment.

Attitude affects everything, whether its the day-to-day grind or the challenges of facing illness and pain (when my father was undergoing chemo and treatment during his final illness, he reiterated that to me many times, and one of the moments he was most proud was when his doctor’s office staff pooled to together and gave him a little pin that said “Great attitude award”, because he had one of the best they’d ever worked with).

While we can manage some things (like schedules or what we add to them by saying “yes” to too many things), there is much we can’t control. Much that just has to get done and needs that have to be met.

They will be. It will all work out. Just consider what this poster says. It helps. It really does. 🙂

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Anyone else have tips for getting through stressful times?

 

A Bittersweet Gift: The Dickens’ Village

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A photo of my mother-in-law and her late husband is perched right above the village she created

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The village all lit up

Last year I inherited my mother-in-law’s rather extensive “Dickens’ Village”. She built it over several decades, and some pieces need repair (like the gorgeous church, which isn’t pictured here because the steeple is broken). But it’s a beautiful collection, and my girls, when they were little, always used to love to go to grandma’s to look at it all lit up during the holidays.

It’s a little bittersweet now, to have it in our home. Her home was sold about a year ago because she suffers from Alzheimer’s. She lived with us for a summer and spent time with each of my husband’s siblings, but as she got worse, we had no choice for her own safety and well being but to move her to a constant care facility about 30 minutes from us. As of now, her disease has progressed to the point that although she usually recognizes that she knows us, when we visit, she doesn’t always know why or how, or who we are.

The village is one of the tangible reminders of what once was in our little family and can never be again.

So we will keep the village safe and put it out with love each year, in memory of all the happy times we spent together. Someday, I will pass it down to my girls, and they can keep the memories – and the remembered love – of their Grandma McCall alive and well.

Winter Wonderland II

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imageThis is the same tree I posted last night, in the early daylight this morning. It’s all sort of artistically monochrome outside at the moment.

It kept snowing and snowing last night (we finally got the 8 or so inches the weather people had claimed we’d be getting beginning on Tuesday, when all we had was rain and a little icing).

I love trees in general, and I love seeing them in all their phases, including dressed in lovely robes of snow. The dark branches and trunks make such a pretty contrast with the white of the snow, before the wind blows it all bare again.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Winter Wonderland

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This is the view outside my kitchen window tonight.

I love winter snow; it’s so fresh and sparkling. I love to feel the flakes melt against my cheeks when I take our English Shepherd, Cassie, outside for a little walk around the house.

It definitely puts me in a December mood.

Sleigh bells ring….are you listening? 🙂

Broken Toe

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I broke the big toe on my left foot yesterday.

It was really stupid…I was moving a deck umbrella into the garage, and neglected to check that the base was hooked tightly to the pole.

The base is a 25 lb. square of molded cement. It slipped off and landed smack dab in the middle of my big toe.

I’m afraid I didn’t follow what the poster above suggests. There was no keeping calm, and my language…well let’s just say that wasn’t calm either. I generally don’t cry in moments of great pain. But I release my emotions verbally, which I’m not too proud of, and I’m working on that, LOL.

I had a snow day yesterday, and I was supposed to be decorating my house for an upcoming neighborhood holiday party on Saturday where I am hosting 23 people for the main dish part of the festivities. Needless to say, not much got done, not to mention the seven loads of laundry still waiting, the 10 inch stack of papers to grade, the final issues that keep popping up with Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven and the need to drive my younger daughter to go buy dress pants and a certain kind of shirt for her school concert this week…the list goes on and on.

It’s amazing how much we take our toes for granted. I’m only glad it was my left toe and not my right one, or I wouldn’t be able to drive back and forth to work!

Artist Interview: M. Reed McCall

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I had the pleasure of being interviewed by fellow blogger L.N. Holmes. She asked some great questions that really made me think. We covered a lot of ground, from industry thoughts to how an award-winning medieval romance writer shifts over to mainstream contemporary fiction…and why the two genres are not all that different after all, to me. 🙂

L. N. Holmes's avatarL. N. Holmes

M. Reed McCall, author, Moose Tracks on the Road to Heaven, book, novel, ficiton, Mary Reed McCall, new book Copyright M. Reed McCall

(Please note that I am adding the addition of colored text. My questions will be in red and the artist’s answers will be in purple.)

L.N. Holmes: “Where is your hometown?”
M. Reed McCall: “I am originally from Rome, NY, which is about an hour east of Syracuse.”

L.N. Holmes: “What is your chosen artistic profession?”
M. Reed McCall: “I am a writer–although I am also a high school English teacher, which requires its own kind of artistry, and I have been working with students (numbered in the thousands by now) for the past 26 years.”

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Snow Day

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There’s a big Nor’easter sweeping up the coast. We’re forecast to get up to 14 inches of snow by tomorrow night.

3093efb9ef16c682c5aeceb5d269a4caAs a winter baby (February birthday), I’ve always loved snow. I have no problem being up north all year long.

As a teacher and a mom, I especially love snow days. Like today.

xmas-lights-ge-lights-swscan01680-copyI might actually get caught up with some of the extra work of the season (like trimming the tree that has been cut and put up in the living room for two days now without anything on it).

I might get to tackle the 8 loads of laundry or the 10 inch stack of papers.

My list is far longer than I can accomplish in one day (especially with everyone home and needing to eat…and I’m the chief cook and bottle washer), but it’s a gift nonetheless. Hope you’re all enjoying your day, wherever you are.

Do you have snow days (or a hot weather equivalent) in your neck of the woods?

Tea Wisdom

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From my tea today – Good Earth’s “Sweet and Spicy”, which is one of my favorites at this time of year, for its lovely cinnamon-sweet warmth.

I love my dog, and, in the words of my sister-in-law, who helped me organize my pantry cupboards a few years ago, I “have more tea than all of China” because I enjoy it so much, it’s true.

But I also love my husband and wouldn’t have thought to make this kind of comparison.

What do you think?

The Gift is Nothing Without Work

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You must want it…more than television, more than shopping and socializing and even sometimes sleep. It’s the work that brings the vision to life. And yet a balance must be maintained as well. Thoughts?

Pre-order Deal!

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FINAL COVER MOOSE TRACKSMoose Tracks on the Road to Heaven is now available for pre order in eBook at amazon and Kobo at a special lower price! On publication day (Feb 3, 2015), the cost will go up,  so if you think you’ll want an e-version to read, now’s the time to lock-in the preorder price.

Here’s the link to amazon if you want it for your kindle, or to Kobo if you have that e-book reader.

Unfortunately, Barnes and Noble doesn’t have a pre-order function. When it’s available at iTunes and Google eBooks, I’ll post again so you can get the deal while it lasts, if your preferred e-reader uses those platforms.

The preview feature will be added soon at amazon and Google…but in case you’re eager to see some of the book now, you can go here and click on the cover for a look inside and a nice, long excerpt. 🙂