The Kindness of Bloggers and Cats

On Wednesday night Tami Cowden and I co-taught a workshop for the beginning blogger at my local library here in Nevada. We had 40 plus people in attendance and wow, were they a lively bunch. They tested my blogging knowledge with tons of relevant questions. I hope they walked away feeling more confident and ready to dive into the world of blogging.

One of the highlights of the evening was seeing Meg, the mother of Fin the amazing blogging cat. Fin sent a gift for my cats, Harry and Domino. He shared two cans of his beloved Fancy Feast. Now that's generosity. It really does mean something when a cat shares the items most near and dear to its heart.

Another was seeing familiar faces in the audience. They were their to learn but I like to think they also came as support. Among the Henderson Writers' Group, my fear of public speaking is well known. Maybe not, but like a teenager with a big zit on her nose, I'm positive everyone can see my fear radiating bright and red. I was very happy to see John, Linda, Judy, and Helene.

When I arrived home I showed Harry and Domino their gift. They were very happy and couldn't understand why it took me so long to open the cans. Duh, I was documenting the event for all to see. Especially Fin.

My cats were very grateful to Fin and anxious to devour what was hidden in the little cans. They sniffed and pawed at the tins until finally I decided I that I might be inflicting emotional torture upon my sweet pets.

I stopped snapping photos and filled their bowls. I must agree with Meg, Fancy Feast is very aromatic, much more so than Friskies (the typical feline fare served in my house). But I think it was the smell that drove Harry and Domino completely mad with desire and anticipation.

They ate the treat in record time. As they smacked away, I told my family all about the night at the library -how proud I was to have sold a copy of Writer's Bloc II and signed my name for the buyer - how happy I was to know the answers to all the questions put before me (except, how to move mail from a web based service into Outlook. Not my expertise, sorry John). - how excited I was to be asked back to do more workshops and to participate with Tami in a new writing project.

Life is good for me and my cats. Thanks to the kindness of a room full of new bloggers, I'm feeling less nervous about speaking before a group. And thanks to Fin and Meg, my cats are feeling like they want more Fancy Feast...good cat food is addictive and kindness is contagious, so they tell me.

Things For LifePrints Readers To Do While I'm Out Of Pocket

Later this week I'll be one of the attendees at the sold out Las Vegas Writer's Conference. This awesome weekend is coordinated by the Henderson Writer's Group. I'm also presenting a session on Thursday afternoon about how to get the most out of a conference and sitting on a panel called "The author/agent relationship" on Friday. This is a first for me and to step from the shadows to be on the fringe of the faculty is exciting and scary to say the least.

So this is the last new post for the week. I have so much to do to prepare for presenting, volunteering and pitching a new project that LifePrints is going silent for a few days.

To keep you going, here are a some of my favorite ideas for passing the time:

Read a good book- I recommend Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, American Gods by Neal Gaiman, WAKE by Lisa McMann, and Writer's Block volume I and II (a collection of stories by Vegas Valley Authors). I have short stories in both volumes. Volume II was released yesterday and will make its debut at the conference.

Watch an amazing movie - Try Waitress or Juno. Those are my latest favorites. For heavier fare, try Blood Diamond, Body of War or Redacted. Or something in the middle, A Mighty Heart or The Pursuit of Happyness.

Check out a good blog - There are many listed in my sidebars and they are all worthy of your support.

Or turn off the computer and spend time with someone you love or doing a good deed for a stranger. Better yet, if you extend yourself in kindness over the next few days, let me know and I will post the details of your good deed.

Have a great week and I'll see you on Monday!

Happy Birthday To LifePrints - My Little Bloggy Is One!

Last spring my husband said, "This guy at work say it's possible to make tons of money with a blog. Why don't you think about starting one." Filled with visions of millions of Google Adsense dollars I went on a learning binge to figure out what the blogging hype was all about. Within a few weeks, my brainchild, LifePrints was born. So much easier and faster than the creation of my other children! That took nine months and some hard labor at the end.

A year later, I can proudly say that I love my little bloggy. She doesn't make me much money. Adsesnse will never pay my bills and I don't care. It's okay because what I've gained by spending time with 'her' is so much more valuable than ad clicks. My fellow writer/bloggers probably get understand thise but for those who are shaking their heads, let me explain...

Because of LifePrints and it's focus on the positive, my world view has slowly shifted from 'we are hopelessly doomed" to "wow! we can make this work if we just try". Because of my constant search for topics and people to write about I always have my ear to the ground for the good things in life. That's a huge paradigm shift for me.

When I wrote about the maimed children of Sierra Leone I cried as I typed and when I wrote about the fun of spontaneous pillow fights, I laughed out loud and couldn't wait to attack my brood with a big fluffy one when they walked in the door. Writing for my blog has opened my eyes to different views of the world and all the emotions that come along with them.

I now have friends and collegues all over the world. My favorites are in Malta, Paris, Perth, New York, Virginia, California, and Illinois. And some I'd like to put on this list but I'm not sure where they live. Someday I hope to meet a few of them in person and thank them for their kindness and generosity of spirit.

Constantly writing articles forces me to hone my skills, not the least of which are the research and development of ideas. Even though I've cut back on how often I post these days, I look forward to each and every time I sit down with LifePrints. I'm pushing 200 posts in my archives and I'm proud of the quality I've produced so far.

I love my readers and the interactions with them. I love comments, so please leave more and more. The back and forth flow of ideas is facinating to me. Blog Catalog sends many of you my way. They are an energetic bunch and I am happy to be part of that community. For those of you who find me by accident, thank you for reading and bless you heart. I'm sure you were surprised if you were searching for an article about "homemade plasma gasifiers". or "think thank thunk". Don't laugh, some poor soul ended up here using those search terms. All I can say is I hope you come back again.

If you have ideas for posts or know someone doing a good turn for the world, please let me know. I'd love to hear about them. I hope to keep my little bloggy alive for many years to come and if 'her'growth in one year is any indication of the future, it will be an exciting ride filled with many opportunities....and I don't mean big checks from adsense. Sorry Google, I love you but....

Happy Birthday to my little 'girl'. She's not a baby any more!

I'm A Flower Smeller

Mike is an awesome writer and my dear blogging friend. He owns Mr. Grudge. When I go there to read his posts I know a couple of things are gauranteed to happen. I will laugh. I will cry. I will say, "Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way." And the one I love the most..."Wow, I wish I'd written that."

Mike is part of the interactive community at Go! Smell the flowers. The founders created a community award for flower smellers. Here is how they describe it:

This badge serves to acknowledge others who are, in their own way, smelling the flowers and will underpin the whole reason for this community -to inspire countless people around the world.

They maybe regular visitors to this blog, comment posters, readers or active at another founders blog or someone that could contribute here who is yet to visit as we become a community.

Maybe they don’t even run a blog but have recovered from an illness, written a book, won the lottery, made a major shift in their life, won promotion, quit the rat race and on it GO!s as more examples from around the world start to surface and group hugs become the norm!

This award makes me feel like maybe I am inspiring others with my work on LifePrints and maybe Mike thinks I'd be a good member of the Go! Smell the flowers community. I am honored.

I'd like to pass this award on to a few special people. Since I can award this to non-bloggers that is what I am going to do.

1) Margaret McGlaun is a wildflower photographer who knows about 'smelling the flowers'. She's taught me so much about taking time to love the life I'm living and loving the people I'm living it with. Her photos are beautiful. I have her calendars and a set of note cards. I'll never forget taking a trip with her to see the spring blooms in Death Valley, CA. I had a blast watching her work her magic on film.

2) Jo Wilkens is the president of Henderson Writers' Group. For the past 4 years she has been my friend and mentor, giving gentle nudges in the right direction in my writing career. As the owner of Mystic Publishers, she doesn't have much free time but she always makes time for other aspiring writers. I am forever in her debt for the free editing she did on my latest manuscript.

3) Gregory Kompes has also been my mentor and friend. He is the best-selling author of 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live. He was the coordinator at the conference where I met my agent. He's recently overcome a personal struggle and is better than ever. He's my hero.

4) Tina Thompson, my dear cousin and friend, has found love after many years of disappointment and heartache. She is finally smelling the flowers with the "answer to her prayers", Jimmy. He's heaven sent and she is smiling again. I can't wait to meet him and welcome him into our family.

5) Candi Mitchell is a writer on the verge of discovery. Every time I read passages from her memoir, I am reminded of the raw courage it takes to peel back the layers of our lives to reveal the truth. She is a true flower smeller on the fast track to self-discovery.

Thanks again, Mike for the opportunity to give a shout out to these incredible people whom I love so much.