October 7th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

This shows how much of her brain is
effected by the cancer.

Good Morning! My shiny object this morning was the story of Brittany Maynard, a young woman who is diagnosed with an inoperable, terminal, and excruciatingly painful form of brain cancer. Brittany and her husband moved to Washington State where they have a dignity in dying law which allows a terminally ill patient to die on their own terms. I know Oregon and Vermont have the same type of death with dignity laws, and there may be one or two other states which have them, but that’s it.

Brittany loves adventure.

Brittany has decided that November 1^st, 2014 will be the day she dies, and she posted a video, which you can see here. Needless to say, like anything of this nature, it has opened up a firestorm of comments. “Holy rollers” on one end to “right to choosers” on the other. All these supposed “Christians” getting downright nasty with each other. Folks manipulating Bible verses (on both sides) to attempt to bolster their viewpoint. Fanatics on both sides making all “true” Christians – Muslims and Jews, and everyone else for that matter – look bad.

I’m sure I am going to open my own firestorm here as well, and this is why I usually try to avoid any kind of religious or political commentary, but on occasion, my cookies get fried and I have to say something. What I meant by “true” is, true Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., hold a love of God in their hearts. They try very hard to love all their neighbors regardless of their neighbor’s beliefs. They pray for them, but do not force their own beliefs on them. They do not judge. They may not agree with, but they respect the other’s beliefs. Religion is based on love, understanding, and compassion, not judgment, condemnation, and discrimination.

Brittany's wedding photo

Back to Brittany. I can see both sides to this coin. There are horrible diseases out there like MS & ALS where your body deteriorates and your brain stays whole, and for me that would be a living hell. Alzheimer's and dementia would be hell on my family. I don't know if I would be able to do it or not, and I hope I won't have to make that type of decision, ever.

A beautiful young woman...

Then again, I have actually seen a medical miracle - twice - with my mom. She was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable cervical cancer. The prognosis was not good to say the least, but they were willing to try. We all started praying and added her to prayer chains all over the country (our family and friends are far flung). After her initial round of chemo and radiation, she went in for radioactive isotope implants. After they did the procedure the doctor came out to talk to me, and asked me to verify everything. I did, then when he started scratching his head, I asked why. He said because there was absolutely no sign of the cancer, not even any scarring of where the tumor supposedly was (miracle one).

... a strong and courageous one
as well. 

Several months later, my mom was having gallbladder issues and they sent her for a CT scan. The tech saw something he didn't like, and told her to go back to her oncologist. After a battery of tests, including two PET scans, they determined that my mom had cancer in every single one of her lymph nodes. No treatment, no options, only a few months to live. My mom called her radiologist to tell him what was going on, and basically to cancel her six month check-up, because she wasn’t going to be around for it. He asked her if it was okay if he made some calls. Obviously she agreed. He called her back the next day and asked her if she would go see a buddy of his from medical school.

She went to see this doctor, and he told her he was willing to try. The surgery was massive. She’d be cut from collarbone to pubic bone, and they would remove every lymph node in her body. She would be in the hospital for at least a month, and then in rehab for up to six months afterwards, that was provided she survived the surgery. She decided to give it a try, and the prayer chain was reactivated.

We celebrated Christmas early that year, because her surgery was scheduled a few days before Christmas. We had friends and family, because honestly, we thought it might be our last Christmas together.

My mom at her birthday last year. As you
can see, she's doing great!

Surgery day arrived. I brought my mom to the hospital. The surgeon came out and talked to me right before he went in. He said the surgery would take hours and I should go home, he’d call when she was done. I told him I wasn’t going anywhere, and plopped myself down in a waiting room chair.

A little over an hour later, he came looking for me. My heart sank when I saw him, but then he gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen. He told me that on a hunch, before he opened her up, he put in a scope and looked at every single one of her lymph nodes. There was one tiny one, just outside her abdominal wall, which looked questionable, so he removed it laproscopically.  All the others looked perfectly fine. He said the only way to describe it was a miracle, because PET scans don’t lie.

My mom walked out of the hospital the next morning and has been cancer free for going on ten years now. So as I said, I can see both sides of this coin. Prayer and believing do work, but I also firmly believe that, like any parent, God does not want to see his children suffer. If the time comes when she feels she can no longer deal with the pain, and decides to take the medication, I have faith that God will welcome her home, because that’s what a loving parent does. We forgive our children’s sins, we overlook their shortcomings, and we love them unconditionally.

You may agree with me, you may disagree with me. Either is fine with me. I only ask that if you feel compelled to comment on this post, or reply to a comment someone else made in response to this post, you do it respectfully. I would prefer to avoid any type of pissing match on my page. You are completely allowed to voice your opinion, but if I feel you are viciously attacking anyone, I will delete your comment (no name calling, behave).

I hope you have a marvelous day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

One thing I would definitely like to do before I die is…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

October 6th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Holy Moses, who turned off the heat? Good grief! I swear it’s like someone flipped a switch. I woke up to 34 degrees! I’m SO not ready for it to be cold again.

Things were a little rushed yesterday morning with having to bring Lexi and Christopher home, and I forgot to grab my pashmina as I went out the door. When I got to Peddler’s Village, I was freezing. I got there a little early, and I had a few minutes before I had to set up, so I went to find a sweater or something. I found one similar to this one, on sale, for $20. It’s all cotton, and so soft. I thought it would look good with the dress I got for my reunion. Paulie says I look like a bat in it, but I like it.

It was Sam, Karen and I again at the signing, so y’all know we had a good time, and we all did relatively well as far as sales go. Sam thinks I should change my grabber (you have all of about six seconds to grab people’s attention as they are walking by). 

I go for the humorous approach – “I write historical and contemporary romance, but 40% of my historical readers are men, because my main characters are part of the British Secret service, so there’s murder, mayhem, mystery, suspense, kidnapping, bar room brawls, but because there’s sex and a happy ending, I’m a romance writer.” Yup, all in six seconds.

It makes folks laugh, and many do stop so I can talk to them a little more, but Sam says my books deserve a more serious approach – “they are too good and you are not giving them enough credit” – I appreciate the compliment on my writing abilities, and I love the fact that he wants me to sell more books at these events, but I don’t know if I can do what he suggests. I don’t know if I can make it feel natural, and I like to make people laugh.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be able to sell more books, and because I have more than one book to sell, the return customer is more important to me than the initial sale. Also, after these events, my sales of my Kindle books go up. 

So, with the exception of Milford Alive which was a total bust, I don’t mind only selling one or two books at these events. I love meeting the people, talking to them, seeing the kids smile when I offer them candy, and watching the tails of my four legged friends wag when I give them a cookie. Success should not always come down to dollars and cents.

All of the photos in today's blog are from the Scarecrow Festival at Peddler's Village. As to be expected, there were several Frozen inspired scarecrows this year. 

I love the one of Sven, and completely agree with its blue ribbon status. If you have any time between now and October 26^th (I think), you should get over to Peddler’s Village and check out all of the scarecrows. Some of them are quite imaginative. Sorry for all the crazy paragraph breaks, I wanted to get in as many picture as I could in this post.

On a more serious note, today marks the two year anniversary of my son’s best friend’s death in a tragic motorcycle accident. It is hard to believe two years have passed already. Bobby was such a sweet and amazing kid, who touched the lives of everyone around him. Since his family lives in Florida, and he is buried up here, I will make sure his grave has flowers on it today.

Bobby will probably be rolling his eyes at me for doing it – he wasn’t exactly a flower type of guy – well not flowers for him that is. I would have done the same for his birthday a few weeks ago, but to be honest, by the time I remembered it was his birthday, it was too late at night to do anything. Donna, Bob, Amy, Kevin & Keith – you are in my heart and in my prayers, more today than always.

Okay, I have a bunch of stuff I have to do today, so I should get moving. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

 

That jack-o-lantern is staring at me…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

October 5th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Sorry I have been MIA for a few days. I have been working on a time sensitive project, and after spending hours on it, I didn’t have the energy to blog.

The two beaties making a ruckus at
7 am on a Sunday

I have visitors with me this weekend, my human nephew Christopher, and my canine niece Lexi. Other than having to be driven places, you’d never even know Christopher was here. Lexi on the other hand is a different story.

"No computer Aunt Chris,
give me lovin' instead!"

She is an adorable, lovable, moose who follows me everywhere, insists on walking on my feet, and apparently does not like it when I’m on the computer. She is a Lab-Pit mix, and a total mush. Her and Colby are like twins attached at the hip. The two insist on being side-by-side, which is quite comical when they are trying to get through the door to get outside. She snores, she’s flatulent, and she is constantly up my butt, but I love her to pieces. I will actually miss having her around when she goes home later today.

Yesterday’s book signing got rained out. I was a little disappointed, but considering this was the first one ever to get cancelled on me, I think I’ve got a pretty good track record. I will be heading out shortly to the signing today. Today is absolutely GORGEOUS, though it is a bit chilly. It’s 39 right now, and it’s only supposed to get up to 62.

I had planned on wearing the new Christina Paul Books t-shirt, and then one of my writing themed sweatshirts over it, but I fear my t-shirt is ruined. Not only did the footprints from the puppy attack not come out completely, something bled onto the shirt. I just washed it with one of those color bleed sheets, and it looks a little better, but it’s still not great.

I have this in a sweatshirt.

Out of desperation, I just ran it through again with bleach. I can’t wear it as it is now, so even if the bleach ruins it further, I had to give it a try. What fries my cookies is, I don’t think, if I ordered a new one now, it won’t be in on time for Collingswood next Saturday, which is the reason I bought the shirts in the first place.

Well, I should get going. I need to shower, figure out what to wear, do my hair and make-up. If you happen to be in the Lahaska, PA area today, please stop by and say “Hi”. I’ll be in front of Canterbury Tales Forever Book Store in Peddlers’ Village. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

October 2nd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! The sky here in central NJ is quite unusual this morning. It’s a little dark, cloudy, with thin horizontal scratches of bright blue. A beautiful day is literally clawing its way through the dreariness.

Sorry about yesterday’s diatribe on Olive Garden. It has been a really long time since I felt compelled to comment on truly bad service. Even though I have “cooled down” considerably, I am standing firm on not patronizing their establishment again.

When Dani got home from school yesterday, she was hungry. So, she decided to heat up the lasagna from Olive Garden she didn’t eat on Tuesday. She took a bite and actually spit it out. She said it was disgusting. Unless something was spoiled, I have never seen Dani spit out any food she did not care for. She makes a face, swallows, and then just not take another bite. I’m afraid to let my husband try his eggplant. I’m thinking Olive Garden Corporate may need to look into their Bridgewater location.

It’s Thursday, and “Throw Back Thursday” has been a rage on Facebook for quite some time now. Today, I was feeling nostalgic, and I posted this photo. I’m fairly sure it is from the summer of 2005. My three kids, in the pool, at the apartment complex we were staying at in North Myrtle Beach. We had such a great time in SC, and I would love to be able to get that back, even if it’s only one last time. The kids are getting older. The times of family vacations are behind us. If I had known Punta Cana in 2012 was going to be our last vacation all together, I would have figured out how to extend it a few extra days.

Since yesterday was a monster post, I am going to keep today short. (That and the fact that I have to be at work early this morning.) I hope you have an exceptional day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

Can we PLEASE get a (puppy/kitten)?

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.