What's a girl to do with so much information?

I think I'll consider myself on a brief vacation for the moment - come along won't you? Unfortunately it's no trip to Hawaii, but perhaps I'll find myself with a new perspective once I'm done with my little side trip from reality.

I'm taking a brief pause from working on my first article for the magazine. It's nearly done, but...Too much darn information. Now, one could argue that one can never have enough information, let alone too much, and normally I'd agree, but 1,000 words goes far faster than one might imagine. So I'm staring at these words trying to figure out what I can cut out from the first part of the article in order to include equally important information in the tail end of the article - never mind the conclusion. *sigh* ONE THOUSAND WORDS - you'd think I was trying to squeeze all this information I've compiled into a 400 word piece, but no, I've got a thousand words to work with and I'm out of room. Grr! 

Photo by: Evil Erin via Flickr

I imagine if I had a true editor's brain I would be cutting words and phrases out left and right, but for now, I've got to rely on li'l ol' me. This week as I was doing final interviews and such I could feel myself gathering too much information for my own good, but still, I kept compiling. I was so nervous about doing a good job that I kept pushing for more info, just waiting for the angle I wanted to take to reach out and grab me. Little did I know how all of those charming little tid bits could come together to make an entire cohesive piece...Uh, just not within a 1,000 word window. Gracious. 

So what's a girl to do? I guess it's time to bust out my figurative red pen and get to work. Ahh, thanks for the vent - please stay seated until the seat belt sign has been turned off - I hoped you enjoyed the ride. 

Quotes - How do we know?

You'll notice on this blog there are a couple of spots that feature quotes. One quote that is a constant around here by Mark Twain and a revolving door of quotes up top. I am a quote addict; I love them, can't get enough of 'em. In fact, I have deliberated over having a tab devoted entirely to quotes, but it just hasn't happened yet. However, a ponderment* has been rolling through my brain for some time now that I thought would be befitting a post here in writer land.

Question/Ponderment: How do you really know a quote is genuine? Think of all the things that have been quoted over the years. We've got centuries worth of quotes to sift through and yet we all take them as read. We believe that Stan, who compiled a list of inspiring quotes knows what he's talking about and has some valid reason for believing that Mother Theresa made that statement. But really...How do we know?

In writing you have to cite your source - but again, we're taking a lot at face value here. Perhaps this is a more philosophical kind of question than anything, but we take a lot for granted. For example, as parents, we mold and teach our children, right? Just look at the things one could do to mess that up. And yet, they are the epitome of having trust in one's teachings. For all we know, Tuesday actually means lunch and not the third day of the week (coming from Sunday).

Okay, so how much does the source matter? Obviously, we're going to give a little more credence to say, a renowned publication versus a tabloid magazine (but then again those darn rags seem to hit the nail on the head every so often). How do we know?

I have no real answer to give you, just something that wanders through my mind as I giggle over whatever quote happens to be at the top of my blog each time I hit the page - how do we know? I bet some super intelligent person has some kind of answer to that question, but for now, that's what I'll leave you with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Ponderment in Becca speak simply means to wonder about something. 

Kickoff to National Young Readers Week - Billings Early Childhood Parenting | Examiner.com

It is either ridiculously late or insanely early in the morning, depending how you view things - me, I'm voting for late, since I haven't been to bed yet. However, I wanted to get this kickoff article to my week written and once it was written, well, it just made sense to get it posted.

This week (November 8th - 14th) is National Young Readers Week. I am genuinely excited for this and for the articles I'm planning on writing this week. I am giddy over the prospect of interviewing my (eldest) nieces and nephews to get their views on reading. I've started and deleted this sentence now several times - I started typing who I was particularly excited to interview; when I realized, for one reason or another, I'm eager to hear from each of them.

So just a short post tonight (this morning?), but I hope you'll come along with me this week as I dive right into this topic. Don't forget, I also have my two weekly series that are posted on Tuesdays and Fridays.

• Kickoff to National Young Readers Week - Billings Early Childhood Parenting | Examiner.com
• National Young Readers Week: Learning to read, a first graders perspective
• National Young Readers Week: Talking with Alexandra
• National Young Readers Week: Sitting down with Sarah
• National Young Readers Week: An aspiring young author
• National Young Readers Week: Winding down with Zoe
• National Young Readers Week: Mother-daughter book group

Noah and the Arks - Relay for Life

I realized the other day that I had never done a follow up post regarding my team's Relay for Life website, which you probably won't recall, but I had said I would let you know when it was up and running.

Behind the scenes of Noah and the Arks

While I hate to play favorites, I think of all the websites I've done so far, this is my favorite. It turned out well, if I do say so myself. It makes an impact. Let me tell you a little about this labor of love. Without a doubt, it was emotionally challenging to pull this site together, particularly after Ginny died. Even now, as I type this, tears are overwhelming me. Upon arriving to the site you'll land on a poem that my sister-in-law Kara wrote this past year as it became apparent that at least in Ginny's fight, cancer was winning. With that and her brother's own ongoing battle with cancer this poem had been building word by word, piece by piece in her mind and needing her testimonial for the website inspired her to take it from heart to paper.

Other things that you'll find while perusing the site are three stories. These stories can be found under the "Our reason for relaying" tab. Noah, our team's namesake, did an incredible job sharing his story - from learning of his diagnosis through treatment and what Relay for Life means to him. I can tell you, he completely wowed me the first time I read it. Paul is my dad and he was diagnosed with kidney cancer when I was five-years-old. He sat down with me and we wrote his tale of life with cancer. My dad was so incredibly lucky. I feel like I should note that while his kidney cancer is under control he has been diagnosed with skin cancer and has various procedures done about twice a year. For some reason we didn't broach that side of things on the site. And then there's Ginny's story. This year's Relay for Life will be on Ginny's birthday...Bittersweet. The story you'll find under her name is the one I wrote for Examiner.

Next on the site you'll find a growing page of our team's testimonials - why we relay. Each time another member of the team sends me their piece, I am wowed at the different approaches we all take in explaining why Relay for Life is so important to us. Five of our team members have contributed testimonials so far.

Our next tab takes you to money page - or how can you help? Here we have it set up for you to order luminaries for Relay (we're hoping to get a PayPal type thing going there soon), along with a list of our upcoming fundraisers. I feel I need to point out a hidden link on this page because it's incredible. On this page, you will find a link to one of our raffle items, which is a photo session with one of our team members. This link will take you to examples of her work and an accompanying song that for me is so powerful because it reminds me of Ginny. In fact, we used it in the video we made for her family.

I hope you'll check out our team's website and pass the link along. Be sure to sign the guest book! Oh, also on several of the pages throughout the website, you'll see our Honor/Memory Roll, which lists the people we know with cancer and those who are no longer with us. In guest book land you can leave a message for us to add names to our list.

• Noah and the Arks - Relay for Life
• www.noahrelayforlife.weebly.com 

Fun Fridays

As promised here's a look at my new weekly series for my Examiner column (look at me being all not neglectful). May I introduce to you...Fun Fridays! The basic premise of Fun Fridays is to take a look at the fun, silly, light-hearted side of parenting. Given the response I got from the moms who participated in the first edition of Fun Friday, I'm hoping people will get a kick out of this series.

This week's article took the mom perspective with, You know you're a mom when...The responses I got were hilarious! I didn't even get to use them all, so definitely be looking for periodic versions of this piece sprinkled throughout our Fun Fridays. Next week I'm turning to the dads - they'll be answering the question in their form: You know you're a dad when...I'm really excited to see how their responses will differ from the moms.

So, if you've got the response(s) to either of these statements, please e-mail me and know you'll be included in an article at some time in the future. Please be sure to note if I can use your name and include where you live. Perhaps you have a topic you'd like to see covered in a Fun Friday edition? Toss those suggestions into the pot too!

I hope you'll wander over to the ol' Examiner page and let me know what you think of my first Fun Friday edition.

•  Fun Friday: You know you're a mom when...

*Author's Note: I'm so excited about Fun Fridays that I've added a tab up top to keep you posted on all things related. Consider that your go to place to link you to all things Fun Friday. 

Forgive my neglect

I cannot believe how remiss I've been about posting lately! I feel like a neglectful parent leaving my sad, highly unread, blog to its own devices. Shame on me! Therefore, rather than inundating you (Mary) with a million individual posts, we're simply going to treat this post as a hub page for all the Examiner articles I've written lately.

I've been busy, though certainly not as busy as some. I can tell you that I'm eagerly anticipating the article that I'll be posting tomorrow. I'm starting a new weekly series and I'm frankly ridiculously excited about it. I like having set days and things that I know what I'm going to write about. Sure, I still have to come up with the topic for that week's edition, but it just seems...I don't know what, but I feel more relaxed about writing such pieces. I'll do my best to actually come back tomorrow to unveil this brilliant idea of mine. (If only you could literally make written words drip with sarcasm...How awesome would that be?)

I'm going to go a bit off topic for a minute and talk about a book I just finished. It was a Jodi Picoult, House Rules and per the usual, it was outstanding - not my absolute favorite, but still she never disappoints. It's funny, I've come to expect twists in her books that initially leave me bewildered and dying to know why on earth she would do such a thing. Eventually, though, I get a little space from the book and I can acknowledge her complete and utter brilliance. Seriously. If you've not read her work, you really ought to. This book, however, I spent the bulk of it trying to figure out what twist she was going to put on it (just once, I wanted to be able to say I wasn't completely shocked), only to have it end completely on the side of immediate acceptance. That in itself was shocking, but great book. Unfortunately, the library didn't have any available that I haven't read yet, so I have to pause in my quest for a Jodi P. fix.

I told you I was going to meander off topic. So, here's what I've been up to in my neglectful absence:

• What's the risk? Tips for preventing SIDS
• One of my October awareness articles. 
• 'It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown' airs this Thursday, October 28th  
• This might have already aired, but there are still some good family activity ideas included in the article.
• Family Night: Preserving the memories
• One of my favorite family night articles to date. 
• National Cyber Security Awareness Month: Online safety guidelines for kids
• The final of the October awareness articles. 
• Family Night: Wii tournament
• We've been having a blast teaching Abby to play some of the Wii Sports games. 
• 'Your Baby Can Read': Helpful tool or scam? 
• This article came about after coming across an article on Digg. 
• Laurel Public Library announces Fall Book Sale
• Extremely local, therefore not particularly helpful if you don't live in the area. Crazy amazing prices, though. 
• Keeping your family's skin healthy during a Montana winter
• Considering my hands are already cracking and the weather is doing it's normal Montana-I-can't-decide-what-the-weather-should-be thing, it seemed a handy article to write. 

So I haven't been lazily neglectful, just accidentally. I hope my faithful few are having a delightfully wonderful week!

It's a rainy Halloween, Abigail Bean

Yesterday was our first "real" Halloween. I count it as real because Abby went on her first round of trick-or-treating last night. She had the words last year, but she was still so painfully shy that the idea of her going up to random houses with completely unfamiliar people...Let's just say none of us envisioned great things transpiring. However, this year I am constantly amazed over how much she's grown socially. There are still certain situations that cause her to revert, but, in truth, I'm okay with this. I appreciate the caution that seems ingrained into her personality.

On the 30th we had a Fall Carnival at church and she had a BLAST there. At first she stayed pretty close to either me or a girl from the church she's grown attached to, but as the day wore on she was gleefully going between the games that she enjoyed the most. "The duckies" were her favorite. As I watched her maneuver the carnival, I knew she was definitely right - she's ready to go trick-or-treating.

I was so proud. She was completely awesome as we went door-to-door. Just like we rehearsed, she'd go up to the door, knock her little knock, and loud and clear offer a "twick-or-tweat!" With her bag held proudly open. Upon receiving her treat, a sweet "Thank you!" was offered. Occasionally, after she'd received reminders on the manners part of things, her "thank you," was especially boisterous.

We brought along her ladybug umbrella, just in case, since the sky had looked a little threatening earlier. Thank goodness for that. She was eager to have her umbrella up and eventually I gave in as it started sprinkling more than spitting. She was thrilled. Then, as we worked our way up the street to join my sister and her family the rain started coming down even harder. It wasn't outright pouring, but it was definitely a steady stream. Yet, she had a blast. She reveled in going from house to house with her cousins. I was amused to see that she seemed to think only one child at the doorstep got to receive candy - and she was content with that. She was happy being in the thick of things, saying her piece. Imagine how happy she was when we assured her she could get a treat too. She melted me. My girl is not a baby anymore. She is magnificent.

I hope you and your family had a marvelous time trick-or-treating.

Finding my groove

I was looking through some of my old posts today and I happened upon one from my earlier days with the Examiner - where I was having a massive anxiety attack in written form, basically. I felt like that post needed a follow up since I've begun to find my own groove since then.

At the end of that piece I stated I would take a break from the forums for awhile since it was only breeding anxiety for me. I did take a break and only occasionally wander in there to make sure I'm not missing any important updates, words of wisdom, etc. In the mean time, I found another place to go filled with fellow Examiner writers. It's a Facebook group and the premise of the page is no whining and a place where we can share ideas and post our articles to use as another source of promotion. In short, I found the place to be for me. The atmosphere in this group is overwhelmingly supportive and I've had the privilege of learning from people who are really making this work - let me tell you, they work their behinds off. I am in awe over the volume of articles they get written in a day for several topics. Good, quality articles at that. In addition to those seasoned Examiner writers, I've "met" newbies like me who are also finding their way; other moms writing similar topics to mine, yet we take different approaches to how we run our pages.

The panic post stemmed from somebody's wondering if Examiner was a detriment to a person's writing career and from watching the success of some of the people I've met via the Facebook page prove the ponderments I raised, right. (Yes, that was definite Becca speak, you should probably get used to it). It is about the quality of writing a person does. In the word Abby and I share so sassily these days, "du-uh!" So here I am at four, nearing on five months of writing for Examiner and I definitely feel like I'm finding my groove. Surely I wish I could magically find some way to expand my readership, but I know it's not something that happens overnight. When I think of where I was when I started and the only page views I was rocking were ones from my family to where I am now...Vast improvement! Still, there's room for lots of growth and finding the stories that really bring the readers, but I have to recognize that the stories I write that bring in the most numbers aren't pieces that are going to get written every day. Meanwhile, in between those definite hits, I've just got to keep plugging along, doing my thing.

Not knowing who actually reads this, I'm still going to send out a thank you to Examiner for allowing me this opportunity to write about a topic I love, to my fellow Examiners who have made me feel oddly at home in a group of people I've never even had the chance to meet face-to-face, and finally to my faithful readers I have earned to this point - I love your comments and appreciate your stopping by my page and checking out my work.

• Becca's Examiner Page

Raising awareness for Dyslexia

My most recent Examiner article finally fulfills the promise to cover some of the many areas/issues awareness is being raised for this month. One down, two to go, nothing like waiting until the end of the month. However, if you know me at all, you know I am a horrible, horrible procrastinator. There should be consequences for a procrastinator like me, but it seems I do my best work when it gets down to go time. For instance, I think it was my last year of college, we had an entire semester to get the paper done for one of my core classes and I had been "working" on an idea s l o w l y putting the pieces together throughout the semester, when the day before it was due I decided I wanted to shift the focus of the thesis entirely. I'm pretty sure I stayed up all night, got the research done, wrote the paper, and e-mailed it at the last possible second. 100%. See what I mean? That's just not motivation to getting things going earlier.

Talk about diving off topic, though! The latest Examiner piece I have to offer you talks about dyslexia. It gives you a brief overview of what dyslexia means and some of the signs you can look for in your child, but it also connects you to some resources. One website I've found over the course of researching various topics is my new personal go to site for nearly everything. This site is phenomenal - and here's why: This site gives you information if you're a parent researching, it provides information for kids and teens in ways that relate to them. It's completely helpful. The kid sections don't sound as though they're talking down, rather they put it into terms a kid can understand. But to get linked up to this website, you'll have to head over to the article. I know, I'm mean, right? But you'll survive, so let's stop dilly-dallying and get you the link:

• Reading it right: Dyslexia Awareness Month

Guest spot

This posting will be a short one. I just wanted to share that I did a "guest spot" on Mary's Hurricane Riley & his Big Brother Rex blog today. As I've previously written, Mary is partaking in the 31 for 21 Challenge where she is posting something to her blog each day during the month of October. Remember October is also Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

I'd love it if you took the time and stopped by my first ever guest blogging spot. You'll find an interview I did with my sister in response to Mary's first ever Friendship Friday edition.

A friendship that shares everything - Christine's story - 31 for 21 day 22

All things Halloween

Here we are at less than two weeks away from Halloween and I finally decided perhaps it was time that I acknowledged that in my writing. I'm just not a big fan. Even when I was a kid...I remember when I was really small being excited about my costume, but even when I was still in Elementary School, my favorite part of Halloween was being at home, with my mom, handing out the candy to all of the trick-or-treaters. My parents would take out the screen/glass in the screen door and I thought that was complete and utter fabulousness. Then, as I do now, enjoyed seeing what other people would wear, but I could take it or leave it.

Alas, I am far from being in the majority on this one so it seemed intelligent to get some Halloween articles out there. Let me tell you a little bit about the two articles I'll be linking you to today. The first Halloween article I have for you details a list of events offered in the Billings area on the 29th - 31st of this month. In that article you'll also find a list of the various maizes and pumpkin patches in the area.

The second Halloween article I have to offer you talks Halloween safety. I genuinely did not want to put out yet another Halloween safety article, as they are in an abundance right now, so I tried to mix it up a bit. You've got the same ol' safety tips (I'm pretty sure I probably didn't break any new ground), but there are things there that I hadn't necessarily thought of, simply because I am not yet the mother of an older child. I also link you to some safety quizzes in this article. One is specifically for the kids to take and it's pretty awesome. I had my sister take it with her youngest (who is four) and having my sister read to her, but her (my niece) clicking through and choosing her answers worked just fine. Older kids will enjoy it too. I mean, I'm a 29-year-old kid and I enjoyed it. So hopefully I succeeded in bringing something a little different to the table with this piece.

Happy reading and Happy Halloween!

• Halloween activities for Billings families
• Staying safe this Halloween

And the verdict is...

As I shared yesterday, I had an interview today to discuss becoming a freelance writer for a local magazine. I also talked about how incredible my family is; let me start there...

My parents offered to have Abby while I went on the interview and upon arriving at my parents' house, the first words out of my mom's mouth were about how beautiful and professional I looked. Given that I had waffled over what to wear to this interview over coffee, these were words I needed to hear - even if they were coming from my very biased mother. The look on my dad's face as they sent me off on words of encouragement? Pure pride. Not too shabby of a send off, but still my nerves were jangling, but then...Getting in my car I saw I had a voice mail from my sister. As I drove down the road, listening to her message, I was wrapped in her words of encouragement and love. That was just what I needed - it was the icing on my encouragement cake. Not only that, but I'm doing a better job of letting God in on these things. It's clear things go better when I don't leave Him sitting on the sidelines. After my sister's message my nerves settled and I kept hearing her words over in my head and I went into this not only feeling good, but confidant.

Get to it already, you say? Well why don't you just call me the latest freelance writer for Simply Family magazine! I am thrilled beyond all reasonable belief. I love, love, love this magazine! Truly. It's that perfect fit to where I'm at in my life right now. My first article is supposed to be in the January edition - here's to the next step!

Could it be...Progress?

For whatever reason  I haven't really put my latest writing news "out there" yet, as I don't know exactly where it's going to go. However, as I was purusing my writings on here, I thought about how this blog is supposed to chronicle my journey as I work to find my way in this world of "being a writer." So, you're hearing it here first.

Tomorrow morning I have a meeting with the founder of a local magazine to discuss the possibility of me doing some writing for them. I'm insanely excited about this, but I really have no idea how this is going to turn out. I guess I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it too much, but felt it was only fair to put this out there, here.

As I'm writing this, I'm reflecting on the awesomeness that is my family. I'm thinking about what a phenomenal group of people they are - and how completely blessed I am that the individuals my siblings married are just as essential to this family as our original five. I couldn't have possibly asked for a more loving, supportive family. As I mentioned in my last post, my mom worked really hard to ensure that our family became an unshakable unit. While I don't claim to have the same kind of relationship with my brother that I do my sister; our love and loyalty are fierce. I know no matter what, these people have my back, and at the end of the day...That's not such a bad thing to have.

What on earth does this have to do with tomorrow? Well, first, without my sister and her friend, tomorrow might never have come to fruition. They both talked up my writing to this individual and they (the whole fam) are as excited about this as I am. I know this, I also know no matter the outcome, they'll continue to be my biggest fans and cheering me on each step of the way. I'll let you know how it goes. Think good thoughts for me!

10 Random Things

Following the lead of Mary (Hurricane Riley & his Big Brother Rex) in her 10th of 31 post for 21 today, I'm going to give you something completely random in the land of random writings with a list of 10 random things about me. Go ahead, hop on board and post your own 10 for 10.

1. I will willingly and happily re-read books again and again. I have probably read The Lovely Bones, Summer Sisters, and A Thin Dark Line more than a dozen times a piece. 
2. There are two words I have to say to my husband before he goes to work. 
3. And there are three words my volleyball girls are forbidden from ever saying. 
4. I would not have claimed to be a superstitious person, but the two previous statements clearly speak otherwise.
5. I cannot fathom not having a family who is your everything. Given that today is also my mom's birthday, I'll take this opportunity to give her a shameless plug. My 'original' family is not large - nor do my parents come from large families. We were the original five and both my parents - but especially my mom made every effort to ensure that our family of five became an unbreakable unit. She is unshakable in a crisis. 
6. Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too by Shel Silverstein is one of my absolute favorite pieces of written work. I LOVE to read it out loud. It's silly, it's fast, it's insanely fun. 
7. I still remember the day my husband became someone not who I couldn't live without, but the person whom I didn't want to live without. 
8. I am oddly addicted to Hannah Montana. This is a big one that I'm sharing and if I could whisper in writing, I so totally would.
9. I genuinely fear sending Abby off to school. I don't want to be apart from her everyday for all that time (I know, "Cut the cord mom!"). I'm terrified I won't arm her with the tools that will enable to stand strong against poor choices and people with vastly different values. I know how mean kids can be - I know important lessons have to be learned, but...
10. I love that my nieces and nephews envelope Abby into their lives as if she's one of their own siblings, since she's always going to be an only...Unless God and I stop being on the same page in this matter.

There you go, 10 things about me. Now hurry, there's not a lot of time left in 10/10/10. Eh, you won't hurt my feelings if you do it tomorrow. Leave us a comment with your link if you do!

Family Night: What's your favorite?

This week I posted/published the first in my first ever weekly series. The premise of this weekly feature is centered around providing ideas for family night. Whether the family night occurs on Wednesday night (so designated years ago when "Church Night" got banned out of the school's verbiage - kids are suppose to come home with considerably lighter backpacks on "Family Night." So whether your family rocks a family night during the week or on the weekend, this column is here to provide ideas.

As we know, miss Abby is a fabulous 3-year-old, but she doesn't always stick to a whole game (I've come to the conclusion if we attempt to make it too obviously a learning experience instead of just "fun" she'll bail on us). My sister often comments that she better get on board pretty soon because Bryan and I are BIG fans of playing games. We tend towards card games, but put any kind of game in front of us and we're a happy couple. Should you be invited into our home for dinner, it's almost a guarantee you will be drawn into some kind of game.

For a look at our first set of suggestions, head on over to my Examiner page. But first let's talk about where you come in...I'm sure your family has special activities you've done or do to make the most of your family night. I want to include ideas outside of my own perspective, so if you've got an activity that you'd like to see featured in one of these weekly columns, send 'em my way! You can e-mail me, leave a comment below (or on the article itself), or find me on Facebook.

Family Night: What are your plans?

Enjoy your family!

Just curious, have you found ways to raise awareness for any of the many areas awareness is being raised for this October?