Life in Limericks: Week 6

Week 6:

This week we lost a Monkee named Davy.
The weather is making my hair pathetically wavy.
Felicity's ear ached without remorse,
Mercy's eating like a horse,
Thank goodness for biscuits and gravy.

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Weeks 1 & 2 Deployment Limericks

So, I think to keep it real, I'm going to write a limerick for each week The Major is deployed.

Here we go!

Week 1

The first week from the airport you left
You committed a typical deployment type theft
You stole my heart
And that was the start
Of our romance across half-a-world's cleft

Week 2

The vacuum belt burned and it broke
The fridge ice maker is a complete joke
After a box of Lucky Charms
And setting off our alarms
I ran to the bath for a soak

I wonder what next Friday will bring!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Author Interview & Giveaway: The Dating Dilemmas of Delilah Dunnfield

So, I read this great book a few years back...I laughed & was amazed that it was written by an unpublished author. I was instantly drawn to her VOICE and told her so...along with "send this to an agent now!" The book is witty, relevant, and down-right hilarious! NOW...YOU CAN READ IT, TOO!

The Dating Dilemmas of Delilah Dunnfield, by Victoria L. Thurman, was published in October 2011. I bought my copy promptly & read it over Thanksgiving break. It is a breath of fresh air read and will keep you chuckling until the end.

Here's the back cover blurb:

One klutsy girl + Several neurotic fears= Lots of dilemmas in this hilarious debut novel by Victoria L. Thurman. Based on the author's real life, twenty-four year old Delilah Dunnfield (but please call her Deli- yes like the sandwich shop- especially if you are one sharing an intimate moment with her) was always taught that "all the good ones are gone by the time you reach twenty-five." She has eight months. Will she sell herself short or will she walk away from a lifelong ideal?

Written from Delilah's point-of-view you will get a first hand look at the foibles this young woman deals with. The writing style is sweet & witty but she leaves out the crudeness that can come along with chick-lit dating stories...it's a love story and a personal growth story wrapped up into one awesome package.

Victoria's writing is conversational and lyrical. You will feel like Delilah is chatting with you & you'll even want to offer up your own advice at some point (maybe a few times) because she is so lovable and naive. but not annoyingly so. The situations she finds herself in are humorous and laughable. You will not be disappointed.

The DD of DD is a very worth-while read. I think it would be SUPERB for a book club and would probably make anyone think about the dating dilemmas in their own lives.

Meet the author...she's amazing:

Isn't she gorgeous!

Victoria Thurman earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, GA. She has lived in various beautiful places around the country and currently lives in Chattanooga, TN with her first pet ever. She is a member of the Chattanooga Writer’s Guild and The Dating Dilemmas of Delilah Dunnfield.

Follow her on Twitter @vlouise63. 

Follow her on FaceBook, Victoria L. Thurman, Author. 

You can e-mail her vlthurman@gmail.com

What was your favorite part about writing DD of DD? 

My favorite part was laughing at all the clever things that were coming to mind. I would write something and would have to type fast as the ideas were flowing and then I would call my sister laughing and read it to her. I was so excited about everything I wrote and to share it with her made it come alive even more. She was such an amazing cheerleader for my stories. After I told her a crazy experience in my real life, she would always tell me, “Now go write it down for Delilah.” I had to dedicate the book to her. There was no one else it belonged it.

What is your hope for this book getting into the hands of readers?

On the surface, I hope my book takes people’s minds away from their troubles and they just escape to Atlanta with Delilah. I hope they laugh and enjoy the story and her dilemmas, how she gets herself into them and how she stumbles out. On a deeper level, I hope my readers will identify with Delilah’s struggles and if they haven’t seen then funnier side of life, I hope this helps them. It took me ten years to learn what Delilah learns in a year. I think we all follow some rules we believe are right for our path and sometimes we think it is taboo to break them. Will I get struck by lightening if I don’t get married and have children by a certain age? Will I be the ultimate disappointment to my parents? To society? To myself? It is a lot of pressure to put on oneself. And then on the flip side, how does one navigate the dating world, where it seems one is expected to have sex, no strings attached?

Have you had other dating dilemmas since finishing this book that you wish you could've added to this publication?

Oh, yes! The guy who took me fly fishing while his wife stayed at home with a broken leg and then he tells me he is tired of her expecting him to take the trash out and give her a bath. Um, did you not take vows in a church promising to take care of each other “in sickness and in health?” For the record, I thought it was a group of us going to the river, and it turned out the group never showed up. I’m starting to believe there never was a group.

Can we look forward to more books from you?

Yes! I love Delilah and she has been on the journey with me for 15 years. I cannot let her go just yet. I have begun writing her sequel, yes, I found some old notes from about four years ago that I forgot I had written and just reading them fresh like that, made me laugh out loud and I knew Delilah is back.

Tell us something that is uniquely Victoria!?

For this question, after being stumped for about five minutes, I consulted my sister. I have three sisters and a brother, but for things like this Kathryn is my go-to gal. She said, “Your sense of humor. You laugh at British comedies, but you need The Far Side comic strip explained to you.” And she added, “Your legendary stubbornness.” Yes. That is true. I argued with a thief once at Dairy Queen where I worked in high school. He handed me a ten and I gave him change, but then he insisted he gave me a twenty. I did not back down. Neither did he. Soon the manager had to come break up the argument. Gave him change for a twenty and at the end of the evening when we counted down my drawer, guess who was right- me. And no one can surprise me. A bunch of senior girls had a kidnap breakfast party before graduation and of course you aren’t to know anything about it. I told mom I had to be at mandatory work meeting the next morning and she insisted I could not go. Thinking I’d be fired, I insisted that I had to go. She finally had to tell me about the party. What a lucky break though, I dressed in a t-shirt and boxers the night before and then got up early to use the bathroom before they came. But probably what is most unique about me (so says my sister Kathryn) is my shocking reactions to things that are not shocking, like my reaction to my finding out after having my cat for six months thinking he was a girl, that was he was in fact a boy. I felt like we had been living a lie and had to start our relationship all over again at the getting-to-know you phase.

Amazon link is HERE!!!! 

Also available in KINDLE Format.

So, Victoria has offered to giveaway a SIGNED book to one of you lucky readers. She's the greatest!!!

Your Turn: DON'T YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK? ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!!!! Leave a comment along with your email & that's it! Easy, huh? 

Contest runs through February 14th. I will select a winner using Random.org. I will contact the winner via email (make sure you leave me a way to reach you!). If I do not hear back from the winner within a week another winner will be selected. 

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Who moved my...honey?

PHOTO CREDIT

Ever get home from the grocery store and realize that something has turned up missing? I made a mad dash to WalMart a few days ago and 1 item I needed for baking was honey. I didn't need much more and I threw everything in the minivan (MV) and we raced out to a pond to feed some ducks.

Fast forward to the next morning and all the girls wanted tea (I have 2 girls and I had 3 of my nieces also with us for the week). Low and behold...I cannot find the honey to add into the tea. We searched high and low and even ran back to the MV and still...NOTHING. We ended up using agave for tea instead and those cookies I really want to bake are going to have to wait until I get to the grocery store again.

Isn't that frustrating? It reminds me of how I can live my life sometimes. I can get so busy that while I go through all the motions...cooking, parenting, thanking hubby for kitchen help, cleaning...but weeks go by and I realize I have been missing something. The Honey.

Sometimes the honey that I haven't enjoyed enough of is my God time with Bible study and prayer. 

Sometimes the honey that turns up missing is real quality time with my husband where we can have a date or much needed chat over coffee.

Sometimes it's sitting and reading to my oldest daughter or laying on the carpet and letting both girls tackle me. And...boy, can they tackle.

Sometimes the honey is creating. Writing.

The sweetness of all of these honeys in my life are my greatest passions and when any 1 of them get pushed aside or just turn up missing...I am just not right. I'm so glad God gives us the ability to recognize where the honey is missing and gently (and sometimes not so gently) guides us back.

YOUR TURN: Has your honey come up missing? What do you feel like is missing in your life lately? I'd love to hear from you and encourage you to seek Him.

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Creative Writing Exercise

I can take NO credit for this whatsoever. It was sent to me over a year ago & I found it awfully funny.

A university creative writing class was asked to write a concise essay
containing the following elements:

1) Religion
2) Royalty
3) Sex
4) Mystery

The prizewinner wrote:

"My God," said the queen. "I'm pregnant! I wonder who did it."

Cheers,
Elizabeth