Category: Ruminations and Crackpot Theories

Observations on life in general.

The Purse Project: Crystal Firsdon

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Today author Crystal Firsdon reveals all — at least, all of what is in her purse.

Welcome, Crystal. Tell us about what you carry around.

CF: I clean my purse out on a regular basis and take out anything unnecessary like old receipts or miscellaneous garbage (usually given to me by my kids when they aren’t near a garbage can).

So my purse holds no surprises. I simply carry what I feel are the necessities.

So, here’s a picture of my purse. When I’m not driving my keys are always hooked into the front strap. I love this purse. There’s a dedicated phone holder on the back of the purse which is my favorite part.

Purse

Here’s the front zipper pocket:

Tissues, Band-aids, Neosporin spray, ponytail holders, bobby pins, chap stick, author bookmarks, pens, and I.D.s in case I lose my kids.

Front zipper pocket

In the inside pockets, I keep:

Migraine medicine, Tic-Tacs, lotion, small notebook, ear buds, hand sanitizer, and pepper spray.

Inside compartments

The main body carries:

  • My wallet
  • A small bag for feminine products
  • Arm-band phone holder
  • Gym locker lock
  • More hand sanitizer
  • Substitute teacher I.D lanyard
  • Dental floss
  • Small pill box with ibuprofen

Main body

Crystal Firsdon’s new release, Almost Ordinary, is available at Amazon.

Three men changed Molly’s life forever, and now . . .

The one who violently attacked her is caught, though not without unexpected consequences.

The one who abandoned her, needs her, though he doesn’t know it.

And the one who loves Molly stands by as she engages in a quest for answers, though that quest may tear his and Molly’s family apart.

All Molly wants is an ordinary life, but after all is said and done, her life may explode right in front of her face instead.

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Follow Crystal on Facebook and her blog.

Tantalizing Trivia: Valentine’s Day

Two bits of Valentine’s Day Trivia:

Valentine’s Day was first made an official holiday in 1537, by England’s King Henry the VIII–you know, the guy with six wives. Guess he knew his stuff!

Do you know who receives the most Valentine’d Day Cards? Teachers. Which makes perfect sense.

Best Horoscope Ever!

Yes, I still read my daily horoscope. I even save some of the “better” ones.

I keep the best one on my desk at Day Job.

9/21/10

It’s hard to imagine you lacking imagination. Actually, it’s impossible to imagine. So now, don’t worry–there’s no need to imagine you lacking imagination, because you’re so imaginative. You just won’t have time for anything else (like imagining lacking imagination). You’re fielding great ideas left and right, and the ones you like you’re holding on to. You’ll implement them all in good time. Yes, all in good time.

Have you ever read your horoscope and just loved it?

Nat’l Snack Food Day with Erin Bevan

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Today is National Snack Food Day, so I asked author Erin Bevan about her favorite snack food.

ERIN: Holy Moly! You would ask me this when I am on the biggest diet EVAH! I think my favorite snack food is COOKIES! Oh, how I miss them.

MJ: What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

ERIN: OMG, must I chose? Chocolate chip, shortbread with royal icing- yum, yum yum! White chocolate macadamia, and the list goes on and on and on.

MJ: If you could be any snack food, which one would you choose?

ERIN: I think I’d pick a candy cane because they are my daughters’ favorite sugar sweet, and they smell so good. So different form my normal gym funk sweat smell!

MJ: You have a new book out, based on the things written on Valentine candy hearts. What a great premise. Tell us about Text Me.

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ERIN:  When Erika’s ex becomes her boss less than a year after dumping her by text, she gets desperate to find a date to the corporate Valentine’s dance so he doesn’t suspect she still has feelings for him. Though not a fan of texting for the obvious reason, she doesn’t have much choice but to tap the keypad in order to gain the attention of the only viable candidate from the classified ads.

Grayson made the mistake of listening to his brother a year ago and has regretted what he did to Erika ever since. But his brother’s next suggestion just might be his salvation when he takes out an ad for a Valentine’s date…and Erika answers.

Using a pseudo name and keeping contact to text messages only, Grayson’s plans to make Erika fall back in love with him appears to be working…until the date of the dance draws near, and she pushes a meeting—face to face.

MJ: This sounds like a really fun read. Where can people buy it?

Erin: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, All Romance Ebooks, Book Strand, and the Wild Rose Press website.

MJ: And how about your social media presence?

Erin:  I have a website and a Facebook page. I’m also on Twitter–@erinbevan.

MJ: Thanks for joining me today, and good luck with your book!

Writing Props: Color, Light, and Janet Fish

Color and light are very important to me. They always have been. I write better when I’m happy, and color and light delight me.

Many years ago, my husband and I attended an exhibit of modern art at the local art museum. That’s where I ran into Spring Party and an artist named Janet Fish. The way the artist depicted light through colored pressed glass captivated me. Awed me.

A couple of years later, leafing through a catalog from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I discovered a poster of Spring Party was for sale. My budget didn’t allow me to purchase it at the time. But I did cut out the photo from the catalog.  And from the next issue, too. I still have one of those makeshift bookmarks. I keep it on my desk at Day Job.

Ten years later, while my Day Job office was being redecorated, I was told I could pick out any artwork I wanted. I called the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to see if they had any Spring Party posters left. I was ten years too late.

My husband purchased a coffee table book of Fish’s paintings for me. I keep it handy in my home office. There is a pullout of Spring Party that I will stare at for hours.

What Janet Fish does with color and light is what I want to accomplish with my words.