Celebrate the Small Things: This and That

Oops. Celebrating the small things a day late here, but didn't want to miss the final posting. I have enjoyed this blog hop a lot.  The small things in life make our world spin and color everything we

do. They give us pause and meaning, when the big things overtake and overwhelm. Thanks Viklit for making this blog hop possible.  

Some very small (but important) things below . . .

--Made the best ham dinner ever on Christmas day. Just the two of us was fine, and now we have some great left-overs. Dinner was complete with special table linens, holiday plates and tableware.....candles burning everywhere.

--Reconnected with my baby sister by phone after a long, long time. I don't know why it took so long to communicate, but life got too busy for the two of us. We must have talked an hour and half. Love you, sis!! Do you ever put off calling family when you know you should?  

--Exercised 45 minutes a day all week long on my new treadmill set-up. The flat panel TV with Netflix is working out great. Watching a series called Heartland, and it's all about horses, horses, horses. Getting into the mood for the next novel.


--Admission I have been procrastining the completion of my current novel. New Year's resolution: finish next month and submit somewhere....contest, agent, publisher....SOMEWHERE.

Happy Weekend!!

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Winter Entertainment: TV, Exercise & Popcorn

Well, winter is upon us and television viewing just went up a notch in  my home. It's cheap entertainment and with down streaming we can watch a commercial-free series on our schedule, and many of us are on Christmas vacation right now. I love what writers and actors do in these series. You can learn so much about character development and scenes. But mostly I watch for pleasure or to relax, and also for daily exercise. At around forty-five minutes an episode, you can get a good workout on the treadmill.



So replace the TV remote's batteries, lower the shades, add a large bowl of low fat popcorn and sparkling water, pull out the ottoman for your feet or jump on the treadmill and go! Here are the series I watch and recommend.

Currently watching: (update 12/23/13)

Heartland 

Continuum

Once

Alphas

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Dollhouse

Saving Grace
Lilyhammer
H20 Just Add Water
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
Glee

1/3 cup popcorn, 1 TB peanut oil in
popper. Season with (fine) popcorn
 salt. Servings: 2 large bowls.
(WW 2.5 points)
Sparkling water (selser) 0 points

Waiting for a new season

Hart of Dixie
The Lying Game

Doc Martin 

The Walking Dead

Downton Abbey

Warehouse 13

Dance Academy

Watched in the past:

Flying Wild Alaska

Life Unexpected

A Gifted Man

Bramwell

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Heroes

Eureka

Jericho

Survivors

Lost

So what do you watch in your spare time? Also, do you have a favorite Christmas movie you like to watch? My husband and I happen to like While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher.

Or maybe . . . you are one of those 'rare birds' who never succumbed to watching television (or even movies). Can you recommend a good book instead, or another activity?

Years ago, when first married, I suggested to Vince that we never buy a television and take advantage of the local library instead. I fantasized reading my heart out and wandering through tall aisles of books like a kid in a candy store. His fantasies were a bit different from mine back then, to say the least. His mouth dropped . . . he was speechless beyond compare. Who was this 19-year old girl he had just married? Had he missed something? We laugh about it now, and you can see who won the argument . . . but no regrets. If not for television (and favorite movies), our dialogue today would lack a certain spark. We can quote lines from  movies and TV series that sometimes only resonate with us. It happens when you have been married thirty plus years.  

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sunshine Award for Shells . . .

One of the pleasant surprises in the blogging experience are the occasional awards that bloggers give to each other. The Sunshine Award gives a lift and a smile to one's day and I couldn't think of a better blog gift on a cold spring day. We had snow in Eastern Washington today!

Thank-you SO much, Jai (And then . . .), for sending sunshine my way. I wish you flowers and bright sunshine in return! Be sure to check out Jai's interesting Writer's blog if you have never visited. She was my faithful 'constant' in the A-Z challenge. 

So here are the rules:

--Feature a picture of this award in a post on your blog.

--Answer 10 random questions about yourself.

--Nominate 10 other bloggers. Be sure to link to their blogs and let them know. 

Ten Questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

• I like playing with words and expressing myself, but I was hesitant to jump into something that had all the appearances of a time waster. I was trying to write a novel, and not doing a great job maintaining a writing schedule. But Cathy Ensley at http://wordsworldandwings.blogspot.com/ convinced me I needed to learn more about social media if I was serious about writing and being published one day. It began to make good sense. I jumped into 2013 April A-Z Challenge and never looked back. I discovered a world of like-minded bloggers and it's also been a lot of fun. Definitely not a time waster!

2. How did you come up with the name of your blog?

• This was so much fun to figure out, but here's basically what it means. Shells---the things we collect that bring joy and give meaning to our lives. Tales---the stories we tell in life that define who we are. Sails---the journeys we take in life that show where we have been and where we are headed.

 3. What is your favorite blog to read?

• I can't answer this. My interests vary: writing, gardening, crafts, travel and family history to name a few. I do love to peek in and visit now and then and chat with bloggers. Others I discover randomly. Random blogs tend to be sites related to the writing field that offer something I need at the time, for instance, information regarding agents and publishers or writing software.

4. Tell us about your dream job:

• To have several published novels on the market that are doing really well, and another one in the process. God willing, I plan to write for the rest of my life. 

5. Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

• Definitely half-full. Life is too short to be negative.

6. If you could go anywhere for a week's vacation, where would you go?

•  A week really isn't long enough for a vacation, but if I had a month, I would go somewhere I've never been before. India, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Vietnam, China, Paris, London......the list is endless. Stateside, I would travel up the east coast. I want to see U.S. historical sites.

7. What food can you positively not eat? 

•  Sushi. Something about 'raw' really bothers me. (I once ate a raw oyster on a dare. I've never recovered.)

 8. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

• I prefer the taste of milk chocolate, but eat dark for my health.

 9. How much time do you spend blogging?

•  I'm a new blogger, so probably more than I should. The A-Z Challenge was crazy. I spent hours a day. I have no idea how much. My husband threatened to turn me into 'bloggers anonymous' (do they exist?). Now around two hours a day, but I'm starting to ease back. I really need to finish my novel.

10. Do you watch TV and if so, what are your favorite shows?

• Sure. I like Public TV. I sometimes watch the news, business reports, Charlie Rose, and documentaries. I also watch TV series on Netflix (without commercials). Some of my favorites have been Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Life Unexpected, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Lost, and Gifted Man. Right now I'm watching Star Trek's Next Generation and Flying Alaska.

Here are the 10 bloggers I have nominated:
(Check out their wonderful blogs :) 

Warning to nominees below. This is a time-consuming post. I understand if it takes awhile or if you are simply too busy. Just wanted you to know you are on my 'good' list and I thought the award fit  :-) 

Fe -  http://felicityburnett.blogspot.com/ 
Mary - http://mary-anderingcreatively.blogspot.com/
Liz - http://lawsofgravity.blogspot.com/
Diana - http://dianawilder.blogspot.com/
M.J. - http://mjjoachim.blogspot.com/
Kim - http://kimharristhacker.com/
Maria - http://delightdirectedliving.blogspot.com/
Sally - http://breaking-cover.blogspot.com/
Rhonda - http://www.laugh-quotes.com/
Jenn - http://j-scribbles.blogspot.com/

(same questions as above)

Weekly Recap: Finding Time to Write

Hi, Another busy week. I've been trying to increase my writing output, not on the blog....but my novel. During the A-Z Challenge I read an interesting post on Stephen King's writing schedule and was favorably impressed. He writes 4 hours a day, which means he writes only 28 hours a week. I have since read variations of this schedule, but the idea stuck. Four hours a day......Can I do it?

 As it turns out, I can to some degree. I wrote 21 hours and 30 minutes last week, up from my average 11 hours. However, the plan failed over the weekend. I admit that weekends are precious to my husband and me. It is our playtime, catch-up time, church time, relax time, shopping time, and occasional 4-day travel weekend. I try to do bills, housework, gardening and other activities during the week. (It helps that I no longer need to work outside the home).   

So on Friday we went to Thai Ginger for dinner (phad with eggplant and tofu for me; chicken with peanut sauce for hubbie). We have been in love with Thai food for a long time. We first ate Thai Jasmine rice while living in Malaysia ('95-96). We thought it funny at the time that this rice was technically illegal to purchase in Malaysia, but everyone skirted the rule. We were later stranded on a Thai train over night (another train had crashed ahead of us!), where we were treated royally and served the best lemon grass soup and other Thai courses we have ever had!

Top: train that derailed and crashed on a track parallel to ours! 
Bottom: Vince and me.....safe and sound in Bangkok (1995)

  We also saw the new Star Trek movie over the weekend, Star Trek into Darkness. This movie is mostly for younger viewers, with lots of ear-popping loud action in 3-D, but we are hard core Star Trek fans. We accept any bone Hollywood is willing to give us, and the actors they have picked for young Kirk and Spock are well suited for the roles.

 We watched the original Star Trek in the 1970s. I still remember being concerned with my two young children watching this series. I issued a ban on all Star Trek viewing, which was then nixed by the family over time. Ha! The original series seems so innocent now. We also watch Star Trek (Next Generation) on Netflix during the week. Yep, we're hard core.

So, how about you? How was your week?

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Survivors in a Sinful World

I finished the BBC TV series Survivors on Netflix last week. If you have ever wondered what would happen if there were

a repeat of the 1918 flu epidemic, only worse, this is for you. Only 1% of the population survives. As in the bubonic plague, only a handful of people accosted by the virus are immune. One survivor, Abby, actually comes down with the virus and survives it, which makes her a potential vaccine candidate. This and the central theme of Abby's search for her son moves the story forward. Each character she meets along the way, and joins up with, has some sort of past to overcome. As can be predicted, their plight in a darkened, sinful world brings out the worst and best in everyone. Unfortunately, the series drops off without a fit ending, so I would add that one warning. Nevertheless, with all the recent news about whooping cough and now the influenza outbreak, it was an interesting series to watch. 
                                                                                                                                                               
With that background in mind, I was surprised to see the following letter in the local newspaper. The letter was written by a minister my husband and I have known (and respected) for many years. His message is simple, direct, and humbling, regardless of one's religious leanings. 

[Excerpt: Jim Wilson, Moscow/Pullman Daily News, Feb. 4, 2013] 

Jim has always been gifted at connecting the present with the teachings of the bible. He goes on to offer his assistance and contact numbers. I am not surprised. He has devoted his life to teaching and ministering to others. His blog, Roots by the River, is quite popular if anyone is interested.
http://rootsbytheriver.blogspot.com/