New Baby and Engagement!

My Brother-in-law Karl's oldest daughter from his previous marriage is named Shea. Shea had her second baby yesterday, it is a girl named Sophia Rose! Shea has an older child with her ex-boyfriend and that child is a boy named Gage Michael, who is nearly five years old.

One day after giving birth to their beautiful baby girl Shea's boyfriend Jake proposed marriage to her and she happily said yes!

I send my many Congratulations to Shea and Jake on the newest addition to their family!

Musings of a Lonely Writer! ----- Minimalist Intimate Scenes Between Characters Mortify Me

So I don’t read romances, well not hard core Bodice Rippers or Erotica. I read Suspenseful Romances like from authors Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and some by Dorothy Eden. I prefer a little light romance, nothing explicitly sexual.

These explicitly sexual kinds of novels make me squirm and I find them not to my taste. I don’t care if people read these kinds of stories if that’s what they like to read but I don’t find them appropriate and so I don’t read them nor do I write them.

 

So in my writing love stories are always subplots and as fun as they are to develop I cringe at the thought of people I know reading them, lol! I know it sounds silly but I fear either I went too far or not enough. I’m afraid they’ll be like what is going on with you for writing these scenes. The scenes aren’t explicit, just what may be deemed adolescent kissing, well maybe a bit more passionate but nothing too hot and heavy.

I even wanted to put an example here of a scene but I am beyond nervous that many I know will see it. I know when I self-publish they’ll read it but I am just mortified to imagine there’re reactions.

There was one scene I was writing how this guy was falling for a lady and what it felt like with her in his arms when he carried her to her room as she had twisted her ankle and when my mom read it I nearly freaked out. The intense description of his feelings was a bit too much; I wound up revising it by choice.

 

Other times I fear my writing of minimalist intimate scenes are juvenile like. So most of the time I worry how it will be perceived by a broad group of people versus my own feelings toward it.

There was one section of one of my novels I sent to a friend. In the scene there is one area where it is where a guy was rubbing a healing lotion on a woman’s back and I was freaking out when I knew I had sent that section. Of course my friend came back and said she liked the whole section I had sent. So I was beyond happy but I dared not ask what she thought about that particular scene. I fear I am over thinking it and freaking myself out, lol!

Even though these scenes are scarce I wonder if I do too much in a scene or too little. I wonder if people will think if too much in a scene I’m not sticking clean and Christian or if not enough in a scene I risk the scene falling flat and boring.

Of course I love a good swoon worthy intimate scene if placed right and is meant to be there, so I don’t see changing my writing in that regard and will just have to get used to others reactions to the scenes. I will never go too far though with characters in these scenes because of the age group I tend to gear my novels toward and even though I know those age groups know much more about intense intimate relationships than some think I prefer to stay light for my own sake, lol. I should mention though that I know how to take criticism, I am just so unsure on these particular scenes more than any other aspect of my writing.

I suppose some writers have similar areas in their novels where they are uncomfortable with others reading it, so I guess I am not alone in that aspect. And I suppose many writers have times where they start to down their own writing.

I was mentioning this with my writer friend Kendra and she was saying don't worry how others view my novels, just write what I am comfortable with and feel I like. I am trying to do just that but it's a tad difficult with some parts of my writing.

So if others have felt a bit uncomfortable or straight up mortified by minimalist intimate scenes between their characters leave a comment. Or perhaps if you feel certain stories or scenes you write you worry about how it will be perceived by friends and family let me know as well. I would love to hear of other writers experiences with this topic.

So this has been Musings of a Lonely Writer and until next time Keep Reading, Keep Writing, and Keep Inspiring!

Throw Back and Current Pictures!

I usually don’t add pictures of me or my friends, well not full pictures just images for my hair accessories on this Book Worm Blog. These are both a Then & Now Pictures of me and one of my fellow Author Friends, Kendra. Kendra is not my only writer friend but she is my oldest. We met when were teenagers, about 13 years ago.

We bonded over writing and to this day we have innovative, juicy and fun stories, both inside and outside our heads, lol! We both have stories only thought out in our heads and others we have put on the page. Both ways are fun and keep the creative juices flowing!  

So here is a picture of us then and now. The first is from July 2007 when we were 19 years old and the second from a few days ago, we are now 27 years old. We have developed wrinkles and our weight has fluctuated over the years but that is simple because we laugh a lot and love food, well I will speak for myself, and we laugh while eating, so there you go, lol.

We talked of many things on our recent lunch out together but writing was a big one so I thought to add a wonderful picture here and show off two awesome up and coming authors, well hopefully!

We have changed in both our personal and writing lives since the Then picture from 2007 which has shaped the tone of our stories, both the good, bad, and ugly elements. So in the Then we were so confident, we knew just what we wanted but the Now we are wiser and have reached a pretty good place in our lives and have created characters much more developed and wonderful. 

If you have explored my Book Worm Blog you will have seen who I am but in case you haven’t I am the dark haired one in the two pictures. I am the one in the grey shirt and jeans in the older picture and the one in the blue shirt in the newer one.

 

 

 < Then, 2007

                                   Now, 2015 >

 

Reinvent Your Characters Wardrobe: Two Particularly Wonderful Renaissance and Medieval Clothing & More Sites that are Wonderful for Characters Wardrobes!

http://www.pearsonsrenaissanceshoppe.com/

http://armstreet.com/

 

I absolutely love the two above websites, Pearsons Renaissance Shoppe and Arm Street. They have Medieval and Renaissance Costumes for those that LARP, go to Renaissance Faires, do CosPlay, etcetera.

I have found so many dresses, pants, tunics, shoes, extras on there that have inspired many of my characters wardrobes, as many of my characters live in the past or a future that has gone very medieval again. I make certain changes to how a certain outfit will look for my character versus the site but for the most part I stay true to the things on the site because I love them so much.

Of course many, many times I will just make up a dress or something from my imagination, because that is so fun and necessary to bring out that characters personal unique style.

I wanted to tell everyone about these sites though, if they haven’t already found them. It may help you to better visualize one of your characters outfits like I do, I am a very visual person. Or perhaps you go to Renaissance Faires or LARP or CosPlay and would love to find a place that has awesome attire, so these sites are it.

My Favorites on the Sites:

The Archeress

Autumn Princess

Lady of the Lake

Woolen Coat “Red Riding Hood”

Fantasy Dress “Wanderer” Linen Robe

Medieval Woolen Dress “Green Sleeves”

Elven Fantasy Wedding Dress

Forest Princess

To just name a few! I hope you enjoy exploring these sites as much as I have!

A few of the names on my other Character Names Galore Blog I have found on another site that has Fantasy, Medieval, and Renaissance Wedding Gowns which I have used for inspiration for my characters wedding dresses before. The three names on my Character Names Galore Blog are the names of three of the dresses on the site, but there are many more dresses, I just only used those three names.

I have put a link to the site on those name posts but I will now put the site link here. So maybe if your characters getting married or you are getting married and want a unique dress then you can try looking on Rivendell Bridal, it’s a UK designer BTW.

http://www.rivendellbridal.com/

If you have sites that you find interesting and have used to help with your characters wardrobe and want to let me know just leave a comment and I would love to go explore those sites.

If you find the sites I have put here of use and would love to tell me which outfit fits your characters then leave me a commit and I would love to take a look on the site of the outfit to get an idea about your characters personal style!

DIY Body Powder, Perfume, and Room Deodorizer!

I created a Jasmine Nutmeg Body Powder, Energizing Blend Perfume, and Energizing Blend Room Deodorizer from recipes I found online. I will put the link below to the sites and I will put pictures of my finished products below as well. I hope you enjoy and try these at home if you like!

I used garage sale tie on labels to write what was in each of the containers. I used a 2 oz. Finger Spritzer Spray Bottles from Wal Mart for $0.97 each. I bought a dark blue plastic one instead of glass as is suggested when putting products with Essential Oils.

I bought plastic as it is cheaper and I won’t reuse on anything else and I wasn’t too worried about the plastic leaching into the spray. I did however use a really dark blue bottle so it would last a bit longer as light wouldn’t penetrate it as much as a clear bottle. However if you prefer you can buy amber or blue glass as is suggested.

I bought two glass cheese jars from Dollar Tree for $1 each. Any container will work as long as it has a lid with holes but I bought the jars as they already had holes, so I wouldn’t have to punch them myself and the jars are attractive even if they are said to be cheese jars. My Jasmine Nutmeg Body Powder I leave in my bathroom and the Energizing Blend Room Deodorizer I leave in my bedroom and both turned out wonderful.

I bought Grapefruit Essential Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, and Jasmine Blended Oil at Wal Mart for $5.97 each. They are by Natures Bounty Earthly Elements. I will put a picture below of them. Though people may be skeptic about buying Essential Oils at Wal Mart I tried it and I am fully satisfied by the brand and price. Given price plus shipping and handling of online Essential and Blended oils this price is a bargain but you aren’t sacrificing quality at all. The price and product are wonderful in my opinion but I am new to using Essential and Blended Oils but I am satisfied.  

In the recipe it gives examples of Body Powders to make but they say make what ever kind you like and I did just that. I fell in love with Bodycology Enchanted Forest Body Sprays smell so I decided to mimic it in my Body Powder as the Bodycology Enchanted Forest Body Spray used Jasmine, Nutmeg, and Musk.

Mine: Jasmine Nutmeg Body Powder

½ Cup Cornstarch

¼ Cup Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

5-6 Drops Jasmine Blended Oil (Jasmine Blended Oil was blended with Jasmine, Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E Oil)

I combined the Cornstarch and Baking Soda and Ground Nutmeg in the glass jars and then I slowly added 5-6 Drops of Jasmine Blended Oil and whisked it all together.

It is my favorite fragrance so far. I absolutely love it. It has a romantic exotic fragrance and I sometimes just go sniff it and it uplifts me. It is wonderful all over the body or I have even used it as a dry deodorant. The Jasmine Nutmeg Body Powder has held its fragrance and I have only broken up the clumps once so far.

Now the Energizing Blend Room Deodorizer I took the fragrance recipe from the Energizing Blend Body Spray by adding drops of Grapefruit and Lavender Essential Oils to the Baking Soda, I used about 5-7 drops Grapefruit and 3-4 drops Lavender in the Room Deodorizer.

The Energizing Blend Body Spray I found doesn’t really hold its fragrance well on the skin but is better when sprayed in the air. On the body you can’t smell it well unless you put your nose straight up to the skin and so no one would smell it unless they were right on you sniffing your skin or kissing you, so maybe would do well on date night! ;~)

I hope you enjoy and try some of this yourself! If you have any questions or comments just leave them below in the comment section and I will respond as soon as I can!

 

Websites For DIY Body Powder, Body Spray, and Air Freshener Recipes:

 

Homemade Beauty Gift Idea: Luxurious Body Dusting Powder-  http://www.crunchybetty.com/homemade-beauty-gift-idea-luxurious-body-dusting-powder 

Basic Body Spra/ Engergizing Body Spray- http://www.thankyourbody.com/natural-body-spray-recipe/

DIY Air Freshener using Essential Oils- http://doterrablog.com/diy-make-your-own-natural-air-freshener-with-essential-oils/ 

Wasp Sting! Ouch Relief!

Last year I was going outside to meet my parents and there was a wasp’s nest above the outside light by the front door. As I yelled Hi to my parents I noticed two black things dive at me. I put up my arms instinctively and realized I was being attacked by wasps. I ran back inside the house. Fortunately I had put my arms up and they got stung not my face or throat or chest. I felt the pain all the way to the bone, it hurt that bad!

I hated having to have it done but my dad sprayed the nest and killed the wasps and then knocked the nest down. We have kept them at bay since then. They are pretty defensive little creatures and I hate killing them but they are not a very welcoming presence at the front door or back yard where they are even worse, always diving at us and so we have to spray their hideaway nests when we find them.

So the pictures below, which by the way the reason I remembered to add this now was I was cleaning out old pictures from my phone and found these, are of before, during, and after my parents old fashioned treatment. They took baking soda and put a little water on it and made a paste. They spread it on the places on my wrist where I was stung. Once the paste dried and caked and chipped off I rinsed the rest of it off and added some more paste. It felt cold and relieved the pain a lot to my surprise. The redness and pain went away faster than doing nothing.

This Baking Soda and Water Paste will be my go to on stings from now on! I thought to share it, though some might already know this little old fashioned yet still effective trick!

 

 < Right After Sting!

 < Paste Treatment!

 After First Paste Treatment and Before Second Baking Soda Paste Treatment! >

 < After Final Paste Treatment! Reduced Redness!

2013, 2014, and 2015 Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses!

I seemed to have run out of time and forgotten to blog about the last 3 Summer Regional Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses which I attended in the summers of 2013, 2014, and 2015, well actually I go every year but I just wanted to blog about these as they are the most recent. I waited to blog after each so I wouldn’t spoil it for others who still hadn’t attended but then time went by and I forgot to blog about it. So I decided to blog here about the Theme of each and share pictures.

2013 Theme: God’s Word is Truth Location: Springfield, Missouri

2014 Theme: Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom Location: St. Charles, Missouri, ours was in Kansas City, Missouri but we went to my sisters in St. Charles, Missouri

2015 Theme: Imitate Jesus! Location: Springfield, Missouri

They were wonderful conventions which lasted three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They were chock full of wonderful information. I greatly enjoyed them. I can’t say much about this year as some still haven’t attended and I don’t want them to stumble on this blog and it spoil it but this years convention had so many wonderful visuals and so many wonderful ways to Imitate Jesus and how that will impact for the good our lives.

EDIT Sept. 07, 2015: I just now realized I did post about the 2013 Convention and added the below pictures under that post back in July 2013, LOL, I can't believe I forgot I posted it! But since I already added the 2013 conventions pictures and theme already here I will just go ahead and leave it below and at the original post. If you wish you can go to the July 2013 posts to find the orginal post about that convention.

                                              2013 Convention Theme: God’s Word is Truth

2014 Convention Theme: Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom

 

 

 < My Brother-in-law Karl is in the Picture, he worked on the Audio-Vidio-Information Technology Commitee at that Convention.

2015 Convention Theme: Imitate Jesus!