Name Dropping

It says it right there on my facebook page:  "Jill and Jerry B. Jenkins are now friends". Nothing like having it in writing. I'm thinking of enlarging it and having it framed. I can put it on the wall next to the picture I have of Jerry and me. Of course I have a picture! Our paths have crossed numerous times.

All of the above is true, but rather misleading. I have met Jerry Jenkins, author of the Left Behind Series, many times. I've encountered him at booksignings and writers' conferences. Shoot, I had dinner with him and Gloria Gaither. Sat right at the same table. Along with nine other people.

In spite of all this, neither Jerry nor Gloria would remember me from a bowl of oatmeal. I just don't make that big an impression. Especially when all I did was sit there, awestruck, and pick at my meal while listening to their conversation. I did learn that both of them are kind and both are extremely knowledgeable in their fields of writing and music. But I kinda expected that anyway.

As for facebook friends, Jerry Jenkins has almost 3,000. I doubt Jerry looked at my friend request and said, "Oh, yeah! Jill! Writing for the Soul Conference, 2004! I've been wondering how she was doing!" More likely an assistant or two automatically clicks "accept" a couple of times a day.

So there you have it. I've met famous people. They don't know me and won't remember me. But hey, I've still got the pictures!

What about you? Met anyone famous? Someone whose name you'd love to drop into conversation? Drop it here. I promise we will all be impressed. In the meantime, I wonder if Gloria Gaither has a facebook page ...

Another Word for Random

And once again we're at Wednesday which means we're ready for a Random Dozen questions.  After you read my answers, go on over to 2nd Cup of Coffee and link up with your own! Or leave some in your comments. Or do both. (But you absolutely have to leave comments. Why wouldn't you want to leave a comment? While you're thinking about that, here's the list:


1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow?
Interesting lead off question, but as a matter of fact, I've not only done both, but I own several firearms, and I'm licensed to carry a concealed weapon. The question is, am I carrying one now?


2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are?
I know where Jason is. He was my imaginary friend. He was gorgeous. Still is, as a matter of fact. As for my real childhood friends, I not only know where most of them are, but thanks to facebook, they know where I am too. Not real sure if that's a good thing.

3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Can you guess?

4. Are you more of a New York or California type?
Okay, when are people going to realize there is a Middle America? I've never been to either New York or California. I am a nice normal girl from the Midwest, who's also lived in the south. And I carry a gun. Deal with it.

5. Do you have a special ring tone?
I use the Indiana Jones theme song as the ring tone for when my husband calls. If you knew him, you'd understand. 

6. What is your favorite type of chip?
I'm personally fond of the chocolate chip. It's very versatile in that it can be used in a cookie or in ice cream. I'm also fond of the chip on the shoulder as long as I'm the one using it. 

7. Best comedy you've ever seen is ....
The Dick Van Dyke show. The comedy was dead on in every episode, the laughs are timeless, and the acting was subtle. You just can't get any better than that.  I think second to that would be the Cosby Show.  Who doesn't love Bill Cosby?

8. Have you ever cut your own hair? To quote Dr. Phil, "How'd that work for ya?"
I cut my own hair when we lived in Uganda. I let the rest of my hair grow, but I had to have bangs because I looked stupid without them. (I also looked stupid with the rest of my hair growing wildly, but we won't get into that.) Since I had have rather unmanageable curls, I would pull everything back into a headband, and then cut whichever strands of hair were hanging down in my eyes. It worked for me, but then I didn't get out much either.

9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self?
If I were doing the house, I'd add a room or two and put in a pool. If I were doing a makeover on myself, I'd remove a few things. And none of your business what those things are!

10. Are you allergic to anything?
I am allergic to mangoes. I'm also allergic to a particular antibiotic, but I won't mention the exact one. It gave me hives from head to foot and made my entire face swell up until I resembled an extra from Planet of the Apes. And no, I did not take pictures.

11. Why is it so hard to change?
Because now that we've realized what he's really like, we refuse to give in to his radical ideas for remaking America. What? Well what do you mean this wasn't a political question?

12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, "To love is to be vulnerable." Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you'd like to about this topic. 
Boy is that deep! How about this one? Love is giving up possession of the remote control.


Don't forget to link up and get some more great answers to this random dozen!

How Far Will You Go?

I know with a title like that you must be wondering what on earth I'm talking about. But don't have a hissy fit; as always the blog is G rated.

I'm talking about how far will you go to save money? How much is saving and how much is silly? For instance, some people will save their aluminum foil or wash and reuse their plastic storage bags. Other people think that's idiotic.

Some people spend time clipping coupons and cruising through sales papers and going to four different stores to get their grocery shopping done. Others think it's a waste of gasoline and time that they can't afford, and manage to get their grocery shopping done at one store.

Some people are almost professional shoppers at the thrift stores, while others always know when to hit the clearance racks at Macys and walk out with designer suits for peanuts.

Sometimes people think generic is the way to go, but other times people are willing to pay extra for brand name products because they're of "more value" in the long run.

Some people will drive a few further miles to a gas station that sells gas .03 cheaper. Other people calculate in their head how much more this gas station might cost and then decide the extra time is not worth the money saved.

Some people make their own laundry soap (been there!) and others think you're silly to waste time making something you can so easily buy in the store. (Also been there!)

So how do you save? Leave a comment telling me how you save money, time, etc., and also tell me what "savings technique" is a waste of time in your book. Enquiring minds really want to know.

Confessions of a Reluctant Martha

Okay, I know that some of you were absolutely and totally unable to enjoy your weekend for wondering what on earth my inner Martha had created. I must remind you that I'm a suspense writer. I'm nothing unless my story has a hook. But fret no longer. I'm about to tell you what I created.

This all started because of Katie at The Baby Factory.  Back in December Katie posted about making something. I was pretty impressed because I was struggling with getting any of my Christmas baking done. But then I read that Katie hadn't been making cookies. She'd been making laundry soap.

I freely admit that I thought she was off her rocker. After all, Katie has three boys under the age of two. She barely has time to make dinner, I'm sure, so why on earth would she be making laundry soap? Did she not realize she could buy it "ready-made" at the store? Then she said that it worked just as well or better than the stuff you could buy at the store.

Yeah, right.

Then she said she was only paying .06 cents a load.

And she had my attention. After all, we go through a lot of laundry soap, color bleach and fabric softener. I spend about $60.00 a month on all that stuff. Between the fact that we have a bunch of boys who generate their own odors, and we live in Florida where you can work up a sweat ten months out of the year, our laundry needs a lot of help. But still, when has something homemade been as good as what you can get in the store?

I thought about this for another two months, but finally my inner Martha screamed to be let out. So I took this--

And these--

and made this--

and now I use two of these:

to wash an entire load of clothes. That's an entire load that fits into one of the largest frontloaders we could find. My laundry is just as soft as it was with fabric softener. And it smells cleaner too.

I'm now spending about $9.00 a month on laundry.

Martha and I are both happy.  But I'm warning you--if my inner June Cleaver shows up, she's dead.

Resurrecting Martha

Some of you may remember this post where I killed off my inner Martha. It was a glorious day and I enjoyed the murder thoroughly. However ...

She's baaaaack.

My inner Martha has resurrected herself. I resisted at first. Something that is dead should stay dead. I believe that firmly.

I couldn't help myself.

I felt the urge for some time to do something domestically creative. Not just anything domestically creative, but something specific that had been on mind for some time. I didn't want to. People would think it was weird. It wasn't a necessary thing--why make it when you can buy it? Yet still I was compelled to do it.

So I took this project up last Saturday. I created something useful. And it actually works. And it's actually more convenient than the "store-bought" item of the same kind. And I felt very good inside.

That's when I realized Martha was back. I've decided she can stay as long as she behaves herself. But I promise you now that if I get the urge to create a loom and weave something, I will channel that creative energy into thinking up new ways to kill the inner Martha. She must know her place.

So what did I create? Come back Monday and see.

When You're Out of Sorts

So I was out of sorts the other night. Sometimes you're out of sorts and you know it, and sometimes you're out of sorts and you don't realize it. Tuesday night I knew I was out of sorts. Which made me wonder--if everything was going well, would that mean I was in sorts?

Just the kind of thing I wonder about.

Anyway, when you are out of sorts, do you just go with the out of sort flow or do you try to get yourself back in sorts? If there is such a thing. I didn't necessarily try to get myself in sorts, but I was restless and I did try to occupy myself. If I'm out of sorts late enough, I'll just use it as an excuse to go to bed, but that doesn't really work at 7:00 in the evening.

I finally made a list of things to do when you're out of sorts. I don't know if any of these things will get you back in sorts, or just occupy your time while you're out of sorts. That's what making the list did for me. I didn't try all these things, but I might someday. If you try any of them and they help you get back in sorts, or just make you feel better about being out of sorts, let me know.

1. Throw something. (If you're way out of sorts, throw something through a plate glass window.)

2. Hit something. (If you're way out of sorts, hit someONE. But make sure they won't hit back before you throw a punch.)

3. Eat something. Chocolate always helps.

4. Watch something. TV is very good for mindless occupation. Staring blankly at the wall also helps. And is more stimulating.

5. Read something. Probably the TV Guide so you can more easily complete #4.

6. Snap at someone. This is a kind thing to do. It lets them know that you're out of sorts so that they can warn everyone else in the family that you're out of sorts and then everyone will leave you alone.

7. Clean something. This will make you feel good about yourself, but be careful. If you do this more than just once in a while, people will expect you to clean all the time. Which could lead to you being out of sorts.

8. Blog about how out of sorts you are. Then your blog readers can become out of sorts because they got so bored or annoyed reading about how out of sorts you were. Share the love.

9. Play solitaire on your computer. So many people do it that it must be good for something.

10. Exercise. This should only be done as a last resort. You get too much blood flowing and you can't relax when you crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head.

I think I'll go try some of these. Starting with the chocolate.

Olympic-Sized Random Dozen

It's time for the Olympic Random Dozen from Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. If you could compete in one Olympic event (not necessarily winter sports) what would it be?

I would compete and WIN at Solo Synchronized Swimming. It was a sport at the Olympic Games between 1984 and 1992. It took the organizers three Olympics to realize that a person swimming alone cannot be synchronized with anyone else. I am not making this up!


2. Do remember a specific Olympic moment from the past?

I remember the Kidette Olympics our church did when I was little. I had a wonderful time, won a trophy and then threw up all the way home. It just doesn't get any better than that.

3. Have you ever known anyone who competed in the Olympics?

No, but I know lots of people that haven't competed in the Olympics. And I know one person that almost kinda could have competed in the Olympics except for the whole broke his ankles on the dismount and spent all that time in physical therapy thing.

4. If everyday activities were Olympic-worthy, which activity would you have a gold medal in?

I would have the gold medal in running late. Unless they don't allow professionals to compete. I am professionally, habitually late. I'm not proud of it, but I would be if someone gave me a gold medal for it.

5. Do you know anything about your ethnic heritage?

I am a mutt. I'm part French, part Irish, part German and a little Scottish thrown in. Variety is the spice of life, and apparently my ancestors believed in ethnic diversity. 

6. Do you enjoy sleeping late?

Do you know anyone who doesn't? Seriously. There is no one sane that does not enjoy sleeping late.

7. Have you ever performed CPR on anyone? Do you know how? (Yes, that's two, I know. Whatevs.)

No, but I've RSVP'd someone before. Does that count?

8. Name one country you'd like to visit and explain why.

I couldn't stop with one country; I want to visit a whole continent. I'd like to visit Europe. Because I've never been there, that's why!

9. Have you ever fixed up a couple romantically?

Is there another way to fix a couple up? Do you spot two of your friends and think they would make good best friends for each other so you invite them both over to dinner and spend the evening telling both of them how much they have in common? Because if you do, in no time at all they will spend all their free time together and you will be left out in the cold with nothing to show for it but indigestion over all the food you prepared for that meal. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything. Wait. I didn't answer the question, did I?

10. What is the last book you read?

How to Win Friends and Influence People. Is it working?

11. Do you enjoy sleeping late? NO, YOU write the question! How's that for random??

Okay. How's this for a question:  of all the Random Questions you've answered over the past few months, which one was your favorite?


A random question about random questions! It just doesn't get any better than this! (I'm overwhelmed with my own excitement.) I liked the first question from the Random Dozen asked on December 2nd:


Which Wizard of Oz character are you most like? And my answer:

I am most like Dorothy because I like to be the star, I love red shoes, and I know several people I'd like to drop a house on.


Note to Linda:  I think we should have more of these types of questions because I identify easily with people who aren't real. 


12. What is your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant?

I don't know. I'd like to make Ruth's Chris my favorite restaurant, but I haven't been there yet.

If you'd like to join in and give your own answers to the Random Dozen (and really, who wouldn't?) then click on the link at the top of the post. Or answer some of the questions in your comments. You did intend to leave comments, didn't you?